NAUTICAL ITEMS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4240, 20 September 1875, Page 2

NAUTICAL ITEMS.

One of the direlict vessels in, the., North Atlantic is the Emma of Quebec. She was last sighted on June 17th, lat. 23 N., long. 35 W., by the night watch of a vessel bound from London to Antigua. a boat, " No. 5," that had belonged to the unfortunate 'Steamer-. Vicksburg, was. picked :upi on Juno 24th, in lat. 47N., by a Norwegian barque. It contained two life preservers, a life belt, and cask of water. The ship Northern Light, from Barbadoes to London, passed a water-logged vessel in lat. 40.35 N., long. SI W. The direlict appeared about 300 lons, ha-1 round stern and billet head, and bowsprit stand n". She was right,in the track of Indian and Colonial traders. The Maritime Register says that a letter, dated June 29th, was received at the Admiralty from the Com-mander-in-Chief of the North American Station, stating that H.H.S. Swallow had.been cruising in search of the Vieksburg's boats but without obt lining any intelligence about them. She wag then waiting at St John's for the ice to clear away, in order that she might prosecute researches to the northward During the quarter ending June 20th there sailed from Liverpool, under the Emigration Act, 29,546 passengers to the United States, of whom 14 493 were English, 391 Scotch, 0181 Irish, and 0820 foreigners. Of thoso who emigrated outside tho Act G3O went to the United States, 114 to Canada, 192 to Nova Scotia, 160 to the Australian Colonies, 42 to the East Indies 48 tv China, 10 to Western Africa, and 347 to South America. The above constitute a total of 37,739, which, compared with the corresponding quarter of 1874, shows a decrease of 10,016. A case of brutal ill-treatment on the high seas was happily followed by condign punishment upon tlie offenders—two wretches named Joseph Little and Alexander Thaine—the master and mate of the ship Rio Grande. The case, as reported bytho Maritime Register, was tried at Kerry on the I7tti of last July. On the 29th April a lad named Henry Pountley, who was acting as temporary cook of the vessel, died. He had been - subjected to: the vilest treatment at 1 he hands oi the master and mate. The poor creature was often unable to have the food cooked in time on account of the scarcity of coal, and the time occupied in chopping wood for fuel. The witness who gave this evidence further Btated as follows:—" The Captain often tore the trousers off his legs whilst thrashing htm. It was in that way he lost his clothes. I gave him one-pair of trousers" first and then another just beforo he died. The captain used to puni.-h him every day if he did not cook the food by putting him astride on'the-boom and holding a : double block, weighing: nearly 2Slbs, for a couple of ; hour* together. If the. did not keep the:block clear of , the boom he was thrashed. On the mornin? that the ; deceased died the captain! called for him when they were setting the mainsail, and when he cime up the .forecastle the:.captdinD knocked liltri down with his clenched fist, and then kicked him in the ribs with , heavy sea boots. At that time the boy had on only a wet shirt and a pair of trousers; he.was very .weak, j The,captain then chsiuedthe boy by'tlie wuist with a dog-collar to the iron bars of the skylight, and he was -handcuffed by the right ancle to something else. He isaid to the captain that he was dying-, and teemed to iboin a dying state. The boy was calling on God for , mercy if he ha,l been a sinner. The captain told him that Ins god was a wooden god, and then came and j thrashed him again where he was chained to the skylight. The captain struck him. anywhere that came , nearest to him. The boy was chained -.until 12 o'clock hat night. It was raining at the time, and the boy ;had only a trousers on him in the cud. At half-past ,12 the captain again thrashed him while IWas at the wheel, and when the boy came aft he was entirely 'naked. He fell, and when the captain told him to stand up he could not do so ; he was jthoroughly exhausted;, and instead of raising ho rolled about the deck. The decbased asked the captain for a blanket, and said if he did ;not get one he would die. The captain did :not give it to him. The boy became Insensible" soon afterwards; and then he went out of his mind. At this .time it was about 3 o'clock In the morning, and the captain directed one of the crew (Elliott) to take the jhandcuffa off the deceased's ankles. He was sensele 's at the time Tha captain said, " Drag him forward by to hair of his head." Elliott then caught him under ■the armpits and took him to the forecastle, the captain after him. When.he was let go the deceased fell down all of a heap; that was about 4 o'clock in the morning He was then dead." A horrible case, truly. It is gratifying to know that the captain was sentenced to 15 years' penal servitude. The part the mate took in the transaction is not described, .but that he was seri;ously implicated may bo inferred from the fact of ■his receiving a seutence of 5 years' penal servitude. A verdict of manslaughter was recorded against both of •them. Why did not the crew interfere to save the poor lad ? '.....

