Shipping News.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 625, 3 November 1858, Page 4

Shipping News.

SAir,Ei>,

Oct. 30. schooner Mary Louisa, 20 tons, Toohig, for Wellington, Oct. 31, brigantine Adolphus Yates, 109 tons, Bell, for Sydney. Passengers, Messrs. Dowding and Gowegge.

Nov. ], barque Matador, 2.00 tons, Lindsay, for Newcastle, N. S. W., in ballast, Nov. 2. schooner Uiru, 20 tons, Toomey, for Akaroa, in ballast.

CLEARED.

Nov. 2, brigantine Corsair, 1.34 tons. Gay, for Tivnaru, with full cargo station stores, and Sundries, Order.

EXPORTS.

In the Mary Louisa, F. Noble Campbell & Co., agents; 209 bushels wheat, 510 lbs. bacon, Nathan; 123 bushels wheat,-Gould and Miles; 365 do. do., Jones. In the Adolphus Yates, Cookson, Bowler,'& Co., agents; 5 casks hides, 21 tons potatoes, 504 bushels oats,Cookson, Bowler, & Co.; and part original cargo from Sydney.

! New Vessels Longer than the Lkvia- ! than. —While public attention has been attracted Iso strongly by the unusual dimensions of the i Leviathan that the name of that vessel is in ! everybody's mouth, it happens singularly enough ! that two Vessels of greater length and of a more remarkable character have been advancing to completion without the .general public being even cognisant of their existance. These vessels are each 700 feet long. They have been constructed by Messrs. Vernon & Son for the Oriental Inland Steam Company, and are intended for the navigation of the Indian rivers. The purpose of their peculiar features of construction is to enable a large cargo to be carried at a good rate of speed upon a light draught of water. The great rivers of India, though penetrating far into the interior, and though containing large volumes of water, are nevertheless, shallow during the dry season. The vessels navigating them must, therefore, float very light, and yet they must have displacement enough to carry a good cargo. They must have strength enough not to suffer a little injury if they should get aground and they must present such little resistance to the water as to be able to achieve a satisfactory rate of progress against the stream. All these indications are admirably fulfilled in the vessels now in course of construction. The necessary displacement is got by giving the vessel great length. But as great length, without other provision, would involve great weakness, each vessel is broken up into six parts, each of which parts floats and is a complete vessel of itself, so that each vessel consists, in fact, of six independent vessels, or barges, of which the first one is a steamer, towing all the rest. The constituent barges of the train, however, are so articulated to one another by circular joints as to leave no material vacuity between them, while permitting the train to bend sideways in. passing any curve in the river: and the train will not sustain injury should it ground upon an uneven surface, since each barge will settle on the bottom for itself, which the nature of the connections enables it to do. If barges of the common form were placed side by side, instead of articulated barges being placed end to end, it is clear that the resistance would be so much increased that but little progress could be made against the stream; -whereas by the mode of construction adopted this impediment is altogether averted. We cannot but regard the construction of these vessels as a vast step in advance in the art of navigating shallow rivers by steam, and as we understand that, even with the very imperfect vessels the navigation of the Indian rivers has heretofore returned a profit of from thirty to forty per cent., we .cannot doubt that, with vessels of such improvedefficiency, a still more eminent measure of success will be attained. We understand that-this new species of vessel was designated by Mr. Bourne, civil engineer, 10 years ago, to correct the defects which his personal investigation in India enabled him to discover in the common modes of navigation pursued in that country, and, after it had received the warm approbation of all the most eminent Engineers and Shipbuilders in this^ country, it was subjected to practical experiment with the most complete success, and, finally, after matured research and practical demonstration had been gone through, these vessels have been constructed.— -Liverpool Albion.