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Leader (1850-1860), 17th September 1859, Edition 1 of 3, Page 1048, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      POLITICAL , FOKESHADOWINGS . On Thursday nearly a thousand of the West Kent Conservatives dined together at Mote Park , Maidstone . Among the guests-were L-ord Holmesdale and Sir E . ITilmer , the members of the division of the county , thefiarl of Romney , theEarl pf Darnley , Lord Kingsdown , Sir N . Knatchbull , Sir T , M . Wilson , Sir Brook Bridges , M . P ., Sir J . H . Maxwell , Mr . G . Hardy , M . P ., Colonel Fletcher , and Admiral Marsham . The Earl Stanhope presided , and in the course of the evening made a very long speech , in which he alluded to the fall of Lord Derby ' s

      Government , and said Lord Palmerston ' s Government followed it , and it would ill become those who hold the name of Conservative to offer a predetermined and undiscriminating opposition either to his Government or to any other which might be formed in this country . The policy of Conservatives should be to support good measures from whomsoever they might come , and to reserve their opposition for such measures as they might deem injurious to the public interest . Is ay , it could scarcely be denied that if LordTalmerstori should turn out to be able to carry safe and moderate measures , it would be owing solely which

      to the generous forbearance of that very party he had done his utmost to expel from power . Ihe Conservative party had done more to deserve eredjt for liberality than the so-called Liberals . He denied that there was any jealousy of new peers in the House of Lords—additions were received cordially when accompanied by merit . A predetermined and indiseriminating opposition was not the attitude which ought to be assumed by Conservatives . If dangerous measures were introduced they ought to put forth their strength to oppose them , but if the measure were satisfactory Conservative feeling would best be shown in welcoming Conservative

      measures from whatever quarter they might come . The Conservative principle did not pledge its supporters to all the details of measures , but merely to the general policy of maintaining the ancient institutions of the country . In every measure brought before them , true Conservative policy would prompt them to consider only whether it were calculated to maintain those institutions . It did not exclude measures of repair ,- —the very reverse . In material matters repairs , arid large repairs too , were often found to be necessary for preservation . Changes might be made in political matters—nay , considerable changes—provided they were made on the principle of supporting and strengthening the institutions which our forefathers transmitted to us . There

      was a , great difference between those improvements which tended to give new vigour to the fabric , and those changes which the revolutionists of the day recommended , seeking to subvert the fabric altogether . The chief maxim in public affairs should be the safety of our public institutions ; and in adhering to that maxim the danger of yields ing to revolutionary schemes , and the danger of leaving unreformed old and proved abuses would be equally avoided . Of most of the attacks made on the institutions of the country it might be said that they were equally fallacious and disingenuous . For

      instance , no argument was more frequently used against the House of Lords than the apparent absurdity of legislative functions being hereditary , and capable of transmission from father to son , but those who used this argument either suppressed or forgot the fact that it applied with equal force to an hereditary monarchy . Such an argument was not justifiable , except in the mouths of those who were prepared to dispense altogether with the form of government under which this country had so greatly flourished . ( Cheers . ) In foreign countries this same constitution of ours , which uninformed or designing men decried , was the object of admiration and of

      envy . At the dinner of the Stoko Agricultural Association , the Earl of SiutKWsnuttY observed that we ought to have an efficient standing navy . He was almost afraid , such was the pressure on Parliament , that they might be driven to an extreme , and build a number of vessels , which in the course of a few years would be out of date . But there could bo no doubt that this comitry must keep her navy at the head of all > the navies in ' the world . Wo must hold our

      ovn by every possible means . Wo must wen we , igh what we are about to do , and make such improvements as , would render us secure , whatever difficulties might arise . To have a sufficient fleet to protect the whole of our shores was impossible . What we required was the protection of our arsenals Toy . a good Channel fleet . In the course of some flirthw yewnrke his lordship said that the aristocracy vrwevnot . separated from , but formed a part of the people t « m < f Qad forbid that he should ever live to nee ths day when they would be separated from the general interests of the country . The House of

