PORT OF BLUFF HARBOR.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 81, 9 December 1864, Page 2

PORT OF BLUFF HARBOR.

ABEITED. Dec. 7. — Albion, s.s. s M'Lachlan, from Dunedm. Morison, Law and Co., agents. SAILED. Dec. 7.— Why Not, for Invercargi l !, with cargo, ex Grothenburg. Dec. 7.— Albion, s.s., for Melbourne. PASSE2TGEE XIST. Per Albion, for Melbaurne — Miss Fleming ; six ia steerage. EXPECTED ABRIVAXS. From Melbourne— Derwent, s.s. daily. From- Melbourne— Aldinga, 11th inst. From Melbourne — Alhambra, 17th inst. From Melbourne — City of Hobart, early. From London— Donna Anita, early. PEOJUOIED DEPABTTTEES. For Melbourne — Grothenburg, early. For Melbourne-Jsero, early. TESSELS XS POET. Gothenburg, s.s. j Why Not, schooner.

The fine s.s.s. Albion, the property of the Otago Steam Navigation Company, under the command of John MTJaehlan, OEsq., arrived alongside, and was moored at the jetty early this morning. The accommodatipn of this boat is very superior, the saloonbeingroomy/well- ventilated, and handsome ; the cabins airy and large ; the ladies' saloon and boudoir most comfortable and complete. Captain M'Lachlan is ike manager of the above Company in Victoria, but since the loss of the Scotia, which vessel also belonged to the same Company, and until another boat , now sent for to Europe arrives, that gentleman mil continue in command of the Albion. Captain M^Laghlan-was formerly in command of the Omeo, and left her to assume the office he held up to the time of the loss of the Scotia. During-his command for many years of that vessel, he made many friends, from his urbanity, intelligence, and Mndliness of disposition — Hearing upon his arrival at the Pilot Station.that a 'mail Was being "prepared at Irivercargill> ' he proceeded to the jetty, and kindly -waited until the coach could return to the Bluff before sailing. The public will feel gratefaV for this little attention, and we hope this will entitle his vessel to a fair proportion of support, and encourage him to frequent our port regularly, and moor his fine Teasel alongside our jetty; which is a very great convenience to passengers in coining and out-go-ing. The yesselis well; officered, the chief being Mr^ Kvdney^ late chief of the. ill-fated Scotia — -a firßt-class niarii Mr. -Mills, second^ officer, late Bluff Harbor .Odilpt, &kg /a, ygood, q&cer. : i The! purser, liir. (ribson, was in the Omeo for a con-- - eiderable timey'and'rib Fetter is there to be r found in any ofjbhe boats... With every requisite therefore* fort" tKe comfort 'of passengers, , the Albion must be a most desirable boat- to voyage iri^ and we wish her eTCryjmccess. "- j : :i X J , ; ' r

♦ Abandoned : 'a7p Sea —A ' £150,000 P»f ZB.— Port Elizabeth, Friday, September 23. — Ship Scindian, derelict, just anchored (5 p.m) brought in by ship Aminta and brig Alicia Anne. The Seindian, was, discovered by Mr. William Fleming early yesterday morning, and the Sailor's Friend was promptly despatched, but returned. In the meanwhile, the Aminta boarded the Seindian, and •found the brig Alicia Ann alongside. These two Teasels then brought the Seindian into port ; her cargo is silk,', and reported to be valued at £150,000. The salvors have agreed to divide the salvage. /The Customs will of course assume charge.-; A- board was found on the Scmdian's deck on%hTcliwaß inscribed "lay by us all night." She must have been abandoned in a great hurry, asher deck was strewn with ladies' and children's wearing appareL — South African Advertiser. The Ch-aJiarnstovm Great Eastern of 20th September, supplies' the following telegrams from Port. Elizabeth: — "Great excitement prevailed here all yesterday and to-day, especially amongst those connected with the shipping. A large ship was seen, with her mainmast gone, and every appearance of being abandoned, about twenty miles south of Cape Eeceiffe. The following are the particulars : — The brig Alicia Anne,- R. Eirby, owner and captain, belonging to Newcastle, and the ship Aminta, a splendid iron ship, 1,132 tons, of Liverpool, belonging to Moore and Co. 1 , boarded the Seindian yesterday, morning, and finding xio

