SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1090, 22 April 1863, Page 4

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

LYTTELTON. AERIVED. April IS s.s Maid of the Yarra, 97 tons, Elmslv, from Timaru, with 30 bales wool, Miles & Co. CLEAEED. April 21 cutter Thames, 30 tons, Games, from the R.ver for the Buller. Passengers: Bin the steerage. April 21, _s.s. Maid of the Yarra, 97 tons, Elmsly, for Dunedin, in ballast, Passengers: Messrs. Clarke and Blake. EXPOBTS. In the Thames, master, agent: 2 casks sugar, 1 case tobacco, 1 case brandy, 1 chest tea, 2 bags salt, 1 bag coffee, 2 cases sardines, 1 tarpaulin, 1 box tea, 2 do soan 2 and half tons flour, A. G. Cave. "'

The Mermaid has 1,844 bales wool on board, besides four bales of skins. She will no doubt fill up rapidly, and sail near to her anticipated date.

The s.s. Storm Bird put back, owing to stress of weather, on Saturday morning. She had got about twenty miles beyond the Peninsula, when the violence of the gale compelled her to return. The waves broke clean over her decks; sometimes she had two feet of water on them, and although she had thirty head of cattle below in the hold, and a large number of sheep on her decks, yet she got through a very rough night without any loss, and, after taking in a few tons of coals, left Lyttelton for Dunedin on .Sunday morning, about half-past six o'clock, with every appearance of fine weather; the wind light, and S.W. by W. °

The s.s. Maid of the Yarra leaves for Dunedin to take the place of the Geelong for a couple of trips, while the

latter steamer undergoes a complete overhaul and is repainted. She will then resume her station in the Lyttelton trade.

[Testimonial.] "To Thomas Cahsox, Esq.,

"Surgeon of the Ship Evening Star

" Dear Sir, —We, the undersigned passengers on hoard of the ship Evening Star, from England to Canterbury, beg to ofl'er this slight testimonial of oui- sincere regard and appreciation of the manner in which you performed your various duties as Surgeon of the above vessel. "The care, industry, and attention which you have shewn throughout the voyage, combined with your courteous and gentlemanly deportment, have endeared you to all, and we wish you every success in the country in which you intend to follow up your profession." We remain, dear sir, Your sincere friends, [Here follow 50 signatures.] HEATHCOTE RIVER. ARRIVED. April 15, schooner Ada, 20 tons, Clark, from Wellington, with 1407 pieces timber, Montgomery, Todhunter and Co.; 16 coils tow, L. E. Nathan and Co. April 21, schooner Augusta,4s tons, Smith, from Picton, with 20,000 feet timber, Aikman, Knight & Co. Passengers : Mr. and Mrs. Collie and child, J. Smith. April 21, schooner Sea Bird, 15 tons, Ellis, from Akaroa, with 1000 posts and rails, Pavitt; 8 pkgs fruit, Order. SAILED. April 15, ketch Emu, 27 tons, Johnston, for Akaroa, with 700 bushels wheat, 70 bushels oats, 1 ton sharps, 1 ton bran, Aikman, Knight and Co. April 17, schooner Fawn, 32 tons, Southan, for Dunedin, with 1200 bushels oats, 100 bushels barley, Millton and Co.

April 17, ketch Foam, 40 tons, Croucher, for Timnra, with 35 tons Hour, 4| tons bran, W. D. Wood; 285 bushels oats, Aikman, Knight and Co. April 17, schooner Triumph, 45 tons, Taylor, for Akaroa, in ballast.

April 19, schooner Ada, 20 tons, Clark, for Wellington, in ballast.

ARRIVAL OF THE SHIP HUNTRESS.

