SHIPPING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4287, 16 December 1874, Page 2

SHIPPING.

POUT OP WELLINGTON High Water, 9.21 a.m.; 9.46 r.M. ARRIVED. December 15.—Herald, schooner, 63 tons, Hamilton, from Kapiti. , _ Taranaki, s.s., 290 tons, Wheeler, from Lyttelton and Port Chalmers. Passengers Saloon : Sirs. Wheeler, Mr. and Mrs. Bates, servant, and child, Mr. and Mrs, Kissllng and child, Mr. Davis and family, Messrs. Lawrence, Ferguson, Fope, Cum, Bowen, Keane, Skelly, Studholmc, ■ Sewell, Lakeman (2), Richardson, and Morgan ; throe steerage. K. S Ledger, agent. SAILED. December 15.—Manawatu, p s., 103 tons, Griffiths, for ‘Wanganui. Passengers—Saloon: Miss Reid, Mr, Reid. R. S. Ledger, agent. Al „ Luna, p.s., 180 tons, Fairchild, for the South. Passengers—Messrs. Seed, Blackett, Capt. Johnston, Colonel Moulo. Alert, ketch, 43 tons. Smith, for Wanganui, via Pelorus Sound. • .... , Hunter, ketch, 22 •‘tons, Hart, for Kangitikei. George Thomas, agent. IMPORTS. Herald, from Kapiti: 49 bales wool. Taranaki, from Lyttelton and Port Chalmers; 3 cases, C bags, 0 qr-casks, 34 cases, 095 bars iron. 20 pipes, 3 sacks, 1 pkg. 15 hhds, 2 trunks, 2 boxes, 1 bale, 1 pci, 1 copper, 1 truss, 5 trunks, 2 boxes, 0 horses, 3 drays, 3 cases, 50 sacks malt, 9 cases, 1 sack, 1210 rail joints, 2 cases, 1 bale, 1 cask ; and a quantity Of cargo for transhipment to Napier, Poverty Bay, and Wanganui. EXPORTS Alert, for Wanganui and Pelorus : 2 cases, 10 bars and 2 bdls iron, 2 ovens, 1 chain, 2 drums oil, 5 kegs paint, 0 kegs nails, 20 pkgs groceries, 1 case wine, 1 qr-cask brandy, 2 casks ale, 2 cases stout, 1 trunk, 1 pci, 50 tons coal. Hunter, for Rangvtikei: A full general cargo. Manawatu, for Wanganui: C casks, 5 cases, 32 pkgs, 3 pels, 50 bdls sacks, 1 trunk, 1 cask ale, 3 bags salt, 1 keg, 154 iron pipes. EXPECTED ARRIVALS. London.—Avalanche, Hindostan, Langstane, Carnatic, Jungfrau, Berar, Humboldt, Avalanche, end City of Vienna. New York.—Sunlight, barque OnooRArHE Bay.—Grace Darling. Melbourne, via hie South. — Claud Hamilton, a.s. this day ; Albion, s.s., with Suez mail, 20th ins*. Melbourne, via the West Coast.— I Tararua, s.s., 18th inst. Northern Ports. —Wellington, s.s., Lth mat. Wanganui.—Stormbird, s.s,, this day. Foxton.—Napier, s.s., this day. PROJECTED DEPARTURES. London. —Adamant, in December; Jessie Readman, early; Howrah, in January. Melbourne, via the West Coast. Claud Hamilton, s.s., to-morrow ; Albion, s.s., 21st inst. Northern Ports.—Phcebe, s.s., 21st inst. Melbourne, via the South.—Tararua, s.s., with Suez mails, 20th inst. Wanoanui. —Manawatu, p.s., to-morrow. • East Coast Ports (North Island).— Rangatira, s.s.. 21st inst. Hobarton. —Malay, about 19th inst. BY TELEGRAPH. PICTON, Tuesday. The Saucy La*s, schooner, with sawn timber, sailed for Lyttelton at ten a.m. NAPIER, Tuesday. Arrived : Result, from Auckland, with the English mail. NEW PLYMOUTH, Tuesday. Arrived : Ladybird, from the South. Sailed : Ladybird, for the North. The p.s. Luna, Captain Fairchild, took her departure at ten o’clock yesterday morning for Lyttelton. Port Chalmers, and the southern lighthouses. The steamer Taranaki, Captain Wheeler, arrived from Port Chalmers and Lyttelton yesterday afternoon at three o’clock. She left Lyttelton, the previous evening at seven, and experienced strong winds, with a heavy sea, during the passage. She leaves for Picton, Nelson, Taranaki, and Manukau this afternoon. The brigantine Hannah Broomfield is loading furnace material, ex Star of India, for the Titanic Steel Company's works at Taranaki. The Manawatu, Captain Griffiths, sailed for Wanganui shortly after five yesterday afternoon. Barque Frowning Beauty.—Captain Campbell, of the barque Frowning Beauty, favors us with the following report: —Left Wellington on the 29th ultimo, and passed the whaling barque Derwent Hiinter, of Hobarton, when in longitude 159 deg. 30 min. cast, and latitude 35 deg. 40 min. south. The Derwent Hunter was sixty days but from Hobarton on a whaling voyage, and had taken six tuns of oil; all were well on board. The Frowning Beauty was thirteen days in the strait in a N. W, gale, and brought up twice during that time—once in Cloudy Bay and once in Queen’s Sound. She bad light winds from thence until the 20th instant'; then a N. wind until thirty miles off the coast. Fresh S. winds prevailed until Monday morning, when land was sighted.