The Express.
London, England, 1847-02-08 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL.

Scarcely a week passes but the country papers contain
cases of mutilation and death arising from carelessness with
tire•arms ; and if a statistical return of such mishaps could
be obtained, it would present a very startling re
cord of misery induced by implements used for
amusement. An inquest was held on the 4th
instant, at Basingstoke, upon the remains of W. ;
Newlyn, the father of a young family, now thrown upon
the world unprovided for. It appeared that he went out to
shoot small birds, and had put the loaded barrel of his gun
into one pocket, and the stock into the other, when as he
was Fretting over • gate the gun was discharged and the con-
tents passed through his head,blowing nearly half of it away.
Another reeeut accident was induced by the same amusement.
A retired farmer named Golborne, living between Hertford'
and Ware, went with a doable gun into his garden, where
he fired at and wounded a buifinch, which, however, he
could not catch. Whilst searching a hedge for Iris noble
game, an explosion was heard, and the old man was found
on the ground dead—A third instance presents itself. W.
Jalland, aged 24, a joiner, at Woodborough, described as
"very fond of going about with a gun," called upon his
father-in-law on business, but with a fowling•piece under
his ann. About half-an-hour after he had gone away, the
father heard the report of tire-arms, and soon after found his
son lying upon the road rolling about as if in great kiwn ;
I gun was near him, and blood was running from his side.
His only words were, The whole charge of shot is in
me ;" he lingered till night and then died. Some of the
evidence at the inquest may be given in the hope it may
deter others from risking such a late. One of the witnesses
said, " I saw smoke coming out of deceased's clothes, and
asked him where it came from, but he gave no answer. I
turned his coat aside, and said, ' Will, you are in flames,'
and he said, 'Am I ? put it out.' I turned his waistband
aside, and saw his shirt sopped with blood." The surgeon
described the condition of the dying man. The shot had en.
tered in a lump, he said, and then spread into his body. He
could distinctly feel the shot and wadding in different wt.'
of t abdomen. They had entered at the left and had
passed to the right side. Is not this paying very dear for the
pleasure of shooting sparrows and Imlfinehee ?

THE RECENT MINEIXI47OB7/.;;iIATE given rise to much
discussion as to the best means of lessening the liability to
such accidents. A letter, published in the Alonchestcr
Guardian, suggests the connexion of dangerous Ere-damn
accumulations with falls in the barometer, The communi-
cation runs as follows :
. . .

