By the Foreman.-It is not usual for a communication to exist in the engine-room with the safety-valve, but some engines are so provided.

By Mr. Jacobs.-He had manufactured six or eight boilers for sea-going vessels, besides numerous river ones. Thought fires 3 feet across would not be so strong as fires 6 feet wide against the sides, but this would depend on the structure of the boilers. If the water was forced up, it would go into the steam-boxes, and, though still partly in the boiler, it would leave the narrow spaces and the bottom of the boiler.

Mr. John Dickens, practical engineer, examined-Had seen the boilers of the Victoria a week ago. The fracture in the tubes was caused by a want of water in the boilers, and had there been plenty of water the plates could never have become heated. The water receded from the crown of the flue, and, of course, the plates then became red hot and weakened, and when it lost its shape it went directly. The witness saw the fracture plainly, and he was convinced that it was from want of water in the boiler, and not a blowing off of water in the narrow interstices, which he thought were large enough. He considers the feed-pipes amply sufficient for the purpose of supplying the boilers with

water.

coroner to remove the vessel, the foreman said, before the vessel was removed that the coroner would write to the Home Secretary to appoint practical engineers to examine and report on the boilers and machinery.

The Coroner said, that as that was the wish of the jury he would certainly do so. It was highly desirable, after two accidents had happened with the same boilers, each attended with great loss of human life, that there should be a clear and scientific report from engineers appointed by the Government, unconnected with the Company.

The Jury said nothing else would satisfy them and the public.

Mr. John Seaward, engineer, of the firm of Seaward and Co., Canal Iron-works, Limehouse, said he was a practical man, and 50 years of age. He had been in the trade 25 years, and in business on his own account for 13 years, and the firm to which he belonged had supplied a great number of engine boilers and machinery to river and sea-going vessels. For 18 years he had been particularly engaged in boiler-making. He had seen the engines and boilers of the Victoria on the previous night, and on that morning, and had examined the boilers carefully; his foreman and a workman accompanied him, and they went into the boilers and water chambers. I think the water spaces between the casing a great deal too small for a boiler of that construction; I should certainly put 8 inches. There is a very large fire-place, and the water space is not in proportion to it. I never made a boiler exactly like it. I think there would be great danger of the water being driven out of the spaces by the large body of fire, and the plates would then get heated, and become distorted. I think by the rapid transmission of heat from so large a body of fire the water would be in a state of violent ebullition, much more so than if the water spaces were twice or thrice the size. The consequence of that violent ebullition would be, the water would rise up and swell in the boiler, and render it a matter of uncertainty as to getting up the feed regularly, and the engineer would be deceived as to the quantity of water he might have in the boiler. I will state a case. It is possible that a boiler may not generate steam fast enough to supply the engine while it is in full work; in a case of that kind it is possible for the pressure inside the boiler to be so reduced as to be below the pressure of the atmosphere. During that time the ebullition would be very great, and the less the pressure in the boiler the greater would be the ebullition. If at that moment the engines were to be suddenly stopped, as in the case

of the present accident, the pressure on the inside of the boiler would be increased in a very few minutes by 8lb. or 10lb. That would cause the water to fall in a boiler of that kind 12 or 15 inches, and then the upper part of the flue would be left without water. I state that as one reason why the boiler might become red hot at the top without any neglect on the part of the engineers or firemen. I think the water spaces are not large enough for a boiler of that capacity having such large fires. That is my opinion, from the best consideration I can give to the subject. My attention was afterwards directed to the plates of which the boiler was constructed. They are not sufficiently thick. If I had to construct a boiler of that kind I should not employ plates less than 5-16ths. I think they ought to be ths of an inch thick. The quality of the iron is good, but with the best plates they are not thick enough. Examined the safety valves; they are 93 inches at the bottom of the conical seating; the superficial area, 96 inches and 6-10ths. The whole weight on the valve was 1,033lbs., which gives 134lb. on the square inch, within a fraction. I should observe that there is a counter-balance weight and lever attached to the valve, the net weight of which is 50lb. If this weight had been extended to the end of the lever, it would have relieved the valve 2lb. on the square inch, and would have left the load on the safety valve 11lb. Never saw a valve so adjusted before, and cannot account for its being so. One weight was confined in a box-the others were exposed, and could be meddled with by any one. I think an engineer ought to have a control over the safety valve in the engine-room, by pulling a handle. It was desirable in cases of emergency. Did not like the way in which the safety valve was fitted up in the Victoria. Examined the boiler that was ruptured, and from what I have seen, and from what my men described, I have made a rough sketch.

