The Sun.
London, England, 1847-09-24 00:00:00

ANKRUPTCY.—(THIS DAY.)
(Before Mr. Commissioner SHEPHERD.)

In th• IN AU HOGAN.
Gov rs case the insolvent, who was a clerk in a
Bpernrnent office, obtained his final order two years
°ll °a the understanding that he NI ould set aside
44: Year out of his salary towards the payment of
/3t ; he had not, however, done so, and an
bV•91011 was now made for a summons in order to
the insolvent before the Court.
Horrouß granted a summons.
The
Viet case is rather peculiar, as it has been doubted
44 her the Court, after having granted a final order,
enforce undertakings to pay instalments.

o'clock.

I~IIN AL COURT.—(THIS DAY.)
OLD COURT.
). (Before Mr. Commissioner BULLOCK.)
th 4 n Walters, 23, a clerk, pleaded Guilty to a
acti g,,e of embezzling moneys, the property of John-
EI,Va Silva, his master, and was sentenced to
°c`leen months' imprisonment and hard labour.
t, 'larks Fletcher, a cabinet-maker, pleaded Guilty
all indictment charging him with stealing 35 spoons
1,4:(140 forks, value 601., the property of Maria Ga-
tta4l °n, in her dwelling-house, and was sentenced to
(te.'ears' transportation.
Dre Mr. Baron PLATT and Mr. Justice WILLIAMS.)
dt4NGULAR CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER.—Robert
Jo', a boy of 8 years of age, David Agier, 26,
aeph
Cator, 29, a sailor; Joseph Johnson, 29, an
iod•lieer; and William Newson, 48 a smith, were
icted
b,„ for the manslaughter of John May Harris,
kJ eight years old, on the 18th August last.
fro r. ROBINSON appeared for the prosecution, and
ti, the statements of the Learned Gentleman and
thildevidence adduced, it appeared that the deceased
that was about the same age as the prisoner Auty ;
itte et'
lived with his mother and father in High-
() -e'Popar, and went to the National School there.
414 the morning of the 18th of August he
(1.1), he was
to school. At one o'clock on that
dkea,, Was at home well, and went out to play. The
al),Zed and his companions had been running
the"' the fields, and in the course of doing so, one of
ttenldrioPped his waistcoat, which was picked up by
a
tne prisoners at the bar. When he picked it
he said he would not give it up unless some of the
ag: fought the prisoner Auty. The deceased
reed to do so, and they fought for upwards
Itll4 half an hour, the other four prisoners
I,i,ng by and encouraging them to do so.
or iLue course of the fight, a boy, about 13
te,t,* Years of age, interfered, and endeavoured to
141°tate them ; but the prisoners, instead of aiding
jt, in that endeavour, insisted upon their fighting.
te,'ne course of the fight the deceased fell down
hirtieral times, and the prisoner Auty fell on the top of
die During the fight the four prisoners gave the
tglt easedi and Auty some beer. At the end of the
40h, beer
the four prisoners said they would give them
then if they would run; Auty and the deceased
,later set to running, in the course of which the
111 t ,Staggered and fell, and appeared very
flt and exhausted. Subsequently he had a
the ,a,nd upon his recovering from it, one of
altip,'",s°ners took him and gave him some spirits, and
asailkelY he was taken home extremely ill. Medical
1:11ee was sent for, but he died the next morning
,ve
to. ti O'clock.
that "a Harris, the mother of the deceased, stated
'l'cicii,er son was brought home between five and six
,„ the evening of the 18th of August, appa-
It th,f very drunk and stupid. She was not at home
ter stime, but on arriving at her residence she found
to lin bed. For some time she could not get him
ochfh7ak to her, and when she did he talked most in-
Ile .0;r:0113r, and appeared as if he did not know what
14 doing. He moved his hands and arms about
beca,ie Was fighting. About nine o'clock at night he
log ne Considerably worse, and died the next morn-
S "ere were no marks of violence about his body.
the eVeral of the boys who were the companions of
qttPirisoner Auty and the deceased, gave an account
of the transaction, which corroborated the statement
Itst,,4e Counsel for the prosecution, and one of them
to' that the deceased was not drunk until after the
and the race was over, and one of the prisoners
Poe,ven him a glassful of rum at the Elder Tree
ACtnuse.
ttkiefi Baines, a surgeon, was called in to see the dei
the 1 ~°OY about five or six o'clock on the morning o
qate "of August. He found him in a dreadful
kdie'„,", is pulse hardly perceptible, and with all the
the F"erls of affections of the brain. lie thought at
titneHte that the case was a hopeless one, and a short
thea.afterwards the boy died. Upon a post mortem
titath'natinn witness discovered that the cause of
aitb hvil as congestion of the brain, which was loaded
he 'nod, and which was produced by excitement.
tai 'e Were no marks of violence on the face, head, or
014 Excitement, and the drinking of rum in a
eatis of such tender years, was quite sufficient to
death.qtr.' Baron PLATT here intimated that the charge
evienslaughter had failed, as it was clear from the
eci„e4oe of the surgeon that the cause of death was
the'estion of the brain, produced by excitement and
administration of spirits.
S°
me t'ae discussion then ensued as to whether the
Ju4°oers could be charged with an assault, which
st Baron PLATT, after consulting with Mr.
couldlee Williams and the authorities, ruled that they
of th• -0
kr -Po
3nnisoN then called several of the playmates
tghte Prisoner Auty to prove the taking place of the
am ',and that the four other prisoners were aiding
I(4.loetting it. It appeared that the prisoner John-
fol4,°k away the waistcoat, and said that those who
yt for it should have it, and that previous to the
atld race the witnessses and the prisoner were
loaw'ttg at " More sacks on the mill," and the pri-
We Johnson was the " under-sack." While the
,ppeas taking place the boys that were fighting
sheared in fun, and were laughing at each other.
4 Bne;u44oner Auty would not drink any beer because
he was a teetotaller ; and while the fight was
°n the four prisoners said, laughing, that the
irt tiller was sure to win.
tillbriirLllßENDEKoAsr, who appeared for the prisoner,
to th'"ed that there was no case to go to the jury, as
Air question of assault.
At'. Baron PLATT thought there was.
Ilalrnrc 11nEsznEaoasT then addressed the jury on
thebe-
Igave prisoners, and called several witnesses, who
tossiCeln excellent characters for sobriety and hu-
krY'
Th. Baron PLATT summed up at some length, and
e Jury acquitted all the prisoners.

