The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-09-24 00:00:00

DISASTROUS ACCIDENT TO THE GEZAT
EASTERN IN A TERRIFIC ALE.

TIIO Great Cistern is an unfortnnate vessel. On
her way out from Liverpool she fairly broke down, and
on Wednesday last, she became the 'treat topie of con-
venation, not only in London, but thronglout the pro-
vince,, when the intelligeace became known. It op-
-141114 that the vessel left Liverpool on the 10th in-
stant with 4111.) passengers cud a large geeeral cargo, •
smirk meet both of passeeves and freight considerably
largvr indeed than she heti beeu favoured will, on any
previous voyage, arising from the fact of the feelings of
confidence and security that had been catiLiiiiheit in the
public mind by mown of her previous successful
°races, soil more particularly her last front New
Yolk to Liverpool. Consequent on the inidetits natur-
•lly given to the influx of pates:tigers from tide country
caused by the civil war convulaions in Amerizs, every
berth was taken, there being 400 paasengta, including
several fathilies on board, mot every freight berth filled.
Between 100 soil 200 passengers occupied lie berths in
the principal cabins ; the reutaiteler of the passengers
oceupieil the intermediate and steerage caliuu, at from
17 to 1:10 respectively. All went on prorperourly until
Thursday last, when, as rho was in full steam and sail,
she encountered a terrific gale about attl miles to the
west of Cape Clear, and, in apite of the !rat seaman-
ship, she failed to ride over the storm, which with
tremendous fury swept away both kr paddles.
Simultaneoualy the top of the rudder post, a bar of iron
ten inches in diameter, wail suddenly wrenched off, and
lor +leering ge.ir being also carried sway, she broached
to anil lay like a huge log its the trough ii hike sea.
11:::orsbtiTillwmart.dksaYaleinvceontintgoiumnItiiil ngtwtolseoere'ckte'ckr, °Ll'ieSudrsinlaleyii
nltuut like • Jiaabled derelict, the paasengeni •nd craw
expecting that ale would every moment go down. The
working and rolling of the veasel, at one instant of
dread. displaced and destroyed all tlie furniture of the
cabing end Saloom, and broke it to pieces. thmeing the
peaseogers pell-mell about the cabin Everything that
occupied the up; er deck was warbed shay, and a large
part of the paiiseuger'e luggage wax destroyed. 13-tween
twenty and thirty of those who were on board,
luclitul-
lug seviral ladies, hail tinily and ribs fractured, with
numerous cuts and braises. They were, however,
pruntlitly attended to by an experienced surgeon, who
went out with the vessel, and some medical gentlemen
on board. No particulars of their name', or of the
precise injury they reoeisl, hails as yet come to hand ;
nor does it yet appear that any of the officers or crew
were lost. The passengers are all aide. One of ilse
cow with to cows in it, was washed lota Ohs
ladies' cabin, together with other things on board,
and caused indescribable consternation and confusion.

On Sunday evening, after two dsys of terrible sus-
pense, a temporary steering gear was fitted up, end the
disabled vessel, with her distressed crew, made for Cork
harbour, steaming with her screw at nine knots an
I.oar. Her flag of distrees was sighted at about three
o'clock in the afternoon of Ttlllldier, off the Old Head
of Kinsale, and her Majesty's ship Advice at ones
steamed out to her assistance sad towed her to within
one mile of the lighthouse off Cork harbour by about
nine o'clock, where she remains moored. Her passengers
disembarked at that harbour She will, on clearing
out. be towed forthwith to Liverpool, where she will be
laid on the gridiron and repaired. The Great Eastern
is not insured at Lloyd's, but is insured by the Great
Shill Conipsey itself, through the instrumentality of its
shareholders, at • very large figure. The principal
directors and officers of the company on Wednesday
started for cork and I.iverpool, with a view of insti-
tuting a rigid inquiry into the causer of the catastrophe,
and telegraphed special instructious to their agents at
the respective ports.
The disastee ia rendered all the more remarkable
from the circumstance that the vessel had only been
recently surveyed by the officers of the marine depart-
ment of the Board of Trade, when new decks and
other requirements were carried out and completed, at
a cost of 1:15.000; and the universal impression there-
fore was that the vessel was complete in every part.
Captain Walker, it appears, altnough accustomed to
the navigation of the Adriatic, was new to the Atlantic
route, this being hit first ‘oyage out; and the catas-
trophe altogether, however calamitous, goes to prove
that the Girat Eastern. although disabled and driven
back into port, is capable of withstanding a stone, and
of preserving her p ssengers in a pc. il to which other
ships night have succumbed, if they did not go down or
betonie • wreck.

