LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 546, 27 January 1858, Page 3

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

An attempt-to launch the Great Eastern has failed, but Mr. Brunei feels every confidence in being- able to: launch her with, the December spring- tides. On Tuesday, the 3rd November, commenced the above great operation, which has been, looked forward to with so much anxiety. All nig-ht long-, Mr. Brunei, Captain Harrison (the future commander), Mr. J. Scott Russell (the originator of this leviathan steam-ship), and 1,500 mechanics, were upon, the 'ground making the necessary preparations by gas lightTfor the momentousproceedings. As "witnessed from the river, the- scene by moonlight was of an extraordinary character. Hundreds of men, seemingly of lilliputian forms, were flitting, about in all directions, heaving, hauling, hammering, and - rattling the metal bottom of the stupendous structure, balanced as it were, in mid-air above them. Now and then were heard the stentorian voice of the superintendent giving* directions, or the chorus of the working gansrs, who pulled and heaved the great chains and hawsers connected with the machinery- and-apparatus of the vessel. Through the- dai'k hours of the night these laborious preparations'were" continued, and the day found them still proceeding. By-and-by the vacant spaces in the neighbourhood began to be filled: up with people; row boats dropped down the river in shoals, filled with, watermen and mechanics, while the opposite banks became fringed with human being's. Temporary galleries were erected along the quays, the tops of the houses, the broad roofs of workshops, or the decks of craft that were mere cockboats to the mighty ship opposite. As the morning" advanced, these miles of slender planks were appropriated by eager tenants, and river -steamboats, from below and above bridge, bustled about with decks and paddle-boxes completely covered. Within the } rard the earlier arrivals were confined to the wives and families of the workmen, for whom every accommodation was provided. At first a disposition was evinced to stroll round the ship, but the falling beams of timber knocked from under her, and the incessant whirling. of pullies and cranes, rendering close inspection dangerous, the less venturesome were fain to beat a precipitate retreat. To make up for their disappointment they fell to speculating- upon the possible failure of the launch. There were several yards of land between the vessel and the water of the river at this time, the tide being very low, and certainly the ship seemed to rest upon so slight a timber frame, that misgivings in timid minds were natural. The cradJe appeared ludicrous compared with the mountain above, and to an unfamiliar eye the vessel seemed not to be propped up by any equivalent support, but simply balanced on her keel. Immediately in front were two broad inclined planes down which the two cradles, the one at the stem, the other at the stern, were to glide with their wonderful burden. On the other side, but at some distance from the ship, there was fitted up the largest, and perhaps most powerful windlass in the world. Around this stupendous machine was coiled the equally massive chain that held back the ship, and would case her gently down the declivity. Every prop, beam, fender, or support other than the cradle and chain was safely removed by twelve o'clock. The inclined plane then received a final coating- of grease and lampblack, and the workmen returned to the back of. the yard, leaving- the one solitary individual in front, to watch the forward action of the floating apparatus. The position of this strong nerved mechanic sent a momentary

