The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-07-16 00:00:00

DEPARTURE OF THE BRITISH QUEEN.

The British Queen, after having taken in merchandise, coal,
and Stores, left Blackwall, on Wednesday, at noon, amidst
great cheering from the multitude of persons who had
assembled to see her start from the Thames on her first
Atlantic trip. She proceeded down the river in beautiful
style. A few minutes past one she was abreast of Erith, and
at Gravesend precisely at two o'clock. She reached the
Lower Hope at half-past two, and anchored. During her
passage down the river, she was saluted continually by cannon,
and, when off Woolwich, a regular fire was kept up from
various vessels as well as from the shore. She left Gravesend
on Thursday morning, and came to, off Portsmouth harbour,
about twelve the same night. Next morning, at five o'clock,
she anchored off Spithead. Her engines made 14 strokes per
minute on the passage from London to Portsmouth, though
her wheels had upwards of 7 feet dip, the ship having on
board 800 tons of coal and a large cargo of fine goods. They
performed remarkably well on the passage, and would, there
was no doubt, perform still better after the ship had been
three or four days under weigh. Her consumption of coal
was small, and, being Llangennech, she shows no smoke.
The British Queen took her departure from Portsmouth
on Friday, at half-past twelve o'clock. She had on board
144 passengers, the greatest number ever yet carried across
the Atlantic by any steamer. Among the passengers were
Colonel Mudge and Mr. Featherstonhaugh; Commissioners
for settling the Boundary Question ; the Honourable S.
Cunard, Contractor of the'Halifax steamers; Colonels Storr,
Vernon, and Webb ; Major Chuse and lady ; Capt. Cumber-
land and lady ; and Colley Gratton, Esq., (the celebrated
author,) her Majesty's Consul at Boston. She started with
a. strong head wind : she went off well, however, at the rate
of 104 to 11 knots per hour. Mr. Macgregor Laird, who,
as we stated last week, had planned and modelled the British
Queen, went out in her, for the purpose of generally super-
intending the vessel on her first transatlantic trip.
When it is considered, that the British Queen's engines
were tried, for the first time, on Saturday the 29th of June ;
that she visited Liverpool on Monday the Ist of July, re-
maining here twenty-six hours ? and that she reached Lon-
don on Friday, the sth, after having steamed more than one-
third of the voyage to New York, including her trial trips
and passage round,—taking in, meanwhile, her coal, stores,
and cargo,—it is surprising, that she got away so early as
Friday the 12th. Should she make as good an average pas-
sage as the Great Western and the Liverpool, a great point
will be decided as to the importance of size and form in the
construction of vessels, the British Queen having very much
less power, in proportion to her tonnage, than either of those
vessels. When she left Portsmouth she was at her deepest
immersion.

The British Queen is expected to reach New York on or
before the 29th instant. It is fully intended, that she will
leave that city on the Ist of August. The Great Western
will leave New York on the same day : so that there will be
a fair trial of speed between these two noble vessels on the
return passage.