— Newcastle Pilot , Nov. 28. The Steamer Eabby.—The s.s. Easby, 1042 tons, Kennedy, arrived at 2 20 p.m. on Saturday, from Sydney. She left Port Chalmers at 6 a.m. on the 15th November, and reached Newcastle after a passage of five days and twenty-two hours, having experienced light variable winds and fine weather, with the exception of about twelve hours' strong wind from the N.W. She loaded 2000 tons of coal at Newcastle, and left for Sydney on the morning of the 2Cth; arrived at Sydney, took in a quantity of cargo, and sailed again on the evening of the 2Sth for Port Chalmers. On the passage over she experienced very unpleasant weather, it being showery, with a very high sea, but light winds. Land was sighted about Dusky Sound on the 3rd. She passed the Solanders at 1 a.m. on the 4th, steamed through Foveaux, was off Dog Island at 8 a.m., and anchored at Otago Heads at 10 p.m. the same day, being away from the place less than twenty days. On the sth she weighed anchor and steamed inside. Her cargo consists of 2000 tons coal, 800 cases fruit, and a quantity of general goods. She has also about twenty saloon and steerage passengers — Otago Guardian, Dec. 7.

Distress-Light at Sea. —Any amelioration to the dangers and horrors of shipwreck or distress at sea cannot but be of interest to all inhabitants of a seagirt isle, like New Zealand. One of the latest adaptations of chemical science to this praiseworthy object is Mr. N. Holmes’s danger and signal light for use at sea " The substance employed by him is the wellknown chemical phosphate of calcium. This he prepares by heating a small quantity of phosphorus with chalk to a white heat in crucibles. ,The phosphorus is volatilised, and Is absorbed by the chalk when at a white heat. The resulting product is a phosphate of calcium, which has the property of decomposing water, forming biphosphate of calcium, and phosphuretted hydrogen spontaneously inflammable. AVe thus have a substance fulfilling the required conditions. It takes fire spontaneously on contact with water, giving off a large and powerful white light. It may be bruised to any extent, and may be actually thrown into a fire without explosion of any sort. It is thus perfectly safe in carriage or against fire. Against water, the one inflaming agent, it is rendered perfectly safe until wanted by being hermetically sealed in a conical tin case with a copper exit for the flame at the top, an entrance for the water at the bottom, and a tip of soft metal at the top and bottom of the cone. This conical case contains a perforated tube running down to the cone point, and closed by a soft metal tip. The inflammable phosphate of calcium is ranged all round this tube, and the whole apparatus will float like a buoy on water. To bring it into use, the soft metal tips are cut away with a knife, which a sailor is never without, the case is thrown into the sea, the water ascends into the perforated tube, causes the phosphate of calcium to inflame, and the composition contained In a small case, say 4 inches by 6 inches, will give a fierce light for three-quarters of an hour, and will bum for about two hours. Suppose a sailor falls overboard in the pitchy darkness of the night, a danger-light already attached to a buoy is hastily caught up, the ends ripped off, and it is flung overboard. On the instant it catches fire, showing a vivid light, both indicating the position of the buoy to the drowning sailor and also the position of those on board the ship, which can seldom stop its way .in time to pick up such an unlucky swimmer, without considerable difficulty In the after-finding of him again, and loss of time. Then this light will be found of use when a devoted ship is being hurled to destruction upon the breakers and cliffs of a rock-bound coast. Ice Signals in tub North Atlantic.