ARRIVAL OF THE WAIMEA.

Otago Witness, Issue 1243, 25 September 1875, Page 11

ARRIVAL OF THE WAIMEA.

This ano ship flying the house flag of the New Zea!t" d «X I P p . nx , Coul P an y« arr i v <d at the Heads on the 19th nibt., after a very fair passage of 01 days from Grayesend. The Waimea, late the Dorette, her name having been altered last year in accordance with the nomenclature adopted by the Company relative to its vessels, ia * handsome full-rijrged F ship of 848 tons ngbter, of Gorman build, and of iron throughout! She is a full-poop and topgallant forecastle Bhlp.very faithfully put together, and well modelled, and is now on her second vwrage in the Company's service as one of its own vessels. Last year the Walmro, then the Dorette, made a voyage to Canterbury, there changed her commander, being taken ch ir « of by Captain W?' Sr h ° W 1 P /fc° m °£ d *? the P° Bltlon from that of chief officer of the ship Waiknto. He i* still in commaml. and has brought bis ship into port in the very best of order alow and aloft. The vfatnea hw ha» come here with immigrants, and Is an exceedingly suitable tmm >for the conveyance of such pSu, freight A comfortable sea boat and good traveller aho possesses bwklea a t-pedal recommendation In her grand 'tween decks, nearly d-ht feet in Vlit this was the case is demonstrated by tho condition of the immigrants, than whom we hm »SEi» spoeted a healthier and ffl ore rWecubk &of people. The immunity vouchsafed them from serious sickness oUnykindjs no doubt to be attributed in 2X5S lttr !!ri to 5 thelr ***** «*««£ *££ V KhTC 'At? very P Mt measure, to tha skilful care of the aunreon>sui>eritit«nH«nf ti.

charges, and thorough-paced cleanliness from the beginning to the end of the voyage. From the outset, strict discipline was insisted upon by Captain Worster, and was rigorously carried out, and after the passengers ha I surniounted[their preliminary trouble, mat de mer, the men were subdivided into sections, and put through a course of fire and boat diill, and attained very creditable efficiency. This, as in the case of that well-ordered ship the Rodney, which arrived at Wellington three weeks ago, was done to provide for those possible dread contingencies, fire or wreck. Both crew and passengers were frequently exercised, and soon learned to act smartly and in unison ; and that this was the case, was demonstrated by the 1 Captain when the chip was crossiug the South Atlantic. A false alarm of a m.\n overboard was raised, and in three minutes and a half all hands were at quarters, and a boat, ready manned, was lowered into the water, and pulled away after a life-buoy tint had been thi own over. We hope to sec the sy»tem of fire .md boat drill enforced in the case of all immigrant ships, for nothing but good can come of it. whilst the practice itself afford* healthy exercise for the men, and an agreeable diversion to the monotony of board-of-ship life. Then again, should real peril threaten, every man knows his station, and lies to it, and so the chances of fatal confusion arising are, in a great degree, lessened, if not altogether obviated. The Wuimea's tKissage was pleasantly equable, only two incidents of note heinjr tecorded. One of these was the impcmlliiu the safe' y of tho ship and all on board by two young rascals nf ship's boys named Clark and Stanley, wh» were cau-.'ht wiMi a naked light in the hold piundci ing cargo on the Bth September. They were handed over to tho Police when the shin arrived, and will be dealt with according to law. The other incdent, noted by a few only happened on the 2l)th August, when the ship, then being in lat. 44.9 S., long. 69 8., a quantity of wreckage was paj»ed through. A cauin door, with frame attached, and fitted with a Venetian Wind, door, frame, and blind, beim; of a brown coloured wood brightly varnbhed, was clearly distinguished. Tne other wreckage was farther olf. but appeared to be fragments of a ship's cabin fittings. We have said that the immigrants enjoyed very good health during the viy age, but we may remark that one or two case of whooping cough appeared at the begmninir of it, but being promptly dealt with, the complaint was stam ed out. The Waimea arrive lat the Heads early, and was towed up harbour, and moored off the Raihv.iy Pier by 2p m. She wsls then bo irded and inspect, d by the health and immigration official-, and parsed as strictly m order at all points. She deserved no les^, tne emigrants' compartments being the quintessence of neatness and cleanliness, whilst the immigrants, one and all, spoke in high terms of their entertainment on board. They nuinberet.324, all told, equal to 207 s.t=itute adults, and iucludtd 51 married couples, 78 single men, 46 single women, 39 male and 17 female children, between the agea of 1 year and 12 ye irs, and] 4 infants. Only one death 'occurred during the passage, and that in the ca.se of an infant !) months old, named Archibald M'Mallun. Exhaustion supervening upon bronchitis and diarrhoea, was the causo of de-ith. There were three births, viz., August 7, Mrs E. Matheson, of a son ; September Ist, Mrs T. Elliott, of a daughter ; September sth, Mrs B. Jackson, of a daughter. Ihe single women were under charge of Mrs Eunis, a matron holding a Government uppoiutment, and evidently. » superior woman, well tltte<l for the position. Both doctor and m itrnn nave the girls a good character, the former asserting that their behaviour was exceptionally good. No trounle either was experienced with the other immigrants who conducted themselves becomingly. The berthing was carried out as usual, excepting the afterpart of the poop was set apart for the hospitals of the women — single and married— and alsj c mtained the matron's room and bith>oora. It w.is entered from a companion hatch at the afu>r-part of the poop deck, and was connected by another hatch with the single women's compartment in the after-part of the 'tweni decks. Thua, witi the cabin in front of it, the only inlet to the women's quarters was by the piop deck hatchway. The ship was well provided with offices of all kinds -a roomy dispensary, spacious aud liberally appointed cooking-hou.se, connected with tho engine-room, where one of Gravelej's distilling apparatus did efficient duty during the passage. Ihe j married people were berthed with that offen»ivo promiscuous of which we have so often complained, but as much privacy as could be afforded by a faulty system was ensured them. The proportion of children was rather in excess, but, as a set - off the little folks were tho pon-ouincation of good looks nn<l health. 0110 famil} beiug specially noticeable in this respect.

