The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-30 00:00:00

POST-OFFICE NOTICES.

VIGO, OPORTO, LISBON, CADIZ, GIBRALTAR, MEDI-
TERRANEIN,:EGYPT, INDIA.,AND CHINA.—The next mails
for Gibraltar, Malta, Greece, the lonian Islands, Egypt,
India, China, &c., viaSouthampton' will be dispatched
from hence on the evening of the 2d January.. The Ta-
gus, for the Mediterranean, Egypt, India, China, &c.,
mails of the evening of the 2d January. The next mails
for the Mediterranean, Egypt, India, China, &c., via
Marseilles, will be dispatched from hence oa the evening
of the 7th January.
MADEIRA, BRAZIL, AND BUENOS AYRES: [From
August to January inclusive, the packet touches at Per-
nambuco and Bahia on her outward passage to Rio Ja-
neiro, and the other six months on her homeward.] Her
Majesty's brig Penguin, for the .mails of
_the evening of
the 4th January. -
SYDNEY (N.S.W.)—The Bussorah Merchant, for the
mails of the evening.of the 31st inst.
WEST INDIES, &c.—The' Ta-y, for the mails of the
morning of the 2d January 4:
AMERICA..—The Eiihernie, f6r the mails of the even-
ing of the 4:h January.
Snxp LETTERS. From Monte Video and Callao
New York, by the American Eagle, Chadwick, at Dover

LLOYD'S 81-11PPI4G::'
LONDON, DEC. 29.-LWilid SAE., light airs, and fine clear
mild weather.
DEAL, DEC. 28.—Wind, N.N.W., thick; S.E.—
Arrd. Glenbervie, Russell, Port Philip; John Baring, gear-
man, New York ; Sarah Barry, Mowat, Saguenay.
LIVERPOOL, DEC. 28.—Wind S.—Arrd. T. W. Sears,
Eldridge, New York. sailed 4th inst. ; Mason, Upshnr, New
York ; Rockshore, Evans, Quebec. Std. Chatham, Batten-
tine, Hong-gong; Granville, Touzell, Rio Grande; Mole,
Remedelle, Africa; Woodpecker, Williams, Jamaica; As-
tracan, Ford, New Orleans; Yucatan, Casey. New Orleans;
Russia, Preble, Philadelphia • New York, Skiddy, New 'York.
Off port, Sweden, Brown, Philadelphia; Orleans; Republic, Balti-
more; F. H. Shepherd, New York; Euclid, St, Stephen's,
N.B. ; Mersey, Montreal; Souter Johnny, Montreal;
Affghan, Quebec; Effingham, Quebec; Eliza Stewart, Que-
bec ; and Requiter, Quebec.
OFF EASTBOURNE, Disc. 28.—Antoinette Maria, Batavia.
Soutims.rroN, Dac. 25.—Arrd. R. Reynolds, Walker,
Quebec ; 28th, Royal Tar steamer, Joy, Gibraltar.
OFT SWANAGE.—Torgean, Hansen, Porto Cabello, for
Hambnrgh.
WATERFORD, DEC. 27.—Wind W. to N.N.W.—SId. 24th,
Begot, Williams, New Orleans. Off port, Saterlina, Ha-
vannah, for Liverpool.
Cogs, DEC. 26.—Wind N.N.E.—Arrd. Mary, Pinell,
Newfoundland; Wanderer, Baltimore for Newport; Eliza-
beth Hughes, Havannah ; Virgilia, Woodauffe, Miramichi.
Sld. Bache M'Evers, Batty, New Orleans.
BROADRAVEW, DEC. 24.,Acrd. Dromahair, Pine, Quebec,
for Clyde.
ABERDICEN, DEC. 26.—Sld. 'Undaunted, Ritohie,Valparaiso.
SHIELDS, DEc. 28.—Wind W.S.W.—Acrd. Aurelia, Ames!,
North America.

