The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-02-08 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

Sin,—ln consequence of the repeated shocking accidents
which have lately taken place in Liverpool, owing to the ig-
norant and careless persons employed in our warehouses,
and after the shocking death of poor Captain Ellis last Tues-
day, occasioned by such mismanagement, I think it high time
that the inhabitants of this large mercantile town should
rouse themselves, and try to remedy this gross evil. Of
course, accidents will occur with the best of us, but in the
case of poor Ellis he came by his death as all others have
done, through sheer carelessness, and such persons I say
ought to be severely punished, and made an example of. It
is a well-known fact, that scarcely a day passes over our heads
but sonic one has a narrow escape of his life by bags of cotton
rolling out of the warehouses and falling out of the slings.
Of course, this is owing to the employing improper people;
and it 'will always be the case without some person in each
warehouse is made responsible. Now, being an old sailor
myself, I should strongly recommend that an old sailor should
be employed in each warehouse, and go by the name of
slingsman ; and that he alone should be responsible for all
accidents that Inight happeh thtough carelessness. I know
no class of people so well fitted for this situation as seamen,
as they are in the daily habit of taking in and discharging
cargoes, and it is very seldom an accident occurs through
their ignorance of either slinging, or hoisting, or lowering
with can-hooks : for this reason—they know properly how to
sling every individual thing that the ship's cargo consists of.
Do you think, that, if a sailor had been employed in the
warehouse, and on the duty I propose to place him, that
Captain Ellis would have met with such a shocking death ?
I say, decidedly not ; for he would have known better, as
experience would have taught him that the staves of a madder
cask are good for nothing, and scarcely to be trusted to the
can-hooks until you can get the slings underneath them. I
also think that a sailor would be useful in another respect ;
that is, he would know when a rope would be safe for the
purpose required, both for slings and fall, and keep them
properly in order.
I, myself, have repeatedly pointed out stranded rope hoisting
cotton, and have got nothing but abuse for my pains. One
person told me I knew nothing about a rope, that the rope
was a good one, and had been in that same state six weeks !
You will perceive, that, through the ignorance of these people
we are in jeopardy of our lives every day.

I should also recommend, for the safety of the unsuspecting
public, where any hoisting or lowering is going on in any
warehouse, that there should be a hurdle placed on each side
of the warehouse underneath, so as to prevent persons from
passing.
I also think that it would be very advisable to every owner
of warehouses to adopt the London plan, in having a tilt-
board to every floor, to haul up and let down by a chain. I
consider it an excellent plan, as neither casks, cotton, bags,
oa any other article of merchandize can ever through neglect
roll out into the street when the said board is up, and when
a cotton-bag or a cask once enter within the said board it is
eut of all danger.
I should also strongly recommend to every master lumper
a slingsrnan, as the persons generally employed are the lower
order of Irish, who scarcely know the difference between a
rope and a chain cable. It is melancholy to see the accidents
that happen daily through the ignorance of those poor crea-
tures.—Yours, &c., D. T.

POVERTY OF THE MANUFACTURING DISTRICT OF MAN-
CHESTER.—The receipts of Monday and Tuesday's Anti-
Corn-law Bazaar, of Manchester, for the support of their in-
cendiary missionaries, were—first day, £1,684 163. 74d•
second day, £1,501 s.—of which £4BB was received at the
doors, and £2,698 at the stalls, &c., making in the two first
of six days, £3,186 !! ! We are credibly informed that the
next step of political agitation on the part of the Manchester
the
league, seeing that any system of annoyance against
aristocracy will be encouraged by certain classes of dissentersshed
,
is to be an assault regularly organfsed against the establi
church, recommending the non-payment of tithes And church
rates.—Stockport Advertiser.