The New York Herald Newspaper, December 19, 1863, Page 2

2 Dattery for beating down James Watt had been spiked, and thon there was urgent weed to find & Lew oug, Whose ¢ ms mi dt be 6O ConCosied by learned jargon that'no cue could uomask and capture thom, And to effect this conceal ment he dragged ito bie help what you have beard so much uoout, under th ule’s © juiv@ient,”” ud by which he pro up James Wait und Mariotie, instead of by thy Old trick Of the impertect combustion of coal i which I explode! He has, besides these ga’ other weapons not yet brought ito use, Which, When this battery is spiked, he wiil probabiy produce Now | will explain this simple matter to you, as it is ust Dow much talked of in the world, aud ‘but litte understood. it bad pposed, long ago, by pro fovno toiokers, that there was somewhere id the unt vers . standard by which ail the caus: 8 seen iu physical phenomous might be bro! sve Common Unit, just as all the talngs we buy and use are brougat to the staudird of a pound weight or & pint measure, Dr. Mayer aud Rumiord investigated the question with great elect, and they ertained very Ciosely the true ratio wilch exists betwecg motion an boriou. cary t: but twas leit for Mr. Joul experimenter, to ix with precision the a careful ard aod (9 give Mis name to the fact thus ascertained, the phrase, “Jowe's eyuivalent,” now signifies that Mr. Joule discovered that the mechanical power required to Hit seven huedred and sevonty two pounds @ Loot bigh was the equivalent of the neat required to raise the tem perature of one pound of water cue degree of Fahrenhets; and that is @ll it means, ‘This beauti(u! discovery is the first step tn the great pathway of light by which mau created in the iimige of bis maker, will some day dis- cover the now hidden liv ke bind us together, and Will be able to show scieutilleally, as with poetical inspi- Fation the poet bath voit us: — Ap are but parts of one stupendous whole, ose bo ly naire 1s, and God the soul; Tia’ changed through ali, amd yer iu ail the same, Great in the earch, as tu the ettiereal fram Waris in the sun, relreshes in the breeze, Glows iu the stars, and bl.ssoms in the trees; Lives un extends Wrourh all extent, . Operates unspent; ul, iniorms our mortal part, ir as heart; tin vile ian that mourns, ‘h that adores and burns, . WO OW. NO reat, no xmall— Le bils, He bounds, coun id equais all," From this discovery of Joule many erroneous conclu sions have beeu diawu, among which is the assumption thar because beat wud power ure found to be equivalent to cack ouber ina certain ratio, therefore that one is con- verted or Uransmuied into the other, ‘This is not true any more than It is true that when @ roll of greenbacks dis appears out of your pocket und a barrel of four appears in your kitcheu, the qreenbacké are trangmuted into four. They are the equivaent of flour and you can buy Hour with them, but you cau't “transmute”” them tuto dour. isberwood, however, considered that as this subject was # Utbie “coutised wad mised up,’ like bis book, be MIL USE It As 4 Cloak W Cover his new juggle; aud so ne asserted that, ia consequence of Joule’ equivalent, the steam mau eigive Was coudensed inty water and Aud (hat Liere.ore there was uo veuetit In expa his Urst book there was uo room ior this thedry, for already be had I the benefit ot expansion by other devi © imagination, and although | he kuew of Joulo when be wroie that book be did not as- | sign to him apy of his Le for if be had ue would haye more Lan used up ati the Denelits and lett poor Watt in the miuorily entirely, But whew 1 spoiled bis tirst work he produced Joule to fill up the ravks, just as a fresh regitneat is Urought forward, aiter @ crushing discharge of uruillery, to curry on the tight And here opeus a chapter 0, barefaced fraud which has bo precedent im the Listory of the world in this depart- meut ol swindling. in this book it appears that this tel low, by deliberate false entries, made with an entire knowledge of their intention and ellect, simply “forced the balauces,” and wiltully published ‘the fraud to the world—pubished it under the sauction of the great peo- ple of (he United States of America, and under this im- postig titlo:— Eaperimental Researches in Steam Engineeering, by Chief Engineer BF. innerwood, United states Navye Chiel of the Bureru of Steam i.nugineeriug, Navy Department, Ac. The whole bei: rigina Inatter composed Of extensive ex Perimenuts mace by the Untied States Navy Department. Jn this book be attempts to retrieve his failing cause ee ssseseseseouuwss ne ane NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1863—TRiPLE SHEET. F {alsoly, which Re, of course, embraced, and I road the questi a — Q. 1nd on ine four that you strike ont from the com expansion column only five per cout vt stam for the power Produced, whereas on tbe ex, ansiow Colum you sur © out Sinteeo p'rcen. Do you mean to teil this jury chad 1k 8 & Inw which Mr. Joule, or avmedody emme, forvd out, that she more you expanded st am the Inger POF Comlage of tne seam Was con iensed ino water” ‘Ans. On tue theoretical law of Marriotte, assuming it to be true. wh table does, the ore expansive! you Use sicam tio larger Will be the por centage of ity Condens lion to produce tae power When I had thus gratided bim, I turned to his Book (page 128) and tus read:— gards the condensation of steam by the transmuta nto the power develupeg by the engine, s the juantity this condense direct proportion of the pow rly proportioned to the LoLal weigat oO! evapo ated, waether the steam be used with oF toithous ex: | Pcaion, this no duglerence of poactical consegunnce can result in the tio cases, Whon this was read to him I watched bis countenance closely, and, so far as T could pe ceive, he never biush | or taitered, | In alimy experience in courts of justice, where | have often betore seen men thus convicted, ] never saw one belore 80 utterly inseusibic, He stood a if cast in movumental brass by my (riead Mills, aud as if, ike bie suulue of Jackson, he was self-poised by the eternal principles of truth and justice But this was ouly the beginning, apd I lost all further interest in him, satisfied that conscience in bim was dead beyond the power of man to awaken it, and passed | on to the other necessary exposures of his frauds, You see, gentiomen, that the immense gain by expan- sion cam eadure an enormous amount of this sort of lo8s before it compares with non-expansive steam, and that Isherwood yet bad heavy work before him to make his tabie agree with bis introduction to it; but be fouod no trouble in doing it, He knew that “paper would pot refuse ink.” Accordingly, on line ten of the table bo makes another grab at expansion, by which he reduces it three times ag much as be reduces non-expansion, under this title:— Additional fuel required to re-evaporate the water due to the condeusation of the steam in the cylinder, to furnish the heat transmitted into the power of the emgine, in per centum of the weight of steam entering the cylinder to produce the pressure. Now, in plain English, this moans that one-sixth of the steam made by the immense boilers ang furnaces of an engiue is (irst condensed in the cylinder {nto water, and then that thocylinder aud water are together hot euough to re-evaporate it into steam, which is, of course, sheer hon+ sense. But Isherwood, when pressed by some questions addressed him by bis Honor from the bench, in order to give this assertion an alr of practigal reality swore that un- less this water Were re evaporated, nosstesim engine could run a bundred strokes, for it would be overiiowed by water. On cross-exam{vation I had this repeated thus:— Q. And you asserted yesterday, did you not, that if this water wus not re-evaporated, a steam engine could not work one hundred strokes without being stopped oy water! A. Yes, air, When this was all settled, again I opened his book again ho stood before you convicted; but without a quiv- er. I read from p. 126. Further, {t is nearly certain that the water of conc As tion of plain th due to this cause i not I upon the c Suiface, but remains nid ‘the steain like water bladders. or as d in the aur. For the condensation m mut the enti re the steain, as ppen by sending a chill bit, If the water of condensition due to this cause shouid not reach the cylinder suriace, a é ts nearly certain it Joes not, it can bave no etfect in producing any further loss by reevaporation from those surfaces. Consequently , in compu tng the duferent comdensations when using tear vith and without expansion, of with diferent measures of expansion the comparison should properly be confined to the quant! ties that remain aster omission of what ts due to the proiluction 0/ the poveer. When this