THE MAIDEN TRIP OF THE MARAROA. SAILING O'ER PLACID SEAS

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 141, 13 February 1886, Page 5

THE MAIDEN TRIP OF THE MARAROA. SAILING O'ER PLACID SEAS

(BY DION BOUCIOAULT.)

[Special Letter to Auckland I 'Stak."3

Farewell to Auckland. Os a Wednesday morning at five o'c'.oct, on the 9th of December (which iv Australasia is equivalent to the 9th of June in Europe oc tho United States), on a summer morning, therefore, wo leaned over the rail on tho hurricane deck of the Mararon and watched tho sun rise over Rangitoto. It developed, s s the photographers would say, the bay city of New [Zealand. Sprinkled over tho slope of the mountain and along the shores of the harbour, Auckland lies cradled in a score of hills, enclosed by a faintly of mountains, most of them extinci volcanoes amongst which tlu> ocean crepps into inlets from all sides, teen from the summit of Mount Eden, it forma a panorama of land and wa^er of surpassing loveliness. We slipped away from the wharf, and rounding tho hill thatehutsin theharbour.sp^d northward between tne romanti.* coast of Kew Zealand on the left ami two islands on the right called the Barrier. As soon as we can safely I emerge from this archipelago we shall strike off to the northeast into the Pacific Ocean and point our course to the flrat stage of our voyago. The distance to San Francisco is 5 953 miles, which is performed in three h o ats : Fir-r heat is run to the island cf Tutiula, distant J. 650 miles ; the second from Tutuila to Vlonoiu v, 2,20S miles; the third, from Honolulu* to San Francisco, 2,100 miles. We hope to mike it in eighteen or nineteen naye. The summer morning, all mauve asd gold, dawned on tho South Pacific as we eincrcpd into the oceavi, and then a, blush was spread over the army of mountains that si retch ay.ay to the south and west— victo-a m thy Titunic struggle between land and sea that, occurred ages a»jo when New Zealand uphca\ ed and torn out of the azure maiu. 3he mountains lie ouuiptd on that tield of battle, whilo a chain of volcanoes like grim sentinels eeem to stand, on watch around this Britain of the South.

A Yankee Opinion of New Zealand. " Yea, sir," said a voice behind us. " That'b bo ain't it a pity such a likely place should be fixed right here on the wrong sidi- of the Pacific V I turned, and 'oucd a long figure clad in a linen duster standing close to my shoulder. " Yes. sir," he continued, in a, dreamy way, as if pursuing a conversation of long atandinc. "Ire been through them islands, from Duneain to Russell; I've tock 'era putt> niuca ail in (what there is of 'em), and -well! They've got the makiDgs of a— quite a place " I recognised the type. The United States man stood revealed -as :em R3 the bud of freedom, his small keen head on a gaunt neck— cager — ■was all fibre, self-assert on, and moral resistance. Hi 3 faco presented a network, of minute wrinkles, an. id st which two shrewd little eyes trickled over with latent humour, and his mouth, drawn down at the corners, se» mcd to repress a chronic smile. He looked a cros3 between JLeathei stockings and Abraham Lincoln. " I nresume you have done the islands 2" said I, invitingly. " Well, 1 guess Ir e looked 'em over," reducing hia eyea to a focus aa he &wt-pt the honzun, seemingly to regard New Zealand as if it were a parcel of goods he waa liaely to huy " I^atur, sir, has been gen'rous round here ! I make no account of their gold and silver, but here's nigh on 3.000 miles of coast, and t.ere's not a quar* ter-section in the islands that lies more than Bixty miles from a port. There's mountains of fair coal and useful minerals. There's as rich a sile as man needs to turn over ; plenty of wood and water, and a climate as the white man thrives in. It is goin' to be the maritime boFs of this side of creation— you may bet your sweet life on that ! Yes, sir, that's what's the matter with New Zealand. Ef I'd ha seen it befoie I'd ha' liked to have a hack at it myself !" I ventured to observe that a general impression prevailed about the colony having gone too fistf ist ahead, and general depression was the consequence of a too rapid development. '•Naturally, quite so," replied my fellowtraveller. "Hcopin' cough, measles, mumps, and other complaints growin' kid 8 are bound to have. Uhe States had 'em all— bad ) It is all along of growin'. >■ ow jest seothiscraft wo are on— this Alary Roarer! What right has New Zealand with a boat like thi3 ? What a piece of extravagance! Three thousand tons! Built of steel, double caeed, ehe has an inside skin, and engines a-3 fine as chronometers. Sfc e i 3 l'ghted by electricity. lurni9hed and fitted better Than any of the Cunard o- White Star vessels. I've been throueh them all, and there ain't one of them that for finish aDd style ib fit to he in a dock alongside of her ! What was ehe built for? Why. for the coasting trade of New Zefiland." " She does seem to be out of all proportion to the wants of the colony." " Proportion !" cried the American, " proportion, eir, be darned ! The Company that built this boat has thirty-two vessels in their fleet, doing a coasting and intercolonial trade !— thirty-two vessels, figuring up 31,000 tons. Then there is another company hera fita out five ocean steamer? trading direct wuh Englandmeasuring 21 000 tons ! Then there is a third company with five more ocean steamers measuring 24,000 tone : say fcO.ooo ton 3 of steam shipping jo ser^o a population of 480.000 soul 3, all told— jest about one-half the population of my native city, Philadelphia. Now jeet figure on that awhile and do a sum in proportion. It is jest one ton for every six inhabitant*. If Great Britain wanted to match with these islands she'd have to put up six millions of tons of steam shipping !" •* And to think." I suggested, ' ' that fifty years ago this place produced nothing but savages " "That is tow to put it, sir Will men, like other productions of the wilderness, is very picturesque and tentunental, but they hevgot to get when we make a clearing. Where the white man sets his foot the red man and the black man disappear " " You are a disciple of the new philosophy, I see," I remarked. "Tb that so?" said he, curiously. " You believe in the survival of the fittest ?" "There's nothing new in that. Natur' was the first thet eaid : * Let the be-t man win'—" Here tbe hideous Chinese uproar of the gong announced breakfast

