The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-13 00:00:00

DREADFUL ACCIDENT AT LIVER.

POOL.

(From the Liverpool Courier of Wednesday.)

At three o'clock yesterday afternoon a shocking
catastrophe took place in Great George-street.
While business was going on in a large draper's
shop, customers buying and shopmen selling, a
portion of the premises fell in, burying customers,
shopmen, and labourers employed on the premises
in one common fate. For some months past Mr.
E. Lewis, proprietor of the Bazaar, an extensive
drapery and hosiery establishment, 113 and 115,
Great George-street, has been making great addi-
tions to his premises. These additions consisted
principally of a large hall, running back some dis-
tance in the rear of the present shop, and intended
t• be fitted with a gallery promenade. This new
erection remains perfectly secure, so that we need
not more particularly describe it. As it approached
completion, Mr. Lewis announced a " final clear-
ance sale at a great reduction" previous to closing
the old premises, in order to complete their connec-
tion with the new portion. It seems, however, that
this connection was in course of being carried out
while the premises were still kept open, though the
operations were hidden from the eyes of the public
who might be tempted by the announcement of " a
great reduction" to step in and purchase goods at
the shop.

In order to connect the large hall at the rear,
and give it a greater length, workmen had com-
menced taking down the partition wall at the back
of the front shops, beginning from the roof. Previous
to touching the wall it would appear that two upper
floors in the old premises had been cleared away, of
course leaving the wall without anything to bear it up
internally. Yesterday afternoon, while three work-
ing men were engaged in pulling the wall down, a
large portion of it gave way in a mass, falling on
to the floor above the north shop, carrying with it
a portion of the longitudinal partition wall dividing
the two shops, the combined mass falling with such
weight that it carried with it the floor of the shop,
timber, bricks, and mortar, and men and wewmen,
and drapery goods being buried together in one
heterogeneous pile in the cellar below. About, one
half of the upper or back end of the north shop was
thus destroyed. The men who were pulling down
the wall fell with it, and the shopmen and custo-
mers who were in that portion of the shop were co-
vered with the falling debris. As far as can be
ascertained, about a dozen people altogether were
in the north shop atthe time, including Mr. Thomp-
son, Mr. Lewis's manager. Mr.. Lewis himself was
away at the time. Those who escaped being buried
rushed out of the shop in the greatest consternation,
the escape of some of them being almost miracu-
lous. Great alarm was also felt by the persons in
the shop next door, who state that the noise was
like that of thunder, the shock causing their pre-
mises to rock as if from an earthquake.

As quickly as possible the workmen about the
premises commenced removing the ruins to get at
those who were unhappily buried below them. At
this moment a detachment of police, in charge of
Inspector Dodd, theusual 3 o'clock relief from Steel
street station, came up on their way to the south
end, and rendered most energetic assistance. The
intelligence soon spread, and Superintendent Hewitt,
of the fire brigade,
arrived early, and with some of
h
is men was actively engaged in the rescue. Divi-
sional Superintendents Quick and Ride, Mr. New-
lands, the borough engineer, and others • arrived,
and aided by their judicious directions the object in
view. Miss Hall, residing at Upper Parliament-
street, a customer in the shop, was first rescued.
She was knocked down, but not covered, and being
only slightly injured in one leg, was enabled to be
taken home at once. Two of the shop assistants, one
named Joins, were also carried away, the latter to
his residence in Alfred-street, close by, neither of
them being seriously injured. The next rescued
were the three labourers, one of whom was treated at
the dispensary and enabled to go home. The other
two, James Blackmore and Matthew Smith, were
taken to the Southern Hospital, a good deal crushed,
but alive and sensible. Along with them was found
Wm. Owens, one of the shop assistants, who was
also carried to the Southern Hospital, and whose
principal injury is a broken collar bone. In about
a quarter of an hour the excavators came upon the
bodies of two women, customers in the shop at the
time of the accident, both of whom, we regret to
state, were quite dead. Their bodies were removed
to the Southern Hospital,4but the surgeon at once
pronounced them lifeless; they had been suffocated
with the debris, for their mouths and throats we-?e
choked up with dust and pulverised mortar. Indeed,
as no heavy beams or anything of that sort gave
way, and the wood and boards which fell were
crushed into small splinters, the fallen mass was of
an unusually dense character. The search was still
continued, for a youth named Meredith Jones, the
clerk or cashier of the establishment (who usually
occupied :a small desk running across an opening
in the partition wall of the shops) who was missing,
and supposed to be in the corner where the two
walls which fell joined each other. When our re-
porter left the spot, at half-past five o'clock, the
body had not been recovered or anything heard of
the young man. It ought to be stated that the
search was carried on with the greatest bravery by
those engaged; for about 20 feet in height of each

