The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-28 00:00:00

THE INQUEST.

At noon today Mr. Edward Coxwell, coroner for the
borough cf Southampton, assembled a jury of highly
respectable inhabitants, at the company's ctfices adjoining
the dockyard, for the purpose of investigating the cir-
cumstances which led to the deaths of the four unfortu-
nate men whose names are given below.
Captain Mangles, chairman of the Royal Mail Steam
Packet Company ; Captain Vincent, the company's super-
intendent ; and Mr. Mills, chief engineer, were in at-
tendance. The court was much crowded.

The jury, of whom Mr. Alderman Stebbing was fore-
man, having first viewed the bodies of Knoulton, Rogers,
and Pothecary, which were lyi❑g at the dock house,
afterwards proceeded to the infirmary, where they also
viewed Hobbs. All the remains presented a shocking
spectacle.

On resuming, the Coroner briefly explained the nature
of the duties which would devolve upon the jury. He
expressed his intention of merely opening the inquiry to-
day, and atter examining a few witnesses be should pro-
pose an adjournment, as it would be impossible in so im-
portant a case to complete the investigation at one sitting.
The first witness called was Mr. John M'Crae, who
said—l am foreman boilermaker for the Royal West
India Mail Steam Packet Company at Southampton. I
was on board the steam ship Parana, then lying in the

outer dock, from about half-pait 2 until about a quarter-
past 4 in the afternoon of yesterday. She had steam up,

and was blowing off when I went On board. The steam
was kept up for the purpose of trying the boilers previ-
ously to going out of dock next Monday. I made a care-
tut examination of the boilers while I was on board.
I saw nothing to induce me to doubt their security.
I observed the steam gauge once or twice, and saw it
indicate a pressure of 141 b. to the square inch. I believe
the boilers are weighted to 161 b. About five o'clock I
again went on board, owing to a message I received. I
made an examination of the boilers, and found the star-
board forward boiler had a rent at each end of it. There
was water in the boiler over the tops of the flues. The
rent was evidently produced by the bursting of the boiler.

An immense escape of steam -would imme:liately follow
such an opening. A part of the side of the boiler was
thrown back. The rent extended at one end 8 feet, and
at the other 13 or 14 feet in length, and was thrown
back about 9 inches against the coal bunker. I cannot
at all account for the accident. The original thickness
of the boiler plates was 3.Bths of an inch. I saw the
plates measured this morning, and the thinnest part was
s.l6ths of an inch. I saw nothing to indicate any flaw
or defect in the iron. The boilers had not lately re-
quired any repair beyond a few rivets in the furnaces.
I made no examination of the valves. I have known
the same boilers for 4 years. They were out of the Ship,
and underwent general repair two years ago. Some
boilers will run four years with scarcely any repairs. I
did not observe the indicator standing higher than 141 b.,
but I have heard it was higher. The rents were above
bbe water space. I have been inside the boiler, but can-
not form any opinion where it first started. The length
of the boiler is 21 feet. The rents from the two ends do
not meet. I have seen a boiler something similar, but of
a different shape, proved with cold water to 501 b. to the
square inch. I imagine the diameter of the boiler to have
been about 15 feet. Caird ant Co., of Greenock, manu-
factured the boiler. It was a cylindrical boiler, with flit
ends. The ends are still perfect. It is customary to exa-
mine and try the boilers every voyage—that is, about
once in six weeks.

