THE WRECK OF THE PARAMATTA. The following, furnished by one of the Paramatta's passengers, is extracted from a Jamaica paper : We left Southampton with a fair wind, and were soon running down the Channel at the rate of eleven knots an hour. Her great length, sharp bow, and straight cutwater, sent her through every opposing wave without a single spray to wash her deck, or a solitary motion to disturb her steadiness. As a ship she is one of the most perfect models I have ever witnessed, having all that could be conceived, not only for the supply of every luxury and convenience, but likewise for security in danger. Her cabins are large and well ventilated, having many conveniences wanting in the other ships of the company. The saloons are perfect drawingrooms; so cool that, notwithstanding the warmth at this season of the year, wind-sails were wholly unnecessary. The motion of the ship and the vibration of the engines were perfectly imperceptible, so that it was almost impossible by that means to ascertain whether the ship was in motion or not. At the early part of the voyage, when laden with 1,500 tons of coal, we were running 275 miles a day, which speed increased as we grew lighter (we were burning from 100 to 109 tons of coal per day) until we attained a speed of from 294 to 305 miles a day. The enormous difficulty with which the captain and officers had to contend in this their first voyage in the Paramatta was the ship's iron, which caused the compasses continually to change from their proper points, keeping the officers incessantly calculating and observing the local deviation, so as to properly navigate the ship. The attention and watchfulness of the captain and chief officer in the observation of the compasses daily was the constant remark of the passengers, who more than once declared that in all their voyages and experience, they had never witnessed greater precautions than those evinced. All proceeded most delightfully until Friday, the 24th, when our wheel came upon a sunken vessel, which, being below water, was unobserved by the watch. An iron girder was wrenched like a wire, and the huge boss was rent to the very axle. The Paramatta was instantly brought to a stand for repair, which occupied some seven hours in the lashing of chains to the axle, to preserve her from further accident by strengthening the shafts to which the floats were secured. On the evening of Thursday, the 30th, when anxiously looking for land, and expecting momentarily to sight Sombrero, the captain refused to leave the deck, even at the repeated solicitations of the passengers, replying at every request, "I never go down stairs when we're making land." Thus these officers continued taking sights and watching for land from three o'clock until ten, when suddenly the ship struck the ground and told us we were on shore, and for the first time we discovered we were out of our proper track. Great uneasiness prevailed as to our safety, seeing it was a matter of uncertainty whether the ship was making water or not; but she was afterwards discovered all right, and fear began to subside. Captain Baynton immediately despatched an open boat, in charge of Mr. Parry, the second officer, for St. Thomas, to bring up the steamers to our assistance without delay. It was not until four o'clock the next morning that Mr. Parry, after unwearied efforts to clear the reefs, managed to get into deep water, after having been on the rocks almost every half hour from the time he left; but, once clear, he set sail, reaching St. Thomas about ten o'clock on Friday night. At about eight o'clock the same evening the Wye, steamer, hove in sight, and answered our signals from the Paramatta.. SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHS. A public meeting, convened by the Mayor, has been held at Liverpool, to hear a statement from the chairman of the Atlantic Telegraph Company in reference to its present position and prospects. Mr. Wm. Brown occupied the chair, and Mr. Stuart Wortley, chairman of the company, explained its present position. As must be well known from previous published statements, the company has been invited by her Majesty's government to unite with them in a series of important experiments to determine, by actual test, the various questions upon which there is any difference of opinion relative to the insulation and composition of cables for deep water. The investigation of these matters will immediately commence, under the superintendence of Captain Galton, R.E., of the Board of Trade, advised by Mr. Robert Stephenson, M.P., and Professor Wheatstone, and assisted by the staff of the Atlantic Telegraph Company. The cable will be constructed and laid on the following terms, which in June, 1857, could not have been obtained at any cost:-Contractors of high respectability are ready to make and lay down and work the cable at their own risk. Separate books of account to be kept to ascertain accurately the cost of making and laying. These books to be audited by the company, and the contractors' profit on such making and laying to consist of a commission or per