shudder through the multitude, who be- I held,him in what they thought; was a peril- j ■ous situation, but lie did not long- remain to I awaken their apprehensions, and-quite a \ relief was felt as he slowly ascended a rope I ladder and disappeared in the • framework I of th(< paddle-wheel. It was now twenty [ minutes past twelve o'clock,.the tide wni I ■running- up. rapidly, the water had almosi, \ reached the foot of the outer cradle, and a I movement in the direction of the principal I platform surrounding' the yard placed \ those who observed it on tip-toe, of expec- i tatiqn, which was not. a little increased, \ when a decorated bottle fastened to the j end of a rope was lowered from the ship ! to the bow of the vessel. It was rightly conjectured that the bottle - contained the 1 good old port with which the vessel was , to. be christened, and the crowd , below ■ raised a hearty cheer as it dangled for a ! few minutes in the air. The ceremony of • christening was • gracefully performed . by ! Miss Hope, the, daughter of the wellknown millionaire, and chairman of the Great Eastern Steam Navigation. Company. She christened the vessel the ■ " Leviathan." The blow was admirably aimed, and as the fragments of the bottle fell to the ground, a body.of workmen \ made a rush to secure the flowers. The ; spectators were afterwards kept for some ; time in a state■ of painful suspense; .one : o'clock was approaching-, and the launching ; machinery had yet to be put to the proof ; of positive experience. Everything was \ hushed, .and a solemn stillness reigned \ throughout the vast multitude .within .the ! yard. Suddenly, the front mooring chains began to tighten. A cheer broke from, the ; workmen, and a cry .was raised "She ; moves," " She moves." The vessel moved • down the plane ior about two inches, and \ the drum or windlass spun round with ; fearful velocity. The workmen were then \ seen to run away from, the fabric, and the I operation of launching Ivas suspended. ■ Inquiry was then instituted, and-it was as- : certained' that some portion of the ap- ! proaches had got out of gear, whereby an : accident had happened to five or six men '■■ —four of whom were so much injured that the}' had to be conveyed to the Poplar ( Hospital. The tide was rapidly rising "i to the vessel, and Mr. Brunei stated that \- this preliminary movement of the chains 1 had been a mere experiment, and had so far succeeded that it was likely when the ;. tide reached its flood, the ve??el, would ; safely descend. To-morrow's tide will be favourable, for-the launch of the ship, and : ; sanguine hopes are entertained that she ; will be got off just before high water. A j sharp rain began to fall which aided to Jl disperse the spectators. A very general j impression seemed to prevail among the J visitors to the attempted launch of Tues- ■■. day that the efforts to get the vessel off ;■ would be renewed with.; success in the -\ course of Wednesday. Notwithstanding :| the rain, therefore, which fell witii unmiti- A gated severity throughout the day, a mini- j] bei* of persons proceeded to the building | yard; but it is almost needless to say that, j beyond seeing the gigantic vessel, which, | liiii'll in the air, loomed like a dark cloud | in the thick mist, nothing was doing to | repay the toil of a visit to Millwall. "Ex.- f[ cep.t where some of the unfinished sal-ions [| have been converted into joiners' shops for | the purpose of proceeding with the inter- | nal fittings of the cabins, no work was | going forward in the vessel: All around I her was still and silent, and gave a most jj desolate aspect to a scene formerly always || so resonant with the noise and bustle occa- |j sioned by the toil of nearly 2000 men. X After it was determined to cease all fur-1 ther efforts to effect the launch on Tuesday, \ the workmen were employed throughout; the night in taking proper precautions to j_; secure the vessel in the position in which j| she at present rests. For this purpose || powerful timber shores were fixed under! her stem and stern beyond where her era- f dies support her, and the massive-check| tackle which secures her on the side to-1 wards the land has also been hauled taut,| so that as far-as human ingenuity can fore-f j see, them is no mechanical possibility of|ii her now slipping and launching herselfij \ without notice. As might have been anti-i cipated, the most vague and contradictory| rumours are afloat as to the cause which! led to Tuesday's failure. Only two ofi these are sufficiently probable to demandl notice. The first states that from the im-| mense pressure and friction the iron trans-! verse bars which cross the bottom of the! cradles have cut into the r lilway meta!s,j and- s=o fixed the whole that it will be i'n-j^j moveable unless the entire vessel can i>ej i raised up from the launching ways and'j^ started afresh. For this report, we are gjndi,| to say the result on close inspection of the]}

bars leaves no foundation. In fact the "friction, considering1 the amount of pressure'on the cradles and bars, seems to have been marvellously slight. The second report avers most positively that the launching* ways themselves have settled down nmderthe -ship's stern, and fixed as it were in a hole. This also is incorrect, for the -"ways remain as firm and rig"id as on the '^ifirst day of their construction, and up to I;the present they have received no cause to *be otherwise, since the vessel is still in its original foundations. But the ways have been so constructed as to allow for sinking*. From the summaries of the London weekly newspapers we take the following.

