Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 142, 8 December 1866, Page 2

1 ' cjl^The P.N.7...£yjd A,R ; M. Co .'s. steamer L """Claud Hamilton;. arriveiV off this port from I kelson anel .northern pbrts yesterday fore. I nooi'. . Thep,s. Persevere . A\ent put at the "■ evening's tide anel transhipped her mails and passengers. '.-.■■-.■ . .■■"-. We learn vtbat the Star of Tasmania still ['$, be s a*ho\e at-Foiis Bivcr. Preparations were •a /■■■-. being ;inade feir launching Lcr on Thursday, t.. ■•.'iiiiel His t . X p t . c tcd she will Le got afioat withBL oVlt h'ikli elitliculty. The cutter Volunteer two u-lioonei's arrived at Fox's on 1 hill's. v - . ■" " .■'■■■■' ■,-.'■■-■ , '

ilie^ruhooncr' Mary Stewart left. ?ort Philip Heads on the 21st ult:,-with-.m6dßrate westerly wind, which 'continued uiitS.the. 25th, when i.t freshened,- but veered roimd ,to the northward on approaching ttie laiuKV-Shei iLade the land on the Ist inst., when**light battling winds set in, vthc vessel 'not ajfaching • the roadstead until the sth. On thjkmorning of tho fith tlje p. s; Ifer33vere_we|?t out 'and fastened to her, but whilst ; ujaifung for the b.ir the' tow-rope .parted, aijSnthe schooner had to hoist her Head sails and back out again. She lay in the roadstead all night, which was very stormy, .»'eavy squalls and rain occurring, accompanifjJLby a rough sea. A sea struck the vessel aiur swept over her, splitting the jib .and carrying away the mainstay. Yesterday morning, favored by a fresh breeze, she sailed safely ji: to the river, i.nd • moored to tho wharf. Spoke the Andrcana,i whaling barque, on the 2(sth ult. , ' . • The . Bruce reports that on. Tuesday last the ketch John Mitchell took the ground whilst attempt : ng to ei^Jr Fox's R.iver,*'but floated nest tide, and got inside without further mishap. The Star of Tasmania is still lying high aud dry in the same position which she occupied during the Brace's hist visit to the river. The schooners Tiger and Emira Eliza we're at a ichor o^' Fox's, wiiting for a chance to discharge cargo, The Murray, schooner, was lying" abreast of Pakihi, discharging cargo into boats. The schooner Eclipse has become a toi al wreck at the Bu'.ler ; her remains were sold by auction for LM -W. C. Than. ' The ship Parisian, which has been found unseawortliy and con den ned, was sold yesterday, on account of whom* it may concern, at Povfc Chalmers, together with all her masts jand gear, which were put up in separate lots. The hull of tho vessel was bought by Captain M'Khmoa 1 for L7lO, an. l the different lots of spars, standing and run- ' iihiy rigging," &c, were sold at good prices. — Daibj Times, 20b~k ult. * Comt?clsoky Pilotage at Port Ot.ago. — The Marine Act of ISGO has now become law, aud compulsory pilotage h in force for Port Otago. Tho pilots have now the an-' thorily to board every vessel coming from sea, and with a view of doing so, Pilot Stevens, with his boat's crew, pulled upwards of a mile to sea on Moiulaj' to meet the Hangitoto, Avliich was bi-in ing the English mails via. Panama. On nearing the stenmer he hailed her, and acquainted- Captain Darke with the facts, The pilot's services Avcrc, however, refused, and the Eangitoto steamed in towards the Heads, .On entering them she took the ground in close, proximity to the cliffs, and remained fast for a quarter of an hour, when the flood tide luckily lloatcd her oJf. If the tide had been on the elib, serious consequences might have resulted. In. the meantime, Pilot Stephens pulled in, and his scrvie.es were again refused, and the steamer proceeded to Port Chalmers through the well-buoyed and ' beaconed* chaune 1 , for which nothing has been hitherto paid by such vessels, the channel having been kept up at the expense of the province. It is only right that masters of • vessels shcu'cl now know that when a pilot offers his ser. -iocs, and if accepted or not, tbat the fu'.l p'lotage must be paid at the Custom-house before clearing for sea. There are a few masters who hold exemptions for the port wlich still . hold good for six hk nths, after which period they will be renewed on payment of the regular fees. — Daily Tunes, Nov. 2S. Piracy ox tuk China Coast, — The China Overland Jfail gives the following account of the attack on the .American ship Lubra by Chinese pirates: — "The act of piracy and murder which we record to-day is a cold-blooded and delibe ate atrocity, which there is every reason to believe was prepared for within the limits of Hong Kong harbor, as the 'first -act of nrfjideMa that is to avenge the execution of Cl at Tai and his accomplices. The cireumstai.ces of the case are briefly told. The Lubra, an American schooner, left the harbor at eleven o'clock in the morning of Saturday last, bound to Japan. On the following day, when about sevcntj r -livc miles from the harbor, thirty mil(B off Pedro Bronco, a large piratical boat sailed and pulled alongside, the wind having fii-llin away to less than a kr.ot and a half per hour. Without loss of tin c the schooner was boarded, .without any resistance being offered, the vessel 1 ejng badly armed, and the captain (Howes) apparently unsuspicious of the character of the boat. The pirates kept possession of the schooner for some hours, and having shut some of the crew who took to the rigging, killing one man and wounding others, finished their work by dolibcrately shooting the^captain. He was seated in his cabin, on a sofa, with his wife and two children, pne only two moiiths old. One of the scoundrels went up to him and fired a pistol bullet through his brain, killing him instantly. Mrs Howc-s and the crew remaining alive, were reserved for death in another shape. There were some barrels of gunpowder on board. The head of one of one of these barrels was broken in and the powder exposed, Fire, of which the mrrks are plainly vipible, was placed in the vicinity ; but the villainous design of blowing up the vessel, with the living witnesses of the crime that had already boon committed, was frustrated, The live burnt out ithout communicating with the powder, and tlie vessel was brought back to Hong Kong by the mate and the remaining crew. The bodies of the captain and one of thn men were taken to the civil hospital; another man, who was wounded by -the pirate s, jumped overboard and was drowned. One man also died this morning. Tlio others are said to be recovering from their wounds. Fjkk-"\V,u:m.\(.? Ai'kaj:atl\s for Ships. — Tlw fire-warning signal apparatus, which has now for upwards of twelve months been fitted experimentally on board tbc unar- ! mourcd screw frigate Mersey, at Portsmouth, by Mr West, electrician, of London, was? last week practically, tested in its action under the superintendence of Captain W. C. Chamberlain, the officer in command of her Majesty's ship Asia and the steam re. ervc of the port. The principle of the system introduced by Mr West is to distribute over the ship's hold iii certain protected positions a number of calorimeters, whici are connected by wires with a volcanic ba tcry, an alarm bell, and a dial plate in the captain's cabin." The calorimeters are singly metal bottles partly filled with mercury and fitted with boxwood stoppers. Through the stopper projects downwards the end of a copper wire, which is suspended at such a distance from the surface of the mercury that it requires a fixed degree of heat to ex'p; net ■ the mercury aud bring it in contact with tic end of the copper wire. This done tie electrical circuit is completed, the alarm boll in the "captain's cabin is rung, and a ii ip on the dial plate flying up exhibits a number which gives the exact portion of the ship's holil in which the extra heat is generating. The part in the Mersey's hold sekcted to test the principle on Saturday was the handing room of the after magazine, the calorimeters there being fixed in the beams, aid. their "temperature distance," if- the space between the ends of the copper wire and the surface of the mercury may be so called, fixed at IH4 degrees. Fires were lit in stoves in the handing room and its temperature increased by these means to 175 degrees, when the calorimeters acted, and transmitted the signal to the alarm bell and the dial plate in. "the captain's cabin ifi a most linmislakcable i manner. The trial was considered most f atisf a etory. — Mitchell's Hey infer. Anoth.fr Vesskl Mjfpixo ox Tin-: West Coast.- The cutter Petrel, loadul with general cargo -shipped by Mr 11. Cleave, of this town, kft the jJnvercargill Jetty ni the 9th . J\il^^^ ( !^^|| llii: '"' Bi o Bay— lillcc:i

