IMPORTS.

Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 478, 6 February 1869, Page 2

IMPORTS.

Per Spray, from Lyttelton : 700 sacks oats, 1 ton cheese, 2 casks cheese, 2 cases do, 18 kegs, 2 jars, butter, order ; 4 cases cheese, 38 kegs butter, 5 casks cheese, D Maclean and Co ; 79 sacks malt, 1 case apparel, 30 cheese, order ; 36 pigs, 80 fowls, 20 clucks, 40 cheese, Captain Raxton ; 1 goat, Fielder. Per Kennedy, from Nelson ; 1 qr wine, De Costa ; I case, Shannon ; 1 package, Parkinson; 1 case, Skogland ; 12 kegs butter, Coates ; 1 hhd hardware, 1 parcel, 113 bags Hour, M Levy ; I case fish, N Edwards and Co; 4 hhds ale, 6 qrs do, Taylor ; 1 case grindery, 1 truss leather, 1 box nails, 1 bale Feather, Wright; 4 packages leather, O'Brien; 1 bale leather, 1 case grindery, 1 box nails, order; 12 tons potatoes, 17 kegs butter, 12 cases eggs, 16 packages bacon, 60 cases apples, 2 cases poultry, Lockerby ; 1 box, 2 bags, Soul ; 3 kegs butter, 2 cases eggs, Har. ling ; 1 parcel magazines, Moss ; 1 bale leather, White; 2 cases eggs, Woolcock'; 20 bags potatoes, 2 cases fruit, Pickard ; 1 keg butter, Coates ; 1 case eggs, Wooloock ; 27 cases, 1 keg butter, 1 bag, 13 do potatoes, Carter j 8 cases. Lockarbv- From Westport: 6 cases, Talbot. From Hokitika : 5 packages fish, Tainui ; 3 cases drugs, Prosser ; 1 trunk, Maxwell ; 1 bag guano, White ; 1 pocket hops, Kennedy Broa ; 20 cases cheese, Taylor.

The s.s. Beautiful Star left Westport yesterday afternoon and will arrive here early this morning. She is announced to sail in the afternoon for Westport, Nelson, &c. The ketch Alert, Captain M 'Donald, from Westport, was towed into the river by the p.s. Dispatch oa Thursday evening. She is in ballast. The ketch Brothers and Sisters, Captain Morton, from Hokitika, sailed in over the bar on Thursday morning. She is in ballast, and will ship coal for Hokitika, The schooner Spray, Capt. Ruxton, from Lyttelton, was seen off the bar early on Thursday morning, after a smart run round, and was brought in by the p.s. Dispatch on the afternoon's tide, She left Lyttelton at six p.m. on the 27th ult., and made a splendid run to Cape Farewell in thirty hours, with a fine S.E. wind. Had she Keen as successful on the const she would have completed the trip in three days, but as it was for three days she encountered light variable winds and calms. On the 3rd inst., at i eight a.m., a good breeze sprang up from tlie -N.E., which brought her up to the roadstead the same night, where she kept dodging about until brought in by the tugr. Captain Ruxton reports having passed the Jane Anderson at 8 a.m. on the 30th, off Wanganui Inlet, and at 6 p.m. the same day the Banshee, off Rock's Point. On the 2nd he exchanged signals with the schooner Wild Wave, bound for .Lyttelton. While the Spray was becalmed the sea in the vicinity of the schooner appeared to be literally swarming with fish, and one monster of the deep hovering about. Captain Ruxton thought it was a large shark, and tried to harpoon it, but failed. While the crew were -watching the big fish, it leapt clean out of the water, and showed itself to be an enormous swordh'sh, measuring about 14 feet long, and having a sword about 6 feet in length, The Cape Standard of the 22nd October reports the wreck of the ship Borderer, from Penang to London. At the thr.e of tre wreck the weather was very severe, and the currents strong ; so much so that experienced commanders used to the coast found it a difficult task to steer clear of dangerous points. The Borderer was an iron Glasgow built ship of 1062 tons, commanded by Captain Levach, was owned by Messrs Willis of London, and was bound from Penang to London or Liverpool, with a valuable carpo. The captain and twelve of the crew reached the shore in one boat, but the remainder of the crew (12) have not yet been heard of, except that the boat in which they embarked was picked up by the steamer Namakua twenty-four ndles offL'Agulhas. The Japan Herald of. 17th October says : — The H. I. M, steam corvette Dupleix arrived at this, port this afternoon with the shipwrecked officers and crew of the ill-fated Rattler. We have been able to glean, a few additional particulars which we publish: we presume that an official investigation into the matter is pending, and until that is held a full account of the disaster will" be reserved. The details of onr inquiry are as follows : — On the 24th- September, at 6 o'clock a.m., when off Cape Soya, and under an easy pressure of steam, with not a ripple on the water to indicate any approaching danger, the vessel struck violently on a ieef of submerged rocks. Strenuous efforts were at once made-^-engines were reversed, and every available measure adopted — in the endeavor to get her off, without the slightest success; in fact, it was quickly discovered that the famous Rattler was doomed to become a total wreck, She had run into a gap, or fissure in the rocks, and is irrevocably fixed until she is broken up by the waves, to founder in pieces in the deep water close to the reef. Fine weather prevailed during the. day, and no immediate danger to life was apprehended, but at night the ra I from the soutbtwest freshened, and the se.% commenced to rise, causing the vessel to thump with crushing effect. As she began to fill rapidly, immediate measures were then taken for the safety of the crew, and as much .baggage and provisions as time would permit were removed twenty-four hours after she struck ; this was accomplished, and all were smm in safety on shore, some with their kits and some without, but with a few days pro-' visions for the whole crew. A messenger was at once sent to Hakodate for assistance, and after fourteen days of anxious waiting on half allowance, the Dupleix hove in sight, took them all on board, and brought them to this port. The value of the ship is said to tic £80,000, .