The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-14 00:00:00

:31.,..,,,__viiii
.:41,,.
o7:0
~,,..?. ,
,1v..:„.
(~:.ii.7i.„.....,
...
t.......r. ..,,...ti„, ;1'.., ,1 - 7,frillir -,41/‘ 4' 'r"
//:,
~ ..
\ .1 4,
/
. •• ~ . ~. '. —7, ..i.,ti; * *ll,, 'W:i4
i _. _t
r. 'jn. I • :.s1 - _
..4,.. el..
_ ,__________ ._—___ __.... _ ________
' ...
••-fiz _
ot ,
....‘ •;:i.4-.c.--'
..4. „• . ' :1- ) 1 og. t,‘‘..iclft "i Nit 01[7.11.31-.:aj 5 t:,:: .9111;1701 licop, 43,r•,
fib' i+,..1 .t.1..1...,1 I: 14'W ;2[:1111 1;OCT: Vo's4
,-_,1.. 44'•.`,...4:
‘, .?. -. './ N
'
4\ I*l .1 '4\ ';
I '
°((1°
jn ;2!
' • i,., ,-. ~.• .44 ~
~
,-,--,6
Oh.
_11[7747 „ ~,
.4 "g V 40
*
c 44..
►
__ ,-i . / ......" 1.. r, 4ap,
, , ,—, Asti,tb 3 (1 ''
°".
. U"
. """
. ' ",4 I
1 ' i r r , ..r.
. ' 1) iJr.7 ~ • 1.1 9.. `21:1 . ,
--'niii:tendtoeleHniaoryb.our, New Zealand, by the native are- s
been brought .up to the Sydney Mint. . _,
, ..,. S
Ili
Sir Charles Nicholson has been created a baronet, - •
it tit •of 1 fl:',ll`.vra *li :1-)L, a well-earned dignity, which we hope lie may long
~,
~,O V:, •
_. .
j 1,
r, I'' 'q.; , ~..Jl3. 0 '..,fib,,J,
....6 ' 44::: ;
;,f
'''----'4P?' I 3'l' ''''''‘it . '-'9I,A '.. rk'it' 4I! ~4,1.1\ \ \ et-Y-t);'''''"4"'Clll'l ''l!/4311' ' ' ''' 41g ;+4l-4, 1!tt'...7"----...1
<:,114 ' y ..e - .
..• fit Tii-n7
THE GREA-21 .EASTERN;
t,

PRICE. 4P. STAMPED, SD.

' - • • I PORTLAND, SEPT. 13.
• Of the three wlnainittgArenael4 injured
:by the
explosion, and now in the . infirmary -at Portlaad,.t
two, I am glad ‘to qty, ate ipbogressing favourably.
The third man, Tait, still continues in-rilinost pre-
carious condition, and suffers so severely that it is
. now more- than dopbtful if he can survive. la
dreadfully scaleleibabout the faCe, breast, stomach,
,and arms, and unfavourable symptoms are showing
'themselveS, which make his medical attendants fear
that another will yet be added to the list of fatal
casualties, Ntvhichrhuve already; resulted from this
lamentablei'Aiciaeift.; • Includifiethe poor -fellOw'
who ins his agony jumped eVerboard, six haVe
perished, and the inore the matter is inquired into
themore marvellous it appears__ that the loss of life
has: not been tenfold greater. The accident was -1111
extraordinary one, both from its cause and its seve-
rity, but it is a still more extraordinary accident,
if 1 may use such a term, that. the caging of the
Second funnel did not explede almost immediately:
'afterwards. The engineers who' have inspected.
vr
the ren twhmasses,j6h
yetf iron,lietnain of ttlihe f
e 'etrireenfdothuse evi-
dencesex
plosion, come to different: conclusion; as to the •
amount of steam pressure which occasioned it.
literally give 'it' as high as 1;000lb. to the
square inch, Init'thin "appears almost 'incredible.
The majority- generally 'estimate it as having,
been between 4001 b. and 5001 b., an amount .of.
pressure which, as far as can be calculated, has
never yet been got by steam. The highest pressure
boilers for locomotives are only made to withstand
about 1501 b. to the inch. Even for experimental
purposes a pressure of 5001 b. or 6001 b. steam has
never yet been generated. lathes Watt, in his
earliest experiments on evaporation, made some
very small- globular boilers, en-which-it was- said
a pressure of 4001 b. was eventually got, but any.
thing approaching to 5001 b. or 6001 b. has never
been so much asrheardef among engineers. till the
present most unfoitunate occurrence. Gunpowder
when exploded expands 800- times its bulk, and
when steam is superheated to an intense degree the
water becomes utterly decomposed into its con-
stituent gases, oxygcn and. hydrogen, which, when
brought into contact with 'any redhot surface, re-
combine with the most-fearful explosion. This was
exactly what -took place on board the Great
Eastern, and the litow up 'in its force was' pre=
cisely similar to wliht would have taken place litd:
the space between the inner and outer casing of
the funnel ,been filled,with gunpowder instead of
steam.

