The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-09-13 00:00:00

EXTENSIVE FIRE LAST NIGHT.

Yesterday afternoon, shortly before five o'clock, the ex-
tensive warehouses belonging to Sir John Tobin, we believe,
situated between Tyrer-street and Barton-street, near the
Borough Gaol, were observed to be on fire. The flames
soon made their appearance, and the interior of the building
soon presented a mass of flames. At eight o'clock, the
scene presented to view was most terrific and grand. The
surrounding streets were illuminated as brightly as by day,
by the flames. The piece of waste land on which the stones
and road-ituff are stored for the use of the highways, was
covered with crowds of people, who availed themselves of
every elevated spot to witness the burning building. Every
minute immense volumes of flame were thrown up, as the
materials ignited; and from the strong smell of turpentine
there must have been a large quantity of it on fire. Dense
volumes of smoke poured forth, thickly studded with bright
sparks, which, from the calmness of the night, floated slowly
away to the southward. As each floor fell with a crash, the
fire appeared to break out with renewed vigour, and the
light then rose more intensely. The adjoining houses were
emptied of their furnitdre, and at the time of our present
writing (nine o'clock) did not appear to be in a state of igni-
tion. Men were placed on the tops of the warehouses in
Barton-street, who threw down quantities of water on the
catheads, which, from their projecting, were likely to become
ignited. We perceived the fire-police to be actively em-
ployed, and exerting themselves assiduously to quell the de-
vouring and fierce flame. We have heard that these ware-
houses (bonded) contained large quantities of cotton, salt-
petre, rum, turpentine, &c., which no doubt greatly con-
tributed to give the flame its peculiarly lurid appearance.
Several accidents have occurred, which in our later accounts
we shall be able probably more fully to describe.

(FROM ANOTHER REPORTER.)
Yesterday evening a destructive fire took place in an ex-
tensive bonded warehouse, called "Tobias," and belonging,
we believe, to Sir John Tobin, situate between Galton-street
and Barton-street, and fronting Greenock-street. The ware-
(
house was rented- by Messrs. Graham and Taylor, and con-
tains a large quantity of cotton in the upper rooms, and in
the lower stories and cellar, a quantity of guano manure,
the property of Messrs. W. J. Myers and Co., some
rum, and, as reported to us, a quantity of saltpetre.
The fire was first observed at about half-past five
o'clock in the afternoon, in the top story of the building,
and upon the alarm being given a strong body of police and
the fire-engines and firemen were promptly upon the spot,
and, under the able superintendence of Mr. Whitty, our
active high-constable, and Mr. Rose, the superintendent of
the fire-brigade, directed their unwearied efforts to check its
progress. These efforts, however, were materially retarded
by the want of water in the plugs, the main pipe, at the time,
not being on ; and the fire made rapid progress downwards,
until the whole of the upper part of the building, with the
inflammable contents, became a mass of flame. At a
little after seven o'clock the roof fell in ; and at this period,
and for nearly two hours afterwards, the spectacle presented
was most splendid—if such an expression can be applied to
a sight involving so much of devastation and ruin. The
flames burst upwards several yards in height from the mass
of burning cotton and other materials within the building,
illumining the whole of the neighbouring docks, shipping,
and streets ; and the blaze must have been plainly dis-
tinguished for miles along the Cheshire shore opposite,
as well as from the high part of the town, and the country
round about. Fortunately the wind, which had blown rather
fresh from the north-east during the early part of the day,
had abated before the fire occurred. This, and the confined
and sheltered position of the premises, materially contributed,
with the well-directed exertions of the police, to keep down
the devouring element ; and, at ten o'clock, although the
fire still burnt fiercely, and might at any moment have been
fanned to a strength which it would have defied human
power to resist sufficiently to preserve the adjacent buildings
and the valuable property which they contained, it was the
opinion of Mr. Whitty that the force at the disposal
of himself and Mr. Hewitt would be able to prevent the
spread of the fire to the lower stories of the building, and
the consequent destruction which must have resulted had its
contents (spirits and saltpetre) been ignited.
We have no means at the present late hour (ten o'clock)
of arriving at the value of the property already destroyed, or
the total value and exact contents of the building. We have
no knowledge either of any particulars as to the probable
origin of the fire.. We believe that up to the hour at which
we write nothing whatever on this point is known.

