The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-10-24 00:00:00

deceased was twenty-nine years of age. 0

n the hours of six and

bricks laid on iron t

I hey were end
Thr: stage was
round, and over it tl

the pans with turpentine
in height from the g

,04111, l•ViiUtiiiilng Winer, N‘incii mimeo
place where they were working. The tank
by four brick walls." Whilst they were in t

the pans the north wall gave way ; the tank immediately
fell, and, in falling, knocked down the stage on which
they were working. Witness and his cornnanion effected

their escape as quickly as possible, by scramblin
fallen materials. They soon after heard the sound of some,
one calling out from underneath the rubbish, and shortly
discovered that it was a man of the name of Rigby. They
then heard some one else calling out, and at once pro-
ceeded to render him assistance by clearing away the rub-
bish. The latter turned out to be the deceased, who was
taken to the Southern Hospital in a most exhausted state.
Rigby had not been completely covered with the materials.
The walls by which the tank was supported had been erec-
ted about four months ; and the tank itself was about six
or seven yards in length, the same in breadth, and about
three feet in depth.
John Gibson, who was working with the last witness
gave a similar account of the accident.
Thomas Bolton, engineer at the works of Messrs. Platt,
stated, that, about a quarter of an hour before the acci-
dent, it contained water to the depth of twenty-six inches.
When filled it contained water to the depth of nearly
three feet. It was supported by five iron beams let into
the walls.
Wm. Johnson, the engineer, who made the five iron
beams, stated, that each of them was capable of bearing
fifteen tons weight, the weight being laid on the whole
length. The weight of the tank and the water it contained
would be about ninety-five tons, sixty of which would be
on the beams, and the remainder on the walls and other
shorter beams. The whole weight on the beams would be
fifteen tons less than they were capable of bearing. He
had found, on examination since the accident, that the
whole of the beams had been broken, and that the tank
had been completely cut through. This must have been
caused by the tank resting for a moment on one of the
beams. He considered the beams quite sufficient to bear
the weight for which they were designed. From the ap-
pearance of the ruins he thought that some part of the
bearings of the beams had shrunk, the consequence of
which would be, that more weight would be thrown on
one beam than on another, and this would have the effect
of throwing the wall out; but he had not examined the
ROYAL WEST INDIAN MAIL STEAM COMPANY ofp the accident. lace minutely enough to say that this had been the cause
.
The half-yearly meeting of this company was held last Mr. Samuel Hohne deposed that he was a builder.
week. Captain Chappell, the secretary, read the report, About the latter end of February, he saw an order in his which attributed the loss of the Solway, near Corunna, book for some bricklayers, who were wanted by the
to an error in calculation, acquitting the Captain of all Messrs. Platt ; and, on ascertaining that they had been
blame. It stated that a further curtailment of the steam- sent, he called, as was his custom ;hen new work was to
ing operations would now be effected by a modification of bent,
done, and saw Mr. Benjamin Platt, who told him that
the different routes, as approved by the Admiralty, but he wanted him to build a boiler-house. A few bricks had
the advantages could not be shows at present, as the been set at the time. Mr. Platt had a plan in his hand,
modifications did not come into effect till the end of June. and, after some general observations, witness left him,
The disbursements and receipts account for the half-year as lie was engaged with the men in setting out the work.
ending the 30th June, showed a balance, applicable to in In a few days after he called again and found that the
surance and wear and tear, of £31,341 15s. 7d. Many foundation of the place was being built along with the ex-
reductions in expenditure, thought practicable at the last tern
walls of the building. He saw that the external
meeting, bad been carried into effect, and the last call walls were being built in one solid mass with the walls of
having been paid up, the directors had reduced the debt the sower; and, on examining the plan, he found that the
to £120,000, being £140,000 less than the sum owing at walls ere two bricks in thickness. As the materials
this time last year. Every vessel belonging to the corn- were old, he advised Mr. Platt to have the walls two feet
pany was now in a state of thorough repair and effective-
thick ; but the latter said that he could not spare the
ness. The directors hoped that, from the omissions of so
,
many places in the routes, there would, in future, be less room and that he did not intend to carry the building toany great height. Witness told him that he had better
cause for accidents, and, under the circumstances, they
build a square engine chimney, and turn the whole of the
proposed that on the termination of the present year, or
flues into it ; but, to the best of his recollection, Mr.
as the policies of the respective ships expire, the company
Platt replied that he could not spare the room : and, in
should set aside a fund of 5 per cent to meet the contin-
reply to a question as to how he intended to build the
gency of insuring their own vessels. A board of manage-
flues, he replied, by protecting them on brackets. Some
ment had been appointed, who reported weekly to the further conversation then occurred as to what would be
directors. In conclusion, the directors held to their first the best draft, after which witness told him that the bricks
opinion, that, with the encouragement of her Majesty's were not good ones, as they were made out of the old
Government, the concern would, at no distant time, Park clay, and advised him strongly to get new ones to
fairly compensate the parties who had embarked their
capital in the undertaking. The statement of accounts mix with them. Mr. Platt found his own materials.
Witness went there afterwards and found that a vast num-
showed the total receipts of the half-year to have been
£158,048 14s. 7d.. of which £120,000 came from Gov- ber of pieces of brick, which were very wet, were being
ernment, and only £38,048 14s. 7d. from freight and
used, and he then told him that
__ he disliked the way in which
passage money. The disbursements were £123,706 19s.
the building was going on. Mr. Platt replied, in a joking
After a long discussion, the report was adopted.
sort of way, that he was his own architect, that the build-
ing was a small one, and he said, to the best of his (wit-
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.—The active and indus- ness's) belief, " We'll risk it, "or words to that effect.
trious habits of the Duke of Wellington, now in the 75th As he found that Mr. Platt was with the men every day,
year of his age, are well known. The following is a recent and giving his own instructions, witness did not interfere
instance of his grace's vigorous activity at so advanced a much in consequence ; and on referring to his book, to
period of life :—Upon the Duke's arrival in London on see if notice had been given to the Building Surveyor, he
Monday, the 2d inst., from Walmer Castle, en route to found that it had not, and he accordingly served notice
Windsor, to attend a Privy Council held that afternoon upon that officer. This was on the 6th of March. He
at the Castle, his grace unexpectedly met a messenger thought it was upon that occasion that he asked Mr.
from her Majesty at Apsley-house, the bearer of an invi- Platt what sort of a roof he was going to put, and that
tation to dine with his sovereign on the following day at they had some conversation about iron roofs. Mr. Platt
the splendid banquet given by her Majesty in honour of said, that he intended to put a cistern on the top, which
the arrival of her illustrious visitor, the Grand Duke would at once form his roof. Witness beleived that he
Michael of Russia. His grace proceeded to Windsor, at- was only once there afterwards, when the building was
tended the Privy Council, and immediately it broke up twelve feet high, but he spoke to Mr. Geoghan, one of his
returned to town by the Great Western Railway, and left principal men, and told him, that they were using too
London by the Dover Railway, arriving at Walmer Castle many of the rubbishy bricks. Geoglian's reply was, that
the same night; the duke having an engagement at Mr. Platt was a very odd man, and that he had told them
Walmer, which he kept with his habitual punctuality. to use the old bricks up. Witness thereupon observed to
The duke left Walmer the next morning, proceeding in Geoghan, that, as Mr. Platt gave his own directions, his
his carriage to Folkestone, and thence to town by the going there was of no use; and he never went after that
railway, intending to have reached the Paddington termi- period. He had not surveyed the building since the acci-
nus in time for the half-past 5 o'clock train to Slough. dent; but he was of opinion, that the walls as built, were
Upon arriving, however, at Paddington, the train had left not capable of sustaining a weight of 115 tons. He was
some few minutes. and there was no other train to start not surprised that morning when he heard of the accident.
until half-past 7 o'clock that evening, which would not His impression was, that the cause of the accident had
have enabled his grace to reach Windsor Castle until been from the expansion of the walls by the heat of so
half-past 8, the hour at which the royal dinner party were many furnaces, and in consequence of the flues being in
to assemble in the grand banquetting-room. As his grace in the interior of the walls.
was in his usual travelling attire, and as there would not Mr. 'William Metcalfe, house-surgeon at the Southern
have been time to have dressed for dinner after his arrival Hospital, stated, that the deceased had been brought
at the castle, the duke lost no time in returning to Apsley- ,there on Friday evening, with a compound fracture of the
house, where he made his toilette, proceeded back to Pad- skull on the right side, of which injury he died in about
dington, left for Slough at half-past 7, arrived there at as hour after his admittance.
12 minutes past 8, and entered the royal residence at half- The inquest was then adjourned.
past 8, just in time to mingle with her Majesty's illustrious