11 (1 -11
J Tv -STREET.—(THIS DAY.)
Ntli°:,,nna IVood, a charwoman, was brought up on
irotnt' charged with stealing a number of old coins
tard 'qrs. Morgan, the wife of a salesman in Covent-
" Market.
'lle
I'jt% Aresecutrix stated that on Monday last she
her 117.,°111$ Out, and left the prisoner to take care of
9aieti;;4lllc in her absence. On returning she entered
chest y' and found the prisoner standing before a
loth "' urawers, with one drawer, in which she kept
drawe curious old coins, open. She had left the
',Niter looked, and the key in another drawer when she
Aeh out. The prisoner started and dropped a half-
44.14which she must have taken from the drawer.
*4w :A something in her hand, but refused to show
vohichssliwhat it was. She said it was a shilling
thd e had borrowed from a servant next door,
and witness went to ask whether that was the case,
lite,,,,when she returned found that the prisoner had
ft out of the room and had been fetching water
aaimlthe kitchen. Witness missed a half-crown,
and Sixpence, fourpenny piece, twopenny piece,
Afo a Penny, all silver, of the reign of Queen Anne.
The
piece had been found in the kitchen.
le e prisoner denied the charge altogether, and al-
-8 d that Mrs. Morgan's statement was false.
Alt•a
• ARDINE committed her for trial.

THAMES.—(THIS DAY.)
Richard Forth, a private in the third regiment of
"e first battalion of the Scotch Fusileer Guards, at
Present stationed in the Tower, was charged with
I;iolently assaulting and injuring police constable
-K. 397.

The constable stated, that as he was on duty last
eight at Maunce-lane, St. George's in the East, he
:served the prisoner and a coalheaver about to corn-
, once a pugilistic encounter. Witness told them he
uld not allow anything of the sort, and desired
them to go home quietly. The coalheaver did so, but
,i
" prisoner followed the constable about his beat for
:considerable period, abusing him disgracefully, and
at last struck him two blows in the face, then
knocked him down, and in falling he broke his
tv,
gurob.
The
at risoner, in defence, expressed great sorrow
'4 contrition for the violence of which he had been
Sergeant Duker, of the Fusileers, gave the man
ktao%t excellent character. He had been upwards of
tedtt ell years in the regiment, and had never commit-
-4431 offence heavier than an occasional absence of
I.„,f.tht.
irt:111;• YA.EDLEy observed that the prisoner's ex-
L'°ll. of penitence was the best defence he could
ay '
adopted ; and, coupled with the high character
Yarcillie37) him by his sergeant, had induced him (Mr.
eti,lll to pass a much milder sentence than he
d otherwise have done. He should fine him 10s.,
The
days' imprisonment.
honer sergeant immediately paid the fine, and the
was released.
I\lll-r-

Zo.
SERVICE REWARDED.—CoIour-Sergeapt
t 4" tTARY SERVICE
Pearson,
received the Grenadier Guards, now recruit,:
,Itin the town of Shrewsbury, has .ccived the Queen
diltes
litY
of a silver medal, and is to receive 15/. on being
toi,strged, for long service and meritorious conduct,
tiki„:g entered the service in January, 1821, and re-
-4,401 the rank of a non-commissioned officer twenty-
' 34440—Shropshire Journal.