(fob the week exded Oct. 17.) Birmingham, always ambitious to take •a leading part in the national activity, has been all excitement with the conference of the new " National Association for the Promotion of Social Science," inaugurated %y Lord Broug-ham on Monday, and on i;he subsequent days sitting to conduct inquiries and discussions in its five sections, -.after the approved fashion of such eonfer;ences. Heal business has been done. It would have been something if the meeting had only drawn forth the discourse with which the President of the Association opened the proceedings,—-a survey of the field of action, remarkable for its exhaustive comprehensiveness, the close fitting of its parts, and its apt references to steps in the social progress with which Lord Brougham's public life has been identified. Always the strenuous champion of Education-—a Constitutional Reformer of the Whig type before the new spirit awakened in 1830 enabled him to assist in -carrying "the whole Bill" in the House of Lords—a Law Reformer before and after be ascended the Woolsack—he became as it were incorporated in the Society for the Amendment of the Law—he is now, in a figurative sense, reg-arded as father of all the five sections of the new Association for Promotion of Social Science—without a figure, Henry Brougham has been, if aiot the originator, an active participator in liberal movement for more than half a century. It is an animating sight to see the veteran of almost fourscore years welcomed back to the scenes of his old activities, and living over again, with vigorous enjoyment, the achievements of bis prime.

The chairmen of the sections followed up their leader by addresses which virtually constituted instructions to the sections. At the head of the section on Jurisprudence and Law Amendment was placed Lord John Bussell; who varied the ■routine of the department by an excellent speech on the politics of Law Amendment. '^Sir John Pakington seems to have taken'the" headof the Education section ex ofScio; the 'Society recognising, rather curiously, the .-relative position of the baronet who conferred with Manchester on the subject and the nobleman at the head ef the British and Foreign School Society. Ljrd Stan- * ley directed the discussion on Public' Health; Sir Benjamin Brodie on Social Economy; and Mr. M. D, Hill contributed an instructive statement on the Reformatory System of Prison Discipline, with the of a visit to the Convict Pri--sons of Ireland. .In the discussions which have since taken place, we have seen united at once a concentrated purpose and an unusual freedom of handling. Conspicuous among the. novel ideas is Mr. Helps's suggestion of the necessity for a school to : rescue the Members of Parliament from • their." tremendous ignorance,"—that painful ignorance which makes them salute -any Minister who brings forward a measure of improvement with the title of " Jack Cade." The mere personnel of the new Society is in itself a striking'fact; the •list of members comprises the men who 1 .have been most conspicuous, in and out of Parliament, for combining professional or .scientific knowledge With intellectual activity and philanthropic zeal. The Birmingham Confe.ence is really an important event. Among the periodical meetings of the day, the agricultural gatherings and the .-assemblings to promote the Indian relief one stands out prominently, for ..its. two speeches by the Bishop of Oxford and Mr. Gladstone, at the annual meeting in Chester of the Society for the Propagation of the Go?pe! in Foreign Parts. Both the speakers laid down the doctrine, that, as a Christian power, we have no right to give up India; they traced our trouble -there to the fact that, we have been guilty -of dereliction of,duty in India, because we •compromised our function as the protectors 1 ai' Christianity.; and they argued that the improved government of India' after its

pacification must consist in a more just treatment of the natives, a more solemn recognition.of our moral obligation, a more discreet but a more active and decisive enforcement of Christian principles. By that course alone, argued Mr. Gladstone, can we hope to obtain the Divine countenance for our empire; by. that course alone can we escape from confusion and revolt, to a clear sj'stem and sound policy. The statesman's speech was not less impressive than the Bishop's, but more practical. ,(fob the week ended ocx. 24.) This is the week between -the Indian mails^ and we have had a .comparative scarcity of those supplemental communiT cations which have been poured out in the intermediate weeks. India, however, is still the conspicuous topic at every public . meeting; and the report of every speech, —like every sermon that reaches us as the printed literature of the Fast Day accumulates, —does but repeat the evidence of a general agreement on the subject. One point has oeen brought rather more into discussion—the position and maintenance of the East India Company. Mr. Willoughby, one of the Directors, has been defending" the Company against the charge of having caused the revolt; and Lord John Hay, who has indirect alliance with the incorporated Merchant Princes, also appears among their champions.. He makes a just if not a new remark —that the very progress of England in India must necessarily have created discontent j among the Mussulman and Hindoo conservatives; for the Mussulmans still remember their own supremacy, and the Hindoo of an}' high caste is horrified at institutions winch, like the railway, admit the lowest pariah who : can pay to take his place in the first-class carriage by the side to the Brahmin. Probably we shall ultimately come to the conclusion that the East India Company is neither free from blame nor chargeable with all that has been amiss; but these defences of the outposts show that the Directors and their friends j anticipate attack in Parliament. They will j have it, beginning perhaps in the session of 1857 7 but certainly not dosing then. Events will not march so fast; for it is not the fashion to dispose of any great measure at least until the " next session" after it is first debated. Meanwhile, there is a good deal of misconception as to the responsibility of the Company and as to its real position.; for by a gradual process the once separate commercial company has been transmuted into a regular department of the Executive Government, only carried on by a distinct commission. Even its obstructive tendency principally lies in the appearance rather than the reality of separation, for that diverts the public responsibility and shields the real rulers of i India from moral compulsion. The East India Dhection has become little more than whipping-boy to the Board of Control.