qae on booi'd, agreed to go hftlreflj and ph hot into port. On the Ship's side was written in ohalk, "Stend by us during the night." From this it ia supposed that the orewhad been taken off by some other ship. The Scinclian is from Calcutta with a cargo of silks, &0., said to be valued at £150,000, She is a complete wreck j the mainmast gone three feet above the deck s deck swept and bulwarks gone ; three feet six inches water in the hold. The Collector of Customs has returned from Grahamstown, and under official appointment of the Admiralty Court, has taken posses* lion Of til© derelict sliip Scindian." The Nm Zealand tibiald of the 25th says ;~ The Panama, New Zealand, and Australian Royal Mail Company have built another ' now steamer for the New Zealand and Australian service, named tho Tararna. : She was built under speoial survey, and is of the following dimensions : — • Length, 216 feet j breadth, moulded, 17 feet } registered tonnage 692 tons j and engines of 105 horse power! nominal! working up to 800. She will Wry 60 first and 50 second passengers, and ia equal in speed and fittings to . the Otago and Rangitata. The Tarama was to leave London on; November 10, for Sydney and New Zealand. : i The steamship Albion, Captain M'Lachlan, left i Port Lyttelton at 7.48 p.m. on Friday last, and arrived at Port Chalmers at 1.12 p.m. on Saturday. The Albion experienced fine weather, withvery light variable winds during the passage. "We have been specially requested to state that the race between this vessel and the Otago wasrun under great disadvantages to the former. During the night of the race the watch was changed, and at least 61bs. of steam lost, and the i Albion was unable to recover the same -speed in the short distance: At 11 p.m. on the Ist, the Albion having previously allowed the Otago to get ahead, was gaining the lost ground. At 2.80 a.m. on the 2nd a S.S.W. sprung up, and no less, than four miles were gained on the Otago. The change^ of watch above referred to among the firemen then took place, and by their neglect the Albion lost steam, and was unable to recover it, the Otago, as already known, arriving first by six minutest There is not the slightest doubt that these are very equal boats, but the model of the Otago makes hei* the favorite. As soon as the "Albion goes on the slip and is cleaned she will probably beat the Otago the next time. They will be at this port about the same time next month, when the next heat will come off. — Otago Daily Times. The William Miskin arrived yesterday afternoon from her southern trip to the Mloyneus and "Waikava. The race between the two fine steamers Albion and Otago, seems > to have instigated the smaller ones to similar trials of speed, and a race from the Molyneux to the Nuggets took place on the 2nd instant, between this steamer and the Titania. The Miskin was just leaving the Nuggets when met by the Titania, and . a contest ensued, which resulted in the Miskiu's victoiy. AtJJrothers' Point the Miskin actually went round the Titania, and wished them good-bye. The time occupied by the two boats was 4£ hours, and the distance 35 miles. The Win. Miskinhas the advantage of the Government subsidy, and a regular daily communication is now established, leaving in the evening and arriving in the morning. — Otago Mail. The White Star ship Annie Wilson, with upwards of three hundred passengers, has arrived in Hobson's Bay. She left Liverpool on the 23rd of August. The Black Ball ship Marco Polo, loading at Melbourne, has had the most unprecedented despatch, having received her homeward freight of nearly 5,000 bales of wool in the short space of fourteen working days, at the Government Kailway Pier, Wiliiamstown. The subjoined notice was issued fchis afternoon from Lloyd's Salvage Association — ." Friday, 9th. — A large steamer is reported to have put into Nieuwediep on Saturday last, with French colors flying, for a pilot, She came out under Prussian colors, which were changed to the Confederate flag at Brenierhaven. She is reported to have steamed ten knots at half speed, to have 300 men on board, under the command of Captain Semmes, and to