The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-28 00:00:00

THE GREAT EJSTERN.

Eeel day . this monstrous vessel becomes in her
ra‘ id progress towards completion a greater and a
gre ter Eastern still. For nearly four years she
hose tomed in dim immensity over the river side
like pre-Adamite leviathan—for nearly four
years e'te has stood an iron enigma, exciting and
befllng 'll conjecture as to how she was to be got
down to he water, and how she was to be managed
awl centnelled when in it. To the majority of
L ,ndoners he has been little else than a colossal
sailor's folly, -.4 little likely to be moved from the
p lace in which
'et, rose as the banks of the Thames
eteelF in which i.% -was generally believed the Great.
Eastern was destiSned t marineam a permanent orna-
to
ers, and a beacon of
went —a reproach
enter rising companies of all
warning to future
relieve the minds of our
kinds. It will, howe
readers to know for c lutson that, whatever other
fate may be in store for
this gigantic undertaking,
the vessel is at least not doomed to remain where
she has been for so long. The hours of the Great
Eastern's stay on land are nt me numbered ; each day
diminishes more and more t be connection between
the shore and the ship, and o u Tuesday next, soon
after daybreak, it will be finali'Y sundered, and the
Great Eastern launched into the et element on which
hr.r appearance will be the foreru'r. user of a new era.
It is only within the last few hull ra that the hour
fur the launch has been decided cm. and the morn-
ing of Wednesday, the 3d, definitely fixed. Until
recently it was quite impossible to, say when the
launch really would take place, for, let spite of the
labours of 1,100 men, who have worked without
oessation day and night, so much Weig to be done
that at one time a further postponement seemed in-
evitable. Only by the constant care and untiring
energy of all connected with the works has this
delay been prevented, and the novel difficulties
presented in the construction of the launching ways
overcome within the allotted time.
Just now the Great Eastern has reachedher culmi-
nating point of preparations. During the next few
days they will cease and determine altoget`:ter ; but
at present they are rampant, and in the great chaos
which migns upon and round the vessel, iron and
paint, woodwork and shavings seem to struggle for
her masteiy and possession. It is almost hard to
say whichlfiegt predominates. Judging from the
state aide clothes on his return, the visitor is apt
to give a hasty verdict in favour of the paint, though
his recollections of the works—the gong-like uproar
w.th which the punching, rolling, welding, and ri-
veting of iron goes on—the endless variety of steam
and hand saws always at work, and the amount of
timber either sawed or being sawn—leaves him atter
all in a perplexed state to say in which branch the
Gr& at Eastern is most progressing. Since our last
Rio ice the whole exterior of the hull, from deck to
keel, has been re-painted and finished off according
to the appearance she is intended to present when
In the water. This change has made a great im-
provement ; instead of a red unmanageable looking
pile, heavy and awkward to the eye, her beautifully
modelled form, and slender tapering bows are now
brought forth in all their perfect symmetry. She is
painted three colours—red lead up to the 20 feet or
light load water-line ; for 15 feet above this up to
the heavy low-water line copper colour, and the
remainder (32 feet) up to the top black. The mere
painting of the vessel, slight as the fact may appear
when mentioned, involves a labour of no common
magnitude, for the painted surface of the Great
Eastern is, inside and outside nearly 120,000 square
yards in extent, or mere than 24 acres. The num-
her of tons of paint which it requires is a calculation
en which we dare not venture. As regards the pre-
parations for the launching, we have already de•
ecribed at length the peculiar construction of the
launching ways over which the vessel will glide
into the water. Perhaps, however, a brief repeti-
tion of the main plan on which they are made may
not even now be without interest to many of our
readers. Two launching " ways" or broad and
powerfully-built tramways, have been constructed
by the railway contractors, Tread well and Co. run-
ning from under the fore and after portions of
the vessel down into the river at low water
spring-tide mark. Each of these "ways" is 300
feet long by 120 wide, and the distance between the
two is also about 120 feet. To guard against the
sh fling nature of the river mud both, the "ways"
are constructed with unusual solidity and strength.
The foundation of each is formed upon seven rows
of pilee, the four outside rows being driven at three
feet intervals, and the three inner rows at six feet.
These piles are all forced home to the gravel of the
river bed, so that they graduate from a length of
32 feet under the ship's bottom to 10 feet at the
low-water mark.

