The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-29 00:00:00

the stop of the valve inside the boiler, and saw it was open
about five inches. I then got out of the boiler and went to
satisfy myself of the cause of the small leakage of steam I
had before noticed. I found that a small nut used to secure
the lagging to the boiler had broken, and through it a small
quantity of water had escaped, producing the stem which I
had observed. I then asked for the key of the safety-valve;
and was informed the captain of the ship had it, and that he
was in London. I ordered the lock to be broken, the cover
removed, and the valveand its weights taken out. I saw this
done, and I had water poured down into the valve-chest in
eirder to see if the waste waterpipe was clear. It was per.
feetly clear. then had the weights and the safety-valve
taken to the Royil Mail Company's factory and had them
weighed. I found the weight on the safety-valve exactly equal
to IGlb. on the squardinch. I then returned to the ship and
had the gauge disconnected from the steam-pipe of the boiler
which had exploded, in order to seo if the steam-pipe was
clear, and when I blew a breath through it its action was
such as to satisfy me it was clear. I marked the gauge which
I now produce, and 'Sent it to my factory to be tested. It
was done by my cousin.

The Coroner—This _result certainly shows that the gauge
did not mark the amount of steam correctly. Are you able
to account for the4tecident in any way ?
Mr. Summers—My impression is that the defective
stay before referred to first gave way, and that then the wind
pressure of the side of the boiler came upon the ends; and
caused the rents I have already described. I consider the
partial collapse of the " uptake" occurred also In consequence
of the breaking of the stays. This is the only manner in
which I can account for the rending of the boiler casings.
By Captain Robertson I made an official survey of this
boiler in June last, and granted a declaration of sufficiency to
the sth November inst. •
By the Coroner—The boilers were made by an eminent en.
gineer, and had I gone into them altd eXamined them before as
I have done to-day Fohonld have co. • ,ered myself warranted
briertrtiZtoTr-OC., kr -the liext ttto;
months:
By the Coroner-I do not think the accident" would affect
the condition of the steam gauge. It is quite clear to my mind
that the valve being raised only 1-Bth of an inch would not be
sufficient to-keep the boiler safe. The valve ought to have
risen with a'pressure of 161 b. Supposing the valve had been
entirely open, I believe the escape of steam generated would
have been sufficient, though the engines were not working.
By the Foreman—l do not believe the boiler exploded at a
pressure of Nib. nor of 20lb; When the boiler burst. the
pressure must have been quite 241 b. (Sensation.) The pres-
sure must have been greater thin that indicated at 171 b. or
201 b. at an earlier period of the afternoon.
The Coroner—All eircumstaires considered, to what do
you attribute the accident ? !
Mr. Summers—l believe the Accident must be attriblted.
to the giving way of the defective stay. When that Stay
gave way the pressure was thrown upon the sides; and hors
the rent c mmenced, extending itself towards the steam-
chest, near to which the principal explosion has occurred. -
After a lengthened consultation, the proceedings were
mately at a late hour adjourned.
The man Godfrey, reported yesterday as very dangerouSly
ill, has rallied, and hopes exist of his recovery.

THE HU9DERSFIELD MECHANICS'

INSTITUTE.

