PORT OF HOKITIKA.

West Coast Times, Issue 324, 6 October 1866, Page 2

PORT OF HOKITIKA.

llioh Watj-.r Tuts Day. — 7.10 a.m. 8.5 p.m. - To-m0rr0w.~8.23 a.m. ; 5.48 p.m.

ARRIVED. October 5. — -Alhambra, s.s., M'Lean, from Melbourne. Royse, Mudie and Co., agents. Isabella, b *igantitie, Osborne, from Dunedin. Royse, Mudie and Co., agents. Bruce, p.s., Kerley, from Dunedin via Okrtrira. F. Q-reer, agent. Nelson, p.s., Whitwell, from Nelson, via Buller. N. Edwards and Co., agents.

SAILED. October 5. — Jane Lockhart, brigantine, Smith, for Sydney. Sarah and Mary, brigantine, Duncan, for Melbourno. Elizabeth Curie, brigantine. Kcenan, for N Dunedin. N

BKTEBED IN. Nelson, p.s., 88 tons, Thomas Whitwell, from Nelson. Passengers — Cabin : Messrs Miles, -Nicholl, aud N.orth ; one steerage. Isabella, 82 tons, C. Osborne, from Dunedin. , * Persevere, p.s., 27 tons, H. B. Maemeikan, from Grvvmouth.

CLEARED OtTT. " Nelson, p.s., 88 "tons, Thomas Whitwell,' for Greymouth. Passenger — Mr Taylor. Pilot* 114 tons, S.G. Jamicson, for Melbourne. ' N Lapwing, 34 tons, G. Campbell, for Duncdiu. In ballast.

EXPKCTEI* A.URIVAT.S

Tniuriia, s.s., from Melbourne, 10th inst. Francis, schooner, from lleathcote, early. Elizabeth,' cutter, fvom Sydney, early. Aurora, schooner, from Diuiedin, early. Cymracß, schooner, from Dunedin, daily. Many Van Every, schooner, from Dunedin, early." . , -

Excelsior, schooner, from Dunedin, daily. Lady Darling, schooner, from Melbourne. Lizzie Coleson, from Sydney, early. Gothenburg, from Melbourne, daily. Spray, schooner, from Lyttelton, daily. L:uly. Don, from Melbourne, early. Clarendon, from Melbourne, early. Mary, frqm Melbourne, early. Alma, from Melbourne, early. Fairy, schooner, from the Manukau, early rUOJECTBD DUI'SIITUKBS. Alhambni, s.s., for Melbourne, Bth iust. Gothenburg, «.«:, for Melbourne, about loth iust.

Claud Hamilton,- for Sydney, to-daj.

ves3i;i,s in roitr.

J3rigantiues — Isabella, Pilot. Schooners— lona. Mary Jane,,Tigcr, John Mitchell; Julia, Mary Anne. Cutters — Dart, Lapwing. Steanu'rs — Yarra - (ashore), Challenge, "Nelson, Bruce, Persevere. - ' ' IX TUB ROADSTEAD. AlhaD^bra, s.s., from Melbourno. Lady Darling, .schooner, from Melbourne. Liz/ie Coleson, brigantiue, from Sydney. Mary, brigantine, from Melbourne. ' Fairy, schooner, from Manukau.

