SHIPPING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4149, 5 June 1875, Page 2

SHIPPING.

POKT CHALMERS. r June4.—Wind: Morning, S.W., fresh; afternoon, strong gale. Weather : Overcast, rain, cold. 8 a.m. —Barometer, 29 07 ; thermometer, 45. 1 p.m.—Barometer. 29 65 ; thermometer, 47. 5 p.m.^-Barometer, 29 53; thermometer, 44. High water on the Sth :—At the Heads, 3.19 ; at Port Chalmers, 3.59: at Dunedin, *■**■ ' -" ■ DEPARTURES. Glimpse, ketch, 38 tons, Shepherd, for.Moeraki. G. Munro, agent. ■:■' -A Defiance, ketch, 22 tons, Burke, for Moeraki. Keith Ramsay, agent. EXPECTED ARRIVALS. FROM London.— H. T. Staines, Jan. 27th; Annie Hoului, Jan. 30th; Peacemaker, Feb. 2Sth; Cora Linn, March 17th ; : Woodlark, J. N. Fleming. . * -*.-■:.-:.-..-■.. From" Glasoow.—Craigielee, April 1 ; Hawea, April 6; Taupo, May 1; Aldergrove, April 29. From. New York.—Crusader. Fkom Pl-get Sound. —Maria Trinidad. From Chkistiania. —Isabella Ridley. From Westers Australia. — Albyn's Isle, Janet Spiers. " From Adelaide.—Waverley. From Melbourne. —Prospector. .From Newcastle. —Transport, May 18. TROJKCTED DEPARTURES. For London.—Oamaru, 10th inst; Crusader, 10th inst;Timaru early; Dunedin, early; Rangitikei, early. .Fob. Melbourne.—Albion, 7th inst. ; Tararua, 6th inst.For Fiji, kc— Star of the South, 10th inst. For Northern Ports.—Phoebe, this day. For Auckland.—Kosannah Rose, early. For. Wellington.—Melanie, early. For Waxqaxii.— Owake, 12thinst. For Lyttelton, &c. —Bruce, Gth inst.; Beautiful Star, early. For, Southern Ports. - Wanganui, early ; Express, 6th inst.; Lady of the Lake, this day ; Comerang, this day. For Oamaru.—Samson, Sth inst. "For. East Coast.—Anno, early. For Siiao Point.—Shag, early. CUSTOMS ENTRIES. inwards. Robert Jones, 287 tons, Owen, from Mauritius, with cargo. Cargill, Gibbs, and Co., agenta. Comerang, 152 tons, Best, from Bluff Harbour, with cargo. G. S. Brodrick, agent. Hope, 24 tons, Tyson, from Waikouaiti, with cargo. Master, agent. •Grace, 10 tons, Brady, from Waikouaiti, with cargo. Master, agent. outwards. Hope, 24 tons, Tyson, for Waikouaiti, with cargo. Master, agent. Dunedin, C 6 tons, Stewart, for Wellington, via BoatHarbour, with cargo. Keith Ramsay, agent. Tauranga, 61 tons, Divers, for Bluff Harbour, with cargo. G. F. Reid, agent. Kedron, 373 tons, Mann, for Guam, in ballast. Guthrie and Larnach, agents. IMPORTS. Per ' Hope, from Waikouaiti: 134 bags, Royse, Stead, and Co; 111 do, Wright, Stephenson, and Co. Per Grace, from Waikouaiti: 200 bags, Anderson and Mowat; 50 do, G F Reid. EXPORTS. Per Hope, for Waikouaiti: 15,000 ft timber, Findlay and Co. Per Tauranga, frr Bluff Harbour ; 502 bars railwayiron, General Government. Per Dunedin, for WeUington : 815 bags, Royse, Stead, and Co. . SHIPPING TELEGRAM. Wellington, June 4th. Sailed.—Albion, s.s., for Lyttelton and South, at 2.30 pan. Passengers for coast: Messrs Sheriff, Clayton, Borrie, Mrs Williams, Miss Oram, and Miss Cohen. Another burst of heavy S.W. weather set in yesterday, and had been announced by a sudden fall in the barometer, the drop amounting to nearly threequarters of an inch in 20 hours. So sudden a decline is, as a rule, the herald of a short-lived gale ; but as the glass fell slowly but steadily throughout yesterday afternoon, we are inclined to think that the •• burst" will reach the usual limit of two or three days. Heavy rain fell in the afternoon, and became mixed with sleet as the night came on. Shipping business was brought to a stand-still by noon, and as the gale increased, careful chief officers of the ships at the piers were to be observed scanning the moorings to make sure that all was snug and safe. The vessels lay quietly enough, little or no range being perceptible, whilst those in the stream rode easily at their anchors. An omission of a word in the Earl of Zetland's report yesterday made the names of the owners of the ship to read, " Messrs Alexander and Nephew." It should have been "Messrs Alexander Thomson and Nephew," relatives, we understand, of Captain Thomson, Provincial Harbour Master. There were no arrivals yeste'dayi and only two vessels sailed—the ketches Glimpse and Defiance— both bound to Moeniki. The schooner Tauranga, which loaded railway iron for the Coast from the ship Timaru, anchored in the stream yesterday, ready for sea. The little dilficulty that occurred the other day in connection with Messrs Sutherland and Co.'s new slip has been successfully tided over. The schooner Owake, under the weight of which the slip gave a trifle, has been hauled up to the desired position, and will have her bottom coppered forthwith. She is a substantial, smart vessel, well worth the bestowal of so much attention. The immigrants per ship Earl of Zetland were, with their belongings, disembarked yesterday, and landed at the Railway-Pier by the