The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-03-25 00:00:00

SELECT VESTRY PROCEEDINGS, TUESDAY.—By the
return of the out-door expenditure it appears the number
of eases relieved during the past fortnight was 7277 and
£875 2s. 6d. against 7854 and £845 ss. for the same pe-
riod last year. By the weekly sick report, it appears
there is an increa-e of about twenty cases more than the
last return, nearly half of them being fever cases.—Mr.
Ford gave notice, for the next meeting, to appoint an ar-
chitect or surveyor for the alterations of the workhouse.
—A communication from Mr. Gray, assistant overseer,
on the subject of Sir James Graham's new law of settle-
ment bill, and the mode in keeping the accounts in the
overseers' department having been read, Mr. Church-
warden Houghton gave notice that Mr. Gray's letter be
referred to a sub-committee of the Select Vestry to be
appointed at the next meeting.—On the motion of Mr.
Houghton it was resolved that a special meeting of the
Select Vestry to be held on Monday next, the 24th in-
stant, at twelve o'clock, to decide upon the tenders sent
in, according to advertisement, for the supplies for the
Workhouse and Industrial School.
SUICIDE.—An inquest was held on Saturday, before
the borough coroner, touching the death of Elizabeth
Worrell. The deceased, who was 68 years of age, resided
with some relations in Golden-court, Shaw's-brow. For
three weeks the deceased had been confined to her bed.
and suffered from shortness of breath. She was attended
by a surgeon. On Tuesday afternoon last, she sent her
grand daughter down stairs to bring a razor, which she
said she wanted to cut her corns with. The girl took it
to her in bed, when deceased told her to take a sponge
cake out of the table drawer and eat it. The girl refused
to take it, and deceased then lay down in bed and turned
her back. The girl knelt upon the bed to cover her with
the clothes, and, in doing so, saw deceased cutting her
throat with the razor. She took it from her as soon as
she could and gave thealarm. Some neighbours came in,
and the deceased's son, who was in another part of the
room, also came up. She bled a great deal, but the
wound was not a large one. A surgeon was called, and
he dressed the wound, but she died from its effects on
Thursday morning. tier son stated, that for some time
the deceased had been troubled with asthma and difficulty
of breathing, and that she was in very low spirits in con-
sequence, and continually murmuring. She was then at-
tended by a surgeon. Several other witnesses spoke to
deceased's depressed state of mind, and to her conversa-
tion recently, which seemed to indicate occasional abber-
ration of intellect. The jury delivered a verdict to the
effect that the deceased died from the wound she had her-
self inflicted during temporary insanity.
Two MEN KILLED IN A TIMBER-YARD.—An inquest
was held on Thursday, before P. F. Curry, Esq., on
view of the bodies of James Finch and Edward Hurst
Lewman. It appeared that on Wednesday afternoon the
deceased were employed in the timber-yard of Messrs."
Brereton and Jones, Jordan-street,—Finch in assisting
in loading a cart with planks, and Lawman in measuring
them as they were delivered. Finch stood at the top of
the pile, which was about 20 planks in height, and which
was placed against another pile of planks of about forty
making to the top 15 or 16 feet in height, and Lewman
was below. While the deceased were thus engaged the
higher pile fell down upon them. Assistance was im-
mediately procured, and the deals were taken off as quickly
as possible, but they were both found to be quite dead—
their heads being completely crushed. It appeared from
several witnesses that the planks were piled one upon
another in the usual way, and appeared to the carter to be
plum and firm. They had stood there for some months.
The coroner suggested to the jury to put any questions to
the witnesses, or make any suggestion with a view to pre-
vent the recurrence of so lamentable an accident in a
timber-yard. About 10 or 12 of the planks fell upon the
deceased. It appeared to the coroner, to some of the
jury, and a police-officer, that several of the piles in the
yard were in a dangerous position. The person who su-
perintended the yard said the planks were piled
shortly before Christmas, during the heavy fall of snow.
Tine deceased Finch had been working amongst the timber
for ten or eleven years. When the yard was not level
sleepers were laid to render it so for the piles. The
planks were 3 inches thick, 7 to 8 inches wide, and from
19 to 27 feet in length. They were worth about 2s 6d.
each. Lewman was apprentice to Messrs. Brereton and
Jones. The coroner carefully summed up, snd the jury
returned a verdict of " accidental death„ with a recom-
mendation to timber dealers that the piles of deals, &c.,
should be carefully formed. The coroner stated that it
was the intention of Messrs. Brereton and Jones to do
something for the family of Finch.
INQUESTS.—On Tuesday three inquests were held be-
fore the borough coroner. The first was on the body of
Edward Butler, a stevedore, 49 years of age. He was
working on board the brig Crowther, at the Queen's
Dock, and in the act of taking some chains out of the
forehatch, when a piece of wood, called the top-gallant
outrigger, fell from the rigging, struck him on the head,
and knocked him down. He died very shorily after, of
fracture of the skull, at the Southern Hospital. The se-
cond was on Patrick Fitzgerald, 42 years of age, who went
into a house in Midgliall-street, on Monday, and, while
smoking a pipe in his usual good health, was seized with
a cough, fell forward and almost immediately expired.
The cause of death was rupture of an aneurism of the
aorta.—The third was on the body of a young woman
named Catherine Morgan, of Slater-street, who acciden-
tally took fire, and was so severely burned that she died
the following day.—On Saturday on the body of Elizabeth
Cain, aged 43. On Wednesday night last, about half-past
eleven o'clock, as Nathan Smith, a publican living in
Fontenoy-street, was going cut of his house, he saw the
deceased sitting en the steps of the next house. Thinning
she was in a state of intoxication he sent for a police-
officer, and when he came it was found that she was dead.
