Shipping News.

ARRIVED. Dec. 24, 'brig Reliance, Smith,.from Hobart Town, via, Sydney. Passengers: Mr. and Mrs. Antell, Messrs. Henry, Robertson, Tabben and Scott. .. -• Dec. 25, schooner. Jane. Peata, 22 tons, bcott, from Wellington. -•• « •■ ' ' Dec. 26, s.s. Lord Ashley* 290 tons, A. Stewart, from Wellington. Passengers: Captain Cameron, Captain and Miss Buckley, Mr. Edwards. Dec. 28, schooner Canterbury, 37 tons, Bowten, from Wellington. Passengers: Mr. and Mrs. Stuart and child, Messrs. Goddard, Brown, ILangley and Burt. SAILED. Dec. 25, schooner Palinurus, 16 tons,' Watts, for Akaroa. Same day, s.s. White Swan, 198 tons, Mc Lean, for Otago. Passengers: Mr. and Miss Martin, Mr. Webbe, Mr. Hodge, and 6 in the steerage. ■'■■'''.„ Dec. 27, s.s. Lord Ashley, 290 tons, A. Stewart, for Otago, in ballast. Passenger: Captain Cameron. cleared. 2 Dec. 28, schooner Salopian, 40 tons, Flight, for Wellington. Passengers: Mrs. Flight and 2 children, Mrs. Ball and 2 children. ii. Same day, brig Dart, 159 tons, Jenkins, for 'Sydney. Passengers: "Messrs. Stenhouse, Lee, Wynne, and Marchant. , IMPORTS. In the Chieftain, Cookson, Bowler & Co. agents: from London—l box, R. D. Thomas; 1 case, 100 casks bottled beer, R, Waitt & Co.; 7 crates, 1 tierce, 2 hhds, 3 cases, 1 bundle, Cookson, Bowler & Co.; 3 cases, U.8.A.; 4 do., D. Clarkson; 1 cask, I case, D'Oyley; 5 packages boots and shoes, Sproul; 6 hhds., S barrels, 20 half barrels, 25 cases, 25 firkins, 1 cask, 1 keg, 3 bales, 10 coils, I tierce, 8 pkgs. merchandise, 100 deals, 3,000 fire bricks, 3,000 slates, 50 tons coals, E. J. Jones; 100 casks beer, 100 casks gin,. Pigeon; 1 case, Waterlow; 2 cases, Vincent. From Nelson: 50 cases Geneva, 8 octaves, 4 qr. casks brandy, 30 caseschampagne, 2 octaves brandy, 2 hhds. 6 .qr. casks gin, and sundry duty paid goods, J. T. Peacock & Co.; 2 drays, 5 pairs wheels, 1000 feet timber, and sundries, Order. In the Reliance,.R. Waitt, agent; 21,000 palings, 47,000 feet timber, 51,000 shingles, 87 pairs sashes, 1 case tools, 4 qr. casks wine, 2 hhds., 2 barrels, 8 casks alo, 2 cases cyder, 2 hhds. rum, 2 qr. casks whiskey, 10 cases geneva, 2 kegs brandy, 2 qr. casks gin, 2 pkgs. woolpacks, 2 kegs syrup, Order. In the Jane Peata, Master, agent; 3 qr. casks

