SHIPPING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3281, 12 August 1872, Page 2

SHIPPING.

POUT CirAL3|Bßa— M'fWHT 11. Wind S.W.,frfpi^br«eze, squally. Weather fine, dowdy. High water on the J2tb Affgutl--At the Heft<r», 8.10 ; Port Ctal*' mere, ,8.40; DuirtJia, 0,25. . POUT CFrALMERS OBSERVATORY.' fatittKfr, 45.48.55 sooth ; longitude, lib. 22m. 3# *«;. cast. Time ball drops daily (SundnyH exempted), at I p.m., J'Ort Cbalrntra mean time, or Ife Zltu. 23*ccb. a.m. Greenwich mean time. AitlirVAlJ*. August 10— Klbsa M'l'bce, lifctch, from C'atlin'B River. Keith Uainaay, agent. .August H-—Maori, i'.H,, li# tons, Malcolm, from Lyttcltou, Bth inst., via inter-' mediate \iorXu. J. Mills, ago/it. Pasßeu-gc-rrs : Mr find Mnj Hodges and child, Mrs F'-rguKf)ii and child, Mif-8 Jenny Nyc, 3lw»J>r» Crocorube, Dignan, Austin, f«»nKeigne, Oipt. Tooker, and 3 in the steerage. StoraVMr'l, h «., <5S tons, Fraacr, from Fort Molyneux. Jf. Houghlon and Co., agent. OKi'A/i'rrniEH. August 10—Wild Deer, ship, 1010 tons, Whitson, for London. Cargilla ami M'Lean, agents. Passenger*: Mr and Mrs Low, lire Hall and 2 children, Mrs Gordon, family (. ri), and servant, Mr» Uric and 2 children, Mnj Forbea and 3 children, Capt., ] Mns, and M-inter Mncfarlane, and three in ! the steerage. P. C, X., barque, 291 tons, Sampson, for Newcastle. Keith Ramsay, agent. CUSTOMS ENTRIES, INWARDS, August 10—Defiance, 22 tons, Burke, from Kakanui, with cargo. Keith .Ramsay, agent. Napier, 1J 77 U>hb, Hatfield, from London, M'ith cargo. Bright Bros, and Co., agents. oirnvAKPfs. August 10—Emulous, 157 tons, Patergon, far Bluff, with cargo. G. S. Brodrick, agent. IMPORTS, Per Maori : From l^yttelton —5 cases, Gregg and Co ; 50 hides,Coombea ;3 trunks, Jfaymansoii ; 8 hhdH, Marshall and Copeland ; 14 do, Burke; 10 pkga, N. Z. Distillery ; 1 pkg, Herbert, Haynes, and Co; 1 -do, Austin. From Akaroa^—4 |J^K S» Scoular : 8 do, .1 JNiid ; 40 cases, Harbour Co; C pkgs, Houghton ; 5 pkgs, Q F Reid. From Timaru—l hhd, Harbour Co ; 2 ba(.'B, Scoular ; />l2 Hacka, Neill and Co; 889 cases, 102 fsackn, O O Russell and Co ; 27 Ikllh, f/aiiHcigtio ; 330 cheep, Wright, Stephen«on, and (Jo, Per Defiance : From Kakanui—loo cages, O (i KuflHoll and Co ; 5 caaka, M'Jjeod and Co. From Allday Hay- 108 hags, Anderson and Mowat. EXPORTS. Per Emulous, for Bluff: Lot coal, Brodrick. SHIPPING TELhGHAMS. Auckland, August 10th. Sailed.—Nebraska, for Honolulu. U'p.i.r.fNOTO.v, August 11th. Sailed.—Wellington, for the .South. The ketch Eliza MThee arrived from Catlin's River on Saturday, with a cargo of sleepers for the Port Chalmers Railway. The s.h. Maori arrived from her usual Northern trip at 0.30 p.m. yesterday, and berthed alongside the I'ort Chalmers jetty; her pawiongors were brought to town by the <Jompany'H boat Golden Age. The Maori came into harbour with her flags half-mast, through the losa of her second mate overboard, Tho particulars are below. Thesteatncr left Lyttelton at 7 p.m. on the Bth ; reached Akaroa at 11.'15 p.m. ; sailed at 1 a.m. on the 9th, and had fine weather to Timaru, arriving there at 11.30 a.m. ; left at 7 p.m., called at Oamaru at midnight, danger signals being shown she proceeded to sea at 1 a.m. without communicating with the shore—the wiud •was then S. E., and a nasty roll setting in— Aneroid down to 28.90. After Hailing, the wind chopped round to S., then into 8. W. Btrong, and when off Shag Reef at 4.45 a.m. the forestayaail blew adrift, and the fiecond mate, Alfred .fames, and a seaman, Robert Pearson, went on the forecastle to secure it; in doing bo, tho vessel took a plunge in the nasty short cliop of a sea caused by the change of , j wind, shipped a heavy one, and washed James j overboard. Pearson was thrown down under- j . neath the windlass and heard JaniCH cry out l from opposite the forechains. Life-buoys I ■were thrown overboard, in hopes that the t poor fellow would get one. The vessel was j j kept cruising about for three hours, but no signs of James were observed. The night! was dark and rainy ; and with a heavy sea ; on, it was not safe to lower n boat at the * time of the accident. Tho engines wera ' I eased, and her speed thus lessened as a pro- c caution for tho safety of the men forward. ] James was a native of Bridport, England, aged 31, and leaves a wife and family in 1 Duuedin to mourn his loss. He was eight or l nine years in vessels on the coast, and pre- '1 vious to joining the Maori was an officer in « the Beautiful Star and Wainui.steamers, and highly respected by all who knew him. The ship Wild Deer, for London, was towed to sea on Saturday morning by the a p.s. Geelong, and left four miles oil* with a 1 light fair wind from S.W., and all sail set. t The P. 0.8.,.8., barque, for Newcastle, was c towed to sea on Saturday afternoon by the Geelong. n The new fish torpedo has been privately jf l tested in the canal at the Royal Arsenal, si Woolwich, in the presence of a number of S officers connected with the Royal Laboratory Department; and the result is understood to , have been satisfactory, but nothing is definitely known in reference to these experi- a ments, as great care was taken to exclude ri any but authorised officials from witnessing ti them. This torpedo, when fully rigged j, with the explosive chamber at its head, ' t and the propelling screw and steering apparatus at its tail, is quite 20 feet long, n' tho iron hah-shaned body, which forms na the middle portion, being simply the bi vessel which carries the motive power, v , an atmospheric engine working by com- ! pressed :ur, with a pressure of 10001b. on tho square inch. This is the first of these ,°l torpedoes made in England, but it is under- ri stood that a similar system has been tried in »i Austria with great success. Certain im- r( provementa have, however, been made in the design at tho Royal Laboratory, which it " is believed and expected will prorc highly ni advantageous. The explosive charge will be fii IGOlbs of gun-cotton, fired by'percussion on of striking a ship, or any other obstacle, but in fa the experiments just made at Woolwich the charge waa dispensed with.' About thirty * torpedoes of the saire description are in . course of manufacture at the Royal Labora- pi tory Department, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, w in addition to others of different construe,' ga lion.—The Times, May 22. .'.,*' SCREWS v. SIDE-WHEELERS The San Franciaco News Letter, under f o : "the head of *' Some plain truths about Steamship Lines," speaks as follows :— sc . The authoritative statement that an En- he glisli steam line is about to compete for the at trade between San Francisco and China has, to during tho past week, acted like a bombshell 40 among steamboat men. To the uninitiated W it may appear strange that an unsubsidised line mi has the slightest chauce against a company '. drawing on-j million dollars por annum from ms Uncle Sam's Treasury. This seeming anomaly pei will disappear when we come to understand W ■what n perfect revolution there has been in Au steamship building during tho last few years, gui The truth is, that it requires a Jarge sub- i sidy- to put a line of wooden aide-wheel fail steamers, constructed a few years ago, on a adi par jwith.the.iron propellers of to-day.- A pa< few facts will suflice to conclusively show 4y that this is so. * One of the best representa- pei tives of the side-wheel class of steamers is tho , J Nevada, of Webb's line. Let us see what a' wo comparison between her and an iron, propeller' tio -with the recent improved and economical com- laa pound engines will work out. The Nevada 8s <cost in her construction 300,000 dollars. To ( make the voyage bet ween Honolulu and Auck- { sal<