The Huntress, Captain Barrow, arrived yesterday evening after a protracted passage. On leaving London she experienced very heavy weather in the channel, and only reached the line after the very long interval of 60 days. At the Cape she again met with contrary winds, and during a heavy gale sprung the foremast badly, losing top-gallant mast and gear. After leaving the Cape, the Huntress enjoyed favorable winds, making the coast of New Zealand in 32 days. Attempted to go into Timaru on Sunday, but a heavy south-easter coming on, had much difficulty in beating off shore, and brings all her passengers to Lyttelton. Two births have occurred on the voyage, and 15 deaths, all children, with the exception of one young woman aged 17, and a boy belonging to the ship.

The following is a list of the Government immigrants : —

Married Couples and Children.—J. Bawdew, wife and child, Cornwall, farm laborer; Jas. Higgs, wife and child, Cornwall, farm laborer; Jas. Mundy and wife, Cornwall, carpenter; Edwin Morgan, wife and 2 children, Monmouthshire, farm laborer; Mesh. Clement, wife and child, Somersetshire, farm laborer; John Guntrip and wife, Middlesex, gardener; John Cutler, wife and 4 children, Sussex, shoemaker; Wm. Benbow, wife and 5 children, Salop, farm laborer; Saml. Trumper, wife and 5 children, Salop, laborer; Wm. Kerr and wife, Lancashire, gardener; Robert Blake, wife and 2 children, Edinburgh, shepherd; John Blake, wife and 2 children, Edinburgh, farm laborer; J. Brown and wife, Lanarkshire, carpenter; Robt. Craw, wife and 2 children, Lanarkshire, farm laborer; David Craw, wife and 3 children, Lanarkshire, farm laborer; Jas. Dalziel,wife and 3 children, Lanarkshire, smith; John Duncan, wife and child, Aberdeenshire, shepherd; Wm. Lyall, wife and 6 children, Forfarshire, ploughman; Thos. Russell and wife, Lanarkshire, carpenter; Jas. Pennie and wife, Aberdeenshire, farm laborer; Andrew Blyth, wife and child, Stirlingshire, ploughman; D. Mcintosh and wife, Forfarshire, shepherd; Jas. Shepherd, wife and 6 children, Perthshire, ploughman; T. Harkness, wife and 2 children, Kirkcudbrightshire, carpenter; Wm. Pauling, wife and 2 children, Kirkcudbrightshire, ploughman; Chas. Petrie and wife, Perthshire, farm laborer; John Love and wife, Ayrshire, ploughman; Chas. Burdett, wife and 3 children, Leicestershire, laborer; Wm. J. Wakelin and wife, Middlesex, carpenter; Thos. Hutt, wife and 6 children, Berkshire, farm laborer; John Hannon and wife, Antrim, farm laborer; Thos. Neil and wife, Antrim, farm laborer; Richard Hughes, wife and 5 children, Down, laborer; S. Murphy, wife and 2 children, Cork, farm laborer; Daniel Sullivan and wife, Cork, farm laborer; Robt. Livingston, wife and 3 children, Fermanagh, farm laborer; George Blair and wife, Cavan, laborer; John Carleton, wife and child, Antrim, farm laborer; Henry Pemberthy and wife, Cornwall, carpenter; Henry Pemberthy, jun., wife and child, Cornwall, Albert Medcalf and wife, Wiltshire, laborer; Wm. Lockliart, wife and two children,Tyrone,farm laborer; D. Mowatt, wife and child, Caithness, farm laborer.

