Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1859-11-29
The Great Eastern a Failure.
From the London Times of November Sth.I

tnaC nothing could exceed the success of
the great experiment, and that the results
left nothing to be desired. Nevertheless,
We preferred to look into the matter for
ourselves. Neither in speed nor in solidi-
ty, if we may use the expression, did the
great ship appear to realize all that we had
been taught to expect from her. There
fore with the most sincere good will to the
undertaking, we still felt it our duty to
give currency to these opinions, and to
warn the public to suspend Acknowledgements
until further trials had put the success of
this novel experiment in naval architecture
above the reach of dispute. The Great
Eastern has, we are happy to say, returned
in perfect safety from Holyhcad, and rests
for q while at peace in the southampton
water, and VIC are now in condition to
form some better opinion us to the capn-
bilities of the great ship. We have I'M
doubtedly right to expect that the advan-
tages which the Great Eastern holds out
should be exceedingly great-indeed, be-
You'd all comparison, greater than those
which can be derived from the largest
vessels afioat, for those advantages, what
ever they may be, are bought with very
considerable sacrifices. First there is the
difficulty about karbors; the size of the YES
sci cxcludes her, as we understand, from New
York, Boston and the st. Lawrence, and
sends her to Portland, n smalltownupwards
of a hundred miles from Boston, three hun
dred and forty from New ork and more than
woIundrcd from Quebec. The celebrated
harbor of Sydney, in Australia, would be
unable to receive her, and she would not be
able to approach Calcutta. Not only does
this interfere with her choice of n port for
permanent traffic; it also exposes her to
danger, by rendering it impossible, i'll case
of injury, to find refuge in ports in which
small vessels could lie securely. Then the
size of the vessel increases the risk to the
shareholders, by stalking on a single cast a
vessel which is q whole fleet in ITSELF
Another sacrifice must be the great con-
sumption of coal, and the very large num-
Der of the crew, which impose a very heavy
expense before profit can be realized or
loss avoided. 1t seems established that,
with her present power, the coal consumed
by the Great Eastern cannot be calculated
at less than three hundred tons day.
Such vessel, if she makes few voyages
without being filled up, would severely
drain the resources of her proprictors, and
must, indeed, make every trip more or less
81 gambling enterprise. All these difficult
ties and drawbacks were, no doubt, care
fully considered and clearly forescen by
the projectors of the Great Eastern, and
they believed that the vessel possessed adj
vHntages quite sufficient to counterbalance
them. They believed that they had con-
structed q vessel which would be able to
carry fuc! for GToyagc however long, would
attain speed never before dreamt of, and
would pass over stormy ocean with an
case and stcadiHcss which would abolish
the difference between sea and land travel
ing; and etIcctually deliver the fortunate
i1OI Of
inexprcssible miserics of sca-sickncss. Do
the results entirely bear out these antici-
pations?
The minor point of total immunity from
sea-sickncss, must, we fear, be given against
the Great Eastern. We think it most prob
able that she will be easier than any vessel
now atlOat, but we cannot regard this con-
cluson as certainly established for no one
can tell how far the steadincss derived from
her great size mNy be cOunteractcd by the
great surface she exposes to the action of
the waves, and by the inadcquacy of the
propclling power to the mass which has to
be moved.
These are, however, subordinate Ques-
tions compared with that on which, after
all, the success of the experiment princi-
pally turns-the speed which she will be
able to attain and keepu during a long
jet we cannot but regard the result Of the
experiment of last week as tolerably con-
elusive. 1t appears to be easy for the
Great Eastern, without putting forth any
great amount of power, to run about ten
miles an hour; but it also would seem that
with her paddles and screw pushed to the
utmost which they can at present realize,
and with light breeze permitting fore
and aft sales to he set, the Great Eastern
cannot exceed fifteen and half knots, or
less than eighteen miles III narrow sea
like the entrance into the British Chan
mel. OF course q very considerable de-
duction must be made from this speed
in calculating for long voyage, with q
certain amount of rough sea and contrary
wind. We know not what the required
deduction may be, bat we fear that it will
reduce the speed of the vessel to IL point
which will render it very difficult for her
to carry Goals with anything like n GER
tainty of being able to reach India without
calling to take in fuel. In fact, the speed
of the Great Eastern does not appear to be
greater than that attained by several YES
sells now Ntioat, and her advantages over
other vessels, therefore, mainly consist i'll
her being able to maintain that speed for n
much longer distance, and, from the dimin-
ishcd relation of power to burden, being
able to carry goods at lower freight
The latter advantage appears to be incOn-
tcstable; The fOVmcr-that, namely, of
being able to steam 49, 900 or $4,000 miles
without stopping to coal-seems trembling
in the balance. The truth is, the vessel
seems to be defective in propelling power.
A light wind, we are informed, has very
little effect upon her. and it is pretty OBJ
Yious that neither her screw nor her pad
dies can at present, be driven at the rate
required. 1t was believed that the great
ship possessed lines SO fine and bulk
so vast that she could be driven faster
by engines possessing one-horsc power to