The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-07 00:00:00

S Ng APRIL 7, 1847.

..„.
THE LATE CONFLAGRATION AT
HIBERNIA WHARF.
Yesterday afternoon Mr. William Payne and a re-
spectable jury assembled at the Bridge-house Hotel.,
London-bridge, for the purpose of inquiring into the
circumstances connected with the recent conflagration
at Hibernia-wharf, the property of Mr. Alderman Hum-
phery, M.P.

William Monroe, the foreman of Hibernia-wharf, said
he left the premises for the last time at 20 minutes past
two o'clock on Sunday morning. He was the last per-
son in the warehouse. He had been working with :five
other men on the wharf till that hour, in landing and
shipping goods. When he left he locked up the pre-
mises, and carried the keys home with him. The ware-
house was lighted with three gas burners, and it was
witness's duty to extinguish the lights before he left,
which he did on the morning in question. The last gas-
light he put out was in the counting-house, where he
lighted a candle, and on getting to the door he pinched
the snuff, and placed the candle outside of the building.
The men on the wharf were not allowed to smoke, and
never did so. The goods in the premises were of a ge-
neral description. There were in one part about 200
pockets of hops. In another part there was a quantity
of rags, and a few bales of shoddy.
A juror hero explained that shoddy was a dressing of
Yorkshire cloth, and the most dangerous article that
could be placed in any building. It was of an oily na-
ture, and if the least quantity of water got upon it, it
would cause the substance to ignite spontaneously. He
(the juror) had been obliged himself to throw some into
the Thames on several occasions.

Owen M. Cross, another workman, said that he saw
nothing in the warehouse likely to take fire. He was
in the middle floor during the night, and had a candle
with him, which he stood on the head of an empty beer
cask. He did not put the light out till he got on to the
wharf. He could not tell in what part of the building
the fire beg_ttn.
Edward Hitriiilton engineer of the Tooley-street Bri-
gade station, said that he arrived at the wharf between
a quarter of an hour and 20 minutes past three on Mon-
day morning with the first engine. He then saw fire at
the side window in the court. He could not form any
idea as to where the fire began.
Thomas Brooks, a foreman at Hay's-wharf, said that
he had been desired by the Alderman to attend and an-
swer any questions the court might put. He had occa-
sionally been at Hibernia-wharf to deliver in goods. He
had loaded at different times many a ton of shoddy, but
had never had an accident with any.
A juror—But you turn it over, do you not, whilst it
is in the warehouses?

Witness answered in the affirmative, and explained
that it was done to prevent overheating.
William Wilkinson, sub-engineer at the Southwark-
bridge-road station, said that ;shortly after his arrival,
on one of the shutters being burned away, he saw that
the gas pipe had melted, and the gas was burning,
which could not have been the case if the gas had been
turned off at the main. He found the wrench on the
main, but the pipe was so rusty that it could not be
turned. It had evidently not been turned off that night.
Monroe, upon being recalled, admitted that he might
have neglected to turn the main cock off.
Joseph Willy, the private watchman, stated that he
passed the premises a few minutes before the discovery
was made, when he could neither see smoke nor smell
fire. He saw the men leave on Sunday morning. They
were perfectly sober.
The Coroner having summed up the evidence, the
jury consulted, and returned the following verdict:—
" That there is not sufficient evidence to enable them
(the jurors) to decide how the fire originated, but in
their opinion there is every probability that it arose
from the spontaneous combustion of some bales of waste
or shoddy."

THE PRIVILEGES OF THE BAR.

