SHIPPING SUMMARY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4436, 8 May 1876, Page 3

SHIPPING SUMMARY.

This summary deals with the events of the month to date May sth.

We can report steady good business dnring the month, with fully average tonnage returns both in and out, and indications of an improve meat iv the coastal tra^e that promises perimnency during the winter season. The late good harvest is producing its effect in augmenting the exportation of produce of all kinds peculiar to tlic Province to all parts of the Colony and Melbourne. Grain is the staple— of that there i.s encugh and to snare for all demands that have been or are likely to be made.

A leading event of the month was the arrival of the crippled m il steamer Coliraa, to be .locked for rejitirs. She was towed round from LvtteUon l)v the steaii or Arawata, and elsewhere will Lo found particulars of the pa-sage. The damAge she sustained was not so serious as wa.s at tint supposed, for instead of her shaft having parted, it was found that only the propeller had given way. Every par tide of it had disappeared, the boss having burst asunder. The Colima discharged the greater part of her coal, and then was comfortably docked without ths slightest difficulty or extra trouble ; was .surveyed, shipped a nev/ propeller she had on boavd, had her si;ar and main decks caulked, was cleaned and painted, and made fit for sea in the short period of eight days. As the surveyors appointed to inspect her reported favourably of her genera! condition, the Government decided to entrust her with the conveyance of the outward 'Frisco mail, and wit!) it, and 24 passengers for San Francisco, besides others for intermediate oorts, she left o)i TJuuwiay last. Her repairs were-1-xt.cuted in a manner that gave entire satisfac tio>! to Icr commander and engineer, and th«aJiuivabta dock accommodation of the port was

also eulogised by them in unmeasured terms. We havo reason to be proud of the dock a&d its appliances. Nothing approaching either it or them is to be found in any other part of tho Colony. The appliances comprise boring, planing, drilling, and other machines, capable of dealing with heavy machinery, such as boring a 72in. cylinder, and when the steamhammer that has been imported is erected, heavy forging jobs, such as welding shafts of large steamers, will be easily accomplished. Upper Harbour improvement questions have been unusually rife. Quite a controversy arose out of the report of Major Gordon and the reply to it by_ the Harbour Board's engineer, the said reply being ccrached in strong and somewhat uncourteous language. Then another discussion was excited by a communication from Mr M'G-regor, the engineer of the Oamaru break water works, upon the superiority of concrete versus timber in the construction of wharves. This drew a long reply from tho Harbour Board's engineer in favour of timber. In the midst of ihese controversies the question at issue became turther complicated by a very business-like and sensible communication frsm Mr H. Hough ton, of the shipping firm of Houghton and Co., in which he advocated the deepening of the present south channel of the Upi_>er Harbour, instead of cutting a new straight one, and so virtually closing the Upper Harbour to small coasters. Mr Houghton pointed out that such vessels could not possibly work through a narrow channel, whilst it would not pay them to tow through, and therefore they would be frequently put to a heavy loss of time waiting for a fair wind. In support of his opinion da to the advisability of attempting to utilise the old channel, Mr Houghton quoted the experience of kiudred works in Canada, and certainly made out a very good case. His letter and tho reports upon concrete v, timber, and clso a proposition from the Messrs Proudfoot, contractors, to relieve the Board from fuither trouble by constructing a deep water channel through the Upper Harbour at a fixed surA, were ordered to be held over for further consideration. Messrs Proudfoot offered to construct the wholo of the harbour works in accordance •vith tho first plans of the Engineer for the sum of Lf>B6,ooo, or, if concrete wharves were decided upon, for L 836.000. In the event of the Board modifying the original plans, the proposers would construct a channel 24ft. deep at high water, and wide enough for two of the largest ships to pass abreast in, with 300 ft. of wharfage, for LIBO.OOO. Good security to be forthcoming for the performance of the contract, and the works to be kept in repair three years according to the first plan, and two years according to the second. The conflicting reports of the two engineers, Messrs Proudfoot's proposition, and Mr Houghton's letter, have given quite a new phase to the main question, and how all will eventuate we are at a loss to imagine, excepting that we are quite certain the proposed Harbour improvements will be carried out one way or the other. Wo are inclined to attach very great importance to Mr Houghton's proposition and general remarks.

