SHIPPING.
The shipping business of the month, so far as the foreign trade is concerned, is decidedly under the average. We have but seven foreign vessels' arrivals to chronicle, viz, the ships Lady Jocelyn, May Queen.and Christinn Al'Ausland, from London ; the brig Ziska, from Foo-Chow-"Foo, China; the barque Lnrly Agnes,. from New Yovk ; ami the barques Jane Roland and Le Nore, from the Mauritius. These vessels came in loaded to the combings of their hatchways, and so far as discharging them has proceeded, the result in each case lias been everything that could bo desired, consignments having come to hand in. first class condition. Of the several cargoes fxmr were general and three particular, the latter being a cargo, of tea, by the Ziska, which was discharged in three days, and two cargoes of sugar in the Mauritius barques, part of which only will be landed here, about three-fourths of each being consigned to the neighbouring Province of Canterbury, where the vessels will proceed as soon »a they, are clear of what they have for our port. They arrived within the last three daj's only, the Jane Rowland on the 22nd inst.., "the Lo Nore on the 23rd and both commenced discharging yesterday. Of the home
ships, the Lady Jocelyn arrived on the 3rd inst., with 20!) Government" immigrants all told. She has suffered uutoward delay through disease, in the form of scarlet fever and diphtheria, having appeared amongst the passengers, which necessitated placing the ship in quarantine when she ai'rived hero, and nine deaths, all excepting one, in the case of children, occurred on the way out, and there were seven little ones on the sick list when the ship cime in, and these, together with the families they belonged to. aggregating 58 in number, were removed to the Quarantine Station, where every provision for contingencies of the kind has been made, in the form of admirably constructed buildings for resilience and hospital purposes.' There the afflicted ones were assiduously attended by their relatives and Dr Cole, the ship's .surgeon, and although Death would not bo denied, four of the children being smitten by him, it is satisfactory to kivow that the progress of the disease was stayed, and that of the whole number quarantined, only five, including the Doctor, and exclusive of the dead, now remain at the station, the ■ rest having bt'en from time to time admitted to pratique. Meanwhile, the noble vessel was kept in strict quarantine until the 11th insfc. ione of the immigrants named .Tames Peerless died in a fit during the interval), and a few days subsequent-to-that she was removed from the Quarantine ground and-moored in the lower anchorage of Port Chalmers, arid is now being lightered of her cargo. Her great draught: over 22ffc., presented an insuperable obstacle to her finding a berth at the Kail way Pier, a circumstance to be regretted, but none the less unavoidable; hence lightering had to be resorted to, very much to the disappointment and annoyance' of her.captain and the consignees. It does not, howevei, entail much loss, if any, on either.wide, lightering charges being very reasonable indeed. Discharging the ship progresses apace, but we do not think that she will be clear pf cargo before the early part part of December. The Lady Jocelyn made the passage from homeln 85 days. The next arrival front the old.-country was the May Queen, which .did the run out in 89£ days, arriving here on the sth inst. She brought i.n'y 5 passengers. After lyingforafowdays atthe Powder Ground, was berthed at the pier ; is now more than half clear of cargo. The other London ship, the Christian M'Ansland, made a fair passage of 92 days, and'only arrived here on the 22nd inst: She will icommence discharging some day this week. ''She also brought but very few passengers -10 all told. «
