ARRIVAL OF THE BRUCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1188, 5 September 1874, Page 12

ARRIVAL OF THE BRUCE.

The long-expected Bruce, the new steamer built to the order of the Harbour Steam < ompany for the coasting trade, arrived on August 28th irom Glasgow, alter a long passage of 133 days. Th-i Bruce was signalled in the morning, aud the Gcelong at once proceeded to the Heads and towed hor to" the anchorage oi! tho Port by noon, bho was there boarded by the authorities and member!, of the Harbour Steam Company and by many friends of her commander, t.aptam J. M'Failane. A hearty welcome was extended to all; aud after remaining an hour or two at the Port the Bruce was taken m tow by the steamer Golden Ago and conveyed to Dunedin. She is a hand-ome. substantial, and renuivably wellflnjshed vessel, and quit" fulfils th-> expectation raised by tlie desciiption of her sent out from Britain. Mic ib built of iron, and is heavily p'atod, and is fitted with all the latest and most approved appliances used 111 the construction of modern steamers, and is, without question, ,a most decided inquisition to the local bteam fleet of Dunediu. She is a commodious iiud sfctunch passenger and cargo i-teamer of great carrying capacity, full power, and fi s>t-clas3 accommodation. SOe has a poop and ton-gallant torccistlo, the former being stft. long, covering in a roomy cuddy, that comprises the saloon accommodation, lhe latter consists of a main salnou, 40ft. long by 22ft. wide, a ladies' cabin, 14ft. by lift., and tin pantry and other offices. The main saloon is beautifully finished, and furnished in crimson volvet-covored settees, lockers with mirrors, and high y-po!i->hed swing trays tabius, &.c. It lus room tor 41 pwongers. Tho ladies cabin m perfect of its kind, and, as in the caso of tho j»atii huljou, the side seats can, by a dimple contrh'.incd, be converted Into comtortable s eepi'ig berth*. The table is of truly oti'-'inal construction, being a combination of tho piop«rlie-> of a dmiiig-ta'jle and w.isliHtand, and is k > built to completely hide the ulterior purpoao it cm bo put to. The ladie.s' cabin has accommodation lor 11 pa-.t>eiigers. Tho main saloon accommodation Is also supplemented by a house on tho poop, teruiod the smoking loom, bat which can he "t>ed for ordinary pa^mger lmrpoaes, and is roomy enough to accommodate six. Tho fore cabin accommodation in also good- -18 passenueib can be berthed there. In overy other respect the JUrucc approaches perfec ion. She ia fitted with a com* pound engine ol 90 horse-p ,wer nominal, built by iStc- \ cnuoii and Sons, of Glasgow. The diameter of tho low pre&mre cylinder is 37 inches, and that of tho high pryssure cylinder is 23 inchew, length of stroke 3 foot. ■■jtoan) iswipplicrl by one large boiler, having three furn cub; mid thore f» also a donkey boiler to feed tho bteiuii winches. There in a peculiar feature in the conPtrualoHof the engine*-the connection between tho luaui »haft and the pistons boiiu on the grasshopper principle, 30 termed, but is not to bo confounded with %h? plau %l the oU jjrmwhnpper engines. The sUamer k£ M*<?)stfl*m«lu«M>-or-o »t tht mm Jwkh, th<7 ytyf «*'Ws Wi wtkV'*Wtop'*m9A> «»jw*

and strong piece of mechanism— one of Baxter s patents can also be worked by steam by the Bid of a, messenger. There is also a fine roomy galley, and very comfortable otilcers' quarters. We can honestly congratulate the Harbo ir Steam Company upon this latest addition to its fleet, and sincerely hope that very much prosperity will attend the handsome Brace's career Her dimensions are: -Length over all, 180 ft. ; beam, 22ft. ; depth of hold, 10ft. Gin. ; and she registers 204 tons. The Bruce made the passage under canvas. She was lightly rigged as a barque, and this lightness of njr, combined with her heavy draught— for she is deeply laden with general cargo— no doubt was conducive to the long passage she made. She also had to contend with a great deal of light weather, and had miserable Trade winds, especially to the north of the Line. She was, however, fortunate in being favoured by moderate weather. Her passage commenced on the 12th April, when the Bruce left Glasgow, experienced westerly winds in the Channel, and cleared the land on the 14th. a last departure being taken from the Tuskar. On the followmrr day a sharp N.E. g.ile came on, but only lasted 24 hours, snd was succeeded by light variable weather. Madeira was sighted and passed on the Ist of May, and the N. E. Trade was fallen in with on the 4th, iv lat. 28.43. It proved a poor, light, variable affair, and was lost on the 14th in lat. 10 53. Hence to the Line light easterly and variable weather was experienced, and on the 24th May the Bruce crossed the Lu.e in long. 26.9 W. The Equatorial doldrum belt proved unusually wide, the S.E. Trade not being met with until the 2Sth May, in lat. 4.47 south. The Trade proved scant and light, and hung much to the southward, jamming the vessel well over against the Brazilian coa.st. On the 10th June, in lat. 27.25, the Trade gave out. Light c isterly and northerly winds succeeded it for a few days, and on the lGth the first of the Westerlies found the Bruce and stuck to her with scarcely a break until she was up with the meridian of Cape Leuwen. She crossed the meridian of Greenwich on the 27th June, the meridian of tho Capo on the Ist of July. Thence had strong breezes, and ran her casting down on the 44th parallel, and on the 29th July crossed the meridian of the Leuwen. There the westerly winds failed hor, nncl the remainder of the passage was maiked by lierht baffling weather. The Snares were not sighted until the 21st inst., and on the 24th sha encountered the north-east gale that blew with such violence here. The westerly slant that followed fetched her along the coast, and she arrived at the Heads yesterday morning, and at Dunedin as above related. W« may observe that Mr M'Kenzie is her chief engineer, and Mr Thomson chief officer.