The National Register.
London, England, 1815-11-19 00:00:00

750

THE NATIONAL. REGISTER.

Great praise ig due to tie rrsons engaged in clearing
away the rubbish. several hundreds of whom were labouring
with the most iniirr;.ti,.;al)lc industry at a late hour last night.
About six o'ch,ck the voice of a nian, c,illing for bzlo,
was heard in the under floor of the bnilding, but it is feared
be vroull perish befote the ruins which covered him were

removed.
The personal escape of Messrs. Constadt and is
Ora
truly miraculous.
FURTIIF.R PARTICULARS.
Another sogar-lionse, Ire ion to Mr. f.'on.tailt, atlioinin", the
concert which has b-en de,troyed by explotion, has snffered. ~thont
eleven nil Wednesday ni7l:t, the rains of the former Ware heing so
far removed as to peanut an effusion of flame, the lire which had
caught the works of the engine and boiler machinery an" which till
then had been ,mothered, horst firth with irresistille fury. The
timbers and other inflammable articles strewed about the reins,
int-
inediatelv caught fire. and communicating to the diffeteut floors of
the building, the whole was shortly enveloped in flames. It would
be impossible to d.,:rlil)o the raging limy of the element ; and not-
withstanding the timely at ival of nearly twenty engines, which con-
tinued to play thiont:hout the night, the buibliog was totally demo-
lished; 11,e interior fed hint into a eontlensed heap of ashes npon the
ruins of the first house, leaving only a few and tottering fragments of
the walls.
In this additional calamity, we are happy to state that no lives
have been either lost or any person injured, though tt may easily he
imagined the increased distress and misfortune it must have heaped
upon the proprietor. The adjoining honks and neighbourhood, we
are enabled to say. have escaped injuly, and effects of the liquid ex-
p!o'ion of water. snuar. &e. from the boiler and pm:. ilasLed upon
the atfacent buildno:s, and suffused thickly upon the trees in Well-
close square. ate the only eireunktances worth observation, beyond
the destineti.:o of the premises, the loss of so many lives, and the
II
unfortonate injury of others.
TO the catalogue of sufferers recorded above, we regret it is not
in our to make a terinetion ; we leatn, on the contrary, that
six human beings pernbed in the dreadful casnalty. It has now
been ascertained that twenty-toe persons were employed in the
concern at the time ; nine of the•,:e were taken from thence in a
lacerated state, six have been recognizo4 as having escaped, and six •
consequently are conelnded as having been suffocated. The bodies
of three only have been di•covered ; the two that were Rupposed to
have been Rot out of the ruins on IVednesdav night were not found,
in consequence of the immense heap of rubbish to be removed, and
the still more awful interruption of. the fire.
It appears a'so, bide the extraordinary escape of Mr. Constadt,
:pH Mr. Hague the Eoi;itirer, who were actually beneath the ma-
chinery at the moment of the explosion, that Mr. Spears, of Broad- •
street, and father of the voting gentleman wh p
erish, was
the gin
few yards of the engine,
on the lower floo or, bearing x.
plosion ran towards a wiudow, from which he was shortly dragged
by a gentleman in the neighbourhood.
Thursday afternoon an Inquisition was taken at the Star, in Well-
sticet, Wellelose•sqoare, by Mr. Lush, the Coroner for the Tower
Hamlet:, on view of the bodies of K.P. Laitig, William Blight, and
Mr. Arthur Chetves Spears, who lost their lives by the dreadful ex-
plosion at Mr. Constad sm,ar-house, on Wednesday m.orning.
Peter Leroy deposed, that he and 20 other men were employed in
the sugar-home, namely.lo Frenchmen, 6 Germans, and 4lt is.
Mr. Spears and Mr. Hague, the engineer, called there on Wednes
day morning and saw the boiler, &c.; about ten o'clock Mr. Collins,
the deputy engineer, desired the fire to be kept in ; one of the Irklt-
men put on softie coals, and instantly Robert Laieg, one of the de-
ceased men, put on more. Witness perceiving the thermometer at
46, cant iooed them about the consequence of keeping such a large
fire. Robert then put more weight on the valves, and soon after
the explosion took place. Vines providentially escaped, as well
as Mr. Spears and Mr. Hague, who were in the adjoining part of the
building, and instantly that part of the premises was levelled with
the gr •ttitd.
A sleds: to Mr. Spears denoted. that Mr. C. was a Frenchman ;
Vim he in,ented a mashie,' for clarifying sugar, with which an ex:
rerint..nt was to he tai, d noder the direction of Mr. thane. Mr.
R. Spears, the deeras,.l, was hi% master's son. lie was about 14
year- •f :iges and w gen •rally htpt 'here to take an acconut of the
vci •of sogars -en. to be nootufaccored by his father, who had no
o.her comuction with the concern. On hearing the explosion wit-
41t Wellt to stek fur him, but could not find him till about four

NOV. 19.