•The bnrqueLady Agnes, from New York, arrived here on the 14th .inst., after a passage of 105 days.' She soon found a berth at the-Pier, and is now in a fair way of being lid of her freight. | We omitted to mention that the Le Nore, froit the Mauritius, made a clipping passage of 35 .days. r '-....: .... # , . ... :'.. ■ ... •-.. Of departures foreign we have but one to record—viz., that of the ship Wild Duck, for-Lon-don, with the greater part of her original cargo shipped at Adelaide. .In our last Summary we. had to announce her arriving here in a disabled condition. She was leaking badly, and had to be docked, her cargo being first discharged into, and to savetime and handling was stored in the lighters,: and we have no f w much pleasure in stating .that the ship received ■ a thorough repairing in the Port Chalmers Graving Dock : and after re-ship-ping her cargo, proceeded to Heaon, the 18th inst. —the last words of her captain to our, reporter being to the effect that she was as "tight as a bottle." It is with feelings of pardonable pride and satisfaction that we refer to the case of the Wild" Duck, demonstrating as it does that the resources of the Port were equal to so grave an emergency. Whilst heartily desiring- that! cases like that of .the Wild.Duck-may.be few and far between, we yet direct the attention of shipping masters to our Port as being one of refuge, and where storm-stricken vessels can find not only shelter but also the means of repairing, let their damages be ever so severe. ... ■ The Intercolonial andlnterprovincial .shipping trade has knpt pi-etty well'up to the mark during the month. Intercolonial we have had the barque Thomas Brown, from Launceston, the barque Woodviile, from Newcastle, and the schooner Splid,' from Melbourne, besides regular visits from one or the, other of. M'Meckan and Blackwood'si splendid steamers, which, invariably come crammed with cargo' and passengers. Of these boats, 'the Alhambra put in an appearance at the beginning pf the month,, and was followed; by the Omeo on the 4th, and the Albion on the 22nd—each of them being from Melbourne via" Bluff Harbour. The departures Intercolonial have, been more numerous, the barques Bobycito, Horatio Sprague, -puke of Edinburgh. Me-, inento,' Woodviile, ' Nicoline, and Ces'arewitch having sailed for 'Newcastle,: N.S. W^, ■ where they will load coal for this port and probably return next month. The clipper brig and regular trader Chanticleer has gone back to Hobartown for another cargo of notions;. while .the clipper barque Thomas Brown returned to Launceston, and will in all probabilitj' be. with us again by the end of theyear. The grand old frigate-built ship Dover Castle, which brought out immigrants and a largo.general cargo from London, has gone to Sydney to seek loadhifc for homeland was followed a day or two afterwards by the brig Ziska.
Our Interproyincial trade has been admirably maintained during the month by the New Zealand1 Company's fleet of fine steamers/and the handy, comfortable. ■< boats belonging to the Dunedin Harbour Steam Company, whilst a considerable trade las been done by sailing bottoms with the-minor ports of the Province, and with the West Coast ports. .The New Zealand Companyrs vessels have ,arrived and departed weekly with large cargoes and many passengers; The Tarahaki came first, and was • followed in' due course by the Lady Bird, the Wellington,; and the ltangatira. The^ Rangsitira took up the Tarariaki's running from Wellington, iii-order that the last named.'vessel might undergo a general overhaul at the head-quartern of the : Company at Wellington. The Provincial port, trade lias been very brisk,-thus surely indicating the rapidly growing importance- of the settlements at Akaroa, Timaru, Oarnarii to the North, and the Molyneux and' Invfircafgill South. The Harbour Company's steamers -Samson, Beautiful Star, and, Maori attend the Northern ports, and find constant and lucrative employment, whilst the Southern trade is well attended toiby the Harbour Company's steamers Pretty Jane" aiid Wallabi; and by the steamer Wangunui. . ; Although there is every reason to speak in the highest terms of commendation of the manner in. which the Iriterprovincial cargo traffic has been conducted by the New Zealand Steam Company, • the great increase of trade has... of late given rise to an opinion that a larger class of vessels' of greater speed -and' better accommodation was required. -Practical effect was • given to the idea at the beginning of the ''month,' when several influential capitalists of Dunedin . took preliminary steps towards forming another' Compauy. The proposition niefc with general approval; the