The surgeon, who made a post mortem examination,
found that deceased had died from disease of the heart,
the result of natural cause. Verdict accordingly.—On
the body of Hannah Rankin, twenty-nine years old, who
resided in Victoria-place, Bond-street. On Friday week,
a female who lived opposite heard screams, and on open-
ing the deceased's door found her standing in the yard all
in flames. Assistance was called, and the fire was put
out, but deceased was severely burnt all over. She was
afterwards regularly attended by a surgeon, but kept get-
tile worse, and died on Friday night. Deceased told her
husband, (a shipwright,) that she bad been snuffing a
lighted candle, when the burnt wick fell upon her dress
and set it on fire. The jury returned a verdict of " acci-
dentally burnt."—On the body of John Mullicrane, aged
45, who lived in St. Martin-street. On Thursday night
last, at half-past eight o'clock, the deceased went up stairs
to bed, and was then quite well. A little before twelve
o'clock, his wife went up to go to bed, and found the de-
ceased quite dead. The surgeon stated that he was called
in at one o'clock on Friday morning, but could not tell
the cause of death without an examination, which he af-
terwards made, and found deceased had died from disease
of the right aurical of the heart, arising from natural
causes. Verdict accordingly.
ALARMING AND DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.—On Thursday
afternoon, about twenty•five minutes before four o'clock,
dense black smoke was observed suddenly to issue from
some of the top windows of the warehouse and drug. mill
belonging to the Apothecaries' Hall, in Back Colquitt-
street, corner of 'Wood-street. which former street, run-
ning north and south, divides it from the back portion of
the premises known as the Hall, which is very extensive,
and, in frontage to Colquitt-street, one of the finest and
most classical stone buildings in the town, and at all times
contains a very valuable stock. The fire wa, first observed
by a labourer named Dilston, who was at work in the ware-
house, which was four stories in height, but without cel-
lars, and has a door to each in Back Colquitt-street, with
two large windows on each side, or 16, and three in
each in Wood-street, making in all 28 windows and 4
doors. A fire-engihe kept on the premises was immedi-
ately got out, and a police-officer sent the alarm to the fire-
station, from which proceeded a short time all the engines,
new and old, of the force, together with a number of laden
water carts. Short, however, as the interval was before
they could be worked, it was vain to attempt to save the
ignited building, so combustible were the contents, and
every energy was directed to saving the hall itself, the back
of which was long in imminent danger, the flames being
borne across the narrow street towards it, and throwing
out so intense a heat as to split away large portions of the
heavy stone cornicing and other decorations, rendered
more fragile by fire in consequence of the long frost.
There was in a short time a very fair supply of water from
the mains in the neighbourhood, and the engines being vi-
gorously played from both sides, the fury of the blaze was
somewhat reduced, though at times so intense that spec-
tators were fain to run back from its scorching effect, and
the doors and other wood-work of the back of the hall
were kept so bathed that, though some of them were
burned, the actual ignition of the combustible within,
which at one time seemed inevitable, was prevented. In
that quarter, therefore, the damage was chiefly confined to
the exterior stonework, and the damage done be the flood-
ing of the floors, from one of the hig,ust of which the fire-
men played with considerable effect on the burning ware-
house, which about five o'clock was interiorly one mass of
flame, sometimes intensely white, end at others presenting
varied bright tints according to the material. then in com-
bustion. Adjoining it on the west is a building of small
elevation, inhabited by Mr. Cato, publican, from the roof
of which a branch pipe was played to prevent the fire from
extending in that direction. Similar means were taken
Irene the roofs of the lower buildings adjacent in Beck
Colquitt-street. The wareholi,e, or laboratory, was filled
with castor-oil, other oils, balsam, and a variety of drugs
more or less inflammable, and several explosions took
place. We have never witnessed a smarter or more rapid
and intense fire, or greater exertions made by tine police
and others to subdue it ; and the preservation of the hell
itself was truly a great " save," for had the fire effectually
caught it, the whole pile, and probably touch more in Col-
quitt-street; and even beyond it, would have been de-
stroyed, the little wind there was buns from about the
W.N.W. Several parties in the neighbourhood removed
their goods from their dwellings and other premises, and
in the precipitation of the moment considerable damage was
no doubt the result. The Mayor was early at the spot, as
were Mr. Rushton, Mr. Aldern.an Turner, Mr. J. Aspi-
nal!, Mr. Harbord, and many other gentlemen known in
public life, together with nearly the whole of the heads of
our police force, all equally anxious and active. Towards
six o'clock the building being entirely gutted, and hang-
ing in broken ruins towards Back Colquitt-street, which
was strewed with huge pieces of broken freestone from the
cornicing of both buildings, the flames, on which a deluge
of water had been thrown for nearly two hours, became
exhausted by having consumed nearly all they had fed
upon, and all further danger was at an end. The loss, in-
cluding the building, stock, machinery of a grinding mill,
&c., is £50,000, the greater part of which was insured in
the Manchester, West of England, Phoenix, and another
office. The origin of the fire is not ascertained. The tall
round chimney of the engine furnace remained firm, the
stonework at the top being alone slightly broken by the
action of the flames ; and here it may be stated that this
fire demonstrated the impolicy of placing heavy projecting
free-stone cornicing on such buildings, and over the win-
dows, such material being readily fractured by fire, caus-
ing great danger in its fall to those engaged with the en-
gines