SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

West Coast Times, Issue 619, 18 September 1867, Page 2

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

PORT OF HOKITIKA.

High Watee This Day. — 1.10 a.m. ; 1..15 p.m. September 17. — 6 a.m., wind East; barometer, 30.02 jtherometer, 49. — 1 p.m. ; wind, y.W. ; barometer, 30.00 ; therometer, 62 ; weather cloudy and threatening! 6 p.m.— wind variable, very light* ; barometer? 29.97; theremeter, 56 ; weather clearer.

AERIVED. September 17. — Huntress, p.s., Murphy, from Buller. Carey and Gilles, agents. Florence, ketch, Priest, from Greymputh. Royse,' Mudie and Co., agents.

SAILED. Sept. 17. — Harriet Nathan, barque, Simpson, for Hobart Town. Rambler, schooner, Findly, for Greymouth.

Falcon, schooner, Ross, for Greymouth.

, rXTEEED IS. Enterprise, 27 tons, S. Hatfield, from Fox's River.

Huntress, 53 tons, J. Murphy, from Westport. 12 passengers. Florence, 51 tons, H. Priest, from Greymouth.

CIEABED OH. Harriet Nathan, 113 tons, H. Simpson, for Hobart Town. In ballast. Rambler, 72 tons, J. Cairns, for Greymouth. Falcon, 42 tons, S. Ross, for Greymouth.

EXPECTED AttBIVALS. Claud Hamilton, from Sydney, 25th inst. Egmont, s.s., from Melbourne, 27th inst. Lord Ashley,* s.s., from Nelson, 21st inst. Alhambra, s.s. from Melbourne, early. Beautiful Star, s.s., from Dunedin, early. 10, schooner, from Melbourne, Daily. Jessie, schr., from Sydney, daily. John Bullock, schr.,*from Melbourne, early. Pilot, schr., from Melbourne, early. Nil Desperandnm, brig, from Dunedin, early. Mary Anne, sehr., from Melbourne, early. PBOJECTED DEPABTPRES.

E.SI.S.S. Kaikoura, from Wellington, for Panama, Oct. 8. Alice, schr., for Fox's eai'ly. Harry Bluff, cutter, for Fox's, early. lona, schr., for Pakiki, early. Glhnpse, cutter, for Manakau, to-day. Elizabeth, cutter, for Pakihi, to-day. Huntress, p.s., for Fox's Buller, and Mokihinui, to-day.

Lord Ashley, for Bluff Harbor, Dunedin and Lyttelton/22nd iust.

VESSELS IN POET.

Barques — Alma, Bella Vista, Glencoe.

Brig — Mary Grant.

Brigantines — Isabella (lighter), Hannah Newton, Anne Moore, Sarah and Mary, Mary, Seabird, Clara, and TJnion.

Schooners — lona, Star of Tasmania, Florence, Sea Ripple, Falcon, Canterbury, Storm Bird, Elizabeth Curie, J. B. Russell, William and Julia, Isabella Jackson, Matilda, Three Friends, Flying Cloud, Nile, Alice.

Cutters— Glimpse, Elizabeth, and Harry Bluff.

Ketches — Mary Anne, Brothers and Sister, Cymraes, and Enterprise.

Steamers — Challenge, Golden Land, Yarra, Lioness, Huntress.

IMPOETS.

Per Enterprise, from Fox's River — 3 pigs matting, 3 do calico, 3 kegs butter, 1 ton galvanised iron, 1 bale blankets, Hatfield.

Per Huntress, from Westport — 50 sheep, 12 pigs, Jones and M'Glasban. • Per Florence, from Groymoutb — 90 tons coal, order ; 19 pkgs bacon, 2 do ham, 1 do lard, Royse Mudie and Co.

EXPORTS. Per Rambler, for Greymonfh — 1 piledriving machine, 'Rochfort.

Per Falcon, for Greymouth — 50 bales chaff, 150 bags bran, Royse Mudie and Co.

