Untitled

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 886, 7 December 1870, Page 2

The Bay of Islands coal has been found superior to English or Newcastle coal for fusing glass. The Evening Post, Nov. 25, gays :—During the thunderstorm on Wednesday night, one of Mr Ludlam's Rorauey Marsh rams was killed by lightning. The carcase became putrid the next day. The Wellington Independent, 3rd instant, says:—Last week a sperm whale was cast pii the coast between Flaxbourne and Kikerangi, and was found by the manoger, Mr Lovegroye. It turned out some four tuns of oil, besides a quantity of head matter. From the reports we have heard from several ship masters, it would appear that whales are frequenting our coasts in large numbers. This may be accounted for, by there being a smaller number of steamers plying on our coast, or that they have come in search of food, large quantities of which have been observed off shore. Captain Croucher reports whales to be very numerous on the E.ast Coast of the North Inland. On the 11th instant, wheri off Flat Point, a singular occurrence took plage, whiph he entered in his log book. Two whales were observed, either asleep or feeding quietly on the surface ot the water, and although the yessel was bearing down upon them, they took no notice, and the cutter had to be put about to prevent running into them. The crew shouted lustily for about five minutes, when the -whales showed flukes and sounded. One of them was longer, than the Glimpse (60 feet) and was covered wjth barnacles. Uf late years the whaling interest ljas been entirely neglected $ would if pot be advisable, now that whales have returned to our shores in such large nurpbers, to niake provisipn for their capture, either by shore parties, or off shore by small vessels. The following is from the Wellington Independent, 3rdi December :—Jn spite of the efforts of the Gj-pverninent tp popularise life assurance, our community still remains apathetic and indifferent. Men daily an d hourly make their exit to " That bourpe from which no traveller returns," and their famillies linger after them, without any resources wherewithal to secpre the independence of even a day's exissepep. How little a man thinks of the uncertainty of life J How ljttlp he realises what may be the condhion of those dear to him, jf he shopld be suddenly called away. A spirit of manly independence and a )iigh tone of se.f-respect would prevent the suggestion that liia family wppld bo reduced to a reliance on public chanty. Yet how little does it concern him to make a provision which wjll avert such a calamity. Life assurance he has no doubt heard of, but as he taken the trouble to investigate and avail himself of the bepefioe.pe of its operations. To those who are ignorant we are glad to see tb.<it an opportunity for obtaiping information will be afforded at Mr VY» Thomson's lecture to be delivered at the : . dd Fellows' Hall on Monday eveniug. Our readers will do well to attend—the subject is fraught with vital jutercß* for all ot uf,

ACROSS THE PACIFIC OCEAN TO CALIFORNIA, FIRE AND tfARROW ESCAPE. [MARIBGBOUGH EX?B£SS, NOVEMBER 19.} We have received by mail this week a very interesting letter, dated Honolulu, October 24, from a friend who left Blenheim a few months ago for Sydney, whence he took his departure for California, en route to Charleston, South Carolina, by Hall's line, in the Wonga Wonga. As the writer is well known here, we have made lengthy extracts, which will be interesting to our readers. We may premise that the Wonga Wonga called at Auckland on her way, leaving that city on the 7th, at 7 pm., arrived at Honolulu on the 23rd, at 2.30 p.m., and on the 25th the passengers re-embarked on board the Moses Taylor, and sailed for San Francisco at 3 p.m. ;— <■

