The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-12 00:00:00

THE BLEICET WORKS INQUIRY.

In reply to Mr. FAWCETT,
Mr. HARDY said he anticipate:l the report would be
laid on the table before the conclusion of the session.
SIR C. DARLING.
In reply to Mr. °TWAY,

Mr. ADDERLEY said it was quite true that Sir Chas.
Darling had withdrawn his letter with respect to his re-
tiring from the public service.
THE IRISH REFORM BILL.
In reply to Colonel FRENCH,

Mr. DISRAELI said he proposed to take the committea
on the Irish Reform Bill the first thing on Monday next.
METROPOLITAN MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.
In reply to Mr. C. BENTINCE.,

Mr. MILL said he intended to proceed with the bill on
Wednesday next.

REGISTRATION (1868) BILL,

Mr. G. HARDY then rose to move for leave to bring in
a bill to amend the law of registration so far as related to
the year 1868. Ho said the bill was to facilitate the regis-
tration that would take place in the present year, in order
that the dissolution of Parliament might take place as
speedily as possible. He proposed to give, as he thought,
ample time to the voters to register their claims, and after
that had bean done, he proposed by the bill to commence
the revision of both boroughs and counties on the 14th of
September, and to give additional assistance three revising
barristers would be appointed instead of two, and he
thought that it would ba quite possible 7 or 8 days after the
completion of the lists to issue new writs. He proposed
to shorten the time sot forth in the proclamation
from 35 days to 28 days, and so, making provision for
every matter of necessity, it appeared to be quite possible
for the new Parliament to assemble by the Bth or 9th
of December. (Oh, oh.) And supposing the swearing-
in of the members to be completed in a week, he thought
the new Parliament would be able to proceed with publio
business on the 14th of December. (Hear, hear, and
laughter.) It would be of the utmost importance that the
sense of the house should be taken upon certain
questions of the greatest interest, and whatever might be
the result of that discussion, it was absolutely necessary
for the Ministry to have six or seven weeks after that and
previous to the usual time at which Parliament generally
commenced to consider what was to be done—(hear, hear)
—when the result of the deliberations of the house was
known. He did not wish to hurry the bill through so
as to appear unseemly, but he did hope that as it was de-
sirable that the dissolution should take place at the earliest
possible moment, no unnecessary delay would be desired
by either side of the house. He concluded by moving for
leave to introduce the bill.

Mr. GL ADS TONE generally approved of the provisions
of the bill.

Col. FRENCH asked how the Irish elections were to
be dealt with ?

The Earl of MAYO said he had made the most minute
inquiries on the subject, and such arrangements had been
made which would secure the Irish elections to be taken
concurrent with those in England. (Rear, hear.)

Leave was then given, the bill was brought in, read a
firet time, and ordered to be read a second time on Mon-
day next.
BOUNDARY BILL.

The house then went into committee on this bill.
Mr. HIBBERT moved an amendment, in clause 4,
the object of which was to alter the list of old boroughs
specified in the first schedule, and that a new list of
boroughs should be substituted. . .

Mr. ADDERLEY opposed the amendment, because it
was a totally different way of dealing with towns and
boroughs as recommended by the Commissioners. The
adoption of such a proposition as that uow be-
fore the house seemed to him to be closely ad-
vancing to the proposition of electoral districts, because
it proposed to represent numbers instead of a locality.
The next proposition before the house was to give throe
members to Birmingham on the ground of increased
area, and yet that area was not to be increased. (Loud
cries of " No, no," from the Opposition.) They might
say no, no, but it was a positive fact that such was
the effect of the proposal. The declaration of
the honourable member for Birmingham a short time
ago enunciated the noblest principles, but when
they were practically applied to his own particular
case his admiration of the pl In altogether ceased. That
which he (Slr. Bright) thought so aluirable, when ho
discovered it was not advantageous to his own
personal interests he at once condemned, an 1 that showed
most unmistakeably that his principles and practices
were totally distinct. The great effort now was to retain
one half of the borough of Birmingham for representation,
and with the other half it was proposed to swamp the two
adjoining counties of Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
Mr. BRIGHT protested that it made no difference to
him whether the constituency of Birmingham were
doubled ; his solo object in resisting this increase was the
interest of the town. He retorted on Mr. Adderley that
he was actuated by no other desire but to weaken the
Liberal party in East Worcestershire and North War-
wickshire, and it was part of a policy borrowed by Mr.
Disraeli from Lord Bolingbroke to give the landed into