The hnful ion of life that swab Una filar In our mann
demands the serious consideration at all fly ; there-
fore I am sure that you will charrtany An one Is sleepy a mall
space of your publication in dieing any anggreedon whin may Unto
prevent It. In my communications with Gnomon imeanshissci
ininent bare constantly railed the::: Minim to the literati= ~t
andiontied hydrogen gas, or " Dresden, " as It fa usuallyeallad,
en
mann foils of the barometer. Mr Me dreadful endmiona
Lit= tetallardshire, and nor Wigan, nee both
Stith changes in the panne ef the Mearmleme. lu
yew mihrems at this day, le aims. et mem lon el tatff
whurile lII=
itew coal pit et Ipledla lal/A, mar lassbia.
ter. Thiswok*. at Miffed see *Mork on
Wednesday ineralnearlth afro, the time of the greatest
depromeloa of the barometer be a nag dm@ post .liimodiately
after nothing this sodden demessioa, I mandened to a salestific
friend of mice, my fears that we should Mr of meg
of ere deep. By reference to your publhhel beremearler=
fions, It will be found that the meetly stood every oinideralte height
for some weeks. On Tuesday, the Itch alt., at four Vont p.m.. the
day previous to the accident, it registered 29'14, whits a twelve
p.m. of the woe day, it bad fallen to 21 70. If! ehiscing • tall
of 44, near 'Wren inch in eight hours, and the intalbot ainswat
of persoore about the time of the accident. Amens In reeks
near seams of coal and cannel, geoerally esuldn Ire
damp. When thew strata are opened by ankhld shalls, the
this clowned in them on the" dip " or lower
the
for
the most pat =cape, owing to its small specter nig
much lighter than commonsir ; but It will be conned the rise,"
or sipper pert of the strata, Jest like gee under a made!in a
ppaeenaammaaaqYs nigh by • °Mania of water. :Co long as the prompore
Mesrmphmemums the Ise, the pa will meth= pm an in
the amines of the rock; hat as me so it dinsisistre, runes
• wham of pa, and If peed candles ms red,
like that at Ignite Pont, no Wan& intrinmat€lPlir
wager mins than the bowman to the num and Mars
looter of a ailing, and sat an eitaMbhment might Is be
without one plant mar mu, _wait pt, sod both eves
el eel ems might le be ftested seeekelty churn It.
I by DO MOM Intend Mat • birmiller simmld dhpeme with
poll eratilatios, but tin Imilmilint sidle M he aria ebeerw al.
so that the currents of the Mr amen mar pond, may be in.
crowed, when be its fall it Indleke • 111 of atracepheric
=and the consegoeut Illintion of gas in the none.
wire ought alien, to be Own to ventilation whomever
the mg nary in the barometer Wpm to fall alter It has imbibed
=at e tent height ihr a weedderalle thne. Same
will, with the but asesegreseme aemebemilly mem
M matesdnen but a great way of Me moat uedentitedly
ma and aught te be premeasi Ise he Me soft cif
M Ives et ebeemem, awl he the turn 411 owing=gal
te the rem, erred by milledlem eillketes. every mutton
aft
met; end, seleftly the Idling enema of pierkelag
te7emehilly ebewetz4! a tiremaidar. tee enghtazitsfsr • moment to
Anent= Drain 7110 K STARVAIIow has aceumed in
Uverpool. The victim was a yang child, the sea ef an
Irish pauper, who came recently frees Sligo. An impost
was held on Friday; and some conversation that occurred
between the coroner and the parish surgeon, illustrates the
condition of the poor in that neighbourhood. The father
of the deceased had, since he arrival, about five weeks
ago. been subsisting upon the soup and other food
tickets issued by the parochial authorities. On Sunday week
his wife, with the deceased and another child, arrived. They
were very badly off ; a few days ago they removed from
Brick-street to a cellar in the Park thermt, end on Tuesday
I morning made an application for relief. Mr. Temkin, the
relieving officer, suited the parties immediately, and was
shown what he at first supposed to be a bundle if raga, but
which was decened. The child was found dead in bed by
its mother at eight o'clock in the morning. The relieving
°Meer gave them some bread, and they have received relief
from the overseers since that time. Upon Mr. Gilmour, the
surgeon, inspecting the body, he was satisfied that the child
had died from starvation and want of food. The mother was
half an idiot from the same nem. The jury returned a
verdict aceordingly.—The Coroner expressed a hope that
the woman would be attended to.—Mr. Gilmour: But
I she to nut my patient yet.—Closer If she dies,
I shall take a prompt step that will astonish all the
authorities at the park and in this town too. You
have had your attention drawn to the case, and you had
better attend.—Coroner I give ou the woman now as a
patient ; and I now give you legal notice that she is in your
district se parish surpreon—that the ie ill, and in want of the
necessaries of life. No person with two eyes can go into
that miserable cellar, but must see that she is now half an
idiot with want of food. —Mr. Gilmour She is naturally stupid.
Coroner If she had the smell of • beefsteak half a mile elf it
would bring her to her lenses, I think. I hope sir, you will
order her some beef and wine.—Mr. Hiknour intimated that
he had power to give either beef, or wine, or spirits, if pees •
miry, and would do so.—The jury exonerated the relieving
officer and surgeon from all blame in the matter.—Mr. Mom
produced • handful of tickets, and said that he had
all them eases to attend to that night.—Coroner
It is morally impossible that you can cult all these
cases, and deal with them as you ought to do. It is
not sufficient that you should just look round the homes, and
inspect the eases. There ought to be more relieving Akers.
Mr. Moss said that every case was visited in Torteth Park
the same day that it was reported, He then offered to find
the man with work, but he refaaed to break stones. The
Coroner advised the man is go to week in the morning,
observing that if he could get a couple of *billion by his

day's work, it would cheer his wite's been. The jury sub-
scribed a trifle for the relief of the banj!e.
__ . .

