The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-02 00:00:00

• --
_,---
( 4
.... .
....3
e'v •
_....... ---"}17"-cle---------) ---7----Cml-4.-- :I___ -e---,------
-"'(-- de------
~ '-
c' -
--,
t TT N
A,--7
• - .. . ..• _.,
..
_____,..)
4111161114'.. 1 • eAlet
TSB LETIATHAN. liT"'" fto- :,-14:'`'—'"
,
, ~,
, _..1
s.; 0(41 - ~,i, i-440,, .1 f ' ilir^-7
x.S 4 , Alf ‹Z 'l r.
--**'VL:ll-' - A• I 114''' 1:%- jf '4
..'t
'4- ,O,'"
, ,
~.
a.
..-‘, ,` _!,,lti TO 7.1' 6—,!-_‘-'.3...4 , ...lir ~ 0% \ 4' IV' ifF . '-....
'' ... 1 ••••10.111111,...... "a ,1. i
The long lingering process of worki. :.." • :c."-
sr‘ .. .
....,,,
, 'l4l ,') t 1 loiiiiips ~,,V11.9-.7.17.16i. ,it . ' "f•ltt,.- ---------Th 11 1
'eldy vessel towards the water will ltiit,?...°7-I,'W
aimenced for the sixth time eitheK • - IF' AIL. . _.
. 1,7j0.
I '..„1„ .......).
r,,, 4, ,
.iiiir......,
.1w7..,4Ar./
___.,,erar..
~,,,mip....r....5. %,,--
..
.........111%,-4, „.• ' -..../E:Ef',4-11:41:111.4;:;:4:::""'l : '1 , lir ' 11; '...'', : ' ' 7:. - -":
~......- ~-...„.N I' , ~c .., ~.---..... '....
L 1
'onday. During the long intervaFirlf im 41g.16'
.--,..._____----- - ' ••,-,

unveil
recoi,
on
elapsed since the efforts were given up, in conse-
quence of what may almost be termed the total
destruction of the apparatus used in forcing
her down the ways, an immense number of
larger and stronger hydraulic presses have been
fixed in place of these broken and burst in previous
g' final" attempts. Now no less than 11 presses
are fixed against the aft cradle, and 10 against the
forward one. Among the former is a monster
ram—one of the two specially made for hoisting the
Britannia Bridge—and perhaps the largest ever
cast in this or any other country. It is, indeed, a
most ponderous machine, the cylinder weighing 15
tons 7601 b. ; the frame, 9 roni; piston, 3 tons
1,1321 b.; and the bolt, 3311b.-38 tone in all. The
diameter of the piston is 20 inches, and the thick-
ness of the iron of the cylinder 10 inohes. In raising
the Britannia Bridge an hydraulic ram of exactly
the same size and strength as this was ripped from
top to bottom—in fact, the one now at Millwall was
cast to supply the place of that broken at Menai.
There seems scarcely any possibility of an accident
happening to this, fur the base of piles on Which it
res.B Is calculated to resist a pressure of 200 tons,
and more than that, therefore, cannot be exerted
by the ram itself. Ail the other new presses are
supported on bases of piles of adequate strength,
the piles being driven down between the beams of
the launching ways where the Leviathan herself
formerly rested. It was intended to have com-
menced pushing her down in the course of yesterday
afternoon, but the " leathers" of some of the pistons
of the rams were misfitted, and required such alter-
ations as cannot be completed before to-day (Satur-
day), and may very possibly compel a still farther
postponement till Monday. The chains by which
the stem and stern of the Leviathan are dragged
towards the river have been immensely strength-
ened, And are secured, at the fore part of- the vessel,
to Trotman's anchors and to sunken piles, and the
stern to piles driven deep in the river bed on the
Deptford side. With all these aids to progress
very little doubt seems to be entertained that the
latrqehintlen , this ,ilecasion will In commenced
”_ieeitairelkiei theist 14-sineetelf. Oope it may.