To both sides of the heads of the rows of piles
strong timbers, 12 inches by 12 inches, are securely
bolted, and the whole area of the " war covered
with concrete to a thickness of two feet. Above
the concrete longitudinal timbers of great strength
are secured at intervals of three feet six inches from
centre to centre, and run the entire length of the
" way." Over these again are placed transverse
timbers of the same solidity, but only 3 feet apart,
which are Lofted together and again bolted down
to the walings to keep them fixed under the pres-
sure they will have to bear, and prevent them
floating at high tide. On these transverse timbers,
but running straight from the vessel to the water's
edge, are screwed railway metals at intervals of 18
inches apart. They are the ordinary solid bridge
rails used by Mr. Brunel on the perin'tnent way of
the Great Western Railway, and are, of course, of
t to strongest kind. The rails complete the " ways,"
which, thus resting on a bed of piles and concrete,
lures a massive road of crossed and recrossed tim-
bers stretching from under the Great Eastern to
lo .v-water mark at an inclination of l'in 12. Down
the railway metals on these " ways," then, the
s':ip will be slowly lowered into the water on the
cr idles' which aro constructed under her. The
cradles are, of course, of the same width as the
" ways" over which they are to run. They aro
made of large balks of timber, wedged and driven
in with a ponderous machine like a battering
rani, as to perfectly fit the ship's
bottom. The timbers are principally laid
a hwartships, with longitudinal beams and shores
fLstened to the outer sides. All are riveted to-
gether with iron bolts and screws and loaded with
i oa ballast to prevent their floating with the vessel.
T,:e bottom of the iron cradle consists of iron bars
seven inches wide and an inch thick, placed at in-
tervals of a foot apart and with their edges carefully
g7ound off, so as to offer no resistance totherailway
inethts of the ways over which they will have to
} as,. Both launching ways rise slightly at the
centre, where the piles are driven at wider intervals
is order to allow for the depression which is certain
t) be produced by the passage of such an enormous
tv,iht over their surface. Before the launch al
t-e metals of the ways w.;11 be thickly coated with a
coaiposition of tallow and black leaf, so as to offer
no obstruction from friction.

The chief points on which the energies of Mr.
31• unel are now concentrated etre, first, to overcome
the momentum of such a mass down an inclined
plane of 1 in 12, and prevent her, when once in
motion, dashing entirely away ; secondly, if stopped
fr in any cause upon the ways, to overcome the re-
si>tanee of her enormous weight and provide suffi-
cient purchase from the water to pull her slowly
into-motion again.. The latter is quite a-secondary
couitideration for it is upon the strength and good
workink of the check tackle that everything will
dep9od. As far as human ingenuity and skill can
forepee the strain which is to come upon this tackle
danger has been provided against, and tha whole
apparatus forms the most ponderous system of check
tackle that has ever yet been constructed. We
have already explained what the cradles are, and
how the timbers of which they are composel are
wedged in by means of a huge battering ram till
th 4 whole is crushed into one compact mass, bolted
together with massive iron rods. To the centre of
each of these cradles is fastened the iron sheave to
wiplch the check tackle is attached. These sheaves
or • pulleys have been especially made for this
work ; they are of solid cast iron, and weighing
5 tons each. One sheave will be fastened to each
cradle, and wrought iron chain eables of th©
I,rikest size connect these with two other sheaves,
each of which is secured to a "drum," which pays
rt, the chain and in fact regulates the whole ono-
"'i."cJi• These drums and the framework on which
y(5,4
---t having to bear the strain of the whole
in motion, extraordinary precautions have
bon taken
made by them as massive as they could
ade by
n
ir.m. The ealaype-ci:m. combination of wood and
t.oraiedt a an ordinary reel, the
axle of which is
boundlong
together so as to form
strips of wrought icon bY beams of timber and
anad 0 feet in diameter.
a drum about 20 feet
At each end of the cylinderdiameter,
whee's of the
te,.nneach of solid
drum or di-cs, 16 feet in
iron and weighing upwards of 20
64
tsoo that the
'weight of each drum is more than.
The axle of the disc is set in a tram° of irnosi in all.
around its outer edge passes a band of wrought iron,
to work in the manner of a friction clutch, orbreank.
Tbi of strong iron levers 20 feet long,
e) caw aid
brings such a pressure to bear upon the discs of the
drum as to lower its revolutions, or entirely stop
them in case the chain is being payed out too fast.
Our reader', however, may naturally ask what re-
tains these drums themselves. Well, then, the
frame in which they work is set in a solid bed of
t'eu,ber formed by driving down a maso of piles 40
lent in length, so as to form a solid piece of timber
about 20 feet square andoing down to the gravel.
The whole of this is bound together with iron, and
strong shores pass from the cube of piles to the
I c& of piles, on which the launching ways are built.
So that, in fct, no matter
what the strain it would
s,
. 'impossible for the 'l ung of the drums to give,
unless the whole river'sbank gave way with them.

