The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-10-22
EDITORS CORRESPONDENCE.
From our regular correspondent -
New YoRK, Oct. - rs.


From regular correspondent -
New YoRK, Oct. - As.
The Hibernia, as you will perceive, is in, with
days later news. Beyond the slight fall in cotton,
and the frmness maintained in the price of bread
stufis since the sailing of the Great Britain, the
news is not deemed very important. The price OF
iron had greatly advanced on the continent.
financial crisis began TO be feared in England on ac
count of the wild speculation in railroad shares
Immense sums will soon have to be drawn from
other channels, to meet railroad engagements "A
financial ''phsauai, in England never fails to make
it's shocks felt in the United States that it is time
for us to be on the lookout.
Commercial earthquakes are dangerous things.
They would seem to have kind Of periodical re-
currence Cupidity, the desire TO make haste TO be
rich, is burning crater in the bosom OF society," as
undying as that of Etna or Vesuvius, and every
now and then results in desolating erupuons.
With your European correspondence and ex-
changes 1t is not worth while to dwell upon the
news brought by the Hibernia.
The movements Of the steamship Great Britain,
as she approached our coast have excited a great
deal Of conversation among commercial men IN this
city. The memorandum, or log, published IN the
papers, Of her progress from Liverposl TO New
York. without signature, is one of the most remark
able marine records we have ever seen. We have
waited with the hope of seeing some explanation
from the consignees, or from Captain Hosken HIM
self, Of the singular manifesto below. Lieutenant
Hosken, ''the noble commander of noble ship"
as was often said of him when he sailed in the Great
Western, and whom we have personally known for
years, and much esteemed-we cannot believe that
he lent himself to any unfair Of flour spscula-
tion. Our acquaintance commenced on the deck of
the Great Britain, in Bristol before her completion.
We felt grateful for his kind and gentemanly atten-
tons, not only to us, but to all Americans. We
therefore must exonerate Captain Hosken from
censure, till we know all the facts in the The
log, or memorandum, may have been kept or pub
lished by a subordinate officer, without Captain
II. Is supervision; but, admitting this fact, We
expected to have seen some explanation from Capt.
H. or the consignee. We still expect they will put
the subject before the public in its proper light The
following is the log to which we allude:
"Left Liverpool at O'Clock, p. M, on the 9th
September. The first ten days experienced wester-
ly winds, strong gales, and heavy sea, during which
| the ship behaved admirably. For few hours OH
| the Cd of October, the wind was northeast and in
| a heavy squa the foremost was carried away.
Con the 12th, at noon found the ship had been set
thirty miles to the norh,oard in the preceding renty
four hours; and that night found by souadngsj the
ship sgain set 10 the norh,card thirty miles from
noon Of the 12th TO 2 o'clock, a. M, the 18th,
and among the shoals Of .Nantueket;--a thick dirty
night Nth uery heary rain; al daylight made signal
pilot and into Vineyard Sound stopped Ten and
halt hours at Holiness Hole; lei at hapas O'Clock,
M Of The l4t, andreached Sandy Hook at ii o'clock,
p. M, and remained outside for ,cart Of ,oater."
/ 3
for the first ten days. down to the 18th October,
is all plain common-sense sort of record; but from
the 10Th, the time the ship arrived on the Amer
lean coast, to her reaching New York, (Which we
have italcised,) is tissue of inexpicabe jargon.
Son the l2th" says the report, 'Jound the ship had
been set thirty miles to the nortoard in the preceding
i,ceniyJou hours" In what degrees Of latitude or
longitude did this occur' "Thai night found by
so,sndihgs." Found what by soundings'-the posi-
ton of the ship, or black sand, or mud' The report
does not stop to tell US, but Immediately proceeds
TO tell that the ship was again "se TO the north
svard thirty miles" For what purpose' What! was
a reckoning kept in the ship when this was done'
Was any reckoning kept either by observations,
| sailing, or chronometer time If SO, the officers,
when they first made soundings, must have known
they were east Of New York, and of Boston. BY
setting the ship thirty miles northward, therefore,
second time, il could only have been done with an
intention of communicating with the land before
reaching New York; and, sure enough, next morn
ing, at O'Clock a. m, on wet, Cor, as the report
expresses il, "drty nightly on the morning of the
18th, having run the ship thirty miles north from
the preceding day at noon, the time of making the
observation, they found themselves among ethe
shoals Of Nantucket" expressing surprise thereat
not stating they reached the shoals through fogs,
or want Of observations. To reach them, they had
| veered sixty miles from their course to New York.
On the shoals they made signals for pilot at day.
light, or for communication with the shore. Wheth-
er they received pilot, is not stated. they then
| ran into "Vineyard Sound, and stopped ten and a
half hours al Holiness Hole" For what? For Goals I
The report does not say so. How many tons were
| taken ini
What! the Great Britain get out Of coal in seven
teen days when it was announced TO the world she
could and would carry sufficient coal for thirty
days. voyage!
At Holiness Hole, however, efectual commune
cation was had with the shore. Several passengers
did and-four spectators, likely, among the num-
her Thev Aaw In RoatOu nd Aew oH hv ~
presses east west, NORTH and south; and, in order
| that the mails of New York. leaving at 8 a. m. on
Wednesday morning, might not carry off interfering
news we find this most extraordinary record states
that the ship reached Sandy Hook at ii o'clock p.
m on the 14th, "and remained outside for the ,oant Of
uater : !"
For the want Of water in the channel or to drink?
1t was one of the cleares and most beautiful moon
| light nights we saw; not cloud obscured the
heavens, and a pilot Tor probably the captain him.
self could have the coast, and could have Just
easily brought the ship in if it had been broad
| daylight; yet the ship remains outside till next
morning for '',oal Of ,oaier," and does not reach
the city till o'cock-too late for the great south
ern and Hudson-river mails! There was no "want
of water'' in the channel. Everybody knows it is
deep enough. The Great Britain draws less water
even than the Great Western She could have come in,
with at least six eight extra feet of water TO spare,
| at any stage of the tide whatever The "iCau Of
,cater," therefore, was absurd and ridiculous ex-
cuse, far as the channel was concerned; and the
"want of watern to drink, or for the boilers, was
still less available as an excuse. If the drinking wa
| ter was short, how the vessel remaining outside
to obtain supply Would not the shortest step
to have relieved this difficulty, have been to pro-
coed at once to the city, which they could have
reached in two or three hours'
| View this remarkable report we may, il yet
strikes as the most absurd, unmeaning, and jum-
bled affair we have ever read. To the disappointed
and chagrined, not to say indignant merchants of
New York, a full, fair and thorough explanation is
due They have right to demand it; and it will
comport with the honor well the interest of all
concerned in the Great Western steamship line 10
give it, the sooner the better.
We see by the Albion Of the 18th instant, that
Baron de Humboldt has published a new work on
meieors or, as the learned savan calls them, aster-
odes After reviewing different hypothesis, he sup
poses them to be of extra planetary exstcncethat
they small bodies revolving invisibly in certain
| orbits, and only discerniblc when coming within
the atmosphere Of the earth. Although their 1nhe-