The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-08-16 00:00:00

THE GREAT EASTERN.

The completion of this magnificent vessel was for-
mally celebrated on Monday at a banquet on board the
ship which was honoured by the presence of many of
the members of both Houses and some of the most dis-
tinguished engineers and scientific men in the kingdom.
On board such progress has been made that the ship
now look* as she will look when proceeding to sea, and
im she ought to look to keep pace with her reputation
as the largest and finest specimen of naval architecture
that ever floated. The deck has been planed and
scrubbed to man-of-war whiteness, and not even a stray
rope's end breaks the wonderful effect produced by its
immense expand. Her fleet of small boats (that is to
say, about the sine of sailing cutters,) hang at the davits,
10 on each side. The whole vessel has been painted,
the saloons are finished, the cabins decorated, and even
furnished. The masts are fixed and rigged with the
exception of the yard*, which will be sent up in a day
or two. The three centre square-rigged masts are of
iron. On deck are four small steam winches or engines,
each of which works a pair of cranes on both sides of
the vessel. With these four double cranes alone 5,000
tons of coal can be hoisted into the vessel in 24 hours.
The chief saloons—all MAYO one have only been fitted
to a certain extent in a temporary manner. The fittings
are exceedingly handsome and substantial, but the
decorations of the huge iron walls and girders have
been reserved until after her first trip, and now are only
painted of a plain white. The absence of elaborate
decoration in them, however, is amply compensated in
the chief saloon, which has been finished to show the
superb style in which the whole will be decorated when
the Great Eastern begins running to the East. It is
said that the mirrors, gilding, carpeting, and silk cur-
tains for this apartment alone cost L 3,000. The berths
are arranged in three classes, and are very roomy as
cabins go—very lofty, well lit, and those on the outer
sides exceedingly well ventilated. Both the berths and
saloons are, almost unnecessarily high, having very
nearly fifteen feet in the clear. The kitchens, pantries,
and eculleries are all on the same extensive scale, and
fitted with all the large culinary requisites of first-class
hotels. The ice-house holds upwards of 100 tons of ice,
and the lofty wine vaults—for such, in fact, they are—
already contain wine enough to form a good freight for
an ()Net° trader. The great feature of the day was
the trial of both screw and paddle engines for the first
time. The boilers are immensely strong, and have been
tested to double the pressure they are required to bear.
The united efforts of both screw and paddle engines
will drive the immense vessel through the water with a
power of no less than 12,000 horses. What fig-et could
stand in the way of such a inane, weighing some 30,000
tons, and driven through the water by 12.(W-horse-power
at the rate of 22 or 23.inilso an hour? The probable con-
sumption of °eel when both engines are at full work
will average 254) tons per slay. Steam wits got up in
the paddle engines at half.past I. At that time all the
visitors were on board, and the engine-room and
hatches, in spite of the heat, were crowded with eager
lookers-on. Mr. Brume', to the regret of all, was pre-
vented by indisposition from being present and sharing
the festivity which marked the successful completion of
his grand idea. l'he first movement of the gigantic
cranks and cylinder* of the paddle engines was made
precisely at half-past I, when the great masses slowly
rime and fell as noiselessly as the engines of a Green-
wich boat, but exerting in their great revolutions
what seemed to be an almost irresistible power. There
was no noise, no vibration, nor the slightest sign of
heating, anti the tremendous frame of ironwork sprang
at ones into life and motion with as mud ease as if
every rod and crank lid been worked for the last ten
years. The steam in the boilers was about 211 b., but,
as • matter of course, the eaglets were turned but
slowly, never exceeding six revolutions per minute.
Even with this slow motion and the alight immersion of
the paddle-floats the effect of the enormous power was at
once visible upon the ship. The great mooring chains
astern were tightened to the utmost, and it seemed as if
even Trotinan's anchors themselves would yield under the
strain. Fortunately, however, these held fast, and then
the &crew engines were got into motion, working the
ship astern, seas to counteract the effect of the piddles.
These latter engines worked with the same marvellous
ease and freedom; there was no noise, no sign of hot
bearings, and the result was considered by all the engi-
