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Leader (1850-1860), 15th November 1856, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1085, ACCIDENTS AND SUDDEN DEA.TIIS

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      one of his back windows , perceived that the first floor on the south side of Mr . Almond ' s factory gave forth a glow of light . He sent off in various directions for the fire-engines , and in the course of a very brief period the eng ines of St . Anne's parish attended , as well as a great many of those belonging to the London Brigade . In addition to these , several engines of the "West of England Fire Brigade arrived on the spot ; but by this time , the flames had . made such progress as to gain entire possession not only of Messrs . Almond ' s factory , but also of two adjoining buildings , so that the surrounding houses in St . Martin ' s-lane and Long Acre ¦ were placed in great peril . By dint , however , of several hours * strenuous exertions on the part of the firemen , at

      great hazard to themselves , aided by two of the Royal Society ' s fire-escape men , and several of the police , the conflagration was subdued . Besides the total destruction of the three buildings already mentioned , not less than fifteen or twenty houses have been considerably damaged , either by fire , water , or hasty removal of farniture . The loss of property is estimated at 20 , 000 ? . Between two and three o ' clock the same morning , an extensive fire occurred on the premises of Mr . Hewitson , a boot and shoemaker , living in Upper-street , Islington . The whole house and its contents were burnt , and three of the neighbouring dwellings were much injured by the fire . The cause of the catastrophe , as well as of the preceding is not known . Two of the dwellings are insured in the Atlas office .

      The chimney of one of the remaining workshops of Messrs . Broadwood ' s pianoforte manufactory of Holywell-street , Westminster , took fire about a week ago , and created considerable alar m ; but , owing to the timely arrival of Messrs . Broadwood ' s engine , the flames were got under—not , however , before considerable harm had been inflicted on their stock by the water . . ¦ . " ' . ' ¦; ' '¦ ' ¦ ;¦ - ; ¦ ¦ ' . ¦ : ¦¦ . ' ¦ ¦ / \ The chapel adjoining Smethell ' s Hall , near Bolton , the seat of Peter Ainsworthi , Esq ., has been destroyed by fire . The building was one of great historical interest , being associated with the religious troubles of 1555 . ; " ¦ ¦ . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦; ... ¦ ¦ ¦ * : . . ' . . ¦;¦ . ¦ - . ¦ ¦ - .. A large part of the South Metropolitan District Schools at Siitton has been destroyed by fire . Upwards of nine hundred children were in the building at the time , and in bed ; but they escaped in their bed clothes .

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      IJtELAND . Mk . Smith O'Brien on Government Patronagk . —A banquet has been given by his constituents to Mr . Tristram Kennedy , one of the members for Louth . Among other letters pleading inability to attend , - was one from Mr . Smith O'Brien , in which that gentleman tlluTHiscourses on the subject of Ministerial patronage : ¦— " I am not insensible to the force which lies in the argument of those who say that the Irish are entitled , as long ns Ireland shall be connected with England , to a fair share of the administrative patronage of the empire ; but it seems to mo that this legitimate object can bo

      obpire . To a certain extent this principle has been admitted by those who , in and out of office , advocate ad ministrative reform . Entrance into official life is now to be obtained in sereral departments of the State by merit and capacity , ascertained by public examination . The recent examinations have shown that in this competition Irishmen are successful far beyond the proporr tion which the population of the kingdom would , indicate . Why should mot this principle , which has already been found capable of useful application in lower grades of official stations , be applied to the higher ranks ?" The Irish Bar : —Mr . Edward Smith O'Brien , eldest son of Mr . William Smith O'Brien , of Cahermoyle , late M . P . for the county of Limerick , has been admitted by the benchers of the Queen ' s Inns as a law student during the present term .

      The Endowed Schools Commission . —Mr . A . Sharman Crawford , one of the assistant commissioners , paid an official visit to Clogher last week , for the purpose of investigating the affairs and working of the endowed school in that district . Communication between Ireland and England . —The half-yearly meeting of the City of Dublin Steampacket Company was held on Friday week , when a report , having reference to the pending negotiations for the improvement of the communication between London and Dublin , was agreed to . The most important passages run thus : — u In the last report , the directors state ! that they were in expectation of receiving a communication f rom Government , defining the nature of the improvements required by the Post-office authorities for the mail service between London and Dublin . That

      communication has been since received . It is stated , that there are to be two mail services daily each way ( morning and evening ) , tlie entire journey from . London to Dublin to be performed in eleven hours , guaranteed under penalties for any excess proportionate to the delay . The directors lost no time in arranging with the boards of the London and North-Western and Chester and -Holyhead Railway companies the terms on which the improved service could be efficiently performed , and in submitting to the Lords of the Admiralty their joint proposal to undertake it . That this proposal has been considered reasonable , the proprietors are no doubt already aware from the statements made on the part of Government in both Houses of Parliament towards the end of the session . No official acceptance of the tender has , however , been received . "

