The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-05 00:00:00

•
COURT CIRCULAR.
• WINDSOR., WEDNESDAY.—Her Majesty and Prince
Albert took their usual morning walk.
Prince Albert, accompanied by the Duke of Bedfcrd,
the Marquis of Exeter, Earl Spencer, the Right Hon. C.
Wood, and attended by Captain the Hon. Alexander
Gordon, Equerry in Waiting, enjoyed the sport of
shooting.
The Royal Family took their accustomed exereise this
morning. Her Royal Highness the Princess Helena was
taken an airing to-day.
Mr. and Lady Mary Wood left the Castle to-day.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert rode out this after-
noon in a pony carriage and pair, the Prince driving.
In a second carriage were the Duchess of Bedford,
the Marchioness of Exeter, the Countess Spencer, and
Lady Portman. The Equ?rries in Waiting to her Ma-
jesty and his Royal Highness attended on horseback.
The royal dinner party at the Castle this evening will
include the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, the Marquis
and Marchioness of Exeter, and the Earl and Countess
Spencer.
The band of the Scots Fusileer Guards attend during
dinner. Her Majesty's private band afterwards attend
in the Castle.

Her Royal Higheess the Thichess of Gloucester ar-
rived at Gloucester House on Tuesday, from Richmond.
A deputation from the London Missionary Society,
consisting of Mr. Sheriff Challis, Mr. Combs, Rev. Dr.
Morrison, Rev. John Burne!, and the Rev. Arthur
Tillman, (secretary), had an interview witilb Viscount
Palinerstoe at the Foreign-office yesterday.
The Earl of Auckland gave a dinner to the Cabinet
Ministers yr sterday evering, at his residence in the Ad-
miralty. The Marquis of Lansdowne arrived in town in
the afternoon, from his seat Bowood Park, Wil:s, and
joined his colleagues. The Lord Chancellor, Lord John
Russell, the Earl of Minto, Sir George Grey, Viscount
Palmerston, Earl Grey, the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, Sir John Hobhouse, Lord Campbell, Viscount
Morpeth, the Earl of Clarendon, and the Marquis of
Clanricarde, were also present.
The Ecclesiastical Commissioners had a general
meeting yesterday. There were present the Archbishop
of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of
Ely, Lord John Russell, the Judge of the Prerogative
Court, and the Right Hon. H. Goulburn.
A deputation from the directors of the Windsor,
Staines, and South-Western Railway had an interview
with Viscount Morpeth on Tuesday, at the office of the
Woods and Forests in Whitehall-place. The deputation
consisted of Colonel Wood, M.P.; Mr. Lacy, Mr. Bed-
borough, Mr. Chadwick, Mr. Home, and Mr. Drake.
A deputation, consisting of Captain Bulkeley, Chair-
man of the Windsor Railway ; Mr. C. Russell, Chair-
man of the Great Western Railway ; Messrs. Fowler,
Davis, Roberts, and Darvill, of Windsor ; and Mr. Saun-
ders, Secretary of the Great Western Railway, had an
interview with Viscount Morpeth yesterday at the office
of the Woods and Forests.
Mr. Ker Hamilton had an interview with Earl Grey
at the Colonial-office yesterday.
The Right Hon. E. Strutt had an interview with the
Earl of Clarendon at the office of the Board of Trade.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer arrived in town
yesterday from Windsor Castle.

- Sir John and Lady Shelley arrived at Farranee's
Hotel, Upper Belgrave- street yesterday from Newmarket.

THE GREAT BRITAIN.

DIINDRUM BAY, OCT. 30.—Notwithstanding the many
rumours in circulation respecting the plans proposed
and the parties engaged to attempt to take off the Great
Britain steam-ship, we can state, upon the best authority,
that the directors of the Great Western Steam Company
have not yet decidedly adopted any individual from
among above 100 projectors, nor any specific plan pro-
posed for accomplishing that important and difficult ob-
ject. In compliance with the request of the directors,
Captain Shrapnel, son of General Shrapnel, well known
from his invention of the destructive shell which bears
his name, has visited the vessel and made a short report
upon her condition. His suggestions as to the ne-
cessity of blasting away certain portions of rock
near the hull, and its temporary protection by
means of a gridiron-shaped fender attached to the
stern, to break the fury of the waves on this
dangerous shore, have been approved by the directors.
He has submitted to them a project in writing for raising
the vessel out of the sand, out of the reach of the sea,
by means of an apparatus ingeniously combining parallel
and vertical moving powers, best calculated, in this
scientific gentleman's opinion, to enable the hull of the
vessel to be thoroughly repaired—when, by simply re-
versing the action of this powerful apparatus, he -pro-
poses to launch again the ponderous vessel ; her own
weight carrying her down the inclined plane, and out to
sea a distance of nearly a thousand yards from the shore.
These suggestions, we have been informed through an
authentic channel, have inspired the directors with that
confidence in the captain's mechanical ability and
scientific knowledge, which must be so indispensable in
the conduct of an undertaking characterised by peculiar
difficulties, and certain to be attended, even if successful
with very considerable expense to the owners of the
stranded vessel.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TEAM
Sir,—Permit me to suggest a plan that I think might
be tried for the rescue of this splendid vessel, viz., the
formation, provided the stratum of sand be deep enough
fur the purpose, of a dock or " cofferdam" around her,
by means of a number of piles sent into the sand in the
form of a, semicircle, opening to the sea, the spaces
between being " banked up" by progressive stages, as
the sand would be dug up in the middle to form a vast
hollow for the inlet of water on the approach of the
high tides, whereby, the might again be got afloat. Of
course, as the work proceeded the ship would sink loiter
as she lost her support, and means should be taken to
prevent her from turning over.
Not having seen any suggestion of this sort, I venture
to throw it out, and more scientific men can consider
how far such a scheme could be adopted or improved
upon.-1 am, Sir, yours obediently,

TYRO.

