The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-06-12 00:00:00

TRIAL TRIP OF THE GREAT EASTERN.

As stated in yesterday's paper, steam was got up in
all the boilers early in the day, but it was two o'clock
before all was ready for departure, when the moorings
were slipped, and the paddles and screw turned so
gently ahead that the vessel was actually under way
and stealing through the water almost before any one
on board was aware of the start. The day was wet and
squally, and a drizzly mist, half rain, half wind, made
anything like sea cruising about as unpleasant as could
well be conceived. This fact, coupled with the secresy
whieh had been maintained about all relating to the
trial, checked anything like a demonstration in the way
of boats assembling to witness the departure. Only one
of the Ryde packets kept alongside for a mile or so, and
now and then the crew of a yacht or cutter gave a
cheer, but, beyond such recognitions, few and far
between, the Great Eastern left her moorings almost
unheeded.
Rounding Calshott Castle the vessel was kept so close
in shore, and turned with such marvellous ease and
rapidity, as to excite to the utmost the astonishment
and admiration of Mr. Murphy, the New York pilot,
who was on board, and who, on seeing how much she
was "in hand," at once expressed his belief that the
Great Eastern could go anywhere where there was
water. From Calshott she wound her way slowly past
Cowes and Ryde, through Spithead, and round the
south coast of the Isle of Wight, passing close in by the
green hills and picturesque valleys of Ventnor, over
which the rich undulations of the Undercliff could be
clearly seen. The condition or trim of the ship was not
considered favourable to her speed, inasmuch as she was
five feet lower by the stern than the bows, and her best
trim for sailing is on a level keel. Her draught of
water was twenty-one feet two inches forward, and
twenty-six feet one inch aft,—a greater depth by nearly
two feet than she has ever yet been to sea with. The

immersion of the wheels was twenty inches more than
hitherto, and the screw was so well down that all but
about two inches of the topmost fan was completely
under water.

Leaving the Isle of Wight on the starboard quarter,
and keeping out about thirty miles from land, the
Great Eastern steamed slowly down the coast for the
Start Light. The orders were given to keep both
screw and paddles going easily a-head at little more
than half speed tut an tint got into regular working
order. Then the paddles started, when clear of the
land, at about seven revolutions, and the screw at
twenty-four—a rate of speed which was only gradually
increased during the night, when the former engines rose
to a little over eight, and the screw to twenty-seven.
At this rate all went very. easily and well, the vessel
going at 9or 9,1 knots. The injector pipes for feed-
ing the boilers, however, were soon found to be
scarcely large enough for the duty, and the paddle
boilers accordingly had to be fed from the donkey
engiues. It was also quickly ascertained that the new
wooden casings for the forward funnels, and which were
intended to assist in getting rid of the hot air, did not
work at all, for all the hot air was most effectually
kept inside the casing itself, which heated to such a
degree as to require constant watching in case of
accidents. The forward pair of boilers also of the
paddles were more or less troublesome throughout the
night, and, indeed, during the whole trip. They were
constantly "priming," as it is termed, which means
boiling so fiercely as occasionally to send the water
as well as steam along the steampipe into the cylinders,
—an intrusion which, though not dangerous, is very
annoying to engineers, and one which the piston itself
resents by thumping on the bottom of the cylinder with
astounding bangs. This priming, as the pressure of
steam was not over 171 b., and the firing was moderate,
was at first difficult to account for, till it was ascer-
tained that the water in this pair of boilers had been
in them for the last two or three mouths, and the
boilers themselves were very dirty from disuse—two
causes quite sufficient to account for priming to
any extent. Beyond such slight iacidents as these,
nothing of any note occurred. The night fell as the
Bill of Portland was passed, and the lights of the
Magdalena could be seen glimmering occasionally over
the waves as she steamed down Channel for the West
Indies. Soon after eleven o'clock the heat of the wood-
work round the forward funnels seemed to increase
greatly, till the smell of its scorching became quite
apparent. The upper part of the casing which
impeded the ventilation was therefore at once
broken away, and, free egress being thus given to
the hot air round the funnel, no further uneasiness
was felt. At the suggestion of Captain Robertson,
of the Board of Trade, this woodwork will be entirely
removed, and replaced' by an iron lattice-work, which
Will, of course, give free egress to the hot air, and run
no danger of ignition, no matter what the heat. At one
o'clock a.m. on Sunday, the Great Eastern was abreast
of the Start Light, when the helm was put hard over,
and the huge vessel, even at slow speed, turned
completely round in a small circle in little over seven
minutes. During this turn, as throughout the
trial, there was a total absence of the uneasy wagging
motion of the stem and stern which was so often
felt last yeas. Its disappearance now was attributed
Guttreil to tii...-Li;tiet gi,.dorq tma diagonal bracing,
which have been latterly put in, and which with the
screw tunnel render the whole ship as rigid as a bolt. On
Sunday, at six a.m., Mr. AVLennan, the chief-engineer,
who had never for an instaut quitted the engine-room from
the time she started, gave orders to get up steam for full
speed. No one anticipated any very great results from
this, as even by looking over the side the effect of the
foul bottom in dragging the Water could be distinctly seen
extending as far as a toot from the vessel's side. By
steady firing the amount of steam was gradually in-
creased, and the revolutions of the paddles rose from
8 to 101, and the screw from 27 to 39, but beyond this
rate it seemed impossible yesterday to get them. Qn
the last run round from Ilolyhead to Southampton,
the screw worked easily at 43 revolutions, and the
paddles at 12, and for a short time at 12t, at which
time the vessel ran a clear sixteen knots an hour.
Yesterday, however, partly owing, we suppose, to the
increased depth of the ship (two feet) and partly
to the weedy condition of the bottom, nothing ap-
proaching this result could be obtained. Neither
screw or paddle ever went at a greater rate than the
revolutions we hate mentioned, and the greatest speed
never exceeded 12 knots an hour. An average of
12! knots. however, was maintained with great ease
and steadiness, the only annoyance arising from the
priming of the forward pair of boilers. The
seemed, also, some difficulty in getting Ni amount
of steams of which it was said the engines required
at least two pounds more pressure than could be
given to them, even with quick firing. The patent
log and the ship's log, and the run according to
the chart, all gave the same result namely, a
distance of 50 miles from 6 a.m. till 10 in the forenoon,
or an average of exactly 12i knots an hour, the two
last hours being made against a two-Isnat tide. Soon
after 10 o'clock the shin was again abreast of Ventnor,
and under tile charge ist! the same pilot, Mr. Bowyer,
who has always taken her up the Southampton water.
She was as easily steered through Spithead and round
Calshott Castle back to her moorings as if she had,
been a yacht. After passing Cowes the weo,lle
fi
came on thick, with squalls and heavy rain, yet it

