Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1379, 31 December 1872, Page 2

Tb.3 s.s. Albion is hurrying round the ports, and is expected to arrive here to morrow afternoon, when she will be tendered by the p. 8. Dispatch. The Graving Dock was visited yesterday by a large number of people, both from Port Chalmers and Dunedin, to look at H.M.S. Dido in dock. Anybody with any idea of i a ship's bottom must have noticed what splendid lines she had. She is not a rap\ however, as most persons thought, but her fore-part or stem is immensely strong and solid for about sft. abaft of which is a watertight compartment ; so that in case of running into anything, tbe other part of the vessel is pot damaged. She is also provided • with rolling chocks 18in deep, which render her much easier in a sea-way, especially with the wind on her beam. Her screw differs greatly from the ordinary ones we usually see. Instead of the extreme ends being round, they are square ; the " pitch" or height of which is 15ft Gin. It is one of Hurcbus's patents, and is a great improvement on the ordinary ones. The Dido's bottom was found to be in splendid order, a very small piece of copper waa damaged close to the bottom of her stem, which was quickly repaired; there was also a little grass on her copper, which was scrubbed off immediately the dock was dry.— Dunedin Star. The barque East Lothian, Captain Williams, from Auckland to New York, arrived thero on tho 27th October, after a passage of 112 days. Captain Williams supplies the following report of his passage :— Passed Cape Horn on the Bth August ; crossed the Equator on the 13th September in longitude 34deg 32min west; bad strong westerly gales off Cape Horn ;on the 3 1st July had a heavy south-west gale, lasting three days, in which was pooped by a heavy sea, which broke the wheel, stove bulwarks and after skylight ; same time washed overboard Edward Tbate and John Koope, seamen, both natives of Germany, aged respectively 38 and 20 years, who were drowned. We notice that the boilers, machinery, and fittings of the p.s. Duke of Edinburgh, lying alongside the wood wharf at Auckland, have been taken out of her, with the intention of converting her. into a schooner for the coast trade. Captain Bowton has been appointed to the command. When the Nevada left Auckland on the last occasion, it was hoped that by the time she reacted Honolulu the Dakota would have been at San Francisco, and able to take up the service, while the Nevada went through for the overhaul of lief machinery, which Bhe so much needed. The strain to which the machinery of tbe Nevada, and that of her sister ship the Nebraska, has been put by bo lengthened a service, without a chance of getting it properly overhauled, has been such is few vessels could have stood. The fact that they have run almost ceaselessly on Buch a long voyage for between two and three years, seldom having had their fires extinguished, indicates pretty well the nature of the material employed in their construction, and tbu quality of workmanship expended in bringing them. On the arrival of the Nevada at Honolulu it was found that the Dakota had not reached that port, and instead of proceeding on to San Francisco to be overhauled, she had therefore to return to this port, and in doing so made an unusually long voyage. We know from the early trips of the Nevada what she is capable of doing when in proper trim, and when her machinery has received that overhaul which it so much needs, we may confidently anticipate that the vessel will prove herself to be quite equal to tho performance of the service within contract time.— Southern Cro&s.