The Express.
London, England, 1853-06-20 00:00:00

MEL.4NCHOLY ACCIDENT .4.VD LOSS OF LIFE.

PRESTON, SATURDAY, JUNE 18. - Morning
a lamentable accident happened at the manufactory Of
Mr. George Smith, cotton spinner, Moor-lane, in this town,
by which the life of one man was sacrificed on the spot,
a second dreadfully if not mortally wounded, two more
variously injured (one rather seriously), and several other
perms placed in imminent peril. The following are the
particulars of this shocking casualty :—During the last day
or two workmen have been engaged in the formation of a
boiler-house for Mr. Smith's new mill, now in course of
re-orection adjacent to his original establishment (the first
building having been blown down when nearly completed
during the great hurricane of Christmas-day last.) The
new boilers were to be placed in a part of the old mill,
recently used as a waste room, and situated under the
scotching-room at the back of the premises. To make room
for the toilers, it was necessary to take down a partition
wall dividing the waste•roos from an adjacent palmate.
This wall was twenty-one yards in length, eleven feet
high, and three bricks thick. Yesterday morning,
three labourers, named Dennis Murray, James Dirties, and
Joseph Persons, together with a man named Swindlehurst,
who, we understand, acted as a sort of " gaffer" deer t►em,
commenced the demolition of the wall by the incautious
process of undermining. While thus engaged, they were
visited by Thos. O'Brien, engine-tenter, who states that he
remonstrated with the men on the impropriety sad danger
of the course they were punning in thus undermining the
wall, and said they had much better commence operation,
by the removal of bricks from the top. Dimes (the unfor-
tunate man who was killed on the spot) expressed his eon-
currents in O'Brien's views, and added he was cure that if
they went on as they were then doing, they should all be
killed. Swindlehurst, however, is alleged to have given
utterance to a different opinion, and they proceeded with
the removal of the lower brickwork. The melt resumed
their dangerous employment at 6 o'clock this morning, and
had undermined a lengthcf about seven yards when the
whole of the wall suddenly fell with a great
crash into the waste-rem. The accident occurred
a few minutes before seven, and seven men were at work
in close proximity to the wall at the time. The three
labourers already named—Birasa. Parsons, and Murray—
were engaged on the waste-room side of the wall, and the

fint-mentiened two were completaly buried in th • ruins.
Murray, who was dressing bricks nearer the end of the
wall, bad his legs covered with the wreck ; but contrived
I to extricate himself, his injuries not being of a fatal chit.
racier. Bwindlehurst, who wee in what proved to be a
safer position, merely sustained a few contusions and abra-
sions. Three other labourers, who were excavatieg in the
passage, within a yard or two of the wall, escaped without
injury ; the whole of the bricks having fallen in a MISS in
the opposite direction. Active measure' were of course
peomptly taken for the extrication of Birnes and Parsons,
and in about five minutes they were removed from the
debris. Birnes expired almost immediately, having sus-
tained a fearful fracture of the skull, besides other injuries.
Parson' presented a shocking 'pease's, his limbs being
broken and his breast dreadfully crushed, in addition to
other wounds: he was removed to the hospital, and was
still alive when this account was written. The deceased
has left a widow and one child; the bereaved woman being
in a position indicative of a speedy addition to the family.
Parsons is a single man. The inquest is to be held on
Monday.

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE NEAR BIRMINGHAM.

At midnight on Saturday a fire was discovered,
and a few minutes afterwards it bunt forth and spread with
extraordinary rapidity, on the works of Messrs. J. H. Porter
and Bon, situate beyond Sluing-hill, near the Heath, •
short distance from Birmingham.
The buildings, which were still far from completed, ex-
tended over a very large area, and had been recently
erected by Messrs. Porter for purposes connected with the
galvanised iron manufacture, and especially for the con-
'traction of iron buildings for California and Australia.
The demand for this novel description of building bu
within the last few months, become so enormous, that
Messrs. Porter have been compelled to hurry on the manu-
facture before the works• were thoroughly completed, so
that in addition to the extensive ranges of shedding on the
premises there was a very large quantity of timber for
future use. Up to • very late hour at night everything ass
appareatly safe at the works ; they were so seen within a
quarter of en hour of the fire bunting forth with the vio-
lence above described, when dames soddenly shot out and
spread instantaneously frem shed to shed with so much
fury, that in a few minutes the whole range of buildings
was wrapped in one huge volume of flame, so great that the
valley on our side and table land on the other, for a mile
round, was lit up with a terrible grandeur. This effect was
increased, too, by the euessive darkness of the night, and
although the rain poured down In torrents, for the first
quarter of an hour, tb• fire increased so prodigiously, that
there wu little hope of saving any portion of the premises.
The population turned out in thousands, and express
having been dupatehed to Birmingham, in a very short time
the engines from the various fire-efilees were on the spot, and
in full work; but in the meantime the fire had gained
ground so rapidly that for some time little progress was
made in checking the progress of destruttion, the huge
sheets•of fianse,which the piles of burning timber mint forth,
being but slightly dimini►hed by the streams of water poured
upon them ; but towards one .o'clock the Are had been
considerably subdued, sad when our reporter left shortly
afterwards the worst inlaid of this unfortunate occurrence

Wei aver.

