The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-10 00:00:00

THE DENSE FOOS AT M.4NCHESTER,

LOSS OF LIFE.

Manchester had a temporary relief on Thursday
from the dense fogs which had covered the town on Tues.
day and Wednesday. The atmosphere was far from clear
ma Thursday. but in a majority of the shops and places of
business the inhabitants could see sufficiently to enable
them to dispense with gas lights from about 10 a.m. to dusk.
A drizzling rain fell during the greater portion of this in.
terval, but disagreeable as wet weather always is, it was a
great relief to have such a change. As night set in a dens,
fog again began to overspread the town. People travel.
ling out from the centre of the city towards the south met
it along Oxford-road and London-road, like a thick
cloud of steamy vapour, and its progress might
be traced almost with exactitude on questioning
people leaving their places of business for their residences
la the parts of the suburbs indicated by the two roads
named. People walking up Oxford-road, who had left the
centre of the city at seven, entered the cloud at All Saints
Church ; thou who left at a quarter past seven met it half
way between the church and the river Medlock; and others
leaving at half-past seven in the evening encountered it on
the Medlock Bridge ; and so on. By soon after eight it
had overspread the whole area between the Medlock and
the Irwell, and the principal portions of the town were
enveloped in it. It was a singular thing, standing on the
verge of the thick, disgusting mass of vapour, to watch the
progress of pedestrians and vehicles emerging from or
entering into it. The latter were lost to sight in the course
of • few yards, whilst looking northwards the course
of others could be traced with the aid of the streets
lamps for hundreds of yards. All t'.e incidents, lu-
dicrous and serious, of the preceding nights were
re-enacted under cover of this extraordinary fog. Many
people lost their way; children were met in the streets
weeping, and i■ great distress, after unsealing attempts
to find their homes—though some of them were not many
yards from their own doors when so discovered. " Unpro-
tected females" were in some cases almost frantic, and after
successfully finding their way to omnibuses going in the
right direction, were often in such alarm for several
Luau after as to cry out repeatedly to their fellow-
pameagers for protection. " Patent safety cabs " were no
longer safe even for their drivers, who had to dismount
[tom their seats behind, and take a seat on the horse's
back' or lead him by the bridle. Oan.bus.•s travelling in
strings, on the principle of " follow my leader," were fre-
quently brought to a sudden halt, with the usual amount
of scolding and swearing, on finding that the foremost
had run their hones up against a church or some other
public building at the sudden turns of their route, or bad
I got upon a footpath. Yesterday morning found the town
still covered with the fog, which continued more or less
dense throughout the day. No serious accidents were
heard of within the city as resulting from the fog, but
several persons lost their lives in the neighbourhood by
walking into canals. On Tuesday evening, Mary Cheadle,
aged 26, and Elizabeth Whittle, aged 20, living at Little
Lever, between Manchester and Bolton, left a cotton fac-
tory at which they had been working, at l'restolee, about
six o'clock, but never reached their homes. Suspicion was
excited that owing to the density of the fog they had lost
their way, and on searching the Bolton and Bury canal their
bodies were discovered in the water. When taken out they
had evidently been dead some hours. The same night a
youth named Samu•l Undley, aged 16, the driver of a boat-
horse on the Ashton canal at Droyladen, near Manchester,
was lost on the canal owing to the fog. Ile had been taking
an empty boat along the canal, and was seen with the horse
on his return, near the Jockey- bridge. Soon afterwards
the horse was discovered much wet, having been in the
canal, es wu supposed. No tidings being obtained of
Lindlei, after he had been seen near the bridge, the canal
was dragged, and his dead body was found. A man
named Warmby, who dragged the canal the same night,
said the fog was so thick that he had difficulty is
finding the side of the canal without walking
in himself. Inquests on the bodies were held
on Thursday by Mr. G. 0. Rutter, county droner, when
verdict; were of course returned that these unfortunate
people lost their lives accidentally. On the canal between
Whaley-bridge and Manchester the same night, two men
walked into the water at different points owing to the fog.
One of them stepped into a lock, but was saved by a boat
hook being held out to him, but not until he had been
much exhausted by cold, and his struggles to sustain his
hold upon the boat hook whilst the lock was emptied. The
other man was also fortunate enough to be reacted.

SIX FIRES IN ONE NIGHT.

- • -

The firemen of the Brigade and West of England
offices were engaged the whole of Thursday night and
Friday morning, there being during that period no fewer
than six fires in various parts of the metropolis. One of
them, occasioned by some unknown cause, broke out on
the premises of Messrs. Medworth and Harris, carvers,
Little Howland-street, Tottenham-court-1-OA. In spite of
every exertion the flames extended to the adjoining
premises of Mr. Geo. Collier, proprietor of the Ball's
Head Tavern ; but by dint of great perseverance the fire
was eventually extinguished. The sufferers were insured
in the Sun and Pbmaix Fire Offices. The second fire took
place on the premises of Measre.',Chapman and Co., linen-
drapers, Nos. 91 and 92, Uaion-street, B (rough. It was
caused by the carelessness of a bey, who placed a lighted
candle upon some of the stock in the etc sod-floor ware-
house, and set it in a blaze. The loss was comiderable, •
and the owners were insured in the Legal and
Commercial Fire Office. The next fire happened in the
premises of Mr. A. Levy, looking-glass manufacturer, No.
47, Crispin-street, Spitaltields, and was else occasioned by
the spark of • lighted candle falling upon the stick. Mr.
Levy, whose loss was great, was insured in the Sun Fires
office. About the same time another fire broke out in the
extensive range of premises belongiag to Mr. H. M. Brown,
sugar refiner, in the Back-road, Shadwell. Here, too, tke
disaster was caused by • spark from a candle, which set the
charcoal-house in flames. The whole of that portion of the
promises in which the fire commenced was burned out, be-
sides which the roof of retort house adjoining was much
damaged. The property was insured in the Imperial,
Globe, and Legal and Commercial Fire-offices. The next
fire Wok place in the premises of the National Provident
Institution, No. 48, Gracechurch-street, City. It arose
from making • fire on the hearth. The fire Was happily
00nfinect to the second floor. Another outbreak took plate
in the premises of Mr. Coleman, schoolmaster, 8, Wood-
street, Spitalfields. The inmates, in order to escape, were
obliged to make their way over the roof. The engine at-
tended, but the fire was not extinguished until the base-
ment was destroyed. Last night a fire broke oat in the
extensive promisee of Mr. Field, the printer's-ink manu-
facturer and lamp-black maker, Belle-isle, Battle-bridge,
but It was subdued before much damage was done.