The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-07-20 00:00:00

"OF WHAT USE WILL CYPRUS BE TO

ENGLAND P"
" DUYAMI.E.,T," in a letter to ric nlne3, says:
—" Of what use will Cyprus be to England?
This is a question whi.th many will be asking just
now. The following statements of the great historian
Niebuhr, who Wa3 also a man of the world and a
diplomatist, may suggest a partial answer :
" The island of Cyprus was the nearest and most im-
portant possession of the Phmnicians. They established
themselves along the coasts, and founded Citium, the
Chittim of the Bible. Cyprus is one of the most niagni-
!team countries in the world, and abounds in the most
varied productions. Notwithstanding the very bad govern-
ment of the Venetians it was always rich, but now it is a
desert. It produced the most excellent timber, possessed
rich mines of silver and copper, and the greatest abundance
of fruit. The importance of the Plimnician Empire was
heightened mainly by the fact that being masters of Cyprus
they were in possession of by far the greatest copper mines
in the ancient world, which even now unquestionably are
by no means erhausted ; but if they were actively worked,
would yield a rich produce. Cyprus, were it not that it is
inhabited by barbarians, might yet recover its ancient im-
portance. (' Lectures on Ancient Watery.' Vol. L,
Lect. is.)
" Hay e we not here a promising field for British
enterprise?"
Mr. Edward B. Eastwick writes to The Tian :

Sir,—Will you allow me to quote an older and more
remarkable authority for the value of Cyprus than
those referred to by your correspondents Sir G.
Bowyer and " Dryasdust ?" Alexander the Great
says (Arrian, vol. i., p, 09):
" And Cyprus being in our hands, we shall reign absolute
sovereigns at sea, and an easy way will be laid open for
waking a descent on Egypt."

IN-STJBORDINATION.—Diner (suspiciously) ; "And do
you stick to the teetotal principles yourself, waiter ? "
Waiter "In business, yes, sir—always, sir! In busi-
ness I am subordinate to my principals; but out of
business, sir, it is different—Lay principlee are eubordi-
;late to 3110•"11,4104

THE ATTEIVIPT TO RAISE THE
EURYDICE.

The attempt on Tuesday to raise H.M.S. Eurydice under
the directions of Admirals Foley and Fanshawe resulted
successfully, the wreck having been lifted about seven feet,
and moved eastward about 150 feet from her bed. Further
operations were then suspended for that tide.—The Daily
News of Wednesday publishes the following letter (dated
Tuesday) from their Own Correspondent at Portsmouth,
giving an account of the operations
The third attempt to raise the Eurydice training
ship, which was capsized on the 24th of March last off
Dunnoose, at the back of the Isle of Wight, and went
down with about :-'OO of her crew, has to-day been suc-
cessful, the ship having been brought up from the bed
in which she has ever since been lying, and dragged
some 150 feet.
The plan of operations has already been described,
but a brief explanation of the method which has been
adopted for raising the vessel is now necessary. The
Elio has been lying in about 11 fathoms of water on
her starboard bilge, which had sunk into the ground to
a depth, it was supposed, of seven or eight feet. The
vessel was swept with the two steel hawsers, one of
seven and the other of eight inches, the bite of one
being at the stern, and that of the other at the bows.
The ends of each hawser passed through jewel chains,
the fore ends being carried to the Rinaldo, and the ends
of the other to the Pearl at the stern. An auxiliary steel
hawser was passed through the gangway ports, the
ends also being carried to the Pearl. Originally
the Rinaldo was also attached to the Eurydice wreck
by means of the Eurydice's bower chain cables, but in
the operations of to-day these purchases were dis-
pensed with, and the toggles and pendants were
dropped through the bow ports of the sunken ship,
the bower chains being used for towing. This com-
pleted the purchases of the larger vessels. The Wave
and the Swan gunboats were also placed across the
ship, each ship being being double toggled at the bows,
and at the stern of the Eurydice. This, with the
bag of air fastened to the gangway ports of the
ship, completed the lifting gear. Of course, the
plan was to raise the ship by the lift of the tide;
but as she was embedded, as already stated, to a
considerable depth, it was necessary to supply
extra flotation. This was obtained by the pumping
of water, varying from five to five and a half feet, into
the two bigger ships, and three feet six inches into the
gunboats. The difference between the operations of
to-day and those of the two previous occasions was
that the lifting vessels were more deeply immersed
and tighter hove down, and steel toggle pendants were
substituted for the ordinary chain cables. The pinning
down commenced about two o'clock this morning—
that is, as the tide fell the slack was hove in, and this
operation was continued as long as the tide ebbed,
so that at low water, about six o'clock, everything
was made tight. The water was then pumped out
of the vessels beginning with the Rinaldo and
the Pearl, arid shortly afterwards it was pumped
out of the smaller vessels to equalise the
strain. About seven o'clock it was seen that the
pump was gaining on the tide, and the maintop of
the ship made its appearance above water, showing
that the ship was being lifted out of her bed. The
water having been pumped out, the remainder of the
lifting was left entirely to the tide. It had been in-
tended as soon as the ship was fairly afloat that the
Thunderer, turret ship, which had been brought up
from Portland for the purpose, should be made fast to
the bower chainsof the Eurydice, and move seawards;
but the Thunderer having had the misfortune to
drop the ends of the towing ropes, the work fell on
the Camel and Grinder tugs, which were made
fast and hauled north-easterly, the object being
to pull the Eurydice broadside on to Culver Cliff.
About eleven o'clock the Eurydice was unmis-
takably moving, a fact which was heralded by the
hearty cheers of the working party and of the
spectators. The Thunderer, having in the meantime
picked up one of the hawsers which had been dropped,
commenced to haul on the Eurydice seawards, but as
the enormous strain threatened a fracture of the pur-
chases, she was asked to stop ere this could be
effected; however, her capstan was carried away by
the strain and the operations of the day were con-
cluded. A diver, who had been sent down shortly
afterwards, announced the gratifying fact that the
ship bad been moved 150 feet from her hole, and that
she was resting on solid ground. At each succeeding
tide the ship will be pinned down again, and the
operations repeated until the Eurydice is gradually
floated into Sandown Bay.