ARRIVAL OF THE CABLE STEAMER AGNES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 241, 8 November 1876, Page 2

ARRIVAL OF THE CABLE STEAMER AGNES.

Wellington Argut, November 4. The 'Eastern Extension aud Australasian Telegraph Company's s.s. Agnes arrived here at 6.30 this morning, from Sydney, having left there oh the 22ud ult. for Botauy Bay, at which place she arrived the same evening; left again at 3 30 p.m. on the. 27th, and entered Wellington Heads jusfc before 0 o'clock this morniug, having experienced S. W. winds with drizzling and dirty weather. The Agnes has been employed for the past five years on the Singapore station repairing cables, previous to arriving' at Sydney, aud hyr present officers and staff- originally belonged'to the other cable steamer Edinburgh, who were changed,. into the present one because the Agues was not large enough to do fchetcable : wortf on the Singapore station. Upon her- arrival at Botany Bay, the large circular tank forward capable of holdiug about 200 miles cable, was cleared out of about : seven or eight miles of heavy shore ends, and is now in readiness to receive the cable at present lying'in the Zealandia, . She has another tank of equal si/e placed aft, in' which there are 'about 70 miles of cable belonging to the company which owns the Agnes. Thu Agues is, comparatively speaking, a new steamer, having'.beeu built in 1870, and when in good condition can steam nine knots, and is rigged as a fore-and-aft schooner. She is perfectly rigged up and accommodated for the purposes required. Her grappling gear is placed forward on the starboard side, and as the cable passes up from the stem of the steamer, if in good- order, it falls into the taok below, and coils itself. There is a dynamometer between the wheel that lowers the cable into the tank and the stage erected afc the head of the steamer to indicate the weight of cable on the grapplings. The gear for paying out the cable is fixed at the afterpart of the vessel, occupying about 30ft in leugth, and this is worked simply by the speed of the vessel, when steaming. The Agaes comes here with the express intention of laying artbfcher Cook Strait- cabie and will probably stop here for some time. The following archer officers: — Commander G. It. Sims; first officer,' E. McKenzie; 2nd, W. Trevanan; chief engineer, J. McLean. Mr G. Taylor, superintendent of the cable arrangements, and an assistant are also on hoard.