No immigrant ship has arrived during the month, and we are glad of it—the market for gene/ral labour being at saturation point just now, and likely to continue so during the winter months. Aa we have again and again pointed out in former summaries, enough has been done for some thno to come, at least, for tree immigration. Or-ie a necessity; it is now no longer so. for if free immigration hrs proved a success —if it has compassed all that was predicted concerning it—a very substantial minority of the many thousands of persons who liave been deposited upon the shores of the Colony during the past four or five years should have attained a certain position which would enable them to assist relatives and friends from the over populated old countvy to the new and sparsely inhabited one, presenting no mean attractions to persons, whether male or female, of enterprising and industrious turn of mind, with a good trade, or other useful occupation at their fingers ends. It is from such sources that the Colony should in future recruit its population, with occasional resort to free immigration, as the necessity arises, but not oftener.

STATISTICAL, I'OKEIGN, ETC,

The returns inward and outward for the month to date mentioned, show a good average, both in number and tonnage. They comprise a total of 186 arrivals and departures of all classes, aggregating 44,111 tons, of this nmcber eight,] aggregating 9198 tons, came under British and foreign classification; five, f ggregating 4586, being arrivals, and three of 4612, departures. This is barely up to ayerage, but as we remarked last month, may be accepted as significant of a thoroughly healthy trade, the decrease being the effect of the dictates of sound commercial policy. The great rush of immigration produced an abnormal condition of affairs for the time being, especially in the excessive importations of all Kinds of goods. Stocks are now being reduced to within reasonable limits, and that accomplished, the export trade will again brighten up. Permanently good results have accrued to the Province by the immigration to it, for the increase of population thus effected has produced a corresponding increase in home consumption—an increase that must be steadily maintained year by year to merit the requirements of the constantly increasing number of consumers. Of the five vessels which arrived during the month four were from the United Kingdom and one from New York. The barque Denbighshire, from London, chartered for the run out by the New Zealand Shipping Company, was tbe first to show up. She arrived on the 13th nit, after the somewhat long passage of 111 days, which, however, compares very favourably with the passages made by Melbourne traders of the same period. She brought a full cargo, and has discharged it. The Albion Company's shin Pomona was the next to arrive—on the 19th ult. She camo from Glasgow via the Bluff, and made the passage in 88 days—very g.iod time indeed, Having had immigrants to the Bluff she merely carried cargo in the lower hold—all of s t for this port, and is now busy discharging. Her immigrants were landed at the Bluff in capital condition, and were regarded by the Southland Press as a most superior consignment Shaw, Savill's chartered ship Caiiloch arrived from London on the 29th ult., having made the passage in 84 days— time good. Besides a full general cargo, she brought out 23 passengers and 22 immi o Tants, whose destination was Canterbury. They were all single men, and represented the balance of the number that should have been dispatched direct in the ship Countess of Kintore. The last arrival horn Britain was the ship Loch Awe, which arrived on the 30th ult., after a passage of 91 dajrs. She came consigned to the New Zealand Shipping Company, and brought a full cargo of general merchandise. On the following uay the barque Stillman B. Allen arrived from New York with a full cargo of notions, of which one-third only is for this port, the remainder being consigned equally between Lyttelton and Wel'ington. She made an excellent passage of 95 days. Full reports of the above vessels will be found elsewhere. The outward trade has been slack, but is likely to be ii« measure compensated by the returns next .month. Only one ship, the May Queen, left for Britain, but another, the Albion Company's Oamaru, is ready for sea, and sails to morrow. The May Queen w?s loaded by the New Zealand Shipping Company, and sailed — the eleventh wool ship of the season—on the 3rd hist, with a cargo valued at L 70,755 including 3084 bales of wool. The Oamaru's cargo is valued at L 51,148, and is made up chiefly of wheat, of which 9319 sacks were shipped in her. Of wool she has 1934 bales, which brings up the shipments of the season to about 48,000 bales. The wheat season is now on, and very large exportatious have been prepared for by both the Albion Company and the New Zealand Company. We quite anticipate that three ships, the Kaikaia, Wild Deer, and Margaret Galbraith, will meet with dispatch next month. Keen interest is excite^ in the result of the run home, not only between the ships May Queen and Oamaru, but between them and three other ships which leave the Colony this week, viz., the Hurunui, from Wellington ; the Crusader, from Lytteltou ; and the Otaki, from the Bluff. The passages of the five thu3 leaving so clossly upon each other's heels will constitute an ocean race that does not often eventuate. The Hurunui and Otaki belong to the New Zeala?id Shipping Company, and the Crusader to Shaw and SavilL The other departures foreign duiing the month, were the barque Theseus on the 24th ult., bound to Manilla, in ballast, and the mail steamer Colitna, on the 4th inst., bound to San Francisco, by Coast ports.