rest an unassailable power in Parliament, which, if it were
successful, must load to electoral districts. To draw a
sharp line between urban and rural districts would ulti-
mately damage the Conservatives most of all ; but he pro
dieted that no ingenuity would be able to extract a party
advantage from this bill.
Mr. R. GURNEY, regretting that a party tone had been
introduced into the discussion, explained the principles
on which the Commissioners had acted, and first ho de-
fended the instruction given to the Commissioners by Par-
liament on the faith of which the Reform Act had been
passe !. Its principle was that in future the members for
great towns should really represent them, and not parts
only, and he insisted that the principle of making munici-
pal and Parliamentary boundaries conterminous had never
been acted on, either by the Crown or Parliament. Be
denied, too, that the wishes of the inhabitants had been
disregarded, but objections founded on a mere
dislike of being subjected to municipal taxation were
not worthy of consideration. To the argument
founded on the comparative numbers of towns
and counties he replied that county members represented
boroughs as well, for out of the 6,000 electors of North
Warwickshire at least one quarter had their qualifications
in Birmingham, and the proportion would be greatly in-
creased by the Reform Act. Admitting that it would be
undesirable to draw a strict line between urban and rural
voters, he maintained that the bill showed how impartially
the commissioners had endeavoured to maintain a due
balance of both.

Mr. H. A. BRUCE spoke on behalf of the committee,
and, refu,ing to shelter himself unddr the plea that the
difference between the two authorities was owing to the
variance in their instructions, boldly attacked the Com-
missioners' report, and pointed out various instances in
which he asserted they had gono on an entirely wrong
principle.
Mr. Newdegate and Mr. B. Davenport supported the
enlargement of the boundaries of Birmingham. Mr. A.
Peel pleaded for the amalgamation of Leamington with
Warwick, and Sir H. Williamson complained of the re-
commendations of the Commissioners in regard to North
and South Shields.

Mr. B. OSBORNE criticized the report of the Commis-
sioners in his usual pungent vein, protesting against the
fulsome flattery which had beeh addressed to them, and
pointing out numerous blunders they bad made. The
whole question of boundaries, he predicted, would be
overhauled by the new Parliament. Some stringent re-
marks which he made on what he described as the gross
anomaly of East Retford drew from one of its members,
Lord Galway, the sharp retort that if he were to leave an-
other colleague, he hoped he would not be a " buffoon."
On a division Mr. Hibbert's amendment was carried by
184 to 148.

Attempts were made to apply the recommendations of
the commissioners to the cases of Liverpool, Warwick,
ani Wigan, but they were all dafeated, th 3 last on a divi-
sion by 131 to 91; and it was remarked that in neither of
these divisions did the usual Government officials act as
tellers.

The clause as amended by Mr. Ilibbert was agreed to,
after a warm protest from Mr. Powell against the "par-
tisan" motives which had guided the decision of the Boun-
dary question.
The success of Mr. Hibbert's amendment secured the
passage of the remainder of the bill. The other clauses
were rapidly agreed to ; and though some hours were spent
in adjusting the schedules to the amendment, almost no
controversy arose. The report was fixed for Monday, and
Mi. Disraeli gave notice he would then bring up a clause
relating to compound householders. Some time was after-
wards devoted ti giving the finishing touches to the de-
tails of the Scotch Reform Bill. A number of verbal
amendments were made, but none of any great moment,
though at one time the much-vexed question of the Glas-
gow Boundaries seemed likely to give rise to a stormy
scene between the Lord Advocate and the Scotch Liberal
members. Mr. Neato renewed the controversy as to the
claims of Sutherlandshire to a whole seat, and actually
moved the suspension of the representation during the
pleasure of Parliament, but did not persevere to a division.
The Thames Embankment and Metropolis Improve-
ment (Loans) Act Improvement Bill passed through
Commiti es.

Some other bills were forwarded a stage, and the House
adjourned at 20 minutes past 12 o'clock.