port wine, 6 do. old torn, F. N. Campbell & Co.; 6 casks coal tar, 2 cases 1 cask merchandise, Order; 1 barrel 3 hhds. ale, May; 2000 ft. timber, Gould & Miles; 5000 bricks, Order. In the Lord Ashley, Miles, Kington and Co., agents; 1 case merchandise, F. N. Campbell & Co.; 1 cask, 43 bars iron, H. W. Derry. In the Canterbury, 6 qr. casks whiskey, 20 cases merchandise, 10 cases ginger wine, 95 cases, 3 hhds. 732 pieces timber, F. N. Campbell and Co.; 2 cases, 1 keg, 2 casks, Mcintosh; 2 cases, 1 cask, 1 box, Dransfield; 25 boxes candles, Latter; 54 mattrasses, 26 sofa cases. 1 case, 1 pkg., Gundry; 1 parcel, Rhodes; 3 tons limestone, Miles, Kington & Co.; 4 hhds. ale, May: 3000 bricks, Order. EXPORTS. In the Salopian, Mile's Kington & Co. agents: 96 sacks flour, 36 sacks wheat, Miles Kington and Co. In the Dart, Cookson, Bowler & Co. agents • 120 bushels wheat, J. T. Peacock & Co.; 209£ do. do., 35 cwt. tallow, Davis; 19 bales wool. Gould & Miles. In the White Swan, Dalgetty, Buckley & Co. agents: part original cargo from the northern ports, 40 cheeses, and 6 pkgs. bacon.

The Lord Ashley arrived on Sunday morning early and left again on Monday, at 2 p.m. This short stay is not intended to be habitual, but has been necessitated on the present-occasion in order to get back to Nelson by the Ist or 2nd proximo, so as to catch the Lord Worsley before her departure to Sydney. She may be expected here on Thursday, to-morrow.

The Boomerang left Melbourne for Wellington with the Southern mails on the 15th, and arrived on the 23rd. The Lord Worsley left Sydney on the 15th, with the Northern mails, and arrived at Nelson on the 21st, proceeding to Taranaki and Manukau. The Lord Ashley left Nelson 24 hours after the arrival of the Worsley and reached Wellington 10 hours before the Boomerang, but in good time to receive the mails brought by her for the Southern Island.

The brig Reliance, from HobartTown, arrived on Friday afternoon last. She left Hobart Town on the 21st November, with a full cargo of timber, and meeting with bad weather from the S.W. was obliged to put into Sydney to repair some trifling damages. Left Sydney on the 3rd inst., and when in lat. 37 ° 44' S., and 155° 55' E., fell In with a heavy thunder-storm coutinuingfor 6 hours, ship running all the time before the wind, which varied from N. to S. At 7 in the morning was struck by lightning which struck the topgallant mast, came down the fore topsail sheets and passed through the decks, doing no damage but drawing the oakum from between the planks and slightly touching some of the men. Capt. Smith states that he never before experienced such a thunder storm. Dec. 7, spoke the TJ. S. whaleship Van Raganlett, out 36 months; 700 barrels sperm oil; Capt.-George Washington Gardner.