THE"

One of these drums is built opposite each cradle—
the chains to be used between them nad the cradles
are the chain cables of the Great Eastern itself,
which are 21 inch in diameter, or about 601 b. the
link.
These are the appliances for preventing the mon-
ster running down too fast ; but a powerful appa-
ratus has also been devised to act in a contrary man-
ner—namely, to pull her off the " ways" in case of
the cradles sticking fast on them through any
unforeseen contretemps. For this purpose three
large lighters are moored in the tideway about 100
yards from the shore, which are fitted up with the
crabs and sheaves used by Mr. Brunel in the recent
raising of the viaduct over the Tamar at Saltash,
and in building the celebrated railway bridge at
Chepstow. Each of these crabs worked with a
windlass gives a strain of 60 tone, and this force of
240 tons, if necessary at all, is to be applied amid-
ships. Two lighters will also be moored at the stem
of ale ship and two at the stern. The chains passing
from the ship to these latter will return again on
shore sous to be worked with a double purchase.
Small stationary engines of 20-horse power will be
used to haul in these chains, so as to make the
force available to pull the vessel off upwards of 600
tons. The process of knocking away the shores from
under her has proceeded rather extensively, and
will be entirely completed on Saturday, when the
vessel will rest only on the two cradles, fore and
aft. Before the last of these, however, are removed,
care will be taken that the massive check tackle to
hold back the ship is properly hauled taut, for
when the vessel is left on the cradles, and the
cradles on the sloping ways, the launch might take
place at any moment in the most abrupt and unex-
pe.ited manner. The way in which the supporting
shores and struts have been removed is as peculiar
as all else connected with the monster. It is nearly
four years since these beams were put to support
the sides, since which the iron shell has grown into
the dimensions of a city, and pressed its supporters
so firmly to the earth that it was found almost im-
possible to remove them. The difficulty has been
overcome by employing hydraulic jacks, of 6(.) tons
power, by applying which to the beam or strut the
earth in which it rested was compressed by im-
mense force till it sank some two or three inches,
when the beam was loosened and quietly withdrawn.