Lord Vivian has published a correspondence between
himself and Mr. Justice Coltman, relative to some remarks
made by a barrister, Mr. Temple, during a trial on the
North Wales Circuit. It appears that Lord Vivian
prosecuted a servant for embezzlement ; that Mr.
of
hTempleis a
dwdarse
sengagedtehe fjourr
jury,
e defence, c
astso
m nde ai
nip, in
ta
ttihoe
ncourseupon
the motives of the prosecutor. Lord Vivian applied to
the advocate for an explanation, which was refused,
whereon he wrote to the judge who presided at the
An extract from his letter may be given:—
"For Mr. Temple's opinion of my motives I care not;
but I do care for the opinion of those amongst whom I
live ; and the ignorant amongst them are likely to be
led astray by such reflections as were cast upon me by
Mr. Temple. lam fully aware of the license allowed to
an advocate in defence of a client ; but I conceive that
such license (the law affording no redress for calumnies
thus uttered) should be exercised with discretion and
with justice. I venture to assert, in the charges brought
against me by Mr. Temple, both have been violated ;
and in this opinion I am supported by Mr. Townsend,
the gentleman who conducted the prosecution, but with
whom I had no previous acquaintance. To you, my
Lord, then, I appeal to set me right in the opinion of
the public, as to my motives for prosecuting Hill having
been neither vindictive, outrageous, or wrongful."
Lord Newborough, the high sheriff, was next appealed
to, and signs the following memorandum, which is pub-
lish, d with the letters:—

" On application to the jute as to whether he pur-
posed taking notice of the letter Lord Vivian addressed
to him, he stated That he could not now revert to the
case in Court; that he considered Mr. Temple's language
to have been impertinent, but hardly worth Lord Vivian's
notice; and being relevant to the case, he did not stop
him at the time, although had Lord Vivian appealed to
him he should have stated that his conduct bad been very
proper in the prosecution, and that he (the judge) would
write to Lord Vivian to that effect.' Lord Vivian, in
reply, expressed his regret that he did not, as presiding
over the Court, think fit at once to vindicate his cha-
racter from false imputations, and from language which
he stigmatised as impertinent; and that he (Lord
Vivian) yet more regretted that there was any counsel
on this circuit so devoid of right and gentlemanly feel-
ing as to shun making reparation for the unwarrantable
language he had used."

DEATH or LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR Dtn
L. GILMOUR, K.C.B.—We regret to learn that intelli-
gence has been received from Rome of the death in that
city of Lieutenant-General Sir Dugald L. Gilmour,
K.C.8., on the 25th ult. This distinguished officer had
been upwards of 50 years in the army, and had shared
the perils of the Peninsular war under Sir John Moore
and the Duke of Wellington. Sir Dugald entered the
army in 1794 on being appointed ensign in an indepen-
dent company, and thence removed to the 57th Foot.
In 1795 he accompanied the expedition to Quiberon Bay,
and in the succeeding year assisted at the taking of the
colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice. He then
returned to England and attended his regiment in the
disastrous campaign of 1799,:nnder the Duke of York in
Holland, and took part in the battle of Bergen, and on
the 2d and 6th October at Castricum, where he was
severely wounded in the head, and taken prisoner by the
enemy. In 1805 he was promoted to a majority in the
95th (the Rifle Brigade), and served at the investment of
Copenhagen, the battle of Kioge, and the march through
Zealand until the surrender of the town. He went in
the command of three companies of the Ist battalion of
the Rifle Brigade to Sweden, to act under Sir John
Moore, from whence he proceeded to Portugal. On
the retreat irom Salamanca he was on the rear
guard, and almost constantly engaged with the enemy.
At the battle of Corrunna he commanded the left wing
of his regiment, and eminently distinguished himself.
He again proceeded to the Peninsula in 1809, with his
regiment. At Almedia he was with the advance guard
on the Con and Agueda, during the siege of Ciudad
Ro
entiredrig
by
commandarshal
of
Massena,
his
fr
regiment.om which
tn periodus
Busaco
hadh
the o
again greatly distinguished himself. In 1801, on the
retreat of Massena, he was engaged in the different ae•
tions at Pombal, I4edinha, Sabugul, and Foz d'Arouce,
at the battle of Fuentes d'Onor, and at the action at
Guinaldo. He was then compelled to repair to his
native country on account of ill health. In August,
1813, he was sufficiently recovered to rejoin his regiment
at Lesaca, in the Pyrenees. He subsequently took part
in the events at the Bidassoa, Nivelle, Nive, and in the
vicinity of Bayonne, in the actions of Vic Bigorre and
Tarbes, and finally at Toulouse. The gallant General,
in acknowledgment of his gallant services at the battles
of Busaco, Fuentes d'Onor, Nive, and Toulouse was de-
corated with a cross. He was a knight commander of
the order of the Bath, and in April, 1842, was appointed
colonel-commandant of the Rifle Brigade. The deceased
was in the receipt of a pension for his distinguished ser-
vices. His commission was dated as subjoined:—En-
sign, 10th July, 1794; Lieutenant, 20th August, 1794;
Captain, 13th May, 1795; Major, 23d May, 1805; Lieu-
tenant-Colonel, 30th May, 1811; Colonel, 19th July,
1821; Major-General, 22d July, 1830; and Lieutenant-
General, 23d Nov., 1841.

