THE CITY OF PARIS. THE LARGEST AND FINEST STEAMER IN THE WORLD. SEA – SICKNESS ALMOST AN IMPOSSIBILITY. THE RECORD BEATEN.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 384, 13 July 1889, Page 6

THE CITY OF PARIS. THE LARGEST AND FINEST STEAMER IN THE WORLD. SEA - SICKNESS ALMOST AN IMPOSSIBILITY.

THE RECORD BEATEN.

Liverpool, May 23. J When I arrived in New York I was successful in obtaining a passage in this splendid steamer — without challenge the finest in the world. We, in New Zealand, are so interested in lessening the distance between it and the Mother Country, and of having the best accommodation, tint a brief dcs- , cription of this remarkable steamer and her ' performances cannot fail to interest your readers. The owners of the City a&seit that in this steamer ana her twin sister — the City of New York — they have secured a revolution in marine architecture, and they have certainly spared neither expense nor trouble to make these magnificent passenger steamships of perfect lines and most j noble proportions as safe as human foresight can secure, and as comfortable as human ingenuity can devise. The problem ! so nearly solved has been the production of an unsinkable ship that can make the switte3t voyage and do it with the greatest possible safety and comfort for the passengers. Each steamer is a leviathan of 10,500 tonnage, with a length of 560 feet, a beam of 63£ feet, and a depth of 59 feet, with IS,OOO horse power. The hull has a complete double bottom, so that no dangerous result can come from grounding, the inside hull being still a full protection, whilst the space between is available for water ballast to deepon or lighten draught when necessaiy. Further ensuring safety, the principle of water-tight com part men ts is more effecfchely developed than in any other passenger steamer. There are 15 water-tight compartment 1 ?, separated by solid transverse bulk- heads rising from the keel to the saloon deck, 18 feet above the water-line, and ha\ ing do doors nor openings whatever, so that they are fixtures, and are as complete protection against water pressure as the outer shell of the vessel. The only possible way to pa^s from one compartment to the next is by ascending to the saloon deck and crossing over thedividingbulkhead. The bulkheads have no doors to be unaccountably left open, and unworkable in time of panic and danger. Should a collision occur by which one, two, or even three of these compartments are filled with water, it is said that the buoyancy of the ship would not be niateiially affected, and that 100 ft of the bottom or sides might be torn away, and she would biilljiont. > These solid bulkheads are also a sure preventive of the spread of fire, which they confine to. its place of origin. Two distinct sets of triple expansion engines furnish the enormous power necessary to drive the ship, each set alone being capable oi propelling the vessel at a very considerable speed when the other is idle. This power is transmitted by twin screws. It is said that this is the first adaptation oi double screws upon a passenger vessel in the Atlantic service, and while large steamers do not often have their engines incapacitated, yet the possible delay and inconvenience of a breakdown are completely met by the expedient of twin screw engines, for if one set is disabled, or has to be stopped to make adjustments, the other can still be working without much sacrifice of speed. So thoroughly is> everj thing duplicated, and even triplicated in many instances, that it would be next to impossible completely to disable the motive power. There are four complete decks ; the highest of thess extends from end to end of the vessel. Standing well aft, a man at the bows appears quite an insignificant object, and in walking -43 ve times round the vessel you accomplish a promenade of one mile. ,The cabins on this deck are mo=t luxurious, and are fitted up with all the comforts of a first-class hotel ; bedroom, sitting-room, lavatory and private bath, in fact a miniature house : but the highest resources of the architect, artist, and upholsterer seeni to have culminated in the grand saloon. It covers nearly the entire width of the vessel, designed to give the traveller the idea that he is in the dining hall of a large hotel or stately mansion. The height necessary for this is obtained by raising the top of the saloon above the promenade deck, so that it forms a fine surmounting dome of stained glass elevated twenty feet, having a most imposing effect, which is increasedat night by the brilliant illumination of the electric lights beyond it. This magnificent saloon will comfortably seat nearly 300 passengers at one time. The spacious library and drawing-room are in keeping with the grand saloon, and afford most luxurious retreats to the voyager ; and the smoking room is a spacious hall, with seating accommodation and small tables for nearly 100 persons. Every cabin is provided with electric light, arranged so as to be turned off at will by the occupants, and the electric circuits are run perpetually day and night. The passenger accommodation pro\ide3 for 4-30 first, 200 second, and 350 steerage ; and a crew of 350 people is carried to navigate the vessel and attend to their wants. Well, I considered myself highly fortunate in having secured a passage tor myeelf and family by this grand vessel, moie particularly as her voyage from Liverpool to New York just completed, she had eclipsed all previous records, having performed the voyage in 5 day 3 23 hours ; her record for the sth, 6th, and 7th of Way showing a gross total of 1,520. Of course, a large and influential crowd assembled to see the Queen of the Ocean off, and it took fully half-an-hour to get the decks cleared of visitor?. The tables of the vast saloon literally groaned under the wealth of floral decorations, largely roses, sent by friends to speed their departing friends with good wishes. We steamed leisurely down the Hudson, receiving salutations on all sides, from the tiniest sfceain launch to the stately ocean liner. Sandy Hook, at the end of the harbour, was reached at 7.30 p.m., and then it was " full speed ahead." We could easily discern an accelerated speed fiom that in the tortuous passage down the Hudson, bub nothing remarkable to the ordinary observer, for on looking over the side, the big ship glided majestically and evenly through the water, without any apparent pressure being pub upon her; so' 'much so, that I heard several people -making -the remark, " Surely, we canno"b be going at full speed, for there is not the, invariable swish-swash of waves under the counter, and no extra vibration." In fact, if we had nob been told to the contrary we should have guessed the 3peed at 12 knots.instead of 20, which she was then doing". Unfortunately, a dense fog arose three hours after our departure, and the fog horn and steam whistle sent forth their ligubrious sounds the whole live-long night, at intervals of 30 to CO seconds, and we were compelled to slow down till 8 a.m. the following morning, when the fog lifted and we were enabled to put on full steam again. At 12 o'clock the recording slate showed that we had run 300 miles, during the 16 hours since leaving Sandy Hook, or at the rate of 19 knots per hour. Considering that we had to slow down throughout the night on ac-

