The Express.
London, England, 1847-06-29 00:00:00

Zbe
11.11. H. Prince Albert left Buckingham-palace for
Oxford at nine o'clock yesterday morning. HAL H. went
to the terminus of the Great Western Railway at Padding-
ton, where he wet joined by H.R H. the Hereditary Grand
Duke of Saxe Weimar. Their KR.HII. left by a special
train at twenty five minutes put nine o'clock. Prince
Albert and the Hereditary Grand Duke of Sue Weimar left
Word at half-past four o'clock in the afternoon, teturned
to Paddington by a epee s 1 train at six o'cicak, P 4 ince
Albert proceeding to Buckingham-palace, and the Heredi-
tary Grand Duke to Marlborough-house.
H.ILH. the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Saxe
Weimar visited the Queen yesterday.
H.ILH. the Duchess of Gloucester 'visited their
Majesties the King and Queen of the Dclgians yesterday at
Buckingham-palace.
The royal dinner-party yesterday at Buckingham-
palace included their Majesties' the King and Queen of the
Belgians, his Excellency M. Van de Weyer, the Duke of
Wellington, the Marquis and Marchioness of Douglas, th
Countess Vanderstraten, the Earl and Countess of Claren-
don, Viscount Melbourne, Lady Beaus:ale, Lord and Lady
J. Russell, the Right Hon. Sir R Adair, Major de Hoer-
kerke and Dr. Carswell. The following had the honour of
receiving invitations for the evening: Madame Van de
Weyer, the Marquis of Douro, Viscount and Viscountess
Jocelyn, Lady Byron, Mr. G. B. and the Hon. Mrs. Angell,
Col. the Hon. C. B. Phipps, Col. the Hon. Sir E. Cost, and
Mrs. Ilourcrie. The Queen had a musical performance for
the gratification of the august party, at which Madame
Dorus Gras, Kniapel, NI Roger, and Herr Pischek had the
honour of singing, Mr. Anderson presided at the piano
forte. Her Majesty's private band was in attendance.

Lord Kingston had an interview with Sir G. Grey
yesterday at the Homc-office. Mr. Wickham, chairman of
the Stamps and Tares, had an interview with the Chancellor
of the Exchequer yesterday.
Despatches were seat off last evening from the
Colonial-office for the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope.
The Judici•il Committee of the Privy Council sat
yesterday. Judgment was given on an appeal from Jamaies,
' " Gordon r. II irafall." An appeal from the Court of Arches,
"Phillips r. Phillips," was part heard. The Master of the
Rolla, Lords Brougham and Campbell, the Chancellor of the
Duchy of Cornwall, and the Judge of the Admiralty Court,
were present.
His Royal Highness Prince Waldemar of Prussia,
travelling uerier the name of the Count de Rowenaieirg, is
shortly expected to arrive in this country.
The Viscount Feilding left town yesterday for Cam-
bridge, on a visit to the Master of Clare Hell.
The Countess Schirnmelpenninck, the lady of the
Netherlands Minister at this court, and Mr. Pemberton and
family, landed at Blackwell-pier cn Sunday morning, from
the General Steam Navigation Company's mail strain-ahip,
Ocean, that left Rotterdam on the previous day.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Bojnana, Colonel
Dixon and family, and Capt. Fell, arrived at Blackwell early
yesterday morning, by the Geneva, Steam Navigation Com-
pany', steam-ship, Soho, after a delightful trip of 19 hours
from Antwerp.

