SHIPPING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1423, 8 June 1899, Page 39

SHIPPING.

LONDON, Tuesday. Arrived Bramble! ve, Waimea ad Akaroa, from New Zealand. Sailed —Rakaia (from Glasgow) and Pleiades, for Wellington. NEW YORK, Tuesday. Sailed —Lismore, for New Zealand ports.

It is not improbable that Mr Watson, chief officer of the Waihora, will be appointed to the command of the Omapere, vice Captain G. Smith, resigned. The secretary of the Lyttelton Harbour Board has received a cablegram from the Agent-General, through the Marine Department, stating that the Board's dredge Manchester had left Queenstown (Ireland) for Aden on Monday. The schooner Mavis, which had such an adventurous trip down the East Coast when bound from Auckland to Wellington, and which subsequently went ashore near Mahia, is now undergoing repairs to her keel and rudder at Napier, prior to resuming her passage to this port. Mr W. H. Reid, who has been appointed superintendent of the Mercantile Marine at Auckland, joined the Union Company’s service in 1891 as fourth officer of the Hauroto. Later on he went Home third officer of the Rotokino, returning as chief officer of the same steamer under Captain Post, now of the Tutanekai. He was on the Pukaki for some time, and since then has been connected with the South Sea Island trade. His consummate knowledge of the latter business makes him particularly qualified for the position he has been appointed to at Auckland. Mr Crawley, formerly of the Waihora, relieved Mr Dale as purser of the Tarawera at Dunedin. Mr Dale was to come as far as Lyttelton in the Waikare, when he hands over his duties to Mr Adams, late of the Manapouri. Captain McGregor, of the barque Alexa, who died on the voyage from Port Pirie to Mossel Bay (South Africa), was very well known at Invercargill, where the vessel is owned. He was formerly chief officer of the barque Ganymede, the Alexa being the only vessel he has ever commanded. Both the vessels mentioned are owned by Mr W. S. Waterson, of Southland. The Alexa was at one time owned by Messrs W. and G. Turnbull and Co., of this city. Mr lies, formerly chief steward of the Tuupo and Herald, has given up the sea, and is now the landlord of a well-known hostelry at Lyttelton. The young seaman Noble, who had his leg cut off at Dunedin by the propeller of the Mokoia a few Sundays ago, is now able to get about. The Union Company is providing the young fellow with an artificial leg, and he will leave on the return trip of the Mokoia for Sydney, where he will learn the sailmaking trade at the company's yards. An exciting ocean race recently took place between two Glasgow sailing snips. The iron four-masted barque Armadale, Captain Duncan, left New Caledonia for the Clyde five days before the Sutherlandshire, Captain Nicoll, and the two vessels were in company at the north of New Zealand. The Sutherlandshire arrived at the Tail of the Bank on April 7, and the Armadale next morning, sailing right up to the Tail of the Bank. The ships thus made the excellent passage of about 96 days. Captain Murray, of the brigantine Eliza Firth, describes tlm trip from Lyttelton to Kaipara, which terminated on Saturday last, as the worst he has experienced for the last eight or nine years. The weather was so thick in Cook Strait that nothing could be seen, and the little vessel had just to run before the southerly gale and trust to luck.

The barque Rising Star has been cleared at the Customs for London, and now only awaits a favourable wind before sailing The twelve pigeons that were sent home from the Atlantic liner Touraine on April 12th arrived safely at Brest. The first homed at Brest at nine o'clock in the evening. They were flown on the afternoon of the day previous, at about 350 kilometres from the coast. The first post consisted of forty-eight cards. “We are convinced," said M. D'Arcy, Secretary-General of the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, to a correspondent of the ’’Morning Leader,"' ' that this service will be of great use to us, especially if an accident causes one o* our liners to break down.” A LONG PASSAGE. AUCKLAND, Wednesday. The brigantine Lady Mabel, which is 21 days out on the trip from Newcastle to Napier, was spoken off Cape Egmont this morning by the Glenelg, and desired to be reported all well. \ AN OCEAN RACE. A good race Home should result between -the New Zealand Shipping Company's steamships Waimate and Wakanui, which left Port Chalmers and Lyttelton respectively between 7 and 8 a.m. yesterday for London. The odds are in favour of the Waimate arriving first, but, in any case, it will be interesting to note which steamer will reach her destination first. THE UNION COMKaNY'S TIMETABLE. The passenger traffic between Australia and. this colony has, as is usual in the winter months, decreased, and the timetable of the Union Steam Ship Company has accordingly been altered. The immediate result as affecting the connection between the two colonies is that the weekly service during the summer months now merges into a ten days' service. T_e first steamer to leave Sydney for Wellington direct in the altered time-table was the Wakatipu. which left Port Jackson on Tuesday, instead of Saturday last. She will be followed by the Monowai, which steamer will, however, leave Sydney for Wellington on Tuesday next ,% leaving only an interval of a week. Thereafter intercolonial steamers will work into the ten days' service, which is to be maintained during the winter. From the Melbourne end the new service will start on Saturday, the 17th inst.. with the Wakatipu, tto be followed on Tuesday, the 27th inst., Monowai, and so on. Thus, for the the companv's steamers will leave JrA Sydney and Melbourne on alternate

Saturdays and Tuesdays. One advantage of the new service will be that every steamer bound to and from Melbourne will now call at Hobart. On Thursday next the Rotoiti will make a trip to Lyttelton for the purpose of bringing up the Southern portion of the outward San Francisco mail, and will leave Wellington for New Plymouth and Onehunga the following Saturday. THE LISMORE. News has been received that the Tvscr Company’s chartered steamer Lismore left New York for New Zealand ports about the beginning of the week. The Lismore is a steel built 3crew steamer of 3529 gross and 2277 nett tonnage, and was built at Glasgow by Messrs C. Connell and Co. in 1894 for the. to.S. Lismore Company. (J. Gardner and Co.). Her dimensions are:—Length, 335 ft; breadth, *43ft sin ; depth, 19ft. Messrs W. M. Bannatyne and Co. are the local agents. A GENERAL AVERAGE. Consignees of cargo shipped for New Zealand by the Star of New Zealand, but (in consequence of a collision) now being brought to the colony by the Star of Victoria, due about the end of the month, are notified that a general average of 2£ per cent, will be struck on ail goods so shipped. SHIP AUCKLAND, FOR LONDON. The Shaw, Savill and Albion Company's well-known clipper ship Auckland, which has been loading here at spasmodic intervals during the last three months, is expected to leave for London to-day. The cargo shipped consists of 1250 casks of tallow, 2800 bales wool and 26 sacks horns. As the vessel is in excellent trim, Captain Janies is confident of making a smart passage Home, given fair average weather.