A correspondent writing to a Liverpool contemporary
says:—" Everything breakable was broken; furniture,
fitting., services, &sus, piano—all were ineolved in
one common wreck: It now became known tint the
rudder we.. unmanageable. After dinner, at about six
o'clock, the vessel had to be steeped again, owing to
two rolls of sheet-lead, weighing some 7 cwt. each, and
which were in the engine-room, rolling about with evsry
oscillation of the vessel with fearful force. These
haring been secured, another steel was effected, when a
tremendous grinding, riusilar to light thunder, was
beard underthe ',addle boxes. The paddles had become
twisted, end the floats were grinding against the eidex
of the ship. The paddles were stopped, and thence•
forward the scene "111.1 fearful in the extreme: The chip
rolled so violently that the boats, although placed 30 or
40feet above water, I were washed away. The cabin,
besides the inconveilience and dangers, arieing from the
crashes awl collisions which were constantly going en,
had shipped. prolubly through the portholes, a great
deal of water. and stores were Boating about in utter
confusion and ruin. Some of the chandeliers caute
down ; • large mirror aas smashed into thousend+ of
fragments. The rails of the bouister hors, and nume-
rous other fittings were I,n,ken; awl cone idea of the
roughuess of the night's incidents may he gathered from
the fact that the chain caides ',dished theui•
selvea bright with the friction on the deck. A spare
riding hitt gave way on the sable neck, awl knocked a
lode throu4li the vhip's aide. Two oil tatike, elso on the
cable deck, nem an much damaged by another con'
mission that the 24M gallons of fish oil which they con-
tented ran intr, the hold and caused, during the rut of
the utilieppy voyage, a most intolerable odour. The
pluteogers luggage in the lower cargo apses ing
not piled up, two feet in woter, ad before the ship•
deliverance was effected was reduced literally to rage
and shreds, and pieces of timber. Nor were the injuries
confined to inanimate °Nuts. Nolen* then 25 fractures
occurred, arising out of oencussiont c must by the ties
weirdoes lurching of the vessel, mud that the 'tats and
bruises were innumerable. A (sad( was cut violently.
by one of these 'undies, against the peddle-box, sus-
taining fearful brumes on tho arm, which lie put out
to protect himself, and then Another lurch came end
drove hint against one of the stanchions. By that
*Hues...ion one of the poor fellow's lees was broken in
three places. The baker received injuries of a very
terrible character ill a vital port ; and one of the moot
striking incidents of the affoir was this poor man's
crawling in his *golly to extinguish some portion of his
baking gear, which at that untimely moment hail
caught tire. The preen times at which these casuelties
occurred we do not pretend to state. Thu accident of
the cow-abed being knocked into the ladies' cabin was
reported by telegram. On Thursday night the gale
was from the southwest, but by Friday morning it had
veered to the north-west, and the ship was drifting
as unmanageable as • log in the truegh of the sea. It
ii right to state that she &Al not ship muck water on
deck. It wag Soon discovered what was the matter
with the rudder. The pin upon e Inch it turned, and
which was turned by the wheel on deck, had broken
off three feet above the point where it entered the stern
of the ship. It was of wrought iron, ten inches in
diameter, and the iron appeared to be thoroughly good.
Its breaking at that particular spot was one of the most
curious incidents of the disaster. The thing to be done
now was to rig up some description of 'luring gear.
Thursday and Friday were occupied in these
arrangements, and on Friday evening the
Great Eastern VMS prepared to set out in rearch of
refuge awl succour, but she remained stationary, the
captain perhaps being scarcely disposed to put his
liastily-oonstructed gear to the teat. On Saturday
Wight, however, a circuusetenoe occurred which greatly
restored the spirits of all on board. A ship hove in
eight, and by UICALIs of • blue light, rockets, and the
tiring of cannon, her attention was attracted. The
vessel proved to be the brig Magnet, of Halifax; and
the commander of this ship deserves the moot honour-
able mention for the kindness with which lie cemented
to lay to during the nighL,M)4l for other attention, which
he very cordially paid to the distressed Leviathan. The
effect was wonderful. Milani, crew, and passenger+
were alike inspirited; and, aa one of the speakers at a
meeting held in the matron, on Tuesday, observed, the
sight of the Magnet au like that of the dove returning
to the ark. On Sunday, at two o'clock, the Great
Eastern got under way. The experiment succeeded.
The rudder was found to act, and the vessel ploceeded
nine knots an hour propelled by her screw alone."
Another correepondent, writing on the same subject,
stile.:—" Any other vessel but the Great Eastern
would have gone down under the eircumetances, but
the strength of her materials kept her tarygether. She
Man about 26 feet deep in the water; had she been 30
feet deep alas would hove rolled less. She MILA sailing
broadside to the woves, and the rudder coukl not resist
the tremendous farce of the current."

