The Press.
London, England, 1853-09-10 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

seamen, got into it, but capsized almost immediately,
when, with the exception of three seamen, all perished
alongside the wreck. The master and the remainder
of the crew remained on the wreck till four o'clock
the next morning, when, finding that she was fast
breaking up, they resolved to make an attempt to
reach the shore, about a quarter of a mile distant.
In the attempt Capt. Sheppard and several seamen
were drowned, the others reaching the beach in a
very exhausted state; ; and, out of thirty men, only
eleven were saved. The following day search was
made along the beach for food, but all that they
could discover was a small portion of bread and seven
small tins of herrings. After enduring great priva-
tions they were surprised at the appearance of a dog,
which MIS hailed as the harbinger of their deliverance. •
Fearing he might run away, they wrote an account
of their situation and tied it round his neck. The
dog, it appeared, belonged to a gentleman named
Burgess, who, with a party, was exploring the country
to the southward : the moment they heard of the
wreck, which was by the return of the dog, they set
out and came up with the survivors of the Rebecca
on the twenty-third day after the ship's loss. The
poor fellows were fast sinking when the exploring
party came up ; and through their attention and
kindness their lives were preserved.
A FINE STEAMER, the 0/ctulower, plying betvieen
Liverpool and Bristol, was wrecked in an unac-
countable manner on Sunday afternoon. She left
the Mersey on Saturday evening, and was approach-
ing Milford Haven, where she was to land SOME pas-
sengers, when, at three in the afternoon of a re-
markably line day, she ran on the Crow rocks, a few
miles off the port. Having been backed off the rocks,
it was soon ascertained that the steamer was filling
rapidly, and only by great exertions of the crew was
she kept afloat long enough to run into shallow
water, near the shore, where she speedily sunk in three
fathoms. All the passengers were put into boats
very shortly after the first shook, and escaped safely.
Much alana was, however, occasioned, and consi•
derable loss incurred of baggage, &v.; besides that of
the steamer herself. Had the occurrence taken
place at night, or in rough weather, most deplorable
consequences must in all probability have ensued.
•

FOR TIIR ALLEOED MURDER, OF TWO CHILDREN at
Stockport, 'fistulas Moore, a factory-worker, and
their stepfather, has been apprehended, pending the
result of an inquiry before the coroner. It is stated
that the children (both boys), one aged four and the
other eight years, were missed yesterday week. They
were absent on Saturday and Sunday, and on Monday
their dead bodies wore found at Reddish, in the
Manchester and Ashton ()anal. The bodies were
together, and the unfortunate children scent to have
perished at one moment. Their names were James
and John Ilighant, and the mother married Thomas
Moore about two years since. Moore was of idle and
vagabond habits, and had scarcely lived with his wife
for six months during the time he had been married
to her. The cider evidence against him related to
the fact of his lowing been the last person into whose
keeping the children could be traced, and to his
coming to the house of a neighbour on the night in
question with his clothes wet, and a confused story
by way of explanation. The inquiry stands ad-
journed. As a motive for the commission of the
crime it is stated that the elder boy was entitled to
-U. in the Old Admiral Burial Society, to 3/. 12s. in
the Branch Admiral Society, and 4/. in the Tem-
perance Club; anti the younger to 41. in the Old Ad-
miral Society, and 4/. in the Temperance Club,
making 19/. I2s. in all. It is said that the prisoner
made an attempt to drown the children in the river
Thames about a month ago, but they made their
escape. Ile is a native of London, and hats lived at
Stockport about twelve years. The inquest termi-
nated on Thursday, when a verdict of Wilful Murder
was returned against Moore.
Tut; Aectmort ON THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY
Will, it is said, cost the company from 10,0(10/. to 20,0001.,
on account of the number of respectable people injured,
and the amount of destruction to property. The
inquiry into the cause and particulars of the catas-
trophe is still proceeding. The Lord Mayor is re-
covering from the effect of the accident, although
still suffering from pains iu the head, and want of
sleep.
ANOTHER EXTENSIVE !ilium.: has taken place in
Manchester, where the weavers of "domestics" by
power-loms demand 10 per cent. more wages. The
weavers in the service of Messrs. Hargreaves, of
Bolton, 160 in number, struck work on Wednesday
" for the 10 per cent." The card-room hands are
also asking for 10 per cent. The hatmakers at
Denton, Ashton, and Stockport are moving in the
same direction.
A Sileosn FALL 01, A lII'ILDINO took place on
'Thursday in Brewers court, Croat wild-street, where
the first floor of a house, occupied as a 01,
suddenly gave way %link a meeting of the patrons of
the establishment was being held in it. The edifice
was very old, and much dilapidated. Great conster-
nation followed the accident, but the numerous oc-
cupants were tenunigely extricated without
amino,

