The Express.
London, England, 1848-07-31 00:00:00

nt Court.

OanOttNE, Su DAY.—The Itake of Cambridge and
the Duellers of Gloucester left Osborne for London at eleven
o'clock yesterday forenoon.
Her Nlnjesty, Prince Albert, and the royal house-
hold attended Divino service at Whippingham Church
to-day.

A cabinet council was held on Saturday, at the
Foreign-office. The ministers present were—Lord J thu
Russell, the Lord Chancellor, the Marquis of Lansdowne,
the Earl of Minto, Viscount Palmerston Earl Grey, the
Earl of Auckland, Sir J. Ilobhouse, Lord Catapbell, the
Right Ifon. H. Labouchcre, the Marquis of Clanricarde, and
Viscount Morpeth. The council sat one hour and a half.
Mr. Muntz, M.P., and the Chairman of the Cus-
toms, had interviews with the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer on Saturday, at his official residence in 'Dawning-street.
Mr. W. SLuttleworth and Mr. A. Ifodgs3n had an
interview with Sir George Or y on S durflity, rat the Home-
office.

—•
A deputation, including Mr. Deputy Peacock, the
City Itvrnernbrancer, and Mr. Daw, hod an interview with
Vi,count Morpeth, on Saturday, at the office of the Com-
miaAonera of Woods and Foreat,-, in Whitehall-place.
A deputation, consisting of Mr. Cardwell,
Mr. Darkly, Mr. Greene, Mr. Seedbed', Mr. Bauch,
and Mr. !ilacgreger, hod an intervi-w on Saturday with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer.

THE SOUTHAMPTON PORTION OF THE INDIA MAIL
arrived last night by the Ripon. Just u the Ripol left
Alexandria, the Bombay mail (the rewa brought by which
will he found in another column) was announced as having
aerie, d at Suez. Such a circumstance as the' of the Bombay
mail b-iner so close behind the Calcutta mail has newr hap-
pened before.
MORS TROOPS AND ARTILLERY FOR IRELAND.—
"i he horses, forty-five in number, belonging to the D Battery
of the Rapt Artillery, at present under the command of
Captsin C. Morklaud left the i:arracks, at Woolwich, early
on Sunday morning, and proceeded by a special train of the.
Noun Western Railway to Liveryoul, en roule to Dublin. A
party of nonmonsmis•ioned officers and men proceeded in
charge of the horses, but will return to Woolwich. An
extra battery, consisting cf three 6 pounder guns, and one
32-ponnier howitzer, with equipment and ammunition com-
plete, has been got reedy at tne Grand Depot, Woolwich,
and will, It is expected, he sent off with a company of artil-
lery by rail to-day, to au zment the Royal Artillery is Ire-
land. Oa Saturday night, the whole of the 9th Regiment of
Infantry, which wt re expected to have encamped at Evertoa,
hR Liverpool for Dublin, by the steamer Birmingham.
INQUESTS, SATURDAY.—SUICIDE IN THE MILL-
BANK PRlSON.—Before Mr. Bedford, at the Millhank prison,
on the body of Lewis Cocky, aged 36, a prisoner therein, who
destroyed himself by hanging.—Mr. Charles Foster, clerk to
the Milihank prison, stated that the deceased was convicted
in March last, at the Norwich assizes, of receiving stolen
goods, and sentenced to 14 years' transportation. Mc was
received into the prison on the 6th of April following, and
since his admission he had been such an orderly well-con-
ducted person, that in the following May he was pot into
suicieLtion, as a model to the other prisoners. Bing a shoe-
maker by trade, and a clever workman, several prisoners
were placed under him to learn the business. He had not
been there long, when it was found that he was overworking
himself, doing double the quantity of other prisoners, and
the surgeon ordered additional diet, and the governor di-
rezted him not to work so hard. The deceased remained
there until the 22nd inst., when he was removed again
into separate confinement, arising from an extraordinary in-
flux of prisoners arriving from Newetate, and the ward tieing
required for tub, nee. Thomas Fickle, warden, deposed
that he received the deceased on the 22nd inst., when he
compleiaed of again being placed in solitary confinement
without race ; and he did not tell deceased why it occurred.
On the following day he asked witness to speaa to the chief
officer to allow him to have another prisoner to work with
him. He had not an opportunity to ask that day, and OR
en,vrioe the deceased's cell, at nine o'clock OR tho morning
of the i.ich, he kern,' him hanging by a cord, whi.th. he had
fastened to a hook which supported his hammock. Ho cat

