The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-02 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER

we descend. The crimson plashes that tell a startling tale,
on the yellow roof, and over the cushions, and upon the
confectioner's bag slid evening paper on the floor, are sick-
ening indeed, bringing the one consolation that the sufferers
met, if a violent, an instantaneous death. The second
compartme.nt contained five passengers; two were killed ; and
it is their life blood that darkens the battered footwarmers
and speckles the brass door-handles and shivered plate glass.
The word "Retained" still remains on the unspotted label
pasted upon the one window pane which has escaped the
general wreck. . . . A very sad history is told me of one
of the dead He is as fine a young sailor as you would wish
to see at the helm in a storm, arid looks, even here on his
straw berth, handsome and flushed as if with the sea
breeze. From his brass buttons he would appear to be an
officer—second or third mate, perhaps—in a good mer-
chant fleet : and from an envelope so addressed he is
supposed to be Augustus Pilkington, of the ship
City of Carthage. Until identPed further he is now only
"No. 11." A fortunate survivor recognising him says
that after passing Woodstock road the young man, full of
spirits, as he had been throughout, was narrating the loss of
a ship in which he sailed, and from whose foundering he and
others were saved. The jolts of th wheels on the sleepers
cut him short in his story, and, alas in a few moments cut
short his career. . . .

The Special Correspondent of the Standard writing
from Oxford, on Sunday night, says :

_
. . . "Yesterday morning I walked over tho scene of the
accident. The railway is here raised above and passes
through a country pleasantly undulating, and now covered
to the depth of half-a-foot in snow. A strong wintry sun,
reflecting from the dazzling white, threw everything into
a peculiar distinctness. Proceeding in a direction away
from Oxford, one first came upon the traces left by the
fatal carriage upon the space between the rails. A little
farther on and the ground was thickly bestrewn with wood,
splinters, iron bars, and bolts. Then one saw the miserable
fragment that remained of the first carriage, which
went off the permanent way. It lay high on the embank-
ment, close beside the up line. At a distance, in the
'hollow beneath, its axletree was to be observed, one wheel
resting on the ground, the other, that upon which the tire
parted, being half buried in the clay. Ascending the bank
and crossing the lines, one looked down a distance of some
twelve or fourteen yards upon a 'confused mass of iron and
wood. Carriage' wheels, carriage • roofs, carriage panels,
shivered into a thousand fragments, lay piled in indescrib-
able mixture. The sides of the slope, clown which the
coaches constituting this mass must have torn, were stripped
of their grass, and deep gashes in the hardened earth
spoke of toe tremendous impetus that contributed to pro-
duce these effects. 'Passing onward, the eye immediately
catches a rude jagged rent in the wooden framework of
the bridge that spans the farthest canaL It is evident
that in this obstruction lay, much of the. subsequent
mischief. The carriage preceding or following (for it has
not yet been settled) the one with the shivered tire
plunging forward, is momentarily stopped by the bridge.
or rather tears in its course a portion of the bridge witjp
it. Speeding 'onwards for 50 yards more, it roil
with its human cargo down the embankment at the
other side of the canal, and, dragging one or two additional
carriages with it, is lost amidst its own ruins. It is impos-
sible to conceive how any human creature could escape with
life from such a catastrophe. On carriage lies complet.ly
overturned, with nothing seemingly remaining of it but the
framework to which the wheels are attached. Strong iron
bars, bent and crooked, are everywhere discernible; ruined
travelling compartments excite in the mind thoughts of
desolate, dismantled dwellings in a town taken by storm.
For another hundred yards along the line there is evidence
that some of the remaining coaches dragged on the ground,
for sleepers and earth are torn up over the whole route. . . .
" The task of conveying the sufferers was rendered ex
ceedingly difficult by the slippery state of the embankment,
caused by the intensity of the frost, and thus, it is feared, a
considerable amount of pain was caused to those who were
the worst injured, but it was unavoidable under the cir-
cumstances. With the debris and coal from the engines the
stokers lighted fires on the line, as numbers of the passengers,
especially those who had been rescued from the canal or
raised from the snow, were benumbed with cold, and scarcely
able to stand. Others crowded on to the engines, which
were under high•pressure steam, to get what warmth they
eauld, and it was feared that some of them might touch the
machinery, and so cause another accident.
"The inquest on Saturday brought together a greater num
her of persons interested in the killed and injured than upon
any former occasion. From dawn until the last of the
special trains, which the Great Western Company ran at
intervals during the day for the convenience of those passing
between Oxford and Hampton Gay, had returned, the
scene in and about the paper mills was of an animated
and exceedingly painful description. With great difficulty
could the police keep back crowds of relatives who desired
to swarm into the dead house; and when only those more
immediately related were permitted to enter, the light of
the chamber was obscured by the struggling numbers, who
on window ledges and other points of vantage, peered
in their white faces. The scene was an affecting one.
Here a young girl was hardly restrained from throwing her-
self in an agony of grief upon the corpse of a male relative,
apparently her brother, and there vent her anguish in
caresses and tears ; there a mother, who had long contem-
plated the features of a son, stood rocking her body to and
fro. and the loud cry of lamentation having subsided crooning
softly to herself. In an Oxford hotel the sad news is told to
an affectionate sister that during the night her brother, who
is a clergyman and father, and whose nervous system had
suffered by the shock of the catastrophe, had become dis-
tracted in mind, scarcely two men at times being able
to restrain his violence. No one could listen unmoved to
the wild screaming, for by no other name can it be
denominated, of the fond parent who, at the Oxford Station,
terrified all bystanders when the intelligence was brought
him that Isis tro daughters, his heart's most precious
treasure, had not, as he anticipated, travelled by the express.
These are but solitary instances, of the intensity of the
general grief."