leading citijjßns of Dunedin heartily subscribed' to it; and the • Harbour Company assenting to a proposed amalgamation of interests. fhe . Provisional Directory appointed was enabled to publish in a few days subsequently' tlie prospectus of the.: 'Company, which has been named the Union •Steamship Company of New Zealand--liability • limited—with a capital of 1/250,000 in 25,000 LlO. shares. ■ The adjoining Province of Canter-' ■bury will hold a large number of shares ; in fact, the new Company will be to all intents and purposes an Otago nnd 'Canterbury' affair, biised "as it is upon Ofcago arid Canterbury capital. But in other respects it will be purely, Colonial, aiming as it does to knit in., still closer bonds the in-, tereh'ts of every port, and to minister to the comfort, convenience, and profit of the inhabitants of all parts of New Zealand,;also to promote trading facilities between the ports. The new Company has arranged to commence operations on the Ist of January next.,, when the Harbour Company's steam fleet will lie taken over, and. as soon afterwards as practicable, large first-class steamers will be provided to take up the interpiovincial trade. Although no casualties have occui red during the month, the shipwrights and their cbngentsrs of the Port have not lacked employment. The Graving Dock has been pretty well occupied— firstly, by the Wallabi and Beautiful Star steamers, which underwent their periodical, overhauls ; nnd then by the steamer Lady of the Lake and schooner Oriti ■ the former of which came to gnef last mouth at Timaru, and the latter took the ground on the Oamara bench and met with rough treatment. Both vessels have been thoroughly repaired, and were undocked last week. The Floating Dock Company has also hud its share of work —two large vessels, the barques Nicoline and Woodville having been, lifted out of water by it; besides several smaller ones. At Ishistw's and Fletcher's slips1, several of the lighter fleet have been hauled up and repaired. The shipbuilding trade is also flourishing. At the commencement of the month the trial trip of the first iron steamer (tlu; Fairy) that bus been built at Dunediu, csime off, and resulted most satisfactorily, redounding to the credit of her builders, Messrs Kincaid, M'Qucen, and Co., of the Vulcan .Foundry. The little craft is of s<> tons burden, and 15-h.p. nominal, and was built for the trade between Napier,-Wainm, and Poverty Bay, in the North Island. The new schooner, the keel of which was bid. at the end [of last month .at the building yard of Messrs j Sutherland and Co., at the Port, is fast, proI pressing towards completion. Nearly all her frames are up ; she promises to be a handsome, substantial, and good sea-going craft. Messrs Jackson Bros, have completed the building of two large and staunch boats, to be used for punting purposes on the River iTanuheriVia. They were despatched to their destiusitioa a few days ago. The following vessels are at present in port:—. At the Railway Pier—The ship May Queen and barques Jane Rowland, LeNore, and Lady Agnes, discharging. In the stream—Ship Lady Jocelyn, discharging; ship Peter Denny, loading; and ships Columbus and Otago, waiting for cargo. There is also the French man-o'-war Vire, which called here on her way to Campbell's Island. Besides the above the usual number of coasting vessels dot the extensive harbour that stretches 15 miles between the Heads and Dunedin. Several vessels are due and anxiously expected, including the ships Caller Ou ay.d Zealandia from London, the Jessie Headman from Glasgow, the Queen of the South from New i rork —all of these sailed at the latter end of August. The weather during the month Las been
bleak, stormy, and unseasonable. From the 13th to the 24th we were visited by a succession of N.E. and S.W. gales, with much rain. Happily, no casualties of any kind occurred, but several vessels, including the Wild Duck, Dover CV.stle, and Cesarewitch, were weather bound for some days. Now, the weather seems inclined to. become more settled and seasonable.
The number of persons who have arrived in the Province by sea, foreign and coastwis-1, during the month is between GO) and 700, whilst the departures airouut to between 400 and 500.