The Steamship Mararoa, Six gentlemen and two ladies were all the passengera we had aboard Ko the maiden trip of the Mararoa appeared more like a yachting excursion than a Eea voyage. The superb appointments in tha saloon exceeded in refinement and style anything I hid seen in any public Bhip, excepting none. The walls were inlaid with coßtiy wood. The unsightly swinging racks were removed. A large central domeshaped skylight, frescoed iD cool, neutral tints. and glaz-jd with tinted glass, afforded both light and air. There was no smell of bilge, nor of kitchen. The concentrated esaenca of cabin (every sea voyager will remember wha* l mean) wa3 ab.-enr. The fo?d was simple, but excellently cooked. I failed xo discover my old friend, that univer-al clop in which naval cooks delight to immerse their meats ; it may be called • galley " sauce. After breakfast we visited the s'aterooms. They were roomy : each had a central electric burner, that could be turned on aiid off by a tap in the wall ; above the tap was the button of the electric bell. A large washbasin was sunplied with freah water by a spring val ye. These Btateroomg, like the saloon, were lined with polished hard woodp, maple and walnut. In mine were two portholes and two ventilators. We ascertained the difference of temperature between these rooms and the open air on the promenade deck, 'i he thermometer registered 76 below and 73fr above. At 12 o'clock we found the Mararoa had run ninety-seven miles, or nearly fourteen miles per honr. Lunch at 1, when we were pleased to flnd ice served in American fashion. Upon inquiry, we were informed that this articla was manufactured on board by compression of air a mechanical process without the aid of chemioila It wag new to me but I accepted the result. The multitude of these new inventions is tjettin'< rather bewildering for those moderate intelligences that were born during the early years of the century. So I took my lump of ico as I took my pineapple, without desirirg to penetrate the mysteries of creation.

The Gong Fiend and the Good Old Times. • I was up at sunrise on the morning of the 10th Calmness spread over the seas Oh, Pacific, how well rou deserve your name. When we crossed you last June, you presented the same gentle, unruffled surface, over which a cool breeze passed, not enough to curl the Hds of the eea I see by the chart that in the month of December (this ver7 month) stormy weather is to be expected for some weeks. When wo cross the equator we shall see. A hideous uproar starts me from mv reverie. It is. 8 o'clopk. A monster, armed with an instrument of torture, parades the vessel. It is the barbaric method universal on shipboard to inform seasick pas3engers that the breakfast they don't want will be ready in half an hour. The poor creatures had Drobably struggled to sleep, and had fallen into bUesful oblivion, when they are torn from slumber ana awakened to Buffering. I would forgive a woman swearing under the circumstances. But kind nature, perhaps, revisits the patient and composes her