BRIDLINGTON BAY.—Arrd. John's, Gustard, St. John's,
New Lrunswick, for Sunderland.
GRIMSBY, DEC. 27.—Wind W.—Ajax, Cater, St. John's,
New Brunswick, for Newcastle, leaky.
SEA VIEW, ISLE OF WIGHT, DEC. 27.—A boat, about
fifteen feet long, marked inside " Perseverance, of Ports-
mouth, William Collins, master," has been picked up here.
WEYMOUTH, DEC. 27.—The Petrel, (R. C.) was towed
in here this morning, leaky, having been on shore in
Swanage Bay.
BUDEHAVEN, DEC. 25.—The Bell Rock, Reece, from Car-
diff, was abandoned near here, in a sinking state; crew
saved by the Stuckley, arrived here.
CORK, DEC. 26.—A brig of about 200 tons, apparently a
foreigner, was passed, dismasted, and on her beam-ends, on
the sth instant, 35 lon. 46 lat., by the Elizabeth Hughes,
Mullin, arrived here. _

MIDDLESBOROUGH, DEC. 27.—The Yorkshire, Lynas,
struck on the East Gow, on the 24th inst., and came off leaky.
BRIDLINGTON, DEC. 28.—The Sleepless, of Sunderland,
and the Thomas and Mary of Burnham, are on the rocks on
Flamborough Head.
BLYTII, DEC. 27.-The report of the loss of the Maid of
Athens, nearithis place is incorrect, that vessel having arrived
safe at North Shields on the 23d instant.

CAST MARBLE.—A discovery is stated to have
been made at Charlottenburg, by which marble may be
cast in moulds of any size, the marble being equal in
quality to the purest Carrara marble. Sevcrel figures
have already been cast of the size of life. The cast is
stated to be only one'dollar a foot.—Hamburgh Correa-
poNdenten.

THE GREAT BRI. TAIN.

BRISTOL, DEC. 28.—The following rt ,port from .bfr.
Brunel has been printed for circulation am ovgst the pro-
.

prietors :
" TO THE DIRECTORS OF THE GREAT WESTERN STEAM.
SHIP COMPANY.

"Gentlemen.—According to your request I have, as
soon as my engagements would allow of my leaving Lon-
don, paid a visit to the Great Britain, and I now beg to
report to you the state in which I found the vessel, and
my °pink n of the best means to be taken for recovering
the largest possible amount of the property iav ested in
her. If I state these opinions concisely, and without any
qualifications, you will not suppose that I have th e pre-
sumption to think them infallible, but merely that I am
compelled, by the shortness of the time left me to Trite
to you, to avoid all circumlocution, and to give you as
simply and briefly as possible, the opinions. I have
formed. At the same time I am bound to say that I
have not formed them hastily, and that my conviction*
upon the several points on which I may express my-
feelings are very strong.
" First, as regards the present state of the vessel. I
was agreeably disappointed, after the reports which had
reached me, to find her, as a whole, and independently of
the mere local damages, of which I will speak presently,
perfectly sound, and as strong and as perfect in form as
the day she was launched.
"In receiving this statement, you must bear in, mind
the great difference between an iron vessel and a timber-
built ship. In the former, parts may be considerably
damaged, or even destroyed, and the remainder may not
only be untouched, but may be left unstrained and un-
injured. In a timber ship this can hardly be the case.
If any considerable portion of a ship's bottom is stove
in, the timbers or ribs completely across the ship, and
the planking longitudinally, cannot fail to be strained to
a very considerable distance in both directions.
" You must therefore remove from your minds all im-
pressions derived from your experience of damages sus-
tained by timber-built-ships, in order to understand my
statement, which is strictly correct • that, except the
parts actually damaged, the extent of which is compara-
tively small, the ship is perfectly sound, and as good as
the hour when she struck. This soundness and freedom
from any damage extends from about the five-foot water
line to the top (with the exception of the injury sustained
by the knocking away of the rudder post, and a blow
under the stern) ; nearly the whole of the vessel is
therefore sound. The principal injury is in her
bottom, under the boiler and engines. The vessel
has evidently been thumping upon the rocks, and
almost entirely upon this part of the bottom,
from the first few days after she grounded, and at
present, in all probability, her whole weight is resting
on this part; yet, notwithstanding this, she is perfectly
straight, and has not broken or even sprung an inch in
the whole length. The boilers have been forced up
about fifteen inches, and one of the condensers has
been lifted about eight :inches, breaking the air-
pump. At present this is nearly the extent of damage
done, all of which could easily be repaired if the vessel
were in dock.

