HOME AND BACK; OR, EXPERIENCES OF AN ORIENT CO.’S PASSENGER.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2247, 31 May 1880, Page 2

HOME AND BACK; OR, EXPERIENCES OF AN ORIENT CO.’S PASSENGER.

' [TO THE EDITOR.] Sir, —It might be of some benefit to persons desirous of visiting the Old Opuntry if .the few following remarks were published in.one of your issues. 1 have'kept no diary, so I shall, perhaps,enter things a little out of their place. In 22 years this is my fourth trip to England, the last one being made in the Orient Co.’s new s.s. Orient. On Jan. 22 I left Dunedin, N.Z., in the s.s. Rotorua, via Hobart Town to Melbourne,’ armed with a second-class ticket, £45 3s ; they don’t give second returns from New Zealand, but they do from Melbourne, and the only benefit derived is that if you don’t want to return they take you from New Zealand across for £8 8s instead of £lO 10s. There was nothing unusual in the passage across to Melbourne, ex-cept tiiat we were troubled with the “ slows.” , In about eight days I interviewed the good ship which was to be my home more of less for the next four months. Tlffi second saloon accommodation I found to be very good indeed, especially the state rooms. These are the same size as in the first cabin, the only difference being that one is .fitted with horsehair and the other with velvet.

We had a nice run to Adelaide, where we. laid off for two clays, about four miles from the shore, which wo could reach for the reasonable sura of Is. ; loft on Feb. 4 for Aden ; stopped there half a day, then through the canal to Port Said ; took in GOO tons of coal in eight hours, and proceeded to Naples, where I left.

I was under tho impression I could reach Loudon from Naples for about £lO, but I found out the cost to be a little over £22 for second class, besides the discomfort of sleeping in Urn train three nights, and having nothing to eat on the way. Tho only advantage gained is, that you are in Loudon four days before tho steamer, a privilege for which you arc supposed to pay handsomely. During your jour-, ney you are charged for every ounce of Inggage, besides £lO 10s for your ticket, and when half way, you find trains with only first-class carriages, and jmu must pay the difference of fare, dr wait two days longer. It is a ease of “ have ” all the way through, especially if you cannot speak French or German, so 'travellers by that route beware ! My business in England was soon settled, and after a sojourn of fourteen days. I found myself in the company’s office, applying for a ticket for Home. On explaining that I had come over in the “ Orient,” they were generous to a degree. Thinking that I must go back, they.charged me £SO Ss, as there were no £35 berths left. This I afterwards found to be untrue, as Nos. 129 to 138 were unoccupied, and six of these remained so all tho voyage. The way the Company’s servants ,go for your extra luggage is a caution. You don’t see it measured yourself, but you arc there when tho difference has to be paid, About eleven in the morning, if you are in or about tho second saloon, you will notice stewards and children flying out of tho way. On investigating the oause, you will discover that the captain, first officer, doctor and chief steward, are going their Hounds, and that with far more pomp and vanity than ever Wellington displayed when handling an army in the battle field. During this proceeding passengers Jnust be careful not to talk too loud, play music in, their berths, or 101 l about the scats, etc., etc., or tho first steward of the second saloon will inform you in a voice of severity never to be forgotten, that “It is not allowed ; you must go bn deck if .yon want to do anything of that sort.” In a word, any second saloon passenger of the masculine gender who is spoken to during the trip by an}" deck ornament, from the captain to the fifth mate, and not found fault with, must consider himself “ Highly honored for life.”

Our greatest. idol was the chief steward,.-who, next to the captain, lias the best “ diggings” in the packet. His subordinates to the number of about .70 are under the perfect control of their chief, assisted by four lieutenants, who. never (or hardly ever) address them in any kind of language more courteous than that of a slave-driver speaking: to his Ethiopian serfs. The under stewards wore kind and obliging as far as it was in their power, but they live under the most tyrannical rule that I have ever seen enforced on board of a ship. The only ollicers who gave life to the ship, arc the engineers, and they are gonial, good, “ hail fellows, well metmen who seem to know life, and wish all to cnyry themselves. To a man they are what I describe, and anyone who has anything to do with them will bear me out in what I say. Speak to’a,fireman and he will tell you' that the engineer in his”watch is the best man in the ship’s crowd. Speak to an A.B. and ask him what the officer on his watch is, and if he does not astonish you with his answer it’s a womlpr to me. If the deck ollicers would take an example from their dusky brethren below, the good ship Orient Would be very different to what she is for persons to travel in.

