SHIPPING.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 556, 30 March 1876, Page 2

SHIPPING.

PORT OF LYTTELTON. ARRIVED. March 30—Taupo, s.s, 461 tons, Worsp, from Dunedin. Passengers—Saloon : Miss Martin, Mesdames Lyons, Burmaster and child, Hales, Carrick, Messrs Schaw, Smith, Martin, Benjamin, Haines, Belsher, Youl, Davis, Wills, Hill, Delamain, Jobberns, Reed, Hunter, Ray, Brook, Lyons, Houdon, Pannett, Campbell, Adams, Phelf, Coombes, Tremen, Hale, Anthony, Carrick, Palmer, Clark, Crow and son, Torey, Agar, Woodward, Sarcus, Alexander, Alared; 17 in steerage, and 28 for North. CLEARED. March 30—Phoebe, s.s., 416 tons, Andrew, for Dunedin. March 30—Taupo, s.s., 461 tons, Worsp, for Northern ports. March 30—Rio Loge, brig, 241 tons, Miles, for Brisbane. March 30—Excelsior, schooner, 92 tons, Jonier, for Wellington. SAILED. March 30—-Phoebe, s.s, 416 tons, Andrew, for Dunedin. Passengers—Ten original. The Taupo, s.s, Captain Worsp, arrived here at 8 a.m. to-day, after a rapid passage of a little over 15 hours. The Invererne did not get away la3t night. Owing to her. lying so near tothe lee shore, it was deemed advisable at the last moment not to break out her anchor for fear of her drifting, as the squalls werevery heavy. She is expected to sail every moment. THE UNITED STATES FLEET. The United States fleet is at present thus composed : There are twenty-lour ironclads, nil constructed upon the model ol the turret-ship Monitor, and mounted with sixty-three heavy guns. Most of them are also armed with rams. Their total tonnage is 20,771 tons, and they could be pot ready for action in a fortnight. There uxe thirty-nine wooden vessels lit for active service and ready for the reception of munitions and of their crews. Their total tonnage amounts to 46,214 tons, and twenty of them, which are equal in point of tonnage to any other wooden vessels afloat, are armed with 609 guns of heavy calibre. Thus, the naval forces of the United States consisted, on the Ist November, 1875, of sixty-three vessels, armed with 572 guns. There are also eleven vessels on the stock*, one of which, the Trenton, will be launched next week, while three others, the Adams, the Enter--sriße, and the Essex, will be finished in a month. 'he Vandalia, the Marion, and the Quennetrang Will be ready in three months, and the remaining four, the Java, the Pennsylvania, the New York, and the Galena, in six. The tonnage of these vessels is 15,360 tons, and they will be mounted with 124 guns.—" New Zealand Times." THE EQUINOCTIAL GALES. The autumnal equinox this year has brought us a full share of heavy and very unsettled weather The wind is more than usually unsteady, and the gales bitter and spiteful, whilst the weather is most fluctuating and diflicult to forecast. It has been blowing off and on with greater or less intensity since last Thursday, with a low but rapidly shifting barometer. Captain Edwin, of the Wellington observatory, forecast the weather on Monday, and prognosticated an exceptionally low glass and heavy gale. Weather appearances at this end were certainly all in favour of the verification of his predictions. A furious S.W. gale came down in the afternoon, and blew hard in squalls up to midnight, with frequent lightning. That it would culminate in a gale of extraordinary violence yesterday was confidently anticipated. But no: the gale took oil' suddenly at midnight, and yesterday morning the wind went round to the northward, kept moderate until noon, and then freshened up to another gale and blew fearfully hard in squalls throughout the afternoon and evening. The glass fell very rapidly, and registered under 29 at 5 p.m., thus so far bearing out Captain Edwin's opinion. How severe the gale of Monday night was may be imagined from the fact of the steamer Eingarooma, with her doughty commander, John McLean, having to turn tail to it. To up helm and give the best would be almost a last resource with O.ptnin McLean, but he had to do it when the steamer met the tremendous sea that was running off Cape Saunders, and shortly after 1 p.m. he brought his beat back to the Heads and anchored there, and made another start early yesterday morning.— " Otago Daily Times."