IMPORTS.

West Coast Times, Issue 672, 19 November 1867, Page 2

IMPORTS.

Ivcera, from Duncdin — 1 bale drapery, G-. Moss ; 2 boxes, Perkins ; 1 bos, Lockharfc ; 1 case drapery, Whyte and Pirie ; 2 cases, 1 truss, S. W. Alcorn ; 1 case saddlery, Hargen j 2 cases drapery, Isaacs j 1 bale, Cassius ; 1 trues drapery, Mathiesj 2 trusses, 1 bale drapery, J. Holmes ; 2 trusses, C. Meyer ; 2 trusses, draper)', Cohen Brothers; 2 trusses, Isaacs and Co ; 1 truss, Taylor and Co ; 1 case hardware, Cliiug and Co ; 1 bale drapery, Solomon ani Co ; 1 case, 2 trunks, Malloy Brothers; 1 case, While and Co; 8 cases hams, H. Staite : 2 cases drapery, Graves and Co ; 1 case snuff, Meudershausen ; 4 boxes, Watkins ; 1 case, 1 bale drapery, Graves and Co ,- 8 cases, 1 bale drugs, J".' Williams ; 1 case drapery, Pritehard and Co. Per Florence, fiom Grey mouth — 80 tons coal, Boyse, Mudio and Co.* Per Hope, from Charleston — 3000 palings, Haworth and Co ; 5 cases paperhangings, 10 drums oil, 20 kegs paint, Gn-iffin ; 4 doors, 2 bundles sashes, Walter and Craig ; 5 tons coal, Henry White. Per Elizabeth, from Pakihi — 192 hides, 400 sheepskins, T. Peak ; 1200 palings, Craig and Co; 1 cask blacksand, Bank of New Zealand. Per Aurora, from Molyneur— 1-99 bags oats, 130 bags potatoes, 26 bag»' oatmeal, 23 eases eggs, 5 kegs butter, Edward Beeves and Co. .* • EXPORTS. " Per Waterman, for Melbourne — 43 halfchesta tea, Ecclcsfield Brothers ; 3 bale 3 wool, X. Edwards and Co. Ever desirous to promote tho convenience of the public, the Panama Company has, we no f ice, made very liberal arrangements to pretcnt the recurrence of a disappointment similar to that which, through the Airedale's mishap, beffl several intending pa^.-engprs to England via Wellington and Panama. The improved aud improving condition of the bar ■warrants the belief that, save when closed by etormy weather, the port, for many months to come, will be at all times (tidu permiiting) accessible. But to msike assurance doubly siuv, the company has determined to place all of its steamers that may leave tho West Coast ports for Wellington during the rjonth at the coinmind of intending passengers to America and England via Panama. Thus the necessity of waiting until the last moment to ship by the branch steamer which calls here at the commencement of the month lo gather up the mails and passengers is obviated. The progress of the Alhambra is being duly telegraphed to the agents here. She left Lj ttelton on Sunday night, would reach Wellington yesterday, and may bp confidently expected to arrive here on Thursday morning, to leave direct for Melbourne on the afternoon's tide. We are glad to say that the eteamer Favorite is iig-iin in working order. The repairs to her paddle-box and sponsons were completed yesterday. The schooner Aurora, Captain Weir, sailed from the Molyneux with a strong S.W. breeze and squally -weather, on the Bth inst. Passed Otago Heads next day, still carrying fresh S.W. breezes, which failed her on the 11th, and hauled round to north, hanging light between that point and east during the next twenty-four hours. Then it backed into If.W., and increased to a gale, sending up a tremendous cro33 sea, and next day, the 13th, suddenly chopped into south, and blew furiously for four hours. Light southerly winds succeeded. On tho 14th she passed Cape Campbell, and Brothers Island next day, and when off Stevens' Island, on the 16th, she spoko the brigantine Express, from Wellington, bound to .Newcastle. Tho captain wished to bo reported. The wind came fresh out of north on the 17th, and drove the Aurora up the West Coast at racing .«peed, as she gained the roadstead that night, and was towed in by the Challenge, yesterday, at ti-Je time. She brings a enrgo of produce. Yesterday the Challenge towed in the schooner Aurora, and conveyed the biigantino Waterman to sea. The Ynvra also left the ri-er to compete for the Aurora, but both steamers grounded ou f'e bar — I lie tide being oi >ly quarter flo^d — and .the Challenge, first getting clear, soemvd the prize. Twelve feet of water was reported on tho bar at full tide. Wo have to correct an omission, or, to m:ike use of printer's phraseology, "au out," that occurred in the last sentence of tho paragraph we published in yesterday's issue, concerning enquiries into wrecks and their result. The paragraph should have read—" In the Hume of the shipping and commercial interests of Westland, wo demand that either a verdict shall le delivered hy the Court at the termination of an e>iq»iri/, or that the decision Bhall ba published in the local journals immediately after it has been 6ubmnVcd to and confirmed by tho Governor." The italics were omitted. We consider that the adoption of one of the two courses should bo made imperative, or why hold Courts of Enquiry if, excepting in particular cases, the result is to be kept secret from th? public. Ouly part of tho Enquiry into Wrecks Act makes any pro-vi-ion for tho delivery of a verdict, and that

