The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-06-25 00:00:00

DESTRUCTION BY FIRE OF A LARCH

COTTON MILL AT MOSSLEY.

DAMAGE £BO,OOO TO £90,000.
On Friday morning the Britannia Mill at Mosley,
near Manchester, the property of Mr. John Mayan, WO
totally destroyed by tire. The building was situated
contiguous to an immense series belonging to the same
gentleman, but happily they escaped the conflagration,
or the loss must have reached £250,000. The Britannia
Mill was 150 yards or 46 windows long, and 26 yards
wide. It was six storeys high for 30 windows of its
length, and four and five storeys high from the
remainder; this peculiarity arising from its being built
on the steep side of the valley of the Tame, which, flow-
ing close to the north-easterly corner of the Old
passes, by three arches, under the centre of Queen'
street Mill. Everything appeared safe to the two pri-
vate watchmen employed, until about half-past one
o'clock on Friday morning ; and there is no doubt that
about one o'clock one of the men was in the cart-shed,
as he had been ordered to be more than usually careful,
owing to there being about 1,000 bales of cotton in 3
small connected building. But between half-past 00
and two o'clock this cart shed was found to be on tire'
by Joseph Hadfield, a watchman; and while he ran t°
the residence of Mr. Mayan, half a mile off,,bis
watcher rang the factory bell vigorously.. The managers'
Messrs. Knott, Robinson, and Jackson, were soon on the
spot, with the workpeople and other dwellers in the
village and neighbourhood, and immediate steps were
taken to check the flames, which had now reached the
top storey of the Britannia Mill. Ten or a dozen Rater
plugs existed inside the building and in the yards, soda
small engine was kept on the remises. These were got
to work or in readiness. Mr. James Mayall (son of
George Mayall) went with the managers to the tilt"
storey, where there was a tap and hose, and canted the
hose into the sixth ; but the h.,:at and smoke were
already so intense and suffocating, that the mere co
not approach within fifteen or twenty yards of theflames, and they were soon driven hack. When 211,,,r.
John Mayall reached the spot, which was before 113%.
past two o'clock, flames were bursting furiously throog
six or eight of the windows on each. side of the tcp
storey and attic, and Mr. Mayall at once saw that there
was little or no chance of saving the building. But till
efforts to that end were not volumed. Mr. Mayall
now that he believes every possible appliance to hard
existed for the purpose of throwing water in the ere °
of a fire. There were not only the numerous plugs, all
abundantly supplied with water from mains fed bY
large water-wheel, but there was the stream of the TO
most conveniently situated, and the Huddersfield Canal
was close at hand. An engine soon arrived which i 4
kept en the village of Mossley, and it was follo-wed
others belonging to Messrs. N. Buckley and Sons, e°l,
Hill Mills ; Mr. Robert Buckley, Wood End Mills ; and
Mr. Whitehead, Royal George Mills, Saddleworth;
Still the flames rolled on. In about an hour they na"
traversed the 150 yards floor of the top storey, and had
dropped through to the fifth ; and in an hour and a half,
or by three o'clock, the whole valley was illiimined f°r
miles, the night being most providentially calm, asj
the huge fire raging and flapping straight upwordl'
From three o'clock until between five and six o'clonic'
the fire was at its height ; and the scene is described
as being wild and striking to an extreme degree'
By four o'clock the Stalybridge engine arrived and
was got into play, the distance being two miles and
half ; and it was shortly followed by the West 0'
England, from Ashton, under the charge of Mr. Sheo4
and the two Ashton engines, under the command °l',
Inspector Brown, of the police force. Hose were 110 t
got up in all parts, and played from the roof of the
adjoining mills ; and every post of advantage was seize'
so as to prevent the spread of the fire. In this, forty,
nately, the great exertions of the firemen tend
vcork-
people succeeded, with the help of nearly-al score
streams of water ; but na.mora could be done: In the
Britannia Mill, the spread. of ..the.flatnes;- was near
checked ; the roof, and floor. after great
crashes, sending up myriads :of burningitakes• of cotton
and particles of wood ; hut so long as.anythitstburnabla
remained, so long the.fire raged. Theo was. still a ci)lr
siderable body of fire at six. o!clock ; flames were visible
at ten; and several jets- were being played from. the
pipes up to Friday evening. The origin of this got
fire, and the cause of its spread, can only be conjectured;
but there la strong probability that both conjectures 1111
correct. In the lower storey of the shed where the fife
originated, there was left on Thursday night a loaded
waggon, containing five tons of yarn ; there was she
a truck loaded with paper which arrived on Thurghli
evening ; and, we believe, a lurry loaded with skips. 4.
load of cotton bales that had similarly arrived had bee°
hoisted to the second floor, which was used as a winding
room. But there was also left in the loWei storey three
or four bags of "sweepings "—the refuse and, to some
extent, oily cotton that had gatiered on the floors of th#
mill during the day. The probability is that they
ignited spontaneously and set fire to the yarn ; and hence
the origin of the mischief. Both yarn and skips were
burning so fiercely when the fire was discovered, they
neither or the trucks could he removed. There is only
the following means of explaining the introductioa of
the fire into the mill .—There was a hoist and a teakle''
for lifting the tugs, B:c., in the shed, but which 1.35
worked from inside the Britannia Mill. When tb'e rope
was burned through, the weight of what wv., hanging
inside would naturally raise the upper 'ourning end'
and it is believed that when it had tnce entered the rad',
it came in contact with, or 4.Ltslied sparks, to, 610
opened cotton in the top room, which would at encd
blaze freely. There was, perhaps, never a more singular
accounting for a terrible calamity, There were etd;
ployed about 700 hands, prineiwdky grown people ; ynd
their loss of work is one of perhaps
the saddest results °C
the fire.

