ENGLISH AND FOREIGN.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 887, 8 December 1870, Page 2

ENGLISH AND FOREIGN.

A DOT UPON THE SEA. [boston heraltj, SEPT. 9.] Ninety days ago a tiny boat, less than twenty feet in length, and carrying two men and a ihg, lei't Liverpool, England, with the avowed purpose of crossing the Atlantic to New York. The bold and hazardous project was the subject of much amazement at the time, and about five o'clock yesterday afternoon the tiny craft, was signalled approaching our harbor. At six o'clock the Collector's tug started down the harbor and met the venturesome mariners at about eight o'clock, opposite the lower ligtit, and towed them to this city. The boat which has thus accomplished a voyage so hazardous and so altogether novel is named the City of Eagusa, is twenty feet in length over all, six feet beam, and two feet eight inches in depth, drawing two feet of water; she is yawi-rigged, and spreads seventy yards of canvas; is fitted with a two-bladed screw propeller, worked by hand, and her hull is of wood, the boards being only one-half inch in thickness. la this miniature ship art- all the arrangements for cooking, &c, and the capacity for carrying provisions and water sufficient for the voyage which has just been so successfully terminated. The crew consists of two men, John Charles Berkeley, the com mander, and Nicholas Primoraz. These are two men who, actuated as the formed says by a " mere whim," were induced to make this attempt which few could regard as anything but fool hardiness, after seeing the craft in which they launched their destinies and hung their lives by a mere thread. The former had followed the sea from boyhood, and has passed an eventful life. He saved two lives off the coast of Kent on the 28th of September, 1858, for which he was awarded a medal by the British Humane Society. He is an Irishman and has a home in Dublin. His companion is an Austrian. Ou Thursday, June 2nd, these daring spirits Lunched their frail bark, and accompanied only by a dog, left Liverpool. In ten days they put into Qaeenstown, where they were obliged to remain four days, in order to have some caulkiug done on their boat, which was leaking, and left there on the 16th, having on board one ton of ballast and 500 weight of coals, they took the northerly route, the same as taken by the Cambria, the prevailing winds being westerly, and for the first thirty five days they suffered a great deal, being kept wet through continually. Ttiey were * also unable to cook in the first part of the voyage, and were compelled to eat their meat raw which added to thtir discomfort, and helped to discourage them. After being eight days out they became short of firewood, with no meaus of getting a supply. At this time they very luckily picked up a barrel containing about four gallons of tar, which was a perfect god send, they using the tar upon the decks and the barrtl for fuel. Ou the fourth of July they celebrated *• the day of the great republic," drinking the health of General srant in some prime Irish whiskey wjth

which they were supplied. On the evening of that day there was a heavy gale, through which, however, they rode safely. On the 28th of August they lost one of their crew, the dog, who died froin scurvy. They had a great deal of heavy weather, but the little bark bore herself nobly, and the men themselves expressed surprise that she rode the gale so staunchly. She was leaking all the way, and the pumps, of which they have two, were kept at work constantly. In the severe gale of last Saturday they experienced the hardest time of the voyage, but. suffered no diadisaster save the carrying away of the jigger boom. The largest number of miles made in one day was 153, which was made in the first part of the voyage, and the smallest eleven miles. The average speed was four knots an hour. A. number of vessels were spoken on the voyage, among which were the barque Radcliffe, on the 28th of June, bound to Quebec: the ship Maxwell, August 9th, and the homeward bound steamer Russia, August 24th. From the first two of these they took in supplies of provisions and water. Two whales were very neighborly off Cape Clear, coming near enough to be touched with the hand, and giving the voyagers some alarm lest they should upset their /rail ship. One of " Mother Gary's Chickens " attended them from the time they left Queenstovvn till they passed George's Bauk. The men say that they had the most perfect confidence in the success of their enterprise, and in the roughtcst gale could go to sleep with the greatest composure. Only the lateness of the season prevents them from returning home as they came. Their original intention was to go direct to New York, but they concluded to put into this port and will go from here to the former place, and will remain this side of the Atlantic till another summer. They were towed to Long Wharf by the tug, and there can be seen this smallest of all crafts that ever traversed the broad Atlantic.