been, and from subsequent inquiries, there is very little
doubt that they were the bodies of two Irishmen, named
Burnett and Payne, convicted of the murder of Richard
Ruddle, coachman to Sir Robert Cann, on the 2Gth of
October, 1713, nearly MO years ago, and hung and gib-
beted on Clifton-down, near the scene of the crime.
The victim on that occasion was, it seems, mistaken for a
farmer named Winter, whom the murderers expected to
cross the Down with a large sum of money in his posses-
sion. On the death of Sir Robert Cann, who used great
exertions to bring the perpetrators of the deed to justice,
the bodies were taken from the gibbet, and it is supposed
interred in the spot where they were discovered.

g over the

DIMINISHED INTEREST ON EAST INDIA BONDS.—
The following notice, relative to the rate of interest upon
India Bonds, was posted at the Stock-Exchange late on
Wednesday afternoon. It had no material effect on the
price of those securities ; indeed, it appears to have been
anticipated on Tuesday, when horn 775. pm. they de-
clined to 745. pm. They were done on Wednesday as
high as 795. pm. and as low as 745. pm., while in one or
two cases bids were made at 735. pm.:—
" The Court of Directors of the East India Company
do hereby give notice—

" That the present rate of interest (X 3. 10s.). three
pounds ten shillings per cent. per annum, on the Compa-
ny's bonds will cease and determine on the 31st day of
October, 1844.

