THE NAVAL STRENGTH OF THE GREAT POWERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2467, 26 June 1901, Page 61

THE NAVAL STRENGTH OF THE GREAT POWERS.

A parliamentary paper has been issued giving certain particulars of the fleets ot Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Italy, United States of America, and Japan, distinguishing battleships (built and building), coast defence ships (built and building), torpedo vessels, torpedo boat destroyers, and torpedo boats (built and building), date of launch, displacements, and armaments reduced to one common scale. The return was last issued in January, 1900. Vessels which appeared on January 15, 1901, in the official list of each navy as built or building are enumerated, when the money had been appropriated on that date, and which were soon to be laid down : — Vessels Built.

The s.s. Zealandia left for Sydney, via Auckland and East Coast ports on the SlSth. n , The s.s. Rakaia, which left Port Chaljners for London, via northern ports on the 18th inst., took the following cargo trom this port : — 1360 bales wool, 21 do fabbitskins, 37 do leather, 50 casks tallow, 22 do pelts, 85 cases butter, 7625 carcases frozen sheep, 9000 crates rabbits, 3 casks tesings, 5 bales hair, 1 case sundries. The s.s. Mokoia, from Melbourne, via Hobart and the Bluff, y-rrived at the cross wharf at 8.25 a.m. on Wednesday morning. She left Melbourne at 7 fc>.m. on the 12th. iWhen leaving Melbourne she had aboard J)4O tons of cargo. There are 231 tons for this and 509 tons for northern ports. Included in the Dunedin cargo are &6I cases of fruit, 960 cases of tea, 140 cases )>f bluestone, 18 pieces of timber, 70 cases pi cocoa.nuts, and transhipments ex India, Oruba, Ormuz, New Guinea, Bergedorf, Pilbavra, and sundries. The steamer Castano, which arrived at 'A-delaide on the 7th inst., had an exciting Voyage from New York, which port she left on April 2. From the start adverse weather •ssras experienced. On June 1, owing to a gale, the sea was so high that the deck cargo, fconsisting of 500 drums of carbide calcium, got adrift, and ignited by the acton of the water. After a trying time, the burning in ass was heaved overboard. A few days later a fire broke out in the storeroom, and was only got under with considerable difficulty. Many comparisons have been drawn between the two new leviathans, the White Star liner Celtic, juit launched at Harland and Wolff's, in Belfast, and the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer Kaiser Wilhelm 11, still to leave the stocks at the Vulcan works in Stettin, Germany. The Celtic, registering 20,880 tons gross, has a draught of 36ft 6in and a displacement of 36,700 ton*, with a length of 700 ft. breadth of 75ft. and a depth of «9ft. The Kaiser Wilhelm 11, on the other ihand, registers 19.500 tons gross, and shows »- displacement of 26.000 tons at 29ft draught, .■with a length of 707 ft, breadth of 72ft, and depth of 41ft. It will be noted that the JJ.D.L. liner is 7ft longer than the Celtic, (but the latter vessel has a much larger displacement, being 3ft deeper and 3ft •broader. The design of the German lines is 'different, as she is contracted to have a liigher speed than the Celtic, which further manifests itself in the latter steamer indicating 14,000 horse-power, as against 40,000 horse-power of the Kaiser Wilhelm 11, givsng her a speed of 24 knots against 18 knots in the Celtic. There is also a marked difference of the distribution of passengers for the three classes.

The traffic in the Victoria Channel was pretty brisk on Thursday. The s.s. Mokoia fleft the cross wharf at 7 a.m., followed by the Bchooner Zior at 8.30 a.m., the barque Alexa at 11 a.m., the schooner Sarah and Mary Rt 11.15 a.m.. and the schooner Isabella 'Anderson at 1.30 p.m. The Union Steam Ship Company's steamihip Mokoia, Captain C. Spinks, left Port Jhalmers on Thursday afternoon with £ae-

sengers and cargo for Sydney, Cook Strait.