ARRIVAL OF THE FRANCIS LEWEY.

A stranger biigautine, cvidentiy a hcrvy vessel of her ola*,, hove in sight trom the northward on V/edneo l»y, and having the b.ecze with her, sailed ii t > port, and anchored oft" Ciroj's. iicr name w.is not Quailed, but as she iiew the stars ai!U stripes, she was a,sumed, md rightly mi, "to bo one of the overdue vessels from cithor .New York or Kuvton. She proved to bo the I'rancis Lewey, 133 diys out, from the former port, the length of her pnsdage beiug accounted for ou the score of tho poor winds she met with in bothofthe AtUntio Oceans, and a!b« through having lost a week on the coast. She was Si days to tho Cape aud after making the Heav's at this port yesterday woek, was driven away north by winu and current Ihe p.Hwage was moio than uiuahy trjing to her master, Captain Lewey, for, brides having to conteud with adverse winds, he wan a nurtyr to a hevere form of neuralgia iv thu head and f ice, his features being absolutely contorted by the attack, lie reports having left New York on May 7tn, and during the ensuing twelve days worked against dead muzzling a.B. wiuda, which were f.uuceedcd ia the Cancer Belt by seven days of proper doldrum weather light aud baffling. Tfien the breczs s-ettled at North away to N.N.E., aud took the biiganti.e into the Trade, which found her on the In June, Ut. 24. It «'*) v very good Trade, aud carried her to 3 N.. then (lying out on the lith. Another sp.ll of aggravating doldrum weather marked her stay about the hqtutor aud, iv con equtnee, bhe did not cross until the 10th' and well weatcrly at that, the lo ig. beiu.' 27.30. Two day o afterward* she fell hi with the S.E. Trade, in lat. 1&. It was scar ely the Trade, tho devi-uiou of the wiudbeingsovcry eoJtherly, and heuuo the brigautine was jammed over to the Uiuzillian coast, sighted the island of Fernp.udo Noroulw, and aterwaidn, Parahibi on the main. Here the wind freshened a little, and allowed her to gain a better ufliug, but it agaiu took southerly, and so edged off until dio was within a toupio of huuilred milw ul Hi, Janeiro. Ihen tbo wind guwiuilly took easting uud worked into thu N.E. quadrant, and with that ahe 1-y a cuuree across the Atlantic, and on tho 10 h July paasied Tri.it.md'rtc>iiihtt, iuMghr, Ou the 24th she encountered a very heavy N..VE. g.de mil h»d to heave to under trysuil and inulu stay.-ail for 13 hours, oho being thuu abuut on the priim meridian, lat. 41.6. As the axlo ook of, tho wind vucred to tlin westward and hold there, ami on tho 20tu Aii croi*ol the isiuiidiau of the Capo, in lat. 43. 20. The westerlies held strong, but somewhat variable, inclining much to the northward, and occasionally freshened to severe gales. One of these, from N.N.K, veering »ound to W.N.W., tackled her on the 3rd August, and obi ged her to come to the wind under trysail aud sUyisail. The barometer dropped to 2.M0, and a bad scbmii. 'ihe gale culminated at north. After that sue Dowled along before strong equally wauls fium north to west, and on the 23th Aiuustcrossed the meridian of the Leuwin, uea very heavy all the t:me, and often compelling her to run off her cour.e to keep before it, and frequently breikin"ou board. Ou the sth September she was again ho\ e°to in a N.W. srale, the sea being too h«avy to do anything else with. Next day she passed Tasmania wind atill in the N.W. quadrant, strong and driving up a big sea. Whilst jogging along under reduced canvas she shipped a very heavy sea that cleared the decks of all loose articles, and scut the chain lockers into the lee scuppers. The Snares were sighted on the 12th, and thence carrying north and N.W. winds she made Otago Heads on the 15th well off fhore. Here the wind chopped to s.W., and what between wind and current, tho Francis Luuey was »et away North, aod ngnin mado about Timam on tho 17th. The winds kept her Noith until the 21st, when she picked up a NE. breeze, and at 1 a.m. joaterday hove-to off the Heads and ran In at daylight *in charge of Pi'ot Moore. The Francis Lewey biings G-J7 tons of measurement cargo, tho greator part of which Is for this port, and the balance for Wellington. She is consigned to Messrs Neill and Co. Her easting was run down cMefly in the 45th parallel, but she touched as far south as 49.

One of the direllet vessels in the North Atlantic is the Ennmiof Quebec. She was last sighted on Juno 17th, lat. 21 N., long. 35 W., by the night watoh of a vessel bound from London to Antunia. During the quarter ending June 20th there sailed from Liverpool, under the Emigration Act, 20,646 pasoenjjers to the United States, of whom 14,403 were English, 891 Scotch, 0184 Irish, and 0020 foreigners. Of those who emigrated outside the Act 030 went to tho United States, 114 to Canada, 102 to Nova Scotia, 166 to the Australian Colonies, 42 to the Kast Indies, 43 to Chin*, 10 to Western Africa, and 847 to South Amerfi*, The »bova constitute a. total of 87,730, yJ£ chi u wrop *l ed wlth 4 t sSf <srr^P*n4J»jfqwmr of