INTERCOLONIAL

The Intercolonial trade has been a little sluggish, being for th 3 month represented by 23 vessels aggregating 10,818 tons as against 24 vessels aggregating 15,688 tons for the months of March and April. Of the returns this month, 12 vessels aggregating 5307 tons arrived and 11 aggregating 5C51 tons sailed. Eela tions with Melbourne continue in the ascendant, five out of the eleven arrivals being from tliat ]<ort and included the Riiigarooma, Arawata, and Albion, and tho brigantines Au Revoir and Yarra. i''our vessels, the barques »"!e»ii'ewitch, Bobycito, Frederick Bassil, and Harriet Aruiitage came in from Newcastle, and two, the steame/s Kasby and Otago, horn Sydney, the former direct, the latter via West Coast and other ports. One vesnel, the barque Gleneoe, arrived from Hobart Town, with the first consignment of the season's fruit and other produce. The Newcastle* traders brought; coal as usual, and those from Melbourne general cargo, the freights being up to average weight. The departures comprised the steamers Arawata, Eingarooma, and Albion, for Melbourne and the Bluff; the barques WoodvilJe, Gloucester, Nardrto, and Bobycito, f.-.r Newcastle ; the steamers Easby and Albion, and the brig Transport, for Sydney ; and the barque Glencoo, for Hobari Town.

IKTEKI'IIOVINCIAL AND COASTWISE

The Interprovineial and Coastwise business has been barely sustained during the month, find in represented by 150 arrivals and departures, aggregating 23,92;> tons register. Of this itMiiVf tlie arrivals, aggregating 11,05 C tons, were 71, and the departures, aggregating 12/273

tons, 84. The Interprovincial trade baa been attended to by the usual fleet of steamers belonging to the New Zealand Steam Shipping Company and the Union Company, and a respectable fleet of sailing bottoms. Ihe steamers, comprising the Phoebe, Wellington, Taranaki, and Lady Bird, belonging to tho first company, and the 'Hawea and Taupo, the Union Company's boats, have run with their .accustomed regularity ond Biiccess, and commanded liberal patronise both in passengers and cirgo. mo steamer Maori, belonging to tho Union Company, made her monthly trip round the Island, and is now absent on another ; and the same company's steamer Beautiful Star and chartered steamer Wanganui have run to and rrom Lytteltori and intermediate ports. 1%; Albion Company's steamer Taiaroa has been employed runnin" between this port and Timaru, and has done good service, droyhing grain and wool for the home ships loading hero. Ihe JNortii has been drawn upon during the month tor large supplies of timber, of which six cargoes camel in in the schooners Hinemoa, Rosannah Rose, Owake, Ethel, Sea Gull, and Bencleucn. Against these were despatched as many cargoes of produce to Auckland, Wangamu, ISap-er, Waitara, and Greymouth. The coasting trade proper has held its own steadily, finding em ployment for the regular light tonnage traders to adjacent ports ; and to the steamers Samson, Matau, tunning to O~maru, and the Shag to Shag Point; whilst southward ports have been attended to by tho steamers Express and Comerang. The latter has changed hands, having been purchased by the Messrs Houghton and Co., tho owners of the Express and Wanganui.

