TELEGRAMS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXII, Issue XXII, 23 November 1867, Page 4

TELEGRAMS.

Poet Chalmers, November 21. Sailed — 5.30 p.m., Raugitoto, s.s., for Lyttelton. Bluff, November 21. Sailed — 3.40 p.m., Omeo, s.s., for Dunedin. * The s.s. Mataura sailed for Sydney shortly after midnight. Amongst her passengers was Captain Benson, General Manager of tho Company, who contemplates, we believe, a visit to Sydney and Melbourne, and intends to return by tho January Steamer. Tho s.s. Ahuriri arrived at 6 o'clock on Thursday evening, after a 28 hours' passage from Napier, against a strong head wind. Sho brought no files. The s.s. Airedale, Captain Worsp, arrived at noon yesterday from the North. Sho left Manu- I Jtau at noon on the 18th ; arrived off New Ply- j mouth at 8 o'clock the next morning j sailed for Nelson at 12.30 o'clock the same day, and reached that port at 7 o'clock on the morning of the 20th ; left for Picton at 2.30 p.m. on the 21st, and arrived there at 10.30 j sailed again at 8.15 on Friday morning, arriving hero as above. Experienced strong N.W. "Winds from Taranaki to Wellington. The b.s. Taranaki, Captain Francis, left the Bluff at 4 p.m. on tho 17th, and arrived at Port Chalmers at 7 a.m. on the 18th ; left Port Chalmers with the English mail at 3 p.m. on the 20th ; and arrived at Lyttelton at 8 o.m on the 21st ; left at 3 p.m., and arrived hero at 8 a.m. on the 22nd. We are indebted to the purser for fileH. d&The 6tenmer Rakaia, bolowging to the Panama, New Zealand, and Australia?! Eoyal Mail Com- ( pany, which arrived at Panama on the 3rd Sept., bringing sixty-three passengers and £34.786 in gold from Sydney and New Zealand, made the voyage, in connection with the Royal Mail steamer Douro, from New Zealand to Southamp- , ton in fifty days, the actual time at Bea being only forty-five days. — Home News. The following noteß of tho voyage of the Harwich are extracted from a diary kept by one of tho passengers, a copy of which has been received by a friend of his in tho colony : — " From Wednesday, June 19, we had seven or eight days of Btormy weather, Bhip rolling fearfully, waves washing ovor deck, bursting through tho cabin window throughout the night ; things floating about; snow falling fast, three inches oh deck. A little Australian German boy made a Bnowball, and came down to dry it by the, fire, in order to preserve it. Monday, July 8. — 3)uring the night the ship rolled fearfully. Towards morning she appeared to be Btraining under a weight of canvas. A heavy sea washed over tlio deck, coining into tho window, flowing through tho cabin into our berths. A cry was raised, * The mainmast is going.' A terrible crash followed. Tho ship lay over on her side in immi-. iient peril, like some huge animal struggling for . life. Sailors were running with their axes, the' Mack cook and eteward with eharp knifes, to cut

away rigging ; women with pale faces distracted. Now the cry waß, ' Make ready, the mizenmast is going.' Another awful crash ; ifc fell over the poop, tho captain narrowly escaped being jammed. All the sails and yards were torn off tho foremast;, except one large sail. One boat was.srnashedand thrown overboard. The captain looked at his chart ; we were in latitude 54. deg. 8., about 1,000 miles from Capo Horn. It would be mad to think of rounding it in our present position. We were about 2000 miles from Valparaiso, and the captain decided on trying for that port, to be refitted. We had a fair wind. July 9.— Put up studdingsail. Going on well. July 10.— Put up iurymast on the poop, with a small triangular sail. Monday, 15.— A sailor, a Norwegian, fell overboard ; a lifebuoy was thrown overboard and a boat put off with all speed. After an interval, it returned with the man safe and sound. July 20.— Saw a Bhip, the first Bince we left Adelaide. Made a signal ; no reply. Tho night very tornpcstuous. July 21.— A miserable and stormy day. ' July 25* — Were towed into Valparaiso harbor. July 26.— Heavy gale sprang up. The captain informed us that ho had lost two boats and one man, Josoph Casburne. The boat in which he was broke away from the ship just as he was about to leave it, and was soon smashed by tho violence of the sea. The men had to swim for the shore, and when near it another sailor wh« was swimming heard him panting hard, evidently exhausted ; a great surf came rolling over him, and he was seen no more. It has been a fearful afternoon ; the Harwich had two anchors out ; fifty yards more and she would have bumpod on the rocks. I saw a large ship go ashore, j break in two, and become a total wreck 5 fourteen , men lost. It will be nearly four months before we get away from here, and tho mate tells us that by the Panama route there will be ample time to get a reply. Dated Valparaiso, July 29."— 5. A. Register, October 26. Wo have to record tho exploit of Mr Bowker, a member of tha Canoe Club, who on Monday last crossed in his canoe Octoroon, from Ambleteuse, a village seven miles north of Boulogne to Dover. After having put on board two bottles of wine and a can of biacuit, Mr Bowker paddled out of Ambleteuso at a quarter to seven a m., and came in view of tho English coast, after running some fourteen miles west of Capo Grisnez having lost sight of land only about a quarter of an hour. About ten miles from his destination, he was hailed by the South-Eastern steam-packet, the captain of which vessel pointed out the route, Mr Bowker having unfortunately lost his chart, and found his compass would not act. He Baw during his voyage several shoale of porpoises one of these monsters rising within a few feet of the bow of tho boat. He reached Dover at sixteen minutes to six p.m., after paddling (with tho exception of thirty minutes' rest) about eleven hours, his arrival causing no littlo excitement among the promenaders on the beach. The Octoroon is 16ft. long 23 in. wide, and Sin. deep, and is unquestionable tho smallest boat which has ever crossed tho Channel. The weather was fine, but the sea not without surf in some places j wind, S.S.W.— The Times, Aug. 23.