centage on the total cost, as finally shown and settled in the account. When the cable has been laid, and when messages have been sent and received through it in a satisfactory manner for thirty days, this profit is to be paid; but if the cable should fail in any respect the whole profit is to become forfeited, and not only is the whole profit to become forfeited, but a further forfeiture of large amount will be submitted to, as a penalty, in actual cash which latter sum would previously be held as security out of the cost until the accomplishment of the work. The contractors would also consent to take a portion of the absolute cost of the cable in preferential shares. A policy of insurance to be taken out to cover the sea risk of submerging the cable. The Submarine Company's cable from Weybourne to Heligoland and Denmark has been placed in telegraphic connection with Cromer, in Norfolk, and Westerhever, on the Danish coast, and signals have been interchanged. The speed secured has been excellent, and indeed the length of the line has not appeared to materially affect the actual working speed, which is equal to that attained on ordinary lengths of submerged or subterranean wire. The directors of the company, on the successful completion of the undertaking, forwarded the following message to the King of Denmark : "The directors of the Submarine Telegraph Company beg to offer their very humble but sincere congratulations to his Majesty the King of Denmark on the union by telegraph of his Majesty's dominions with Great Britain." To this his Majesty graciously returned the following answer:- "His Majesty the King has ordered me to express to the directors of the Submarine Telegraph Company his thanks for the communication about the fulfilment of the union by telegraph of Denmark and Great Britain, which undertaking will be of considerable importance for the interest of the two countries.-HALL." Communication has been constantly maintained with Heligoland, and by way of scientific experiment, that island has been placed in connection with Hanover, there being 340 miles of submarine cable and 9 miles of land line between Heligoland and Cromer, and 280 miles of cable and 11 of land wires between Cromer and Hanover. The cables and land wires placed in one circuit in relay made a total of 620 miles; and through this great length perfect signals were interchanged with very great rapidity. TESTIMONIAL TO THE CAPTAIN OF THE "SARAH SANDS."-A meeting has lately taken place at the offices of the Oriental Steam Packet Company, Southampton, for the purpose of presenting a testimonial to Captain Castle, the commander of the steam transport Sarah Sands, which it will doubtless be recollected took fire in November, 1857, in the midst of a gale of wind, several hundred miles from land, when, but for the exemplary conduct displayed by her commander, all on board would probably have perished. A subscription was set on foot by the Mercantile Marine Association, which resulted in the meeting of Tuesday, and the presentation of the following address :- Dear Sir,-The accompanying gold watch and purse containing £150, are presented for your acceptance. The amount has been raised by the admirers of your conduct on the occasion of the burning of the Sarah Sands, steam transport ship, at sea. The subscribers feel that it was, under Divine Providence, due to your cool and seamanlike conduct, aided by the courage and discipline of the troops on board, that the ship and the 450 souls in her at the time of the disaster were saved. It will be satisfactory to you to know that among the subscribers there has been only one feeling expressed, namely, admiration of your conduct, and regret that such a public service as yours has not yet met with a suitable reward from the government of the country. With hearty and sincere wishes for your future prosperity-We are, dear sir, on behalf of the subscribers, yours most faithfully, &c. To J. S. Castle, Esq., late Commander of the steam transport ship" Sarah Sands." See Nautical Magazine of last year for the narrative. CHARTS, &c., Published by the Hydrographic Office, Admiralty, in August, 1859, and Sold by the Agent, J. D. Potter, 31, Poultry, and 11, King Street, Tower Hill. France, West and N. W. coast, sheets Nos. 1 to 5, 9, and 10, Pilote Francais, (each, from 5s. to 2s. 6d.) France, West coast, Brest Roadstead, Pilote Francais, (5s.) Breton Island, Little Bras d'Or Lake, with St. Anne and Sydney Harbours, Captain Bayfield, R.N., 1857, (4s.) Egypt, Alexandria to Damietta, Comdr. Mansell, R.N., 1857, (4s.) Newfoundland Island, Trinity Bay, Bull Arm, Capt. Otter, R.N., 1858, (3s.) West coast North America, San Juan and Fuca Strait, Haro and Rosario Straits, Capt. Richards, R.N., 1859, (5s.) Australia, East coast, Moreton Bay and views, corrected by Capt. Denha:n, R.N., 1859, (2s.) New Zealand, Cook Strait, Harbours and Anchorages, Capts. Stokes and Drury, R.N., 1853, 2 sheets, (each, 4s.) Pacific Ocean, Fiji or Viti Group, Captain Denham, R.N., and Comdre. Wilkes, U.S.N., 1840-57, (5s.) Sailing Directions, &c. Scotland, N. W. coast. Little Minch, Capt. Otter, R.N., 1859, (3d.) China Pilot, Appendix No. 2, edited by G. Marsh, Esq., R.N., 1859, (2s. 6d.) New Zealand Pilot, 2nd edition, F. J. Evans, Esq., R.N., 1859, (5s.) Rules for Finding the Distances and Heights at Sea, by the late Lieut. H. Raper, R.N., 4th edition, 1859, (3d.) Belgian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian Prussian, Russian, &c., Lights, corrected by Comdr. Dunsterville, R.N., to August, 1859, (1s.) Admiralty, August 20th, 1859. THE NAUTICAL MAGAZINE AND Naval Chronicle. OCTOBER, 1859. A FEW MORE WORDS ON LUNARS.