At the time of writing this, no prethe information had
reached us uto the cause of this occurrence, but there
seems good mama to believe that it was entirely accidental
neither have we any particulars as to the mount of the
damage, though this must De a very eonsiderable sum, ins•
'petite of the very heavy lase the proprietors will sustain
by the entire stoppage, we protium' (for *time at lout), of
t►eir extensive operations.

ROYAL COLLIGI 07 EitiltOZONS.—The following
genternen having sailsormathe amsasary ozaminations for
the diploma, were adodieird miembses of the college at the
meeting of the Court of Bainmisin on the 17th inst :
Messrs. James Godwin, Hants; William John
Palmer, Bed Lion-square • f heel a Thick Brea, Chelten-
ham; Edmond Taylor, Maneheater ; Arthur Oakes,
Birmingham; Ambrose Newbold, Carnew, Wicklow;
Nicholas Coalethus Whyte, Reliatatowo, ; William
Faulkner' Drary-lane • Edward Vernon, Kensington ;
Jame. Lovell, Canterbury ; sad Richard Chapman Left-
home, Bradford, Yorkshire. At the same misting of the
court Hr. G. L. King, passed his examination as naval
aeristant. The following radiomen have just been elected
fellows of the college :—lllesms. W. A. Anderson, Thump.
ton-row; T. M. Ashton, Onaskirk, Lancashire; J. Barker,
Colsehill, Warwickshire ; W. F. Barlow, Westminster,
Hospital; T. C. Beard, Welbeek-etreet ; T. Stadion.
Billingbormigh, Lincolnshire; L. Bromley, Halifax; B,
L. Bryan, Holton; T. R. Collage, Cheltirahant ; A. Crabb
Pools; A. Cumming, Chatham;_ R. Dent, Hon. Bast India
Compa Sorrier; K. Ellison,Liverpool ; J. U. C. Fair-
clots, Northampton; C. W. G. Onthrie, Bast;
S. Hants, Reading ; W. Harris, Worthing ; G. T. Hester,
Oxford ; T. G. Julius, Rbhmnd ; J. C. Langston, Oxford-
terrace ; J. Mash, Northampton ; B. C. May, Tottenham
High Cross ; J. L. Minshule, Liverpool ; J. Kona), Army;
H. 0. Potter, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; J. Pugh., Aberdevy;
T. Radford, Maids-hill ; J. Rigby, Cborley, Lancashire ;
J. Skevington Ashbourue, Derbyshire C. R. Vachon',
Cardiff; W. 'Walker, St. John-street-road; R. Wells,
Bennenden, Kent; W. C. Wilkinson, Spa/ding, Lincoln,
chin. At the sante time, Messrs. R. T. Lodge, of Liver-
pool, and 0. Wolstenholis' cf Bolton, Licentiates of the
Faculty of Glasgow, ware admitted ad esineless =anthem of
'1 the college.

PRRSONATRIG GOVERNMENT EMIGRANTS. The
Talavera, government emigrant ship, which left South-
ampton a week or two since for New South Wales, was
detained at the former plate for several days, in consequence
of some Irish emigrants appointed by government to be
sent out in her not being fsgehrensing when they were
wanted. These emigrants wen, however, personated by
others, who, baying been detailed, were taken before the
Southampton mosistratee last week. The principals preyed
to be highly reepestable and ineedligent persons : an Irish-
man named Peens, his fasale servant, named Rock. and
five children. mimed Keetianegb, were charged before the
Imagistrates by thegeweremen emigration agent, with per-
sonating a family named Dann, and the two sisters of
Pellans were charged also with personating persons named
Claire. The children above alluded to belonged to •
magistrate's clerk in Ireland, and they were actually about
to be sent out of the country by their father with Pollan
for the purpose of getting a free passage to Australia. A
constable came all the way treat Ireland to prove that the
would-be emigrants warn not the persons they represented
themselves to be. It appears that the Darceys and Claire+
having altered their minds about emigrating, they sold
the tickets for free passage, which they bad obtained from
the emigration tommissioners, to the penonators. Pollens
was convicted in the penalty of 101., or one month's im-
prisonment by thy. Southampton magistrates, and his sisters
in the penalty et 21., or one week's imprisonment. The
children were discharged.
- -

A PLEarruas VAN ON Fags.—Yesterday after-
noon n oloisour• Tan, which was returning with a party
from Hampton Court, in cruising Wimbledon Common,
took fire from one of the party dropping some lighted
tobacco amongst the straw at the bottom of the vehicle.
The "raw blazed up furiously, and set fire to the curtains.
Sotrre of the females hail their clothes burnt before they
ertild get out, but fortunately no one sustained serious
injury.