The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-21 00:00:00

Boiler Explosion in Spitalfields,

The adjourned inquest on the body of Mr. Robert
Saunders, who lost his life through the bursting of
a boiler in Spitalfields on Friday week, was resumed
on Friday morning last, before Mr. Humphreys, the
coroner for East London, at the Neats Tongue
Tavern, Great Pearlsistreet. Mr. John Saunders,
the proprietor of the premises where the accident
took place, stated that the boiler in question was
purchased by hi.m from Mr. Shore, boiler-maker,
about three ye.-Ars since. At the time of the purchase
the maker Frjtlve no information as to the amount of
pressure it would bear, The engine was generally
workPA at a pressure of from 351 b. to 381 b. on the
ri-aare inch. On the morning of the accident, about
three minutes before it took place, he noticed the
safety valve just beginning to blow off. The pres-
sure then was 381 b., which be considered quite safe.
John Raven, the engine driver, was on the premises
at the time, and it was his duty to know the state
of the safety valve and water. No one in his employ
ever made any complaint against the engine or
boiler. The pressure before mentioned was that
required to work the lathes and saws. On Mon•
day three weeks Riven cleaned out the boiler,
but made no complaint as to its condition. He did
not know the power of the boiler, but the engine was
a 10-horse one. There were two safety valves to
the boiler, one weighted with llib. and the other
with 281 b. and an iron boss. It was the small valve
that was blowing off just before the accident. John
Raven said he had been an engine-driver for
the last 1G years. He had charge of the engine and
boiler at Mr. Saunders's mills on the day of the acci-
dent; he stopped the engine at 1 o'clock, when the
pressure was 301 b. He fetched his dinner imme-
diately after and ate it on the boiler, where he re-
mained until Mr. Saunders called him off at 20
minutes to 2. He then examined the gauge and
found the steam at 351 b. Shortly after it rose to
3Slb., and he opened the damper and made up the
fire He left the boiler, however, and proceeded to
oil the engine, upon which work he was engaged
when the explosion took place. He could not in
any way account for it. Mr. John LW, an engineer
from Messrs. Grissell's works, was then examined,
and gave the following report of his examination of

the remains of the boiler :—The boiler was a Cor-
nish ore, 20 feet long, with fiat ends, the shell
4ft. 2in. in diameter. The internal tube was
slightly oval, being 2ft. 9in. in its longest diameter,
aad 2ft. Bin. in the shortest. The plates were of
middling quality, and the workmanship was on!y
middling fair. He had no doubt the collapse had
been caused by excessive pressure. There was no
appearance of any deficiency of water. The valves
were not in working order, the lever of the small
one working stiff in the joint and between the
guides. From the examination of the boiler he
considered it would be dangerous to use a greater
pressure than 30Ib. He thought it imperatively
necessary to have a water-gauge where the
persons in charge of the engine were unskilled.
Floating water-gauges required considerable tact
and judgment on the part of the engine-driver. He
thought that boiler-makers ought to be compelled

by law to stamp the working pressure of a boiler
upon the front of it. It was highly dangerous for
unskilled artisans to have the power of raising the
pressure as they pleased. From the evidence he
had heard he considered that the boiler was not
sufficiently strong to execute the work necessary
for carrying on Mr. Saunders's business, and that
it had been forced beyond its strength. John
Raven was recalled and questioned touching the
state of the lever of the small safety-valve before
the accident, but he persisted in declaring that it
worked quite easily both at the joist and in the
guide. He allo wed that he was uncertain as to the
weights on the same lever being 41b. and 71b. re-
spectively. The jury, having consulted for a few
minutes, returned a verdict of "Accidental death
from the explosion of a steam boiler, the said ex-
plosion being caused by the boiler being worked
beyond its strength, owing to the imperfect condi-
tion of the safety-valve," Appended to the verdict
was a rec)mmeudation to the effect that a legisla-
tive enactment should be passed compelling boiler-
makers to stEr_up their boilers with their working
• G. L

licensed engineers to have charge of engines and
boilers, and providing for the periodical examina-
tion of all boilers by duly qualified inspector.

The Alleged. Robbery of g,500,000 of Polish
Bonds.

Mr. Stanislas Foerster, who described himself as
the agent of Mr. Lemaire, a gun manufacturer, of
Liege, and Mr. Stanislas Hernisez, of Ford's Hotel,
appeared at the Guildhall on Saturday, before
Alderman Besley and Sir R. W. Carden, at the in-
stance of Mr. De Berg, the Ras3ian Consul-General,
to answer the charge of having unlawfully in their
possession one hundred bonds, of the value of
£27,500, which had been identified as a portion of
a large quantity of bonds, to the value of £500,000,
alleged to have been stolen from the Russian Go-
vernment Bank Treasury, at Warsaw, on the 9th of
June, 1863.

