The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-15 00:00:00

THE GREAT EASTERN.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—ln the Liverpool Mercury of the 9th inst. I
find a paragraph, taken from your Asper, relative
to the last passage of the Great Eastt,ru, the Persia,
and the City of New York, which, I think, rcquiri:s
some comment.

No nautical man could coalc to the co3clu
that if one vessel met with a hurricane six days
before another reached the same latitude, both
must be exposed to the same adverse circumstances,
but rather that, as equinoctial gales only blow
from 24 to 48 hours, the latter vessel would fled
calm weather, but probably a heavy swell,
On comparing the log of the Great Eastern with
that of the City of New York, I find that on the
13th of September they were distant 1 deg. 30 rain.
lat. N., and 6 deg. 50 min. long. W., the latter
vessel making only 82 mitts; while on the 12th,
when the accident had not occurred to the rudder,
the Great Eastern made 283 miles through a strong
breeze and cross sea. _

On the 14th the City of New York made only 126
miles, and this performance of a vcsscl, considered
by nautical men to be a very good model, and
the finest ship of the "Inman" line, ought to go far
to disprove, instead of substantiate, your conclusion,
" that the weather in which the Great Eastern was
disabled was nothing unusual at this season of the
year in the North Atlantic."

The disabling of so many of the Channel Fleet,
and the logs of vessels sailing near us during the
gale, tend to prove that it was not the usual
weather, as the harbour at Queenstown might
witness. Among many there alongside us, the John
Davis put in disabled, with no less than three crews
on board, picked up at sea.
Had not the accident to the rudder occurred,
placing us at the mercy of the winds and waves, the
Great Eastern would have more than upheld her
former prestige, as her great [superiority is most
shown when heading a stiff breeze and head sea,
and her log bears favourable comparison with "the
September and October passages" of any vessel
afloat. Requesting your insertion of this note, I
am, Sir, yours obediently,

JAMES WALKER, Commander.
Steamship Great Eastern, Milford
Haven, Oct. 11.

THE GAOL OF NETVGATE.

