The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-02-07 00:00:00

SHIPPING AND MERCANTILE

.3IISCELLANY.

LA.trxen OF A LARGE SHIP.—On Tuesday a new ship,
the Black Eagle, the largest wooden merchant vessel ever
built in this town, was launched from the building yard
of Mr. John Mayor, Brunswick Dock. Her dimensions
are—length of keel, 200 feet, over all, 210 feet ; beam, 414
feet ; measurement, 1,700 tons. Her destination is likely
to be the Australian trade.
THE ENGLISH PASSENGER ACT.—The Union of Wash-
ington, publishes an official notice, stating that informa-
tion has been received at the state department, from the
U.S. consul at Glasgow, to the effect that instructions
have been forwarded to the emigration offices both of
Liverpool and Glasgow, by Her Majesty's emigration com-
missioners, limiting the dead weight of all vessels sailing
under the Passenger Act to two-thirds of her registered
tonnage. Every passenger ship will be required to have
three bower anchors on board before obtaining her clear-
ance certificate.

THE ST. JOHN'S AND LIVERPOOL LINE OP STEAMERS
now numberweight splendid steamers, which from their
successful voyages have established their character for
safety and punctuality. The proprietors, Messrs. W. and
R. Wright, and J. and R. Reed, have entered into a con-
tract with Mr. Laird, of Birkenhead, for two first-class
iron screw steam-ships of 1,000 tons, to be placed on the
line between Liverpool and St. John's. Each will contain
accommodation for 80 cabin and 200 steerage passengers.
It is intended to make an application to the legislature of
New Brunswick for a grant of 810,000 per annum for
ten years, to aid in the establishment of this line of
steamers, and for whichthe mails will be carried to and
from this country. _ _ _ _ _

LAUNCn OF A SCREW STEAMER.—On Tuesday, a hand-
some screw steamer, Bahiana, built for the South American
and General Steam Navigation Company, was launched
from the yard of Mr. Laird, at the Dingle. The dimen-
sions of the vessel are—Length on the water line, 250 feet ;
beam, 36 feet : depth, 23 feet ; register, old measurement,
about 1,600 tons. She will be rigged as a barque, and will
be commanded by Captain Daniel Green, late of the
Bratileira. _ _ _

THE NEW COAST-GUARD.—Captain N. L. Sheringham,
the commissioner of the western district, visited Barnsta-
ple, in the north of Devon, last week, and addressed the
sailors of the port at the custom-house. He was received
enthusiastically. He told the sailors he had visited most
of the outports, from the Isle of Wight to the Land's End,
and he was proud to say that he had experienced the
utmost alacrity in all classes of seamen to defend their
hearths and homes. He hinted that if sufficient volunteers
could not be procured the ballot system would be resorted
to, but he believed and trusted that this would be rendered
unnecessary by a ready acquiescence on the part of sailors
with the demands and necessities of the State.
LA 'UN= or THE &NU-A.—The Peninsular and Oriental
Company's iron screw-steamer Simla was launched on
Monday from the building-yard of Messrs. Tod and Co.,
Glasgow. The Simla is one of the largest steamers that
have hitherto been built in Scotland, and of the following
proportions :—Keel and forerake, 330feet4 inches ; breadth
of beam, 39 feet 2 inches ; depth moulded, 29 feet ; and
height from main to spar deck, 8 feet 6 inches. She has
two steeple engines of the aggregate power of 642 horses;
the cylinders are 90 inches in diameter, with a stroke of
6 feet 6 inches. The diameter of the screw propeller is
18 feet, with >a pitch of 21 feet 6 inches. The tonnage, by
the old measurement, is 2,508 tons, and by the new
measurement, 2,563 tons.
MELANCHOLY COINCIDENCE.—The steamer San Fran-
cisco'cleared from New York, December 17. On the same
day the Following ships cleared, all of which have met a
similar fate :—Ships Commerce, Singapore, and Borneo,
besides ship Saxony, disabled and put into Halifax.
THE SHIP CHAUNCEY JENOME.—The New York
I'rib'ane contains an account of this vessel, built for the
Liverpool trade, going ashore on Long Beach, in a fog,
'On the 12th ult. She had fifty passengers on board and
a-general cargo. No life was lost, 'but mach of the cargo
'vas damaged. When night -came on the crew and some
ten of the male passengers, being much fatigued, deter-
mined to remain on beard, in preference to being diawn
to shore that night by 'the rope, which had been made fast
to the vessel as the mode of communicating with the
land ; but the crew got at a leg of-whiskey, made them-
selves drunk, and became quarrelsome, and a general
fight ensued, in which nearly all on 'board received some
injury, and two German seamen were nearly killed.

