The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-05-23 00:00:00

DREADFUL AND DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.

•
• (From our Second Edition of Friday last.)
This morning, at a quarter before three o'clock, an alarm
of Fire in Jackson's-lane, between Union-street and Queen.
street, (a short distance to the N. E. of the Exchange),
reached the fire station ; and in a few minutes a numbered
fire engines and water carts reached the ground. The fire
originated in a warehouse on,the east side of Jackson's-lane
known as "Jackson's," and near the south end of the lane%
there being but one house, occupying the corner between it
and Union-street, that next to the Government Emigration
Office. The warehouse contained cotton in the cellar, and
here, it is believed the fire originated (from what cause is
not yet known). It blazed up with great fury,and rapidity,
and Jackson's-lane, which is very narrow, soon became
filled with a dense black smoke, which completely darkened
the air, and opposed the efforts of the firemen. Mr. Rush-
ton, the police magistrate, Mr. Leverett, and many other
superintendents, were immediately on the ground, with a
considerable force of fire and ordinary police; but, as usual,
half an hour elapsed before water could be got in any effec-
tive quantity from the mains, and in the mean time the fire
progressed. In a short time the second story of the ware-
house had caught:fire, and from its containing a large quantity
of saltpetre, the worst apprehensions were entertained, and
great caution was necessary. Luckily, however, a series
of slight shocks, resembling a cannonading, preceded a grand
explosion, which last may be said to have blown up
the greater part of the warehouse, the ruins of which fell
partly into the street and partly, the north wall, upon an
adjoining shed, also containing saltpetre, which it effectually
arid luckily crushed in, so that the material is now
scarcely combustible. 3, high part of the N. W. corner of
the warehouse alone remained standing. The explieion
shook all the neighbouring buildings, and even found its way
down the soughs and water pipes in the street, causing a
noise like a continued bombardment. The opposite ware-
house—" Wrights"—on the west side of the lane, soon
caught fire—first at the top—and being six stories in height
the engines could not effectually reach it, and by half-past
four o'clock the three upper stories blazed out from the doors
and windows in the two fronts to Union-street and the Lane.
It is lamentable to state, that though numbers of idle
strong men were about, none of them could be prevailed
upon, though offered good pay, to work the enaines ! and the
police officers had to be sent for from various distant parts of
the town. This is a frightful account of the moral state of
the poorer classes, but it is nevertheless deplorably true.
Water was conveyed as rapidly as possible from ,'the Fire-
station and elsewhere by the water carts, in the default of
that from the water company's pipes.
Shortly before, and about four o'clock, the blaze, together
with the successive explosions was terrific, and we may add,
sublime. About five o'clock all hope of saving Wright's
warehouse being at an end, after every possible exertion and
great danger to those employed near it from the falling of
materials, the cat-head coverings in Union-street, &c. ; an
thefuu
found
attempt was made to cut off the progress of the fire in the
range of valuable warehouses adjoining on the north, and
stories heoifgatictLimntpoliQshumeeenn-tsitnretehte;
bru g
but
s H alls
way
(six
to beimpossible
nest warehouse, and the firemen directed their efforts towards
this object on the warehouses further north, in
which it
is to be hoped they will succeed.