A boiler explosion, attended with loss of life, oc-
oco irred on Thursday on board the Troubadour, which
Irisles between Swansea, Bristol and Liverpool. The
vessel had just arrived at the Mumbles, and turned off
her steam, when one of the principal tubes of the boilers
exploded, filling the engine-room with scalding steam,
which rose in a dense cloud, and was seen from the
shore. Two men were below at the moment, and their
sufferings were frightful. One of them rushed out of
the door which communicated with the engine-room,
and fell exhausted. The other made for the ladder,
with a view of getting on deck, but the scalding steam
drove him backwards, and he sunk. When extricated
their appearance was truly appalling—they were ac-
tually boiled. They were conveyed to thQ Swansea In-
firmary, where one shortly died: the other remains in a
dangerous condition. None of the passengers sustained
any injury.
MELANCHOLY DEATH OF Two GUARDSMEN.—A
melancholy accident occurred on Monday evening to
two privates belonging to the Coldstream Guards. One
of them, who had been married the same forenoon at the
military chapel, proceeded on board one of the Green-
wich boats, in company with his bride and comrade. It
appears that the first-mentioned, on the boat passing
Rotherhithe, by some unlucky heave, stumbled
backwards and fell into the river. He sank almost im-
mediately, and was seen no more. The second soldier,
perceiving the accident, plunged into the water, but so
far from succeeding in the noble effort to save his com-
rade's life, lost his own,