There are many good things, on board —good baths, good lavatories, and a good barber ; Is each event, haircutting, shaving, and shampooing. It is better to go in for the treble, or for £1 Is the trip, included, you will'get the same as at the village blacksmith’s shop —the latest, news of tiny day. As to provisions—in the steamer going to England, it was bad to a degree. Colonials can put up with trilles, but if the Orient Co., intend charging the price they do, they must provide better fare. Let no man take his wife to England second class, in this ship, unless he provides something for the inner man himself. Coming out,'they 1 fed us well till wc reached the Cape, and then they introduced specimens of Cape mutton and beef. 1 am sure those were not a sample of what the people there lived on, as they are a healthy lot. Whose fault it was that such stuff was put ou hoard, I don’t; know, but as a punishment he should be made to eat it. We made a complaint and then things improved. The breakfasts are good, viz., if 3'on can eat oatmeal; dinners good, especially if you see placed at the end of one of (he long tables, an arm-chair, for'then the saloon will be adorned by the presence of either the first mate or the purser, decorated like a pawnbroker’s window with gold ornaments, and attended by a servant, specialty set apart for his benefit. It was rumored through the ship, on one occasion, that the captain was going to honor the cabin with his company, but the many eyes which were anxious to behold the ‘' Monarch of the Deep ” were doomed to disappointment, as the vacant

throne placed at his disposal, was left unoccupied.

An important item in the income of the Orient Company are the profits of their bars, and if these'snuggeries were only better managed they miglit be made of greater value. The rates to England and the colonies areas follows :

Second class passengers going home must ask the permission of the captain or doctor if he wishes to purchase a bottle of the latter, but on the return journey thero is no restriction, a circumstance which shows most unmistakeably that the company have an idea that a sojourn in the colonies makes a man incapable of taking care of himself. Our barkeeper had a place for the sale of, refreshments that originally, I should say, was set aside for the convenience of buckets, brooms, swabs, &c. It was under the second companion ladder, and when all is said and done, had he had a show he might have driven a roaring trade, but his occupation was twofold, as he was second saloon steward, and barkeeper as. well. One man cannot serve two masters. His only profits are derived from the sale of spirits by tbe glass—nothing from beer or spirits by the bottle —so you may rest assured that the latter are very hard to get. Why not let the bars by tender? They would then be under the superintendence of the captain and chief steward, and subject to rules set down by the company. ' The lights in the state rooms are put out at eleven o’clock p.m. punctually,_ so that the passengers arc simply like school children with a slight extension of time. Why not leave thorn burning all night? The doors arc locked, or supposed to be, there need be no danger, and I am sure the extra oil would he amply paid for by the fare of one iu.dividual, and the passengers would have conferred on them one of the greatest blessings imaginable, for persons not used to sea life cannot turn in in the dark without a great amount of .inconvenience, Personally I was involved in four scrapes which I enumerate herewith : First—l tried to go down the gangway at .Aden, when saloon passengers were on it. Query —Why not have them ticketed “ first cabin;" '

Second offence —Speaking to one of the crew when at work.- Fpr this I was flown at ; by one of the officers like a Third offence —Taking a third class passenger down into the second saloon. Fourth offence—Being found by the imperial rounds sitting in one of the firemen’s berths. Mild caution from the captain, who informed mo that I bad a place of my own to sit in. Of course these remarks might be spun out to any length. They are true, though not embellished by one versed in literature.

I should have mentioned that the s.s. Orient is, for a vessel dependent on manual labor for cleanliness, an exceptionally cleanly ship, but the slightest head wind and sea keeps her deck continually wet. For the benefit of colonists who desire to make a trip to the old country, and who may wish further hints or information, I am willing to be interviewed at an} r time, or if considered preferable, corresponded with at my address. G. 11. THOMPSON, Tcmuka, Canterbury, New Zealand.

To the •To: England.' Colonies. a. d. s. d. Small beers ..0 6 ... 0 8 Large do. .. 1 0 ... 1 3 Spirits... ..3 0 ... 3 0