" THE DOUGLAS."

Otago Witness, Issue 919, 10 July 1869, Page 18

" THE DOUGLAS."

Tho latest contribntion to tho number of iron vowels ooroing to theao waters ia tho olippor ship Tho Douglat, whioh arrived in tho bay yesterday afternoon, from Liverpool. After tho arrival of tho March mail from England, a full and almost exhauatlvo do> acription of tho ahip appoarod in thia journal, but for tho aako of thooo who tako more than an ephemeral interoat in tho maritime affair* ot ihia port, tho moro prominent particulars pertaining to tho veesol oro again aubjoinod. Thia now ahip Tho Dougl** hoa been fitted np with all tho latest improToraont*. not only with regard to her internal arrangomonta, bnt alao with regard to hor tailing and tteam jnß— for oho hot boon provided with an auxiliary •crew of a novel description. This icrow

has oulyjtwo blades, and is. <ply used in calm , weather.* litroughVeatner/or with a steady -breeze,' -the" fiorew-i^fdispfil®! with, and, .with' a view to obv.iajtejits' being damaged, or 'acting 'as"a drag upon the vessel, ~it is placed perpendicular Tvith the stern of the ship, and in this position a side or cover is lowered over it, and "when v thus concealed there is scarcely anything to indicate that it does not form a portion of tae stern. This new apparatus is the iuveution of Mr James I Jack, of Liverpool. To work the propeller, The Douglas has been furnished with a steamengine of 50-horse-power nominal," hutcapable of being worked up to 150' horse-power. >TMs engine is on the compound principle, and the consumption (f coal' is not more than three, tons per day. The water to supply the boiler is contained in a tank close to the qngine room ; and m the " stokehole," whioh by the way is on deck, there is a steam condenser which can condense from 500 to 600 gallons pe".day for the use of tho boilers. The Douglas has Veen built by Messrs Koyden and Son of Liverpool, for Messrs W. and R. Wright, of the same place. She is of 1,366 tons register, and her dimensions are as follow :— Length between perpendiculars, 217 ft. ; beam, 37ft. Bin; depth of hold, 23ft 9in. She is ship-rigged with double topsail and to'gallant yards, wire braces, and topmast cap-backstays, fore and aft. Amongst other improvements, The Douglas is fitted up with one of Emmerson and Walker'B patent windlasses, to which is attached a patent nip, to check the running out of the chain cable ; and in order to prevent in heavy weather the water coming in through, the hawse-holes, a slide passes over the link of the cable at each hawse-hole. In the sailors' quarters in the forecastle there is a la^ge iron hath and wash-hand basins, for the übo of the crew. There is also on board a fire-engine, which can throw the water over the mast-head, and which can also be used for the washing of the decks. Prom the foregoing description, it will be seen that great expectations were formed of the advantages to be gained from the auxiliary steam power with which the ship is furnished, hut the sanguine anticipations entertained have not altogether been borno out by the results. The idea, in theory, is very plausiMe, and might have proved more beneficial to a vessel of smaller capacity, but for a ship of nearly 1,400 tons like The Douglas, freighted with a cargo of close on 2,800 lodb, it has been almost abortive. On the voyage out the screw was not in use more than twelve daya at the outside, the longest spell being off the Brazils, where it was in operation for about four days, and the speed then attained was from two knots and a half to three knots. It was also found, on the voyage, that if there was any swell on the water the screw was of comparatively little use. In appearance The Douglas is a noble looking snip, immensely, but by no means disproportionately, sparred, and she fully justifies the encomiums passed upon her by competent nautical authorities at home. Captain Puin, who commands Tho Douglus, is well known in thiß port, to which ho is no stranger, and with regard to the Bailing qualities of his ship he speaks most favourably. The opportunities for the display of these on the voyage out were ' ' like »ng«l visits, few and far between," as the ship had a steady run for only one day, and in that period she Incged 290 m los. The winds otherwise throughout the passage were exceedingly shifty ond variable, both in direction and force. The Douglas has been built expressly for the Australian and Indian trades, and if even moderately fortunate in her career, aha ib hound to take up a leading position amongst tho float of merchantmen trading to Australian or Indian waters. With regard to tho voyage out, Capt. Pain states that The Douglas left Liverpool on March 13, pissed Tuscar on th c 1 4th, and af torwards encountered a succession of Btrosg weetftrly gales in the B»y of Biscay. Light winds and fine weather were subsequently experienced to the Equator, whioh was crossed on tho twentyfourth day oat in long. 2S*leg. W. Instead of falling in with the B.E. trvies in the nouthorn tropics, as might reasonably have been oxpected, vory little else except lipht variable airs and calms prevailed until quitting the Brazilian coast, when moderate N. and N.W. winds ware fallen in with, and carried to the meridian of Greenwich, which w»s pa.ißO'l on tho forty-eighth day out. Light ooatorly winds then sprang up, and continued for fourteen day*, so that the meridian of tho Capo of Good Hope wns not passed until tho sixtieth day out (May 12) in lat. 4(Mcg. 8. Tho ihip ran down her easting as far as Kerguoton, in lat. SOdog. S., and from tbonco to the Lonwin between that and the parallel of lat. 47<leg. The furthest southing made, however, in rnnniop down the ousting wao lab. 51d0g., and this in conßcqnenoo of tho eaaterly winds whioh predominated after Sowing tho meridian of Greenwich. From \t 50dog. S. and lon. 38<leg. £. to tho moridiitu of Capo Lonwin, which was paused on Juno 1, tho winds were chiefly from N.E. back to north and woat and again to north, and from tho Louwin to Port Phillip Heads, which wore entered on Tuesday afternoon, the prevailing winds wore northerly. Tho Douglas poaaed Cape Otway early on Tuesday morning, and anohorod at tho Heads the aamoday.— Argui, 10th nit

During tho fast week or two, aaya tho Oatnaru Times, wo have notiood that tho white aea-gnlla so common on tho coaat havo boon walking about tho atrrats like tamo pigoona, pioklng np stray provondor, quito undifltnrbed by tho ptiaers'by. Bnoh a oiroaroatauoo has, wo boliovo, novor beforo ooourrod.

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