him down, and on the arrival of the surgeon he pronounced
him dead. Other evidence was given, showing that
the deceased had just previouey received • letter
from his wife of a heart-rent.ing nature, on which
he remarked he should not live to receive another
from her. Verdict, "Temporary insanity." Tag
Fin't IN WAPPINO.—By Mr. Baker, at the Anchor
and Hope, on the bodies of John Piercy and James Young
Hancock, each aged 26, firemen, who lost their lives in a
fire next door to the house in which the inquest was held.
—William Ayling said that be was foremen to Messrs.
Lawford and Westrup, millers, and that be lodged at the
Anchnt and Hope. I was the last person in the mill the
night previous to the fire (Thursday). I examined, without
a light, all the rooms, and found them to all appearance
safe. The mill had ceased working. I locked the premises,
and left no one behind me. The fire broke out on the tep
floor, the fifth from the bottom. The floor contained a
number of wheels for dressing flour and wheat, and several
A.rchimedean screws for conducting, in wooden boxes, the
wheat from one part of the mill to another. I never saw
say appearance of ignition from the friction of the screws,
which are made of cast-iron, and which work at the slow
rate of 35 revolutions in a mihute. There were wheat and
meal (of the latter very little) on the top floor, and I do
not think either ignited spontaneously. I can form no opi-
nion as to the cause of the fire. There is a communi-
cation by means of a high bridge, betwr, n the mill and the
bakehouse, which is situate on the opposite side of the Street.
The doors of this bridge are sometimes shut and sometimes
not. On the evening in question, the work in the bake-
house celled at 6 o'ciock, and it was then dosed. Soon
after the arrival of the firemen, the top floors fell in, cull-
ing with them the lower, and the two deceased firemen.—
' Mr. Lawford, in answer to a juror, said the premises had
been reinsured since Christmas last at a premium beyond
the usual rate. They had be en rebuilt, which was the cause
of the fresh insurance. With respect to the fire he suspected
nobody.—Mr. G. Fogo, foreman of the London Fire Brigade,
avid that be wentup to the second floor and called to the men,
when Mackay, the engineer, answered "All right," signi-
()ling that they had got • good palon to master the
fire. Witte at descended to the street to get ais own
engine into work, and very soon afterwards he heard
the crash of floors falling in. Mackay was brought
out directly, and stated that the deceased were behind in the
ruins. There was not the least chance of getting them out
then. The fall of the building, and not the action of the fire,
killed them.—By the Coroner : If I had not had other duties
to attend to I should have been with them. From the ap-
pearance of the building, and not knowing the weight of the
machinery above, the men thought themselves in a secure
position, and so did I. Ido not think there is anybody to be
blamed. It is evident that the weight in the upper part of
the building caused the loss of life—caused the floors to fall
so suddenly that the men had not time to escape. I have in-
quired into the cause of the fire, and gather from the opinions
of otlien that it may be attributed to the friction of the ma
chinery.—Mr Braidwood, the superintendent of the Lon-
don Fire Brigade, said he had no suspicion of any
one. Those flour and corn mills were very dangerous,
and though they were insured at high premiums, they were
not as high as they ought to be. He surmised that the fric-
tion of the screws was the cause of the fire.—Mr. Lawford :
The mill, had ceased working at six on Thursday evening,
and the fire did not break out until four o'clock on the ((g-
-lowing morning.—Mr. Braidwood: That may be. The
breaking out of the flames depended ea circumstances. A
slight draught of air would fan the hidden ignition into a
flame. The deceased men had exhibited no foolhardiness.
The usual practice was, on such occuions, for the men to
get inh• the building and go as high as possible—Verdict,
" Accidental death whilst engaged ic extinguishing the fire,
but how the fire was caused there is no evidence to prove."
—Mr. Braidwood, in reply to the foreman of the jury, said
the widows of firemen were not allowed pensions Formerly
they were, but it led to such abuse and immorality that the
fire companies bad discontinued the practice. The children
of firemen who lost their lives in the discharge of their duties
were assisted by the companies, and so were the widows to a
certain extent. Not more than eight men of the London
fire brigade had so lost their lives during the list 15 years,
though the average number of fires was two a day. The
circumstances of the present case would come before a com-
mittee of the company next week, and the condition of the
families of deceased would be then considered.