A NEW FRENCH CRUISER.-Reports from Paris indicate that the LamottePiquet, the nameship of a new class of light cruisers, is either completed or approaching completion. It is nearly 20 years since France launched a vessel of this type, preference having been given to large and expensive armored cruisers, which have proved very wasteful to run, and much too slow to be of value as scouts. The Lamotte-Piquet is a distinctive design, and appears to possess several points of advantage over her foreign contemporaries. She is 453 ft. in length, 454 ft. in beam, draws 161⁄2 ft., and displaces either 4100 or 4500 tons. She is fitted with Parsons turbines, driving four shafts, and has twelve Du Temple-Guyot boilers, of which eight are oil-fired. The turbines are expected to develop 42,000 horsepower, giving a speed of 32 knots. The armament comprises eight 5-inch Q. F. guns of a new model, 55 calibers in length, using an 81-lb. projectile, and so disposed as to give a broadside of six and an end-on fire of four guns, all of which have excellent arcs of fire. Unusually good protection to the gun crews is afforded by 6-inch shields, while four of the weapons are mounted in broadside casemates of the same thickness. The hull for two-thirds of its length is protected by a 2-inch belt, associated with a 34-inch deck. The Lamotte-Piquet was built at Toulon, and her two sisters at private yards. They are officially styled "conveyeurs d'escadrilles."-The Engineer 13/12. FRENCH FLEET BOUND FOR GERMAN PORTS.-Announcement was made at the Ministry of Marine to-day that a French naval division, composed of five units, of which the armored cruiser Montcalm is the flagship, is on its way to the Baltic Sea, having received orders to survey the carrying out by the Germans of the clauses of the armistice. The vessels also will visit German ports where French prisoners are assembled in order to insure their repatriation under the best possible conditions.-N. Y. Times, 23/12. FRANCE TO DOUBLE ITS MERCHANT FLEET.-According to the Paris Matin, Fernand Bouisson, Under Secretary of State for the. Merchant Marine, has announced that within five years France will have merchant ships with a total capacity of 6,000,000 tons, which is double its pre-war tonnage. It is said that the greater part of the fleet will be composed of new vessels.Nautical Gazette, 11/30. FRENCH CASUALTIES AND COSTS.-The French High Commission authorizes publication of the following: [Of which 700,000 crippled and pensioned. To this figure must be added a great number of the 435,000 Frenchmen war prisoners henceforth unfit to work.] Grand total of French casualties COST OF WAR TO FRANCE 42,500 15,000 1,385.300 3,000,000 4,385,300 Expenses $23,500,000,000 (up to December 31, 1918) GERMANY -U. S. Bulletin, 14/1. CAPTAIN PERSIUS ON GERMAN SUBMARINES.-The naval critic, Captain Persius, recently stated in the Berlin press that in 1917 only 83 submarines were constructed, while 66 were destroyed. He tells us that in April, 1917, Germany had 126 submarines and in October, 146. In February, 1918, she had 136 and in June of this year, 113. He verifies the statement of Admiral Sims that very few submarines operated at one time. In January, 1917, only 12 per cent were active, while 30 per cent were in harbor, 38 per cent under repairs and 20 per cent incapacitated. Submarine crews were insufficiently trained and distrusted the submarine, while experienced seamen looked upon the submarine warfare as a "political stupidity."-Scientific American, 21/12. FINDS 170 U-BOATS BEING BUILT.-One hundred and seventy submarines, all under construction, were found when the Interallied Naval Commission visited Germany to make arrangements for the carrying out of the terms of the armistice, according to newspapers here. These U-boats, it is said, will be turned over to the Allies:-Wash. Evening Star, 4/1. ALLIES WILL DESTROY PARTLY BUILT U-BOATS.-New Armistice Terms Penalize German Trick-Our Commissioners go to Treves.-The four American armistice representatives left Paris to-day for Treves, where Marshal Foch is presenting the new terms to the German commission. The party consisted of Admiral William Shepherd Benson, Chief of Operations of the United States Navy; Norman H. Davis, representing the United States Treasury; Edward N. Hurley, Chairman of the American Shipping Board, and Louis P Sheldon, who will represent Herbert C. Hoover, the American Food Administrator. A report presented to the council having charge of the carrying out of the naval items of the armistice stated, according to the morning newspapers, that the Interallied Commission which visited Kiel and Wilhelmshaven discovered submarines under construction in slips, which the enemy thought would be overlooked. The report adds that the