The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-08 00:00:00

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THE CATASTROPHE ON BOARD THE ROYAL
WEST INDIA MAIL STEAMER PARANA.

The inquiry into the circumstances attending this deplorable
accident, which resulted in the almost instantaneous death of
four unfortunate men employed in the stokehole of the West
India steamer Parana, and serious injury to several o:hers, was
resumed on Friday, before Mr. Edward Coxwell, coroner for
tho borough of Southampton, and the jury assembled on the
27th ult. Captain Robertson, R.N., Surveyor General of the
Marine Department of the Board of Trade, again attended to
watch the case on behalf of the government. Capt. Mangles'
chairman of the Royal Mail Steam-packet Company; Captain
Vincent, the superintendent; Mr. Miller, chief engineer ;
Captain Bevis, commanding the Parana, and other officials were
present. William Smalo was the first witness called, He
said he was a fireman on board the Parana, and was in the
stokehole at the time of the explosion of the starboard forward
boiler. The fires had been drawn from the other three

boilers, and were very low under this one, which was being I
fired with cinders drawn from the other fires by a stoker
named Feltham. At the moment of the accident witness was
engaged preparing to take off the mudhole door from the port
forward boiler, in consequence of a leakage that had been
discovered. The explosion at first sounded like a light clap of
thunder, and then a louder crushing noise followed. Witness
was not injured by the accident. As scan as witness heard
the fisrt sound of something wrong he ran into the after
stokehole, a distance of about 12 yards. The steam overtook
him, but did not scald him. The fires of all the boilers had been
kept up pretty smartly during the afternoon. Witness could
form no opinion as to the cause of the accident. The Coroner
asked if the stoker, Felham, was able to be examined. Capt..
Vincent said he was not. They had sent for him, but he
was unable to get his clothes on yet. Another stoker named
Paddington, in whose deposition there was no important fact,
having been examined ; Mr. Edward Tate, second engineer
of the Parana, was recalled and examined by Captain
Robertson--I was in the engine room about two minutes
before the explosion occured. I left for the purpose of giving
' one of the engineers some instruction as to what ho had
to do to one of the cranks. I had been left in charge
by the first engineer. About four minutes before 1 left the
engine room I shut down the stop valve of the port after boiler.
I did so because the water and steam in that boiler had been
blown off. Previously to that the steam could have passed
from the starboard forward boiler into the port after boiler. My
only reason for shutting the valve of the port after boiler four
minutes before the accident was that that boiler was the last
blown off, and that it was not ready to have the communicatien
valve shut previously. There was no special instructions to
keep strong fires up during the afternoon. The Foreman :
Do you thiuk the boiler exploded at a pressure of 12:bs.
Witness : I should scarcely think it did. I should have
thought it quite safe at 171 h. pressure. Foreman : Do you
think it exploded at 211 b. ? Witness : No, I should think it
would be safe at from 201 b. to 251 b. I believe it would
stand that pressure. Mr. G. Mills was next called. He said :
I am superintendent engineer of the Royal West India Mail
Steam-packet Company: I am well acquainted with the
boilers of the Parana, and previously to the 26th ult. I con-
sidered
them to b 3 in a good and safe state. I have since
made a personal examination of them, from which I believe I
have been able to form an opinion as to the cause of the
occurrence. I believe the accident arose, in the first instasce,
from the breaking away of the stays inside the boiler. These
stays were sixteen in number, and being all broken the steam
must have been thrown entirely upon the shell. I Cannot
account for the breaking of the stays. The ordinary pressure
which the Parana's boilers would have to bear at sea would be
about 141 b. The safety valve would be self acting at 161 b.,
and I should have considered the boilers safe with a pressure of
from 201 b. to 301 b. Captain Robinson : Having heard all the
evidence taken before the coroner, can you in any way account
for the accident ? Mr. Mills: As the accident has occurred, I
think thecauses assigned by Mr. Summers, mayperliapa account
for it. Had it not occurred, I could not have believed it possible.
After the examination of several ocher witnesses, the jury
retired to consider their verdict ; and, after being closeted for
a long period, the fereman announced the following as the
unanimous finding of himself and brother jurors:—" That, in
the opinion of this jury, the deceased persons, Daniel Knowlton,
Alfred Rogers, John Pothecary, and James Hobbs, came to
their deaths by scalding, consequent upon the accidental burst-
ing of the starboard forward boiler of the Royal West Indian
Mail steamer Parana, during the trial of an experiment as to
the superfluous heat in the ' up-take of the boiler ; and,
although the jury are not prepared to apply censure to
any parties under the circumstances of the safety-valve
having been open one-eighth of an inch, and being, as far
as the evidence shows, free to open at 161 b. pressure to
the square inch, as also that the steam guage so shortly
previously to the explosion had indicated a pressure of
only 12:b., yet they cannot suppress their conviction that
by a great amount of caution the accident was of a pre.
ventible character, and therefore they consider it is to be
regretted that it was not by some unusual foresight
avoided. The jury desire to add that, in their opinion, the
evidence clearly proves that a single safety.valve applied
to one boiler is not sufficient protection to life and
property (even though such boiler may or may not be
in connection with other boilers) when the engine is not
consuming the steam ; and that it is a grave question
with the jury whether or not safety-valves are at
present constructed on sound and effective principles,
which question induces the jury to doubt whether the
valve of this particular boiler was " hung up" as sug-
gested by some of the witnesses, the jury rather believine
that it was insufficient in dimensions, and defective in
principle. Lastly, the jury desire to express their con-
viction of great confidence in the directors and officers of
the Royal West India Mail Steam-packet Company, and
of their general arrangements for securing perfection of
machinery, and guarding against accident, by having all
the details of their boilers and engines in excellent order
before going to sea, as satisfactorily proved in the course
of the presnt enquiry.

