SHIPPING SUMMARY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 784, 18 June 1864, Page 4

SHIPPING SUMMARY.

There has been a fair average shipping trade 'during the past month—fifty • arrivals and about ■ the same number of departures, steam-vessels ' The arrivals of home-laden yes- . ,-sels have bee-., few, being confined to tbe Pride ■ of the We?t, which arrived on May 25: the ' Xmerald, which arrived on June 12; and the ■ Mary Francis and Lady Milton, which reached < this port on the 23rd ult., afcer discharging part ' .•of their caries at the Blufi. The Pride of the ' "West left London on Feb. Bth. Had rough ] -weather in the Channel, a good run to the Cape, ] tut thence had heavy weather and a long passage, encountering1 some hurricanes, during one «of which she-had-her long-bu.at smashed. The ' .Emerald, which arrived at the Heads on the 12th, f and was towed up on- the 16th instant, left the j Clyde on February 25th, and had a passage i -characterised throughout by very indifferent £ ■winds and weather. The Paria, also bound for £ this port, arrived some weeks ago at the Bluff; t and several other vessels are now overdue, either direct or via that harhor; among others, the I Ja-tern Chief, 121 days out from Feb. 17; Char- s 3otfe Jane, 110 days out from Feb. 25; Y. C. E., i 119 days out from Feb. 19 ; Tk-k>burg, 101 dnjs c out from Mar'h 11; Violet. lOi) days out from 1 March in; and Andrew Jackson, 71 days out 1 fr;.m April 8. The deptirtures cf ve>tsels recently \ from home have besn the Oajjiolani. June 9, for a •Shanghai; Mystery, June 13. for Colombo; and ii Oscar, June 14, for the Blufi. Tbe Silesia pro- v ceedsina few days to tbe same port; and the h iEm^rald has a small quantity of cargo for the same destination, which will probab'y be trans- c shipped. a 'ihe inter-colonial trade has been chiefly char- n acterised uuring the past month by an activity in c passage traffic, consequent upon the alternating a j;ood and bad reports trom some new diggings dis-

covered in the province of Maryborough; and the s-ame discoveries led also to the shipment of considerable qinntiiies of ijoods from. thU market, as well as the departure of many "small craft, which for the past two years had been engaged ia harbor work in Port Otago. In accommodating this sudden'and large traffic, .several of thi Melbourne and Otago steamers were employed for a series of trip-:, returning, after its cessation, to tneii ordinary trade. Of the arrivals during the month, a majority have been coal-laden vessels, numbers having been chartered after a temporary dearth of suppiies. One novelty in this trade is the arrival of a steam collier, the Xanthe, which has brought from Newcastle. IV.S.W1., a large cargo of coals, discharging it with unusual expedition. ir'evtral shipping disasters^ have occurred on the New Zealand coast during the month, and out of the different provinces. Otago has suffered most heavily by the los 3, at Bluff Harbor, of the fine new steamer t'cotia, which only recently arrived in the colonies and had been placed by her proprietors, the Otago Steam Navigation Company, in the Melbourne and New Zealand trade, she was on her second trip from Melbourne when she got ashore at the entrance to Bluff Harbor through circumstances which have since been inquired in to, andareheld tohave arisen through rashness, want of judgment, and culpable negligence on the part of Captain Gay, who had temporarily been placed in charge of the vessel in the absence of Captain JNewlands, who was detained in Melbourne through sickness. These circumstances are mo-t briefly related in the finding adopted by the Board of Inquiry at the Bluff. According to that fin iing, the evidence clearly established —First: That about six o'clock on the evening of the 2n<t inst.. the steamship Scotia being then in Foveaux'* Straita, the master never having before visited Bluff Harbor, aod< the evening being very thick and dark, he caused the steam to be eased, so that the vessel might remain at a safe distance outside the port, until about 9 o'clock. Secondly: That the weather having then become clear, although still very dark, the master proceeded to run in for the harbor. Thirdly: That a little before 11 p.m., the ship approached a point which lies about three-quarters of a mile -S.S W. from Stirling's Point and which it seems is erroneously called " Lookout Point" by many persons frequenting this port, although it lies fully a mile nearer to the Harbor than the point so named in the Admiralty cbart. Fourthly—That when off this point, being then within six or seven cables' length of the Pilot Station on Stirling's Point; and not before, the master caused a gun to be fired, but continued to run on in excessive proximity to the land, at a speed of five or six knots per hour, the engines making from 40 to 42 revolutions per minute, their maximum speed being 75 revolutions, and the water being smooth. Fifthly—At the time the gun was fired, the red light on Stirling's Point must have been open to view from the steamer, and a red light at a considerable elevation ought to have been a warning to the master to have been on the lookout for danger, even though he had not read the " sailing directions" for entering the harbor Sixthly—That the master of the vessel had the sailing directions on board, and had seen them on the voyage. In them a direction -occurs to the following effect:— " After sunset a red light will be hoisted on the flagstaff at Stirling's Point Masters of vessels are cautioned not to approach the Point too closely, as a reef runs off about a cable's length to the S.E. of the flagstaff.'' Heventhly—That, notwithstanding: this, the vessel was run almost directly for the red light, and was accordingly stranded, at less than half a cable's length from the red light. During the time which has intervened since the stranding of the vessel, active measures have been adopted with a view to float the vessel. Divers were engaged to patch the holes in her bottom, and were partially successful in doing so; and tanks, casks, and Caiifornian pumps have fceen accumulated with the object of pumping her and floating her off. but the successful accomplishmenc of this object is very problematical. The passengers and passengers' luggage were saved on the night of tbe wreck, and greater part of her cargo was afterwards landed, partially damaged, alon? with gear and fittings, but the vessel has shitted further inshore and canted to one side, her position being aggravated by a heavy ground-swell during the last few days. Fresh attempts are, however, yet to be made to save her, and they may possibly be successful. In the meantime, the accident has been a most unfortunate one for the new company, who had every prospect with their two vessels of carrying on an extensive and profitable trade.

