The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-24 00:00:00

THE GREAT EASTERN.

From communications received in town yesterday
regarding the actual damage done to the ship, the
result of a personal inspection and survey by the '
officers of the local marine board and the directors
of the company, it appears that the boss of the
paddle wheel is gone, but that the paddle boxes of
the vessel remain uninjured ; the rudder head is
broken off short, and the stern post, looked upon as
the most serious damage, carried away. The inter-
nal fittings of the saloons and berths are found not
to be damaged to one half the extent represented,
and the rigging has not materially suffered. The
passengers will either be provided with berths by
other ships, or have their passage money returned.
The Cork Fxanziner supplies the following :
" From some passengers who landed from the Great
Eastern to-day we learn the following particulars
with regard to Thursday night :—A very few of the
passengers were much frightened, but much more
so perhaps on account of what they had already
undergone than from any present cause or alarm.
One lady, whose nerves seemed to have been com-
pletely shattered, was in a state of great terror, and
tainted several times. A gentleman who had several
children with him, anxious for their safety, secured
them all to life preservers. The passengers
generally, however, both ladies and gentlemen,
were free from any uneasiness, and were able to
enter with great spirit into the amusements that
had been got up, two gentlemen who came ashore
this morning declaring that it was the jolliest
I night they had spent aboard. The passengers
with whom we had an opportunity of conversing
speak very highly of the way the ship was managed
during the night, and state that the good spirits
which reigned on board were in a great degree
owing to the confidence felt in the captain. A fatal
accident, we regret to say,. occurred on board this
(Friday) morning. One of the quartermasters was
stationed with others at the wheel on the lower
deck, which sometimes, owing to the state of the
rudder gear, jerked violently. In one of these jerks
one of the handles struck the quartermaster on the
head with such force as to batter in his skull,
causing instant death. No other accident, I believe,
occurred while she was out. After the anchor had
been let go on Friday morning, the vessel forged
a-head a little and struck an American barque, the
Samuel Malley—which was lying at anchor near—
with a pretty smart shock, damaging her towards
the stern, and carrying away her davits and one of
her anchors and chains. This occurred about Bor 9
o'clock this morning. The amount of damage done
to the Samuel Malley has not yet been ascertained.
It is said that the vessel will be brought in a little
further, if possible, but owing to the state of her
steering apparatus it will be a work of great diffi-
culty, unless she has the aid of some powerful steam
tugs. She is, however, perfectly secure from danger
where she is. One of the directors was expected to
arrive at three o'clock by the Dublin train."

THE PON2'6 ON BRIDGE AT ALDER-

.611-OTT.

Referring to a paragraph which appeared origi-
nally in the Army and Navy Gazette, but which
has since been extensively circulated, and which as-
serted that 50 men had been drowned off a pontoon
across the canal at the Aldershott camp, the West
Surrey limes of Sat'irday says ;—" Having now
visited the spot and made inquiries, we are enabled
to state that the paragraph is full of inaccuracies.
From the pontoon bridge itself, which is a substan-
tial wooden platform 12 feet wide, supported on
floating barrels firmly lashed together, scarcely one
person has fallen into the water; although it is
not improbable that in the whole of the Basingstoke
Canal, which divides the North from the South
Camp, there may have been, since the first esta-
blishment of Aldershott as a military rendezvous,
50 deaths from drowning. The way in which these
have occurred, however, for the most part is this :
When a new regiment arrives at the North Camp
and the men obtain passes to be out till a late hour,
they invariably make their way across the pontoon
and through the South Camp into the town. On
returning they stray from the right road, and sud-
denly fin themselves on the bank of the canal.
They don't know which way to turn to get to the
pontoon, and even if they did they know that it is
shifted in order to clear the water way, between
' retreat' (at present 6 o'clock p.m.) and ' reveil
(half-past 6 a.m.) ; the canal looks little more
than a ditch, not being above sixteen
yards wide, and rather than be late in quarters,l
and rendering themselves liable to punishment, in
the dash, with the idea of getting across in no time.
There are at least two or three feet of tenacious mud
however at the bottom of the canal, and as the men
who do such things are usually more or less inebri-
ated, they flounder, get confused, and are at last
drowned. There is a permanent bridge half a mile
higher up, and another a short distance lower down
the canal; but rather than go round by these, the
unfortunate men who have met their deaths have
resolved upon fording the water. One or two may
have walked into it unawares, for on a dark night
it is scarcely to be seen, and it is undoubtedly per-
fectly unprotected; but so far from the pontoon
being the scene of the accidents, the very reverse is
the fact, because a Sapper is stationed there night
and day, and if a man attempted to cross at that
spot, after it was shifted, he would be deterred.
Hence, soldiers who want to cross rather avoid the
pontoon, and make their attempt usually some forty
or fifty yards on either side of it. Since the last
accident a lamp has been erected at the pontoon,
and a guard of three men has been told off to the
assistance of the Sapper. As the pontoon bridge is
in the direct line from the town to the North Camp,
we:hope that a permanent bridge will ere long be
erected there ; and in the meantime we would sug-
gest that the Sapper in charge—who is a most
careful
man and has been instrumental in saving
several lives—should be supplied with drags and
life buoys. By these means we believe accidents of
a fatal character might be materially reduced in
number."