" That from and after the 31st day of October, 1844,
such bonds shall carry an interest only of (X 3) three
pounds per cent, per annum.
" That holders of bonds will be allowed to bring them
in to be marked for continuation at the said interest of
(£3) three pounds per cent. per annum until the 18th day
of September, 1844, and that such bonds as shall not be
marked for continuation as aforesaid on or before the 18th
day of September, 1844, shall be liable to be paid off on
the said 31st day of October, 1844, on which day all in-
terest will cease. "JAMES MELVILL."

. . _ . .
guests (as he reached the lop of the grand staircase,) who ADJOURNED INQUEST YESTERDAY.
were then proceeding to the magnificent banquet in the Mr. Samuel Holme being again called, said he had made
Waterloo Chamber. a survey of the building in company with Mr. Welsh the

-. . . .
1 A DESPERATE LIAP.—A few days since as a Twy- architect and Mr. Benjamin Platt. They measured the
ford constable was conveying a prisoner (who had been building, and found it 38 feet 3 inches long, and 24 feet
sentenced to three months' imprisonment) from that place 6 inches broad, inside measurement; a large cistern had
to Abingdon gaol, by the Great Western Railway, the been placed on the roof of the building, supported par-
prisoner, shortly after the train started, and while it was tially by the wall, and partly by 5 iron girder beams, the
proceeding at the rate of upwards of 30 miles an hour, depth of which was in the shape of the Roman letter T
suddenly leaped from the carriage, tumbling over head inverted. The depth of the beams was 1] inches, the
and heels into the road. The constable, upon the impulse breadth of the bottom part 74 inches, and the sectional
of the moment and without reflecting upon the danger he thickness an inch. The bearing of the beams being 24
would ince, immediately jumped out after him. Those feet 6 inches in the clear. He found also that the beams
in the train who witnessed the foolhardy conduct of the had been laid on bond timber, which in one place appeared
two men imagined that both must have been inevitably to have shrunk a little where the beams rested upon it.
killed. Extraordinary as it may appear, neither was in The bottom of the cistern did not cover the whole breadth
the least injured, and the prisoner was again captured by of the walls as appeared by the line of mortar on the bot-
the courageous constable, who walked along the line to torn, but appeared to have varied from 6to 7 inches on
the next station with his prisoner, and proceeded thence the two ends. This would cause an inequality of bearing
to his place of destination, where they arrived at a some- on the wall, and the pressure would be on the internal
what early hour in the morning. Upon reaching Abing- breadth, instead of being on the centre of the wall. Wit-
don, the constable was advised by one of the town police ness thought from the scantling of the beams, that it was
whom he met to give his prisoner something to eat at a highly probable that when the cistern was filled with wa-
public house hard bv. This suggestion was adopted by ter a sinking had taken place. If a slight expansion had
the constable, who knowing, from his late experience, the taken place in the walls from the heat of the furnaces,
slippery propensities of his charge, determined to keep a the natural tendency would be an inequality of bearing on
very sharp look out upon his movements. They had just some one or more of the beams, which would cause a
despatched a hearty meal, when the constable left the rush of water to the lowest point of the cistern, and an
room fora few seconds, the prisoner assuring him that accident would be the result. The beams would break,
upon his return "be would find him as right as the which had been the case of all of them. He was of opinion
knocker at Newgate." However, during the absence of that the beams were not calculated to support that weight
the " the trustful Dogberry," the knave quietly jumped of water in such a position, and had no doubt if there had
out of the window, unknown to any one about the house, been a row of iron pillars beneath them, the accident
and got for the time clean off. The surprised and alarmed would not have occurred. He was at that moment using
constable started off one way, over hedge, ditch, fence, nearly double the quantity of metal in warehouse floors of
and stile, and the landlord and hostler another; but no 14 feet bearing, and he thought a combination of the
tidings were obtained of the fugitive. The police of causes he had named had been the probable reason of the
Abingdon, however, who were rather more wide awake accident occurring. He could not describe the original
than the unlucky wight from Twyford, got scent of the construction of th upper part of the building, and he had
worthy in the course of the afternoon, and captured him not been in it since it was about 12 feet high, until that
shortly after dark the same evening. He was then safely (yesterday) morning. Mr. Platt was not a professional
housed in Abingdon gaol, whence it is not likely architect. Witness and partner found the mortar, which
he will give the slip until the expiration of his sen- was mill mortar, and of the strongest description.lt was
tence. usual to use old bricks in buildings when they were on

