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Grey River Argus, Volume XVI, Issue 2228, 29 September 1875, Page 2

This port was left bare of shipping yester- : day when the Dispatch towed to sea the brigantine Adieu, bound for Melbourne. The opportunities for catching whitebait have been thereby much enhanced, amateur and professional fishers having the whole length of the wharf at their command. Quite a fleet of coal barges is moored opposite Richmond Quay, waiting to discharge into the coal-sheds or into the first comers from sea ; and the presence of the locomotive on the rails excites expectations as to the number of vessels that may be seen in the port when the line is completed, and coal may be carried more conveniently than it is at present. The first comers expected are the Charles Edward,, which arrived at Hokitika on Tuesday morning from Westport and Nelson,, and the Wallabi, now due from Wanganui. •The s.s. Waipara, with a few passencers and a considerable cargo, left Hokibika for Gillespie's Beach on Monday evening. Soundings were taken on the Buller bar on Tuesday week, giving s£ft at low tide, and 14ft at full, channel wide ani straight, and fair way up stream clear of obstructions. . '. The repairs to the Union Company's s.s. Taupo are beiug carried out in a most satis- ; factory manner, under the personal super- : vision of Mr Darling, the company's superintending engineer. A piece of solid iron 14in deep by l^in thick is being rivetted on to the rudder, in order to give the vessel increased steering power, and the workmen are busily engaged drilling holes in order to . piece the crack under the keel, with plates ..of iron l£in thick. These repairs, when will render the Taupo as seaworthy as when she left the stocks. Intelligence has been received of the death at Liverpool of Captain Charles Chapman, T of. the steamship Great Britain, from dropsy. Previous to the Great Britain leaving l.iver- ;• pool on her last voyage, Captain Chapman was too unwell to join her, but it was hoped . .that, a few months' rest at home would benefit his health materially, and that he would be able to resume command on the return of the old steamship. The result, howeyer, has proved otherwise. Captain Chapman, although he had held command of several large sailing ships, was best known in connection with the Great Britain, in - which he was a tried and trusty officer under. , : the late Captain John Gray for years. On the death of Captain Gray, Mr Chapman was i -promoted to the command, and retained it until laid aside by the malady which cut ;him off. -The popularity acquired by the .Great- Britain during the long regime of Captain <*ray did not suffer in anywise while Captain Chapman was in charge, and he was • as. careful and vigilant over the ship, and . .studied the comfort of the many passengers ; who voyaged : by her as faithfully and judiciously as his old master, with whom he was in perfect accord while they sailed together. '