MOVEMENTS OF UNION STEAM SHIP COMPANY'S STEAMERS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6092, 19 August 1881, Page 2

MOVEMENTS OF UNION STEAM SHIP COMPANY'S STEAMERS.

Thursday, Auoust 18. Lyttelton-Albion arrived 3.16 p.m. from Fort Chalmers; sails 8 p ni. for Wellington. Taiaroa arrived 12.30 p.m. from Wellington; sailed i p.m. (or Port Chalmers. Wakatipu arrived afternoon from Port Chalmers. Nel-on—Hmvca arrived 12 noon from New Plymouth ; sailed 2 p.m. for Ficton. Auckland—l'engdn sailed 4 p.m. for Russell. Melbourne—Koturua saile 1 Wednesday for Bluff. The s.b. Maori, with passengers and cargo 'rom Ojmaru, arrived at Fort Chalmers on Wednesday night. The barque Bella Mary was towed up to Dunedin yesterday evening. The s.s. Hero was hauled out of the Floating Dock yesterday, and her place taken up by the a.s. Te As the steamers Waitald and Albion were leaving the Port on Wednesday cvoninjr, iho latter grounded in the lower channel, and on lucking out stum first she came into collision with the Waitaki anil crushed her bulwarks in, necessitating the latter returning to the Port. The steam fl et of Great Britain has increased since 1850 fruiu 1850 to (JCI3O vessels, having a tonnage of 2,730,010. The collective tonnage of all the steamers owned by every other nation throughout the world does not.irprua.-Ii these Ilsjii cy by more than 1,000,000 tons. A curious arrangement was aeon by Captain Wawn, of the Stanley, schooner, while cruising lately off the north coast of Isabel Islam!, Soli.man Group.' He doBcribcs it as consisting of two large wooden tanks, about 4 feet apart, kopt in position by two balks of timber one on top and the other below; the tanks and the b-.il ka were connected by 10 iron bars, with nuts and washers pas in;; through the balks. Each tank measured about 7 feet, x 11 feet, and S feet deep; was provided with a small hatchway, securely fastened, and built of S\ or 4-inch pine (Oregon), pitched and caulked. The 'balks were 22 feet lone, 15 inch xl 5 inch. The two ends of a large-stud link chain were fastened to the upper balk between the tanks, and hung down to an unknown depth—a 30-fathom line got no bottom. Tr,e chain held the d relict moored about 200 yards off the reef, which ran parallel with the shores of the island. There was nothing about it to show where it had come from, or for what purpose it had been constructed.