—A very beautiful and useful system of ice signalling has been recently adopted by one of the Canadian steamship lines, which promises to give great safety and security to passengers crossing the Atlantic. The company has issued to all its commanders an ice chart and tallying ice signals, by the use of which steamers passing each other can If arn when and where dangerous bergs and ice fields have been encountered. The ice chart is divided into degrees of longitude 'and half degrees of latitude, nearly making squares, each of which has a separate literal designation. This in each section of the chart consists of two letters representing two flags of the commercial code, and when the corresponding flags are hoisted by a steamer they indicate to the passing ship the exact position of the ice met. The ensign hoisted above these means berg icc, and the union-jack field ice likely to imperil navigation. The flags are, of course, only serviceable in the daytime; but at night the ice signals are made by means of Colomb's Chatham lamp. The whole system is one of extreme simplicity, both in the chart and code, and easily enables any steamer, after passing through the ice track near Newfoundland, to communicate to the steamer approaching it the precise place of the peril, and, therefore, the imminent necessity of extreme caution in nearing that point. The adoptioh of this or some similar code by all the transatlantic steamship compairfes cannot be too urgently sought after, and it is a wonder they have not, for their own security, Jong since devised one. Great os have been the advances in modem navigation, no navigator has yet- found any means of detecting the presence of an iceberg until he has approached far within the circle of great danger. The fact that the floating ices of the Atlantic select a pathway thronged by the world's commerce, and upon which their stealthy movements are concealed by fog, must always make them the objects of terror to the mariner. —New York Herald. THE AAVARUA’S TRIP TO THE SNARES AND SOLANDERS. (From the Southland Times.) The schooner Awarua, Captains Adams, returned last night from the Snares and Solanders with the parties of scalers landed there by Mr. Hatch in June fast. Captain Adams reports having left Dunedin on the 10th ult., beating out of the harbor against a N.E. breeze. Light variable winds were experienced until making the S.AV. Cape of Stewart’s Island on the 21st ult On the morning of the 22nd was oif Pegasus with a fine N.N W. wind, with which she ran down at six p in. within fourteen miles of the Snares, when a heavy gale came on from the N.W., which forced her to heavc-to under closo-rccfod foresail, the- barometer falling to 20*. At midnightthc gale increased In fury, and continued with very heavy sea untill the 21th, when at four TJ.rn. It veered round to the S. w. Steered In for the land under ckmc-reefed sails—’the sea still

running very high with violent squalls, weather thick, and heavy rain—barometer 29.20. At two p.m. hoveto and at six p.m. sighted Stewart’s Island bearing west At midnight a heavy S.W. gala still blowing. Stood in for the land again under close-reefed sails, but not being able to fetch Pegasus, kept away for Port Adventure, where she arrived at 9.30 a.m. on the 26th nit The gale still continuing, the hands wore employed in taking in more ballast and water. On the 20th the gale having abated, sailed again for theSnares with a light-north wind, which at noon died awav Lay becalmed off the White Bock until midnight when a light W.N.W. breeze sprang np. At four am passed the S.W. Cape, and at eleven a.m. sighted the Snares. At two p.m hove-to off the Snares and sent the boat ashore to bring off the party of sealers At 7.80 p.m. the two boats came aboard with all the party and skins, and sailed for the Solanders On the 30th had tho wind from the N.W. licht Passed a largo iron barque painted white, name unknown, steering to the E-S.E At four am on tho Ist inst. sighted tho Solanders, N. by E. twenty-five miles wind light from eastward. At 19 a.m. wind died away, and lay becalmed until midnight, when a light easterly wind came on. At 4 a.m. on the 2nd inst. Solanders bore W.N.W. five miles. Sent boat aslioro, and at 11 a m boat returned with men and skins. At noon kept away for the Bluff : at 0 p.m. sighted tho whaiing barque Chance about ten miles off the Solanders, hard at work trying out a whale. Very little wind during the night. Whaler in sight all night, by tho fire alight in her tryworks. At daylight next morning she was still engaged trying out. At 9 a.m. a light S W. breeze sprang up, which continued until arrival at Bluff, at 6 p.m. on the 3rd inst. The two sealing parties have returned in high glee, evidently well pleased at their success, although it has been hardly earned. Their conjoined take is 1000 skins, for which they receive at the rate of 28s. per skin. The two parties consist of nine