A Wrexham correspondent writes : "There are at least
five deaths of persons from this locality, and several in-
jured. The young girl Annie Barker, whose body lay at the
railway station at Oxford, is the daughter of a Mr. Barker,
an official at the Brymbo Iron Works. She was returning
home with her elder sister, a school teacher at Plumstead.
The latter is in the Randolph Infirmary. The youthful Lord
Kenyon was in the train returning home from school to
Brogyntyn, Oswestry, and escaped unhurt. Great excite-
ment prevails here, and every scrap of news is eagerly looked
for from the scene of the catastrophe."

"The lost luggage which was removed to Oxford Station
on Saturday, for recovery by owners, has been to-day
greatly increased in bulk and in variety (writes the Daily
Sews Correspondent on Sunday). Money—gold, silver, and
copper—has been found, and that affords no mark of identi-
fication, and a very odd assortment indeed are the other
articles picked up amidst the lumber. There are amongst
them many a gift that will never be received, aNd many a
faithful personal ornament or article in daily use that has
come ont of the confusion so altered an battered as to be
now unfamiliar to the owner. Amongst the articles there
are at least thirty crushed anti battered hats and bonnets,
some Covered with blood, a number of children's toys, a
child's new drum gaily painted, a quantity of broken and
torn books, a couple of barrels of oysters, a pair of slippers,
scarfs, pocket handkerchiefs, neckties, broken boxes, and
torn carpet bags and portmanteaus."

On Sunday, in most of the churches of Oxford, reference
was made in the sermons to the calamity. At St. Mary the
Viigin, the Rev. Mr. Lovell, the preacher, after alluding in
general terms to Christmas, said that it was not, as in the
present instance, always a season of unmixed festivity.
Many had been taken away from the homes where they
hoped to meet dear friends and to mingle once more amid
the family circle. Those dying in Christ had gone to greater
happiness, to a more perfect love with Him. As they prayed,
and be hoped they all did, remembering the solemn words of
the liturgy, for those who had suffered, and for their friends
and relations and anxiety, tribulation, distress, and sickness,
they would themselves in this way be more ready to look
forward to the time when they would pass away from the
earthly body with all its weaknesses.