DOCKS, SHirriNG, ETO. The construction of tho riew harbour dredge has progressed apaco during tho month, and next month should find her almost ready for launching. The new steamer that was building in Messrs Sparrow and Henderson's yard was launched on the 13th ult, and is now in course of being fitted up. A singular mishap attended the launch. The steamer was built close to the railway, on the land side of it, and had to bo launched across tha lino, and by some mischance tho ways gave way and landed her right on the railway ; the consequence being that the traffic was blocked up for sever.il hours. The Iron Age—such was the name bestowed on the new vessel—sustained no damage, and_ will in the course of a week or two be in running trim and proving her capabilities. We have dealt with the steamer Uoliina in another place. She was the only vessel taken into_ the Graving Dock this month. In connection with her enter tainment at this port, we may observe that the Government behaved with the utmoat liberality in granting her the use of tho dock free of charge. The other docks also did little. Murray's floating dock accommodated the steamers Maori and Samson, which were taken in to receive periodical cleaning, &c, whilst the ketch Edith Reid was taken into tho Pelichet Bay floating dock to be overhauled, and have her bottom cleaned and blackened. The ketch Defiance was similarly treated on Fletcher's slip, and the ketch Lloyd's Herald was slipped at Sutherland's, and received a very comprehensive repairing. A new keel and kelson were put into her, and new covering-boards, deck, and partly, new topsidos. ■ i . Repairing, or rather renewing, the Lioness, a steam tug belonging to the port of Hokitika, on the West Coast, will give plenty of employment to ship smiths. She came round here a few weeks since/and is to receive a new bottom, r.ew paddle-wheels on the feathering principle, machinery to be refitted, boiler re-tubed, and where necessary, replated. The contract for the work has been entrusted so Messrs Sparrow and Co. Last Saturday week witnessed the launch of a new ketch, named the Alpha. Sho was built at tho Lower Harbour by Mr Mouatt, to the order of Messrs Pedlow and Walters, of Port Chalmers, and promises to prove a useful vessel. Her tonnage register is 25.

WRECKS, CASUALTIES, ETC.

There ia but little, we are glad to say, to chronicle under this heading. An accident, happily not very serious, befel the woll known steamer Beautiful Star, belonging to the Union Company. She was at Lyttelton during the late neavy weather, and being driven against the eiid of the pier, an outstanding bolt in the pier sill holed her in the main compartment twe feet below water line. She had to be beached, and whilst she was on the ground the damage was made good by patching. She is again m working order and running. From the North we have heard of the loss of the steamer Egmont on the Wanganui bar. Sue was built and launched at Dunedin last year, and during her short career as a regular trader between Wellington and Wanganui, had proved herself a useful, smart boot.

THE WEATHER.

Westerly and S.W. winds have prevailel during the mouth, with occasional gales and much rain. An exceptionally heavy S.W. gale swept the coasts from North to South the vyeek before last. It commenced on the 26th ultimo, and lasted two days, blowing terriffically hard at times, and was, in fact, the Heaviest gale ex perienoed for years. Beyond the detention of several of the coasting steamers, it was productive ot no ill effects. Since then the weather held fine and pleasant until yesterday, whon it became a little coarse from S.W.

ARRIVAL OF THE DENBIGHSHIRE,

The gale went down on tho 13fch ult. with the ebb tide, and the Geelong, after towing out the WoodvUle, fastened to the Denbighshire, and brought her into Port, and as she had no powder on board, sho was moored well up the harbour. She Is a, smart-looking litt'o barque, and from what we could tec of her run and entrance, we inferred that she was sweetly-lined under water. A nearly new vessel—only five years old —and having been always until thu trip in tho China trode, dealing generally with light freight, she is in good preservation. She is what may be termed of quasi-composite build, for although she is of wood so far as her timbers and planking are concerned, she has iron beams, stringers, &c., and nonce suffers from that troublosomo complaint, deviation of the comp.osses, almost as much as a ship all Iron. She belongs to the firm of Messrs Jenkins and Co., of London, tho owners of t'.io Carmarthenshire, lately here. Compiling her leiformance this trip with the passages recently made by vosaels of heavier tonnage to Melbourno, the nenbijjhsh ro has acquitted herse f creditably enough, her run from port to port having been made in Ul days, allowing for difieronco of time, and from land to land in 9G days. She was detained ton. days in the Channel by heavy westerly gales, and lost a couplo of days on this coast, having been blown past the Port by the gale of Monday last. The Denbighshire left London on December 24th, lay iv tho Downs and under the Ness for oight days, and finally got away from tho land on January 3rd, then taking a departure from Start Point with a N.E. breeze. N.E. and northerly winds carried her thence right through to the Equator, across it on Junuary 22nd, on the'loth day, in long. 27, and on to the S.E. Trade, which was met with on the 24th in IS. It proved scant and chequered by calms, and gave out in 25 S. Light N.W. winds followed, and carried the barque nearly to the meridian of tre Cape of Good Hops, which was crossed on Febm ry 24 ;h lat. 40 south. Sh? was becalmed flvp days off the pitch of the Cape, and then on the 25th found the westerlies. These pjoved strong and steady, veering and hauling between N.W. and S.W., rattled the barque along to the 50th meridian, where these failed her, and fluttered round to N.E. The change brought up a heavy gale from that quarter, 'astiug thieedays, and she weathered it head reaching on the port 'a> k, under two lower topsails, and fetched away to 47 south. Again the wind came out of the westward, and the barque spreading her wings to it, edged away north until she reached tho 42nd parallel, and on that ran her easting down to Tasmania. She was off the S.W. end of the island on Match 30th, and there encountered a terrific gale from S. W., which compelled her to reduce canvas to the two lower topsails, and sdbsequently to round to and head reach on the port tajk. There was a large ship in company, hove to under lower main top«ail to windward of her. The ga'e sent up a tremandous sea, which broke on board in heavy masse* of water, and did considerable damage, smashing part of the bulwarks, and staving in the doors of the deck-house, and completely gutting it from end to end, and washed away the effects of the apprentices who were berthad there. The gale moderated on the night of the 31st, and the barque kept a» ay, and soon had to haul her yards round to meet a change of wind from N.W. On Ist inst. it increased to another heavy gale, very severe indeed, barometer down to 29, and a high and ugly cross sea running. Sh s ran through it under two lower topsails, the sea breaking on board all round, and a^ain and aga;n filling her decks. Next day, the 2nd, the weather toned down, and the wind holding fair at a topgallant breeze, she ran up to the Snarcv sighting them on the Bth inst. Passed the Nuggets on the afternoon of the 10i.h,and Cape Saundera at 5.30 p.m. It was blowing heavily from S.W. at the time, and the gale freshening in a succession of furious squalls, she had to round to with her head to S.E., and so head reached until midnight. By that time gale and current set her past the port, and light aire and calms succeeding the brt»ze, she did not work hack to the port until the morning of the 12th, then met another gale, and consequently did not tuw in until the 13th. The Denbighshire carries well; she brings 1100 tons of cargo, weight and measurement, and is consigned to the New Zealand Shipping Co.

