SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 48, 23 December 1871, Page 10

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

AEBIVED. December 14, Huon Belle, schooner, 42 tons, Saunders, from Rangatikei. 15 Ladybird, three-masted schooner, 23U tons, Holm, from Newcastle. 15, Go-Ahead, s.s., 84 tons, Bode, from Wanganui. Passengers—Two original. 15, City of Newcastle, barque, 520 tons, Matthews, from Newcastle. . 16, Wanganui, s.s, 165 tons, Lmkiater, from Wanganui. Passengers Mrs VV illoughby, Captain Strop, Messrs Dalton, Suisted, Lamont, Seccombe. 16, Wellington, s.s., 261 tons, Kennedy, from Picton, Nelson, Taranaki* Manakau. Passengers —Miss Hooker, Mies Chiene, Mr and Mrs Sidey, Captain Andrews, Messrs Austin, Levy, Pownall, Morrison, 14 for the South ; three in the steerage, and three tor the South. . , 16, Mary Ann, brigantine, 200 tons, Stephens, from Newcastle. Passengers Copt and Mrs Williams, Mr J. Williams. 17, Esther, brigantine, -46 tons, Campbell, from the coast. 17, Onehunga, schooner, 61 tons, L/roucn, from Napier. , 17, Elizabeth, schooner, 33 tons, fcliort, from Wairau. _ . „ 17, Glimpse, ketch, 38 tons, Irvine, from the coast. 18, Rangatira, s.s., ISo tons, Renner, from Blackhead. „ „ 18. Ruby, schooner, 24 tons, Eraser, from Waipapa. „„„ , / ., 1 . 19, (Jlaud Hamilton, s.s., 530 tons, Clark, from Melbourne via Nelson. Passengers Messrs Isaacs, Donald, Mr and Mrs Sharp, Messrs Tomlinson, Graham, Hesy, Sarsfield, Morrisey, Rock, Dodson ; and eleven for the South. _ 19, Shepherdess, schooner, 38 tonß, Thompson, from Palliser Bay. . 20, Dawn, cutter, 21 tons, Craig, from Manawatu. 20, Go-Ahead, s.s., 84 tons, Done, from Manawatu. 21, Phoebe, s.s, 416 tons, Worsp, from Lyttelton. Passengers —Mr and Mrs Brandon, Mrs Macloncan, Master M‘Leod, Mrs Harvey, Mrs Baxter, Mrs Cookham Hood, Mrs W. Johnston, Mr Rose, Mr and Mrs Hayce, Mr Collie, Mr Buckridge, Mr Cam ; and fifteen for other ports. SAILED.

15, Emerald, schooner, 40 tons, Whcbby, for Picton. . „ 16, Wanganui, s.s., 165 tons, .Lmkiater, lor Wanganui. 17, Wellington, s.s., 261 tons, Kennedy, for Lyttelton and Otago. 16, Go-Ahead, s.s., 84 tons, Doilo, lor Manawatu. 18, Luna, p.s., 200 tons, Fairchild, for Napier. 19, Rangatira, s.s., 185 tons, Renner, lor Lyttelton via Kaikoura. Passengers—Mrs Reader, Mr Jones. 20, H.M.S.S. Blanche, 4 guns, Simons, lor Auckland. ’ 20. Elizabeth, schooner, 33 tons, Short, lor Wairau. „ „ , 21, Claud Hamilton, s.s., 529 tons, Clarke, for Melbourne via Lyttelton. Passengers Mr Palmer, Mr and Mrs Seager, Mr Barr. 21, Mary Ann, schooner, 134 tons, Stephen, for Newcastle. 21, Dawn, cutter, 21 tons, Craig, for Kapiti. . Z., Ruby, schooner, 24 tons, Eraser, for Kaikouras. 21, Huon Belle, schooner, 42 tons, Saunders, for Rangitikei. 21, Go-Ahead, s.s., 84 tons, Doile, for Wanganui. 21, Glimpse, cutter, 38 tons, Croucher, for Teawaite. 21, Onehunga, schooner, 61 tons, Crouch, for Napier. 21, Falcon, ketch, 37 tons, Morrison, for Wairoa. Passengers—Mr and Master Litchfield.

