The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-08-25

'what seemedtto be an almost irresistible power"
AT the banquet which succeeded, Lord STANLEY
complimented, in the warmest terms, f'those by
'whose energy and perseverance the undertaking
has been carried to its present point Of success"
Referring to the uses to which the Great Eastern
was to be put, he stated that, according to the
reckoning of her projectors it is calculated that
'tshe will make the passage from England TO Cal
'cutta in thirty-three days." which is about equal
to the time now occupied in making the jour
ney overland; that, moreover she is able to
carry, inclusive of her crew. nearly ten thousand
passengers, and to take in coal sufficient for the
outward and the homeward voyage. The result
of this remarkable effort of inventive genius-f the
experiment should meet with the success which the
projectors anticipate-will, in his opinion, be sim
gularly advantageous to commerce and civiliZa-
ton. at will have reduced, by one half the dis
''tance in point of time, which now divides CONT
"nents and nations that nature has separated by
intervening oceans, but which science and trade
"are, as it were, tending, in spite of nature, to
"unite. twill render the passage over the stormy
ocean to remote countries as easy and free
'from discomfort to the Iandsman as the
ordinary railway train is at present" These
are hopeful prognostics which may or may
not be realized There are yet so many obstacles
to overcome before vessels of such an immense size
can be rendered profitable to commerce. that Lord
Stanley did well to qualify his enthusiastic descrp
ton of what such vessel is capable of perform
ing, by introducing the proviso-F'if the expert
"ment succeeds Therein lies the entire pih of
the argument. iii succeeds fit be found COM
mercially practicable; if harbours can be selected
In which there is at all times sufficient depth of
water 10 float such vessels if harbours can beso
Unopened as to remove existing distractions, then,
lnueed, there would be a choice of ports, and a
WIDER held In which to test fairly the real value
ana Importance of the innovation. AT present.
however, there are very few ports in the world into
"hlch such vessel could enter and at all others
the costs and delays attendant upon lighterage,
ana The danger arising from disembarkinp nassen-
gers IN an open roadstead, would initiate very
much against bringing steamships of the size and
e"P"ci'y OF the Great Eastern into general, or even
into frequent use. But apart from this difficulty.
winch II IS certainly possible to overcome there is
another question which will have to be answered
satisfactorily before "the experiment. can be said
10 result In complete success The Great Eastern
capable OF carrying, on each voyage, nearly ten
thousand passengers, but where are so many.
or even third of that number, TO be found
at any one point of departure or return? The
primary object to be attained being quick DESPATCH
Tue proht 10 accrue to the Company must depend
very largely on the readiness with which freight
ana passengers are to beobtained twill not pay
ior vessels so costly in every respect and recurring
not only large but skilled force TO work them.
10 leln port for any great length of time, waiting
1or cargo Yet such, it appears TO us, must he
the case as general thing, and if So the time lost
IN port will scarcely compensate for the quick ocean
passage, especially where persons come from dis
lance Tor The purpose ofembarking, as the princi-
pal part OF the passengers must necessarily do But
LORD STANLEY, while he hopes that steamships of
the class of the Great Eastern twill stimulate and
develop trade to an almost incalcuable extent''
regards them as being specially valuable as means
OF establishing speedy communication with India,
IN the event of another occasion arising when it
may become necessary to pour into Hindostan re-
Inducements of troops together with all the mate
rial OF war that the emergency might require He
percelves IN them means of supersedinc the over
land route, and probably-although he does not
say so-an effectual barrier to the prosecution of
NJ LEssEPs project for ship canal across the 18th
mus OF Suez. That the success of the Great East
e'm if 1t were found to warrant the immense cost
OF construction and the equally extraordinary cur
rent expenses, would have this effect. no one can
doubt, and English statesmen, who seek for the
solution 'of the great political problem which is
known as the Eastern question" in uninterrupted
and rapid communication with the British possess
sions in India, do we'll to countenance the con-
struction of ocean steamers which are capable of
making the voyage from port to port in thirty
days, and of transporting, in single vessel an
entIrearmy, wthall its warlikeappurtenances But,
after all, we have to come back to the one interrog-
the experiment to be successful
in all other respecis-wil it pay? Commercial
men are very much divided in opinion upon this
point; and its final decision, either negatively or
will determine whether steam ships
OF immense size are to create revolution in the
carrying trade between parts of the world which
are geographically remote from each other, or
whether the Great Eastern is to remain the first
and also the last offs kind.