NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Colonist, Volume XVI, Issue 1606, 11 February 1873, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

LONDON MAEKETS.

(From the Neva Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company'a Circular, of December 12.) WOOL. The fifth and closing series of sales of this product for the present year, which was opened on 21st ultimo, was concluded on 6th instant. The follow* ing figures represent respectively the arrivals available for disposal, and the quantities actually catalogued therein, viz:— Quantities ■wr . — Arrivals. Catalogued. New South Wales and Queens- Bales. Bales. land 8,615 ... 11,357 Victoria ... .„ ... 8,425 ... 14,482 South Australia 880 ... 2,591 Tasmania ... 298 ... 391 Western Australia 187 ... 188 New Zealand 2,637 ... 6,767 Cape of Good Hope 33,873 ... 26,417 Total .., 64,915 ... 62,193 It is estimated that about 4000 bales hare during their course been bought in, which, if not subsequently placed by private treaty, will go to swell the stocks available for disposal at the open series of next year, whioh has been fixed to commenoe on 13th February. Precise data have not yet been received by which the probable arrivals for these sales may be computed; but it may be assumed that these will not exceed 100,000 bales. The course of the market during the series recently concluded has been as follows. The sales opened with a full attendance of the home trade, foreign buyers being poorly represented, at an advance on September-October quotations of 2d per lb. for good combing and id told per lb. for clothing washed and scoured descriptions; greasy kinds, with the exception of light combing qualities, which were scarce, hardly maintained previous rates; while Capes did not support late values. As they progressed, however, a less buoyant tone became apparent for all descriptions, except really good stapled growths, and prices accordingly for other kinds gave way. This relapse had the effect of attracting the attention of buyers, and during the closing week of the sale renewed brisk competition was manifested, resulting in the recovery of the lost ground for Australian produce, but for Capes a discount on opening rates was still accepted. Halfbred wools, owing to the improved feeling which in the case of domestic growths has for the past six weeks been manifested, have throughout the late series sold well, commanding for the better qualities an advance of 2d per lb. on October rates. Washed lanrbs' wool also has been sought after, and for it prices higher by Id to l£d per lb. have been paid than those current two months ago. Greasy has however been neglected. The absence of continental operators, at the late auctions, to whose share there fell only some 9000 to 10,000 bales, visibly affected the disposal of greasy and Oape sorts. This may be ascribed to the fact that public sales were being held on the continent during the progress of those held here, to the unsatisfactory condition of trade abroad and to the meagre assortment of Colonial produce available at this season of the year. We beg attention to the subjoined approximate average of the prices obtained for New Zealand wools during each of the five series of the present year :— Feb- April- June- Sept- Nov. March. May. July. Oct. Dec. perlb. per ft. per*, per ft. per ft. Inferior to superior s. d. s. d. s. d. a. d. s. d. washed Fleece 20i 1 10{ 20 20} 21 Do. Scoured 22 21 21 2if 22* Greasy 13J 10i 12| 13 lif NEW ZEALAND FLAX, OR HEMP. The transactions in this fibre during the past month have been somewhat restricted; holders in the knowledge that stocks are light being unwilling to give way in the prices demanded ; buyers on the other hand declining to operate unless in satisfaction of pressing wants. Two auctions have, since the issue of our last report, been held, at which collectively 718 bales hemp and tow were offered. Of these only about one-third found buyers at £30 to £33 per ton for common to medium hemp, £34 to £36 per ton for good medium to good well dressed, and 3 bales very fine (mark e.b.e.), £41 to £43 10s per ton. Tow fetched £1410s to £16 15s per ton according to quality. The latter figure was obtained for only a small parcel of very good quality, while for 2 bales really superior the exceptional price of £21 per ton was realised. The Tyrol reported from Auckland on the 23rd ultimo, brought 190 bales hemp, and there are to arrive per Wild Duck and Excelsior, 1868 bales hemp and tow. Stocks, landings and deliveries according to statements prepared to 30th November, for the past and present years are as follows:— 1871. 1872. Tons. Tons. Stocks on November 30th ... 695 ... 249 Landings January-November... 2,650 ... 1,032 Deliveries „ „ ... 2,872 ... 1,524

PRESERVED MEATS.