The public is aware that during the last twelve
months very extensive alterations and improvements
have been going on in the interior of the gaol of
Newgate, and they have now been brought to a con-
clusion, and it is hoped that this prison, to which
offenders are sent from a district comprising nearly
three millions of souls, will in future be found bet-
ter suited to the humane spirit of the age than it
has been for a great many years. The alterations
that have just been completed have reference to the
'female side of the prison, which is now made to
correspond with the male, each prisoner being
confined separately, and thus all chance of
mutual contamination is avoided. Until very re-
cently the male prisoners awaiting their trial were
all mingled indiscriminately together; and, although
possibly a prisoner, charged with some atrocious
murder or other heinous offence, was kept apart
from his companions in crime, yet the general, and:,
indeed unavoidable practiee,was for all the prisoners
to be mixed together, and it frequently happened
that burglars, ticket-of-leave men, and old and har-
dened criminals of every description, were placed in.
the same ward with young men who were charged.
with a first offence ; and as there was no means of
preventing them from conversing together, the
principal amusement of the gaol consisted in old
offenders giving an account of their various plans
of plundering the public, their escapes from justice,,
and devising fresh schemes of villany. This, of
course, had a most mischievous effect, and repeated.
representations were made to Government and to
the Corporation of London who had the immediate
charge of the gaol, upon the subject ; and these re-
presentations at length had the effect of inducing
the Corporation to interfere, and the whole of that
portion of the gaol devoted to the reception of male
prisoners has, within the last three years, been com-
pletely remodelled, every prisoner having a sepa-
rate cell, and thus no opportunity was offered for
the old offender to contaminate a noviciate in crime.
This alteration was found to work so well that ear-
nest endeavours were made to effect a corresponding
alteration on the female side of the prison, and hap-
pily these endeavours have at length been crowned.
with success. It appears that the average number
of female prisoners confined in the gaol is 35, but
accommodation has been provided for 50 prisoners,
each of whom have a separate cell, and they will
have no opportunity of communicating with or con-
taminating each other. Under the old system ali the
female prisoners occupied the same ward, prosti-
tutes and women of notoriously bad character being
mingled with servant girls, or prisoners charged.
with a first offence, and here, as with the male pri-
soners, the old offenders appeared to take a wicked.
delight in endeavouring- to bring their more
innocent companions to their own level, and thus
extinguishing every hope of their reforming or be-
coming good members of society. The arrange-
ments, which appear most admirably calculated to
effect the object sought for, have been effected under
a contract with Messrs, Brown and Robinson, at a
cost of something like £lO,OOO. Upon the old site
four corridors have been erected, connected together
by an iron staircase in the centre, and which con-
tain each 13 cells. These cells are 12 feet long and
seven feet wide, and contain the necessary accom-
modation for their intended inmates. Every cell is
heated by hot air conveyed through pipes at the top,
and each prisoner can obtain a copious supply of
external air by merely moving a small iron lattice
window. In the event also of a prisoner being taken
ill or requiring assistance during the night, she can,
by pulling a handle, communicate with a gong
which is placed outside the corridor, and which can
be heard all over this portion of the building, and
would be immediately attended to by the female
warders in charge. The laundry in which the pri-
soners will ultimately be employed, is of the most
complete description, and comprises a steam appa-
ratus and every convenience. The apartments
allotted to the female warders are in the basement of
the building, and the whole place is constructed so
as to give them an opportunity of seeing everything
that is going on, and in the event of any of the pri-
soners being violent or refractory, they can readily
obtain assistance from the male side. In connexion
with the altered arrangements of the gaol, a most
spacious airing-yard has been 'made, where the
prisoners will have an opportunity of enjoying
healthy exercise during a considerable portion of
the day, but of course under strict supervision and
in silence, no conversation being permitted to take
place between them. Effectual means have been
taken to preserve cleanliness, and to prevent the in-
troduction of contagious or infectious disease into
the gaol. Two cells are specially prepared for the
reception of every prisoner, where she will have to
remain when first brought to the prison until the
medical officer certifies that she is in a fit state to be
placed in her particular class. There are also hot
and cold baths in this portion of the prison, and an
abundant supply of hot and cold water. It, of course,
frequently happens that a prisoner conductsto herself
in a violent and unbecoming manner, and. refuseso
is, by
yand placing h
punishment adopted for such conform to the regulationsehofeethede
of which there
the refractory party in a cell,. upctriis"
in the basement, which is totally dark ; and she
itswhoere confined, of course under medical superin-
tendence, until she becomes penitent. This mode
of punishment, which has already been adopted on
the male side, and which has hitherto been found
most effectual, will doubtless be attended with a
similar salutary effect in the case of females.
The whole of the building is now completed, and
it is expected that by the next, or at all events the
November session, the different cells will be suffi-
ciently dry to be ready for the reception of the un-
fortunate prisoners who will have to occupy them ;
and the gaol of Newgate will, undoubtedly, hence-
forward be entitled to rank as one of the model
prisons of the country.

ELECTRICITY OR THE WILL.—The Medical Times
and Gazette, in commenting on Sir L. Bulwer's " Strange
Story," relates the following anecdote :—" Nearly 10 years
ago a most distinguished surgeon, of great endowments in
mechanical and physical science, called on the writer to
show him (besides some curious inventions which are now
in use), a machine he had invented for measuring the force
of the electric currents excited by muscular action. T.ll. ere
were two cylinders to be grasped, wires, &c., needle, ga,levi!,;
nometer, as usual. Oa grasping either cylinder,
threfuviend%
was deflected, and so on. 'I am on my
oonwrsefoeiernucne.d he
'to show it to Faraday.' He departed. Sconyaminis
in his
returned, with a kind of honest satisfacntdionuebe
has convinced
face,—' I have shown it to Faraday, and
said our d
e hands against the cylin-
action, but to the friction ~f th
no more aboilt my
firs. So I shall go holne) and say. .
me that the electric currents are due, not to. the muscular.
mus-
cular eleetroineter. , May all inventors have: as good a
conscience."
that £50,000 is now at the Ban
of England on account of the £175,000 requirell in March
dividend and sinking fund on the Turt Ash Loan of
next
1858.
A turnip weighing 2515' Was e4hibited yester
day in the Stock Exchange,