A DESTRUCTIVE FUIE broke out at Rochester on
Thursday, by which property to a large amount has
been destroyed. The premises in which the flames
originated were occupied as a furniture manufactory.
A north-easterly wind blowing at the time, the fire
spread with great rapidity, igniting the premises of
Mr. Goldstone, provision merchant, and of Mr. An-
drews, builder, both adjoining Mr. Dawson's, and all
of which are entirely consumed. The property
destroyed was insured, though not to the full
amount.

AN EXTENSIVE FIRE broke out early on Wednes-
day morning at the warehouse of Mr. John Lorkin,
oil and colour merchant, Aldersgate-street. It
originated, from some unknown cause, in the bum-
merit floor of the building, where a large quantity of
oil and turpentine was stored, which on becoming
ignited sent forth a vast mass of flames. Nearly
every story in the building quickly became enveloped.
Several engines were soon on the spot, but consi-
derable time elapsed ere the firemen could succeed in
checking the flames, and not until the greater part
of the warehouse was consumed. The amount of
property destroyed is very large.
A FATAL FatE occurred on Saturday morning in
White Lion-place, Edgware-road, in which a man and
his wife were burnt to death. The flames were first
discovered by a policeman in a room on the ground
floor, tenanted by the unfortunate couple, and, before
assistance could be procured and an entrance effected,
the whole contents of the room were ignited, and
both the occupants so terribly burned that they died
shortly after reaching the hospital. Their names
were Daniels. It is supposed that one of them set
lire to the place while in a state of intoxication.
A MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT happened last week to
Mr. John Hales, well known as the contractor for the
railway extending from Coalville to Burton-upon-
Trent, who was killed by falling from a scaffold
erected against his house, netu. Tunbridge Wells.
He had recently purchased the estate upon which the
mansion stands, and was superintending the outside
epairs when the fatal occurrence wok place.

AN ALAI:MIND ACCIDENT Occurred on Monday on
the North Union Railway, iu Lancashire, to the
six a.m. train from London to Edinburgh. The
portion of this line from Euxton junction to Preston
is in the charge of the Lancashire and Yorkshire
Company, whose trains run over it between these
points. Near the junction, on the down side of the
line, is a siding for shunting coal trains, with facing-
points. These points had been allowed, by the
servant of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Company
whose duty it was to keep them in order, to become
clogged with dirt, so that they did not act properly.
The stet' -master at Preston had sent some empty
carriages to be shunted there, for which there was
not sufficient accommodation at the station, and,
after these carriages had been ran into the siding, it
appears that the points had never properly closed,
as they ought to have done if they had been clean.
When the train from London arrived, therefore, it
ran into this siding against the empty carriages with
a most fearful collision. The engine went off the
line and was entirely disabled, the driver was thrown
off and sustained a very severe cut across the fore-
head, but was not dangerously hurt, and two first-
class carriages were smashed, but the passengers
escaped without serious injury. There was no tele-
graph by which to communicate with a station
where an engine could be procured, and the train
was detained for nearly an hour, until a Lancashire
and Yorkshire excursion train coming in the same
direction its engine was taken off and attached to
the express train as far as Preston, where the
London and North-Western Company have a station,
and where the guard was enabled to get a fresh
engine to take the train forward to Scotland. The
empty carriages on the siding were shivered almost
to pieces by the shock.
ANOTHER COLLISION occurred upon the Chester
and I lolyhead line on the same day to an afternoon
train than I lolyhead. There is at that point of tho
line near Chester station a shunting, lying to the
north of the rails, which is reached by cross rails
from both lines of the road, and it happened that, as
the train was approaching Chester, it ran into a short
luggage train which was at that instant being removed
from the down line to the shunting, completely cap-
sizing it. The confusion at the moment among the
passengers, chiefly excursionists, on their return
from the Dublin Exhibition, defies description.
Happily there was no harm done to life or limb, all
the damage being confined to the upset vans and the
fittings of the foremost carriages of the passenger
train. This good fortune is, however, hardly to be
attributed to the caution of the railway officials, who,
despite the public outcry against the practice of send-
ing coal and luggage trucks across the lines when
passenger trains are momentarily expected, persevere
in doing so; it is rather to be accotmted for by the
slackened pace of the train when approaching the
station and the lightness of the obstruction.
MONEY AND JEWELS to an extensive amount Were
stolen yesterday week from the Clevedon railway sta-
tiees 111:at Driltvla untba circum,ltaucc* of u wpte-