was presented to him, Isherwood took it with his ugual composure—just aa if it were one of those misfortunes of life from which no man is exempt—and contented himself with the explanation that one of these statements was practical and the other theoretical, as if true theory were anything but a generalization from the facts of the world, But after all these forced balaunces—and another which I will not take timo to review—yet the benefits of ox- pansion were forty-five per cent greater than non-expan- sion; and-another trick had to be resorted to to conceal by aasorting more boldly than ever Lhat there is no prac- tical bevelit ip expausiva. I read bis own statement of ibs object (p. 15):— A large portion of the volume ts devoted to experiments Made Wo ascertain by peactica: results the relative econuiy Witb diitevent measures Of eapansion, opposed to the popular belief krent eco- fomic gain to ve obtained {roi the use of steam with high neasures Of expausiud, according to the byputhetieal law of Mariotwe, which Aus wen sv long un indisputed article int creed iy, engu:cecing, tant @ reforiner exposes. himself to the usual fateyiven by Whe worshipper of an (lolon sormto those Who atteu)pt its overthrow. Nevertheless when the subject 4s properly @xautuod, subject Lo even tue erroneous assump: tion OF the law, consicercd on the eapression of a physical fruch, ft wilt be secu that the fallacy ot this expectation can be demonstrated vy & pln appication to the case oi a #tewin engine. Suck wn appucation wade by simple uy ithres fie anid (ck to the meanest oa pacity Wil be feund ip the fol- lowing ubie, in which are given the data and caiculated resu (s,.showing the relative Sateen economy in support Of fuei'S. using sieain of forty po F square inch owl maximui pressure in & condens: ue with diferent Messurcs vu. expansion umier nore! conditions:— Was there ever avything more mir than tbat? Who would expect to bave 4 iorgery passed off on bim under Such an iutroduction? Yet that is just what is done. Before comiug to his table, however, be yet devotes some paces to sul urtber allayiog suspicion, and finally thus Staves bis resuite:— 1t 1s iateresting, however, to know, that with the pressure Actumily empiyed in the heat practice with condensing en- gives, wad with the ©: wah oh proportioned in size to 4s Work, (he cummercial theeretical Yaiue in fuel of using Use Beat & tis most acvantagevu fourth of ihe stroke of the piston from its commencement) is vuly seventeen and three-quarter per centum more than Wheu cutting 1t off at t wo-thirus of the stroxe ef the piston irom tye commencewent, Tuat 18 to say, using the steam ‘Witu ao expansion of tour times, ls, (heoreticuliy, only wey ten per ‘centum more’ econom! ‘pansion of one and a haf tii ¥, (uere Wisi be made from this seventeen a Uhree-quatier per ceat the very serious reduction due to the Well knows und ovnsiderably greater condensation in the cylinder, additionol to that included im the table, when Using ‘he wean with the higher measure of expansion, leaving it doubtful woether gain or loss willbe p,rroticully rosie” by cutting oll shorter than sbout two-thirds of the siroke of tue piston from the columencement, and making at certain that the difference upon eituer side will be practi- enily dusigniicmul ‘This is 4 piuin declaration that no gain of importance can be ,ot {rom expausion by cuttiug olf at less thaa two thirds Of the stroke of the piston; und that the (rue theory, a8 BLown by the Accompanying tavie, will prove the position, ‘hed follows the table, which of course but ‘ow mou would attempt to dissect after so bold an Avowai | its Contents, and of its simplicity; but which, as you Dave seen, 184 plain forgery, It Commences by Kiviug twelve columus of fyures, purporting to state ‘the dilereut Values of expandiug steam, at their tweive diflervot rites of expansion, and the first one assumes the cutoll ty suUt at one-twelfth of the siroke, while the assumes (he sieam to follow the piston from the botier for the entire stroke, without avy cutoff. Ioter. imedinte are various Olber rates of cutoll, but we will use ouly the extremes to avoid contusion. Now, by the law of Mariotte, steam expanding twelve things, KuOuld give Uaree aud a bait times as much power from & pound Of coal us K Would do if it were not ex panded, so (hat to equalize or balance these two columus it is necessary to destroy twice and a baif of the total Power of uuoxpanded steam which tweive expansions produce his task did not appal this man, and acting pow the theory vhat “paper wik not retuse ink,!” be Jommd no trouble. tbe rst sraud im the table consists in asuiyiny that the “clearance and vozzies” of & twelve [of blroke engine are equal to one foot of the stroke of the piston; which is utterly unwarranted by aby engive im the world, aud by which (notwith siandiuig he bad eworn that these clearances were uf no ‘conse juence) he reduces the ecouomny of expansion about twouty por cout. But 1 pass that, it Is only the petty ash awcount ou # at Of books where balances are furced for Wasusawds aud tue money has been stok The first point of cutting olf (one- graud iraud cours up the (ourth line of the table, where be proposes to wake this reduction:— Fer centum of steain entering the cylinder condensed to furnish the bi engine. transmuted inte the total power of the Isherwood knew, first, that in theory there was coudensation;” aud secvadly, that in practice tounded upon the that steam true theory wien it expaude to ite pressure ‘aud condensing, grows hotter, or, to use the (orm vi science, te ‘superheated,’ This Isherwood Know as woll asi did when he asserted the contrary in this table, and J cross-exanmived bim on bis kuowledge. J read the questions aud auswers:— Task you the simple question whether Regnault has ated in bi vit that the expanding oF sieam, In place 6 eouling it superheats ltr A. No, #if; be bas not wiaiel t bis meme @ No} Did wot be state that ingonse- quence of the {act that there is more beat in high sieada than fh low. whe you expand down {rom tue Ligber to the lower re you liberate that excess of beat, and that it ten Sperates pun the steam with which it i mingled to super- heat iti A. He does not state that anywhere. Of course, asin the former case, I bad but to turn to bis book to couviet bim uf a deliberate falsehood, aud I road tt 0 you (p. 125) — ‘The oxpeciments of Kegnault have determined that the tou 1 heat of ateain increases with its pressure; consequent sen (he Same Weight Of seam is expanded— cod from iniguer tow lower pressure—there Is leas b Fovuired wo mainiaia 1 10 the vaprous form than Lelyre, Dactaud of being condensed st seit be superheated. Such, indeed, Mette deducts oy Keynaule im hits celebrated memotr Therefore, geutiomen, when be undertook to make a change for this condensation be knew it was made against the thoory of the world. But be knew that practically the pressure of steam in an engine under expansive almost tly agrees with the pressure required by Mariotte’s law, aud that there was no Buch deduction to be made for any engine in use } road again: — . ¥ou found on the Lake Brie enai nat the steam did give Fee einen withes triding difference, did you hott 1 pressure in the tWo cases was Aubstan. curves did surge. In one case je extremly and at the other, ‘are near! e ‘Lua Uy reruering to bis tadeut the Lake Eric experi Mout, yOu will Hud that the actual prossures there set dow do not vary from the Mariotte pressure, also stated in the Hoxt line of the table, more than ove per cent—so that be bad before bis eyes the experimental fact settled thi Chore was no deduction w be made from Mariotte’s pres sures. And yet in this tadie, on line three, he sets down the Yrensure, which, by Marvotte’s law, oughé to be produced, ‘Aud thon bas the tmpudence to make @ deduction for this Condensation which both theory aud bis own experience forbade, nad to strike the false balance tn live ive und thie tiie — rus theordivel mean preseure of the sienm above zero uring the sike of toe pisum in pounds per square ined But eveo this (raud would not serve his purpose; for You #66, gentlemen, oat if you deduct the same per Coutage (rom two numbers, the rermainder will yet bear the name ratio to each other as If no deduetwn had beeo tad, and, therefore, a #tiil furtber fraud bad tw be prac- (loed, and buat consiated in deducting from tbe expau- Pies edumn sixteen per cont of ite power, while (rom ‘Vhe now-expansion be only deducted five per cent. Here Unese forced balances began to tell on Mariotte, and bis oolumn began to shrink, but again the forgery waa nailed & the counter by bis own book. Halera turning ty it, however, | wduiged bim em sneenpp opporsunily to eo that’ fact, which you will