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 bidden causes mentioned, and
I am more confirmed in this opinion because the ware.
house has fallen at the end which, from the props, ought 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 bear 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 Allensan Picton agreed generally wi.th 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 loaded
with 14 or 15 cwt. per yard, but was not unreasonably so,
taken separately. He, however, considered the warehouse.
as a whole, was injudiciously kaded. To load an old
warehouse altogether with flour anderain, as this was,
was done at some risk.

By Mr. Lowndes.—One cannot get a loading for
warehouse, of different articles, that would be equal in
weight to flour and wheat. Ido not consider 1g 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 suggested to the Coroner
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 also suggested that an
Inspector of Warehonses should be appointed by the
Town Council. who should, amongst other duties, see to
their being properly and not over stowed.
The Coroner, in reply, made some remarks as to a com-
munication he had had with the Town-clerk relative to
waiehouses, and fires, but our reporter did not distinetly
catch the purport of his observations.
Mr. R. Harbord, warehouse keeper and owner.—As-
snming that the timber and propping were good, I 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 from the hidden
defects noticed by the surveyors, and not from the load-
ing. The average loading with bags of sugar would ave-
rage about 17 cwt. the square yard ; but as regarded sugar
in hbds., Mr. Dover is about right. In my own ware-
houses, at IlLe New Quay, (differently constructed,) I have
had a ton It'Bwed on the square yard, and as much as two
tons in the lower rooms. I do not consider the load stated
in No. 7 too much, but it was a full load.
The CoaoNErr then addressed the jury. He said the
great mass of evidence that had been beard in the case,
would, he trusted, satisfy the public that the matter had
been fully sifted to the bottom ; and, for hie own part, he
thanked the jury cordially for their long and patient atten-
tion. Whatever civil actions might yet possibly arise oat
of it, was not for them to consider; for if "gross negli-
gence" were not attributable to any of the parties accord-
ing to the testimony they had beard, no verdict of man-
slaughter could be arrived at. As to the cause of
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 bad to decide
were—first, whether the warehouse was, on the Ist e
January, when it was let for three years, (though 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 passages,
chiefly the professional evidence, from his own notes; and
remerked, that if blame could be attached at all it was to
Mr. Tipping, which he did not 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 own
property, which it was not to be supposed he would have
done had he conceived it to be at all insecure. 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 that case, however,
it was necessary in law to specify particulary the goods
that had moved towards the death of the deceased. On.
the warehouse itself no deodand could be sustained, for
subjectelp s rte ntnanac a
enlo a
dnndr e. e hfold, as
If theythe laid
n materials w
deodand,
e ei wt
menrsetebont
laid on the goods and chattels, and these must be specifi-
cally set forth, so as to admit of no doubt of their identity
in moviog to the death of the deceased. He quoted, as
hg of
the
severalßoyal
personsßrunswick
Theatre, were
killed. The jury in that case brought in a deodand
in
hea point,re
against the owners of the materials, wood, &c., about the
the
ac
cdtehnet
roof and upper galleries, which were enumerated at great
thein case
London, of the
bfyal falling
length ; but so uncertain was it whether all or which of
these articles had moved to the death of the parties, that
opinion Lord 'l'e
expressedn t erde n
quashed
t)
y thete
surveyors,
finding.
inclined to
arose from hidden causes, which could not be known to
the owner or the tenants, and left the case in the hands of
the jury.
_ .

Alter a few minutes' consultation, the jury (which was
a special one) returned a verdict of 44 accidental death
from unforeseen causes," appended a request that the Co-
roner would convey to the Town Council 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.