An unpleasant tale of straitened resources ani singularly “ short commons” at sea domes to us by the barque Sarah Ann, which arrived in port yesterday from Newcastle, N.S.W. Captain Mills, master of the Sarah Ann, a steady old salt, and not given to much romancing, reports that on-the voyage from Newcastle, when off Ram Head at half-past four p.m. on the 27th ultimo, he was boarded by a boat from the barque Jane Woodhouse, of Glasgow, eighty-Gve days out from Foo-ohow-foo, and bound to Sydney. The mate of the Jane Woodhouse, who was in charge of the boat, averred that there were no provi Bions on board that vessel, save and excepting a few pannikins of rice, and that for twentyone days previously the crew had been limited to four ounces ef bread each per diem. Cap! Mills at once offered the barque every assistance in his power, and supplied her from his stores with provisions enough to last him for a week. He also gave the mate a chart of the coaßt. The voyage of the barque, eighty-five days, is a long one, certainly, but still it is not a very protracted one, and it seems curious that she should so soon have exhausted her stores, and more curious that she did not put into some port to replenish. The Sarah Ann left Newcastle, N.S.W., on the 24th ultimo, and had light variable winds and fine weather until about ten miles from Port Phillip Heads on the 4th instant, when a heavy thunderstorm, lasting for about two hours, was encountered. —Melbourne “ Argus,” Bth inst. The Captain of the barque Bengal, Mr Charles Rogers, has addressed the following letter to the “ Otago Daily Times” : —“ When in the Custom House yesterday, my attention was directed to a notice of a rock in the vicinity of Waipapapa Point, and having never heard of it before, I made enquiries about it. As tbe result of my enquiries, I

