The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-06 00:00:00

THE GREAT EASTERN.

Unavoidable circumstances connected with the
clearing out certificates prevented the great ship
leaving her river moorings this morning, as
previously intended. From an early hour the
various thoroughfares on both sides of the
river leading to the place of departure of the mon-
ster ship were crowded by pedestri,aus and vehicles
of all descriptions. As early as fi tve o'clock some
thousands were waiting at the different railway
stations, eager to be transported ti.l some favourable
spot where a view might be had of the greatest
achievement in maritime archite ,cture. However,
all were doomed to disappointmE nt. The railway
officials, as soon as they were made aware of the
postponement of the sailing of tl to ship, very con-
siderately issued a placard•to th at effect, and thus
prevented an idle journey to the a nxious expectants.
Trips had also been announced by the steam-boat
companies to convey passengers some considerable
distance down the river ; but ti ley likewise gave
timeons notice of the delay vili.ich had occurred.
The scene on each side of the river at Greenwich was
most enlivening; the espla.nade presented quite
a holiday appearance ; and as numerous visitors had
arrived at Greenwich the previous night, the
various hotels must have reaped a good harvest.
We believe it is finally arranged that the Great
Eastern will sail to-morrow (Wednesday) morning.
It is intended to commence tow ing her down
at the half•flood tide, so that she may reach
Gravesend by mid-day. She will arrive at the
Nore about noon on Thursday, when she will
swing to adjust compasses, starting for Portland
on Saturday morning next.

The Liverpool Albion says—" Some i)f our metro-
politan contemporaries, in enumerating' the imports
and exports of India, China, and Australia, and
speaking of Calcutta as the port of the, monster
ship, confidently ask, Can any one doubt but she
will get full cargoes there ?' Now, our readers
will only have to look at the map of Endia to see
that nothing will be got at Calcutta save the pro-
ducts of Bengal and the provinces on the Ganges,
and that it would be foolish to suppose that Bombay
would send goods 1,400 miles out of their course,
Madras 700, Singapore 1,300, and the Chinese
ports from 3,200 to 3,500, Australia being equally
distant. The directors must not be misled by such
nonsense. The imports of Calcutta are not equal
to those of Pailadeiphia, Boston, Montreal, New
Orleans, or Baltimore, nor one-twelfth of those of
New York ; and of her exports, what may be the
Great Eastern's share but a part of the indigo, silks,
spices, and valuable products, not amounting alto-
gether to 25,000 tons a year ? Sugar, rum, rice,
would come by clipper ships to direct ports, the
freights of these, during the last two years,
ranging from 10s. to 60s. per ton—a poor look-
out for her shareholders ! Where, then, is
the emigration to or from India? As we said
before, the trade for her is that formerly carried
on by the liners and packets, and now by them and
our steamers, and as the great ship cannot come
here or.to New York, the St. Lawrence and Cork
are the next best. Should 'the internal navigation
of America, by Quebec, be overlooked, and another
port chosen, then Portland and Norfolk have their
claims, the former being the shorter voyage, but
having 200 or 300 miles more rail to Cincinnati,
Pittsburg, Chicago, and St. Louis, and 100 more to
Philadelphia, Washington, and Baltimore, New
York being half way between them. On the other
hand Norfolk has, by rail, all the cotton trade of
the Carolinas and Georgia, as well as the tobacco
and grain trades of Virginia, Tennessee and Ken-
tucky. Next to New York, Quebec, by her vast
inland ship navigation, would be the most likely
port to fill the great ship ; and second to her, Nor-
' folk. It will depend on the Grand Trunk Railway
and Canadian people, by having the rail extended
to a proper harbour for the winter in the St. Law-
rence, and a wharf erected, to have the benefit of
the great ship at all seasons. The British and
Irish press have given the pros and cons, but we
believe that it is as yet undecided as to her trade
by the directors. .