TILE FATAL ACCIDENT IN BERMONDSEY.
Yesterday morning the inquiry into the cause of
the accident arising from the falling in of one of the arches
belonging to the L =don and Gravesend Railway, in Great
Russell-street, Bermondsey, was resumed in the Board-room
of Bermondeey union workhouse, before Mr. Carter. the
coroner. and the jury empannellcd upon the former occasion.
Alfred Bingham, a labourer, deposed that he wee at
work for Mr. Justice, foreman to Mr.litrown, as ex-
cavator, on Friday, at the time of the accident, filling
up the spans at the top of the arch with rnncrete. On
his returning with his barrow from depositing concrete,
he felt something move; he was not far from the centre
of the arch, and near the key-brick when the brick-
work fell es d buried him in the ruins. He was so much
alarmed that he had no opp3rtimity of noticing any
minute circumstance, nor could he say whether the arch
gave way at the centre or at the sides. He had been at
work on that part of the railway about two days. One side
was nearly filed up, and the other partially so. Nothing
articular was noticed by witrics, or pointed out to him re-
lative
to the stability or instability of the arch. Mr. Brawn
hal told him to-be careful not to put more filling in on one
side than the other. Ile had never seen anything to alarm.
him, nor anything different in the construction of the arch
to that of others.
Mr. Thomas Grissel (of the firm of Griasel and :Pito), de-
posed that he had been called upon by the engineer of the
railway to give his opinion of the quality of the materials.
He considered them to be of the beat description, and
he did not see anything in the nature of them to cause the
accident. He was eatisfled the arch did not fill
from the instability of the abutments. Having been
much engaged in this Fort of work, he wan of opinion the
work wee properly and faithfully performed. But little of
the concrete appears to have fallen with the arch. The coo-
crete, as far as he could pay, had been filled in to a level on
each side. The object of easing the arch is to &low it to
take its own bearing, to test the solidity of the work. The
mortar being fresh there is considerable pressure, end if the
mortar had been bed the arch would have come dower. If
the arch did not follow the centres it was a sound arch, and
the builders were justified in the course of five days ias he
had been informed was the cue) in removing th ribs alto-
gether. The centre is merely left fora few days as a matter
of precaution. Looking at the form of the arch, it would
Oman steed witeent mortar at all. It was not cus-
tomary to use cement except in the winter. The
circumstance of the mortar becoming hard or dry
was not essential. The arch had been turned under
very unfavourable circumstances as to weather. Ile was
fully of opinion that the manner in which the centre was re-
moved was the cause of the accident —The Coroner: Aye,
but that is because of some thing you have heard.—Witness :
Yes, what I have seen in the papers. I em of opinion that
if the centre had been properly removed, in the ordinary
way, that the arch would not have fallen. It was one of the
simples! acts for a builder to throw down an arch after he
had built it—the slightest neglect would produce such a
result.
Mr. Grieiell then went into an elaborate exposition of tare
causes of the accident, by reference to a model of the arch
which wee brought in. Looking at all the facts detailed in
the boy Smith's evidence with respect to the horse and cart
pulling down the hi-pole, be had not the least doubt it was
that which caused the accident. The circumstance, he
considered, to be purely accidental.
Mr. Pinhorn, civil engineer, was next called: Mr. Barlow
is the company'. engineer, and witness was employed under
him in surveying the work and taking superintendento of it.
The works have been about ten months in progress.
Witness had inspected them on the morning of the
accident, and they appeared perfectly safe. At the time
of the accident the arch had been turned about ten days.
He thought the arch so well constructed, that he
could scarcely believe that it bad fallen when he
heard of it first. He was decidedly of opinion that
the bi-role caught the rib when the hone and cart pseud,
and that the rib was knocked over and the bridge fell. (An
illustration of this position was then given by Wittiest, who,
proceeding to the model, fixed the imitation line in a man-
ner similar to that named, and the ribs and materials fell,
leaving a miniature wreck exactly like the real one produc-
ing the digester.]
Mr. J. Will, bricklayer, said he was passing just be-
fore the arch fell, and his attention was arrested by
the fact that the arch was set in mortar, and the
centre struck. The arch was two or three inches from the
centre. He pawed under the arch, and wing no p'atform,
but men on ladders, about fire of them, he thought there was
Borne neglect. The centre ribs were then down ai.d put on
the other side. There ought, in his opinion, to Dave been a
platform. There appeared to be a great want of care.
He bad no doubt the cart had caused the acci-
dent, He saw the bi-pole after the arch was dawn.
He believed that the arch would have stood many years if
there had been proper care in taking down the centres. If
the mortar had been properly set, the arch would have
stood, but in his opinion it was too wet for the centres to
be struck so early as they were. Witness saw a hone and
cart, but he did net notice any rope attached to the pin of
the cart. Witness heard a scuffling just before the noise
made by the fall of the brickwork.—By the solicitor for the
deceased parties If a person had been appointed to guard
the ro; e, the accident, in his opinion, would ant have hap-
pened.—By the solicitor for the contractor He was sstis-
fied there ought to have been some stage or something
to prevent any accident. In his opinion, there was not
sufficient protection nor a sufficient look out kept for the
safety of the public. He considered that there was not
sufficient caution taken in preventing parties from passing
through the arch while the men were employed in striking
the centres ; while he considered that no man ought to have
been sent or to have gone away, for any purpose whatever,
leaving any ropes untied or unguarded.
Mr. Samuel Beesley, architect, deposed that he had
seen the remaining portion of the archway, and was of
opinion that the materials were of the very best qua-
lity, The buttresses were unghakee, and the arch turned
like those of the adjoining arches. Me was satisfied even.
regard was paid to the safety of the public in the coestrne-
ton of the arch.
The jury returned a verdict " That the deceased parties,
Frederick Messenger and Mary Thistletos, were accidentally
killed, and that the jury are desirous of expressing to the
proper authorities their sense of the incautious manner in
which the hey in their employ has acted, and their desire to
recommend to the contractors of such works to apply to the
Incal commissioners for leave to stop up any public way over
which an arch may be turned, more particularly tie the
striking of the centres, so as to prevent any such accident as
this in future."
The inquiry was then concluded, after a sittieg, urou this
occasion, of more than six hours.

COMMERCIAL TRAVFLLERS' SCHOOL—The quar-
terly court was held yesterday fur the election of children,
and for ordinary business. dtr Willcockson was voted to
the chair. The report stated that the hoard, since the lam
court, had been chiefly employed in 'risking arrangements
for this, the first election of children. The premier, which
the/ had fixed upon, at Wanetead, were capable of accom-
mo atigg from 150 to 200 children. There wen 4 acres of
ground, and a 'este had been entered into for 21 years at an
annual rent of 1201 ; the right of purchasing the freehold
within sir month., Inc the sum of 2,6001., resting with the
board of management; these terms the board considered
highly advantageous. A master and matron had been ap-
pointed. The auditor's report stated that the receipts, in-
cluding 831. 14s. 6d. donations, and 2561. 9s. annual sub-
scriptions, received, were 6,3431. 16e. The disbureement
was 1,7011. is for !loch, leaving a balance of 6621. 11.. The
reports were adopted, as was a resolution empowering the