THE DIRECT STEAMERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2399, 22 February 1900, Page 50

THE DIRECT STEAMERS.

The Mamari, from Wellington (December E2), arrived in London on Sunday evening, with her meat in good condition. The Maori, which left London on January 22, .left Capetown on the evening of the 13th in'st. The s.s. Wanaka steamed clown to Port Chalmers on the 13th, and left in the afternoon for .Newcastle, via the Bluff. The French war corvette Eure arrived at Port Chalmers at 7 a.m. on the 13th, and anchored in Mansford Bay. The Eure is a .wooden vessel of 1580 tons displacement, and was built at Havre de Grace in 1886. She parries an armament of four s^-inch three-ton guns, two 3i-inch guns, and iogr magazine guns. She is under the command of Captain Thibaull, Lieutenant Docteur is second cormnandante, MM. Vial, Destreman, Andoin, and Andre are the* ensigns de vaisBeau, MM. de Bauville, Pitaud, Dupoully and Andre, the surgeon is Dr Lepinte, and the commissary (or purser) M. cki Breuil de •Pontbriand. The Eure is in superb order, and a visit to her will amply repay those who care for ships. The officers are most courteous, and visitors may be sure of a polite reception. It is Captain Thibault's intention to remain in Port Chalmers until Saturday, when the Eure leaves for Lyttelton, Wellington, and Auckland, and from the latter port proceeds to the South Seas. Up to the 14 th inst. the s.s. Banff shire "had taken in 1380 quarters and 60 cases beef, and 19^8 frozen lambsj and a number of cases of butler and cheese, in addition to a quantity of wool. The Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company's steamship Rangatira was loading at London on .January 5 for Dunedin. The s.s. Talune, from Melbourne, arrived at 5.30 a.m. on the 14th, and was berthed at the cross wharf. The s.s. Talune left for Sydney, via Wellington, on Thursday afternoon. The Tyser line Company's s.s. Indralema, from New York, via Melbourne, Sydney, and northern ports of New Zealand, arrived at Port Chalmers on Thursday, and was berthed at the ocean steamers' wharf at 6 a.m., where she at once commenced to discharge cargo, of which she has 300 tons for Dunedin. The Indralema is a schooner-rig7;ed steel screw steamer of 3150 tons"gross anil 2020 net. She left New York on November 12, and arrived .at Melboxirne on January 10. The s.s. Undaunted, from Japan, via Newcastle and Bluff Harbour, arrived at Port Chalmers on Thursday afternoon, and was berthed at the Bowen pier. She is a fine steel steamer (schooner-rigged) of 3159 tons gross and 2026 net, her length being 324 ft, breadth of beam 43ft lin, and depth of hold 17ft 9in. She is under the command of Cap-^ tain S. Elcoate, who may be considered the pioneer commander of the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company's fine fleet of steamers, Captain Elcoate having arrived here some 16 years since in command of the s.s. Victory, under charter to the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company, bringing between 300 and 400 passengers, and gaining great respect from all classes of his charges for the kindly manner in which he treated them. After making a couple of passages here the Victory's charter expired, and since then Cautain Elcoate has been sailing in different parts of the world in pursuance of his profession. The Undaunted (owned by the same firm as the Victory) was built under Captain Elcoate's special superintendence, nnd since then he has been in command of her, principally in the Japan sea^. It is needless to say the many passengers by the Victory, scattered wherever they are through the district of Otago, will be pleased to hear of the genial commander's return to Port Chalmers, and should any of them pay Hip Undaunted a visit they may be assured of a hearty welcome. The Tyser line steamer Indralema, after landing 300 tons of inward cargo at Port Chalmers, took in 100 bales of wool and 2000 sacks of wheat on Friday. The Shire line Company's steamship Banffshire, Captain Stewart, left 'Port Chalmers on Friday afternoon for London, via the Bluff. The following vessels havp been harbour during the past week : —Arrivals—Eure, French corvette, 15^0 torn; Pukaki, n.t-., 917; Talune, &.s., 1370; Indralema, s. 8. ,3150; Undaunted, s.b., 3158; Flora, s.s., 838; Sir

i Hcnrj'-, barquentine. 95 ; Mokoia, s.s., 2153 ; Corinna, s.s., £20; Mararoa, s.s.. 1381: Enterprise, brißaiitine, S"l ; Sarah and Mary, brigautine, 154- ; — totnl, 15,652 tons. Departures — TYaikare, s.s., 1001; Invercargill, s.s., 123; Wanaka, s.s., 1572; E'.ingamite, s.s., 1675; Pukaki, p.s.. 917; Annie Hill, schooner, 121; , Talune, s.s., 1370; Banffshire, s.s., 6000; Flora, s.s., 833; Indralema, s.s., 3150; Undaunted, s.s., 3159; Ngaru, scow, 66; — total, 20,889 tons. ' After taking in 1000 bales of wool, with 2000 sacks of wheat, the Tyser line steamer Indralema left Port Chalmers at 9 a.m. on ! Sunday for London, via "Wellington, at which J port she completes her 'argo. j The s.s. Undaunted, Captain S. Elcoate, • which is under charter to the Imperial Go- { vernment, left Port Chalmers at 5 a.m. on ' Sunday for the Cape of Good Hope, via Lyttelton. Her carpo from this port consisted of 60 tons of preserved meats, with 4000 sacks of oats. ' The p.s. Mararoa, from Sydney, via the East Coast ports, arrived at the George street , pier, Port Chalmers, at 0.4-5 on Sunday, and steamed up to Dunedin on the afternoon's tide. i The s.s. Mokoia. steamed down to Port Chalmers early on Monday morning, and left in the afternoon for Melbourne, via the Bluff and Hobart. Messrs Huddart, Parker, and Co. contemplate making additions to their fine fleet of intercolonial steumers. The superintendent engineer of the company, with one of the directors, have left for England, with, it is understood, the object of securing- two new steamers. One of these will be similar in design to the Zealandia, to be used in the passenger trade, and tho other will be of the cargo type, principally for the coal trade.