The Express.
London, England, 1852-08-21 00:00:00

THE FIRE ON BOARD THE SEVERN.

Yesterday the committee appointed by the Court
of Directors of the Royal West India Mail Company to in-
quire into the circumstances connected with the fire on
board the Severn, on her last homeward voyage, made the
following report, which has been submitted, as requested,
to the Lords of the Admiralty:

We, the undersigned, having been ordered by the Court
of Directors of the Royal West India Mail Steam-packet
Company to inquire into and report upon the circutnatanccs
attendant upon a fire occurring on board the Severn steam-
ship, on her passage between Madeira and Lisbon, and
being assisted, at the company's suggestion, by Captain
Austin, R.N., Admiralty Superintendent of Steam•packets
atSouthampton, having examined personally the
muter, chief and third mates, second engineer,
and a midshipman, being the only available wit-
nesses who, it appeared, knew anything of the matter,
herewith submit a statement of the verbal and written eel.
donee siduced upon the occasion, upon which we are of
°Onion that there are no means whatever of ascertaining
ewes, elswelt pre taking place, that it occurred in a
esey mateasted epees in the after run of the ship, where
selking was stowed bat some tank' containing fresh water;
that there was no communication between this place and
the other parts of the ship except by the hatches and grat-
ing leading to it from the principal saloon ; that the com-
pany's printed regulations upon the prohibition of naked
light., tre extinguishment of cooking fires and of all lights
at fixed hours, for visitation of the ship every half-hour
during the night, for having a fire station bell and means
prepared for extinguishing fires, appear to be care-
fully drawn, and (in the case of the Severn) to have
been strictly executed, as is proved by the chief
officer having seen the fire pumps got ready and the
water hoses fixed at 8 o'clock p. m.; the master-
at-arms having seen all lights extinguished at 11 p.m., the
captain having remained walking on the upper deck till
past midnight, aid the subsequent half hourly visitations
and reports to the officer of the watch being regularly
made, and above all from the circumstance that in a few
minutes after the alarm was given the pumps were pouring
water on the lire, which was quickly extinguished by the
exertions of the captain, officers, and crew, all of whom
behaved with zeal and activity ; Captain Chapman having
had two of his ribs broken by a fall on the occasion. Our
attention having beim directed to the allegations re•
meeting the number and efficiency of the boats
of the Severn, we made close inquiry upon this subject,
and found upon the testimony of Captain Chapman, of Mr.
Striatt, the chief officer, and by actual trials made by the
latter at Southampton, and by Messes. White, who built the
life-bests at Cowes, that the Severn's six beats were:capable
of carrying in safety at least 230 persons, being 30 persons
more than that ship had on board during the voyage. It
will be noticed upon a perusal of the evidence that (as
might be expected) various surmises were formed as to the
origin of the fire, but these being contradictory, and
founded confessedly upon mere conjecture, we do not feel
justified in pronouncing any opinion."
Signed by Captain Lyot, one of the directors; Captain
Chappell, R.N., joint manager; and Captain Barton, U.N.,
the company's superintendent at Southampton.

BADEN-BADEN. A letter from this far-famed
resort, dated the 13th, states that notwithstanding the eon.
Source of bad weather, visitors won arriving at the rate
of betern 200 and 300 a day. The opening of the Paris
and Strasburg Railway to the public, whisk took place the
day before, had also considerably increased the number of
guests, no that the official list gave 6,000 r tke number of
gums then at the waters.
MIDDLIt6EX ELECTION.—A tabular statement has
just been Wiled from the Middlesex Reform Registration
Office, showing the state of the poll in this comity at every
district of esch hour on the days of polling at the late elec-
tion, corrected by the sheriff's returns, together with the
number of electors on the register, and the total number
who polled in each district, and also the close of the poll at
the election in 1647. Front this statement it appears that
the number of electors on the register in 1862 is 14,010. Of
these 8,701 voted at the late election, the numbers being—
for Lord It. Oriercnor, 5,241; fur Mr. Osborne, 4,390 ; and
for the Marquis of Blandford, 4,268. In 1847 the number
of persons who voted wee 7,614, the ambers being—For
Grosvenor, 4,944; Osborne, 4,176; Wood, 3,448. It thus
;eem that 1,247 mon MN wars aim in 1862 than in
7.