that point, and it will also be my duty, at the close of the
evidence Olen on the inquest, to give you a summary and
digest of the evidence, and to remark upon it where desi-
rable. I beg you now to look upon it without any prejudice,
as though you had heard nothing of the case—as an accident
you are about to investigate. Believe, as I do believe, that
we shall have every assistance rendered to us, and feel, as I
feel, that you will be bound by your oaths to sit here and
hear any evidence tending to elucidate this awful catas-
trophe. The inquest would not be valid unless we saw the
whole of the 26 bodies about which we are called upon to
inquire, so that we must go and see them, however un-
pleasant the duty. lam sure by your appearance that I
have a good jury to help me. lam much pleased with the
character of the gentlemen of the jury I see before me ; you
appear all to be persons well acquainted with the world, and .
with the requirements of society one towards another, and t
have no doubt that your duty will be discharged in a manner
which will prove quite satisfactory. All the ends of the
kingdom will be lon-king to this enquiry, and we shall
doubtless be watched carefully in every step we take. I feel
that myself, and I feel that I shall have your .genuine-and
kind support in the discharge of the duties which hav_e)so
heavily fallen upon me.
The jury then proceeded to view the bodies, wbic/Cweri.,
laid out in the mill in two rows. vt= 111.
In the first row were—No. 1, woman, Sarah Yates, mar-
ried, Harrington, near Highworth, aged 36; No. 2, man,
_identified by Mrs. White, of the same address, as Humfrey
' Williams, 49, King's-cross-road, Clerkenwell, London; his
proper address is 34, Rushton-street, Hoxton, London, E ;
No. 3, a man, unidcntified ; No. 4, a woman, Mrs. White;
a lodging-house keeper, aged 35, New Inn Hall-street, Ox-
ford; No. 5, a man, Mr. Edward Sylvester, accountant, Ox-
ford, aged 45; No. 6, a woman, Elizabeth Holrue, school-
mistress. Ryde, aged 38; No. 7, a woman, unidentified;
No. 8, a man, Harry Johnson, Wolverhampton, carpenter,
aged 22; No. 9, a man, Joseph Shaw, zincworker, Birming-
ham, aged 35; No. 10, a man, Captain Charles John Cooley,
, 96, Talbot-road. captain in the merchant service; Ne: II a
I woman, unidentified; No. 12, a man, unidentified; No. 13,
a male child, identified as Albert Fowler, 305, Mosley-road, ,
Birmingham; No. 14, a man, unidentified.

In the second row were—No. 1, a man identified as John
Howard Harper, Brinton-house, Bilston, Staffordshire; No.
2, a man, identified as I. John Edwards Richards, 12,
.Casland-grove. Soutl) Hackney, London., identified by his
brother, Philip M. Richards;' No. 3, a woman, unidentified;
No. 4, a young man identified as 11. E. Van Tromp, of 21,
Inverness-terrace, London, W., and 16, Essex-street, Strand,
only son of a solicitor; No. 5. a woman, Jane Pearson,
daughter ofj. B. Pearson. Princess:street, Shrewsbury ; No.
6, a man, identified as John Thomas Hughes, barrister-at-
law,,of 2, Middle Temple, London, and of Fennant, Ruabon ;
No. 7, a man, unidentified; No. 8, a man, John Thomas T.
Pilkington, civil engineer, Chevet Hay, Wrexham; No. 9, a
woman, unidentified; No. 10, William Cavaunah, Wolver-
hampton, aged 55 ; No. 11, a youth, midshipman on board the
City of Carthage, son of Mr. Pilkington, Chevet Hay, Wrex-
ham, who is also dead, as above stated: No. 12, a man,
Samuel Busby, Curbridge, Witney, village postmaster.
•-

The dead were arranged in a large paper store room on the
ground floor of the mill, the whole scene presenting an ap-
palling and ghastly appearance. No. 1 in the room was a
short young woman, much bruised about the head, and
dressed in black. The man Williams' features (No. 2) were
calm, with a visible smile, and but little injured. No. 3
was dressed in rough working clothes, fearfully gashed on
the face, and badly smashed in the legs, one being con-
siderably shorter than the other. No. 4 was a woman
dressed in purple; she was not very much injured, appa-
rently. No. 5, Mr. Sylvester, had a large wound on the
forehead, and the nose was much injured, the body being
also contused. No other injuries were apparent; indeed,
in every case the bodies were entirely covered, with the ex-
ception of the head and feet, which renders a description of
the extent of their wounds impossible. It was observed, how-
ever, that Mr. Sylvester's shoulders were completely crushed,
and on speculating on the cause it was said that when
brought in both arms were twisted behind the body, from
which it may be inferred that, when the accident occurred,
his hands must have been uplifted as if to defend the face.
No. 6 was a woman, much cut about the face and head. No. 7,
a very stout woman, dressed in a black gown trimmed with
black velvet, and carrying a black leather bag; she was fear-
fully cut and bruised about the head. No. 8 was a rather
short, well-dressed man, with a white comforter, blue pilot
coat, and black trousers ; face much gashed, but little injured
in the body. No. 9, man in corduroy trousers; his face wore
a calm smile. No. 10, Captain Cooley, was a handsome, tall-
looking man, of commanding presence; about 35, and wear-
ing a dark moustache. No. 11 was a young woman, fright-
fully injured. The face was most appalling, the body
having been apparently so pressed by the superincum-
bent weight as to force the eyes nearly out of their sockets,
and produce a dark livid purple colour. No. 12 was an
elderly man, stout, and apparently an iron moulder. He
was dressed in blue serge, a check flannel shirt, and elastic
side boots. Next to this body lay that of a little boy, ap-
parently about seven years old, a very beautiful child, with
long, fair hair. Ile had been left in charge of the guard,
and was found alive on the bank in convulsions, hut expired
before he could be got away from the spot. No. 15 was a
man who had been got out of the canal, his body being
literally broken to pieces.

