The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-04-16 00:00:00

(CREST.)

" Presented to the Right Honourable Fox Mule. M.P.,
on the occasion of his laying the foundation stone of St.
George's Presbyterian Church, Myrtle-street, Liverpool,
11th April, 1844."
The Right Hon. Fox MAuLx then ascended from the
place in which the stone was placed. He said that after
the speech they had heard from their aged, excellent, and
Christian friend, Dr. M'Culloch, it was impossible for
him to lay the foundation stone of that church without
first returning thanks to him for the kind mention of his
name, and secondly congratulating them on the commence-
ment of a work, which he trusted would be concluded as
happily as it had been begun. It was not in the power of
mankind to command a happy conclusion to that event,
but he trusted that the prayer which had been offered up
that day would not have been uttered unheard, and he
hoped their continued faith in Him who had promised that
" when we ask it shall be given," and that no prayer
offered in sincerity will be cast on the winds, would bring
about that happy termination. He bad to congratulate
the ladies and gentlemen present on an undertaking the
most interesting which man could put his hand to—the
erection of an edifice where they and their children could
worship unmolested, and enjoy that which was the privi-
lege of this country in particular, namely, the exercise of
religious liberty "without any man making us afraid."
In Scotland an event had lately occurred—one that would
mark the page of history probably more deeply than any
which had taken place during their time, at least, and he
was glad to find that the spirit which had been thus work-
ing so nobly there, actuated Scotland's sons, though they
might not be absolutely dwelling in their own native land.
He rejoiced to find that in that great commercial metro-
polis of the world, while their sons were busy, as they
always were busy in pushing their industry to its utmost
legitimate extent, that they were not negligent of the faith
of their fathers, and that they erected amongst themselves
a communion in which they might worship in that faith,
not in any of its modern interpretations, but in its ancient
purity for which their fathers fought and bled. (Applause.)
Their excellent friend, Dr. M'Culioch, had said that he
(the Right Honourable Gentleman) had done them an
honour on being present on that occasion. In the fulness
of his heart he had spoken, he was sorry to say, just ex-
actly the wrong way. (No, no.) All the honour, said he,
lies on me, conferred by you. It was a proud distinction
that he stood that day in the presence of so many of his
countrymen in this great and flourishing city, to promote
the cause of the free church of Scotland, being, as lie held
it to be, the cause of pure and true evangelical religion.
(Hear, hear.) He had taken part in that cause not more,
perhaps, and not so much from his conviction of its being
the inheritance of his country, as from his conviction that
it was a pure cause, and one which would always flourish,
being countenanced from on high. What he had done he
had done as a humble individual, whom accident had
placed in a position in which, if any other then present
had been placed be would have done the same. (Hear,
hear.) He was highly delighted to have been able to avail
himself of the opportunity, but at that moment he would
not detain them longer by referring to the cause itself or
to the circumstance of his being there, as he hoped to
have an opportunity of doing so more fully that evening.
The Right Hon. Gentleman concluded by again thanking
the company for the honour conferred on him, and the
ceremony concluded with the pronouncing of the blessing
by the Rev. Dr. Smith, of Glasgow
The new building will be in the Norman style of archi-
tecture, and built of white stone. It will accommodate
between 1500 and 1600 individuals, and, we understand,
the plans, &c. have been kindly and gratuitously furnished
by Mr. George FerguQon, a member of the congregation.
THE SOIREE
_ _ _

in celebration of the event, took place in the evening, in
the Music-hall, which was tastefully decorated for the
occasion. About eight hundred individuals sat down to
tea, provided, with great liberality, by Mr. Hiles, confec-
tioner, of Parker-street. The arrangements were complete
in every respect, and the attention of the stewards was all
that could be expected or desired. The Rev. D. Ferguson,
on the motion of Dr. M'Culloch, was called upon to pre-
side •, and on the platform, and in other parts of the room,
we observed the following gentlemen :—The Right lion.
Fox Maule, M.P., Dr. Smith, of Glasgow, the Rev. J.
R. Welsh, the Rev. John Gardener, the Rev. W.
of Belfast, Mr. Lyon, of Glenagle, Mr. Thompson, Mr.
Durante, Mr. Addam, Mr. M`Reen, Mr. D. Macanley,
Dr. Rowland, &c.
Tea was preceded and concluded by grace; and after the
tables were cleared,
The Rev. D. FERGUSON briefly opened the proceedings,
and stated be had communications from the following
mn tte,
enldl
eedd ttoo h abvee bo
be esne
opt r e: nTt
1,1
eb u
Rt
ewvesr.e
Du nr:
avoidably compelled
cohoi
M`Kellar, Dr. Cooke, of Belfast, Dr. Buchanan, of Glas-
gow, W. Bevan, -- Campbell, of Manchester, Dr.
Crichton, Dr. Raffles, and Mr. Alex. Dunlop.
The meeting was then address-d by the Rev. Dr. Smith,
of Glasgow, Mr. Lyon, of Glena l-, the Rev. D. Fergu-
son, the Hon. Fox Maule, and others.

THE ARCHIMEDEAN SCREW PROPELLER,
AND H.M.S. " RAT TLER."