Mr. Poland, instructed by Messrs. W. and H. P.
Sharp, the solicitors to the Russian Embassy, con-
ducted the prosecution j Mr. Leverson appeared
for Mr. Foerster j and Mr. Ricketts defended Mr.
Hernisc z.

Mr. Poland said the bonds in question were issued
by the "Societe ds CrCylit Foncier," the Polish'
Landowners' Society at Warsaw, which was under
the especial protection of the Emperor of Russia.
This society obtained a large quantity of bonds on
the Crown lands, which were deposited in the
offices of the finance commission at Warsaw. On
the 9th of June last year the coffers of the treasury
were examined, and it was found that bonds to the
amount of X 500,000 had been abstracted. As soon
as the loss was discovered the fact was advertised
throughout Europe, the numbers were publicly
notified, and all persons were cautioned against
purchasing them. The Russian Government then,
in pursuance of the law, claimed a right to have
duplicates of the bonds, and such duplicates were
accordingly granted by the Landowners' Associa-
tion, which have superseded the original shares.
Sir R. Carden said that might be Russian law,
but it was contrary to English law.
Mr. Poland then detailed the manner in which
Mr. Sharp became possessed of these bonds, which
has already been fully recorded in our columns, and
submitted that he had a right to detain them. He
also urged that there was a sufficient case made out
for conviction against the defendants. In answer
to a question from Sir It. Carden, it was stated that
the defendants were not aware when they went to
Messrs. Sharp, that they were the solicitors to the
Russian Government.

Mr. Leverson, on behalf of the defendants, pro-
posed to call Mr. Lemaire, who claimed to be the
owner of the bonds, in order to account for his pos-
session of them. There was, in fact, an action pend-
ing to recover them from Mr. Sharp.
Alderman Begley said in that case he must dis-
miss the summonses. The Legislature never con-
templated applying the Police Act to a case of such
magnitude, and as the objection had been raised
that the unlawfully obtaining bends took place
beyond the jurisdiction of this kingdom, he could
not go further into the case.
Mr. Leverson stated that these bonds were taken
from Mr. Lemaire at the instigation of the Russian
agents i❑ Paris, and after explanations had been
heard on both sides, the perfect of police returned
them to Mr. Lemaire, and reprimanded the authori-
ties for depriving him of them in the first instance,
and this fact Mr. Pe Barg was cognisant of.
Mr. Alderman Bexley said it was not worth while
to discuss the matter further, as it was evidently a
case for the Court of Queen's Bench.
The parties then retired,

Persons who have been in the habit of paying weekly as
borrowers of Sewing Machines will do well to apply at once
and become members of Messrs. Watts and Co.'s Sewing
Machine Clubs. By so doing they will not only save the
money they now foolishly throw away, but at the same time
secure to themselves the possession of one of the best and
most celebrated sewing machines in the werld. Every in-
formation given on application; or by letter addressed, with
a stamped envelope, to Messrs. Watts and Co., 12, Beaufort-
buildings, Strand, London, W.C., where men+ rs are en-
.tollQd. daily Detweenlo and 4; Saturdays, 10

The Loss of the Ship Volunteer.

OFFICIAL 8.1,76 RT.
The following report has just been received by the
Board of Trade;—

