New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-01-20
THE LATE CALAMITY.
The Investigation.

assembled in the Supreme Court Room IL the
New City Hall, and organized By Tie appoint
ment of ex.Ald. Smith as Foreman. They then
proceeded to examine the witnesses summoned
by the Coroner.
The first witness sworn was James StepheaS
residing at No. a West Twenty first. who testi-
fed that he is a carpenter that ne saw the build
ines lately fallen in Twenty-iirst st. when they
were being erected be had some suspicious that
these buildings would fall, and thought 50 on the
morning that they tell the basement walls were
far from being plumb the walls generally were IN
the same condition | mentioned the fact TO my
family only; was at home at the time the build
ing fell after learning that they had fallen. ran
ont of the house TO the ruins which had falenfrom
the 'front.' back to the back psrlOr chimney the
crash was, in my opinion, owing TO the Imperfect
foundation which was built of inferior quality OF
stone, and also mortar; too much mortar was
used; | consider the work of the foundation I'M.
perfectly put together the bricks | consider
GOOD: the quality of the mortar used IN
the brick work | consider better than
that used in the foundation, bat whether that
NAV be termed the first quality OF mortar l
am not prepared TO say. The cold and warm
weather undoubtedly had an injurious effect on
the mortar; | examined some OF the mortar used
with the bricks in composing these walls my
opinion is that loan and sand were both usedn
manufacturing the mortar; some of the loan used
was procured from the ground on which the build
ings were erected my opinion IS that about an
equal quantity of sand and loan was used IN the
mortar; many houses are built on the plan OF
erecting the side and rear walls previous to put
ting up the front wall, but this method IS not gen.
eralv used if the fronts had been carried up with
A. -o.t of ba buildingq | dOubt whether they
would have fallen.
To .Juror-My attention was called to the
insecure manner in which those building were
being erected since their commencement; some
of them were braced a shortm before the build
inc fell; the foundation consisted Of of the ordi-
nary shell stone the walls were not braced as
strong as buildings generally are the beams or
sleepers were about feet apart, which IS much
further than is usual; the width usual Is about
rs inches: the hemlock used in the beams of the
first tiers Of the building was OF the commoaest
quality some of the walls were four inches out OF
true when the beams were put on, which was oW'
ing the insecure m annerin which they were erec
ted the brick walls were not built in the center OF
the stone wall but some OF them projected four
inches over it. Ground lime was used in the NOR
tar / do not know who is the owner ofthe prop
ertv; | think it would not have been safe had
those buildings stood till completed, Tor families
TO have lived in them.
.Lose,,h Tucker sworn-I reside at 225 West
Twenty. second st. am mason, have examined
the building in question. think the workman
ship on those buildings was very bad indeed.
The material as far as mortar and stone were con-
cerned was bad. The stone used was not such as
is usually used in houses Of that class. The stones
used had they been laid ia good mortar may have
made a wall sufficiently strong 70 have sustain
ed buildings Of the size Of the fallen ones.
the mortar was made OF loom principally there
was want of sand as well as lime In 1t had 1t
4 \ I'll nit tlaaa ANA
quantity of lime used, is would have been good
mortar mortar made with loom and lime will
never become hard, but will crumble the same as
if no lime was used with the loom. The mortar
used in the brick work appeared to be OF the
same character as that used in the foundation the
stone used in the foundation was rather scsnt OF
being the proper size.
The timber used was not sufficiently large for
buildings of this description. Had the buildings
been finished, with the walls in the situation re-
presented by the previous witness, lyiz not
plumb) do not think they would have been safe
dwellings if the walls had fallen IN one direction
il might possibly have been attributed 70 the
change of weather, bat as they inclined in differ
ent directions, it must have been caused by want
of proper care in their construction Too much
mortar, | think, was used in the stone wall
James Harriet sworn.-l reside at No. Eighth
av.; am a mason; I examined the ruins In IWen-
ty.frstst the general cause Of the falling OF the
buildings was the bad method in which the ma
terials were put together formed this opinion
from the appearance of the walls which remained
standing yesterday the nth; the mortar which
was used was poor; there was loan in the NOR
tar, | should suppose; the foundation OF build
ngs Of this description should be 20 inches wide
some portions Of the foundation of these buildings
| measured, and found to be but IA inches in
width; the party walls were not all erected on
the center Of the foundation wall it is, however,
usual to place them Ia the center oil the io1nda-
ton; | examined the mortar used with the brick
in forming the walls. and thought 1t 10 be
much better than that used In the con
structon Of the foundation walls | should
think from the color OF the mortar present
ed, that there was loan In that portion OF 1t
used in the construction OF the brick walls my
impression in regard to the safety Of these build
ings, had they been completed in every respect,
is that they would have been safe for families to
reside in-that is had they stood a sufficient
length Of time to allow Of their completion they
would have been strong enough for dwellings,
Notwithstanding the walls were not plumb, my
opinion in regard to mortar is, that it should be
made exclusively of sand and lime, and that no
loan should be used in it it is usual in building
brick wall TO put in binders every l6 inches or
thereabout; ! noticed a portion of the wall left
standing that had no binders for about or 10 feet
/ consider the buildings were of very cheap
class of construction: l Judge so from the quality
Of the materials used and from the manner Of
their construction.
James W. Smith being sworn says he resides
in Twenty first ST. near Tenth Avenue am
builder have seen the buildings in question: l
visited the ruins yesterday afternoon; the cause
of the buildings falling, in my opinion, was in con
sequence Of being badly built, and imprudence; l
mean by running up the side walls three stories
and attic at this season of the year, without
fronts l examined the foundation walls sndfound
them only eighteen inches; the mortar, on exami-
nation l thought, consisted of loan and lime, in
stead of sand and lime the whole of the mortar
was about the same the timber l considered TO
be poor in quality, and very light for the size Of
the buildings no timber ought to be less than
three or four inches, and not more than sixteen
inches apart; in this case l measured and found
them from the centers to extend from twenty TO
twenty four inches apart l should say, by the
evidence given by Mr.. Stephens, that it would be
dangerous TO 90 On and inclOse these buildings and