T|i'» ■tonnage of vessels which have arrived and sniled—not including coasters of any kind, but including the interprovincial trade—nmouutud to—lnwards,- 11,000 tons ; outwards, 0500 tons. In our, last Sumnmiy, we alluded to the pressing necessity for increasing the wharfage accommodation at the Port. The subject lias since received further attention, and in the course 'of a month or two we hopo to he in a position to announce that the construction of a third wharf has been decided upon, and one, too, that it will not take an inordinately long timis to complete. The second wliarf will scarcely be finished in less than eighteen months, whilst probabilities are in favour of a longer period. The question relative to shipping accommodation a.fc the Port demands most serious and careful consideration, and this, we hope, will be bestowed upon it_, and that soon. What accommodation there is is made the most of by the. excellent management of the railway officials mid of the harbour deparmeiit. ; Captain Thomson at the head of the latter, and Mr Itolfe, tlie 'general manager of the line, are indefatigable in their exertions to harmonize ami expedite the work of accommodating and discharging vessels.. The following are the reports of. the. passages of late arrivals :—
The iron' clipper whip May Queen has again made her appearance in our waters, this time her passage bciiiit made in SO.V days from London Docks to anchorage. She is oil tins voyage in command of a stranger to this port, Captain Tatchell, hut well-known as in command of other vessels trading.'to the Colonies and Hast Indies^ Her old master. Captain Leslie, has re-niaineiH-at- home to superintend the -building of a new sliip. The May ljucen left London on the Oth of August, Gravescnd on. the. 7th,. the Downs on the Bth, had adverse westerly winds in the English .Channel. Took her departure from off Start Feint ou the 13th, with strong westerly breeoes and thick dirty weather, till taking litr final departure from Cape Finisterre on the 18th. Light winds followed to the Trade-!, /which weree moderate, and lost in Lit. 12 N". Doldrums then became the order of the day, in consequence of.which die made * Mther long passage to the 'Kquator :■ crossed on the 14th September, in long. 27 W., 32 days out from the Start. The S,K. Trades were indifferent. After los'rig them she had slashing fair winds, and with maingkyeail rounded ' tho Cape of (rood Ho|'*, > after , a, rattling passage of 15); d*yg from the Line. : Her'easting w*s run down" on a general p'iftilW of l*t. 4(5: .Crozets'pissed and Righted on'.i'lie Oth; passing to.the north of them, and wss off Kerguelen Land'on the'l3th October. ' Since tli*t peiiod she had vary, unsettled weather, sr-metimes ; only, waking 60 miles per d--»y of a straight coiirs». fttstte the Snares at 4 a.m. on the 4th/Mid passed between 'them and the Traps.' Sbe,*as then favoured by a spl-ndid sou-wester, sending her along at inn rnte of V.i knots, and she arrived off Otago Heads at 11 i> m. Received Pilot Stevens oub^ard,*t 0 a.m. on the St-li, and was towi-,d up by the tug Getlong. She w-is iti tine! trim, and the passengers unanimously ex-; picked their thanks to her captain, officers. And crew for the kindness sh>wii.them dating the passage oiit; ''"'' •'.•'■ •'■■ '" ; •' ! "'■■' '■' " ':■ Tho Lady Jocelyn, from London, was towed up on the morning of the (ith at 3.15, and anchored in the Quarantine Ground, haying' sickness, oh board. ,She left Graveserid Ist August, was off the Lizard on the Sth, and. crossed flic latitude of Madeira •on the 18th; ■ licked'up the N.K. Trades in;3l Si, which were very light, and lost them..'in 10, N.; then variable.winds, from the southward till she reached' the'-Equator,-' which was crossed on .the 7th September, in 22 W.; had moderate S.l£ Trades, which carried her to 20 S.; then variable head winds till reachin.tr the ! Island of Trwtftn D'Aeunha, when were got favourable'winds that .carried the ship all the way to'the meridian of Cape Lou win.; crossed the meridian of ■ tho'Cape of ■ Good Hope on Ist October in 42 S., St. Paul's on...the' lath, Cape Leuwin on the 20th'. and Cape OtwayOn the 20th. Kroin thence had mostly .westerly winds, till ..'passing the Snores, at S p.m. of the 31st; then variable winds from N.K. to .S.