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Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 73, 13 May 1881, Page 2

The steamers Jane Douglas and Tni arrived from Wellington yesterday. They start for the same port at 7 o'clock this morning. The Jane Douglas will call at Kapiti to land some cargo for Mr G. Hadfield. The Hannah Barratt having completed her loading will be towed to sea this morning by the Jane Douglas. The Tni will probably arrive from Wellington on Sunday next. The schooner Dido, from Wellington, is overdue, and may be expected in the river at any moment. The schooners Bee, Emerald, and E. & U. Cameron, reported in last issue as cleared, have left the wharf for their respective destinations. We understand (says the Australian Shipping News) that arrangements have been entered into for the supply of a small fleet of steam colliers to develop the coal 'trade between Westport, Greymouth, and Wellington, and to render New Zealand independent, if possible, of Newcastle. Captain David Gray has been attempting ' a practical application o£~the well-known fact that oil has the power of stilling waves,. His experiment was made at the north bar of Peterhead, which is well-known for the heavy snrf that is generally breaking over it in the winter. He selected a rough day and dropped a bottle full of oil into the sea. The oil floating up out of the bottle converted the " choppy" waves over a large area "into an expanse of long undulating rollers, smooth and glassy, and so robbed of all their violence that a small open boat could ride on them in safety." Perforated pipes are to be laid across the mouth of the Peterhead harbour and tanks erected to contain oil, so that a continuous stream may be allowed to flow into the sea during heavy weather. The effect of the oil in the above-mentioned experiment was not merely transitory, but lasted for a considerable time. During the twelve months ended the Sist March last 57 vessels, aggregating 13,255 tons, were taken up on the Patent Slip at Wellington. The smallest vessel was the yacht Xariffa, 20 tons, and the largest the ship Bakaia, 1050.