The Express.
London, England, 1846-10-29 00:00:00

pound, from a small rifle, most secursttly, at it range of
twenty yards. Some interesting mining experiments were
recently detailed to the Cornwall Geological Society, by Mr.
R. Taylor, in whose presence they were made by Schen-
bein. The first was made in • granite quarry, near
Penryn. When the professor charged a hole with some
of the cotton, the workmen thought he was doing a very
absurd thing, and one of the men offered to sit on the hole
fora nint of beer; but he advised him to see the result of
the first explosion before he tried that experiment. They
then had two holes prepared ; the quarrymen weighed out the
quantity of powder required to charge their hole, which was
one quarter of that weight of the cotton. Their hole (said Mr.
Taylor) was fired, and produced its effect completely ; our
hole was fired, and to their great amazement tore the rock
to fragments—in fact, doing more than was required, the
charge being too great. The iron mine of Restormel was
selected for another experiment. From its being in hard
ground, and having the edit level driven • consider-
able distance in'o the hill, the end of that level was
very close, and presented great difficulty in the escape of the
smoke of gunpowder. They first tried an experiment in the
extreme end of the edit level, six or seven hundred fathoms
from the entrance. The miners prepared two holes, which
on being fired with the cotton tore the ground, and the
miners said it was quite satisfactory, and that had powder
been r,sed they could not have gone into the place for three
quarters of an hour; but (said Mr. Taylor) we we:A in in-
stantly, and experienced no inconvenience whatever except
from the safety fuse, and that was no inconvenience to the
men.

POLICE BECTALITY. Sir,—ln your paper of
Tuesday, I read, under the head "Police," acre at uildhall of
charge of (moult by the police, and serious countercharge against the
&facer, in which two persona ore seriously injured by a poll-semen in
the execution of his duty. Snow-hill, as many of its inhabitants
could testify, is the scene of much brutality by the police. Drunken
persona, no matter what sex, or condition of drunkenness, whether
mischievous or insensible„ are removed in the following manner: A
belt is fastened round their waist by the policeman, who, with his
brother officer, throws the drunken individuals backwards, and drugs
them to the station in Smithfield. Thus the back, particularly the
spine, is exposed to the moat serious injury from contact with the
kerb or pavement, to say nothing of the cutting of the belt (which is
a strap of leather about one inch in width) under the armpits, and de-
struction of the apparel. A crowd follows, hooting, of course; and
persons' indignation is roused to see a helpless kllow-ereature thus
brutally treated by the protectors of the peace. It generally takes
four policemen to remove a drunken person—two extra to clear the
way. I have twice taken their numbers to report them ; but time, and
my position as a workman, daunted my resolution. Now some serious
injury has been inflicted, perhaps publicity will percent its recurrence.
—W. &Lissa, 10, Crane-court, Pketstriet.

