A RUSSIAN WARSHIP AT WELLINGTON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7645, 24 May 1886, Page 5

A RUSSIAN WARSHIP AT WELLINGTON.

. ■» [BY TELEGRAPH. — PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Wellington, Sunday. The Russian warship Vestnik, Captain Waldeman Lang, arrived in harbour from Launceston at noon to-day. She left there thiß day week, and had fine weather with fair winds on the passage down. When she left Launceston she did not intend to call at any New Zealand port, but a slight accident to her anchors necessitated her coming here, and Captain Lang states that now being in New Zealand waters, he will probably call at Auckland before i taking his departure for Japan. Her crew number 170 men, exclusive of officers, who ! number 16. The following is a list of the principal officers : — Captain, Waldeman Lang; commander, T. Barandif; lieutenants, V. Zararepiy, V. Sarnansky and A. Morshkoff; paymaster, Lieutenant Baron Nolcken. The Vestnik is tho first Russian warship that has visited our port, and will be thrown open to the public on Tuesday afternoon. She remains here for five or six days. This afternoon Colonel Whitmore, accompanied by Captain Coleman, visited the vessel, as also did the officers of the Japanese warship Tsuknba. The officers of the Russian warship subsequently visited the Tsukuba. To-morrow, at half-past eight a.m. the Vestnik will salute the English flag, and at half-past ten will fire a ; salute in honour of Her Majesty's Birthday. 1 ALLEGED SUSPICIOUS PROCEEDINGS OF THE I VESTNIK. We extract the following from the Melbourne Australasian of the Sth instant :— ■ Mr. -Fames Damyon, the consul for Russia, i in Melbourne, emphatically contradicts an absurd statement as to the movements of i the Russian warship Vestnik that has been published in Melbourne. Tho statement was to the effect that whilst proceeding down the ' South Channel on the 29th ult., a boat's crew " of the Vestnik landed a 'survey party' at 1 Point Franklyn, that the officer in charge of 1 the boat had a theodolite and took a number ' of bearings, and that the party, after a short ' stay, returned to the Vestnik. It was ! broadly insinuated that the object of ; the ' survey party' was to get infor--1 mation concerning the defences of this ' port. Mr. Damyon states, on the authority 1 of Lieutenant G. F. Dennis, of the Victorian ' navy, who piloted the Vestnik down the 1 bay, that there is no foundation whatever for the statement. No survey party was ! landed from the ship at Point Franklyn or anywhere else inside Port Phillip Hoads, nor did anyone belonging to the vessel take a theodolite or attempt to take any bearings ashore. Indeed, no party of any kind was 1 landed at Point Franklyn. When the : vessel reached the Heads a strong southerly ' wind was blowing, and the captain, in order ' to avoid a waste of coal, anchored inside the 1 Heads, and, with some of his officers and j Lieutenant Dennis, landed at Portsea and enjoyed a few hours' shooting. The Vostnik ' started again at three o'clock next morning."