Among other casualties we have to record thi loss of the fine new clipper barque Star of Vie-

toria at the entrance of New Kiver, another ol

I the Southland harbours. The vessel was being [ towed out, with a heavy sea, which had suddenly arisen on the bar, when the warp, which was deemed to be sufficient, parted at a rao-t critical moment, and the vessel was driven up upon the rocks, where she has since been sold and stripped. She was a new vessel, having only came off tin stocks in Aberdeen in the latter part of 1863 ; had been employed in the Lauaeeston trade, and was insured for LSOOO, which was below her ; valne. From striking on the same bay, the brig Australia, with iOO passengers on board, bound for Picton, sprung a dangerous leak at sea, and had to put into Akaroa in a very precarious state.

The other accidents—the wreck of the brigautine

Marchioness, and schooner Niie—happened on the

coast of the North Inland. Of the many steamers

now on the coast, two had lately very narrow escapes. The Inter-colonial Company's ve.^sel

Prince Alfred, as reported last month, struck

upon a reef off Waipapa Point, and has since

proceeded to Sydney for examination, though the injury is only believed to be very slight; while the Otago, belonging to the same company, had a very narrow escape while crossing the Manakau bar, by her screw getting foul of one o the fair-

way buoys.

Several new vessels for the Coloaial trade have arrived during the month, the most valuable

the Tasmanian Company's steamer Southern

Cross, and the New Zealand Steam Company's new steamer, Wellington, both of which are spoken of as valuable additions to the colonial

steam fleet,

In the province, numerous small

sized vessels have recently been launched ; among others, a fine schooner of considerable tonnage, built at Harding's Bay, by Mr David Curie. Kxoept her masts and spar?, which are those which belonged to the steamer St Kilda, the vessel is entirely of native timber, cut on ground in the neighborhood of the building yard; and besides being the largest, the ves3el is, in mould and finish, the most creditable production of. the ship-carpenter which has yet been, built in Gtago. An accident which proved fatal to Mr Bell, shipping clerk to Messrs Cargill and Co, befel him as he was in the act of stepping, one evening, from the barque Petto the steamship Albion, which was moored alongside that vessel. Mr Bell

W4B a young gentleman who, by the amiability

of his disposition, and scrupulous attention to la's duties, had become much esteemed among shipmasters and others, and his death, under tuch

painful circumstances, has been widely and sincerely regretted.