1839.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



299 



found it in the highest ranks, and shall wc seek it in mediocrity ? 

 Steam navin;ation itself sUnnliered for a cent\ny, the screw principle 

 has lingered initil the present day, and both the motive power, and 

 the means by wliich it is conveyed, are evidently in tlieir infancy. 

 Watt was prejudiced against high pressure, the Rev. Dionysius Lard- 

 ner, LL.D., proved to the sages at the Bristol association that Atlantic 

 steam navigation was impossible, iron steam-vessels have been con- 

 sidered incapable of being guided by the compass, and dangerous as 

 electrical conductors, and in fine no improvement has been proposed 

 wdiich has not in all ranks met many opposers and few friends. 

 By the report of accidents a conclusion might be drawn that 

 cylindrical boilers are safer than rectangular, and open at once 

 a cause of litigation with some of the first men in the engineer- 

 ing profession. What, indeed, will Messrs. Maudslay \: Field 

 say to this dictum of these persons ? In one part of England water 

 corrodes tlie tops of the boilers, in others it ilestroys the bottoms, and 

 in many places local circumstances nuist influence the form and mate- 

 rial of construction. The commissioners, however, overleap all obsta- 

 cles, strong in their own ignorance, they ofl'er themselves as Coryph<ei 

 to all the inventors of the nation, and call ujion manufacturers to sub- 

 mit themselves to their Procrustean bed. What will a survey do 

 once in six months ? will it ensure a due supply of water, or make 

 engineers more attentive? Why, to be effectual, the excisemen must 

 visit before every voyage, and maintain a surveillance as constant as 

 that of a custom-house officer. To collect facts which are not wantetl, 

 and to find none which support their own measures, seem to be the 

 distinguishing characteristics of these commissioners, and we need 

 not be astonished that, without a single case of accident ailduced, they 

 should at once propose to arrogate to themselves the ])ower of limit- 

 ing the number of deck passengers to be conveyed, and exercising a 

 still further interference with the commerce of the empire. 



To bolster uj) their plans they refer to foreign coinitries, and on the 

 presumption that the ignorance of the public is as great as their own, 

 they presume to rely upon such authorities for support. The case of 

 the United States has about as much relation to the state of affairs in 

 England, as the number of assassinations in Lisbon or Rome have to 

 do with the laws of crime here. Each country having about SOO ves- 

 sels, the number of accidents in America have been about 230 in the 

 space that 92 have occurred here, or 2i to 1, and what basis of com- 

 parison that affords for the support of stringent measures, we think 

 that our readers w ill best determine. Of the way in wliich the jobbers 

 of different nations bolster up each other's views, there is not perhaps 

 ■i. stronger instance than in the report made to Congress, in which the 

 example of English interference is referred to as strongly as the 

 American authority is relied u|ion here. Baron Dupin and other 

 French statists will be able to afford the worthy conunissioners suffi- 

 cient evidence as to the working of the French steam code. This has 

 been in operation many years, and the result, according to the Baron, 

 is, that France is most miserably behind this country in the extent of 

 its mercantile steam marine, notwithstanding the protecting /Egis of 

 safety valve laws, and regulations which even the English operators 

 think unnecessary. Holland stands in precisely the same position, 

 and as to the King of Belgium with his one or two steamers, his anti- 

 quated code is about of as much authority as those of the two kings 

 of Brentford. 



It appears, from the statements of the commissioners, that the mer- 

 cantile steam marine of England is about 800 in number, and it forms, 

 we should think, an interest which, instead of being selected for an- 

 noyance, merits some support. It is pretty clear that there are few- 

 branches of trade, manufactures, or mines, which are less destructive 

 to human life, and we cannot therefore see the grounds for the selec- 

 tion of this. If any measure be adopted, let the whole shipping of 

 the empire be subjected to it, and not one particular portion be singled 

 out. The Admiralty courts are full of the cases of collisions of other 

 vessels, the insufficiency of crews and stores is notorious, and the inu- 

 tility of government inspection is flagrant ; not a month passes without 

 complaints against the emigrant ships, and as to the convict ships, 

 their deplorable ecjuipment is rendered a bye-word throughout Europe. 

 Sailors get drunk elsewhere as well as on board steamers, and other 

 defects are quite as crying as anything that the commissioners can 

 assert against the persons connected with steam-boats. If, indeed, 

 this ridiculous farce be kept uj), it will be followed, we suppose, by 

 legislative measures, and we shall see " An Act for preventing Acci- 

 dents to Pigs and Steam-vessels, for creating a Jobation, instituting 

 Branch Ebenezers, and making Drunken Skippers walk the Plank !" 



With all their puffing of particular inventions, giving descriptions 

 of this and copperplates of that, and with the enrolment of all the 

 amateur gabblers, the commissioners are lamentably unsiqiported by 

 parties interested. Of the hundreds engaged in the proprietorship of 

 steam-vessels, they can only muster the sui)port of live owners, and 



every thing else is on the same lamentable scale of desertion. The 

 ministers seem to be heartily ashamed of the whole affair, and have 

 intimated their disinclination to rlo anything with it this session, and 

 if those mainly interested do their duty, we have no doubt will be 

 obliged to abandon the job. Another att'air of this kind, the Irish 

 railway abomination, we have had some hand in sujipressing, and we 

 call upon our readers to co-operate with us in deeding a death-blow 

 against one equally pernicious. 



