The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-25 00:00:00

FIVE PERSONS POISONED.

LIVERPOOL, FEB. 24.—The report which was current yesterday
of this dreadful catastrophe turns out, unfortunately, to be too true.
An inquest was held yesterday on the bodies of Jane Gilton, aged
17 • her sister, Margaret Gilton, aged IG ; and their brother, John
Gillon, aged 12 years. Two others of the same family had died pre-
viously to the three deceased, namely, on the 15th of the present
Month the youngest son, Edward Gilton, aged seven years, and on
the 17th, Mrs. Gilton, the mother, widow of the late Mr. Giltoi
pri

n;-ink and colour manufacturer. The business bad for some
years past been carrled'on on the premises in West Derby. The
whole of the inmates of the house hid been mere or less ill for about
three weeks; the eldest and yet surviving son (aged. about 20) being
the least affected, he not having been so constantly at home as the
other members of the faintly. The female servant and a nurse were
also taken ill. The eldest son deposed- to these facts, and stated
that about three weeks ago he was employed in making green
verditer, an article used by paper-stainers, and in colouring walls.
In this preparation there was a large quantity of arsenic. Ile
put the Ingredients into a boiler in a shed at some distance behind,
and detached from the house. Between this shed and the

louse there is a long building, which appears to have been formerly
conservatory or greenhouse, but had been converted Into what Is

now called " the colour-house." In one division or compartment of
lie colour-house—that nearest to the shed— there was a well with

a pinup on one side of it. The well is about ion; yards deep, and Con-
tains about two yards in depth of water. This well has also a pipe
communicating with a pomp in the back kitchen, from which the
water is taken for domestic purposes. It appeared that, after the el-
dest son had made that part of the preparation containing, the arsenic,
it had to be ladled into a bucket, carried into the colour-house, and
there put into a tub to cool.. This was carefully don 3 by a labourer
who was employed on the premises. After being cooled, and the
other Ingredients added, the liquid :::: the top required to be drawn
oft; which was done by a siphon-pip,, )etting it into a:wooden spout
which discharged its contents into, or near to, a sewer which is be-
tween the colour-house and the boiler shed. The deposit front the
I:quid was all that was required in the trade. There was no evi-
dence that any of the liquor had been spilt in the transit, but it is not
improbable that some of it has either found its way into the well by
the top, which was only covered with a wooden lid-level with the
Boor, or it may be that sonic of the po!sonons liquor bal eezed from
the sough into the well, between which there is a distance of six or
tight yaris.

The three deceased (on whom the Inquest was held) were similarly
affected during their Illness with nausea and vomiting, and the
mother had also a severe cough. Neither of the three deceased wore
confined to their beds on Tuesday last. John died on Saturday after-
noon; at six•o'clock ; Jane about IhiCe hours afterwards; and Mar-
garet at half-past eleven on Monday night.
/vest modem examination of one of the bodies was made by 31r.
“artint. Ile found all the internal inflammation and appearances,
sae!, as led tam to the decided opinion that the deceased had died
from the effects of poison. Ile had analysed the water front the
wen, and tbund unequivocal traces of arsenic.
The CORONER suprgested that the inquiry ShnUM #ie adjourned Until
Wednesday, in order that the well, the sewer, and the pipe should be
taken up, and even• means used to discover in what manuer the
poison had got into the water.—Adjourned accordingly.

LAMENTABLE AND FATAL ACCIDENT.

(FROlf A CORRESPONDENT.)