For these provisions there continues to be a fair trade demand, and although on the present occasion we do not alter the quotations given lait month, at these figures shipments are readily moved off. The arrival! at this port .for the four weeki ending sth instant were 16,517 oases. Market quotations are as follows:— Per lb. Per lb. Mutton, 61b Tins ... 5Jd. to s*d. Beef... sfd. to 6Jd. 41b „ ... 6Jd. „ 6fd. 6*d. „ 6}d. 21b „ ... 7id. „ 7*d. 7Jd. „ 7Jd. CORN MABKET. Sinoe our last report, dated 14th ultimo, there has been an almost uninterrupted continuance of wet mild weather. This of neoessity has greatly interfered with farming operations, and a good deal of wheat land must in consequence remain unsown until spring, and erect then other grain will to a large extent be substituted for that cereal. The reports from those districts where wheat has been sown are unfavorable, as the young plant, owing to excessive moisture, appears unhealthy. The prospect of next year's harrest are | therefore even less encouraging than were those for the harvest recently gathered. Having these features io view, it soerns reasonable to conclude that a high range of values for fine imported wheats should, subject, to temporary fluctuations, be maintained for some time to come. Farmers'deliveries continue light, and were it not that of late the arrivals off coast have been very abundant, prices in advance of those at present current would be secured.

Of colonial shipments there is at present rery little of good quality in (he market. Fin* Australian (if here) would command 64s to 65s per 49611 m, and best New Zealand would b« worth 63s to 64s per 4961b5. Flour may be quoted at 44s to 46s per 2801bs, according to quality. HOPS. Percwt. | s. ■£ s. 1872, new 5 10 to 7 0 Kentß, 1871 4 0 „ 5 0 American, 1872 0 0 „ 0 0 Bavarian, 1872 5 0 „ 7 0 Belgian, 1872 2 10 „ 3 0 TEEBIBLE SUFFERINGS AT SEA. Th« steamship Moro Cattle, which arrived at New Tort lately, brought four move «urTiroM of the ill* fated steamship M imovm, Which was burnt at tea, while on her passage from New York to Harannah, 80 lires being lost. Mr Darid North fires the New York Sun the following story of their escape from the jaws of death:— Whtn the boat tooohed the water there tran M

'..•■ s1 thirty persons in her, many of whom were pas-' :t>n;'T3. She w:i» freer) nil right from the stem davit, but she fouled in the stern davit in some way that s';e could not be instantly freed. A heavy sea fOi>:inET at this timr, she whs plunged under, and, on onii'Tying, but nine persons were left aboard. Ail the I'vi,-.vure washed off and drowned almost instantly.

Thp nlurgo freed the boat, and the ship, with one soil set, mored away from her. The sea hud filled ihe boat to the edge, and in the excitement of the time no effort was made at oncn to bail her. It wns about this time that the other boat that had got ashore came up to us; ye asked them to take us aboard, but they refused to do bo, and pprsons who were floating around on lifepreservers implored them to save them, but they turned a denf ear to everything but the promptings of their own des>ire to esctipe. On taking an inventory of the boatu outfit, we found we had four oar* and a boalhook. We stayed around the ship until she went down, and then took in our oars and began the first night of suffering. All our efforts to bail the boat were unavailing, as every wave filled her Bgain, so we had to sit waist-deep in water. The boat lay in the trough of the sea, with every wave breaking over us. We had to lock our legs under the eeat and clasp our arms round eaoh other's necks, as every sea threatened to wash us overboard. When morning broke the sea was still running mountain high. We could net keep the oars in the rowlocks. The men had by this time grown careless, and there was no semblance of discipline. Mark Anthony, the oiler, became crazed in the afternoon of this day. The second night was like the first, only intensified by the complaints of the starving men, and by the ravings of Anthony. When the morning broke, no prospect of land or a sail could be made out. A shoal of sharks swam around the boat, eeemingly certain of their prey. The burber, Wm. Sterr, became delirous towards afternoon. He was terribly emaciated with hunger and thirst. About dark he died, and a sea swept him off. Before morning Shea, the porter, and Mark Anthony jumped overboard in a fit of frenzy. It was on the morning of the fourth day that our hunger seemed to have left us. The tortures of thirst were intensified so as to be almost unendurable. M'Curdon gave into it, and he threw himself over backward into the sea. Thomas Eagan, one of the five left alive on the morning of the fourth day, while describing a splendid entertainment to which he was engaged, suddenly fell forward and died. He was thrown overboard, and a shark took him from before our eyes.

