The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-14 00:00:00

FALL OF A HOUSE IN LIVERPOOL.

Yesterday (Thursday) the Liverpool Borough
Coroner opened an inquiry relative to the fall of
shop building in Great George•street on Tuesday
afternoon, which (as detailed in our columns) re-
sulted in the death of five persons.
Mr. Aspinall, barrister, appeared on behalf of Mr.
Lewis, the proprietor of the shop ; and Mr. Snow-
ball, solicitor, on behalf of the friends of Mrs. and
Miss Murray, two of the persons killed by the
accident.

The coroner and the jury having viewed the scone •
of the accident, and the bodies of the deceased, the
inquest was opened at 2 p.m.
The first witness examined was Mr. Thompson,
the manager of Mr. Lewis's shop—The shop, he
said, was a double shop with two entrances. It was
42 feet wide and 36 feet deep. In August last
alterations in the premises were commenced with
the intention of enlarging the shop. The alters'
tions were nearly completed, and Mr. Lewis had
announced that the' old premises would be closed
and the new ones adjoining opened, the stock being
in consequence sold off at cheap rates. The pre:
mises fell in about 3 o'clock on Tuesday with a lone
noise. He at first ran to the door, and then returned
into the shop to render what assistance he could,
Meredith Jones (one of the deceased) was the,
assistant bookkeeper. He saw him taken out al
the ruins quite dead. He also saw four other bodice
taken out—three women and a labouring man.
About half of the flooring of the shop was carried
down into the cellars. There was an end walif
which was not shored up, which divided the old
from the new premises. Mr. Lewis looked after
the building operations, but the foreman of the
contractors overlooked the work in detail. %Vd
respect to the taking down of the old wall gr%
Lewis superintended the work himself and gave
the men instructions. He believed Mr. Lewis con'
suited an architect.
In cross-examination witness said he was net
sure if Mr. Lewis consulted an architect. The first
floor Which fell in was the next but one to the
shop. He had not considered the pulling down of
the wall at all dangerous. Mr. Lewis and hie ti
family slept in that portion of the building which
fell down. git.the day of the accident Mr. Lovie
stayed with the men pulling down the wall from 9
till half-past 11 o'clock. Mr. Lewis was usually erl
the premises all day.
William Roberts, a labourer, said he had been,
employed on the premises since August. He has
charge of the place, and worked daily with four
other labourers. He recommended Mr. Lewis to
employ John Ellis, one of the men killed. Ile
(witness) was not present on the premises at the
time of the accident. Mr. Lewis superintended the
work day after day. He appeared to understand
the work. The last time he heard Mr. Lewis spea-k•,,,
to the men was to tell them to clear the bricks on
the floor as soon as possible. This was not done.
The men ought to have dressed the bricks in the
new building, but they dressed them where thei
were pulled down. At the time of the accident
there were a number of bricks on the floor which
fell down. None had been carried away after Mr.
Lewis left. He told the men to clear the briclo
away, as he was afraid something might happen)
but the men did not do so.
To the Coroner—He feared that what miglir
happen was what did happen. There were tile,
men taking the wall down. The wall was about
seven or eight feet high that was taken down, and
the bricks were on two floors.

Mr. Newlands, borough engineer, said that 11°
was at the scene of the accident on Tuesday after
noon, and he had since examined the premises care'
fully, and his opinion was that the loading of the
top floor with bricks was the proximate cause 04,
the accident, while the swaying of the thin Wall
loaded with chimney breasts had caused the joists
to " buffle." The wall ought to have been careful
taken down, and the bricks shot into a lower par
of the building.
By the Coroner—The men employed to tall,
down the wall were not proper persons for sue'
work. There ought to have been a skilful perso°
to superintend, but Mr. Lewis's orders as to the
removal of the bricks were quite proper.
Mr. Lewis, the proprietor of the shop, was the°
examined. He said that his premises had been
undergoing enlargement and alteration since last
August. He had plans from an architect, and all
the new work was superintended by the contra("
tors. He looked after the men on the old building
employed in taking down the wall, two of the nil
saying they were bricklayers' labourers. One
them said he ;was accustomed to take down wallof
and he offered to contract for the job. The otlie!,
men engaged to clean the bricks as they were take!,
down. He told the men to take away the bricks w
quickly as they were taken down.
The Coroner
coin'
having summed up the evidence, j
The jury retired, and, on returning into e,'
the foreman announced that twelve of the jury Weft
in favour of a verdict for " Misadventure, with gre°,
blame attached to Mr. Lewis for not having 01,
ployed competent workmen : " the other four for
verdict of " Misadventure" alone.