71

SEPTEMBER 10, 1853.

rious character. A lady named Mansfield, who bad
been staying at Clevedon for a week, went to the
station for the purpose of going on to Bath, and having
a small box containing some hundreds of pounds'
worth of jewels and cash, she deemed it prudent to
carry it in her hand. While she was at the ticket-
counter, a man of fashionable exterior came and
asked for a ticket, on payment of which he tendered
a sovereign. It happened that the clerk had not
sufficient small change, and Mrs. Mansfield, anxious
to oblige, put her box out of her band and gave him
silver for his coin. The train being just about to
start, she went upon the platform and entered the
carriage, wholly forgetting her box till the train was
in motion. At the next station the telegraph was set
to work, and in a few minutes the answer came that
there was no box left in Clevedon. Unforinnately it
did not occur to the railway officers to search the
carriages, and, as there was a down train line at the
same time, there is no knowing in what direction the
thief went oft:

ANOTHER GREAT FIRE occurred at Barnet on
Thursday, on the estate of a gentleman named Smith,
of Cobbett's Farm. The flames were first observed
in a large hayrick, and burnt for five hours before
they could be stopped. An immense stock of hay
and other property was, with outhouses, live stock,
&e., totally destroyed. Mr. Smith is fortunately
insured.

By THE FAIL OF• A hOUSE Ir TO►F: STRAND three
persons perished on Thursday morning. The house
was situate at the corner of Arundel-street, and
tenanted by Mr. Thompson, a tailor, and Mr. Hender-
son, a daguerreotype it.tist. Beside the house was a
vacant space where several tenements had been pulled
down, and extensive preparations were making for
building a new house for Messrs. Smith, the news-
paper agents. It is presumed that some excavations
required tor constructing the foundations to this
building had undermined the support of No. IS-l.
The consequence was that about half-past eight in
the morning in question, and just as Mr. Tho►npson's
shopboy was taking down his shutters, the whole
house crumbled into ►uin: with an awful crash. The

consternation and excitement which the occurrence
occasioned in that. crowded thoroughfare were intense.
During the day the Strand at that point was thronged
by a multitude of curious onlooke►s, and rendered
impassable for traffic by the debris. Very speedily
workmen were removing the wreck, in which, accord-
ing to the first alarm, sixteen or twenty persons were
buried. On examination, however, it turned out that.
only three lives were sacrificed—those of Mr. anti
Mrs. Thompson and George Dunn, the shopman,
whose bodies were found among the ruins. Mr.
Henderson had a narrow escape. He did not reside
on the premises, and was on his way to reach them
preparatory to commencing business for the day,
when the catastrophe Wok place. A few minutes
earlier and he must have been among the victims.
Fortunately, also, the workmen employed on the ad-
jacent buildings had not begun their operations, or
the fatal results of the occurrence would almost
inevitably have been far more serious. The Duke of
Norfolk is ground landlord of the premises.