Indifferenon The Portfolio, Comprising 1. THE FLOWERS OF LITERATURE. II. THE SPIRIT OF THE MAGAZINES III. THE WONDERS OF NATURE AND ART. No. XC.J IV. THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN, AND DOMESTIC GUIDE. LONDON, SATURDAY, OCT. 23, 1824. DREADFUL ACCIDENT AT MANCHESTER. [2d WE have this week the melancholy duty of recording an accident more terrific in its nature, and more fatal and disastrous in its consequences, than any which has occurred in this town since the memorable fire of the Medlock Factory. On Wednesday the 13th inst. the whole town was thrown into a state of intense agitation, by a report that the fire-proof faétory recently erected by Mr. Nathan Gough, near Oldfield Road, in Salford, had fallen down, and buried the whole, or nearly the whole of the work people in the ruins. As it was pretty extensively known that the factory in question, though of considerable height and width, was unusually slight in its construction, the report received a general and ready credence. On investigation, the truth, though sufficiently lamentable, was not so dreadful as had been at first represented. It appeared that only part of each floor had fallen in, but the mischief, however, was still extensive and fatal enough to harrow up the feelings of those who witnessed its effects. For a short time after the tremendous crash which first announced the accident, the cloud of dust which obscured the air, and the unwillingness of persons about to venture near the ruins lest the remaining parts of the floors, or even the external walls of the building, should fall upon them,-prevented them for ascertaining the precise extent of the calamity. At this moment, the scene in the neighbourhood of the building was distressing beyond description. The number of persons employed in the factory was about 200, chiefly young persous, many of them residing in the neighbouring cottages; and the first announcement of the calamity brought all their relatives to the spot. Wives and mothers were seen, some shrieking and lamenting, others running about in all directions, half distracted, seeking and calling for their husbands or their children; and many affecting scenes occurred, when the connexions they sought met their view uninjured. Of course, on the first alarm, all the work-people who had escaped uninjured immediately quitted the premises; some of them, who worked in the lower stories, leaping through the windows, As soon as the dust had cleared away, the more hardy of the persons who had assembled on hearing of the accident, and of those who had escaped from the building, set about rescuing those who had been involved in the fall, but whose cries for assistance evinced that they were still alive; two or three were scen at the windows of the higher stories, where the floors had fallen; ladders were immediately raised, and they were brought down in safety. Others were taken from amongst the mass of rubbish which lay on the floor, consisting of bricks, slates, and fragments of machinery. Some of these had sustained little injury; but the majority, as might be expected from the height of their fall, and the ponderous nature of the rabbish with which they were enveloped, had received severe fractures and contusions. The precise nature and extent of the accident were now ascertained; and these, together with some observations which we shall have to offer on the subject, will be best understood by a reference to the plan which stands at the head of this article. When those persons who were near' the surface of the wreck, had been extricated, as we have already mentioned, a number of hands were procured, who began to remove the rubbish with all possible despatch, in the hope of still finding some, who, though covered with the ruins, might yet survive. In this hope they were not entirely disappointed. Two or three were found alive, though severely injured. After all the rubbish had been removed, persons who missed relatives were admitted into the yard; and most distressing scenes were exhibited, when these recognized amongst the mutilated and disfigured corpses, the remains of those whom they had so anxiously sought. We were particularly struck with one old man, whose name we understood to be Kay. He had a daughter, remarkable for her steady, industrious, and economical habits,—who had saved (as we have been informed) from her wagers as a reeler, upwards of £100. Hearing of the calamitous occurrence, he went to seek his daughter, and he found her a mangled corpse. We never saw distress more forcibly depicted on the countenance or in the gestures of a human being; After the bodies were all dug out, a. detachment of the Scotch Greys was obtained from the barracks; and was very serviceable in keeping off the crowds of people whom curiosity had drawn to the spot, and who were far too numerous to be controlled by the police. After the arrival of the military, the bodies were all removed from the factory lodge, in which they were deposited when ACCIDENT AT MANCHESTER. found. They were arranged in a stable in the yard, in such a manner that the faces of all might be exposed to view, in order that such of them as had not yet been claimed might be seen by their relations; and we believe they were all identified in the course of the afternoon. Their names, ages, and residences, were as follows: JAMES GREAVES, Dixon street, aged 14 to the above. WILLIAM M'KINZIE, Rowell's-court, Bank Parade, aged 11. MARY MARTIN, Lombard-street, ALICE HALLAM, 5, Back Park-street, MARY ORMES, Irwin's-court, Old- ELLEN ASHTON, 20, her daughter. Bridge, aged 11. With regard to the number of persons wounded, we have not been able to procure any very satisfactory information; but we have good reasons for concluding that they are by no means so numerous as they have generally been said to be. Probably they do not exceed a dozen, including some whose injuries are not of a very serious nature. The following are such as we have heard of: MARY DEWHIRST, aged 26. MARY HAY, aged 26. JOHN BECK. HANNAH WEAVER. 