The Sun.
London, England, 1842-09-15 00:00:00

.THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 15, 1842.

playson
the
p a tfloor
te n. a rich
Brussels carpet, of an elegant
noveland Towards the centre, that portion
of the mastwhirch
passes
through the saloon has the
appearance of a pillar ; it is veneered with satin
wood, and inlaid with rosewood, representing flowers,
while the arms of the Company are introducd in the
middle. The appearance of the whole apartment, and
the decorations, is striking and splendid.
The library is situated immediately at the stern of
the vessel, and contains a choice supply of books, well
fitted to wile away time
.on the voyage. From the
saloon a passage leads to the royal state room, in
which two French beds are fitted up with silk damask
curtains. The coverlet on the royal bed is composed
of rich white satin, edged with gold. The room is
furnished with handsome dressing tables, and a very
elegant chair covered with figured satin ; two foot-
stools, covered with crimson velvet, and a Japanese
table of rosewood, beautifully inducted with mother
of pearl. The state room measures twelve feet by
fifteen ; and, as well as the other apartments, is about
seven feet in height. The royal dressing-room is
immediately adjoining the royal state room, and is also
elegantly fitted up.
Below the grand saloon the apartments for her Ma-
jesty's suite are situated, consisting of five state
rooms, with a central saloon, covered with a handsome
Brussels carpet, and otherwise admirably fitted up.
The whole preparations are of the best description,
and reflect great credit on D. Taylor and Sons, uphol-
sterers, Great Dover-street, London, by whom they
' have ben completed.
The accommodations on board the Trident are cer-
tainly superior to those of the Royal yacht, excellent
as the latter are ; and in the event of a gale, her Ma-
jesty and the Prince would find themselves much more
comfortable in such a ship than in a sailing vessel,
not only inferior in size, but incapable of coping, as a
powerful steamer can, with an adverse wind.—Cale-
donian Mercury, Sept. 12:

THE " GREAT BRITAIN," or" MAM-
MOTH," IRON STEAM-SHIP.

The " Great Britain," or, as she is often called, the
"Mammoth" steam-ship, now in course of construc-
tion by the Great Western Company at Bristol, is fast
progressing towards completion. During the recent
visit of the Duke of Cambridge, his Royal Highness
honoured the vessel with a minute examination, and
expressed himself in terms of warm admiration of
" the most gigantic specimen of naval architecture "
he had ever seen. His Royal Highness is reported to
have said, " She is justly named ' The Great Britain,'
and is a noble specimen of British skill and enter-
prise. I feel that no other nation on the earth could
produce such a ship, and that she will truly be one of
the wonders of the world." It is expected that she
will be ready to float out of dock abdut the middle of
October, and that she will be at once fitted out and
be ready for sea in the spring.
The following particulars respecting her cannot fail
to be of considerable interest :—Her length is 324
feet aloft, which is nearly 100 feet longer than the
longest line-of-battle ship in our service ; with the
exception of her deck and cabins, she is constructed
entirely of iron. Her extreme breadth is 51 feet ;
the depth of her hold 32 feet ; and her registered ton-
nage 3,200, which far exceeds the registered tonnage
of any two steam-ships, in the world. She has four
decks, three of timber, and the fourth, which is the
lowest, of iron, this' latter being appropriated to the
reception of cargo. The uppermost deck will be,
with the exception of a small break in the fore-
castle, flush from end to end, and without ele-
vation or building of any kind, so that there
will be nothing above deck, with the exception
of her masts and funnel, to offer resistance to a
head wind. Th 9 two intermediate decks are ex-
elusively for the use of the passengers and the officers
of the ship ; they will form four spacious saloons
(which, together, will make a length of dining-
-45(315m of 350 feet), two commodious and elegant la-
ilfdsT saloons, or cabins, and 180 state -rooms, each of
contain two sleeping-berths, of more than
the (Winery dimensions. From this it will be seer
thatitl/e..Great Britain will afford ample accommodar
tiOn'ta)36o,passengers, providing a separate bed for
each, without snaking up a single sofa be in either
of -them.le,ons, and this, too, without trenching on the
accomrao4tions provided for her officers, crew, stiw-
arcls' d4artsnent, &c. The principal saloon win be
most exteasiv‘! and magnificent; its length from end
to end will:weesure 108 feet, its width will be 32 feet,
and its heighWeet 3 inches. Some slight idea of
the bulk of this gigantic vessel may be formed, when
it is stated that.lm addition to the vast space before
described as appropriated to passengers, &c., and,that
required for the Fireetion of her boilers, engines,&c.,
she will have roosials;ir 1,000 tons of coal, and 1,200
tons of merchandise:

The Great Britain will be fitted with four engines
of 250-horse poweilt.teb, in all 1,000-horse power.
She will have three'liars, capable of containing 200
tons of water, and these `Will be heated by 24 different
fires. In her construction there have been used rio
less than 1,400 tons of iron, in addition to the large
quantity of timber reqiiiio for her decks and cabins.
Thus far of the construction of the hull, &c. The
great experiment which this!'gigantic steamer is des-
tined to solve is one of vigejroportance in maritime
science. She will not be.th-opelled by the ordinary
mode, with paddles., but by thenewly invented screw
propeller, which has been patented by Mr. Smith, of
London, and the successful application of which to the
Archimedes steamer has created: a feeling of confi-
dence that it is destined to effectuccomplete revolution
La the practice of steam navigation. b.
with a view to a thorough and searching investiga-
tioikof the powers of the screw, and, its applicability
to the purposes for which their new vessel is designed,
the Great Western Steam-ship CoNopany hired the
ArchiMedes for several months, and fiti4he course of
the autumn of 1841, they made a series of experiments
with screws of various forms and sizes„ the result of
which was, that it was found that equal velocity and
as great. -power could be obtained with the screw as
with the use, of paddles, and that the serew conferred
a great adValitage on vessels propelled it under
adverse circumstances, more particularly' in the case
of strong head 'winds. The machinery of the screw is
likewise far more simple than that of the pacidies, and
it is by no mans so great an incumbrance to the
vessel. Under these circumstances, it was resiihred by
the Company not to use the paddle, but to adOPt, the
screw, with such iinprovementh as had been suggested
in the course of thevarious experiments.
The screw with whiCh the Great Britain will be
fitted is 16 feet in diameter, and it will be placed
under the stern between' -the stern-post and the rim of
the ship, which situation'is selected, as placing it out
of the reach of accidents, to which, in many othefs,'lt
would be liable. According to the calCulationanf
men of nautical skill and experience, the substitution
of the screw propeller for paddle-wheels will relieve
the ship of fully 100 tons of top-weight, while it willV
at the same time, admit of the boilers and engineir
being adjusted in that part of the vessel best adapted'
for their reception, and where they can best act as.
permanent ballast.
The Great Britain will be fitted with six masts. Of.
these the mainmast alone will be rigged with topmast
and yards. The other five will carry a single fore and
aft sail each. The height of the mainmast will be 95
feet, and the canvass composing the several sails be
sufficient t 3 cover an area of three quarters of an acre.
It is intended to fit up the saloons, &c., with a degree
of elegance becoming a ship of such an extraordinary
character, and the whc.e of her fittings will be such
as to ensure the comfort of the passengers, and adorn
and beautify the ship.
It remains only to speak of the speed and qualifica-
tions which may be looked for in this large ship, and
the services she may be expected to accomplish. It is
difficult to ascertain the precise limits of the speed
which she is calculated to perform at sea. Probably
the expectations of the Directors are greater on this
point than they choose to confess until an actual trial,
but something considerably exceeding that of any sea-
going steam-ship at present afloat may be looked for.
The rate at which the Oriental steam-vessels accom-
plish their voyages does not average more than eight
miles an hour ; the Atlantic steamers about nine, and
the most rapid sea voyage yet accomplished has not
exceeded an average of 10 miles an hour. It is esti-
mated that the Great Britain will accomplish from 10
to 16 miles an hour, according to the nature of the
weather and the sea, and no doubt is entertained but
that her average will be at least 12 to 13 miles per
hour ; taking the lowest of these rates, there would be
an amazing increase over the greatest triumphs of
steam navigation hitherto heard of. Let us consider
some of the advantages which might accrue to this
country by the success of the Great Britain. Our
overland mail is now received by us by-the favour
alone of jealous neighbours in Europe and of semi-
barbarians in Africa. By these means alone is our
overland correspondence and our passengers to and
from India transmitted in. about 35 days, at a great
expense and inconvenience, in varous transhipments
and intermediate land carriage, subject to many annoy-
ances and anxieties ; our Indian correspondence liable
to be intercepted and all communication cut off for
at least a month at any moment that either of these
Powers to which we have alluded might choose to do
so. Who then can properly estimate the value of our
being able to secure, in defiance of the world, the same
expedition by our old and rightful track round the
Cape of Good Hope ? And by the " Great Britain"
this may he done.

AN AWKWARD PRRDICAMENT.—The Gazette de
Guernsey of Saturday last contains a ludicrous story of
an English Methodist preacher having been caught by a
lady in her kitchen cupboard, where ho had been con-
cealed by a pretty maid-servant, to whom he was mak-
ing love, and this, too, on a Sunday ! The evident con-
fusion of the girl upon the return home of her mistress,
nearly two hours earlier than usual, was the fatal cause
of this scandalous discovery. The dismayed preacher
was suffered to depart, but not, we fear, ".in peace."—
Liverpool Journal.

ce.-,•,•,.
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4 Wifill4
-.

.-. •
.-'Ol4O lO5l ... 105 k ... 1051 1051
Spanish
Neapolitan... 10740... 107 50... 107 40... 107 50

Ronlan- • 1044 ... 1044 ... 1044 ... 1044
RAILWAY SHARES
St. Germain 843 75... 843 75... 843 75... 843 75
Versailles, LB 95 ... 95 ... 95 95

R.B ..... 245 ... 246 25... 242 50... 246 25
Rouen .... 555 ... 555 ... 553 75... 553 75
Orleans. 582 50... 582 50... 582 50... 582 50
Strasburg to Bale 205 ... 208 75... 205 ... 208 75

STREET NUISANCES —Though much has been
done of late years to improve the state of the metro-
polis, by cleansing the drainage, and promoting a
freer and fresher circulation of air, yet much still
remains to be done, especially in the immediate
neighbourhood of some of the great thoroughfares,
which are in as filthy a condition as it is possible to con-
ceive. The Adelphi arches, in particular, we are assured,
are the receptable of dirt of every description ; in fact,
the stench proceeding from them is at times quite insuf-
ferable. And yet the inhabitants are told, in reply to
their memorial to the Board of Guardians and the
Paving Board on the subject, that they can have no
redress ; and this, notwithstanding that a medical
man, who has inspected the Adelphi arches, has
expressly reported that nothing, can possibly be
worse than their condition ! Surely the parochial autho-
rities have power to interfere in a case of this sort !
Law cannot be so wholly opposed to common sense,
as to forbid their interposing to put down a nuisance
that endangers the health of the neighbourhood ! We
shall take an opportunity of referring again to this
matter, for it is one that ought not to be lost sight of,
though we are not without hopes that the local autho-
rities—who have quite power enough, if they choose
to exert it—will take prompt and active steps to re-
move the nuisance in question.