Mr. Seaward here produced a really wellexecuted drawing, and described to the jury the fissures made in the boilers, which were portrayed on it. The accident, he said, arose, in the first place, from the pressure of steam on the inside of the boiler being much greater than the plates were able to support; the boilers might have become red hot, but he could not satisfy himself as to that. It did seem to him extraordinary that the boilers should have burst at the bottom, as it was not likely the lower parts could get red hot; but the mischief might have begun at the top and altered the shape of the flue.1

The Coroner.-Well, what is your genera opinion as to the cause of the accident?

Mr. Seaward. The plates not being sufficiently strong in the first instance to resist the pressure of steam, I think the primary cause; the small water spaces might have aided. I think the engineer might have been misled by the steam being drawn off until it became weaker than the atmospheric pressure, and the ebullition being suddenly suspended by the sudden increase of pressure in the boiler. The boilers are high pressure. Any engine working at 10lb. and upwards, I think decidedly high pressure. In a popular sense high pressure is considered more than 10lb. to the inch. I have seen Cornish boilers, but nothing like these. The feed-cocks might have been turned off by the engineers, supposing the boilers to be full. I think the stoke-hole contracted; there ought to have been more space. The larger the fire-place the greater would be the heat evolved. He made the engines for the Water Witch and Vivid steam-ships. He understood that they ran between Hull and London, and belonged to an opposition company.

John Dawley, foreman to Messrs. Seaward, of the Canal Ironworks, Poplar, stated that he had been for 26 years engaged in boiler-making. He examined the engines of the Victoria, in company with Mr. Seaward, and described the nature of the injuries similar to that deposed by other witnesses. The rupture of the boiler, he said, had been caused by external pressure; the mischief had been caused by there being a greater pressure than the plates were able to bear, they not being thick enough to bear a pressure of 10lb. on the square inch. There was a way of testing plates by a force pump and cold water, and from such a mode of testing he thought the plates were not of sufficient thickness. The heating of the plates excessively would render them less liable to bear a pressure by one-third; but he was not of opinion that the plates had ever been red hot, or more heated than was usual for the generation of steam. He attributed the whole accident to the inefficiency of the plates in point of strength. He would have used plates of 3-8ths of an inch in thickness, to bear a pressure of 10lb. on the square inch, the boilers being 6 feet, or nearly so, in diameter. He thought that would be the proper thickness for the plates. He thought the water spaces not wide enough; he never made them less than 4 inches, and seldom less than 5 inches, in width. One evil of their being so narrow was, that they might corrode at sea with salt; they might fill up with salt. He could not speak as to the effect the fires might have on the narrow interstices in forcing the water out. The

iron was good in those boilers; and the workmanship, also, so far as that went. He had never seen quarter plates in a cylindrical boiler tested, but he had seen plates of 3-8ths of an inch tested up to 75lb. to work safe with a pressure of 20lb. He never used quarter plates in the construction of a boiler, but if plates were tested up to 40lb. on the square inch, he would work them safely with a pressure of 14lb.

Mr. Hall said, every facility should be afforded for the examination of the engines and boilers, and the vessel should lie at Blackwall a few days longer.

The inquest was then adjourned to Wednesday, the 18th July.

