Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1862-02-21

1HE fRiGATs MEsRNAc fAILCRr The
ollowing Is the Norfolk Day Books state
! ment concerning the failure of the Merrimac.
reference to which was confined in our
dispatches on Saturday
"Ths error, which We believe 70 be of oousij.
erabiy more than two hundred tons, was discov-
cred when the snip foated. aud to that fact {,
to be attributed her detention in dock. The chief
subject, however, OF regret occurred n this con-
nection, for when the ship was shored up again
it appears that shs caught upon the blocks and
received a considerable strain. In Consequences
Of this some parts of her uaohinsry have been
taken out, and quantity Of dead wood will have
to be introduced 10 prevent the tendency % boz
thus une .psctedly developed
" 1t would be vain 10 deny that this IA sari 5us
Injury 10 the ship But We are happy 70 stat,
that a careful survey shows tha. Il "a By
NJ me1os irreparab.s. Ths knovladpe q
these facts will. we ka,z, ce pro4seti7.
Of serlOus disappointment thrcughSu. "a.
entire Community, and not only throughoz.
this community, bat throughout the eulirs south,
iof puoic expectation had long tssn On tip-.oe 70
see this iron-ciad Lsvisthsn s,esu down ,hs hsr
Dor To- raise the blockade but "a the natural rsT-
sion Of feeling consequent upon the discorerT os
these facts sready known 20 an all circle ahch /,
daily expanding, we beg leave to sdnoni.h ou-
readers sgsinst indulging in the indiscrlrainl,s
and bitter criticifm which hss already found ven:
In the newspapers Of which We have spoken,
with what propriety thees journals o, N assaI
the contrsctor and other sutaorites connected
with the Msrrinso, ws are unable a. prsscnt 70
perceivei and We suggest to the community TIE
obvious propristy Of Awaiting in this matter the
action Of the government. That the whole quss-
tion will bs narrowly examined into We nave
every reason to believe, and until soma inTes;isa-
t.on has been made We may be pardoasd foe sd-
vising the public To Keep iI temper sn1 wait Tor
further Developments.
" In the beginning. ncweTsr, We were not cf
those who thought the ship sblS to get into tie
moat al Old Point, and, sssanins ueisstically
around and around. reduce that fortress "a day'.
oomosrdment. Nor have We believed that abe
could achieys half the results that popular fanoy
has In sdvsnce attributed to the i,on-a!ad mon
sier. In the beginning We snii-ipated trouble
from her vast proportions and prod EiouS lenSth
" Her great drsught Of water will prevent her
sotiEe operations, and the dr2ught, originally
sboIt twsnty-four feet, has been considerably in
creased By the error il calculating her displscl-
ment, 10 which We have alluded. But it does mo-
follow that she will be useies on t1e contrary,
when her necessary repairs snd alterations have
been made, she will complete the dsfe5ccs oF ou-
hsrbor. In the worst aspect Of the case s5s ozn
be moored below, aud will render the zpprOsel u
Norfolk utterly mprseticablo to any force that the
enemy can bring against She will be sufficient
for protection against q water stack, whilst On
land all we ask is tha. General " ool shall ccu,
over and make Reconnaissance in force to fad
out the nature Of our land dsfsnces and the cour-
age Of the men by whom they are supported
" II would be Aaeotstiou il Us TO deny our nor
tifcatiou at this disaster 10 the Merrimaos ua-
chinery, OF TO attempt eoncealment Of our mofti-
fcstion at her great drsught Of water; out alta
all We shall again b. enabled to ses another ex-
pertinent made with her, until which time We re-
mind our readers that ssve-s criticism can do no
good, aud suggest that they wait fall solution
Of the vexed question as 30 whether or no ths
Merriusc Is a gaccess. Whom this has been AZ
rived at, we will praise blame IS he result re-
quires the enc or jnstihes tbs otssr."