      The Irish Texaxt League held its annual meeting in the Music Hall , Dublin , on Tuesday . Collision with the Police . —Constable Phillips and seven of the Ballymahon constabulary were on patrol at Moigh a few nights ago , when they discovered an armed party of men on tlie road . The constabulary crouched under the hedge , and crept along unobserved until within a few yards of the party , and then went forward and demanded their intentions . At this time , one of the gang , who appeared to be their leader , called oiit to his

      men to fall in and front , which was promptly obeyed , and they then rushed forward and endeavoured to disarm the police . A fearful collision took place , several of the mob were knocked down , and the constables succeeded in capturing a gun from one of the party after much difficulty . The police at last were successful in arresting seven of the party , all natives of the county "Westmeath , some of whom had come upwards of fifteen miles . Information has beeti sworn against the parties , who are returned for trial to the next Assizes of Longford .- — Westmeath Guardian .

      turned without degrading the representatives of Ireland by rendering them factors or brokers for the acquisition of situations for their constituents . Let the Irish nation advocate and maintain the principle that all ofllees ought to be bestowed , not as rewards for political tergiversation , but as the honourable recompense oi' services rendered to the State , and charge their representatives with the task of enforcing this principle , rather than -with that of trafficking for the benefit of influential individuals , and it will soon bo Been that Ireland will obtain her fuir sharo of nil situations of emolument in the em-

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      AMEKICA . There is no political news of importance from the United States this week ; and we can therefore onlylook forward to the intelligence which will now speedily arrive of the result of the Presidential elcctions-From Canada , ive hear that the railway from Montreal to Toronto was opened on the 27 th of October . The distance vtas performed in fourteen hours . A duel extraordinary has been fought at Memphis , U . S . Colonel Burgthae and Major Reigler , of Boston , two old friends , who had been south on an electioneering tour , got into a warm discussion ( aboard a steamer going from New Orleans to St . Louis ) on the subject of Republicanism and Democracy ; and at length the Major used some offensive language towards tlie Colonel in tho presence of several of the passengers . A challenge waa soon given and accepted . Pistols and fifteen paces were

      the terms first proposed ; but the seconds ( who wer « two Hungarian officers ) , the master of the boat , and several of the passengers , including many ladies , contended that tlie fight should be with swords . " Tho Hungarians , " says the ££ . Louis J ~ > emocr < it , " ' offered their sabres , and the next day , on reaching Memphis , the parties landed , and , procuring the attendance of a Dr . Hill , also a passenger on the boat , proceeded to some ground adjoining the city , accompanied by many of the lady and gentlemen passengers . The duel was then fought with great fierceness , and resulted in the defeat of _ Major Uciglcr , who , by the superior skill of his adversary , received two terrible cuts , tho one , on I 113 check and the other on the chin , causing him to drop on the Held . Returning to tho boat , the wounds of tho Mnjor were dressed , and a reconciliation of the parties waa elFected . Colonel Burgthao shortly afterwards made a

      Accidents And Sudden Dea.Tiis

      the man had been strangled before "being thrown into the water . The police are already'possessed of some important information , and the inquest was again adjourned to 3 'esterday ( Friday ) . The tribe to which Stanley belonged has offered a reward of 50 ? . for the apprehension of the murderer , and it is believed by many that some of the tribe who are next in succession to the ? kingship * have had a hand in the old king ' s death . An infant h as been poisoned at Brighton by the incautious application by its mother of syrup of poppies , a mild form of opium . About a drachm ( double the proper quantity ) was administered , and the child died .

      Another of the men , Bernard Farley , having died from the late accident by tlie fall of part of the front of the Art Treasures building at Manchester , on the 31 st ult ., an inquest was held before Mr . Herford , the borough coroner , to inquire into the circumstances . After hearing the evidence of Mr . Crowther , architect , and that of Mr . Foster , an extensive builder , the jury found ^ a verdict of " Accidental death ; " but expressed an opinion that the arch was too light in construction , and that the accident might not have happened if due care had been taken in staying the work while in progress .

      An inquest has been held on the body of Sarah "Weston , a widow , seventy years of age , one of whose daughters was crushed to death at the Surrey Gardens catastrophe . This calamity , coming upon the death by other causes of several of her near relations ( including her husband and her son ) , all within a year , completely broke her heart , and she died in the streets . The immediate cause of her decease was apoplexy , no doubt accelerated by grief . Some very serious accidents occurred at Gravesend on Monday , in consequence of the abuse of fireworks which is usually indulged in on the election of the Mayor for the year . A great many houses were ignited , and one was almost entirely destroj-ed . Several persons , male and fe male , were very much injured by rockets , which were thrown about in a reckless manner .