nnoo moro to forgetful* osb ! At half-past 8 ttao demon reappears. The roar goes up again, announcing breakfast is on the table. Tms becomes too much for expression. If the fellow that wields that gongstiok were taken before a jury of those cabin passengers, they would conden.n him to dio by slow torments. The unfeeling, inhuman practice appears to bo universal. I don't suffer from seasickness myself, but I have had tho care of those who do, and have sein what a terror it is. "It is a samplo of sour good old timoa!" re plied our friend, the Judge. It seems I had snok en my thoughts aloud. He was emerging from the regions below, holding a tumbler half fuil of cocktail, which he proposed to inquire into lit his leisure, while taking hts morning bath of sir. Replying to the remark of tho Judge, I said : "You do not seem to value the good old times very highly." '* No, eir. Ido not. lam 67 years eld, and cm just remember ihe shank end of them good old tiniPß— what was loft of 'em— and I ain't, strucK ou them— not a mossel. Wo folka are grander, sweeter, more humane, than our fathers were. Wo know each other bettor. There is lew ignoranco aotheroi^less prejudice The worst things about us are what remain of them good old times. All that is faulty about this new ship is what she gets from the old-fashioned waysof the pnst. Thoro is that mighty fine saloon below rherc occupying tho best placo on tho vebßel— whut for? To accommodata 200 people atono sitting— so they may feed like animals at a trough ; and feed badly ; because if on shore, at Fuch places us the London Tavorn and Freemason Hall, bnilt expressly to give grand banquets, ie has beon found impossible to give good food and good service to so many at once, if tho dinners at theso places bo so notoriously bad, how can a steam-vessel succeed where they fail ? But if they could, passenger?) at sea are mostly affected more or 1g33 with disordered stomarhg, or at least with disordered appetites. They desiro particular food, and to b'i served ju^t when they can cat. To herd them in at fixed times and shovel before them treaty, ill-cooked food, amidst scurry and clatter, is thoughtless and improvident aa it ia inhuman. But it is wasteful, besides! Two hundred dinners must b^ provi led daily, because in caso of tine %veath«>rtho wholelist may appear at tarle. If it turns out rough, twenty passengers sit down, and one hundred and eighty meals that were prepared flro thrown away. It the restaurant practice was established, such us is bMial on every street in New York or Paris.and Pissengcrd ordered their meala at such hours as they pleased, no more food would be cooked than wa9 required. As the meals would bo spread over the day, only a few persons would ccjnpy the saloon at tho same time, fewer waiters would bo required, and the dinner would fee b«tter cooked and better served Of course two kitchens would be required, one for tho saloon and the other for the second-claB3 pnssengers. The f aloon need net ba larger thaa the central portion, under the skylight and its ventilntirjg Bhaft*. The aides of the saloon might bo spaced into eight or ten largo family staterooms, to iiccommodale familfo^ that now are obliged to be scattered. When such acommoDsensical arrangement is proposed, wo aro met with the excuse. 'Oh! It would upset all the usages of the ship ! Oh ! It could not be done ! It wou'd not vrork!' It la them darned 'good old times' that are blocking the gangway of progress. Tho best thing I sco about them is Jiat they are nast-I wi-h they were buried But wo keep their old on -cases above ground. \v c lay them our in state !" '"Then,"eaid I, toughing at tho tirado, "you have not much respect for our national monument—-' the tlno old English gentleman, one of th? olden time'? "I r^are say tho gentleman was fairly good, but he lived in a bad old ti ■c. That filled him rhoke full of prejudice and vnnity ! Consclenious, double-brea=ted old humbug ! Well behaved, no doutir, but too condescending, stilt" and s?lf-oonceited for me. 1 have no usa for lim. I guefs such old squires were scarce anyj way and lived jhlefly in song. There gi>e<? that all fired old gong again ! Glad there is nobody sick on board— it saves swearin'." And down he plunged into tho saloon. * * * * V * The monotony of fino weather continues day afier day. The recoro of our speed is 324 miles the first day, 31 1 the second, 310 the third. We have gained tho region ol tho trade winds, and we bowl along with little or no perceptible movement. The loner, heaving swell of the ocean is so gentle ihat ie docs r.ot serve to move objects on the table, such as an orange that lies beside my paper, as I write, where it has been for two days. It 13 probable we shall not encounter any rough weather until we reach the equator and enter the Northern Hemisphere— when we have to cross tho belt— on about ihe 16th. I believe that the Mararoa could maintain an average of 325 miles per day (the ves3el has made 360), but the captain remarked that he might " ease her off" in the tropics, as he had no orders to push her, and in the absence of particular instructions he felt obliged to abide by her contract time. So we are only to iog along, * * ■>- A A. *

