THE DIRECT STEAMERS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11045, 24 February 1898, Page 1

THE DIRECT STEAMERS.

The Ruahme, from London, via Hobart, reached Auckland yesterday morning. Passengers: Mrs .Fraser, Mr Eraser, Mr Logan. » MOVEMENTS OF TJNION STEAM SHIP COMPANY'S FLEET. Wednesday, February 23. Lyttelton—Takapuna arrived 8 a.m. from Wellington ; returned 3 p.m. Waihora arrived U a.m. from Dunedin ; sailed 5 p.m. for Wellington. Napier—Manapouri sailed 2 p.m. for Welling, ton. . ■ - Gisborne—Te Anau sailed io a.m. for Auckland,

The Union Steam Ship Company's splendid steamship Waikare, Captain H. J. Richardson, from Melbourne, via Hobart and Bluff Harbour, arrived at the tongue wharf at 6 a.m. yesterday. She left the Queen's wharf, Melbourne, at 6.1C p.m. of the 16th inst., and cleared Port Phillif Heads at 9.50 p.m., had fresh westerly to S.W, winds with fine weather, and reached Hobart at . a.m. of the 18th inst.; pushed on again at 3.2( p.m. same day, had moderate winds from S.E. tc S.W. with fine weather until the 21st inst., and thence experienced strong N.W. winds with thicl weather until she reached the Bluff at 5.30 p.m same day; discharged cargo and left again at 5.31 p.m. of the 22nd, had fine weather, and arrived ai headquarters as above. She leaves Port Chalmen •this afternoon for Sydney, via Cook Strait. The s.s. Corinna, from the West Coast, vii Oamaru, arrived at Dunedin at 7.50 p.m. yester day. The s.s. Napier, with cargo from the south arrived at the Rattray street wharf at 7.30 a.m yesterday. She left Waikawa at 3.40 p.m. of the 22nd inst., and had fine -weather along the coast. The s.s. Herald left the Rattray street whar yesterday afternoon for the West- Coast, vi; Oamaru. - The ship Canterbury is all clear of cargo in he: afterhold and is taking in more ballast. She hai about 290 tons of cargo to put out from the fore hold, and is expected to be all clear and ready t< take in her Homeward freight on Saturday. The schooner Isabella Anderson is gettitfg oi well with her loading at the Jetty street wharf. The Hinemoa will leave Timaru on Saturdai next for the West Coast sounds and bays an! also for Puyoegur Point and Centre and DoIslands, via Wellington and Greymouth. As shi will not call at this port this trip shippers mus send their goods to Timaru for shipment there. n^S P nio.a Steam Ship Company areclaiminj £3000 for the salvage of the ship Nelson, whicl struck a roqk in Cook Strait. The barque Ganymede was towed to sea yester day afternoon and sailed for Maiden Island The barque John o' Gaunt is on the loadini berth atLiverpool for this port. The Dnited States- Navy department has re Mived information to the effect that Russia i about to become possessed of three new torpedi boats that will easily be the fastest war craft ii the world, being rapable of the enormous speed o :« kuots per hour, with every probability o making 40 knots when pressed. This great speei demands greater power than is supplied by ordi navy engines, so that the boats will be driven b steam turbines, having four separate shafts wit] three (.-crew propellers on each shaft. The con tract? ior the the tbree boats have already beei placed with an English firm. The high speed re a-j;rem»nt is based upon the wonderful perform ance •£ th» little Turbina, which has run at th r*t* oi n?;-.rly 40 miles an hour. Uapiain'Lloyd, of the well-known barquentin M. A. Doraa, a constant trader here from th Cl&KJsre River, has relinquished the command o i-.er (XTid gone Home to London to purchase a ne\ venal fer the Clarence River-New Zealand trade The s.s. Napier left the Dunedin wharf yestei iaj- afternoon for the south.