,lao4 in an average ot peventeeh days, she con* ;Buraeß OOO.tonstof coal. To keep her in repiir involves an expenditure equal to net first cost every ten yeara. We have heforiTtts a statement by one of the b*»t-known ehipfeuildin^ finns on the Clyde, showing,the cost, and capactiy of an iron prbpcllerl A steamer not quite so large as tb<*Neva/la,-bufc able to carry a great deal m6ro cargo, because she' would require m much l«wcoal t built of iron, and supplied with f compound engines and all' the latest improvements, would bo built for 150,000 dollars. She would be guaranteed to Htcii/i the distance between Auckland and Jfonolulu in thirteen days, upon a total consumption of 200 tons of coal. An iron steamer classed Al for twenty-one years, usually requires but little repairing during that jKjriod. JS'oW let us look upon the one picture and upon the other, find what do wo find? The English iron propeller costs just half as much ac the American wooden side-wheeler, and she atearns twenty per cent, faster ujkiu sixty per cent, less coal per day; while in the matter of repairs the difference is so great that it is next to impossible to make auy c mparison between them. If we reckon the cost of coal at the very moderate average of nine dbllara per ton, the saving In this one item alone for the thirteen round voyages per annum to be made between here and Melbourne, would be within a fraction of 300,000 dollars—a sum which in itself ia equal to a handsome subsidy ! Then, ;as 33,000 tons less coal would have to be carried, there would be room for that much more cargo. As the steamers coat one-half less to build, it follows that the interest upon capital would be reduced by one-half. The voyages being performed in twenty per cent, less .time, the cost of keeping passengers would be reduced in an equal ratio. And beyond and above all, the steamers would successfully compete with rival routes, and be equal to the inexorable commands of trade arid commerce for rapid transit. These are very plain truths, requiring grave consideration. The future of San Francisco very Largely depends upon the manner in which she controls the commereeof the Pacific by'means of steam lines. To do'this successfully, we must proceed upon a sound basis. We must not shut our eyes to facts. The railway has no more certainly superseded the old waggon road than has the modern iron propeller the ancient wooden side-wheeler. They understand these things better in tho East, where, at the rate of 360 milea per day* or almost railroad speed, the Atlantic is being crossed in less tnaneightdays. Senator Chandler, who, as the Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, has perhaps a better opportunity than any other man in the United States to become acquainted with these subjects, delivered a speech on the subsidy question which was pregnant with stern truths. As that speech possesses special Interest to San Francisco, we print as much of it as our space will afford. It will be seen that the objection which proved fatal was not to the granting of a subsidy to an Australian line, but td the uncommercial character of the ships with which it waa proposed to run it. [Then follows an extract from Senator Chandler's speech, already published by us.]