The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-06 00:00:00

place. It appeared to have been occasioned by the
&,,oppin2 of wood, On moving it he could look into
the cellar. • Last Saturday night ho called, but saw
neither of the tenant 4, and went again in const,qttenCe
on Sunday morning. Fie then saw Mrs. Pullen who
paid him her rent without making any complaint.
She did not call his attention then to the state of the
floor near the fire-place. He also saw King, who made
no complaint. A step on the stairs wai lose but nothing
to indicate danger. No complaint was even made to him
of the state of the house except the loose hoard. He was
in the house three hours before it fell. He did not no-
tice anything that indicated its falling. He rep ii: ed all
the windows except King's a week before the accident,
and he refused repairing theirs because they were bad
tenants. He had only been served with a notice to
lime white and repair, which he attended to at the
time.

By a Juryman—The property was not surveyed when
ho purchased it of Mr. Randall at 75 guineas per annum.
Shortly after he had them they were condemned. Ile
had received the rents up to the time of the accident,
not knowing the old lady was dead on whose life the
property was held. Ile knew the property was in a bad
stare of repair, but he did not consider it dangerous.
Mr. Bennett—lt you had attended to the repairs of
Pullen's floor you would have discovered the joists were
rotten.

By a Juryman—He never examined the main tim-
bers of the house. He did Vie repairs when Marsh
rented the house.

Mrs. Sarah Marsh, of 10, Little Swan•alley, deposed
that when her husband rented No. 9, they let it out in
tenements. She lived in it about three years ago. It
was not particularly out of repar. It was rented as an
old hauße. She had complained of certain repairs being
necessary to Mr. Crane, which he had attended to. She
never heard any cracking sounds, nor considered it in a
dangerous state.

By a Juryman—She never felt any alarm about the
house.

Police-constable Richard Hewett, No. 154, deposed
that he bad known the houses for 18 months, awl the
inhabitants also. They never complained to him of the
state of the premises. On Tuesday night, ab )ut ten
minutes past twelve, he heard a noise like unloading
stones from a cart, accompanied with screaming. He
proceeded to the spot, and found the house in ruins.
Screams were coming from persons in the ruins, as well
as tbose in the surrounding houses. The house appeared
to have fallen down bodily. He then procured assist-
ance, Mrs. Seibert and Mr. Seibert were got out, and
conveyed to the hospital. Palmer and the other de-
ceased, with the whole of the inmates, were taken from
the ruins. Palmer was taken out dead about two hours
after the accident. He was taken from the cellar.
Elizabeth Pullen and the other deceased were taken out
before Palmer. They were conveyed to the hospital.
He passed the house about a quarter of au hour before
the accident. He neither beard nor saw anything indi-
cating danger. Every assistance was rendered to the
persons as they were taken from the ruins, and they
were forwarded without delay in cabs to the hos-
pital.
By Mr. Bennett—He did not consider it a part of
his duty to report the dangerous state of buildings to the
district surveyor. If he saw anything dangerous, or the
inhabitants informed him of anything dangerous, he
should report it to his inspector.
The Coroner said he had the names of several other
witnesses, who spoke to the same facts, but
The Jury said they considered it was not necessary for
them to be examined.

Mr. Elliott, churchwarden of St. Stephen's, Coleman•
street, stated that there were a number of these dilapi-
dated houses in the neighbourhood in question, which
required examination, and he hoped the coroner and jury
from what they had that day heard would express
strongly their opinion that it should be done forthwith.
He should call on the sanitary inspector to do his duty
more efficiently than heretofore.
Mr. Inspector Todhunter handed iu a list of the di-
lapidated houses in the district, and said that although
it was no part of the duty of the police to examine these
buildings and report them, he should take care it was
done in future. _ _ _

Mr. Dailey, house surgeon, deposed that when Palmer
and the two lads were brought to the hospital, about 3
o'clock on Wednesday morning, they were all deal and
the extremities were cold. There were no fractures, and
they appeared to have died from suffocation. They
presented the appearance of persons having suffered from
an accident such as that above described. _

Hewett was re-called, and stated that the girl Pullen
was not sent to the hospital because a medical man who
was present, and Mr. Cnild, the police surgeon, pro-
nounced her dead.

This being the whole of the evidence,
Mr. Bennett submitted that evidence should be pro-
duced to show that the necessary repairs were done to
the house on the presentment in 1845, and what was
the state of the building then.
The Coroner said he did not consider it was necessary
for them to go back so far on that occasion. It would
bear but very remotely on the fall of the house.
Mr. Bennett said that if the timbers of the house
were rotten in 1845 no repairs could have made them
sound and safe.

