The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-26 00:00:00

manner.

By the Coroner—lf Rowe had neglected his business
could you have discharged him ?
Witness—Yes, there was a clause in the contract
giving me that power. The shoring was sufficient be-
fore the digging commenced. It was intended by myself
originally to take down the external wall, and I caused
the usual notices to be served on Mr. Thompson, who
represented to me that he would be ruined if I turned
him out of his house, and it was agreed to be left to the
fiat of the District Surveyor whether the wall should be
taken down or not. Thompson's house belonged to the
Duke of Norfolk. On the 2d of August Mr. Phillips,
Mr. Thompson, and myself went over the house. I
told Mr. Thompson that the wall ought to be taken
down, and I would not guarantee him anything about
it. He said it had stood 12 months without any shoring,
and begged me not to take it down. It was no interest
to me to take the wall down, but I thought it should
be taken down for safety. The District Surveyor after-
wards examined the premises, and determined that the
wall should be kept up. I think all the shoring had then
been completed. For a day or two before the
accident I had a great deal of unpleasantness with
the excavators, and found they had undermined
a house, No. 4, Arundel-street, had undermined the
shorings of this house, and had gone under Thompson's
parlour. I thought the excavators had gone too
far, and I spoke to Rowe about it. He thought also
that the excavations had been carried too deep, but said
it should not occur again, and that no harm had yet
been done. On the following day I found that they had
broken through Mr. Thompson's cellar, and I again re-
monstrated with Rowe about it. He said it should not
occur again, and ordered that some cement should be
put in the opening to keep the wet out, and said he had
satisfied Mr. Thompson about it. I said it was a very
improper proceeding, and that it might shake the wall.
I had a ladder brought me, and I found a slight crack.
Rowe said it was nothing, and that it was not a new
crack ; and I said whether it was new or old
the building was not safe, and I begged him
to apprise Mr. Thompson of my opinion. I
told Mr. Thompson I must pull the wall down,
as I considered it dangerous. Mr. Thompson said
" Who's to pay me for it." I said that was all settled,
the district surveyor would award him any compensation
for any loss he might suffer. He replied that would not
do, he wanted a certainty. I asked him how much he
wanted. He said 101. I said—" Don't make a bargain,
that is a very small sum ; you are in the hands of Messrs.
Smith, who will deal liberally with you." Mrs.
Thompson remarked that everybody said they were not
safe, and I said "No one can say you are safe." At
that time the party wall was sound, and I would have
willingly slept in the front part of the house, but not in
the parlour. A complaint was made with respect to the
back part of the house. After I had the conversation
with Thompson, Rowe said it was all safe, and with
the exception of the parlour I think all was safe. Upon
ascertaining the strata orders had been given to excavate
10 feet from the surface. If Rowe had known the ex-
cavations were being carried lower than 10 feet he would
not have allowed it. He asked me to allow the under-
pinning to go on with the old bricks, which were quite
sound. I refused, as there was a clause in the specifica-
tions interdicting the use of old materials.
The jury here adjourned for refreshments ; and it was
understood the proceedings would not be finished to-day.

DREADFUL ACCIDENT IN NORWIC27.-TLIREE
LIVES LOST.-DANGER OF NAPHTHA.

[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

An accident fatal to three persons occurred on Friday
evening at Norwich, at Mr. Smith's, chemist and drug-
gist, Magdalen-street, from handling naphtha by candle
light. The naphtha and other inflammable substances are
stored in a building separate from the other premises,
and in the farther part of the garden, and it is a standing
and imperative order that the door of the building shall
never be unlocked after dark. On Friday afternoon the
principal warehouseman, Henry Nichols, had an order
to put up, of which naphtha proved a part, and it
is remarkable that Mr. Smith had cautioned him
three times that afternoon not to delay putting up the
naphtha till too late. Nichols was an intelligent and
very careful servant, but unaccountably had attended to
other work till it was dark. He then, while Mr. Smith
and some friends were at tea, took a ship lantern for
safety, and calling a lad and a boy to aid him, as the car-
boys were large, went with them into the naphtha room.
Almost instantly the cry was heard from some persons
in the other parts of the warehouse that the naphtha
room was on fire. All rushed out, and the first
thing seen was Nichols breaking the window for air, en-
veloped in flame, and calling on them to save him. They
could not force the door at first, the lad having so fallen
against it as to wedge it fast. Having at length found
something strong enough to break the window frame,
they drew Nichols out at the window, dreadfully burnt,
and soon after got out the lad, and afterwards found the
boy, who apparently had fallen backward into a crate.
Both these seem to have died instantaneously. A line
was formed to a good pump on the premises, and the fire
extinguished completely in a quarter of an hour ; one ten
gallon carboy of naphtha, though its mouth was open, and
several casks of olive oil, and the turpentine happily had
not ignited. The building itself is comparatively little
injured, and the marvel seems that so small an amount
of damage could have been so dreadfully fatal. While
the fire was being extinguished, Nichols was conveyed to
the hospital in great suffering, where he expired on
Saturday morning. It was a singular and unusual
circumstance, that they closed the doors of the
room which opens directly into the garden while
pouring out the naphtha, otherwise they were so near
the open air that they would probably only have been
burnt severely without fatal consequences. The inquest,
of course, acquitted all survivors of the slightest blame ' •
indeed it is evident that the precautions against danger
were all that could be devised. The unfortunate man him-
self who on this occasion, perhaps for the first time in his
life deviated from rule, was plainly the unintentional
cause of the death of two other persons besides himself.
He could say but little ; he was able, however, to state
that nothing had broken, nor the lantern been opened
at all. It would seem, therefore, that the vapour of the
naphtha, of which a large half-emptied carboy would con-
tain a great deal, had reached the light through the
ventilation of the lantern, burst the lantern, and ignited
the whole. Nichols leaves a widow, who is almost a
helpless cripple, and who had been confined that day
with her third child. He was a most tender husband
and father, as well as a most valuable and confidential
servant. All he said amidst his excruciating sufferings
was about " his poor wife and babies."