GREY RIVER.

West Coast Times, Issue 131, 17 February 1866, Page 2

GREY RIVER.

y HIGH WATER. Saturday"" .. 11.23 a.m. .. 11.47 p.m. The splendid and powerful steamer Erl King, which was telegraphed offthe Otway on Saturday forenoon, came up the bay early yesterday morning, having made a gool passage, under adverse circumstaucceß, of seventy daya. The Erl King, is an iron clipper, of lfii'O tons ; was built at Glasgow by Messrs A. and J. Inglis, and launched on the 7th of September la&t. She •was originally intended to replace tho celebrated Sea King, afterwards renowned as Iho Confederate cruiser Shenandoah. She was draughted by Rennie, of London, and is of unusual strength, and with lines which experience has demonstrated to be the best for vessels of her class. She is fitted with patent surface condensing, direct-acting engines, with all the latest improvements, designed and made by Messrs Inglis. The cylinders arc inverted, of fiftyinch diameter, with a stroke of fofty-two inches, and when working full power make sixty strokes per minute, with a consumption of a ton of coal per hour. Silver'H patent govern 3r, to prevent the engines racing in a sea-way, is attached There are two boilers, with four furnaces in each. The toilers are dry-bottomed, nnd have a superheating apparatus attached. There is also an apparatus capible of distilling 1200 gallons of water per diemj nnd on the deck there are three steam winches, for taking in and discharging cargo, and one for heaving the anchor. They take their supply of steam either from the largo boilers or from a small one fitted for the purpose. The Erl King on her trial trip steamed twelve nnd a quarter knoTs, nnd was expected to have made Melbourne in iifty-fivc days. She left Plymouth on the 29th November, and encountered strong westerly gains, but reached St.Vincent on the 9th December— beating the mail steamer by forty-eight hours— and remained there two days for coal. After leaving, she experienced a succession of ladling light and hwd winds, with only a few days of tho northeast and jjouth-casst trades, until off tho Gipe, when she sprang her main and foretop musts, and was obliged to shorten sail. She has, from these causes, been delayed on her passage, but has proved herself a very fast ship under the canvas that could be put upon her. She was under steam only tweuty-three days during the passage. No vessels were spoken by her on tho way out The Krl King is now on her way to China, to take home the first of the new season's tea, and, like the Sea King, she is expected to reach London long before the regular clippers engaged in that tra^e. The estimation in which her commander and officers are held is amply eviuced by the very flattering testimonial presented to them on the Erl King's arrival.— Melbourne Argus. Murder on thh High Seas —The brig Zero ■was recently found hy fishermen, abandoned on the coast of Halifax. She was well provided withßtoresj but, on examination, it was found that an attempt had been made to scuttle her. Shortly afterwards, the mate the eteward, and another of the crew of the Zero appeared in Lunesbeig, and said that the vessel had been abandoned in consequence of the captain having been knocked overboard by the boom. Suspicion was aroused ; they were arrested ; and thon the mate confessed. It appeared that when the bug arrived off Havre, the captain had a quarrel about terms with some of the crew, and the men conspired to mutiuy. The stoward attacked the captain in his cabin, and, with the assistance of one of the crew, threw the still breath, n<> body overboard. They then left in the boat, and made for the shore.— Ibid.