Messrs. Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, the builders of all the steamers of the White Star Line, are one of the largest ship-building firms in the world. They employ between seven thousand and eight thousand men in their establishment. Sir Edward J. Harland, late head of the firm, was a Yorkshireman by birth. He served an apprenticeship to engineering at Newcastle, and studied the art of ship-building in the drawing office of Messrs. J. & G. Thomson, Glasgow. He was a man of noble presence, fine ability, and great enterprise. He had been Chairman of the Harbour Board, Mayor of Belfast, High Sheriff of County Down, a Justice of the Peace, and a member of Parliament. He was made a Baronet by the Queen, in 1885, on the occasion of the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Belfast. Sir Edward died at his home, Glenfarne Hall, County Leitrim, December 23rd, 1895, aged sixty-four years. * * * * * The rates of passage by the Cunard, the White Star and the American Line are nearly identical, and, all things considered, they are not unreasonable. They are cheaper than the fares by the sailing packets of sixty years ago. The ordinary rates for first-class passengers, in summer, vary from $75 to $150, according to the location of the stateroom, and the number of berths in it; from $40 to $50 for the second-class cabin, and from $20 to $27 in the steerage. The winter rates are somewhat less, say, from $75 to $150 in the steamers _Lucania_ and _Campania_, and from $60 to $150 in other fast boats. When the rush of travel is in full swing, say, from May to October, rooms must be secured months in advance. Tickets may then be held at a fictitious value, and those who will have _special_ accommodation (suites of rooms, etc., etc.) must pay for it. A fellow-passenger with me, in one of the New York liners, not long since paid—so, at least, I was credibly informed—$3,000 for the single voyage for himself, his wife, two daughters, and two servants. The difference between an outside and an inside stateroom, in the busy season, may be $135 and upwards. At such times a room to yourself is a luxury that means money.