Germans contended that they were entitled to regain possession of the underwater craft. According to the report, the discoveries at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven led to the finding of other vessels, and consequently the new terms of the armistice will require the surrender of all submarines already built and the destruction of those on the ways. It is also understood that the terms for the extension of the armistice provide for the turning over of the German commerical fleet to transport troops, in exchange for food, for the restitution of material taken from France and Belgium and for full compliance with the terms of the original armistice. The economic terms approved by yesterday's session of the Supreme War Council require that Germany shall hand over to the Allies all her cargo steamers in German and other ports to enable the Allies to revictual Germany and such adjacent countries as may be decided upon. The terms also require the restitution of all manufacturing machinery, etc., taken from the invaded regions, which it is possible to identify. This was decided upon in the view that it would bring about a quicker revival of economic life than the payment of an equivalent in money.-N. Y. Times, 15/1. A REMARKABLE ZEPPELIN FLIGHT.-From Germany now comes a startling story of the trip of a Zeppelin in November, 1917, which is of considerable interest despite the fact that it is over a year old. It appears that a Zeppelin started from Bulgaria for East Africa with 22 tons of munitions and medicines and a crew of 22. It had arrived over Khartoum, in the Sudan, when it was ordered by wireless to return because it was learned that the bulk of the forces of General von Lettow Vorbeck, the German commander in East Africa, had surrendered. It returned to its starting point four days after it had left. The Germans claim that this airship could have made a round trip between Berlin and New York, without stopping. It is also learned that the Zeppelin factory at Friedrichshafen is building an airship for transatlantic traffic, capable of carrying 100 passengers. It has nine engines and eight propellers. If the international situation clears up by next summer, the first flight will probably be made in July. The flight is expected to be made in 40 hours.-Scientific American, 28/12. TO GET BATTLESHIP "BADEN."-Allies Will Receive New German Craft at British Port.-Germany's newest battleship, the Baden, will be surrendered at a British port within a few days, in accordance with the terms of the armistice, according to announcement here. The Baden has a displacement of 28,000 tons. Owing to the fact that this ship was completed after the war began, little is known as to its armament. It has been reported that ships of this class had been armed with 16.5- or 17-inch guns, but information on this point has been meager and unreliable.-N. Y. Times, 4/1. WHY THEY Gave Up the “-U-9.”—German Crew Cared More for $125 Bonus Than for "Glorious Record."-Although Admiral Beatty, Commander of the British Grand Fleet, refrained from requiring the delivery of the German submarine U-9, with which Commander Weddigen torpedoed and sank three British cruisers, out of consideration for the "glorious record" of his boat, says the Cologne Volkszeitung, the submarine was delivered to the British because the German crew was unwilling to forego the opportunity of earning the 500 marks promised to each for taking the boat to England.-N. Y. Times, 23/12. INSIST ON PAYMENT FOR U-BOAT RAVAGES.-In the absence of a definite policy from the Allies concerning the manner in which Germany shall make compensation for the dependents of submarine victims among seamen, the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Seafarers has evolved a plan by which the officials hope to force the Peace Conference to act. The committee has called an internationl conference in London, on February 24, at which the British delegates will present a resolution providing that the seamen will not man any ships going or coming from an enemy country until the proper compensation is agreed upon.-N. Y. Times, 16/1. CASUALTIES IN THE WAR.-An exchange telegraph dispatch from Copenhagen states that Austria-Hungary suffered a total of over 4,000,000 casualties in killed and wounded, the total number killed being 800,000 men and 17,000 officers. The Socialist Vorwarts of Berlin places the total German losses at 6,330,000, of which about 1,600,000 were killed and the fate of 260,000 is unknown. The total number of prisoners is put down as 490,000.— Scientific American, 21/12. GREAT BRITAIN BRITISH WARSHIPS COMMISSIONED SINCE 1914.