Sunday, 9th 0ct.,6 am..-^Stronghead wind; all sails taken in. 12 noon.— Latitude 30 9 37'5., longitude 173° 57' W.; distance run since yesterday noon, 216 miles; blowing very hard; no prayers held this day owing to the nasty head wind, and the ship rolling. 9 p.tn, T-r-Blow,ing half a gale of wind, and shipping a little water. 10| p.ru.—l have been in bed for the last bour, but could not sleep ; the wind rising fast, and ship rolling very much; smell something in my cabin, as if someone was smoking, but said nothing, as I did not like to make myself disagreeable by complaining about trifles, but .the cabin filling with smoke, and smelling as if burning, X called the steward, who answered " All right;" the doctor, who slept in the op? posite cabin, remarked to me that the ship must be on fire; the steward, who was sleeping on the side of the cabin table, found that one of the cabins intended as a sleeping apartment for passengers, but used on this trip by the mail agent as a sorting room only, was on fire, and had already given the alarm to the second officer (Mr J)rew, late of the Ph«be), who wirh great promptitude got the hose ready ; in the meantime the steward of the second cabin, Mr Biles, and Mr Young, the chief steward, burst open the door of the cabin where the fire was; Mr Young told me he saw one of the mail bags on fire, and called out for water, which the second steward brought, and Mr Young at once extinguished it, Mr Young informed me that had it not been found out when it was, in ten minutes the whole of the second cabin woul<i have been on fire. The fire was put out before any of the saloon or steerage pas-* sengers were aware of it. The captaiu, chief mate, and mail agent arrived when the fire was out, and all over; the mail agent slept in the saloon. There are a good many suppositions as to the origin of the fire ; some say that the mail agent may have had American matches in his sorting room, and the friction by the rolling of the vessel have ignited them t and so cause the fire. The whole affair seems a mystery. I asked the mail agent what damage was done; he admitted at first that there was a mail bag from Wellington much damaged; others say he told them the Government despatches were burnt, He does not seem to be very communicative about it; in fact, there was no investigation about it, anci it evidently appears they wish the matter to be hushed up. All that I can say is that our Almighty Father was merciful to us in having rescued us from a fright* ful death. Escape would have been hopeless, as no boat could have lived in the sea that was running at the time the fire occurred.

Monday, XQtU Oct., 4 a shipping heavy seas; all the cabins flooded, and everybody busy baling out water; I am knee deep in water, and it reminds me of the great flood at Blenheim In February, J 663. 7 iug very hard; no breakfast, owing to the cook not being able to light a fire. 12 noon. —Vessel shipping heavy seas; all the cabins flooded out; everybody miserable ; one tremendous sea struck the ship, smashing the skylights, carrying away tbe starboard lifeboat, sweeping away hencoops, with poultry, several sheep, and frightening the life out of us, and also washing about the decks two men, and hurting the boatswain seriously; the doctor is lying in bed, too lazy to get but the captain made him. 6 p.m.-r-Gaje abatjug very much, but heavy cross sea on as yet. Tuesday, 11th Oct., 7 a.m.—Wind chsnge4 in our favour ; par| sails set j

weather clearing up. 12 noon. —Distance riyi since the 9th, 315 miles, latitude, 26° 15' 3., longitude 174* 47' W.; all well, going along nicely...... The passage from Sydney to Auckland and Honolulu was, with the exception of what I h4ve informed you above, most splendid, i>ut this (yompany is no good, as the steamers are not large enough. The Wonga Wonga might do for a coaster, but she will never dp to run across the Pacific ; and the captain is not the right wan in the right place. Kennedy of the Airedale, or Wheeler of the Taranaki, would do much better than Capt. Steward, of this steamer. The officers are all right, and I must not forget to mention Mr R. Drew, late of the Phoebe, and well known on the New Zealaud coast. We .owe him a good deal for his kindness; and also Mr Stalker, late of the Panama Company, who is a perfect little gentleman. We left Auckland on the 7th Oct., and had two Saturdays when we crossed the meridian. We sighted the land here <on Sunday morning, the 23rd, at 11 and got. alongside the wharf at Honolulu about 3 o'clock. Itis a beautiful place, and very lively, natives are civil and obliging, and the town reminds me of the Wood in Nelson, but is more lively; the coast looks just like the coast about Collingwood and Blind Bay. Everything is in a great bustle here, and now the whaling season commences the whole place looks like a fair. The Moses Taylor will take us on to San Francisco. She is a very large American paddle steamer, with the usual American ornaments about her, and splendid accommodation. There is an American aud English man-of-war here. Passing the Supreme Court this morning (24th Oct.) I went in, and found that justice is dealt out much the same as in a British Court. Crime is very little known here, and the Jaws to prevent drunkenness and thieving •very strict. There are only a few public houses, and they have to pay Jg2oo a year for publican's licenses. I will send you full particulars from Sau J^'aucisco.