The Sun.
London, England, 1838-07-07 00:00:00

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,4,14".1 p " 111

VOYAGE OF THE GREA

he log of the vessel, which is now published, contains some
interesting scientific details, and demonstrates that while
the Company planned their scheme for pecuniary gaits they
did not neglect the improvement Of the art of steam naviga-
tion. More would,have been accomplished had it not been
for the unfortunate and premature death of a e chief engineer,
to whom in this publication the following tribute is justly paid
by the Company :
" in a small book, containing calculation,, made by Mr. Pearne (the
.Head Engineer, who unfortunately died at New York), and memoranda
of what the engines required to have done to them on arrival, I find
written in pencil a copy of a letter, intended either for Messrs. Maude_
lays and Field, or the -Dirertnrs, which, although much rubbed, I have
contrived, to decvpher, I think correctly. The blanks left would have
been. fiUed in and the letter finished perhaps the same evening on which
it pleased the Almighty Disposer of Events by an awful visitation to will
it Otherwise. There are no data by whichlo form an opinion of the
exact time when the copy was scrawled, but it is not improbable that
the last desponding words were per.cilled a very few minutes before the
acedent, which was the immediate cause of terminating the existence
of a mass, of whose value these pages bear ample testimony. His
health was delicate, and it is Frobable the anxiety of mind lie was about
to describe, combined with the zealous prosecution of his duties in an
enervating and heated atmosphere for fifteen days in succession, tended
not a little to prevent his rallying and recovering from the effects of the
scalding. In him the Company has lost a valuable servant, and sci-
ence, in regard to the engineering department, an able chronicler of one
of the most interesting expel iments of modern times. The respect ig which he was held by the assistant Engineers is a proof of their estima-
tion of his talents, and the affectionate manner in which his name is
mentioned by the officers of the ship and the young gentlemen (the
Cadets) his messmates, to whom it was designed he should endeavour is impart some portion of 'his practical acquirements, is the best proof
that can be advanced of the kindliness of his nature, and of his pos.
sessing, in addition to judgment, energy, and zeal, other qualities ad,
mirably fitting him for the important trust confided to him.
" The following is the copy of the letter alluded to :
" • Gentlemen,—l beg to announce to you by first ship leaving after
our arrival here that we reached this port in rah Worse
condition than when we left Bristol, excepting all hands very much fa.
tigued. We were fortunate after the first two days were over in getting
a slant of wind favourable, then light breezes ahead and fine weather„
with which we ran near to the great bank; after which we had some
gales ahead with very heavy seas, in which the ship behaved admirably,
although rolling and pitching considerably, as may be imagined ; her
movements, however, were uncommonly easy, and she shipped no water
to speak of; our consumption of coal has been greater than calculated
upon. We were said to have better than 600 tons on leaving Bristol,
and have new ebout having expended in days during
several of which I had expansion valves on various grades and
days only the two boilers at work, with a view to save expenditure. /
had only to stop twice, once to tighten connecting rod brass, the 3d day,
and on the 7th day to overshaui and tighten up bolts in wheels. On the
17th, at 6, p.m., stopped and got sounding on the Bank of Newfound.
land. Time engines, lam proud to say, have performed even beyond
my expectation, which was at all times sanguine. Some of the little
usual difficulties of hot bearings, occasional loss of vacuum, loose joints,
&c., were met, and enabled the engines to work as intended. The
changing water apparatus has acted to perfection in the two after
boilers; in the star beard fore one some confounded piece of saturated
wood (I sup,,ose) got into the apertute of the plug in the cock and
stopped the draw off: Some lesser obStruction occurred in larboard fore
cock; 'however, I regulated the gravity of the water by blowing off o_
casionally as required. The paper relating to saltness of water is hide_
cated by hydrometer left with me, which was incorrect, and rather
alarmed me at first. Luckily I sent on shore at Bristol for a second
hydrometer, and I believe arrived at a definite scale to prove the water.
After I got the pumps, &c., proper walk, I never much exceeded two
saltnesses of salt water!! in the after boilers, viz., if common salt water
eighed 11 degrees, I have not exceeded 25 degree's. In summing up,
the engines ate a piece of magnificent perfection."
The death of this gentleman prevented the observations
from being so correctly registered on the passage home ; but
those made on the passage cut, particularly with the hygro-
meter, demonstrate the complete success of the change pump
described in the following passage. One of the boilers it ap-
rear , by Mr. Pearne's letter, was by some accident plugged,
rni the hydrometer shuns that in that boiler which approached
the condition of boilers in ordinary steam-vessels the water
sometimes reached the density of 48, while in the boilers
where the change pump operated it seldom exceeded 22, the
cr Inary density of sea water being marked 11.
" The boilers of the Great Western are peculiarly constructed, having
in height or depth that capacity for generating steam which has hitherto
been obtained in lateral *ace. Originally it was settled that there
should be two sets of boilers and two chimeies, one set before and one
abaft the machinery, but it was thought that the after boilers took off
too much space for the saloon, and moreover would be likely to increase
the temperature of the accommodations more than would be desirable in
warm weather. It was, consequently, arranged that they should all be
placed forward, or before the machinery, The depth of the Great Wes-
tern's hold is 23 feet. The boilers and steam chests occupy the whole
space from the platform to the deck, they are four in number, in two
compartments, each boiler having a clear passage all round it. There is
fitted to each a change waterspump, through which at every stroke of
the engine a portion of water is drawn out from the bottom in quantity
about one-half that evaporated in the production of steam, the whale of
which is, of course, supplied with new sea water, but instead of reaching
the boilers in a cold state, it acquires an additional temperature of about
70 degrees, by pas.ing through a system of tubes, around which the hot
water flows in its ;massage to the change pump; the water from the boiler
is thus cooled down in in the same degree, previous to its being dis..
charged overboard. The merit of this i nvention is Mr. Field's, and it
would appear to be second to nothing in its effects on !ratline steaming,
The boilers are each furnished with the common blowsoff cocks, whieh
may be used in case of need, but with the changing pimps the operation
of blowing off is not resorted to, consequently the steam and the state
of the fires are much more uniform. The voyage of the Great IVestern
out and home has not in the slightest dtgree injured the boilers, nor has
it been necessary to renew a single fire.bar.
Here is a curious extract, which chews the number of revo-
lutions made by the wheels; and indicates several improvements
which may yet. be made in steam navigation and in our know-
ledge of various matters connected with the ocean by its
means:—