men, five of whom were landed on the Snares, and the remaining 'four on the Solanders. The Snares party were landed on the 12th June by tho schooner Awarua, and on that date captured eight seals. Bad weather setting in next day, they were unable to do anything untilthe 19th, during which time a very heavy gale passed over the islands. From that date until the Ist July they continued, with varied success, to work the rookeries on the Snares, and on the Ist they pulled out to tho reef, expecting to have a good haul, but owing to the changeable weather, were disappointed, only being able to secure seven skins. On returning to the main island the whole party had a very narrow escapo of being drowned, their boat being twice filled with water from tho heavy sea running, one hand being washed overboard, who was with difficulty rescued. From the 2nd July nothing occurred to break the monotony until tho 15th, when tho schooner Awarua hove in sight and landed a largo boat and a fresh supply of provisions. Continued scaling each day until the 3rd, with varied success, when another casualty occurred which was, - however, unattended with serious results. On the 26th, sighted a French man-of-war passing, bound to the eastward, and on 11th August saw a large full-rigged ship passing, to which, as they were getting short of provisions, they signalled by making a fire on a prominent part of the island, but no notice was taken of it by the vessel. On the 14th and 15th September the reef was again worked—this time with more success than the first, 88 skins being secured—and up to the end of September they succeeded in taking 120 more. About this time they appear to have run entirely out of stores brought from the mainland, including tobacco and matches, which was felt as a great want, as a watch had to be kept on all night to keep the fire alight. No great inconvenience, however, seems to have been caused by the scarcity of provisions, as the Islands abound in mutton-birds and a species of plant called by the Maoris “ Macquarrie cabbage,” which is very palatable. The eggs of the mutton birds, too, are so thick every evening that it is impossible to walk a, few steps without finding two or three nests. A continual hum, like the roaring of the sea at a distance, is kept up by the young birds in their nests underground, whilst the sky overhead is literally darkened during the afternoon by’myriads of old ones flying past. The party landed upon the Solanders appear to have had better luck than those on the Snares, as their smallest take on one day amounted to 27 skins, whilst the number taken on the 27th July reached 136. This party also had the misfortune not to have provided themselves with sufficient provisions to last to the end of the season, and have been living since September upon Maori hens, mutton-birds, and Macquarrie cabbage. On the 10th ult., the s.s. Otago was signalled to, and Captain McLean came off in a boat; but as it was low water and getting late they were unable to land anything upon the island. On the 22nd, at midnight, asteamer was heard whistling off the island, and fires were lit upon several elevated points, but although a sharp lookout was kept, no boat was seen, and at daylight the steamer had gone. The remains of two huts were discovered on the, Solanders, supposed to have been used in the early days by parties who were engaged in catching albatrosses there; also the grave of a man who fell over one of the cliffs and was killed whilst engaged in the above pursuit under Captain Howell in the early days. It was again built up and renewed. The arrival of the Awarua was hailed witli joy by both parties, who were each heartily tired of their long imprisonment. They are very well pleased with the treatment they have received at the hands of Captain Adams whilst on board the Awarua, and express a desire to return their thanks to him for his kindness. It is satisfactory to know from the above that should a shipwrecked party be cast either upon the Snares or the Solanders, they would not be in want entirely of food. NEW YORK SHIPPING, The Chaudiere, Capt. D. D. Brown, sailed from New York on Oct. 16 for Port Chalmers. The Bristol barque Light of the Age, 472 tons register, was to sail on tho 25th November for Port Chalmers and Wellington. The U.S. barque Osseo is now on her way from New York, for Port Chalmers and Wellington. .