The Express.
London, England, 1863-01-06 00:00:00

6, 1863.

POUR CHILDREN SUFFOCATED AT GREENOCK.

It is onr painful duty to chronicle a very har-
rowing occurrence which took place on Saturday morning
at Greenock, by which four children of one family have
been suffocated. The following me the partiwlan
William Wood, belonging to Paisley but for the lest eleven
years residing in Greenock, a caulker, in the employ of
Mears. Robert Steele and Co., shipbuilders, resided with
his wife and five children at 5, Shaw-street, a few doors
west from the Rue-cod, south side. While be follows hie
occupation Mrs. Wood carries on a small green-grocery
business. The premises consist of the shop to the front, •
kitchen behind, and an intermediate apartment, when Mr.
and Mrs. Wood slept, the children sleeping in • tent-bed in
the kitchen. On Friday night, between eight and nil*
o'clock, Mr. and Mrs. Wood went out to • party, to the
house of Mr. Robert Simpson, spirit merchant, Settie's
Land, LUtheartatreet, within a few hundred yards of their
shop, taking with them George, aged 1 ears, their
eldeit child. They left their four younger children at home
in charge of the house, the shop being shut up. Them
children were—James, aged 12, William, 9, 'Ahem, 5, and
Grace, 3 years ; Sarah M'Geor.h, aged 12, a cousin, who had
come from Paisley on the previous day to visit them, was
also in the house, making five children in all. They were
amusing themselves in the absence of their parents,
and that to an extent that was noisy, inducing a neighbour
to call them to be quiet. It appeared however, to have
been the ordinary amusement in which children will indulge
when left alone under similar circumstances. About one

Ogock in the morning 13eorge was despatched from Mr.
Simpson's, to seeltbat all wee right with the children at borne,
and on going down he found that Grace, the youngest, had
been put to bed, the girl M'Geoch was stripping Lillian to
put her to bed also. and they were all on the eve of retiring
to rest, and the 6re in the grate was quite out ; and this was
the condition of the house when be left to return to Mr.
Simpson's, after remaining only • short time. Being
the holiday sew* the party sat keg, and on Mr. Woad
returning to his house about five ealock in the morn-
ing, he knocked, but could not obtain admission. He
went to the beck window, which was stanchioned. On get-
ting the sash up • little he felt the woodwork inside quite
warm, and the kitchen densely filled with smoke. Aided
by some neighbours be soon obtained admission by forcing
in the front door. Nothing was wrong is the shop, or in
the intermediate apartment, where lay the girl, leGeoch,
in bed unharmed. He found the door leading from that
apartment into the kitchen shut, and on forcing it in, he
found the kitchen filled with smoke. The gas had been
screwed out, but fire bed been smouldering on the
door, a little to the right side, and in front of the
fireplace, and this fire had communicated to and
charred all the front of a cheat of drawers, on the top
of which stood a bookcase filled with books. The floor was
burned through, forming a cavity of about thirty inches in
diameter, and this seems to have been the wet of the fire.
The introduction of fresh air into the apartment caused
the hitherto smouldering fare to blase up, but a neigh-
bour pulled down the bookowe and drawers, and • few
bucket& of water soon arrested sat danger. Opposite
to the fireplace stood the bed in which lay the four
children of Mr. Wood, and on rushing to saoartain their
cooditioo he found them rigid and dead, having every
appearance of having died convulsively from suffocation
by the smoke. The four bodies were instantly removed
to the house of Mr. Simpson. Drs. M'Fise and Lochhead
were woo on the spot., but though a slight pulsation was
discernible in the boy James. he was put recovery. The
feelings of the bereaved parents, who are industrious, well-
doing people, may be better imagined than described. The
origin of tbo fire may have been a match thrown on the
door among some clothing, but this is merely conjectural.
The circumstance has thrown a deep gloom over the whole
town. This is not the time to moralise on the subject, but
we may say that the awful occurrence affords • solemn lesson
to pareota. The Procurator-Fiscal was immediately put is
possession of the facts, and will make the usual examina-
tion which devolves oo BrilieA Daily Mad.