The Commerce Of Our Inland Oceans

It lws mt leen lonj? wnce the commerce f onr grpat lakes was deri.-ion of galt water aallors. Times and condltlons have, however, rapldly aiid naöfcally diaingled. The present volume of lake commercc ia a cre.-i t ion Of thf la1 t-ix years. Trom 1886 to the present time the tonnage I of our great labes has about doubled. In 18SI) .tlw total Lloyd's vnluation Oí the lake flect was $80,000,000, while dow the sume autborlty estimati's it at more tlian $59,000,000. jirevalent Hea that urain s til" chief Urn in tiie oommerce i the lakes is entircly erroncous. Coal, Iron ore and are the ptincipal ources of lake traffje, and tlu-se three inm-ther const it ute llirc'-iourtlis of tl'.e total lonnaiir Ot lake cargoeS. Th ■ vast niajinitudc nf lake trafflC is oated by thr fact that the aggregate entrañen tcaú Uiuimiuu of km1o at lakc porta in 18!)1 were about nlnety ilumsand. There werp only about tlnrty-eiiilit tliou.sand ontraiu-fs and clearaiui's on our entiro eeaboard duiinq tile sanie pericxl. In 18S0 there passed throuirli St. Mary's Fall Caaal, between Iako Union and Lake Buerior, traffic mEauring 1.734,000 ons, and valued at about $29,000,00. In 1891 tliis traffic oxpanded to he enornionn agsregate of over nine ïillion tons, valned at more than Ki2.000.000. The freigfht whk-h was carried hronRh this canal under the ;in flair last year exceedea by nearly 3,000,000 tons the total tonnag-e of all nations passing through the Suez anal. It niay xeem a strrprtaittg tatenwivt, luit 1 i.s, nevertheless, tme th&t more tormage passes through the city of Detroit than any other ■point in the whole world. Tlie tonnair" paeaiog uoogh Detroit Itiver dwing tlie 'Jüi (lays of navigation in 1890 was over 3(i,000,000, or about 3,000,000 tone in exoèss of tlie comikm1 lorstgn and domestii' nhipping of Iiverpool and Iondon during the siame priol. tome of the best and largest itMauAüfM under the .Wii'Tiean flag are engaged in thie oonstantly growing lake oonimerce. Tlie ordinary -sailin.ií vcsscl has almost ippeared. The gquare-riggfer s een tio more on t'hese unsalted ocoans of mr continent. We. matee a graat bonst wf our enormnusiy tacnued (oreágn eoinmarce ; but, etupendous as it is, it only amounts to alout 3 1-2 per cent. of our home trade. And it is the source of our wiviltli and the basis of our ])rosicritv. tliat the purblind iollowers of tbe (k'luKivo doctrine ol "tariff reform" would Degtect, ignore and sacriItoe. - Mail nid Express. The legisl'ature of Wteconaln doea not allow lier state university interests to rag alomig to. tha UMt end of the Begebon and tben have the necessary approprUitiou h-cwed and wbittled down 1 ■ -ause other iustitutions havo been deialt o liberally with. A week or so ugo that lcnislature passed its state university appropriation bill. and raisd tJw; anioumt annually appropriated from one-fiftli to one mili. Tlvat places the University of ■onsin, which lias nat. one-lialf or even onc-fourth the reputation of the rnivcr&ity of Michigan, on a solid and firm foundation. The Detroit Tribune, Freo Press nnd Journal have each had strong editorial the L'niversity and the one-fifth of a mili tax, and so have many other influential state papers of nll politica! opinión. A majority of the people of the state favor thi proposftion, and the legtalature would mwke no miutake in pasing it. JuMt now i an Important period in the Univereity's life. It must have suifficient fund to (jto forward wlth the new order of tliings, or it niUKt drop from tllie high poaition of leader, to the grade of a Bei'ond-class institution. As tihere is luardlj' a citizen of Michigan, high or low, rich or poor, but takes pridt; in t'Iw; univorsity and the reputation it ha given this grand conimonwealth throughout the livilizi'd world, we have faith to belleve that they will rise up and lemand tor the tnatltdttOO liberal treatment.