\W, till'-costing anchor outside the Heads at I) p.m. on the 3rd. Lay there till the morning of theCth, through a S.S.AV. breeze blowing, and finally "reached I'orfr as above.1, She spoke the following . <vcssc!s:—On 4th September, ship Asterope, in lat. 4deg. 10min. yN.,; long; 20deg. 37min. W. 'On 10th' September, ship Cartvale, from Liverpool to Calcutta;; and.oiithe same da3',,tlie John Lawrence, from Glasgow to Katuvia.1 : ' "■'.'•• -' The brig Ziska, a fine-looking craft ot 199 tons register, tea-laden," from Foo-Ch'ow-Fooj'arrived at I'ort Chalmers on the Othinst.; in tow of thetuc; Gcelohg.Capt. Scaplehorn, her master, reports leayintrFoo-Chow-f Foo on August sth ; passed betwccn'Foftnosa anil Loo Choo next; day, strong S.W. winds j)revailing. These held, and carried her to 105 . east longitude, where light S.E. winds set in, and continued to"4ode}f. north, and gained her a degree or two more of longitude, there they hauled into the S.W., aud stuck tohcr until the N.E. Trades'-were-picked-up in 20 north. Crossed the Equator on the 175 th parallel of longitude, and at the. same time sighted brie of the Simpson "Gioup, this happening' on the'2oth September. 'Ihe N.E. tradoa were lost on the Line, mid to as far. as 10 deg, south variable wiods prevailed, and gave place to the S.E. Trades, .which were then fallen in with, and hung verr much to the southward whilst they lasted. -;iOn the 18th' October, passed* between Erroinahga »pd Layuma/and as it-was: evident that New C»ledoui» was not to bo weathered, the brig iipiiired away and ran round the Bampton Shbtl and worked up' the Australian. coast.: Stewards Island . was rounded'last Thursday; at midnight, and the Nugcet* breiuted yestbrday. lii«ht"K;E.: weather prevailed on the coast, The ,brig h»d a solitary; passage, not one vessel; being sighted on ihe way.. She reached Port in good' rder/, but very short of provision". " Tlie nice little .barque Lady Agnes arrived in Port. on, the 14th inst.,' after an average passage of 100 day* from New York, s-he left that port on July 3t»t, with, a leading B.W. wind, which held for three dty.s, and, took her well clear of the land, then fulling light and heading to tho eaHw-trd br Snutli Light: and variable easterly weather, prevailed to within one degree of the; Equator, no north-oist Trades beiug met with, aud the Line whs crossed on September Oth, forty days i'rom New York. 'Jh'e S.K. Trades were pieked:np abont-on the Line, and proved stibrg anil ste«riy, .carrying, the/, baruue to .20. south, unit then veering-to''tlie east aiid dyinjf out. Moderate aiid-variable easterly weather succeeded for. a few days, and was.followed by strong steady sou-west winds, the barque 'doing 'well/bowling off her eight and tcii knots an hour; ; Crossed .the meridian of the Cape' of Good-, Hope on October Ist, and ou the sth tlie westerly breeze wliieh htul eontinued-so'far freshened'to a hard gale fr«in the N.W.,. and brought,the vessel down to close-reefed fore and main topsail mid foresail-.' Ran under' this canvas, for. a;fe\V' hours—the sea increasing— until at length, she was pooped,; by. ..a. heavy comber, which smashed ' the wheel, washed away- the ■ binnacle,T smashed : the .v skylight, and luilf-lHlea the cnbin wiili water. Affairs lookinß awkward, and tlie weather very bad, Captain Friend deemed, it advisable,tpsbring her to the wind. • She was accordingly hove-t«t unrier close-reefed. .mai&topr, sail on the port't^ck." 'Next day," the weather moderating,'repaired diinsges, fixed a temporary binnacle, and spliced the wheel in two places, and kept ship away on her course under close-reefed topsails' and reefed foresail. All plain sail was made the day after, and variable -westery winds occurred to tlie 22nd October, when Devastation Island..was sighted. Hence to the New Zealand coast the wind, varied, between nor*h ■ and south ■ by- west—showery; and • ' favourable." Sighted land on the 12thi iiist.; weather black and rainy •; and mane tlie Nugget Light at niidnight. ' Kxpecienced light uncertain^ weikther on the coast; .was. off,,the .Hu.ids. at daylight of the 14! h. and sailed Up tbe hirbour and anchored in the afternoon. 