The Express.
London, England, 1859-09-12 00:00:00

(Stamped id. Additional.) [TWOPENCE.

on one side, whilst the death vapour scalded them
on the other. It was, in short, a realisation of hell
in the worst form in which the place of pumehment
had ever pictured itself to the oanscience-stricken
fanatic. How any one was left to tell the tale is
only one of those mysteries or eccentricities which
always distinguish great accidents. The only way
to save them was to drench them almost to drowning
with water, and as soon as it had made the place ap-
proachable, to remove them from their scalding,
fiery, living tomb. There were hundreds of volun-
teers amongst the men ready for the rescue of
their comrades, and—what a scene, as they
were brought successively to the deck! People
stood round, sickened but spell-bound, as each dis-
figured mass of tortured humanity was brought slowly
and tenderly into view. I saw one poor fellow whose
face had evidently received a blast from the furnace.
No feature was discernible, but it seemed as if a mask
of raw beefsteak had bean placed over his counte-
nance. A low moan was all that could be heard
from him, but you could read a tale of unattseable
agony in the dreadful, peculiar motion of his arms.
Apothem thought himself so little hart that, when
near the deck, he insisted upon going up the few
remaining steps himself. He faltered, and, horrible
to relate, when a man on deck caught him by the
arm to assist him, the flesh came off in stripe, and
the bare bone could be seen through the torn and
quivering muscles. But he made no sign of
pain—he was beyond that ; and in a very
short time after his removal to the sick
bay there wee en end to all his troubles.
A third came to the deck sturdily, and seemed
almost offended when any one offered assist-
ance. " Let them go," he said, "to ether poor
fellows who were worse than himself," but upon his
own We death had plainly set its seal. He had re-
ceived a white heat blast from the fitrnace on the
lower part of his body, and he was, I believe, the first
to die. Some held out hands scalded, and from
which the skin was dangling like white rags, others
had had their scalps torn off, and hanging over their
faces, some laughed deliriously, and others talked
like men half asleep, whilst others, and these
were the men who had still some chance of life,
prayed to Ood to take them and release them from
their pain. l'welve men in all were taken up with
all possible gentleness, and removed to the
sick bay, and, in addition, Mr. Briscoe, a
promising young engineer, and favourite pupil
of Mr. Brunel's, was scalded in the hands,
but I am happy to say that hie injuries
were pronounced to be of only a slight character.
Every attention was of course shown by the doctors,
Messrs. Slater and Watson, aided by Dr. Markham,
physician of St. Mary's Hospital, who was fortu-
nately amongst the passengers. Many of the pas-
sengers also 'Legated, amongst others Lord Alfred
Paget and the Rev. Mr. Roberts, both of whom re-
mained with the sufferers all night, literally pouring
balm into their wounds. One poor fellow who re-
cognised Mr. Roberts as a clergyman, received in his
dying moments great comfort from the spiritual
ministrations of that reverend gentleman.

It will hardly be believed, but it is nevertheless
true, that whilst all these terrible scenes were being
enacted in the middle section of the ship, the other
portions were comparatively undisturbed. A man
who stood at the bow subsequently declared
that for a long time he knew nothing of what
was going on, but that on bearing the re-
port of the explosion, he merely thought
that some pausing ship 12,4 been paying us a com-
pliment. The Great Eastern, thanks first to the
moderation of the weather immediately after the
accident, and, humanly speaking, to her matchless
strength, and the skill and courage of the captain
and officers—amongst whom the chief, Mr. Prowse,