that the dov6inmerit will 'aet upon Theft sug.

gestions: This seems to me to be 'crtain—
that steps will be.
,taken, war or no: ,war, -to
put the harbour into a state of complete defence
--rapidly if the probability of war continces,
more leisurely if 'peace 'lSe assured. With this
view, and in order to husband, the resources of
the colony, I understand that the Government.
have finally determined to reject, for the present
the proposal respecting telegraphic communication
with England mentioned above. The proposal how-
ever has had this good effect—that we know what
remain to be' done and the cost of doing it.
" The abundant fall of rain during the last two
months has had a very marked and beneficial effect
on the supply of gold by the escorts. Up to the 3d
of June the weekly returns generally showed a de-
ficiency as compared with the corresponding periods
of 1858. Since the 3d of June the excess has been
invariably in favour of 1859, the
,weekly excess
being as follow's :

Week ending June 10 ..
~ 17 • •
24
July 1,
»

.. 3,045 ounces
13,A10
8,657 ~
7AB
7,840 „

Total

40,4,40 ounces,

" The quarter's supply is, for 1859, 592,194 0z.,.
against 591,161 oz. in 1858. The dAciency on the
first six months is 58,301 oz., which has since been
reduced to under, 43,000. • :
"The shipments for the first six months of 1,09,
were 1,197,062 'oz:, against 1,277,568 oz. itilBsB;
the difference being 80,506 oz. But this deficiency
is also in course of reduction, thongh I axu.unable
to give the exact figures. Quartz-crushing is in-
creasing, and the accounts are generally of a fa-
vourable nature. At Reedy Creek, nearliilmore,
some large
,quantity of quartz has realised
16 oz. 6 dwt. 3 gr. on the average to the
ton. The £lO shares of one company have.been
sold at £l6O. Some very rich reef: have been dis-
covered accidentally, it is said, at Pleasant Creek.
It is to this branch of gold mining that the miners
now look for future supplies. Large capital and
extensive machinery, with combined labour are
now being applied, and the attention of the Legis-
lot'ire has been, and will continue to be, directed
to measures for facilitating this branch of mining
enterprise. We still hear occasionally of the dis-
covery of rich alluvial diggings, but I do not think
that branch of industry is likely to extend. It is
now either stationary or on the decline. - On the
whole, I have no doubt that the supply will con-
tinue at about £10,000,000 per annum. I do not
think it will increase materially, as other branches
of industry are eagerly embraced. Agriculture
especially is extending, and is likely to increase
from year to year. There has been a good deal of
fluctuation in the price of gold during the month,
owing to the alteration of the exchanges and the
possibility of war freights and war insurances.
Ballarat gold, which, as the purest, generally leads
the rest, is ne v 775. 6d. to '7Bs. Gd., while the prices
of other places range from 675. to 78s. As a means
of comparing the prices of one period with another,
the course of prices of Ballarat gold (read by the
light of the exchanges) afford the best standard.
" The shipments to. Eu gland since last mail have
been heavy. They are by the

