The New York herald., 1850-12-06

The crowded state Of our columns has hitherto
prevented the publication Of the entire testimony
taken ny the Coroner AZ his investigator in .ea-
ton to the late explosion on board the propeller
Resolute. We deem i, due to the public, the
owner Of the boat, and the builders Of the ma
chRery, as well as 10 the surviving friends of the
unfortunate meu who loet their lives by that me
IanchOIy catastrophe, that all the faes elected
TO- cause ofthe dreadful accident should be made
known.
Contrary 10 our first expectations, the explosion
does not appear 10 have been occasioned by any
defect IN the boiler, leF by what more frequently
the cause of such accidents-a deficiency of water.
The boiler was new, and OF The very best work.
manship. IL, and the machinery, was made by
MrssTs. j p Morris N Co, the well known manu-
facturers of Philadelphia, whose reputation as ma
chinisis is second 10 none 10 rhe country The en-
tire boiler was made Of The best description of
fange irop, which is tougher and more valuable
then boiler iron, and rarely used for boiler
making. The whole machinery, we learn,
buiit without regard 20 cost, aud every part was
made with direct reference 10 strepgth and dura-
bility One of our first engine bulders in this city,
who has examined the machinery critically, in
ioIms us that hs never saw better made boiler
than the IN question.
As this boat was built abroad, and was to he the
first OF the kind in this harbor, both the
builders and the owner were anxious 10 have her
prove completely successful, and Derhing left
undope that could contribute to this end So far
az have been able IL learn neither of these
parties any responsible for The accident.
The men who lost their lives on board the
MESQUITE were considered cnOice men. lhey
were picked. here and there. and were in every
respect qualified for their respective spheres Cap
tain Hartman, was quiet, unpretending man;
faithful and energetic III mis- business. and much
esteemed by all who knew him Few men in his
ceiling had more friends.
Mr.. Shepard, the engineer, TO whose keeping
the lives of these persons more immediately
entrusted, was considered superior man in his
vocation, and WORTHY Of the confidence reposed in
him He was formerly "a engineer on the steam
ship Falcon, when she run between this port and
Chegres, direct afterwards, on the steamboat
g. Vsnderbilt and recently, 1st engineer on
the propeller Jersey Blue. running between New
York and New Haven, which boat he left early in
October, for the Resolue. He careful
min-devoted to the interest of his employer
proud of his engine and boat, and WAS unlikely to
commit the fatal blunder hat cost himself and his
compaDions their lives, as any are in his vocation.
The fireman, Joseph Plnmmer, whose family
reside in Philadelphia. intended 10 leave the )at
on the night of the 23i the day of the accident to
hnd employ ment nearer home. The boy. kemhle,
commenced work only the day before. The other
four who were killed left other situations, but
short time previous, tor those they occupied the
Resoluie. The clerk of the boat. who had been
on board TO hand the captain towing order. had
scarcely left her when The explosion took place
He was knocked down and tainted, but escaped
without injury. Another striking fact is, that the
accident should have happened just AT that time,
when all the men were congregated IN the cabin,
within few feet Of the explosion, where the dan
ger most imminent and escape impossible.
Six out of the seven persons employed on the
boat were killed -Four Of this number left wives
and young children, and one other left children
only In all. thirteen children left fatherless.
sad summingup, indeed. A more fatal and
heartrendng occurrence is not often our duty to
record
THE TESTIMONY.
Gregory Albro, residing at Green Point, being
sworn, says .he is an Engineer. and that about
o'clock on Saturday morning, while he was on
board the steamboat Active, coming towards the
propeller Resolute, and when within half n mile
NJ hp lafle wa mfr hy "A nl nf nm
board the Active, that an explosion had occurred
on board the Resolute we went on past the said
boat, as far as pier East river, then turned
around and went back 10 the Resolute which
WIS lying at the end Of pier ~; he then went on
board Of said boat in company with others, and
upon looking down her cabin, he ard the voice of
man went down into said cabin, and found the
person whom he had heard, and aided in bringing
him upon deck he accompanied said Injured per-
TO the First ward station house, and after
wards returned TO the Rssolute; upon examining
her machinery, discovered the safety valve was
lashed down; on examining boiler. he found the
back end of the arch had settled down, and had
drawn out the rivets (stay bos) from the shell !;
and dePonent further says that il Is hi, opinion
lashed down, thereby preventing the escape Of
steam IL elso his opinion that the m ifrrial IF
which the boiler was composed, and the work
manship on the same, was sufficiently good and
strong TO have carried one hundred pounds OF
steam.
VI
pointed by the government To inspect steam vessels
and boilers examined the steamboat Resolute on
the ~ Of November; she was at that time IN good
condition, and was ceruied as being on the same
day; il was his opinion that the boiler and M
chinery attached were as good in every regard as
could be he went on board said boat last Sdtur-
day. and found the boiler fractured at the back part
of the arch, where IL connects with the fses; de-
onent further states that he found the safety vav1
iashed down, and is Of the opinion that this was
the cause of the explosion, because il prevented
the escape OF steam.
Joseph Curtis, residing AZ ~ Lexington avenue
being sworn, says he also has examlned The steam
boat Resoute, and fully concurs 10 the testimony OF
his associate, the previous witness
Mr. Hogg of the firm OF Hogg " Delamater, en-
Qine builders, was also summoned by the Coroner,
but was prevented by Illness from attending; he
has since read the testimony OF The witnesses who
were examined, and has expressed his concurrence
in the following words :-" have been on board
the propeller Resolute repeatedly. both before and
since The accident was board soon after the
explosion; the boiler was, in my opinion, Superior
one and without any defect "a to the cause of the
explosion, fully concur with Messrs Albro, Craig,
and Curtis"
A little explanation Of some part Of this testimo-
ny is neces sary To a perfect under standing OF We
meaning. The weight on the lever OF the safety
valve WAS after the explosion found set al 63 lbs.,
which pressure the boiler could carry with perfect
safety. There is every reason To believe that, on
leaving the engine room for breakfast the engineer
int nded 10 ease the valve little. that u would
blow off steam triile under 6S lbs This could be
done by means Of cord running up through the
floor into the engine room but parallel with this
cord and near II, though issuing from separate
aperture in the floor, was another cord, by which
the valve could be made fat m its socket and II
was this cord which the engineer frightened. This
~ what s TO be understood by the Witnesses ex-
flaeher doWn "