Saunder's News Letter says :—" A noteworthy
fact is that the ship nearest in size to the Great
Eastern arrived in England from America about
30 years ago. She was called the Baron of Ren-
frew, was 600 feet long, and was composed of large
logs of timber clamped together in the roughest
manner. It was predicted that she never would
steer, never would cross the Atlantic ; but she did,
and immediately upon her arrival was broken up.
Indeed, she was nothing more than imported timber,
having been patched together to avoid the timber
duty, which wasithen exceedingly heavy. She ful-
filled her mission in every way, but the Govern-
ment was down upon the new dodge, and prevented
any repetition of the experiment.

•
ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON.—A very curious
atmospheric phenomenon was produced on Friday morning
on the railway wires round Paris. At 7 o'clock, when the
service commences in the various stations, it was remarked
at the central station, placed at the hotel of the Minister of
the Interior, that some of the instruments were charged
with electricity, as if the corresponding station had sent a
constant current. It was soon found that the fact was
general, the wires at all the stations being in the same state.
By interrupting the circuit of the wires strong sparks were
obtained. The same thing was produced at the same time
on all the telegraphic wires throughout France, the stations
placed between two lines receiving the current from each
side. At halt-past nine the electricity, in place of being
permanent, showed itself only at intervals. The scientific
authorities were consulted as to the cause of this phenome•
non. In stormy weather atmospheric electricity produces
many discharges, which set in motion the telegraphic ma-
chines, but thse discharges are instantaneous and have net
a permanent character.
EXTRAORDINARY ELECTRICITY IN THE ATMO-
SPHERE.—STOPPAGE OF TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICA-
TION.—Astronomers are divided as to the causes of the re-
cent extraordinary superabundance of electricity in the at-
mosphere, but of the fact there can be no doubt, as evi-
denced not only by the unusual brilliancy of the aurora
, borealis, but the impossibility of transmitting messages by
the telegraphic wires. On Sunday the deflections of the
needles at the telegraphic offices were strong and erratic,
but not being a busine a day the inconvenience was not
great. Yesterday, during the early part of the day, the
electricity was so abundant that no information could be
obtained for the newspaper offices, nor were private messages
transmissible. The needles instead of being obedient to the
ordinary magnetic current, were violently agitated and de-
flected by the electricity of the atmosphere, the result being
that the telegraphic clerks could only decipher a word or
two of a sentence, leaving the information incomplete, con-
sequently valueless. These phenomena occurred in connec-
tion with the wines of both the Electric and the Magnetic
Telegraph Companies, and were not merely local in their
manifestation, but interfered with messages from London,
Liverpool, Birmingham, and more distant places. So great
a disturbance of the electrical Currents has not been known
for many years, scarcely since the invention of electrical
telegraphing. During the afternoon and evening of yes-
terday the communication became re-established and regu•
km—Manchester Courier of Saturday.
FLOGGING IN THE ARMY.—In a letter to a con-
temporary, the writer refers to an institution which has
already for a long time worked well in the armies of several
States of Northern Germany. He states that in the armies
