The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-09-06 00:00:00

Exeter, and

T of C

g the last gale the British ship
h 1,200 tons of guano, was

SHIP WEE cx.—DuL,
Collector, Captain Cranst

lost in the a-chops" of the' channel. Only a snort,
before she foundered, the crew. which, twether with sc

females on board, numbered twenty-five persons, descried
a ship, which turned out to be the Promise, Captain Oliver,
from Quebec, with timber for the Portland breakwater,
bearing towards them. Their signals of distress were

answered, and they were ultimately rescued, and taken
into Weymouth. The Collector belonged to Liverpool.
GREAT RISE IN CORN.—Stamford market, on Friday,
was in a most excited state, and the price of wheat rose
in some instances as much as 9s. per quarter. This un-
expected and almost unparalleled advance, which was
attributable to the presence of several French merchants,
who became extensive purchasers, was not confined to
Stamford. At Spalding wheat sold for Bs. to 10s. more
money than it fetched on the previous market day, and
similar advances have taken place in other markets in this
neighbourhood.—Lincolnshire Chronicle.
PASSENGERS' LUGGAGE.—The danger of carrying
spirits as cargo in passenger ships having attracted the at-
tention of Captain Schomberg, Her Majesty's agent for
emigration at this port, he put himself in communication
with the commissioners to learn how far he had authority to
interfere. It appears that, in emigrant vessels, passengers'
luggage is got out of the hold once a week. This gives the
people access to any spirits that may form part of the
general cargo and makes the danger of fire very imminent
from carelessness in carrying the lights. The remedy is
pointed out by the commissioners, and henceforth spirits
will have to be stowed in passenger ships bulkheaded from
the rest of the cargo.
EMIGRATION FROM LIVERPOOL. —The number of ships
which have taken their departure hence for foreign ports
during the past month has been 93, carrying in all 20,340
passengers. Of the vessels which came under the opera-
tion of the Emigration Act there were, 34 for the United
States, carrying 15,904 passengers ; 1, New Brunswick, 83
passengers ; 1, Sydney, 121 passengers ; and 5, Port Philip
1,815 passengers. There were 50 ships not under the act,
with an aggregate of 1,746 passengers on board. In the
seven months, ending August last, there has been a de-
crease of 7,000 emigrants, as compared with the same
period last year. The diminution has been almost entirely
confined to the Australian returns.

BRAZILIAN AND LIVERPOOL STEAMERS.—The South
American and General Steam Navigation Company's third
vessel, the beautiful screw-steamer Olinda, Capt. G. H.
Haram, will leave the Clyde on a trial trip to Dublin, on
Thursday next, and may be expected to arrive in the
Mersey on the Saturday or Sunday following. The Olinda
has been built by Messrs. John Reid and Co., of Port
Glasgow ; and as she is of the same dimensions and power
as the Brazileira, built by Mr. Laird, of Birkenhead, it will
be interesting to see which can turn out the best vessel.
The Olinda, on her arrival here, will go into the Birken-
head Dock, to receive cargo for the Brazils and River
Plate, for which places she will take her departure on
Saturday, the 24th inst.

AN EMIGRANT SHIP ASHORE.—lntelligence reached
Liverpool on Saturday of the emigrant ship Martaban,
Captain M`Kerbie, having gone ashore on Arklow Bank,
coast of Ireland. The Martaban sailed from Liverpool on
Tuesday morning last, for Melbourne, with 105 passengers
and a full cargo. She proceeded on her voyage, although
encountering rough weather, until Thursday morning,
about eleven o'clock, when she went ashore, as above
stated. After beating about until nine p.m. she got off.
Some of the passengers got on shore, and proceeded by the
Crescent brig to Waterford, whence several went to Liver-
pool by the steamer Mars, and the remainder went to
Dublin. It is not known by the passengers whethet she
has sustained much damage or not.
SCREW-STEAMING.—The Emilie, a screw-steamer of 200
tons and 40 horse-power, built by Mr. Laird, for some en-
terprising Hamburg merchants, made her trial trip on
Friday ; and, though she only came out of dock that day,
she went out to sea the same evening. During the night
she encountered a heavy sea and strong N. and N.E.
winds. She returned to the Mersey on Saturday morning,
Mr. Wrench, one of the owners, Mr. Eaton, and all parties
on board, being highly satisfied with her speed and per-
formance as a sea-boat. The Emilie carries twelve days'
coal and a considerable cargo, and is expected to sail in a
few days for South America. The engines have been
fitted by Fawcett and Co., and are a pair of oscillating
cylinders attached to gearing wheels. They attained a
speed of 51 strokes, making the revolutions of the screw-
propeller about 130 per minute. The propeller is a Grif-
fiths' patent, and there was an entire absence of vibration
in the vessel.

THE NEW ACT ox PILOTAGE.—On the Ist of next
month the act passed on the day of the prorogation
further to amend the law relating to pilotage will come
into force. The object of the act is to vest the right of
piloting ships outwards from the port of London, and of
piloting ships inwards to the same port, in one body of
pilots, and that such pilots should be subject to a uniform
authority and control. By the act a union is effected
between the Trinity-house and Cinque Port Pilots, and
they are to be competent to pilot ships outwards and
inwards under certain regulations of the Trinity-house.
The property of the Society of Cinque Port Pilots is to be
transferred to the Trinity-house. Licences may be granted
by the Board of Trade to masters and mates as pilotage
certificates, on the authorities refusing to do so under the
12th and 13th Vic., c. 88. It is provided, that in order to
ascertain and make public the amount of pilotage rates
levied
on shipping, pilots shall make returns of their
earnings to the bodies by whom they are licensed, and the
pilotage authorities are to make full returns to the Board
of Trade of various particulars connected with pilotage.
With the consent of her Mtkiesty in council, the pilotage
authorities are by this act enabled to make extensive alte-
rations as to the qualification of pilots, and to alter and
reduce the rates of pilotage. Such regulations are in future
to be approved by her Majesty, and not by the Chief Justice
of the Queen's Bench or Common Pleas. The statute,
which vests large powers in the Trinity-house, is styled
" the Pilotage Law Amendment Act, 1853."

