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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 168, 13 July 1878, Page 2

The Lady Barkly is undergoing au overhaul alongside the Commercial Wharf. The Ocean Bird sailed for Wanganui this -morning with a cargo of coal. The Wallace leaves for Wanganui at 4 p.m. on Monday. The Lyttell on leaves for Blenheim at 11.30 a.m. to-morrow. The Charles Edward leaves Hokitika on Monday morning, collecting the West Coast portion of the San Francisco mail. The Kennedy leaves Wellington at 8 o'clock this evening, will arrive here to-morrow morning, and sail for West Coast ports on Tuesday at 1 p.m. The Wellington will come off the hard tbis evening, and sail for Picton and Wellington at 8 p.m. The Pelorus is rapidly approaching completion, and will be ready for sea shortly. We hear that Captain Watts, of the Goldseeker, will be placed in command. The Taiaroa arrived in harbor this morning at 8.30. She left Onehunga on Wednesday afternoon, but was unable to cross the Manukau bar until 4.30 p.m. on Thnrsday on account of the high sea running. Taranaki was reached yesterday morning, and a large batch of cargo landed, the steamer proceeding on to Nelson at 5 p.m., and arriving here as above. The Taiaroa did not stay in harbor more than twenty minutes, but sailed for Wellington and South immediately the passengers were on board. On the present trip she will proceed no further than Lytteiton.

The s.s. Murray arrived in harbor at six o'clock this morning from New Plymouth and Opunake. She left Nelson at 4 p.m. on Monday last, arriving at Taranaki at noon on Tuesday; discharged a portion of her cargo, but in consequence of the surf line breaking was compelled to wait until next da}', when she completed discharging; left for Opunake at 7 a.m. on Thursday, arriving there at noon same day; commenced discharging cargo, but towards evening a heavy sea set in, and the Murray was obliged to stand off until next day, when she finished discharging; left for Nelson at 1.30 p.m. yesterday, arriving here apabove. Experienced S.W. winds across. The Murray leaves for West Coast ports via Motueka on Monday morning at seven o'clock.

The arrival of the barque Elizabeth at Wellington, in an alleged unseaworthy condition, has caused some excitement there. The Neio Zealander published a report of the passage obtained from the chief officer, which set forth that the vessel had been leaking considerably on the passage out, and that she was overloaded, but the Evening Post on the same day contained a report from the captaiu in which he contradicted the chief officer's statement. He said the vessel was not down to Plimsolls mark, and that on her arrival in port she showed as much side as the snip Pleione, though not nearly so large. Be this as it may the crew have complained to the Magistrate at Wellington of the unseaworthy condition of the vessel, and more will probably be heard of the matter. Captain Souter has a certificate signed by two marine surveyors, stating that the Elizabeth was in a seaworthy condition when she left Glasgow. A special reporter to the Mcl bourne Argus, after giving some further particulars of the wreck of the Loch Ard, says:—" In the course of conversation wilh Mr Gibson last evening I heard from him an incident that may perhaps give a clue to one ship that has been long missing, and of which no tidings have ever heen heard. Some time in March, 1877, there was a party of visitors at Glenample. One evening Mr Gibson went outside to smoke his pipe, and strolling to the higher ground close to the house he looked seaward, and saw a great glare. There appeared to be in the midst of it three points of greater brightness, which he suDposed were the masts of a ship on fire. He ran back to the house and called out those inside. The party rushed cut of the house, and he took them to the spot from where he had seen the fire, but although he had not been away more than four or five minutes, nothing could be seen. The whole of those present, however, simultaneously remarked what a strong smell there was of gunpowder. The whole thing was laughed off at the time, but if I recollect right the Great Queensland was about due in Melbourne at that time, and it is well known she had a large qnantity of gunpowder on board. Might not the supposed vessel have been the Great Queensland, which caught fire, and blew up, killing all on board' lam still further greatly strengthened in this opinion, as one of the men on the station afterwards told me that he had seen portions of ship's planking lying on the beach."