THE STREET-PAVEMENT PROBLEM SOLVED.—The
excessive traffic through the streets of London, caused by the
great increase of vehicles of every description, has caused
great difficulty in keeping the carriage ways in repair.
Paving upon many plans, and of every variety of material,
has been triad, but none wholly answer. A " Pavi?r," who
writes to the Tunes, appears, however, to have at last solved
the problem. The plan he suggests is to lay alternate pairing of
wood and stone, both narrow as the stone at present laid in
Cheapside, the advantage of which will be a firm foot-hold,
wet
hen dry. or dry ; for, as wood is slippery when wet, so is granite
THE FIRST FOG.—The first fog of the season made
its premature appearance yesterday--a few days before the
month prescribed for suck visitations, November. It was
unusually dense, and much inconvenience, with a few fatal
casualties, were the consequence. The trains on nearly
every railway arrived behind time, in consequence of the
slow rate it was necessary to travel to prevent accidents.
Most of the steam-boats on the river did not ply at all
whilst the fog was at the thickest, and very little business
could be done at the wharves. The departure of several
vessels from the docks was delayed, and many on their way
to the Pool were unable to proceed to their destination. The
Greenwich and Woolwich and above-bridge steamers were
laid up for several hours, end the passengers who generally
lroceed daily by those vessels were compelled to travel by
and. The tog extended below Gravesend, and several
of the continental steamer* were unable to enter the river.
At an early hour in the morning a barge heavily laden with
coal, was being towed up the Pool, when it was struck by a
collier brig ; the force of the blow capsized the barge, and
front the darkness which prevailed it was impossible to ren-
der any assistance to its crew, three in number. One
named Henry Wilkinson, managed to swim to the,
shore ; the other two are supposed to have perished.—ln
the streets a long list of accidents has been reported to us,
from which we select the following :—A young woman whilst
crossing Cheapside was knocked down and run over by an
omnibus. Both wheels passed over her legs, and she was
picked up to all appearance dead. She was conveyed in a
cab to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and is not expected to
survive.--Shortly afterwards, in the City-road, 1. rederick
Williams, a lad of about eight years of age, was run over by
a butcher's cart: his arm and collar-hone were broken, and
his skull was fractured.—About five o'clock, one of the Pad-
dington omnibuses,- in the eastern portion of Oxford-street,
ran with a fearful crash against another, throwing a passen-
ger violently to the ground from the top. The injuries sus-
tained were of such a nature that but little hopes are enter-
tained of his recovery.

ACCIDENT.—EXPLOSION OF SPIRITS.—On Tuesday
evening an Excise officer was in the vault of Messrs. White
and Price, spirit merchants, Mark-lane, examining a vat
containing whisky, and while ascertaining the depth of the
contents, the rule slipped from his fingers and fell into the
liquor. The foreman, Robert Brinton, endeavoured to re-
cover the rule, and held a lighted candle over the opening
of the vat, when the liquor suddenly ignited, and a body of
flames issued forth. The foreman was knocked down by the
force of the explosion, and was burnt in avery dreadful
manner. Immediate assistance was rendered, and after the
fire was subdued the unfortunate man was conveyed in a cab
to the London Hospital, where he was examined by the
house surgeon. The poor fellow's face, chest, and arms were
most fearfully scorched. He still remains in a very pre-
carious condition.