" I will now state my opinion of the best means of re-
covering the largest possible amount of the property
which has been invested in her.

"In this view I can only imagine two alternatives;
the one to break her up on the spot, and make the most
of her materials; the other to get her afloat, and into
port, and restore her into good condition, or sell her to
those who would so restore her. The first alternative
may, I think, be discarded at once. The plates and ribs
of an iron vessel are difficult enough to convert into
• useful materials for any other purposes, even in the
midst of workshops, and with tools and appliances at
hand. In such a place as Dundrum Bay, Ido not be-
lieve the materials would pay the expense of cutting up.
The masts, spars, chains, &c., in tact, the stores, and,
perhaps, a few of the lighter parts of the engine, might
repay the cost of removal; but the whole would cer-
tainly not amount to many thousands—probably
hundreds would be - a safer estimate of the amount
to be realized, clear of all expenses. To remove the
vessel and take her into port, and either restore her or
sell her, is then the only means of recovering any part
of the whole of the capital invested in this ship. It she
is so brought into port, she may be worth, unrepaired,
40,000 L, 50,0001, or 60,0001., according to the opportu-
nities that may offer themselves of employing her use-
fully or of selling her. The only question is, then, how,
at the least expense and at the smallest risk, is the vessel
to be got into port? But as I will now endeavour to
prove to you the mode of getting the vessel off the shore
and into port is again quite secondary to the considera-
tion of how to preserve it where it is, so that it may be
in a condition to be removed, and to be worth removing
when the means of doing this are ready, and the proper
time is arrived for attempting it.

" In the first place, rasseit, unhesitatingly, that no
man in his senses, and who thoroughly understands the
circumstances of the case—the weight and position of
the vessel—the amount of th• rise and fall of the
tide, and draught of water around her—and the ex-
traordinarily exposed situation—would dream of cal-
culating upon completing the requisite means for float-
ing her under three months. In the mean time the ship
must be protected. Even if it were practicable to
construct the necessary apparatus, and to float the
vessel to-morrow, it would be little short of madness to
go to sea with it at this time of the year. But lam
doing wrong to discuss a case which cannot arise. The
vessel cannot, according to any rational calculation of
chances, be got off under three months; and it is equally
against all probability that, it left unprotected, there
would be anything worth taking off at that time. It is
useless, therefore, at this moment discussing the best mode
of floating the vessel, and I think, under the circum-
stances, would be most unwise hastily to determine upon
any plan. The first thing is, to know whether there are
any means of preserving the vessel, and whether any such
plans can be carried into effect at some reasonable cost,
which it may be worth incurring. I have looked at
the vessel, and considered the very exposed situation
in which she is placed (and a more exposed one could
hardly be found), and I am convinced that no fixed break-
water of ordinary construction could be made at any
reasonable expense, or in time to prevent mischief.
There is no depth of sand into which to drive piles, and
the rock is too uneven and broken to allow of any fram-
ing being constructed and secured to it ; and any frame-
work would be liable to be destroyed during the pro-
gress of its construction,as that already attempted has
been, and the timber might be the cause of serious da-
mage to the ship. ;,The plan I should recommend would,
at least, be free from these objections, would be compa-
ratively inexpensive, and, I am firmly convinced, would
be perfectly effectual as a protection. At the same
time, few persons who have not seen the effect of a sea
beating against fagots will share in that conviction.
" What I recommend is, to form, under the stern and
along the exposed side of the vessel, a mass of fagots,
made of strong and long sticks, and used in the manner
which has been so successfully practised in Holland and
elsewhere, for the repair and protection of banks against
the sea, the fagots being packed closely, and, for a con-
siderable thickness, against the ship's side, and up to the
level of the deck, secured with rods run vertically
through the mass, and chains laid horizontally, and bind-
ing the whole tightly to the ship. The heaviest sea has
no effect upon such a mass; and I believe that the vessel
would remain as uninjured, and indeed as unaffected by
tLe sea, as if in dock. _ _ .