ARRIVAL OF THE POMONA.

Tlie change of wind to S.W. on the 17th ult brought down, as it was thought it would, the ship Pomona, which had left the bluff on the previous Saturday. She showed up at the Heads next d*y, and would have been townd in th it evening but for the dark, thick wither and the heavy cea at the entrance. However, she fetched Port with much ease on the 10lh, and moored at the Railway Pier, where she wi 1 discharge. The Pomona called at the Bluff to land inuiiigrants— 140 in number, including 36 single women. She ia from Glasgow, with over 1000 tons of cargo for this port and 14 immigrants, and is a remarkably handsome ship, but not by any mtins now, having Iscii built some nine years itgo at • i.ienock, by R. Steelc and Co. She ia owned by Messrs J. and A. Allen and Co., of Glasgow, and is chartered for the passage out by the Albion Slipping Co. She has made a capital run of 88 days from Glasgow, including the delay involved by call ng ' at li'.e lilull, whilst tur run from laud to Imd occupied 75di.\s She is a powerful ship, with great eapicity for travelling wi h a free fresh wind. This was instanced by her run from the Cape in 22 days to th£ Bluff, and also that ehe averaged 2 0 miles p^r day whilst running down her easting. Her master, Captain Tannqek, ia well known in the old country as one of the chief actors in ihat international drama c reprising a transatlantic race between the English schooner yacht Cambria and the American yacht Dauntless. The nice was run in IS7O, Captain Tannoel: commanding the Cambria, and winning it after a hard struggle by 20 miles. The immigrants brought out by the .Pomona were of an excellent ciass, and gave no troubK Only one of them died—an infant nan.cd A'ary M'Cauley, aged 11 months—but we regret to learn that Dv O'Brien, the su<-geon-superintcndent in charge of the immigrants, succumbed U the inroads of an insidious disease and departed this life on Jlarch 7th. One birth occurred, viz., Mrs J. Irving of a son, on .March 27'h.