see by inspecting the foot jogs of the table. If the unit of comparison had been taken at either end of the line—that is, at twelve expansion, or at full stroke—then the figures 45 would have appeared in one of the columns, and the trick was to keep it concealed: go ho as- sumed his unit of comparison above the middle of the line, aud ran out the comparative figures each way from {t. On one side of this unit, which is marked with &@ zero, the gains by expansion are marked by a cross, which in algebra means that the number is to be added; and on the other side of the unit the losses by non expansion are murked with a dash, which means that the numbers are to bo subtracted. But it is not every man who would wish to know the true facts about steam who understands algebra; and such men would natu- rally read this line of numbers as if they were ali of one quality; and:in doing 80 the highest is twenty-eight and the lowcost five; but when read by their true signs the twenty-eight on ove side must be added to the seventeen a the otner-—making forty-five per-cent as the difference shown on this table between oxpanaed and non. expanded steam—and that, too, after defrauding ex- panded steam of more thun half ot its power, weil estab. lished by the scientific investigations of the world, and showa to belong to it by these very experiments on Lake Ente, which are now tortured to disprove it; exporiments which Mr. Reeder, their own witness, swore ‘neither proved nor tended fo prove” anything regarding the law of expangion, And yet, gentlemen, you bave heard him Swear bere several ‘times that there is only eighteen per cent of possible saving to be affected by the best catomt, over no cutoff at all! Another fact came out in this in connection with these experiments and this book, wMich sheds a flood of Hight upon them, and exposes the Secretary of the Nav: ina mest unfortunate position to the country. Alter alt this immense expense bad been incurred, after the de- partment bad built @ vast number of steamers on this new discovery, and after those steamers by their failure to run the speed which they were specified to run, had proved the truth of the laws they were built to defy—but while untold millions were yet being expended in every shop of the country on the assumption that Ieherwood bad refuted the world o! science—the department asked and received last winter from Congress an appropriation of twenty thousand dollars to try these experiments again. it seems to me that the Secretary ought not thus to have acknowledged bis own doubts of the truth of that theory upon which he had already staked teus of millions of our money, aud upon which be was still preceeding to squan- der.much more. In that situation be should have con- cluded, with Macboth:—_ All casos shall give Stepp'd in so tar that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er.’ But be did thenext best thing, and that was, to so arrange the matter that the deception might be carried out till bis back was turned on the department, and he no longer could be arraigned im Congress or before the country; and hie plan was well couceived. I asked Isherwood the question, and he bad to admit here before you, that when this appropriation was made, be himeeif, in’ his own bandwriting, wrote the order placing that money in his hands and those of one of his contractors, whom he nominated to assist bim, in order that they might bring the past acts of the Navy Depart meut to the (est, which the appropriation contemplated and that the Secretary signed that order just as he wrote it. When be mentioned the name of Horatio Alien as the colleague he bad chosen to assist him in this new juggle, it occurred to me that I had heard that name beiore; and 1 do remember that some years ago such a person had, like Isherwood, blown bimsel{ up into immense propor: tions, tilling the whole world with bis pretences that be could defy the principles of the universe, and Like little wanton boys who swim on bladders, These many sumMivers in a sen ot gory, But far beyond bs depth, he, too, bat found his high blown pride at length break under bim,aud had suddenly disappeared from the sight of men, And I do recall the fact that, as I happen- ed to be near at hand when the explosion occurred, | was suspected of baying pricked those bladders, though quite unjustly, for they burst with their own excessive pres- sure. But, however that may have beev, he disappear- ed, till bow be again appears in this fitting company aguin to renew the battle in which be so signally failed long ago. Gathering wisdom, however, from tho past, and from mine own good y; Lam in blood cease’ By us hey intendod this timo tw rep the results truly—ao Balance w to Be forged nor alse sLries made oo (aig cwpernmeut. ‘Phat wa suey. Noose who hw he ‘berweod o\«ziaed bere woud over suspect bin of making false siaveiments, Wo have heard him hore aanit under Oalb thal if @ stem: boat could go (wier with expausion tham without it be was in error and the wavy »ll wromg; yet whea we wout to the Potomac river aad tried that very experitnent ov the first Dowt we came to, and it showed that with 61x hundred jounds of coal am hour tho wheels wouid twenty-seven revolutions a minute when ustug the exp in- sion, and with seven hundred pounds ao hour tue same Wheels could only be turned twenty revolutions a minute wilbout exvausion, he stil came back to tho atond fund without pretending to explam or question the fact ho repeated the oath with which ho started, that no suck thing ws possible, We have beard him adit that if (no steamship America could make seven hundred revolu tivms of hor wheels an hour, then ho was all wrong, the navy & botch; and yot whon we proved more theo that here—when we proved the hours of her run, and ¢ distances mato over measured miles—all much’ greater than ihe tacts Tassumed which be swore to be iinpos:'- bie—yot he still adheres with brazen elfrontery to his toxt; as if be were the chicl witness for the defence to prove an alibi after an Irish murder, aud could hope to defeat the eterual laws of nature as bo might have cheated the law of man No doubt he is reliable to re port any recu'ts of experiments which be might make! What bas been the result of all this ignoranco upon the ships built by the navy? You huve heard Mr. Isherwood explain that the various failures have beau Occasioned by tho bal workmanship and tho poor material of tle ships—all of whigh is au idle preyence, Meropant use the same materials and the sino workmen; bul ships go when they are finished and never atop till they Are worn out. But the fact stil! remaing that all of those Sloops-of-war, Built on the plans of this maa, been weoks and months at the docks of Philadelphia and Now York undergoing repairs afd alterations, after they first got steam, before they could goto sea, The Juniata had her officers and crow tn commission for several weeks ready to sail, during which time thoy tried to make ber go frequently, and at last sho was put out of commission, aod her crew ordered to anothor vessel, while a teiegram was published stating that the engine was all right but the snip leaked. The Ticonderoga’ was six weeks in New York being altered after sho was first tried before she went to #oa; and tho | ackawanna broke down at tho dock, and had extensive repairs before she could go. The Ossipee reached Washington from Boston on ber trial, broken down and remained here months (or repairs, 0. of these vessols—the ‘Vicondoroga—went from New Yo: to Fortress Monroe, and waa forty hours on the passage, or seven miles an hour; and the Laakuwenns took thirty six hours to run from Sandy Hook to Cape Henry, which isat the same rate or tess. The Sacramento atiemptet to catch a blockade runner and broke down twice in the effort, although she was culy ruoniug sixty turas a min ute, and gave up the chugo, as Captain Boggs reported to the department about ten months ago; and (he Ossipeo in the Gulf of Mexico, starting af ten o'clock 1m the morning in pursuit of a blockade ronner was overtaken and Pagsed at about ten o'clock at night by the De Soto, aa old New York and New Orleana packet which certainly cannot go twelve knots an hour, but which starting five houra ~ later than the Ossipte, from the same place and in the same’ chase, woat in eight hours further than the Ossipee could go in thir teen, and captured the prize which the Ussipee could not overtake, as may be seen by a report on file in the de partment made by the captain of the De Soto. Om Wil mington the fastest biockader now is an old Now York fcr. ryboat. And I heard the commanding oilicer of the Mobile squadson declare in the Navy Department,that schooners would run away from these United States steamers with Jib and mainsail