" 8,000 or 10,000 fagots-300 or 400 fathoms of 1-inch
or finch second hand chain cable, none of which need
be lost-300 or 400 rods, sharpened at the ends-1,000
bags to ,fill with sand, with what stares you have on
board, would suffice; end if next coming springs, and
the gales which have hitherto accompanied them, are
safely passed, I cannot foresee any difficulty whatever in
completing the protection I purpose. Of course, in all
works dependent upon wind, weather, and tide, certainty
cannot be attained; but of one thing I am quite certain,
that no other plan offers the same chance of success, or
at so small a cost.
" I have commmunicated to Captain Claxton the steps
which I took in conjunction with Captain Hosken for
procuring the fagots beforo I left Dundrum. I have also
communicated to him the directions which I gave with
respect to the engines, &c., and it is unnecessary, there-
fore, that I should repeat them. I will only recapitulate
in a few words, the substance of the advice I have above
given, and of my reasoning.
" You have a valuable piece of property lying on a
most exposed shore. If preserved for a few months
that property will, in all probability, be worth 40,0001.
or 50,0001. ; if neglected for a few weeks it will probably
be worth nothing. Can you, as men of business, under
such circumstances, waste your time at this moment in
discussing what you will do three months hence, and
which plan you will then adopt to take your property to
market? But will you not rather first, and immediately,
adopt decisive steps for preserving that property, and
then consider what you had best do with it ?
" I have no wish to escape the responsibility of ad-
vising you, as you request me to do so, as to my opinion
of the best plan to be adopted hereafter for removing
the ship ; but, adhering to the principle I have laid
down, I should decline to do so at present did I not
see reason to fear that you might be losing time and
money, by relying upon expectations which, I am
convinced, would be disappointed. I would strongly
urge upon you not to place your reliance upon any
plan which depends upon floating the vessel by
camels, and taking her to sea unrepaired, and,
therefore, entirely dependent upon those camels. The
immense breadth of these floating camels, and the risk
of taking such an unmanageable floating ill-connected
mass to sea, cannot have been correctly and sufficiently
estimated ; and the certainty of the whole going to the
bottom, in the event of even a very moderate gale of
wind or a slight swell, has been apparently quite lost
sight of. lam also of opinion that the difficulty of lift-
ing the vessel at all by auxiliary floats has been under-
rated. The vessel has worked herself about five or six

feet into the solid rock and sand, and may very probably
get a little deeper before the time for lifting arrives.
She must, therefore, be lifted say, at least, four feet to
four feet six inches before she could be got out of the
dock she has made ; and the floating power must there-
fore be calculated at least to raise her five feet six inches
so to be quite sure of moving her. Now, there is not
more than 10 feet of water around the vessel, even at high
water of ordinary springs, and it would be impossible to
calculate upon more than nine feet as a certainty. No
floating power worth having can be got in the vessel, and
the floating vessels must therefore be capable of sustain-
ing the whole weight, with a draught, when the vessel
ii lifted, of only about four feet. The weight
to be sustained is 2,000 tons, and to do this with ves-
sels drawing only four feet, would require that they
should be upwards of 30 feet in breadth on each
side, forming with the ship a total width of upwards of
100 to 120 feet, and upwards of 300 feet in length.
I do
not say that this operation is impracticable, but it is at
least a very difficult one, and must be almost entirely de-
pendent upon weather; and, unless in, perfectly smooth
water, a vory hazardons one. My !;"9
lief and conviction
is, that the safe mode of proceeding, and by far the
cheapest, will be to lift the vessel by mechanical means
—to lay ways under her--and to haul
her up sufficiently
far to be safe from the sea to repair her just sufficiently
to make her water-tight, then to launch (aid bring hex