IMPORTS. Per Nelson,' from Nelson-— lO caskß sugar, 1 case, 1 case .hams, 8 casks vinegar, 17 drums oil, 5 cases starch, 5 drums oil, N. Edwards & Co ; 1 case, Marshall ; 10 sacks turnips", 5 kegs butter, 2 bags' baeou, Boyle & Co ; 12 sacks turnips, order j 11 kegs butter, Mori son, Law &Co ; 2 cases onions, Marshall ; 2 eaees^ butter, Solomon ; '1 keg butter, 1 box eggs, Ross; 21 cases apples, Walker ;/l case fowls, 2 bags oysters, Perrins ; (Teases onion's, 2 cases eggs, Anderson & Co-; 1 case butter, Marshall ; 2 bag 3 • oysters,- Barton ; 3 cases eggai J. Dull'; 2-1 bundles' willows, Brent. Per Isabella, from 'Duhedhl —23 bales chaff, 100 bags oats, 30 boxes soap, 20 bags oatmeal, 10 kegs pearl barley, Royse, IVfudie & Co; 98 bags oats, 60 bags potatdes, E. Reeves & Co ; 88 bags oats', 72 bags potatoes, order ; 20 bags oats; T. Pringle ; 52 bales chaff, E. Beeves ; 5 cases jam, Haworth ; 1 case, 3 bundles brooms, 1 keg nails, 5 boxes tin plates, 1 bale cotton -waste, 1 case, 1 cask glass, 117 bars 14 bundles iron, '11 bundles iron hoop, 2 bundles .steel, 1 bar steel, 3 cases iron, Forsyth & Masters ; 70 bags oats, Anderson & Mowat ; 100 > cases geneva, 100 case 3 «tout, Royse, Mudic i Co ; 1 rpll lead, 1 keg shot, order. Per Persevere, froni Grreymouth — 1 keg butter, order.

EXPORTS.

Per for Greyinouth — 1 case haais, ]S. Edwards ; 16 cases, 2 baskets, Carey and Gillos ; 3 drums oil, N. Edwards ; l" hbd egfs, J. Duff; 1 case tobacco, D. Banks. For Xelson — 20 empty casks, Munro & Co. Per Pilot, for Melbourne — 2 cuses copper, T. B. Prqcter; 1 b^undlo quicksilver, C. Hobson. x • _

The M.A.' and N.Z. S.S. Company's s,.s. Alhambra, John M'Lean, commander, sailed from Hobson's Bay at 230 p.m. on the 29thJ ultimo, and after a pleasant passage of six days aud two hours, during which fin& but light weather prevailed, eamc to anchor in the roadstead at 4.30 p.m. on the sth iustant. The Alhambra brings seventeen saloon and 220 steerage passengers ; also a few tons of cargo. She reports that when in latitude 40deg. 48min. South, and longitude lGOdeg. East, a three-masted schooner was sighted standing to the westward.

Passenger list of the Alhambra . — Saloon : Hosdaines M'Gowan and Sullivan, Messrs Mitchell, M'Gowan, Dcninan, Watson, Jones, llartyn, Cosgrave, Sutherland, Cunningham^ M'Farline, M'Culloch, Messenger, Sullivan, and Angus. The brigaiitino " Isabella, cleared Ohigo Head? on tho 25th ultimo, with strong N.E. Minds aud line weathur. She ran for Foveaux Straits, and when off Stewart's Island the wiuoTfell light, but again freshened up, and blew a Irard Jf.E. gale whilst she was rounding the West Cape. It afterwards moderated, and finally died away altogether ; and hence to the roadstead'light variable winda prevailed. The Isabella came to an anchor on the 3rd instant, but tl>o bar being unworkable she was detaiued outside until tho sth, and then reached the wharf, in tovr of the Challenge. She brings v full general cargo. The p.s. kelson left Nelson on the 3rd instant, at -4.30 p.m.,, and arrived off the Buller at 1 p.m. the following day, having experienced during the run light southerly wind* mid a very heavy huad sea. She crossed the Buller bar at 3 p.m., discharged cargo, and left againv the game night .at 8 p.m. ; anchored off Hokitika at 4 a.m. on tho sth ; and reached the wharf three hours later. She brings a few tons of cargo and t\yelve passcngera. This fine steamer — which commenced her career on the West Coast so inauspieioußly — has^-during her long sojourn in Nelson, undergone a thorough repair; atsd very material alterations have been made in her machinery, which adds vastly to her merits as a fast and good sea boat. She is permanently placed in the Webtland trade, under the command ~of Captain Whitwell, late master of the Kennedy, and we trust, having so fortunate and skilful a commander, her future career more than compensate for the disasfc-rs she onco experienced, and which had rendered her name a by-word on the coast.