shone conspicuous, although the coarse of this narra-
tive did not permit of his name appearing before—
proceeded steadily on her course, as if nothing ex-
traordinary bad happened. Of course her speed
had been slackened, and all strain had been taken
off the paddle engines, but the screw worked
wonders, and its engineer, including Mr. Blake, who
had been deputed by Messrs. Bolton and Watt to
superintend the trial trip, declared that with it alone
he wee prepared to carry the ship in eight or ten
days to America. However, we were not yet out
of our troubles. An immense ship wall seen bearing
down upon us, and there wee imminent danger
of her striking us in the quarter. We hailed
and shouted, but it was no use. The captain
evidently had more curiosity than discretion, and still
bore down as if to have a nearer view of the won-
derful ship. The helm of the Gnat Eastern had to
be put hard a port in order to turn her towards the
shore and get her out of the way, but at this critical
juncture the tiller ropes broke, and in a moment she
was swaying op and down and rolling, in apparently
the most dangerous manner. The waves, hitherto
so subservient, now made a mere plaything of her,
and we thought that in a few minutes she would
certainly have been on shore. But Captain Harrison
had not forgotten this contingency. Chains were
soon in readiness, this second danger was over, and
the ship was again proceeding steadily on her
voyage. There was a general impression that
some intermediate port would be made for,
but Mr. Campbell, the chairman, having fully
considered the question, thought that the beet plan
would be to make for her port of destination, and on
going to consult Captain Harrison he found that,
without any previous consultation, they had both
come to the same conclusion. The news was not
long in spreading about the deck, and everyone had
to make up his mind for a night upon the water,.
Already, gangs of men were busy clearing away the
wreck, and I took the opportunity of descending to
the scene of destruction, when I wu perfectly
thunderstruck at the amount of mischief that had
been done, and wondered how any structure made by
human hands could have withstood the explosion
which had taken place. You will think I ex-
aggerate, when I say that the first glance reminded
me most forcibly of the ruins of Covent-gardbn
Theatre a few hours after the great fire. Far before
me a mighty girder, to which fragments of iron and
wood, mixed up with the remains of arabesque
doors and gilded panels, were banging, exactly
resembling the proscenium, and immediately
below me was the pit filled with ruin of
every kind, and each object bearing a mute
testimony to the force to which they had succumbed.
A huge girder, the counterpart of that to which I
have before alluded, had been tern in the centre ae
if it were so much paper, and lay twisted up in per-
fect ribbons acme the floor. The vast fennel bad
in its upward flight torn through everything—fire-
places, decks, girders, and bulkheads. The grand
saloon had become a complete wreck, its flooring
having been torn up, its staircase carried away, i 441
costly mirrors shivered to atom, and its gay decora-
tions hanging on broken girders, or lying raised op
' with the smoking fragments of the wens room. A

minute before the explosion a lady, Mrs. Pony, wife
of one of the contractors, was sitting at the plane,
and at the other sad another lady, gri-
ll Cargill, wee seated at • table conversing with
the Rev. Mr. Roberta. Mrs. Parry hearing a crash,
nuked to the stairs, and reached the top step barely
in time to be dragged on deck, whilst the staircase
fell tumbling into the hold. Mrs. Cargill and Mr.
Roberts received a shower of broken glass, but were
able to escape at the other and of the room. I looked
up to what had once been my state-room, and found
that the whole fabric had been torn or smashed up,
to what is known as the great longitudinal section,
the strength of which, no doubt, by successfully resist-
ing the lateral force of the explosion, was the reason
why the sides of the ship had not been blown out.
I went to the foot of the other funnel, and examined
its easing. It was too hot to be touched with the
hand, and I could imagine easily what constant
core must be necessary to keep one of its
peculiar construction free from danger. But it was II
dangerous and disagreeable place, gloomy and full
of yawning chums; the smell of a recently satin•
guished lire pervaded everything, and I was sur-
rounded by the huge boilers, one of which Might pos-
sibly explode at any moment. I coon returned to the
deck, bringing beck a general impression that I had
never men a rester :menet ofdestruction effected in
so short a time; that the ship must have been a marvel
of strength to have camped total deetruction, and
that it was only by a miracle of Divine goodness that
the Oreat Eastern and all her crew and passengers
were not at tha moment at the bottom of the sea.

