The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-27 00:00:00

(Copy.)

" London, Aug. 25.
"Dear Sir,—l have not yet been favoured with an official

answer to my letter of the 19th inst., and as time now
presses I am desired by Mr. Lever to make a final offer,
which I shall be glad if you will at once lay before your
Board.

" For the sake of clearness I will state the proposal as
now submitted, viz.:—

" 1. The owners to effectually work and man the ship,
and provide everything except coals, port charges, and pro-
visions for the passengers.
"2. The ship to have complete accommodation for not
less than 600 first, 500 second, and 1,000 third-class pas.
•
sengers.

"3. The ship to be at her port of departure ready for sea
in the month of September next. The charterers to have
30 days' previous notice, or such other number of days as
may be eventually agreed upon.
"4. The charterers to have the entire use of the vessel,
and to pay for the hire thereof the sum of £25,000 sterling
in cash, upon signing the formal charter party.
"5. Thirty working lay days to be allowed for all pur-
poses.

"6. This offer is subject to the vessel steaming upon her
trial trip 14 knots per hour.
" 7. Should any contingencies arise during the continu-
ance of the charter, and the interest of the charterers be
prejudiced thereby, and should any difference of opinion
arise thereon, the settlement shall be referred to the chair-
man of Lloyds, or any other party mutually agreed upon
on signing the charter party, whose decision shall be final
and binding upon both parties.
" Mr. Lever wishes your Board to clearly understand
that this offer, subject to such modifications in its details as
may be mutually agreed to, is final, and must be taken as
his ultintatum.

" As I understand your Board will meet this day, this
offer is subject to an answer not later than 12 o'clock to-
morrow (Friday).
" I am, dear Sir, yours faithfully, C. CAPPER.
" J. H. Yates, Esq., Secretary, Great Ship
Company (Limited).

" P.S. Should there be no berths for third-class passen-
gers Mr. Lever will fit up at his own cost whatever number
of berths may be required."

The following is the letter which accompanied
the offer made by Mr. Lever, through Mr. Capper,
to the Great Ship Company, for chartering the
vessel on her first passage across the Atlantic :
" 40, Cannon-street East, London, E.C., Aug. 25.
" Dear Sir,—l am desirous that you should place before
the directors of tho Great Ship Company a few facts for
their consideration in reference to the final offer I have this
day authorised you to Make. No practical man would for
a moment contemplate so great an undertaking as to charter
the Great Eastern unless he could command great and pe-
culiar advantages, which I think I must be acknowledged
to possess. These consist :

" 1. In having a fleet of steam ships ready to take the
place of the Great Eastern should an unforeseen accident
happen to the untried ship. I refer to the vessels now
advertised by me in connection with the Great Eastern, by
Messrs. Bake, Adam, and Co.

" Are the directors aware that in case of an accident the
shareholders would be responsible for the detention and
conveyance of passengers from any port, either in the out-
ward or homeward trip ?
" 2. To make this trip a profitable one, or rather to save
the shareholders from loss, a machinery of an extensive
character must be set in motion which cannot be impro-
vised. I allude to securing passengers and making all the
necessary preliminary arrangements that would give confi- ,
dence to the public, security to the voyage, and a certainty
d profit to the shareholders. Have the directors of the
Great Eastern all these preliminary arrangements at their
command ? Have they a fleet of steamers ready to take up
and carry out their engagements with the passengers should
the necessity arise ? Have they a net-work of booking
arrangements, for passengers bath in Europe, Canada, and
tho United tes ? Are they prepared to sustain a loss on
the voyage isilould they fail in these particulars ? 2

•` Let me now point out some of the msnetary provisions
of the proposed charter which I contemplate-
1. My offer for charter in cash is
2. Coals out and home near 6,000
3. AdvertisinginGreatßritainandontheContinent 2,500

in United States and the North

American colonies
4. Brokers' commission in Europe 1,250
in America

1,250

Provisions for passengora
Insurance of passage money out and home 7,500
Port charges and contingent expenses
Fittings for third-class berths