he alludes to there is a law that no soldier can be flogged
unless he is previously, by a sentence of a military court,
transferred to the second class of soldiers. The measure of
transferring a soldier to the second class is never resorted
to, unless the man, by committing many offences, or by
persisting in the repetition of the same offence in spite of
punishments, has shown himself to be an otherwise incor-
rigible offender. It deprives him of the honour of wearing
the cockade with the colours of his country, and renders
him liable to bodily chastisement, which even then can
be inflicted only in consequence of a fresh offence, and a
sentence to that effect passed by the Court. This institu-
tion exempts the great body of the soldiers from a punish-
ment which is considered degrading in the armies of
Northern Germany, France, and many other countries; it
gives a fair warning to the obstinate offender, and might
prove to be of benefit if adopted in the army of this country.
ANOTHER RUSSIAN EXPEDITION TO EXPLORE
THE AMOUR.—The Hamburg Correspondent has the fol-
lowing from St. Petersburg :—" We are informed that
another expedition to explore the territories of the Amour
is ,now being organised under the auspices of the Grand
Duke Constantine. At the head of the expedition is M.
Maninow, well known for having travelled on foot through
all Russia in the costume of a working man, in order to
study the condition of the peasantry. Several exploring
parties have already left Irkutsch for the countries men-
tioned, but solely with a view to search for the gold places
said to exist there. Some of the explorers have found rich
mines near the source of the Seja, but not easily worked,
as they are covered with a stratum of peat of immense
thickness. It is not without interest for the China trade to
learn that the westetn.provinces of that empire now send
caravans of tea to Semipolotinsk, so that Kiatcha no longer
enjoys the monopoly of the tea trade. The caravans from
Central Asia generally take two routes ; some go towards
Siberia, by Semiplototinsk and Petrohauwtosk, and
others towards Orenburg by Tronzk. The favour the
othersaccorded
to the Asiatics of passing the Russian frontier withoutiouctn
passports from their own Governments and the reduction
of the custom duties, have had a most beneficial effect on
the trade."
sayls)l.wShrTisllDUßr.Ss:mT.
thated thereri are ex-
tenuatinggaol ? Is he considered "guilty,".contemporary
"°p
—etAhurWsti istteilrl dientaain
circumstances to justify a sPon°elri3u.
circumstances, which exte-
nuatesentence. Unless there are no Howes' to lake its
but
ation" of the
the crime, the law ought to be a
course. is he considered innocent ? Then he ought to be
released, for it is as unjust to detainhaninnocentmanin
prison 'as it is to execute 4m. Te only conclusion,
I
think, to be drawn from the rlicst
that
that hteh‘e‘ is reprieved ved
ing her Majesty's pleasure,' is
none, in tsthuimech,eii circums circumstances,
sift the matter. As there are no xt
• 9
sus-
pended during her. pleasure, in
eordeenr.utaot
ngi,ve.moruiestailttatiiomotneotof
andt
e sentence, ebne ce , for investigation, there appears to
ar
ecpar.sice st-e)," justifyor thea cd
in-
tendedelay
to give mow
)40 Sentence should
be deferred. On the other hand, if no is considered inno-
cent,be no valid reason why the execution
,of
or if there be a doubt As to his guilt, then he ought t 4
be immediately discharged, since it is the height of c4velty
to punish, in any
.way, an innocent man, or It an of whose
must be borne in mind
eri
inDarlit.syni thereeth is a
Smethurst
is not
It
ttnalvin
gaol awaiting a fresh
trial, unless what is going on at the Home-office may be
thatm
considered enalu

