John Rylands Library never operated as such. A caretaker's house was incorporated in the building until it was demolished for the extension of 1969. Electric lighting was chosen as the cleanest and safest alternative to gas but, as the use of electricity was in its early stages, the supply (110 volts DC) was generated on-site. This took some years to achieve due to the inexperience of contractors, but the library became one of the first public buildings in Manchester to be lit by electricity and continued to generate its own supply until 1950. Champneys suggested that, in order to protect the books and
Rylands v Fletcher principle, in "Losee v. Buchanan", "Brown v. Collins", and "Marshall v. Welwood" respectively. The Supreme Court of New Jersey, however, reversed "Welwood" in 1983 in "Department of Environmental Protection v. Ventron Corp". Many courts in the United States have attempted to use "Rylands" to justify absolute liability, which it was never intended to do; while absolute liability is where no defence is applicable, in "Rylands" itself Lord Cairns accepted that there were some situations where the case should not be applied. In Australia, the principles of "Rylands v Fletcher" were "killed off" by the High Court of Australia in "Burnie