steamer Geelong. Their appearance excited much comment, nearly all of them being well dressed, and respectable in appearance. They were sent to Caversham by the 1.30 train. Nearly all the Frederick BassTs cargo has been landed/there now being onboard a quantity of red gum posts, which will not be taken out until she nas been partly ballasted.. The barque is open for freight or charter. The brig Sarah has discharged the major portion of her cargo, and will have all out in a day or two. Her port cf.destination has not yet been determined upon.' The date of the Owake's departure for Wanganui and Havelock has been postponed until the 12th inst. The s.s. Star of the South has been detained somewhat longer than usual on her way down from Auckland, and an alteration in the date of her departure has been found necessary in consequence. She is expected to arrive here on Tuesday, and will sail for Fiji, via intermediate ports, on Thursday, .the 10th inst. . - ■ The barque Harriet Armitage has now a considerable quantity of cargo on board, and may be expected to be ready to sail for Wellington on Wednesday next. ~i The' Crest of the Wave has beon relieved of about two-thirds of her inward cargo. The three-masted schooner Rosebud was "towed to Dunedin last night by the Geelong, and moored at the Rattray street wharf, where she will discharge. Although drawing over lift; she never once grounded on tte way up. Another addition has been made to our locidly-owned fleet in the shape of a handy Tastnauian-built ketch, named the Franklyn Belle, which arrived "at Invercargill -on the -2nd instant from Hobart Town, with a cargo of fruit. That discharged, she will load a cargo of timber for Dunedin. The barque James Hannel is to be towed up to Dun-ediuto-d»y. : . . We" are pleased to observe that the contractors for the extension of the Rattray street Wharf have at last made decided.signs of their intention to go on with the work without further delay. A quantity of material has been rafted up, and other preparations made for a fair start. , '..-...-, The unrighteous practice of demanding and accepting blood money was, after having lain dormant, a long time,'revived'at San Francisco Ust' year. The Nautical Magazine states that in consequence of the length of time ships chartered to load had to wait for their cargoes, the supply of seamen "far exceeded the demand, and several masters, desirous of turning the tables upon'the crimps, and at the same time to earn an honest (7) penny, stipulated for, and received, so much per head for seamen supplied. |The iniquity of the proceeding, was palpable, because the money was sure to come out of the seamen's pockets, although, perhaps, indirectly, and thus' the stringent I4Sth section of the Merchant Shipping Act was flagrantly violated. These little irregularities by some.means reached the ears of Mr Boohey, the British Consul at *'Frisco," and he thereupon issued a notice to masters ot British ships, appealing to their better feelings, and at the same time, pointed out how they infringed British law. He also threatened to report persons so offending to the Committee of Privy Council for Trade at London. ... './... The Nautical Magazine made a decided "point" when it questioned the accuracy of a statement relative to.'the: labouring of American liners '• in a heavy seaway. The engineer was indiscreet enough to assert that the tatfrails of such vessels'" often fall through a vertical space of 30 feet in about one second." Tl'he Magizinerwishes td know where' this has been shown to have ocenrred, and pertinently points out that, as matter passing freely through; space only falls 14 feet in the first second, aome inconvenience,would result to individuals standing on deck near the taffrail,'as at the eud-of -the-first second they would' be: lef C^liFthe~ air 14 feet above the deck, together with any loose articles that might have happened to have been near them-on-deck-before the vessel's " remarkable gym- / nastic feat •". occurred. ■■-■•'■ 77The " Plinisoll" movement in Britain appears to be purging^ the British mercantile marine .'of .manyquestionable vessels,-and the German Lloyd las sounded a note of alarm about the transfer, of such vessels from'the British to the German flag. It would appear froniGcrmah statements that some shipowners whose"vessels failed to pass through the ordeal of the more vigorous surveying instituted, succeeded in'dis-; posing of their " fishy " craft to their German breth-" ren, to the manifest disgust of " Lloyd." It is positively stated that such vessels have been discovered under theiGerinan Flag. and:, Lloyd, in consequence, very advocates the exercise of extreme caution, ". in order that scandal may not accrue to the German flag, through life and' property being lost in these ships." .: . ' ..:■'.