The Express.
London, England, 1864-09-09 00:00:00

THE EU'itESS,

donations aud collections, 4181. 13s. 11d. ; total,
number, 2,226 ; receipts, 2,764/. 18s. lid.
The following were the attendance and receipts
on Wednesday evening :—President and vice-pre-
sidents' seats, atitle., 62 ; 461. 10s. Secured seats,
at 15s. cash, 833 ; 6241. 15a. Unsecured seats, at
Ss. each, 607 ; 242/. 16a. Total number attending,
1,501 Total receipts, 9141. lei. On the correspon-
ding evening in 1861 the amount taken was
6421. 16s. The list of donations on Wednesday in-
cludes the following :—The Earl of Dartmouth,sol. ;
W. 0. Foster, Esq., M.P., 211. ; James Lloyd,
Esq., 20/. ; Miss Amelia Alston, 201. ; Mr. John
Scholefield, 201. ; Thomas Phillips, Esq., 10/. 10a.;
Mr. Ebenezer Robins, 10!. ; E. P. Shirley, Esq.,
M.P., 10/. ; Sir N. L. Chetwode, Bart., 10/. ; Sir
F. Shuckburgh, Bart, 101. For the concert this
evening every ticket is sold..

THE FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE NEW RAILWAY
WORKS AT LEWISHAM.

Yesterday Mr. Carttar resumed an investigation
gibs Trinity Arms Tavern, Church-street, Deptford, rela-
tive to the &litho of Thomas Wilbur,, aged 35 years, and
William Harris, aged 21 years, who were buried alive by
the fall of a mew of earth and chalk, on the new works of
the South Eastern Railway Company now in program at
Lewisham. The inquiry had been adjourned from the End
inst., for the production of the fullest smentifits and other
evidence as to the manner in which the work bad been
carried out. It appeared that from the previous examine.
don that the deceased and other men were, on the Ist lust.
employed in widening a deep cutting on the North Kent
line between the New-crow and Lewisham stations, and for
this purpose an excavation was made under an immense mass
of chalk. Whitt so engaged a slip took place, and the de-
ceased, with two men named William Biggs and Thomas
Davis, were buried beneath about 80 tons of the debris.
Biggs and Davis were extricated before life was extinct, and
conveyed to the hospital, where Davis had one of his legs
amputated.
Mr. Stevens, from the office of Mr. Freeman, solicitor to
the South Eastern Railway Company, attended to watch
the proceedings on the part of the company, and the follow-
ing who're@ were now examined.
Thomas Earl, an excavator, employed on the works with
the deceased men on the day in question' stated that the
cutting at the point where the reddest occurred was about
12 feet high, sod an excavation was at the bottom of
this cutting to the extent of about 24 feet in width and 3 feet
high. The work was dose proper) ,and witneesdid not see any
danger. The entire frontage of the cutting was of chalk, but
alter the fall took place it was found that the
soil at the back was, to • depth of 6 or 7 fest,
altogether composed of earth, and this in the opinion of
witness was the sole cause of the accident. .1t was usual
after au excavation had been made, if it was considered
that the work in progress was dangerous, to send a man to
the top to give notice of any appearance of fissure that might
be perceived previous to driving in piles or wedges with
mallets, for the purpose of detaching the soil on the top of
of the excavation. In this case no person was stationed at
the top, as it was considered that the chalk went back for
some distance, and it was impossible to know that about
seven feet of earth was immediately behind the chalk. The
men were just going to the top to drive the piles when the
fall of soil took place. Wither and other men had • very
'arrow escape. Davis, the man now in the hospital with
his leg amputated, was foreman of the gang, and it would
have been his duty to have sent a man to the top had he
considered it to be necessary.
By the Corooer—He did not think that the work could
have been carried out is a better or safer manner than it
was, considering that there was no indication of the soil
being otherwise than chalk.
Robert Coles, William Frost, and John King, labours'',
employ ed at the time with the deceased and injured men,
were then examined, and all agreed in opinion that the ea-
tastrope was purely accidental, and was caused entirely
by the sudden change of the material from chalk to earth,
which could not be seen until after the slip had taken
place.
Mr. John King, foreman of the works in program for the
construction of the new railway, stated he is employed
under the direction of Mr. Ashcroft, engineer to the
South Eastern Railway Company. The work was not
being carried out by contract, but entirely and im-
mediately by the South-Eastern Company under
their own engineer. Witness was in the habit of inspecting
the work constantly, and was on the spot about half an
hour before the accident took place. There did not
appear to be the least danger. The front of the cutting,
excavated for the purpose of being made wider, consisted
of about one foot of black soil on the top, the remainder
being entirely chalk, and of still firmer substance known as
bullhead. The work was carried out in • proper manner
under the iospectioa of the chief engineer ; and witness be-
lieved that the accident entirely resulted from the existence
of a mass of earth immediately behind the facing of chalk.
The presence of this earth could not be known until the fall
bad taken place.
By the Coroner—He had measured the depth of the
earth behind the chalk from the surface, sad found it about
7 feet, and its diameter was about the lame. This suddea
chugs of the material from chalk to earth was no docibt
the cause of the accident. With every precaution it was
impossible to rased against these madden clumps of soil,
which were well known as potholes, and had been the
caws of many accidents.
Mr. Peter Ashcroft, engineer to the South Eastern Rail-
way Company, deposed he frequently inspected the works,
but had no fixed time for so doing. He was on the spot
about one hone after the accident and Inspected the works,
which from 31 years' experience as • practical !engineer he
could say ware carried out in • proper manner. He saw
the cutting a short time before the accident took place, and
for some days previously. It was quite an ordinary work,
and no risk or danger were anticipated. In fact the chalk, i
kc., of which the side of the cutting was composed, was so
hard that it took two boars to get, by the application of
wedges, he., a fall of material preceding the fall, which was
attended with fetal results, and which took place entirely
in consequence of the pot-hole being behind the chalk ; and
the material of which the sides of the cutting was composed
was so bard that he had contemplated the nee of gun-
powder to remove it after it being undermined, and he had
spoken to Kiog, the foreman, oa the subject ; but it was
considered inadvisable to um powder on account of the
constant passage of trains on the North Kent line, which
wait through the cutting. He had no doubt that the vibra-
tion from the traffic tended to loosen the earth after the
excavation had been made, and might have hastened the
accident. He could not attribute blame to any person em-
ployed on the works, which were carried cut os • proper aye.
tem. Could any parses be to blame it would be the ganger
(Davis), now lying in the htal without hope of recovery,
and it was evideet that bade beets aware of any danger he
would have done his best to avert the accident. He wished
to remark that this work was beg carried out by the com-
pany—no coutractoes were *imp ed—the men were all
paid good wages, and worked at per y H. had had my
years experience ea railway works, &dime that accidents
bad semen from similar causes, viz., the sudden finding of
pot-boles containing loose earth, Su. At the Watford
tunnel twelve men were buried under the dibris from this

SPORTING INTRI,LIGRNCR.

WEIGHTS FOR THE MIAREWITOH AND
CAMBRIDGESHIRE STAKES.
NEWMARKET BISOQND OCTOBER MEETING.
011111nAr. OCKNIZII IL
THE einIARZWITCH SrAlge, a free trianelioap of 25 lows
each, 15 ft, with 200 added by the Jockey Club, for 3-yr-
olds and upwards. Oesarewltch Goons. (2% wittiest.)
Acceptances to be signified au or before Sept. I.Mbit DOOD.
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