In the second row were arranged 12 bodies, the appear-
ance of injuries presented being similar to the above. One
of the women—No. s—had been apotzently pressed under
a buffer. No. 10 presented the appearance of death from
suffocation. No. 9 was a tall, well-dressed, and good-looking
-.woman, apparently about 35, but little disfigured. Nos. 8
and 9 were father and son, the latter being the midshipman.
The father is a fine-looking, gentlemanly man, and appears
as if asleep. '
The Jury then viewed the wreck, which presented a fear-
ful scene of confusion, some of the carriages being reduced
to matchwood, and the ground, fixtures, broken wood-
work, &c,, smeared and smashed with blood to a fearful ex-
tent.
The. Jurors having returned and answered tatheir names,'
•

The'Coroner said he would take any evidence offered as to
identity,
- -

Benjamin Humphreys Van Tromp said : I reside at 21,
Inverness-terrace, Hyde-park, London, and am a solicitor. I
have seen the bodies that have been viewed by the jury ; I
saw them yesterday and again to-day. (At this stage of the
proceedings witness was much affected.)
The Coroner: Do you identify one among them?
Witness: I do ; It is that of my son, my only child, Harry
Ernest Van Tromp.

_
Coroner: What was his age
Witness: He was 21 last July.

Coroner: Was he in any occupation • •-
Witness : He was articled to me as my articled clerk. He
left my house about a quarter to ten on Thursday morning
to go to Shrewsbury. He was accompanied to the station by
my man servant. He intended to go by the express train
from Paddington at ten o'clock, and he did go by that
train. No one went with,him to my knowle,lge, and I knew
nothing of it till I read in in The Times on the following
morning, soon after eight, when I at one started off for
Oxford.
The Coroner then asked the jury if they had any objection
to make to the removal of the body, as, if not, he would at
once make an order enabling Mr. Van Tromp to take the
body away.

The jury acquiescing, Mr. Van Tromp, in a broken voice,
expressed his tuanks.
- - -

The Coroner said to the witness : You are the first witness
we have examined, and I hope you will leave with the satis-
faction that every investigation will be made into this melan-
choly affair.
Mr. Van Tromp: I am quite satisfied of that, and I am
quite willing to leave it in your hands. My only regret is
that he is dead—that is all I am sorry for.

Silvanus Wilkins was the next witness called. He said—l
reside atßilston, Staffordshire, and am thegeneralmanager of
the Staffordshire Joint Stock Bank. I have seen the bodies, and
I identify one as that of John Howard Harper, the son of John
Harper of Brueton-house, Bilston, and of the Albion Works,
Willenhall, an iron merchant; he was aged twenty the day
of his death, Thursday last. I have been acquainted with
the family for years, and have long known the deceased.
The order for the removal was at once made out.
Thomas Frederick Hawkings was then sworn. He sal :
I have seen the bodies and identify that of Edward Sylvester,
who was my father's partner. I have known him for some
years as an accountant. His age was forty-five years. He
left Oxford last Thursday morning, at 11.43, by the express
train intending to go to Manchester,

Richard Low said: I am a surgeon, and reside at Wrex-
ham, Denbighshire. I have seen the bodies which the jury
have viewed, and I identified the bodies of John Thomas
Trotter Pilkington, civil engineer, of Wrexham, aged 54,
the father, and John Augustus Pilkington, his son, aged 20
years. He was a midshipman in the Merchant Navy. I
had known him all my life I believe they were travelling
from London to wrexham. As a medical man, I think
there is nothing in the appearance of the bodies calling for
special inquiry as to the cause of death.
Mr. S. Wilkins was then recalled, and questioned by the
Coroner. The deceased J. H. Harper was coming from the
Reading Ironworks to Bilston to see his father.

