The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-09 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sir,—l em instructed by the directors to transmit
to you a copy of the letter they received this morn-
ing from the Acting Superintendent of the Com-
pany at Calcutta, containing a report of the terrific
hurricane of the sth ult., and to state that this let-
ter is at your service for publication, if considered
of sufficient public interest —I am, Sir, your obedi-
ent servant, C. W. HOWELL, Secretary.
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Com•
pany,Offices,l22,Leadenhall-street, EC., Nov. 8.

" Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
Company, Calcutta, Oct. 6.
" Gentlemen,—You will, no doubt, have received
by telegram a few lines, which will have prepared
you to hear of the terrible disaster which has over-
taken us. _ _ _

" A. hurricane buret upon us yesterday at 10 a.m.,
beginning with rain and squalls from E. to E.S.E ,
and finishing a little to W. of S. From noon until
4,30 p.m. it raged with appalling violence. The
whole iihipping of the port, from Kidderpore-bridge
upwards, with the exception of some few sunk and
stranded on this side, have been driven from their
moorings over to the Howrah side of the river,where
they are huddled together, with masts, yards, and
hulls, locked and crossed in the most indescribable
confusion, and in all this fleet not one single topgal•
hint or royal mast or yard had been struck.
" When it came on to blow no time was lost in
securing our ships by carrying extra fastenings to
the shore; but the violence of the wind rendered
this and any other precautionary measures unavail-
ing.
"I cannot pretend to do more now than give you
an outline of what occurred; the reports from the
ships' commanders, and,where necessary, from heads
of departments, will in due time furnish a full nary
rative of all that took place.
" Yesterday evening at sunset the Bengal was on
shore opposite Mr Wooley's house ; I am enabled to
state that she is nicely bedded in soft mud and per-
fectly upright, shows no symptoms whatever of
having strained, has lost topgallant masts only, and
I have great hopes of getting her off next spring
tides, which will be very high ones.
"Both the Nubia and Nemesis at sunset were safe.
The former had her main and mizan masts blown
clean out of her, and had lost boats, but was other-
wise uninjured in hull or engines. The Nemesis had
been in collision with a large coal ship, but had
escaped with loss of topgallant masts and bowsprit
and some of her boats. This morning, however, the
Hindostan,whose stern moorings had given way, got
foul of her own landing stage, and hung across a
very strong ebb tide, laying over a great deal and
taking in water through her old top sides. About an
hour after I had ordered everything that could be
got out of her to be landed she settled down very
deep in the water, as if sinking, and, in this state
parted from her bow chain, and rolled down on to
the Nemesis, whom she tore away from her anchors,
and drove on to the Nubia, carrying her also down
the river. A very little way beyond the sheers, the
Hindostan rolled over and went down, and the
Nubia speedily got clear, but the Nemesis fouled a
sailing ship, and hung on shore by thit stern and to
the bows of the sailing ship off the King of Oude's
Palace for about two hours, but has been extricated,
and is now coming up under her own steam with
the Nubia in company. I shall add an account of
the damage to both ships if received in time for
tosday's post. Two things, however, are certain—
the Nubia cannot be sent to Bombay for some time
to come, and the Nemesis can only with the greatest
difficulty be got ready to take the mails of the 9i.h
inst., starting three or four days later than the
usual time.
" On shorn the damage inflicted has been incredi-
ble. In the Officers' Club, No. 5 Compound, scarcely
a tree is standing; even the noble avenue of maho-
gany trees is ail uprooted. The boatbuilding shed
has stood, but the roof of the coal shed next to that
has been torn off and rolled up, the iron posts
broken in pieces and uprooted. The three largo
coal sheds, nearly full, have stood very well, cx'
cept at the south end, where repairs will be requirei ;
but of the small experimental shed near the fl ig-
staff, not a vestige remains. The workshops and
adjacent buildings are comparatively uninjured.
The adjoining compounds, Nos. 1,3, and 4, are fear-
fuls
cenes
and
ddtehsoelahsestoiuon ' and ruin • not a tree is left
standing,
have very much suffered ;
none of their occupants will have an idea of comfort
for some time to come. In No.
vl3, 3
wharf
of m
will
Compound, n
bd
e, the
fur
road to the stores and sheers
some days impassable from largo fallen timber. All
the river moorings will have to be laid down afresh,
and the road along the bank will have to be re-

Opening

notice:—

Bridge.

rnE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 9, 1864;

Yesterday afternoon another wide and much-needed
bridge thoroughfare into the city was given to the public
by the opening of this structure toll free for a period of six