A LOSOS Sex or MONET, isllllllo 051. nam and
100/. in gold, was (LE:Jeered by the cof Liverpool in
the possession of some suspiaious eteurasdera taken into
custody for riotous conduct. The Rumba's of all the notes
ranged from 16,520 to 16,534.
&max Man.—lt is stated that the mills in Wigan, which
a few weeks ago adopted the short-time system, es• not
likely to continue it much longer than the present week.
Wokar.stEnnit
Tea NINETEENTH CIINTORY !—A Scams IN RURAL
ENGLAND LAsf WEEK.—The Worcaster Herald contains
the following particular, and remarks :—" A gentleman waa
riding from Redditch,to this city last Sunday morning, and,
by way of diversifying his route, turned off down Oomehill-
lane, intending to come through Himbleton and Crowle. The
way is a solitary one—one very little frequented, and, to any
one riot in the habit of following the hounds as this gentle-
man is, very uninviting by reason of its roughness and dirt. He
came upon an encampment or two of gipowi—the only fitting
ocenpant+ of so lonely Is spot—and sauntered on, scaireely
expecting to see another individual on his ride. Suddenly,
however, he descried a large crowd of persona at a distance,
surrounding a large horse pond by the side of the road, and
his first impression was, that an accident had happened, and
they were seeking to get somebody out of the water. Ile
quickened his speed, and presently was at the spot. About
a hundred persons, principally of the lowest grade of our
a;ricultural population, were there gathered around a she et
of stagnant water, muddy and filthy in the extreme. The
ice bad just been broke from its surface, and in the middle
stood a man, with his coat off, nearly up to his arm-pits in
the filthy finial. Many others stood a's° in the water, ex-
tending from the banks in a line with the chief actor in
the scene, and, to his astonishment, this gentleman saw him
take them one by one in hls right h cod, and, lifting his left
above their heads, pronounce their Christian manes and
then these words, " Having authority from Jesus Christ, 1
baptise you in the name of the Fatter, the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost." And then he dipped them so that the
fretting, muddy element completely closed around them,
and it might be seen Waning in is copious stream from their
months and nostrils at they were br eight up again to a
standing position. They were then left to clambs r up the
bank as best they might, and with streaming clothe+ and
gasping for breath, they ran across the fields to a thatched
cottage at a little distance. It was not m-n sour who
submitted to this nauseous operation—several women were
immersed, and amongst the numb. r, one who appeared
to be between 60 and 70 years of age! When the master
of the ceremonies was putting her under the water, t e lost
his hold, and had some difficulty in bringing her up again,
a circumstance which caused a loud laugh from some of the
spectators. The grin communicated itselt to the countenance
of the dipper himself, but, checking the coming smile, he
waved his hand and said, " Peace, my beloved brethren."
• speech which caused • repetition of the laugh. The parties
who underwent the ducking were entirely clothed, excepting
that the men took off their frocks or coats and hats, and the
women their bonnets and shawls. Six or seven were treated
in the manner described during the time that the gentleman
stood looking at the scene. He inquired of one party
near him, and who was more respectably dressed than
any of the nit of the crowd, what was the meaning of
what he saw, and the man replied, with indignation, "If
1 had my way, I'd duck that fellow himself over head and
can. They call themselves Latter Day Saints." When
the gentleman rode away, some twenty or thirty appeared
to remain for immersion, the water seething with mud, and
becoming blacker and thicker at every fresh dipping, yet
the mania seemed to be increasing, and some of the labour-
ers, who appeared only to have come as spectators, were
strirping off their frocks, in order that they might receive
at once the comfort and the blessing of the dip. The
question somewhat naturally occurs, how is it that these
things are going op close at our doors, sad yet remain un-
known save from the very accidental fast that a gentleman
riding out of his road lights upon them ?--We have since
heard (continues the Worcester Herold), that this is not a
singular occurence—that numbers of this sect are to be met
with in the neighbourhood of Astwood Bank, aadthat scenes
similar to the above arc not unfrequeutly to be witnessed at
!-tudley Pool at four o'clock on a frosty Sunday morning.
Hall r+llllth.

