The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVENIGER 26, 1861.

FRIGHTFUL CATASTROPHE IN
EDINBURGH.

LOSS OF TWENTY-TIVO LIVES.
One of the most calamitous and heartrending,
occurrences which it has ever been our duty to re-
cord took place a few minutes after 1 o'clock on

Sunday morning, in the sudden fall of a densely-
populated land, or tenement of dwelling houses in
the lower division of the High street, Edinburgh,
which resulted—so far as has yet been ascer-
tained, in the death of twenty-two persons, and the
injury, more or less severe, of 13 others. The tene-

went was situated on the north side of the street,

between Bailie Fyfe's close on the west and Paisley's
close on the east, and was joined at the back (on
the cast side) by the gable end of another land,
which extended down Paisley's close. The ground
floor, fronting the liigh-street, was occupied by the
shops of Mr. Cairns, grocer, No. 99, and Messrs.
Brown and Co., victual dealers, No. 103, while Mr.
Moir, ironmonger, and Mr. M'Luskie, shoe mer-
chant, occupied the first floor. The remainder of
the tenement, which consisted of six stories at the

'ront and seven at the back, including attics, was

occupied as dwelling-houses by working men and
their families, many of them weekly tenants of the
poorest class. Altogether it is believed tbat the
building contained about 23 householders, many of
whom kept lodgers, and that the total number of
inmates was not less than 80 or 90. The great

majority of these persons, including nearly all the
older people and the children, had retired to rest ;
but a number of the young men and women had not
been housed for the night at the hour when the
disaster occurred, and so escaped.
So far as has been ascertained the circumstances
immediately attending the calamity were as follow :
—Sergeant Rennie, of the night police, was passing
down the High-street, and had got in front of Cairns'
shop a few minutes after 1 o'clock, when he heard
a scuffle and a cry of " Murder" from a house in
Skinner's-close opposite; he immediately ran across
the street to see what it was, and was followed by
a number of persons who were standing about the
close heads, so that the north side of the street was
left for the moment wholly deserted. The scuffle
turned out to be caused by a quarrel between a
man and his wife. The disturbance was quieted in
a minute or two, and Rennie was returning up the
close, along with another policeman, when they heard
a loud noise, and beheld the whole land of houses,
before which one of them had been only three
minutes before, fall with a tremendous crash, and
in another instant it was apparently swallowed up
amid clouds of dust and rubbish. As the dust cleared
away, a yawning chasm 30 yards in breadth, became
visible ; the whole of the floors from top to bottom
had given way and fallen perpendicularly down-
wards, while the front wall fell outwards, and only
the back wall (partly supported by the back land
before mentioned) and the two gables, being party-
walls connected with the adjoining houses, were left
standing. In most of the stories all around the walls
thus laid bare in a moment fires were burning—the
fire-places being left standing, as well as the presses
recessed in the wall, with all the contents of the
latter, consisting of crockery, household and cooking
utensils, &c., exposed to view in the clear, calm
moonlight. Instantly wailing sounds arose from the
ruins, with here and there cries of " Alother !
mother !" from little children rudely awakened out
of sleep by rafters and rubbish falling upon them in
their beds; but over the greater portion of the mass
brooded a ghastly silence, which was yet more dole-
ful. In a few minutes the street seemed alive with
people running about, eagerly inquiring what had
happened ; and the occupants of the surrounding
homes, startled from their sleep, raised their win-
dows, and as soon as some vague idea of the awful
nature of the calamity reached them, poured forth
into the streets. In a shurt time the members of the
fire brigade and a large detachment of policemen
arrived on the ground. Intelligence was also sent
as soon as possible to the Lord Provost and magis•
trates, the sheriff, the members of the Dean of Guild
Court ; Mr. 'Macpherson, superintendent of streets
and buildings ;Mr. Dymock, procurator-fiscal ; Dr.
Littlejohn, police surgeon, &c. All these gentlemen,
as well as most of the members of the town council,
were speedily on the spot, and continued to give
directions and to lend what assistance and advice
they could up to 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
By 2 o'clock a.m., the street was blocked up
with people, and barricades were placed across
it, above arid below the ruined building. The
firemen, reinforced by a number of labourers who
volunteered, were formed into gangs by Mr.
Mitchell, and immediately commenced opera-
tions. The night was calm, but frosty, and the clear
moonlight shone down upon the appalling scene.
There was not light enough however for working,
and a number of flambeaux wore brought from the
police-office, while the jets and globes were re- '
moved from the street lamps so as to give as much
light as possible to the workers. The parts of the
ruins from which the cries proceeded were first ex-
amined, and after great, arduous, and cautious
labour, beams of wood were raised, and tons of