set; aud say that be would like to have ‘a stoamer which at loast would compel them to sot their foresuils. In tho printed specifications issued by the department, under which these sloops were built, they-are required to run ninety revolutions a minuto, at which rate they would do as weil ag such vessels usually do; but ip fact they go not to exceed strty, and that speed they cannot mamtuin. At that speod their screws run but ten and a half miles an hour on their uverage pitch, supposing they were run. ning in @ solid block, instead of wator; aud, after deduct- ing the ‘+sitp,"” the speed does not exceed ‘nine knots an hour; while the Iroquois, a skip built under the last ad- ministration, whose engines were made in Now York on well known plans—such as are used generally by the Ln, lish and French navies—can go thirteen knots an hour, as her logs show, and aa her sailing master, Capt. McRae, will at any time prove to any one who chooses to ask for the information. And all these facts have been wll known to the Navy Department for a year or more—aro well known to the country—and yet they are now build- ing & vast number of ships Ou the same plan, to pro duce the samo results, refusing to listen to any oue, and utterly ignoring their own experience of the past, the Jexsons of all the navies of the world, and the self evident truths of acievce which you bave heard in this case. Fivaily, however, goaded t» madness by their shocking failures, the Department is determined to have speed at any cost, and for that purpose they have put out siz con- trac’s for engines, whose cost 18 seven Aundred and eighty thousand doliars each engine, which are ¢o till up the‘ontire ship below deck with boilers aod machinery, 60 that the cou! has to be carried om the berth-deck, where mon usually live, avd to accommodate the crew thus driveu out by wone assurance, having their quarters turned into coal bunkers, they are building forecastie and poop deckalabove to ewuig ham- mocks. And all this is done upon the insane idea that a steam engine cau be made to go by enormous boilers, which, in these cases fill up the ship below, but which will not give speed, for the plain reason: that as the steam is to be used without a cutoff on this new discov much more weight of boiler and coal is needed to prod the tucroased quantity thus required, that the load thus produced will more than neutralize the power incident to the steam thus wastefully and fruitiessly used, and the more boilers a ship has after a certain point, the slower she gves, Isherwood’s idea the same as that of a foliow's ignorant of horses, who proposed to drive a horse from New York to Philadelphia and back in one day, “Why you cannot do that’? said the livery stabie man. ‘Vy not,” said the cockney, “‘ve've got a vip.” So Ishefwood thinks that if he only ‘has got a-‘vip,”” his engines must run, whether they can use the steam Or not, and in this case, bis ‘vip’ 1s composed of boilers ing more grate surface to burm coal than the Adriatio,} the Fon Kien and the America all togother, while bis ships are only about sixty per cont of the size of the Adriatic alone. Thus folly is added to folly by this combination of imbecility and knavery; until, unlegs checked by the country, we chall have squandered all our money on a navy whose value will be less than the raw material of which it ts composed, and will find ourselves a prey to the first naval power which chooses to drive us off the ocean. I verily belive that if our uavy bad been effective on the blockade, this rebellion would bave been crushed Jong ago; but as it is, they have their supplies from abroad, and if any of their blockade ronners ever pass our ships, they nevei@are overtaken, although none of the blockade runners that I have seen ever did or ever will go ten knots an hour with weloud. While Isherwooa was writhing under the cross-exami- nation which was unmasking bis villanies, his vengexuce got the better of his discretion, and be thought to sting tue by calling up the ‘+ Pensac @ steamer, the en- gines of which he said I bad built, and which had torned Out a “complete failure,” even after I bad sent 4 man to New Orleans who had put them in ‘complete repair.” When he said Pensacola’ f thanked him for that, as you heard, and ut once sent to New York for the proo(s which have exhibited to you the atrocities committed by this man aud the Navy Department on that ship, ia order to enable him to go onwith bis ether designs on the navy. The ‘Pensacola’ was butit during tie Inst ad- ministration as an experimental ship, uot (or the pur- pose of finding out whether there was aay benetit in ex- pansion; for, as these books tell you no {ool in the world doubted that, till long since the time the Pensacola was begun; but for the purpose of testing whether various plans Which are successiul use on side-wheel engines could not be applied to screw steamers, and among other things whether these tight valves, called “single poppet vaives,”” could not be used instead of the leaky slides now usually employed. The nnderstanding with the department was that when the ship was completed we should bave her for six mouths to experiment with; for it was conceded by all the en- gineers of the government of that day—and it does not admit of doudt—that if these plans coud be made to work on a screw propeller, they would vastly ituprove the efficiency of the navy. Untortunately, however, the ship was not finished tili this man came inv power; and he knew that if she were completed and succeeded there WAS an end of bis carefully prepared scheme to climb into power and wield the resources of this nation to bis Isherwood, it appears that they have concluded, with the Scriptures, that ‘no man goeth to war at any time is own cost,” and they have called upon tbe Ameri- can people to furnish them with $20,000 of our money to make another attempt on James Watt and Mariotte, What an exhibition is this! Either it is or ts not estab. lished, by certain demonstration, that all the navies of the world, and ali the private steamers in existence, are, and always have been wrong, and that only Secrotary Welles aud Isherwood are right. If it is, why do they take our money to test this settled question again’ If not how have they dared to build an eutire navy as boidiy ‘as if they had the experience of the world mon consent of mankind in their favor? do they dare thus, im the face of the world, to become their own triers, and to provounce judgment on their ‘own works, by the use of mousy which, if it were appro- priated for anything uselul, was appropriated to oxpose {heir monstrous (rauds'and arrest these fatal iniquities, she appropriation tteelf was absurd enough; for you might ax well appropriate money to build a new leaning tower of Pisa in order to refute sume fool who should deny the laws of gravity, as proved by Galileo from that Curious monument of architectural art; but infinitely more absurd is it to see those scales, thus paid for by the people, beid in the bands of Isherwood aud one of his contractors, while in the one basin site Gideon Welles, Ksq., and in the other Jas. Watt, Mariotte, Reignault, all the names of the world, and all the commercial steamers in existence. Iso’t that a picture for an artist | t I foliow these gentlemen into their operations with $20,000 of our money. Have you asked my on, baid 1, or the opiuion of Mr. Coryell, or of any other engineer who is known to deoounce your naval blonders, az to how there experiments ought to be tried? Ob, no; not they. But, gentiemen, I have seen their programmo—it is printed, aud on is face it is © piain preparation for .raud. They do not even pro- pose to try this experiment with a steatu engine at all— by which I mean an cagine whose piston works in seam, aud whose power results (rom the difference between the pressure of steam in the boiler and tn the condenser, com monly called a “low pressure engine’ —but they propose to use a mixed steam and air engine, by which | mean an engine in which the steam drives tha pistou om one side ‘and the air resists its motion ou the other side, commonly called & “bigh pressure engine,” by which instrument anything can be proved which ts desired by the juggler who uses it. You can prove by it that expanded steam won't drive @ steam engine at all if you please, although your boiler may be ready to burst with pressure, and to do it you have but to cut off so short that the av of the steam pressure will be less than the pressure of the air—that is, tome (baa fifteen pounds to the square tach— in which case the engine would stand still, And of course if you can make an engine fo that it will stand still, you cab make it go as feebly as you please, and at at ore capension win, tne’ eoven(vonces, Of Pout to charge expansion wi 4 rou ‘own fraud, you can show that en less than vala- able. In bis book, Isherwood for the per. petration of this new swindie by announcing this sort of machine to be the true one to try the ax; ie with, J read (rom p 123 —""In tact, all accurate experiments on stonm should be made with non-coudeusing = and with steam not below the oad it time, contiomen, taat euch outrages as these should thi own great protis. So be at once began to fill the papers day by day wish litle selegrams from Washington that Chief Engineer Isherwood pronounced the Pensacola’ en- gines a failurc—and all this before they even had steam. Mr. Sickels was here attending the completion of the engines, and | was coming to make the (iva! adjustments, when ail at once Mr. Sickels was imprisoned by an order from the Navy Department on board the ship; and its gan to be given out from that delectable place that Mr. nickels and { were traitors—that we were preparing this ship to fall tnwo the bands oi the rebels—and that my well known intimacy with Mr. Yulee, Mr, Mallory and other leaders of the rebellion, accounted for the fact that the Pensacola was not ready. Isherwood bad studied the ret villains of Shakspere for a model, and bad selected Richard for his instructor in this part of his plot, who, when be was about o murder the princes in the Tower, by way of preparing the public mind, thus instructed buckingham - There, at your meetest vantage of the time, Inter the bastardy of Bdward’s children.” And so he prepared for the atrocious work he had to do by thus slandering us, who bad done him no harm, All this while [ submitted without & word; for it was & dark hour im our country’s fate, and private griefs had no right to raise their ery for justice. But,| stayed away from Washington, aa my friends all know, Decause I ‘would not submit to this-gross indignity of imprisoment by this follow; and Sickels, who kuew my nature well, bade me stay away; for he said they would probably shoot me if should rebel at this outrage, Sickels, how- ever, had no redress, BO babeas Corpus could hin, 1, choking down bis indigoation, he fiui-hed the engines 4s Weil as be could, surrounded by hostile people, and bearing day to day’ how Isherwood's veogeauce was to overtake all who helped bim ‘At last the engine started, and you now keow the result. Tbey ran the screw of that ship at a rate which Isherwood on the stand admitted must have taken the ship near fourteen knots an hour, and, in fast, she ran from Jodian Head to Washington ip Sve minutes’ less time than the toail steamer’s schedule time (rom Aquia creek, But where was Isherwood’ He has acmitied to you that be refused to go on board the ship on lier trial, and exult. ingly bousted that he would have bothing to do with her. He, the engineer in-chief of the pavy, refusingeven to look upon the performance of a ship which bad been built to test new principles. It was wise, if not honest, at Joast, for bis mouth would have been shut if be bad geen ‘what our witnesses have proved about her. Ami wo all Know bow she ran the@fathias Point batteries, wateb the rebels said could stop her; and their papers were (ull of accounts of her great speed, by reaeoa of which they could not strike her, Now all these things We bave prove here, md much more, uncontradicted, while the two men, Hibbard and Mageo—the ove the chief engineer and the other an as- ‘sistant of the ship, who were with her at this time and during the other outrages commitied on ber—were both in Washington, in isherwood's office, where are re. coiving the reward of their share of this dark business; ‘and, although | have called daily for their action, poitber of U has dared t show himsot Ana the reason why, | wit tell you. If Mr, Hibbard bad ap- Peared I should have asked him this question:—Iid ou ickels that you Gees vou coud wos. dp fntion v9 theve gualace, Our" soat of cundoting us, however, Isherwood told f you wore in Isberwood’s power, und you bad te obey bis ‘vd Mr. Hibbard would ‘wiahes fortyour own protection? “tale prison ou ove side af be bad guid m and bumsel! p hive peeu the trath—aua he d 1 Mogee had appowed 1 shouid uve you MOL swear veo exposed you m de hundred dollars o dot tas transaction broacht by suy that you were mot afraid, for taat 1s apie get 4 little hundred doliars out of these guage come, But let us follow this ship im the hands of this precious party on ber voyage. She struck on Flori da Keys, aad there remained eight daye, boatiog on the rocks, uutil ber armameot aad stores wore taken out, avd sho was got off with with great diflicuity, and the air admitted to tho onginos. ship floated, the engines worked in that disabled condi tiow, and she went on, the machino stopped wi thing, reprouching its murderer did not break down, althoug! should bave dove so, and the ship New Orleans. There sho laid at thore, At this polut of the proceedings my friend, Mr. Forbes, offerod to buy theso engines to be used in a pri- vato sbip—for these cre the best propellar engines which that bailled the scheme to bave thein destroyed: for Isherwood kuow that if they wont into now wee rouning & private ship their record would condemn hit forever, and that ould not be allowed. fut they reported from New Orleans that the engines could not work and the ship was useless; and at the request of Mr. Forbes I con. sented to send a machinist there to put them in such order ag that they might be brought to New York; al- though I warned Lim aud the government that the ma- chinery was badly disorganized by the breaking of tho ship, and could only be got right in dock and where there hops and good workmen, Wheu Mr. Camoron wont there be found, as be told you here, that the condensers were iull of mud, of which he took two hundred and four buckots fall out of each ove; that the pumps were all choked up, and bad been cut to pieces by romping them when the packing was screwed down so bard tnat the brags itself was meited into giobutes; that there wore no tools on tho ship, not even # piece of metat with; and that bho had to send ashore for 80 simple a thing as @ cold chisol. ‘There, however, he worked with such facilities as ho could get, doing such things aa the engine drivers of the ship ought to have done, or rather such as they ought not to have made necessary to be done, until he got the ea- ines into such order that they could work; bat he report. od expressly in writing, and hore are the papers ou the table, that the engines could not be put in order until tho ship went into dock, and there was repaired and brought into line. Whon reaay, the ship was run, and the log aud the report of the Commodore are on the table; by which it appoara that in that disabled condition, with the acrow tvose.on the shaft, with-the condenser sucking air till the vaccum showed only thirteen inches of mer- cury, instead of twenty-seven, ag it would have dove if the Ongine was airtiznt,as ib ought to be, this groat ship, Whose cross section is as large as the Persia’s‘ went eeven knots an hour burning only one thousané coal an hour, Now, these tacts are oficial reporta, whic! I drew out of the department by ssubpcna, und which are now botore you. I should not dare to tell these things of my own knowledge, for they are too great to be believed ; but here they are proved by the enemy, and not iu question. Here 1 turned to Isherwood's bovk again, and found that of the ships be gives account of, very lit- tle larger than the Pensacola, none of them ‘are roported by him to go seven knots, and all of thom burn more than three tmies aa much coal as the Pen- sacola, thoy being in perfect order and she disabled. I then asked him to uaine wny vessel, small or great, in the navy which could go seven kuots an hour on a thou- and pounds of coal an hour, and he swore that the Ticon- deroga could, but suid that hor log was notin the do- partment. Now, | will undertake to say, gentlemen, that the Ticonderoga, which is ecarcely half the sizeof the Yensucola, but which bes nearly twice as mucn boiler surface as the Vensacvla, could goseven knots an hour with ¢wice the coal ‘used by the Pensacola, and I have no doubt ber log will show that when produced. 