The Pacific versus the Red Sea. For what reasons Is the Rpd Sea route from London to Australia preferred to this route via San Francisco ? Let us compare them. Starting from London, we travel by rail to Dover; thence by boat to Calais; by rail [to Brindlsi; thence by boat to Alexandria across the Alediterranean ; thence by boat down I the Red Sea and across the Indian Ocean to Ceylon ; thence to Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. Time. 11 days. It has been done. Ibe have, in 3S. The Indian Ocean is rough, tho Red S n a « terror, and the Mediterranean an uncomfortable passage. There is absolutely nothing to Bee en rou*e It is not a voyage that can be broken anywhere. S f artiniz from London by the western route the traveller goes by rail to Liverpool: thence by steamer to New York ; thence by rail to San Francisco ; thence by Pteamer to Honolulu I Auckland, and Sydney— or, it he please*, direct from San Francisco to Sydney-time 36 daye, which may be easily reduced to 23 in the following manner. The time now occupied in sailing I from S? dney to Sun Francisco is 23 days. Tho vessels employed are slow, averaging uncer3oo miles a day ; the Atlantic steameis avprago 400. Replace these slow steamers by the Alaska and Arizona, and reduce the Pacific passage to 15 or 16 days. Let the American rrans continental railways agre? to run a Pacific mail express, and convey the passengers and mails across the continent in five days instead of six. By these means the time will be reduced to 28 days At present tre route via San Francisco ia neglected by thr public, because it has been poorly managed. The traffic i* insufficient to pay, thsrpf re a handsome subvention would be required to maintain it until its advantages become manifest They seem to bo these" First— The time of accomplishing the journey can bo made shorter than by any other possible route. Second— Tho traveller passea through Eaglish speaking peoples. Third— The climates are temperate and agreeable. Fourth- Tha Pacific Ooean, which occupies more than half the entire distance, in oalna, except on rare occasions, but, as a rule, affords a delightful voyage. Fif ch— ln caso of European war?, the Westorn route is secure, and it is by thiß route the submarine cables should be laid to connect Great Britain with Australasia Sixth— The traveller passea by New York, also along the Hudson River, across Niagara, through Upper Canada to Chicago. He penetrates the granary of tho world— the Western States, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado. He passes the Rocky Mountains and threads the canons of the Wasatch, visits Salt Lake and tho Mormon settlements, passes over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and down their western slope into the valley of California, arriving in San Francisco During this flight across the continent of America he finds a diorama of scenery not surpassed by any in the world. During the voyago across the Pacific he stays a few hours at Honolulu, in the Sandwich Islands — an island paradise. I speak in ihe interests of tho travelling public, but not less in the interests of the Englishspeaking races, that should neglect no ties Borving to bind them together. It is by such practical bonds as the3e that they will become amalgamated — not federated. I hate that diplomatic term ! Peoplsi cannot be tied together with red tape, but by common interest, by good understanding, born of cohabitation, of personal passenger intermixture. These are ties the peoples make— acd they aro treaties that are not broken. These are some of the reasons why the English, American, and Australian Governments should collude in establishing this r^ute in preference to an 7 other. Let Home energetic man take hold and put life into it. A considerable part of the Australian traffic could be secured for it when its advantages were thoroughly nubljphed and appreciated. For a few years a subsidy would be required to support a weekly or tri-monthly line of flrst-clasß steamers- and they mu,st be firet-class to compete with the three linea that run by the Eastern route via Africa.

