The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-03 00:00:00

ram.
The Caizstrophe in Westminster.
Yesterday afternoork
eaochil
an inquiry at the Westminster Hospita 1
the death of Mars' Hefferan, aged 66 yrs, Iv
c;ent accident at the Boman
lost her life through the re
Catholic Schools in Great ieter-street.
that the
St. Clair Bedford held,
The Coroner, upon taking
,re,sulting trol;
present was a second casualty
calamity which the jury had met to investigate ohs
,Itis seat, said e
he
Monday. With respect to that accurrt.'nee'
learned coroner) had placed himself in 03111
1- moved
tion with Mr. Henry Miller, M.P., who had .
the Board of Works that the surveyor should
tigate the state of the building which had led tor;
giving way of the flooring, and the surveyor's on
dente and report would be placed before the jurY
Monday next. On the present occasion the 131.°-
ceedings would therefore be only preliminary 3
Timothy Callaghan, No. 10, Artillery-sclaare
labourer, identified the deceased as 'his
law. She was aged 66 years, and had beeti,bo
widow for 25 years. Witness saw her daily in
hospital, but she could not give any account of to
accident.
terrsctoe?
Amelia Andrews, No. 9, St. Margaret's-
the wife of a police-constable, said that she wenitv
the schoolroom in Great Peter-street on Thu
bet,
the 26th of January, at 7 o'clock. She had a She
but the tickets were not given up at the door. '-'he
stood on the left side of the upper room, and t
deceased was a little behind her. A great many per,o
mother-10-3
sons left the room in three-quarters of an ltireci
time, but not in consequence of any alarm. Peee7„ed
then got in advance of witness, but regial'3,
talking to her. A great crash took place, a in,
ness turned round to escape. She went now
ere
stairs. She did not see deceased fall. There Wcia
numbers of persons in a gallery along the rig
bt °I
of the room.
The Coroner said he wanted evidence of the °°'
currence that befel the deceased.
Mr. Crow said there was no one who could e,
to that fact. When the crash occurred everrn,„ge
helter skelter, thinking that the building was fa'''"
and that it was necessary to get away at once' the
The Coroner said he wished to know when
deceased was picked up. A 0'
an
The witness said she did not see decease'-'
the crash. The last she saw was a gentlem Li'

ing up a gold watch.
th e Part
The Coroner said he would not go into
of the questionhaving reference to the numbers'
•

in the building at present. ' sash M. C. St. Aubin Hawkins, M.R.C.S., 00
when deceased was brought into the hospitativ•cje,
that her case was a very serious one. The "'l'. a;(1
collar bone, five ribs, both bones of the forearin'
the right leg were fractured. She had, besides':ble,
cussion of the brain. She was perfectly ihef-lieti
and she remained so until Monday night. tetigou
from her injuries. The other patients were getTthe
well, much better than he had expected. 111171 the
exception of one, who might die, he beriele",6 in
others would pull through. There we're newtior.
the hospital, and 93 had been attended aßege-
The proceedings were then adjourned.
The Fatal Accident in the Blackheath
Tunnel.
claritg
Mr. Yesterday afternoon at three o'clock C. - ree
coroner for West Kent, resumed the inquiry at °I!!
mason's Tavern, Woolwich, into the circumstances
.i°tteer,
ing the deaths of Edwin Allure, John Guilin, to" fiats 11'
Hunt, platelayers in the service of the South-Bash'l-iiisioll
way Company, who were killed by the fearful ceisiortil
which occurred in the Blackheath Tunnel of the
Kent line on the evening of Friday, Dec. 16. 01'
Several officials connected with the il3
South-Baste
rrl' 6ter 1,
way Company were present. Mr. Nicholson, '/3;,,,..110m
appeared on behalf of Lancaster, the guard of the
train, and Mr. Robinson for Jones, the signal ra. 111' ;
The Coroner commenced the proceedings by °bsero34t
that the jury were no doubt well aware as to the r%AtP
the inquiry held at Blackheath on the previous
but they were not in the slightest degree to be gill a lt
the verdict then given. It was their duty to arrisrdjalY3
conclusion solely from the evidence which WO—
brought before them. ifr
The witnesses who gave evidence at the Blackhefl
cog
quiry were then re-examined, and subjected to a S C
cross-examination by Mr. Robinson and Mr. Nichol OP
ce
The Coroner having summed up the evidence an t Is.
ma ented thereon, the jury, after a deliberation of 3/9°3 0e.41
n hour, returned a verdict of manslaughter agaios",;,list'
the signalman, and Lancaster, the guard of the
train, coupled with the same recommendations givell„;iii4
jury at Blackheath on Tuesday last, with the fe""
tha
additions :—" That, in the opinion of the jury, j°ll,:ce of
signalman, was overworked ; and that the Pr3objer
burning coal in the tunnel instead of coke is highly ° t.t°
tionable and injurious ; and that the trains eug rOOO
be so overloaded as to prevent their certain passage
• tl
the tunnel or upon any incline on the lino."
Mr. Chapman, stationmaster at Blackheath, srl tlito tifi
recommendations of the jury would be forV/.3rd°
directors of the South-Eastern Railway Coinel:pea 11°;-
Bail was then tendered and accepted for the `"' • 4,
0%.
of Jones and Lancaster to take their trial at Ole dije
sions of the Central Criminal Court, and the Preece
terminated.