REPRMENTATION Or WINCHE,TER.—A rumour i+ pre
valent in this city that Mr. J. B. Maid dots not intend to
become again a candidate.

Pm $3nS.

DRITLSH LNISTITIJTIDN.

The private view of the spring exhibition of
" modern masters," at the Britala Institution, took place on
Saturday. The exhibition is one of average merit, but the
value and importance of the works produced are unequal to
the number of competitors and the interest which art is
creating among us at the present moment. This, however,
is not the fault of the directors. They had a large harvest
to select (nun, sod in a prefatory notes " regret the neces-
sity of returning four hundred pictures from want of room."
If a column is opened for " artists " when our next Popu-
lation Return is made, we shall see a large and an alarming
increase. Every year adds extensively to the catalogue of
exhibitors pictures become more numi roue; but meritori-
ous works of art are scarcer than ever.

Of the 543 pictures of which the t xhibition is compneed,
nine are by members of the Royal Academy, and eight
by associates of that body. This is somewhat unusual ; and
we congratulate the Academy on keeping away, and thus
affording a large field for the young and the less experienced.
The royal onadtmicialishaye walls of their own and c;in can.
mond places; and the young man who has hardly a fair
chance at the Academy, may look with something like cer-
tainty at the institution for a good poaition—not fur six or
seven rictures, but for one at least, and that one, whatever
he may think, is pretty sure to be the best. The influence
of the institution is great, and their rooms limited. The re-
jected complain, and, it is said, will exhibit on the;r own
account. Every artist likes to have his work seen ;
every poet an opportunity to appear in print nor ran
the directors of the institution in their good will towards art
wish the rejected from their walls to surfer in silence. We
wish to see them exhibit on their own account ; make an
appeal to the public ; and have the judgment of the country
pared upon the wisdom of the selection. We have nu (ear
for the result. In an exhibition where fifty will hardly gave
643, what must the rejected 400 have been like ? An instance
of oversight, perhaps of prejudice, might occur, but not
I enough to atone fora whole exhibition of atopifying medio-
crity, or sufficient to brand the directors of the institution
' with prejudice and neglect.
In the prnent exhibition las:ideate-a abound, but none of a
high or poetic character. Mr. F. R. Lee has lour, Mr.
Crawl& two Mr. Bright three, Mr. &Adele's Wee, Mr.
Linton two, Mr. Simeon owe, and Mr. E. W. Cooke cis.
Mr. Lee's are in his usual told and careful style, such as
custom has taught us to expect, and from which he has very
little chance, we fear, of ever getting free. Mr. Creewick,
in " Shallow Streams" (No. 54), has tried a higher flight,
and a new manner of treatment. The composition, we may
observe, is exquisitely true, and Mr. Cresoick has given to
those shallow waters which Marlowe has commemorated in