Tun SOVEREIGN OP THE SEAS will take her departure
this day for Australia, with the largest cargo of merchan-
dise ever shipped in one bottom. The measurement ton-
nage is upwards of 2,700 tons, which gives her a freight
list of nearly £15,000 ; and its estimated value is over
£200,000. She has also twenty-five first cabin and forty
second cabin passengers. The Sovereign of the Seas, from
her well-known capabilities, is expected to make a very
fast run. She has logged the most extraordinary distances
ever made by any vessel, not excepting the fastest steam-
ers afloat. During her run from the Sandwich Islands to
New York she logged, in ten successive days, 3,144 miles;
and in twenty-two successive days, 6,245 miles. From
noon of one day to noon of the next the Sovereign of the
Seas made 8 degrees 44 minutes of longitude, which, in
time, is 34 minutes and 56 seconds ; that is, her noon
to noon of that day was only 23 hours, 25 minutes, and
4 seconds long, and in that time she ran 419 statute miles,
or at the rate of 427.6 statute miles for the 24 hours.
She sailed from Boston, on her maiden trip, on the 4th of
August last year, a period of only eleven months to the
time of her arrival at Liverpool, and since that time she
has made the following passages :—From New York to
San Francisco in 103 days ; from San Francisco to the
Sandwich Islands ; from the Sandwich Islands to New
York in 82 days ; and from New York to Liverpool in a
little over 13 days ; or an average of 190 miles per day
for every day, to the time of her arrival at Liverpool,
since she first put to sea. She belongs to Messrs. James
Baines and Co.'s Black Ball line of Australian packets,
and was built by Mr. Donald MlCay, of Boston, U.S., who
is building two ships of 2,000 tons register each, for the
same line ; the first, to be called the Thunderbolt, will be
ready for sea by the Ist Feb. next, and the second, to be
called the Avalanche, will be ready in May. The Sove-
reign of the Seas is commanded by Capt. Henry Warner.
Her draught of water is twenty-two feet, and she will be
succeeded by the English ship Aerolite.

ISLE OF MAN AND HOLYHEAD AND
KINGSTOWN MAIL-PACKET
SERVICE.

__4o,-_-

The following is from the report of the Select Parlia-
mentary Committee on the Contract Packet Service :

The contract for the Isle of Man was originally made
by the Postmaster-General, in 1833, although it is now
under the charge of the Lords of the Admiralty.
It provides for the conveyance of the mails twice each
way weekly, by steam-vessels of not less -than 140 tons
burthen. The Postmaster-General has the power of
fixing the days of departure ; and if the contractors fail
to provide such a vessel as shall be approved by the Post-
master-General or his surveyors, the Postmaster-General
is empowered to engage a vessel for the service at the cost
of the contractors.

The payment to the contractors is £B5O a-year.
The service appears to have been punctually and faith-
fully performed.
The contract is terminable at three months' notice; but
we do not recommend that there should be any immediate
disturbance of it.

According to accounts taken in April, 1853, the gross
inland postage for a year, on the whole of the correspond-
ence, paid and unpaid, sent to and received from the Isle
of Man, amounts to £2,917 13s. 4<l. • and the gross foreign,
colonial, and ship postage, calculated in like manner,
amounts to £677 13s. The total gross postage on the
whole inland, foreign, colonial, and ship correspondence
being £3,595 6s. 4d.
The expenditure for postal service in the island for one
year, ending January 5, 1852, was £644 12s. 9d. The ex-
penditure for packet service is, per annum, £B5O.
Although during the winter the passage from Liverpool
to the Isle of Man and back, is performed only twice a-
week, during the summer there is daily communication
each way (Sunday excepted), by steam-vessels of the 'con-
tractors, and mails are conveyed on each occasion without
additional cost to the public.

-ii;Wpreseniaions'addressed to the Treasury and to
the General Post-office from the Isle of Man, for increased
opportunities of communication throughout ,the winter,
have of late been numerous and urgent ; and it may, per-
haps, be considered right to comply with them to a certain
extent, even if it should be at a greater cost than is now
paid. In no case does it appear to us that any reduction
in the expense of the service can be looked forward to.
We find that the contractors have offered to extend the
service to three weekly mails for £1,700 a year, and to
four for £2,500 a year; but we do not recommend that
either offer should be entertained at present. It is not
improbable that a competition with the present packets
will shortly arise, either from Liverpool, Fleetwood, or
Whitehaven.

The Holyhead and Kingstown contract was entered
into by the Lords of the Admiralty and the City of Dublin
Steam-packet Company on the 9th of April, 1850, and pro-
vides for the conveyance of mails between Holyhead and
Kingstown.

If provides that the vessels employed are to be good,
substantial, and efficient, and that the average rate of
speed shall be not less than twelve knots an hour.
A vessel is to leave Holyhead and Kingstown respec-
tively twice each day, immediately upon the arrival of the
mail trains at those places, the Commissioners having the
power of altering the time of departure upon one month's
notice being given,

The company are to pay a penalty of £3O in case of a
vessel not being prepared to put to sea at the time agreed
upon, and 40 for each successive hour's delay, unless