A hint has been thrown out that the . second election in Moldavia has not teen more genuine than the first; and that th.c new representative body, which has pronounced in favour of union, is as little to be relied upon as that which was favourable to continued separation. The Principalities, it is said, are in too disorganised a state to go through the process qi an election; but the truth, of the matter appears to be, that Moldavia and Wallaehia are not to settle the question of separation or union—it is the Great Powers who are to settle it. Their resolution is, "to maintain the rights and dignity of the Ottoman empire," while seeking "to ameliorate the destiny of the Principalities in accordance with the ideas and necessities of the different classes composing their society." In a carious reply addressed to the Union-. ists of Moldavia, Sir Henry Bulwer, the British commissioner, thus bluntly explains the matter. The Powers or the majority of Powers have-come to the conclusion that union would be one .step towards temporary independence ; and as there is to be j no union, no "foreign prince" is to be placed over the United Principality. There is some ground for the argument that to establish a Principal] tv1 colourably independent would break into the integrity of Turkey, and would render the separated territory more available for absorption by neighbouring potentates. But the present position of the Powers amounts to a confession that the reference to Moldavia and WalUtehia for their opinion on the subject was nothing more than a " sham " . The fact that the intelligence received on Monday from the United States induced the Bank of England to raise its rate of discount on Tuesday to 8 per cent, is almost enough to indicate the character of

the neAvs., It was exactly in sequel to that which we noticed before. The crisis was gradually developing its third stage, and the commonwealth';was-doing", what it best could, without .much concert or unity of action, to meet ihe difficulty. The Federal Government was making the public, payments as fast as possible, in order;'that a proportionate amount of money might, be. placed in the hands of the commercial classes. The New York papers greatly praise Mr. Cobb, the Secretary to; : the Treasury for reducing his balances fromabout 12,000,000 dollars to 3,000,000 dollars, by rapid payments. And the United States Government was. rapidly extinguishing its small public debt by buying- up stocks at a high premium. The merchants at Boston assembled in public meeting and passed resolutions encouraging each other to support the banks, and the banks to support them. In Pennsylvania the Governor was inviting the Legislature to adopt; laws for a period of suspension, as if it were to last for some time. Houses of long standing and high repute were announced among, the failures. 'Altogether the trouble and anxiety were de-t cidedly increasing; but various sums —. some hundreds of thousands each —-were reckoned as available on this side for American purposes. Demands of this kind, combined with the failure of the corresponding payments -from; America, to Europe, have seriously shaken or brought down nouses in the commercial towns both of ; England and France. The run for money is universal, extending over the whole continent; and the Bank of France has followed the Bank of England in defensively raising its discount to 7 J per cent. The "Birmingham Conference brought together a class of men who may be-con-sidered to embody some of the most matured ideas on the subject, of social progress, or " Sociology" as it was called in, the earlier programme of the new Association for the Promotion of Social Science. < The Art Exhibition in Manchester, which; closed at the end of last week, was an. effort in the ; same direction, somewhat ; more popular; but decidedly more; supeiv ; ficial. The professed object was ,to give, the people of the manufacturing districts specimens; of: art applied to useful and industrial objects; but that project was swamped in a .great exhibition of ornar mental art and archaeology, and there was much more of patronage for the workingclasses, and of sight-seeing for all, than of training, for the industrial order. Still, ; the duty of assisting the less fortunate in efforts to render the benefits of civilisation , more equal has seized upon, the educated, mind in all parts of the country. We see it, for instance, not. only in the centre of manufacturing Lancashire, or in the con-, ference of professed' Sociologists at Birmingham, but in the iriendly controversy at the West Kent; agricultural meeting,; between Mr. George ' Norman ; and Mr. Caird, on the comparative merits of the Scotch: and English systems of agricjuLt\ire with reference; to the position, comfort, and opportunities of the labouringclasses. The principle of "aide^toi": has been humanised and elevated by weddingit to a principle of higher authority— " Love thy neighbour as thyself." While our soldiers are falling in India, Sheffield is erecting ;a- monument to the soldiers who have fallen .in".the. Crimea.. The Duke of Cambridge, cousin to the Queen, and Commander-in-chief of the army, wields the trowel in laying the foun-; dation stone. He'has brought together the two. extremes ;of society, in the utterance of a strong national: feeling, which could' not be better expressed than in : his J own hearty language.- Acts of this kind, do more to animate the community in its national action, more: probably even- to promote recruitment, than the most tur-gid humbug of the recruiting-sergeant. I From day to day movements of troops towards India have been.announced, jlt is expected that a considerable bbdy will shortly depart' from : Colchester; a West India * regiment is = ordered for Indian service; and troops, we jsee, are announced inr the > military news' as ha\nng-"been sent from the Cape of Good Hope. The ' Globe,' apparently from more official intelligence than that which has oozed out through the ordinary/naval and military intelligence;' estimates that four strong and seasoned regiments have thus been despatched to India from; the Cane; the inhabitants of Cape Town and the neighbourhood having,cheerfully undertaken to do the duty of a garrison. As the demand for horses was considerable, private studs have; been ; placed at the disposal of the Colonial Government. The colonists show that they have a full