1t will astouish the oificers of theso ships when they hear that they can go seven knots with about ten tons of coal day; for they know thut seven knots is near thetr full peed, und that their coal is noarly three timos ten tons wday. And to nke the record of the Pensacola’s out- ruges complete, 1 proved to you by Isherwood bim- soit that they had taken out of ber, and put ashore oa Ship Island, tho blowers by which her aic tight fire rootn was kept cool, in cousequeuce of which the in- teuse heat of a closed furnace chamber, unsupplied by the forced circulation on which air-tight Brorooms de- pend for cooiuess, aud by which they are the most com fortuble of all fireroors, became ingupportable; so tuat they wore cuabied to have the assistance of the firemen in their attempt to destroy aad put ont of sight the engines of the Peusacgla, which they themselves show are capa Die of driving that ship seven knots with @ thousand pounds of coul an hour, apd which, when ia order, did turn that screw forty eight revolutions a minute, whereus now they cun only turn it twenty two, aod yet oan pro- duce tuese immense results. The tistory of the Pensa- cola is more diabolical than anytning | bave ever read of ja the world; and its monstrous nature has deterred me from tolling it except to my imtimate friends; for no maa ‘who should relate it in its simple atrocity, as tt hes been developed beiore you by the testimony of those most in- terested im denying the truth of the charges made, would be entitled to De believed; because it is more probable ‘bat any one man im the world should be mistaken in bis estimaio, or should He, thaa that such deeds as these should be perpetrated in the world. But Iago and Uriah Heep are realities, and not the inventions of an over- wrought imagination, But, you will ask, how does this man “count his gains’? out of'all this viliainy? Again, I Dave but to appeal to him for an answer, He has admitted on the stand that he extorted trom Sickelé a share of the money paid to Bickeis by the yoverament for a cutoff put ona United States ship, and he did it he says, under the plea of ad- vocating Mr. Sickols plans, which be th »proved. But be did not tell you all of that story; nor all of the other cuses where be bas advocated other people's plans. He did not tell you that he advocated the plans of Sewoil’s condensers, whose object i# to make fresh water for the bollers, but which, from the first oue tried til now have made no fresh Water, apd have leit the boilers 46 ealt ag if there were no condensers, although immeni gums bad been paid for the patents. ‘He did not tell you that he advocated Martin's botiers, the patent for which is now owned by Montgomery, aud nad compelled contractors to pay the wroog mao—as indeed is true of the Sewail condenser, the pateot for which, as now used, ig owned by Harnum. 1n this sort of business, gentlemen, ag in killing sheep, when the dog once tastes blood bis Appetite is bever cloyed tilt tbe tock ts ali killed, or the hound is throttied—and 80 tn this case his sort of cor ruption thus adinitted by bimself—admitted because he kuew I had the provf ut hand to convict bim if be denied it—has ripened into a system and ia carried out by rulo in the ougineor departwent. They have boldly writtea letterg—aud 1 bave sceu them and advised parties not to submit to the wrong—in which they cali upon contractors to pay five hundred or one thousand dollars for advance copies of the drawings on which the engines they bi contracted fer are to be built; aud as the contract know that they can be much inconvenienced by these bureaus by delays, as they porhaps have men waiting tor drawings, they pay these e@xtortions rather thav do worse. And this book of Isherwood’s is another sample of the Same sort of rascality—a book teeming with (raud— which is of no possible interest to any man of acieace h, except the metapbysician and moral philoso- pher engaged in defining the shudowy boundary which separates the dark regions of moral depravity irom the scarcely less obgcure limite of invellectual insanity, and to whom it would afford abundant material for researches in either direction. This book he mude the coutractors publish for him at their cost—and it was very costly, as you see—while he can maka every engine driver in the navy buy one for ten doliars apiece. When he was levying this tax on the contractors 1 protested against it to some of them, saying that I did not care how much mouey they paid him, but Ldid object to their vitiating t! source of public information and poisoning the cham through which our young men coming up to this business will be compelled to draw their instrugtions, and you see, gentiemen, bow serious ts the consequence, for be boldly avows the patronage of the Navy De- partment, and- ways shat it “granted permission for its publication,” thereby giving the sanction of our government to all this fraud and all this iguo- rance, aud overwhelming the minds of the unlearned and ignorant, who are looking for instruction, by the formida- bie authority of the most intelligent people on earth act jog through their chosen officers. [t is ® most serious misfortune. For my own part, howover, I am free to admit that I bave bad the full value of the ten dollars L paid for the book in tts perusal, in pure fun; for I laughed over it ia my own chamber alone, as 1 bave seldom laughed over the masterpieces of humor or wit which have delighted the world, ‘The farce which amused me so much occupies fifty pages of the book, and gives an account of an opera- tion performed by this adroit juggler and a solemn look ing man in New York, named Waterman, on « very wor- thy and wealthy geatieman of New York, named tiecker, ‘The proposition which this pair of beauties bad made to Mr, Hecker, and on which be furtished the funds for the was that they were going to prove to him how steam could “superheat i '—I read from the book (p. 6)—which i ail one with proving how aman could bold) himself out by his waistband at arm's Jongth. Isber wood describes this very worthy gentleman, Mr. Hecker, a& “am amateur engineer of considerable vence, who the funds, aud gave the benoft advice.” And it ended, as it generally does whon at amateur falls iuto the haads ef the’: professiunals,"* that the amateur loses his money, and they carry ol! the ‘Still, Of Course, steam would not “superheat they resorted to the very ingenivus cou- Isherwood says was the * re plus wlira of simplicity,” of taking tbe steam out of the boiler ina pipe, cooling {tof im the air, squeesing it through & email hole #0 as to wiredraw it, and then passing it again to a pipe through the original boller steam, in the expec- tation that somebow it miglt pick ap more heat than it wet out with, iA the — of Mr. Micawber, han} alw ack & few BtepE HO As LO got A fair Ht to" ge auoud and, Iobier wood. bas ity pager of this book to expiaining why It was that the man could not bola Bimsoif cet at arm's length, accompanied by tabies tw which millions of Qgures are spread out with tho in- dustry of a demon, fm which coal weights are carried Out to the ous hundred thousandth part of a pound, And ‘Uae general ovaciusion @ bet f tae cngine bad been big: bucly disgraced if he bad said you—whicd, come, Aud 1 biva:—Did An00 Against Mir, Sickoig, because be ‘auding the governmeal by Buviag a eveherged on @ billof gauges which you were sout to@ew York Lo buy forthe ship; and was ium to the uotice of the captain on the quarter deck; and did you mot publicly er wood bad received, to your knowledge, fifteen hundred dollars from the Novelty Works for tho two gunboats Just then building thore, and that you thought you might And as this Was just the Uransaction as it occurred, Mr. Isherwood did not Want to 6ee Magee on the stand, and 60 he did not In this operation the ship :was “hogged”? and bor sxia broken between the engives and condensers, go that the pipea which connect to engines with the ‘condensers were torn out of their fastenings, Still, when the Finding that the engines would not break dewn, even under this trial, there was ono thing left to be done, and that was to take away the oil {rom the machioory; ana that was done, as we have proyed, But even thea a person in the engineer's do- fartment, whose name I will not mention, because he is still ia the service, and 1 do not wish to sub,ect him to the vongeance of the Navy Department, but who can be produced when needed, used privately to smuggle oil from the tank to the journals, aud so kept ker going; but be could not be there always, by night and day, and at last, in his absence, the brasses were molted with for- vent heat and rau of in bee drops off molten metal ; and ih a shriok, ag if it were @ living Bat still tho engine in all probability tt was got to anchor in thie disubled condition, and the attempt by the department was mado to have her condemned und sold for old iron Chisel to cul a James Island like @ sombre pall explosion 8 @ subject of conjecture. that @ magazine exploded and commun © mass of cotton bales used aa @ protection to a bomb, proot within machin,e prepared for the advent of our assaulting col- umns, by which they should be blown to pieces, acciden tally exploded, and doubtless carried degtruction among fhe garrison itself. If the latter hypothesis