The Press.
London, England, 1853-08-20 00:00:00

Atribtnts anb Offtncts.

ONE DEPLORABLE ACCIDENT has given a melan-
choly interest to the otherwise successful naval fke
at Spithead last week. A solicitor from Chichester
named Powell spent the evening in the coffee-room
of the George Hotel at Portsmouth, after seeing the
review of the squadron, keeping by his side a gun-
case, with a charged double-barrelled fowlingpiece in
it, which, " being accustomed to field sports;' as he
said on the inquest, he had brought with him to the
review. When the return-train for Chichester was
on the point of starting, Mr. Powell ran into the
entrance-hall of the hotel in a great hurry, carrying
his gun with hini, and, from some casual shock, one
or both of the barrels went off and shot White, a
waiter at the hotel, who happened to be crossing the
passage, dead on the spot. Two or three other per-
sons near were also slightly injured by the explosion.
Powell was taken into custody at the time, but re-
leased immediately after the jury at the subsequent
inquest had returned their verdict, finding the death
to have occurred from " misadventure, caused by the
accidental discharge of a loaded gun."
TfIE FALL. OF SOME SCAFFOLDINO resulted in most
deplorable consequences on Monday at the Crystal
l'alace, Sydenham. The scaffold consisted of a wood
and iron framework forming a series of trusses,
which could be pushed forward within a certain
range as the work proceeded. On the day named,
and while a number of men were at work raising
and fixing the lofty ribs of the transept, several
trusses suddenly gave way with a tremendous crash,
and fell down a complete wreck, carrying with their
ruins nearly twenty men, from a height of 140 feet.
Twelve were killed on the spot, or died shortly after
their removal into the hospital ; and two horses
standing with a cart underneath were crushed by the
debris. No damage was incurred by the building,
except that one or two of the iron pillars were cracked
by the shock. The cause of the catastrophe is hitherto
undiscovered, all the workmen actually employed
upon the wrecked scaffolding having perished. Mi-
nute investigations have been prosecuted since the
occurrence, with the view of detecting its origin, and
obviating any chance of a like calamity happening
again. The following account has been drawn up of
the site and incidents of the fatal event :

The centre transept will, when completed, be the chrfiftweivre
of the building. It is intended to be no less than 208 feet hr
height (10$ feet higher than the transept of the Exhibition in
Ilyde-park), and WO feet in breadth. The principle adopted in
fixing the ribs is different to that pursued in the building of the
old palace, where they were raised bodily. here, owing to the
enormous elevation and span, a framework was constructed of
timber and iron of peculiar strength and bearing. On a kind of
stage which was thrown across the entire breadth of the tnutsept
avenue were erected several trusses, the ends of which rested
upon timber on the summit of the iron columns of the side gal-
leries. The trusses were of the fonu generally employed in the
construction of roofs of railway stations. They were firmly tied
by iron bands, and otherwise strongly secured. On the top of
the first tier of trusses another kind of staging was to be formed,
and upon this the upper trusses were fixed, which would afford
the workmen every facility in throwing over the ribs. Three
tiers of upper and lower trusses had been completed at the front
of the transept; the fourth, fifth, and sixth lower trusses were
fixed; and the seventh, which was the last that part of the works
in the transept required, was standing close to the sixth, and
in readiness for the men to inure it on to its position, which they
could accomplish by " purchasing„ it along on a sheet
of timber upon which it rested. It has been stated
that they were in the act of shifting this seventh
truss when the catastrophe occurred, but that hail been slues-
tioned, on the ground that it would not be required in its ap-
pointed place for a day or so. What particular work the unfor-
tunate men were engaged at at the time of the accident has not
satisfactorily transpired, but it would seem that some failure took
place which led to the shifting and falling of the seventh truss,
and the carrying with it of the sixth and tifth. The latter were
most firmly fixed together, es they were to the fourth, which kept
its position, notwithstanding tire strain of several tons of falling
woodwork. Sir.losepli Paxton and Sir Charles FOX nettle very
minute inquiries of the heads of the building department, with a
view of eliciting anything that might throw a light upon the pro-
bable cause, but nothing decisive was arrived at. the galleries
wad staging had been constructed under the direction of tine 11108 t
skilled mechanics, and who had been 'Mihaly employed hr
forming the transept of the Ilyde-park Exhibition. Sir C. lox
remarked that the only opinion he at present could give as to
the cause of the melancholy eventwas that the workmen had left
out some important part in the trusses they put up. Considering
the alarming diameter of the accident, and the great humber
of hands employed in the vicinity of the transept when the de-
struction of the upper works took place, it is a subject of much
congratulation that the loss of life wan not greater.
Two inquests have been held on the bodies of suf-
ferers from this catastrophe. One at Sydenham was
adjourned after the jury had inspected the site of
the accident and heard a variety of evidence. The
other was held in the Southwark Town-hall, two of
the victims having died in that district in Guy's Hos-
pital. The jury in this case also proceeded to the
Crystal Palace to view for themselves the fatal