Henry Stephen Brohier Cooley, of 5, Woodlands-road,
Blackheath, Kent, was sworn. He deposed: lam assistant
secretary to a Marine Insurance Company in London. I
have been to age the. bodiesrviewed by the, jury, -and the one
I identify: IS that of Captain Charles John Cooley, captain
in the Merchant Service, aged 39. Be was travel ing from
London to Birkenhead by the express train on Thursday.
Thomas Tucker, 35, Mosley-road, Birmingham, said: lam
a builder by trade. I identify tlie.body of a child named
Albert Fowler, aged 4 years, now lying dead with the bodies
the jury have viewed. Be is the son of George Fowler,
carver and gilder, late of Birmingham, but now in America,
having left his wife and child.
•- • •• r

• •
By a Juror: It is my grandchild.
Coroner : Has he been long in America 7' • ,!*' • • •
Witness: About three years. The child has been staying
with my youngest daughter six weeks, and her husband,
John Mason, was bringing it home, previous to which, from
the age of nine months, the child has been under my care.
John Mason was bringing the child to Birmingham from
Maidenhead, where he lived; he was onlyza little hurt about
the head.
William Charles Hagner was next called. He said : I
reside at Fennant, near Ruabon, with my mother, and am
learning farming on my mother's farm. I knew John Edwards
Richards, who was a nephew of my father, and his parents
dying while he was young, he was adopted by my mother
till he was of age to go to college. .I also identify my
brother, John Thomas Hughes, aged about 26; he was prac-
tising as a barrister-at-law, and residing at the Middle
Temple, London. My cousin Richards was in practice as a
surgeon : they were coming to Ruabon from Paddington to
spend Christmas. John Edwards Richards was aged about
24 or 25 years, and lived at 12, Casland-grove, South Hackney,
London.
William White, college servant, of Speedwell-street,
Oxford, was the next witness called. He said,—l am a
servant at Christ Church. I have viewed the bodies which
the jury have seen, and among them I identify that of Mary
White, aged 35, the wife of my brother, Edwin White,
butler at Knowlton Hall, Ruabon. She resided at 18, .New
Inn, Hall-street, Oxford, and kept a lodging-house. She was
going to see her husband at Ruabon.

James Miles,boot and shoe maker, 71, Heath-street, Birming-
ham, was then sworn. He deposed: Haviug seen the
bodies which the jury have viewed, I identify among them
that of Samuel Busby, aged 53, who was the father of my
wile. He kept the post office at Curbridge, near Witney,
in this county. lie was coming down to spend Christmas
with me. - A young man named Thomas Smith, from Cur-
bidge, was i the train with the deceased, but he escaped
unhurt..
- • - - -

-----
Thomas Holme 29, Denman-street, Kensington, Liverpool,
writing clerk, said: I identify among the bodies that of my;
sister, Elizabeth Holme, aged 28 years, and single woman;
who was a mistress. of a national school at Hyde, in the isle
of Wight. She was going by express train to Lichfield,
Staffordshire, to spend the Christmas holydays with her
parents, who reside at that place.
George Day, general foreman to Mr. Henry Lovett, con-
tractor, of Wolverhampton, said,—l identify the bodies of
William Cavannah, aged 55, bricklayer's labourer, of Wolver-
hampton ; Harry Johnson, aged 22, carpenter, of Wolver-
hampton; and that of Joseph Shaw, aged 35, zinc worker, of
Sherlock-street, Birmingham. I have known the three
deceased for some time. They were returning home for
Christmas-eve from Frorne and Warminster; and there were
23 of Mr. Lovett's men in the same train.
James White, billposter, of 49, King's-cross-road, London
said : I have seen the bodies, and identify that of Humplirey
Williams, who was a journeyman carpenter, living at 34,
Rushton-street, Iloxton, London He is about fifty years of
age. He was my mother's brother, and was travelling front
Paddington to Dolgelly, North Wales, to spend his Christ-
ritas,-most or his relations•living there.
James Yates, of Wolverhapton, grocer's porter, said :
I have seen the bodieS which have been viewed by the jury,
and identify one of them as that of Sarah Yates, wife of my
brother, Mr. William Yates, a publican at Harrington, near.
Inghworth, Wilts. Her age was about thirty-six or thirty-
seven. She was coming from Fairford on a visit to Wolver-
hampton, to her friends. She had-two of her own children
with her, aged two and five years respectively. I found the
younger one alive, at the "Boat loll;" I have not yet dis-
covered the elder child.
This concluded the evidence as to the identity of the
bodies; and one more woman was identified by means of
handkerchief in her pocket, bearing the name "J. Pear-
son :" she was a single woman, apparently about thirty
years of age.
The Coroner then asked the jury to decide as to when
and where they would resume their inquiry into the sad
occurrence. ,
Mr. i Webster; With the Coroner's permission would say
Dna Nl/4