On Wednesday, July 18th, the jury again met, when the coroner read the correspondence which had passed between him and the Home Secretary. The following is an extract from the Coroner's letter:

"At the instance of the jurymen assembled to inquire into the cause of the deaths of the nine unfortunate persons who have lost their lives by the accident which happened on board of the Victoria steam-boat in the river Thames on Thursday, the 14th of June last, I am under the necessity of addressing your Lordship with a view of obtaining from Her Majesty's Government the assistance and evidence of some experienced person, competent, from his thorough knowledge of the manufacture and use of steam-engines and boilers, to guide them in their decision in a case involving great nicety and discrimination, and in which material difference of opinion has arisen in the evidence of the engineers and others who have been called before them.

"The jury as well as myself are aware of the reluctance on the part of Her Majesty's Government in interfering in a judicial inquiry of this nature, but they trust that in a case of such importance as the present, and adverting to the very recent accident of a similar kind on board the same vessel, whereby five other lives have fallen a sacrifice, and knowing, as your Lordship does, that there is no fund at the disposal of the coroner for the payment of scientific men (who must first examine the engines and boilers, and then lose a further portion of their valuable time in attending to give evidence), your Lordship will feel a disposition to relax the ordinary rule on this occasion, seeing how important it is that the very best evidence should be laid before them in a matter so essentially involving the lives and safety of her Majesty's subjects.

To his communication the coroner received the following answer from the Under Secretary of State :

"Whitehall, July 6.

"Sir, I am directed by Lord John Russell to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant, and its enclosure relative to the accident which occurred on board the Victoria steam-boat, in the river Thames, on the 14th of June, and I am to inform you that Lord John Russell has considered your statement, and is disposed to concur in the opinion expressed by you and the jury, that the evidence of some scientific person or persons of experience may be useful, and his Lordship will make a further communication to you on the subject when he has ascertained in what manner this object may be attained.

"I am, Sir, your obedient servant, "S. M. PHILLIpps. "To William Baker Esq.,

In a subsequent communication, the coroner was informed that Mr. Peter Ewart of Woolwich Dock Yard, chief government engineer, had been appointed to examine the boilers, make the necessary inquiries, and attend at the inquest to give his report.

The Coroner then read over the suggestions he had framed for the guidance of the gentleman who examined the engines and boilers.

Mr. Hall said that two perfect boilers now existed on board the Victoria, and the jury might test them, for they (the Company) were more than ever convinced of the goodness of the principle upon which they were constructed, and they would be glad to submit them to the test.

The coroner and jury objected to Mr. Hall saying anything more, as it was irregular and not evidence.

Mr. Peter Ewart deposed, that he was chief engineer and inspector of the machinery to the Admiralty. He had been so about three years, but had been intimately acquainted with the business generally for 48 years, and took the general management of the mail packets. In pursuance of the instructions he had received from the Home Office, he had made four separate examinations of the boilers. At the first visit to the vessel, he went into the stoke-hole, where he received every attention from Captain Bell, who explained everything to him. I found the boilers of the Victoria so constructed that the pressure might be varied from 3lb. on the square inch to 13 lb. The maximum of low pressure was 5lb., and commonly only 3lb. The boilers in the Queen's service are square, not circular. The pressure on the square inch, with the boilers used in the Queen's service, never exceeded 5lb.; the average was about 4lb., but the orders were never to exceed 5lb. With the same strength of metal the circular boilers are stronger than the square ones if the circular are not too large.

The Coroner-Do you consider the high pressure as safe as the low pressure?

Witness-It is too general a question. The Coroner and jury then asked the witness several questions, but he said he could not answer such general questions.

The Foreman said, the jury had not sufficient experience in steam-engineering to ask proper questions. It would be better if the gentleman would give his evidence by way of report.

