The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-12 00:00:00

THE GREAT EASTERN.

The progress which, during the last four weeks,
has been made in the fitting and equipping the
Great Eastern steamship for sea has been so rapid,
that within a month it is expected her steam will
be up and she will be on her way across the Atlantic.
The noise of workmen, and swarms of boats and
little steamers hovering around her constantly, all
show that " Brunei's Folly" is yet a thing of life
and hope, and of certain completion. The three
iron masts of the Great Eastern were designed by
Mr. Brunel, and they have been constructed by
Messrs. Finch and Heath, of Chepstow. These
huge iron columns rise 122 feet above the upper
deck, and have a diameter of 3 feet 6 inches for a
height of 70 feet, when they decrease gradually to
2 feet 6 inches at the cap. The three masts are
now on board, and the first of them was lifted into
its place on Saturday. Its weight above deck is
about 40 tons ; the two others are ready for hoist-
ing, and will be in their places in a few days.
The three wooden masts, which are in their places,
were supplied by Messrs. Ferguson, and are magni-
ficent spars. They are not built masts, but are
single " sticks," as they are called. The fore and
mizen-masts are 140 feet in height, and 34 inches
in diameter at the deck ; the jigger-mast is 122 feet
in height, and of the same diameter. The trees
which form these masts have been brought more
than 13,000 miles to occupy their present position.
The trees are New Zealand pines. The topmasts
are 76 feet in height, and 22 inches in diameter, or
nearly six feet in circumference at their base. The
spars, too, are of giant dimensions. The main yard
i
is 120 feet long, and at its centre it is a yard n
diameter, thick and strong as the masts themselves
at the deck.

The ship is built in water-tight compartments;
and so completely water-tight are they, that a few
days since the foremost one was filled with 6,000
tons of water pumped into it from the river, and not
a drop escaped into any adjoining portion. The
object in pumping this mass of water into the fore
part of the ship was to bring her down at the bows
and raise the stern while they fixed the screw.
This weight brought her down till, said one of the
men " her nose touched the water." She went down
11 feet forward, and was raised 7 feet aft ; a por-
tion of her keel was, in fact, raised out of the water;
and yet, so strong and so rigidly is she built, that
under this enormous strain the ship did not deflect
an inch. The engines for working the paddles, it
is said, may be completed in a week. Everything
is in its place—cylinders, and pistons, and gover-
nors. The engine for working the screw is in the
same state of forwardness, an on Thursday the
steam was got up for the first time in the boilers of
the screw engines. All that mass of iron, noW
inert and immovrble, will in a few days upheave
rnd drive the ship through the water with 12,00
horse power. The steam will be generated in boilers
holding more than 500 tons of water, and requiring
250 tons each day to feed the furnaces which heat
them. Down in the depths of the engine-room the
engineer will receive all his orders from the car
tain and mate by an electric telegraph.
There will be accommodation provided in the first
instance for 45 officers of all ranks, and for a era(
of 350. The first class portion of the ship will be
fitted up in the first grade with 800 beds and sofas.
In the second grade there will be accommodation
for 400, and in the third grade about the saint)
number. This accommodation for about 2,000 per"
sons for the first voyage will leave untouched some
acres of saloons and vacant space in other parts of
the ship. The part usually devoted to steerage
passengers in other vessels will not be touched at
present, and the passengers to be carried in the
first trip will be all first-class, but of different
grades, each grade occupying a separate deck. The
cabins are roomy and commodious, admirably yen"
tilated, and the dining-rooms are lofty. The first
trip will be made to Portland, in the State of Maine,
and will, it is announced, be made early next month.
The sums which bad been expended on the ship
up to the time of its memorable launch amounted
to £640,000. The original shareholders had not
power to raise more money, and a new company
was formed, with a capital of £330,000, in £1 shares,
for the purpose of purchasing the ship and equip-
ping her for sea. Of this sum, £165,000 was to be
given to the original proprietors, and the remainder
was to be applicable for finishing the ship. Nearly
the whole of the shares were taken by the old pro-
prietors, so that the ship still remains in effect in
the same hands. The contract for finishing the
whole of the works was given to Mr. Scott Russell
for a sum of £125,000, and everything was to be
completed by the 4th of September. A premium
of £l,OOO was also given for each week before that
time that the contractor could _complete the works-
The whole expenditure on the ship up to the time
of its going to sea will be £970,000, and probably
some incidental charges and contingencies will bring
the whole up to the round sum of £1,000,000.

THIS DAYS MARKETS,