-By Captain Henry Toynbee, F.R.A.S., Commander of the E.I.S." Gloriana." In sending another paper on lunars to the Nautical Magazine, my object is not to bolster up a tottering subject, which the advancement of science causes to be no more requisite, but to maintain the fact that lunars are the only method for finding the longitude, available at sea, independent of delicate machinery so liable to suffer from a stroke of the sea, changes of climate, or the effect of iron, as is the chronometer. It may be considered that lunars are to chronometers what the mercurial barometer is to the aneroid or sympiesometer, i.e., a natural standard with which they ought to be constantly compared; to prove which let us consider the following facts. The last paragraph in my paper on the Westerly Route across the Line, in the Nautical Magazine for April, 1859, shows that chronometers do sometimes go very badly. I have just heard of another ship having run on the South coast of Africa, thinking she was to the westward of the Cape land,-how often has this happened! Again, the following quotation from a letter by Captain Shaw of the Clive, speaks to the point: Clive, Madras, July 8th, 1859--While writing, I cannot refrain from expressing to you the comfort and pleasure I have experienced from that valuable piece of navigation that I learnt from you,-the method of rating chronometers by lunars. I have always followed it up since leaving you, and with the greatest success; I have two in NO. 10.-VOL. XXVIII. 3 т different chronometers, but am glad to say that during my command of the Clive we have always made the land with the greatest accuracy. This passage out was a more striking example than any other; for although I consider myself a very indifferent observer, there being such a wide difference in the results of my observations East and West of, and several times on the passage out when the sun was in distance I had not an opportunity of getting any sights, still we found the chronometers were altering their rates most considerably; one by the time we had rounded the Cape having changed from losing 3-3s. daily to losing 7·8s., and the other from gaining 3.5s. daily to gaining 10s.; having checked them every opportunity when lunars could be obtained, we stood in to make the Sadras Hills, and spoke a ship from Madras the same morning. You may imagine how pleased I was to find that when he showed me his longitude we agreed to a mile. And an hour afterwards we sighted the Sadras Hills. The last land we had seen was the Lizard Point, on February 19th. How any man can doubt this method I cannot conceive, for I always use my lunar rates with the greatest confidence." I received a similar letter from Captain Quihampton of the Tudor, and the results of his observations were published in the Notices of the Astronomical Society for January 12th, 1855.* In remarking on my paper the Editor says: "It is to be feared that, partly from the practical difficulty attending lunar observations, and partly from the extended use of chronometers in navigation, this excellent and independent method of finding the longitude is going out of use. Yet in long voyages it must always be dangerous to rely solely on chronometers, unless they are numerous and have been rated with reference to the temperature, which is not the practice of private raters. Even then there are so many causes which may operate to change the rates of chronometers at sea, that a conscientious officer ought never to risk his ship and the lives of his crew upon the going of his chronometers, without the additional check and security which he derives from lunars." Another friend writes,-"I am glad to get any wrinkle on lunars, for I place the greatest confidence in them." Now why should these men so add to the safety of their ships and the lives of those on board, when others are allowed to take three or four hundred sculs under their charge (a few months ago I had seven hundred in my ship) without understanding this check on chronometers. Who has not read of the ship full of emigrants which ran stem on to the island of St. Paul when they were so sure of having passed it that the officer in charge of the deck, though he saw the land, took it for a black cloud rising ahead. Now, had the commander of that ship been a lunarian and understood the method of meaning lunars East and West of moon, he could hardly have done this. Previous communications on this subject will be found in the Monthly Notices, Vol. ix., No. 7, and Vol. xiv., pp. 19 and 243. |