The anniversary proceedings of this instituiion com-
menced on Wednesday evening, with a public distribu-
tion of prizes to the students in its classes. The hall was
well filled, there being upwards of a thousand persons pre-
sent, among whom were many ladies.
Mr. F. CURSON, the secretary, read a short report, from
which it appeared that the award of prizes last year had
immediately produced an increased punctuality in the at-
tendance of the pupils, besides attracting public attention
to the institution.
Lord GODERICH, who was much cheered, said this was a.
very interesting occasion, for they were all brought that
night face to face with a large number of the young men
of the town, who had been decided, by competent judges,
to have shown great ability and great industry in various
branches of learning. Now that men were becoming con-
vinced that in every kind of employment, public or pri-
vate, it. Nees more than ever necessary to look less to the
sort of coat that a man might wear, or to the name by
which he might be called, than to those intellectual qua-
lifications which were tested and demonstrated by exami-
nations such as the one just concluded, and also to
those moral qualifications which must rule and direct the
others. It gave him and the rest of the meeting very much
gratification to meet, out of so large a number as from 700
to 800 young men of that town, those who had been picked
out as the most proficient. (Applause.) It had been said,
and truly so, to a great extent, that the undergoing of such
an examination was not merely a direct evidence of intellec-
tual attainments, but was also some indirect evidence of
moral superiority. But if young men studying at the uni-
versities, or seeking clerkships tinier Government, showed
themselves, by undergoing such examinations, to be pos-
sessed of self-denial and self-control at the time of life
when those qualities are most 'difficult to exercise, then it
could not be doubted that those qualities were displayed in
a yet higher and more meritorious degree by poisons of a
different class who pursued their studies ender all the diffi-
culties; Which must beset the path of many of the members
of this institution. It must therefore be of „great inspoit-
,eiraktiqt pmptoyeiv ortebour,--.lf they verreaneu.be.yrQuid
not say to their duty, but to their own plain interest, to
find out such young men. But there were strangers present
also, whose motives for coming were of a more public
character. The Huddersfield Mechanics' Institution was
well known for its instruction class organisation, from
which had sprang these examinations for the last two years;
and though the gentlemen there present who felt a special
interest in popular education would perhaps find in the
institution some faults to point out, he did flatter
himself, without exaggeration, that the example of Hud-
dersfield would give them some encouragement in their
noble endeavours, and convince them that there was no
reason to despair, or to abate one jot of those high hopes
of the progress of education, those utopian desires as
some persons had called them, which the zealous friends
of the cause had been wont to entertain. (Cheers.)
The distribution of prizes was then commenced, and
occupied nearly an hour.
The Right Hon. Sir JOHN PAKINCTON, M.P., then rose
to speak, amidst great cheering. He said he rejoiced to
have witnessed the successful result of the classes in this
institution. His own experience prevented him from say-
ing that this was the first institute to establish such classes,
because in his own part of England (Worcestershire) he
was acquainted with a very well-conducted mechanics' in-
stitute which had established them, but he could not say
that the results obtained in Worcestershire were anything
equal to those he had now seen at Huddersfield. He
understood that this was one of the institutes which
composed the Yorkshire Union, and that he had the plea-
sure of speaking in the presence of the president (Mr.
Babies) of that association. If there were differences of
opinion between Mr. Baines and himself as to the best
mode of attaining a great object, he was glad of this oppor-
tunity of stating publioly his opinion, and not for the first
time—that there was no more dittiuguished or more sin-
cere friend to the cause of popular education than that
ovitleman. (Cheers.) He believed this was one of upwards
of 100 mechanics' institutes which did honour to the county
of York, and that the members of these institutions num•
bored not loss than 20,000. Now he would humbly suggest
that the great county of York, with its 1,800,000 inhabi-
tents, ought not to be content with 20,000 members of such
institutes. (Applause.) Positively, it was a great number,
but comparatively it was not many. (Hear, hear.) He
hoped that encouragement would be derived from the ad-
mirable example of Huddersfield. It was because he had
been informed that there was not one such more dis-
tinguished than this institution, in its efforts for the bene-
fit of the working classes, that he had accepted the invita-
tion to be present, doing so for his own pleasure and in-
struction. (Applause.) One thing was most striking to li
any friend of education who had the privilege ca seeing
such a sign of progress, and that was that the classes in this
institute embraced a wider range of study than it was
possible for any ordinary elementary school to bestow.
(Hear, hear.) He had heard this evening little
boys of nine years old called out to show that they could
read ; but he had heard others of the same class, bat more
advanced years, called out to show that they had occupied
their leisure to their own honour and great benefit in the
more difficult attainments of science; he had had proof that
some devoted their attention to the softer charms of music;
and the walls of this room were covered with proofs that
the art of drawing had been amply cultivated. (Hear.)
These were gratifying proofs of the eagerness for knowledge
which existed in all classes, when the means of knowledge
were fairly held out, and those who thus exerted them-
selves might rely that they would find, in every walk
of life, their toil sweetened by intellectual acquirement.
They would find that they were happier and more
virtuous men by thus directing their intellectual powers to
such attainments, and thus cultivating the noble gifts of
reason which God had given them. (Hear, hear.) He
trusted that this institution might long continue to increase
in numbers and in efficiency, and to bestow upon the rising
generation of Huddersfield those advantages which he must
believe it now conferred. (Loud cheers.)

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