The Samoa Islands. Friday. Saturday. Calm as a miUpond, with an increase of temperature. There has not been a single case of feaalckresa on board. Attendance at three meals a day regular. Ono almost desires to meet with a little "blow" to diversify the horizon. This constant Bniile of nature becomes exasperating. Wo arrive at Tutuilla on Sunday morning, and find an aged steamboat, the Explorer, lying in watt for us. There is no port hnre (that can be seen, at any rate) ; but we lie oft a picturesque mountainous isle, clothed with wood and palm trees, A queer canoe, with an outrigged

like a Malay prahu. ooines paddling towards us, in which three nativeß are seated ; flne-looking fellows, full of good humour. Thoir boat looks like a huge inßeot. The outter from Samoa, an adjacent group, to take our mails and two pasB?ngers. is seen approaching iw. but as she is some miles off we Bteam down to meet her. We i pick up her boat, transfer bags, baggage, and mon imo the cookie shell, and tnen we sweep away on our course o^ain. Day follows day, and wo approach tho cqua tor; thermomotor steady at 84 on deck, 86* to 87' in tho staterooms. Tho weather is so lovely that some of \is cause mattresses to bo brought on deck and sleep there. Tho nights aro free from dews. Tho promenade deck of tho Mararoais under shed, and is lighted from end to end by electric lights, by winch one can read with as perfect easo as in daylight. Wednesday.— Latitude 0 ! We are on tho line ! Thermometer 81* on deck at midday, wind from the north-east. I feel ohilly enouurh to put on a thicker waistcoat The water in my bath which was tepid yosterdav is sensibly colder today. The ground swell— the breathing of the oceanis slightly heavier. The wind in the afternoon comes round to east. The last twenty-tour hours' run was only 288 mile?.

Mishap to the Engines. During Wednesday night wo wore senoible that something was nmi&s with the onjrinos ; each beat was a resonant thump. At six o'clock on Thursday looming we stopped. The weathor was calm, but an unoasv heaving sea on the beam caused the vessel to roll enough to disturb and delay the engineers at their work. 'Ahe stoppage lastod eight hours, and we lost thereby 100 miles. But wo were amused by the efforts of the crew to catch the sharks that Bwarmed around the ship. Five or Bix were hooked, three were landed. Part of a suit of clothes was i found inside one of the monsters, but the owner was missing. At 2 p.m. wf> were ofF again. Ugly eignfl in the north-east promised a '* blow." And when it came it left, aa the French say. nothing to be deßired. The Mararoa seemed the only unconcerned party present, taking little notice of a brisk yale and a head sea. The Orogon, Alaska, and Arizona ara steads? boats in heavy weather, but this ship could hold hor own with any of thorn. Friday mornini?, 6 a.m.— The gale continues. I visit the engine room. They are making 74 revolutions to the minute. We poem to b« travelling about oloven miles an hour. As I write this, thero is not motion enough to cause us the least inconvenience— nothing is moved in my cabin. There is no seasickness or discomfort yet among the passengers. Muoh of this ease of motion ia perhaps due to the sjstem of water ballast introduced into the Mararoa. Longitudinal iron tanks, divided into eecfiona, are disposed on each side of the bilges, from stem to etern, and being under the control of the engineer they can ho filled or emptied, throwing the ballast on eiil. r side or fjrv- ardor aft. We ara now facing a h< .« I sea and a smart gale. Sixty tons of ballast axe let in aft— this brings the ship down by the stem and lifts her forward, so we can put on full epeed without shipping heavy seas, and the screw, well sunk, takes better hold of the water and is IfBB subjeotto •' racing " As the coal is used at the rate of 50 tons a day, the ship ia lightened daily to that extent. So on arriving in San Franscisco sho would have digested 1,000 tons, and rising several feet in the water would be somewhat unsteady; but by the replacing the weight of coal w ith an adequate weight of water ballast, she is adjusted and regulated to any draught required. Friday night— The adverso gale continues; Captain Edie looks annoyed. Wo arc nearly 900 miles from Honolulu, where he expects to arrive on Sunday night. If we su?ht the island before .Mondayat sundown wo shall be fortunate. No one seems, however, to bo eager to ascertain the daily run of the ship, or to manifest any desire to shorten the voyage Eating, smoking, drinking, reading, converging, sleeping, the time steals by Very ploasantly. Thero is something recuperative in this enforced idleness. The Judge took me on a tour of inspection through the second-class cabins and saloons aft. The staterooms are like those on the Cunard line enjoyed by the first-class passengers. Tho runners are similar; each stateroom has an electric lierht We went into the stern where it overfills the rudder post; we were directly over the screw. Very little more vibration was felt than in any other part of the f-hip. The ventilation of theso cabins was, wo agreed, better than in those forward, which wo, tho first-class passengers, occupied.

