The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-13 00:00:00

THE. GREAT .BRITAIN. -
TYRELLA, WEDNESDAY. NIGHT, 11.30_ P. 3,4,
Since my last the weather has moderated, and this
noble vessel now lies in comparative safety upon the
t-sand, resisting both wind and wave in admirable style.
She has an almost imperceptible inclination to port.
Strange rumours are constantly cowing out abaut Tier.
One is, and that from one of the crew, that her captain
contemplates using tanks to float her off. I will not
offer any remarks on this subject so as to prejadice the
public mind either one way or the other ; but there will
be almost insurmountable difficulties in applying such
humble aid in a case of such emergency as the present..
It is the general opinicn here that the ship's weight
is from 1,000 to 1,500 tons. If such be the mse, I vary
much doubt a sufficient buoyancy being got rrom tanks,
let their floating power be applied ever so forcibly.
It is also confidently asserted that Lloyd's agent has
given up all hope of doing good from the simple fact "of
the captain declining to give up the ship, as he:was a
shareholder to the amount of 30,0001., and was therefore
entitled to her sole management.
The dangerous and destructive measures resorte&to,
to free her of the water she has made, are likely, in'the
event of her being got off, to prove very injurious to The
ship, viz., that of driving the rivets, whose heads have
been started by the straining of the ship. All steam
ships, more especially those of large dimensions, can
connect their engines with a pump or pumps of sufficient
force to throw off a considerable quantity of water per
minute, but in the case of the Great Britain no such ex-
pedient appears to have deen resorted to.
The following letter has been posted in the under-
writers' rooms at Liverpool :
" TO THOMAS COURT, ESQ.
dc By letter received this morning from Tyrella, the
Great Britain steam-ship has altered her position. She
now lies east and west on the shore, and making much
water ; it was above the deck of the saloon. Vessel is
higher up on the beach, and labouring on the

I am, &ta, " LEONARD WATSON.
" Nairn Point, Oct. 8, 1846."
The Warder publishes the following letter relative to
this unfortunate ship :
" Dnapt.
.-0ct.j174, Five P.M.
" Sir,—Since I last afldicaseilit ti',tiOtkihe subject of
this ill-fated vessel, soMe futile at 1,-, itave been made
to get her off, and the result has SeifjUst as • I *antici-
pated; that instead of benefitingVenituatien it has been
made considerably worse. The spring tides, upon;which
so much reliance was placed, came and went, as is almost
invariably tbe'case, accompanied by a strong wind 'and
heavy sea, and left the. Great Britain clinging to her
sandy bed more firmly than ever, from which nothing----
will ever remove her but the application of simple scien-
tific means, and which can be applied without Waiting
for the treacherous springs.
"On my arrival on the beach at Tyrella, on Tuesday
last, at 11 h. 30w., A.M., the ship was evidently in motion,
many persons on the beach remarked it ; she had her
jib foresail and fore trysail set, but no visible effort was
made to get her off. On visiting her after the tide had
receded, 1 found her lying with an inclination of about
a degree and a half to starboard, her forefoot was en-
tirely out of the sand for about eight or ten feet ; she has
not sunk so much as was anticipated abaft, I think not
more than two feet and a half ; her screw is safe and
can be worked. A quantity of sand has accumulated
under her bilge, but not to any considerable amount.,
Upon the whole, I do not consider the Great Britain's
danger at present is so great as is generally supposed.
She is encumbered with a great deal of superincumbent
weight, such as her quarter-boats, masts, yards, spars,
some bent sails, and an anchor hanging at her starboard
bow. It is not to be wondered at if she strains, with
these top weights exposed to and offering the resistance
they do to the wind. I visited her yesterday after the
tide had fallen, and found her stern had shifted in shore
about 40 or 50 feet, and she was lying with a very slight
inclination to port, and with her pot t broadside exposed
to the sea. Water was running in considerable quan-
tiqes from her rivet holes. .She was said to have had
ten feet in her hold. Are her pumps choked ? I was
informed yesterday, on good authority, that the com-
mander of the Great Britain contemplates floating her
with tanks. I r-ntioned in my last letter that I esti-
mated her weight at 1,000 tons; but, upon closer calcu-
lation, I should think 1,500 would be nearer the mark;
to float which of fixed metal by tanks would far
exceed any notion of efficient buoyancy ; and, in m
opinion, such an attempt will prove as useless as the latey
ones that were made on what were to be eventful spring
tides.
There is at least a rise and fall of six or eight feet
where the Great Britain now lies, which, in moderate
weather, would be quite sufficient to get her off; and I
am still prepared, if. I meet with due support and assist-
ance from the parties most closely concerned in the Great
Britain's salvation, to carry her off the sands of Dundrum
in safety.—Your most obedient servant,
THOMAS S. GABRIEL, RN.,
Her Majesty's ship Queen