.miles south of Milforel Sound. At this place a-sniall number of miners had been working for several months, obtaining their supplies of provisions, &c. ,' through the agency of Mr .Cleave, 'who owns a store there. The little , craft was worked by a person named Carter, assisted by a youth on the trip from thisport. She arrived at Big Bay on the 2nd of. August — the long passage having been occasioneel by adverse winds", -which necessitated a elelay of 14 or 15 clays at Port William, Stewart's Island. Still no damage hael happened to justify doubts of the vessel's seaworthiness. Indeed, on this point, a.nel all that' is further known about hei, we have the evidence of , an experienced seaman, Mr Af'H. "WiJUawfeh', who will be remembered by ninhjil^^w^readers in connection; with the West Coast prospecting ve>yages in 15(53 of the schooner Nugget, Writing on the 6th ' October from. Orepnki, where he had gone from Big Bay, he says:— "With reference to Carter, he arrived at Big Bay on the 2nel August, hnd discharged everything in good order, on the 3rd, took in about five terns of 1 allast iincl sailed the same night. He toolv what gold Mr •■— — had got, some letters, &c, aud the French cai pouter, Langevin, passenger. There were only three persons onboard, including the latter. The Petrel was in the bsst order that I ever saw her— new mainsail and gear ami everything snug, with plenty of ballast. I generally keep a 'rough diary, on reference te> whjyh I finel the day after she left there was a N. E. breeze with rain, and it continued with moderate weather N.E. anel E. up to the 13th, t\ve> clays before we left, consequently there was no weather to hurt. Carter supped with us before leaving,- but I have no recollection oi hearing him say that he intended going to the Grey. Of one thing lam sure, that my mate the carpenter (Langevin) went with .the impression that they were bound for lnver. cargill, a belief shared by those who remaincel at the Baj\" Speculating on the probable fate of the little craft anel her crew, Mr Williamson goes onto say — "God o':dy knows what has became of them ; 1 doubt if tl?cy will be ever heard eif again. They may have gone to Nelson, but that should be oasily known. There was one thing I observed, that she hael ge>t an iron tiller ; the end of it when amidships was not two feet from^the compass. I was leokiug at it, anel passed the remark at the time 'to be cautious in thick weather, as it w:ss bound te) affect the compass. Carter laugheel anel said it did ne>t anect her a bit." Nothing has been since heard of the craft. She is uuelorstood to have had on hoard about 150 ounces of gold — remittances to Mr Cleave. — Southland