The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-08-25 00:00:00

att6tttieta}s.

SHOCKING FATAL ACCIDENT AT MR.
TURNEY'S WORKS.

An inquest was held at the Vine Hotel, High
Smet, on Wednesday afternoon, before R. Docker,
Esq., coroner, touching the deaths of William
Charles Pouutney (14) and George Harry Male (15)
whoe dead bodies were found in a petroleum tank

at Mr. Purney's wolks on Monday i;ight.
The first witness called was William Hughes who
sail he lived at No. 8, West Street, &ourbrldg
He worked at Mr. Turney's works, Mid street.
Btourbridge. The two boys worked there. Male's
father lived at Dennis Park, and was a labourer at
an ironworks The boy Male was turned 15 years

of ag..). Pountney s father was a baker and lived
at Beauty Bank. On Monday, the 20th instant,
the two boys were at work at Mr. Turney's works
in a small room connected with processing leather.

Mr. Turney : The leather is immersed in a tank
containing spirits and it was the duty of the bays
to Oleo the skins in for a certain titan and then

tale them out.

The Coroner: Placing the skins in a vessel con-
taining a solution of spirits.
Mr. Turney : The tank is six feet deep, three feet
square and lined with tiu.
Tne witness proceeding, said he saw then at work
at half-past one and did not se them afterwards
until he saw them dead in the tank at eleven o'clock
at night. They were not missed until they did not
go hone to tea. At a quarter to ten Pountney's
mother came to him and it,died him if the lads were
_ _ _ .

at work. He to!d her they had left the works and
said lie saw them last at half pAst. one. He s.mt to
a Mrs. Salter's t,) see if Poautney was with her
son but he was not. He then wen.t to the works
and he and the watchman went to the doorway lead-
ing to the smail bum and found it was fastened.
, Both the doors were closed and fastened inside,

Tie then got over a waif into the room und went to
the tank. There was a ladder in the tank and he
went down the ladder and found the two lads in
the tank. The ladder was tted in getting from one
floor to another. The Lids liaJ no right in the tank
as there were hooks an 1 other appliances for getting
the skins out of the tank. The tank was empty
within 1 inch of spirit. Tie spirit used was pyfro-
leum. Th,re were three skius at the bottom of the

tank. The boys ought to have used theitools in_
send of the ladder to get the skins out of the tank.
The gas from the petroleum wow(' be sufficient to
overpower the 13,ys and taey would become uncou-
set mts. his theory was that one of the boys gut
down to hand the skins up to the otner and as he
did not come up the other got down to as iist him.
The boys were lying at the bottom of the tank near
the bottom of the ladder. ThJ gas at the top was
not injurious because it was open. PUIIIItney got
into the tank about three weeks ago to get a little

ditty spirit out and witness and th-e man-t,ger pulled
him out and cautioned him and the 0t1.1.2r.
_lads