----•' ; -MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT, 1875. Below we give a brief resumi of the proposed new Shipping Act of 1575, introduced to the Imperial Parliament in February last by the President of the Board of Trade. -Its short title is the Merchant Shipping Act, i1875,.and providing it passes,-it will be classed with the other shipping Acta which preceded it to the year 1354. Tlie^ first clause in effect, but tbe fourth after the introductory sections, places restrictions upon the:registration of wrecked or abandoned ships until they shall have beensurveyed; and pronounced seaworthy. Clause '6 makes, the issuing of advance notes" to seamen illegal, and L ia. effect states: that no' money'paid 'in" respect of any such'document, as an advance note by, or on behalf of, a shipowner shall be recoverable frpm the wages of the.seaman to whom the note may have been issued. But tbe owner of a ship may supply a seaman with clothes or other boiut fide necessasies, and deduct their value from.the,man's wages: Thus, the pressing .wants of the improvident may be legally ministered to at the commencement of a voyage.- -The seventh clause is all in favour of the seam£ri,! * for .it -provides for the prompt, payment of his-- Wages J at the lawful termination of his engagement ..with the ship. If not paid: then,, they care to" run on until paid, unless, it cain be shown that' the' master or owner' of the ship was not to blame in.t'.ie matter. The eighth clause deals with the rules to be observed when a seaman is discharged before a superintendent of a mercantile marine office. It comprises ten sub-sections, and also is in favour of the recipient. Then follows a clause of eight sub-sections, dealing with discipline and the misconduct of officers. It does away with local Marine Boards, and provides for the arraigning of the offender before an ordinary Police Court, or, subject to the opinion of the Board of Trade, before a local Court of Admiralty. The decision arrived at by the Court is to be made known as soon as possible after the case has been heard ; and where a master's or officer's certificate has been cancelled, the Court has power to issue another of a lower grade to the offender. The power of appointing nautical or engineering assessors to hear the case is taken from the Board of Trade and vested in the Judge of tbe High Court of Admiralty of England and Ireland, and in the Lord President of the Court of Session or Lord Justice' Clerk in Scot'and. The Board of

Trade, however, retains the function of public prosecutor. Clauses from 10 to 14, inclusive, deal with mutiny and misconduct generally, -and are sufficiently stringent. The 15th clause has special reference to the subject of keeping a 'proper lookout on board ship. It declares the duty of the master and crew, with the novel,feature of a penal provision' ■which renders a master*liable to six months' imprisonment who may neglectto"" provide for a proper lookout being duly placed; kept, and relieved." Officers are also included in this penal enactment, whilst members of the crew who fail to do their duty when on the

look-out are liable to incur the punishment of eight weeks' imprisonment, and to forfeit one month's pay. The 16th, 17th, .18th, ahd 19th clauses deal with deser tion, and kindred offences, absence without, leaye, and wilt'ul'daniage, and embezzlement of stores and cargo; they contain nothing new. Tlie 20th clause, however, provides for the infliction of doub'.e penalties for offences which tend to the immediate loss, destruction, or serious damage of the ship, or that tends to immediately endange.- the life or limb of any person ou :board the ship. Clause 21 relates to smuggling, and is old iv substance. 22 is unimportant. Clause 23 provides against punishing the same offence twice over, whilst 24 provides for sending cases, to a higher Court thau one of summary jurisdiction. The 25th clause- one of eight sub-sections—makes stringent provision for marking vessels. The rules in force relative to painting the vessel's name on her bows and stern, and marking the stem and stern-post for draught of water, are reproduced, with the addition of a scale of feet ft on each of her broadsides, ;to denote the extent of her clear side or free board. Clause 20 is penal, relative to the above, and fixes the penalty for non-coinpliance,-or for altering or effacing marks, at not more than £100. Tlie 27th clause provides for the record of draught of water, and extent of clear side being kept; and clause 23th deals with deck cargoes, and how, when a vessel leaves port, the master must make an entry in the official log of the weight, bulk, and description of cargo she may have on deck, and must lodge a copy of the entry at the Custom House. The penalty for non-compliance is " not exceeding £20." Clause 