share of, British feeling- j and , Governor Grey, who has been awakened to the urgent- necessity in India, is not, no>v, likely to: feel the want of troops in :h|s own colony. . : :■■■.•• t j . (FOB THE WEEK i ENDED OCT. 31.); ! | . The King of Prussia may be said to have abdicated for three months. He has.handed over the supreme administration qf his. king ■. dpm for that term'to his brother, the Prince of,' Prussia, in. the expectation thit lib may then be able to resume the sceptae himself. The. Prince' has accepted the trust, and has issued a declai"a-~ tiori that he intends "to carry on<th& conduct of state affairs •iv conscientious; observance of the charter of the country, and the laws of the land, according to my best knowledge of, the, in-., tentions of his Majesty my royal, hi-other and sovereign, and for so long a time as his Majesty: may consider this to be desirable." . If, has been* remarked that the present arrangement is;likely to defer the marriage of Prince -Frederick Wil-' liam with our Princess 'Royal,'because ithe.' Prince's father is now . compelled to remain, within the realm of Prussia: but why, should that, affect the. date of the marriage ? are not royal •persons^ even in the most intimate relations with bride or bridegroom represented, by proxy? .''[ ■ ■;•■■' '' V: r '" '.' '•' ''■.' '■ '

We had heard for"some days of a plot against the life and government of Prince Alexander, in Servia; but we paid little attention to it. ; The story was this. A ; man of low. condition had been engaged by certain persons to take the. life of the Hospodar,,on the cheap .terms of twenty, or thirty,ducats for the shot; and he had'accepted the job. But'afterwards he fortunately recollected that his father had been Very kindly treated by the father of the man whom he-had undertaken to assassinate, arid he gave informa-i tion; This looks like a story of the class denominated ."cock-and-bull j" but correspon-/ dents at Vienna now aver that it is confirmed by other testimony. Milosch, the ex-Hospbdar, who has always had a powerful party,' disclaims alllmowledge of the scheme. ; ' ; Several communications reach, us from the United States. One of them, received early in the week,,fulfils our expectation.respecting-the ; natureqf the third stage in the .crisis, and its extension to houses not : directly involved in speculation ; and one received later confirms the hope that the worst part of the embarrassmebt; had been reached, with./the' prospect of d favourable reactioci. The crisis of the feverlis past, but it cannot be said that the patientls, yet in the stage pi*operly called convalescence. Those who, are wise-after the ; event are giving us new explanations, of the causes of the crash ;' they are explaining r how the banks at New York have been compelled to join in the suspension of specie payments by those who astutely, desired to drive them to that point, and so to overcome the difficulty of obtaining extended loans. We believe that our own readers have already had the simple explanation of the crisis and its causes ,and: the latest stage is as intelligible1 as any. Thp.se wlio r\vere ; most ; in difficulty, and who first felt the pressing need for casli, ; ruslied; to the banks to obtain' it; others followed, lest it should be all gone i and thus was produced that extraordinary scene in Wall Street whicK rivals? the stories Jof the greatest commercial crashes,—long Vmes of anxious paper-holders marchxng.for their money amid- the comments :^i bystan ders- : The general suspension has cut short at least that process, arid the extreme .". ciS n* of the panic has been succeeded by (an alniosfc unaccountable 'degree of quietness. 