The Clontarf sailed from Gravesend for this port on the 17th September. She may therefore be now daily expected. We subjoin a list of her passengers for the several ports:— FOR CANTERBURY. _. „ __. ; «-«.——-.. ,o_-_.«. — o anerGeorge "Blakely, "Georgina, Charlotte Sarah, & Arthur Robert Cooper; John Barton Aeland, Francis Jollie, James Carnegy Lock, Walter Riddell, Joseph Henry Bennett, Edward Burnelh—Total 11. Second Cabin.—John Brake, wife, and 4 children; Lewis Raddon, wife,and 2 children; David Kinnibrook, wife, and 4 children; Edw. Badely. —Total 17. Steerage.—Sarah, Mary Ann, and Elizabeth Murray, Thomas B. and George W. Granger, George W. Hartnell, Wm. Batt, Edward Grigg, John Phillip Voisin, William Henry Phillips.— Total 10. Government Immigrants.—John E. Brown, wife and child, George Howard and wife, Anthony Weastell, wife and child, Christopher Clark and wife, Robert Jones, wife and 4 children, John Cole and wife, James Pratt, wife and child, Benjamin Gibson and wife, Wm. Purcell and wife, Robert Billens, wife and 5 children, John Healy, wife and 2 children, Isaac Lambert, wife and 3 children, Henry Martin, wife and child, Richard Nock, wife and 2 children, Frederick Brown, wife and child, Edward Evans and wife, Geo. Woodhead, wife and. child, Jonathan Lilly, wife and 5 children, James Triggs, wife and child, John Moody, wife and 3 children, Charles Lewis, wife and child, Henry Beal, wife and 2 children, Samuel Lee and wife, Thomas Harkess, wife and 5 children, Wm. Chapman, wife and 4 children, Edward Stewart and wife, John. Atkinson, wife and 5 children, Thomas Toppin and wife, George Bobbins, wife and 2 children, Richard Clark, wife and 2 children, William Fabian and wife, Sampson Ashton and wife, William Dudson, wife and 4 children, Charles Turner, wife and four children, William Stephenson, wife and child, Joseph Painter, wife and child, John R. Pawsey, wife and 4 children, Philip Martin, wife and child, Jeremiah Newsomes, wife and 4 children, Levi Lowe, wife-and-3 children, Wm. Gapes, wife and 2 children, Thomas Joyce, wife and child, Wm. Piper, wife and three children, Henry Buckley, wife and 4 children, Wm. Rogers and wife, Joseph Weeber, wife and 4 children, Henry Slater, wife and child, Joseph Ellis, wife and 2 children, Samuel Johnston, wife and child, James Hampton, wife and child, Hugh Milligan, wife and 4 children, Thomas Broome, wife and child,. Wm. Gracey, wife and child, Wm. Homer. wjfe_,, and 2 children, Henry Keetley and wife,|Wm. Blythe and wife, Alexander Greig and wife, Henry Gordon, wife and child, Charles Jennings, wife and 3 children, Alexander Watt, wife and 4 children, John Tompkins and wife, Isaac Bryan and wife, Richard Dulien, wife and child, Henry Elliott, wife and child, Thomas Reeves, wife and 7 children, Mary Wilson and child, Charles Saunders, wife and, child, Wm. Power and wife, .John Cain, wife and 3 children.— Single Men : Marmaduke and George Weastell, George Mather, Edward Wilder, Wm. Elmes, Robert Munro, Robert Jones, John Lister, George Horrell, Edward Aldrich, Wm. Collett, Frederick and Henry Billens, James Rowell, Wm. Clark, John and George Woodhead, James Mallinder, William Lewis, James and William Chapman, James Rowle, Martin Nurse, Henry

Kibblewhite, John R. Pawsey, John Griffiths, Eh Lowe, John, Henry, and Richard Atkinson, A. Hughes Jagger, John J. Lewin, Edward and Henry Piper, Joseph Weeber, John Johnston, Hugh, James, and Thomas Milligan, Thomas Reeves, Richard Stringer, James Ballantyne, John Watt, James Bell, Hubertus Reetz, Hanse and David Cain, Richard Evans, Edward Kibblewhite, Thoma3 ,Lee, John Skilling, Joshua Swallow. — Single Women: Louisa Halstead, Sarah Callett, Catherine Parrott, Mary and Ellen Woodhead, Catherine Nurse, Sarah, Emma, Mary Ann, and Martha Martin, Mary Ann Lowe, Margaret Atkinson, Esther Gapes, Susannah Jagger, Jane, Ellen and Mary Piper, Mary Ann Slater, Sarah, Elizabeth and Elizabeth Milligan, Agnes, Sophia, Margaret and Isabella Watt, Elizabeth Bell, Mary Cain.—Total 339. CANTERBURY SUMMARY. Souls. Adults. Chief Cabin 11 equal to 11 Second Cabin 17 „ 11 __ Steerage 10 „ 10 Govt. Immigrants 339 „ 270 Total souls 377 302_; PASSENGERS FOR OTHER PORTS. Havre's Bay.—Henry and Edward Sealey, Mary Charlton and. 2 children—Total 5. Otago.—Elizabeth B. Hollinshead and 2 children, Helena Neuzig, Payson Smith, "Edward Weedon, John Mackie, Robert Bruce. —Total 8!' Wellington.—Edward Storey, wife and 2 children, Lewis Storey, wife and 2 children, Henry Wrigley, wife and child, Joseph and Alfred Backhouse, Wm. Burmiston, Duncan McLennan and wife, Donald Cross and wife, Ann Finlayson, John Edmund Ackroyd.—Total 20. Total passengers on board, .412. -