The North Otago Time 3is altogether wrong in • its reference to the presence of the Shaw, Savill, • and Albion Company's steamship Pakeha at Port Chalmers. She came to take in (and has taken in) frozen mutton and other cargo, and not simply to fill up her bunkers, as the North Otago Times would fain make out; while it is very evident that journal knows nothing of the port of Otago or its facilities when it states that the Pakeha would go alongside a cjal hulk and thus save theus.ual charges for wharfage, &c." at this port, it is impossible for vessels of the Pakeha'? class, or, indeed, for any save the steam colliers, to i i-auge alongside the coal hulks at the port; nor, I indeed, is it necessary for them to do so, as the ; hulks arc always ready to haul alongside steamships and give them the necessary supplies of fuel. The s.s. Rakaia bas taken on board a quantity of cases chee3e, boxes butter, and bales wool, and is expected to leave to-morrow for London. The s.s. Pakeha bas taken on board frozen ! mutton, casks of pelts, and other cargo. i ' ARRIVAL OF THE CHARLES RACINE. j It is not often that very smart passages are made from the port of New York to Otago, but the Norwegian barque Charles Racine, which i arrived at Port Chalmers yesterday evening, certainly deserves the palm for a smart passage between the great American port.shd New Zea- : land. She is a splendid specimen of marine ; j architecture, and although displaying Norwegian I ■ colours is an English-built .vesiel, hailing fr.pm ' j Sunderland, and is constructed of steel: She was I launched from the yards of-Messrs J. Blumer and j Co., of Sunderland, in 1832 for Mr S. Bergersen, of i Stsvanger, Norway. Her class at Lloyd's is ; 100 Al, and her dimensionsY2so/fc 2in long, : 38ft sin beam, and 22ft depth of hold. - She has : a full poop deck 3f>ft long and a topgallant forecastle 22ft long. In addition to being bne of the ; largest, if not-the largest, vessels that have yet been at the Dunedin wharves, the, Charles I i Racine may claim credit for ; her splendid * ; passage, wbich hitherto has been unequalled'; ;' j while Captain Forgraard is to be com- V j plimented on the, perfect condition in which ': he brings the good ship into port. The Charles Racine brings a large general cargo for Dnnedin 1 and Lyttelton, and is consigned to Messrs Bates, | Sise, and Co. of this city. She -will lan.l her cargo at the Victoria wbarf. We are indebted to | Captain Forgraard for information respecting the I pass*ge:fro«i New York to this port, which has ! occupied 79 days from anchor to anclxpr. She left ! New York on December b'and'clearedSandy Hook i i next day with, light easterly .winds, which lasted ! j for 20 hours, and thence she had Variable "lyiods i i with fine weather until YDecembe*- J2, when the ] j wind came out from tbe southward and continued i I iv that quarter until tbe:'2l»t. ' 'Aheui-e she had j i light easterly breezes which ran ljijr into the I j north-east tvadea in lat. 20 N., *long.'-3\ W. on I December 23. The trades were good and.carried '■ 1 her down to lac. 3 N. on' December 27, where they ' I gave out, and were followed by S.S. E. and j sootherly winds, which took hei-acrots the Ecjuator i | on December 29 inlong. 28.44 W, when she tookthe j J S.E. trades. They were light and gave out in lat. !28 S..- long. 28 W., on January 8. Thence she bad ! { a spell of variable winds, and crossed the meridian ] Sof Greenwich on January'l9, in 1at..40 S., when j } thefirstof the steady westerlies was taken, aridshe j j rounded the Cape of Good Hope on January 22, in ! j lat. 42 S. Her passage across the Southern Ocean ! j was marked by strong westerly winds from: N.W. ! ; to S.W., varied \by occasional gales; and she ■ j rounded Cape Leuwin oa February 12, in''lat. 45 '■_ jS. Thence she had westerly winds and strong ; . gales, paesed the itland of Tasmania on tbe 18th j inst., sighted the Nuggets at 8 p.m. on tbe 22nd p • inst., and came off the beads at 7 a.m. yesterday j She was towed into port by the p.s: Koputai, and > anchored in the powder ground at 6 p.m. Neither j ice nor wreckage was seen in the Southern Ocean, 1 and her easting was made in the parallel of lat. J 4615. : - *, -* V **'~* -..'.-.