enduring seise:
By Mallow elvers to whore his
Melodious btrds slog madrigals.
But the colouring is too green and blue ; and nature, which
should govern all, is sacrificed to a system and a chance
effect. Hr. Bright excel* in broader touches, and copies
nature with a tine sense of the harmonies of colour and
arrangement. His " Welch mountain scene, autumnal
cloudy weather" (No. 67), is truthfulness itself. The mist
is creeping perceptibly upon the hills—you can see them
gradually tieing covered, and a cloudy atmosphere stealing over
a piece of lovely Welch scenery. This, to our thinking, is
the best picture in the exhibition. Equally excellent a a
smaller picture by the same artist, " An old Water-mill at
Ifiley, Oxfordshire" (No. 317). Here there is no "nig-
gling" or timorous expenditure of pin's-head touches
upon trees and chimneys; but the pencil has been
employed boldly, and with a proper confidence, the
artist being connioua that, as he felt and enjoyed, so he
could delineate the scene before him. Mr. Boddington is a
landscape-painter in the school .or Mr. Lee, with all the ex-
cellences and defects of his master. His " Village
Church" (No. 304) is an English scene, treated
with skill and with a good effect. The materials
are of a very simple character—a pleasant lane leading up
to a village church, with a porch or covered way in front,
the body of the church ensbonmed in trees, end the spire
represented in a clear blue sky. Mr. Linton, to whose
merit be it said that he endeavours, not always unsuireer-
fully, to put some poetry:tato what he paints, has one good
picture—" The Canspagaa, Rome" (No. 379)—unfortu.
nately hang too high, but not too far away to escape notice
or repay attention. Of • very different character
from Mr. Linton's classic Camps fns, is Mr. SOO-
- "Drumossie Moor, or the }field of Culloden"
(No. le9), representing a &oblate moor—the scene of
the last battle that was fought in Britain. The place seems
pointed out by nature for some such terrible catastrophe, and
Mr. Simeon has thrown a desolate air over the whole com-
position, and a sky which harmonises with the sad enema,
tions of the field. Mr. E. W. Cooke, the last on our list of
the landscape painters in the gallery demanding attention,
and an old favourite with all who enjoy and appreciate the
beautiful in landscape art, has altogether changed hie style,
and, without the aid of the catalogue, defies recognition in
his new manner. He has paid, it appears, his first
visit to Italy. and has returned—not with Italian
skies, but composition skies of his own—chance arid
not general effects— appearances which have bean
and may occur again, but not what is: mixtures
of purple, and green, and yellow : skin, in abort, which belong
to another and a lower world, and not admissible in this. Of
the six (the number Mr. Cooke exhibits) the best is
the "Quit of Salerno and Mountains of Paestum, frees
Amalfi" (No. 254); and this is the least violent in its

Among the subject-painters, Mr. F.Goodall claims the pre-
eminence for his "Irish C °unship- ( No. 23); not that it exhibits
any advance in his an but because the story or incident is
told with humour, and the painting throughout (though
somewhat brown) conscientiously executed. The scene is
the interior of an Irish cabin, and the aeon an Irish lad of
eighteen or twenty, all earneatneas and heart, seated on a
wooden nib, telling his story, evidently with great effect, to
a yeses link girl, seated on the floor, mending or making a
nets perhaps, of her own position at the amen&
War Mem with a kind of wild delight, and casts a fine pair
of eyes eland her with =wing effect. Two children near
her rather moist the composition than the story
pretty. A barefooted boy in the foreground_ F
r potatoes, and sill and linens -'
thew' Irish lad who is making lore b.
rival sits somewhat in the background,
*Mk, ha. After Mr. Goodall we ma
who MAI eantlaties to paint flesh as flesh
before, and aware of hi, strength t,
handmaids, and Magdalene and Graeae ft
materials. Mr. Etty bar a tine eye for
for fens, and, withal, a rough mane e
beautiful. His " MittLilen reading"

the story, but they are
owed karts that he kr
with measiduteet at
to his skier, while a err ll'rV. :
,-,,..
ma, with a sullen ryiu• 7
.r,
may name Mr. E
~, is w• .., 4
soh wu Dever pun "!.•
, make Haat, out
... 7 .r,„, rra
we from very ord' . Oak -.7! •A
for colour Ten' h
' ' •
ie coriermiion of 4,
it.. 161 •
iog" (No. 206),
ii
• ' .
~..W. IV'. li
•••• v..) A