Mr. Alex. Wylie was next examined. He said—l am
chief engineer of the steamship-Parana, and was yester-
day on duty on board that ship. We were trying the
boilers, for which purpose we got up stea.-u at half -pest 2
o'clock in the afternoon. The greatest pressure was 171 b.
to the square inch. This was about three o'clock.
I did not consider that a greater amount of pressure than
ought to have been applied. The boilers were loaded to
161 b. I considered that a perfectly safe pressure. It is
impossible to load her beyond 161 b. The ordinary pres-
sure at sea is 151 b., and I consider that if loaded to
211 b. it would not have been unsafe. I have this
morning made a careful examination of the plates of the
boiler, but that examination does not throw any light
upon the cause of the accident. I concur in all the
evidence given by the last witness as to the nature
and extent of the injury to the boiler. I have been
unable to form any opinion in my own mind as to the
cause of the accident. I was on board at the time
of the accident, and had been on the platform all the
afternoon, and only left it about live minutes pre-
vious to the explosion, and could not have escaped
death bad it occurred before I left. The pressure at the
time I left the platform was 121 b., with the safety-calve
eased, in which condition it was found this morn-
ing. When I heard the explosion, my first impres-
sion was that the bottom of the boiler had given
way ; and supposing all the water was out of the
boiler, and the fires burning, my first care was to get the
fires drawn out, and I drew out the fires myself. Shortly
afterwards I saw water in the boiler. There must have
been about 36 men on board at the time connected-with
the engine room. Among them was Daniel Knotilton,
a coal trimmer, aged about 21 ; Alfred Rogers, also a
coal trimmer, aged about 24 ; John Pothecary, also a
coal trimmer, aged about 26 ; and James Hobbs, also a
coal trimmer, aged about 21. Rogers was getting out
coals near the boiler which burst when I last saw him
previously to the accident. The other three men were
variously employed about the engine room. Almost im-
mediately after the explosion the whole body of steam
the boiler had contained escaped, and would have
scalded anybody near to it. I lifted one of the men out
of the stokehole myself. I think it was Alfred Rogers,
but his features were so obliterated that I could hardly
recognise him. He was quite dead. I saw another, I
think Pothecary, also brought out of the stokehole quite
dead. I saw some of the other men who were injured.
Those who were dead were removed to the engine house
near the dock gates. Captain Vincent was immediately
on the spot, and I heard him give orders that those who
were injured should be take❑ to the infirmary. The
other boilers had been blown off previously to the explo-
eiou of this one. There was no steam in them. The
valves were in perfect order. I shut them in the pre-
sence of Mr. Mills at half-past two o'clock. Previously
to the explosion there was no escape of steam whatever.
The boilers have been carefully examined since we came
into port a month ago. I have bee❑ in the ship four
years. The boilers were then only about seven months
old. I entertained not the slightest doubt of the perfect
security of the boilers immediately previous to the acci-
dent. I concur in the evidence of Mr. Were° as to the
substance of the plates. There is a communication
between all the boilers for steam only when the
ship is under weigh. There are four boilers. I
have been nearly 15 years in the service. I think
the bodies of the men who were dead were brought
out of the stokehole within twenty minutes after
the explosion. The 171 b. pressure to which I have
alluded, at 3 o'clock, was upon the whole four boilers,
but the 12ib., at the time I went up from the engine-
room, was upon the one boiler only—that which burst.
The pre-sure was the same on each boiler. The boilers
are scraped every six weeks, and this particular boiler
had been scraped within that time. I have never known
the indicator of this boiler give a false indication. The
steam in the boiler was to be kept until half-past 6 o'clock
for the purpose of trying some experiments which had
nothing whatever to do with the safety of the boiler.
Mr. Edward Tate was next called. He said—l am
second engineer of the Parana. I was on duty on board
that ship yesterday afternoon when the steam was got up.
The greatest amount of pressure I saw on the boilers
during the afternoon was 151 b. That was about a quar-
ter to four o'clock. I was on board at the time of the
explosion, which took place at a quarter to five o'clock.
I was at that moment en the main deck near the shaft-
ing. I had seen the boilers just previously, but observed
nothing to excite my suspicion. They appeared to me to
be in perfectly good order. I think the boilers were
capabls of bearing a pressure of from 20ib. to 251 b. The
original thickness of the plates was three-eighths of an
inch, and it is scarcely any thinner now, I have carefully