Mr. Ewart said, he would endeavour to answer the coroner's questions as to the relative safety of high and low pressure engines. There was a greater number of more serious accidents with high pressure

engines than with low pressure. The high pressure engines had been used in Cornwall for many years, and latterly with very little accident. He produced a plan. According to the construction of boilers now adopted very few accidents had occurred. The boilers of the Victoria [see Engravings pp. 341, 342], were nearly of an oval shape, about 6 feet 5 inches in diameter, with 24 inch spaces between the sides. It was more at other places. There was 9 feet of water pressing on the bottom of the boilers, making by its weight a total pressure of 171b. on the bottom of the boilers. The weight of water made an additional pressure on that part of 3lb. The water spaces of the Cornish boilers round the flues were much larger, being at least 6 inches. The external cylinder of the boilers was about 6 feet, and the internal 3 feet 9 inches, leaving a water space of 6 inches at the bottom, and instead of being filled with water, a space was left in the upper part of the boilers occupied by steam. The plates were generally half an inch in thickness, and the safety-valves were generally loaded 45lb. on the square inch. Those constitute the chief difference between the Cornish boilers and those of the Victoria. I attribute the superior safety of the Cornish boilers to the difference in their construction altogether. I wish to observe that almost all the towing vessels on the river Thames have high pressure boilers made very much upon the Cornish principles, and very few accidents have occurred to them of late years; further, he considered the water spaces of the Victoria's boilers much too small, and their plates of insufficient thickness. He found them from a quarter of an inch to 3-8ths in thickness only. He produced a section of the boiler that burst. In the longitudinal section [see fig. 1, p. 341], the lower part of the fire tube had been originally straight, but was now bent upwards two feet, and torn asunder. The thickness of the plates at this part was little more than a quarter of an inch, but about five feet further forward, and where the iron had yielded very little to the pressure, the iron was about onefourth thicker than where the fracture was. He ascertained it by boring a hole, and the iron at that part must have been subject to nearly the same pressure as the part which burst.

That was one reason he thought it too thin. He endeavoured to discover the cause of want of steam during the last voyage, and he found that considerable alterations had been made in the two midship fire-places, which prevented the fires burning, from want of draught. The water spaces of the boilers were too small for any

fire, but the fire-places of the Victoria were very large. The one under the boiler which burst unusually so; it is capable of being urged to a very high degree of heat. The boiler adjoining having the same relative position to the one that burst, is a little out of shape, but had escaped in consequence of that furnace not being capable of being so much urged as the other. In consequence of the deficiency of steam, the furnaces in the wing boilers were required to be urged to a much greater degree than before the change was made, and he had been led to conclude that the furnace of the boiler which had burst, had been urged in a much higher degree than any other. The four transverse sections in the plan before him [see figs. 4 to 7, p. 342], showed the progress of collapse: the first showed the fire-door; the next, a little behind the bridge, showing the upper part of the fire-tube, greatly collapsed. The next was taken where the principal rupture was, and the tube collapsed in an extraordinary degree. The next was taken further on than the principal fracture, where there was a fracture, but not to the extent of the principal one. Three other sections of the flue showed smaller collapses, and that of the further end [fig. 8], showed the flue in its original state. As a matter of opinion, he should say that these collapses would not have taken place in the manner or degree they had, if they had been made upon the Cornish plan [fig. 9]. I do not think a lurch of the vessel would blow the water out of these narrow interstices, but that the excessive heat acting upon such narrow spaces might have caused the steam to blow the water out of some part of the water spaces, and have let the iron get redhot.

The Coroner-Would the water be forced up so as to deceive the engineer?

Mr. Ewart-No, but an ebullition would take place, which, from its violence, might certainly deceive them as to the feed-cocks and gauges.

Coroner-What is the cause of the collapse you have spoken of?

Mr. Ewart-The external pressure of the steam and water is greater than the plates could bear when over-heated, which it is always subject to.

Coroner-Was any gas produced?

Mr. Ewart-No, not in this case, neither was there a vacuum formed.

The Foreman-In her Majesty's vessels is it usual to have machinery in the engineroom by which the engineer might have control over the safety-valve?