TO THE EDIEOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—As the final destruction of this ;:ainificent ship
would be looked upon by the public with very great re-
gret, and, by naval men in particular, almost with a
degree of pain, retarding, as it would, the solution of
questions highly important to navigation : namely, the
efficacy of such large iron ships ; the local variation of
the compass ; and, not the least important, the supe-
riority of the screw over every mode of propulsion, be-
side the feeling of sympathy so general in the disap-
pointment and loss accruing to the talented projectors
and owners of this truly unique and admirable vessel ;
it is to be regretted that the most common, evident, and
easy means of saving her had not at once been adopted,
and unless they are immediately put into operation her
total loss would appear to be inevitable.
She is said t.) lie on the sands of Dundrum Bay, not
yet very seriously injured, with ten feet of water in her
hold at high tide, which flows out at ebb, and leaves her
dry; in this position, she is, or should be, securely axed
by an anchor and whole cable from each quarter, to pre-
vent her swinging on:shore, or forging on it.when got afloat.
To effect this latter object, and drag her off, the follow-
ing means would at once be resorted to in the Queen's
service :—all her spare, and as much of her heavy ma-
chinery as possible, should be taken out of her, as well as
the remains of her coal, and, indeed, every article but her
boilers, that could be removed previously to the next spring
tide; at least a dozen hand pumps would be pointed into
her holds, and all leaks stopped that could be reached at
each succeeding low water, leaving the scuttled hole to be
closed; until the last ebb, before the spring tide intended
to float her, her masts would be taken out, and two extra
rough spars that have been previously used as shears for
her machinery, &c., placed fore and aft on both sides,
under her bilges, connected and secured by chain spars
under her keel—the sand dug away for this purpose—
these spars would be secured upwards by hawsers
through the ports over all, or inboard; about 400 water-
tight butts (casks), securely slung, would be ready on the
beach, to be firmly lashed under her bottom to the spars
the instant the state of the last ebb would permit; she
would at the same moment be cleared of any water tha
might remain below the scuttled hole by the pumps, and,
this hole closed and made water-tight, a heavy chain would
be extended from the ship into deep water, and dropped
with a buoy on it, to be picked up by the steamer that is
destined to drag hcr off; another of the same length, with
an anchor, it might also be found necessary to warp out,
should the steamers not be able to get close enough ; one
of these latter vessels, of 300 horse-power and light
draught, with two tugs, would be perhaps sufficient.
To effect the above, 300 steady seamen would be re-
quired, extra engineers, and the usual gear necessary on
such occasions. Ido not, Sir, put this plan forward as
anything new—every naval officer would immediately
apply it in the present state of the Great Britain, or any
other vessel, as the chief material—though not on the
spot—is readily obtained. It is true, it may be hauled up
on ways, or a channel—if the place is not too rocky—
dug_ for her ,• but infinitely more expense, antdbdeelay
would attend both plans. In the first,
re-
launched—a great difficulty on this gat
her not worth
5
second, a gale and high tide would render
the cost of the work. she must
in
the
I have the honour to remain,
R N
W. H. OLMILXON, Lieutenant,
servant, our obedient humble

Co.'s suspension very
ethe creditors, most of whom are
foreigners,
however,The su mthat
ethe o results
the R u will
ssian
Since the announcelmitetlnet
hoafs Messrs.
transpired regarding
H
the prospects of Harman and
prove very
Government, to which the firm were agents, is alone ru-
moured to reach to about 440,0001., the balance of a debt
unfavourable. i
vs feraarbeldeou:
which not many months back stood as high as 700,000/.
The high esteem in which Messrs. Harman had been
held for nearly a century will account in some measure
for an amount so enormous having been permitted to re-
main in their hands; and on this point it is to be re-
marked, that although many persons were at first
disposed to congratulate themselves that the loss had not
fallen upon this country, it is felt, upon reflection, that
the injury eventually likely to be sustained by the mer-
cantile community would have been much less if such
had been the case. Not long ago one of the South
American republics suffered in a similar way, and as
the insolvency was not in either case supposed to be at-
tributable to unforeseen circumstances, the two events
must go far to weaken the confidence hitherto felt by
foreign states in the responsibility and good faith of
British houses. It is due to the credit of London that
no sentiment of sympathy for the fallen position of a
firm, however widely it may have been respected, should
cause the fact to be suppressed, that amongst our leading
houses, as well as the general public, the feelings with
which occurrences of this kind are regarded are not
limited to those of mere regret.—'Tunes.
Six thousand letters from New York, taken by
mistake from the Boston Post-office, just as the Cambria
was about to sail on her last voyage, arrived here in the
Great Western.—Liverpool Courier.