be correct, it is not the only instance where the “engineer was hoist with bis own potard,’’ ton was burned, as the smoke cloarly indicated the nature of the material consumed, What damage was dove by this explosion and conflagration to the garrison and the work itself we may nover know; but that life was lost cannot be doubted by thoso who saw the explosion. Per. baps the Mercury or Courier may throw some light on the subject, rebels still bold and are likely to hvid Fort Sumter. We fre not likely to gain possession of Sumter for some to come. times quite severe, but with Little effect course increased rapidly, and goon partially silenced the ‘ gor, the man fixer, be might have Mfted himself up with great advantags ‘Tho ond of the business i# that Mr. Hooker is using sto.un to gried grain, without oxpaasi n, and at & cost of About sixty pounds of coal to the barrel of flour, while his neighbors only use about twenty; but they Console him with the redectivn that his mills are like the mills of rind slow, but grind exoeod- the gods, which, it 13 said, ing thio. When { crogs examined Isherwood, and proved by him that he was the sonof & widow Bamed Wit: Gcea, who had been left in poverty, and bad been supported by him, you porhaps might bavo thought that I was in- trudingitoo fur into the private relations of bis life; but I had a motive in that which was not mere curiosity, I had in my hand when I asked that question the evidence Of the fact that om Saturday last, when laherwood was in New York ‘on public basiness,!’ this poor widow, Bliza Groen, subscribed for ojght thousand doliars of New York city Blocks at six por cent premium, and I know that for the last two yous sho had ‘more than once aided our New York finances out of her groas resources. And I brought forward the subject mén ly to oxpresa my pleasure that, as in the daj of Israel, Wo have a poor widow whose barre! never wastes, and whose cruse never fails; also to aay that T think’ thero should be an act of Congress compelling the families of public officers, when they iovest their im mouse surpluses [ike these, to invest them in United States securities at par, and'not to pay apremium for State stooks, by which ‘the oredit of the government ia injured, Or porhaps I do Isherwood wrong, and if Ido 1 must ask his pardon for perhaps he went to New York to induce this Id@y to invest in United States stocks, and failed in bis persuasions. And now, gentlemen, I bave but one moro remark to mako, which ia this: that having exposed to the country the ignorance, fraud and’ corruption which disgrace our Navy Dopartment; having shown you the reasons why our navy is a failure, and the certainty that these people ara going on still further to dostroy ita value for ever, { call upon the President to interpose his ‘power to avert this evil before it be- comes irroparable, And if that amiable, honest, patriotic and very able man, Abraham Liacoln (for | be lieve him to bo all these, although | voted aguinst him), cannot bring his mind to tho disagreeable task of cleans- ing this Augean stable, then let Congress come W his aid, ‘and abolish the Navy Dopartmont entirely; substituting for it Commissioners of Admiralty, og in’ England, «nd filling tho commission with such men as Roberts, Kor! and Vanderbilt—mon who have built navies themselves, and have born the flag of our country, in association with thoir own private signals, to the uttermost parta of the earth, with credit and profit to themselves and to our great'oational power, And I now say that such asya- tem {a vastly Detter than our present one, even if such mon as now wield the power 90 diagracefully bad never lived, or were to die to-morrow. 1 thank you, geatiewen, for your paticat attention, and { trust that our labors will not have been in vi Another Catastrophe in the Ruins of Sumter. Its Immediate Evacuation Certain. Tho Obstructions in the Harbor Broken Up by a Gale. The Robel Floating Battery Ashore. Charleston Hoavily Shelled from Battery Putnam, Particulars of the Weehawken Disaster, Ken Rony ke ‘The steamship Arago, Captain Heury A. Gadsden, from Port Royal, S,C., wt eight A. M., and Charleston bar, at three P. M., on the 15th iust., arrived hore at nine o'clock yesterday morning. Our despatches furnish us with some items of import- ance relative to the progress of the bombardment of Sumter and siege of Charleston, which we give in a con- densed form. Mr.Grantjean, purser of tho Arago, will accept our thanks for.prompt delivery of papers and despatches. ‘The Arago brings eighty-one frst and one hundred and twenty second class passengers and the mails Among the passengers are Brigadier General R. 3. Fos- ter and a portion of his staf. On the morning of the 7th the light vessel on Frying Pan Sboals broke adrift frou her moorings duriag a north- east gale, and in clearing her bridle from the windlass her seeond mate, Stockley, son of the captain, was killed. ‘The vessel made sail, and reached Port Royal on the 9th. At eleven A. M. on Friday, December 11, the bark Alice Provost, Nichols, from Philadeipbia, with coal for the navy, Went ashore on Martin’s Industry Shoals, while at- tompting to get to Port Royal, and isa total toss. Ga the fame night, in an easterly gale, the light vessel on Mar- Uo’s Industry broke adrift frem hor moorings, but suc coeded in getting into Port Royal without damage. Tem- porarily the steamer Cumbria is moorod in about the Same latitude and longitude as the light vessel was, to oxbibit ight at night. Mr. Oscar G. Sawyer'’s Despatches. Fouty Istanp, & C., Dec. 14, 1863. THR DOMBANDMENT OF FORT SUMTRR—AN HXVLOSION. ‘The bombardment of Fort Sumter is steadily maintained from our mortar batterios, with more or leas effect. On Friday last while our shoils were dropping toto the fort an explosion occurred which attracted the attention of all on Morris Island by its violence, A dense cloud of Diack smoke soon arose from the ruins of the work, and continued to pour out tor some time and streamed over to Tho cause of the Many think ted fire to Others suppose that some sort of inferni There i# no doubt that some cot- In spite of any explosion in the work the Taw mYMMY's FON, ‘The enemy's fire recently on our works bas boen at Our fre of enomy's guns, With tho exception of this monotonous firing nothing has occurred on these lands of any groat unportaace. ‘THE ROMA CAVALRY. Our troops on Kiowa bave occasional alarms, and all aro quickly under arms, ready to ropel any attack the @xemy may choose to attempt. The slarms have been occasioned by the evemy’s cavalry, which pickets in front Of our lines and sometimes dashes down on our pickets to raise abubub, The rebel borsemen are s0 well ac- quainted with the topography of the island tbat it is im. possible for our forces to entrap them or get them within range of our rifles. Recently they have ‘‘gobbied ap’ Uhree soldiers, one @ sergeant, who bad gone outside our Mines in daylight to forage. Tne capture was mado #o quietly and quickly that the absence of the captured men was not observed until too Inte an hour, for apy efforts to rescue them would have been use Joss. This little alfair has taught our men a valuable las. son, which they are not likely to forget very goon, WRECK OF THR HABE ALICE PROVORT, During the recent severe galo the bark Aliee Provost, from Philadelphia for Port Royal, with coal for the oary, ‘went ashore near Port Royal harbor, and is likely to prove ‘8 total loss, Bhe sailed from Philadelphia, under om- mand of Captain Nichols, on the 7th inst., end om the fret day out began to leak badly. By keeping the pumps going most of the time Captain Nicbols ‘was onabled to keep the vonsel tolorably free from water, She arrived off Charleston bar, and communicated with the Wabash on the 10th, and was ordered to Port Royal, On the foliowiog morning @ heavy gale from the north- east arose, and the weather bpcame very thick and the soa hoety. The water vegen to gain on tho pumpass - on this continent. fog more money than thoy ever dreamed of belu Those of the Port Roya! Houso are said to have ras: CHARLESTON. fifty thousand dollars since the place was opened, yor they manage to keoy one of the most miserable places o ~ rn _— entertainment that ever existed. ‘There isa chance now for some enterprising man te THE LATEST BY THE ARAGO, | start a note noro, with every prospect of @ briliisus eue Guo vessel Inbored tm thé soaway, atid It became evident if abe did not soon makes port she would foundor. T™ striped bar buoy off the northeast channel was made and Captain Nichols, supposing it to be the southeas channel buoyt—be former not boing taid dows on bis chari—stocred for it and the channel but soon struck, ‘The course was instantly changed, and finally tho