A aelf acting ship ventilator, which also serves as a f g alarm and bilge pump, is thus desoribeil by the -Maritime Register:—'The machine,'which we have had an opportunity of carefully examining, was introduced into the country seme time ago, and submitted to the most crucial tests. The invention, which was patented by Mr Tjiiersof New Orleans, consists of two bmill cylinders placed on either side of a ship's inboard and connected by a pipe. Tho cylinders are partly tilled with water, and as the vessel rolls tho water rushes from the elevated to the depressed side of the ship from one cylinder to the other, and by creating a vacuum draws up the foul air from between decks or but of the hold through pipes leading below. 'She air which is pumped up by-this.-self-acting process goes out through-a discharge pipe ovor the side, and such is the force of its exit that it serves to blow a fog horn when required. Foi,' horns are only used by silling ships, but a powerful whistle, sped illy adapted to steamships may be applied with perfect success, and the larger the cylinders the louder the bi^nal. A bimilar application of the principle frees the vessel from bilge-water; and, in fact, will keep under ordinary leakage. The invention has been applied to tv large number of ships of war and merchant vessels in the United States, and therefore its merits are wellknown. Commander C. N. Cusham, of the Waehusett, in his report to the Rear-Admiral, stated that tho slightest motion would set tho ventilator in operation, bo as to exhaust the foul air in any part of the vessel, or keep the fog horns ia constant blast, or pump up water if there were any in the ship. There are several reports to the same effect, and amongst them is a resolution from the Board of Supervising Inspectors of hteam Vessels, recommending its general adoption. Admiral J. H. Strong, lighthous >. Inspector in a document sent by him to the Lighthouse Board at Washington, writes as follows: —"In speaking of it as a fog alarm, which it becomes by attaching a group of trumpets to the end of the pipe through which the foul air is discharged (thus making a friend of a foe), the keeper of the Sandy Hook lighthouse writes most warmly in its favour, sends me the testimony of pilots who have heard the alarm from a distance of three miles, arid gives me his own experience of having heard it in tho pilot boat two miles to windward." Our contemporary also .informs us that

the invention is fast finding favour in Britain. The Prince of Walcs's yacht Osborne has been fitted with

the apparatus, and one of the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamers has adopted one. Regarded as a ventilator, "grain can be kept cool, and lower tiers of fish have, it is said, been turned out in as good condition as those on the top. In petroleum or benzoline cargoes, or in gaseous coal,-it is importa:,t to carry ojl everything tending to combustion or explosion, and this the machine in question is competent to effect." We learn from Cuptain Young, of the schooner Blanche, that the wall-known schooner Papui is missing. She left here on tho Oth November last, under command of Captain Sutherland, on a trading cruise. She left Rarotonga on the 10th July, to proceed to the island of Whihatikuo, where the Rev. Mr Rilos resides. She had (says the New Zealand Herald of the Bth inst.) touched there, and had gone on a visit to some neighbouring islands, but has not since been heard of, although the Venus and Humboldt, from Tahiti, both visited these islands, and made search for her. The Papua was commanded by Captain Sutherland, an Auckland man, and, besides the crew, had on board somo fourteen half-caste and native passengers from Rarotonga. The Blanche herself cruised for a few days in senreh of the Papua, but could learn no traces of her. There is no doubt that sho encountered some heavy weather after leaving-, and was either driven on to a coral reef and sunk, or foundered at sea.