The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-10-22
MISCELLANE OUS.

|
building of this leviathan steamer is perhaps
the greatest enterprise ever undertaken in ocean
commerce. Notwithstanding that the idea sug-
gested by the experiment is, that it is mainly a
| DISPLAY OF scientific knowledge and moneyed
prowess, 1t Is essentially commercial under.
taxing, and an English journal takes the posi-
ton that the monster steamer is, in reality, the
smallest that can be built to make an econom-
ical voyage to India or Australia. The facts in
| support of this position are in brief these An
ordinary steamer of eighteen hundred tons bur
den consumes on an average fifty tons of coal
per diem. A voyage of thirty-six days would
therefore exhaust all her coal, even if she car
rled nothing but the fuel necessary for her mo-
tlon. Such steamer, making the voyage from
England to Australia, would therefore need to
have various depots, say at the following sta
tons: st. Vincent, Cape of Good Hope, and
the Mauritius, besides one in Australia for the
commencement of the return voyage. AS no
coal exists at those points, the whole supply for
the voyage both ways would have to be sent
from England, and the heavy expense conse
quent thereupon would of course have to be
charged to the steamers account.
Indeed, it is stated that some steamers have
lost as much as fifty thousand dollars by the
voyage from England to Australia and back !:
and that the steamer which performed it in the
quickest time, and therefore with the greatest
economy IN fuel, lost five thousand dollars by
the trip, although she had full freight both
ways, and full complement of passengers.
both outward and homeward. After these re-
peated trials and repeated failures to establish
a profitable steam communication between
these two points, the project was almost entirely
abandoned, and clipper ships were substituted
But the rising Importance of Australia made this
substitute very unsatisfactory. Some means of
communication, more certain and regular. as
we'll as more rapid, were desderatum: and
the attention of Mr.. Brunei, the well-known
engineer, and Mr.. Scott Russell a very sc;en.
tifc and successful constructor of iron steam.
ers, was intensely directed to the subject. To
them belongs the credit of projecting the Great
Eastern, as the means of proftably EN- blowing
steam on that voyage.
The problem to be solved was, supposiup
steamer could be built, the average speed of
which would be eighteen miles an bonr ubot
should be her size In order to carry coal sufi-
cient for the voyage, in addition to a paving
complement of freight and passengers Mr.
Brunei furnished the dimensions of sucb a
steamer, and Mr.. Russell engaged to construct
her OF the requisite speed. The capacity re-
| CURED was from twenty thousand to twenty. five
thousand tons. At the rate of speed guaranteed
by Mr.. RUSSELL and by choosing the best ronte.
as steamer may, the projectors calculate thai
she will make the voyage out in from thirty 10
thirty FIVE days. Her consumption of coal il
estimated at about one hundred and eigbty.two
tons per day. Twelve thousand tons will there
fore suffice for the voyage both ways, and the
expense of her fuel will be about eighteen
thousand dollars each way, or thirty-six thou
sand dollars for the round voyage.
The model of the Great Eastern ia on the
principle of what is called the "waye Tne.U
which we believe Mr.. Russell claims to have
| originated. A number Of years ago, he built
small IRON steamer on this principle, which he
called the Wave, and which proved very sue.
cessiul in point of speed. Several steamers
have since been built in England upon the same
principle, but we believe that an American
shiP7owner, Mr.. Mckay, of Boston. was the first
to adopt the model for sailing vessels. The
Great Eastern is in fact a huge iron clipper
steamer, differing little if at all from the iron
steamers hitherto built by Mr. Russell, except
IN ner enormous size, made necessary by the
length sad nature of the voyage. In contem.
plating such structure, it is almost mpossible
to preserve the idea Of utility and profit. The
calmnese of judgment necessary for the clear
ana lull comprehension of the details that enter
into CALCULATIONS of profit and loss give way
before tbe astonlshment that fills the mind.
nevertheless, as we have said,' the building of
the Great Eastern is as purely a commercial
enterprise as the building of the Adriatic or
the Persia. 1t is the product of a cool. quiet
calculation, on business principles-a union of
capital with science, in the hope of proft-cap-
halsts having aVailed themselves of the talents
OF the builders, in the full expectation that the
investment will produce fair return Wheth-
er 1t will or not, remains to be seen.-N =
Commercial Adcertiser
Who STONED STEPHEN ?-The Buffalo Dem
ocrat nsrrates this good story of one of the
miniature men, vulgarly called children:
| teacher in Sunday school ia R was
examining a class of little boys from Scrip.
ture catechism. The first question was:
"Wh, stoned Stephen?"'
Answer. "The Jews"
Secol question. "Where did they stone
him?"
Answer "Beyond the limits of the city,"
The bird question. "Why did they take
him be ond the limits of the city 2 Vas not
in the 2ok, and proved poser to the whole
class; passed from head to foot without an
answer being attempted. At length a little
fellow, rho had been scratching his head all
the viii ?, looked up and said
I'VE, don't know, unless it was to get a
fair fin at him"
| LNGIA Sh 1kOOPS AT OEA,-SuCceS5 to our
brave s. a-borne comrades who are fastening as
quick az steam and canvas can take them to
the rescGe of their brethren in India MANY O
brlghe eJe Is dimmed, many a stern father
presses she hand of the parting youth with an
aching Heart, and many fond mother groans
with anguish while she blesses the boy whom
she may never see again. Who could remain
callous, and who can talk of the impending ter
rlhc struggle OF darkness against light, as of an
everyday transaction?
| Yet there are those who, sad to say, even
now hold back the energies and prompt action
OF the nation; and, more sad to say, they are
those whose fiat could have put the first restraint
on the outbreak. But the thing is done, and
all we can do is to follow with fervent prayers
aud longing eyes the brave who are to redeem
once more our prestige in the East Let US
follow thcm to-day across the wide, wide, ocean,
and, at future periods, through all the tolls and
vlclssltuges OF their arduous and perilous ca
reer. Up with the anchor
The tofesail Is set, and while three hearty
cheers tell the thousands on the pier that Brit
ain will ever have devoted sons to fight their
battles and shed their hearts blood for honor
the noble craft stands out to sea, spreading her
canvas to the winds, as an eagle in his fight.
All Is confusion on board everything is out of
place; the quarter deck only remains unrufled !;
but honest Jack Tar suppresses the curse
| which rises whenever lobster is in the way.
knowing that week will shake them all into
their places.
Come down below, through the main hatch
| way. There are the soldiers barracks. their
home for the next three months. We fancy we
are IN large saloon, where hundreds of red.
| ga