PRICE SD.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, TUESPAY.—The St. Vincent,l2o, Cap-
tain Milne, flag of Admiral Sir Charles Ogle, Bart.,
Commander-in-Chief at this port, was taken out of dock
last evening, having had her bottom cleaned. She will
complete the repair of her defects in the basin, and be
expedited for sea service with all dispatch. Nearly the
whole of her stern has been taken to pieces, and is in
-course of reconstruction. The new rigging of this fine
old three-decker has been set up in a style of masterly
.excellence which even a landsman cannot fail to notice,
and drew the attention of the Secretary of the Admiralty
and the Board most markedly on their recent visit of
inspection.
The Undine steam-vessel, Master Commander Allen,
was taken into the dock vacated by the St. Vincent, to
repair defects. She is to be coated over the bottom with
the same kind of composition as that with which the
Fairy has been recently paid. During one portion of her
trial trip, on Thursday last, she is reported to have
steamed at the rate of 14 knots per hour.
The Royal yacht Victoria and Albert, Captain Lord
Adolphus Fitzclarence, was removed from the basin to-
day, and taken alongside the Blake hulk in the harbour,
to prepare for sea service. The nursery apartments in
this vessel have been enlarged, and the approaches to
them rendered less dangerous for the Royal Family and
attendants. We believe the almost perpendicular stair-
case which led from outside her Majesty's apartments to
those of the Royal children has been rebuilt in a less
awkward manner and situation.
We have had an opportunity of witnessing the pro-
gress made by the boys entered on board the Victory in
the seamanlike exercises of reefing and furling and un-
furling sails, broad sword practice, manning yards, gene-
ral quarters, and all the manoeuvres incidental to the
duties of a sailor, and they perform them with a style of
precision and seamlike alacrity which reflects the very
highest credit upon them and their officers. Captain
Pasco has scarcely had his crew of boys under his charge
three months; they went on board the Victory from the
plough-tail, and the great majority of them were the
poor starved peasantry of Ireland and Scotland, who had
travelled all the way from their distant homes on foot to
enter for her Majesty's navy; great, therefore, must have
been the exertion made and the pains taken to bring
them to their present state of efficiency, as they are now
fit to be draughted into any ship for sea-going service,
either at home or abroad. We have often thought it
would be a good thing to devote a ship to the exclusive
service of exercising boys and bringing them forward for
the navy, in other words, a nursery ship; and as the Vic-
tory is not fit for fighting it would be a noble purpose to
devote her to, both on account of her size and conveni-
ence in every other respect, and the associations with
which she is so gloriously connected, which could not but
have an influence upon the mind of every genuine as-
pirant for fame in the naval service of his country.
WooLvercrt, Aram 6.—The Amphion steam-frigate,
in charge of Lieutenant Sibbald, arrived at Woolwich
from Grcenhithe on Sunday afternoon to have metal
valves fitted to her air-pumps instead of canvass, the
material of which they were originally constructed, to
dispense with their noise when working.
The Salamander steam-sloop has had her orders, to
be paid off at Woolwich to-day countermanded, and
she will continue in commission until further notice is
given.
The Sphynx steam-sloop was taken into the basin at
Woolwich yesterday.
The Kite steam-vessel has had her engines refitted,
and got up her steam yesterday to try them in the basin.
The Hon. 11. G. Ward, Secretary to the Admiralty,
visited the Dockyard to-day, with some friends, and
went over the various departments.
The workmen in the Dockyard were permitted to
leave an hour earlier to-day by order of the Commodore-
Superintendent, to afford those entitled to vote an op-
portunity of tendering their suffrages in the election of
thirty commissioners and a churchwarden for the town
and parish of Woolwich.
The Porcupine steam-vessel being still required for
service on the coast of Ireland, Captain Bullock has re-
sumed his surveying duties in boats, and will land every
evening and perfect his draughts at the nearest farm-
houses.

Royal Marines-148 non-commissioned officers and
men of the Chatham division arrived at Woolwich on
Saturday afternoon, under the command of Captain
Urquhart, with two subalterns, to do duty in the place
of the detachment of the Woolwich division which left
here last week for Portugal.

COLOURABLE OWNERSHIP.—There is a provision in
the new County Courts Act under which an alleged
ownership to property can be speedily settled. It has
frequently occurred, on a creditor obtaining an execu•
tion, that the property on the premises of his debtor has
been claimed under a bill of sale, or some other conve-
nient instrument, or a friendly landlord has been found
to claim the property against the execution creditor.
Such matters in many instances have been " colourable.'
or, in plain language, actual " frauds," but the parties
have refrained from litigating the alleged ownership on
account of the law expenses necessarily attendant on
such a proceeding. Now, however, the Legislature has
provided a very simple remedy in such cases, and has
given power to the new County Courts to come to a sum-
mary decision in respect to a claim. The following pro-
vision in the Act (9 and 10 Victoria, chap. 95, sec. 118)
is very explicit on the matter: And be it enacted,
that if any claim shall be made to, or in respect of, any
goods or chattels taken in execution under the process of
any Court holden under this Act, or in respect of the
proceeds or value thereof by any landlord for rent, or
by any person not being the party against whom such
process has issued, it shall be lawful for the clerk of the
Court, upon application of the officer charged with the
execution of such process, as well before as after any
action brought against such officer, to issue a summons
calling before the said Court as well the party issuing
such process as the party making such claim, and there-
upon, any action which shall have been brought in any
of her Majesty's superior Courts of Record, or in any
local or inferior court, in respect of such claim, shall be
stayed, and the court in which such action shall have
been brought, or any judge thereof, on proof of the issue
of such summons, and that the goods and chattels were
so taken in execution, may order the party bringing
such action to pay the costs of all proceedings had upon
such action after the issue of such summons out of the
County Court, and the judge of the County Court shall
adjudicate upon such claim, and make such order be-
tween the parties as to him shall seem fit, and such order
shall be enforced in like manner as any order made in
any suit brought in such Court." By the new rules, the
claimant is to be deemed the plaintiff, and the execution
creditor the defendant in the summons.

