ATTEMPT TO FLOAT THE ELGINSHIRE.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7463, 10 September 1892, Page 4

ATTEMPT TO FLOAT THE ELGINSHIRE.

Our readers -will no doubt icgiet to leirn tli.it the attempt to flo.it the steamoi Elginshire, which h.is been 1} my mi the r^ef at Nonn.mby for o\er six months, made yesterday afternoon, was ,i fuluie After the first f.uluie by Mews Scott Bros., of Christchurch, tliere -were many i.i the distuct who thought tli.it if the s u eamer was to be got offat fill, it would b» by imniinnc. Therefore mlk n C u>t un Millbank e.une out from Home, and aftei a survey accepted the otler of the l\nt Chalmers syndicate of slnpw lights to mike an attempt by pumping, it was generally hoped that the Elginshire would s urn be shifted. On arrival the niembeis o L the s\dieatc lost no time in getting to •work, and in also showing that they intended to leave nothing undone to in any ■nay mterfeie with the success of then plan. They got the most powei ful pumps to be seemed in the colony, and s.iw that all connections were of the strongest ki v\ In the compartments (Nos. 2 and 4) where the greatest damage was found to be done, they built bulkheads aiound the broken pi ites and eflected othei practicable repans, so th.it the influx of water ■was l educed as much as it was possible to do. Tluoughout the whole woik they hvve had but few checks, and these were o : a minor character- .such as intake p pcs being defective — in fact they leMilted in much good as showing befoiehuid tlie weak points weie. All tluse prehmni.uies were completed a day or two ago, and the tn.il <ixecl foi jesteid iy, shmild the suuoundings lie favyiable These [»io\'d to be eminently so; the weitlicr w.is all tli.it could be desiied. and the s» i and tide vero also most fuoi.ible The pumps a\ ere set going it t •[> speed and soon had the .ship as dr> as wis desired conimensiiiate with safety, but on the .stiain being put on the cables winch were out to the anchois the \ essel did not mo\e. As the steamer is supposed t ) o\eihang the reef the bow was thciefere purposely kept low with the hope of canting the stern up, but this also had no eflect. Captain Millbank says th it the steamer is hi inly fast aft, and that m his opinion she wants at least two oi tlnce feet more water about her aft befoie she can be expected to come ofl. He dechnes to say what will now be done until he has received cable advice from Home in the shape of lcphes to the messages he sent to England last evening He says that as the tides and weathei are so good another attempt may be made this afternoon ; but there is no cert unty about it. Tn addition to the regret felt at the non-success of the trial, much sympathy is shown for the syndicate — their contiact being on the punciplc of "no cuie, no pay." — Tnnaiu lleiald.