£59,000
—Say £59,000 sterling.
" 1 may further remark that Mr. Jackson himself men-
tioned to me that he had seen it stated in the papers that I
was going to take the ship to Quebec ; pray disabuse his
mind as to that matter. On referring to my offer he will
find that I stated the ship should be sent 'from a safe port'
to 'a safe port.' Now, it is clear that I could not safely
send that ship into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and that there-
fore, I could not mean Quebec. Again, I beg to say I did
not require the ship to average 14 knots, but merely to make
14 knots on her trial trip, which, it must be confessed, is
only a moderate speed compared with what is expected from
her, viz., 20 knots. Mr. Jackson, however, stated, in my
interview with him, that if I had only bound the ship to
make 11 knots it would have been just the same.
"As the American autumnal traffic is returning, allow
me to add that unless I have the ship within two days as-
sured to me for the purpose of advertising, which would of
course be at my own risk, I could not offer half the sum
which I have done. Time is just now all iniportant.—l
am, dear sir, very faithfully yours,
" J. 0. LEVER.
"Charles Capper, Esq."

The day is now fast approaching when the great
question of the success of this noble vessel as a kind
of ocean railway will be finally set at rest. This
afternoon is the last occasion when the public will
be admitted on board, as the whole of next week will
be entirely devoted to getting her ready for sea.
The works that yet remain to be completed are,
generally speaking, matters of minor detail, all of
.which, however, will require a certain time for ex-
ecution, though not more than three or four days of
next week will be amply sufficient to accomplish.
Among the other things that have yet to be done
are making the necessary openings in the bulk-
heads to coal into the bunks over the boilers. Wa•
tertight doors have also to be put to the openings
in the main tunnels running fore and aft the ship
from the engine-rooms. The capstan deck forward
has also to be planed, the entire deck caulked, and
an access made to the bearing for the screw shaft.
Some kitchens have to he fitted up, and cooking
ranges fixed, and several of the cabins to be painted
and furnished. Accommodation is also ordered to
be prepared for 450 passengers to dine in the 80
feet saloon aft. Several berths have yet to be fixed,
and 150 additional sofas provided. The yards have
also to be crossed and the sails bent, and the steer-
ing apparatus to be fixed in place and tested. All
these items seem to make a vast amount of work
yet to be done, but this is so only in appearance. Al-
most all these details belong to different depart-
ments, and all can be going forward without hin-
drance at the same time. If it was necessary, not
the least doubt is felt that as far as these matters
are concerned the ship could be made ready for
sea in from 24 to 36 hours at furthest. The
new steering apparatus will, perhaps, take a few
days to fix and regulate. This simple but most
ingenious invention is due to Mr. Langley, the
shipbuilder of Deptford. By means of this Cap-
tain Harrison, or the officer of the watch on the
bridge, will be enabled to steer the ship by a signal
indicator with as much certainty as if he guided
the wheel himself. A small illuminated dial, with
a moveable index, is fixed on the bridge, in front of
the officer of the watch, and connected with an-
other of the same description in front of the men at
the helm. Moving the index finger of the machine
on the bridge to port or starboard moves the index
of the machine before the helm at the same time,
so that not a second is lost in putting the helm hard
up or down. In the same manner the rudder itself
is connected with another small dial before the
helmsmen, which tells by its index that they have
exactly obeyed orders, while this again communi-
cating with a similar machine on the bridge shows
the officer of the watch the instant his commands
are executed. The movements of the latter dial
being, of course, regulated by those of the rudder,
the officer on duty has always the helm, as it were,
under his eye, and can detect if the men suffer the
vessel to deviate a quarter of a point from her course
even for a second. The apparatus, moreover, pos-
sesses another advantage, and that is, that simply
moving over the index finger to hard aport opens
up two red lights on the port side. and by turning
it to starboard a double green one is similarly dis-
played. Thus small vessels are afforded every faci-
lity for getting out of the monster's way in her im-
petuous rush over the deep. Crossing the yards and

