The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-03 00:00:00

The Fire and Loss of Life at Newington.

Mr Wm. Carter, the coroner for East Surrey, yesterday
opened an inquest at the Royal Albert Tavern, East-street,
Newington, on the body of Clara Mary Ann Watkins, aged
one year and five months, who perished in the fire that took
place in the premises belonging to Mr John Watkins, a
newsvendor and tobacconist, carrying on business at No.
26, in East-street. The inquiry created a painful amount
of interest. Mr Inspector Dana attended officially to
watch the case.

The jury having Leer, sworn, the following evidence was
taken :

James H. Weedon, an oil and colourman, said that he
resided at 29, East-street. On Wednesday morning last he
was in his shop when he heard a cry of "Fire." He at
once ran across the road and saw Mrs Watkins at the door,
who said, " the room upstairs is on fire, and my baby is in
bed." He knew that Mrs Watkins was the occupier, and
he went upstairs to the front room and found it in one mass
of flame, in fact the bed and everything appeared on fire.
Witness entered the room but could not find the child. Om
account of the heat and smoke he was forced to come out,
but he re-entered and found the child lying on the floor. He
then ran across and procured some water, and he, with the
assistance of others, got the flames extinguished. He had
not entered the room since, and was therefore unable to tell
how the fire was caused. The child was frightfully burned
over the whole of the body. The first time he entered the
room he crawled on his hands and knees to get to the bed,
but wa- unable.
Mrs Mary Ann Watkins said her husband was a clerk at
Mr Bo wering's, Blackfriars-road, and also kept the house
and shop in which the fire occurred. Witness carried on the
business of a tobacconist and newsvender during her hus.
band's absence. He used to leave home at 5 o'clock in the
morning, and remained out all day. He went out at that
time on Wednesday last, leaving witness and her infant in
bed. Her sister and her husband lodged in her house. Wit-
ness got up at half-past 7, leaving her baby at the edge of
the bed, having previously put a pillow at its side. Her
papers were brought to the shop, and she went round with
them to serve her customers. She returned in a quarter of
an hour and folded some more papers, and whilst at the door
a neighbour came and said the place was on fire. She went
upstairs ant found the door ajar as she left it. She pushed
the door open and saw the room full of red smoke and flame,
She gave an alarm, and assistance arrived. The whole V
the furniture, bedding, and clothing have been destroyed.'
No fire had been lighted in the house. There was a b
oa
lucifers in the room, but where she could not say. of
she last saw them they were on a high table at te foot When
the bedstead on the top of some books.

The father of the deceased said that last Wednesday
morning he left home, leaving his wife and child in bed, as
before described. His wife's brother came to him about ten
o'clock, and told him what had happened. Ho returned
home immediately, and touad that the room was nearly
burnt out. Ho looked fcr the cause, but could not find any.
He was in the habit of smoking a pipe when he went out of
a morning. He always lighted his pipe at the shop door
when he opened it. The deceased could not have get to
the box of lucifers, as it stood upon a high table. He had
no doubt but the fire began in the bedroom.
By the Coroner—He had no charge to make against any
ono.

Mary M'Laren, wife of a master butcher, said the mother
of the deceased was her daughter. She saw the child that
morning for the first time. Nothing had come to her
knowledge to lead her to suspect anyone with having wil-
fully set the premises on fire.
The witness Weedon recalled—When he took up the
child it was so hot that he could not hold it, without
wrapping it in the pillow and a piece of carpet.
The mother of the child recalled—She kept a kitten, but
she did not know where it was on that morning. She
believed the child must have got possession of some lucifer
matches, and these igniting, set fire to the bedding.
The learned Coroner summed up, and remarked upon the
great mystery attached to the case as to the origin of the
fire, and

The jury, after consulting, returned a verdict " That the
deceased died from the effects of burns and suffocation,
through a fire breaking out, and which said fire was the
result of accident."
The proceedings, which lasted some hours, then termi-
nated,

A BOMBSHELL IN A MAGAZINE.--A few days
ago ono of our ordinary light-draught gunboats belonging
to Admiral Lee's fleet, on the James River, was fired at
from a rebel shore battery. One of the rhells struck and
entered the magazine, bat did not explode. Upon a search
being made for the rebel missile, it was discovered that it
had passed through two barrels of powder and lodged in a
third, from which it was removed. At the time this kindly
shell made its grand entree into the magazine there were
about 100 souls—officers and men—on board of the gun-
boat, every one of whom would undoubtedly have been
blown to atoms had it exploded. It should be remembered
that in constructing our light-draught gunboats it is impos-
sible to sink the magazine, machinery, and boilers below
water.—American Paper.
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