The Prince Alfred left' the Neyland Pier, Milford Haven, for Melbourne'and New Zealand, with cargo for the former port, and some passengers, on the 13th September. A luncheon to celebrate her departure was given by the owners in her saloon, at which some forty gentlemen sat down. The Strathallan, Williamson, left for this port.on October 15, full of passengers.. The Caduceus, Captain John Cass, was to sail in November. The following vessels had sailed for New Zealand ports since the 15th September :-:—Cloritarf for Lyttelton, September 16; Eagle, for Auckland, September 21; Equator, for Wellington, September 19; Kinnaird,'for Wellington,.. Octo- . ber 6, put back to the Downs October 15; Duchess of Leinster, for Wellington, October 10. Strathallan, for Lyttelton, October 15. The Acasta, Halliday, from Port Underwood and Wellington, June 13, arrived at the Downs October 7. . Besides those mentioned, the following vessels are mentioned as loading for New Zealand:—For Auckland, Wm. Watson and John Scott; Wellington and New Plymouth, Eclipse; Wellington and Nelson, Alfred the Great; Lyttelton, Oriental, to sail October 18; Otago; Tamora, to sail October 20. - ' The Evening Star, one of Messrs Willis's liners, sailed from Gravesend for_Auekland on^ -oaiuruay iasrwitn 23 "chief cabin and 138 infer-, mediate and steerage passengers. The Glontarf, another of Messrs. Willis's packets, embarked her passengers in the East India Docks on Wed-: nesday, and sailed from Gravesend the following" day with 20 chief cabin and 392 intermediate and steerage passengers for Canterbury. ■ The William Watson and the Alfred, the Great are the following vessels of. this line, for the former province, the Strathallan and Caduceus for Canterbury; and we learn that these vessels are rapidly filling. The despatch of these ships within a few hours of each other for Auckland is gratifying testimony to the attractiveness of the new "free grant" laud regulations of that province; whilst the constant filling of such vessels as the Zealandia, Indiana, and Clontarf for Canterbury is satisfactory evidence of the success of that somewhat opposite system of colonization which obtains in the great pastoral settlement of New Zealand.— Australian and New Zealand Gazette, Sept. 18. '"' '

BURNING OF THE AUSTRIA.—FIVE HUNDRED LIVES LOST. ' . One of those appalling catastrophes which every now and then send a spasm of horror and anguish through the world, has just happened in the midst of the Atlantic, and with the.har-, rowing details of which our papers for the last few days have been filled. This disaster .con-, sists in the total destruction by fire of a screw-steam-ship, the Austria, in which nearly 500 human lives were sacrificed as a tremendous holocaust to the devouring flames. This noble. vessel, of 2,500 tons, was built in the Clyde about 12 months ago, and was on the line between Hamburg and New York. This terrible calamity, which occurred on the 13th, ultimo,: was occasioned by an attempt to fumigate the steerage by burning tar with hot chains. The iron burning the boatswain's hand, he dropped it, and at the same time upset the pail of tar. In an instant that part of the vessel was in flames. The captain lost his senses, and fell overboard in attempting to get into a boat. Panic succeeded ; nearly all the boats were swamped ; and the flame-pursued passengers leaped into the sea to escape a more frightful death. Most of the 67 who were rescued were picked off the flaming ship by a French barque. It has been remarked that for three successive years, about tbe same date, a tragedy of this kind has happened. Last year it was the Central America, and two years before, the Arctic. Had discipline been preserved, it is believed that most of those on board might have been saved. — Argus correspondent.