711 E BOILLIZ EXPLOSION ON THE
THAMES.

The adjourned inquest on the bodies of Charles
Thomas and William Hewitt, firemen on board the
Pilot, steam tug, whose deaths were caused by the
explosion of one of the boilers of that vessel while
proceeding down the Thames, off Cliffe-point, on a
trial trip after repairs to the engine, on the 28th
of May, was held at the Town Hall, Gravesend,
yesterday, before Mr. E. A. Inkier, coroner for
the borough. Mr. Thomas Gray, assistant secre-
tary to the Board of Trade, was present
during the inquiry, also Mr. T. W. Trai
and Mr. S. W. Snowden, surveyors to the
Board. Mr. Sharland, solicitor, attended on be-
half of Mr. Buckland, the superintending engineer
under the contract for repairs. Richard Owen
Davis, the owner of the vessel, stated that the vessel
left the Terrace-pier at noon, with 28 persons on
board. Soon after the vessel started it was found
by the slow movement of the engine that there was
something wrong, and the attention of Mr. Buck-
land, the engineer, was called to the circumstance.
In about 20 minutes, while passing Cliffe, one
of the boilers exploded, the two firemen being
in the engine-room at the time. Thomas was
got out and laid upon the deck. He was
much injured by scalding, but still alive. The
body of Hewitt was removed from the engine-room,
dead. Thomas expired at the Gravesend Infirmary
a few hours afterwards. Charles Buckland, the
engineer, said he was not satisfied
superintending
with the state of the engine a day or two prior to
the trial trip, and expressed his dissatisfaction to the
contractor, who promised to make the necessary
alterations. Oa the day of the trial trip the engine
thumped a little, and as they proceeded the speed
decreased. He went below to ascertain the cause,
and found that the expansion throttle-valves had
closed, which shut in the steam. The contractor
undertook to remedy the defect by tying the valves
open, which was done. The gauge indicated a
pressure of 51b. only. While witness was engaged
pointing out to the engineer of the vessel that there
was something wrong the explosion occurred.
When he saw the boiler plate afterwards he formed
an opinion that the accident had occurred from an
over-pressure of steam. William Juniper Cooper,
the contractor, said that when they started on the
trial trip the indicator showed 151 b. pressure of
steam. The engine moved slowly, performing 20
revolutions a minute. It ought to have made 38.
He could not account for it. He tied the expan-
sion-valve open. The explosion occurred ten mi-
nutes afterwards. In cross-examination by Mr.
Snowden, the witness said that the stop-valves
were in order. The valves were weighted at 241 b.
the square inch. Alfred Thomas Mudd, engineer
to the Pilot, could only account for the explosion
by supposing that the stays of the boiler might
have been insufficient. William Reid, a boiler-
maker at Old Ford, Bow, stated that he ex-
amined the engine of the Pilot the day after the
explosion. He was not directed to do so by
any one. He found a rent in the bottom plate of
the boiler. The plate was much decayed. The boiler
was badly constructed. There was a want of stays.
He touched the valve outside. The Coroner said
that the witness had no right to interfere with the
engine at all. Thomas William Train, Surveyor to
the Board of Trade, said he inspected the vessel
in question in conjunction with Mr. Snowden.
He went on board on Thursday and was told that
some one had been there before by order of
the Board of Trade, which he knew was untrue.
lie was of opinion that the communication-valves
had been shifted, and that the screw on the top of
the safety-valve of the port boiler had been recently
moved. 'lie did not think that the pressure would
have burst the boiler had both the safety-valves
acted properly ; at the same time he thought it was
an injudicious pressure to have them weighted at,
owing to the weakness of the furnaces. Had there
been a stay put in the furnaces the explosion, in his
opinion, might have been prevented, provided the
safety-valves had worked properly. He had tested the
gauge, and ascertained that it did not vary half a
pound at any point. Ile felt sure that the boiler
did not explode upon 41b. or 51b. pressure. The
valve must have been closed. Mr Snowden, the
other surveyor, fully corroborated the statement
of the last witness. The jury, after half an hour's
deliberation, returned a verdict of " Accidental
Death," to which was appended an expression of
regret at the unauthorized interferencedrewthe sN'it
engine by Mr. Reid. The coroner hatten-
tionhet of those present to a clause in the Merchant
Shipping Act, under which any person unduly
weighting a safety-valve rendered himself liable to
a penalty of £lOO.