WAR NOTES, The Crown Prince has issued an eloquent address to the German people to create a national fund for invalids. There are no postage stamps to be obtained in Paris, since the Government refuse to issue any more bearing the Emperor's head. A number of butchers have left Cork for Paris, hired at c£4 per week, for the purpose of slaughtering cattle and curing the meat A Saxon officer, very severely wounded, sough shelter in the huuse of a peasant in the neighborhood of St. Marcel. The unfortunate man, exhansed from fatigue and loss of blood, threw himself upon a bed and fainted. Whilst in this slate of helplessness the woman to whom the huuse belonged deliberately gouged his eyes out with a fork, and then left him to die a horrible death. He lingered long enough to tell his story to a Prussian ambulance train. The whole of the officers and men belonging to various corps at Chatham have handsomely agreed to subscribe a day's pay bach to the fund now being raised fur the aid of trie sick and wounded. We are informed on the authority of an officer who has recently returned from Paris that every possible device in the way of auxiliary defence has been made use of by the engineers at Paris. We are also told that the ditches of the encieute can be filled with water, and that the counterscarp is defended by a covered Discipline among the troops in Paris is said to be very loose, the men shooting their officers.

The quays of Boulogne are thickly encuntbered with immense supplies of corn coming from England, as well as rice, flour, and salt beef aud pork, The American ship New York Queen it is said, has arrived at Toulon with 500 French Americans as •volunteers, and 7,000 rifles. On September 14 a French officer was shot far attempting flight. When the news of the capture of Sedan arrived at Stockholm, the King's theatres were ordered to be closed for the evening. Bazaine is said to have shot two of his captains, without the ceremony of a court martial, for refusing to obey orders. The Prussian ship Metis has been captured in Marseilles harbor, Hying a Bussian flag. The crew have been " interned" and the vessel sequestrated. Prussian spies in French military dress haye been arrested,

It is stated that (he French authorities at Bona, Algeria, have shot three* Arabs for communicating the news of the French reverses.

The Freemasons in the French and German armies have behaved with kindness to each other. After the capitulation of Sedan a stout trooper was seen handing a warm frieze coat to one prisoner, and giving part of his rations to another; an 4 explained his conduct to an inquirer with a sheepish smile, which spoke volumes j " They are my brothers, although I have fought with them, and they are hungry and cold, and must be helped. They would do it for me."

The total number of German troops on French territory is 650,000, consisting of twenty-one army corps, composed almost wholly of troops of the line, with very few of the Landwehr. There are three other array corps under arms which have not left Germany. The French prisoners in Germany receive three hot meals daily—vfcoffee in the morning, meat and vegetables at twelve o'clock, and soup in the evening, They are very content with their fare, and say that it is more ample than what they had in the French army. The only thing they grumble at is that they receive rye bread instead of wheat bread. The following observations arc; attributed by a French journal, to Marshal Neil: —" One day these two peoples wili set themselves body to body for a deadly struggle. That strip of frontier will be desperately contested. We shall triumph, but it will be/a hard war. Oh J attack not Germany at home; we should be beaten. The times have changed ; the conditions of war, too, have been modified. Jena is a glorious page, of which there will be no second edition. Let us display heroic devotion. Throw open the way to the heart of France, and let the enemy enter. Leave clear to him the way of Attila, and the enemy will coma to the soil which avenges itself and devours its conquerors." Is it possible that these prophetic warnings were composed —like the famous saying of Cambroune's —for the Marshal —after his death ?