FALL OF ANOTHER HOUSE AT LIVET'''.
POOL.
(Prom the Daily Post of yesterday.)
This morning, shortly after 9 o'clock, an 'widen:
somewhat similar in its nature to the one in
George-street, but fortunately ,not so fatal
its consequences, occurred in Tithebarn-street,
The publichouse of Mr. Lumb, opposite the
railway station, has been undergoing repairs, wit'ci
a view of forming the premises into an hotel; ar
this morning, 'while labourers were engaged 11;
taking down the roof, the joists supporting
th
ceiling of the top story gave way, and this falling
carried with it the second and first floors to the
cellar. One poor man, Timothy Hunt, aged
and resident at 14, Kew:street, was carried dovn..
with the ruins and killed on the spot ; and anothe',
man named Michael Herne, who fell with him, W
so severely injured that little hopes are entertained
of his recovery. He was taken to the Norther!
Hospital by officer 24 (Burns). Several other men
were engaged on the premises at the time, and the't
escape is perfectly marvellous.

DR. HASSALL ON THORLEY'S FOOD FOR

CATTLE.

(From Mark Lane Express of 10th January, 1859.)
Having on more than one occasion been requested t°
make an analysis of Thorley's well-known Food for Cattle,
and to express my opinion respecting it, I placed myself e
short time since in communication with Mr. Thorley, d, „Er
siring to be furnished with certain particulars relating to P."
food. Mr. Thorley, who was previously a stranger to roe!
at once conducted me over his factory, showed me all the
ingredients employed, and also the process of manufacture
of the article.
I took away with me samples of the food, as well as of
every ingredient entering into its composition. I have since
carefully examined and tested these,, and I have also col r
pared the samples procured at the manufactory with °there
obtained by myself from other sources.
I am, therefore, now in a position to express an anthori;
tative opinion respecting the composition and properties 0'
Thorley's Food for Cattle. I would remark of it—
First. That the ingredients used are all of excellent qua'
lity, and are purchased without regard to expense.
Second. That the receipt or formula, according to whiff
the food is prepared, is an admirable one, no ingradico
being selected on account of its cheapness, but those 009
being chosen which are best adapted to fulfil the objects i-t'
tended.
Having regard, thus, to the composition of ThorleY'l4
Food for Cattle, I find that it possesses the following pre;
perties in an eminent degree : it is highly nutritious an
fattening. It is a tonic and gentle stimulant, aiding, whei/
mixed with other descriptions of food, materially the diges'
tive powers of an animal—a point of great consequence,
since it is an undoubted fact that much of the nourishmeo
contained in the ordinary food given to cattle is lost in eon'
sequence' of the impaired or defective action of the digestive
organs..
Comparing Thorley's Food for Cattle with other eattl°.
foods, with the composition of which I am acquainted,
unhesitatingly assert that it is infinitely superior to so,
others at present known to me. In all those, of the cote'
position of which I have a knowledge, I have found ingre'
dients to be present which have been added solely e
account of their cheapness—that is, for the purpose °,
adulteration, and to the exclusion of other valuable, but
more expensive articles. In some of the foods I had
detected ingredients which are positively hurtful.
Comparing, also, the samples taken by me from the
manufactory with others procured from different source,*
I found a perfect accordance in the composition of bow
series of samples.
Before bringing this report to a conclusion, I would
notice an objection sometimes urged against the use of cattle
foods generally—namely, that the price at which they ar.he
sold exceeds considerably that of the materials from whit'
they are prepared ; this can be readily shown to be a very
unreasonable objection. Thorley's Food for Cattle is 1*
compounded and manufacfured article, upon the composi-
tion and preparation of which much care, labour, and
pense have been and are bestowed. Moreover, the refuel
materials resulting from the cleansing, grinding, &c., and
which are an entire loss, amount to twenty per cent. -11
estimate, therefore, the value of such an article merely
the cost of the raw materials is both absurd and unjust. ,
Neither must the value of this, or any other cattle foot
be determined by the exact amount of nourishment coo;
tamed in them, although in the case of Thorley's Fee'
this is very considerable, but the indirect effects resulting
from its employment must be taken into consideration'
that is, the effects of the article in improving the appetite,
digestive powers, and general vigour of the cat°
fed upon it. By the improved condition of the digee;
tive organs animals may be fed upon coarser and cheaper
articles of food, and from which, without the aid e
Thorley's Food, they would be unable to extrae",
all the nourishment which such articles usually centaill'
I consider, then, that the use of Thorley's Food is attended]
not with an additional, but with a considerable saving °
expense.
I am glad, therefore, to be enabled to recommend—whiff 1
do strongly and conscientiously—Thorley's Food for
Cattle as a highly important and valuable compound 3-0
the feeding of all descriptions of cattle.
(Signed) ARTHUR HILL HASSALL, M.D., .
Analist of the " Lancet" Sanitary Commissioo
Author of the Reports of that Commissioll:
of "Food and its Adulteration ;" " Adultcrit
tions Detected ; " Sre•
74, Wimpolo-Areet, Cavendish-square, Dee, 21, 18501