The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-04-09 00:00:00

ALARMING AND DESTRUCTIVE EXPLOSION OF GAS
IN A DWELLIN G-HOUSE.—Yestel day evening, about a
quarter past seven o'clock an explosion of gas took place
in a large unoccupied dweihng-house in Islington, corner
of Salisbury-street, which shattered the buiding to its
foundation, blew out most of the windows, and did other
damage, to the great alarm of the neighbouring residents
and those who chanced to be in the vicinity. Mr. Mulli-
neux, who lives in the next house higher up, had gone out
with his lady about three o'clock in the afternoon, and
did not then perceive any smell of gas. On their return,
about six, the smell was so strong, that conceiving it pro-
ceeded from some leakage in his own gas-pipes, he soon
afterwards went down to the Gas Office in Queen-square,
and gave information of the fact, requesting that a man
might be sent up to set matters right. In the meantime
he had turned off the gas in the lobby, apprehensive of
some accident. The parties in the gas office, not appre-
hending anything serious, said it would be in time enough
in the morning to employ a man, and that bet might
use his gas as usual—which, however, he declined.
He returned home immediately, and was on the point of
retiring to bed, when he and his family heard a sort of
noise, but (what is remarkable) not such as to alarm
them, although it was heard three doors above. There
was no perceptible concussion of his house; and the first
thing he saw was the escape of flame and smoke from all
the lower windows of the house in question. Meantime,
some parties passing along in the neighbourhood—the
street itself becoming comparatively retired at night,
—heard the explosion, and on running up saw it
followed by black volumes of smoke. It' was all
over in a few moments, and the devastation became
apparent from the outside. The house—belonging to Mr.
Holden—is a large and handsome three story building;
having a frontage to Islington; another to Salisbury-
street; and renting at upwards of £6O a year. The front
wall to Islington was completely bulged out ; the string
course of stone over the first story thrust out and dis-
jointed in the middle, as well as the balcony over it in
front of the drawing-room windows. The glass, and part
of the frames of the kitchen and parlour windows were
blown out, and much of the glass in the higher story ; and
the pieces, in minute fragments, thickly strewed the wide
street half way acroes. The iron railing in front was also
bent outwards. The force of the explosion was, if possi-
ble, more apparent on the north, or Salisbury-street front,
in which was the door with a flight of apparently five
steps. The windows were much smashed, but what is
most remarkable, three of the large lower steps of the en-
trance, within railings, were completely blown out of
their places, and upset, tearing with them and breaking
a great p irt of the rails on each side—thus shewing
the peculiar strength of the explosion in that part.
The wreck of the windows behind (facing a large back
yard) was equally great. A strong police force was soon
at the spot, and the building was examined interiorly.
They had all left before our reporter could reach the
ground ; but we are informed that parts of the floors,
particularly that of the front parlour, have been blown
up. The house had doubtless become filled with gas ;
but by what means, 'or how it had become ignited, we
have been, as yet, unable to learn. The house had been
tenanted by a Mr. Withrell, who left it only a fortnight
I ago, but whether the gas-tap had been left open by the
servants, or (as was considered probable) thieves had
'been within and carried off some of the pipes, leav-
ing free ingress to the gas (which had by .some means
caught fire) we are at a loss to say, the police having
locked up and left the premises. It may be stated, how-
ever, that a short time ago, the house of a Mr. Saunders,
nearly opposite in Islington, had all the pipes stolen from

FRENCH SHAWL Loom.—We were yesterday highly
gratifyed by a cursory view at Mr. Pringle's shawl empori-
um, Bold-street, of a working model of the French Shawl
weaving loom, recently introduced into the Paisley manu-
factures. The process of weaving is at any time an inter-
esdng sight, more particularly shawl weaving, and as this
model is in every particular complete, and of the most
exquisite workmanship, it will in a large commercial town
like this be an interesting sight to many who have not had
the opportunitynf visiting a manufacturing district.

SUSPICIOUS CASE AGAINST A FEMALE. —At the
Police-court yeAerday a female (with a child) calling her«
self Ellen Young was placed at the bar under the follow=
ing circumstances. Mr. Coglan, keeper of the Night
Asylum, said that on SAa.oday the prisoner came to that
charity and gave her name as Ellen Young, he, however,
recognized her as having been there on the 16th of March,
as Ellen Greenwood. On that occasion a pass was given
to her by the parish officers, to Glasgow, she having stated
that she was a native of that town. She now represented
herself as a native of Halifax, in Yorkshire. It also ap-
peared that she had had a conversation with a woman
respecting a child which she wanted to borrow, stating,
that she could 'manage better (in begging we suppose)
with two children than with one. The overseer proved
the granting of a pass to her in March, but there was no
evidence of her having used it, and landed in Glasgow.
Mr. Rushton expressed his suspicion that the child she
had was either borrowed or stolen ; but the evidence was
insufficient against her, and she was discharged.
BARRACK ALLOWANCES.—It has been decided by the
authorities, upon a return called for of all married officers
in Great Britain and Ireland living out of the barracks,
that each married officer, so living out of barracks in
Great Britain, shall receive 2s. 6d. per week for coals and
candles, and in Ireland 2s. 9d.