The New York herald., 1871-08-01

wholly from the control f ali persons engaged IN aa;ssng
Of as :s e.. Are s
ser bed BY the Inspection cerircate that there SUFFICIENT
nSsss Ss Of gauge sSsfs s ss
rccy record each excess OF steam carried above the pre-
AIKEN Wholly a a
sa sns as
s II g. y sf s sss Of rs s
AMPLE sy pt water 70 sa NE .4s AZ Is Al
Wheeler ~ vessel M sS, z %Tep 5 .. NOT s n
provided thoroughly remcvs nad ana Sediment
'% ss' as' sPfsi
ss ss % % sHr be better o ass s % %
.bs no. s as aPpr%ge Re % sy y. Beard % Supervising
so T. s syTs:ls ~. bSS
Sre boilers the inspector shall assume ilo pounds 10 the
9aar. n,h e te pressure qowste work
;ads IN hs ,h best Of ,pssiea iron plss
= .a sSsSrs sSs
S \. sewSa S. .a
fsss6aicd and. and Known as low boilers ,Hc said
% ss o o a. Sssos se Of
s By s to e and nave 70 Sa
sscsn therefor inspector. be Of opinion
that soid boiler by reason Of M consttneon or mssra
sy yci
s ff an o sta n saa
s $ ps;s &c 'hf
sac test the ra!io OF 1850 pounds the square inch
asca .ns % .s ssf be- Or apS3ssa ps s Of . III; sss
in dangerous from defective Workmanship, age.
i5,aa-when the inspection completed and the inspcc
h RS SG 5e eer 10 s ser %
Other chief Of ,ne customs Of the Ssrc. in which
and as tn. Of
sas
the o. the or any ons,
sss to s s Of they re-, % iss s.D
prova. t.r,
The following section may be interesting to q
good many people wno have never heard tell OF the
law befOre:-
sEcls Anab further enacted, That whenever damage
T. M BY any Or his a m.
such W either Of ne % ;S 5 shall be sS
so%9 VIII. the .SspHsi 9Hsovson: % h pSs.ersd
% paraas or % Of hail. and any person " sustaining
a any ata o Of his neglect
or refusal obey provisions Of law prescribed
engineer pilot damages for any iuch injury
pilot. a ~ h'or4 >, llsfsl
The law was passed in January and approved in
February by the President -
Statement Of the Uai;ed States Boiler In.
spcct0r.
Mr.. John K. Matthews, the government Inspector
or Boilers, yesterday stated that he inspected the
boiler or the Wesneld personally on the 18th OF June
last. The term of her former inspection ended on
the 10Th OF June He had notice to inspect seven
days In advance. lie reCOllecis this case particu-
larry, because accidentally the boiler was tested be.
yond the usual limit. His books show that the hy-
drostatic pressure applied the boiler was thirty.
four pounds. The rule is that low pressure engines
shall be registered at threeEourths the hydrosatc
pressure, ana the Westleld Is therefore allowed
twenty five pounds. But the nydr0static pressure
at the time OF Inspection was not relieved promptly
upon notice. and before II was taken or 1t reached
about forty pounds. ,LN
, Mr. Matthews says that while this heavy pressure
was on he ex xlmined every part Of the boiler, and
fOund leaks deviations in the surface; IL was
IN fact TO all appearances. above the average OF
boilers. At the same time Mr.. l.. FL. BOole, In
spector OF Huls, examined the boat, and his name
Is signed with thai OF Mr. Matthews to the certii-
cate. In case the null OF boat Is unsafe the In
sDecor O course wiihhods his certificate until The
needed repairs are maze. t-u
Tne Wcstiield was bult in 1892, and Is therefore
not an old boat she is larger than most ferryboats
and is registered at 600 tons. -,-IgL rae $40
Mr. Matthews has been practical steamboat man
mas given cernacate His theory IS that ,e Boiler
steam must have been careessly taken by The engl-
neer. sometimes however, a register Will become
will be deceived by It, MIR. Matthcws thinks that ~
no possibility could the boiler have exploded unless
ceedcd his Instructions in allowing, as. he admits,
head OF twenty-seven pounds o. cam, hir
Matthews does not believe even that 10 have been an
unsafe amount. . .f.rt' .rUt r.tIr.I
TIE Brooklyn Boiler Inspectors Version.
Mr.. Thomas +. Powers, Inspector OF steam boilers
in Brooklyn and examining engineer, yesterday IN.
spected the exploded boiler OF the Westfield and
reports rs foows:--.I have this day examined the
exploded boilers OF the steamboat West1eld. lind
the boiler Is Of the return lue style oil the following
dimensions:--Five box, eleven feet diameter, seven
feet on1; shell lvcsixteentls iron, ten feet dame
ter sixteen feet long, containing sixteen ues four
teen feet long. The rupture appears TO have taken
place IN the shell OF the boiler ABOUT eight anu half
lcet from tile back connection. There was one
course of sheets which opened at the lower part Of
one side and tore the sheets at the rtveJ holes
strengthening tho sheets to tile opposite side of lhe
boiler CARVING g the deck and cabin M away The other
the boat and wedged In the bow. -af-
zine explosion In my opinion, occurred from an
over pressure Of sean as there Is no appearance of
dcnce of their having been plenty OF water In tho
boilec. The New YORK steamboat boiler Inspectors
do not como under the city inspectors but under
the control or the Untcd States local inspectors
Office, located at the Custom House New York city,"
Tac True Cruise of ihe Exp!osiom--Letter
from ExI crt.
To THE EpIToR OF THE HERALD:-
have Just concluded careful examination OF
the exploded steam generator Of the Wcstfeld, and
md The cause OF the disaster very PLAN. The boiler
OF the return uc type, In whcn the gaseous pro-
ducts OF combustion pass through set Of nues to
the back ana thence into another Set which con-
duets them forward the chimney at the front end.
This chimney passes centrally through the steam
drum, tins last in immediate communication with
the steam ana water space OF the boiler; in
other words, with the interior OF the shell body.
This SHE'LL In lis main length Is Of ~ cylindrical
form and Is torn apart crOsswse near Ms centre
the rupture following for the most part circunl-
fercntlal line OF rlvets The half OF the shell
was thrown back ana jammed into the end ofthe
hun, SO that It lies its open end is OF sharply
defined triangular Iorm., The boiler Itself was
pitched forward some distarce towards the ma
chinery. The force OF the explosion being eyertcd
I'm der the rear deck fung II upward and tore 1t
into perfect mass OF splntcrs. nrt1
The freshly torn surface of,he boiler shell is either