LATEST PARTICULARS, TWELVE O'CLOCK.
We regret to announce that several casualties have taken
place. One young man of the age of nineteen, in assisting
to remove some of the bales of cotton, received a violent
blow on the head, which fractured his skull, and he was im-
mediately taken to the Northern Hospital, where he received
every attention, but we are sorry to say he now lies in ai very
dangerous state. lie has only'been married two months.
and worked at Bury's foundry. Four other men are also in
the hospital ; but though their contusions are severe, we
trust the able medical skill at hand will be the means of their
speedy restoration.
The flames appear at this hour to be so far subdued that
there is little apprehension of the fire proceeding further ;
although the generid combustion within the four walls is
still very great. The height of the warehouse from the
street (exclusive of the cellars) is six stories. The four
upper stories were, we may say, burned out, with the excep-
tion of a large quantity of cotton, &c. saved by the police
out of the lower one of the four. On that floor
(the third from the ground) there was 4ITI immense ac-
cumulation of goods, beams, and building materials of the
roof and higher floor, and the heat in the interior appeared
to be intense. Nevertheless, several of the firemen had got
up with hose inside some of the windows on the south front,
and into one of the doors on the west side. Hose was also
directed into other windows, and no fewer than thirteen en-
gines were at play alternately. The contents of the lower
stories are as yet not injured by the fire, but are no doubt
considerably damaged by the water.
Atout half-past ten o'clock, smoke was discovered issuing
from the cellar of a marine store-keeper in Paisley-street,
the next street to that in which was the burning warehouse.
In a short time, however, it was put out by the fire police.
No clue exists to its origin. We cannot conceive how the
adjacent fire could communicate to this cellar.
Our respected Mayor repaired to the scene of conflagration
the moment the information reached him, and was present
at the time our paper went to press.

WIGAN.

EXAMINATION OF THE CHARTIST THOMAS GERARD.

(From our own Correspondent.)
WIGAN, MONDAY NIGHT, 5 O'CLOCK.—A special meet-
ing of the magistrates was held, in the Town-hall, yesterday
morning, at nine o'clock, for the purpose of continuing the
examination of Thomas Gerard, who was remanded last
Monday, on a charge of being concerned in the disturbances
of the 15th of August last. .

Mr. Scott again appeared on behalf of the defendant.
William Bryham was the first witness called. He stated
that he was manager at Mr. Case's coal works, at Rose-
bridge, in Ince. On the morning of the 15th August, at
about 8 o'clock, or a little after, I was at the works and saw
a mob coming towards them. They were armed with sticks.
I asked them what they wanted, and they demanded that the
works should stop, and said they would have the men out of
the pits. I gave the signal for the men to come up, and the
mob waited whilst they did come up. They then went away
towards Hindley. A few of the mob, again came to the pits,
when the great body were passing, at noon, on their road
from Ilindley to Wigan. I cannot say that I saw the pri-
soner among the crowd, or in the course of that day.
Other witnesses deposed that the number of the mob was
from 8.000 to 10,000 men—that they brandished their sticks,
and had a very alarming appearance—that Gerard was there
reading a paper to the multitude—that they turned the men
from the mills, and knocked out the plugs from all the
boilers. After the evidence had been gone into
.for some
time, the magistrates adjourned, and when they again assem-
bled at four o'clock, three other men were placed in front of
riot. the bench along with Gerard as implicated in the Their
names are William Catterall, stone-getter, and John Wil-
kinson, sawyer, and William Mills, carder ; but the evidence,
so far as it had been gone into when this report left, merely
implicated them as having been present at the riots, and that
Wilkinson had used some exciting language. The examina-
tion is now proceeding, (five o'clock.)

PRESTON GUILD FANCY BALL.

The following ladies and gentlemen of Liverpool and the
neighbourhood were among the company at this grand fancy
ball :
Addison, Miss, Neapolitan peasant.
Addison, Mr. R., French court dress.
Atkinson, Mr. Jonathan, a chevalier of the reign of Charles
the Second.
Atkinson, Mrs. Jonathan, Gertrude.
Atkinson, Miss, Wallachian lady.
Atkinson, Mr. Joseph, West Indian nlanter.
Benson, Mr. Robert, French courtier, reign of Louis 12th.
ein astahnet uniform
B
Benson, Miss, as Miss Byron, in Sir Charles Grandison.
'rin of the 57th. '
A, Miss,is s
m lady
e rg
ao
r f
elt Zit
,h
consort of
o
Crossley, Mr. J., Spanish nobleman.
Cannell, Mr. H. W.. Sir Charles Grandison.
13 uatsehsob Yn', MMrr.: R. . TyroleseN Wilding, in
.f Charles I.
Cannell, Miss Mary Ann, flower
Ccaannnneellil:
girl.
Clare, Mr. J. Legh, Gilbert de Clai
Case, Mr. George, a Clement
tribe. i . r.
nian, one of the Albanian
tribe.
Dodd, Mr. Edward, Greek fisherman.
Eastwood, Mr., Sir Walter
Eastwood, Mrs., fancy dress. Raleigh.
Farrar, Mr. William i
port of Juddah. , adjee Abdallah, Captain of the sea'
Forshaw, Mr. H., court
Grimshaw, Mr. crdress.
i cassian cnief. , , Henderson, Mr., *gouth American chief.
Hughes, Mr. T. 8., Greek.
Lamb, Mr. J., port admiral of the blue.
Laird, Mr. W.. Waverley.
M`Cheane, Miss, Julia Mannering.
M`Cheane, Mr. William, jun.,
a student of Madrid.
Millington, Mr., Turk, and, we ought to say, a Grand
as a
Turk.
Panatt, Mr. J., military officer.
Panatt, Mrs., fancy dress.
Taylor, Miss, Scotch lassie.
Swainson, Miss, an Austrian
nek lady.lad
Swainson, Miss 'Eliza, a
Austrian lady
Swainson,Miss Diana, an ..
E l' 1 .
George, an old ng is 1 gentleman—looked
Swainson, Mr.
the character well.
Walcott, Greek.
Shand, Mr. W.
Master ls: -
R Grand of nights of St. John.
Syers, Mr.
M. " Lady
Miss A. L., Ann.
Syers,
Thompson, Mr. G. 13., Swiss dress.
Thompson, Mr.
Walter, courtier.
Tyrrell, Mrs. .
ll G, court dress, George IV.
Woodburn, Mr. T., as Rob Roy, and he made 't I
perso
nation of the outlaw. a capi a

