Shipping News.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 603, 14 August 1858, Page 4

Shipping News.

At a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, Melbourne, held on Wednesday, 7th July, a very important memorial, which' is about to be presented to the Governor, was brought up. Its object is to secure to the Port of Melbourne the New Zealand Postal Service; and the Chamber urge that a subsidy of £6000 per annum be placed on the Estimates for this purpose. As a strong1 feeling exists among the mercantile and trading class in favor of this project, the Government, it is believed, will readily accede to the expressed wishes of the Chamber.— Sydney Alornlng Herald, July 12.

The Postal Service.—The unsatisfactory manner iv whiclrthe Mail Service has been carried oil has led to the passing of resolutions in both Houses of Parliament, coi demnatory of past irregularities, and suggesting that the present contract should be terminated,andtheCnnard Company should be invited to run a line of steamers from Panama to Sydney. Since the Royal. Mail Company has obtained possession of the Suez route the colonists have ceased to have any faith jn its zeal for the Panama route, the rnore*especially when they remember the unceremonious way in which the deliberate agreement with Mr. Wetton was burked. Under these circumstances, they turn their eyes to the Cunard Company partly because they have faith that the company would carry out efficiently whatever it undertook, and partly because as it. already runs vessels from Liverpool to the Isthmus, it would only be necessary for them to send some of the half-dozen steamers comprised in their extensive and powerful fleet to commence the service at once. The route from Aspin wall to Liverpool via, New York certainly involves a slight detour, hut this would be compensated for by the union it would effect between Australia and America. Whether the Cunard Company would be willing to undertake the trans-Pacific service is a matter of which we are at present ignorant.

The Sunken Russian Elect at Sebastopol. —The sehoner Silver Key, aid the steamer General Knox. belonging to the American Wrecking Companies, which undertook to raise the vessels of war sunk in the harbor of Sebas-: topol, have returned and are advertised for sale. The attempt to raise the sunken vessels has complerely failed; . not one of them was reciverel. The Black Sea teredo, so often attributed to the well calculated imagination of the Russian Admiralty is a stern reality." It has eaten up the body of the Russian, fleet, leaving only the outer shell. The harbor must remain blocked up until by degrees the work of the teredo is done, and the ships fall; U) pieces. According to the account brought down eightyone vessels were found sunk, which is. much more than ever was known.or supposed.