THE “GREAT BRITAIN” Steam-Ship.

Auckland Times, Volume 3, Issue 131, 12 July 1845, Page 3

THE “GREAT BRITAIN” Steam-Ship.

From the Illustrated London News. At length this leviathan of steam navi Ration lias been released from her long rjaoumf nt, in Cumberland Basin, ji; i* s st o s* «' ufc c^ cr; o *r ,-a - - .acie in every stage, and merits minute detail and illustration, TheOmighty ves se! itself, our readers will remember, has already been described in Nos. 63, 64, arid 65, of our journal, with several engravings. The morning of Wednesday, the 11th about seven o’clock, being the highest

tide iu December, was appointed for the passage of the Great Britain through the loch of the Cumberland Basin, the last barrier to her free egress to the sea. To ailoiv this, the bridge which crossed the loch, and a portion of its masonry, had teen removed ; and ail Unrigs being thus prepared, at the above early hour, notwithstanding the severity <>f the frost, and the cutting of the bleak easterly wind, tens of thousands had assembled to witness the great labour. They were, however, doomed to disappointment; for the tide not having risen as high as was expected, on the hist moment of its being evident that there was not likely to be sufficient water, the great vessel was hauled back. No sooner had the water fallen than large gangs of masons were set to work, under the scientific and practised eye of Mr. Brunei, to open the ■pace for her passage on the evening's tide ; and every thing was done to tender he vessel’s draught of water as light as

5 in the morning so at ui^ht; Captabs Gaskin was obliged to make a dash at he loch, at the very last moment of tfu' tide’s rising, which it did to thirtytin ee ic-et, and no more, The following details of the mighty spectacle, and of the Dial tiip, 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 loch, and passed, as it were, through (he crowds of people assembled on the occasion. On either side of the loch blazed barrels of tar, with very short intervals between them, to the distance of more than two hundred yards, tiie illumination from which, on the giant ship, the water, and the faces of the multitude, is not to be described, She passed through at a rapid pace, touching nothing but the rail of one of the bridges, which was hooked by the anchor, and carried away like a thread. She was moored by the side of the wing wall outside the loch for the night, to be ready for her passage down in the morning. At about seven o’clock in the morning vehicles began to arrive from the country, and by eight o’clock every possible jdace where there was standing room, seemed, as on the night before, to be occupied by anxious gazers. At about ten minutes past eight, the Samson, steam-mg-, of 60 ho ise power, iu which was Captaiu Claxton, R. N., was seen to take her it) tow, and very soon after the word was given to turn ahead, Slowly and majestically she left tiie entrance, amidst the cheers of thousands, which were re echoed by those,on board. It was extra ordinary to see with what ease she appeared to gather way, and to steer (even before two steameis were attached, one on either side, to her quarters), although the flood-tide, which was a aiust her, bad not done running. After passing the Hotwell House, the learners alluded to added their powers to that of the Samson, and the crowds of people who accompanied her by the side oi the nver wets very soon brought to a

* un. She passed Hound Point with the reatest ease, and all the other points of the river, and reached King’s-road, a disrarice of nearly seven miles, In an hour and eight minutes, three-fourths of the way without any tide in her favour. Considering that she was towed by steamboats whose united power did not exceed one hundred and twenty horses, it is to be assumed that she is adapted for gliding through the water on the most approved principles. Haviug arrived at King’s-roud, preparations were made for putting her engines in motion. They were pronounced to be ready between eleven and twelve ; and the steam tugs, which up to that time had been holding her against the wind and tide, were ordered to let go, and the word, given to turn a head. It was not deemed prudent to put tiie engines at first to ths test of a severe trial, and for some time they were kept going at about seven revolutions, which were allowed gradually increase W p to 0:~ time of her arrival at the Holmes, when they had .eaehedi between eleven and twelve, the speed of the ship being in the proper proportion to the progress, of the screw, at this time, it having leached about eight knots. Long before she arrived at the Holmes she had left behind one of the steam tugs ; the other, well-known to be the fastest steampaddle boat out of the port, more than held her own np to this time. Near the Holmes this gallant ship was twice turned ronnd, and she came round in much less time, arid in a smaller circle, than, from her extreme length, and the strong breeze blowing against her, could have been anticipated. <s A snow storm threatening, it was deem°dprudent to put her headhomewards, with the view of arriving at her anchorage before dark. She returned at about the same speed until! she came near Blackmore, about fonr miles from King’s-road. Ihe fast Samson wss ai this time, about half-past four, aiougside of her. The engines were then allowed rather to exceed sixteen revolutions, which is equal to forty.nine of the screw; the speed of the ship suddenly increased to belter than fifteen knots, when she left her little competitor lapidiy behind. She came to an ancuor about five o’clock; and we understood, on board, from the genon their minds, as to her being able to ac* complish from twelve to fit een knots, without the aid of her cans, ass, none of which was bent on the trial. The slip, or loss of the screw, was eight per cent.; the loss, we were told, of paddle-wheels in sea-going steamers under similar circumstances, would havo been twenty per cent. The steam was cut off at a foot, and six of the fires were not lighted at ail, 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 screw made no noise whatever. In the fore-cabin nobody would have known that an engine was at worjc, and in the after part it was necessary to feel the pillars with the hand to ascertain whether there was really any vibration, “ It may be as well to state, as an answer to the objections that have been made to the navigation of our port, that a vessel of snch vast dimensions as the Great Bri* tain went down on a spring tide, and came up at dead low water ; having gone oa tha last of tire ebb, and came back on the first of the flood,

“ With all sur hearts we congratulate the directors and the company upon the result of this great undei taking. Like many others interested, we may have felt doubts upon many points ; bnf, it is now our conviction, that this ship' is-des?4r?d not only to work n great revolution in narai architecture, but, in conjunction, with our well tried Great Western , to remunerate the company for the riska they have incurred, and the anxiety they have gone through.”

At three o’clock on Thursday, a large party sat down iu the saloon oi the ship,; to an excellent collation, which heing despatched, several toasts were drank including the health of Mrs, Miles, who, had christened the Great Western and the Great Britain ; of the Directors, of Mr. Guppy, Captain Hoskin, and Mr. Smith (the patentee of the screw), and last, though not least., “ the health of Captain Claxton, R. N,,” was received with overwhelming cheers, Shortly after iiiA meeting broke up,