one or two words on behalf‘of the company, of the directors,
and of all the persons connected with the company. In the
first place, he had to express their great grief and regret at
that terrible and melancholy accident. They were only too
desirous that every possible information which the Coroner
and jury wished should be forthcoming, and that every
investigation they directed should be made. He had sug-
gested an adjournment to Oxford only on account of the
many persons who in all probability would come down to
represent the sufferers by the accident. He wished also to
state, on behalf of the directors, that they were anxious and
desirous to make every arrangement in their power to con...
suit the convenience of the relatives of the deceased and"
injured, so that everything should be done for them which
was possible. There was one other matter he would like to
.mention Of 'course they were desirous of removing the un-
fortunate debris from the side of the line, and they would
be glad to have the jury's permission to &olio to-morrow 1
(Sunday), if they had no oojection to make.
' The Coroner: Everything connected with the cause of
the accident will be seen, I hope?
, Mr. 'Webster said the wheel of the carriage in question,
and indeed every part of it, would be at Oxford for investiga-
tion by the jury, and he undertook on behalf of the com-
pany that nothing should be touched or tampered with
That was one reason for meeting. at Oxford. He ale
promised that an accurate plan should be provided for th
jury from the timber bridge ever the river to about 10
yards above the spot where the last carriage fell, whic
would include the whole of the line on which there was an
trace of damage. He also asked that the first-class carriage
not much damned might be removed to Swindon for repairs
The Coroner and jury said they only required to see the
carriage that caused the accident, and that the others might
be disposed of as Mr. Webster wished; and the jury re-
solved to sit at the County-hall, Oxford, on Wednesday, and
sine die until the completion of the inquiry. It was further
arranged to meet at the mill on Monday, for the identifica-
tion of the bodies not yet claimed.
The Foreman suggested that if the child mentioned by
the witness Yates was net found at Oxford, it would pro-
bably be in the water, or under some of the carriages which
had not been moved.
The Coroner said the sooner the carriages were removed
the better, and that a thorough search must-be made.

Mr. Webster *having woniiisecl this,,. the inquest was •ad-
journed till Monday.
Mr. Webster, on "behalf of the company, stated that the
Great Western Railway Company were anxious that the
inquiry should be held in the city, as it afforded greater
facilities and accommodation for the relatives of the de-
ceased and persons attending the inquiry, Mr. Webster also
expressed the deep grief and regret the directors and share-
holders felt at this terrible and melancholy calamity, and
said they were anxious to render every possible assistance
they could during the investigation.

Ultimately it was arranged that the Coroner and Jury
should attend on Monday morning at Hampton Gay, at half-
past nine, for the purpose of taking evidence (if any) as to
further identification of the bodies, and then proceed to
Oxford to view the bodies lying at the Railway station and
the Radcliffe Infirmary; the inquiry will afterwards be pro-
ceeded with.

At the request of Mr. Webster, leave was granted by the
Coroner for the removal of the broken fragments and rub-
bish, it being understood, however, that the fatal carriage
was to be conveyed to Oxford under supervision, in order
that a thorough investigation of it might be made by all who
are kfficially concerned.
In reply to the foreman of the Jury, Mr. Webster promised
that full and complete plans of the railroad where the
disaster occurred should be forthcoming.

The adjourned inquest was resumed on Mondav morn-
ing at the Manor-house, Hampton Gay. Mr. William
Brunner, coroner for the county and city of Oxford,
assisted by Mr. George Brunner, the deputy coroner,
presided. Mr. Richard Gerring was the foreman of
the jury.

The Coroner stated that since Saturday all the bodies
lying at the mill had been indentified.
George Rivington, a printer, identified the body of Jane
Pearson, aged twenty years. She was a spinster, and be-
longed to Shrewsbury, whither she was travelling by the
express from Whitchurch, in Hampshire. Her occupation
was that of a milliner, and she was coming home to spend
Christmas. Deceased was the niece of witness.