The anti foreign feeling, we are formed, increases in intensity throughout China, and a general rising against foreigners is expected. A short time ago the traveller of a Bristol tobacconist was ill and unable to, go his rounds. The proprietor himself was therefore under the necessity of doing so, and calling upon a customer at Minehead, he presented his account and re* quested payment. The customer refused, as he was a stranger to her. He told that he came in the place of Mr ■—, who was ill, but as she had no advice to this eftect she would not pay him. - Efc then told her that he was the proprietor himself. " Oh, then," she said, "I am sure I shan't pay you, for you are not a bit like Mr that is on the 'baccy papers.

At a meeting of the Liverpool Marine Board, on Sept. 8, a presentation of a splendid telescope was made to Captain Sharp of the Jeff Davis, schooner, of 237 tons, for rescuing the crew of the water* logged barque Albert, when about 200 miles from Oape Hatteras, at the eastern edge of the Gulf Stream. It will be remembered that a frightful gale prevailed at the time of the rescue, and the crew of the Jeff Davis had for 34 days subsequently to go on half allowance, till the schooner reached Bermuda. Captain Sharp said the other captain having pas* sed the Freemason's sign he felt doubly bound to rescue him if possible. The Rigsdag of Denmark was opened on the 3rd of October by the Jying in person, who stated that by maintaining a policy of neutrality he had succeeded in saving the country ironi the evils of war,

It has for a considerable time been known that the use of cod-roe has become iudispehsible to French and Spanish fishermen in the capture of sardines, and it has been ofteu suggested whether the; roe might not be profitably utilised in the capture of pilchards. An experiment W 43 recently tried in Mevagissey Bay with cod-roe, in order to test its adaptability. A fisherman named Peter Furse t having scattered some of the spawn broadcast in the water, soon observed to his satisfaction hundreds of pilchards darting to and fro, and eagerly devouring it, .tie immediately, therefore, shot % small ground seine, and captured 3,00 Q of the iish. Several of them were found to contain quantities of the W

The Puke of Edinburgh is expected to Arrive in Auckland shortly. The Pioneer says:—ln January, 1871, H.E.H. sails for England, calling by the way at the Falkland Islands or Monte Video. It may be as well to state that H.B.H. no longer commands the Galatea. The beautiful ship is now flying the flag of Commodore Stirling, the Duke of Edinburgh being condemned (for after the Galatea any change is for the worse) to dhe Clio, a vessel with only half the good looks and two-thirds of the good qualities of the Galatea. The sparrows of New York are said to be found of the greatest value in relieving nocturnal humanity from the mosquitoes. As soon as these pests have escaped from the stagnant pools of New Jersey, and found their way to New York they fall a prey to the voracious little bird, gssss^**^ a * mmmmm * mm ' mmmn ' ~— " ""■■■ -^—" NEW ZEALAND ROPE. We (Wellington Independent) have been shown a coil of rope, by Capt. Croucher, of the cutter Glimpse, which he has recently received from Messrs Williams & Co., ship chandlers, Auckland. It is Sj-inch rope, bid up in the usual way, with a little black oil dressing on the yarns, and was manufactured in Auckland of the phormium tenax. It is being used on board the Glimpse for peak halyards, is a very superior sample of rope, and works admirably. Some time since Captain Croucher bought a coil of rope in Wellington, purporting to be Manila ; but which, on inspection, proved to be made three-fourths of New Zealand flax and Indian jute. For this article he had to pay at the rate of .£B4 per ton; but it was found to work so badly, having swollen so much that it would not run through the blocks, that it had to be changed. Captain Croucher states that the New Zealand rope is in every particular superior to the-so-called Manila. After giving it a fair trial, and fully testing its qualities, he intends to furnish us with a report, which we will publish for • general information. The price of the Auckland rope is £GQ per ton. Whilst we award to our sister province every credit for manufacturing so good an article we cannot htlp asking how it is that Wellington has to send to another place for an article which- she • can produce herself? The difference in the price of the raw material and that of the manufactured article is sufficient to leave a large margin of profit to the manufacturer, whilst at the same time it would create a new branch of industry, and establish a market in the province for our flax producers. We trust the attention of some enterprising firm may be directed to this subject, and that we may soon have to chronicle the establishment of several ropa walks in this province.