A paragraph (from a correspondent) appeared in the
Morning Herald, a short time ago, stating " that the
result of the experimental trials of the screw-propeller in
her Majesty's steam- vessel Rattler,' is such that it is
not likely any other vessel in her Majesty's service will
be propelled on that principle." The editor of that paper
now states that having received a letter from Mr. F. P.
Smith, the well-known inventor of the propeller in ques-
tion, he will, without impugning his correspondent's in.
formation as to the future intentions of the Admiralty on
the result cf the trials of the Rattler, give • the relevant
points of that gentleman's letter; and adds, in reply to
Mr. Smith's supposition that the paragraph was " invidi-
ously intended," that he had previously inserted nume-
rous paragraphs on trials of the Rattler " that had in-
variably been reported as eliciting approbation." The
Herald then proceeds to Mr. Smith's letter :—Mr. Smith
states that in consequence of the success of the Archi-
medes the Admiralty had done him the honour to inquire
into the merits of the screw-propeller, and its advantages
to the British navy. To test this most fully, they ordered
the Rattler to be constructed upon pricisely the same
lines as the Prometheus, and other 5, earners of her size,
on the paddle system ; the engines to he of the same
power, and the draught of water regulated by the " sea
trim" of that class of her Majesty's ships-11 feet 3
inches. Mr. Smith proceeds to state :—" This having
been strictly done, a trial of the Prometheus was made at
the measured distance, in Long Reach, on the 2d of Feb-
ruAry last, and that of the Rattler on the following day.
On this occasion their relative speed stood thus :—Pro-
methe us, 8-757 knots ; Rattler, 9.240 knots. Alterations
thave,
whi
which
h
however,as increasedsince been
er madera
rate
eo tthoe
9sc.
6730 f knots,t h
being
eilnt-
within a fraction of one knot in favour of the screw, al-
though under circumstances most favourable to the pad-
dle-wheel—viz.. smooth water, It has been urged that
the Prometheus laboured under some disadvantage from
resistance offered by her masts and rigging. This lam
bound to admit; but as the trials were made alternately
with and against the wind, the resistance was very small
as compared with her deficiency of speed." Mr. Smith
next proceeds to notice an accident that befel the screw,
(alluded to in the paragraph,) and explains that in endea-
vouring to arrive practically at the best and most com-
pact form, it was thought advisable gradually to reduce it
in size, thus throwing a greater stress upon a smaller sur-
face than it was originally calculated to sustain, whereby
a fracture might not unreasonably be expected, as was
the case by himself and the gentleman conducting the
experiment—a part of their object being "to guide them
to the most judicious disposal of whatever material the
propeller may in future be made of." By such means
alone could perfection be attained, and future disasters
avoided. Mr. Smith concludes by stating that " the
Rattler," even in her present incomplete state, " has ex-
ceeded the highest expectation of the Admiralty and naval
officers generally ; and I will venture to assert, without
the slightest fear of contradiction, that her performances,
in point of speed and facility of mancevring, have never
been equalled by any steamer of her class. If, then, the
efficiency of the screw has already been so clearly esta-
blished by comparison on the smooth waters of the
Thames, it is pretty evident, from the acknowledged
opinions of its superiority for sea-going purposes, its
powers in the case of the Rattler cannot yet be said to
have been fully tested or thoroughly developed." The
Mftmohleorior.snwiszinme:_giot,h, Herald appends a note to Mr. Smith's letter as
reoevr
ner
ce
bes
yp
toos no
graduallyd
doing
on
it
n g at
a corroboratesreducing
certain
'tsOh
estatementmrl wi
niecrbheefleci
length (shorter than the original,) they attained the maxi-
mum speed ; beyond that point, either way, they retro-
graded." We are glad to find that our contemporary of
the Herald has made the handsome compliment to Mr.
Smith conveyed in the article of which we have furnished
an outline. We had the pleasure of sailing with Mr.
Smith in the Archimedes; we know that he has devoted
many years of his life to the development of the screw
principle ; that he and his friends have also expended a
large amount in bringing it to its present state of advance-
ment, and though many others have taken up
.the same
idea in various ways by adopting the screw principle of
the ancient Greek philosopher, whose name it bears, (and
who applied it to a different purpose,) he was the first who
brought that principle to a practical bearing, while others
—by reference to former suggestions, that proved to be
failures, and a present plagiarism on his discoveries—
would fain claim the honour due to the pioneer who hewed
the way, and who, it would appear, was not sufficiently
cautious in the specificati▪
on of his patent to secure himself
from trespass. We once heard of a man (A) who in-
vented and patented a new kind of borer for a great gun.
His borer turned, and his gun was fixed during the opera-
tion, and it was so speci▪ fied. A shrewder customer (B)
t
)
seeing the advantage came up with the same boier, but, in
overcame the patent. The case is not quite in point, for
the latter principle perhaps the best ; but it does occur
to us that the application Lif the screw to steam naviga-
tion is due solely, in a practical view, to Mr. Smith's en.
(whichl of
aifttse r moving,
all ws
terprise and talent ; and however it may be pillaged, or
even improved upon by others—(though of this last we
have doubts)—Palmarn qui mend' ferat !

The article in the last
on the Duke
of Bridgwater s en written by