THE NINE HOURS ' MOVEN.

The members of the conference who assembled
yesterday at the Paviors' Arms were in higher spirits
apparently than they have been at any time since
the commencement of the strike, at the prospect of
the dividend which they were enabled d
to eclare:
It was generally supposed by the employers and
others who were not acquainted with the nature
and amount of the levies which have recently been
f
made among the men in work that the dividend
would be even smaller than it was afortnight
They will he surprised, therefere, to learn that the
to every
actual dividend declared amounted to 3s. per men
ment out of work in consequence of the lock-ou
society man, of whatever class, at this mot-.
This is in addition to what the societies, will seve-
rally contribute, so that for this week at least the
men will not be lett entirely without funds. At the
same time Trollope's men, now reduced to 191
1.11
number, received, as was anticipated, 12s. skillT
and Bs. unskilled labourers. The effect of a distil-
is twofold. It induces non-society
bution of this nature, amounting t) nearly who are
now out of work for no fault of their own, and who
have no quarter to look to for assistance, to join so-
cieties ; and it makes the masters more determinen
in their resistance to unions of every description'
when they see how powerful an organisation can be
raised as it were almost instantaneously.for
ject so unworthy as that to which, in their opinion,
the present agitation is directed. • dof
Satisfactory, however, as the present divides
men, who _
3s. per man is regarded to be, it must be remem-
bered that last week no dividend was struck, !O
that adding it to the previous one of ls. 1d• it oil
gives an average of ls. Old_ per man per week- F,e
the first time since the strike began we have been
furnished with an exact list of the number of men
in each trade who were entitled to share in the dt.
tribution. together with the exact amount disburee,u,_
The document is interesting in a statistical point
of view, and it is important, also, as showin' be:
yond cavil the number of society men in of
branch of the building trade at this moment out 0
work in London and Woolwich. Here is the list
Trollope's men lO4 skilled artisans at 12s 2 1,6 0
34 16 °
/, . 87 unskilled, at Bs. ..
Carpenters and 366 18
joiners 2,446 at 3s°
Bricklayers 740 at 3s lll 03 0
9
Plasterers
37 10 0
0
v
Masons
Woolwich men .. 250 „
18 0
Painters
7
Stone sawyers
''''''''''''' 10 -
Labourers' Lodge, .
No. 1 491 • 73'13 6
No. 2 • • 449 " '''''''''''''' 66 0• 3
No. 3 ..
189 :', '''''''''''''' 28 7
No. 4 .. 278 „ ''''''''''''''''' 41 14 0o
No. 5 154„ ''''''''''''' . 23 2, 0
..
No. 6 .. 517 ' 77 11 0
No. 7 .. 250 ':: ''''''''''''' 37 10
No. B''''''''''' 71 0
47 „
242 ''''
'6
6 °O
No. 9 ..
No. 10 • •,, .............. '',,, 1
No. 11 1674 „ .............. -8•1 0 9
No. 12 • ' . 0,, 7, .............. 3, 0
No. 13 ..
• ~,0 ” ..... ......... 116 0
12 „ ..
Labourers from.
Mr. Macey's ..

0 18 °

6 00000000000
...
£1,245
7,846 tuber
Of this total of 7,846 the skilled artisans nu .0,1
4,889, and the labourers 2,957. This pro are
would appear to indicate that the laboure artisans,sre
no means so generally society men as the 2an
while the small number of members in 11, 1 odo,es
13 would lead to the conclusion that those 1%; is
were of recent formation. Indeed the probahunil
t.
that they owe their origin to the present We've s
The men continue to receive contributionin
from the provinces and the delegatas rePo%,„
favourable terms of the reception which es' to
where greets them. A great meeting isj°,lla
held in the Trades' Hall, Glasgow, to-oir" to
Mr. Potter and Mr. Gray left London yesterdsiev,
be present at it. A monster meeting alsedeie.
.petted at Manchester this evening, at which The
gates from the metropolis will be present.
ester
Anti-Strike Committee held two meetings Yes' in
day at the Adelaide Gallery; but they were oguie,,
overwhelmed by the scouts and pickets of the slur
ties, who interrupted the proceedings odeshed
gether behaved so outrageously that the pIL ted,
to be called in to clear the hall. This they enee his
not without difficulty, and the device was then
by the committee of admitting by tickets o.11,:yro
but these were surreptitiously obtained, and someinaw
were little mended. On the whole, however, so
40 men appended their names to the lists, and it Wto
stated that many more were known to be willialiar
subscribe, but were prevented by the veil Peenthe
and cogent system of 4, persuasion" adopted by
Trades Union men. The committee continue to re-
'Trades
encouraging and sympathising letters to a
all quarters, and already the subscriptions forwar''',.
e
to Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smith's begin to 1":
sume important dimensions.
The deputation of 16 from the 400 builders' Ore:,
men, who were appointed at the meeting held e'"
Saturday, met yesterday at the Foremen's Institute'
Lyons'-inn, for the purpose of arranging the
view which it was anticipated the employers voll.'oo
give them at their meeting to-day. An applicatl,o
with this object was forwarded in the course of
day to Mr. Wales, the secretary to the Central
sociation of Master Builders, but it did not orrice
time to elicit any reply. It is understood, hoscrfh;
that a joint deputation from the foremen and the
Anti-Strike Committee will be received
range-
masters to-day, when it is hoped that some ar
inent will be arrived at for opening the shops,