be pierced for forty guns. She is aIBO said to have been built at Bordeaux. She is supposed to be still in the neighborhood of Bremerhaven. This information was volunteered by the pilot who took her to Bremerhaven." — MitclidVs Maritime Register, 10th Sept. The auxiliary screw steamship Great Victoria, of the Black Ball line of clippers, made her second appearance in Hobson's Bay yesterday. She continues under the command of Captain Price, formerly of the Donald M'Kay. The Great Victoria, like her companion the Great Britain, in the early part of her career seems destined to undergo some adverse trials before establishing a reputation for making rapid passages. Young steamships, like young horses, need a good deal of training before they can be trusted to go -without a " break." Since her last trip the Great Victoria has received many improvements, inclu&mg increased boiler power and a screw propellor of greater pitch than, the one formerly used. She left Liverpool on the 10th, and Cork on the 12th of September ; encountered boisterous weather off the Bay of Biscay ; sighted Maderia on the 19th September. On the ..23rd, when under steam, near the Cape de Verds, one of the two blades of the screw propeller broke through the middle, diminishing the speed as well as the steadiness of the ship. Ten days afterwards (the 29th September) the other blade of the screw broke in a similar manner. The metal giving way at the point of greatest pressure, the least effective part of the propeller was only left, and it was therefore useless to attempt to work it further. Fortunately, the propeller used on the last voyage remained on board. This was dragged up &om the fore hold, and, after much labor an.i difficulty, was got into its place. To haul an awkwardlyshaped mass of iron five tons in weight for a distance of eighty yards, to hoist it with shears, and then to lower it down to its place nearly as deep as the keel of the ship, was not a light task to undertake at sea, and had the weather not been at' the time exceedingly calm it would have been highly dangerous to have attempted it. Three days* steaming were entirely- -lost while the spare; propeller was being fixed; bxxt a .greater loss followed. The propeller of the/former voyage, now tobe, used, was so ■ defective-inform that the j new Jone. with which the vessel started on her present voyage (which turned out to be only j defective in strength) . obtained an increase in] speed of one and a* half miles per hour. " This -<»lcuilfced for the time during which; the ship was under steam after the accident, -.proves a direct loss of several days due to the change "of propellers, in addition to the three days before mentioned, 1 during which the ship was unable Jjq steam. ' The Victoria crossed the Equator in 22deg. W., twenty-one days out; had very -light south-east, trade winds; reached the parallel of 45deg., and here encountered alternate east winds and calms. In latitude 44deg.' S. ; and* longitude 24deg. E; saw six icebergs. The passage ;b.ag been, agreeable, but^ disappointing, through the prevalence of calms and contrary winds throughout the entire voyage, f She has. not enjoyed thirty-six hours of continuous good winds, and as her steam power, is only, provided to help her through calms, the length? of her passage (seventy-three days to Cape.Otway) may be easily accounted for." ' The' Great' Victoria brings back several old colonists, including Mr. and Mrs. J. G> Knight, Di\ and .Mrs. Stewart (of Ballarrat), Mr. F. B. Clapp &c. She has a full complement - of second-class, intermediate, and steerage passengers, numbering in all 538 souls. Those : in the - i'steefage are cheifly " warrant passengers." Six births and three deaths, of infants have occurred, as i well as the deaths of three male, adults. .The passengers were in the medical charge of Dr. Alfred Bowden. The passen generally speak in., the highest terms of Captain Price's unwearied attention ' to the,dufcies of the ship; and his anxiety to promote the health and well-being of iall classes on bo&r&.—Argus, 29th ■Nov^T^'^''^''' '':.'■ v';"u ';" : ' :'r ■'■ ' ■''.'. ' ' "• -' : ' ':' P