The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-18 00:00:00

THE FASTEST CLIPPER-SHIP IN THE

WORi.D.

Last (Sunday) night Messrs. James Baines and Co.'s
celebrated "Black Ball" clipper ship Lightning was to
sail from the Mer=ey to the Thames, having been en-
gaged by the East India Company to embark tro ps at
Gravesend for the East. The Lightning will be towed
rouni to Gravesend by the powerful steam tug Resolute.
0 wing to the sensation created by the sister ships of the
Lightning, the James Baines and the Champion of the
Seas, which were inspected and so highly eulogised by
' the Queen and Court at Portsmouth, Messrs. James
Baines and Co. have been induced to place the Light-
ning on public view at Gravesend for a few days. The
Lightning will doubtlessly be visited by crowds of people,
and it has been determined to charge Is. admission, the
receipts bei,g given to the wives and families of the sol-
diers who will sail in her. In order to give our readers
an idea of the size of the Lightning, and of the une-
qualled "run," asne has made, we subjoin the following
particulars from the Lightning Gazette, which was printed
and published on board during her voyage from Liver-
no sl to Ntilbourne and back, between February and
July in the present year:—

, . .
" The Lightning is 2,003 tons register, and 3,500 tons
burthen. Her extreme length is 243 feet ; breadth, 41 feet;
depth of hold, 23 feet. To the top of her mizenmast, 554
feet ; to the top of her mainmast, 71 feet ; to the mizen
truck (at the veil, summit of the mast), 115 feet ; to the
main truck, 161 feat; to the fora truck, 151 feet. The
greatest run she has ever made in 21 hours, by observation,
was oa the 27th February, 1855, and amounted to 390
t knots, or 455 statute miles, being an average of 161 knots,
or 19 miles per hour, during the whole day. A the same
time, in 8 consecutive days, she ran 2,158 knots. During
her last voyage, in 7 04.nsiecutive days, from 28th June
4th July, 1856, she ran, by observation, 2,
2,553 statute miles, being an average, during tla
I.33ekwneoetsk,, or
13 knots, or rather more than 15 statute miles per hour
6,553 knots, or
and in the 25 days of the voyage she ra
8,118 statute miles (1,000 miles more thnan twice the dis-
an average of
Lance from Liverpool to New Yorkju,nl?ine'gng
the whole time. '
11.4 knots, or 134 statute miles, d
We believe the rec,.1,18 of the performance of clipper ships
show no parallel to this. Her shortest passage from Liver-
pool to Melbourne was her last oae--68 days 10 hours—
passage. home was the first she ever
and her quickest
made, and was accomplished in 60 days."—Liverpool
AMien. ........---_____-----Tr""-------____—

TM/ TRADE or LIVERPOOL—LIVERPOOL, Monday.—
The Customs Bill of Entry, published this morning,
gives a return of the number and tonnage of the ships
ibat have entered inwards from and cleared outwards for
foreign ports in the week ending the 15th Aug., 1857, as
well as the corresponding year 1856. It appears that
during the last week 94 ships of an aggregate tonnap
of 50,190 tons entered inwards, against 145 ships, 79,284
-one in 1856, being a decrease of 51 in the number of
Tips, and a decrease of 29,014 tons in the tonnage ; ihe
number of clearances outwards during the week, 119
ships, of a tonnage of 55,788 tons, against 94 ships and
49,422 tons in 1856, being an increase of 25 ships and a
decrease of 6,356 tons. The total number of ships re-
ported inwards from foreign ports during the present
.
year up to the 15th Aug. was 2,787, with a tonnage f
1,507,453 tons, against 2,732, and 1,566,636 tens inthe
year 1856, showing an increase of 55 ships an
clearedd a de-
crease of 59,183 tons. The total number of
mtwards for foreign ports during the ships
present year up
to the 15th Aug. was 3,263 with a tonnage of 1,
. tons, against
3,013 ships, and 1,597,471 ton
6ssi3f tibe
year 1856, showing an increase of 250 ships and 56,241
tons.