The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-01 00:00:00

of St. Paul's, and more than double tln extreme
length of the new United Stat,,s screw-frigate Nia-
gara, about which the Transatlantics are talking so
much. The height from the bottom of the ship to
the underside of the planking of the upper d-cls is
58 fee', ; the extreme I rPadth is 82 feet, or as wide
as Pall-mall • the breadth across the paddleboxss
120 feet.. Already nearly 8,000 tons, or 60,000
sup-rfiCial feet, of wrought iron have been used in
the 30,000 plates of her hull. To secure these up-
warda of 3,000,000 wrought-iron rivets have been
welded in. Her tonnage is within a few tons of
23,000. She will be pr 'pelted by paddle engines-of
1,500 horse-power, and screw. engines -of 1,800
horse:power, giving a total of 3,300 horse-power, at
a prespre of 251 b., though, of course, if necessary,
she can work to a force of upwards 4:15,000 horses.
For three fte, above the watermark the hu'l is coo,
struoted double (on the cellular principle, adopted
in the tov and hottern of the Britannia tubular
bridge), the inner hull or skin, as. it is calle i, being
2 feet 10 inches apart from the outer. In this
space, at intervals of six feet, run longitudinal
webs of iron plate=, which are again subdivided by
transver-e plates- into spaces of about six feet
Square. This gives an enormous addition to the
strength of the whole frame. At the bottom the
longitudinal webs are thicker, and the spaces be-
tween them only ab rut three feet square, in order
that wl enever it is necessary to ground the vessel
for any repairs she will support her own weigl.t
without s•ra'n or injury. Her principal dimen-
sions, calibre of her machinery, and general acco-
modation.s may be seen from the following :
Nurnbcrofraaintransverse bu'lcheads or water-
tight' comparthients

... - ~ ... I'-'

Ditto partial... 7
Longitudinal bulkheads running fore and aft
at a distance of 36 feet apart for a length of
350 feet ... ••• 2
Width of space between the two skins of ship 2ft. 10in.
Length .of forecastle ... 149 feet.
Height of ditto ' 8 feet.
Height of saloons on lower deck ... 13 ft. 8 in.
Number of saloons ...
Height of saloons on upper deck

12 feet

Number of ditto ••• ••I
Length of upper wil)ons
Ditto lovier
Thickness of iron plates in keel
Ditto inner and outer skins
Bulkhead's
Iron deck

70 feet; •
60 feet.
1 iuch.
inch.
inch.
inch.

PADDLE ENGINES.

Number of cylinders ...
Diameter of ditto ...
Weight of ditto (each)
Length of stroke ...
Number of boilers ...
Furnaces for ditto ...
Diameter of paddlewheels

74 incbcE.

26 tons.
14 feet.

56 feet,

SCREW FLCGINES.

Number of cylinders ...
Weight of ditto (each)
Diameter of ditto
Length of stroke .
Number of boilers
Furnaces for ditto ...
Diameter of screw
Number of bads to ditto
Length of screw shaft
Weight of ditto (about) ...
Weight of ship engines, dec., as at its launch-
-12,000 tons.
15 ft. 6 in
20 -foot.

30 tons.
84 inches.
4 feet.

24 feet.
4
150 feet.
60 tour.

ing
turnersion of this weight

Ordinary light draught ... .• •••
Probable maximum immersion when fully

30 feet.

laden
Quantity of coal which can be carried for
voyages, • ... 11,379 tons.

