IRELAND.
The Bank of Ireland has raised the rate of discount on English bills from 3 to 31 per cent. No alteration has been yet made in the rate on Irish bills.
The accounts show a slight improvement in the attendance at the Great Dublin Exhibition. It is now confidently reported that the Queen will visit Lord Cremome at Dartrey House, and afterwards the Earl of Erne. Consequently she will visit the Exhibition, and charm the eyes and hearts of her Dublin lieges.
As the Times steamer was leaving Dublin on Thursday sennight, with a large number of passengers on board, a boiler burst. A number of poor deck-passengers had gathered in the waist of the ship for the sake of the warmth, and these were all dreadfully scalded. Two children died directly after ; and up to Monday night ten more of the unfortunate people had died in the Dublin hospitals. At an inquest on two of the bodies, last week, the Jury found that they " were scalded to death by the bursting of the boiler, caused by an imperceptible flaw down the lap of the iron on the top of the boiler."
At a second inquest, on Monday, the evidence was of a nature that in- duced the Jury to implicate a person in their verdict. It appeared that the top of the boiler had been patched ; the Government Surveyor had not seen this—he said he could not see it, as " it was covered up by the deck" ; and the engineer had access to the " Parliamentary safety-valve." The Jury found, that the cause of the bursting of the boiler is to be attributed to the gross neglect of James Haig, Government Engineer Surveyor, in not making a proper 'inspection of the boiler of said steamer in April last; and we consider him highly culpable in not giving up the key of the Parlia- mentary safety-valve to the captain of the vessel at the time of his last in- spection in April last." The Coroner deemed this verdict tantamount to one of " manslaughter," and he issued his warrant for the arrest of Mr. Haig.
A fatal boiler-explosion has also occurred at Shannon Harbour, on board a screw steamer which carries goods on the Grand Canal. The engineer was scalded to death, and the fireman was so badly hurt that his life is in danger.
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