Mr. Mayan roughly estimates his loss at from £BO,OOO
to ,£90,000 ; but it will be more than half covered bl
insurance in the following offices :---Sun, Phces4'
Globe, West of England, Atlas, and Royal Exchange'
What sum might represent the loss per week, 84411
from the cessation of work in such a mill, we carnlot
say. It must be very great.

POPULAR ttNIUSEMENTi i. PALERNIO.—The other di/
there was regular gamin warfare against the statuea °f
the Bourbon Kings placed along the Marina. Aires*
some days before, a wag had contrived to climb up 014
adorn every one of them with a moustache and long
imperial, ei la Victor Emmanuel. In the afternoo
a number of boys collected, throwing stones at the stir
toes, and breaking down the columns about the pedestal.
One, bolder than the others, climbed up with a pro-
vision of charcoal and blackened the faces, exciting va
small hilarity among the idlers and promenaders. This;
process being completed, a rope was passed round the
neck, and by the united efforts of the youthful mob oils
of the statues was soon off its pedestal and on the
ground.

r THE LAST EFFORT TO RETAIN .
SICILY.—The Nea-
r politaus know Garibaldi too well to suppose that be
; intends to. rest long on his laurels, and they seem, tic'
' cording to, all accounts, preparing to receive him on his
advance. Their plan seems to be to take up a strong
' position at Messina, keeping it as an advanced points
' and at the same time as a new base of operations ill
Sicily. They have concentrated in the Castle and town
' about 7,000 or 8,000 men and a great deal of ammuni-
tion. But the chief force is concentrated in Calabria.
All the troops which • have lately left have gone to
Salerno and to the coast of Calabria towards the Straits.
Large reinforcements have been likewise sent in that
direction from other places on the continent. But it it;
not so much on the forces already existing that they
chiefly reckon. They expect large contingents frond
Austria. ;•
NUMEROUS BEGGARS IN PALERMO.—Great,w) ,doubt
has been the misery for the last two months; ,there
were few earnings, or none at all ; numbers have, bees
burnt out of their houses, whole families have lost the
little they had, and not unfrequently the support of the
family. Besides this the Government has always en-
couraged beggary rather than, not, thinking it.the beat
means of making the people dependent. The monas-
teries and convents, which relieved as much as-, they
could, are most of them so reduced in their means that
they have scarcely enough for themselves. For instance
that of Gaucia, which was plundered by the soldiery on
the 4th of April, had itself to apply for assistance the
other day. The whole brotherhood,. 59 in
number,
were kept in prison for weeks and starved: On coming
out they found everything gone, sacred vessels S. Welk
as every other moveable property. .
FRENCH PA.IIPHLETEERS ON iIisTAND .---In rererenee
from .
to the etracte which we gave on Saturday the
late French pamphlets on Ireland, the Edinburgh Daily
Coiinvit well observes :—" There can be no doubt but
that many of the less informed and more violent across
the Channel believe every syllable of the above, and
imagine that Ireland is our weak point. They re.. 44
the risings at the end of last century, the asit,iticias of
O'Connell and the priests,, and the excitements of it
more recent date which terminated yith the traiti)orta-'
tion of its moving and ing;opous laerloeii and'they,
i c
fancy that it is still, as formerly, tile prime ,d•ffiitdY '
of this country: Rut' wjiaCa change 'have not the last
few years hrclizht about! Ireland—at no time really
tagerenatiiongeednewraaiss
disa#:e4ed, 4 the spirit of the great body of its peoPle
be considered---Ireland,
gtiovitliegadbrathvees'seosldolideriesrtso
which even at the worst of the
battles, great
bril-
liant writers to illustrate history in which'
sons bore so cons •
the
afingdhi°ul
conspicuous a part ; but still Ireland,
exciteable and poor--,s
the same country no 'longer.
It
has ceased to be the perplexity of our statesinen, and
the battle-ground of our factions—it is peaceful, con-
tented, properous, and loyal. Perhaps no better evi'
deuce could be found of the great social progress of
the British Empire within the last few years than tha
present condition of that portion of it which is fastened
upon by this foolish pamphleteer as the ground upon
which he would make the French believe we are the
'most easily assalable."
---

Printed and Published by WALTER HENR PEAT, of Iro
8, Wesley-street, in the Parish of Toxtet
t rner of
• yir
Printing Establishments-3, Bat:xesrics-sill"l'T '".•
Castle-street), and 40, LE/OH-STREET, LiVerrv""
JUNE 2.5, 1800. at