In addition t) these facts we may mention that
she will have sir masts and ten anchors. All the
former will be of hollow wrought iron, except the
list or mizen mist, on which, at a height of 84 feet
from the deck, will be placed the cempass. The
masts will spread together no less than 6,500 yards
of canvass, though, having no bowsprit, she, of
Course, Cfql. carry no spritsail. Titres of the masts
will be square-rigged with iron spars, except the
upper topsail-yards. The rigging will be of wire,
and the large shrouls -of this material will be eight
and a half inches in circumferenne. She will carry
20 large boats on deck ; some of them are 113 W pa-
tents, on meet ingenious principle., to which we
shall referlere ifter. In addition to these she will
alF.o carry, suspended aft of her paddle-boxes, two
small screw steamers 100 feet long each and of b:-
tweeu 61) and 70 tons burthen. These will, of
course, be raieed and lowere I by small auxiliary en-
glees, Fever d of which-will Fe fixed on beard for
working pumps, hoisting sail., weighing anchor,
&e. Both the little screws will be kept in all re-
spects perfeely equipped for sea and used for em-
barking and landing the passengers with all their
luggage, &e., alongside the wharf or pier, which-
ever it may happen to be. This will be oeereis
service, for Vie Great Eastern is fiVed to accom-
modate 800 first-class passengers, 2,000 econel-class,
and 1,200 thini-class,—in all 4,000 passengers ; or,
•if employ, d in the t: anspoi t of troops, ,he can
carry, it is said, 10,000 men. She will be ready
for launching early in August next, and be able to
take her first trial trip to America aed Lack about
the middle of that month. She is directed to re-
al:se a sped of,at least 2) miles en h ,ur, or to
accomplish the voyage from England. to Australia
(between which countries she is to run) in 30 days.
Reckoning the cost at so much per ton it said to
be one of this eheap7st vessels yet constructed. The
arrangemeets for the lannebing:--or perhaps we
should rather say for her being lowered gricluelly
down an inclined plane into the river—are quite as
extraor,iinary and as netewor,hy as the vessel it-
self. At present we cannot enter into the details
of the plan, which has been entirely devised by the
eminent engineer to whom the whole me] it of ori-
ginating the first great idea of the vessel is due—
Mr. Brandi. We may mention, however, that the
launch will' be by no means a slapdash affair into
the " native element," but a to lions operation
which will probably occupy two or three days. On
these ponts, however, and ou some others of equal
iuttrest, we shall give our readers fuller inferma-
tion as the great ship progresses towards comple-
tion.

EQUALISATION OF THE POOR-RATES.

Apublicm'&ingof therat,Tayors of St. George's
iti-th:!-Eist and thy adjoining parishes was he'd
on Wednesday at the George Tavera, Colunr..rcial-
ioscl, to consider the propriety of petit'oaing P.r-
liament for an equalisation of the poor-rates
throughout tha metropolis.
The Rev. G. H. M'GILL, having taken the chair,
observed tha,-, the subject which the meeting was
invited to cons'der was one that deeply concerne I
both the r itepayer and the pauper. The inequality
in the pressure of the poor-rates on different dis-
-Hots of the metropolis was a grievance that called
1 puily for redress. When the Bishop of London
and Mr. Gladstone sometime since visited the
easterly part of the metropolis, they expressed it as
their opinion that the iesideuts of the West-end of
London ought to contribute towards supporting
the poor of the East-end, in order to relieve the
unequal pressure to which the iuhabitsnts of that
portion of the metropolis were subjected. Every
ratepayer of the district would at once acquiesce
iu that opinion. He himself had paid as much as
5.. in the poand for poor-rates, and it was fal-
lacious to look for any diminution of this legal im-
post by means of charitable contribution. The
only practicable mode of lightening the burden
was t) equali.e the tax throughout all the parishes
of the metropolis. As this was a question wholly
unconnected with political or religious views, he
hoped to have the support of men of all parties in
his efforts to carry out the object he was anxious
to attain. He Lad invited Mr. Hisnbury, the
newly-electel member for the county, to preside
on the present occasion, but that gentleman was
of opinion that some one locally connected with
the district should discharge that duly ; but both
that gentleman and Lord Grosvenor had promised
to give their most cordial support to the movement
in the House of Commons, and they advised that
Parliam-nt should be petitioned to pass a bill to
afford the relief desired.
Mr. W. GILBERT, of Kensington, aft :r entering
into a statistical detail, with a view to show the
great inequality of the poor-rate in the different
parishes of the metropoli4, moved the following
resolution :
" Tbat this meeting is of opinion that the poor-rate
assessment in every parish in London ought to be equal."
Mr. WintrA.ms seconded the resolution.
Mr. G. L. HUTCHINSON said he had been endea-
vouring ever since 1829 to impress upon the public
the necess;ty of this measure, and the only objec-
tion he Lad to the resolution was that it confined

its operation to London only. The poor belonged
to the country at large, and not merely to London.
He therefore moved as an amendment that the
word "London" should he omitted, and the words
" England and Wales" be inserted in the resolu-.
tion ; which was seconded by Mr. Taylor.
Mr. I.lnooKs said, he was altogether oppoged to
the present movement, believing, as he did, that
by de 2rees the whole parochial system of the coun-
try b 3 deAloyeti by it. They would corn-
tiler= by union r Aing, then pr.eckcd to district
ratiz,g, th n to metr,)polibn rat ng. and
ii pally
they would arrive at natroual rating, which would
be nothing less than centralisation and coercion.
Mr. A. S. AYRTON, M.P., rose for the purpose
of tendering a piece of advice, They had met to