find that the Aldinga ripped a plate out of her bottom on it in the year ’64, then the Plicebe, and afterwards the Gothenburg, are reported to have run foul of it; and also that the St. Kilda was depatched to look for it, and so ascertain its exact position. Strange to say, the chart in my possession, which is corrected to November, 1869, takes no notice of this whatever. Now, Mr Editor, I have been in the habit of passing close to this point on an average every month for over two years, and had I lost my vessel on it, I presume, as in the case of the s.s. Ahuriri, the authorities and captains of coasting steamers, Ac., Ac., would have told me that its position had been known for the last seven or eight years, and that my vessel could only have got into that position through gross carelessness or culpable negligence. My opinion heretofore has always been, that the chart is the captain’s guide, and not some knowledge only known to residents in or near to the vicinity of the danger. Will you kindly take this question up in the interest of the seafaring community, and see if some arrangement cannot be made, so as to Lave dangerous reefs placed on our charts, even although their position should have to be classed among the positions doubtful, or as they arc known among us as 1 P.D.Y—I am, Ac., Charles Rogers, Master barque Bengal. Port Chalmers, December 6th.” The “Sydney Morning Herald” gives the following account of a recent trip to New Guinea: —The schooner Surprise has been absent from Sydney some eight months. On her departure from this port she proceeded to New Guinea, and from thence cruised among the Line Islands. She is last from the Loyalty Group, whence she sailed on the 10th instant. Fresh and favorable winds have prevailed until her arrival. The schooner Surprise, from New Guinea, has lately been employed by the London Missionary Society on the coast of New Guinea, where she has been most successful in pluciug missionary teachers and tlieir families on Lho main and adjacent islands. Captain Paget informs us that at every place visited, instead of hostility and treachery being shown, as has generally been believed, they experienced nothing but the greatest kindness and hospitality, and all seemed highly pleased at having teachers placed among them, as it is evident they arc very desirous of having intercourse with Europeans. At Redsc-ar Bay, Cantata Paget and his chief officer went about fifteen miles up the Manoa River, where they had communication with several tribes, and were kindly treated by all; they seemed a perfectly harmless race of people, and not a single war instrument of any kind was seen amongst them. They were certainly of Malay origin, and it is quite evident they had never seen while men before, as they gazed with wonder and astonishment at them, and would not believe they were human beings until they were convinced by thoroughly examining thorn ; they also seemed most anxious to have further intercourse with them by inviting they to stay ; and upon their departure they showed great sorrow, the women and children crying, and the men following them a long way down the river, waving green bushes, and making them presents of sugar-cane, Ac. That gold exists is quite certain, as one of the missionaries had an earthen cooking utensil made a present to him in which several small specks of gold were distinctly seen. We undei’stand Captain Rageb and liis chief officer intend shortly to go and settle on New Guinea. In Naples, scientific and naval circles are at this moment greatly interested with the experiments made with a new diving appatus, of special construction, called by its inventor, a M. Toselli, the “ talpa marina,” or sea mole. At the first trial made with the apparatus, in the' Bay of Naples, the bottom of the sea was reached at the depth of 70 or 80 metres, from which position the inventor wrote the subjoined very interesting letter to Professor Palmieri, of the Observatory at Vesuvius :—“ So varied and so strange are the sensations which I experience at this moment that, unless I jot them down as I come, I shall never be able to recall them to my mind. First of all, the water down here is nob like water, bub seems rather a sohd mass of glass, compact, motionless, transparent, and sufficiently luminous to enable one to write and read. At one time the bottom of the sea appeared to be rushing up to me, then to stop, and afterwards to withdraw from me. For an instant I suspected that something was the matter with my eyes, but glances at the pressure guage at once removed my uneasiness by revealing the cause of the phenomenon. When the bottom of the sea appeared to rise against me I was sinking rapidly; when it remained motionless I was not moving; when it seemed to give way, and to fall from me, I was rising. In this, therefore, there is nothing extraordinary. It is delightful to seo the fishes coming and going every moment in all directions, and to enjoy this curious spectacle without the slightest inconvenience. The utter silence that prevails down here might be considered terrible by some, but I feel perfectly easy, and find even a cer tain pleasure in breathing in this state. The barometer shows a pressure of 81 centimetres ; the hygrometer marks 85 degrees ; my inside thermometer 26 degrees, that on the outside 25 only. The sea-pressure guage shows a depth of. 70 metres, and the air guage still gives two atmospheres. Fx*om this I conclude that I have air enough to remain below four hours longer, if I think fit, without the slightest fear. With tlie exception of the door, which opens and shuts too slowly, every part of my apparatus answers the purpose for which it was intended. I cannot find words to describe the joy I feel at the successful results of this first attempt. This pleasure will be shared by yourself and by the distinguished gentlemen who have honored me by tlieir presence, thus generously rewarding me for the which I have undergone.—Your most devoted, J. B. Toselli. —From the bottom of the Bay of Naples, August 26.” The talpa,

as far as can be learnt from imperfect descriptions given of it by the Italian press, is a cylinder 4 metres long and 1.10 metres in diameter. The cylinder contains four compartments, one above the other. The upper most is the receptacle of compressed air, in quantity sufficient, it is said, for fifty hours, supposing the occupants of the talpa to he only two. The second compartment is the diver’s working room, duly provided with boring and other tools which he may require, and which, by a simple mechanical arrangement, are shot out as occasion may require, the diver working them from the inside of his castle. The third division can be distended or shrunk, “ like a fish’s swimming bladder.” The fourth and last compartment is fur the leaden weights required to steady the cylinder and keep it upright. Composed of it,3 present material, the sea mole can be used with impunity to a depth of one hundred metres. [A metro is about 3 feet 34 inches.]