SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3974, 10 December 1873, Page 2

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

High Wateb *t Pokt Nicholson ToDat. Morning, 8.34 j evening, 8.57 ARRIVED. Deoembeb. 9, Napier, b.s., 44 tons, Butt, from Terawiti. • 9, Je6sie, schooner, 28 tons, Crabbe, from JTapier. 9. Wellington, ship, 650 tons, Hill, from Newcastle. Passenger— Mr Beck. R. Manawatu, from Wanganui SAILED. 9, Blackwall, ketch, 26 ton?, Callow, for Bangitikei. 9, Asposia, Bchooner, 45 tons, Thompson, ibr Castle Point. IHPOETS. In the Jessie, Master, agent— B2 bales wool, Johnston and Co. EXPOKTB. .

In the Black wall, Master, agent— l 99 pkgs groceries and sundries, Turnbull and Co j 1 coil rope, 9 pkgs sundries, Q-andy ; 6 clocks, Krull &nd Co ; 1 pkg harness, Evans ; 1 case earthenware, Anderson ; 8 pkgs, Port ; 1 pel, Hirst; 5 bags coals, 4 pkgs sundries, Tonks ; 1 pkg harness, Crawford ; 16 pkgs sundries, Stevenson and Stuart ; 8 pkgs sundries, 3 kegs nails, 25 sacks oats. W. W. Taylor ; 8 pkgs, Mills,* 22 pkgs sundries, T. and W. Young; S pkgs, GHbeon ; 10 sacks flour, 20 bags do, ©'Shea j 12 pkgs, Stuart and Co ; 1 pole, 1 pel, Jobmton and Co : 10 sacks, 30 bags flour, 5 do oate, 23 pkgs sundries, 1 case, Thomas ; 1 pel, Krull and Co ; 3 pieces naves, 30 felloes, Dranefield. In the Wellington, Beck and Tonka, agents — 850 tona coal, 30 tone maize, 10 tons hay, €0 beer casks, 1000 spokes, 50 naves, 2000 felloes, 2 horses, 12 hard-wood logs, 5000 feet cedar, Beck and Tonks. In the Aspasia, Edward Pearce, agent — 13 pkgs station Btores, Johnston and Co ; 2do do, Cattcli ; 63 pkgs, Pearce ; 2 pkge, KruU and Co ; 88 pkgs station stores, 78 bdls wire, 13 pkge, W. W. Taylor.

EXPECTED AEEIVAtS. 10, Taranaki, from the North 10, Omeo, from Melbourne, via the South 10, Stormbird, from Wanganui 11, Napier, from Foxton 12, Wellington, from Lyttelton and Otago 14, Alhambra, from Melbourne, via West Coast PBOJECTED DEPABTTTBEg. 10, Omeo, for Melbourne, via West Coast 10, Manawatu, for Wangacui 11, Stormbird, for Wanganui 11, Taranaki, for Lyttelton and Ofcago 12, Phoebe, for Sydney, via Manukau. 13, Wellington, for Picton, Nelson, TaraSaid, Manuka a 15, Alhambra, for Melbourne, via the South

The ship Wellington arrived in port yesterday afternoon, after a rough passage of 17 tlays. Experienced nothing but heavy south and south-east gales ; sighted Cape Farewell 4>n Sunday last ; from thence variable southeast winda. The Queen Bee having completed the discharge of her Wellington cargo, will proceed shortly to Napier to load for London. Yesterday she hauled round alongside the Helen Den»y, from which vessel the takes about 200 tons of cargo for Napier. Meßsrs Godeffroi, Hamburg merchants, employ ti fleet of twenty-five ships, which trade mainly with Australia and the South Sea Islands. They do not employ their great opportunities for purposes of commerce only, hat have established a museum, and in consection with this a periodical illustrative of the countries visited by their vessels, an achievement tbat really gives them some right to the much-abused title of merchant princes. In the journal is a queer story of an Englishman, who is stated on good evidence to h« able to announce the approach of a vessel, and even its character, days before it mounts Che horizon, not of course by direct vision, but by certain aerial phenomena. A cloud varying with the size of the vessel, in those calm and clear latitudes, gathers over it. This he can see long before the rotundity of the earth permits the vessel to be seen from the shore. The publication which contains the aocount is -Berious, and appears under the auspices of men who have proved their devotion to science. A novelty will be introduced in the large yacht race at our next anniul regatta in the form of an iron yacht, locally built. The work is proceeding at Mr Hawkeswood's Staffordshire Iron Works, and the vessel will be the property of the workmen employed in -that shop. The framework has already been finished, and the plates are being riveted, Although the work has been delayed owing to Che difficulty in procuring suitable material. The yacht is S3 feet keel, 9 feet beam, and 6 fbet depth of hold. Her plates are 316tbs and |th inch. She will be very strong, and lies builders hope she will give a good account of herself in sailing. This venture in yacht building will be watched with great interest. — *' Auckland Evening Star."

