Shipping News.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 599, 31 July 1858, Page 4

Shipping News.

CLEARED. July 29, schooner Maria Louisa, 25 tons, Flight, for Wellington. July 30, schooner Maria Elizabeth, 20 tons, Lucas, for Wellington. > , EXPORTS. In the Maria Louisa, master,' agent: 638 bush. wheat, 251 do, oats, 2 bags carrots, 2 tons potatoes. In the Maria Elizabeth, master, agent: 350 bushels wheat, 70 do. barley, 1 ton carrots. ■ The Nourmahal which sailed hence for Sydney on the 24th inst.,|was detained at the Heads nearly a couple of days by head wind. The brig Mary Clarke, mentioned in our last issue as having been lost off Taranaki, was the property of Messrs. Peacock & Co., merchants, of this place.. She" was insured in Sydney for the trip, thence to this port with permission to call at Taranaki. She had a small cargo of produce on board, shipped by the owners at Lyttelton, i» value about £4,000, which was only partially insured.

DESTRUCTION OE THE JAMES BAINES BY FIXE. (From the «Liverpool Daily Post.') Thursday morning, April 22nd, at six o clock, the stevedores having removed tlie hatches to continue the discharge of cargo ot the James Baines, that celebrated clipper ship was discovered to be on fire. No sooner were the hatches taken off than considerable bodies of smoke were seen to issue from the after par" of the main hold, arid soon the flames were see" to assume a menacing appearance, which, not' withstanding every exertion by the employ? 01" bf James Baines & Co., by the fire brigade, w' the co-operation of every officer and man of tn great Cunard line, assumed a, threatening W pearance. As soon as news of the accicien" •reached town, several fire engines were cics patched, and by half-past ten a.m. there wcic

