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Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 743, 22 October 1870, Page 2

There have been neither arrivals nor departures of shipping at thi3 port since Wednesday night. The p.s. Dispatch is the only vessel in port. The s.s. Alhambra was not telegraphed as having reached Nelson yesterday. She may. however, be expected in this roadstead ou Sunday evening or Monday morning, when she will take passengers for Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide. The Lady Don is on her way round from Lyttelton with the following cargo :-500 ba<*s potatoes, 240 do oat 3. 125 bran, SO do, 39 do sharps, 329 bags flour, 20 balc3 chaff, 10 kegs butter. The Rangitoto from Melbourne, due at Hokitika yesterday, had not arrived when the telegraph office closed yesterday afternoon. No doubt, she will put in an appearance du-ing the night, and if so, will be tendered here in the afternoon. She will take passeugers f or New Zealand ports and Melbourne. The s.s. Wallabi is expected to arrive m port early this mornine, with a cargo of sheep and cattie from Wanganui. She is announced to leave in the afternoon for Westport and Wanganui. Captain Gallio, of the barque Aunfera, which was recently lost off Lord Howes Island, has been arrested ou a charge of scuttling her. From a return which has just been printed, by order of the House, it appears that during the year 1869 the wrecks, casualties, and collidioHS on the coast of the United ] Kingdom, occasioning loss of life, amounted to 211, and the number of, lives lost to 933 ; of these lives, 435 were lost by the foundering of 81 vessels, 288 by the stranding of 69 vessels, 118 by 25 collisions, and 92 by casualties to 36 vessels, attributed to "other causes " When we consider that, notwithstanding the experience of centuries and the number of vessels we have afloat, we have quite lately been discussing the rule of the road at sea, we can hardly be surprised to hear that even on the coasts of the United Kiugdom in one year 118 lives were sacrificed to collisions ; and when we turn to the column which gives the number of "official inquiries held," and fiud a blank under the head of "collisions," and another blank under the head of "other causes," we feel convinced that av.y private inquiry on the subject would be presnmptnotvs to the last degree— more especially when we see that the authorities have been active enough to hold no less than three official inquiries respecting the eighty one '* founderings," and no less than one official inquiry respecting sixty-nine "strandings," making altogether a grand total of four official inquirifs into the causes which led to the loss of 953 nonofficial lives.- Of a truth tho wonders of the deep are not to be compared to the wonders to be seen ashore !