The cause of all this mischief was simple enough,
and can be made intelligible by • vary few words of ex.
planation. From the plan elm construction requiring
that the cabins should run along the whole length of
the deck, it became necessary that her numerous
funnels should run up through their centres. As
this would greatly raise the surrounding tempera-
ture, the plan of surrounding them with what
are called "water jackets" was adopted, the
latter congaing of an outer tubing round
the base and up • portion of the sides
of the funnel, the interstice forming an annular
boiler quite as large as any of the regular boilers of
the ship. This was to be kept constantly tilled with
water, and was to serve the double and apparently
contradictory purpose of cooling rooms and generat-
ing steam, the latter to be carried off by pipes, and
a "tap" being provided which was to act as the
safety-valve of the jacket. It is to be observed of
this contrivance that it had long before been con-
demned as unsafe—even the Americans, who are
not over-cautious, hiving abandoned it, and sub.
stituted air jackets to keep the saloons cooL
Mr. Rumen states positively, and I am bound to give
him the benefit of his statements, that this arrange•
meat was forced spas him by Mr. Brunel ; that he
protested spinet it, and that it was only in obedience
to the stringent conditions of his contract that he
adopted it.. This account was also confirmed to me
by eeveral disinterested witnesses. Bat we come
now to the second question. The safety valve of
this steam generator was a tap which was to be
turned by hand, and the opinion of every one who
looked at the broken funnel was that it had never
been turned since it war first placed in its present
position. It seems that—in this case, at all events—
the turning had been neglected, and that in conse-
quence the water within had rapidly become steam,
and, finding no vent, had burst upwards in the
terrible explosion which sent a long funnel weigh-
ing eight tons some fifty feet into the air.
Another statement was, that the person whose duty
it was to keep this " jacket" filled had forgotten it
until it was almost empty, and then in his fright sud-
denly filling the red-hot iron vessel with cold water
caused it to bunt and fly in pieces. It has been a
ease of individual neglect somewhere; but as no
doubt there will be a legal investigation I shall not
here go any deeper into the matter. There was quite
a congress of scientific men on board, and their
unanimous opinion was that this arrangement should
not have been adopted at all, but that, having been
adopted, all care should have been taken to provide
for the most constant and careful surveillance.
The neglect of such precautions has caused
what—if it check the career of the undertak-
isg—will be considered as an almost national
calamity, but it in no way affects the principle
of the ship, which, on the contrary, has oome out of
the fiery ordeal with entire success. The accident
was one which might have happened ea a penny
steamer, the difference being that the latter would
have been blown to pieces while the Great Eastern
was merely injured in the immediate locality of the
explosion. Neither can any blame attach to Mr.
Campbell or his brother directors, who could not
have been expected to be familiar with the technical
details of steam machinery. They had taken every
means that in them lay to make the trial trip a
success, but the road to success is always paved with
failures, and no great principle was ever tally
carried out without long delay, many blunders,
and unhappily, I most add, its quota of human
sacrifice. Out of evil in this case will
come good, as extra vigilance will no doubt
be exercised, and as an instalment Mr.
Campbell has already determined upon the appoint-
ment of an inspecting engineer, a man of skill and
standing in his profession, whose duty it shall be
to make daily inspections of all the machinery, and
L to order the immediate repair of the slightest defect.
The confidence of the public will, perhaps, be mo-
mentarily shaken by this terrible accident, but •
few voyages will soon bring them round,
and the rest Eastern will become an established
fact, in the mine way as the railway', after many
trials and mischances, and being objects of general
terror and hostility, are now acknowledged to be
infinitely safer than the stsge-coaches of the good
old times.

There is not much need be said abont the passage
down to Portland. The night closed in cold and
windy, but still a gnat number of passengers kept
the deck, unable to divest themselves of the appre-
hension of another calamity. If one of the waste-
pipes sent forth a tiny jet of steam, or the screw wan
heard to give a creak, every one became alarmed, and
the probabilities of another explosion were forthwith
discassed. Happily, however, we had now passed
through the wont. Twelve poor men, it is true,
were either dead or dying a painful and lingering
death, and thousands of pounds worth of property
had been destroyed in a moment, but the good ship
had now reached the turning point, and in due time
steamed safely into Portland harbour, where, for
the present, we must leave her to the care of her
brave and skilful commander.
It is not expected that the voyage to Holyhead
will be undertaken until the lit of October.
WICYMOUTII, SUNDAY NIGHT.
Of the unfortunate men injured by the explosion,
William Sparks, John Yoxon, and William Tait were
rammed to Portland Hospital this morning and are
progressing favourably.
Robert Adams and Richard Edwards remain on
board in a vary precarious condition.
The bodies have been removed on shore, and the
inquest will take place to-morrow.

ICUNIMiIAND PIANOFORTEL-CRAMER,
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INTMAMMNT.
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MOIL WAUS AT LONDON MILO&
Wiir:=Z: 11M

LONDON. MONDAY. SEP! 12.

