SAMOA SHIPPING.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 93, 23 April 1891, Page 8

SAMOA SHIPPING.

On the 14th March the shipping in Apia harbour, Samoa, comprised tho s.s. Richmond, the barque Alicia, the German brig Middlehaus, the American brigantino Sea Waif, and the schooners Lupe, Louise, and Uvea. The Middlehaus, Captain Bruham, arrived at Apia on March 1, from Valparaiso direcb, to load copra for Europe. The German barque Cepella left on March 1 for Tongatabu, to load for Europe.

On April 18 H.M.s. Cordelia, Captain Grenfell, terminated her stay in Auckland waters by leaving tho port for Samoa, on an extended Island cruise. Tho corvette weighed anchor at eleven a.m. sharp, and steamed slowly out of port for Apia direct. She will arrive there in about o fortnight's time, making her way along leisurely, and after a short stay in Apia Harbour, will cruise round to Tutuila, thenco going on to Tonga and Fiji. She will be the fireb British warship to visit Samoa for some time past., : She should be .ab Sydney in about three months' time.

The Kahu, from the Chabhame, reported on arrival ab Lyttelton on April 17th that ai white pine gaff of 23fb in length and sin thick, not painted, with a yard of apparently new canvas attached, was found ab Tirak. It probably belonged to a vessel of 50 tons, and is supposed to be Kakanui gear. They experienced very bad weather ab the Islands.

In a couple of days the erstwhile American ship Leading Wind, now of Auckland, is to leave here for Puget Sound direct in ballast, under command of Captain Savory. She has been thoroughly repaired and refitted for sea, and after her noted firing and scuttling in Auckland Harbour, sho is still as tight and sound as when she was first launched in the States. She is out of dock again after being sighted by Lloyd's surveyor, and has been found to be perfectly as regards her bottom. She is the largest sailing ship yet floated into the Auckland Graving Dock, and when in the basin she had none too much space to spare. Her cabins are renovated, and she ia taking several passengers hence to Pugeb Sound. In taking the Westporb bar at about a quarter to six p.m. on April 10 the Union Company's cargo - steamer Mahinapua, grounded and stood out again, but getting into a heavy swell stranded on the beach north of the river. When the vessel attempted the bar the signal stood at "Wait for tide," it being low tide. The vessel has since been floated off. She was nob damaged. In coming up to the Queen's Wharf at Wellington on March 28, the Shaw-Savill ship Pleiades and the e.g. Dingadeo came into collision, which resulted in the bobstay of the ship being considerably bent. The steamer also sustained slight injury to the , railings on her bow.

Of late the Calliope GravingDockhasbeen in constant use by some one or other of the numerous warships which have rendezvoused in Auckland waters during the last few months. 11.M.5. Orlando recently underwent a cleaning and overhaul in the big dock, spending some £500 on various repairs, and H.M.s. Rapid has now just completed an extensive overhaul and course of repairs in the basin, the cost of which totals some hundreds of pounds. Of course the Auckland Harbour Board derive nothing directly in the way of pecuniary gain from their liberality in o.ccording the use of the Dock free to the ships of war of all nation?, but , ., indirectly, the concessions made nuub prove of great benefit) to the port. That tho advantages of Auckland as a station fo«" repairing and refitting war-vossels arc already becoming well known and appreciated is shown by the fact thac tho French cruisoi Ghrunplain, now in port hero, has como up from Tahiti for repairs, instead of going on to Sydney, as tho French authorities ab l'apeeto originally intended. H.JI.s. Rapid wns undocked on Wednesday, April 22, having boon thoroughly cleaned, stripped, re-caulkod and ••α-coppered. Tho material for those repairs was all brought down from tho Sydney naval stores depot, so that Mr C. Bailey, tho local contractor for tho ropairs, supplied labour only. On Saturday tho Rapid loaves for a six-weeks' Island cruise, going honco to Noumea and the New Hebrides. The French warship Cham plain is now docked for sighting and ropairs, her keel having been injured by touching on a coral reef down in tho Gambior group recently. Hex , foremast is being lifted out for renewal. It is stated that there is a probability of H.M.S. Royalist coming here shortly to bo docked and repaired much the same as tho Rapid.

The Norwegian barquo Ptisncas was wrecked on Howland Island on February 12th last. She arrived theic on January 23th from the colonies to load for Europe, and on February Ist a strong west wind sob in, The Pusneas had to put to sea. There was a strong westerly current running outside. Tho vessel returned to the island on February 10, and commenced to load guano. At obout £• p.m. a heavy squall set in from tho S.W. Tho Pusneus began to drag hor anchors, and finally wont broadside on to tho beach. Every o:>e had to do his best to savo himsolf, as tho Ben was breaking over tho ship. Several of the crew swam through tho breakers, but, fortunately, all were saved, with only tho clothes they wore- Thoy were kindly received and hospitably treated by tho manager of the island and the Messrs Ellis, tho only white men on tho island, who supplied tl»6m with dry clothes and food. Tho schooner Multe arrived two dayu after the wreck, and when leaving on February 20th took the shipwrecked crew on board and conveyed them to Apia.

