The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-12-19 00:00:00

the seecnd'window. told Mr. Freshllikl (the solicitor, we
it. liver, to the Plaintiff.) that I saw a smoke neat ly over the
ear. I went up to the w 'rehouse over the gas, and saw fire
there; I did say t►at a small clued of smoke below tie fl rum
say rather larger than a box which I pointed out. 1 knew
it Walker as long as I had beta in the service of S.:vern
and Co. I did say that them was so much smoke, that I
'swiped and lust my clothes; I did also say flat the fire
•robe out very quickly, bat that there was no explosion. I
did not use the words " all at once." 1 did uol say that the
fire was first between the boiler and the sugar-pats. The gas-
Mewl' wail about two feet over the holler,
Pa examined firet saw the fire in the building towards
the corner of Uninmallreet. There was an opening et she sup
of lb. steam-ben. 'llse steam-ben was to catch up the 'tram
from t►e pan, and carry it off. There was uo steam from Ilse
mig.ir at tl It time.
by Ms Couno.—Mr. Walker was premed all tie time I
..al tinder ewsmination. I ilia out underslasid_ all that 'was
Sc.mid ..sr. I said so at the time. IdM uoderstand souse
irsc.tio.is, lint nut aII.
Mr, ()saki Wit-on; the patentee of the nes nil apparatus
ed by Messrs Severn and Co. was called and explained the
oiehors 64 the works. The appearance of every part of the
siit vessel, after the fire, indicated that no explosion had
t.ke,i gi.ee. His plan bad been in use three months. There
•..se nu ellaCtalaialli in it whatever. The Omar, in the 'hew
,cueess, was Axed in- the warehonae, and was vi•ibl to all
• ...110114 who came there. Mr. Cape, one of the Director's of
-he Phoenix Cimpesty, who was a sugar refiner himself,
havoc heard of witness's patent, went to see the apparatus.
The eunverastion wish Mr. Cape was objected to by Mr.
Ccest.rrr, who said it could nut be given as evidence of a
. _ .

Toe Chief Justice DALLAS said, that if a notice were nee
•'eetemy ►y the policy, this coal.' not be au considered.
Mr. Serjeuest Lens observed, that it was offered only to •
ehe a that there was no concealment.
The oil, at the temperature at which 11/1104011/ used it,
.and ranch above that, produced no iuflainnsable gas. H.•
.bad given a g►eat portion of 'Wittiest to this. He had made
eerpetiments in compeuy with some of the first chemists in
E.r.tp.•, who were then in Court, and they found to vapour
of any kind under 600 degrees. At that temperature a small
.quantity of vapour is given out. This is a vapour of the
he wuuld not call it a gas—it was a eondenaible emptier.
•1f se light were applied to it, it burned with a bluish lambent
ilame, and it soon went out. At re short distance from the
oil, that wa■, shoot a fool, it would become condensed, and
.fall again Moe the oil.
. erns* examined be Mr Sceueorr—He was of opinion
.that the lowlier oil was used in the maimir he had described,
it would sot he made more MA timetable. He had fried some
atperiments fur wee house, soil they did not adopt his plait;
but they gave him a very sat iateetory certificate. There was
too other house us London used his method but that of
Meter.. Severn and Co.
Dr. Viomas Thompson, Profiteer of Chemistry in the
Ireieersity of Glasgow; Dr. Davy, of the Royal Society,
brother of Sir Humplary Davy; Mr. Bryan Dunkin, Civil
Engineer ; Thomas Braude, Professor of Chemistry,
rind Lecturer to the Royal Society; Mr. David Booth,
Brewer end Distiller ; Mr. Frederick Accuses, Lecturer on
Chemistry at the Sul try Institution ; Mr. J T. Cooper, ditto,
at the Reuel! Institution; Mr. Hoary Cozwell. Chairman
of the Committee of Chemistry at the Society of Arts ; .1.
Dalton, a practical chemist, and President of the
rho.' Socetv of Manchester ; Dr. Paris, Mr. B►amab, Mr.
It. Hendry, Mr. De Ville, Mr. Junes, Mr. Alter, Lecturer at
Hospital, and Dr. J. Pearson, severally stated, that,
its theit judgment, the ties process was infinitely safer than
the toil. They Imei all made experiments to ascertain the
to:lainniabiloy of oil, and foiled that it required a degree
of beat far beyond 360 degrees In produce an inflammable
/MI or vapour, moat of them agreriee that it required from
to 610 degrees to produce even a very small quantity.