wall remained s tandi no., but evidently in the most
dangerous condi-, ',ion, hanging, like the sword of
Damocles, above thosa, who were clearing away ibe
pile of rubbish at the it lower part, by which alone
they seemed to be sup ported. The men engaged in
taking the back Tall down were mere labourers,
employed by ,Mr. Lev is himself, and working under
his directions. The exertion for the recovery of the
bodies was con,tinit
•ecl vigorously all night. Mr.
Rishton, the build.i Ong surveyor for the borough,
was present between • eight and pine o'clock. About
half-past nine a thinl body was exhumed. It was
supposed to be that
of John Ellis, aged 22, a
labourer, lodging in Fleet-street, who was only
taken on to work yesi cerday morning. Two other
bodies, those of M eredith Jones, the young
clerk, and a fourth 1 abourer, were believed to be
still under the ruins. We learn that the only case
received at the South Dispensary was that of Jane
Madden, of 11, Carl atom-street, a customer, who
was conveyed to that institution by four men, but
on examination found 'L to have received not even a
scratch, though sal gyring severely from fright,
being, indeed, completely prostrated. Up to ten
o'clock last night the bodies of the two women at
the Southern Hospit 21 had not been identified.
This makes the list of victims three killed, two
missing, supposed to be killed; and six known to
be injured, .but not sen iously—namely :
John Ellis, labourer , dead.

Two women, unkno' sn, dead.
A labourer, suppose buried in the ruins.
Meredith Jones,3.
de] k, ditto.
William Drew, sho] ?man, collar bone fractured.
Matthew Smith, lal )ourer, much crushed.
Jones, shopman, slightly hurt.
Miss Hall, 49, Parliament-street, slightly hurt.
A labourer, slightly hurt.
Shortly after the act 'ident was reported corpora-
tion labourers were set to work, and a large portion
of Great George-street, opposite the front of
the premises, was strongly barricaded off and
guarded by the police, in order to prevent any
accident to the public passing by, and to prevent
interference with the melancholy work of excavation.
At one o'clock this morning we were informed
that the young m.an who acted as cashier had been
taken out of the ruins, quite dead.
The Daily Post states that the bodies of the two
women at the Southern Hospital have been identi-
fied. A young man went there to make inquiries
about his missing mother and sister, and he had the
distressing task of recognising iii the dead both
mother and sister. The name of the mother was.
Eliza Murray, aged 48, the widow- of the late Mr.
Andrew Mursay, an outfitter, retiiding at 6, Old-
ham-place, Oldham. street. The daughter was
named. Janet Murray-, aged 15, and she accompa-
nied her mother to the draper's shop to make pur-
chases, and they were t ogether hurried into eternity.
The body of Mrs. Jonas, which was dug out of the
debris late last eveninw, was removed to her resi-
dence, 27, Wolfe-street, Park, her daughter having
previously made inquiries at the hospital for her
missing mother, and le'it a description. The body of
the cashier, Meredith J ones, aged about 20, and the
body of the labourer, John Ellis, also a young man,
were removed to the d‘eadhouse late last night.

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