Mr. Ewart-Yes, Sir; it is very wrong to send a vessel to sea without one.

The Foreman said, he had been induced to ask this question from observing that the engineer of the Victoria had no control over the safety-valve in the engine-room, and was in a situation in which he could not relieve himself, whatever occurred, or how great the danger might be.

Mr. Ewart-The safety-valves of the Victoria are placed in a highly improper manner. They are placed at a great distance from the engine-stage, and exposed on the top of the cook house, so as to be accessible to every one, and liable to be tampered with, which, with lever weights, would be both easy and dangerous. In all the government steam-boats, and those which I have had any direction of elsewhere, the weight on the safety-valve was so placed that it could not be increased without taking part of the boiler apparatus away, which must occupy much time. I examined the glass gauges and gauge-cocks, which were of the usual construction, as were the feedcocks also. The steam-cock was placed in a very inconvenient situation, being at a great distance from the proper place of the engineer. The situation of the feed-pipes was very convenient, but I cannot determine whether the iron was heated to a red heat or not. The discharge-pipes were placed in a very excellent manner, and this was an important point.

The Coroner-I have to ask you a very important question. Do you think all you have described might not have occurred by the turning off of the feed-cocks!

Mr. Ewart-I will try to answer it. The turning off the feed-cocks occasionally, and for a short time, does not endanger the boilers, and upon calculation it would take three hours to dry the boilers so as to expose the parts fractured to intense heat. The reason why I think the lower collapse must have taken place in the bottom of the flue as early as in any part of the boiler, was because it is the largest collapse, and because there is a second and a third collapse, about six feet further aft; and it appears to me that those two fractures must have taken place at the same moment, for this reason-if one had broken first, it would have relieved the other.

In answer to a question by the Foreman, Mr. Ewart said they tried iron plates for boilers by submitting them to a red heat, when, if they were unsonnd, they would blister. Some iron was very faulty. When iron becomes heated, it is softened and weaker. It would take three hours to evaporate the water in the boiler; but I do not say that really took place. I can never believe that ten men could be so blind as to leave the cock shut half-an-hour, much less

three hours. The engines required that number of men to stop her.

By the Foreman-The accommodation for the stokers is very confined indeed. There are none like it in her Majesty's service. What adds to the evil, the chimney passes through the stoke-hole, and there are no cases round the chimney, to prevent the radiation of heat, which must make the place very uncomfortable.

By the Coroner.-Could not say what the thickness of the plates ought to be for highpressure engines; but the Americans had long persevered in their use, although an immense number of the most awful accidents had occurred: but of late, from the advertisements in their newspapers, I have seen that low-pressure engines were becoming favourite and popular. The fact was, the American people had, at length, become alarmed. Did not think it necessary to prove low-pressure engines. Had plates tested up to a high degree so injured by it, that they were spoiled. That injury could not be apparent.

Mr. Jacobs-Could not those boilers be so strengthened as to bear a pressure of 20lbs. or more?

Mr. Ewart-It is extremely painful for me to speak upon the subject, but I must say I would not do any such thing, I would use no such pressure.

By the Foreman-There would be a smell of burning when the water was low.

By Mr. Hall-If a vessel has been working two years with only an inch and a half water spaces, what should you be inclined to say respecting the danger of narrow water spaces.

Mr. Ewart would say nothing unless he had examined the boilers. He, however, thought if they were such, they must differ much in their construction to those of the Victoria. Had not examined the boilers that are now entire, and therefore cannot tell the thickness of their plates. Would examine them if ordered, but he should be sorry if any such duty should be imposed on the Coroner and jury.

Captain Bell was recalled, and asked if he heard the stokers urging each other to keep up the fires? He said he did, and that they quarrelled so much that he was obliged to check them, telling them that he did not allow such rows on board.

The ship's register, as entered at the Custom house, was here produced. It stated the Victoria to be of 538 16-34 tons burden. William Bachelor Brownlow, of Hull, and numerous other persons in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and London, were stated to be