The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-22 00:00:00

FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE.

'esterday morning, a few minutes before two
o'clock, a fire broke out in the house of Mr. Joel,
carrying on business as a stationer and bookseller,
42, Fore-street, Cripplegate. The building con-
tained, besides the warehouse, 10 rooms. The dis-
covery eppeere to have been made simultaneously
by the policeman on the beat and a person passing
the premises, who noticed smoke in dense bodies
issuing from the lower part of the building. The
officer gave the alarm, and in the course of a few
minutes a son of the owner came down and effected
his escape by the street door. By opening it he
allowed the air to enter and drive the fire all over
the building. At that time Mrs. J. Joel, a lady of
60, a son named Samuel, aged 27, the servant, Ann
Johnson, aged 23, and Annetta Joel, age unknown,
were sleeping in different parts of the building.
The officer immediately sent off to the Finsbury
station of the Royal Society for the Protection of
Life from Fire, and also to the engine stations, for
proper assistance, and in the course of a few mi-
nutes Engineer Cooper attended with the brigade
engine from Whitecross-street, as well_ as Conduc
tor Briggs, with the Royal Society's escape. At
that time dense clouds of smoke were pouring out
of every window in the building, and loud screams
could be heard proceeding from different rooms.
Whether any one was standing at the windows
could not be ascertained owing to the density of
the smoke, which obscured from view the front of
the premises. The conductor raised his escape
in front of the building, and having ascended
it, entered the second floor, but could find no one
there. Hearing screams in the third floor, he made
for that part of the premises. The flames came
rolling up the staircase, making a noise like a fur.
nace, and the heat was intense. In the third floor
he found Annetta Joel, in a room which the flames
had by that time entered. At the same time the
fire was coming out of the windows below. He at
once seized hold of the woman, and was in the act
of plaeing her in the canvass bagging of the escape,
when the flames overtook them, so that the poor
woman losing all power of standing, the conductor
was obliged to lose his hold of her. She fell upon
the stone flags beneath. When raised she was
found to have been severely burnt over the whole
of her body and otherwise injured. She was at once
placed in a cab and removed to the hospital. Upon
the return of the driver he stated that she had died
before reaching that institution. The engines of
the parish, London Brigade from Watling-street,
Jeffreys-square, Wellclose-square, and Farringdon-
street stations,had arrived when the whole building
was in flames. The brigade engines brought with
*h r sort,. klutuvr, COLan
Szechenyi, Mr. Bridges, the foreman of the district,
and sundry other officers. Five engines were set to
work ; but, in spite of the exertions of the firemen,
who were assisted by nearly 100 hired auxiliaries,
the flames could not be extinguished until the pre-
mises and all they contained were nearly destroyed.
As soon as the ruins were sufficiently cooled to en
able the firemen to enter, they found the bodies of
Mrs. Joel and the servant, terribly burnt, in the
third floor front. The body of Samuel Joel was
found at the bottom of the stairs, the position in
which it was leaving little doubt that he had tried
to get to the street door through the flames. The
remains were placed in shells and removed to the
dead-house to await an inquest. The origin of the
fire is not known. The contents of the house were
insured in the Alliance Fire office.