"The following I,,gs show the total number of revolutions of the
wheels, indicated by the counter on the ship's arrival at. Bristol, to have
been 557,454, of which number 297,354 were the revolutions on the
passageto New York, and the remainder, 270,100, on the passage home.
The diameter of the wheel is 29 feet 9 inches ; the diameter, therefore,
of the centre of action of the boards may be assumed to be 26 feet On
the outward passage, the wheels traversed 3,670 nautical miles, and on
the homeward 3,450. Assuming the distance at 3,000 nautical miles.
the wheels lost 670 miles on the farmer, and 450 on the latter passage.
The difference ii to be a: counted for by contrary strong winds, and by
the current, which impeded her progress, going to the westward in the
same ratio as the latter assisted it on her passage home. After a little
more experience, it is not too much to assume that the counter will
turn out a tolerably correct indicator of the ship's daily runs, and the
rate of the current which it is well.known sets with more or less
strength from the Westward in the latitudes the Greet Western has
to traverse."
The little vrmk is appropriately dedicated to the Earl of
Mint°, with a well deserved compliment for the kind assistance
rendered to the Co►npany by the Board of Admiralty.
It will be seen by one of the extracts we have made,
that the Company placed on board the Great Western
several young gentlemen, to acquire under the skilful engineer,
his practical knowledge, thus laying the foundation both for
further improvements in the art of steam navigation, and in
the condition of the class of men to whom in future the care of
the lives and fortunes of numerous other men must necessarily
b.? confided. The accidents which Lave lately happened to
steam vessels have created a painful solicitude for the character
and uquireinents of' those who have the management of them,
aid we are inclined to think that the way in which such acci-
dents can be most effectually guarded against is that adopted
by this Company of educating men to the business of marine
engineers, and paying then► well. Engineers now fill in
society places of the highest importance, and in this age of
civilization by the mechanic arts, they ought to be honoured and rewarded as heroes were in ages of barbarous war. To
do that would induce a superior class to look to the employ-
ment, and would, in our opinion, be a greater secur;ty for the
lives of those placed under their charge, than all the regula-
tions which the legislature can devise, and all the inspectors
which the Government can appoint. In more senses than one
the achievement of the Great Western, -to which we have
before adverted with great approbation, marks an important
era in the history of steam navigation. The Company to
which she belongs, and particularly Mr. Claxton, the manager,
deserve honour as well as success.