IVi'li regard to the Pom.na'3 passjge out, Captain Tamiuck reports driving left Grcuwek on January 21-1. an i east adrift from the steam tv" next day otl the hie of Man. fchu Hogged down ch.uin.-l against ttrong S W. yale-i, and lience did not gi;t a departure until passing the Lucifer Shoal light ou the 28th. Slie

was kopton tho coast four days after that by southerly and westerly weather, boiug just out of sight, of land. off Cork on February Ist. Then tho winds favoured hor by veering to N.W.; veering and hauling between tliat point nnd S W., carried her through to the N.K. Tnule, which was picked up off tho Canaries on the lith. It proved moderate, nnd gavuouton Feb 3O'h,in 4 >T, mid wua i.t once succeeled liy thefirstof thoS.fi!. Trade. On the 23rd. *ho crossed thu Lino,in lengitudo 27 W. Cirricd ihe SE. Trade, light and scant, to 20 S., then losing it on March 3rd. Thenco light vnrlablo win s pruvallud until tho 10th, when it fell dead cilm. and tlm iniiuigrntrs wito exorcised in boat drill, and provttd viry apt. The bo a* wcro lowered and hoisted iiv several t.'inoa.and those fitted with Douglas's patent apparatus proved tho most easy to handlo by far. After tho calm, the wind came out of the sou'A, andon tho 14th, when sho passed within sight of Tristan D'Acunha, and Houth of Gough fsland, wag blowing fresh from S.B. On tho Kith tho westerlies found hor, and on tho 18tli sho crossed ihe meridian of Grconwjeh, and th»t of tho Capo on tho 21st, with a Btrang N.W. breeze on her port quarter. Tho westerlies hold good all across tho Southern Ocoan, exco, ting on tho 25th, when they fluttered away, light and variable, but mado again next day. On tho 20th, she passed within sight of Korguelcn Land, run her casting down between tho 60th and filet parallels, sighted no ico, and passed tho Solamlor at 6 a.m. on the 14th ult., a.d arrived at tho Bluff at noon tho same day. Landed immigrants on tho following day, and loft in tho evening for Dunedin; was muzzled by north easterly weather until the 17th, then got a slant from S.W., and fetched tho Heads Tho Pomona is. a well appointed vessel, nlbait oldfnshioned In one or two particular?, whilst as regards othors, sho is altogether tho other way. Sho has a capital engine department, including condensor and steam boilors for cooking purposes. Her saloon accommodation is smal), but neat and comfortable

ARRIVAL OP THE CAITHLOOH.

This flno vosGol has made her appoaranco in good time, and ia to bo credited with a capital pasaago of 81 days from Graveaeiul, reckoning from port to put; Irom land to land, sho mado tho run in 78 days. This, considering t*-o wretchod winds sha had whilst crossing tho Soulhorn Ouean, the westerlies having failed her soon aftor sho passod the Louwin, is very crcditablo work indeed, and is suggestivo of high travelling cipabilitioa on tho part of tho Caithloeh. But tho opportunity of displaying them waß denied hor this passage, OS sho had not 2<i hours of a really trood running b'oezo from first to Inßt. Vory fine wcathor provalled until nho pnssod Korguclon, and thence tho winds huld light, but the weather was vory thick and rainy—so much so that observations wcro fow nnd far between.

The Caithloch la a now ship of 120 i tons register, on hor socond voyage. She was built at Port Glasgow by Messrs B. Duncan and Co., to tho ordor of Mr T. 0. Hunter, of Groenook, and ig a substantial iron ship, classed 100 Aat Lloyd's, and very well appointed in accordanco with Utter day style. Her dimensions aro —lonjjtli, 235 ft.; beam, 87ft.; depth of hold, 22ft. Hor maiden voyii^e was mado to Adelaide with genoral cargo, and thence to London with a cargo of wi oat. At London sho was chartered by Shaw, Savill, and Co, and comes hero consigned to Messrs A. Briscou and Co. with a couple of thousand tons of cargo, waight and measurement, under hatchoa. Fifty-ono possangors havo arrived with her, of whom 28 are immigrants.

