, 1860-08-04

i Ap "11Nk 0AAk6fu11 lap 70 N&p& Ax84A
[Ffon the Worldl
The e1cursionists who went to Cape May on
Monday, By the Great Eastern, havs returned
In safety. None, TIC believe, have been drown
ed, none starved, and none have died Of thirst;
but it is NOT to The directors or proyider Of the
Great Eastern that they ars indebted for their
lives or well being.
aud so'led clothes, were filter marks Of night
with the dies who went to meet ueenau, thau
OF two days on the Great Eastern. But in such
Eulse returned many IN e1curBlonist to his
friends on the Hammond street dock yesterday
forenoon.
Nut to adopt the uncharitab1e word "swindle,"
with which five hundred indignant passengers
characterized the excursion, it is cert inly true
that there nerer was one more extravagantly
mitmanaged.
TIE intentions Of The directors may have been
good, but the result Of their Efforts wns pal
pable swindle. lll-iuck has seemed to follow
the Great Eastern and her owners from the lay
ing Of her keel till now; but in this instance
they deserve no commiserstion, for these were
evis which might hare bten foresecn and pre-
vented. They were evils which the bes. ad-
rissrs OF the managers and directors foresaw,
predicted, and told them how to avoid, but
which they wilfully, dogeedly or bIindly, either
would nos anticipate OF did not prevent.
The Great Eastern's troubles begal before
she weighed her anchor. i compartment was
to be pumped full Of water in order to trim the
ship: Whether The compartment was ever
tilled or not we do not know, and are not GER
tain that any body knows. It il the general i'm
preston, perhaps n mistaken one, that the men
might as we'll have pumped into space; but if
the compartment got filled so did the storeroom.
Much beef, many hams and many chickens
were deluged with water.
The inundation was not discovered until the
next day Monday, lcaying little time to sup
ply fresh provisions. The fare was meagre,
though sold at the prices Of the best. Hardly
twopenny excursion steamer which runs down
the bay or up the river, publishes SO short
hill Of fare, or 30 large a bill Of prices. But
Yankees would not lAve grumbled d! this, if
they could have got what they wanted by pay
ing for It. Even this was impossible.
-Four times the number Of walters on service
sand passengers. Monday night, when they
were Jet fresh, and the stores not quarter
gone, there were scores Of passengers who went
hungry to bed. THose who got any thing to eat
had TO bully or bribe The waters TO get it, and
ice and water, which should haye been the freest
aud cheapest, were the rarest and most diLIicutt
Of all things to obtain. Water Was aold for ten
censs gluss all the evening, and men quench
ed their thirst with liquors, because they could
get nothing else. Not even soda wafer or auY-
thing else sold ut the bar could he had for
nearly m hour, while forsootA, somebody
was lighting uf.". If any one more per-
arces By seeking their source, a referred him
to u, and B to q, and C to D, and 30 on to the
end Of the alphabet, z, perhaps, consigning the
starved and 6adEcred man, with culsa, 10 the
mescles Of the cook, dwelling where the ther-
mometer stands habitually at 140', by which
time he would have walked rs far Us from Trim.
ity Church to Madison Squire. and learned
to content himself with ice cream and warm
water.
Tuese were but tho beginning CT troubles.
The accommodations for sleeping were equally
wretched. Scores Of ladies' had to sleep as best
they might in the public saloons, end dozens on
deck, where also hundreds Of men were lying
on mattresses, Of which there were not enough.
Perhaps, however, the advertisement Of The
Great Eastern excursion gave no reason to pass
engcrs to expect unything better. But with
water everywhere, they ce1tainly had right to
hope for c drop to drink, aud few drops for
va hirg. During the night there was very
heavy dew and rain Of cindess, which made
ablution desirable in tie morning to those who
had slept on deck. For the state rooms some
water was provided, but it was red with iron
rust and odorous with something else. On
deck many sought, but few obtained, eren 50
much a5 basinful, and excepting one not im- |
pecunious person who paid dollar for 4 basin
ol water, aad twenty-five cents more for tow !
el, the washed Of the cabins. and the greater |
t4"19AG0 NJ kHE AtEASt "EuL sUHplEa9 Blu tUH-
elIess, haring nothing but haadkerchiefs and |
coat-tails wherewithal to wipe themselves. |
Other equally. necessary conyeniences were |
equally iaaccestible.
All this might have been forgotten, perhaps,
had the excursionists been able to baiEc at the
Cape May beach. But the little propeller EN- |
p!oyed to carry passengers ashore had not room |
to carry sixth Of them, and the round trip &C. |
cup'ed more than an hour. Other steamers |
from Wilmington, Philadelphia, aad all along |
shore, let inose hundreds Of yi itors, who crowd
ed the decks, End swaru,sd in atl the hot sa-
locus. Those who got ashore did so ut the peril |
Of life or limb, for nothing but rope could he |
ciumsler than the means Of descent into the |
propeller. Many left the Great Eastern here to |
return By steamboat and railroad. Tickets for !
Ehe excursion were freely sold fo- from 10 cents |
70 81 by indignant Passengers. Others, again,
their lives and limbs, and got aboard
Without accident.
cot more casily Obtained, walters we're more
obstinate aud insolent. and passengers were |
,ungrier than before; but with New York in /
sight about breakfast time, the grumbling was
lot so loud.
ihe Indignation ms scsing Of a portion of the
passengers on Tuesday morning, in which all
would have join ed had cali been made, COM
niented on the illsucccss Of the excursion with
~ tr0raa novority. Tho severity was amply de. |
served; bus the blame should he properly dis
tributed.
Mr. Cox, the prosider Of The Great Eastern,
is responsible for the misconduct Of servants.
The meanuess Of the fare, the half.staryation OF
he passengers. The directors fthc vessel are
o be thanked for the sIeepiessnets the excur-
sionlsts, the lack Of water aud toilet appuratus,
snd they are responsible for the meunness and
nadequacy Of every ether arrau, en,ent for the
necessities or comfort of their passengers
There are three ways in which they cannot
NIT the responsibility nor avoid the odium
: hich accrnes 10 them. They cannot lay the
,lame upon any American firm or individual.
They bare been freely advised and have freely
the suggestions Of their best advi-
era Tlcy we're urged TO put the table under
barge of some responsible and experienced ca.
erer. but left it with person incompetent Tor
lis place, aud still more incompetent for an
emergency.
They cannot lay the b1ame upon the.of1icers
u tue Vessel (properly so cal1ea), for they are
esponsib!e for nothing but her sailing They
annos satisfy the public by stigmatizing the
laracter OF tie excursionists. Two Thousand
eop!e, able to pay from f15 to $40 Tor two days
easure, are not all of the slower ortlers:"
I'D If they had been, should not have been
rented with inhumanity.
The directors Of the Great Eastern might
are made her excursions extremely profitable.
9th from here and from other ports. The
aittess, laundering and stiugy mismausge-
lent witch have marked the first, will make
ster ones Improbable. At least, whoever
1aSes In excursion in her now knows what he
isks.