COLLISION BETWEEN THE KETCH ENTERPRISE AND THE SCREW STEAMER TAURANGA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 185, 9 August 1870, Page 2

COLLISION BETWEEN THE KETCH ENTERPRISE AND THE SCREW STEAMER TAURANGA.

O— — LOSS OF THE TAURANGA, WITH ALL HANDS. {From the Auckland Herald.') We can no longer repress the conviction that the Tauranga, which left this port on Saturday, the 23rd ultimo, on one of her usual trips to the Bay of Islands, went down on that night, off the Sail Rock, with all hands. The only evidence that we are at all likely to obtain, is that of the master of the Enterprise, who says that the wind was northwest, and his vessel laden with coals from the Bay of Islands, and bound for the Frith of Thames, was steering south-east by south. Thus the ketch, with a fresh breeze a little on the starboard quarter, and smooth water, must have been running at the rate of seven or eight knots an hour. When a short distance from the Sail Rock, not far from Wangarei, a masthead light was seen, signifying the approach of a steamer. Upon this the master of the ketch went below to makes " flare-up," that is to procure a bright light to show the vessel's whereabouts to the look-out on board the steamer. la the meantime, the helrasraaa of the ketch saw and reported a red aud green light, from which ife was evident that the steamer was coming right in the direction of the ketch. The master then came on deck, and gave the order to *' keep her away " — that is to starboard the helm. We are not told that the order was obeyed, but are to suppose that it was, and almost immediately afterwards the ketch ran stem on into the port quarter of the steamer, striking her just abreast of the cabin skylight Now, this fact is clear proof that the ketch was seen by those on board the steamer, and that the latter ported her helm to clear the ketch, and thus exposed herself in a most vulnerable manner to the whole force of the collision. Every plank in the ketch was started, and the crew had a narrow escape of their live:, since it seems that the vessel sank in a few minutes. What the effect of the blow must have been upon the fragile, fine-weather steamer may be imagined, when we are told that the ketch was a very strong hard-wood Australian-built vessel, deeply laden with coal. The master of the ketch says that he heard a cry on board as if someone were hurt. Alas ! we can but fear that it was the last despairing cry of a drowning crew. That the steamer sank in a very few minutes after the collision, we have no doubt whatever, ar.d, we fear, with every soul on board. The wind being north-west at the time, there was but little sea under the shelter of the laud; otherwise, riot a soul from either vessel would have lived, to tell the tale. A Court of Enquiry was held on Friday last and gave its finding as follows: — That the collision was mainly caused by the neglect of captain and owner of the Enterprise, in not having proper lights ; that in the absence of rollocks and the state of the weather it was impossible for the boat of the Enterprise to proceed to the help of the Tauranga ; that the impression on the minds of the survivors was that the Tauranga had not foundered; that Captain Millis having no certificate there is no penalty within the power of this Court to inflict, and it was strongly urged that provision for proper supervision should be made in matters of the necessary lights. The decision of the Court was but partially concurred in by the Nautical Assessor, who declined to sign. The Tauranga had a crew of fourteen, many of then being married men with' families, and four passengers. A subscription is being raised in Auckland for the widows and orphans.

H.M.S.S. Blanche, Captain Montgomery, arrived in Wellington harbor on Wednesday, from her cruise to- the Auckland Islands in search of castaways. She left SydDey on the 2nd July, atd arrived at the Islands on the 12th. Made a strict search all round, firing guns afc intervals. While lying in Carnley harbor the Daphne arrived from Invercargill. The Blanche's boats and the Daphne people formed a party and went to every place it was possible for a boat to go. Some travelled overland in the known tracks, and joined up with the boats at various points, without finding any traces of passengers or crew of the missing ship Mafoaka or other vessels.