-The following table shows all battleships commissioned subsequent to August 1, 1914: Name Displace. ment Builder Laid down Completed Tons 25,000 Beardmore. May, 1912.. Aug., 1914 1915 Nov., 1914 25,000 Vickers 1915 1915 1915 1915 1915 1915-16 1915-16 1915-16 1915-16 Of the above ships, Benbow and Emperor of India belong to the Iron Duke class. The Agincourt had originaally been laid down at Elswick for Brazil, but before completion was sold to Turkey for £2,725,000. In July, 1914, she was completing her trials at Devonport, where she was taken over for the British Navy, and named the Agincourt. The peculiarity of this ship is her powerful armament, consisting of fourteen 12-inch guns, all of which are disposed in double turrets on the center line of the ship; and twenty 6-inch Q. F., in addition to many smaller guns. The Erin was originally laid down for Turkey as the Rechadieh, but was appropriated by the British Admiralty early in August, 1914. In general design and armament she closely resembles the Iron Duke class. The Canada was laid down for the Chilean Government, purchased in 1914 for the British Navy, and commissioned in the following year. Her main battery of ten 14-inch guns introduced a new caliber into the British service, though since then certain vessels of the Monitor class have been armed with the guns of this size. The main features of the Queen Elizabeth class are too well known to need repetition, but it may be said that the vessels have been uniformly successful in service, and, by common consent, are among the very finest battleships now afloat. The five Royal Sovereigns are slightly smaller and considerably slower editions of this class, but in all other respects, including armament and protection, they are identical with the Queen Elizabeth. Their main dimensions are: Length, 6244 ft.; beam, 882 ft.; draught, 27 ft.; displacement, 25,750 tons. They have Parsons turbines and Babcock or Yarrow boilers, which, at first designed for coal, were afterwards altered for liquid fuel. Information relative to battle cruisers added to the fleet since the beginning of the war is less definite. Only one vessel of this type, viz., the Tiger, was in hand in August, 1914, and she was commissioned two or three months later. When laid down at Clydebank in June, 1912, she was intended to be sister to the Lion, but before the launch important modifications were made in the plans, which delayed her completion. The principal details are: Length, 675 ft.; beam, 90 ft.; draught, 30 ft.; displacement, 28,500 tonsfull load about 32,000 tons. She has turbines of the Brown-Curtis system designed for 87,500 horsepower, equivalent to 28 knots. She carries the same main armament as the Lion, but mounts a more powerful auxiliary battery, viz., twelve 6-inch guns. In August, 1914, sixteen light cruisers of the Arethusa and Calliope classes were completing or building, and four others had been authorized. Generally speaking, these twenty ships were of uniform type, and had the following characteristics: Displacement, 3500 to 3750 tons; speed, 30 knotsParsons or Brown-Curtis turbines, Yarrow boilers, oil-fired-armed with two or three 6-inch Q. F., several 4-inch Q. F., and four deck torpedo tubes. There was a thin armor belt in conjunction with protective decks. A slightly larger and faster class includes the Caledon, Calypso, Curaçao, Cardiff, Coventry, etc., launched 1916-17, displacing 4000 tons, with a speed of 32-33 knots, and armed with six 6-inch Q. F. The Brisbane and Adelaide were built in Australia, the former being completed two years ago, while the latter was launched this year. They belong to the Town class, displace 5600 tons, and have a speed of 25 knots, the armament consisting of eight or nine 6-inch Q. F. Chester and Birkenhead were originally laid down in England for the Greek Government as the Condouriotis and Lambros Katsonis, but were purchased by Great Britain at the opening of hostilities. They are of 5500 tons, with a speed of 25.5 knots, and are armed with eight 5.5-inch Q. F. Although the foregoing list is probably incomplete, it is enough to show that since 1914 the British Navy has been very powerfully reinforced by light cruisers. A special type of vessel was designed early in the war for mine-sweeping, anti-submarine work, and general patrol duties, known officially as the Acacia class and popularly as the Herbaceous class. Considerably more than 100 representatives of this type have been built, the principal details being: Length, 262 ft.; displacement, 1800 tons; speed, 16 to 18 knots, armed with one or two 6-inch Q. F and smaller guns; depth charges, etc. A considerable number of new gunboats has been added to the navy, among them being five vessels of the Soldier class, 1500 tons and 16 knots speed, built in Japan for service in the Far East. Another group, known as the Insect class, was built by Messrs. Yarrow especially for |