The Express.
London, England, 1866-05-05 00:00:00

THE LATE FATAL FIRE IN THE CITY.

Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Serjeant Payne, the
City Coroner, held an inquest at the United States tavern,
Liverpool-street, on the bodies of Alice Nix, aged 5 years,
and Robert Cox, aged 60 (deaf and dumb), who lost their
lives at the fire which took place on Wednesday evening,
at the premises of Mr. Nix, tobacco manufacturer, Bishops-
gate-street. The proceedings seemed to excite much in-
terest. Ths evidence bore out the particulars that have
already been reported. It may be briefly stated that the
shopinan, about 20 minutes to 9 o'clock, made the dis-
covery that the basement was on fire, smoke being then
coming up the staircase in large volumes. He in-
stantly ran over to the engine-house, and gave
the alarm to the brigade, and by when the men arrived, a
courageous little shop boy, finding the smoke rapidly in-
creasing and filling the place, had rushed up staini to alarm
and save the family of the brother of [Mr. Nix, who lived
in the house. It seemed that he had got hold of the little
girl Alice, but on reaching the first floor the smoke became
so overpowering that he missed the child, and she must
have perished by suffocation. The boy and other mem-
bers of the family were rescued out of the first floor win-
dow by a young man named Clark, who was passing with
his cart at the time. The old man Cox, who had
gone up to the top of the house evidently with a view
of saving life, was overpowered with the smoke, and was
found dead in the uppermost room. Nothing decisive
could be gleaned as to the origin of the fire. The basement
was used for the manufacture of tobacco by hand labour,
and it was stated that Cox had been down to the place as
late as twenty minutes peat 8. Mr. Gatehouse, the fore-
man of the brigade, who was early at the scene, thought
that the gas had something to do with the origin, as the
fire spread so rapidly through the house. It appeared that
the fire escape from the Bishopegate station was brought
to the spot by some passersby, and placed against the
premises, but it wanting some minutes to 9 o clock, the
hour the conductor came on duty during the summer
months, the officer was not in attendance at
the moment the machine arrived, although he was on
the spot before 9 o'clock. Some of the jury thought that
the conductors of fire escapes should be in attendance
earlier in the evening, and that it was very desirable
that the brigedemen should have a knowledge of working
the machines. This, it was suggested, could be accom-
plished by the fire escapes and men of the Royal Society
being amalgamated with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade,
which was under the management of the Board of Works.
Mr. Howes said he was a member of the Board of Works
for an adjoining pariah, and he had attended the inquiry
with a view of obtaining some information on the sub-
ject. He was sure that any recommendation which the
pir7 might make to the Board of Works would have their
serious consideration. He thought it desirable that the fire
escape force should be united with that of the fire brigade,
but it would be borne in mind that they were onlylimited to
a halfpenny rate, and that would not be sufficient to main-
tain the two bodies. It was entirely • matter for the rate-
payers. Mr. S. Low, of the Royal Society, said they could
not go any farther than their funds permitted them, and
if they had more money there would be no difficulty in
having conductors in attendance during the day as well as
at night. The jury returned a verdict of ' Accidental
death," and recommended that the fire-escape body of the
Royal Society for the Protection of Life should be amal-
gamated with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, and that the
engines should be provided with keys to open fire-plugs.
The jury also desired that the young man Clark and the
shop boy should be complimented for their heroic conduct
in endeavouring to save life. Mr. Low said they would
not pass unnoticed by the Royal Society.

THE IRIAN MARRIAGE LAW. —An important
decision on the marriage law was pronounced on Thursday
by the Court of Criminal Appeal, in Dublin. The
question arose in the case of a man named Fanning, who
was convicted of bigamy at the Commission of Oyer and
Terminer held in this city last October. The prisoner was
a protestant, and his first wife was a member of the same
church. His second wife was a Roman catholic, and the
marriage ceremony was performed by a Roman catholic
priest in Westland-row chapel. The jury found in reply
to questions from the court, that the prisoner professed
protestantism within twelve months of the second
•menage, and that be represented himself to
be a Roman catholic at the time of that marriage.
Mr. Justice Keogh thereupon directed the jury to
convict the prisoner, and sentenced him to five Teen'
penal servitude. The case was reserved for the considera-
tion of the Court of Criminal Appeal. The point at issue
was whether the second marriage, being admittedly within('
void under the 19th George 11., cap.l3,whichrenders illegal
the marriage by • Roman catholic priest of a protestant
and a Roman catholic, was sufficient, after proof
of the find marriage, which was legal and valid,
to sustain an indictment for bigamy. Judge Keogh
held that it was, on the authority of a decision
of Lord Denman that the act of deception, the
appearing to go through the ceremony of marriage,
was what constituted the crime of bigamy which the law
intended to punish, and that " the validity of the second
marriage did not affect the question." Three of the
judges, including the Lord Chief Baron end the Chief Jus-
tice of the Common Pleas, concurred with Judge Keogh in
this view of the law, and held that the conviction was
right. Seven members of the court, however, including the
Lord Chief Justice, were of a contrary opinion, and decided
that the conviction was bad and must be reversed. Mr. Jlll.-
1 tie. Christian, who was one of the majority, said he would
deeply regret the decision of the court if he did not feel con-
vinced that the Act of 19th Geo. IL would not long survive
the decision. It would now, he said, be for the first time
promulgated as the opinion of the first court of criminal
judicature in this country, that this act of parliament
was capable of being resorted to by the prodigate and the
base with perfect impunity as • means of fraudulent
seduction. When the use was brought to that, he
trusted he might hope that the time which would elapse
between the decision of the ease and the repeal of the act
of parliament would not be greater than was absolutely
indispensable by the necessary delays of legislation. Other
members of the court expr_essed a similar hope.
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