FREIGHTS.

New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume IV, Issue 233, 1 April 1843, Page 2

FREIGHTS.

London ... 6 0 0 New South Wales and V. D. L. ..2 0 0 Neison 2 0 0 Taranaki and Coast 2 0 0 Auckland n il.

The " Waterwitch."— The following is an extract from Captain Hogg's journal, of the barque Australian. — " December 23. At 9 a.m. spoke the Waterwitch of London, King, master, 9 months from Sydney, 500 barrels. I went on board, stopped until 3 p.m., then returned ; King came on board with me and stopped with me till 30 minutes past 5, p.m., when he returned to his ship again. Got a case of gin (3 gallons) from Captain King, and two gallons tar, for which I gave him four pounds tea, two bottles of curry powder, half a dozen plates and three tumblers. When I was on board the Hesper, off the Groups, the steward of that ship~told me that he left Sydney in the Waterwitch, of London, after making Howe's Island, the Captain went ashore,- and the mate, King, stood off after whales, and did not go back again ; and he, the steward, had left the ship at Rotumah. This I believe to be the same Waterwitch, although, whilst I was on board" of her I made no enquiries relative to the affair, as I thought it none of my business. Whilst coming on board in my boat, the crew told me that the men of the Waterwitch had got papers out of the Fame of Sydney, in which the barque Waterwitch was advertised as a lawful prize for any British vessel that should fall in with her ; and that Capt. King had got those papers from the people, and had kept them. After I went below, lat once acquainted Captain King with what I had been told coming on board, and asked him for the particulars, which he gave me as follows :— '« Ten days After leaving Sydney we touched at Howe's Island, the Captain went ashore, and after laying off and on for nine days, during which 1 was once drifted out of sight of the Island, but worked up

again, I made a signal for thef s Captaia to come on board, but he not coming the'cre'w came aft and told me to either proceed on the voyage or take the ship to Sydney j that they came out to make a voyage but they could not see that sort of work was not going to get it ; consequently, I proceeded on the voyage, as I considered, such more advantageous to the owners of the ship. Soon after leaving Howe's Island, I called at Newcastle and left a letter for the Agent in Sydney, (Mr. Walker) stating particulars, and from what impulse I had, been actuated ; and when I receive instructions from Mr. Walker to take the ship to Sydney, I shall immediately do so ; otherwise, not until my provisons are done." But the papers he said did not advertise the vessel as a lawful prize ; it was merely the Captain's statement of the case, after which he had given the descriptions of the vessel. "I told him that I would like to have seen the papers, but he said that he did not think of it while I was on board, or he would have shown it me. Dec. 24, p.m., gentle breezes and cloudy; daylight the Waterwitch 4 miles to the southward; employed repairing the mainsail, and painting bulwarks outside, &c. ; 11, a.m., got a breeze from the southward, and the Waterwitch bore up for me ; I stood on till I saw I could not get clear of her, then backed the main-yard ; she came along to leeward of me, so near that a hand-lead might have been hove on board of her, and King asked if I would take dinner with him to-morrow; I thanked him, but said I wanted to make the most of the little wind I had, to which he sang out, "Well, good bye— l'm off to the eastward," then boarded his main tack, and stood on close-hauled until he was a quarter of a mile ahead of me, then tacked ; I then braced forward, and when King was half a mile off on my weather qnarter, he backed his main-yard and came on board, stopped until 4 30 p.m. and left me ;he brought on board the half of a pig that had been killed to-day, also the newspaper before mentioned, which I find is the Port Phillip Gazette, containing the Captain's statement of the case on his arrival in Sydney, then the description of the vessel and signed by himself, which was headed "Piracy of the barque Waterwitch; 1 ' I told King I would not have such to be my case for the Waterwitch if she were full of oil— that I was sorry that I had fallen in with at all, and much displeased with myself for having taken anything from him belonging to tne ship (although he had got in return more than the value of the articles he gave me) at which he laughed. I asked him what his conscience told him of the affair, to which he answered. "My conscience tells me I'm neither right nor wrong, but that very little would put me either way." It is not, or rather may not, be necessary for me to state all that I said to him on the subject ; but, notwithstanding all I did say, and the worst colour I could make his case appear in, he himself seemed to think that the worst they could make of it was a breach of trust; "but," said he "those gentlemen with the wigs on will settle all that." His ouly anxiety seems to be that of benefiting the owners of the ship. I saw three men employed building a whale boat on board of her, some employed repairing sails, &c. By the description the Captain gave of the ship, King has changed her -white streak to a red moulding. Longitude by chronometer, 162° 19' 45" east.