'JheLaily Agnes ran her easting ;.downM>etween 1. ar>d fiOdeg. of latitude. Oa September 25th; wlieh in latitu-ie 32.20 iouth, lonritude iddeg. west.fell in with the ship Isabella of- . (ireenock, Captain Kerr, co*l, laden, and bound lor Bombay. Her -captain hailed the barque, aud stated thnt his ship was on fire, but at the same time intimated that he was not in wantof assistance,- and intended to run for either the Cape of (Jood Hope or St. Helena. No sign of tho fire was to be seen'from the Lady Agnes. The Christian M'Au>laud arrived off the H^ads ou the 20th, and was towed into, harb.ur next d*y. She arrives here ill exceedingly good prder,: lilihough rather^ deep in the. water, ..which hot only told against her progi ess during the run out, but alto tii«de'her make b.id weatlier at'times wht-n, if her trim had been better; die would have laughed at the gale and sea, and kept her decks d y to boot. Her passage extended to U2 days, and was on the whole -unlntetestin/-'—.no- land being sighted, no vessel spoken, aim only one or two sighted in the variables, north of the Equator. The th.-istiiin M'Auslanu Iff. the East India l>ookn on the 20:h August, Gruvrsend on tl.e 21st, ar.cl dinclmrge.l the' pilot i.ff Sta t I'oinl on the'.24th. L ght southerly and eastrlyj we-ither wan.experienced. In the.,C'hunnel, outside which westerly wiuds were met with, and carried h^'r across the Bay of Biscay. About the centre of t.h« Bay the wind worked mto the nornli-wtst und iilew a hard gile for 12 hours, bri'-ging the ship down to double-retfed topsails, foresails, »ml reefed mHinsail Fiom the Bay light variable weiitlu-r prevailed to the 33id nieriili ar of latitude. Hero ihe N.li. trades weie picked up, •.nd stuck to the ship until tluj 12th parallel. Ihey provrd light, and scant, beiDK much t-> th»s eistwtid: X,)ghr, variable westerly weather was experience i to thehquator, excepting a strniig'tonsail breeze Which viirieil' the monotony on fie 18th September.- 'Jhe K-iu-itor whs i-.rossod tliree days afterwards, the ship htj.ng then 32 dny*. out. and the S E. trades were picked up at t!i« s-inie time, cnritinuing well north considering the time of ye-»r. Thi tra-les kej)t w*-ll to the etst, and hence tlie sh'p made a .south course across the South Atlantic. The Trades were lost on the t»rd October in 2!) S.^ and were followed by light northerly weather, which continued until the 12th ; on that day, the ship being then about, midway between Tristan li'Aciuilui aud (tough Island, she fell in v.'ith a he.'ivy yule iroui north, and rode it out hcad-rcachinir under tho lower topsails. Tho gale having moderated, the wind hauled to S. and S.K. by X., and the gale came back again blowing harder than bul'ore, and bringing tho ship under low sail. A heavy sea also ran, and"frequently broke aboard, keeping the decks awash. Aiter standing for 48 hour.--, the gale cased, and the wind went into the westward again. The meridian of th- Capo of (lOod'Hopc was cn.ssed on the ISMi October. Thence to . tho meridian of the Leuwiu, westerly winds, varied by one or two sharp gides from north, prevailed. IHiring these gales the Christian Jt'Ausland laboured heavily, and took much water on board, but save some slight damage to the top-gullaut .stanchions and rail, and to the deck-house, no mischievous results ensued. Neither the Australian nor the Tiusiuanian coast was sighted, the ship bowling- by them with a soldier's wind, but when well clear of Tasmania she w;us met by a muzzier from the S.K., strong gales and a heavy sea continuing for six days, which drove tlie ship-into 45 degrees south. This .misfortune left the captain no option but to run through Foveaux Strait, which was accomplished before a light S.W. breeze. Sighted the Solandcr on the 10th inst., at 4 a.m., and passed the Uluff at 7.30 a.m. on the same day, and arrived off Otago Heads at 4.45 p.m. on the 20th.
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Bibliographic details
Otago Daily Times, Issue 3686, 27 November 1873, Page 3
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4,152SHIPPING. Otago Daily Times, Issue 3686, 27 November 1873, Page 3
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