debris were dug out, and 21 or 22 poor creatures
men, women, and children—still in life, but nearly
all of them more nr isscs ininred. were P-rfr;actiocl.
Fifteen of them were taken to the Royal Infirmary,
and the remainder, most of them children, who had
providentially escaped with a few bruises, were
wrapped in such coverings as could be found, and
were carried to the police-office. The efforts of the
brigade were then directed to get at the dead
bodies. The beams of wood, smashed furniture,
stones, &c., were piled on the street, as the work of
turning over the rubbish proceeded. This was a
work of imminent danger to the men engaged in it,
as the gable walls, and the back wall, though still
standing, were rent and broken, and might any
moment be expected to fall. The western portion
of the back wall especially, which had no support,
seemed as if even a breath would have blown it
over. Fortunately there was not the slightest wind
'till 6 o'clock in the morning, when it began to rise,
and blew some of the lamps out, but it fell away
again till the afternoon.
The discovery of a body among the ruins soon
became known to the crowd by the stretchers being
taken up on to the pile for the purpose of convey-
ing the remains to the police-office. When any
body was exhumed, a deep and mournful hum might
be heard on every side, and a feeling of intense
sorrow seemed to be depicted on the countenances
!of the people as the shattered remains were borne
along the street to the police-office. Here there
were large numbers of people who had either rela-
tions or acquaintances who resided in the land
which had fallen, frantically running to and fro in.
quiring as to the fate of those with whom they
were connected. On entering the cell where the
bodies were laid, one of the most harrowing spec-
tacles that could possibly be conceived was pre-
sented to the eye. At one side of the room was
stretched the body of a woman with her infant
daughter beside her, while at the other lay an aged
woman, whose face was horribly mutilated. Between
these were placed seven or eight other bodies. the
features of some of which were so much disfigured
that identification was a task of the greatest diffi-
culty, while others presented an appearance little
different from that which they might have borne
previous to the occurrence of the sad calamity which
had so suddenly deprived them of life. On a table
at one side of this room was placed for identifica-
tion the body of a tall. stout, middle-aged man, his
face totally discoloured, and slightly bruised. In an
adjoining and somewhat dark room a melancholy
family group presented itself. The bodies of a man,
woman, and child who were found among the
ruins, lying in the same position as they had occu-
pied in bed previous to the disaster, were ranged
alongside each other in the same order. The face of
the woman, which was turned towards the door,
was mutilated in a most frightful manner. Her
right cheek was smashed in, her mouth, which was
open, was twisted considerably to the left side, and
her whole face was fearfully discoloured. The ap-
pearance of the man was such as to lead to the be-
lief that his death had been caused more by suffo-
cation than by any injury received, and the body
of the child gave similar indications. As other
bodies were brought in they were ranged alongside
of this group, and by the time that operations at
the ruin were suspended, each of the two apart-
ments mentioned was filled with a long row of
human bodies, several of them much mangled.
In another cell in the police chambers a very
affecting scene was witnessed. Nearly the whole
of those who had been rescued uninjured from the
ruin, and who were principally children, were
here assembled. They were all lying in their night
clothes, just as they had been taken from among
the debris. None of them, though all much ex-
hausted, were able to sleep, and a feeling of in-
tense terror seemed to pervade their minds. Their
cries had a most heart-rending effect, the agony of
one little boy especially, who unfortunately had
been apprised of the death of both his parents in
the catastrophe, being painfully affecting. In the
course of the afternoon these children were removed
either to the houses of tiends or to some of the
charitable institutions in the city.
The following is a list of the killed and injured:—
Killed—John Brace, about 39 years of age;
Mary Bruce, his wife, 38; Isabella, 17; and Jesse,
pnivreeydedshotortltyhe
being
denly expired 5, their daughters. Bruce, when extricated, was
alive, and walked to the stretchers, previous to
afterwards, Infirmary,
whilewh e where
givinghe s ud
his-
account of the accident. James Irvine and his
wife, both about 40 ; A
2; and a child e. few Agnes Irvine, their daughter,
mother of the family, old ; and the grand-
Bridget Mackilnon, Xoutir2e. M'Kerracher, 88.
about 20; Christina Ferguson, ; about
Wells,
brother, Walter Ferguson, aoaurtB 25; and her
Mackay, a basket-maker abort ; Archibald
; and Isabella