'Another reasori' for' the cbrnparative calm is the knowledge that the banks, and a large portion of the mercantile 'community, i are completely and possess in substantial produce and other goods ample means of meeting their liabilities. Meanwhile,, howeyer, the Union is struggling with all the inconveniences and difficulties attending a suspension of cash payments. -The commercial currency of-the Republic is placed upon a lower level than that of other countries ; the exchanges are altered;: payments; flow .less readily backwards and forwards ; the Union : has ,to. a ; certain extent become isolated from the cash-paying world, and nobody knows exactly what to do. Hence the demand for an extra session of the State Legislature in New York, without any clear perception of the pracI tical "remedies" which the legislative body | could afford. : ■./.. .-.: :; ■

In New York individual insolvency is to a l great extent covered. m>der the geuQralsuspensiqn, but in this country the cases of final'insolvency or dubious suspension stand forthtin more painful prominence. ■Amongst thetdj that of the Liverpool Borough Baiik is one of the most distressing, from the tn agnitude of the sums involved, the number of persons who will suffer and the probability-that timelyjassistance might have .prevented the,catastrophe— which will fall exclusively on.the proprietary. It is'affirmed,' however, that the bank has been lending its assistance to an extent arid in modes not'justified by banking- principles ;: another instance of the prevalent irregularity which has been brought to view -by these accidental exposures. Ihe meetings of the season, or those held in support of the Indian Relief Eund, continue to aflprd opportunity to our public men for expressing their feelings as well as their convic-' tions'on the subject of India. There is still a; striking uniformity in the general mode of expression, as well in the suggestion of ■ measures' as in the utterance of sentiment; We have seen this in previous, weeks, but day by day it appears to come out more strongly as men discover how far they agree with each other; Whether you look to Mr. Monckton Milnes'at PVmtefract, Sir Henry Keating at Reading, or Mr. Labouchere at Taunt'oh, it does not matter whnt the place 13 or the speaker—the feeling ia the Bame. No man has given 3 more right-

minded utterance than Lord Harrowby, at an ■ agricultural meeting; in Saudpn on; Wednesday, especially^ when he , moralized the present effect of past'military'reSuctibhs carried .out in ineclianical obedience to ' House ' of'CpmnVons dogma. •' -'■' "■ '■ ' '-■ 'v : ;:'■•"■■ •''■'.; '" '■ At the Wimbbrne meeting, Lord Shaftesbury made a useful; remark^ coming .'*,'ith special force from a man of his unquestjlppably< 4nd high,moral chai]acteri: He combated the notion that there should ,be some reserve in' the publication,of tlie enormities' in In- • dia: "'the British : should''be' !told r in plain, forcible; and true -language, what -has been done by Mose men, and what?'has 'been endured by their countrymen and countrywomen in the. East Indies."; ; :^..: ' .:; „,, X, „ i 5 : { The subject turns up wherever ,i^e..look. ■' A meeting washeld.at Penrith tins; week by the gentry of Wes'tmorelarid to'testify their, regard for Lord Jsrougham,-^a meeting Which collected, all parties; for it was got upj a's one of his oldeit friends said;by Lord Brougham's " enemies." Tremendous was.the cheering when the immortal Westmoreland man arose, to speak^at pnce to ;Blue,;an,d,Yellow,;. but 'the cheering, became most tremendous [when he insisted upon "the duties of justice' and, mercy hi Iridi^r-justice first, and then mercy.' ,". ' : ! :