ina4se no difference in, 'her, managexnent in sti,oh a
narrow channel, and before 1 o'clock she waja again
securely fastened to, those, wovitags. which have hod
her Bo seqrely through all the terrific gales of the
past winter. The result of the trial trip showed
that the vessel was, with tvitiing alterations, really

in good atgitgOillg trine, and the directors at once
me.t and determined that the ship should start for
New York on Saturday morning next. This deci-

sion was come to on the understanding thßt

Lungley, the eoutrActor, oould camptete whatever

detaUs of wowk remain to do by Wednesday, as Captaiti

Hall, we believe, most wisely asks thrfl clear days
before starting to look Aft.. •
nis crew and get them
au
—yawn to their proper stations in the huge
ship. No over-anxiety to savi) day should be
allowed to weigh U the balance against any request,
net only so prudent, but so necessary as this, and no
delay would he better borne both on this and the
other side of the. Atlantic than one required to

organise and accustom the crew to their places. The
crew, however, it must in iustice be mentioned, is said
to be au unusually fine one. It is confidently anticipa-
ted that the voyage to New York will be mad© in less
than ten days, whioh, from Southampton, would be a

very good run. It is intended to take the Great Eastern
over the bar, and moor her in the river in the very

middle of New York.

THE PAPAL ARMY.—The German Journal of Frank-
fort states that 50 Belgians have just passed through
Cologne to join the Pontifical army. Belgium, it states,
has also subscribed 15,000,000 f. towards the Papal loan;
or about one-third of the whole amount.
OPEN-AIR TEMPERANCE DEMONSTRATIONS.-011 Sun-
day the teetotalers of London, under the auspices of their
various societies, inaugurated their summer open-air
eampaigp, by holkling a series of depaonstratioli.s in various
parts of the metropolis. One curious feature of some of
these meetings was, that they were addressed by ladies.
THE UNION BANK ROBBERY.—The prisoner, William
George Palliager, the late cashier of the Union Bank,
and whose numerous defalcations have created so much
public interest, who, it will be remembered, was sen-
tenced to twenty years' penal servitude, was on Saturday
removed from the Gaol of Newgate to Milbank Peniten-
tiary, to undergo his sentence.
DEATH OF THE QUEEN'S CHIEF GAMEKEEPER.—The
death of the chef gplelceeper 9f Ple' rdui,, Consort
has iu i taken rlace, rte had Charge of the sporting
, • 4.; , er,t
department at Balmoral, and was also in constant
attendance OR his Royal Highness at Windsq. ;his
person was so great a favourite, that he was inirodueed
in Landseer's fIT3 Pigtllre of the Royal Family embark-
ing in a boat in the Highlands, Immediate]" on his
death being known at Osborne, the Queen sent a most
kind and gracious message to the widow, desiring that
all the arrangements for the funeral, 40., shouid be
epucitic*l at lief Naiesty's expeh-40,-,offre journal,