THE "GREAT BRITAIN" STEAM SHIP.

New Zealander, Volume 1, Issue 6, 12 July 1845, Page 4

THE "GREAT BRITAIN " STEAM SHIP.

At length this leviathan of steam navigation has been released from her long impiisonment, in Cumberland Basin, Bristol. The scene was, indeed «i spectacle in every stage, and merits minute detail. r lhe morning of Wednesday, the 11th Dec, about 7 o'clock, being the highest tide in that month, was appointed for the passage of the G/eat Britain through the lock of the Cumberland Basin, the last barrier to her free egress to tliesea. To allow this, the bridge which crossed liie locks and a portion of its. masonr), had been removed ; and all things being thus prepare'!, at the above early horn, notwithstanding the severity of the frost, and the cutting of the bleak easterly wind, tens of thousands had assembled to witness the grand labour. They « ere. however, doomed to disappointment ; for the tide not having iisen as high as was expected, on the first moment of its being evident tiiat there was not likely to be sufficient water, the great vessel was hauled back. No sooner had the water fallen, than large gangs uf masons were set to work, under the scientific and piaotised eye of Mr. Brunei, to open the space for her passage on the evening's tide; and every thing was done to render the vessel's di aught of water as light as possible, Asm the morning so at night, Captain Hoskin was obliged to make a dash at the lock, at the very last moment of the tide's rising, which ii did" to thirty three feet and no more. The following details of the mighty spectacle, and of the trial tup on Thursday morning are from the Bristol Mirror,

" We cannot attempt to describe in appropriate language the splendid appearance of the Great Britain as she entered the lock and passed as it were, through the crowds of people assembled on the occasion. On either side of the lock, 'blazed barrels of tar, witn veryshoit intervals between them, to the distance of more than two hundred yards, the illumination from which, on | the giant ship, the water, and the faces of the miiliilude, is not to be described. She passed thiough at a rapid pace, touching nothing but the rail of one of the bridges, which was hooked by the anchor, and cairied away like a thread. , She was moored by the side of the wing wall outside the lock for the night, to be ready for her passage down in the morning. " At about seven o'clock in the mornig, vehicles began to arrive fiom the country, and by eight o'clock every possible place where there was standing room, seemed, as on Ihe night preaious, to be occupied by anxious gazers. At jvbout ten minutss past eight, the Samson, steam - tuv, of GO horse power, in which was Captain Claxton, R.N., was been to take her in tow, and very soon after the word was given to tnrn ahead. Slowly and majestically she left the entrance amidst the cheers of thousands, which were , re-echoed b) those on board. It was extraordi'navy to see with what ease she appeared, to 'gather via}, and to steer (even before two steameiswere attached, one on either side), to her quarters, although the flood-tide, which had not done running, was against her. After passing the Hotvvell House, the steamers alluded to added their powers to that of the Samson, and the crowds of people who accompanied her were very soon bi ought to a run. She passed over a distance of nearly seven miles in an hour and eight minutes, three-fourths of the way without any tide in her favor. Consideiing that she was towed h> steam-boats whose united power did not exceed one hundred and twenty horses, it is to be assumed that she is adapti-d lor gliding through Hie water on the most appiovid principles. " Having anived at King 's Road, preparations weie made for putting her engines in motion. It was not deemed prudent at first to put the] engines to a severe trial, and for some time they were kept at about seven revolutions,wlnch were allowed gradually to increase up to the time of her anivalat the Holmes, when they had reached between eleven and twelve, the speed of the ship beiug in proper proportion to the progress of the screw, being at this time about eight knots. Near the Holmes, this gallant ship was twice turned round, and she came round in much less time, aud in a much smaller circle, than from her extreme length, sould have been anticipated. "The engines were then allowed rather to exceed sixteen 1 evolutions, which is equal to forty nine of the screw, the speed of the ship suddenly increased to better than fifteen knots. We understand, from the scientific gentlemen concerned, on board, that no doubt remain on their minds, as In her being able to accomplish from twelve to fifteen knots, without the aid of her canvas, none of which was bent on the trial. The slip, or loss of the screw, was eight per cent, the loss we are told of paddle wheels, in seagoing steameis, under similar circumstances, w ould have been twenty per cent. The steam was cut off at a foot, and six of the fires were not lighted at all, so that even at twenty revolutions or upwards, there is no doubt there will be plenty of speed. The driving chains and the shaft of the sci ew made no noise whatevor. In the fore cabin nobody would have known that au engine was at work, and in the after part it was necessary to feel the pillars with the hand to ascertain whether there really was any vibration. At three o'clock the company sat down to a cold collation, in the saloon of the ship, after which several toasts were drank, the health cf Mis Miles, who had christened the Great Western and the Great Br.taui, Mr/.Gupp\, Captain Hoskin, and Mr. Smith, patentee of th.c screw, and Capt. Claxton. N.N., which were received with overwhelming acclamations The ship having arrived at King's Road, fhe com pan) lauded at about seven o'clock, highly gratified.

Probable Duration oftJie Supply of Coal in Great Britain. — Although the present known coal fields of Gr eat Britain contain perhaps sufficient coal to supply her wants for 2,000 or 3,000 years to come, it is a very erroneous basis of calculation to assume that the whole is at our disposal. Under the present system, in the finest description of coal of the northern . field, there is a loss, even in its extraction of 36 per cent. The views of theoretical geologists without allowing for waste, would lead to the most incorrect practical conclusions ; while Conybeare, Lardner, and others, would make our coal resources sufficient for 1,500 or 2000 years. Professor Sedgwick and Dr. Buckland, allowing for loss in working, calculated from practical experience, are convinced that 400 years will leave little more than the name of our best seams. Of 45 feet of coal in a section of all the coal straits, in one of the best pits of the Tyne, not 30 feet are woikable. In the north, coal cannot be extracted at a profit, if less than two feet 8 inches. In the western part of Wall's End the Bensham seam is considered unworkable at two feet ten inches, though there are times when it is worked at twenty inches. The thinnest seams worked in Yorkshire are ] 3 inches, in North Lancashire 20 inches, in the Northumberland and Durham districts, 2 feet 6 inches, and in St. Lawrence 2 feet nine. Already the Tyne portion of the northern coal field begin to feel the difficulties of exhaustion in the finer description of coal ; and thtit of the Wear and Tees, (less worked than it), has the advantage, in commercial competition, of from nine to ten per cent. — Mining Journal,