Stewart David Thomas, Highelere Castle, house steward to
the Earl of Carnarvon, identified the body of Margaret
Laverick, aged 50, or thereabouts, housekeeper to the earl.
On Thursday last she left llighclere to go to see her friends
at Chesterficld. She was unmarried.

William Kemp, of St. Sidwell's, Exeter, identified the
body of James Ellis, herbalist, of Shrewsbury, Salop, aged
41. He was going home to spend Christmas, and in the
pursuit of his profession had been absent live months. He
was a married man, and had a wife and five children living.

Robert Gardner, of 66, Osborn-street, Manchester, iden-
tified the body of his son. John Gardner, aged 26, coach-
builder, travelling on last Thursday from Swindon to Man-
chester to spend Christmas. Ile was a labourer for the com-
pany, and had a half-fare ticket. [A. constable subsequently
produced a railway insurance ticket, purchased by deceased
at Swindon.]
Henry Martin, ironmoulder, No. 1, Anstey's-cottages,
Springfield-street West, Birmingham, identified the body of
Henry Hill, aged 68 years, ironmoulder. Deceased was tra-
velling from Portsmouth to Leicester, where he lived, at St.
Andrew's-street, King Richard-road. The deceased was son-
in-law to witness, and had been working for the Last two
years at Portsmouth, and was returning home.
Mrs. Mary Ann Coyle identified the body of Catherine
O'Donohoe, aged twenty-one years, her sister. She was
unmarried, and by profession was a singer, residing with
witness, whom she helped to support, at 46, Hewlett's-road,
Victoria-park, London. She was travelling from London to
Birmingham to obtain an engagement. On Tuesday she left
home, but witness could not tell where she had been staying
until Thursday. [Mrs. Coyle had to be supported into the
room, and owing to her state of prostration, it was with dif-
ficulty the evidence could be extracted from her. A photo-
graph, of the deceal, was produced, and showed her to
have been a very good-looking young woman.]
Henry Bryant, commission agent, 46, Hewlett's-road,
Victoria-park, London, identified the body of Emma Bryant,
his wife, aged 49. She was travelling from London to
Birmingham with the last deceased.
As the jury rose, another body, that of a man, was identi-
fied.

The inquest on the bodies which lay at the station of the
Great Western Railway at Oxford was opened on Monday
morning in the first-class waiting room on the up side, the
coroner (Mr. W. Brunner) having been conveyed from the
Hampton Gay Mill by special train.
The Coroner said a very important duty devolved upon
them that day as members of society as well as jerymen, to
Inquire into, and, by their verdict when arrived at, to de-
clare what they considered to have been the unfortunate
cause of death of the deceased. The whole country was
rife with reports 'respecting it. The papers, some of them,
confined themselves pretty nearly to the facts, and some
had exaggerated a great deal, but he would ask them to
divest themselves of any impression or report which they
might have heard out of doors, either printed or by hearsay,
and with his help, as far as he could give it them, and by
attending to the evidence adduced, he hoped they would
come to a satisfactory conclusion. He felt that in the
post he had the honour to hold he owed an imperative
duty to his Sovereign to take care that they should by their
verdict give the best account of the calamity which had
ended so fatally to so many of their fellow-creatures. They
owed a duty to the world generally to take care that no
time was begrudged or patience forborne, and no manner
of step taken which i should prevent a full elucidation of the
I facts. He had no doubt that the railway authorities, as on
former occasions, would give them every assiatanee. They
had !volunteered it hitherto, and he had no doubt they
would continue to do so. Without entering into details, it
would be necessary to have the bodies identified, and having
done•that, he proposed adjourning the inquiry until eleven
o'clock the following day, at the County Hall, so that both
the County Jury and they might sit simultaneously and hear
the evidence. He was satisfied that they would give the
accident a calm, serious, and patient investigation.
The jury then viewed the bodies, which were lying in the
third-class waiting room, and then thejollowing were identi-
fled :—Richard Henry Smith, farmer, Fern Hill, near Kenil-
worth, identified the body of Albert Morris, aged 34, com-
mercial traveller, of Kenilworth, who was travelling from
Witney to his home to spend Christmas with his wife and
child; Francis Danby, foreman carpenter, of High-street,
Egham, identified the body of John Eden Danby, aged 31 (a
foreman of painters to his father-in-law, Mr. Head, builder,
of Egham), who was travelling to Brierley-hill, near
Birmingham, to visit his sister; George Day, foreman
to Mr. Lovatt, contractor, Wolverhampton, identified
the body of Benjamin Taylor, aged 19, gasfitter, of
Wolverhampton, who was travelling thither from
Westbnry ; William Cartwright, farm labourer, of Launton,
near Bicester, identified the body of Richard Cartwright,
aged 25, also a farm labourer, of Letunton, who was travelling
to Banbury (this body was lying at • Hampton, where it was
identified after the departure of the coroner, and the witness
therefore came on by special train 'and gave his evidence at
Oxford). One body, that of a fair-taired female, dressed in
a seal-skin jacket, and with a weddingxing oh, was,aitill un-
identified at Hampto.n.
The jury were then taken by omnibus to the Radcliffe
Infirmary, for the purpose of holding ,an inquest upon
Charles Cmsar, greengrocer, Egham, who had died after
being removed there on the day of the accident. In conse-
quence,' however, of a certificate being received from Mr.
Hutchings, surgeon, to the effect that Mrs. Cmsar had been
taken suddenly ill at the Maidenhead Hotel, where she was
staying, the evidence of identity could not be adduced. Mr.
Morgan, the house surgeon, stated that the deceased died
from internal injuries the night of the accident.