An oilicial Inquiry into tho lo.«s of the ill-fated steamer KaUaimi of Macqnarriee "fame," opened at Uunedin on April 7th boforo Mr Corew, K.M., with Cnpb. Orkney as nautic.il assessor. Mr Haggit conducted on behalf of fho Custom?. Sir Robert; Stout represents the vessel's owners, Mr Han lan the relatives of Capt. Best, and Mr Fraser the relatives of tho shore party. The Coiirtfonnd thatthosteamor was caught in a terrible gale on January 4th, which seemed to have partaken of the nature of a cyclone, and as she had been neither seen nor heard of since, in all probability the steamer foundered during that gale. It was a fato that might have happened a vessel ot any size. Tho evidence showed clearly that the men and women at McQuarrie's Island, on arrival of the Kakanui, wore not in destitute condition or suffering want of food, and never had been.

It was stated a little while back that the Union Steamship Company of Now Zealand and the Tasmanian Steam Navigation Company, had ellectcd an amalgamation, and we are now informed that as the result of the new arrangement the Kotoraahana and Pateena will run alternately between Hobart and Melbourne, and one of the Tasmauian Company's large steamera will ply to tho Bluff. Apropos of this matter the Melbourne "Argus " of a recent date said :—" Certain bases for discussion have been fixed, but nothing definite has yet been agreed upon, and Mr Fisher, managing director, and Mr Webster, Chairman of the Taemanian Company, have now loft for Dunodin to continue the negotiations personally. Thoy will there meet Mr George McLean, chairman of tho Union Company, who has just returned from America, and Mr James Mill*, the managing director, and if a satisfactory conclusion should bo arrived at it ought to be known within tho next few days. Proposals for the amalgamation of the two concerns have only been mooted since the rocenb strike. When that was over, tho steamship owners, who had been united against a common danger, drifted to some extent apart again, and the former keen competition baa been resumed. The idea now is that amalgamation would strengthen the position of both the Union and Tasmanian companies, and that it might, if effected, lead in the future to a further fusion with other lines. The Union Company has hitherto only come into contact with the Tasmanian Company on that portion of the route between Melbourne and Hobart, where tho New Zoaland steamers have called on alternate trips, and there has been no severe competition between the two lines, as freights were amicably arranged. It is felt, however, that advantages might accrue to each by a closer union, which would enable thorn, for one thing, to dispense with double agencies in certain ports and so reduce expenses. The negotiations, so far as they have proceeded, are in the direction of each company retaining a measure of autonomy rather than of one being absorbed by the other."

A lebter from Admiral Lord Charles Scotfc was read at the meeting of the Auckland Harbour Board (April 14), approving of the Board's proposed arrangement wifch regard to a reserved anchorage for H.M. ships, and suggesting that the proposed reserve should be in the form of a parallelogram 600 yards by 1,200 yards. The following return showing the amount of shipping, exclusive of ordinary coasters arriving in and leaving the port of Auckland during the last three months, ended March 31st, is furnished us by the local Customs authorities :—Entered inwarda : 25 sailing vessels, aggregate registered tonnage 8,891 ; 36 steamers, aggregate tonnage 37,496 : total 66 vessels, with tonnage of 46,387. Cleared outwards: 33 sailing vessels, aggregate tonnage 11,295; 36 steamers, tonnage 37,423; total, 69 vessels ; total tonnage 48,718. The direct steamer lonic, from London via way ports, arrived at Wellington on April 13th. She was to have lofb London on February 21st, but was debained five days owing to a dense fog on the Thames, during which all traffic was entirely suspended on the river. She left Plymouth on February 27th, Teneriffe on March 4th, Capetown on the 20th, Hobart April Bth; the total steaming time being 42 days, 1 hour 37 minutes. On March Ist Joseph Devine, infant son of a steerage passenger, died of bronchitis. She brings 47 passengers, 10 packages mails, 40 boxes parcels post, 2,000 tons cargo. On the 30th March the Imperial Austrian corvette cruiser Saida, 2,400 tons, 14 guns, Captain J. Wachtel de Elbenbrnck, a shapely-looking ship-rigged vessel of the old frigate type, arrived in port here from Sydney, via Wellington. She stayed here a month and then left for Europe via Valparaiso. She is on a cruise round the world as a training ship for naval cadets. She was builb at Fola in 1878. She sailed on April 12 for Valparaiso, homeward bound for Europe.