Single Men.—Jas. Forward, Wiltshire, laborer; Robt. Craw, Lanarkshire, farm laborer; Alex. Gibb, Aberdeenshire, farm laborer; Wm. Hitchel, Kirkcudbrightshire, ploughman; Benj. Hale, Hants, laborer; Chas. J. Purnchard, Middlesex, laborer; Wal. Abbott, Dorsetshire, laborer; John E. Warner, Oxfordshire' schoolmaster; Chas. and Henry Church, Somersetshire, farm laborers; Beniah Bishop, Salop, farm laborer; John and Thos. Price, Salop, farm laborers; T. Woolley, Yorkshire, farm laborer; Robt. Procter, Lancashire, farm laborer; Walter Whittaker, Lancashire, laborer; John Wiseman, Lancashire, laborer; John Winter, Durham, engineer; John and James Reid, Ayrshire, ploughmen; John Mays, Ayrshire, ploughman; Wm. Sinclair, Caithness, groom; John Sinclair, Caithness, laborer; Duncan and William McLaren, Perthshire, shepherd; Thomas Grainger, Lanarkshire, laborer; John Hepborn, Banffshire! farm laborer; George Shearer, Aberdeenshire, farm laborer; Thos. Black, Fyfesliire, ploughman; James Allen, Aberdeenshire, ploughman; James Whitta, Forfarshire, ploughman; John Durubrake, Forfarfarshire, ploughman; Ed. Gorman, Cavan, ploughman; Ricd. B. Penberthy, Cornwall, watchmaker; Thos. Jones, Monmouthshire, sawyer; James Jones Monmouthshire, carpenter; Frs. Jones, Monmouthshire; Jas. Campbell, Down, laborer; Jas. Dalzele Down, farm laborer; Wm. Morland, Down farm' laborer; Patrick and Francis O'Boyle, Antrim, farm laborers; Nathl. Somerville, Armagh, farm laborer; John Butler, Limerick, farm laborer; Pat. Madden' Limerick; Patrick, Grealish, Galway, farm laborer;' Thos. Chapman, Durham, laborer; Daniel and Robt! Stewart, Perthshire, ploughmen; Wm. Dewar, Perthshire, ploughman; Jas. Martin, Forfarshire, ploughman; William McKay, Caithness, ploughman; John Forrest, Midlothian, shepherd.

Single Women.—Susanna and Sarah Ann Cutler, Sussex, domestic servants; Emma Forward, Wiltshire domestic servant; Eliza Trumper, Salop, domestic servant; Margt. Ellen and Elizabeth Craw, Lanarkshire, domestic servants; Eliza Gibson, Kirkcudbrightshire, domestic servant; Eliza Leech, Cavan, domestic servant; Sophia, Penberthy, Cornwall', needlewoman; Henrietta and Mary Penberthy, Cornwall, domestic servants; Grace Symons, Cornwall, needlewoman; Emma Symons, Cornwall, domestic servant; Eliza Jones, and 3 children, Pembrokeshire housekeeper; liose J. Campbell, Down, domestic servant; Mary and Rose o,Boyle, Antrim, domestic servants; Fanny Richards, Cornwall, domestic servant; Huldah Hockley, Hants, dairy woman; H.J. Hockley, Hants, cook; Elizabeth Hockley, Hants, domestic servant; Sophia Boulton, Salop, domestic servant ; Sarah A. Scholefield, and child, Lancashire, domestic servant; Ellen Marks, Glostershire, dressmaker; Ann Fieldhouse, Yorkshire, domestic servant; Emma Dawe, Somersetshire, domestic servant; Mary Ann Evans, Montgomeryshire, dairy woman; Mary bmith, Lanarkshire, cook; Mgt. Sanderson, Antrim, domestic servant; Sarah and Martha Kirwin, Limerick, domestic servants; S. A. Glassey, Tyrone, domestic servant; Margaret O'Connell, Tipperary, Sh™ 7 Van !- ; Ann a,ld M ™y Claphami Durham, domestic servants; Maria Price, Salon; Mary A. Goodman, Yorkshire, domestic servant; Maria Guskms Oxfordshire, domestic servant; Agnes and Margt. Blake, Edinburgh, domestic servants; Louisa Judge, Middlesex, domestic servant. Totals.—Adults, 191; children and infants 87— 278 souls; equal to 222 adults. '