PRICE 4D. STAMPED, SD•

bending on the sails will be commenced on Monday.
Like the wooden masts, all t he yards have been fur-
nished by Mr. Ferguson, and they are probably the
. finest spars of the kind ,which have ever left that
gentleman's yard. •With all sails set the total spread
of canvas will be about 4,800 square yards, and
with a strong breeze on the quarter this would suffice
without any other aid to drive the Great Eastern
through the water at the rate df some 15 knots an hour
at least. It is not anticipated, however, that she will
ever require much assistance from her canvass, or.
that sails will be hoisted with dri34 other view than
that for which 'are • generally used in fast sea,
going steamers,—namely, that of making a strong.
draught down into the engine-rooms and furnaces.
All the arrangements now making on board the
ship are with the view of starting her on the morn-,
ins of the 3d proximo. On that day, at 6 a.m.s.
she is intended to leave. her .moorings for the first•'
time. Four powerful tugs will take charge of hee
—two towing ahead and two pulling astern. Th •
latter are thus placed to help the gigantic vessel to
turn in those sharp angles of the river which occur
just below Greenwich Hospital and just above
Blackwall ; the Great Eastern herself will also

be under steam in her paddle engines, which if
occasion requires, can 'be turned round to assist the
tugs. From Graveserid to the Nore the aid of the
tugs will be merely nominal; if used at all. At the
Nore two or three days will probably be consumed
in adjusting compasses and filling in with coal.
The latter will bring her down to a fair seagoing
trim,—that is to say, a little over 10 feet deeper in
the water than she now appears. The slightest
possible addition will be made to her present
draught of water till the Nore is reached. , From
the Nore she proceeds under easy steam to Port-
land, and receives her passengers for the first trial
trip, returning afterwards to Holyhead, from which
harbour she arts on her trial trip to Canada on
or about the 15th. ,

The number of visitors who have inspected the
vessel during this week and last has been very
large, the amount realised by the company on the
admission fees being upwards of £4,000. Early
on Wednesday morning the Prince do .Toinville
made a minute inspection of the vessel, and ex-
pressed his opinion that she was one of the most
wonderful specimens of engineering and scientific
skill that human ingenuity had ever constructed.
Speaking of her general equipment the Prince ex-
pressed an almost equally strong opinion in favour
of Mr. Trotman's anchors, and said that he attri-
buted the safety of several French vessels-of-war
which were anchored off the coast of Algelip. in a
tremendous gale entirely to the use of smaller
anchors of the same patent. The Grand Duke
Constantine is expected:to visit the ship early next
week.
An immense number of applications for berths •
during the trial trip have already been received by
the secretary of the company, with a proportionate
number for cabins during the voyage to Canada.
All the nonsense that one time pervaed the public
mind about the vessel being too large to be safe,
has apparently long since disappeared, and in its
stead has sprung up a confidence in her strength
and speed, which, though great, is not an atom
more than the noble vessel really deserves. In
truth, all the objections which were at one time
made to her were only the same old stories which
have been used every time these ten years against
every large vessel in turn, and any time these 1,000
years against improvements of all kinds, from
burning sea coal to lighting the streets with gas,
or crossing them with locomotives. The grumbling
mechanical objections of nautical men of the old
school exploded months ago, and the doubts of
those who feared her as a commercial success seem
to be fast going with them. One of the great
complaints under this head • used to be that the
Great Eastern would at least require a month or
six weeks to coal. Well, it is now seen that her
steam cranes can coal her to the extent of 10,000
tons in less than 48 hours. Another great objec-
tion with the opponents of large ships was, that
this one could never get a cargo, or, if she did, it
would swamp the market to which it was con-
signed. When these arguments are fairly weighed
against the extent of our trade with the East, and
its gigantic annual increase, they appear literally
almost a4surcl. Even as late as 1861—s-ream commu-
nication 'with China and other parts of the East
was in its infanoy. There was then only one mail
service a month. In 1852 this was made a fort-
nightly communication, and now, although there is
one a-week, the demand for steam freight and pas-
sage is very greatly in excess of the supply. In
1851, when this new system was first originated,
the trade to the East in outward tonnage only
amounted to 452,852 tons. In 1858 it amounted
to 946,503 tons, or nearly double. The value of
this export trade has increased in the same short
interval in the same immense proportion, being
now with Australia £10,000,000 per annum, and
with India £18,000,000, exclusive of bullion. The
export trade with China from this country does not
so correctly indicate its true value, as much of the
tea and silk is paid for by the cotton and opium
sent from India. Yet the value of the silk and tea

