The Express.
London, England, 1862-05-31 00:00:00

SHREWSBURY ELECTION.

NOIIINATION.—(THIS DAY.)
(BY ILECTILIO TILLIWIL111).
The nomination of candidates took place today, when
Mr. H. Robertson (liberal), Mr. R. R. Oakley (conserva-
tive), and Mr. H. Atkins (independent), were proposed.
The show of bands was in favour of Mr. Robertson.

FEARFUL PIT ACCIDENT AT BILSTON.

SEVEN LIVES LUST.

Y ebterday afternoon, a terrible accident happened
at Bradley, whereby seven lives have been lost.
It appears that four men and three boys were engaged
at the Bradley Colliery, of Mews. G. B. Thorneycroft
awl Co., making a communication between the engine pit
of the colliery and a pit in the thick coal seam. The object
in view was to make a water level to draw off into the
engine pit a large accumulation of water in the thick coal
before described, and which was at a higher level than the
engine pit. The men had proceeded in their work to within
about fifteen feet of the water, when it burst in upon them
in great force.
They were driven before it to the shaft, by which
they descended a distance of about seventy yards, and
shouted for the tackle to be sent down. The butty of the
pit, who had just ►►tended, made instant preparations to
comply with their request; but before the skip could be
got down to the point at which they raised the alarm, the
weight and force of the rushing water bad destroyed the
scaffolding which here spanned the shaft, and forced the
poor fellows into the water beneath.
As soon as the two pumping engines, which were at
once put oa in full work, had drawu off sufficient water,
Harvey, the manager, descended, and, accompanied by
other two men, found two of the deceased driven by
the force of the liberated water into the " inset" at
the bottom of the engine pit, some two hundred
yards from the place where they were at work
when the water broke in upon them. They were
by that time quite dead. The remaining five bodies had not
beets recovered up to 10 o'clock last night, when our reporter
left the spot. All the water, however, had been pumped
out, but the &trio had so far interfered with the easy
moving of the working parties, that the bodies could not, it
was feared, be reached before this morning.
When the water broke in upon the deceased, about forty
men were working some distance off in the thin mine coal.
Their pit being ooanected with the engine pit, the roar of
the water could be distinctly heard in the thin
coal, and the men became greatly alarmed, but
they had the means of escape in several directions,
as indeed had the deoeued, if the water had
not gained noon them with fatal rapidity. Even if the
forty men in question had not bad the facilities for escape
which they possessed, the water in the thick coal was not
sufficient to render their position hazardous.
The deceased are Thomas Dunning, aged 48, married
(the " doge" of the pit) and his son Isaac, aged 12 ; Charles
Deakin, aged 22 ; Joseph Wilke, married, and having four
children ; Samuel Speed, 20; Frederick Cound, 11 ; and
William Schofield.

The bodies recovered were those of Speed and the boy
Dunning. It was not known at the colliery last night
whether Speed was married ; but the " doggy, " in addition
to his son who was killed with him, bad three ohildreo.
Captain Thorneycroft, who at the time of the accident
was on the magistrates' bench at Radon, was at the
colliery within an hour after the occurrence happened,
and he remained there the greater part of the night, as
did also Mr. Hartley and another member of the firm,
with Mr. Baker, the government inspector, and Mr.
Sunman, mining engineer to Messrs. Thorneycroft. By
the last-named two gentlemen the efforts of the working
parties were being directed.

- Much consternation naturally prevailed in and around
Bilaton, ►nd the pit banks at the colliery were crowded
during moat of the evening, notwithstanding the heavy
rain ; but the police, under Superintendent Were% kept
the public from impeding the operations.

THE 4LLEGED MURDER IN DRURY-LANE.

BOW,STREET.—(THIS DAY.)
John Lemon was brought up before Mr. Carrie, having
been remanded from Saturday last, on suspicion of causing
the death of Ann Gedling, • woman with whom he had for
some years cohabited.
It will be remembered that the prisoner lived by manu-
facturing base coin, and having returned home on Friday
evening to their lodgings In White Hart-street, Drury-taco,
they had • desperate quarrel, during which the prisoner
struck the woman • severe blow on the head
with • flat iron, which was found covered with blood.
The next morning she complained of sickness and called
to the prisoner (according to his statement), when he found
that she had swallowed • quantity of cyanide of potassium
--• malarial used for electro-plating coin. He took the
bottle from her, and went for ► doctor, but she died imme-
diately on the arrival of Hid, medical mac.
Mr. Lovett, the surgeon, now attended to state that he
bud made • post-mortem examination of the body, and he
believed death to have been caused by the poisonous solution
in question, which the woman might probably have taken in
mistake for gin. There was a bottle containing gin in the
room. _ _

Mr. Come—Then the prisoner must be discharged.
The prisoner left the court without saying a word.