Tits telegraph aonounces tidings of a new war
with China. The Treaty of Tien-tsin has been
broken, the passage of the Peiho has been denied to
oar ships, sill with success, 464 of our men have been
killed or wounded, and three gunboats have been
destroyed.
This news comes with a suddenness that is start-
ling ; yet it cannot be said to be wholly unexpected.
A month ago the English 'within, were informed, in
letters from Hong Kong disuse 22, that great doubts
were entertained there as to the reception the expe-
dition would encounter, the Chinese warning as
that it-would be unfriendly, and lead to hostilities.
Admiral Hore left Shanghai on the 15th, and
on the 1 ith reached the mouths of the Peiho,
where he was joined three days after by the Pie-
nipotertiaries of England and France. The tele-
graphic official report says nothing of an American
naval force having been engaged, while the unofficial
despatch states ZS a rumour that the American Mi.
sister had been received at Pekin. The latter state-
ment is improbable; but it becomes not unimportant
taken in ccrinexion with the fasts stated in letters
by the previous mail, that Mr. WARD had had
an interview with the Imperial Commissioner

at Shanghai, while the French and English
Envoys studiously avoided that personage, declining
to enter into negotiations elsewhere than at Pekin.
The deliberate intention of the Chinese Govern-
ment to prevent the advance of the squadron was
made apparent by the teems and stakes which
barred the mouth of the river. The forts which Sir
)IICILEL SEYSIOCH knocked down in May, 1868, had
also been rebuilt. Not ;madded days had elapsed after
the arrival of the equadrem doss it appear that any
attempt was made to fame a parmage, and when at
length this was done, the Chinree batteries', protected
against any attempt at landing by a force of about
20,000 met., opened a destructive Sre on our ships.
The milit►ry result iv that which we have stated;
the diplomatic result is the return of the Plenipo-
tentiaries to Shanghai, and the abandonment of
their mission, at least on its original basis.
Thom, then, we are once more at war with China,'
a war of which neither the jusi(e nor the necessity
is doubtful. A solemn treaty has been deliberately
violated in that very provision which was framed is
order to close a source of adrasoierstaisd4v sad

strife by establishing dined intercourse with the
mat of O,•crnmest. It is always with nest that
we contemplate the prospect of colliaion with the
races of the East, since,compared with European rams,
they appear to be incapable of learning the nasal
lemon of defeat, and war succeeds war with feudal
rapidity. But in the present ease our course is as
clear, that we can only hope for humanity's sue this
war may be prosecuted with •igoor and complete
mons.

Tue enemies of the French Eurgeol enjoy
triumph both es only he could have furnished. It
of mune possible that the article which we tease-
he'd from the lthwateur of Friday say peeve
to be another stain instance of that Imperial
Negativity whisk all the wed& lass speed to
easier, bat is the nineties the sely port of
it which everybody eadesteade exhibits Na,..
LIDO 111, as posessesd with a stymied saatesept tie
the aadentaadisg of the eget. People say well
infer that only sows dreg mess an hides the
Zerititoa to reocimpy pa►U* attention with those
prelimioarue of Villeinage which were hailed
on their pr .mulgation with infinite disgust, bat
from the thought of which the current of events
in Central l'aly has carried public attention happily
away. It concerns Frenchmen more than English-
tors if not only the fruits of the g►llantry of
their army, bat even the military nominee of their
Empire are disparaged to save the repet.tiee else
unnerved negotiator; but, when after two menthe
an sttsml• ie deliberately made to show to Europe
that the Iblrktin made at Villafranca was such as may
is.. lichen could be reasonably expected to ap-
prove, we are all at liberty to expos the hollowness
of t►e Imperial argument.

When the French Exrraos returned to Paris
from Valieggio the first thing Le did was to escape
his non-fulfilment of the Milan programme. When
he urged that the interests of France connseLled
him to desist from the war, even those who felt
that he had done wrong to embark himself and
engage other+ in it without counting the east,
ark nowltr,,td, nevertheless, that he had said enough.

Bat there still wad the dark fact—Venetia was
was left ander Austria. The words of NaroLzorr
showed that AMC apology wee seeded, and Vat that
time be could hare announced that he had ob-
tained aught that could be described as
"ezten•ive concessions to Venetia," he had every
lesion for stating their nature and object. But
nothing of the kind was disclosed. Oa the eoatnu7,
it was rochrimed at every Court in Eu►ope, without
contradii-i,,,, that the Emperor of AUSTRIA would
vug4estiou whatever respecting the
internal government of a State which he
held in fu.i sovereignty. It is only on the
return of Prince RICHARD iiforrayrica from
St. SIIIITeUr that we hear of conceseions of any kind,
and even now wears left to gone what might here
been their quality. But who can be the dupe of
concessions to Venetia. As there is only one
Austria, so there is only one Austrian sys-
tem of government. Austria may promise;
" "