Dovtla, Fins. 24.—A most lamentable accident, with a fearful loss
of life, has occurred here to-day. It appears that a number •f
labourers, employed by the South-Eastern Railway Company, on
their sea-wall, fronting near Abbot's-cliff tunnel, had entered a sort
of cave far the purpose of getting their dinners out of the rain, and
that one or more barrels of gunpowder had been most incautiously
left in this place; that the powder by some sad accident, probably
from a pipe, ignited, and an explosion took place, by which these poor
fellow's were blown out of the cave in all directions. In the confu-
sion that has ensued it is very difficult to ascertain the number of the
sufferers. It is reported there were sixteen or seventeen in the
eave, and we fear that all are either killed or very severely injured,
Eight bodies have been I rought into the station, but so disfigured by
the gunpowder that only one, of the name of Hatton (a Dover
labourer), has yet been recognised. Fire have been brought in
alive, but so mutilated and injured that the greater part of them
will probahly die in the course of the evening. Every possible exer-'
tine has been made by the omeers of the Railway Company and the
authorities for the removal of tho sufferers, and several of the medical
men have been in attendance from the moment the accident was
known to afford all the relief that could be administered.

Thq catastrophe has caused most intense anxiety, and the neigh-
bourhood of the station is crowded with the relatives of the sufferers
in a state of agony and suspense not to be described.

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

Dorms, FEL 24.—A dreadful accident took place this morning on
the works connected with the railway, on the line between Dover
and Folkestone,attended witn a severe loss of life. It appears that
several labourers (upwards of twenty ha number) who are constantly
employed on the embankment, &c., having partaken of their dinner
at their usual hour, retired (in consequence of a shower of rain
coming on) to a cave at the back, about half way between Shakes-
peare and Abbott's Cliff tunmds, and in which, unfortunately, a quan-
tity (some say two casks) of damaged powder, the remains of that
which was used in blasting down the chalk hills for the formation of
the railway, was deposited, and, lamentable to relate, one of the la-
bourers havingincautionsly been smoking his pipe therein, it is sup-
posed that some fragments of the ignited ashes must hare fallen into
the powder. A most tremendous explosion was the consequence,
and a great many of the poor men were thrown to an in-zedible dis-
tance, and when taken up their dead mutilated bodies scarcely bore
the vestiges of humanity, the bones of many protruding through the
flesh and skin, and the rest black and disfigured corpses. As soon
as the catastrophe was known to have taken place special engines
were dispatched, accompanied by several medical gentlemen, to the
spot, to alleviate, if possible, the sufferings of the survivors. Four-
teen human beings have thus suffered, ten of whom are already dead,
and four snore most dreadfully wounded and burnt.

FIVE ()Two:, r.m.—lt is not expected that more than two of the
four wounded men will recover, the nature of their injuries being
such as almost to preclude the possibility of their surviving.

THE CIVIL WAR •IN THE CITY.—On Saturday morn-
ing, Mr. Dadd, superintendent of the Watermen's Steam-boat Com-
pany, and Edmund Mackey, and John Ireland, two of the crew of
the Waterman No 5, were liberated from Newgate, after an incar-
ceration of thirteen days. They were convicted on the 9th instant,
for the part they teak ha resisting the water bailiffs, city police, and
others, acting under the authority of the Lord Mayor, who removed
by force the barges forming the St. Paul's-wharf pier. Their sen-
tence was thirteen days' imprisonment, which expired on Saturday
morn;ng. Directly they quitted Newgate; they e Ach received a hand-
some present in money, and a new suit of clothes, for which they
were measured in Newgate on the Tuesday previous. They were
also entertained at a public breakfast, at the offices of the City
Steam-packet Company, in Earl-street, Blackfriars, by a number of
gentlemen connected with the trade and navigation of the river, at
which Mr. Charles Hancock, secretary of the City Steam-boat Com-
pany, presided. Itir. Kinchin, the master of Waterman No. 5, who
was convicted at the same thne of a common assault, and sentenced
to five weeks' imprisonment, will be liberated on Saturday, the 13th
of March.

SOUTH DURHAM.—Mr. Bowes and Lord Harry Vane,
the Menthe's for South Durham, have announced their intentions to
rote for the free-trade measures of the Ministry, although, here-
tofore, they have advocated the necessity of protection to agricultural
industry. At Darlington, as well as Barnard Castle, public meetings
have this week been held and resolutions passed, expressive of their
continued confidence in their representatives, and coMmeilding them
for their alterektfOlio finclopinione;74MONN4 Paper.