NO NEWS OF THE PERTHSHIRE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1424, 15 June 1899, Page 35

NO NEWS OF THE PERTHSHIRE.

SYDNEY, Friday.' ‘The tug Champion has returned to port after a fruitless search for the Perthshire. ' . .' . , The tug Hero will leave to-night t-o search for the missing vessel. . AUCKLAND, Friday. “The Up bln reports that the steamer Archer, which reached Fiji from Sydney before the Upolu left , saw no signs of the Perthshire, although she kept a good lookout. SYDNEY, Sunday. There are evidences that easterly weather has prevailed since the Northern ’Chief spoke the Perthshire. Acting on this assumption the Waikare, which left here to-day, will tborougnly search between latitude 31 and 34 south and longitude 160 and 164. , y AUCKLAND, Sunday. The Mariposa on her voyage from Sydney to Auckland saw no sign or the Perth s ’hire. iNVEKCAllGlLL -yj on( j The barque Meran, which made a long passage from Newcastle to the Bluff, nau south-east winds from 20th to -3rd ult., followed by a strong gale from the same quarter fo? three days; thence light south and south-east winds till the orb inst. This bears out the assumption n Australia that the winds have been mostly easterly, and likely to carry the Perthshire towards west and noi th. spire tow a AUCKLAND, Monday. - The Westralia, on her trip from Sydney saw nothing of the Perthshu’e. A S look-out « kept, tut the weather Was so thick that it was impossible at. times to see a ship’s length ahead. , • BRISBANE, Tuesday. Mr Wragge, in his weather forecast, says that the steamer Perthshire is probably in about latitude 32deg south, longitude 177 deg east, and may soon reach the Kermadecs, which are situated 740 miles north-east of Auckland. SIDNEY, Tuesday. Information from London states’that the reinsurance premium on the Bertnshire has advanced from twenty-five to forty guineas per £IOO m four days. When the mail left the premium had increased to fifty-five guineas, the vessel then being overdue fifteen days. 1 S AUCKLAND, Tuesday. The Elingamite, which left here last evening for Sydney, is to steam more to the northward than usual on her_run to Sydney, and is to cruise up towards Lord Howe Island and to spbnd a couple of days in searching for the Perthshire. She took in an extra supply of coal before leaving, and everything is m readiness to render assistance and to take the steamer in tow should she be found. A STATEMENT BY CAPTAIN PHILLIPS. THE TALUNE TO SEARCH. 1 In. a conversation with Captain Phillips, of the Mararoa, that officer informed us that, from the position of his . vessel on the day the Perthshi was spoken by the. captain • of the barque Northern Chief the -oth u ~ fie was quite positive that either th captain of the barque or the master of the tug to whom the information u as communicated, gave the wrong -position of the vessels when such speaking was reported to have taken place. At 2 p.m. on that day the Mararoa, bound from Auckland to Sydney, and working westward in squares of twenty miles, passed four miles to the w est> of the position indicated—latitude 34deg south, longitude 164 deg east. The ste-am-er was in a - south-western course at the time, and continued on some thirteen miles to the south past the point indicated before turning again to the north; so that if the SEire liner had drifted a reasonable distance on that day either to the north-east or northwest, the Mararoa must have certainly fallen in with her. - The weather at the time was perfectly clear, though the sky was overcast, and there was a fresh S.S.W. wind blowing. Yet a of forty miles could be covered by the lookout man at the masthead. A strange incident happened w hen the steamer was on the succeeding north-western, tack to that one in which she passed so close to the reported position of the Perthshire. A passenger told the captain that he thought he saw a rocket away to the north-east. The Mararoa accordingly steamed some twenty miles in the direction indicated, but failed to see any sign of the much-sought-for steamer. This little incident tended more than ever to keep the Mararoa within the circle of the cargo steamer’s supposed vicinity. A vigilant watch was kept from the masthead during the whole of this time, and rockets were sent up at intervals during the preceding and succeeding nights, 'but all without avail. The Talune, which left for Sydney shortly after 5 o’clock last evening, is to shape away for the Norfolk Islands when clear, of Cook Strait, proceeding thence to Lord Howe Island, and so on to Sydney. By so deviating from the usual track it is hoped that the disabled steamer may be sighted, as the search, hitherto has not been prosecuted so far to the north. Captain Spinks hopes to make Norfolk Island, which is situated 1 in latitude 29deg south, longitude lßßdeg east, at midnight to-morrow night. The lalune took an extra 100 tons of coal and a plentiful supply of blue lights to aid in the search. The proposed course to

Sydney will add another 600 miles to the journey. According to the position of the Hauroto when spoken by the Tutanebai, and the course the former steamer proposed to pursue, the local office of the Union Company do not expect her to arrive at Wellington earlier than to-morrow. ARRIVAL OF THE HAUROTO AND MONOWAI. Considerable disappointment was felt on Saturday evening, when the Hauroto, from Newcastle, arrived with no nows of the missing steamer Perthshire. The Hauroto left Newcastle early on the morning of the 3rd inst., but immediately fell in with dirty weather from the east and north-east, which continued throughout the passage, and was perhaps the cause of her 11011-success. She zig-zagged across the Tasman Sea, covering that part of the ocean between the positions that the scow Whangaroa and barque Northern Chief wore reported to have spoken the big vessel, and proceeded as far east as 117 miles from the North Cape, then proceeded in the same manner to the north-east for eOO miles, keeping a sharp lookout the whole time, but all without avail. At _ 6.30 a.m. on Tuesday last the Tufanekai was spoken, and a consultation took place between the officers of the two steamers, but the interchange of ideas and theories was equally resultless, as both vessels have since -arrived, and the Shire liner is still—where? The Monowai arrived from Sydney yesterday morning without seeing anything of the Perthshire. Captain Chatfield reports steering an easterly course along the 34th parallel until within 140 miles of the North Cape, when the steamer’s head was turned towards Cook Strait. Though a clear sweep of 25 miles was visible all round from the masthead, no steamer of any description was sighted, and only two sailing vessels hove in sight. Both Captain Newton, of the Hauroto, and Captain Cliatfiekl, of the Monowai, expected to hear news that the Shire liner had been picked on on their arrival in Wellington, but their queries were answered with the monotonous “Still no news of the Perthshire!”

The feeling among shipping folk coer Captain Wallace’s behaviour is very strong, and the opinion is expressed that, as master of a disabled steamer, a great many days overdue, lie should have supplied the captains of the'Whangaroa and Northern Chief with a chart showing his position from day to day since the breakdown, and giving particulars of the weather experienced, and any other particulars that would assist the masters of vessels in search of the Perthshire.

Some surprise has been expressed in the city that the Admiral of the Australian station has not been approached with a view to his instituting a search for the Perthshire. There are many precedents in the naval annals for the adoption of this course, and the vessels of the British navy have ever shown themselves willing to assist merchantmen in distress. Etiquette, however, demands that when war vessels are practically in port, their assistance, if needed, must he asked for.. On the Other hand, when warships have acted voluntarily in a case of this kind, owners of vessels in the merchant service have actually entered strong protests against their interference.

It is said that the nearest parallel case to that of the Perthshire in these waters is that of the steamer Age, which was adrift off the Victorian coast for over a. week. Some of her men reached Port Phillip in an open boat and reported a broken propeller and a helpless ship. Melbourne sent- a host of steamers in search, and then, as now, it seemed as if the missing steamer could not be found. But she was picked up within a fortnight and towed into dock.