For the benefit of our readers, we give a copious abstract of the 

 report, in order that all who may be interested shall be pre|)ared to 

 defend themselves, in case there should be an attempt to smuggle a 

 bill into the House of Commons at the commencement of next session. 



The report first details the manner the commissioners proceeded to 

 obey the instructions of Government for obtaining the necessary infor- 

 mation to form their report; it then gives particular instances of 

 accidents arising from wrecks, founderings, explosions, fires, and de- 

 fective boilers, from which we select the following extracts : — 



Explosions. — We find, on analysing the exjilosions contained in the list, 

 that liy far the greatest nund)er have taken place in steamers belonging to 

 ports, where the practice of engine-makers is to apply eaposed and acccssitile 

 valves. Explosions have been most lunnerous iu the Clyde, or in Scotch 

 built vessels, l)otli river and sea-going. The " Corsair," " Fingal," and " An- 

 telope," are of the latter class ; the " Earl Grey," " James Ewiug," " James 

 Gallocher," " Hercules," and " Dumbarton Castle," of the fonner. 



The next greatest number have occurred in the Hural)er and Tync steamers, 

 where the safety-valves are similarly coiistucted ; being five instances in 

 river-steamers, and the " Victoria's," a sea-going vessel, on two occasions ; at 

 Liverpool, two, among the river-steamers, which had ejjiosed valves. We 

 did not hear of, or (hscover any Livcqiool built and engineered sea-going 

 vessel baring e.iposed or accessible valves ; nor does it appear that any acci- 

 dent of an explosive natme has happened to them ; and we liave not to 

 record a single case of explosion of any Thames-built boiler, in passenger- 

 vessels of any kind, nor in any other, excepthig in a small experimental one, 

 mentioned l)y Messrs. J. Seaward & Co. This freedom from explosion in 

 the Tliames is attributed by Messrs. Maudslay & Field principally, to the 

 practice of using inaccessible and sufficiently large safety-valves. 



Safety-valves are often tampered with, and weighted by the working 

 engineers, much beyond the pressure originally assigned by the makers of 

 the engines, in order to gain jjower and speed. Proof of this is given in the 

 instance of the " J.ames Gallocher;" and Mr. Fawcett, the eminent Engineer 

 of Liverpool, states that " he has known valves — originally loaded at four 

 pounds per square inch — to have been afterwards altered by some black- 

 smith, so as to give the engine-man power to load them as he pleased ; 

 and he believes them to have done so even to 20 pounds to the inch. The 

 safety-valves of the " Dnkc of Bridgwater " — a Liverpool river-boat — were 

 originally made inaccessible ; they were altered so as to be fastened down, 

 like the " Earl Grey's," at the ])leasurc of the engine-man, and the boiler 

 consequently exploded, kilUng two persons, and seriously injuring many 

 more. 



Water and Steam Gauges. — There is a very general deficiency both in 

 river and sea-going steamers — particularly in North Britain — of glass water- 

 guages, and steam-pressure gauges ; instruments absolutely essential to the 

 safety of boilers, and used in all well-appointed vessels. Captain Uain ob- 

 serves that " the lioilers of many vessels are without these simple instru- 

 ments, and the engineers and firemen, when doubtful of the accuracy of the 

 cocks, try to ascertain the height of the water, by hitting the boiler with 

 a stick or a hammer, &c." 



Effects of Eiptosions. — Cylindric lioilers. — The boiler of the "Norwich" 

 (cast-iron) was broken into many fragments by the explosion, and the vessel 

 destroyed ; the end was blown ont of the " Freedom's," and the vessel sunk ; 

 those of the " Vivi<l " and " Morning Star " Inirst inwards on the under part 

 of tlie fire-tube, where both were worn very thin. The " Herald's " opened 

 on the top, also corroded very thin. The "Victoria's" twice nii)tured in- 

 wards, on the under part of tlie fire-tube ; the iron apparently good, but the 

 cylinder too large for the strength of material and pressure upon it. 



Effects of E.rplosion. — Rectangular Boilers. — Of these, the outer shells of 

 the " Graham," " Earl Grey," " Union," and " Uiike of Bridgwater," were 

 more or less ruptured, and projected forcing up the decks, &c. The vessels 

 were much shattered in several of the other explosions, which occasioned 

 fissures in the boilers, cither above or lielow the water-level ; the greater 

 nimiher, so fai' as ascertained, occurring below the water-level; in some 

 cases opening the shell, and bursting into the cabins; in others, rupturing 

 the flues, and doing mischief cliietly amongst the engine-men and firemen, 

 according to the respective strength of the shells of the boilers and flues. 



The "Earl Grey's" boiler had no stays; the "Union's," "Graham's," 

 " Magdalene's " an<l others, had stays, hut neither their number nor an'ange- 

 nient can now be ascertained. 



Safety Valves. — In two instances — the "James Gallocher" and "Morning 

 Star" — it is proved, tliat the steam was blowing ofiT tlu-ough the safety- 

 valves at the time of the explosion, showing tlie valves to have had an insuf- 

 ficient area. In the cases of the " Ciraham," " Earl Grey," and others, it is 

 |irnveil tliat the valves were either fastened down, or too heavily loaded to 

 rise at (he jiressure which burst the boilers. 



The destructive effects of an exploaon often render it impossible to dc- 



