THE ORIENT STRAM NAVIGATION COM. PANYS S.S.S JOHN ELDER.

Press, Volume XXXI, Issue 4263, 28 March 1879, Page 2

THE ORIENT STRAM NAVIGATION COM. PANYS S.S.S JOHN ELDER.

• The steamships, coming ont here under the auspices of .the Orient line have been conspicuous . for their siae as weU as speed,andas the hold of . the company is tho Australian trade grows firmer, it appears to be almost a necessity that even larger : veaeeV should ba employed. As tha Aconcagua. - was of greater dimescons than her three prede-; ess-sers, so Is the capacity of the John Elder more than tbat of the Aconcagua, and tothe John Elder * andoutt»3ly belongs the' distinction ot being the: largest vessel, either man-of-war or merchantman, ■arhleh has ever cleft the waters of Port Philliji. In general appearance the steamers of the Orient liaeiave E marked fiMo*"arity to each other, and it was only when tbe John Under slowly "passed close *, to the Saronse tint tha difference in dimensions w*3 apparent. The latter, to be sure, was well down m the water with her homeward freisrht and fuel on board, and the former was all the lighter by - the cargo diicharj-ed at Adelaide, and this, no - doubv, tended to e-ihs.no* her leviathan proportions. The John Elder i-? Clyde built, and was launched at Glasgow in 1870 from the yard of tha wall-known ... buiMar of the a 5.210 name. She was constructed nsJer sP«aAI survey, aad was at one time the hree-ft and fastest steamer in the Pacific Steam Navigation Co-npany's Seat. The company has other steamers now, however, which excel -her ia size and swiftness. In length this huce vessel measures 426 ft.. ber beaut being -Uffe. Sin., and dspth of hold Ss?t Sin. Her original . lasgth. was ioSft. 4in., but some tour years after her ooast-meifcra a midship section of 2<*ft. was put into Iser. She then r**c*iv<-d two additional boilers, and had another funnel set nn, and this latter is her chief distinct! an above deck from the other vessels of the Hue. Ker gr«>sa register when built was 4152 tocs,or 1121 tons undtx the deck.andhsruat register was SSSI toss. The Joan Eider was engmed by the builders, and h*r massiTe machinery is sappUed with the latest improvements for creative as well ":as aaoastßic The eagiaesare on the compound pxineipJa, dlneet acting, with inverted cylinders, and of sr*r>-horse5 r *r>-horse power nominal, or 2SOO «4asjiea*ed. The ertlscters are 60in„ and 10"in. respectively, with a -ISio. stroke, and the average , of fuel is about *S tons per day. The passeaser acci=m-ossiica of the John Elder it planned very vinci Vlie that ot aU the Orient Steamers, and tha decjratiaas of the main saloon are of an dalsM-ate aad ornate character. The apartment itself is s odious, and well -rentilatad. , sad there is an--"'a piivision rcsdeftfr tha oomfort and rffl-jvesigrcs of passe-igere, ArAogetha*, th* • John "ETd»r is o! ibo beat appointed- ani most fully eq-sippel steamships of her class which have ens visited this port. She ia con*standed by Captain A. j. Cooper, who hs*at*rth* the voyage out gaised the favorable opinion at hia paasaegc-a. A complimentary address wss presented tc Tiitn. at the end of the passage to IfsHwaTOT. C-aal-iin Cooper reports that the John Elder left liV-lzs os January 29th. and Plymouth on January 36tb, at 6 p.m. Very- heavy gales ware oncoratwai iv crossing the Bay of Biscay, bnt in v taisimW"--«.*;i weather the distance to Stl >-3niis)sat-4iiii4&-M»ttea> .wss flgcompHshed ta seven t days twelve hoars, s3aowing an average speed «f a ' fraction over twelve t&ots. After a detention of '. hocrs 'iiaatiag, &&, ffie wis £ resumed oaths Si's aiz; Pine pleasant weather and 1 plenty 6? afterwards until within ?.--*• d*ys of the Cape, which was reached at J p tx. oh rtss*!lst ult. Over the distance '-X teas St- 'a ir.seml tb tie 1 Cape (3955 miles) (he I . avosage rn?u-:n? mm-, a fraction; .over eleven knots •perioux. ikina xu.orc cssU, and also five stock, x Wisietaiaaic aU Cape Town, left n ■■ Jm/SdtilrSg&'-at -niSnigit dv ,the ■22na.."ulV Tia J ~4wt*-*s& Boctitics- -made- is-running '.tha .east- C iag-Somn was ktitade and although - a» iecberga were awn. seme tolerably perplexing v weather w*« fallen iawrj-h% -Tht) winds would shift 1 firosa '"W. tbS.,ird tlaa toJt^,andafterwardafell J this E--pg--*tf-»5-*a':Wa*-" rspssted" nearly ' x »iiaa ataanrtmr waa dss-sg

however, aad the foTJowliit; are several of the best days' runs :-340, 3S-). 330. 325,325, 323,330.330.317. 315, 311. The distance from the Cape to Adelaide (5560 miles) was performed in 17 days four hoara* the speed being- a decimal over 13 knots. Tha *B«: Elder reached Adelaide oa the 12th after landing .passengers »nd cargo, left for fftaon tha forenoon ol .the 13th atarc*v«jrt Pliiffip ! He(.dsljetDgr«nterßda4sa.Ta. onflatßrOay. Theve-riMre frcmiPfy«Wth to r\>rtr*hiffi*hasl>Mi-* performed fa 40 days 13 honrs, this time ofeoar&e teing «xclnsire-.of detection at the three porta) pi caH, and also allowing for difference in la*-** 1° ■ona-tade. The agent of the com-JOny in GaMer-hnrr-is Mr John Ingaa.