Mauritius, Dee. 28, 1463,
The Volunteer, from Matritins for 'Calcutta, wrecked
Dec. 8 on',Vargudes Shoals, appears to have been lost by
the want of experience and presumption of the master. He
went out of his way for no purpose connected with the
voyage. He neglected the most ordinary precautions. He
lost his vessel on a weather shore. There are no extenuat-
ing circumstancees, unless inexperience can be considered in
that light ; and had any life been lost his position would
have been a very serious one indeed. The Board beg to
draw attention to the circumstance of there not having been
a second observer, or any check whatever on the sights of
the master. It is impossible now to determine whether the
vessel's position at noon, on Dec. 6 was rightly laid down
on the chart or not. The navigation of the vessel was in the
captain's hands alone. There might have been an error in
the watch, in the sights, in the working, or in the Staking
the time. This reprehensible system of not seeking
,the co-
operation of one of the officers appears not confined to the
Vclunteer. The master states in his evidence that the same
plan was followed by the former master of that vessel
(under whom he served), and that as he was taught so he
acted. If the first mate had been admitted to the confidence
of the captain in the way the Board think he ought to have
been, there appears reason to believe, from his evidence.
that the Volunteer would not have been lost. An error of
30 minutes in the vessel's position by observation, by the
effect of an easterly current, was more than sufficient to
produce disastrous consequences ; but setting aside this
particular case, such a system seems fraught with danger
to every ship where it is practised. The captain may
fall sick, or die suddenly, and he alone knows the error
and rates of the chronometer and other matters con-
nected with the navigation of his ship, the vessel's
position, the dangers that lie in her track, See, ; and
an officer suddenly finds himself in command, and, at the
same time, in the most complete ignorance of what it is of
the highest importance he should be intimately acquainted
with. Besides, men's faculties rust from want of use, and
what guarantee is there that an officer who has been syste-
matically prevented from working the time, taking Inners,
&c., should be ready at that sort of work when required of
him at a moment's notice. The Board trust that this perni •
cious system is confined to but few ships, and that measures
may be taken to do away with it once. Most commanders
are glad to have officers who are good hands at observation
and calculation, and encourage the taking sights of all kinds;
and the feelings of a commander suddenly struck down by
sickness or accident when in charge of a valuable ship, in
perhaps a critical position, with many lives entrusted to his
care, troops or emigrants, or even his own officers and crew
alone, cannot be very enviable when he reflects that, so far
as he knows, he has not an officer fit to replace him as a
navigator, having never tested their qualifications in that
respect, but even carefully excluded them from participat-
ing in that duty beyond the working of the dead reckon-
ing. If the first mate is not the confidant of the captain in
these matters, he ought to be, and the Board trust that
these remarks on this important subject, whether as re-
gards life, property, insurers, or commerce generally, will
not be lost sight, of. There are no other charges against
Mr. Todhunter than want of experience, consequent ne-
glect of precaution, and a careless sort of presumption too
common to youth. These have led to the loss of his ship,
but he deserves credit for the manner in which he be-
haved after that unfortunate event. There appears to have
been no disorder. Proper and reasonable efforts were made
to get the ship afloat. The preparations for abandon.
ment were made without hurry or confusion, the boats were
fitted and victualled, and the officers and crew were
brought in safety to the Mauritius ; and it would be unjust
to Mr. Todhunter not to bring these favourable circum-
stances to notice, and it would be equally unjust to his offi
cars to suppose that they are not entitled to their full share
of commendation in carrying out the commander's orders
with zeal and intelligence in effecting these objects.
D. WALLS, Harbour-Master, President of the Board.
11. J. BELL, President of the Chamber of Commerce.
JAMES FRASER, Agent for Lloyd's.
Tilos. H. MuLLEss, Surveyor to the Mauritius
Marine Insurance Company.
JOHN S. ELLIS, Surveyor for the Melbourne Vic-
toria Insurance Company.
Proceedings confirmed.

HENRY BARii.LEY.

The Ship John Linn.

OFFICIAL REPORT.

The following is the official report of Mr. Rafil3s, of
Liverpool, who was deputed by the Board of Trade to in-
quire into the circumstances attending the abandonment of
the ship John Linn :

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORDS OF THE COI •

',SITTER OF PRIVY COUNCIL FOR TRADE.

My Lords,—ln pursuance of your directions, I have held
an official investigation into the circumstances attending
the abandonment of the ship John Linn, of Liverpool,
which ormirrpa •-•-• of thc Ist Jart”..—.,
about latt2o 30 N., and long 37 57 W. In this inquiry I have
been assisted by Captains Harris and Cow, as Nautical
Assessors, and now beg to report :That the John Linn was
built at St. John, New Brunswick, in the year 1854, and
registered at Liverpool in the year 1858, of the burthen of
1,596 10-100 tons. Her length was 205 feet, her breadth
39 8-10, and the depth of her hold from the tonnage deck
was 22 feet 4-10. Her original tonnage appears to have been
1,171 57-100 tons, but having been subsequently raised upon,
her gross tonnage became 1,590 10,100, as stated in her
register. The John Linn was owned by Mr. David Fernie,
merchant, of Liverpool, and was commanded by Mr. Thos.
Browning, who holds a certificate of competency as master,
dated the 4th of June, 1800. She had a crew of 30
hands, all told, at the time of her abandonment. The
John Linn left Liverpool, on the outward voyage, in Dec.,
1892, bound to Bombay, and arrived there on the Ist of
May, 1803. While at Bombay she was thoroughly caulked
from the copper upwards to the gunwale, and does not ap-
pear to have made any water as she took in her cargo.
Having completed her loading, which was of great value,
consisting of seeds, spices, dyes, and cotton, which was in-
sured in Liverpool alone at £120,000, she sailed from Bom-
bay, staunch and in good condition, on Sept. 16 last, draw-
ing 22 feet 5 inches aft, and 20 feet 8 inches forward. Dur-
ing her passage home the ship encountered some heavy
weather oft the Cape of Good Hope, but does not appear to
have strained or to have made any water. On Dec. 7,
being then in 1 35 N, and 29 39 W, a leak was discovered,
which continued to increase till the evening of Jan, I,when