From the evidence which has been given at the
inquest, and from.minute inquiries and observations
whichrett y led
well tu the r
ascertained
rre,
made at the scene of the accident, the circumstancesneelt'aarpepneoawrs thatsup soonposed tobe
pafter
leaving Deptford the donkey engines for keeping
the funnel cases, and through them the boilers, sup-
plied with water showed most decided syinptomsof
infirmity, which as the vessel, -progressed on her
:voyage increased to such en extent that some of
them were rendered 'altogether useleSS; and the
others were only keptifeebly working by the con-
stant attention,a, sonae of the assistant engineers.
Thus from the tirst-there was a diffieulty in keep-
ing the boilers properly supplied with water,
Which was greatly increased by the fact that the
supply had first,: to he forced up a considerable
height to fill the funnel casing. This, it is supposed,
rg
induced those in chacto feed the boilers direct
from the donkey engines, without passing the water
through the funnel case. In shutting off the com-
munication between the casing and the boilers, the
engineers had every-reason to believe they were
performing a -perfectly harmless operation, for it
was well known there was an escape pipe to carry
off any steam which might be generated. It was,
however, afterwards ascertained that this pipe had,
previous to the departure of the . vessel frpm Dept,
ford, been used for testing the casing by hydraulic
pressure. For thiS purpose a brass cock had been
fitted to the end of it, and this-by some shocking
inadvertence was never, taken away, and, what is
worse, it was left turned off. Consquently, when
the communication between the.bottom of the cas-
ing and the boiler was interrupted • the water left
in the funnel was rapidly converted into steam, and
the whole apparatus became a monstrous vertical
boiler without a safety valve or any vent whatever.
That all the water left in the casing was converted
into vapour long before the explosion took place is
quite certain, and it was evidently not till the con-
fined steam had gone on expanding and-probably
decomposing for some hours that the casing at last
gave way with the awful effect I have endeavoured
to describe.
The jury have carefully inspected the scene of the
disaster, and the debris is now in course of being
cleared away, with the view to the necessary repairs
being commenced at once. How long these repairs
will take it is at present quite impossible to say. To
restore the ironwork which has been found to need
reconstruction will occupy from three Weeks to a
month, but the question ia how far the forvtard pair
of main boilers, from which the funnel was blown,,
and which acted as a base to the whole explosive
force, have been injured. Both will, in the course
of to-morrow, be subjected to a strict scrutiny, and
if any injury has been sustained, their repair will
be a work of time and difficulty. But whatever may
be the delay or cost, the directors have most pro-
perly determined that all shall be repaired in the
strongest and most perfect manner, and the boilers
tested with the hydraulic press.before again pro-
ceeding to sea. The fragments which are being
hauled up from the stokehole each minute afford
fresh evidence of the uncertain, fearful nature of the
explosion. In an apparently. nniojured portion of
the outer casing- a round hole is blown out, through
which a man could put his head. Yet there is no
flaw in the iron, nor is any other portion of this
segment hurt at all. I have mentioned the appa-
rently extraordinary fact that two of the largest
mirrors in the grand saloon fixed on each side were
left unhurt, when glasses at four times the distance
from the funnel were pulverised. The reason is
now explained by the fact of , these two mirrors
having been the only ones fixed in the iron bulk-
heads. A greater proof could not be given of the
immense strength of the ship than this. Had the
iron bulkheads vibrated in the least these gl .
must have gone to frqgments like the rest, butt
manner in which tffey were stayed across kept
them rigid even under the aWful concussion of the
blow uWilliam
.
I Mr. Briseo, the engineer on duty in the
stokehole at the time, and who was burnt about the
hands, is progressing most favourably, and in a few
more days Will be quite convalescent. He states
that the first effect of the explosion was to blow
open the furnace doors, smashing some to pieces,
and sending out a rush of 4eorehing min., The
stokers instantly ran,up, the ladder to the lower
deck gangway. Mr.,Brispo saw the dreadful dan-
ger of such a cofirse; and called on the men to keep
below, while he:threw himself on his face, which
he kept covered-with his hands. In this position
•he reinairied for'three or four minutes; till he could
hear that the rush of steam on the gangway above
had almost ceased. The heat in the stokehole was
then something fearful and dangerous to life, so he
rushed from it up the ladder as he best could.
Above the steps, on a level with the lower deck, he
found the wretched men who had so imprudently
fled there,. standing or sitting, and all looking
horror-struck at the appearance of their hands,
from which the flesh was boiled off, for they had
rushed into the very spot where the steam was
hottest. None of these poor fellows seemed to be
aware that the scalds which they
.had sustained,
about the rest of tkeir body were not only
ten times more dangerous, but infinitely more
severe. Mr. Brisco, howeVer, notwithstand-
ing that the flesh was burnt off the backs
of both his hands, remained with the sufferers
till all were removed and had their wounds
dressed. Mr. ProwSe, the chief officer, was fore-
most in rendering assistance
to rescue all who were
injured below.
It was stated that a ton of
ship at the time of the explosion, and stowed away
somewhere near the scene of the disaster. Not an
ounce of gunpowder has ever been on board the
vessel. Crowds of visitors come daily to inspect
her, but none are allowed to go where the accident
occurred. Such is the morbid curiosity on this
subject that almost any amount might daily be re-
alised by the company throwing this unlucky por-
tion of the Great Eastern open to public inspection.
At present, the decks are almost thronged with
sight-seers, gazing with awe upon the
_broken
funnels and heaps of shattered fittings which have
been brought up.'

Oz.
Oneida, June 18
Agincourt, June 18
Kent, -June 25
Blue Jacket,.July 29
Marco PolO, July 'll

. -_,----------
PRICE OF GOLD.—The quotation. of gold at Paris
is about 1 die. and the short exchangeon London is 25.121
per £1 sterling. On comparing these rates with the Eng
lish Mint price of £3 17s. 101 d. per ounce for standard gold,
it appears that gold is about 1-10th per cent. dearer in
Pans than in London. .By advices from Hamburg the
price of gold is 4221 per mark, 'and the short exchange on
London is 13.41 per LI aterling. Standard gold at the
English Mint price is therefore about 2 10ths per cent.
dearer in London' than in Hamburg: The course of ex-
change at New. York on London forhille at 60 days' sight
is about 110 per. cent., which, . when, compared With the
Miiit‘par between the 'm countries, shows that the ex-
change is in• favour of England ; and,. after making
C4a owance for charges. -of transport and difference of inte-
st, the present rate leaves a.small profit qa the importa-
n of gold fioin the Unitd States.