THE AUCKLAND ISLANDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1189, 12 September 1874, Page 4

THE AUCKLAND ISLANDS.

What a tale of anxiety, writes a correspon. dent, could the logs of merchantmen from Port Jackson and Port Philip, en route for Old England, disclose when in proximity to these Islands — driving under lower topsails for three or four consecutive days, the wind blowing as if iEoiu& had stationed a permanent deputy in these latitudes— dirty, hazy weather, precluding the faintest attempt to determine by observation position — depending exclusive!-*, on dead reckoning— and what with currents and other influences not dreamt of in our philosophy, probably shaving, though unknown, ihe Soylla and Charybdis of the modern navigator between Australia and Cape Horn. Such is the probability of danger that the Australian Government, in ronjunction with our own, have formed caches for the purpose of leaving supplies of necessaries for the benefit of Bhipwrecked crews. Two very disastrous^ and painful catastrophes have occurred within the last decade. A gallant ship, hailing from the Land o' Cakes, the Invercauld, commanded by a stout old Scotchman, Captain Dalgarno, sailed from Port Philip, en route for London. Weeks passed, and no report of the noble clipper. It was difficult to realise that a splendidly built and well appointed iron ship, under an able commander, officers, aud crew, could possibly^" have come to grief ; but as months rolled orf~ no underwriter would have ventured, at the most extortionate rate of premium, to take a risk upon one of the best models that ever sailed. " Hope deferred maketh the heart sick," and reluctantly those to whom he was most near and dear had to abandon tha hope of ever seeing the jolly rotund figure again. Imagine the frequent enquiries day by day made by the relatives of the missing one at Lloyd's and the ship's agents — the same response and the heart-breaking feelings with which the enquirers would return to others equally anxiouß to the result. _ A considerable time had elapsed, I think nearly two long years, when Captain Dalgarno's family received the unexpected intelligence that he had returned, but with only a small residue of his companions who had left with him, insuch gay spirits, fromthe port of Melbourne. The ship had struck on the iron-bound coast of the Auckland Islands, The General Grant — named after the then victorious General of the Federals in the American War, aud now for a second time occupying the prominent position oE President of the United States— a well-found North American-built ship, cleared from the Sandridge Town Pier with every advantage in her favour to make a speedy and safe paß*age that the forethought of man could devise, She, with her valuable freight of passengerß, general cargo, and specie, was another victim. The circumstances were peculiar and romantic. The ship entered a cave, the masts were broken, and in the opinion of the survivors, were driven through the ship's bottom, and but few escaped to tell the tale. What hidest thou in thy treasure caves and cells, Thou ever-sounding and mysterious mam ! can be answered ; but in spite of a number of expeditions being fitted out for the pur* pose of recovering the gold that had been shipped in the usual way in stroDg boxes, the place has never been discovered. The islands were first seen by Capt. Bristow in the ship Ocean, a vessel owned by the Enderby's, of London, while prosecuting a whaling! voyage on 16fch August, 1806, in lat. 50deg. 48mia. S., and long. 166deg. 42min. E. [According to Nome, the group consists of six, lying between, the parallels of 50deg. 31min. to 52deg. 32nain. south latitude and 160deg. to 169-deg^ SOmin. east longitude. ] During the following year, Capt. Bristow took formal possession of them on account of the British Crown, leaving some pigs to ruralise. Ships of war belonging to England, France, and America visited them during the interval between Captain Bristow's last visit and the year 1850, when Mr Charles Enderby, on behalf of the Messrs Enderby, took possession under a grant from the British Crown, with the intention of forming a -whaling depot — the venture was unsuccessful and soon abandoned. Subsequent to the year 1840, about 70 New Zealanders were landed from the Chatham Islands, where they indulged in their warlike propensities by dividing into parties and potting each other. The British Government at one time erected an observatory on one of the islands, and now an acclimatised New Zealander, Dr. Monckton, has obtained a grant of thia group from the Home Government. I sympathise with the Doctor in his adventurous enterprise, and trust that his second attempt to take possession of his territory will be crowned with the success he so richly merits.

HOMCEOPATHIC Cocoa.— This original preparation, which has attained such a worldwide reputation, is manufactured by Taylor Brothers, under the ablest homoeopathic advice, aided by the skill aud experience of the inventors, and will be found to combine in an eminent degree the purity, fine aroma, and nutritious property of the fresh nut. Historical ! — Vide "Jurors' Reports and Awards, New Zealand Exhibition." Jurors: J. A. Ewen, J. Butterworfch, T. 0. Skinner. "So far as the Colony is concerned, the dyeing of materials is almost entirelj confined to the re-dyeing of Articles of Dress and Upholstery, a most useful art, for there are many kinds of material that lose their colour before the texture is half worn. G. Hiesoh, of Dimedin (Dunedin Dye Works, George Btreet, opposite Royal George Hotel), exhibits a case of specimens of dyed Wools, Silks, and Feathers, and dyed Sheepskin.'. The colours on the whole are very fair, and reflect considerable credit on the Exhibitor, to whom the Jurors recommended an Honorary Certificate should be awardad." Honorary Certificate, 639 : Gustav Hirsch, Dunedin, for Specimen of Dyeing in Silk, Feathers, &c.