The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-04 00:00:00

sail's mill was a brick building, erected about 11 years

ago, and situate in Smith-street, near to the river Roach
(from which the town takes its name). It was ten win-
dows, or about thirty yards, long, and eight windows, or
thirty yards, wide, four stories high, with an attic.
The two lower stories, a portion of the third, the fourth,
and the attic were occupied by Messrs. Kelsall in the
preparation for weaving, of flannel ; that portion of
the third story which they did not use was ltt
off to Mr. Thomas Scott, a carder of wool, who
appears to have risen from the position of a working
man, and in his old ago wa3 acquiring the means
of living in competence. One of the processes for which
his machinery was adapted, was that of " deviling," or
separating the fibre in the fleece, besides cleaning if,
answering to " willowing" in a cotton factory ; and this
was performed in a portion of the third room, adjacent to
the staircase leading to all the upper rooms, and over the
engine-house. The mill started at six o'clock on Tues-
day morning, and there would be at that time probably
150 hands in the various rooms of the building, Mr.
Stott employing 24. Of the whole, by far the larger
proportion, most probably four-fifths, would be females
and children, mb;ny of the latter "short timers." At seven
o'clock Mr. Stott's son, Samuel, a young man aged 23,
was in the " Devil hole," which was separated from the
rest of the room by a thin boarding of wood, when sud-
denly he saw a flame playing over his head about the
burner of the gas, and calling to a carter who was assist-
ing him, they strove to extinguish the flames by putting
on sacks. It is usual to have water in buckets in the
" Devil-hole," because of the danger of fire arising from
the rapid evolutions of the beater, and the consequent
chance of the elimination of sparks from contact with
some gritty substance in the wool ; but they had been
removed the day before, while the workpeople were
cleaning the place out, and, consequently, were not at
hand. The flames spread so rapidly that the two men
were quite powerless, and an alarm was given to the
hands in the mill, and also to the fire-brigade, whose en-
gine house and three engines are on the rooms of the
town commissioners, exactly opposite the burning build-

ing. The hands in the room No. 3, both those employed
by Mr. Stott and by the Messrs. Kelsall, escaped, so
far as we heard, unhurt, though they had to pass
the "Devil-hole" to do so, and to rush through
smoke and fire. Not so the unfortunates in the
rooms above. They heard the alarm east, and not
until the fire had attained some head, and on going
to the usual means of exit, the staircase, they
found it filled with smoke and fire, which were warping
themselves up from the room below. To attempt to
descend was certain death—to remain was equally eer-
tain destruction. In these frightful circumstances they
were seen by the firemen when they turned out with
their engines. Fire was pouring out from four windows
at the end of the room farthest from the advancing fire,
which were described as being blocked up with heads
and faces, in which the utmost agony and desperation
were depicted, and cries for help rose above every other
sound. Upon the roof, at the lowest point of the dizzy
height to whioh the exterior walls towered, probably
50 feet, there were several calling out for the same
assistance ; and as if in mockery of them, when the firemen
obtained two ladders, and placed them beside the wall,
they were found to be so short as to be of no avail. At last,
however, the presence of mind of some of the men gave
them the means of escaping. One man, named Rd. Duck-
worth, unwrapped a partly woven piece of flannel from a
loom, fastened one end to one of the posts of the loom, and
pushed the other through the window, allowing some
dozen or fourteen children and women to 'slide down it
from the fourth story. Henry Ratcliffe also assisted in
the same way, and another man, named Taylor, got a
piece of cotton rope, and, ascending to the roof, he let
down no fewer than 14 persons, who all descended safely,
with one unfortunate exception, Margaret Scott, a wo-
man who seems to have let go her hold when she was a
considerable distance from the ground, and received such
injuries by her fall that she died subsequently. When
he had let all down, the noble fellow descended himself,
and was comparatively uninjured. Another fatality
occurred in the same way among those who had hold
of the piece of flannel. A woman, named Ambler,
had not sufficient power to hold it when she got out
of the window, and in falling she dislocated her
back, and died soon after. From the fourth story
at the back of the mill, the hands jumped out of the
windows into a pit of slaked lime which was there, and
one if not more is so seriously injured as to lead to fears
of fatal consequences. One, it is believed, will lose her
eye-sight through the lime getting into them. It is
feared that all have not escaped, and one Irish lad is
supposed to be lost in the fire ; he has not been heard of
since. A number of persons were let down by the rope
of the triangle which is at the end of the building where
the fire originated, but some little distances front where
it was raging. The casualties, so far as we have been
able t•e ascertain them, are as follows :
DlED.—Hannah Ambler, Amen-corner ; Margaret
Scott, Clarke's-place.
INJURED.---James Kershaw, 1, Holroyd-street, Vi-
car's-moss ; Jane Standrig, 2, Livsey-street ; Jane
Taylor, Henry-street, Guide-post, daughter of R.
Inglis ; William Buttes-worth, top of Milk-stone ;
Betty Chadwick, daughter of John Chadwick ; Alice
Shore, daughter of James Shore, 12, Molesworth-street,
Vicar's-moss ; Mary Wolfenden, Back Drake-street ;
Elizabeth Armitage, Portland-street ; Mary Hardman,
Church-lane ; Reuben Sutcliffe, Bailey-street ; Martha
Heywood, Cleveland-square ; Emma Slott, Hanging
Bottom.