neers on board to be satisfactory in the very highest
degree, and far beyond what could have been expected.
When the engines had been tested to the utmost to
which they mold be tried with a vessel at her moorings, I
all the visitors adjourned to the saloons, where a magni-
ficent mild collation had been laid out by Mr. Quater-
Jolene. This, in spite of the rather pungent atmosphere
which had been evoked from the Thames by the move-
ment of the screw and paddles, soon received ample
justice, and at, its conclusion Mr. J. R. Campbell, the
managing director of the company, and who, from the
time the first idea of the ship was started, eight years
ago, has worked untiringly to carry it out to its present
completion and perfection, gave the usual loyal and
patriotic toasts with much force and humour. These
were drank with the utmost enthusiasm, and duly
responded to, that of the navy by Sir Charles Napier,
and, of the army by General Bulkeley. Lord Stanley,
in proposing the toast of the day, sard,—You have all
heard or read what the Great Eastern has been built to
do, and what are the peculiar qualifications which she
possesses for doing that work. You are aware that she
is calculated, according to the reckoning of her projec-
tors, to make the passage from England to Calcutta in
11 days. We know that she is intended to carry her
coals both for the outward and the homeward voyage,
so as to save that enormous time and expense
which at present arise, of nodality, for establish-
ing coal depets in distant parte of the world.
You know that she is calculated to carry a
population of not much less than ten thousand,
includiug her Cr,., —a population no large that I al-
most wonder the company have not applied to the House
of Commons to have the Great Eastern included in the
new Reform Bill, in the list of Parliamentary boroughs
for the new schedule. (Laughter.) You know that if
the experiment succeeds it will render the passage s•ver
the stormy ocean to remote countries es easy and as free
from discomfort to the landsman, and even to the lands
-
woman (a laugh), utile ordinary railway train is at pre-
sent. (Cheers.) You know, also, that the experiment,
if it MICCRCAS, will stimmiuhste aid CoIVCIUT, trade to an
almost incalculable extent ; that it will enable till.
country, if unhappily the occasion should again arise,
to pour into our great Empire of the East reinforce-
merit* mind aid with a rapidity equal to that of the over-
land line, and by a route which England has always
Mairued as her own peculiar highway, and over which,
no foreign potentate can exercise control. (('heers.)
There was a time of difficulty, a time of despondency,—
* time when success seemed doubtful and failure noire
than probable—and at that time Mr. Campbell and his
colleagues came forward. They brought their commer-
cial knowledge to bear, their knowledge of the require-
ments of India and of English cuturnerce, and they
undertook to insure the commercial success of the work,
provided mechanical success was assured. (cheers) ; and
they induced the capitalists of the
.country to place faith
in their exertions, and the result is that which you now '
FIV around you to-day. (Loud cheers.) I beg to propose,
and I think we should give it with all honours, "Pros-
perity to the Great Eastern," and with that toast I
shall couple the name of Mr. Campbell and the direc-
tors. Mr. Campbell acknowledged the toast, and pointed
out that if the great ship bad been completed two years
ago, hundreds of lives and literally millions of teeeseee
would have been spared in the late mutiny in India.
lie said, speaking of the Greet Eastern acting as • kind
of railway between this country and India, that it ap-
reared to be a kind of law that peat discoveries were
mule just at the critical moment when the machinery
of the world could not run smoothly without them.
Whec they considered that the trade of the East relire-
sented the wants of nearly half the human race, and was
even then of the annual value of £50,000,000 'telling, it
was not an exaggeration to say that, with the en ion
which mutt take place through railways, colonization,
and the entire break up of all kinds of checxs to com-
merce, the great ship had been discovered jest when
she became • necessity. (Loud cheers.) me. Jackson,
M.P., having also responded, as one of the directors,
" The bealths of Mr. Brunel and Mr. Scott Rummell, the
engineer and builder of the ship." were next given.
Mr. &MA Russell responded on the Part of both. Alms
toads concluded the proceedings of the day, and shortly
afterwards the assembly broke up.

A Roman villa has been discovered. by
Spickernell, at Carel:gooks, in the Isla of Wight. It
Ii in the valley which extends to il.nwareabs, below
the castle, and new the villa. ot tiumbrookc