imported from China is, like the India trade, double
now what it was in 1851, and is probably little
under £15,000,000. If, then, the trade with the
East generally has increased at this tremendous
rate in seven years, when railways were not com-
menced, what may not fairly be anticipated when
the fast progressing lines are completed in India,
Ceylon, and Australia, and when the new treaties
with China and Japan begin to bear fruit ? The
monthly clearances of vessels to the East are about
80,000 tons, so that vessels like the Great Eastern
leaving England once a-month could only carry
one-tenth of the existing trade, and probably not
more than one-fifteenth of what it will be in a
couple of years hence. But six Great Easterns
would be necessary to enable one to leave England
once a-month, and as yet we have only one Great
Eastern afloat, or even thought of. With such
plain facts as these, what becomes of the objection
that a ship which can do the long sea voyage to
India in 30 days will not get a cargo ? As to swamp-
ing the markets of India, China, and Australia, with
8,000 tons, which is only the cargo of one large
vessel to each place, the idea is simply ridiculous.
Persons are apt to forget when they speak of
the India and China market, that it means
supplying the wants of 200,000,000 of people, and
that two vessels like the Great Eastern always
loaded and going backwards and forwards as fast
as they could run would hardly supply those mar-
kets with nankeens and printed calicoes alone. The
only question that has now to be solved is that of
her speed. A few days more will settle this, and if
the ship only realises what the least sanguine of
her admirers expect, the Great Eastern will prove
a triumph as great in a commercial point of view as
she is already in an engineering and scientific one.

THE GREAT EASTERN AND THE
PATENT DERRICK.

Yesterday the small derrick belonging to the
Patent Derrick Company was employed to hoist
the whole of the yards and the principal gaffs of
the great ship. These spars, manufactured by
Messrs. Ferguson, of Millwall, are considered to be
the largest of their respective kinds ever constructed
on the Thames or elsewhere. The mainyards are
124 feet in length, 33 inches in diameter at their
thickest part, and weigh from 15 to 17 tons. These
enormous spars were launched and hoisted to their
required positions during the brief space of a
single day, by means of the remarkable facilities
for handling heavy weights afforded by the der-
rick.
The operations, in so far as the Great Eastern
was concerned, were conducted by Mr. Westborpe,
to whom the rigging of the ;vessel is entrusted,
while the direction of the derrick's hoisting powers
devolved upon Mr. A. D. Bishop, the inventor of
the machine. The proceedings were watched with
great interest by Mr. Campbell the chairman of
the company, Mr. Herbert Ingram, and other of the
directors, as well as by Captain Harrison, the com-
mander, Mr. Yates, the secretary, and many influ-
ential persons intimately connected with the pro-
gress of mercantile marine affairs, among whom
were conspicuous Mr. G. F. Young, Captain Com-
stock, Mr. J. S. Oakford, &c. The time occupied
by the derrick in hoisting the largest yard to a
height of nearly 80 feet, after the operation of
slinging had been performed, was less than two
minutes. The novel application of the principle of
the lever, introduced by the inventor of the derrick,
enables the machinery while raising its load to run
it in or out, backwards or forwards, to any desired
point. By this arrangement the derrick was not
only enabled to hoist the yards over the ship's side,
but also to span the Great Eastern's deck amid-
ships, and hand her spars to the purchases rigged
on board the vessel to receive them--a feat which
neither crane nor shears on the Thames could ac-
complish.
The visitors who, owing to the weather's un-
favourable aspect throughout the day, were not so
numerous as usual, appeared to take great interest
in watching the arrangements, the results of which
decidedly impart to the Great Eastern's rig a more
ship-like appearance.