The "Wanganui Herald" saya that the departure of the Malay is delayed owing to fhe difficulty of obtaining seamen. A heavy Twnua is being offered for the run over to Now South Wales.

The " Times" has published a condensed account of a " preliminary report" which has been issued by the Royal Commission appointed at the instance of Mr Plimsoll "to inquire into the alleged unseaworthiness of British registered ships." The substance of the report is contained in its concluding paragraphs, in which the Commissioners recapitulate the schemes suggested for a compuleory surrey and classification of merchant shipping under Lloyd's or Government, and oounter evidence '" throwing doubt upon all such proposals," and tending to thow that " Government interference would only make matters worse, and end their preliminary report as followß : — " Amid these conflicting opinions it it impossible, in the present state of our inowledge, to offer with, any confidence any recommendation on this subject. We hare leferred to it here in the hope of directing public attention to a question which has often been treated as if it were of easy solution ; it involves, however, a great principle of public -policy which should not be adopted or rejected without comprehensive and searching examination." The Commissioners draw attention to the material change in the law which has occurred since their appointment, and which given the Board of Trade full powers to detain tuueftworthy ships. Before recommending any further legislation, they think it would be Well to observe the effect of the new enact--S&ent. The witnesses suggested to toe OomfßUiion by Mr Plimsoll, the report observe?, did not much assist our investigation, and we lost valuable time in trying to elicit facts from the casual observations and unrecorded recollections relating to former events. We obtained, however, more trustworthy evidence from other sources, and although among to jnany witnesses there was, as might be expected, much difference of opinion, yet it was •ufficiently proved that ships were not unfreiqaently sent to sea in an unseawortby condition." In another portion of the report the Commissioners observe : — " He (Mr Plimsoll) Tim the merit of having called attention to the loss of life which occurs in the mercantile marine from the oulpable neglect of shipOwners, as well ab from other preventable causes. Some allowance may therefore be made for assistance and exaggerations which ■wo are obliged occasionally to notice." The Commissioners state that, in their opinion, ** there w no ground for the imputation made by Mr Plimsoll that the Board of Trade detired to screen the shipowners."

It does not admit of doubt that the revival Id American shipbuilding is likely to be permanent. Of late our competitors bave gone ahead Burprieingly, and it is announced that iron ships oaa now be built more cheaply on the Delaware than on the Clyde. An inte* seating account has recently been published of the extraordinary enterprise of Mr John £oach, a leading iron-ship builder, having extensive yrorka at New ' York, and a large jard at 'Chester on the Delaware "I save an immense number of hands by the

operation," he say?, " aud save relatively more handß than any of the English shipbuilders do, because I adopted, after thorough trial, labour-saving machinery that they have recently adopted, or expect to adopt, in the futuro. So I am ahetid of them in that. They are alow, and wunfc to use their old machinery for a while." And then just here the misfortunes of the English trade came to Mr Roach's aid. Wages went up along the Clyde. The crisis came in the coul trade. "Itiß as certain as can be," continued the builder, " that gu>' American-built ships are now the best in the world, and that we shall work for other nations is shown by the fact that I have already been approached in a business way in regard to building iron steamships for merchants in a certain country near England. My price for a better article was a little better than the Clyde men presented." Allowing for the Yankee bounce with which these statements are flavored, there is the undeniable fucfc that Mr Eoach, within the last 18 months, ha 9 octnully built, or has now on the stocks, 12 iron ships of the aggregate burden of 27,400 tocp.