The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1857-05-13

IHE GREAT eastern. ~ hnd II the last
number of the Scientific American descrip-
ton of the new steamship Great Eastern, fnow
being built near London) with drawings of her
machinery. 1t is confidently expected that
this immense leviatham will be launched in
July or August next, with all her engines on
board, and will make her first trip 10 Portland
Maine, soon after, We extract the following
paragraphs from the description of her
The ship is novel in several important re
spects aside from her very extraordinary di
mensions The length entire is $50 feet-more
than an eighth of a me-the breadth, at the
widest point, exclusive of the padole-bexes
etc. is SO feet, and the depth, from the upper
deck, is 58 feet Unlike other vessels, whether
of wood or iron, she has no keel, and. strictly
speaking, no ribs. The shell does not dimin
sh in thickness or strength from the bottom
upwards, like other vessels, but is OF equal
strength throughout, like an immense tube
The lower portion, however, up to line eight
feet above her deepest immersion in the water.
is constructed of two thicknesscs or shells three
feet apart the space between being traversed
longitudinallY by 33 continuous strong and
water-tig ght partitions, thus forming 80 separate
iron chambers, each provided with suitable
cocks, by which it can be filled OF emptled at
pleasure, to maintain the proper trim, or to
ballast the vessel. There are four decks, each
Of which strengthens the hull lateralIy, in the
ordinary manner, and the structure is crossed
by strong and water tight partitions, each CO
pabe Of resisting the full pressure OF the water
in case the hull should be damaged and ethcr
compartment filed. There are ten such trans
verse partitions, sixty feet apart, and the hull
ic fon ha hv
lence, into several separate vessels or sections
and, in addition, there are, through a large por
ton Of the distance, two longitudinal Partitions
36 feet apart and extending up to the lower
deck.
The Great Eastern will be impcled by both
a pair Of paddle wheels and q screw. The
paddle-wheels are to be 56 feet in diameter.
and are to be provided each with twenty-eight
paddles, thirteen feet in length and three in
depth. These will be driven not SIM ply by one
engine, as is common by our coasting steamers
nor again by two, as is common aon most Of
our ocean steamers, but by four uren9!nes coupled
in pairs one pair for each Wheel The diane
ter of each cylinder is "A inches-consderab
less than those Of most of our large steamers.
The engines are oscillatng, with slide valves.
and the general arrangement of each pair is
shown in the engravings. These engines will
work with nominal power of 1900 horses.
The screw is twentytour feet in diameter, with
pitch Of thirty-seven feet. The propeller
shaft is twenty four inches III diameter. This
will also be driven by four engines, to subdi
vide the power, and either may be d!sconnect-
ed at pleasure in case of fdsaTangcment, Screw
engines are necessarily of short stroke. These
have stroke each Of four feet, while the d.
ameter Of the cylinders is eightyfour inches.
There will be in all twenty-five engines, in
cuding all sizes; four for working the screw,
four for working the paddle wheels, two for
working the capstan, getting up the anchors,
and pumping out ship, two for revolving the
screw, Ito prevent its creating resistance when
uncoupIed and the ship is working under sail
and paddle Wheel and ten donkey engines,
or steam pumps, for filing up boilers. The
large screw engines are also fitted with sep
versing, which cylinder might almost be rated
as a still additional engine.
The tonnage of this ship, by our govern
ment measurement, would be about $4,000
tons The displacement of water, or the actual
supporting capacity, will be about 27, COO tons.
The weight Of the hull, rigging, and enginrry
will be about T 900 tons, and a sufficient guam
tity of coal for a full Australian voyage is esti
mated at from 5000 to 5000 tons, leaving
a clear capacity for freight of about IA, O0O
Ifthc very gigantic clipper ship Great Repub
lie, the mammouth steamship OF war Niagara.
and the Collins steamer Adriatic-at this date
the largest steamship ahoat-Were each to be
fully loaded and then transferred bodily, with
their loads into the hold of the Great Eastern
it would appear from the figures that tie whole
would make but q fair cargo for tlis novel
craft.
The Washington Union for weeks back has
contained advertisements for proposals to erect
buildings for customhouses and postoHices in Il
number of towns and cities of the z. States, in
accordance with appropriations made for such
purposes by congress- The democratic party
in their national platforms, have taken decided
grounds against the general governments en-
gaging in works OF internal improvements
70 evadc the arguments Of the wings who IA
vored reasonable appropriations for works Of
great national interests, it was contended that
the clause Of the constitution upon which the
friends Of internal improvements relied as JUS
tiication Of appropriations from the treasury OF
the general government, was wrongly cos
strued by them.
The constitution empowers congress "to
establish postofices and postroads." 1t was
contended by democratic orators and writers,
that the word establish, in the sentence quoted
does not mean to build OF to construct, but
merely to select, to choose Colonel Benton
in his ''Thirty years in the Senate" has an
elaborate criticism upon the meaning of this
word, and places his defence of democracy in
their opposition to the establishments Of post
roads. " expressly upon the grounds that this
word only allowed the selection Of roads alrea
dy built, and did not allow the national govern
ment to construct works of this kind where
none already existed. In the appropriations
which have been made to Greet, to build post
Offices, to which we allude in the opening sen
tence of this article, it will be seen thai the
democracy have construed the word establish
when applied to postolfces, precisely as The
Did wbig party did the same word, in the same
sentence, when applied to postroads. It must
De obvious to the most obuse intellect, that if
congress derives powerto build edi6ces for post
,ffices from the rIauSa and au:hOris sino the aS-