THE LATE NJ BOAT
ti XPLOSION.

ADJOURNED INQUEST.—(TIIIS DAY.)
The inquest was resumed this morning at ten

Henry Robert Haisman, of 8, Temple-lane, the
engineer who had the care of the boat on the morn-
ing of the explosion, voluntarily tendered his evi-
dence. He said, lam employed on the Ant at pre-
sent. I have been employed occasionally on the
Cricket. The first time about ten or twelve months
ago. The machinery worked very well indeed. The
valves worked well. I frequently tried them. I
mean the loaded valves. I never tried the Salter's
valves until recently. I cannot, therefore, tell how
they worked when I first went into the boat. I again
worked the boat on the 15th of August. The ma-
chinery was at that time in first-rate condition.
At this time all the valves worked freely. You
cannot see the steam blow off from the
Salter's valves without lifting them as the steam
passes up the funnel. You cannot tell without lift-
ing them, and I lifted them the morning before the
explosion. I did not know at what pressure the
valves were working when I went into the boat
on the 15th of August. I noticed the mercury gauge
frequently; it indicated a pressure of 38. The
weighted valves lifted at that pressure. I say I
noticed this frequently. I looked at the gauge two
or three times during a voyage ; it was the only
knowledge I could obtain of the pressure. I never
applied any extra weight to the levers. There was
spunyarn on each lever when I first went on board.
I took charge of the boat from Clarke. The yarn
was tied six inches from the end of the lever. The
other end was brought into the engine-room. One
end was hung over a nail in the main beam, quite
loose, and the other hung on a small piece of bolt on
the opposite side, which performed the office of a nail
Both ends were loose. When I went, one was hang
ing on the nail by a loop; the other was laid ove-
the bolt; neither were twisted. When I was the firsr
time in the Cricket found similar strings. Some-t
times one valve was without the string,
I used the yarn for the purpose of shaking the levers,
and freeing the valves by the jerk. I never twisted
the yarn round the nail or bolt at any time. Some-
times they were drawn by the fire and got burned.
Clarke gave me no directions about the string. I
only saw Clarke once working the Cricket. That
was the week before I left the company, four or
five months ago. Clarke and the foreman were in the
engine room. I did not notice the yarn on that
occasion. I never saw Clarke from that time until
I agreed to go into the company's service again. The
boat continued to work well up to the time of the ex-
plosion. I had nothing to complain of. I looked at
the mercury gauge within a minute of the explosion ;
it was standing at 38 degrees, and the valves were
just lifting; and the steam was actually escaping
lightly. I think it escaped by the larboard valve, or
I could not see it. I am not certain. This was
about half-past nine. I did not notice the yarns at
the moment. I did, however, a few minutes before.
They were both hanging, one looped over the nail, the
other hanging. There was no one save myself in the
engine-room then. The last thing I did was to look
at the mercury gauge, to try the watercock, and then
walked upon the deck. The water wss solid at the
middle cock. I left no one in the engine-room. I
stood on the deck with my back against the paddle-
box. Several of the crew were standing on the
sponson. Cripps and Nelsden were there, and I
spoke to one of them—l cannot say which. I was
not long enough on deck to notice whether the steam
blew off. I cannot swear that I did. I had scarcely
time to place myself before the explosion took place.
At 401bs. pressure the blowing off of the steam would
make a great noise—sufficient for any one to hear it
—under that pressure the noise would be slight. (A
piece of office tape was handed to the witness, and he
illustrated the position of the strings at the time by
allowing it to hang loosely from his arm—they were
quite " swag" to me, his own expression.) That
was the frequent position of the rope. lam quite
positive that with the yarn in the position I have
shown the valves were permitted to work. The
length of the string from the lever to the rail was, I
I think, about eight or nine feet. The yarn is in the
sight of those who work the engine. I never saw
the yarn operated upon by the movement of the
valves—it was an impossibility. The lever could
rise so gradually that the motion it might cause in
the yarn would not be seen. The motion of the
boat might move it. I never saw the yarn in any
other position than that I have mentioned. When
the valves were well open the string might rise, but
not much ordinarily. Two inches and a half were
about the play the valves required. I never saw the
yarn straight by any chance. When we left Dyers'
Hall wharf, where we laid three or four minutes,
nothing occurred. The boat had been five or six
minutes at the Adelphi pier before the explosion. It
was about to start for the fourth journey. The first
journey the steam did not blow off; there was not
