The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-26 00:00:00

THE THAMES TUNNEL.

The great difficulties which have impeded the completion of
this extraordinary undertaking may with truth be said now to
have been entirely overcome. The work has been wholly com-
pleted under the river and the shield; the avant courier of the
structure, is now below the Compan3's wharf on the Middlesex
side. The operations at Wapping, for completing the shaft by
which foot-passengers will descend, are in full activity. Thirty
feet of this shaft have already been completed, leaving about
forty feet mote to be accompl•shed. The natural ground which
has been al: eady touched is favourable for the gradual and safe
descent of this enormous and ingenious mass of brick-work.
The engineer, Mr. Brunel, has, in some respects, varied the
scale upon which the shaft is constructed, as compared with
that which was sunk years ago at Rotherhithe, by constructing
it larger at bottom than it will be at its summit. Immediately
the shaft has been sunk to its required depth the shield will be
advanced from its present position, having traversed thirty-three
feet six inches. The communication, throughout the entire length
of the Tunnel, will then be thrown oren. The run of water
from land-springs into the Tunnel at present is from four hun-
dred to five hundred gallons per minute. When, however,
the communication has been thrown open between the whole
line, this influx will cease. The engine with less than half its
power, throws off the water arising from land-springs, and the
visitors archway up to the shield is perfectly dry. It is ex-
pected that the ceremony of opening the Tunnel will take
Owe about the end of next summer. It need hardly be ob-
servi d that the engineer (Mr. Brunel), who has devoted his
whole attention for fourteen years, looks forward to the ac-
complishment of the Tunnel with the greatest interest. We
hear that lier Majesty, fully alive to the great skill and talent
of the engineer, is about to confer the honour of knighthood
upon him, The assistant engineer (Mr. Page), and indeed
the whole body of workmen, most of whom have been em-
ployed from the commencement on this apparently dangerous,
but now secure work, are also most anxious for its entire com-
pletion. The shield presents a very novel appearance as now
lighted up, viz., that of a Gothic window. • Several foreigners
of distinction have recently visited the works.

WRECK OF THE MARY STUART.

On Wednesday afternoon the following painful. intelligence
reached the underwriters at Lloyd's relative to the loss of
the Mary Stuart, of Cardiff, and death of Lieutenant Smith,
Royal Navy, and five of the • coast guard, which happened
on the morning of Tuesday last, near Penzance, in Cornwall.
At about half past seven o'clock on Tuesday morning last the
inhabitants of Portleaven, a small village situate on the sea
coast, ten miles from Penzance, observed a vessel lying off
Bay
yder assistance, but the sea was so rough,
t
n
in distress. They immediately hastened to
to render
blowing a gale from the south-west, it was im-
possible to laungh a boat Of in safety. The vessel proved
to 1 e the Mary Stuart, a schooner laden with iron ore,
from Cardiff, in Glamorganshire, bound to Constantinople.
It appeared to those on shore that her rudder had un-
shipped, and the crew, fearing the vessel would go on shore,
let go the anchor, and brought her up to about three-
quarters of a mile from the land. Unfortunately, the situa-
tion was one of the worst description ; but, the night being
excessively dark, the crew were unable to perceive the pre-
cise spot where they brought up, and at daybreak the gale
had commenced, and to alter the position would occasion her
immediate destruction. Towards nine o'clock the gale in-
creased in severity, and by ten it blew a hurricane. The crew
expected the vessel would every moment part from her anchors,
and, in the hope of saving their lives, cut away her mast, which,
in falling overboard nearly capsized the ship. However, she
righted, and the anchors kept fast until about twelve o'clock,
when a heavy sea broke her cables, and she went ashore. By
that perial several hundred people had assembled on the beach,
and there was also a strong detachment of the Coast guard ser-
vice, under the direction of Lieut. Smith, R.N.
into
eeffect,The spf.t where the ill-fated vessel grounded was within
half a mile from the shore, and the perilous situation of the
io
crew excited the humanity of Lieutenant Smith, who deter-
mined to make an the
Tesl ; and
b ot
accord-
ingly one of the boats belonging to the service was got in
readiness, but owing to the heavy swell of the sea it was
found imposs ble to ipt
carryten thattr intention reach
the course of an hour after, the sea becoming somewhat
att
abated, Lieutenant Smith and five of the men jumped in and
pushed off amidst the loud huzzas of the assembled multi-
tude, but scarcely
had the cheers died away before a tre-
mendous wave broke over the boat and swamped it. For a
few seconds the gallant fellows were observed buffeting the
waves ; their struggles were, however, of short duration, as
they one by one &sal)?
• eared. What renders this unf alunate
occurrence still more melancholy is, that the whole of the
persons who had been drawn to the spot beheld them perish
without being able to afford the slightest assistance to the
brave fellows, and ,among them were the wives and children
of four of them. At about one o'clock in the forenoon her
ter the Sylvia arrived from Penzance,
Majesty's revenne cut • _
and succeeded in rescuing the crew, who were in an ex-
hausted condition.
The vessel, it is feared, will become a
total wreck. She is a new vessel, and this was her first
to state that none of the bodies at the
voyage. We regret
time our information came away had been found. The un-
fortunate men have left twenty-six children to lament their

THE EASTERNQUESTioN.—TIIe hopes that
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w ere entertained by well informed persons that the conference would
proceed to complete its work, and conclude diplomatically the
Eastnn Question, which has been long:since elided, in fact have
vanished within these twenty-four hours. We hear that the
French Cabinet received very favourably the further overtures
made by Lord Palmerston on the late communication of the Pro-
tocol, declared its assent, with the exception of some unimportant
points, and authorised the Charge d'Affaires to take part in the
further proceedings of the Conference, and to sign the projected
Convention between the Five Powers and Turkey; the day for
'signing it was already fixed, when, unfortunately; the news of
the
Hatti Scherif of the Sultan, and of his harsh condition (to be im.
Posed on Mehemet Ali) reached Paris on the authorization
before given to Baron de Bourqueney, was withdrawn.
At the time the Russian Ambassador, who had hitherto taken part
in all the negotiations without mai:ifesting any opposition, is said
to have declared, in 'consequence of recent instructions, that he
cannot take part in a convention to be signed in conjunction with
France, and this declaration has caused great surprise In our
piplomatie circies.—Brussels Paper.