Mackay, 26, his daughter ; Jchn Geddes, commer-
cial traveller, about 50; Gunn and his wife,
both about 50 ; and John, is and Jane, 20, their
son and daughter; Mrs. Bevtridge, about 50, sus-
tained a compound fracture of both legs, besides
several internal injuries, and died in the Infirmary
in the afternoon ; and Mrs. Mackenzie, about 45,
wife of a night constable who was out on duty at
the time.
Injured.—The following were got out alive and
were conveyed to the Infirmary :—Jessie Malone,
29, bruise of left side ; Cathnine Macdonald, 50,
severe cut on left log ; Donald, 17, her son, bruise
of leg, and Isabella, 22, her daughter, abrasion of
elbow; John Geddes, 15, bruise of right arm and
body ; David John, 12; cut or right leg ; Christina,
18, bruise of side and back, sons and daughter of
John Geddes, killed; Willitm Adams, 17, injury
to shoulder, which was dressed, and he then
left the Infirmary; Catherine Stair, 16, frac-
ture of collarbone, and bruises on the body ;
William Hepburn, 40, mach bruised ; Joseph
Nl‘Giver, 12, injured on head, shoulder, and elbow;
Mary M'Luskie, 67, wife o' Mr. 11PLuskie, shoe-
maker, bruised on leg and back ; and Andrew
Smith, 22, slight bruises ; dressed and sent away.
The following children were extricated unhurt
and taken for protection to the police-office :—Mary
Gunn, 9, whose father, mother, and a brother and
sister are among the dead; Janet, 11, and Jane
Wilkie, 7—two who had been lodging in this tene-
ment, their father living in Leith ; George, 9, and
James Bruce, 7—sons of John Bruce, who, with his
wife and two daughters, is among the killed ; Alex.
Irvine, 9, son of James Irvine, who, with his wife
and two children, has lost his life; Elizabeth
Geddes, 8, daughter of John Geddes, killed.
The catastrophe created an immense sensation in
Edinburgh en Sunday, and the terrible event was
referred to in almost all the pulpits. Never before
in the history of the city had there happened such
prodigious loss of life from a domestic accident. The
fall of a house has on various occasions taken place,
and in a town where domestic structures have, so to
speak, so long a life, the event has been matter of
little wonder. But generally the case has been that
of some crazy, condemned, and deserted building.
In the present instance a building never officially
examined or reported insecure, but, nevertheless,
rotten to the core in all its timbers, fell in a moment
overwhelming its inmates in death. The lack of
municipal supervision which the disaster indicates
is the apparent cause of the calamity. Within the
last 15 years the accommodation of the poorer
classes of Edinburgh has been seriously restricted
by railway clearances and public improvements,
and only within about two years have any steps
been taken for the erection of new houses, but
hitherto on a scale quite inadequate. The poorer
population are actually huddled together in gi;an-
tic buildings divided into dwellings of one and two
rooms. There is no doubt that this event will
occasion a rigid scrutiny into the condition of
many of these old buildings. There are not a
few inhabited houses in Edinburgh from 300 to
350 years old, and as the material used was then
chiefly wood these relics of antiquity are very un-
fitted for so long an existence, or for adaptation to
modern requirements. In consequence of the acci-
dent the inmates of the houses on both sides and in
the rear of the fallen building have been ordered
out, and have received shelter in some of the public
asylums. A public meeting has been called by the
Lord Provost to take steps for the relief of the
sufferers.

is the vinous;- this after a -time passes into the aeotous,
when the complete separation of the starch and gluten is
accomplished. The whole is then stirred, washed, and left
to settle, and the supernatant liquor being drawn off, the
deposit is found to consist of a white coherent layer of starch,
and above it a layer of thin mucilaginous matter called
slimes. This was formerly used for feeding pigs, but it is
now employed by calico printers in their " resist pastes,"
and by the patent gum manufacturers. The slimes are
removed by washing and sifting from the starch, which,
after further washing, is coloured, drained, and finished,
as will afterwards be described under the head of
rice starch. The fermenting process is objectionable
from the time that it consumes, the noxious character of its
products, and its serious destruction of valuable materials ;
hence another process is sometimes adopted, consisting of
kneading flour into dough in a running stream of water,
the starch passing off with the water, and the gluten re-
maining behind : by this means a larger yield of starch is
obtained, and the platen is turned to good account by dry-
ing and pulverising it. It is now sold under the fictitious
name of semolina. A similar class of starch to wheaten
starch can be obtained from rye, barley, oats, buckwheat,

