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Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 174, 23 February 1867, Page 2

"■■■■■' i TI "! rs %hfc;p.6. : Piapatpb had an ,\Mv ' y °«yipg her speed agaiußt. one . of he crnck hoffe^ Coast, t& Kelson? •fW^sseJs sialLg^oeether at •DiS5 I r ih *^mmmm^^ii^m •Visi-atcn M-as tM:o^ : D utcs in advatfeejkailtf ■ eroded the l )a r i n |Sd sfryle,:^lie^ engines. "sL afeved at F.^'stully

an hour ;before the^gl3in,.th| passage being Made 4n- twiif >hoii3ra|; and 'twenty minutes, against i'» t ßtr.p%^he^'^:^^eDispa : tcliha4 di3charged:her cafgo'and passengers at Fox's before the" Jferspu^came up. She left again • at in'ne o'clock' the same evening, and anclioredoff the bar about midnight, and towed in the Jane Anii from Melbourne yesterday morning. The Northern Light, • hence, arrived at Melbourne on the 9th instant. The schooner John and .lane, from MeU bourne, is outside, and will probably be towed iv this morning. The s.s. William Miskin, Capt. Hepbum, which arrived at her moorings yesterday morning; left Dunedin on the 12th inst., •and arrived at the Bluff the next day, and landed some cargo, and took in coal,. An accident to her screw caused her to be detained until the next moiuiingj.arid on the 15th put -into Chalky Inlet for shelter, and remained there until evening. When off Doubtful Inlet, she experienced a heavy N,E. gale which compelled her to bear up for the inlet and anchor. At daybreak the follow? ing morning she put to sea again, and arriving off the Haast Eiver, Caj>tain Hepburn ran in and lauded passengers arid cargo. Took 25 passengers on board for Hokitika, and crossed the, Hokitika bar on- the following movning, Left Hokitika at 10.40 a. in. on Thursday, and arrived off the Grey at 2 p.m. The red ilag being up, Captain Turnbull, who was in charge of the vessel attempted to conic in. Crossed the bar safely although a very heavy sea was running, but meeting a heavy freshet, it caught her on the starboard bow and s}cwed her hejuj towards the North Spit, The engines were promptly reve.ged, but she took the ground forward and backed pff again! A sea then struck her by the head arid.slewed her round with her head to the southward. The head sails were at once hoisted with the idea of canting Her -round into .■ the river, which was done to a certain extent, but not sufficient to clear her of the South Spit. She ultimately hung fore and aft across the channel the sea makf.-ig .a clean la each over her, damaging her starboard quarter boat, bending tbe davits' aud carry jug away both gangways and sundry cases of fruit on deck. At this time she rolled, hecavily. on the starboard bilge and sprung a slight leak. Owing it is supposed, to 1 the current scouring the shingle from under her bows ihe'oantej round head to sea, and the engines being put ahead at full speed she cleared the spit aud succeeded in making the ofting, Too much praise cannot be awarded to the engineer Mr Benson and his -assistants, as they resolutely stuck to their work although th& water in the boiler-room Avas nearly up to the fire bars. Ten minutes more detention on the spit would have resulted in the extinguishing of the fires and the loss of the vessel. After making the oiling it was found that tbe vessel was makr ing a little water, but net more than one pump could keep under. Captain Turnbull did not cousider it advisable to attempt to come In at the night's tide, and waited until yesterday morning, .-when she steamed safely in at 11 o'clock. The signal master is considered to be much to blame for allowing the steamer to attempt to enter at the then sta'e of the tide and eurren\ The schooner Jane Ann loft Port Phillip Heads at 10 o'clock on the night tf the 9th iust. Had light north»westcy!y winds all the passage, and reayhed the laud yesterday morni ng. Was toM'ed iv by th ep. s. Dispatch ; in the afternoon. TheRN.Z. & A,R.M, Co's steamer Lord Ashley .arrived jn the roadstead yesterday morning, and was tended by the Dispatch. Owing to the heavy swell it W'is not thought prudent tv tranship her cargo, which she took onto llokitika. The cutter Dart which arrived on Thursday night made a quick run of a little over three hours from the Pakihi, and ran in over the bar at 10 o'clock. We are indebted to Captain Bonner for a copy of tL§ Westport Timea of the 20th instaut, • Supposjju Suxkex Rock— Caution to Mabiners— C»ptain Hepburn, of the s,s. William Miskin, has sxipplied us with the following account ftfnh episode in the late passage of that vessel from Dnnedin. It 13 significant of danger, and will doubtless be accepted as a warning by masters of vessels engaged ju the Westland coasting trade. On the morning of the ISth