[PRICE 4D. STAMPED 5o

profess and the God whom we worship. Is Lord
John Rus3ell, it may be asked, the proper person
to be entrusted either with the responsibility of
framing a new system of government for India, or
that of putting the same into practice ? Is the le-
gislator who would unchristianise the British Le-
gislature to be entrusted with the task of Chris-
tianising India ? The interrogatory raises a diffi-
culty that cannot be readily solved. It may be
premature to.discuss this point until we learn whe-
ther Lord John-'really has joined the Palmerston
Administration. Some of his friends do not believe
that he would commit such an indiscretion. At
any rate, whether the member for London accepts
office or not, Ministers are involved in what appear
to us to be inextricable diCultes, and with India,
the monetary laws, and reform in theparliamentary
representation, to say nothi.ng of other pressing
questions, their bands ark" folerably full. If Lord
John Russell has not *bed them, they can, at
least, boast of one noblerecruit—Lord Clanricarde.
His accession will give au impetus to their down-
ward tendendy, and Ministers may be supposed to
be altogether reckless, or they would not have ac-
cepted, much less have chosen, such a colleague.

Admiral Burton has addressed the following to
a contemporary
" Sir, —Had not some of the daily papers been
recently filled with the most fallacious notions as to
the best mode of launching the Leviathan, I should
not have troubled you with the following observa-
tions :--
"In the Times of the 29th inst., a gentleman
who signs himself 'An Engineer,' attributes the
great obstacle to her being launched to the increased
friction of corroded metals, and another correspon-
dent, who signs himself " Nauticus," recommends
the doing away with the tackling altogether which
is attached to the anchors in the river for heaving
the monster off.
On the 3d of November, the first day the trial
was made for launching the Leviathan, I was pre-
sent during the operations, and expressed my-sur-
prise to Mr. Hope, the chairman of the committee
of management, that the tackling was attached to
some i).arges moored in the river, as it Was quite
manifest to me, that however securely they may
have been moored their scantling was totally ina-
dequate to bear the great strain to which they
would be subject. The result was, as I anticipated,
their entrails were torn out, and thus ended the
first day's trial. At the same time I made theabove
ob4erv.rtions to Mr. Hope, I recommended that
large anchors should be embedded in the river to
which the tackling should be applied, and in case
they came home in consequence of the great strain
that would be applied to them to back them, Which
would most effectually prevent their moving, how-
ever.great the strain might be. AlLthis has been
done, and the next time I saw Mr. Hope be told
me that he had mentioned my valuable suggestions
to Mr. Brunel, who, in reply, said I ought to be on
the committee of management.
" Now, sir, the only thing that is required to
make the above plans perfect, in addition to the
hydraulic rains, and to ensure the undoubted success
of the .perations, is that which I also suggested,
and which is, to moor three larger bulki bead and
stern in a line about 30 yards from the extremity of
the ways on which the Leviathan is to be 'latinched,
and pass a powerful chain through the midship Port
of each hulk, which must be supported with timbers
underneath each midship port ; one end of each of
these chains will be fastened to the rings of each
anchor, and to the extremity of the other end just
clear of the bulks nearest the Leviathan will be
attached the tackling for heaving the ship off. By
this means there will be an elevation of from 5 to 6
degrees from a horizontal line from the Leviathan's
bottom, for the propelling power of heaving the
ship off, which will tend to raise and thereby enor-
mously alleviate the friction of the ways, be they
corroded or not. Whereas there is now a depression
of four or five degrees below the horizontal line in
the power employed, which pulls the enormous
weight of the monster on the ways, and come-
sequently increases the vis inertias and the friction
to an incredible amount.

"In addition to the tackling attached to the
anchors, the capstans on board the hulks could be
made use of for employing additional power in
hearing the Leviathan off the ways.
" The great desideratum in all mechanical in-
ventions consists i❑ its simplicity, and therefore the
minimum of friction."

THE MERSEY DOCKS AND CONSER-
VANCY BOARD.