The Career of the Alabama.—Mr. S. M. Underbill, writing from St. Thomas', West Indies, furnishes the ' Scotsman ' with a short history of the Confederate war steamer Alabama, obtained from the late boatswain of the " 290 " :—The " 290 " was built by Mr. Laird, the eminent shipbuilder of Birkenhead, under contract with a Mr. Butcher. She was regularly contracted and paid for; and as nothing transpired during her construction to warrant the supposition that she was destined to hoist the ensign of the Southern Confederacy ; no laws of neutrality were infringed. Indeed, it was hinted that the vessel was intended for the service of the Emperor of China. Her keel was laid in the beginning of this year (1862), and she was launched in April thereafter, though she was not ready for sea for the succeeding three months. The "290" is simply a large wooden screw gun-boat, such a vessel as is in the European navies styled a corvette. She is very strongly built of the best materials, and is constructed to carry ten guns—viz., one rifled 100pounder, one 68-pounder, and eight 32-pounders— i. e., four 32-pounders on each broadside, throwing collectively 128 lb. solid shot at each discharge, and two pivot guns. She is barque rigged, and is fitted with a pair of powerful engines, by Penn, of London. She left Birkenhead towards the end of July, ostensibly on a trial trip, having on board a large party of ladies and gentlemen. On getting out of the Mersey, this party was sent back in a tug-boat, and the " 290," as had been previously arranged, neglected to return to Birkenhead, but steamed direct for the island in the Atlantic where she was to take in her guns, ammunition, &e. On leaving England, the " 290 " had a crew of ninety-three men, for the most part belonging to the naval reserve, all being trained gunners, and the majority old men-of-war's men. She was temporarily commanded by Captain Bullock, who had under him the proper complement of commissioned and petty officers. Captain Bullock, having learned that the Tuscarora lay in wait for him in St. George's Channel, took his departure by what is known as the North Channel, thus eluding his Federal enemy; though, even had he been intercepted, the Northener would have found himself in a dilemma, as the " 290 " had a set of English papers, and other presumptive proofs of her neutrality, in the face of which it might have been difficult for her captor to have acted. The " 290 " at this time carried no guns or other warlike stores, but consisted merely of the hull, spars, and engines, except, of course, coal and other requisites to enable her to reach her destination, which was Tarissa, one of the Azores or Western Islands, belonging to Portugal. This destination, the "290," duly reached after a fine run of eight days, and came to anchor in Tarissa Roads, nothing of any moment having occurred to break the monotony of a sea voyage. Some time before the departure of the " 290 " from the Mersey a large barque left the Thames (cleared for Demerara, West Indies) to meet the " 290 " at Tarissa, and there transfer to the latter vessel the guns and stores destined for her, and which formed