■ .fl re ongincs; playing on the vessel from the docks on tlw east side, and two from flats stationed on the western quarter, including that of the Cunard Company. At an early hour the ship was scuttled in order that she might fill ■with water from the dock*, but this measure was ineffectual as the immense mass of water noured into her from so many engines to subdue the flames. Indeed, about ten o'clock, the vessel being aground, the water poured out through the scuttles as rapidly as it entered from above. The James Baines left Liverpool on the Bth of August last, having on board 1037 men of the 96th and 42nd Highlanders, for Calcutta, j whom she landed in safety after a rapid passage, and proceeded thence to Bombay. She arrived a<>-ain in.the Mersey, with a full cargo of Indian produce,'consisting of jute, hemp, linseed, and rice. On Sunday the vessel was docked, and on Monday the work of discharging was begun. At first, the'fire"was.confined to the after hold; but the cargo was so inflammable that limitation ; was not continued^ the smoke soon poured from the main and fore holds, and at half-past eleven, when We left the ship, the smoke was coming in dense volumes from the cabin house, and even from the stern windows; while, although no flames were visible, there was no doubt that the cargo was being rapidly consumed. The fire in ■ the fore-hold was then, -however, ,rapidly lessening, and large quantities of water werebeing discharged about the main and after masts, which manifested symptoms-of going by the board. The rigging was fast unfixing, and the yards were being lowered over the side, so as to ease the-fall as much, as possible; and on the whole, it is with great regret we say that little of the cargo; and. but the outer hull, if even that can be expected to be saved. Among those having consignmentsi'of cargo, we have heard reported Whitaker, Whitehead &_Co., 3400 bags linseed;" valued at £3500, and 4~100 ditto rice, value £2400. Liftledale & Co. are also large holders of cargo; but we cannot thus early state the contents of owners more specifically. As soon as the fire took head the vessels adjacent were removed out of the neighbourhood, and the precautions used,, as : well as the happy circum- • stance that the wind is low, afford almost assurance that the fire will be confined to the one hull; There seems every reason to suppose that the fire originated in! spontaneous combustion. The donkey engine? of the Satellite was doing good work. Mr. Duncan, the water engineer was present to afford every cooperation possible. (From the 'Times,' 24th April.) The magnificent clipper ship—the pride of the owners, of the Black Ball line of Australian packets (Messrs. James Baines and Co.) —now lies a huge cinder in the Huskisson Dock, with the fire-engines still playing upon her charred timbers. Little-more can be said than that she appears to be a complete wreck, although it is hoped that portion of her hull which is submerged will be found. to be uninjured. With respect tb the question of insurance, it is said that a misunderstanding has :arisen between the owners and the underwriters. Before sailing for Calcutta in : August last,; she was insured for twelve months, the term of the insurance expiring in June next; but on- her arrival in Liverpool on the: 10th,- and after being safely docked, it is said that Messrs. Baines and Co. wrote to their underwriters suggesting that, as the ship was in port, the period of insurance might be restricted, but that no answer was returned to that communication until the ship was .announced to be .on fire [yesterday. The owners insist upon the liability of the underwriters, who, .however, claim immunity from risk, on the plea that r by mutual consent the period over which . the vessel had been insured had been restricted to a date prior to the ship taking fire. The following: is a copy of a letter posted to-day in the underwriters' rooms :— "Liverpool, April.22. <' Sir,—By the telegram the total destruction of the James Baines would reach. Lloyd's. The origin of the fire is only surmised to have arisen from' spontaneous combustion. 'Twixt decks were all discharged yesterday, and the lower hatches.taken off in the presence of the surveyors, no damage bf any kind being perceptible. I understand the : remainder of the cargo consisted of rice, seed, and jute, and if the fire was smothering tlie admission of air may account for its bursting out. The ship was scuttled, but it was only a" 12-feet tide; hence it was useless, as there was. not much more water in dock than the ship drew. It is reported that the time policy on the ship .was cancelled. on the nineteenth instant. Scarcely any shipowners insure ; from fire in the Liverpool docks, experience showing that the risk has never been considered worth guarding against. The premium at 6d. per cent, would be sufficient/but the stamp duty on the policy is severe: Would not this be a good opportunity for the underwriters and shipowners to memorialise the Court of Exchequer to reduce the stamp duty on fire policies on shipping to 6d. for £1 per annum, instead of 35.? A revenue would be obtained which does not exist, and it would be an encouragement to insure. It strikes me the question has never been sufficiently considered, although I have often suggested it to the shipowners, but the obstacle was stamp duty. With the Rivington Pike water, and proper appliances at the dock quays, tons of water could poured into a ship. In this instance the'sciittling with only a 12-feet tide did injury, as when she grounded the water pumped into her ran out. The dock authorities should be compelled iri the bill now before Parliament to provide complete waterpipes for extinguishing fires along the dock quays. The opportunity afforded for the introduction of such a clause would be amply justified by the present calamity if brought under the notice of the Board of Trade. "I remain, Sir, your obedient"servant, "11. C. Chapman, Agent for Lloyds. "To Capt. G. A. Halstead, R.N. Sec. of Lloyds.' Loss op the Ship Sutlej, bound fob Melbourne—On the 31st March, the Sutlej, Captain Grant, bound for Melbourne, and partly laden with timber, left Dundee Roads, and was tinfortunately wrecked near the Elbow End of the Abertay Sands. The vessel had on board 1,400 tons of a general cargo, valued at £25,000.

I On leaving Dundee Roads, the Sutlej was towed I out to sea by two tug-steamers • and, upon being cast off by them, it is stated that, much to the surprise of all on board the steamers, the Sutlei bore away to the W. S. W., directly out of her course. About this time the captain was under the impression that the vessel slightly touched the ground, but the pilot assured him that it was only the sea striking the counter. It had been pre-arranged for the captain to make a signal to the principal owner, Mr. W Clark, onboard one of the tug-steamers, when the Sutlej was safe out of the river; and upon the pilot informing the captain that the ship was all clear, the signal was made by dipping the ensign. Scarcely, however, had this taken place, when the ship struck heavily, and upon the pumps being sounded, six-feet of water was reported in the hold, Both pumps, were instantly set to work and in;a few minutes the water had gained to eight feet; and the leakage progressed with such force, that the ship became unmanageable. Seeing that the ship was first sinking, the captain ordered the crew to take to the boats and with the assistance of the pilot cutter, which was ; in attendance, the whole of the crew, 26 in number, were ultimately saved, and the captain had to jump overboard to save himself from sinking with the ship. The Sutlej was insured for £3,500 at Dundee, and in London and Glasgow for nearly the remainder of the value of her cargo. Various rumours are abroad as to the cause of the disaster; and we understand that the local Marine Board and the Pilotage committee intend investigating the sad occurrence.