The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-08-11 00:00:00

THUNDER STORMS

The thunder-storm which passed over Manthester ori
Thursday afternoon, was succeeded by another on Friday
afternoon. The second, however, although scarcely so
severe as the first, was of much longer duration, commenc-
ing at two o'clock, and not finally ceasing until about sir.
The fall of rain at five o'clock was very heavy, choking up
many of the sewer grids, and was with difficulty kept out of
the cellars of many dwellings. We have not heard of any
material damage done in the neighbourhood by the
lightning. We learn that the heavy rain which fell during
Thursday's storm in the neighbourhood of Stalybri,,get
flooded the mill of Mr. A. Harrison. In a weaving ePnar
a large number of looms were completely submerged, and the
warps and bobbings spoiled, as well as the machinery
damaged.

After some hours intimation of its approach the stolen
burst over the town of Huddersfield with terrific violence
about three o'clock on Thursday, and continued for at least
three hours. The lightning was of a most vivid charactery
and the thunder alarn.ingly loud. For ten minutes, hell-'
stones, some of which were an inch in circumfere7icer
threatened destruction to the growing crops. Some sitght,
damage was done by lightning to the houses of the chid,
constable, Mr. J. Kaye, and Mrs. Gee, and it also entcreN
the house of A. Cottam, steward, residing at Braoill
spliting a bedstead, under which was a barrel of blasting
powder, which miraculously escaped ignition.
On Friday, and Thursday evening, Bury and the ne'gb'
bourhood were visited by violent thunder storms, eccem-
panied with heavy rain, but no damage of any consid rale-
amount was done. 1 he electric fluid descended the chimney
of the house occupied by John Walker, shoemaker, Pigs
Lee, Walmersley-cum-Shuttleworth. There were nine per-
sons in the house at the time, but none of then sustained
any injury, with the exception of two children who were
knocked down by the electric fluid, but sustained no further
injury. A little plaster was knocked off the wall of the
adjoining house. The electric fluid struck a tree in the
township of Eton, but did no further damage. It also
entered the house of Mr. S. Grundy, of Lark Hil!, and ,Its-
placed some of the furniture, but Ihe damage was trifiTr
It also descended the chimney of Mr. Daniel San,
Haymarket-street, Bury, but did no further damage t`
causing the soot to descend.
Between half-past four and five o'clock on Thu
afternoon, the inhabitants of Middleton and To-
visited by very heavy flashes of lightning, thundt
The electric fluid descended the chimney in th
Mr. Wm. Thornley, top of Barrowfields, Middlett
it did considerable damage. In the bedchamber
several pieces off an oak chest, and four pieces from a large
writing desk ; it also drove many bricks out of the chilling
—some were driven against the wall opposite. It also
entered the room where Mr. Thornley and several memberg
of the family were seated, but they were not injured. The
chimney ornaments in the house were broken to pieces, and
two of his sons, aged eleven and fourteen years, were stand-
ing at the door, when they were lifted into the middle of the
street, but were not injured. The chamber and house
presented a ruinous appearance. The electric fluid also
entered two houses in a similar manner at Little Parks
Manchester-road, belonging to Mr. James Simpson, machine
maker, and Mr. Abraham Mee, draper. In the house of the
latter, the window frame in the chamber was split to pieces,
and two large squares of glass broken ; it also went through
the chamber floor, tearing the paper from the wall in the
shop; it also damaged the chimney in Mr. Simpson's house;'
and split a spout to pieces at the back part of the premiie9.
The rain came down in torrents for upwards of half an hours.
and the cellars belonging to several houses at the bottom,
end of Middleton, where the road is being raised, were;
flooded.
On Thursday afternon the tower of Holy Trinity church,
in Stetford New-road, Hulme, was struck by lightning.
The fluid fractured one of the pinnacles on the top of the
steeple, large pieces of which fell through the roof of the
tower in two places, and through the church ceiling into
the church below. The whole of the pinnacle was shaken
down to the roof of the tower, and several pieces of stone
were hurled into the road. Some scores of panes of glass
were broken in the roof of the Midland Railway station. A
poplar tree, standing in a garden near the Midland Railway
station, was struck by the lightning and carried into
Carlisle-street, a distance of nearly 100 yards.

er, and

it br,ke

CAUTION TO CARTERS.-On Saturday a carter, named'
Edward Bethel, was fined lOs by the magistrates for attempt-
ing to conceal some staves under a load of cotton, which nu'
was taking from the Stanley dock. He intended, it wall'
believed, to steal the staves.
" MEXICAN FIBRE" FOR BRUSHES.--A very interesting
trade suit to be tried at the present Liverpool assizes will be
that of Mr. George Connor against Mr. William Shortis. iii
Liverpool, to test the validity of the former'sto 3
patent right in the " Mexican fibre" as atric.ied to thP
a
brush manufactures. The Liverpool brut manuticturerore determined to resist the claim to the utmost. This
description of fibre is not only very much cheaper, but
much more durable than hair.
EASTERN Conwrm.—We fear the expenses of repoirs on
the permanent way have been so great that the forthcoming
There id
a taf this compally will be a serious disappointment.
s alk of submitting to the shareholders to put a
large portion of the expenses to an account to be liquidated
by annual instalments, spread over a period of perhaos tea
or twelve years.—Herapath.

THE 110P-PLANTERS' COMPANY.---The Hop-planters'
Joint Stock Company held their ninth annual meeting at
the Mitre Hotel, Maidstone. The report referred t 3 the
steady annual increase of the business of the company, and
its present prosperous condition, and recommended that a
dividend of 72 per cent. and a bonus of £2 per share
should be declared payable, and that an addition should be'
made to the reserved fund of a sum of £1,000; which recommendations were unanimously adopted.
RAILWAY LIBRARY AND READING ROOMS.—A nansF
Ninoterrthestwrinegsteexrcnurßsiaoilnwaoyf
cth,empeaninp7ves of the London alto;
their families and friends, to the
nl,:ma tbCera mofdeanbs
ouattiotir.o,o wpietll.l:;:
sons, took place, on Tuesday, to Windsor, the proceeds of
which are to be devoted to the library in the Grange road,
Haverstock hill, and the railway library of the North
London line at Boxy, The train left the Camden station,
under the management of Mr. D. Stevenson, the general
superintendant of Camden station, at 940 a.m., and pro-
ceeded, via the North and South Junction Railway, into
the loop line of the South Western Railway, and thence to
Windsor, in which interesting and picturesque neighbour'
hood the excursionists passed a delightful day, forgnttingo
for the nonce, the noise of engines and railway tracks, the
creak, of.
the Statecarapnaerstraaennd the
ts,aubdustthlee
roifvberusaiffneosrsd. V
afferded
tion to the visitors. At ten minutes to eight p.m. t 11::
train left Windsor, arriving at Camden Town at a fe
amirgpilenigarNa Paters'
r;
minutes after nine o'clock. The trip and its two-fold object
is highly creditable to the railway companies and theiC
agents and managers, as also to Mr. Bayley, the actor(
treasurer of the Literary Institution and Library.