      Lords must in the long run represent the calm and well-considered opinion of the public , but would not be forced by a temporary pressure into the adoption of measures contrary to their own judgment ^ That House was a safeguard against hasty legislation , and was esteemed and loved by the country . —Lord Sandon , who was also present , remarked that it was said by some , " The country is now in such a sickly condition that we must look well to its constitution and alter many of those national forms under which * --we have grown and flourished . " On looking at the towns he saw unmistakable signs of which

      prosperity . On looking at the strikes , were so deeply injuring some parts of the kingdom—the great struggle between labour and capital—he saw the men behaving with great moderation and in a manner worthy of imitation by those who occupied a much higher position . On looking at our commerce he saw hundreds and thousands of our vessels floating on every water and bearing the British ensign , and he found the number annually increasing . When such was the state of England , he would ask , could it be true that the whole constitution of the country was rotten ? Were these the signs of a falling State ?

      At a meeting at Banbury on Tuesday , Colonel North , M . P ., took the trouble to refute some of Mr . Bright ' s exaggerations , at Huddersfield , and to take up the cudgels for the sergeants of the army . With regard to the term " unmitigated scoundrels , " he ( Colonel North ) could only tell Mr . Bright that if he referred to the non-commissioned officers of the army they were no more unmitigated scoundrels than he ( Mr . Bright ) was an unmitigated scoundrel himself . ( Laughter and cheers . ) Their respectability as a class , their devotion to their sovereign , and their gallantry upon all occasions , had secured

      for them the respect and esteem of the whole country . ( Cheers . ) No regiment could exist without its non-commissioned officers , and instead of being ** unmitigated scoundrels " they formed one of the most efficient branches of the service . With regard to the punishment of flogging , he had no hesitation in saying that it was a degrading punishment , but it was intended to be a degrading one . No doubt it was a severe punishment , and he himself had seen both officers and men faint while it was being inflicted ; and if Mr . Bright or any other man would provide an effectual substitute he had no doubt the whole army would gladly

      receive it . At the South Shropshire election Sir Baldwin Leighton , M . P ., said for his part he thought that agricultural districts should return agricultural members , and that manufacturing towns should return those who more especially represented those interests . He thought , for instance , that he would but imperfectly represent Birmingham , and he also thought that a Birmingham man would inadequately represent Shropshire . An advertisement had appeared in the newspapers inquiring if he would supthe advo

      port the the ballot . It struck him that - cates of the ballot ought to go further , and see if members of Parliament ought not to vote in the House of Commons by ballot . The " screw , " as it was called , might sometimes be put on electors , but did ' not constituencies sometimes insist upon their representatives voting in a certain way , very much against their consciences ? If the ballot were established in the House of Commons , it might happen that many who now openly voted in such a way as enabled them to keep their places , might vote in a very different manner .

      It is stated that the Conservatives of Liverpool purpose entertaining Lord Derby at a public banquet , which has been arranged to take place in the Philharmonic-hall , in that town , on the 29 th October next .

      Untitled Article

      THE TRI A L TRIP OF THE GREAT EASTERN . The first adventure of the Leviathan upon the great waters , begun under such favourable auspices , and with every prospect of a successful result / has falsified the predictions of its well-wishers , and resulted in a fearful tragedy . At six o ' clock on the afternoon of Friday , when the monster ship was off Hastings , at about seven miles distance from the shore , an explosion took place on board , causing the ultimate death of flve men , and seriously wounding

      more than twenty . others ; besides doing upwards of jC 5 ^ 000 damage to the noblo . ship , herself . The cause of the accident is thus explained ; - — "In order fully to understand as far as it is yet known the cause of the accident , it will be necessary to say a fow words on the peculiar construction of the two forward funnels for the paddle boilers . In the first plans for the vessel it was determined , in order to economize the heat given off by the funnels , and to keep the saloons through which they passed cool , to fit t ) iem all with what is termed " a feed-pipe casing , " rising from the boilers to about eight "feet above the upper deok . This feed-pipe casing la

      simply a double or outer funnel for the length we have stated , the inner one , as usual carrying off the smoke and flame , and the space between it and the outer casing being filled with water . The water is pumped in at the top of the casing while cold , and gradually passing down into the space round the furnaces , becomes greatly heated , when it is discharged into the boilers by means of an ordinary stop-cock . A plan by which so much coolness is supposed to be gained in the berths and saloons , and so much fuel saved by the ample supply of hot water to the boilers , promises such obvious

      advantages that for the last ten years attempts of every kind have been made to carry out the principle successfully on board most of the seagoing steamers . In no one instance has the plan ever yet succeeded . In but too many cases the funnels have done what the funnel of the great ship did on such a colossal scale last Friday . When such an accident has not occurred the pressure of the column of water upon the base of the funnel near the furnaces has been so great as to cause them , when strained in bad Aveather or worn by iong use , to leak into the fires and extinguish them more or less rapidly . "

