ON coroners' inquisitions on boiler explosions. 51 



evidence themselves before tlie jury, and report on the cause of the explosion, 

 their reports (which might either be joint or several, as found most con- 

 venient in each case) being accompanied Avith explanatory scaled drawings, 

 showing the original construction of the boiler, and as far as possible the 

 lines of rent, as well as the direction in which the parts were thrown, and 

 the distances at which they fell ; while, in order to secure to the public the 

 full advantage of the investigation, it is further proposed that the engineers' 

 reports, with the accompanying drawings, along -with the verdict of the jury, 

 should be printed and deposited in the Patent Office, and lie there for in- 

 spection and purchase, as in the case of specifications of inventions ; and also 

 that copies of these Heports should be forwarded to the members of both 

 Houses of Parliament, as in the case of rei^orts on railway catastrophes, as 

 well as to the various free libraries and scientific societies throughout the 

 country. 



The Committee consider that the adoption of this proposition would very 

 much raise the character of the present inquiries conducted by coroners, and 

 that tlie measure is well calculated to secure the truth being fully arrived at 

 and plainly spoken, to which they attach the greatest importance. 



The fact of two engineers being appointed to investigate and report, those 

 engineers being altogether independent of the works at which the explosion 

 occurred, would, it is thought, secure an unbiassed opinion, while from the 

 publicity given to tlie verdict, the coroner and jury woiild be stimidated to 

 make a searching investigation. It is possible that in some cases, more 

 especially in the early adoption of this i^lan, some coroners might not select 

 the most competent engineers to assist them in their inquiry ; but this, it is 

 thought, is an error that would soon be corrected from the publicity it is pro- 

 posed to give to the whole proceedings, which would make the coroners 

 careful to make a wise selection for the sake of their own reputation, while, 

 as they would not be limited in their choice to a sj)ecial locality, but might 

 take the range of the whole country, there would be no difficulty in their finding 

 thoroughly competent men. Were two competent engineers selected, the 

 Committee consider there would never, or at all events but very seldom, be 

 any practical difference in their views as to the cause of an explosion ; but 

 presuming that in a few instances such might be the case, the Committee 

 woidd not recommend that, as a rule, a third party should be called in to 

 decide the point, since such a question should not be decided simply by a 

 majority of opinions. The better plan would be to record the facts and 

 the conclusions arrived at, and to leave to public discussion and time to show 

 how far the opinions advanced were correct or not. 



One of the results of searching investigations and plain-speaking verdicts 

 would be, that when a steam-user has killed some half dozen people by the 

 use of a crazy old boiler, the widows and children of the deceased would be 

 able to claim from him compensation for the loss of their bread-winners. 

 This, it is thought, would operate as a most wholesome check both upon 

 boUer-makers and boiler-users, as the one party would be exposed if he sold 

 a bad boiler, and the other if he bought it. Some timid steam-users object 

 to this measure, lest they should ever be brought in for heavy damages ; biit 

 such fears may be altogether dismissed by all those who are working honest 

 boilers. Good boilers, as already stated in this Peport, do'not burst. Explo- 

 sions are not mysterious, inexplicable, or unavoidable. They do not happen 

 by caprice, alike to the careful and the careless. They may all be prevented 

 by the exercise of common knowledge and common care, so that timid steam- 

 users may dismiss their apprehensions as long as they are doing their duty by 



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