Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1859-11-29
9ailg Sirginian.
From ne London Times, Norenber sA.
Tho Great Eastern a Failure.

t. llulyhea we were informed that nothing could
exceed the success of the great experiment. aud
that the results left nothing to bc desired. Never
theless we preferred to look into the matter for
ourselves. Neither in speed ncr in solidity, II we
may use the EXPRESSION, did the great ship appear
~ us to realize all that we had tccn taught to
pect from her. Therefore. with the most sincere
good will to the undertaking. W" still felt it our
duty to give currency to these opinions, aud to
warn the public to suspend their judgment until
further trials had put the success of this novel ex
pertinent in naval architecture above the reach of
dispute. The Great Eastern has, we are happy
to say, returned in perfect safety to yhead and
rests for n while At peace in the Southampton wa
ter and We are now in n condition to fnrm somo
better opinion as to the capabilities OF the great
ship. We have undoubtedly right to expect
that tho advantages which the Great Eastern
holds out should he exceedingly great--ndeed,
beyond all comparison greater, than those which
can be derived from the largest vessels now nioat
Tor those advantages whatever they mny be- are
bought with very considerable sacrifices. First,
there is the difficulty about hnrbors; the size OF
the vessel excludes hcr, us we understand, irom
New York. Boston, and the St. Lawrence, and
sends her to Portland. small town upwards Of
hundred miles from Boston, three hundred and
forty from New loik and more than two hum
drrd from Quebec. The celebrated hnrbor Of Sgd
new. in Australia, would lie unable to receive her.
ard she would not lie able to npproach Calcutta.
Not only does this interfere with her choice Of
port for permanent traffic; it also exposes her to
danger, by rendering it impossible, in cnse ofin.
jury, to find refuge in ports in which smaller
sells could lie securely. Then the size OF the
sci increases the risk to the shareholders by stalk
ing on single cast vessel which is whole fleet
in itseli Another sacrifice must be the great
| consumption of coal, and the very large number
! OF the crew. which inpose u very heavy expense
before profit can he realized or loss avoided. Ii
! seems established that with her present power,
| the coal consumed by the Great Eastern cannot
be calculated ut less than three hundred TONS
! day Such vessel il she makes few VOYAGES
| without being filled up, would severely drain the
resources of her proprlet'rs, and must, indeed,
make every trip more or less a gambling enter
prise. All these difficulties and draw backs were
no doubt. carefully considered and clearly lore
seen by the projectors Of tho Great Eastern, and
they believed that ;ha vessel possessed advantages
quito sufficient to c"untorbalancc them. They
believed that they had constructed u vessel wheh
would I've able t' carry fuel for II voyage however
| long, would ntiuin speed never benre dreamt OF
| and would pass over n stormy ocean with an easc
| and a steadiness which would abolish the differ
ence between and land travelling, and eifrctu
| ally deliver the Fortunate inhnbitnnts Of this Il, at
ing island from ihc :ncxprrsslblc miserics Of
sickness ID, the results entirely bear out these
an,icipaiions?
| The minor point Of total immunity from sea-
| sickness, must, fear be given against the
Great Eastern. We think it most probable that
she will I've easier than any vessel now nllout, but
| We cannot regard this conclusion M certainly es-
! tablished, for can tell bow far the stead-
ness derived from her great size may be counter
acted by the great surface she exposes To th, ac
| ton Of the waves. and by the inadeeuaey Of the
propelling power b. the mass which has 10 be mo-
we'd
| These are. however, subordinate questions
pared with that on which, after all the success 1t
| the experiment principally turns-the speed which
she will be able tn attain and keep up during II
| ng voyage over stormy sen. On this subject
we cannot but r, gard the result of the experiment
| of last week as tocrably conclusive. Ii appears
| to be easy for the Great Eastern, without putting
forth any great amount IF power TO run about ten
| miles an hunr; but it also would seem that with
| her paddles und screw pushed to tho utmost which
they ut present realize, and with a light breeze
permitting fore and aft sails to be Sc, the Great
! Eastern cannot exceed l53 knots, or less than l8
miles in sea like the entrance into the
| British Channel OF curse q very considerable
deduction must be made from this speed in calcu-
lnting for a long v"yage with certain amount Of
! rough sea and contrary wind. We know not what
| the required deduction may he, but we feHr TINT
it will reduce the speed OF OF the vessel to point
which will render it very difficult for her to carry
! coal with anything like certainty of being able
to reach India without calling to take in fuel. In
| fact, the speed of the Great Eastern does not mp
| pear .o be greater than tIa. attainel 10y several
! vessels now afoat and her advantages over other
| vcssels therefore, mainly consist in her being able
| to maintain that speed for much longer, and,
| from the diminished relation of power To bur-
.Ien leing able to carry goods at n lower freight
The latter advantage appears to he incontestahle:
| the former--t that namely Of being able to steam
| $4,000 or IL 900 miles without stopping to coal--
seems trembling in the balance. Tho truth is, the
vessel seems to be defective in p'opeln power.
! A lisht wind we are informed has very little cf-
,t,pnu 1 fl,aff, fb
| or her schrew nor her paddles can at present be
| driven Mt the rate required 1t was believed that
the great ship possessed lines fine and bulk
vast that she could he driven fster by engines pos
sessng one-horse power to every nine tons, than
ordinary vessels by engines possessing "ne-horse
power to every four t,ns. This would appear To
| lie a misculcun II; the result scemst have shown
that tho princp pie is sound hut that too puch had
cen expected from it, and that. vast as the power
# the Great Eastern IL. the task demanded from
| her engines is beyond their strength. Of course
we well aware that every increase OF speed be-
ynnd 40 considerable n velocity ns that which the
Great Eastern has already attained can only be
gained by an immense sacrifice Of fuel and that it
bv no means follows that bo:ause three hundred
tons day are sufficient for her present speed All
other hundred tons Of coal day would increase
that speed by oneourth, One-sixth, or eolghtb.
This is the problem which the managers of the yes
sci have to solve Will they increase their speed.
and by so doing diminish their capacity for making
long voyages without coaling. will they content
themselves with their present speed. and the pos
session Of vessel which can undoubtedly cover,
without stopping at least thrice the distance which
can be run by any steamer now in existance?
-s
The Coal Fields Of the Indian Archipelago.
tFsOsn the Singapore Times, Sept. 81 ...s
The future desnies of the Indian Archipelago
are insepar.Lly connected with tho riches of It's
coal fields. Scientific inveatigation during the