EXLCUTION AT lIAIDSTONIL—On Tbuisday morning
the last dread sentence of the law was carried in'.
effect upon Peter Mesterman, aged 22, late • private in
the Royal Artillery, who was hung in fmnt of the Kent
county prison, for the wilful murder of Martin Murphy,
• serjeaut in the same service. The culprit bore by
110 means a good character in Ws regiment. end hart
been several times punished for iusebordin dine and
violent conduct. The culprit did not seem from the
first to have entertained any expectation that Ilia if.,
would be altered, and be scorned to have made up his
mind to what wee to bin, an inevitaule reault. He
slept soundly for several hours durinr the night pre-
vious to hi* execution, and lie was vi.ited shortly slier
seven o'clock by Father Ennuminel. who reni•ined with
him in his cell mail the last nievemeet. The priiiondr
several tones repeated that he had no intention to kill
the serjeant, but admitted that his sentence was • knit
one. Mr. Charles Pshuer, the under sheriff for the
county ol Kent, and Mr filcudainote, who acts in the
capacity, for the Maidetoue district, aosennenied
by several of their officer., and the governor of the gaol,
arrived at the gaol little before twelve u'illock, and at
onee proceeded to the cell where the prisoner had been
*puttied. He bowed respectfully to them upon their
entrance, and paid he less prepared Celeraft, the
executioner. enel his imaiatiant, were then introloced,
stied the culprit underwent the cereariny of
very firmly, placing hii,uaelf readily,, the position in
which the atraps and the cord by whieh the wrista and
arms are bound could he snore readily adjusted. Twelve
o'clock the hour appointed fur the execution, having
arrived, the usual mournful preeesaien wss formed to
the scaffold, *Mob is at some considerable distance on
the outaide of one of the wing. of the gaol. The prisoner
walked with a firm step, and apps' 'red deeply engaged
in prayer. He appeared to die penitent. Abont 3,000
person,' were present.
At Huratperpoint, in finesex, a devoted eldiegmean
hasi inetituted • college for the edneatiin mid training of
youths of the middle chimes, on the model of the Uni•
versities. The plan has succeeded admirably. arid on
Tuesday the fomidation-stone of • new chapel for the
institution was laid. The Bishop of Oxford took part
in the proceedings.
. .

A boiler explosion occurred at Nome oil-cake noille iii
Itotherhithe bolt week, by which six -nen were killed
outright sad four others died soon after Several other*
who were paeaing at the tune were also severely injured.
The jury return.' a verdict°, •cciderKaj 4astl3, boles.
pressed an opii.ion that the weight.; to the safety valves
were hoe proporl7 easetrasted ter the We worldag at
thr beam