OXFORD, Tuesday, 11 am.

Another death has occurred to-day, that of Zillah Fryer,
the young woman whose life had been despaired of since
the accident. Mrs. Danby has had a very bad night, and it
is thought cannot recover. George Dee, a young man from
Northampton, has sufficiently recovered to leave the in-
firmary to-day.
• •

The coroner's inquest recommenced this morning at
eleven, at the County llall. There were present at the
inquiry . Colonel Yolland, the Government inspector; Mr.
Webster, of the Horne Circuit; Mx. Nelson, solicitor to the
Great Western Railway; Mr. Lock, of the Railway Pas-
sengers' Assurance Company; and Mr. Charles M'Bride,
superintendent of the Norwich and London Accidental
Death Insurance Company.
- -

- - -
Previous to the inquiry being opened the coroner took the
evidence of...identification of Mr. Caesar. William Henry
Head, builder, of the Station-road, Egham, stated that he
could identify the body of .Charles Cxsar, aged fifty-nine,
who was a fruiterer and greengrocer, of the High-street,
Egham.
Hugh Hughes: I am superintendent at the Paddington
station of the Great Western Railway. I was on duty on
Thursday morning at ten o'clock, when the express train
from Paddington to Birkenhead left. The train consisted
of ten coaches, two break vans, and one engine and tender.
Next to the engine was a break van, No. 351, with four
wheels ; next to that was No. 446, a composite carriage,
with six wheels ; then No. 634, a third-class carriage, with
six wheels ; then No. 555, a third-class carriage, with six
wheels ; next to that was No. 188, a composite carriage,
with six wheels ; No. 497, a first-class carriage, with six
wheels; No. 326, second-class, six wheels ; No. 174, break
van, four wheels; No. 939, third-class—l won't speak
positively as to the number of wheels ; No. (37, third-class,
six wheels; No. 618, first-class, six wheels; and No. 363,
second-class, six wheels That was the last. These carriages
were all in regular use. The wheels of every carriage coming
to London are inspected on their arrival at Paddington. If
any are found incorrect they are set aside. All that are cor-
rect are used. The first stoppage of the train was at Reading.
The train started two minutes late, namely, at two minutes
past ten, a guard named John Price, having charge of the
train. At 10.50 the train is due at Beading. This express
has been established many years. I saw Awthing peculiar
in the train that day. A communicating corpi extended
throughout the length of the train, and was atcessible to
every passenger by putting his hand outside the window.
There is a person specially at Paddington, named William
James Tapling, to adjust the cords on the carriages ; besides
whieh, the guards' travelling inspector, named Atkins, came
with the train as far as Oxford. A second guard, named
Hill, went by this train
John Peach, station-master on the Great Western, from
Reading, was called, and sworn, and gave evidence as to the
arrival of the train at Reading.
Xiizabeth Denham, wife of Samuel Denham, of 40, St.
Dunstan's-road, Burdett-road, Bow, London, identified the
• body of Jane Grimshaw, aged 20 years, unmarried, . her
sister, by ocoupationli, dressmaker. -SIM left home oh Tues-
day, and was supposed to have stayed with a friend at
Oxford until Thursday, when she travelled by the express.
-liar residence was the same as that of deponent.
'The inquiry was then continued.