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was at least considerable doubt about the loans ever being used for their ostensible purposes. Among the most notorious of these loans was the Arms loan of 1917 for 4,000,000l., said to be for the equipment of the Chinese expeditionary force for the European war, but without doubt in part used for the purchase of war material for the war against the South. Among other exceedingly questionable loans may be enumerated the Telegraph loan, previously mentioned, the proceeds of which were undoubtedly used for the war, a loan of 300,000l. to the rebel southern government in February, 1917, secured on the Canton cement works, a further loan of 200,000l. to the rebel southern governor of Hunan secured on iron mines in Anhui and antimony mines in Hunan, and lastly a loan known as the Military loan of unknown amount, said to be 4,000,000l., the terms of which are secret, but are supposed to provide for the military reorganization of China under Japanese supervision.

Summarizing the above we find the British manufacturer confronted with the almost total loss of the Japanese market, worth over 12,000,000l. in 1912 and then on the increase, and also with a very clever competitor in what promises to be one of the world's greatest markets. Further this competitor has the great advantage of proximity, strong government backing both moral and financial, very low wages and a standard of living infinitely below ours, and last but not least a laxity of trade morals, coupled with great tenacity of purpose. It should also be remembered that since the war Japan has entered the market against us in almost every branch of Western industry, that their goods are at any rate extremely attractive, and have, in some cases, particularly as regards electrical goods and cement, proved very satisfactory, though in the great majority of cases they are inferior in quality, a defect largely counterbalanced by their cheapness, which appeals irresistibly to the half-trained mind.

Japanese industrial strength lies in organizing and imitative ability, her adequate finance of industry which insists on getting the best and most up-to-date even if of foreign origin, and her supply of cheap labor, even in the case of the skilled artisan class.

Japan's weakness lies in her lack, amongst some classes, of that high standard of trade morality which is so necessary to establish credit and reputation, her mineral poverty, her dependence on outside sources for much of her food supply and all her wool supply, and the popular dislike of immigration, for out of 55,000,000 people, only 500,000 are resident abroad, while very many of these are undesirables.-Engineering (London), 21/2.

64

REVIEW OF BOOKS

ON

SUBJECTS OF PROFESSIONAL INTEREST

Ship Stability and Trim." By Percy A. Hillhouse, B. Sc. M. I. N. A., 297 pages. Price $4.50 net. (London: John Hogg, 13 Paternoster Row, 1918. Distributors, D. Van Nostrand Company, New York.)

The author has summed up the scope and purpose of this book in the Foreword as follows:

"The aim of the writer of the present volume has been to treat the problems of stability more fully than is possible in a work covering the whole range of Naval Architecture, while avoiding the more deeply mathematical portions of the subject and considering its practical rather than its theoretical aspects.

"A knowledge of the elements of stability is of primary importance in both naval and mercantile services. The Board of Trade has now included the subject in their examinations for masters, and it is hoped that Ship Stability and Trim will prove to be of practical value to all who have to do with the designing, loading, or ballasting of ships or other floating bodies."

While the auther states that he has avoided the more deeply mathematical portions of the subject of stability no one will quarrel with the lack of mathematics in Chapter IV, where he deals with the height of metacenter in bodies of simple form. The reader may, however, omit this portion of the book without seriously impairing its value for imparting knowledge on the subject of ship stability. The mathematics throughout is made so simple and is illustrated by such understandable diagrams that anyone with a working knowledge of arithmetic should be able to grasp the underlying theory of stability therefrom. The author is particularly happy in his explanation of moment inertia in Chapter IV.

The effect of wind on stability is given a well-deserved chapter. In these days of increasing freeboard of merchant vessels the influence of wind pressure on the stability curve is of considerable importance.

An interesting and instructive chapter is devoted to free water, with a discussion on the relative merits of longitudinal and transverse subdivision, and an explanation of the reasons which led the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea to give preference to transverse watertight subdivision.

The portion of Chapter IX which is devoted to the subject of stability when docking is particularly valuable because this subject is generally not touched upon in works on Naval Architecture. The author explains very clearly how, by the use of the displacement and stability data furnished

by the builders, calculations can be made to determine whether a condition of instability will result when the vessel lands on the blocks. It is to be regretted that the author did not add a chapter on stability and trim conditions when a vessel lies stranded in various positions. Salvage operations can frequently be hastened and can usually be given an extra chance of success by careful study of these conditions. However, the discussion on stability when docking covers the theory which should be applied to the stability of a stranded vessel.

The book admirably serves the purpose for which it was written.

J. A. F. 'Marine Gas Engines." By Carl H. Clarke. (Published by D. Van Nostrand Company.)

66

This book describes the construction and principles of operation of the various standard types of gas and oil engines in plain and simple language so that it may be easily understood by anyone interested in power obtained by the internal combustion of gas and oil fuels. As its title implies, the volume is intended primarily for the users of marine gas engines. No attempt is made to deal with the subject matter from a theoretical or thermodynamic standpoint. It is well illustrated and arranged and has been brought up to date by the addition of material on oil and Diesel engines in accordance with recent developments along these lines.

The book is divided into 15 chapters, of which Chapter V on Ignition Devices is very complete and will prove to be a valuable assistance to all operators who desire to master this source of trouble.

On the whole the book covers its field in a capable manner and although the author does not describe the particular types of machines in use in the naval service, he covers the methods and principles of operation thereof so that it should find a wide field in the service, due to the fact that the writer covers the topic in a style that will satisfy all inquiring minds on the subject of the construction and management of marine gas engines. W. L. L.

"The British Navy in Battle." By A. H. Pollen. Price, $2.50. (New York: Published by Doubleday, Page & Co.)

CHAPTER I. A GREETING BY WAY OF DEDICATION

Mr. Arthur Pollen commences his work by a glowing tribute to the officers and men of the Royal Navy. In his opinion the British Admiralty was faultily organized and carried out an inefficient policy; these mistakes, however, were more than counterbalanced by the thoroughness and efficiency of the officers and men of the navy at sea face to face with the enemy. But let Mr. Pollen speak for himself:

“Take it all in all, never in the history of war has organized force accomplished its purpose at so small a cost in unpreventable loss, or with such utter thoroughness, or in face of such unanticipated difficulties.

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