Touching her passage out, we have to report that she loft Gravesend on Fobruary 4th, ran down Ohannol with castor y winds, and cleared tho land noxt day, taking a doparturo from Start Point. Northorly and N.E. winds carried he) along to 40 north and 20 west, and then .vho braced up to a S.W. breeze, which hold throe dnya, and (javo pluco to tho N.E. Trado on Fobruary 18th, lat. 25. Tha Trade carried her south of tho Lino, tho latter bong crossed on the 28th Fobrmvy, tho 24th day out, in lon. 28. She lost tho Trade on tho Ist paral.cl South, and then had a week of doldrmn weather, and worked with it to 7 South, whoro tho S.E Trado met hor on Murch 7th. It proved rather liyht and poor, and gavn out in 27 South. Thenco sho had good leading winds to Gough ißlmid. Passed it in sight on tho 17th, and thon found tho westerlies. Thoy wero neitiier steady nor fresh, but still lod hor along across tho moridian of tho Capo on March 22nd, ht. 40 South. Passed tho Crozets to tho southward on the 29;h, and passed Kcrguelen Laud 17 wiles south of it on April 2nd. From the Crozots, tho weather had been very thick, and continued so to a greater or loss degroe during the remainder of tho passago. Light variablo westerlies stuck to hor until tho 1 Ith, whon sho was in about 120 East, having passed Cape Louvvin on tho 11th in lat. 52. There tho wind wont round to N.E., and held there perslstontly until tho 23rd, setting her away South to lut. 60. It thon veered to S.W. again, and with it eho passed the Snares, but not In sight, on tho 24th, and on the following day made her first land fall at Long Point, and a few hours after passed Capo Suundors, and was off the Heads on the morning of the 2dth. She was then caught by the heavy S,W. gale of that da(o, and head-reached off shore on tho starboard tack, under thrr c lower topsails, foretopmast, and mizen-staysaii, and reefed forecourse ; held hor own well during the gale, and when it abated, stood in for tho laid again, and fetched it at Capo Saunders on the morning of the 29th, and was towed into port in tho afternoon by the Gcelon?. No ice was sighted during the passago and no vessels spoken; but an exciting incident occurred on February 21st, when the Caithloch was in lat. 18 North. She there fe'l in with a boat containing five men, part ot tho crow of the brig Caroline. They wcro tho master, Captain Campbell, chief officer, Mr Fiynn, and threo seamen, two of them Kroomen, and one a Russian Finn. They were taken on board, and Captain Campbell reported that the brig was bound from Shorloso, on the coast of Africa, to Queenstown for orders, and sprung a hud leak. The pumps were kept going until thoy choked, and then the boats were lowered, and the crew oi nino men took to them—five in the master's boat, and four in the othor. This was on tho 14th February, lat. 17.20 N., lonsr. 24.50 W. Soon after they left the bri>,', sho went down. The boats kept together until the day closed, but separated during the night, and did not meet afterwards. The five men rescued by the Cai*hloch were kindlytrcated on board her, and on the 26th March were transfo-red to tho s.s. Argentina, bound from Bahia to Amsterdam. Her master promised to land them at Dartmouth.

ARRIVAL OF THE LOCH AWE.

The Loch Awe was signalled at the Heads early on the 30th ult., but as the Geelong did not get down until after tha tide turned on ebb, she had to wait all day until tho next flood made, and then brought tho ship in. As tho Loch Awe had powder on board, she moored in the usual place, and was then boarded by the officials. She is a fine iron ship of 1053 tons register, built in 1869 by Messrs Barclay and Curio, of Glasgow, for llrJ. R. WiUon, of tlmt City. This voyage she was chartered by the New Zealand Shipping Company, and after loading between ICOO and 1700 tons of cargo, weight and measurement, hauled out of dock, and dropped down the rivsr to Gravesend ; there shipped some eight tons of powder, and stowed it in a proporly constructed magazino in tho main hatch. On January 30th, she left Gravesend, was towed down to Beaehy Head, and thenco worked down Channel auainst fresh westerly winds, with heavy chopping tea. Cleared tho Channel on February 4th, and whiltthiashing at it shipped a sea that carried away part of her port bulwarks. Variable winds from south to west hoaded her to Madeira, which she passed to tho eastward*-in sight—on t!ic 12th No JM.E. Trade was mot with; tho wind* prevailed from north round to SB, and predominated from tho latter quarter. Tho Equator was crossed on February 27th—longitude 27.41 W., and the SE. Trade was met on tho Line. A light, scant Tiade, it gave out on March Bth, in lat. 30.45. Then tho wind took northerly, and gradually working round to the S.W., carried her across the meridian of Greenwich on March ISth, lat. 41.7, and still holding food, sho crossed tho meridian of the Cape on the 2181,, rattled past tho Crozoti, and touched the 88th meridian on April Oth. Kino days of N.E. and easterly weather followed, and checked her progress very materially. Then tho wejterlies mado again, and hold until tho was woll up with the land, fin Jly becoming light and variable, and so held until she made tho Snares on tho 24th She was becalmed a ddy to the eastward of them, and was then caught by tho flrstof the week before last's heavy S.W. weatherran before it down the coast, and was off the Port on the evening of the 25th. Stood off shore under low eail whilst tho gale lasted, and made the land again on the 29th, ran back ti the Port, and was towed in next day. The Loch Awe is commanded by Captain Weir, and ran her longitude down between the parallels of 45 and 60. A great deal of rainy weather and frequent squalls were experienced after the meridian of the Leuwin was passed ; but, on tho whole, the passage was one of average weather until the New Zealand coast was reached. The Loch Awe lost a couple of topsails in it. Twenty passengers arrived with her, and she also brought out four fine pedigree short-horn bulls, ranging from fifteen to eighteen months old. They were in capital condition.

