MARITIME INTELLIGENCE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 827, 16 February 1867, Page 2

MARITIME INTELLIGENCE.

The Phoebe, steamer, due here on Wednesday last, the 13th inst., and intended to convey hence the English mail via Suez, has not yet made her appearance, As the weather has been exceedingly boisterous, ahd the Captain of the Phoebe a stranger to the ooast, it is considered more than probable that he has gone on to Wellington. Whatever the cause of delay, the opportunity of writing via Suez has been lost to residents here. The Star of the South, from Auckland, was looked for yesterday, the weather having moderated, but had not made her appearance up to a late hour last night. The Dolphin waits a favourable opportunity to leave Napier for Wairoa, The Star of the Evening, s.s., with a cargo of sheep, steamed for Auckland on Tuesday last. ' The Tawera, sohooner, sailed for Poverty Bay on Tuesday last, with another cargo of Bheep for Poverty Bay. The weather has been very boisterous during the past few days, with a very heavy sea rolling into the Bay. Yesterday was the first fine day during the week, Blowing- up op the HuLKMARioN.—We see by the Auckland papers that attempts have been made to blow up the hulk Marion, Bunk in the Waitemata, which have, however, only been partially successful. The New Zealand Berald of the 26 th ult, supplies the following details :— •" Application was made for the services of Mr. Weaver, the Engineer-in-Chief, with the object of dislodging the vessel by some means or other, and on Wednesday and yesterday, attempts were made to blow her up by sub-marine blasting.— -The Marion was over 300 tons register, and her burthen tonnage was nearly double that. At the time of the explosion she had something like 260 tons of coal in her, chiefly in the lower hold. According to soundings taken, she lay in three and a-half fathoms at low water, and when the explosion took place yesterday, in about six fathoms, The vessel was very strongly built, African oak beingjvery largely used for beams, and heavy wood for other portions of the ship, She was also coppered and copper fastened all through. Altogether, therefore, she was a strong heavy vessel, and offered very great resistance to any force employed to shatter her. The tides were very high, and the occurrence of these high tides this week hastened the -preparations and caused a different mode of procedure to be adopted by the Engineer-in-Chief thau he would otherwise have taken. The time allowed for preparation for the work was too short to allow of voltaio batteries being male in readiness for the present high tide The wSteW 0 " 1 to be derived from using voltaic batteries ancl firing several oharges in various positions about the vesof j,- "ame moment had to be foregone, sei at thb. '■n-Chief, therefore, had reThe Engine©--- ' iron cylinders to oo'ntain course to galvanizou . • *„ fa ij ce h t ed by tho oharge of powder, wiu ; *W** d »J means of Biokford's patent W&- f™* lu f e - On the first trial one of these cylma^.s was used, Its dimensions were these : the length was 3 feet 6 inohes, by 2 feet 3 inches diametor. It had a union joint for the insertion of tie fuse, and a water-tight oharging-hole. All the joints were made perfectly tight and flrm by being soldered and copper-rivetted. The oharge of powder was over GOOlb, the length of the fuses 46 .feet, one of which was enclosed,—aa a measure of precaution-— in vulcanised india-rubber piping, boys were used to keep the ends that were to be fired above water. The bursting charges were in faot cartridges of india-rubber containing alb of powder each. The cylinder was lowered very carefully under the able supervision of Mr. Burgess, and at half-past nine both fuses were fired by Mr. Weaver, and in fifteen minutes after the exact time calculated, the explosion took place. The result was highly successful, the whole of the decks i in the upper part of the vessel were ripped open, her timbers dislodged fore and aft, aud a great portion of the oargo also removed. Yesterday another attempt was made to complete the work begun. Two cylinders were then used, made precisely in the same strong and careful manner as that employed on th< 3 first occasion. The inside dimensions were c feet long by 1 foot 9. inch.es diameter, anc they eaoh contained,' inoluding igniting anc Q firing charges, about 4101 bof powder. The: w6re placed under the bottom olose to tv '-: keel and were hove down and fixed to it for

<**™'*™**mmmmmmnmMmmmmm*Baam*^H^^memm^m&m^mumm*mmmmßi superintendence of Captain Burgess, "fhe oharge in each cylinder was simultaneously ignited hy Bickford's patent waterproof fuse, ' no india-rubber proteoting tubing being used, ; , These fuses acted most successfully, ahd by i cutting the fusel with great caro bo to have ; the exact length required, and firing both instantaneously, the explosion was as nearly &s simultaneous .as possible. —From tho lar|e quantity of floating timbers of the hulk observed after the explosion yesterday there is no doubt but that a very large portion of tlie vessel is now dislodged. It is probable the remaining portion may be easily removed by grappling. Another examination will, of course, be made by means of the diving bell, of the state of the wrook, and other further necessary operations will be decided upon ' when that has been done.— The whole of the operations connected with this' sub-marine blasting were under the personal and aotive superintendence of Mr. Weaver, the Engineerin- Chief, very ably assisted by Mr. Russell, the Assistant-Engineer. That gentleman was indefatigable in his exertions to seoure complete success, and went down in the diving apparatus to inspeot the submerged portions of the wreck.— The Bngineer-in-Ohief was also ably assisted by Captain Burgess, whose experience in ships was of great value, . and who entered very cordially into the part of the work put under his oharge— the lowering of the cylinders to their place."