inst, when the Miskin was running the coast down between Jackaon'sßayand Haast River-r=rt'.ie weatlter being fine .at the time and the sja smqoth— a patch\of broken water wrs ob.erved ahead, directly, in the vessel's coiirse. She was immediately sheered inshore, the atti u'-.ion .of all on board being directed to the supposed danger, and from the fact that the " break' was not continuous but regularly intermittent, only showing when a swell rolled in from seawards, it was inferred that a sunken rock— not laid down on any chart, existed there. The Miskin passed between it and the main land, and when a little to the northward, eased ste>am for the purpose of roughty ascertaining its position, sks being then inside Open Bay Island, and almost abreast of the Okuri River, at a distance of about one mile from the beach. The "break" then bore S,W. byW. 1| W. (magnetic) distant about half a, mile, syul. the centre of Qpen Bay Island N.W. by N. \ X, thus placing the rook about a mile and a half from the main land, and a little south of the imaginary line connecting Open Bay Island with the month of the Okuri river. Capt; ji Hepburn is convinced that the H-break" was. not caused by an ordinary foul bottom, but i\ suited from the obstruction offered to the action of the swell by an object tha^ could not have been more than three or four 7 fee* from the water's surface. When the above bearings were taken the tide, was at about halffflopd — Went CoaitTiwi??, -.'';-■'•' ;i Some time ago it was rumored that the .Great Eastern would probably be hired by certain speculators who proposed to use her to convey passengers from across the. seas to the French Exhibition next year. The report was, however, contradicted. , It appears nevertheless, «s we learh from the\P«^ Mall Gazettej that there was a foundi.t : on for it M. J. Despochef, a French Nantais gentlcma % is ftie chief promoter of the scheme, .and a company has been formed to carry it out ' properly. - The vessel is to be regularly chartered, and to run with passenge s and merchandise between Franca, and- America during 1807, entering France either at Brest br : Cherbourg.. It ie intended to • c.ivr-y-up-wards of 3000 passeugc r3 each voyage and 2000 tona of me'rchandLse. The passengers will be all first-class, and are to have superb accommodation, &c. It is calculated that the ship will lie about twelve days in transit, and that she will be backwards and forwards at least seven times while the exhibition is open. The expehseifand profit are siiid to be so arranged that even with only. looo passengers instead. of 8000, hand: o me dividends would be realised by the shareholders. The Great Eastern will "leave Liverpool, on the 20th o f March, 18(i7, for New' York; and start thence a\ ilh her passengers so as to arriy,3 in France in time for the opening of the ExliibitioEl It is added that M. .Julps^ Despecher Ayas put into possession of the ship' on the 10th of Novcraber, and COO inenliaye been fully'employed on it ever since, ; ; . . ( Tns Stf.aji-Siphon. — Security of. Life, at Ska.— lni)reseue6 of the Presfderifc of the New York Chamber of Coinmercej and others identified with marine interests, a public exhibition of a, new patent steam-siphon pump ;^yas lately given. The siphon is the applitcation of a simple principle of natuial philojebphy Xq the .process of raising water ■ by steam. A pipe connects the chamber of the pump with the.boiler of a steam engine. A discharge pipe enters the mouth of this chamber, Two. suctior. rpipes extend .from it

into a vat or fountain of water. Upon turning the staam-cock, .the ;; steam rushes into the|chamber, and out through th.3 tleliverypipe, thus creating a vacuum into which the water is forced by the pressure of the atmosphere. The water will thus continue to now until the fountain is emptied or the steam withdrawn, As nu appendage to steam vessels, this pump appears to bp invaluable. From five to twentyrfive hundred gallons of water per minute in<\V.be raised from the hold of a vessel by a Bingle pump, accordirig to the si?e of the pipe used and the ppwer of steam applied, A few of these pumps attached to the boilers of a steamer would neutralise the most desperate leakage, and save many vessels which now founder for the lack of such appliances. The simplicity of the apparatus ami ifca readiness of application are great re|pmmenilations. This pump also furnishes aready and efficient means for extinguishing fires,. Its capacity for this is only limited by the amount of steam on. hand and of water near. The American engineers haye ordered its introduction into Government steamers, and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company have also decided to adopt it.