is where the Court is of opinion that the captain's certificate should be suspended or cancelled. In the instructions laid down to Magistrates and others who form the court, the Act says :— " They should state iv open Court their decision, provisional, on Governor's con- # firmation, in respect to cancelling or suspending the certificate." Thus punishment is considered, but not the exoneration from blame of the shipmaster who may bo so unfortunate as to loose hi 9 vessel by sheer accident, that yet may be attended 'by suspicious circumstances which can only bo sifted by a rigid Court of Enquiry. Prone to uncharitableness tho public may cast upon that man's character most unjust aspersions which nothing could so effectually remove as a straightforward verdict delivered by the Court that tried him ; for be it remembered that only a small minority of even the shipping readers of a newspaper cave to wade through tho Jong and uninteresting reports that cases of enquiry- usually amount to, whilst to those who are not of the " cloth" the report is so much Greek on account of the technicalities with which it is unavoiiliibly interlarded. But a plain decision would be read and understood by tho majority ; then why not give it, and relieve tho public from so unnecessary a pressure of red tape. The steamer Airedale ran back to Bluff Harbor on the 4th instant, through stress of weather, after attempting for four flays to prosecute her voyage to the West Coast Ports, through Foveaux Strait, but could make no headway against fclie severe westerly weather prevailing during that period. Slie left this port at 4 p.m. on tin* 31st ullimo, with a light westerly breeze, which continued until off Windsor Poinf, when it suddenly, changed to tho N.W., with heavy squalls ; carried fove-and-aft sails, and readied as far as the West Cape, the gale still increasing, with a falling barometer. At 4 a.m. on the Ist inst. the vessel wns plunging very much into the head sea, and during a heavy dip the airpump rod of the after engine gave way, which necessitated the vessel being hovc-to ; a spare rod was then substituted, and at 9.30 a.m. the engines were again started, the vessel having in tho meantime driftcl down to Green Island Point. After a hard strugglo against the heavy sea, the vessel gained tho 3hclter of Preservation Inlet, where the anchor was dropped at 5.30 p.m. Captain Kennedy and a party of passengers wont on shore at this place, and in their wanderings discovered several blocks and scams of coal cropping out at places which appear, from tho description givon of tho localitj', to be in the vicinity of tho land lately leased by a Dunedin company. The gale, after anchoring iv Preservation Inlet, incroused in strength, tho squalls coming down wiLh hurricane violence, until midnight on Sunday, tho 3rd iust., when it slightly moderated ; a fresh start was then made at daylight on Monday, and got as far to windward as Chalky Inlet, when the wind again increased to its former violence ; the vc3sol was put about, and sho ran for this port, and anchored uutil 6 p.m., when the anchor was again weighed, and sho van away to the eastward. — " Southland News." ' Charge of Bakuatht against the Captaix oi' the Ship Sylphide. — Tho " Brisbane Courier 6ays :— On Monday, October 28, the British ship Sylphide, Captain Abel Blair, arrived iv Briabaiio Roads from the South Sea Islands. Next day the captain called at the Custom house to report his ship, but did not produce his clearance papers from the last j port of entry. Subsequently a paragraph, which appeared in the "S. M. Herald " of 1 September; 16, referring to an act of barratry on the part of Captain Abel Blair, of the British ship Sj Iphide, was brought under the i notice of Mr Alexander, Lloyd's agent in this I port, and Mr W. Thornton, the Collector of j Customs. This paragraph stated that a circular on the subject, dated at Valparaiso, June 17, had bei-u received by Lloyd's . agency iv j Sydney. It further said that the vessel had left the port, of San Antonio N uevo, in Chili, in March last, with a cargo of wheat, bound for Liverpool. She afterwards put into the port of San Cavloa, and again into Tome, both of which are on the Chilian coast. Tho lastnamed place she left on or about June 1. By this it appcni'3 that the ship was cruising about the Chilian coast for nearly three months!. The next heard of her in this part of the world was her^arriral off Cape Moreton. Since sho came here Captain Blair tells the following story to account for his presence in More! on Bay. He states that he left Chili bound for Liverpool, and succeeded in making Cape Horn. Off this poiut he met exceedingly bad weather, and lost sevo- I ral sj>ars and a quantity of gear, so that Jio XMn for the South Sea Islands to refit. He reached Tahiti, and while there he sold a portion of his cargo of grain, to supply tho vessel with the rigging aud gear wanted. Finally, he alleged that want of hands necessitated -his putting into Moreton Bay. Tho yarn is not a very consistent one, and excited grave suspicions that all was not right, particularly when coupled with the circumstances of the want of clearance papers. Pending tho receipt of further information, Mr Thornton decided upon taking means to prevent the ship leaving this port?, if any disposition to do so were shown by the captain. In the meantime, communications were forwarded per telegraph to Sydney, and yesterday an answer was received per wire which led to a warrant being issued for the arrest of Captain Blair on a charge of piracy. On this Inspector Lloyd took Captain Blair into custody and loJgod him in the lock-up. He was brought up bsforo tho Water Police Court on Friday, and j was remanded for eight days, for tho produc- ! tion of evidence. Bail was applied for and refused. After the arrest of Captain Blair, j Inspector Lloyd succeeded in securing somo of the papers belonging to the ship, amongst which was the original register, which contains the original captain and owner's name, and also the log-book.