83 coroner to view the bodies, 17 in number, lying in the stable at the factory, and which, of course, had not been disturbed since they were deposited there. On their return, the coroner proceeded to examine witnesses; the first of whom was, James Henry, a mechanic, in the service of Mr. Gough. He stated that he was employed in the room No. 5, in making machinery. About nine o'clock ou Wednesday morning, he was alarmed by hearing a noise, and by seeing the floor above him giving way. He, however, made his escape and ran down stairs. He could give no opinion as to the cause of the accident, but stated that last summer he and other workmen were eating their dinners in the yard; and when they saw how much the walls had settled, they said to each other that the factory was unsafe. They did not communicate this opinion to Mr. Gough. John Taylor, an overlooker in Rooms No. 2. and 6. was in the yard when the accident happened. He heard a tremendous crash, and saw some of the windows break and fly out. He did not know any thing more about the accident. The building was what is usually called fireproof; the floors were formed of brick arches supported by iron beams, and covered with flags. There was only one row of pillars in each room; many factories had two rows. Mr. Nathan Gough stated that the factory was erected by Messrs. Bellhouse and Son, about March, 1823. In his opinion the accident was owing to the breaking of one of the beams which supHe had ported the uppermost floor. seen a beam which was very faulty, and which he supposed had caused the accident. He could not be certain, for it was not easy to distinguish one beam from another; but the one he had mentioned was found lying on the top of the rubbish, and therefore he supposed it must have come from the top of the building, where the accident commenced. He had himself seen most of the beams proved; at the time when those of the uppermost floor were put in, he was sick in bed, and therefore did not see them proved. The building was six stories high, and 13 yards wide: the walls were four bricks thick in the foundation; three bricks to the top of the second story; two and a but GEO. RAWSON, and ELIAS FODEN. half to the top of the fourth; and two to the roof. He had observed settlings in the walls, but nothing more than was usual to such buildings. One of the jurors expressed a wish to examine the factory; but the coroner said it would not be safe. Strangers were then ordered to retire; the coroner and the jury remained in the room; and, after a short deliberation, it was announced that they had returned a verdict of "Accidentally killed by the falling of a cotton factory." The coroner and the jury then went to Windsor Bridge, to view the body of Catherine Schofield, which, as we have already stated, was taken home when it was found. CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. Very soon after the accident, a fragment of a beam which had been removed from the surface of the rubbish on the ground floor of the mill, and thrown into the yard, attracted the notice of several individuals, on account of the fractured part exhibiting a flaw, which at that point pervaded full one third of the substance of the beam. From the mere inspection of this flaw, many persons did not scruple to attribute the accident entirely to it; and it will be seen that Mr. Gough, in his evidence on the inquest, stated a belief of this kind. By many persons, however, the calamity was attributed to the giving way of the outer walls, which caused the ends of the beams to slip out, and thus let down the arches. This notion, which could not be enter tained for a moment by any intelligent person who examined the premises, we have seen advanced in a Liverpool paper. If this had been the case, the brick-work would have been but very little disturbed': it was obvious however to the most casual observer, that the beams had broken near the middle, whilst the ends were fixed in the wall; for they had evidently forced up the bricks immediately above them with very great violence. In short, nothing but the breaking of the beams could have produced the appearances which were exhibited. No doubt could therefore be entertained, that one of the beams had broken, and the adjoining beam, being suddenly relieved from the pressure of the arch on one side, whilst that on the other side remained in full force, and being forcibly acted upon by the iron rod which connected it with the falling beam, had also given way. But it was important to learn which beam gave way the first; and that was ascertained in the following manner: Elias Foden, was standing on the arch next to those which fell, and about 17 feet from the partition wall, when he saw the wall fall towards him, and a carding machine that was on the arch opposite fall from him. These facts proved sufficiently that from the beam already alluded to forming a principal support of the building, that this identical beam must have given way first, but it still remained to be shewn that the defective fragment which we have already mentioned had formed part of this beam; and this was on Thursday ascertained beyond the shadow of a doubt. Immediately after the termination of the inquest, several gentlemen went to the factory, for the purpose of tracing the defective beam to its place. With this view, the projecting part of the pillar on which one end of the beam had rested, was examined; and upon it was found a fragment of iron evidently broken from the end of that beam. After a good deal of searching amongst the rubbish beneath, the end of the beam from which that piece had been broken, was found; and, on comparing the frac tures, they fitted exactly. The fracture had taken place 8 feet 6 inches from the wall, or about midway of the beam. It has been stated, also, that the ends of the beams were not put far enough into the walls; and that they ought to have been clamped to the wall. For all this there is not the slightest foundation: not one beam-end, from the top of the factory to the bottom, had slipped out of the wall; and if they had been clamped, the only effect would have been to throw down the walls: certainly it would not have saved the beams, or in any degree have tended to lessen the calamity. I knew that the wave which together we brav'd, Was joint monarch of joy and of sorrow, That the sail which to-day by the meek breeze was lav'd, Might be rent by the storm of to-morrow:- And thy love more sincere than the breeze. But 'tis o'er, the bright vision is over at last, And though bright as the moon-beam, as cold. Ob Ellen! false Ellen! 1 FUGITIVE SKETCHES. FUGITIVE SKETCHES. (Continued from page 69.) BY WILMINGTON FLEMING. A COBBLER IN HIS STALL. In sooth be was a passing merry wight, BEHOLD me then, descended from the 85 Abershaw, with a true and pathetic copy |