MERCANTILE STEAMERS TOR WAR PIIRPOSES.—A
committee of Engineer officers has reported to the Admi-
ralty on the suitability of the mail-packet steamers for
war purposes. The committee especially examined the
vessels belong to the Peninsular and Oriental and the
Royal West India Mail Company. They say, " Our opi-
nion is, that the ships of these companies can never be
regarded as elent substitutes for regular men-of-war;
and that opinion is based on the-following considerations%
—l. Their sharp form of bow to promote speed, continued
upwards as it isrto the height of .the port-sills, renders it
imposssibleitoToint and elevate guns in the line of !keel.
2. Their rake of stern would render it dangerous to fire:a
gun when elevated, more particularly when trained from
a fore and aftiine. 3. These,vessels having been deiigned
entirely for- steam propulsiomand passenger accommoda-
tion, all ether purposes have been made subservient -to
those ends. '7 We find, too, that no attention has been-paid
to the importance that should be attached to the exposure
of the engines, • bone* and steam-chest to shot, which,
though in -seme degree unavoidable in all paddlewheel
steamersiappears to exist in these vessels to a most • dan-
gerous extent.. After taking a deliberate view of the whole
question-six-knitted to us, we have arrived at the conclu-
sion that the ships referred to, provided they could be
spared, would serve the purposes of armed troop-ships,
and night occasionally be used,:in the event of war, in
our colonies ~abroad."

HURIVICA,./TE AT SEA.—The pac:ket•ship Roscins, Capt.
Furter, arriVea y ebtertlay morning groom Liverpool, Dec.
15th, wath_264 emigrants, all in good health. Dec. lath,
in lat. .50 ;10, long. 14 40, yhile lying to under close
reefed topsai., she experienced. severe hurricane from the
N.N.W., which blew away the maintopsail, and every
other sail..which was furled to the yards was blown to
pieces. Thennaintop-gallant mast was also blown klWay;;
sprung the head of the topmast and carried away the
iron workdf 4:he lower and topsailyard. The remaining
part of the passage encountered heavy weather, in which
she stove hiliwarks, skylights, boats, &c. 10th 'instant,
in lat. 42, lon. 45 40, saw and boated the . barque Midas,
of Thomaston, with, all her masts gone, and everthing
attached. She was loaded with cotton and abandoned.
She appearethto have been previontly boarded, as every-
thing was gone from her which waglnaoveable.—The ship
Irene, Massen, from Liverpool, Dee. 14, with 55 passen-
gers, experiencel the same gale;.loet close-reefed fore-
topsail, reefed lore-sail, and fore-topmast staysail: the
fore-tepgallant.sail got loose and blewrio pieces ; lost stern
boat, shipped:a heavy sea, which „stove leeward house
skylights, lettirg much water beturven decks ; started
water tasks, and damaged nearly alltU passengers' pro-
visions; the cargo between decks started, and it was
three days beforca was possible to secanv it. The Irene
had one death an the passage. —New I'ori‘..Tribune,Jan.l9.
SHIPS FOR :BrUCIELA.. —We are informed by a corres-
pondent that a number of Russian ships that were at
Liverpool have•been sold to British subjects, and taken
over, with the officers and crews, to be .ravigated under
the British flag. ,Information on the subject, we under-
stand, has been forwarded to the Board of LLrade.—Ship-
ping Gazette.