STORY OF ANOTHER SURVIVOR,

The steamship Columbia arrived at New York on December 14th, and among her passengers was one Eichard Smith, a fireman of the Missouri. Smith, and a man named Stewart, were left clinging to a capsized boat, and the following thrilling story is told (by the New York Herald) of their adventures s—

The two men at length succeeded in righting the boat. One sat at one end of the boat, the other at the other end. They had no shoes, and the boat was full of water. They lashed the oars across the boat to prevent her from again capsizing. The storm was terrible. The waves ran mountains high, and tossed the boat as though it were a football. Every moment they thought the little craft would agaiu be capsized.

The sun rose at last. The two ocean waifs broke the seats of the boats and made paddles of them. They kept paddling all day, and when night came Smith filled the plug-hole with broken pieces of rope. He tore up bis drawers and wound them round the rope. They had not seen a sail all day, and Stewart prophesied that they both would perish in the boat. Stewart was afraid of the sharks. They followed the boat constantly, and Smith frequently bit them with his oar. At night, when trying to get a moment's sleep, he would look down into the water, and out of the dark waves the eyes of the sharks would look at him and the monster jaws would open, and as it seemed to his exoited imagination, grin at him. On the morning of the third day the two friends succeeded in bailing the boat. They rigged a sail, They tore the canvas off one of the lite preservers, and made a sail out of that. They felt very thirsty. The salt water, in keeping their faces constantly wet, had parched their mouths. What would they not have given for a drop of fresh water to wet their dried withered lips with ? The keen sense of thirst made them insensible to hunger. Smith went down on his knees and prayed again. But one drop of water! No, there was no hope. It seemed as though they must perish of thirst.

Tlie third night came. No sail in sight, not a morsel of food, not a drop of water, no human aid near. They could not sleep. Smith was sitting at one end of the boat, when he suddenly heard a noise. "Help! help!" a voice cried. It was Stewart, who had fallen into the ocean. Smith jumped into the water and saved him. He was ji'.st in time ; a shark had seen Stewart from afar, and, like a flash of lightning, the monster darted at the boat. As the shark opened its jaws, Stewart rose out of the water. Smith was already in the boat. They were saved from a horrible death. The shark remained all night alongside the boat. Smith hit it with his oar, but the hideous monster always returned, and the boat was soon surrounded by huge sharks that seemed to be waiting for their prey. Stewart was ,very much excited. He fell round Smith's neck a dozan times, and thanked him for having Bayed his life. He said he was not afraid to die, but did not want to die so horrible a death. This night seemed to last an age. At dajbreak they saw a sail. They rowed towards the ship, they shouted and signalled, but it was all in vain ; nobody could hear them, and the ship sailed out of sight.