Honolulu. Saturday— A bright cloudlc S3 day. The long ana Dooming: eeas roll in from the north. There is not and has not been sufficient wind to account for this disturbance. Captain Edie thinks we are feeling the tail end of a etorm which has prevailed in our neighbourhood. The ladies seated on deck enjoying the seascape remark that the Pacific rough weather has not the wicked temper of the Atlantic, but 1 surmise that much of our easy motion is due to th« model of the chip. She is 42feet in beam and 320 in length; she has a keel 18 inches deep, and is furnished with two bilges projecting two feet, giving her, in fact, three keels. These bilge keels possibly reduce her speed, but may contribute in an important manner to give her the steadiness we appreciate. Sunday— There surely must have been some severe disturbance round about here lately. The wind is very light, and has been so for the last twenty-four hours. The skies are cloudless, but the moving mountains of water continuo, some coming m ahead from the north others from the east, causing a confused sea. Another sign : A largo bird, of the orane species, weary of -ningr, trailing its lone legs, flew around tho vessel, without venturing to alight. It looked as if it had been blown away from land. Tho Island of Hawaii lies to windward, northeast, about 300 miles. We cannot reach Honolulu until to-morrow. Monday, afternoon. Our speed durine these head aeag was : 222 miles Thursday, wherCwe stopped for eicht hours ; 250 Friday, 259 Saturday ; to-day. Sunday, 219. A lovoJy day, 0001, cloudless ; the sea 13 going down.

An Irish Interlude. I was leaning over the deck watching the flying-fish buzziug like sea humming-birds, tipping unrt Bkipping fiom wave to wave, ending with a flop into the crest of a breaker, when the Judge ranged up beside me : he held a pamph- } il n u , 18 liand » I recognised a little sketch of the history of Iroland written seven years age % ''Short and notsweet," he remarked, and then with a furtive smile : "say, it ain't true though, n it? yon made it out of your head." I assured him it was a true bill of indictment. He looked through the pages again, whistled in a contemplative manner as he fixed his oyos on a distant object, and then emitted tho ejaculation, " Holy Smoke !" "I feel pleased," I said, "That tho injustice and cruel oppression under which my country has suffered awakens your sympathy." "It don't awaken me-not a particle ! Ef a man lets me put a saddle on his back, a bridle in his mouth, and tike a whip in my hand, it is only natur I should ride him! Then if ho objects that he is a man and a brother, it is natur' I should put the spurs into him, and say •If you be, act up to it ! don't squeal ! but kick me off like a man and kick me out like a brother !' This here sketch," ho continued. " he continued, * n £Vv. ts y° ui ;°wn people ! What's tho matter with them ? How many millions of thorn woro m Ireland anyhow, whon England wiped her OX.lt * "Eight millions!" "Whew! There was not that population in the American colonies when they wiped out the British army of occupation. And you expect England is going to vacate and clear out?" 'I oxpoct tho forco of public opinion there will restore uh solf government." " When you can find mo a man who has enjoyed a forttmo that has been in his family fora hundred years and votes himself out of* it on general principles, I'll get that man a museum all to himself. The Judge joined tho ladies, and left mo musing. * * * * Monday afternoon— Honolulu rises out of the sea On the left of the island a bunch of mountains ; then, as the eye travels to tne right, a flat shore, ma valley enclosed by a range of cloudcapped hills that stretch to a bold headland that ends th'i island on the right. Presently a few while specks i appear on the Bhoro ahead. It is the city, embedded in a hug© grove of trees. The harbour is formed by a semicircular coral reef, in which there appears to be a gap about three hundred feet wide. A pilot climbs on board and steeds us through this very narro vo sea door, and at 5 p.m. we land on the wharf. We learn that during the previous week a storm of unprecedented fury and endurance had swept over the island from tho north-east. Tho Pacific mail Bteamer Australia, that left Sydney for Honolulu, direct, on December Ist. had been delayed by stress of weather, arriving on Thursday morning. The Mararoa sail" d from Sydney on the 4th, and, therefore, accomplished the voyage, via Auckland in about the same time lh . e 4. u .nV, rall 1 a took to come direct by a course about 700 miles shorter than ours. Wo employed tho few hours' stoppage at Honolulu in strolling about this tropical to vvd. ?£?s& th &^ s P a P?*?-native, American, ana Knglieh. Read the latest news of the British elections. Home-rulers with 86. Tho imperturbable Parnell has at last got the grße X« a i£!- Jm !£! £ the J&ginning of the end. And the end will be a Chamberlain Ministry, the Lord Lieutenancy abolished, and Parnell SSffi&SMffi for lre;a^' with f0 - p~ : Four short years asro, being in Dublin playing an engagement I obtained from the nastle a SSi nT> Prisoners lyin X in Kiltnain.h S2L£«i >1 U. Deslrin i r to see them without the pwwenoe of a warden, a special permit was