Nil VAL "IND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

The general court-martial for the trial of Lieut.
G. W. V. Yule, Royal Engineers, re-assembled at
Chatham barracks yesterday morning. The evidence
for the prosecution having been concluded, the pri-
soner proceeded to address the Court. He began
by entreating the indulgence of the court on account
of his youth, the short time he had been in the ser-
vice, and his consequent want of experience, and
the fact that he had been unassisted during the
trial. With regard to the second charge against
him—that of having made a false statement to Col
Sandham to the effect ihat he was out all day on
Sept. sth, and therefore could not answer the letter
addressed to him by Major and Adjutant Nugent
—he should be able to adduce satisfactory evidence
to prove that he was out during a considerable por-
tion of that day ; and although he might have made
use of the words stated—for he remembered being
in a very nervous state when spoken to about it—
yet it was never his intention to deceive Col. Sand-
ham. With regard to the first charge and the in-
stances of absence there adduced, he respectfully
submitted to the Court tint, inasmuch as he had
been publicly reprimanded for these offences by,
Gen. Sir J. Burgoyne, Inspector-General of For-
tifications, on the 27th July last, in the presence
of his brother-officers, it would be unfair to pun;sh
him a second time. On the other charges, of being
absent from early parade, he stated that the 23d
of August was a Sunday, and the two following
days he was absent from sickness. On his going on
parade on Wednesday he had entirely forgotten he
was ordered early parade, as he had not even seen
the memorandum to that effect, which fact he
trusted would lead the Court to exonerate him from
all culpable negligence. On September 7th, the
day he was required to attend the court-martial,
he was on survey duty. The order for the court-
martial was not read out, and he did not see the
order-book or receive any memorandum • and under
these circumstances he trusted the Court would
take a favourable view of what was more an error
of judgment than culpable negligence. He again
begged to assert his entire innocence of any wilful
intention to disobey orders. He admitted that his
conduct had not been correct, but he threw himself
on the clemency of the Court in the hope that they
would be disposed to take a favourable and mer-
ciful view of his case. The prisoner then called
Ensign Peyton Phelps East India Company's En-
gineers, who stated that the prisoner went into his
room between 1 and 2 o'clock in the afternoon of '
the sth of September, and remained there until 5
o'clock. About half-past 12 that day he went into
the prisoner's room to borrow a cloak, and found
him lying on a sofa partially dressed. He had no
recollection of seeing a letter on the table of the
room, and during the whole time the prisoner was
with him no allusion whatever was made by him to
his having received a letter "on service" that clay.
Lieut. D. H. Burnes, RE., was also called by the
prisoner, but his evidence was only to the effect
that the prisoner had questioned his servant Flan-
nagan in witness's presence relative to the letter
which had been brought to his quarters on the sth
of September. The prisoner had also informed him
that he rose about L o'clock, went to Mr. Phelps's
room, where he remained till 5, and then dressed
and proceeded to mess, and that he did not see the
letter until 5 o'clock that afternoon. This being the
whole of the evidence called by the prisoner iu his
defence, the Deputy Judge-Advocate intimated
that he did not intend to address the Court in re-
ply. The proceedings then terminated, the trial
having lasted a week, and the members of the Court
remained in deliberation for the purpose of agree-
ing to their decision, but the finding will not be
made known until it has received the sanction of
11. R. H. the Duke of Cambridge.
The following officers have been granted leave of
absence from their respective depots at Chatham
previous to their embarkation for India—viz., Capt.
11. B. Howson, 51st Light Infantry ; Captain H
W. P. Welenan, 86th Regiment ; Eusi„en J. E. K.
Morley, 43d Light Infantry ; and Ensign H.
Chambers, 51st Light Infantry.
The Alban, 3, steam vessel, Lieut. the Hon. W.
B. de Blaquire, left Portsmouth on Monday for the
eastward with supernumeraries.
The Spartan, 28, Capt. Sir W. Hoste, is hourly
expected at Spithead from the China station and
the Cape.
Some of the officials of Woolwich Arsenal—
namely, Col. Tulloch, superintendent of the Royal
Carriage Department ; Col. Pickering, secretary
to the Select Committee ; Captain Boxer, Royal
Laboratory ; and Mr. Anderson, inspector of ma-
chinery—accompanied by Professor Wheatstone
amid Mr. R. Mallet, the founder, assembled at
Woolwich-marsh on Monday in order to inspect
th. 36-inch mortar and examine the extent of the
injury sustained by the late experiments. After a
careful examination of the various compartments it
was discovered that, in addition to the rent found
iu the chamber, a broad wrought-iron hoop att aThed
to one of the centre divisional segment) had also
suffered. The hoop was yesterday taken to the
foundry at Milwail to be repaired, and the damage
iii the interior of the chamber is to be repaired in
the Arsenal foundry, after which the proof will be
continued. Lord Palmerston, Lord Panmure, and
Col. Boldero, M. P., have expressed a desire to
witness the future experiments. A garrison board
of field-officers commenced their sittings yesterday
at the Royal Artillery Hospital, for the purpose of
inquiring into the length of services and capabili-
ties of the senior non-commissioned officers of the
-Royal Artillery, a number of whom are about to be
placed on the retired lists.

The Royal George screw steamship is ordered to
he immediately brought forward at Sheerness, and
zigged and stored in every respect as a steam line-
of-battle ship of the first division of the steam
squadron of reserve.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty
Assistant Paymaster—William Young, to the E lin-
burgh. Masters' Assistants—John Richards, to the
Spitfire ; Charles J. Rigby, to the Triton.