millet, and maize.
To obtain starch from potatoes, they are first soaked and
washed,
-and then reduced to a pulp by rasping, during
which process a stream of water passes over the pulp, exe
tracting the starch, which is afterwards separated from the
liquid by successive depositions and filtrations. The farina
so obtained, although suitable for many manufacturing
purposes, is unfit for food on account of its rank taste, and
is too hygrometric for laundry purposes, as it will absorb as
much as 35 per cent. water. Whilst thus charged with
moisture, if it be placed on a heated metallic plate it will
agglomerate and form into hard lumps, and in this way a
largo quantity of artificial tapioca is made.
We have now to speak more particularly of the manufac-
ture of rice starch, and of the extensive works erected at
Battersea for that purpose, by Messrs. Orlando Jones and
Co., the original patentees of the process, and a view of
which we present to our readers. No more striking proof
of the growth of the starch trade could be afforded than is
exhibited by this establishment. It is a literal truth that
30 years ago this factory—such are its capabilities—would
have sufficed for the supply of the entire quantity of starch
of all kinds used for all purposes in the United Kingdom,
whereas since 1840, the year in which Mr. Orlando Jones
patented his process, such a demand has been created for
rice starch alone, that the Battersea Works, largo as they
are, do not suffice for its supply , other well-known firms,
to whose processes we shall hereafter refer, are now, also
on a largo scale, engaged in its manufacture.
The cause of rice not having been, until so recent a period,
rendered available as a source of starch, is that the gluten
it:contains is so minutely divided that its separation
is impossible under the old process of fermentation.
It was left to modern chemistry to discover an agent for
this separation. It is true that attempts were made at the
commencement of this century to treat rice with an alkali,
but it was not until Mr. Jones perfected his process in 1840
that the extraction of starch from rice assumed a practicable
form or met with any commercial success. His invention
co a sists in the treatment of rice by a caustic alkaline solu-
tion during the steeping, grinding, and macerating of the
grain. The alkali used is either caustic potash or soda, of
such a strength as to dissolve the gluten without destroying
the starch ; it must consequently vary with the character of
the grain, and hence the utmost nicety is required. The
rice, after being dusted and cleaned, is steeped and agitated
in this solution for 24 hours ; the liquor is then drawn off,
and the rice, after being washed, is crushed and ground be-
tween powerful millstones. It is thus reduced to a thick
paste, and is then pumped into large vessels called macera-
tors, in which it is again mixed with a further quantity of
the alkaline ley, and kept well stirred for a considerable
time. The gluten being now all dissolved, the starch is
liberated and can bo separated by a process of precipitation.
The whole being allowed to stand, the fibrous matters and
crude impurities contained in the rice are first deposited,and
the supernatant liquor, containing the starch and gluten in
solution, is syphoned off into shallow depositing ranges.
The fibrous matter is pumped through a sifting apparatus
furnished with brushes (so as to separate the bran and
coarse particles, which are again passed through the mill),
and then washed and stirred repeatedly till it almost
ceases to yield starch. The fibrous deposit is then filtered
through cloths, drained in boxes, submitted to hydraulic
pressure, and thus formed into cakes, which are dried in
stoves and then ground into a fine flour, which, for the
stiffening properties imparted to it by the proportion of
starch it still retains, is highly valuable for many purposes.
To return to the starch. The liquor containing the starch
and gluten, which has been run into the depositing ranges,
is allowed to stand for 48 hours, when the starch will have
settled in a solid layer at the bottom, and the gluten is
run off to waste, no practical moans of utilising it having
pet been discovered. The starch is then shovelled into close
vessels, where it may be submitted to atmospheric pressure
as a first means of purifying it from any remaining gluten,
and afterwards pumped through a pugmill into vats, where
it is repeatedly washed and stirred in pure water, of which
the firm have a copious supply from an artesian well. The
starch is then pumped into the colouring pugmill, where it
is blued, and any remaining alkali is here carefully neutra-
lised. From this pugmill it is run into boxes lined with
sheeting, where it is drained, and atmospheric pressure may
Lvav tsbuta lie etniuutuauxv....
cut into square blocks, which are placed on tiers of chalk
for a first drying. It is next submitted to a crusting pro-
cess in highly heated stoves, then scraped, packed in paper,
and again placed in heated chambers. It is in this last
process that the crystallisation or the splitting up of the
starch into the well-known prismatic forms takes place.
When this final drying is completed the starch is ready for
the market.
That this process is successful in extracting from the