many
of pion-street,
crushing the back
0 f Great
ilattirsteoa
,f tohne warehouse first burnt, fell Iron
_ by e wind° •
ewaslol south side of it, in
alarm,
'lll:clintbEiiitirtinngts made the:
, and
the
fir. xert:tie°raenPsi :,
crushing in the yard
n out •
with smoke and flgarmeaei
could, in
carried out, or throw
books,apsiectehne the}' cle.o.
'cionnsiderable qunagonottitr;ht,by
) of books, andwindows,
tg t s warehouse i
w 6 o'clotchke and
explosion,
saltpetre n the
exertionshise a n and iwnedr
were
great.
were
It also
i a
partly isolated g
of another
hereafter report further progress. Wr• h,, we shall
now nearly all in a blaze. It stands
cellars,end t. Union-street,
pnpi
roenh-esot rsei
oent ,a andare
entertainedas t here is also
o'clock '
whose
andE taGfHaTlliu,
co ft,
ot liceK
._
s walls.o
on after six
Mayor, Mr. Councillor Sheppard, an we found the
men in authority, who had joined Mr. tu h
d several other
gentle
warehouse, before noticed, was b 5 ton. ~ w_• ~
urned down half. right s P
or three stories, and the smoke and flame bad lts height
in volumes from some of the lower doorsbegun to issue
street, and the windows in Jackson,s-lan in union.
understood that there was a quantity ofe. iAtos,.. it was
spirits in the cellars, (which are, however'a--'-tre and
vaulted,) while great exertions were made to, fortunately
progress of the fire from above, equal, or r arrest the
were exerted to prevent an explosion from
greater
efforts
from the narrowness of the two streets on its angle, which,gle, on
the east and south, and the great height of the an
building,
must have been attended with serious consequences
engaged at the engines, as well as to the neighbouring huses,
to all
Up to half-past 7 o clock, the walls still stood pearl o,
and
being well built, gave no indication of a fall ebrect
very slight projection of the lofty pediment, sur e"nd a
the end fronting to Union-street, which may
havmenunting
arisen
in the original building. The police were exceeding'
in throwing water into the highest windows and
door? active
s. which
taken
also to the top of the corner premises—a lodging house—iii
and
the corner opposite that street and the lane. Water
also copiously poured into the cellars of the warehousewas
by such apertures as could be found in the first floor
and also by the cellar doors—the waste water being danam
up by damaged cotton in the street, so that it found its way
into them. The water thrown in from the elevated bran:
pipes (from the windows and roofs) must have been most The
warehouse and its contents were before doomed ; and the
great danger became of the probability of the heavy masses of
cotton, &c., some of it half consumed, falling with the floors
and from its weight and swelling, with the water thrown upon'
it, bursting out the lower part of the walls, and thus pro-
jecting the whole pile into the streets. No danger was at
this time apprehended from flooded. in the cellars, which
appeared to be effectually lt became evident, at
length, that the efforts of the firemenises or and tithe prope rters were ny
e,
longer available, either to save the pr
em
(nearly the whole) that was stored within; and Mr. Hewitt,
of the fire-police, foreseeing. this probability beforehan,
had sometime before got, with several of his men, and
at great peril, upon the top of the next extensive
warehouse, of equal height, on the north the wind
being unluckily from thesouthward and eastwward, ward, blowhich cing
on-
the
fire in the direction of the whole range north
tained a vast quantity of valuable raw material. Notwitha
standing the great exertions of the parties on the roof to out
off the fire, it caught the next warehonse, the flames fir„,_
bursting out at the top window. The cat-head was but ''
short distance from it to the north, and caught tire soon
after. A very short time before, we saw Mr. Hewitt 0_
n the
very outer peak of the cat-head roof,
looking "how thefire
blew", and directing men. his•
The street (Jackson's-lane) to the south of it, was
piled wick the ruins of the warehouse opposite, in which the
fire broke out, to the height of 15 to 20 feet. We have
stated that in the latter warehouse a succession of explosions
from saltpetre took place. The great explosion (which w„,
soon succeeded by another almost as terrific) had a most
alarming and destructive effect on the houses adjoining,
and particularly on Mr. Chalk's at the corner, and the
more contiguous. The out-houses behind it were
thrown down by the united blast and the
haglikein,
of the materials; the back apartments ruined
explosion, as if by gunpowder : time glass blown ill, and
the window frames smashed and burned. Even the cellar
window, under the front parlour, was similarly dealt with'
and the shutter fixed upon it outside blown into the street
like a tompion from a gun. The celings and plaster-work
were also torn otl, and the house partly on fire, though stilt
standing, is s complete wreck. the fire is here and then
it
is so drenched with water that the
smouldering in it, but
cellars were nearly a foot deeP.
Mr. Rushton and other gentlemen, perceiving that the
fire was extend
westo the north part,i of the range of ware-
houses on the st side of Jackson a- ane, went round about
half_past seven o'clock. into Queen-street, to direct opera-
tions in that quarter. Here we found the whole street filled
with a suffocating timber-smoke. The third warehouse had
effectually caught fire, though holes had been made in the
roofs, and engines were at work in all directions, all
those available in the town being put into requisition.
Next to the shed, adjoining the warehouse on the east side
which had first ignited, and from which the explosions had
d d as anoth andhed, also filled with a large
procee e , w quantity
of saltpetre in bags, such omen as could be got on the
emergency, were employed to carry
.it out into a yard in
Queen-street. A quantity of cotton in small bales was also
carried out of the lower story of the third warehouse, now
and each bale was carried on the back of
on fire at the top,
a single man, who staggered beneath the load.
Mr. M`Guffie, drt.ggist, Oldhall•street, was amongst
the first at the fire, and rendered most active a5,..i,0.n0e.
B nker and Lieut. the Honourable Frederick Fitz-
Capt.
ou , came tit the ground at e
roy, of the 15th Infantry, . ina,..lthst
five o'clock, and with 40 of diet en were most active in
keening off the idlers at the several street ends. The fire
broke out about three o'clock7not yet known how. Al r.
Maxwell, the Insurance offices salvage agent, was, AS Usual,
at his post, and was most energ,e,tlT..
ITbe warehouses in
the range alluded to are all called rig mt s," and are all vet
in danger. Armstrong.
and 355 Dixon,Police-fireman 255
first who got on the top of the warehouse next to that consu-
med. One poliee.offiaer was severely, but not dangerously
wounded by a brick in the warehousel. hi Union-street falling
and cutting lmitu in time forehead• \ e have heard of no other
accident. t) breaking
was most active i
g open the doom s
A policeman the warehouses to admit the throwing; in
and windows of
of time water. The whole of the police indeed, officers and
men, did that which England expects every mati to do
min
the hour of peril. .
At a quarter .-
past eight the front of the large warehouse
came down with a great crash into Union-Street, struck
house opposite, and carrying part of the corner of the house
along with it, it caught tire, but the engines being brought
to bear upon it, it was soon got under.
We understand ount of property destroyed is about
£45,000, which is principallypri insured in the Liverpool, the
Globe, and the London Corporation Fire Insurance-offices.
---......--_

