The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-03 00:00:00

THE NOR THUMBERL AND.

Again yesterday all the efforts which nautical
or engineering skill could suggest were exhausted
in efforts to move this ship, but in vain. In spite
of every exertion, in spite of all that the hydraulic
presses, the lighters, steam capstan, and even batter-
ing rams could do, she remained absolutely immov-
able, even when the tide was at its highest, and it
was not till the water began to fall that the attempt
was abandoned. It is needless to say that this re-
newed failure gave rise to a feeling of disappoint-
ment almost amounting to despondency. It will
be remembered that the failure of the attempts
on Saturday last was mainly caused by the tim-
ber backing used to support the hydraulic rams
giving way under the pressure to which it was
subjected. As the tide fell, it was seen that
these suppports had been so crushed on one side
of the ship as to be useless for further efforts.
During the greater part of Sunday, therefore, and
during the low tide before dawn on Monday morn-
ing, the utmost efforts were made by the dockyard
people to repair this deficiency. Powerful timber
struts were taken down between the ways, and the
foundation of the hydraulic rain itself was further
supported by huge beams bolted through and on to
the ways in such a manner that it seemed impossible
that they could yield any more than the county of
Middlesex itself. The arrangement for the hawser
working over the steam capstan on the dredging
machine in the centre of the river was also altered.
Instead of one 15in. cable a double purchase was
rove with a 12in. hawser. The lighters were moored
by chains under the stern of the Northumberland as
usual, but greater care was on this occasion taken
to see that they did their work better than on Satur-
day last, when certainly their assistance was but
small. They were now, therefore, braced down
under the stern till their bows were almost level
with the water, though from this fact, as it turned
out, unfortunately, they gave even less assistance
than before. Two powerful battering rams, formed
after the ancient fashion by immense beams of tim-
ber, were also rigged up at the bows, and these,
worked each by some 40 or 50 men and by them
slung forward end on with tremendous force, were
to be used to jar her and loosen her upon the ways
when all else was ready for starting. A great deal
was hoped for from the flow of the tide. The wind
was northerly, and 24ft. under the Northumberland's
stern was confidently expected. At such a depth
of water all parts of the hull now within reach of
immersion by the tide give a displacement of nearly
4,000 tons. Her weights all told are short of 8,000
tons, so that with a moderate average of flood, less
than 4,000 tons have to be moved down to the
water. This, however, as may easily be conceived,
is a great weight to move over wooden ways, which
have already sunk under the tremendous pres-
sure of the first attempt at launching, and which
are, undoubtedly, now firmly jammed together.
The whole pressure upon the ways is no less than
three tons per square foot, or equal to the weight
upon the foundations of most of our metropolitan
bridges. Their incline, also, deviates slightly from
the usual slope at which it is customary to launch
vessels. So much fear, however, was felt lest the
enormous weight and bulk of the Northumberland
should break her away from all control, if rapidly
sent into the water, that it was decided to make the
slope of the ways as slight as only 1 foot in 24.
Looking to the danger of such a vast mass gliding
at great speed into the river, it cannot be said that
this was an unwise precaution, or even that the
diminution of the incline has anything to do with
her present unfortunate position. The time fixed
for the attempt yesterday was three o'clock, but
even then the tide was so comparatively low that it
was for some time doubted whether it would be
prudent to make the attempt at all. We may state
here that the tide last Saturday was 6in. lower than
when the second attempt was made, and no less than
18in. less than on the day of her attempted launch-
ing when she stopped upon the ways. Recollecting
that every inch of tide lightens her weight upon the
cradles by no less than 42 tons, it can easily be seen
how serious were the disadvantages under which the
attempt was made yesterday. At 10 minutes past
three o'clock the first bugle call sounded for the men
to fall into their places as previously arranged. The
double purchase from the steam capstan on the river
was drawn almost tight ; the dog shores were knocked
away ; the chains which held her to the shore let
go by the run, and the ponderous battering rams
on either side were sent thundering against her
bows till the beams themselves split, and their ends
smoked under repeated concussions. At the same
moment all the hydraulic presses were set to work
and relays of men relieved those pumping the
handles as the work of forcing in the water grew
more and more difficult. The teams of horses, too,
on both sides of the vessel were set to haul upon the
double purchases which would drag the Northumbe-
rland towards the river. For a time these animals
tugged splendidly, and what with the cries of the
sailors at the capstans, the boom of the battering
rams, and the exertions which the gangs made to
work the hydraulic presses, the scene was one of great
excitement. Still the vessel gave not the slightest
sign of moving ; and the depth of water was only
22ft. gin. under her stern. All the efforts, how-
ever, were continued with unabated vigour till at
the most critical moment the iron chains to which
the horses were harnessed gave way on both sides,
and almost at the same moment, it was reported that
of eight lighters moored under her stern no less than
six had broken loose under the strain to which they
were subjected as the tide had risen. To continue
further operations in the face of such deficiencies
was, of course, useless, and furthermore there were
slight but unmistakable signs that the backing of the
hydraulic press at the starboard side was again yield-
ing, and that further pumping would only insure its
further destruction without in the slightest degree
affecting the position of the ship. Reluctantly,
therefore, the order was given to cease further efforts,
and after more than a quarter of an hour's exertion
the ship remained unmoved in the slightest degree.
She was then, to guard against accident, secured to
her mooring chains as before, and a consultation of
all the authorities was at once held to decide on the
fresh steps which it was evidently necessary to
take. What these will be, however, were not made
known last evening, nor will the public know until
this morning. It is, perhaps, worthy of men-
tion that the general impression among the most
experienced engineers and shipbuilders who were
present in the yard seemed to be that sufficient
hydraulic power has not hitherto been employed to
force the hull into the water. With a force so cheap,
so simple, and so certain in its action as hydraulic
pressure, it seems a pity that it has not been more
largely employed from the very first. Further de-
lay in its more extended use is likely to lead not
only to considerable loss of time, but very probably
to a much more considerable loss of money.

NEW HONORARY CHAPLAIN TO THE QUEEN.—
The Rev. Daniel Moore, upon whom this mark of her
Majesty's favour has just been conferred, graduated in the
mathematical tripos at Cambridge in 1840; was successively
Hulsean and Norrisian prizeman ; select preacher before
the University in the years 1844, 1851, and 1860 ; and
Hulsean Lecturer in 1881.