The Press.
London, England, 1853-06-25 00:00:00

gluiDents anb efintas.

Six HousEs in Circus-street, New-road, were se-
riously damaged by fire on Tuesday morning. The
flames were discovered about four a.m. on the pre-
mises of Mr. Wilkinson, a coach-builder, and were
not subdued until after several hours' exertions,
leaving the house where the conflagration originated
nearly a wreck, and five others in the neighbourhood
more or less injured.
DURING A SEVERE STORM of thunder, lightning,
and rain which passed over Liverpool on Sunday, the
fine ship the Prince of the Seas, from St. John, N. 8.,
lying in the Brunswick Dock, was struck by the elec-
tric fluid, which split her mainroyal-mast, royal-
yard, and destroyed her signals.

A SHOCKING ACCIDENT happened on Saturday last,
at the factory of Mr. George Smith, Moor-lane, Pres-
ton, by the falling down of a wall which had been
undermined. Three labourers, Birnes, Parsons, and
Murray, were engaged near the wall, and the two
first named were completely buried in the ruins.
Murray, who was nearer the end, had his legs co-
vered by the wreck, but was able to extricate himself,
his injuries not being of a fatal character.

A MURDER AND SUICIDE were committed on Tues-
day morning at Poplar, by a man named Francis
Picking, a blacksmith, the person he murdered being
his wife. A quarrel took place between them the
previous evening at an inn, but they returned home
and went to bed as usual ; in the morning, on being
called by his son, and asked if he would go to work,
the man replied, " No, I have something to do first."
A few hours after a girl entered the room and
found on the bed Picking and his wife weltering in
their blood ; the man was still alive, but died from
the effects of his wound on Wednesday morning,
having confessed the murder of his wife, without
assigning any cause. Picking was in the receipt of
good wages.

A CONFIAGRATION occurred on Wednesday on the
large premises occupied by Messrs. M'Neill as a patent
felt factory, near Bunhill -row. The tire broke out during
the men's absence at dinner, and arose, it is conjec-
tured, from the spontaneous combustion of some tow.
Large quantities of pitch and other inflammable
matters were in the factory, and the flames in conse-
quence extended rapidly, and defied all the efforts
made to subdue them for some hours. Several floors
were burnt through, with great destruction to the
building and valuable stock of machinery it contained.
The loss is heavy, but the owners are insured.

A Fntuttrr•tut, AccmENT occurred on board H.M.S.
London, during her passage front Lisbon, resulting
in the death of seven individuals, one of whom was
the first lieutenant of the ship—Wellesley Pole
Chapman. On the 15th inst. the London was in
tow of the I mperieuse, screw-frigate; the tow-rope
was joined to the London's chain messenger on the
lower deck, the latter being made fast to a ringbolt.
The messenger does not seem to have been properly
secured to the bits, and, a sudden strain taking place,
the ringbolt was carried away, and the cable flew
round with tremendous velocity and force, killing six
men, who were sitting down to their dinner at the
time, and Lieutenant Chapman, and wounding nine
others, one of whom is not expected to recover.
The force with which the chain-cable flew round
may be judged fron► the fact that. striking against
a thick stancheon, it broke it in half. This dreadtill
casualty has produced the profoundest grief on board
the ship.
A LUCKY BUT SILLY 60LII-11100E11, lately re-
turned from Australia, with the proceeds of two
years' labour, visited the Victoria Theatre on Monday
night, with 109 sovereigns in his pocket. He got
into conversation with astranger in the theatre, went
out with him afterwards to a public-house, and
presently lost all consciousness of what happened to
him until he found himself in the street minus all
his money. All his recollection of the " stranger "
amounted to the fact that he wore a white hat. The
police, nevertheless, ate said to be on his traces.