338 



MARINE LOSSES ON THE LAKES IN 1854. 



[1855. 



The powerful action of charcoal upon gases and vapours is not 

 limited to them ; it extends to many organic principles, as, for instance, 

 the colouring matter of vegetable infusions, and even to the principles 

 upon which the peculiar flavor of certain vegetable matters depends, 

 such as the intense bitter of gentian and quassia. What renders this 

 action the more remarkable, is the fact that it appears to be entirely- 

 independent of ordinary chemical action. The charcoal effects no 

 change in the matters over which its influence is exerted — it merely 

 seizes upon them by virtue of some powerful surface attraction ; but 

 any substances thus retained by charcoal can be easily re-obtained in 

 their normal character by the employment of certain chemical means. 

 Neither is the disinfectant property confined to any particular kind of 

 charcoal. That obtained from the various bituminous minerals 

 appears to act as well as that from wood, but the charcoal from peat 

 is perhaps the most suitable to sanitary purposes. An excellent 

 charcoal may be manufactured from spent tan ; and in the neighbour- 

 hood of large towns, many refuse matters may easily be burned into a 

 material which wUl operate extremely well as a disinfectant. 



In France this substance has been largely employed for the last 

 fifteen years as an adjunct to sanitary purposes, in the purification of 

 water. It affords a ready means of effecting the latter ; and it i s greatly 

 to be desired that its excellent properties, both in this respect and as 

 a disinfectant, should become generally known. 



Marine liOsseg on tlie Ijakcs in 1 854. 



The following tables show the cause of disaster, amount of loss, 



and character of vessel, in 1854. 



The disasters for the several months compare in number as follows : 



Months. '^'2'-i° No. in No. in Amount in 



, ., lSo2. 1853. 1S54. 1854. 



April 7 ... 19 ... 48 ... $320,900 



May 19 ... 30 ... 27 ... 217,000 



J"P« 24 ... 17 ... 11 ... 40,900 



J'l'y 15 ... 11 ... 13 ... 58,921 



August IG ... 28 ... 21 ... 68,000 



September 21 ... 30 ... 40 



October 27 ... 39 ... 66 



November 85 ... 80 ... 84 



December 15 ... 12 ... 68 



129,000 

 408,000 

 456,000 

 490,000 



229 



268 



384 



Causes. 



Wrecked and sunk. 



Fire 



Stranded 



Damaged, &c 54 



Jettison 8 



Collisions 16 



steam Vessels. 

 No. Loss. 



9 $480,000 

 4 240,000 

 2 110,000 



$2,186,921 



140,300 198 



72,000 22 



100,700 18 



Sail Vessels. 

 No. Loss. 



51 $509,626 

 2 22,500 

 ■ 51 507,626 



321,375 



36,770 



155,650 



Total. 



No. Loss. 



60 $787,626 



6 262,500 



2 110,000 



252 461,675 



30 108,770 



34 256,350 



Tot'^l 93 $1,143,000 2 91 $1,043,991 384 $2,186,921 



EECAPITULAIION. 



No. 



Steamers 41 



Propellers 52 



Barks I7 



Brigs ; 55 



Schooners, &c 219 



Loss. 

 §463,400 

 679,500 

 148,000 

 184,125 

 711,796 



Total loss $2,186,921 



The proportion of losses on each of the four large Lakes traversed 

 by the shipping is shown by the following figures for the past three 

 years : — '^ 



1852. 



Ontario $ 78,939 



Erie 741,300 



Huron 89,600 



Michigan 78,820 



1853. 

 $288,077 

 250,612 

 161,338 

 212,316 



1854. 



$ 246,300 



1,113,271 



411,500 



397,950 



_ The proportion of steam to sail craft by which losses occurred dur- 

 ing the last seven years is shown by the annexed table. 

 Years. Ste.am s„;i rp^jg^j 



$420,512 



Steam. 



1848 $140,000 



1849 185,900 



Sail. 

 $280,512 



1850 281,700 



1851 348,700 



1852 635,620 



1853 461,800 



1854 1,143,000 



277,126 



558,826 



381,837 



730,537 



359,039 



994,659 



412,343 



874,143 



1,043,991 



2,186,921 



The loss of life attending the disasters of 1854, is stated at 119, of 

 which 18 were on Lake Ontario, 40 on Lake Erie, 12 on Lake Huron, 

 and 49 on Lake Michigan. The loss of life for the series of seven years, 

 compare as shown by the figiu-es below : 



1848 55 



1849 34 



1850 395 



1851 79 



1852 296 



1853 81 



1854 119 



The nature and causes of the disasters which resulted, in tliese losses 

 during the last three years, compare as follows — 



Causes. 1852. 1853. 1854. 



Wrecked and sunk $730,709 $608,871 $987,626 



Fire 132,055 262,500 



Stranded 110,000 



Damaged &c 461,675 



Jettison 108,770 



Collisions 261,950 55,823 256,350 



Explosions 77,394 



Manufactui'e of Paper. 



182,271 



8,171 



During the recent discussion on the Fibre Company's Bill in the 

 House of Lords, the Earl of Hardwicke stated some interesting facts 

 bearing upon the great paper question. The substance of the noble 

 Earl's remarks were as follows : — 



It was well known that the supply of paper had fallen off as the de- 

 sire for its use had been extended. The result was an enormous 

 increase in its price, and the Government revenue had fallen off in 

 consequence of the diminished supply of the raw material from which 

 it was manufactured. The attention of men of science had been 

 directed to the subject, and rewards had been offered for such an im- 

 provement in the manufacture as would increase the supply of raw 

 material. The machines requisite for reducing the raw material 

 to pulp were, however, very expensive, and required a great deal of 

 capital. The war with Russia had diminished the supply of hemp, 

 and flax, from which the article was partly produced. The efficacy of 

 the plan of this company had been tested, as he had explained on a 

 former occasion, when he had shown their lordships a copy of the 

 Times newspaper made from pulp of a material manufactured as this 

 company proposed to manufacture it. The invention was thus shown 

 to be excessively useful and the paper sufficiently good for all the pur- 

 poses for which it was made. In the five years from 1830 to 1834 the 

 amount of paper manufactured in Great Britain was on an average 

 "70,988,131 lb., while in the five years from 1849 to 1853 the average 

 annual quantity produced had risen to 151,234,1751b. In the year 

 1853 the production was 177,633,000 lb., being above 23,000,0001b., 

 or 10,000 tons more than the preceding year. Taking Into account 

 the higher price of paper-making materials, it was estimated that the 

 cost of production to our own manufacturers during the present year 

 would excee'd that which the same weight of paper would have cost in 

 1852 by no less a sum than £1,000,000 sterling. While an increasing 

 quantity was still desired the price of the raw material continued to 

 increase, and had risen from 26s. per cwt. first quality in 1852 to 34s. 

 in 1854. The state of the European markets with regard to the supply 

 of the raw material was equally lamentable, there being an increased 

 demand in those countries as well as here. There was some statistics 

 upon the consumption of paper by the Times which might interest their 

 lordships. The Times published 60,000 copies of that paper daily. 

 The weight of the paper upon which it was printed was nine tons per 

 day, and if the copies were spread upon a flat surface they would make 

 a column of 50 feet in height. In 1851, 1852, and 1853 there were 

 imported from Russia 152,759 tons of hemp. The average supply 

 being 50,920 tons per annum, and the supply from all other parts of 

 the world being only 21,000 tons. The supply from Russia, it was 

 true, was not entirely cut off by the war, but the cost had been 

 greatly enhanced. The result was that 119,118 tons was the amount 

 of deficiency in the material existing at the present moment. 