The Coroner said they had heard the evidence of the
foreman on the circumstances. He would call any one
else the jury wished, but he thought it unnecessary.
The Jury having expressed an opinion that they
thought it unnecessary to call further evidence,
Toe Coroner summed up, remarking that it would
be their duty, amongst other questions, to considtr
if there had been gross and culpable neglect on the part
of any person that would make him liable to a criminal
charge. The external part of the house did not appear
to have given indications of danger, and it was for them
to say if there bad been that serious and formal notice
given to the landlord to repair the house by the inmates,
the neglect of which would involve him in a charge of man-
slaughter. He (the coroner) wished, and no doubt they
did also, that more vigilance had been used on the part of
those who had to survey the neighbourhood, and ascer-
tain the state of the buildings, because if there had been
the rotten state of the house must have been found out,
without blame attaching to any person for it, and the
house have been pulled down and this unfortunate acci•
dent have been prevented.
The jury, after deliberating twenty minutes, returned
a verdict of accidental death, accompanied with the fol-
lowing recommendation :—" The jury earnestly recom-
mend to the Commissioners of Sewers that they would
authorise a special survey forthwith to be made of all
buildings in the City of London, that from age, or other
causes, may be supposed to be out of substantial repair."
The Coroner said he concurred in the recommendation.
The inquiry occupied from 11 o'clock till half-past four
o'clock.

FALLING OF A PORTION OF THE WEL
LINGTON BARRACKS.

Yesterday an inquiry which lasted for upward of six
hours, was held bef3re Mr. Langhaw, the Deputy Coro-
ner for the city of Westminster, touching the death of
Thos. Cormier, aged 40 years, who I)st his life by the
falling of a portion of the new wing of the Wellington
13 trracks in James street, Buckingham-gate.
It will be recollected that the whole of the corner of
the copping-stone fell down, precipitating mc persons to
the ground, one of whom was killed on the spot, and five
others so seriously wounded that it is very doubtful IN he-
tiler any will recover.

The inquiry took place at Westminster Hospital.
There were several Government officials present.
The first witness examined was Andrew Mall, who
identified the body of the deceased.

Alfred Wells, potman at the King's Head, James-
street, Westminster, said that about 10 minutes before 10
on Wednesday morning he went on to the scaffold with a
can of beer, for the purpose of supplying the workmen, as
usual, with their morning beer. He was in the act of
pouring out a half•pint of beer to Matthews, one of
the injured men, who was standing on the corner of the
coping stone. Witne,s saw the coping (rack, and immedi-
ately tell back into the gutter on to the roof with his can.
The stone fell, carrying away a portion of the wall, and
precipitating six men on to the scaffolding and carrying
the whole to the ground.

By the Coroner:—There was nothing weighty, and only
one man standing on the stone when he saw it crack.

William Herrick stated that he wai a bricklayer, and
was at work on the scaffold when the accident occurred.
He had just finished the work he was engaged on, near
where troi accident took place, and was coming towards
the potman for his beer when he saw the coping cant
over. Clarles Simpson and others were trying to get
their beer. By the time he got up to the front he saw
the stone fall over. It started up two or three feet before
falling, rolled over, carrying a portion of the wall, and
knocked the scaffolding down.
Coroner—Was it the weight that broke the scaffold
Witness—lt was the weight, in my opinion, for there
were not 100 of bricks or a stone on the scaffold at the
time.

Coroner—Was it a good scaffolding!
Witness—l have seen worse.

By a Juror—What was thewidth of the coping•stone?
—lB inches in and 15 projecting. The counterbalancing
weights were not put on.

- ---
By a Juror—Did you consider the putlogs (the cross-
beams in the scaffolding) were strong enough ?
Witness—l did not build the scaffolding. I don't know.
At this stage of the proceedingsa juror suggested to
the coroner the advisability of ordering the contractors
from the court, as he thought that their presence pre-
vented the witnesses from stating all they knew.
Charles Thompson deposed that he had superintended
the erection of the scaffold ; he thought it was strong,
but he had never erected one before in London, and dui
not know what round putlogs were.
Several other witnesses were examined, who deposed
to the same facts, and it was admitted by all that if
beech or fir putlogs bad been used the scaffold might
have resisted the weight.
Henry Keen, a bricklayer, said that he was on the
scaffold at the time of the accident. He considered it
was caused by the lad Simpson standing on the stones,
and knocking them to level them down. There was a
f.reman to the job, but he was not there when the occur-
rence took place. There wero no iron cramps at the
building on Wednesday morning, but the foreman had
gone to see after them.

A Juror—Some of the workmen, while we were look-
ing over the building, said that they would have come
forward, but they were afraid of the consequences.
The Coroner—This is far too serious a matter to be
stated in a conversation ; we ought to have it on oat'l.
Juror—But I assure you there was a man at work en
the building who positively said he should like to give
evidence, but he was afraid he should be discharged.
Coroner—Then, if such is the case, for the sake of the
public and the contractors, the inquiry should be ad-
journed.

After some further conversation on this point,
Mr. A. Chester was sworn and deposed that he was
1101140 surgeon. When the deceased was brought iu with