From Capetown to New Zealand.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 111, 21 February 1901, Page 3

From Capetown to New Zealand.

By C. A. Wilson.

( Continued.)

Perhaps the most interesting to a stranger is the view of the much sung and talked about Table Bay. Both roadstead and the inner wharves are crowded with shipping lof all nationalities under the sun. Battered tramps from a score of seas, trim merchantmen flying the flags of their widely-separated countries, vessels with the yellow flag of an infected port, panting tugs and puffing launches—these and others made up the great olla podrida drawn together by the law of supply and demand. Here, too, were several of Britain's watchdogs, her grim battleships, with their turreted guns and their busy swarms of white-coatel men. Again, two German men-of-war, waiting, a friend jocularly remarked, to take away ex President Kruger when he had secured the capital of the Transvaal—in his satchel. And now we reach the wharf and look for the vessel which is to bear us on the mighty deep for several weeks to come. There she lies out in the stream, but to reach her we must take our places in the crowded launch and wait its start. Vendors of oranges and chocolates, ostrich I feathers and the wall known everlasting leaves from Table Mountain besiege all and sundry. Finally the boat gets under weigh and in a few minutes is under the side of the Persic. This vessel, one of the Liverpool White Star line, was launched on August 15fch, 1899, and was, on the occasion on which I travelled in her, making her second trip to the Australian colonies. She wa3 carrying 339 passengers, and 105 embarked at the Cape (this including 83 invalided soldiers), and the crew of 116 made a grand total of 560 sdulson board. Like her sister ships of the Line, she is 550 feet long between parallels, sixty-three feet in, breadth, and forty feet deep. She has 4800 horse power, and 11,984 gross tonnage. i No less than 6200 tons of general cargo were taken on board, and 4300 tons of coal for the trip between Liverpool and Sydney, an average of 80 tons being used every day. In case of emergency there are twelve boats ready to be lowered at a moment's notice, and manned by an officer and crew of six, all ready to enter their boat at the signal of danger. In addition to the boats, hundreds of life-buoys are placed in the passages near the cabins. There is fire brigade practice, every Sunday, when each man is shown his post and what he is expected to do. In case of emergency forty pumps can be used, but at the practice only one is used as a trial. The following quantities of provisions were stocked on the ship for this voyage :---32,0001bs fresh beef, 15,0001bs mutton, 15,0001bs preserved meats, 40001 bs corned beef, 4000 lbs pork, 60001bs fresh fish, 2000Ibs dried fish, 1200 fowls, llOOlbs tea, 80001bs sugar, 3500ibs butter, 100 barrels and 100 bags (each containing llOlbs) of flour, 23001bs oatmeal, 600,bs quaker oats, 40 tons potatoes, 60001bs dried fruits, 170,000 gallons fresh water, the average daily use of which is 2000 gallons. (To be continued.)