The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-03-10 00:00:00

der, with Mr. Stewart, that the falling was the result of
accident, arising from the hidden causes mentioned, and
I am more confirmed in this opinion because the ware-
house has fallen at the end t‘ hich, from the props, eu2ht to
have been strongest, the beams at the Moor-street end
having less, bearing than those at the Old Ropery end,
where the warehouse still stands.
By Mr. Lowndes—What a warehouse will hear depends
upon the construction, the nature of the goods, and the
manner in which they are warehoused. I should consider
that 14 cwt. to the square yard upon the floors of this
warehouse was not an improper loading, supposing the
timber to have been all good.
Mr. James Allens-m- Picton agreed generally with the
evidence given by the last two gentlemen, but laid more
stress than they on the defective. foundations on which
the props rested. In two places the walls on which they'
had stood, had cracked and given way. The props rested
on mere rolling rubbish.

Mr. Thomas- Dover said the top room was fully mewled
with 14 or 15 cwt. per yard, but was not unreas9nbbly so,
taken separately. He, however, considered the warehouSe.
as a whole, was injudicious!y adrd. To load an cid
warehouse altogether with flour and grain, -as this was,
was done at some risk. _

By Mr. Lowndes.a-One -cannot get a loading for
warehouse, of different articles, that would be t qual
weight to flour and wheat. Ido not consider 15 cwt per
yard in one room an overload, but if over the whole ware-
house (the same in each room) it would be an overload.
Mr. Dover here respectfully su gested to the Coronet
that it was most desirable that an arrangement should be
come to between the corn merchants and the warehouse
keepers as to the quantity of grain that should be stowed
in certain warehouses; and he al-o suggested that an
Inspector of Warehouses should be appointed by the
Town Council. who should, amongst other duties, see CO
their being properly and not over stowed.
The Coroner, in reply, made some remarks as to a com-
munication he had bad with the Town-clerk relative to
warehouses, and fires, but our reporter did not distinctly
catch the purport of his observations.
Mr. R. Harbord, warehbuse keeper and owner.—Alla
snming that the timber and propping were good, 1 should
not hesitate to put even more than 15 cwt. per square
yard throughout the whole floor of a warehouse. I con-
sider the accident under notice has arisen f. om the bidden
defects noticed by the surveyors, and not ft om the load-
ing. The average loading with bags of sugar would ave-
rage about 17 cart. the square yard ; but as regarded sugar
in hhds., Mr. Dover is about tight. In my own ware-
houses, at the New Quay, (differently cot strutted,) I have
had a ton stowed on the square yard, and as niuch as two
tons in the lower rooms I tio not consider the load stated
in No. 7 too much, but it was a full load.
The CORONER then addresst d the jury. He said the
great mass of evidence that had been heard in the ease,
would, he trusted, satisfy the public that the matter bad
been fully sifted to the bottom ; and, for hie own part, he
thanked the jury cordially for their long and patient atten-
tion.ut
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the death of the unfortunate deceased, no doubt
could be entertained but that it was the falling of the
building. But the important questions they had to decider
were—first, whether the warehouse was, on the Ist of
January, when it was let for three years, (i haugh without
a written agreement being executed,) by Mr. Tipping to
Mr. Deane, in a fit state to be sublet by the latter to the
different tenants; and, secondly, whether the tenants of
the rooms had overloaded them. He carefully recapitu-
lated the most important parts of the evidence taken on
the three several days of inquiry, reading the passage,'
chiefly the professional evidence, from his own notes; and
remarked, that if blame could be attached at all it was to
Mr. Tipping, which he did nut assume. That gentlemen
ought to have let the warehouse in such a state only that it
could be fairly used by the occupants. There was nothing
in the evidence in any part to induce them to suppose that
Mr. Tipping knew that it was not in a sound and sufficient
condition for the usual stowage of goods ; and as a proof
of this, he had himself filled rooms 5 and 6 with his owe
property, which it was not to be supposed he would have
done had be conceived it to be at hit in-eciii e. With re-
spect to the tenants, the evidence went to show that they
had not exceeded the usual stowage; but even if they
had not a deodand could be laid. In teat case, however,
it was necessary in law to specify particulary the goods
that had moved towards the death of the deceased. Oa
the warehouse itself no d.-odand could be sustained, for
appurtenance s to a freehold, as the materials were, were cot
subject to a deodand. If they laid a deodand, it must be
laid on the goods and chin tels, and these mu-t be speei6-
cally set forth, so as to admit of no doubt cf the it identity
in moving to the death of the deceased. He quoted, as
in point, the case of .citieagr,
materials,
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Theatre, in London, by which several persons were
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and theT
upperh galleries, The
jury
ownersof
in that
which were eaurnsrated at great
length; but so uncertain was it whether all or which of
these articles had moved to the death of the parties, that
Lord Tenterden quashed the finding. He inclined to the
opinion expressed by the surveyors, that the accident
arose from hidden causes, which could not be known to
the owner or the tenants, aria refit the case in the hands of
the jury.
After a few minutes' consultation, the jury (which was
a special one) returned a verdict of "accidental death
from unforeseen causes," apt ended a request that the Co-
roner would convey to the Town Cuuneil their suggestion
that a surveyor should be appointed to inspect ware-
houses, and especially the old ones.
The CORONER thanked the Jury for their attendance,
and said he should convey their request to the Mayor and
Council.