AHEIVAL OP THE STILLMAN B. ALLEN.

As was surmised when it was reported that a barque working in had been sighted off Moeraki on the 29th ult., the stranger proved to be the Stillaan B. Allen, from New York. The change of wind to N.E. during next night brought her in, and she sailed up harbour on the Ist May, and anchored below the shipping. She is a very fine vessel of her class, o! wooden construction, and neirly new, having been launched in 1874. She is nicely lined, has great space on deck, very good accommodation both aft and forwards, ami U exceptional'y well appointed. She is the only vessel of her class coming here in which we have noticed a p .tent windlass. Taking har altogether, she is a credit to American ship building. Her performance during the late passage from New York stamps her as a vessel possessing no mean travelling powers. Ninety-five days from port to port was the time made, and from land to land S8 days, this being considerably within the average made from New York. The barque left that port on January 25th; carried fresh westerly winds to the verge of the Trade wind region, and then trimmed hor yards to the N.E. Trade, the latter finding heron February 5, lat. 32min. 52stc. north. It stuck to her until she was twenty-seven miles south of the Equator, which was crossed Feb. iGth, long. 26.12 W. There was no bieak in the wind between the Trades, the N.E. gradually hauling to S.E., and with hor yard? well forward, the barque sped across tho South Atlantic, and carried the Trade to lat. 32.34 S., long. 31.24 W.. where it died out on March sth. Good leading winds from north round to west succeeded it, and with these she crossed the prime meridian on March 14th—the meridian of tho Cape en the 17th. Hence across the Southern Ocean the westerlies were unsteady, and took a great deal of northing, frequently hauling to N. E. She, however, laid a, good course along, crossed the meridian of tLe Leuwin on April 11th, and made the land at the south part of Stewart's Island on the morning of the 24tb. Twenty-four hours of N.E. winds kept her south, aud then came the heavy souther!} gale we have so often alluded to lately, and drove her down the coa»t and past the Port 70 miles. When it abated she commenced working back, and was off the Heads on the £9th, and *ailed in as above. No ice or land was s'trhted during tlu passage, aud no vesselj connected with the Colonies communicated with. The barque ran lier longitude down on about the 45th parallel. She iias a full car^'O of notions on board, of which one-tliird ij for this port, a third for Lyttclton, and the balar.ee for Wellington. On her first voyage—this is hor second—the birque went to Melbourne, and thence to Yokohama, where she loaded for New York.

LAUNCH OP THE P.S. iRON AGE.

It is not often a railway lino is blocked up by a ' steamer, but this vis the case on the 12th on the Dune;i(l:n and Port Chalmers Rai way. The new steamer ' built by Messrs Sparrow and Henderson being sulficimtly advanced, wis launched yestcrdav intj the •Hay, but not with Uiat entire success which w;w desirable and expected. Farly iv the morning operations were commenced, but, owing to the softness of the ground on which the vessel was built, more ditliculty was experienced in getting her along the ways than wag anticipated, thay having sunk considerably When over the permanent way of the railway, the cradles refu-ed duty, and deposited the vessel on the line, at once, o course, inu>mijjtiii£ the truffle. The Railway hngineer being communicated with, a jranfr of men was set to work, and a fresh line of rails laid for about 100 yards, brmr:h>n:j from the permanent way and going ruund the steamer. By this means the traffic was resumed, and the first twin left for Port at 10 am , very much affer time. Durj ing the day, fresh wajs were laid, the ve-sel lifted on' to them, and at liL'h water, about (i o'clock in the eveningl, she w;is successfully launched, not in any way the woise for her mishap She was hauled up to the Stuart street Wharf, where her engines -and boiler will bo shipped. The boikr is ready, and the ermines far advanced toward* completion, so that the Iron ■■ge—forth t m the lame thai has been given to her—will very shortly be tit for work.