Most thankful are we tbsit the port is once more open, tho blockade having been raised by* Captain Whitwell, who brought in the Jfclson at early tide yesterJay niornirg. _ Ho found the channel narrow, with v depth of seven feet only, which, however, by high writer increased to ter. The Challenge worked tho baf. ju tjio moriHUg by taking out tho brigauijjes Sarah audJUary and Elizabeth Curie, nd then towing^in the li&bella and' Mavv

Anne. In the evening, she towod oiit the Jano Loukhnrt.'and sounded tho bar, but only •found between eight and nine feet." This decided her not to bring in either, of the vessels which aro waiting for a tow in the roadstl'ad, us, excepting fho Lia^io Colesou, which' draws woven feel nine inches, tho rest are loaded down to nearly nine feet. As tliero was little or no surf to wash up a sandbank, it 13 believed that thtr bar will bo in good working order this morning ; so "wo trust that, in the event of its -being so, tho inwaiviboundors will tuko advantage of the opportunity to if possible gain t.ho whnrf. The Persevere ran up to Groymouth on Monday night, for the purpose of tendering the Otago and Omco, s.s.? but found so heavy, a sen 'running that she wtls unable to cross tho bar until tho afternoon of the following day. With ten passengers and TOOO ounces of gold, for. the Omco, shu ran outside again, I safely transhipped them, and with a full load\ of cargo both boats, returned to the river. By tho time this was discharged, it was too late for her to run out again to the 8.8. Otago, which, wo regret to say, was un,able to wait until tho morning, and therefore sailed for Nelson and Wellington, leaving behind her several thousand^unces of gold dust, many passengers, and the" mails. The Omeo also sailed for Melbourno tho salvo night. The i fs Porsevere reports that the channel through thojQrey bar is narrow, but contains plenty of water. It runs somewhat to tho northward, but is in good condition, as' may bo inferred from the fact that the schooner Star of Tasmania sailed out of the river yesterday morning. The p.s. Bruce arrived from, Dunedin yesterday, after ren absence of three montli9 from Hie port, during which time, slio received a thorough overhaul, and underwent very oxtensive Repairs, necessitated- by the rpugh usage she received on the Okarita bar in v Juh' last. She returns a most officicnt boat in every respect, and her appearance outside, and in, testifies that no mean sum has been expended upon her refit. Throughout 'her entire length the bottom was.re-riveted, and new plates let in where it was found necessary to do so, and the damaged angle irons replaced .by new' ones. Very great ' improvements have been made in her passonger accommodation, especially in the saloon, where the couches are constructed to fold an 4 uufold, thus forming seats during^tbc day time and sleeping ■ berths at night. A ladies saloon' abaft all has also been added to the main cabin. Her maojiinery was not neglected, as the engine was takon to pieces, cleaved, and refitted, and the boiler examined and cleansed. She; underwent a close inspection by the Government Engineer, who passed a high eulogiuni upon her condition, and renewed her certificate. The following report of tho trip round from Duucdin has been supplied us by Captain Kerlc^ : — The Bruce Ipft Port Chalmers at 6 p.m. on the 29th ult., in tho teeth of a strong S.W. gale aud heavy sea, and ar- v rived at the Bluff next day at 9*30 p.m. ; put to sea again at 11 a.m. on the Ist instant, but was met by such heavy weather iii'lhe Straits tlia*t she was compelled to run bauk to the Bluff for shelter' tho same oveuing. Made another attempt tho following day, and althougli the galo had scarcely^- abated, she managed to push through tho Straits, and rounded the West Capo cm the 3rd inst.. aud reached Okarita next day, crossiug the bar without difficulty. TJiero sh"e discharged eango and passengers, and leffr-for this port yesterday at 9.30 a<m., arriving ott\ the bar at ,3.30 p.m.; entered tlie river _al 6 p.m. The Bruce brings seventeen passengers from ])unedui, and fifteen from Okarita, and '2500 ozs. of gold from the latter pqrt consigued to tho. Bank of New -Zealand. By the courtesy of Mi\Greer, we have been placed in possession of late files of Duncdiu papers. Caplain Murdoch, of the ship Shalimar, appeared before the Wilhamstown police court, " yesterday, to seek the advice of the bench in relationUo a report made to them on Friday lust; by John Nelson, oue of his seamen, as to the loss of one of his crew in tho Bay of Biscay, on his late voyage to this port, aud whoso life, as alleged by tlie» man Nelson, had been sacrificed through the wilful negligonco a Cupt. " Murdoch and his^oflicers. From 'the statement now made by the captain, and whicth he said could be proved by a number of the crew besides his ofucers, it appeared that the man referred to was jerked off tho yard into the watt'r, >vhile taking in the main-topsail, a gale of wind being blowing at the time, and a heavy sea running. Every effort was made to save him, but he sank so soon as t j preclude the possibility of, his rescue. From ona portion of Nelson's complaint, the veracity of the wholo is certainly to bo doubted. He said tbdb while he was on the main topsail yard, he heard tho captain, who wns on the poop, refuse to allow a man to throw a life- < ■ buoy overboard. It seems strange, that words spoken in aiuordinary tone of voice could be v heard at that distance, the wind being so high as to necessitate the reefing of sails ; .and unless some better testimony is brought forward, Nelson's statement can- scarcely be credited." — Melbourne " Age, ' 15th ult.