LIVERPOOL, Jr.A 1.
The new Board was elected to-day under the
powers of the Mersey Conservancy and Docks Act,
20th and 21st of Victoria. It consists of 21 mem-
bers, of whom 18, called the " elective members"
of the Provisional Board, have been chosen by the
dock ratepayers ; the remaining three, called "no-
minee members," being appointed by the Conser-
vancy Commissioners. The gentlemen selected by
the Conservancy Commissioners are Mr. J. Laird,
shipbuilder, Birkenhead ; Mr. T. M. Mackay, of
Liverpool ; and Mr. Christopher Bushell, of Liver-
pool. Mr. Laird has distinguished himself as a
most untiring and successful advocate for the con-
struction of docks at Birkenhead, and the develop-
ment of the resources of the Cheshire side of the
Mersey, as opposed to the schemes for carrying out
the plans of dock extension on the Liverpool aide,
until at least the Birkenhead Docks are completed.
He is chairman of the Birkenhead commissioners,
and the acknowledged chief of the Birkenhead party
Mr. T. M. Mackay is an active partner in the firm
of Messrs. James Baines and Co., owners of the
Liverpool and Australian " Black Ball" line of
clipper ships: and Mr. Christopher Bushell is Vice-
President of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce,
and the gentleman who, in his official capacity,
enunciated those views upon the commercial state of
thee( ;untry, caused partlybythe effec ts of overtrading!
The 18 elective members of the Provisional Board
are as follow ' • those gentlemen whose names are
distinguished by an asterisk having been members
of the defunct committee :—Mesers. Ridph Brockle-
bank,* Liverpool, merchant ; James .Aspinal*l
Tobin, Liverpool, merchant ; Joseph 111th ,
Liverpool, merchant ; Robert Rankin,
.* Liverpool,
Liverpool merchant ; Samuel Robert Graves,
mer-
chant (chairman of the Liverpool Shipowners' As-
sociation) I John Kirby Rounthwaite,* Liverpool,
;
steam-packet agent ; Charles Turner, Liverpool,
merchant,Anderson, chairman of the defunct committee •Thos.
Da Liverpool, merchant ;
Inman, Liverpool, merchant; W. Rathbone, jun.,"
Liverpool, merchant ; James Smith,* Liverpool,
riiiey
timber merchant ; Joseph Mondell,* Liverpool,
shipowner ; Robertson Gladstone,* Liverpool, mer-
chant ; Eyre Evans,* Liverpool, merchant ; Francis
Shand, Liverpool, merchant; Tho. Bold,*Liverpool,
merchant ; John Lockett,* Liverpool, merchant ;
and S. J. Arnold, Liverpool, merchant. The poll
closed at 4 o'clock, but it was not until about 20
minutes to 5 that the numbers were announced by
the returning officer, Mr. Recorder Henderson.
Admiral Evans, acting conservator of the river and
harbour, announced the names of the Government
nominees.

The property to be transferred to the new board
comprises the Birkenhead Docks, the Liverpool
Docks, the new landing-stage, with power to pur-
chase the Liverpool observatory, to impose and
collect the town dues, to exercise jurisdiction over
the navigation, or in respect of the conservancy of
iLe river Mersey, hitherto vested in the corporation,
&ix. The new board is to repay to the Liverpool
corporation all such moneys as may have been ex-
pended up to this day, or which the corporation
may hereafter be compelled to pay in respect of
bonds or works executed by them upon the Birk-
enhead Docks, or any of the property thus trans-
ferred to the board. In consideration for the loss
of the town dues, and the transfer of the landing-
stage and observatory, the board is to pay to the
Liverpool Corporation the sum of 1,500,000/. in 15
equal half-yearly payments on the first day of July
and January in each year, the first payment to be
made in July next, these payments to bo a. eherg•
board, which 11 to
upon the general revenues of the
render to Parliament a yearly accountof /to reoeiPtiu

DEATH OF LIEUT. W. T. STawrzur.D.Vre have to
announce the death of Lient• VVilliata Thomas Stratton,
General
lez
tohfethsagte Jate
in EdilavrcoordnaSptreanyttealtl,CEalgoquAt.:;droTcahties
officer entered the navy in May, 1806.