LEEDS Lomsas."—Ha Jack lad ; said a Leeds Joiner,
the other day, if thear wor nobbat thee an me it wurld, we
cud bye horses rare an cheap at Lee-gap fair.
c On 'Wednesday ev!iung, as one of Mr. Waddell's coaches
was changing horses in Ock-street, Abingdon, the lightning
dashed very vividly at the time, which caused the leader, which had been atta.ched, to take fright and start off. The
horsekeeperstumbling over a post was unable to stop the
animal, who dragged the coach along High-street and Stert-
street, when, coming in contract with a house, his further
progress was arrested, fortunately without doing any damage.
There were no passengers on the coach at the time.—Oxford
Herald.

Or when the world 'a sleeping,
And night-stars are peeping,
And nature reposes beneath the moon's light ;
Then echo repeating
The joy of our meeting,
Shall carry the sound through the silence of night ;
And garlands bring thee, &c.

LITERARY NOTICES.

The Policeman. No. 10

The object of this work is evidently to shew up the private
doings of the police force. It is evidently written to attract
the attention of the humble class of readers, whose tastes
and turn of thought it appears qualified to suit. Would the
author only take a loftier ground, the spirited description of
a race between two locomotive engines, in the present num-
ber, proves that he is equal to sustain it. It is really a
unique piece of extravagance, and shews great powers of de-
scription and—imagination, as well; for who ever witnessed
a spectacle of so horrific a character? When such a race is
run, we can only say, with the author of John Gilpin's race,

" May we be there to see ! "

Punch

Punch has several very capital jeux d' esprit this month,
both graphic and literary. This publication has completely
taken the lead for wit, jest, and merriment ; and the only
surprising thing is, that it maintains so cleverly its ground.
Its new jokes are many of them capital, while its old Joes
are so decked out and dressed up in so novel a suit, that they
have all the smartness of novelty.

H. Ainsworth

linsworth's Magazine. Edited by W.
Cunningham, London; Webb, Liverpool

The ability with which "The Miser's Daughter" is con-
tinued, shows the editor's facility of composition and in-
dustry. The illustrations of the story by George Cruikshank,
throw those of Tony Johannot, in the tale of " Windsor

Castle," this month, completely in the shade. The editor
doles out this latter story too sparingly; such short portions
are hardly worth perusal. Miss Pardoe gives us an inte-
resting account of a visit to the institution of Les Enfans
Trouves, in Paris. Mr. Downe's story of " The Wrecker's
Revenge" is a sad recital. The article entitled " Enough is
as
,Good as a Feast," is pleasantly written ; as is also the
next paper, " The Solitary Joker," which gives us an ac-
count of a man who was wont to play practical jokes by him-
f, without waiting to see, or caring to learn, the upshot of
The Hon. Julia Maynard contributes an

his plaiBanterie

elegant sonnet on " Consumption." Attention is next at-
tracted-by an article entitled, " Mozart, his Era, Friends,
and Contemporaries ;" this will be read with mach interest,
especially by the musical amateur. The paper by Leman
Blanchard, describing " The man who will read to you," is

very happy; we can sympathise in this case—such a man is
the very quintessence of bores. A description of a " Descent
into Eldon Hole, in the Peak of Derbyshire," is given with
much ability by Mr. W. Francis Ainsworth. " The Walls
of Famagusta" is a narrative having date during the seige of
Cyprus. This number is a very good one. We extract the

following, on

'CONSTANCY.
BY THE HONOURABLE 'MRS. NORTON

When in Love's bewild'ring hour,
First I saw thy gentle face
Smiling in thy garden bower
With such timid, blushing grace;
While the sunset rays declining
Lent thy cheek a softer glow,
With a glorious halo shining
Round thy pure angelic brow—
Then, oh then, I sigh'd to be
Master of thy heart and thee !

Since that time, each hour which stealeth
From our happy lives away,
Some new gentle charm revealeth,
And I bless thee day by day !
Yea, thy voice MORE sweetly soundeth
To my fond accustom'd ear,
And my heart more gladly boundeth
When thy footstep draweth near,
Than when first I sigh'd to be
Master of thy fate and thee !