necessary. The prisoners were Mr Parnell and Mr O'Kelly. I found the former had been removed to the hospital, as he wag suffering from fever, bo I was obliged to be content to beer O'Kelly to present him my regards. Four years this month, if I am not mistaken ! What a transformation scene! But one figure re mains unchanged there ! The man who was not depressed by adversity or elated with sueoess, imperturbable, inscrutable, he seems less a man than a destiny. He has no fellowship with hia following, admits no one into his mind. He stands alone. The soeno changes, he is immutable. There are few plaoes on the face of God's green earth more delightful than Honolulu. The nonsensical picture that poetical impostor, Claude Melnotte, offers as a bait to the snob Panline, about "orange groves and fountains that gush foith in the midst of roses," affords a poor idea of this place. We are here in December, midwinter, the trees are evergreen— the walls are ovororept with flowers, spring; is eternal here, where the thermometer never falls below 65, nor rises above 83. The streets, the forecourta of tfie houaes, the backyards and gardens, are invaded by floworing troes of every kind. We turn into some open grounds, amidst which a rustic hotel stands— an orchestra of wind instruments is discoursing very light and pleaeant music to an audienco that lie around on the lawn, or under the wide verandahs. It is all lighted up by a profusion of Chinese lanterns, It reminds one of a bit of the Cham-ps Blysees in Paris, only the rich and tropical foliage here is a great improvement on the hard, heartless gravol and rejuvenated trees that stand on duty in that over Depraised avenue in the artificial metropolis of France. We are aboard at 10 p.m. and creep out of the harbour. The sea is calm as a canal. We get fairly on our course at 11 p.m., pointing for Ban Francisco. ***** The Mararoa has had every chance to do her beat, yet at 12 noon, Tuesday, the run during anrteon hours haß been 159 miles at tho rate of 12 miles per hour, or 288 miles a day. The weatner has beon very calm, the sea in one of its best tempers. This ship cannot average more :han 13 knots an hour. She la a good roadster. Diit no racehorse. Having no deck cabins, she lacks an essential feature in all vessels crossing tho tropics. " Say, Governor," said the 'Judge, " I've beon looking ovor this Btory of Ireland, and I see that about tho timo England cleared out of tho United States and conceded our Independence, she did thosamo thing in Ireland. Is that so ?" || Yes," I replied. " Youmean in 1782?" In that year your Irish statesman, Henry jrrattan, went to London and presented to England tho demands of tho Irish peoplo ; and those demands wero clear and simple. No laws were to be binding in Ireland excopt such as woro made by the Irish Parliament sitting in Dublin. No interference with Irish legislation was to bo attempted by tho English Government. No ties were to exist between Britain and Ireland, excepting that they wero to be under the same sovereign. Is that so ?" "Precisely !" " Did the English Parliament, Lords and Commons, and the King, accept those conditions V ' They did, and a statuto was passed to that effect " " Previous to that timo did Ireland always have her separate Parliament?" Always. ."And after that— until 1800— she enjoyed her rights under this statute?" 'Yes but then Groat Britain repudiated the whole business and annexed Irolancl as she is now annex in pßurmah." "Then whaidoes all this outcry mean about dismemberment of the empire ? Was not Great Britain an empire previous to 1800, and beforo she absorbed Ireland ? Is it possible that the English people aro so ignorant of their own his tory that they will bo dupes of so shallow a pretence ? Why don't Parnoll simply ask the Government of 1886 to ratify the statute of 1782? I hat s the suuplo and proper thing to do. " Smash ! Six or eight thumps ! Wo stop ! Wo looked scared into each other's faces. The piston in tho high-pressure cylinder has burst. This is the second time tho same accident has occurred during her first voyage from Glasgow to San Francisco. After a delay of a few hours, tho defective cylinder is detached, and away we go, working with two cylinders instead of three. Ihe weather is lovely, cool, and quite calm, so wcjog along at tho rato of ton to eleven knots until Tuesday morning at daylight, when the welcome coast of California rises out of the sea. We sweep past ths headlands at 5 o'clock and into the Golden Gate, having crossed the Pacific in twenty days, less the twenty hours we lost in four stoppages en route. Dion Boucicauxt.