count of the fog, this must be considered splendid work, and expectation ram high that we were about to beat the record homo, as she had on the previous voyage beaten the recoid out. On the two following days, 17th and 18fch, without tho.aid of any favouring breezes, the" runs .were respectively 450 and 463j but on the following clay, the 19bh, a head wind sprang up which must have stimulated the fires, for the record ran up to 471. On the 20th we had a strong breeze from IN'.E. to N.W., and to tho astonishment of all the passengers, our lecoid ior 23 hours was equally good, the distance run being 470 miles. \Ve had now only 264 miles between us and Queenstown. l<ull pressure was put on, and we had the satisfaction of sighting land before dark. At 9.15 we were abreast of i'astneb Light, and at 12.42 a.m. wo arrived at Queenstown, having steamed at the rate of 22 to 23 miles for the past three hours. The passage from Sandy Hook to Queenstown ivas completed in 6 day 3 0 hours 29 minutes, breaking the record East by 2 houis 29 minutes. Tho night before our arrival ai Queenstown, a concert was given by the saloon passengers, at which between 200 and 300 were comfortably seated. Programmes were printed on board, and the name ot the writer appeared more than once. The entertainment was a pronounced success, and ab its close a collection in aid of the Liverpool Sailors' Home realised over £45. Having landed the Queenstown passengers -and mails, the City proceeded to Liverpool. We overhauled and passed the Alaska, which sailed from New York 26 hours before us, and early in the afternoon of the 22nd were landed safely at Liverpolo. — Correspondent "Auckland Star,' July 9.