oo He w- not aware w FEARFUL STORM AT SEA.—Throughout Tuesday and the
premises
improper bricksand hadwerebeen d.
rejected as
—nor aware that hether
they
Wednesday a most awful storm raged along the eastern were put in. Witness objected to so many pieces of old
coast, causing a tremendous sea. The loss of life and bricks, and requested Mr. Platt to get new bricks and
property was truly distressing. Among the many casu- use them with the old. He afterwards saw new bricks
alties that occurred was, we regret to say, the total loss on the premises. He advised Mr. Platt to turn all the
of thecommander, which took la British built shi
pp Bce about six o'clock on Wed-
ooter, C. G. Cowley
flues into one general stack, but he declined doing so, and
nesday morning, on the rocks off the southeast portion
gave his own directions respecting them. The expansion
of the wall would be above the furnace, and not below
of the town of Margate. The unfortunate ship, which
was a very fine vessel, 550 tons burden, and which stood it, but it was impossible to say now whether that had been
in the class A 1 at Lloyd's, was the property of Captain the case or not. It is not usual for a person not an ar-
chitect to erect buildings without employing an architect.
emigrant agents of Leadenhall-street, for the conveyance the The men sent by him to Mr. Platt's were as good work-
ofmen as any they had. It was not what is called a cheap
emigrants on the part of government to Port Philip. job. They were not restricted in cost, as it was done by
Owing to her size and construction she was well adapted day work. On his survey this morning he found a centre
I for that line of traffic, every accommodation being made
wall, which would make the building stronger. An iron
that could give comfort to the passengers during their
tedious voyage. On Monday last she sailed from the tank was heavy, and such an accident might have oc-
curred in the best of buildings where a water tank is used.
London docks, having on board 94 emigrants besides the
crew ; they consisted of 21 women, 44 children, and the Mr. William Rishton said he was one of the surveyors
by the Corporation under the building act. Mr.
rest men, chiefly belonging to the labouring class. The James Woods was the other, and they divided the town,
voyage to sea was as favourable as could be desired, and witness taking the south district. Witness received a
it was the intention of the captain to proceed to Cork for notice to survey from Mr. Holme, and frequently visited
the purpose of receiving the remainder of the emigrants,
but bad weather threatening, she hove to on Tuesday them. On the first occasion they were about two feethigh. The walls were built conformably to the act of
night in Margate Roads and anchored, orders being given
parliament, and were half a brick thicker. He was not
to make her as snug as possible. . The ship wore the gale aware what was to be put on the top. The walls were of
the usual kind, and he thought them of sufficient strength
it out,
eannda
fheoaprefisdwhelarestednrtoervteahmeerdfrtohrnat
her
re
awnoeuhlodrargidee,
to bear the weight of the tank, provided the girders had
and she was instantly hurled stem on the chalk rocks, been sufficient;
about half a mile distant from Margate town, between Mr. Holme explained that cases arose in which
b
Clifton Baths and Kingston, the sea at the same time
beams, from a knot or an air hole, might bear a great
a
weight for a long time, and yet might afterwards from the
andlnat the e be
shockrea dbi el
IT a
waskin confusion
oonyfeurs
i heron odn e eks.
board, As conceived,
as to carry away her rudder she instantly filled. The swaying or bending of the beams, break with a com-
yi n
gs o
great
decks were now crowded by the unfortunate emigrants, paratively small weight.
Mr. Rishton—re-examined—said that he had no doubt
and a scene of the most heartrending character presented but there were warehouses 60 feet in height that bore with
itself, every one of them expecting every moment to e the same thickness of walls only, that carried a greater
swept into the sea, and either be dashed to pieces or
c 7 the building was erected, and since the works have been
weight on each floor, than the tank in question.
drowned. Captain Cowley entreated of them to be !ran-
Tho rn a Bolton being recalled, said that during the time
quil, and fortunately they obeyed, and after h
of time several Margate loggers came off, and
d landin in operation, Mr. Platt was in the habit of having been
them safely. The poor emigrants were in a most ue-
succeleanVes
. g daily in the building and about it. He was there about
in taking every soul off the ill-fated ship, an
four hours a day.
been procured, they were, without loss of time, conveyedseveral The Coroner summed up, and quoted many authorities
plorable state, being completely drenched. Carts havinc,
as to the law of the case—expressing his own opinion, as
on to Margate, where they were billetted at the
derived from the evidence, that there was no incaution on
public-houses. the part of Mr. Platt to render him amenable to a verdict