•
o'clock, when he was taken nit, not quite dead, but shockingly mu.
tilatcd, and was instantly removedto a surgeon's, but he expired soon
after.
Alexander Dickenson deposed. that he is a mill•wright by trade,
and on hearing the explosion cair' to seek for two of his •hopmates,
it ho were at work at the sugar-house: be se ocliell until lint four
o'clock. when he thund the bodies of Laing and close together
under the roit.s, he got them out, but they were quite dead
Jury having very maturely considered the evidence produced
, respecting the sad calamity, were of opinion the accident was occa.
sinned by the obstiopcy 01 Laing. who suffered for his imprudence,
and, under the direction of the Coroner, returned their verdict.—
Accidental Death.

The ruins of Mr. Constades concerns still isne forth make and
flame, and surh is the immense heap of rubbish, that, notwithstand-
ing the exertions of nearly 100 persons, it has not hem] sufficiently
rvolove,l as to explore that part of the building er
esse the
bodies
of the three persons missing are supposed to he burid Among
others who assisted in clearing the ruins, was Mr. Constadt himselr,
dressed as a labourer, and furnished with a pick axe and shovel.—
His case has excited the most lively commi.eration for his misfor-
tune, and every assistance has been afforded him by the neigh-
bourhood. Hi 3 logs cannot he compute=d under 40.0001. as inde-
pendently of the two warehouses, with ell the machinery, &c,
there was also an immense quantity of sugars. The individuals
who had been conveyed to the London Hospital, from the divot
of the explosion, arc; we understand, iu a fair way of recovery.

POLICE.

UNION HALL.
Thomas Parkins was brought op by May the officer, Or
stealing a ereat coat the property of William Packer. This
he
it appeared, was a travelling fishmonger, and in
going
Friday mornirg, he stopped at the house of a customer, it
Road, and left his horse and cart at the door, whilst he we
!noise to spew some of his fish. At this instant, a gentler
Blumsom, who was passing, observed the prisoner and at
lurking about the cart ; he suspected their intention and wa.
watch them, and immediately on the prosecutor" entering tl
saw the prisoner snatch the great coat out of the cart, an.
with it into an adjoining stable-yard. Air. 'unison' informer
secutor of what he had seen, who followed the prisoner and
concealed in a cat t-slied, with the coat in his possessir.n. At
sent for, and he was taken into custody. The prisoner in
said, he had no intention of stealing the coat ; he only too!
joke and meant to return it. He was fully committed for It
ATROCIOUS ASSAULT.—Yesterday Wm. Dooley was c
assaulting 3. Smithers, in Hounsditch, on Friday last. It a
the complainant went into the work-shop in which .the prisoi
ployed, and was joking 'Aid' the men for some time, when
forced his hand between the blades of a pair of shears, an
his fingers off. The prisoner said, be merely did it "
of
Idtk !" He was fully committed.

GUILDHALL.
Yesterday Sarah Ivey, a woman 70 years of age, was ci
taking illegal insurance in the Lottery. The witnesses, w'
mon informers. swore to having done the first 500 with tl
at the rate of 3d. for a guinea, the first day of drawing.
fenced to one month's imprisonment.
BOW-STREET.
DRURY-LANE THEATRE.—Soon after the conch
Opera of The Siege of Belgr ide at Drury-lane Theatr'
day night, the audience were thrown into the greatest
and frightful state of agitation, particularly the female
safety of a young man, although his conduct outraged
rum, by getting from the upper circle of the boxes,
iron rails and spikes, which till then were considered
and for which purpose they were put up. He passed
into the top of the cornice, over one of the private ho'
stage, which was not considered foot-hold, or soffit.'
fo support the weight of a man. He then became
~tteution of the whole audience ; he sat down by the F.
:lumbers vociferated " Turn him out !" &c. every Oi.
atre expecting every moment to see him precipitated
loin, and from that tremendous height he must be dash
lie changed his position horn bitting by the side,

nffidently
the bodies
1. g
dt Ann
himself,lo
rl shovel.—
his misfor-
the neigh-
I. inde-
tinery,
individuals
the effect
.ecovcry.
barged with
e prosecutor,
is rounds an
in Clapham
iesit into the
email named
another man
as induced to
the huu"e' lie
nd run
med the pro-
d tonwl hint
k officer was
3 his defence
)k it out °I. a
trial.
charged with
glinopcintpe
ielner Re
wasrpaeisyotenit
cn)
r.t
out of a bit of
convicted fn
oho were colt'r
ihe defendant-
She n as aen'•
lusion of the
re,
on Inas-
consterilati"
e part, for the
aged all deco;
passed am-
id impassable.
.mhe
.d from "
boxes over the
tiee
object of
and bat at tilit
de:
eel
dtil, It; and
atom'.
ee strong
tgrriaei
oi