29th is significantly im- | portant, and we therefore quote it in titenso: —"lt shall be the duty of the owner of every British seagoing ship, to see that she is properly equipped with boats, aud with rafts or other appliances for saving ! hfe ; and a ship shall not be deemed seaworthy unless she is properly so equipped. A ship shall be deemed to be properly so equipped—(l), if her boats, rafts, and other appliances are in good order, and lurnished with all requisites for lowering and for use, and are so carried as to be ready for instant use in case of emergency. (2). If her boats and rafts are sufficient to carry all the persons on board the ship, or, in the case of ships surveyed by the Board of Trade as passenger steamers or passenger ships, if her boats and other appliances are in accordance with the regulations contained in the first schedule of this Act, or such modifications thereof as may from time to time be sanctioned by the Board of Trade ; and (3) if she is furnished with at least two life-buoys or life-jackets, or in the case of a ship surveyed by the Board of Trade with life-buoys or life-jackets of such number and description as the B iard of Trade may from time to time by general instructions direct." Clause 30 makes provision for the adjustment of the compasses of steamships by a properly qualified person holding a valid certificate obtained by a course of examination provided for by the Board of Trade. The appointment of marine surveyors in British Possessions is dealt with by clause 31, and the next clause slightly alters the llth section of the flipping Act, 1573, relative to the sending of unseaworthy ships to sei. The words "or take" or ". takes" are added, thus extending the responsibility to the master of the ship. Clause 33 touches upon grants to training ships, and the 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th, otith, 39th, and 40thclauses deal with the manner of conducting preliminary enquiries into shipping casua ties. This is a most important section of the Act, because, firstly, the 36th clause makes it imperative on the part of the master or officer iv charge of a vessel to which a casualty has happened, to, upon his arrival in port, at once seek out the person appointed to receive such reports, and report fully to him, under a penalty of £50 for noncompliance. Under the existing law no such obligation exists. The 37th clause and 11 subclauses lays down the modus operandi of investigation into shipping casualties Such investigations are to be held before a stipendiary or resident magistrate iv England, before a sheriff in Scotland, and before a divisional justice or resident magistrate in Ireland. Assessors, appointed in a similar manner as those appointed to hear charges against masters and officers, assist at the investigation, the holding of which is determined by the Board of Trade. The payment of magistrates and assessors attending such investiga.tions devolves upon the Government. The investigation of casualties is entirely distinct from the investigation into the conuuet of masters aud officers connected with them. The 40th clause provides for the extension of the law of investigation to foreign vessels, provided the Governments of the States to which such vessels belong shall so desire it. Clauses 41 and 42 treat of the liability of owners of ships, and arc worth quoting in extenso. The 41st Clause says:—" Where by reason of a ship having been sent :o sea in an unseawortuy condition any loss of life or personal injury is caused to any person being carried in the ship, or any damage or loss is caused to any gouds, merchandise, or other things whatsoever on board the ship, then notwithstanding the provisions ot section 5 of the Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 18(12, the liability of the owner of the ship in respect of the loss, injury, or damage, shall be unlimited, unless he proves that he and his agents used all reasonable means to make and keep the ship seaworthy, and was and were ignorant of her unseaworthiness, or that her going to sea in an unseaworthy condition was, under the circumstances, reasonable and unavoidable. Any agreement, provision, or stipulation having for ita object or effect to avoid or limit the liability of a shipowner in the cases referred to in this section shall be void." Clause 42 says : —"lt shall be the duty of every owner of a ship, as between himself and the crew of the ship, to make and keep the ship seaworthy, and if, by reason of the

neglect or default of the owner of the ship or of any of his agents, in making or keeping the ship seaworthy, any member of the crew is killod or injured, the owner of the ship shall be liable in damages for the death or injury." Clause 43, is interpretative, and the last clause, 44, treats upon repeal and saving.