SHIPPING SUMMARY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 361, 16 February 1863, Page 4

SHIPPING SUMMARY.

In the skipping trade the past month has baen an exceedingly busy one. Exclusive of numerous small coasting vcssfls, eiuhty vessels arrived in port during the month—many of them ships and barques of considerable tannage*. The finest and largest of them including the Red Jacket and City ot Melbourne, from Victoria, and the Benloinond and John Duncan f otn England—\v« re passenger ships: the influx of pa«sen gers from Australia having again necessitated the employment of some of the largest vessels now in co!nni'd water?, in addition to the regulu- fleet of steamers. Since the b-ginning of the year as many as 7 710 persons have thus been landed in Port Ofag-o; and as not more than 710 have departed, the total accession to the population of the Province has amounted to 7,000 souls. As in addition to _tbe=e there are on many of the vessels arriving from the colonies, numbers who work their passage over either as seamen or sto -krnen — as many perhaps as 40 or 59 in one vessel—the increase of population must have been still considerably greater than even t: ese fkums rep-esput. Of legitimate passengers, the City of Melbourne,which arrived on Saturday, brought". 823 pa«sengers; the Reil Jacket, a few days before, 840; the Nor' YWter arriving at the same time with 430 : and on several other occasions from 800 to 1,0 J'1 persons have an ived in one day. The importations of stock of different descriptions have also been considerable Since the 17th or last month, 1,480 horses have been landed at Port Chalmers ; of cattle 500 head, e'.tber at the Port or in Dunedin ; while considerable freights of sheep have also been received, more than 8,000 being landed in one day. The other importations have consisted of assorted pargops of mer.-hanilise and produce, chiefly from Victoria and Tasmania. 1 hi first home vessel of the month, theßen Lomond, nr iTei two days after the despatch of last mail. She made one of the best passages that have yet been made to the Province, having completed the passage from land to land in seventy-four days.' Two deaths occurred on board- one from natural causes, Robert Cranston, a young man, having died of consumption, and in the other instance one of the ship's boys, named George Grant, was killed by falling from ths main-royal yard. Apart from these ciivurastanoi-s. tie vcjase was to all the passengers a very pleas»- |lt one, ar.d in testimonials to Captain Smnrfc, lil.° o tfi C g" rs and surge in, they expressed the h'2hB- aV satisfaction with their treatment. .

The John Duncan reached c j> ovt on the 13& inst., her passengers all an5; v i n g j n excellent healih and spirits, after'a very -pleasant passage of 93, day? only one death havi',,/ oCCllrre <i during the wyay e [ the deceased ber; ls - a young woman eighteqa year/of age, nptn cd '.ouisa Haines, who died oa. the 20th December, of an inflan]m*tMry affsc&n. Of the character and behavior of his passengers, C;iptnii> Browne spenks in very high terms, Miss Rye having apparently made excellent selection, and the passengers express themselves ecutal'y pjeased wiih the vessel and her commander. In aldition o her carao, the John Duncan had on deck 23 Merino sheep, imported by J. Hyde Harris Esq., and which all arrived in fine conditiou, and wfthmit any reduction of the pri"inal number sbioped. The vessels spoken,by her the Parsee, from- Callao to Cork; anil, the Camilen. of Liverpool, i\)r Calcutta. Of earlier home ye sels the Witch of the Tees sailed three weeks" ago with a cargo of wool and gold; the Score*l>y, fur l»oiiit de Galle, followed, after considerable detention inconsequence of the great difficulty experienced in obtaining hands ; and on the 13thitist. the Pladda sailed for Moulmein. The next vessel for home is the Chile, expected to sail tomorrow or the day following with a larger ; freight of woo! tlian she has ever yel carried, and over 30.000 ounfc-s of 'H go gold. Slie will he followed by the Aboukir, which is now receiving hur freight with an amount of ex"edit'on which will, nodoubt, ensure her pr-mptdesj'atcl). The Star of Tasmania is now fast discharging her cargo of coal preparatory to heinar also laid on for London, ami the Empress of India is expected to sail in a few days fur Picton, to which port part of her cargo is consigned