JThe__ke_teh Florence, coal-laden from Greymouth, was towed in by the Persevere yesterday morning. She left the Grey on Monday, and made the roadstead the same night. Captain Priest reports the arrival of the cutter Lapwing at Greymouth on Monday. She is from Dunedin. The p.s. Huntress left port on Saturday last at 11.50 a.m., fairly freighted for tho Nelson goldfields poi-ts. She called at Fox's at 7.30 p.m., landed a few passengers and 5 tons of cargo, and proceeded to Mokihinui, arriving there at 9 a.m. next day. Landed 29 passengers, and after a short stay of twenty minutes, recrossed the bar and steamed for Westport, which she reached at 11 a.m. Disembarked passengers, and next morning discharged 20 tons of cargo, leaving again on her way to head-quarters at 1 p.m. Ran in to Woodpecker Bay at 4.30 p.m., and having received a few passengers on board, left for Hokitika, and anchored off the bar at 3.30 a.ni. yesterday, crossing at tide time. She brings back 12 passengers. Captain Murphy reports that the schooners Tauranga and Clyde, both bound to Auckland, were towed out of the Buller on Monday. The steamers Southland and Wallaby had arrived at the Buller from Wauganui, each loaded with cattle. The former landed 29 head and a mob of sheep in excellent condition, and was to leave on her return to Wanganui on Monday night. The Wallaby had not finished discharging when tho Huntress left. Tho 6tranded brig Mountain Maid, has become a total wreck She washed off the North Bpit, and relanded on. the South, where her remains were sold by auction on Monday. The appearance of the bar was absolutely enticing yesterday, so smooth and withal wide and deep was the channel running through it. The port has wonderfully improved of late, and providing a few simple measures are adopted to protect the inner side of the North Spit from floods, wo feel confident that the depressing events of the last six months will not be repeated, and that vessels will, as of yore, find their way in and out of the river without let or liiudrance. Tho channel is slowly working South, causing a proportionate extension of Ihe North Spit in the same direc-

tion, and to preserve the Spit in its integrity, and induce it to make up to the original high ? s.level, should bo one of the chief aims of the local authorities. We shall say no more upon the subject upon this occasion, feeling sure that the honorable secretary for Westland has the interests of the port at heart, aud will adopt preventative measures ere it be too late. We have a few remarks to mako upon the sad condition of the river bank between the upper end of the wharf and the lower end of the protective work at Upper Gibson's Quay. This section of the bank being unprotected, is washing away at a great rate, and if something is not done to check the action of the current there will soon be very little ground left between the tramway and the river. Why not extend the wharf upwards, and so increase the Bhippingaccommodation,and then partition off a section of tho new wharf as a coal depot. Such a proceeding may, perhaps, be objected to on the score of expense, but although that may be heavy, it will be nothing compared to the cost that some day will fall upon tho shoulders of the public to reform Gibson's Quay, and drive the river back to its present channel if a simpler work bo not at once undertaken. "Very little work was transacted upon yesterday's tide, the Huntress and Florence being the only arrivals, whilst the departures were confined to the barquo Harriet Nathan and schooners Falcon and Rambler. The first two ■were towed out by the Lioness, the Falcon by the Persevere, which also brought in the ketch Florence. The" work of discharging the various vessels at the wharf is proceeding apace, and we expect by the evening several of the heavier bottoms will be clear of cargo and probably ballasted in readiness to proceed, to sea on

on to-morrow's tide. Yesterday the schooners Canterbury, Falcon, and Florence finished discharging, and hauld into the outer tier, then.* berths being reoccupied by the schooners J. B. Russell, Flying Cloud and Elizabeth Curie. The Flying Cloud by some means sprung a heavy leak during Monday night, nearly three feet of water being found in her hold yesterday morning. Although she was low down on tho list of applications for quay berths, tho Harbor Master considered the emergency sufficiently pressing to warrant him berthing her at once, and" she wa3 accordingly hauled in to tho berth just vacated by the Falcon. A great deal of her cargo was landed during tho day, aud apparently undamaged. A survey upon tho ground tier will be held this morning.

Some excitement was occasioned on the wharf yesterday by the strange conduct of a man, who, being either drunk or insane, was observed to suddenly take off his coat and jump into .the river. Unable to swim, he sunk like a stone, and would have been drowned to a certainty if ono of the Clara's seamen had not seized a rope and jumped overboard to his assistance. He was hauled on shore rather exhausted, and marched off in custody to the Police Camp, and will be arraigned this morning before the Resident Magistrate. We imderstand that his name is William Day. Snip Building at Auckland. — The " Southern Cross," of September 2, reports : — A number of vessels are on the stocks at our building yards, and the recent improvement in coasting traffic will no doubt have a tendency to hasten their completion. A' screw steamer is on tho stocks at Mr Beddoe's yards, North Shore, which will be speedily fitted with the machinery of the useful little p.s. Prince Alfred, a regular trader to the Kaipara. The Prince Alfred is now being dismantled prior to the removal of her machinery to the new hull at Mr Beddoe's yard. A flat bottomed paddle-wheel steamer made a trial trip at the Bay of Islands eai'ly last week. She has been built to the order of Mr M'Lcod for the traffic on the Kawakawa river, and in order to facilitate the coal mines of tbat place. She is highly spoken of for excellence of build and steaming capacity. A splendid life-boat has been launched here to the order of Captain Souter, of Onehunga, aud intended for tho p.s. Tasmanian Maid, during her service on the West Coast. The boat i 3 built in Messrs Clare and Waymouth's best stylo, and fitted with Clifford's patent lowering apparatus, air-tight tanks, &c. The length of the boat is 18 feet; breadth of beam, 6 feet & inchc3 ; aud depth, 2 feet.