The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-17 00:00:00

OFFICIAL INQUIRY.

This afternoon at three o'clock the incuiry into the
circumstances attending the total degtructim of Covent-
garden Theatre was resumed by Mr. %Hord, the co-
roner for Westminster.

The names of the jury having been calked over, and
each gentleman Laving answered to his name,
A Juror said before the. proceedings commenced he
hai heard—

The Coroner said the jurcrs had better not mention
what they had heard. .
The Juror said he merely wished to mention the situa-
tion of the carpenters' shop.
The Coroner said as no model of the theatre had
been saved, it could not be presented to the jury.
Theo was one, however, in construction.
After a short conversation, iu which it was arranged
that the witnesses to be examined should leave the
room, the inquiry commenced. The first witness called
Rae

Win. Harrison, 8, Exeter-street, machinist, who stated
that he was employed by Mr. Andersen at the theatre
in the capacity of machinist and general manager of.his
business. ' By machinist he meant the inaltlag and Apt..
pairing .of the magical apparatus of Mr. Anderson. 'He
had_ho regalar duty iu the theatre but to look after a
carpenter and cabinet-maker named Livening, who was
empley-ed in making 'a proscenium for a portable etage
for 1.4 r. Anderson in the carpenters' shop, who was
employed up to the evening of the fire. Be (witnecs)
visited that room on the day before the fire; and found
Lancing Waning
,seine wood. There 'vitro two other
eereens employed there named Finlason and Doulton.
There was not a very great quantity of " shavings," but ,
a large ' Cinantty of wood and old properties "
about the carp enter::' shop. At almnit a quarter
before five on the evening of the fire he met
Lanuing leaving the theatre, and he spoke to him, when •
be said he wee, merely golig to ze.-o if all. was right. •
The carpenters' shop was generally very hot, from the
heat arising from the badyof the theatre; indeed, Lanning
frequently epeima the window to let in a little air. There
was no fire-place in the shop. The painting-room was
a portion of the carpenters' shop. It waq partly parti-
tioned off, although the floor of the painting-room was
twenty feet below the shop, There was a
ventilator in the shop, but nothing inure.- The
room was a very hot one for men to work in.
The heat in the shop Canis from the body of the house
generally, as it cevered the Wavle of the house, and had
two entrance.. One led. from the file., and the other
led to the Duke of Bedford's box. He was not in the
house when the fire broke out ; be left it about a quar-
ter before three, at which time he had not even
smelt the gas. He never was in the carpenters' shop
when the performances were going on, except on one
occasion, and that was during a Saturday performance
of the pantomime. Any one could get into the carpen-
ters' shop. Lamming was using glue in the shop that
day, but the glue was melted a long way from-
the shop, in the property room. There was a
steam-apparatus to make the glue with in the shop,
but it had not been used. He could only account for
the fire by the spirit with which the gas-men bad satue
rated the flambeau having been repeatedly spilled,- and
had, on the evening in question, taken fire.
By the Vestry Clerk—The wires used by" Professor
Anderson's magic could not come in contact with
the gas. There was no• gas near the wires. He
knew of no combustible matter in the carpenters'
shop ; but a month ago Laming brought some spirit
to polish a •box with, and he was told not to lave the
polish about. He also used a lamp to keep the..
glue warm, and he was told it was not allowed, as Mr.
Anderson said he would have nothing done by candle-
light, and Lanning used to leave off work before dark.
After•Lanning left he had not entered the shop, so be
could not say whether there were any shavings lying about,
By one of the entrances of the carpenters' shop (the
private box entrance) the place where Lanning was at
work, could be reached. The middle of the shop was
perfectly clear, there was no wood lying about.
By a Juror—He had not been in the carpenters' shop
since three o'clock in the afternoon previous to the fire.
By
,the Coroner—The .shavings at the side of the
carpenters' chop could easily be thrown together in the
centre. of the. shop.
By a Juror—The wires used by the. Professor were
of cllier.
By the Cornier—During the Professor's 'tenantry
be employed all the hand!. He never helri. that there
had been any threat of any 'description used by any of
the workmen employed in the theatre.
Benedict Albano, -22. King William-street, Strand,
civil engineer, stated—He rebuilt the audieeee part of
the thow,re, from the fleor to the ceiling ; or rather it
was built under his personal superintendence. He had
I nothing to do with the c&nstrUction or reconstruction
lof the 0,4-neuters' shop. From what ho knew of
the general c nstruc!ion of the theatre there was
'Nothing to fear as to fire. There could he no accumUla-
-1 tion of gas in the shop, for two reasons—first, there
iwere pleety of witalovhi to let it out, and also the funnel
which he had constractedeand from wh;cli there was a
I great draft. The funnel was 30 ft. in height, and 3 ft. in
I diameter. lie had b,,en in the carpenters' shop whilst
the p€,rforfAareo was going on' to see how the funnel
worked, and he hai not found the room ineonveniuntly
heated. . ,

Sydney Smirk, 79, Grosvenonstreet, arehitect—On
aearchitee his brother'e drawing, he found that there was
a wall orieleelny so placed in the shop which would have
prevented the tire traveling from one part to the other,
He had been over the ruins and he found that that wal
had been removed, which accounted for the fire extend!
ing so rapidly from one end of the shop to the other.
George Thos. Lanning, 43, Theohald',-road, carpen-
ter, was employed at the theatre by Mr. Anderson. He
had been employed every day for five weeks previous
to the fire making corns frames for the new stage. He
was engaged in this occupation on the day of the fire,
but had not had occasion to use any glue or spirit of any
kind that day. He worked till five in the evening,
and during the day in question he was visited by several
workmen. No one could come into the shop without
being seen by him when be was at work. The place was
very warm when he was last at work there,
and there was also a strong smell of gas, but
he accounted for it by the men being at work
at the pipes underneath the shop. There was a
little shavings about, but the shop had been cleaned up
on the Monday previous to the bal masque. There was
no cloth of any description in the room, and when he
left at 5 o'clock ail was safe. The corners of the shop
were filled with `• old stuff," lent there was nothing but
his woodwork in the centre of the room, which
consisted of 12 old and 12 new frames. It was 35 feet
from the funnel of the chandelier to the place where he
was working. There was no wood nearer the chandelier
than 12 feet. He had used nothing inflammable on that
day, and had no Lucifers about him.
By a Juror—There was no oiled cloths or polishing
rags lying about the shop.
By the Coroner—The doors of the carpenters' shop
were locked, and the public could not get into it.
By a Juror—The whole of the wood of his work
would not fill a cart.
Benjamin Delliston, a carpenter, employed by Mr.
Presscote for Mr. Anderson, stated that he was em-
ployed up to the day of the fire. On the morning of
Tuesday he was employed carrying away the pantcmime
tricks, and during the day he had frequently to go to
the carpenters' shop. He was up there as late as ten
o'clock on Tuesday night. He wept to the shop Lan-
eiug was working in to fetch his clothes, which were
under his bench. His son lit him up as far as the step
ladder, and then he went on in the dark. There
WAS plenty of light there to enable him to find