      The boiler of a locomotive has exploded on tlie Seghill Colliery Railway , and killed the ' fireman , Joseph Percy . The engine is reported to be nearly blown to pieces .. ¦' ¦ :. ¦ ' -: ' - ' ..- ¦ - ¦ ¦ ' - ' ' . ' ¦¦ ¦¦ ' . ' : The coroner ' s j ury have returned the following verdict in connexion with the explosion of a Prussian ship at Cardiff : — "We find that the deceased came to their deaths in consequence of an explosion of coal gas on board the Prussian ship Frederick Retzlaff , which explosion took place , in our opinion , in consequence of the hatches being down . " The total number of lives lost is six . ¦ ¦'¦ .- ¦ ¦ . . ¦ .. ¦¦ . ¦ ¦'¦

      The tire of one of the wheels of ari engine , on the Eastern Counties Railway broke last Sunday evening about four miles from Taetford , and the engine , leaving the rails , fell over , carrying the tender with it . The carriages continued their course , and a fearful shock was experienced . Two horse-boxes were smashed to atoms . The passengers escaped without injury ; but the enginedriver was jammed between the engine and tender , and killed . To make matters worse , a goods train ran into the debris , but this only created some additional confusion , without adding to the loss of life .

      Two collisions occurred on Wednesday at the Hereford Railway , The first was between a passenger train and some trucks which had slipped from the Pontypool station , and which ran by tlieir own weight down a steep incline . Great damage -was done , and some of the passengers were severely cut and bruised . The train , though it slackened speed on sighting the trucks , was driven back by the concussion nearly a mile . The second collision was caused by an express engine jumping off the down line and running across the up line just as a goods train was conning by . A fearful scene ensued . A large part of the train waa smashed , and two of the passengers were killed .

      A mail train on the Caledonian Railway , on Tuesday , ran into some cattle which were on the line , and waa upset . Fifteen of the cattie were killed , but none of tho passengers or railway servants were at all hurt .

      ACCIDENTS AND SUDDEN DEATHS . A _ floor of the Savings Bank , at Bridgend , Perthshire , has fallen through beneath the weight of a large number of boys ( the depositors ) , who were in the room at the time . They all fell into a lumber-room and coalcellar beneath . Being in time rescued , it was fo und that a few bruises and scratches , and a considerable accumulation of dust on the clothes , were the only injuries received . The fall was about four feet . In consequence of the two recent disastrous occurrences on the London and North-Western Railway , the Board of Trade have ordered two official inquiries ; that into the disaster at Wolverton to be conducted by Lieutenant-Colonel Tolland , R . E ., and that concerning the collision at King ' s Langley , by Lieutenant-Colonel Wynne , R . E . The proceedings , it is expected , will be conducted privately .

      A most fortunate escape from apparently certain death ( says a Preston paper ) has occurred on the railway from Preston and the Farington station . Green , a guard , made his way to the roof of a carriage to secure a sheet ; but , in the hurry of the moment , having forgotten that the telegraphic wires are made to cross the line about that point , ho was dashed against the impediment with ao much force that one of the wires was broken , another stretched so thin that it was almost severed , and an insulator smashed

      . The shock upon Green , who received a severe blow in , the face , caused him to throw a complete somersault off tho carriage upon which he had been standing , and he fell between that and the adjoining carriage . But his progress to the ground was stopped by tho apparatus connocting tlie two carriages , und technically known as the ' shackle , ' and , by some means , which will remain a mystery even to the guard himself , he succeeded in extricating himself from his perilous position and gaining a place of safety . farmer

      A , named Ford , living near Midsomer Norton , has died from concussion of the brain consequent on a fall in the course of a drunken fight . The jury returned the following verdict : — "We find that the deceased came by his death by nccident , and that such accident can only bo attributed to liis own irritability of temper and intemperance . " _ Colonel John Jennings , an old Peninsular officer , aged ^ ghty , has been rim over by a cab at the corner of IJerkel ey-stTCOt and Piccadilly . His ribs were severely fractured , and he died in the course of two days .

      , The body of Josiah Stanley , the ' King of the Gipsies of the West , was found on the 29 th ult . in tho river Dart , near Totnes , South Devon , and was buried on . Monday , tho 3 rd inst , at Ilighweek , being followed to the grave by crowds of spectators . Various rumours aa to the appearance of deceased when found having- got abroad , the coroner hold nr . inquest , which was from "mo to time adjourned . Tlie medical men asked for a Post-mortem examination , giving it us thoir opinion that

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      November 15 , 1856 . ] THE LEABEE . 1085

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 15, 1856, page 1085, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2167/page/5/