Cape letters of May 15 confirm the news of the tolal lo?9 of the Union Castle lmer Tenlallon Castle off Robin Island, Table Bay. The ship is described as a "pitiful bight" lying on the beach with her fine lines and luxurious fittings. The s.s. Cereda, from New York, arrived off Otago Heads at midnight on Wednesday, and anchored until Thursday morning, when she weighed and steamed up to Koputai Bay, Port Chalmers, and anchored u.ntil the afternoon, when, drawing 19ft of water aft and 17ft forward, she steamed up to Dunedin, with the assistance of the Harbour Board's tugs Plucky anc? Koputai. The Cereda has made rather a long passage this voyage from New xork, no less than 75 days having been occupied — sevon days longer than her previous passage from the Stale? to this port. This is accounted for by the fact that she has met a great deal of bad weather and heavy seas in which the good ship laboured heavily, her voyage being consequently retarded. Still all things considered, she comes into port' in excellent order, and brings for Dunedin 780 tons of cargo (inclusive of 450 tons of kerosene). She has also 586 tons for Lyttelton, 812 tone for Wellington, and 1651tons for Auckland. She is consigned to Messrs Bates, Sise, and Co., of this city, and is still under the command of Captain Bannister, who brought her here on September 27, 1900. . Directly after the Shire liner Buteshire was made fast at the ocean steamers wharf at Port Chalmers on Friday forenoon ehe commenced taking in frozen produce in the shape of rabbits from the local freezing works, pelts, an dtallow. She ai rived at t'.ie Bluff on the morning of the l'-th when she (-teamed up to the 'wharf; took in 19,000 crates rabbits, 17,000 carcases mutton, 1700 quarters bpef, 800 bales wool, 10,000 sacks oats, and a number of casks of tallow, and left the Bluff at 4.15 p.m. of the 20th inst. ; arriving off the heads at 6 a.m." of the 21st. and came up to the wharf in charge of Senior Pilot M -Donald as above. . The s.s. Mararoa, from Sydney, via Auckland and East Coast ports, arrived at the tongue wharf at 8.50 a.m. on Sunday. She left Sydney on the llth _ The following vessels have been m Jiarbour during the past week : —Arrivals : Zealandia, s.s., 1735 tons; Invercargill, s.s., 123- Mokoia, s.s., 2154; Buteshire, s.s., 8000- Theresa Ward, tug, 58; Whangape, s.s., 1901; We&tralia, s.s., 1819; Waihora, s.s., 1259; Mararoa, s.s., 1381; Invercargill, s.s., 123; Upolu, s.s.. 700;— total, 21,163 tons. Departures : Warrimoo, s.s., 1897 ; Rakaia, s.s., 5628; Invercargill, s.s., 123; Zealandia, s.s., 1735; Zior, schooner, 63; Sarah and Mary, schooner, 145; Isabella Anderson, schooner. 79; Alexa, barque, 4-52; Mokoia, s.s., 2154; Te Anau, s.s, 1028; Waihora, s.s.. 1269;— total, 15,675. The Huddart-Parker Company's s.s. Westralia, Captain W. Waller, arrived at Port Chalmers at 3 p.m. of Saturday, with passengers and cargo from Sydney, via Cook Strait. She left Sydney at 2 p.m. of the 15th inst.

The s.s. Whangape, from Newcastle, via Wellington, arrived on Saturday. She left Newcastle on the Bth inst., and arrived at Wellington on the 14th", where she discharged 1000 tons of coal and 7000 sleepers.

C « <£ § Tij ; • — • -Si § • s t;Ji|S S^S * is -a "S"S ft OPP &< W Ci 3 w Pro t-s Battleships .. 50 28 15 19 15 7 Cruisers, armoured 9 7 11 4 5 2 Cruisers, protected 103 38 3 15 16 14 H Cruisers, unprotec- v 7 8 „ „ 6 , Coast .defence vesaels, armoured .. 10 14 14 11 — 15 4 Special vessels .. 2153 — 11 Torpedo vessels .. 35 15 17 2 14 - Torpedo-boat destroyers .... 89 9 10 12 3 3 11 Torpedo boats « 95 235 171 140 143 20 38 lßubmarixie boats.. — 4 — — — 1 Vessels Building. .. 16 5 10 10 6 11 1 Cruisers, armoured 20 15 1 3 19 Cruisers, protected 4 2 11 7 — 6 Cruisers, unprotected — — -* — — — — '.Coast defence vessels, armoured . . — — 1 — — 4 Special vessels .. — — 2 — — — — Torpedo vessels . . — — — — — — Torpedo-boat destroyers ... 24 14 43 15 8 17 8 Torpedo boats * .. 4 44 24 — — 12 3G Submarine boats.. — 13 — — — 7 —