rice a pure and neutral starch, the best practical evidence
is afforded by its large and increasing consumption ; and as
high scientific authority for our assertion, we may refer to
the certified opinions of Professor Graham, Professor
Braude, and Dr. Hassan ; indeed, the latter gentleman,
who is the Government analyst of food and manufactures,
has recently visited the works, and borne his testimony
both to the perfection of the process, and to the carefulness
and skill with which the manufacture is conducted. Rice
starch is principally used for laundry purposes, the pecu-
liar advantages it possesses over wheaten starch consisting
in its requiring no boiling (boiling water sufficing to dis •
solve it), in its facilities of use, and in its retaining its stiff-
ness in damp weather.
A brief reference to a question which is unhappily as-
suming an increasing importance, viz., the preparation of
non-combustible starches and solutions, may not here be
considered out of place, or without its use. From the year
1810, when the Princess Pauline and the Countess of
Schwarzenberg were burnt to death at a ball at the Aus -
trian Embassy at Paris, up to the present time, when, by
the revival of steel hoops, these accidents have again be-
come so frequent, starch manufacturers have been experi-
menting on the means of rendering fabrics non-inflam-
mable. There are many chemical agents that can impart
the desired property ; but the objection to nearly all of them
is their destructive effect on the tissue of the fabric, and ac-
cidents by fire aro not of such frequent occurrence as to
render ladies indifferent to the wholesale destruction of their
dresses in the laundry. In a paper read before the British
Association in 1859 by Messrs. Versmann and Oppenheirn,
giving the results of their experiments on forty different
salts, the following were recommended as the most effec-
tual and the most free from the foregoing objections. 1.
Phosphate of ammonia. 2. The mixture of phosphate of
ammonia and chloride of ammonium. 3. Sulphate of am-
monia. 4. Tungstato of soda. Of these the phosphate of
ammonia is the least applicable, as it imparts a chalky and
opaque appearance to the fabric. The sulphate of ammonia
is the cheapest, but requires the greatest care in the use, or
brown spots will be produced on the linen like iron-mould.
The salts most free from objection, though unfortunately
the dearest, is the tungstato of soda; indeed, Messrs. Vers-
mann and Oppenheim state that for all laundry purposes
this only can be recommended. A solution of 20 per cent.
of the salt should be used, mixed with 3 per cent. of phos-
phate of soda, to prevent the formation of an insoluble
bitungstato that crystallises from it. Messrs. Orlando
Jones and Co. have experimented with a view to incorpo-
rate the salt with the starch in the process of manufacture,
by which all additional work to the laundress would be
saved ; but, according to their experience, and that of other
manufacturers, as given at the meeting at the Society of
Arts before alluded to, all such salts are more or less car-
ried away by the water, or in some other way are dissipated
in the process; so that, as yet, the results have not been
entirely satisfactory. That success never can attend their
efforts we are far from asserting. Chemical science in its
application to manufactures is still in its infancy, and we
may hope that all difficulties may eventually be overcome;
but until such is the case, the curtailment of ladies' dresses
by the disuse of the steel hoop is the real remedy for the
existing evil.
The Battersea works are situated on the banks of the
Thames, near the works of Pr ice's Patent Candle Company,
and occupy ground extending from the river to the Lower
Wandsworth-road ; thus the firm possess facilities of con-
veyance both by land and water. This latter is particularly
valuable to them, enabling them to save all dock, landing,
and warehousing charges. A large rice-store (ealculated
when complete to hold 4,000 tens) has been recently built
on their wharf, to which the rice is barged direct from the
ship. From this wharf also the manufactured article itself
is conveyed to the docks for shipment to our colonies, with
which a large trade is now carried on. As an illustration
of the extent of Orlando Jones and Co.'s operations, it may
be added that the box-making department is a little factory
iu itself, and the machinery employed for the various pur-
poses of sawing, dusting, cleaning, lifting, pumping, stirring,
and grinding, is driven by no less than :three steam en-
gines. From this and the outline of the process that we
have given, it will be evident that the manufacture of rice
starch on a large scale requires no little capital and skill,
and takes high rank amongst those industrial enterprises
which are so peculiarly the characteristic and the glory of
our age and country.
An article on rice starch will scarcely be complete with-
out adverting to some of the other patented processes. In
1841 Mr. Berger patented the use of carbonate of soda in
lieu of caustic alkali, and in 1850 he took out another
patent for treating rice with matallic salts, turpentine, and
sulphate of sine ; and in the same year Mr. Colman took
out a patent claiming the use of borax and lime as a sub'