      On board the Great Eastern were assembled some of the most graphic contributors to the periodical literature of the day , and from the letters of the various special correspondents of our daily contemporaries we have extracted the following particulars . With regard to the " water jackets , " which are the undoubted cause of the disaster , Mr . Russell states positively that this arrangement was forced upon him by Mr . Brunei ; that he protested against it , and that it was only in obedience to the stringent conditions of his contract that he adopted it . The safety valve of this steam generator was a tap which was to be turned by hand , and the opinion of every one who looked at the broken funnel was that it had

      never been turned since it was first placed in its present position . It seems that—in this case , at all events—the turning had been neglected , and that in consequence the water within had rapidly become steam , and , finding no vent , had burst upwards in the terrible explosion which sent a long funnel weighing eight tons some fifty feet into the air . Another statement was > that the person whose duty it was to keep this "jacket" filled had forgotten it until it was almost empty , and then in his fright suddenly -filling the red-hot iron vessel with cold water caused it to burst and fly in pieces . Captain

      Harrison had been standing on the bridge overhead , looking into the binnacle , and the moment he heard the report , and whilst the destructive shower was still falling fast , he jumped upon the deck and ordered an immediate descent to the ladies' saloon . A foolish passenger had raised a cry of" the boats , " and , assisted by some of the sailors , was madly attempting to let them down ; In one moment all would have been lost , but the voice of the captain was heard like a trumpet , calling out , " Men to your duty , officers to your posts , give me a rope , and let ; six men follow me . " The effect of this short address

      was electric . In an instant he had slid down the rope into the saloon , followed by his brave boatswain Hawkins , and six volunteers were not long wanted for the forlorn hope . One after another he dashed open the gilded panels , but the splendid apartments had , strange to say , only two inhabitants , his own little daughter Edith , and her pet dog . It was the reward of his gallantry , that his own child should be thus the one to be so providentially saved . But even then he did not for a moment lose his seitcommand . Snatching up the child , and witn

      one glance seeing she was unharmed , ne exclaimed , " Pass her along to the deck , there are more rooms to be searched . " In this way did no move nbout rapidly , but coolly , and did not again return to the deck until he had satisfied himself that not a single woman was in the burning steaming , suffocating chamber . His intimate friend , Mr . 1 rotman , who had followed him down almost immediately , found the poor lap-dog moaning under a heap of ruins and was the means of restoring icro its little mistress . To return to the deck and resume woricoi

      the command was with the captain the u moment , but that moment had been suflleicnc iu test the mettle and self-possession of two men wno were as brave and reliable as himself , Mr . At »« naon , the pilot ( says an eye-witness ) , stood at ms post on the bridge and continued to direct the movo raents of the ship as calmly as if ho were oi ' O ' ™" ing her into a harbour . Some frightened tool shouted , " Atkinson , come down and save y ° ™ ° "' but the veteran replied , "I ' m no engineer , xm Dilot . I ' ve charae of the ship , and I'll stick to her . AtKins

      Mr . Sewell , who held the wheel under Mr . " « directions , was equally self-possessed . 'lo these w » men , * next to Captain Harrison , I bolxevo wo arc mainly indebted for the ship . The e £ eot » of ij ? catastrophe soon became lamentably ftPP * ront * ; if by one , borne on the shoulders or in the arms 01 their comrades , or , in one or two cases , stnggoung past , came by the unfortunate men who had ueen scalded in the stokehole . During the night , tv ^

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      Untitled Article

      1048 THE LEADER , Pfe . 495 . Sept . 17 , 185 9-

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 17, 1859, page 1048, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2312/page/4/