THE ANTI-STRIKE MOVEMENT' r the
During the whole of yesterday numbers 01 oil
unfortunate operatives in the building trades
et,
strike crowded the thoroughfare in Adelaide-si_tre.a.
Strand, in front of the Adelaide-rooms, the ue-eo,
quarters of the committee recently Formedfording
rolling the men opposed to the strike, and after we
them an opportunity of emancipating, thernse the
from the tyranny of the society originatinghnut
Nine Hours Movement. At intervals threug, the
the day Mr. Ballard, a foreman smith, o„ssed
Chairman of the Anti-Strike Committee, adull_,"tina
large bodies of them within the hall in explana og
of the objects of this counter movement, and lithe
them in their own interests as well.as.these;those
masters to give in their adhesion to it. One orn-
meetings was held betwehn 10 and 11 in the
rallictert
' ing, and another, of a more animated `c",11,--„ was
later in the day. Mr. Superintendent Durneok
in attendance with a small body of police to c de-
any any attempt at a breach of the peace, bet,ted no
meanour of the men was so orderly as to a_ent
pretext for his interference. Most of those Pry r,
were society men, precisely the class wh"lf the
Ballard aims at winning over to his side °hoe,
question ; but a large number were men wh°,,h the
from principle, never identified themselves vg"' t of
society, but who are, nevertheless, thrown society
employment by this unhappy strike. The sills:.
men now and then interrupted the address otsitl_..
Ballard, as did others, asking him question° on
various points in dispute, and especially as or
interpretation to be put upon the " document ,o
declaration, which the masters seek to impose,u_
them, and which it 'is clear many of them ne
mired was that in signing the declaration they
rightly understand. What they required to be..isod
not thereby be precluded from joining or contomilL
ing to be members of a body formed for the,.
them
nary purposes of a-benefit society. Many el
are certainly under the impression that they would,
be so precluded, though the words of the cle.onriot,
tion itself, as explained by Mr.
but as
d
much
warrant any such interpretation ;
it would be
certainty prevails among the m.
point, including even non-socie y_
all concerned
hem and to
but an act of justice to them and beyond the
for the masters to place the matter
it _
is important
stionmight
etn,oinnenth,
possibility of cavil or que 1
f the strike.
tend to shorten the duration o
yester-
Numbers of the men of both classes
day inveighed in indignant terms agallw'
other
the document, designating itl among
epithets, as a badge of slavery and degradation
which the masters sought to impose on them, an
declaring that no coniiideratin
duce an earth shouldn
duce them to subscrib nese expressions
anon were vociferously
opinion and determination
cheered by the rest of the audience,
and Mr. Bal
laid at times found it a work of difficulty to LI
anything in favour of the obnoxious document. The
contended, however, that, judged by itself, ther
was nothing in it contrary to personal freedom:
He was twitted fur beingo. paid for the part he We"
takii:g in the dispute, but that he indignantly
the
nic d. He said, incidentally, that the object of t
masters was to obtain labour in the cheap
e"
market.
This sally elicited a storm of derisive laughter,
and one man, taking up Mr. Ballard's line of argto
ment, added that their (the men's) policy was
sell it in the dearest—, sentiment loudly cheere_
Mr. BALLARD rejoined that the best course v1:11;
to leave labour to the operation of supply and Hof
mend, and he implored them in the inter e¢ to
themselves, of those who were near and dear,_at
them, and of their employers, forthwith to do vlie
they could to terminate this unhappy quarre.e,„_
'ken left the hall, and the men attempted to
eirman of their own and continue the diseu;ceti,
but to the manager of the building °Pie Zia,
whereupon they gave three cheers foret:_ntat
hours' Movement and separated. Between
40 men came forward in the course of thetda,arnst
pledged themselves to support the prOte3
thQ strike,
---------------
Council of
At the ordinary meeting of the Tow:tiding, it
waii,
Glasgow on. Friday, the Lord Provosto
Pr to request the
agreed, on the motion of Sir Andrew
rj, t ask the N¢"
Lord Provost and magistrates of the city 5) s
lice to
• of Social cie
tlonal Association for the Promotion
hold the meeting of 1860 in Glasgow.