sufficient steam. This was at Dyers' Hall pier, and
about half-past eight. The second time we left the
Adelphi pier, about nine o'clock, the steam blew off
as we came alongside, but there was not much. There
must, however, be a heavy body of steam for me to
discern it. I did not go into the engine-room after
the explosion; there was no engine-room, in fact, to
go into. I was not again on board the boat until the
examination took place. The boat was in the charge
of the police almost from the time of the explosion ;
and I have seen no one who had been on board since
the explosion. I cannot trace the explosion to any
cause. Within about six weeks of the first running
of the boat my attention was called to the starboard
boiler by Kent, who said the front tube plate was
started. I saw it ; it wal bulged in the centre, and
leaked at the upper corners on the starboard side. I
can't say whether that plate had been fiat or not. I
am confident it was at that time more convex than
the plate of the larboard boiler, the boiler that ex-
ploded. The leakage was corked and stopped. I
can't say that the leakage broke out again. There
were sometimes small leakages. I cannot recollect.
It does not occur to me to say anything more. I
never heard anything about the valves being tied
until after the explosion.
By Mr. Chambers—l have been an engineer eleven
years, during which time I have worked steam-
vessels. I have been engaged in tugs, in the Citizen
boats, and other steam-boats above bridge. I drove a
Richmond boat about four years, with the exception
of four months when the boats did not run. The
boats always went to Mr. Joyce's to be repaired. I
did not speak to the proprietors respecting the boiler.
I always looked upon Kent at that time as the fore-
man. He came from Mr. Joyce's manufactory. I
was engaged by Mr. Joyce or Mr. Meecham to drive
the boats. I think they inquired into my competency.
The strings were slanting, and I do not think they
could tie the valves, looking at the position of the
weight—they were not perpendicular, and if they
were tied the ball would have a tendency to come
forward and keep the valves open. I never wore out
any strings. I struck one off. I should think a
quarter of an inch, or three-sixteenths a lift would be
sufficient to relieve the boiler. I never did anything
to prevent the use of the spring valves.
By Mr. James—The starboard valve had a string
to it on the morning of the explosion. The other had
not. I shook it off on the Sunday. The larboard
valve acted well on the morning previous to the ex-
plosion. When the pressure was at 38 the steam
would blow off, and this would occur frequently
during the day. We used to be at the piers twice
forty times during a day. I did not examine the
larboard valve between the Sunday and the Thurs-
day. I had every reason to believe that it acted, and,
therefore, I did not touch it. We have these cords
on the Ant and Bee. I have had them burned; they
have a pulley to lift them, and, as there is not much
wear, they do not require replacing more than once
in two or three months. I examined all the valves
on the morning before the explosion. The machinery
was in good condition. We had a good supply. of
water,
surpasses my
and good fires. The cause of the explosion
knowledge. I should not say that the
blowing off of the steam in the morning could be
heard by the
notteii siiaolNk,
lout otpfeuotppholene btcohoaemit g del r
am o
Iwnnwo
at the
hurt.
s sitting
tt pier.g I
we
hal
en
ndn iodlt
gl
blew
hoafcrl
abte3e n 8 cwl eiat nh e
tdh
ebewfoerieghlt waetntthienetox
ttrheem eboenatd.
came to. I never saw thepstea.m blow off at 24. The
gltuba
of the boiler. I will swear that the guage did not rise
to 40 during our last voyage from Dyers' Hall pier.
It was at 40 at Dyers' Hall, and the steam
blew off strongly, but when we started it fell. It
does puzzle me how the explosion could take place
with the valves open and the pressure 38. The steam
might have got up whilst we were at the Adelphi
Pier. I raised Salter's valves with a broom handle
the morning before. I cannot tell at what pressure
they were. Nothing particular caused me to use the
broomstick. It was the first thing that came to my
hand ; it might be to save me the trouble of taking
the case of. I never looked at the index of Salter's
balance. There is an index for the engineer to look
at if he chooses to take the case of, but I never looked
at it, and 1 cannot tell whether the pressure was 40,
50, or 60. The broomstick cracked when I touched
the valve, but it had been broken before. Taking off
the case to look at Salter's balance would take about
five minutes. I cannot tell who removed the rope
from the other valve after the explosion. The pres-
sure was increasing when I left the engine room.
The fires had not been made up since leaving Dyer's
Hall. When Pater was my stoker the ropes were
placed as I have described. If the yarn with the loop
were brought straight the valve would still have a foot
to work in. lam sure I never twisted one of the
ropes round the nail.