Mr. Parh; oho had devoted all his lire to chemical pier-
suite, detailed at great length a ruetneesion of experonents
• he had made with Mr. Wilson'. awe-trains, and gave
it as hip decided cosivietion, that it was impossible any dan-
ger could arise to the totildisie from it. He had made ex.
pesiments with oil, to see whether it would prodder gee, and
at what temperature. He was confident that whale oil woeld
tot eruditee gas at a lower heat than 580 degrees, ur there.
shouts. and that was carbonated hydrogen gas, similar to
shot which they hail for gaslights. A heal 0f350 or 460 deg
eras entieely iesufficieot foe that purpose. No application
aim whatsoever that could be brought to bear on 100 gal.
loss tif oil would pioduce inflammable gas, and fur this ae-
✓ie., that the oil must be carbonized. With respect to in.
flammable emptier, lie had produced it Nom whale oil, iii a
glass retort, at a heat of 609 dieters. At the temperature
560 be had produced a vapour on the surface of the oil,
vetted) took light aml flashed; but it could not he ignited at
the smelled distance from the surface. At 590 it burned
for a shorttime, teed then weal out. At 609 there was a little
iiifienumilde vapour at the end of the snort; at 614 there
owes a ►imilar vapour, but not permanent ; nod at 630 he
Clem] a vapour that burned for sonic time. He had repeated
hie taperiinems user and over again, mid had never but once
lonettaced a vapour at all mflacronabk nide so low a heat as
.*n. He had forted a vepour to the cud of ■ pipe of siz
inches lung. but that was at a brat which would melt lead.
Lead melted a 612 degrees
Mr. Carless and Mr. H. Brim., oil-refiners, slated, that
!hey Iced applied 420, and even 460 degrees of heat 10 oil,
when they were boiling it, without producing soy dangerous
toosequences.
Mr. A. Robinson, Mr. J. Harris, and Mr. C. Filling, smear.
refiner', deposed that,. in their opinion, the uew process was
pert •ralsle to the old. The greatest danger which threatened
eagar.housts arose from the dry state of the limber, aril the
quantity of sugar that was lying about. Fires frequently
heppe.ted in smear-houses; bat in no one inetance could t►e
immediate eso.e of the fire be traced. Mr. Ruhiosteu recut.
'treed 40 sugar-liousea to have bees horned down is his
time; but thoaire lie anti others used t'ie utmost diligemee
sit discover bow those fires originated, tiny had not its any
imitative effected that object. These roma egration generally
broke out at night, when it was supposed that the different
Breams the premises had been extinguished.
This closed Ilse case for the Plaintiffs.
Before-the Defendants' care was mitered into, the Stet.
cIITOR C • (to save truseble hereafter) put a few more
suestioos to more of the ',dealt& geutleusen who sere as-
emttied behave.
Vr. Thompson mos then exinsireed —Some vapour, be said,
would be pruduci d from oil at a low temperature; bat it
mould be au aqueous one, and not dengerestos. He was
thaw asked—flupputine heat to be applied to nil below a
mouperature of 600, and that the vapour produced is con.
dimmed and returns to the oil, and that this operetta's were
continued for a long period of tone, would it produce any
.thinige in the oil? He auswered—fur she 41 days that
toed it, oo change was produced, and I have strung
ewe beliceieeg that uo cloture would be produced. The same
egseslion was put in two ushers of the semeiotic gentlemes
wino bad been examinee', and they concurred iu the answer
gives by Dr. Thorn toun.
Air..SWASLLIITT sow proceeded to address the Jury for the
JDefeudauts. After the lung sod patient 11111.1.1100 which the
diary bad gives to Iles case for two days, be had to call fur
their particular indulgence while be stated the case of the
Defendants There sere in this case three great qiiestions
to try. Two of fact, ■ad one of law. Upon the first two ha
would "Ahem the Ju►y, and be would afterwards address
the third to leis Lordship. Has Learned Friend had said,
that lie wall taut Monad to prove the cause of the fire. He
admitted it. But his Learned Friend, with goat contieleuce
and ►ulemtasy, pledge.' himself to prose that the fire did sot
avow Cora the net separates ; but be thuaglit lee should
eetiefy the minds of the Jary th■t his !tasted Friend's tti-
llll.llC, was Sol to Ise relied opus in this ease. His Learned
Feseied proeni•ed to negative—rot that the fire originated its
arutb••r place—but to prove that it did not uriginate in
the new apparatus. He did out soma to deny that the cause
of the flee 'invested su the 611-house; but he would prove
lira. is lust broke out in the warehouse. He world prove,
omit, that the tare arose (was the oil, sod that the use of oil
So this manlier was must dangerous. Now one word sport
the gestic•res of science who were eaamiocd. On the last
oreaatuu his Lordship had mod, that these couflicting opi.
comes were er.l the triump► of science, lint its Immiliatitia.
Some of Ileum getatlenaeu who were then remained felt this,
and they stideetvoured ever sister to induce the scientific gee.
•banes who bad been SZOllliutd se the ether aide to attend