- -
or twelve months at least, if not for perpetuity. The nego-

ions and arrangements which have at last brought about
this most desirable result have been for some long time past

in progress. The shareholders were not reluctant to take
almost any terms for a structure which had cost them very
much, and which had paid them almost nothing at all, and
seemed unlikely in the future to be mpre remunerative than
during the past. They accordingly offered it to the
Bridge-house Estate Committee for the small sum of
£200,000, which, considering that it cost up to the time of
its opening in 1819 £660,000, and is as good now as the day
it was first used, was a very liberal offer, especially when

we recollect that the mere approaches would, at the present

day, cost as much as the whole work did 45 years ago. But
the corporation were not unnaturally unwilling to enter on
what must in any case be a costly purchase without some
better proofs of the utility of the road way than that which
was furnished in theory, for the practical fact that during
the greater part of the day London-bridge was virtually no
thoroughfare at all was ignored by every one as beside the
real question at issue. At last a compromise was come to,
and the directors of the bridge company agreed to let the
corporation have the public use of the bridge free of toll for
a space of six months for the sum of £1,834, or for 12
months for £2,750, the bridge company under taking all ne-
cessary repairs of roads, &C., during either the 6 months or
year. With this offer the corporation closed at once, and the
result was the public opening of the bridge on those terms
yesterday. Until now it has never been of 11.40 to either
shareholders or public, and the bridge directors have done
wisely in letting the public have the use of it toll free for a
very small sum, and trusting, like Sam Slick with the clock,
that when at the expiration of the time the article lent must
either be returned or paid for, the public will have got ac-
customed to its facilities, and be so convinced of its use, if
not necessity, that the city will have no option but to pur.
chase it. Southwark-bridge is aow the oldest of our metro-

politan bridges, except Vauxhall, which was opened in 1813;
whereas Southw ark was not finished till more than aix years
later. The span of its magnificent centre arch is one of the
largest known to exist, and was for years considered an en-
gineering marvel. The ribs of all the three arches are ar-
ranged as nearly as possible to the constructive features of a
stone bridge—a new principle for a cast iron arch, but one
which time has proved very successful. The segmental per-
tions of the arches, and the struts and cross braces, are kept
secure by dovetail sockets and long iron wedges, driven in
between the joints, so that through bolts were only used in
building and till the wedges had been driven home. How
these wedges will stand the jar of heavy city traffic, after
long repose and comparative idleness. remains to be seen,
though no doubt is entertained as to their perfect security.
The spandrils of the arches are similarly fastened, and the
roadway rests on the ribs, overlaid with iron slabs between.
When the work was finished and the centerings removed
scarcely any deflection could be discovered, though subse-
quent experiments made to aecertam the effect of contrae
tion and expansion showed that the centre arch rose in sum-
mer from an inch to an inch ani a half higher than in win-
ter. The piers and abutments are of solid atone, founded
upon timber piling carried below the bed of the river, and
the masonry is tied throughout by vertical and horizontal
bond stones so as to meet the thrust in all directions, The
first stone of the bridge was laid by Admiral Lord Keith on
the 23d May, 1813, and it was opened at midnight on the 24th
March, 1819, as the clock of St. Paul's struck 12. Such is
a rough sketch of the bridge which was yesterday given to
the public, and which, we trust, will never be revoked from
their free use. Shortly before 12 the Lord Mayor in state,
accompanied by the Lady Mayoress, and attended by the
Mace and Sword bearers, drove to the entrance of the bridge
on the city aide. The members of the Bridge-house Estate
Committee also attended in their carriages. Among others
present were Mr T. Webber, the chairman; Mr Alderman
J. C.Lawrenco, Mr Alderman Phillips, Mr Alderman Salo-
mone, M.P., Mr Alderman Gibbons, Mr J. Kilday, Mr W.
Tegg, Mr Brand, City Controller, &o. They were received
by the chairman and several directors of the bridge cone -
pany, including Mr F. H. Brandrum, Mr Carter, Mr W.
Pott, &c. Upan the arrival of the Lord Mayor and the
various civic officials on the city side of the bridge, the
directors of the company advanced to meet them, and the
chairman briefly thanl, ed his lordship for his kindness in
opening the bridge. His lordship replied that it gave him
great pleasure in assisting at the ceremony, as he felt sure
that the bridge would when opened free of toll greatly faci-
litate the passage of traffic to and from the city, and so
prove of essential benefit to the public.
The temporary barrier was then removed, and the Lord
Mayor and members of the Bridge-house Committee drove
over the bridge to the Southwark side, and turned round.
The barrier having in the meantime on that side also been
removed, one of the company officials read the following

Southwark-bridge is from this day open to the public
free of toll for a period of 6 months, or until further orders.
Opened by the chairman and directors of the Southwark-
bridge Company, in the presence of the Right Hon:William
Lawrence, the Lord Mayor,and the Chairman end members
of the Honourable the Bridge-house Committee of the cor-
poration of London."
The notice was again read after the removal of the barrier
on the city side.
The traffic during the rest of the day was chiefly confined
to cabs, and not very great numbers of them; but with
pedestrians it was pretty thickly thronged, and poor chil-
dren from the Borough and Southwark tested with their
hoops the capabilities of the new thoroughfare in all direc-
tions.