PORT CHALMERS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 232, 11 July 1872, Page 5

PORT CHALMERS.

July 2. The brieantime Emulous arrived to day from the Bluff and was thia afternoon towed to Dunedin, No ship in sight or signalled at heads at 4 this afternoon. The steamer Dacotah has been thoroughly overhauled and fitted with new engines, &c., and is how nearly ready for sea. She will proceed to San Francisco direct early in June. — News of the World. The new steamship AdriaMc, the fifth of the White Star line of Liverpool and New York steamers, arrived at New York on her maiden trip, after a passage of eight and ahalf days. The dimensions of the Adriatic are — leneth over all, 450 feet ; breadth of beam, 41 feet ; depth of hold, 32 feet ; tonnage, 2950 tons register. The engines are on the compound principle ; and were constructed by Messrs Maudslay, Son. and Field, London. In the preceding vessels, it was thought that the builders had done everything possible in the way of elaborate detail and finish to make "a life on the ocean wave" one of luxury ; but in the Adriatic they have managed to further en hance their reputation. As in the other vessels the main saloon is amidships, with commodious state-rooms forward and aft of it, the latter being vwy capacious. There are many improvements noticeable— as, for instance, the vessel is furnished with gas, manufactured on board, and supplied to tho saloon, state-rooms, smoking-room 3 and corridors, about three bundled lights being used for the purpose. The effect of the saloon, when brilliantly illuminated in this way, is something to be remembered ; and it is certain'}- a stride in ocean navigation when the Atlantic can be crossed with gas to make every comer of the saloon and adjoining passages brilliant with light, and electric communication to summon aid in every emergency to which the sea traveller is liable. The Adriatic has accommodation for 150 saloon and 1000 steerage passengers, and the methods of securing ventilation in every portion of the vessel are very complete and successful. Her propelL ris of steel, her masts of iron, and she is fitted with six water-tight bulkheads. The speed of the new steamer has been proved, m thi«« 1 er first trip across the Atlantic. She left the Mer cy at two o'cltock p.m. on Thuisilay, 11th hist., arrived at Queenstown th * following morning, and f-tcamed for America in the afteruo<m, at half-past one o'clock. During the tirst three days, in spite of head win-Is, she made 1,000 miles, and on the fouith day logged 393 knots, or 4>9 miles, showing the ! extraordinary average speed of 16i knots or 19 1 -16 th miles throughout the day. The fifth day, in the face of a severe g ile, she made 344 knots ; and during the sixth and seventh, with very heavy weather, steamed 486 miles. On the eighth day she made 374J miles, and arrived off Sandy Hook early on the eighth day «ufc. Throughout the rough weather the Adriatic proved a splendid seaboat, and the idications of speed which she gave point to greater results in tin's respect. She brought from Liverpool sixty-tive saloon passengers and about seven hundred in the steerage. An illustration of the vessel appear* in the London News of April 27. July 3. Under the heading " Satan's Death Trap ' the San Franciso Chronicle speaks in this plain stye respecting the connecting boat on the Trans-Pacific live, between Honolulu and San Francisco. It is a pity that the service which exhibited so much promise at its birth should be strangled by such treatment on the Eastern end. We observe that, despite the protests of San Francisco merchants, the Mohongo was again despatched from San Francisco, which sufficiently accounts for the delay in the mails and the small number of passengers: — "By an especial dispensation of Divine Providence tho crazy old Mohongo was again permitted yesterday to wallow into port. She came iv at the rate of a knot an hour, and her yards and other spars ere iked and groaned most dismally. About a dozen deluded but overjoyed passengers landed from her and wended their vay gleefully to the hotels. List night, if they had a particle of religious sentiment, an atom ©f gratitude in their souls, they sank on their knees and fervently thanked God for having preserved their lives in the crazy o'd tub. By His grace alone were their lives preserved. The passage occupied nearly thirteen days, and was a disagreeabla and uncomfortable one. There is no room in the ship, She leaks badly, the pumps haviug to be kept in operation all the time to keep her free. She is blow, steers badly, and is in every way a miserable apology for a ship. Some of the passengers told a Chro tele reporter last night that nearly fifty passengers were left behind in Honolulu, who positively refused to trust their lives in such a craft. Th«y would come over by the first sailing vessel. The passengers say they had a most uncomfortable passage, and went to bed every night in fear and trembling le3t the morrow should bring forth a storm in which the crazy old 6hip would go to pieces. The Mohongo, as everybody knows, was formerly one of the Government double-enders. She was built in 1863, of green timber, constructed in four or five months, and of course superficially put together. The Government coudemned her several years ago, and sold her for a mare nominal sum to certain parties in this city, who fixed her up for passengers, and recently chartered her to the Australian line For the honor of that company we cheerfully say they do not own her. Tlie officers and crew of the Mohongo are believed to be thoroughly efficient, and it is probably due to their efforts and the will of Providence that the miserable hulk has so long been kept afloat. The commanding officer is a man of great skill and judgment. His judgment we have particular respect for, since be got sick at Honolulu just before the ship was to start, and in consequence did not come upon this trip. One thing is certain, that unless the Australian line put another ship on the route between here and Honolulu, their business will suffer, if indeed other disasters do not befall them." July 5. The s.s Phoebe sailed yesterday afternoon for Northern Ports. The B.s. Maori sailed last night for Oamaru and sails for Lyttelton, via intermediate ports, on Friday nexr. The ship Sir William Wallace, for Newcastle, was towed to sea this forenoon, by the steam-tug Geelong. A small whale of the species known as the hnmp-back waa yesterday morning captured by Bradshaw's party close to Otago Heads. It was then towed to the Kaik for trying out the oil, Ac. A whaf cis also reported to have been killed at Waikouaiti this week. July 6. The Americau mail steamship Nevada sailed with the San Francisco mails this afternoon, the passengers and mails being conveyed alonside by the p.s. Peninsula. The, s.s. Storm bird arrived at 9.30 to-day from Invercargill, and was placed alongside the skip Wild Deer to discharge cargo. A large black bull whale was captured on Saturday last in the Bluesjtin Bay, and

successfully towed into Waikouaiti Bay on » Sunday. The " monster of the deep " « estimated to yield six tuns of oil, which is worth something like L3O a tun. The fortunate owners of the prize— T. Pratt and party— expect to nett the handsome sum of L2OO. Messrs Driver, Stewart, and Co. to-day received a telegram from Wellington announcing the arrival there of the Nevada at eight ©'clock this morning, after a splendid passage of 15 hours from Lyttelton.