THE MANCHESTER COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION.—
PLUNDER OF SHIPS AND BOATS AT GIBRALTAR.— OR
the 20th ult. we stated that the directors of this associa-
tion had determined to memorialise Earl Grey, the Co-
lonial Secretary, with reference to the plunder of ships
and boats lying in the harbour at Gibraltar ; and
especially as to the circumstances of two individuals
being seized in the act, on the 7th of January last, who,
proving to be Spanish revenue officers, were, by order of
the Governor of Gibraltar, Sir Robert Wilson, delivered
over to the Spanish authorities, without being dealt with
by the British. Ou this subject, a letter, of which the
following is a copy, was received by the chairman of the
association yesterday, from the chairman of the Gibraltar
Chamber of Commerce:—" Exchange-buildings, Gib-
raltar, March 12, 1847.—Sir—Mr. Prescott having com-
municated to the Exchange committee of this city,
through one of its members, the kind interest taken by
the Commercial Association of Manchester, in a matter
in which the Exchange committee had occasion to
appeal to Lord Grey, against an act of Sir R. Wilson, the
Governor of Gibraltar, who had thought fit to obstruct
the course of justice, to the prejudice of the commerce
of the place, I am instructed to convey to you, as chair-
man of that body, the warm thanks of the Exchange
Committee for the part taken by the Commercial Asso-
ciation on that occasion. Lord Grey, in answer to the
appeal made to him from this, states that he disapproves
of the conduct of Sir Robert Wilson in the case com-
plained of, and that he had given his Excellency instruc-
tions not again, in a like matter, to interfere with the
administration of justice in this city.-1 have the honour
to be, Sir, your most obedient servant, M. H. BLAND,
Chairman of the Gibraltar Exchange Committee. To
James Aspinall Turner, Esq., President of the Commer-
cial Association, Manchester. It will be seen that
although, of course, the exact terms of the reproof have
not transpired, the official notification being conveyed to
the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce and the merchants
there, by the Governor's secretary, it is sufficiently plain
that his conduct has met with the reprehension of the
home Government, and that his instructions will, in all
probability, prevent in future the recurrence of any
similar leniency to the plunderers of British property.—
Manehester Guardian.

LOLA MONTES.—A fresh claimant appears for the
" honour" of the birthplace of Lola Montes. The Galway
Vindicator, on the authority of a correspondent,oionsi s
that Coughrea is the true locus in quo Betsy
inhaled the vital air. Her father, poor Jerry Watson,and often
followed the profession of a vagrant player,
Watson
his " mirror,"
delighted the denizens of Loughrea,, withtore
~
which he held singularly close t n Betsy, too,
Vindicator. concludes the
imagination; it is ' an
—in,,hTerhis.js
should notwonder if
nwoatsi ce famousthus:
over true tale'
some mixture of Spanish fire, obtained from
day. no, . tale The
of o
shethe `old inherit
Spanish town,' the ' ancient citie of the tribes,'
Galway, which may account for the surmises as to her
Spanish origin.
IMPORTANT TO WEAVERS.—A. case of considerable
importance to weavers in general was tried before
Bailie Barlas in the Police-court, Perth, on Monday.
John Miller, a young lad, a weaver, residing in the
Newrow, was accused of having purloined a certain
quantity of cloth from a web he was weaving to Mr.
James Swan, mataufacturing agent, and J. Boyd, also a
weaver, was charged with having been accessory to the
theft by selling the cloth. On confession of the parties
it was proved that a square of the web had been stolen,
but Miller alleged that it was his own property, as he
had made the web good as required by the billet in
quantity and quality, having the square over. The Bench,
however, decided that the square, under any such cir-
cumstances, could not be constituted the property of the
weaver, and sentence of fourteen days' imprisonment
was passed against Miller, and sixty days against Boyd.
he having been previously convicted of a similar offence.
Perth Courier.