MANSION-HOUSE.—Two very well-dressed
men, who described themselves as John Weston, of
32, Weymouth-street, New Kent-road, pattern
maker, and William Harper, 3, West-place, St.
Georae' fi-road, Southwark, cigar maker. were ve,s-
teraay Drought Derore the Lord Mayor, in custody
of Michael Haydon, one of the detective officers of
the City police, charged with being in the Bank of
England, the Union Bank of London, and the Lon-
don and Westminster Bank, Lothbury, for an un-
lawful purpose ; also with having stolen a bag of
gold from the Unity Bank, in Cannon-street, and a
£lOO Bank of England note from Messrs. Master-
mans', in Nicholas-lane.
Mr. Base, from the office of Mr. Mullens, the
solicitor to the Bankers' Association, attended on
behalf of the prosecution.
The prisoners are both Americans, and it is be-
lieved that they are part of a gang of Yankee swell-
mobsmen who have favoured this country with a
visit upon the occasion of the Exhibition. They
have not been very long in England, and although,
from information in the possession of the police, it
is believed they have been tolerably successful, still
their career, through the tact of the officer, who, it
appears, has been constantly on their track, will
all probability be a short one. It will be seen from
the evidence that the attention of the prisoners has
been directed to the higher branches" of their
profession, namely, bank robberies, and that they
were provided with all the necessary materials to
satisfy inquiries and to avoid suspicion.
The prisoner Harper, at the commencement of
the proceedings, addressed his lordship, and, with a
strong nasal twang, said he should like to have the
inquiry postponed till he could get legal assistance.
The Lord Mayor, who had made himself
acquainted with the case, said that it would be
necessary there should be an adjournment for the
purposes of justice, and he only proposed on the
present occasion to take sufficient evidence to justify
him in remanding them, and they would thus have
ample opportunity of procuring professional assist-
ance.
Michael Haydon was then sworn. He said—l
am one of the detective officers of the city of Lon-
don, and on Tuesday afternoon, about half-past
three o'clock, I was on duty in Princes-street, and
I saw the prisoner Harper go into the Union Bank
of London, and the other prisoner followed him, and
I watched their proceedings. In about three or
four minutes they both came out and went
straight to the London Joint-Stock Bank, where
they also stopped a few minutes. A gentleman
camp out who had a bill case in his hand, and
Weston followed him across the street to the
corner of Lothbury, where he was joined by the
other prisoner, and they then both went into the
London and Westminster Bank. I continued to
watch them, and atter they bad been in the bank
two or three minutes, they came out together. At
this time each of the prisoners had a book or porte-
monnaie in his hand, as though they had gone into
the bank upon business. The prisoners then walked
together along Bartholomew-lane, and stopped at
the Rotunda entrance of the Bank of England, and
remained for a short time, and they then both went
into the Bank. I went in after them, and met them
coming out. I stopped them, and addressing Weston
said that I was a police-officer, and I must take the
liberty of asking what his business was in the Bank
of England ? He replied that he had come to the
Bank to get change for four £5 Bank of England
notes, and he pulled four notes of that denomina-
tion out of his pocket, and showed them to me, I
then asked the other prisoner, Harper, what busi-
ness he had in the Bank of England, and he said
he had come with his friend to show him the way,
as he was an American and a stranger in London.
Upon this I asked the prisoners what business they
had in the London and Westminster Bank, and
they said they thought it was the Bank of England.
I then said that I had seen them go into the Union
Bank, and the London Joint-Stock Bank, and asked
what they went to those banks for, and they said
they were under the impression that they were the
Bank of England. After the prisoners had made
these statements, I told them that the account they
gave of themselves was not satisfactory, and I should
feel it my duty to take them into custody, and charge
them with having gone into the banks I had men-
tioned with the intention of committing a felony.
The Lord Mayor—Did either of the prisoners
make any reply when you said this ?
Haydon—They did not, my lord. I told them
that I should also charge them on suspicion of having
stolen a £lOO note from Messrs. Mastermans' bank
about a week ago, and to this also they made no
reply. I accordingly, then, with the assistance of
Sergeant Green, one of the City police, took the
prisoners into custody, and conveyed them to Bow-
lane Police-station, where both the charges I have
mentioned were entered and read over to them,
and they gave no answer. A third charge, upon
which I expect to have further evidence on a
future day, was also read to them, and they were
both silent. I searched the prisoner Weston, and
found in his possession four £5 Bank of England
notes, three £1 notes of the Bank of Scotland, and
two £1 notes of the Bank of Ireland, and £3 16s.
61d. in money, I also found upon him a gold watch