The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1866-05-12
Correspondents Of the P. c. Advertiser.

Correspondence Of the P. c. Advertiser.
SAN Francisco. April 2Ist. 1866.
Ii. VI. WHITNEY, ESQ: Dear s. Tie steamer
-Iyot passed the Farallonc Rocks on Sunday. 18th
inst. at ten minutes past four p. NJ. and arrived at
her moorings san Francisco at 6 o'clock. p. NJ.
Ho,oiaIl Dc-tha is, 4 few minutes before
nine p. NJ. san Francisco time. As the tide
would not permit our near approach to the wharf
till midnight. most of the passengers remained on
board till Monday morning. 1t was calm nearly
the entire passage. For light head winds which
continued two or three days after leaving Homo
lulu. we wcr" compensated by Il fair wind the last
two or three days of the passage. We experienced
none of that rolling of the steamer which we had
been lead to anticipate, owing to the absence of the
old norihlrest s1ccH, so facetiously described by
=. Mark Twain" 1t was only during the two last
days of our passage, that we found the usual rec
tangular framework necessary to keep our plates
in their places on the table. The table fare was
excellent and nothing was wanting on the part of
Capt. Godfrey, his officers and stewards to render
his passengers comfortable. and | am quite sure
that / never spent eleven days more agreeably on
the ocean. The steamer delivered her cargo in
good order, the fruit in apparently "a good order
as when it was received on board at Honolulu.
Although | have reasons for believing that there
was more s%lrinkage on packages of sugar than is
usual on the packets. there has been great exag-
geration in respect to the reports of an injurious
degree of heat in the steamers hold. as The loss of
molasSes, by leakage. appears to have been as
great on the packets as on the steamer.
y new explosive material has just been intro
duced into this State. for blasting purposes-nitro
giycc'i"e-the dangerous nature OF which does not
appear to have been known to the shippers or
dealers i'm a. ,rp oven tn tho IrC,c furnr Giu1calf
About forty cases We're landed in this city, a few
weeks since, from one of the Panama steamers, and
stored in the powder house, destined for the min
ing regions. 1t has ten or twenty fold more power
than powder, and although not readily ignited, eX-
plodcs under the slightest tap Of a hammer like Il
percussion cap. And it was in this manner. that a
leaky package. forwarded from New York by some
unknown person 20 this city, which was returned to
Wells 4 Fargo's office for examination, exploded
whilst the wooden case was being removed with Il
chiscl and hammer, killing eight or ten persons
outright and w%ounding many more. 1t has been
estimated chat fifty shells could not have caused so
much damage to The buildings surrounding Wells
d Fargo's Il Co.'S Office. corner of California and
Montgomery Streets. The accident occurred on
Monday last the 10th inst. and during the last
week the city Councils have been occupied
in recommending legislation to prohibit its impor-
tation or manufacture. and issuing orders for its
destruction. wherever found. These extreme meas
urcs. however. are due to the panic. which the sad
and terrible accident has produced in this city.
But science will in time, no doubt. find the means
Of controlling and utilizing this new element of
destruction. Is it has already mastered and utilized
those of gunpowder, steam and electricity.
Since commencing the above narration of the
most painfully interesting event of the week, a tclc-
graphic dispatch just received from New York.
dated DIST April. states that on the Sd of April,
sevcnty-two cases of nitro g,ycoriDe on the English
steamer E.aopea0. just after her arrival Ut Aspin-
wall. exploded. killing all the officers and crew
fifty persons in all. destroying the steamer and 400
feet Of the Company's wharf at that place. The
loss Is estimated at one million Of dollars. 1t has
been stated here that these cases of glycerine. had
they not exploded on being landed at Aspinwall,
would have been forwarded to this city on the
steamship Go'ia, Iye, due tomorrow. by which
You may expect a more detailed account Of the
accident. - =
General Edward McCook who has been appoint
ed to succeed Or. Mcbride as American Minister
to the Hawaiian Court, Is expected to leave New
York May l. He is a Kentuckian. the son of Nc
Cook. who was murdered by Morgan's raiders. He
had several brothers in the federal army. all Of
whom were killed. We may infer, therefore, that
Gen. McCook. Is 4 pretty thorough Unionist.
Mr.. Burlingame, Minister to China. is in this city.
and Will. on his way to China. visit Honolulu. Mr..
Burlingame had returned to Washington from
China. but has been sent back by the government
to complete some important unfinished business.
Our friend Mr.. c. r. Bishop has much improved
in health since leaving Honolulu. Mrs. B.. says she
l." has enjoyed every minute since her arrival.
Yesterday with Mr.. Hooper and ourselves. they
visited the Wooden Factory at the Mission. where
some hundreds of Chinese were employeda as opera
tivcs. and the superintendent stated that he could
teach the Chimes" their allotted tasks in much less
time than it takes to initiate white operatives. He
is Of opinion that island cotton will, rery shortly. (
find a better market here for manufacture in this
State. than in any of the more distant markets to
which it has been sent; aud this information may.
l have no doubt will suggest to you the feast
bilitv OF a Cotton Factory at the Islands. for the
manufacture Of cotton cloth. suitable for the home
market. as we'll as for export. The Chinese opera
tives receive here one dollar per day. and board
themselves. At the Islands the services of Chinese
could be secured at less than half the
cost here, 4