may even intend to govern well, but she must MINS
to be h. reel' before she will govern otherwise than
with the mieral and the stick. A system of govern-
ment u w toch authority Is responsible, In which the
Crown i•' ,'.f co-ordinate power., In which the State

is somet 4,N• rent from the Oovernment—a lye.
tem, it. a wurol, with real guarantee, for liberty, would

be so hateful in the eyes of FRANCO JORKPM that it
may reasonably be doubted whether beweald net as
willingly see VICTOR EmstaNtrit administering it in
Venetia as be compelled to administer it himself.
And for not considering these concession., of
which no one yet knows anything tangible, of more ,
value than the actual independence of Central Italy, ,
the statesmen of that country, the FARISIS, the
RIDOLFIS, the RICASOLIS, the SALVAGNOLIS, are
told " they are men more anxious about petty per-
" tial successes than the future welfare of their cons-
" more country." The mean accusation recoils upon
its inventor. We in this country are constitu-
tionally disposed to appreciate peaceful successes;
our liberties have been built up by a series of civil
triumphs, which &commentator conversant with mid-
night plots, and blows equally sudden and san.
pinery, might consider petty and partial. We,
however, are prone to regard them as more solid on
that account. The Italians appear to be of the same
mind, andwe have not the slightestdoubt that even the
Venetians, if their opinion could be ascertained,
would a thousand times rather rest their hopes as
Italitna upon the existence of a united, free, and
national State in North Italy than on any andel taking
which Austria could give. The verdict of free men
everywhere has been unanimous upon the arrange-
ment for restoring the Archdukes to their capitals.
TaielOs, too, know what that restoration would bring
with it. Once before the Princes of the house of LOA-
LINZ were brought back toFlorence,brought back in
simple reliance on their good feeling and justice, and
in the conviction that they would not practise the gra-
htitous folly of attempting to set up a despotic govern-
ment over an easily ruled people. The Orand Duke
had chosen to say, "Before all things I am an
" Italian Priam," and in that faith he was re-seated
en his throne, bat only to fill his subjects with shame
and sadness. The French EMPEROR is fortunate, at
learnt, in this, that the Tuscans have saved him from
sharing any of the responsibility for the discreditable
consequences of a second restoration.
To explain the article published in the Monitor►
coosistently with the chivalrous Relied policy pro-
clainisdby Francis, it is necessary to assume that in it
the EMPLIOR take. leave with compliments of an en-
gagement which it has become impossible tocarry out.
We are glad to see that the EMPEROR'S words are so
interpreted by some of the most able end experienced
French publicists. In that arse public opinion
would judge with candour the necessities of hie
MAJESTT's situation. The EMPEROR, in fact, nye
that the only consequence of the rejection of the
Archdukes will be that Venetia will be governed as
au Austrian province. "The work of France is at
"an end," so far aa the freedom of Venetia is
concerned ; but only so far. France is not under
any obligation to abed more blood or expend more
, money to effect the emancipation of the Italian ter-
ritory still lying under Austrian dominion. Bat on
the other hand, if she can curtail her projects she
cannot renounce her ideas. The Estrenoa tells 111
the Archdukes will not be restored by foreign army.
The honour of France, the pubic opinion of Europe,
will not permit it.
Most happily fur all parties—for France, which wee
in danger of being compromised; for the Austrian.,
who have something better to do with their money
then spend it in a war for petty foreign princes ; for
Europe, which has long enough endured the disquiet
of an " Italian question "—a solution peaceful.
national, and with every guarantee of per
reticence is ready to hand, ia already a feet.
The union of Tuscany, Parma, and Modena. sits
Piedmont by the free vote of all the parties, is one
which no one has a right to call in question. If the
people of throe states—let us rather say of the now
Vatted Kingdom of Northern Italy—are frowned
upon by neighbours they know what they have to
do. Let them show themselves prepared to defend
their libertim If they want England's advice, let
them ask themselves what Englishmen would do in
like circumstances. We can only wish that they

should do *hat which we should be certs to do
ourselves. If their liberty and independence are, as
we believe, dear to them, they are wov.h sacrifices.
In defending them they will have the support of
all Europe, which, moreover, would visit with itv
41;spleasore those who should trouble its peace b
restore a state of things is Italy al which it is cely
too glad to No the tarmiaatioe.