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Grey River Argus, Volume XVI, Issue 2149, 29 June 1875, Page 2

The s. s.Murray will leave to-day for the north. The Otagd is expected to arrive to-day from Nelson and other ports, and will ship passeDgers for Melbourne direct. The Albion arrived at Hokitika yesterday morning from Melbourne direct, : and was tendered on the afternoon's tide. She then came on here* and the Dispatch, with the outward passengers . and mails, was waiting for her in the roadstead. After transhipment the ocean, boat passed on to Nelson,, but the tug could, not return to port until ? o'clock this morning. .' • : The schooners Canterbury and Jessie, for Wellington ; Alert, for Hokitika ; and ketch Sarah and Mary, for Greymouth, all produce laden, cleared the Customs at Lyttelton on Wednesday last. . . Captain Crinastead, of the brig Elliots, informs us that when running down here, between, Tasmania and the Snares, on the 50th parallel, long. 162 E, a topgallantmast, that from its size, evidently belonged to a large vessel, was seen floating in the water. The rigging- was on it, and-it did not'appear to have been very long adrift. The Elliotts passed close to it, but as 'she was slipping through the water with a fresh breeze, it was not -deemed worth -while to heave-to and pick up the piece ;of wieck. — Otago Daily Times. , . ■ ■. :--..--■ .-\ •.: ;;;,.</ „ The schooner. Coronet brings .news, of several shiDping'disasfers in the South' Seas. The ship Airey Force, boundlfrom Newcastle to San Francisco, with a cargo of coal, was wrecked during the month of April at Earora one of the Paumota Group. All hands were saved, and after proceeding to Tahiti, were taken on board the schooner Maggie Crocker, for conveyance to San Francisco. Three days after leaving.Jthe schooner fell in with a hurricane near the Paumotas, and wa3 capsized!- .'All hands were lost with the exception of Captain Sinclar, of the schooner, and Captain Scott, of the Airey Force, who managed, to. get. into one of the boats, and were-eventuaUy enabled to reach Tahiti.' A French barque, bound .to Valparaiso, believed to be ! the :i Argbj put into Papita almost a total wreck;' and the ship Eddystone, bound to also put into the same island, leaky. „. , The Walter .Glendining, a brigantine belonging to Liverpool) and under command of Captain. Scott, has been seized by the authorities at; Tahiti ,for ; ,encK>aching on their territory whilst engaged in the pearl fishery at the Paumotas. She was captured by the French war steamer recently at Dunedin, the The rimara Herald relates a most extraordinary case of good luck which happened a Christchurchj College boy who want home, by the last ' trip of 'ttie Si. , Osyth. The poor fellow met with some injury to his hand at the Cape,~and the" wound becoming painful in'the tropics, he was dosed , with chloral, to make him sleep. liyingj then, one ni ht on the grating behind the, wheel, he became excited or delirious, stood' up and stumbled over the taffrail into the. sea. ,- So sound was his slumber,' however, that' neither a fall of 20ft^ nor the sudden immersion, woke him, and hefioated 50' yards before he knew that anything had happened. By this time an alarm had beeni given, the steamer was backed, a boat lowered, arid our - College boy was presently brought on board again, none the worse for hia ducking. ! William Stewart, captain of theship Tweed, hae addressed a letter to the Times, showing how frequently ships are exposed to a danger which -resulted- so disastrously in the case of the CospatrickY owing; to the untrustworthy character of -■ the sailors/ - He says on his last voyage to New Zealand, in June, he had not been Ions; at sea when be learned the sailors were plundering the cargo, and' that naked Ughts'Were seen in the lower hold among the merchandise stored there.' Two ordinary seamen were detected passing sardines and preserved milk, into the forecastle, and were Drought aft. After being confined, they confessed they "were "serif into the hold by the ciew, and 'that several sailors had been many times into the hold with naked lights.surrep-. titiously obtained from the emigrants; The ' letter continues :— " Before sailing every possible precaution had been taken to prevent the crew gaining access to the hold, but it was accomplished by the men cutting a passage through the coal, removing the bulkhead and passing- "out' the< plunder, which they secreted under the coal until they could get it into the forecastle;-^ 'When this discovery was made I refused to supply them with tobacco. Then their* conduct' became 'most disgraceful. They combined to neglect their duty in . OTeryjjossible way, shamming sick- ; ness,.&c, although pronounced by the surgeon to be;; quite.] welL. Their conduct became' hourly more mutinous and disorderly, and they could not be kept, out of the forecastle through the night, although the ship was running in darkioggy weather, £hd in, the vicinity of Jce. On arrival a,t Otago, , the ringleader- was 'brought before the Police Magistrate and sentenced !t6 four weeks' imprisonment with hard labor, for neglect of duty, . and, eight i peeks', for, embezzlement of; the cirg'6*. There is scarcely a;, vessel. going, to tlfe- Colony whose ..owner, does not,, have, to payTieavily for loss occasioned by plundering cargo, but whatfis much more of consequence, is the, .danger to valuable Uves by crews- getting 'into the ship's hold with naked lights amid inflammable cargo, whereby many good ships and" many passengers have been " sScrificed, ; . ,'whbs^' number (?) could never ? be ; t6tdTf or the ships have been posted as ' mifisingl'" * ' : .■ ' ' .