vessel, after repeatedly striking with gree ‘violence upon the shoal, went over and 800n reached (nt lightsbip, when & pilot was taken from the pilot bout Trade Wind. Tho vossol was then put in the prope channel, but the leak bad so increased that it was foun impossibio to keep her afloat, While passing the miad\i buoy ehe woot down, but not before tho oflicors an crow were takon off by the Trade Wind, whi b scoom panied her up, ‘Tho last man off wus compolle to jump into the sea, and was picked up by tho Trade Wind. When the bark struck bottom, the seas made a clean sweep over her, avd soon carried away everything on deck, and she appoared to have broken in two, midsitys It is tikely that she will prove a complete wreek. Kilorts will be made, when the storm subsides, 0 save such ils and spars and otuor maserial as may be-usua from the wreck, The coal, to the amount of seven bun red tons, belonging to the navy, will, of course, o entirely lost. The Alice Provost belongs to the firs of Sturges, Cloarman & Co., Wall street, New York; was about six years old, #ix hundrod and tiftooa tous burthes nd built in Connecticut, Captain Nichols tas filed tue Recessary protest at the Custom Hours, AYPAIRS AT MILTON MAD, Affairs aro exceedingly dull, as usual, at Hilton Head Occasionally relieved, to be sure, by a suadeu and unsu thorized departure of @ conscript either to rebeidem or & the more congental clime of Now York, under circum stancos that show that they have no «mai mount of ingenuity and skill. Several conscript who have been caught in the act of dosortion have been under trial for the offense, aud there is liked to be some executions in this quarter before tong, as ox amples to others, and @ caution to them not to go aud d likewise It is @ singular fact that there is not yet a decent hole! in this denartment, Tho affairs at Hiltou Head und Sens fort are tho most miserable apologies for Lusteirivs eve ‘The proprietors of bow are mak cess; but ho must set a decent table, furnish Loieraté) cloan beds and soll wines and ales that at least approxt mate tothe pure articies. But be must keep av vik {mitation of the present abortions. Pursuing puch « course, he can sv0n become the master of the #ituation In behalf of the suifering community who are unfortu nately compelied to put up at the alled hotels in this dopartment,jand pay exorbitant prices for Otth rate fare ‘oa for new aad better hotcls, Such institutions woule ye hailed with joy by all. ‘TUE LOSS OF THE MONITOR WERAAWKEN. By the steamor Fulton you have already boon infor med Of the foundering of the Weebawkeo‘ut her anchors, i» side Charleston harbor. Tits sad catastrophe occurred last Sunday afternoon, the 6th inst, at about two o'oloak P.M. The day was stormy and a heavy sea was Dio in ovor the bar before # violent northoast gale, in whiow the Moulvors and gunboats pitched aad tossed abous 19 great labor. The Weehawken, wuile plunging inte o tremendous head sea, sprung & leak and bogan to fill im tho most rapid and fearful manner, ‘The pumpe wore started and worked for a few momeuts to thei utmost capacity, but to no avail. ‘ibe mailed settled 60 rapidly that ail sought safety by « to the turrets and thon outside, some got out, aud « boat, tho only one belonging to the ship, pushed off with twenty-two on board. The balance of the officers ane crew, or euch os got on the turret, sprang into the fea, and @ portion of tiem were picked up by « boat from the flagship Pbiladeipbia, lying nea by, and by tugs; but twenty-seven mon and four engineers, unable to escape in the vessel went down found their graves and shrouds in the iron clad coffin, at the bottom of the channel. Not five minutes eiapted be twoen the discovery of the leak and the final disapear ance of the gallant Weehawken under the seething combors of the heavy seas. I shal) not attempt to sketch the frightful pleture of the copfusion and despair of thowe whe found final peace and quict under the fron ribs of thé brave old Monitor. Your readers can imagine the sceme for themacives; none can fully realize its terrible horrors. They are beyoad the powers of imagination Captain Duncas, late o: the Paul Joves, and his exece tive officer bad left the ship but a short time bevore tne sad ®vent, and were ou the Paul Jones when it occurred. Commander Calboun bad been relieved from command but afew days before, Iam unable as yet to qo the ames of those lost, as it had not beeo made out whes ) Just heard from the flagship. The cause of the loss of the Weehawken attributed to @ leak forward, which had got eceiwionel any apprehensions, but which, be becoming suddeuly enlarged by the bewvy plunges of tae ‘vessel, quickiy caused ber loss. ADMIRAL DANLORES'# RESPONSIBILITIES The affair bas occasioned a good deal of fear among the men of the tron-clads, but there ix no epecia: fear as te their safety. What results other gules may produce must be a subject of conjecture. We hope for the best. The poopie of the North my now properly ask why it is tbat Admiral Dubigren bas not risked the oss of ¢ Monitor aod a pumber of men the only means in his {ng—a harbor for bis ing their safety through long and fearful winte: goes in the open rondstead before Morrts Istand. We all firmly believe that be could have eifeeted suew 6 desirable object months ago. Way he did not ® a mab ter that he must explain to the sutisiaction of the people of the North. Ho certainly can offer no excuse that will be accepied as valid by those who have watched the us val operationg in this quarter for the past seven months, or at leust during the past three months, it is time now to ascertain exactly how matters stand in this quarter and to fid one on whom the responsibility rests, for the Jong iaaction tn the campaign betore Charleston, the lose Of golden opportunities aud the failure of the grand plan, which ought to have been crowued with success By the capture of the city of Charleston, The army as #e- ‘com lished its share and portion of the work tong since. Let the blame for the failure, to gather the traits of ite labors, be piacod whore they belong, and some eilorw made to amend matters before only Geet of irou-clada are used op and lost entirely. LIGHRSIPA ADRIFT. On Saturday, the 6th instant, in a gale of wind, the lightship on Frying Pan shoals broke from ber moorings, snd went adrift. sail was made on her, and she «ttemps od to lay to, but she was driven by the fury of the gait down off Port Royal harbor, and was picked up on Tues. day last by the steamboat Convoy, and towed into port It will probably be some time before it be agatu placed t position. Meanwhile mariners will take notice of tbe Absence of the verse! from ber station, and govern them selves accordingly. The lightship off Martin’s Industry shoals, off Port Royal barbor, went adrift on Saturday last, and came into Port Royal barbor on Sunday. 6be will resume her position at an carly day ia securing, By ard ght Possession— iron‘tlads, tusteud of ree Hap Fouty Iavanp, 8. ©., Deo. 16, 1863, 4 DEXERTER TO BB EXECUTED, Ove of the privates in the Third New Hampybire Vor unteers is to pay the penalty of desertion this afterneos or to-morrow morning, by being shot to death. If the er dor of the court martial, approved by Major Gen. Gillmore. is carried out, as it cortainly will be, the execution wit be the second instance of the Kind that bas occurred the department since its organization, The first instance was that of Saul, of one of the Maine regiments, whe was shot for the same offence twelve months age The circumstances of the case aro briedp these:—John Kendall js ® conscript, and was sen some time since from New Hampshire to the Third regr mont Now Hampshire Volunteers,on Morris Island. Oe. hin way down be made several efforts to desert, but or each occasion was detected in the attempt and foiled Rig failares did oot induce him to relinquish bie design, but only cocasioned @ postponement to @ more favorable eoason, On the 28th of November he again attemted te carry out bis plan, and started for James Island. ke spent two Gays in the marsh without food, covered with mud and dyenched with water, Finding he could not cross the river between our forces and James isiand, and being aboutjstarved, be boldly determined to return, ‘and presented himself to oar picket line, cd In the com tume of the traditional Georgia gentioman—s hat, necktie ‘and pair of boote—and sanounced himeetf as a deserter from the rebels. Hie wae received, clothed and sent te General Terry, who oxamined him and sent him to the Provost guardhouse. Unfortumately for Kendall, his own company was doing duty that day as guard, and inatantly rocogpized Dim. He deqied bia Menuily opt garee CARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, }