ISQUESTB.--DEATITS FROM ArorLExT.—By Mr.
Bedford, at the workhouse, Poland-street, Oxford-street, on
the bodies of Abraham Marshall, aged 64, and Thomas
Pavey, aged 61. Marshall was a cabinet-maker, and in the
habit of frequenting the parlour of the Fountain tavern,
New street, Golden•square. On Monday evening he was
seated as usual in a corner of the room, smoking his pipe,
and discussing the affairs of Spain, when suddenly his pipe
fell from his hand, and his head dropped on his right shoulder.
He was conveyed from the room, and he expired before the
arrival of a surgeon.—ln the case of Pavey, who had only
been dead rather more than an hour, it appeared that he had
been in an ailing state for some time ; and having taken out
&summons at the Marlborough-street police office against his
master for arrear of wages, which was appointed for hearing
at one o'clock yesterday [see our Marlborough.strect report],
he persisted in attending; and whilst he was sitting on abencli
in the office, his speech and strength utterly failed him. lie
was conveyed out of the court in a senseless state; and
although a surgeon promptly attended, he had ceased to
exist. It was the opinion of a surgeon that the death in each
case had resulted from disease of the heart ; and the jury
returned a verdict of " Natural death " in each cue.—
THE COUNTESS DOWAGER OF WINTERTON.—By Mr.
Mills, on the body of the Countess Dowager Lucy Louisa
Winterton, aged 56, at her ladyship's residence, Lodge Villa,
North-bank, St. John's-wool.—Elizabeth Stairs, her lady-
ship's waiting-maid, said deceased had been an invalid for
the last five or six months, complaining of pains in the back
and chest. Her ladyship consulted Dr. Elliotson about three
months ago, who told her she laboured under affection of the
heart, and prescribed for her. His prescription her ladyship
had been taking almost up to the time of her death, which
occurred at half-past four o'clock on Monday morning. Her
ladyship having taken her medicine retired to rest at eleven
o'clock on Sunday night, appearing in better health and
spirits than she had been for some time past. At a quarter
to four next morning witness was aroused by her ladyship
ringing the bell violently and calling for assistance. Witness
hurried to her instantly, and found her pacing her bed-room
apparently in great agony, and exclaiming, " I am very ill—
lam dying." Witness, applying what aid she could, sent
some of the other domestics for Mr. Watkins, a surgeon,
who arrived as soon as possible, but in the interval her lady-
ship expired.—Mr. Watkius, who had opened the body of
her ladyship, said the cause of her death was ossification of
the semi-lunar valves of the aorta, which had impeded the
natural action of the heart. Verdict: " Natural Death."—
EXTRAORDINAY SUICIDE OF A CHlLD.—Before Wm. Car-
ter, Esq., at the B ittle of the Nile, Albion-street, Itother-
hithe, as to the death of Elizabeth Dudley, aged fourteen.—
The father of the deceased is foreman at an engineer's, and
the unfortunate child was in the habit of taking her father's
breakfast. On her return home on Saturday morning her
mother, who is afflicted with deafness, taxed her with
having loitered by the way in order to chat with some
young friends of her own age, instead of going direct to the
manufactory. Some denial of this was made, and the de-
ceased said she would not go any more, when the mother
gave her a trifling pat on the head. Nothing more seemed
to be thought of the occurrence until some time after, when,
as the deceased could not be found, one of hersisters searched
through the house, and at last found her suspended by a
handkerehieditied round her neck to the bedstead. Upon an
alarm being made she was immediately taken down, but life
WAS suite extinct, and had been so for some time. Mr. Dud-
ley said that when she brought his breakfast he observed
nothing peculiar in her manner, and so far from it, that she
said she would bring him some bread and cheese for his
lunch. The deceased was of a very cheerful disposition and
highly moral conduct.—All the witnesses agreed that they
could in no manner account for such an act.—The Coroner
remarked on the singular and very melancholy end of the
poor girl, and the jury returned a verdict of " Temporary
insanity." The whole of the family have been highly re-
spected in the neighbourhood where they live for the
excellence of their character.

THE LATE CAPTAIN FLlNDERS.—Sir,—llaeing
seen In sour paper of the 17th inst. that the late Premier was so dush
of public service money that he gave a pension to a descendant of a
man who had rendered some service to King Charles the Second, I
beg to inclose you the copy of a memorial which, in the year 1836, was
presented by a peer of parliament to his late Majesty, William the
Fourth. The memorial will tell its own tale. His Majesty, upon its
being read to him, observed, "Poor Flinders, I knew Man well
end he directed a right hon. baronet, then high in office, to take special
charge of the memorial, and to deliver it with his own band to the
then premier, and express to him his Majesty's feelings and wishes
upon the subject Week after week, and month alter month passed
away, and nothing was done ; the reason assigned (and no doubt
substantial one) was, that the memorial was not to be transmitted in
the usual way, and a favourable opportunity of complying with his
Majesty's directions had not occurred. At Late it did occur the me-
morial got to the hands of the Premier, who, after many months, de-
cided that "nothing could be done." How is this! The memorial,
penned from the widow's own hand, had the knowing clause In it,
which, in the one presented to his Majesty, was, by the advice of per-
sons in °Mee, omitted :—" That it was hoped some emolument might
be derived from the publication of the voyage ; but the Admiralty
baring given some money towards the printing of the charts, claimed
the copper-plates as their own, and, by giving away the charts, en-
tirely ruined the sale of the letter-prey."-1 remain, 8:c. A Common.
Rims*. Oct. 24. 1846.