about getting lute the tank. The boys had beet
engaged at that work about six months and he con-
sidered it a proper trade for boys of that age.
Witness had worked for Mr. Turney 10 years, and
had never known anyone injured by that work.
By a juryman: Tee door was fastened inside.
It was the custom to keep the door fastened while
they were at work
Mr. Turney : The key was in the pocket of ens of
the deceased when he was found dead.
Hughes, in answer to the foreman, said it was
Mr. Stafford's duty to get the key from the lads at
night.
Mr. Turney said he should like the jury to
%isit the premises, as it was a serious thing tor him.
It was tee first accideut that had occurred on his
premises for NI years In answer to Pountuey's
father Hughes said it was not usud for boys to get
into the tank.
Samuel Stafford said he lived at No. 3, Wheeler
:.',treet, St urblidge and worked at Mr. Turney's
works as general foreman. The b iys were under
bis direction and he set them to work. He last
saw them at 4 o'clock on Mend ty and they were
then at work. They leave off work at six o'clock
at the latest and lock the door up and not go into
the tankroom after. At four o'clock that day he
left the works When the tank was foul he told
the boys to run the stuff off with a tundish. He
never allowed them to go int., the tank under any
cen3ideration. On Monday he told them to take
the key home as he should not be at work. He did
not think it necessai yto leave anyo in charge.
It would be about 4 o'clock when the tank was
emptied. The boys ought to have got some men to
help them to fill the tank. Tney generally filled the
tank at night in readiness to wick the next morn—
in. Th• re were men empleyed to fill the tank,
which wanted fill ng about once a week. He did
not think it necessary to tell the boys to leave the
keys with the witness Hushes. If tile boys had
o ly acted in their usual way th re wouA not have
been any danger.
Mr. Turney said the only danger was in going
inn the tank.
The coroner said it did not seem hardly right for
the foreman to leave the keys with the boys.
By the foreman of th, jury : lie had warned the
boys time after time about getting into tee vat.
By Poultney's father : It would take one hour
:lid a half to run ttle IVtor out after he left them.
The boys had ne rieltt to go into the tank. They
pat new spirits oa t'm top of .he refuse that would
to left in the tank Tie' tong- would be about four
feot long and the tank was six feet deep. It was
no business if the boys to g into tee ta..k at all.
At this stage the jury retired to view the tank and
premises and from the position of the tank t e
appear to hive locked themselves out of the room as
toe tans at:Aids in t'ee open
On returning to the Vine, Dr. Henry Hammond
Smith was called and said he saw the bodies on
elonday nilt. lie examine I them externally
. after they hid been in3vzo. There w:;s no siee of
pnysie .1 e. lie lit&-s were disto-ted by be-
iag in the p eition they were in the tank. From
the boy Poua nv, the skin was peeline• on both
arms, and from t h feet an I back. The general
appearance of Pountney was that ot a eerson who
had been scalded. The boy _nide hid the scalded
appearance on the right ann. 'the lips were very
biue and there was foam toni'n lent their iniuths,
peath,from the appe tram:o of the fa c, tellted from
asphyxia, He (lid not exateine t e tank. Deaui
uld ertsue in a sh.,rt, tin to a e ene confine I in
the vat.
By the foreman: They unvt have been dead
jour or five hours. They w-oet3 cold and stiff.
The Coroner said the poor boys were engaged in
proceing the skins 41 th room, which tee was
very glad they had viewed. The lads woro left at
work by the foreman. He gave them certain diree-
iens, and they were not te_u afterwards until they
were missed from inme, NV iwn s,:qtreh wds inLide
and they were f .u.l 1.,t the bottom of the tank. A
ladder .was found in that tank, lice i there, ad
at the bottom of it the bodies of the two b ys were
found in a position leading to tilt supposition that
one had gone down to assist to 0 11,r in ee
out. The one had evidently gone first, and the ()thee
went to get hen out. Tne tank contained a strong
spirit of petroleum and as a waiter of course if the
boys remained there a few minutes they min, b,
overcome and suffocation would follow. The only
question in his mind was weethtr the boys were of
sufficient age and capacity for the work. The tank
was six feet deep and if they had to got anythincr,
out of it with the tongs it would not be ac-
companied with danger to the lads who had to
Beaott for skins at the bottom of the tank, As Mr.
furney had said, it was ties duty of the boys to go
the tongs, and no doubt they had done to in my
times before, and if on this occasion they ha I done
so they might not have been injured at all, but in-
stead of getting the tongs they got the itchier and
thereby lost their lives. He did not think there
was any blame to be attached to the master or his
servants. Ties arrangements were all satisfactory
The jury coneuited for about ten minutes and then
returned a verdict," That the boys were accideutally
suffocated in a tank charged a ith petreaum gas."

A recent writer in our local papers ha ivi;ely
observed that "one of the follies of the agr-i is to
buy dear Wines and Spirits." Atvather foby is to
suppose that buying from tho-3e who make the
largest return of duty is buying them in the
cheapest market. 'The Merchant who pays duty
upon thousands of gallons, pays in exact propor-
tion to the retailer clearing a single cask. A great
profit must be gained to cover enormous expenses
of large business premises, cost of a I vet tiaing, aNd
an allowance of profit to P,e Agent, greater io
many instances than taken by them in the raspec-
able Merchant. To buy ell •ap is to buy were but
one profit is in ide, an iwe •• cu,ot :Ater i luitnte
oar akimen.t than by pointing on.; the way in
which our towasuien, Messrs J. Rutland and Son, of
63, tligi.-st, have opened up the trade. We have
no hesitation in ;;Iyiag twat 2S per cent. is no
vaved by their bringing the prodular and the con-
butner togetner, over tee p.ices paid a low y.31.,s
ago, and a trial will fully bear out our assertions
Dudley Herald, Dee. mber 24th, 1881.
"Reboil ON RiTs. '-12he Thing oe.3iied fond at
last. Ask chem•sts, grocers or oilmen, for Rough
on Rats It clears out rats, mice, beetle.,, roaches
flies, bedbugs, insects, ground moles, &c. 7-itl- and
is 4d boxes. .

" BUCUUPABIA.."—A new, quick, complete cure
for all urinary affections, (smarting frequent or diffi-
cult) and kidney disEsses, 4s. At Druggist, London
Agency No 1. King Edward" Street-
FLowica Snow.—The third annual exhibition of
Ca* Stourbridgs and District Cottag,rs' Hortinilturat
and Fioral Soc;ety was held on Monday last, (by
kind permission of the Loffoes) in the ground. ad-
joining Oldswinford iiospital. Die wtmther was all
that could be desired and tiller:: was a large and
fashionable attendance. Toe th ~.v, althouga small