sl:tctaaotttoer i ah
have
At a meeting of the Dublin corporation on Wednesday,
Mr. Costigan was elected treasurer of theh corporation of
Dublin. Several members of the council, w o bad voted for
Mr. Guinness on a previous occasion (the electionbt basing
votethey fori'adM 're.lC' influencedost i,,an
Q,EFN's Pnat
dhteesrostsie;ce—r
acteCt
aE: sFAI
Fleet,
to: OF T
by
her.
the
e ~ declared
pias
"pressure
re
ee gfar 12m, declared
without"rythoflit
E 22 , fortiis tcr
jobr—binussoTto.nehldaie-:
and cap.'lluarshaßlsueLa"l"
under the
Bench
ae
ke classification
p tl)
ei their
re
residence
d willeuncoe now
ittaikl
ieu
rd ea gt
ival a t
sanctionedtiobnes
Q,b
‘ been
sed on the 31st of May last, and in place.l.
manudstthtThe act was pas-
at'lleewwadlaX tahseprescribed
" rulers "
by the 12th section of the act, which states, "that after the
passing of this act, it shall not be lawful for
dthe marshal or
keeper of the Queen's prison to grant an le, or to
grant the liberty of the rules to any person. except for the
purpose of continuing the liberty of the rules of the Queen's
Bench Prison for such time as the marshal shall think fit,
not more than 12 calender months after the passing of this
act, to those persons who shall be in the enjoyment of the
liberty of the rules of the Queen's Bench of Fleet Prison at
the time
of passing this act ; and that all persons iu the cus-
tody of the marshal or keeper, to whole the liberty of the
rules of one of the said prisons shall not have been granted
before the passing of this act, and also those persons towhom
such, liberty shall have been granted before the passing of
this act, after the next determination of such liberty, shall
be confined within the walls of the (illeell'ii Prison, and that
it shall bendeme escape Wally such prisoner be suffered
to go beyo thewalls of the pr.ison except as hereinafter
provided. The period will expire on Wednesday week, the
3lst inst•, when the rules which have existed in one shape or
other vrill cease. The rules were attached to two prisons,
the Flee and Queen's Bench and were enjoyed by persons
wbo could afford to pay for them Some progressive Steps
have been adopted by the Legislature to abolish the privil,
as it has been found to militate against the interest of credi-
t;
tors. Those prisoners who were in the rules of the Fleet ova
removed with the other prisoners in pursuance of this act.
were granted the privilege, and the day is fast approacl • z
for their annihilation. The interior of the Queen's Prison"-
has been altered into live classes, and it is expected that on
the expiration of the twelvemonth front the pas,ing of the on
the separation will be effected. A material tlistinctio sieiti
take place in those prisoners remanded by the I e,„"1 v---
%rya
Debtor's Court, as well as :hose who refuse to tileselue.'•
under vesting orders obtained by their creditor s .f.,.'passing of the act several prisoner • ' •
confineme have app lied to t
- . -nt
-1 o—i, liberation ;

slit! 0b0t,.••
I'd bud bet II All ..—•
bgd the C6ltrt
• A