A rainßtorm came, and the two friends could at last wet their dried lips. What pleasure it wai to feel the cool, fresh vater once more on their parched lips! The boon was dearly-paid for. The rain poured down in torrents, the wind whirled the boat around every minute, and clouds and wares seemed to be one mass of dashing foam. In the simple language of Mr. Smith, "it blowed and stormed as though heaven and earth wore coming together." Four days and four nights passed away. Every hour was in itself a story of suffering, of sorrow. The sharks and the thunder, the spray and the howling wind, the bitter cold and the dark, threatening »ky—these were their only comrades. At last they caw land, It was on the eighth day. Land ! What a sight! They embraced each other; they shed tears of joy ! Land ! What magic in the simple word ! It transported them from sadness and despair to a paroxysm of joy. They had struck a reef about a mile and a half from Abaco. It was three o'clock in the morning, and they kept the boat back as much as they could. At six o'clock they climbed the rocks. It. was a wild, lonely spot. There were no signs of vegetation. Both were exhausted from climbing, an ■ Smith crawled on his hands and feet on the rocks looking for something to eat. How his heart beat when lie found some crabs (he call them " spider crabs") and a f«w prickly pears! H« ate some of the irabs, the first food he had tasted for eight days. Ho brought the pears to Stewart, who said he would eat them, even though they were filled with poison. " Nover in my life has anything tasted so sweet," he said to Smith after he bad eaten the first pear. >Mnith ate some too, and thought thej were delicious. A dozen of these prickly pears lasted them three day?. They built themselves a small hut out of one onr nnd a mass of weeds which Smith found among the rocks.

Stewart had suffered terribly from hunger. Ho said, "I know I shall stnrva to death ; I have been caved from the sharks to die of starvation." At night he raved; the hunger had driven him to mildness. He raved about his family, his wife, and his dear, dear child) en, and hugged Smith to his heart in the belief that he wns his son. One nighl they were sleeping together in their miserable tent and all of a sudrlen Stewart's breath seemed to cease. Smith felt his body. It was warm. But in the nex' moment his friend's pulse had stopped, ard tlmt (rue and kind heart had ceased to beat. Not n breath! It was still as death in the hut. Smith felt iiis friend's body again. It was cold. Smitl. nished out into the night. "My best fnend," hi 'lunifht, " died of starvation, and whnt will becnnv • f"'■?" He cat on the rooks all night. He could - ■ bear to sleep in the hut where lay the corpse of his best, truest irienii ; but next morning, aiier » riot-VKja night, he had to fulfil his duty towards hi:

dead comrade. He went into the hut and looked at tne features which hnd once shone with friendship and goodness, Smith buried him. He dragged him to the rocks. Thera was no earth. All was solid rock. He took some seaweed and some sand, and under this he buried his dead friend. As he put. the sand and seaweed over his. face, he remembered many a kind word the dead man had spoken ; many a favor ho had done him who now was burying his benefactor j many a pleasant hour they had spent talking of their dear ones at home.

Smith had given up all hope of ever seeing a human face again. His feet were sore from walking on the rocks. He had tied pieces of cork out of the lifepreserver to his feet, and the rope with which he bound them chafed terribly. He found some oil in the crabs,, and it healed the Bore 9on his feet. " I thought it was pretty hard to he left there and die ijj|lone," he said yesterday to a Herald reporter. He had bacome so weak that he was unable to crawl on the rooMj and still there was no sign of salvation.

Fifteen days he had passed on the rockß. On the sixteenth day a schooner came in eight. He raised a signal, using Ibe pantaloons which the dead friend had left. He saw the schooner 24 hoars before anybody noticed his signal. What agony he suffered thinking every moment that the schooner would sail away, and leave him to die. " I heard a voice," Smith said to the reporter ; " it appeared to me almost like a dream." A human voice ! He had not heard a human voice since his friend died. He was lying on the rock, sick, unable to move. " Here is a man," the voice said, " but I don't know whether he is dead or alive." Smith heard another voice :— " No, Captain this man is not dead, I see him move." No, he was not dead. The words he had heard had revived him. He jumped up and fainted into the arms of the Captain and the mate, who had come to take him on board the schooner. Yesterday his brother and his wife received the brave fireman at his home here in New York. While on the dreary rock? of Abaoo he had dreamed of them erery night, and now he was sitting before a bright, blazing fire, hugging them to his heart.