The yield of the Thames Goldfields for the month of July was about 10,000 ounces. A cool offer. — Mr. S. Hague Smith, of Auckland has failed, and offers his creditors 2s. 6d. in the pound, in four instalments of 7|b each, extending over a period of three, six, nine, and twelve months. His liabilities are considerably over £30,000. Acclimatisation. — By the arrival of the Bella Mary at Auckland from Hobart Town the cause of acclimatisation has been advanced by the valuable addition of brown (rout ova, bronzed-winged pigeons, brown quail, and a number of rosella parrots. Thames Goldfields. — The following returns, showing the crushings on the Thames Goldfields we extract from a table giving the yield of gold for the month of June. The Shotover claim, out of four crushings, yielded 2181 ounces of gold for the month, from 1082 tons of stone ; the All Nations, out of one crushing of 152 tons yielded 1019 ounces of gold ; the Long Drive, in three crushings, gave first, from 105 tons of stone, 712 ounces ; from 10 ions, 6^ ozs ; and from 60 tons, 1004, making 1722 i ozs of gold out of 175 tons of stone, or nearly ten ounces to the ton. Sydney and the San Francisco Route. — At a late meeting of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, the following resolution was agreed to ; — " That the Government of New South Wales be applied to to place a sum of £10,000 on the Estimates for the purpose of subsidising a mail service between Sydney and San Francisco via Auckland and Honolulu, Sydney being made the terminus.

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The Postmaster-General must have started some lively mail routes in Virginia. The Richmond Enquirer does not approve of the mail from the city to Yorktown being carried on a <c cadaverous, raw-boned, slab-sided, crop-eared, sbaveltailed, clay-bank old horse." The Russian sheepowners have addressed a petition to their Government, asking for the imposition of protective duties on wool, on the ground that they have been nearly ruined by the competition of Australia and the United States. It has been recorded by some anticonnubial wag that when two widowers were once condoling together on the recent death of their wives, one of them exclaimed with a sigh, " Well may I bewail my loss, for I had so few differences with the deceased that the last day of my marriage was as happy as at first." " There I surpass you," said his friend," for the last day of mine was happier." Coolie Labor. — The Queenslanders are becoming used to the Coolies, who are in turn reconciled to Queensland, and the Press alludes quite joyfully to the rapidity with which the Islanders are acquiring colonial habits and customs: — Our South. Sea Island exiles are becoming civilized. They get drunk and fight in the streets like civilized men. Their friends will henceforth be spared many pangs, for they will no longer be under the necessity of branding thefr dusky brothers as savages; upon advanced grouuds the Polynesians can spurn the character. They have appeared at the Police court as drunk and disorderly, and were treated as other civilized beings. A novel reformatory enterprise is in. progress in the Idaho Territorial Prison. The prisoners have formed a Bible-class, and spend part of each day in reading and commenting on the Scriptures, and in. the performance of religious services. Two prisoners, who were pardoned in the latter part of last month, left the institution with reluctance, as they regard its moral atmosphere as of a far higher tone than that of the rest of the territory. One of the inmates, who attempted to rob an express waggon train, is now studying for the ministry, expecting to preach the gospel when he is set at liberty. On the occasion of the commencing of the foundation for the Idaho Penitentiary, the citizens of Boise City were invited to be present at the ceremonies; aud the views of the inhabitants of that city upon such subjects may be inferred from the terms of the notice, which says : — " A general attendance of every age and sex is requested, in order that all may view the commencement of an edifice that may some day be their home." Such a possibility is delightful to contemplate, were life and society in such institutions is so far superior to their outside surroundings. — Ame* rican Paper. Should Womejs t Vote or Darn Stockings ? — A discussion took place in, the Church Convention at Dublin on the question of giving women the power to vote at vestries. The Rev. Mr. Hickey, wished to give the vote to any " female head of a family," whereupon Sir William Osborne hoped that his own wife would be excepted, having quite enough to do at home without cantering aud trotting off to diocesan meetings and to every vestry that may be held in the parish or the diocese. The argumentum ad hominen is very satisfactory (said Sir William), and I put it in this case in this way : — A man goes home after a hard day's work, and asks where is Mrs. A ? " Oh, sir," the servant who comes to open the door says, " she is gone off to attend a preliminary meeting of the Diocesan Synod." (Laughter.) "But where are my daughters? "Oh, sir, the young ladies have been sitting in the vestry this last three hours." " Well, I want my dinner." " You cannot have it sir ; the cook is sitting along with the young ladies — (renewed laughter) — and mistress desires me to tell you that her hands are so full of the new church work, that she thinks you had better order a little bit for yourself, or take it at the club." (Laughter.) Everything should be in its right place, and a lady or female head of a family is much better at home, sewing on my buttons, if you like, darning my stockings, if you please— (laughter)— but not neglecting her everyday wholesome, usefuf vocations. (Hear, hear.")