......

LOSS OF THE STEAM SHIP NEVA.

We have already briefly alluded to this vessel while on
the passage from Cronstadt to Hull, subjoined are the
details of the loss, by which it will be seen that the crew
and passengers had a most marvellous escape :—The Neva
was an iron-built vessel, and was only launched four or
five months ago. She was put on the Hull and Cronstadt
station, and left the latter port on the 13th ultimo, under
the command of Captain Mellon, to call at Gothenburg
on her return voyage. In addition to her crew, which
numbered twenty-six, she had eight passengers on board,
among whom were Mr. Atkinson and two daughters,
of Cronstadt ; and Mr. Colley, and Mr. Conolly, of
Manchester. On reaching Gotheuberg she filled up her
cargo, which consisted of a large quantity of timber, iron,
&c., and received on board eight shipwrecked seamen
She resumed her homeward run on the morning of Sun:
day, the 23rd ult., and went on favourably until six
o'clock in the evening, when a gale, sprang up. The Neva
was then off the north-west coast of Jutland, and the wind
was blowing on the land. During the night the storm
continued with increased violence, and the ship laboured
heavily. On the following morning, about six, to the
alarm of all on board, it was discovered that the steamer
bad sprung a leak, which penetrated into the ladies' cabin.
Captain Mellon immediately adopted the usual measures
for stopping or lessening the leak, but the water flowed in
so Last that the pumps, which could not be worked during
the whole time, and the means the crew had at hand,
could not reduce it. The leak gradually increased, and at
midnight the water reached the fires and extinguished
them. The position of the ship now became somewhat
critical. The captain directed the deck cargo to be
thrown overboard, and the greatest exertions were used
by all on board in endeavouring to diminish the water in
her. Such of the pumps as could be worked were kept in
operation until four o'clock on Tuesday morning, and,
there appearing not the least chance of resisting the in.
crease of the water, avid the foundering of the ship seeming
inevitable, the boats were got out. At the commencement of
the voyage the Neva had five boats. but, one having been
carried away by the storm, only four were available, and.
into these four went the crew and passengers—between
40 and 50 persons. The gradual sinking of the vessel had
been visible for some time, and when she was abandoned
there were nearly eight feet of water in her hold, The
changed
soon.ged
boats were buffetted about for two or three hours, when
two Dutch galliots appeared in sight. It is stated
that when first seen they - were sailing in the direc-
tion
their
course
o the mb ut on obs e rvi nbgo h
teth e
ne Dadell vessels
mwt
yhey an han
avoidbtots,
them. However,
ddiidsapnpoetarerd Fortunately, en.
deFrortthuenmayi,d' but
however, soon after another
vessel, the Belford, of Dundee, Captain Smith, from
Dantzic, for London, came in view. She immediately
bore down towards the boats and received all on board.
But now another difficulty arose; the Belford was short
of provisions, scarcely sufficient for her own crew. Capt.
Mellon, with two or three others, at once volunteered to
return to the fast sinking steamer, with a view of
obtaining what food they could get out of her, but before
the boat in which they were could reach her she went
down stern first in 22 fathoms of water, 120 miles
W.N.W. of Holm Reef, on the coast of Scotland.
The boat then returned to the Belford, and she continued
her, way to the Thames. Much unavoidable suffering from
scarcity of provisions was experienced. In two or three
days they fell in with a Prussian barque from Dantzic,
which took on board from the Belford eleven of the
steamer's crew and some of the passengers, who were
landed at Dover. Those who remained by the Belford
were put ashore at Southend. The Neva is reported to
have been insured. Notice of the loss has been sent to
the Marine Department of the Board of Trade, and it is
probable an enquiry will be instituted, the Neva being a
passenger ship.
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