NOTES FROM LYTTELTON.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 817, 3 February 1877, Page 3

NOTES FROM LYTTELTON.

The number of days occupied by a ship ou her passage from London to this port is a vexed question. Some captains who have made a good run, are content to calculate from Gravesend, whilst others count days from the Downs, and some of the oldfashioned ones are so much behind the age that they talk of the day they left the dock. Where a ship, however, has made a pretty long trip of it, there is no end to the subterfuges practised to make it appear a good voyage. The vague term “from land to land,” which in some instances must mean from about Madeira to Tasmania, is constantly used, hTo ship now-a-days makes a bad passage, and the public cannot tell whether she is fast or slow, judging by the reports. Jn this harbor there is a ship that, according to the Home Nans, left the Downs two days after another vessel which has recently arrived at Port Chalmers. The Lyttelton ship arrived here ten or twelve days before the other, so that there was actually a fortnight difference in the passage, and yet both ships were telegraphed through the colony as having occupied precisely the same space of time on the voyage. This is no solitary instance, and as there are many who never see the Home papers stating when the ships leave Gravesend or the Downs, they take this information as correct. If our reporters and Press Agency tele graphists, which as far as shipping is con cerncd generally means the same thing, would only agree to take one point of departure, say the Downs or the meridian of

the Lizard for every ship, and one point of arrival, which certainly ought to be anchorape in port, these inconsistencies would disappear, and we should all know what runs the vessels really made. I do hope our shipping reporters will take the hint, and in future calculate all ships’ passages iu this way, and if they could only communicate with the other New Zealand shipping re porters on this point, perhaps general accuracy might be the result. There is rather a bloodthirsty, boys’ hook that I once read called “ The Rival Cap tains.” Well, we New Zealanders have our rival captains as well, though they don’t turn pirates or fight desperate broad-sword combats. When the Pleiades arrived at Port Chalmers the other day she reported passing the Waipa, but when the latter vessel got here her captain stated that the ships had been in company twice, but that on both occasions the Waipa passed the Pleiades, and iu fact on one occasion he had to back the crossjack yard to keep within speaking distance. Another nautical gentleman resident here got quite excited about the matter, and telegraphed as follows to Dunedin:—“ Waipa reports passing you; is this correct ? ” The r«ply sent was “ Waipa’s report bosh, passed her twice,” This altercation has been quite a ’delightful thing for port; each ship has her warm admirers, and old salts and young salts, as they chew their tobacco at the corner or stand at that refuge for the destitute, the steps at the new Government Buildings, argue the point with a vigor that is quite refreshing in this hot weather, and which renders them so thirsty that an adjournment to Tom Bailey’s is indispensible. I would recommend that a committee, consisting of all captains of English ships in harbor, he appointed to investigate this great question, which has seldom been equalled in importance since the notable contest regarding the difference betwixt Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and that the only nobleman in port, our dear friend the Baron, be made judge. Surely A. Ward is the fittest person to give the award, more particularly as in this case it relates to C. Ward (seaward) questions. I am shocked! Some correspondence addressed to his Worship the Mayor has fallen into my hands, of such a compromising kind, that I hesitate as to making it public, but I feel it is my painful duty to let all fellow Portonians hear the terrible truth. Tho letter is from a lady, and.runs as follows “ Rapuki, January 17th, 1877. Doctor Rouse—Dear sir I bought the box of the bill; I look in; no bill in the box ; you must give some bill; all the body very bad ; Mrs Koralis belongs to J. T. Rouse.” What terrible mystery is this? For the credit of Lyttelton 1 hope that the Mayor will make a full explanation to the Council at the meeting next Monday. Of the many bad practices in Lyttelton, that of writing threatening anonymous letters is amongst the worst. The vile cowards that resort to it want flogging as much as the most hardened criminals, and Portoniau sincerely hopes to see one caught some of these fine days and severely punished. A very popular young gentleman well known to all Portonians had a chance in a raffle the other night. Not being present himself, a man was appointed to throw for him and others absent, and our young gentleman was lucky enough to get the prize, which was a very good boat. The next time onr friend met the person who threw for him he gave him a florin to get some beer, naturally thinking that was plenty considering he had never asked the man to throw for him; but what was his astonishment to receive an anonymous letter the next day, threatening that if two pounds were not given to the man who threw the winning chance for him the boat would be smashed up some night. The writer, like most “ Captain Starlights,” is evidently very illiterate, the phonetic spelling and misplacement of capitals being quite up to Artemua Ward’s standard. I hope, for the credit of our town, he is not a resident here. lam sure of one thing, and that is, that there is hardly a Portoniau who would not kick such a cowardly maff. If the man who threw wanted more money, why didn’t he go and ask for it himself ? None of us are immaculate, bat there is certainly more scandal now going about in Lyttelton than enough. “ Portoniau” can’t think what the reason is, but supposes it is the hot weather. The celebrated saying of the Eastern potentate, who, whenever any fire, plague, war, or other calamity was reported, used to cry out “ Who is she ? ” thereby intimating a woman was at the bottom of it, is peculiarly applicable in all these cases. Let us hope that all of them will turn to be not half as bad as reported. The reporter of the Fress had a hard time of it last week. He was quietly walking down the street the other day when he was accosted by a furious individual, who wanted to know what harm he had done to the reporter, that he should be held up to insult and public ridicule. Now you know this reporter is rather stout, and it is unfair to flurry him in the hot weather. He looked at his antagonist, came to the conclusion it was no good running, for ho would speedily be caught, so he made the best of a bad bargain, and, putting on hia most genial smile and pretending to be quite at his ease, asked mildly “what ho had done.” “Done," shrieked the infuriated individual, “ Why you called me an ‘ Employe,’ in this morn ing’s paper. What have I done that yon insuit me in this manner ? ” Luckily at this moment some people came up, and the reporter got away, but ever since he has lived in an agony of fear. PORTONIAN.