the ship was abandoned. During these 24 days every effort
was made to contend against the leak, but to no purpose,
and the captain appears to have altered his cotlrse first for
the West Indies, subsequently for the Cape deVerd Islands,
the then nearest land, on both of which occasions ho )vad
battled by head winds. From Dec. 30 to Jan. 2 very bad
weather prevailed, a gale blowing from the S.S.W., which,
however unusual in that latitude, was singularly confirmed
by a reference to the log of the Deop;aum, the vessel which

fell in with the John Linn after her abandonment, On
Dec. 31 all the pumps got hopelessly choked with seed, and
they commenced to throw cargo overboard, making a well
in the afterbold for the purpose of baling, which was con-
tinued till the Felix Bernabo was sighted. The crew were
by this time exhausted, the weather continued threatening,
night was coming on, and the master of the John Linn,
finding the water within 4 feet or 4- feet of her lower hold
beams, embraced the offer of the master of the Felix Ben
nabo, to take himself and crew on board, and they left
their vessel, and were carried into Martinique. It nay
here be added that the captain of the I'elix Bernabo, in a
letter addressed to the Commissary of Marine at Martinique,
asserted that the John Linn appeared to him to be unman
ageable and in a sinking state when he took her master and
crew on board. Within 24 hours of the abandonment the
Deogaum, commanded by Captain Beaglehole, bound from
Callao to Antwerp, fell in with the derelict, but no one
boarded hot till Sunday morning, at 7 o'clock. The chief
mate then vent on board in the first boat, and he hailed the
Deogaum, roporting the John Linn to be half full of water,
which he estimated at 11 feet. Immediately afterwards Capt.
Beaglehole and his second mate want on board, and stand-
ing on the ;ergo in the lower hold, sounded with a capstan
bar and felled, as he stated, 3ft. Gin, of water. As the cargo
consisted if nine tiers of bags below the cotton, and only
three had been removed, it is obvious that he could not have
reached he skin of the ship by many feet. In fact, the
second locate admitted that when he sounded ho struck on
something which he took to be a bag. No other soundings
were takes, and no attempt was made to sound the well,
although I 7 feet sounding rod was lying on the deck be-
side the lump. The Deogaum remained by the ship till 2
p.m. on 7ueeday the nth, during which time they made no
attempt 'o sail her, but occupied themselves in removing the
ship's soils, stores, and furniture. Upon leaving her the
chief mete, believing that there was no chance of saving
the vessel, upon his sole responsibility set her on fire—an
act whi,h, under the circumstances, was net justifiable, and
certainly not without consulting his master. The Deogaum
sailed s;owly away, and the last that was seen of the burn-
ing vessel wts about 11 p.m., her mainmast having previ-
ously fallen over the side. After hearing the evidence of
Capt. Beaglehole and such of his officers and crew as were
called, I wet clearly of opinion that the evidence failed to
substantiatcthe serious charge which had been made against
the master and crew of the John Linn, the gist of which
wa.s,lhat tee ship has been abandoned with 3 feet G inches
of water mly in her hold, whereas it was obvious that
in a ship of her size they never touched the bottom
in sounding. On the other hand, the cviience of
the chief officer and other of the crew of the a ohn Linn,
confirmed as it was by the examination of a carefully Rept
logbook, atisfled me that the master and his crew used
every exertion to get his ship home, or into a port of safety.
and only abandoned her in extremity, and when ho consi-
dered it necessary to cave life, and after 24 days of unre-
mitting exerton. Under these circumstances, I have had
great pleasure in returning to Captain Browning his certi-
ficate:eel hare, &e.,
J. S. RATTLES, Police Magistrate.
Liverpool, qarch 15, 1864.
We concur n the obove report,
H. HARRIS, I Nautical Assessors,
Jour Cow,