The attempts to lloat the Barwon steamer now on- the sands in Lonsdale Bay, just outside the heads, have hitherto proved unsuccessful. But most tantalising, no less than three times has the vessel been off tho land, the last time with two feet of water under her, but on each occasion the surf gelling in has proved too powerful for the tackle which was attached to her. The appliances for launching , her have proved effective these three times, and as the gear for towing tho vessel out to sea has now been greatly strengthened, it may reasonably be expected thnt the next high tide the efforts of Mv Hcnty's men will be more successful. — " Geelong Advertiser," Sept 26.

The barque Stag, Ca^taiu James Martin, has arrived in port from Sourabaya, after a somewhat unfavorable passage, the latter part especially having been marked by very severe AreatherT After leaving Sourabhya, the barque had to contend against baffling head winds as fiir as the twenty-fifth degree of south latitude, strong south-Westerly winds x being experienced from thence to Cape Leuwin. On the 15th insL, a terrific gale was encountered off the Leuwin, and during its coutiminvcc a heavy sea broke on board and drowned one of tho crew on the deck. Considerable damage was also done to the barque, tho bulwarks j .having been washed away, and tho longboat stovo in, other casualties of lessee magnitude" having occurred. Westerly winds prevailed from the Leuwin to Port Phillip Heads. Tho barque and her cargo aro consigned to Young and Martin. — Melbourne '• Argus," 2§th Sept. % ! The American ship, Gem of the Ocean, left | NeW York on June 20tb, and has had anything but a fair weather passage,- more especially towards the close. On the Bth' instant, k and while in the fort j'-fourth degree of south latitude, the ship, while running before a tremendous gale, was struck on the port quarter by a heavy sea, which started tho entire stern framework. About tuqhoiii's afterwards another sea, but of greatqr magnitude, ,tuuibled into her between the main and mizen rigging, and mado sad havoc on deck. The whole of "the upper works were started, as well as the deck houses fore and aft. . The booby hatch wab stove iri, and also the galley ami the cabin doors ; the port bulwarks we-c knocked to pieces, and two 'twecu-deek beams broken ; everything moveable was likewise swej>t from the o'eck, and the cabins were deluged with the immense volume of water which broke over her. From tho time of this disaster until Hearing this coast,, the weather has alternated between heavy N.KE. gales and light easterly airs. The Qtem of tho Ocean is consigned to R. Towns and Co., and her cargo, which consists chiefly of tobacco, kerosene bil, and lumber, will bo discharged at the Sandridge Town Pier. — Ibid.