ON STKAM NAVIGATION AT HULL. 239 



Oct. 22, Washington, Durham. 



24, N. Bitchburn, Crook. 



26, Tipton. 



26, Longton. 



26, ToUcross, Scotland. 



Oct. 17, Groveland Pit, Rowley 



Regis (suffocation). 

 18, Tiviotdale Pit, Rowley 



Regis. 



20, Hampstead (suffocation). 



22, Dean Hall, Leeds. 



It is instructive to compare this group of accidents in October, when the 

 atmospheric conditions were highly favourable to the presence of inflam- 

 mable gases in coal-mines, with the entire blank shown by the diagram in 

 August, when the atmospheric conditions were as decidedly of an opposite 

 tendency. 



The only fatal accidents from gas in mines during November and Decem- 

 ber were by explosions, thus : — 



Nov. 2, Royton, Manchester. 



11, Donnington. 



14, Dukinfield. 



24, Royton, Manchester. 



26, Wakefield. 



Dec. 1, Burton-on-Trent. 



6, Walker. 



24, Atherton. 



26, Ormskirk, Lancashire. 



28, Leeds. 



Continuation of Report on Steam Navigation at Hull. By James 

 Oldham, C.E., Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 



In 1853, when I made niyfirist Report to the British Association on the rise 

 and progress of steam navigation at Hull, we had twenty-one sea-going and 

 twenty-three river steamers; now we have sixty-six sea-going and twenty- 

 five river steamers belonging to the port. 



There are also belonging to places on the waters of the Humber, more or 

 less, but chiefly trading with our port, twentj'^-six steam-vrssels of different 

 kinds, and there are about twenty to twenty-three steam-ships belonging to 

 other English ports and foreign states regularly trading to Hull, giving a 

 total of about 140 in one way or other using the port of Hull ; while in 1853 

 the total fleet of every class and country amounted to eighty-one, giving an 

 increase of fifty-nine. 



Notwithstanding the many losses and changes which have occurred amongst 

 our steam-vessels since my Report at Aberdeen two years ago, I am enabled 

 to say that we never possessed so numerous and so fine a fleet as at the 

 present time, — a fleet which, for efficiency and seaworthiness, may compare, 

 tonnage for tonnage, with any other port. 



It is not, however, the number of sleam-ships connected with the port that 

 is the true criterion on which to judge of an advance or otherwise, but the 

 amount of tonnage of actual business performed on which we can draw true 

 conclusions; and I find as a proof, that while in 1840 the gross tonnage 

 (steam and sailing) on which dock dues were paid amounted only to 

 652,508, in 1852 it had reached 799,866, and in 1860 it had attained 

 1,215,203 tons ; and while the actual steam tonnage in 1840 only amounted 

 to 174,832, in 1852 it had reached 305,021, and in 1860 it M'as found to be 

 603,328, having within a fraction doubled in eight years. And what is still 

 more remarkable is, that although steam is fast taking the lead, and has so 

 wonderfully advanced, the sailing-ship tonnage has also in a most astonishing 

 ratio increased; for in 1840 this class of tonnage amounted to 477,676, in 

 1852 to 494,845, and in 1860 to no less than 611,875 tons. 