Most of these were injured in the arms and legs, and
they were removed to their own homes as soon as they
were got away. Most of the injuries were caused by the
reckless jumping of the people through fright, for beds
were procured upon which they might have fallen had
the circumstances of the case rendered more care pos-
sible. 4P One girl jumped from the fourth story into the
arms of Mr. Eccles, the superintendent of the fire-
brigade, and was saved uninjured. That would be, at
least, a fall of 40 feet. Of course the three engines be-
longing to the town were got to work, but it was found
impossible to save any portion of the burning building,
from which flame was poured forth with such fierceness
as to set fire to several other buildings adjacent. Sparks
and pieces of burning materials fell thick as hail, and
at a distance of fifty yards the clothing of one of the
firemen was set on fire, and scorched him. They worked
away, however, by means of engines, high-pressure
plugs, and hydrogents supplying the engines from the
river Roach, and by ten o'clock the fire had burnt itself
out. The damage it is estimated will not be less than
10,0001. The poor man Stott, in whose room the fire
originated, has lost his all, about 1001. as he was not
insured. The loss of Messrs. Kelsall is not yet ascer-
tained, but they are insured—in the Leeds and York
shire, it is said, for 4,4001., and in other offices. The
townspeople hastened to the spot as soon as the fire-bell
was rung, and they worked to put out the fire with the
most praiseworthy diligence.

METROPOLITAN COMMISSION ,OF SEWERS.

A special court of sewers was held at the Greek-street
office ; present, Mr. R. Jebb (chairman), Sir C. Fel-
lowes, Mr. Thomas Hawes, Mr. Baker, Mr. T. F. Field
and Mr. Smith.

The SECRETARY (Mr. Woolrych) read the usual state-
ment of accounts, which showed the present available
balance to amount to 48,6001.
Works were then ordered by the Court, the aggregate
expense of which was estimated at 8,9471.
The SECRETARY announced that notices hadbeen given
of intended application to Parliament in the next session
for the following bills :—Southwark and Crystal Palace
Railway ; North Metropolitan Railway ; West Kent
and Crystal Palace Junction Railways ; Charing-cross
Bridge ; Great London Drainage ; Thames Embank-
ment and Railway ; Wellington Docks, Southwark ;
Direct Southern Railway and Thames Terminus ;
Wandle Water and Sewerage Company ; the Commis-
sioners for the Exhibition of 1851 ; Thames Improve.
ment ; and Westminster Terminus Railway.
The Court then ordered the notices to be referred to
the engineer of the committee, with instructions to as-
certain how far the proposed works will interfere with
the drainage of the metropolis.
In consequence of the recent decision of the commis-
sioners exempting tithe-rent charge in the hands of
clergymen from assessment to sewers-rate, the Court
next ordered that the sum of 171. 11s., which had been
paid by the Rev. R. Dalton, rector of Lambeth, to be
refunded to that gentleman, the collection of the rate in
question not being yet cloned.
After disposing of some further business of a purely
formal nature, the court adjourned till the 19th inst.

ROYAL DANISH RAILWAY.—A. report on the present
position of this railway has just been issued by the
chairman, Mr. G. G. Glyn. The line of 44 miles be-
tween Tonning and Flensburg, connecting the North Sea
and the Baltic, is expected to be opened in the summer,
the permanent way being already laid throughout half
its length, while the earthwork for the remainder also is
nearly finished. The works on the short section forming
the junction with the Kiel and Altona line are to be
vigorously prosecuted in the spring, and arrangements
are in progress for a beneficial interchange of traffic
with neighbouring companies. The amount expended
thus far has been 955,0001., and the stipulated propor-
tion of the 100,0001. which is to constitute a security for
the minimum dividend of 6 per cent., guaranteed by
1 Messrs. Peto, Betts, and Brassey, has been duly depo-
sited.
ALLIANCE BETWEENESWEDEN AND DENMARK.—The
Gazette de Cologne asserts that the two Cabinets are about
concluding a treaty offensive and defensive, and the
immediate result will be the fortification of the Danish
coast, and more especially of the Danish capital.
AN IRREPARABLE Loss.--Lost somewhere between
sunrise and sunset two golden hours, each set with
sixty golden minutes. No reward is ofered, as they are
lost for over.—Old Countryman.