HE 111ARK72...:....ATH1S DAY).

COVENT- G A RDEN MARKET
Supplies of all kinds were good, and so was trade, The recent
hot weather has given a great impulse to vegetation, and the market
this morning showed the effect in every department. Prices lower.
Asperag:is per bole, 4s. to 12.5.; Celery, N. to 25.; Onions per bunch,
4d. to 9d ; Carrots per dozen, 6s. to 9s. ; Turnips per bunch, 3d. ;
Apples per bushel, Gs. to Os.; Rhubarb per bole, 3d. to 3d.; Strawber.
ries per pottle, 6d. to Is. 6d.; Cherries per lb., 6d. to 3s. 6d.; Gooseber.
ries per sieve, Os 6d. and 55.; Currants per sieve, 3s. to 75.; peas per
sieve, 4s. to 65.; new Potatoes per lb., 4d. to Is.
HUNGERFORD MARKET.
There was a good supply of all kinds to-day, and a good buF.itiess
done. Mcat-Beef, 61d. to Bd. ; Mutton, 7d. to Bd. ; Veal, Bd. to 9d.;
Pork, 71d. to 81d. Fish-Turbot, 58. to 15s. ; soles, Is. ta. 3s. per
pair; Lobsters, Is. to 3s. each; Salmon, Is. 3d. to Is. 9d. per lb. Ve-
getables--. Supply good, and prices lower; the demand extensive. Hay
and Clover at their previous value.
NEWGATE AND LEADENHALL.
. Town and country killed meat in good supply; the quality middling,
and the demand languid. In prices there is no alteration. Beef, 2s. 4d.
to 3s. Bd. ; Mutton, 2s. 6d. to 3s. Bd.; Lamb, 4s. Bd. to ss. Bd. ; Pork,
3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d.; Irish, 3s. to 3s. 4d.; Ves.los. Bd. to 4s. Bd. Poultry
in large supply, trade very dull, and prices lower. The following are
the quotations of each ofthe articles enumerated :-Geese, 4s. to 55. 6d.;
Ducklings, Is. 6d. to 2s. 6d.; Rabblts--tame, Is. Bd.; Leverets, 55.;
Turkeys, 4s. 6d.; Chickens, Is. to 25.; Pigeons, 6d. to 9d. ; Fowls, 2s. 6d.
Eggs in large supply, the demand dull, and prices lower, being now
45. 6d. to ss. 6d. per 120,

CITY FISH MARKET.
Supplies much better today than yesterday, and prices lower. Tur..
bot, 4s. to 15s. ; Salmon, Is. to Is. 9d. per lb. ; Lobsters, Is. to 3s. -
Mackerel, 3d. to 6d. ; Whiting, 2d. to 4d. each ; Haddock, 4d. each
for good ; Soles, 6d. to 2s. per pair for good.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE COLONIAL MARKETS DURING

THE WEEK.
There has not been any very extensive business done during the
week in these markets, as our daily reports will have shewn. Thia
sales have been numerous, and some of them heavy, and the
buyings in have been rather frequent. The only alteration
which has occurred in prices from those of last week has
been in raw Sugar, which is 2s. lower all round. Refined has also de-
clined. Rum has risen id. to Id, per gallon. Tea has sold at public
sale 2d. and 3d. per lb. lower than last public sale. Spices rather lower.
Coffee is unaltered, and so is Rice; Cocoa, Indigo, and Cotton have
not varied is value. The imports have teen light, and so have been,
the exports. The deliveries for consumption have been considerable.
ST. M

_ARYLEDONE ,ANIK FOR SAVINGS, ?6,
wumxcL.srusET.—Compuative statement of progress at specified pe-
riods:—

Open Deposit Sums invested 'with
Account. National Debt
On the sth of July, 1831 Commissioners,:
...... 1,013
1832 ....„ 1,617
183
18,":4
1E25
18:.6
184,7
18C 8
J. FINNLY, =cc. a A 4, tYq: