THE AGAMEMNON AND THE NIAGARA. (From the Times.)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XV, Issue 1167, 3 September 1858, Page 4

THE AGAMEMNON AND THE NIAGARA. (From the Times.)

On both the peaceful nnture of the expedition seems, judging from appearances, to sit with the most remarkably ill grace. Their heretofore spotless decks are all begrimed with tar and grease, and uncouth machinery, and misshapen coils obstruct and lumber up the places where, a short time ago, it was almost a breach of the articles of war to leave an untidy-looking rope's end or drop a spot ot dirt. Even the hallowed precincts of the quarter decks themselves are become as places of no account, mere platforms for the erection of sheaved wheels to guide the tarry wire into its ocean bed. Nor are the changes which have taken place in the internal arrangements of each ship of less importance. Wardrooms and gunrooms are almost words of no meaning ; cabins are transferred and transformed, one ordinary room being knocked into a dozen for the accommodation of the officers, and a dozen rooms knocked into one for the accommodation of the cable. The latter trifle seems to occupy both ships in every part— on the spar deck or on the keel, in cabins and almost in berthr, its monstrous tarry folds are always present, lying, coil after coil, for hundreds and hundreds of miles, till the eye is pained and the head made giddy in vain attempts to follow its endless circles. As may readily be imagined, with at least 2,500 tons dead weight on board each vessel, both the Agamemnon and the Niagara are astonishingly deep. The lower deck ports of the former are very near the water, and they are all being fastened and caulked before starting. But, in spite of this, the Agamemnon carries her share infinitely better than her long, black looking rival of the United States, which it immersed veiy deeply indeed by her load. The Agamemnon now only draws 26 feet, or actually one foot less than her draught at starting last year ; but even at this depth she bears herself well, and looks a noble ship, and one that should be seaworthy in any weather The Niagara, howe\er, draws no less than 27 feet 2 inches aft, and Ihis grpat draught effects a marvellous and most unpleasant change in her appearance, since it leaves her spar deck scarcely 8 feet above the water's edge. In fact, the main deck is actually below the water's level, and if her lofty bulwaiks, some nine or ten feet high, •were taken away, ahe would appear to be almost the very last vessel in the world in which it was desirable to venture across the great Atlantic. So much has been said about this Niagara, and such exaggerated rumours have been afloat respecting her general capa- ! cityns a ■vyar steamer, that many of our readeis may be surprised to learn that, as a war steamer she is almost a total failure. There have been bad bargains out of our own dockyards, Heaven knows, but they have never yet gone so far as to produce a wall-sided frigate of almost double the tonnage of a line- of- battle ship, yet only capable of carrying twelve guns on her spar deck, and none at all on her lower. Any other screw vessel of the same size as the Niagara should be well fitted for carrying at least 100 of the heaviest ordnance used in warfare. Her share of the cable is admirably well distributed throughout her entire length, and thus, of course, any chance of undue strain in a heavy sea is in a great measure obviated. Still, strange to say, though those on board assert that she is a much stronger vessel than the Agamemnon, her decks appear to have given down under the pressure of the enormous coils to a much greater extent than is perceptible on board the latter. On that ship the great bulk of her share of the wire is stowed, as before, in her capacious hold. Last year it was all coiled in one immense circu- j lar mass, nearly ICO feet in ciscumference. By this arrangement, however, the pressure of some 1300 tons upon such a small surface was found to be greater than the ship could bear with safety, and it also conduced to her rolling to such an extent that was dangerous to the process of submerging. To avoid this, therefore, the hold has been enlarged, and the coil is novr laid in j a mass, about 60 feel )ong by 45 Feet wide and 20 deep, and every precaution has been taken to prevent its fouling or coming up in "kinks" while paying out. In addition to this coil there is one on the orlop deck of 95 miles, and there is one near the forecastle of 230, and a small one of 20 miles for the experimental cruise