the cargo of the barque. Some reason requiied to be assigned to the Portuguese authorities for the " 290 " having anchored in their bay, and accordingly the excuse furnished to them was that her engines had broken down. This plea was accepted as a valid one, and during the week that intervened betwixt the arrival at Tarissa of the " 290 " and the barque, the crew of the former vessel were engaged ostensibly in repairing her engines, but really in preparing to receive her guns, &c. About the lapse of a week from the arrival of the " 290 " the barque above mentioned sailed in and anchored, her captain alleging as a reason to the Portuguese officials that his vessel had sprung a leak, which would require to be repaired ere she could resume her voyage ; and on this understanding the Portuguese at once placed her in quarantine (which in the Azores lasts three days). On the day after the barque's arrival, Captain Bullock, of the "290" being anxious to get his guns on board, hauled alongside of the barque, and erected a pair of large shears to effect the transfer of her cargo from the barque's hold to the •' 290's " deck. This brought off the Portuguese in a fury that their rules should have been broken by the " 290 " having dared to communicate with a vessel which had still two days quarantine to run, and they angrily demanded to know the reason why their regulations had been infringed. They were told that the barque was in a sinking state, and the erection of the shears was accounted for by urging the necessity for an immediate temporary transfer of her cargo, that the leak might be reached and stopped; and Captain Bullock finally succeeded in bearing down all opposition by feigning to get in a passion, saying he was doing no more for the barque than any Englishman would do for a countryman in distress. The Portuguese left the vessel, and the transhipment proceeded without further hindrance from those on shore. About the afternoon of the second day, and when the transfer was nearly complete, the British screw steamer Bahama came in, having on board Captain Semmes and the other late officers of the Sumter, besides the remainder of the " 290's " armament, and an addition of twenty odd men to her crew. On the Bahama's arrival and anchorage on a somewhat similar pretext to those given by her two predecessors, the Portuguese fairly lost all patience, and peremptorily insisted on the instant departure of all three vessels. The Bahama at once communicated with the " 290," and, having handed over to the latter vessel everything destined for her, got up steam and left, followed by the " 290," towing the now empty barque. All three went, not to sea, as they had been ordered to do, but to Angra Bay (a bay in the same island, and only a few leagues distant from Tarissa Roads.) Here they remained unmolested until noon the following day (Sunday), when, for the second time, all three vessels were ordered out of the Portuguese waters. All the "290's"guns being now mounted, and the vessel otherwise ready for a cruise, the order was obeyed, and all took their departure, the barque, as before' in tow of the " 290," which having convoyed her well out to sea, cast her off, and with a breeze she steered to Cardiff, to bring out a further supply of coal for the "290's" further use. The "290" and the Bahama now steamed round the island, and Captain Semmes, coming out of his cabin, ordered the First Lieutenant to muster the crew aft. This having been done, and all the officers assembled on the poop in their full uniform (i e Confederate grey frock coat and trousers,) Captain Semmes enjoined silence, and read his commission as Post Captain in the Confederate Navy. It was a document duly attested at Richmond, and bore the signature of "Jeff. Davies, President Confederate States of America." He then opened and read his sealed orders from the President, directing him to assume command of the Confederate sloop of war Alabama, hitherto known as the "290," in which (.having been duly commissioned) he was to hoist the Confederate ensign and pennant, and "sink burn, and destroy everything which flew the ensign of the so-called United States of America. Captain Semmes then ordered the First Lieutenant to fire a gun and run up the Confederate flag and pennant The gun was fired by the Second Lieutenant (Armstrong, a relation of the famous inventor) and ere its smoke had cleared away, the stars and bars of the young Confederacy were floating on the breeze and the ceremony was complete—Captain Semmes declaring the vessel henceforth to be known as the Alabama to have been duly commissioned. The next step was formally to engage the crew to serve and fight under the Southern flag, which having been done, the men were addressed by their captain in an eloquent and stirring speech, in the course of which he said there were only four vessels in the United States Navy that were more than a match for the Alabama; but he said that in an Englishbuilt heart of oak as she was, and surrounded as he then saw himself by British hearts of oak, he wouldn't strike his newly-hoisted flag for any one of the four. Of course this elicited a hearty burst of cheering for President, States, and Captain, and when it h a d subsided, Captain Semmes said the Bahama was on the point of leaving for England, and intimated that if any of his crew repented of the step they had taken, they were free to return in her. This alternative none would accept, and Captain Bullock and a few of the other officers who had taken the "290" from England to the Azores, finding their occupation gone, through the arrival of those who had held similar appointments in the Suinter having gone on board the Bahama, that vessel and

the Alabama, amidst hearty cheering from the crews of both, parted company, the former pursuing her course back to England, the latter in chase of a Yankee whaler, which she captured and burned. This was her first prize, and her subsequent career is now so famous as to render a single remark tlieron superfluous. The Alabama's crew receive from the Confederate Government half the value of every American ship and cargo they destroy, and each of the crew is now worth several hundred pounds. All obligations to them have hitherto been faithfully discharged in gold. The Alabama is supplied with coal from Wales by three sailing-vessels, thus constantly employed.—lllustrated London News.