The Express.
London, England, 1848-02-14 00:00:00

of Wakefield, through whose valuable assistance sod labour
he has been enabled to i reduce the lamp.
SEWERAGE AND DRAINAGE OF LEEDS.—O 7
day and Wednewlay. Mr J. B. Hume, barrister-at-law, and
Mr. W. Tile, architect, the surveying officers appointed by
Commissioners of Woods and Forests, and Mr. N. Beard-
more, C.E., the sure:nine officer appaiated by the Lords of
the Admiralty, under the provisions of tine act of the
loth Viet., " for making preliminary inquiries in certain
cases of application for local acts," held sittings at the
Court-house, Leeds, to make an examination and ourrey of
the district likely 'o be affected by a hill now he fore parlia-
ment, for amending the Leeds Borough Improvement
Act, by which the town council propose to take
powers for effecting on an extensive scale the
sewerage and drainage of the town. The solicitor
to the town council, who are promoting the bill, attended
with Messrs. Leather, the engineers, to furnish the survey-
log officers with details o; the plan, but most of the docu-
ments were handed is without being read. A solicitor for
the Aire and Calder Navigation Company, Another for the
1.• eels Watersvoiks Company, and the solicitors for the two
gas companies, attended to watch the proceedings, and to
suggest the introduction of "protective clauses'," but there
were very few other spectators of the proceedings.
DISGCSTING Eau interns.—A remarkable instance of
the depraved curiosity of a numerous cleat of persons has
just occurred in Leeds. A showman named Purchase, on
the day of the execution of Patrick Reid, for the .hliefield
mindere, bought Irons the hangman the clothes of the cul-
prit. and the rope by which he sag strangled. To Purchr.se''s
exhibition a new attraction was speedily added, in a full-
length likeness of Reid, attired in the very apparel in which
he was executed, tog• thee with the fatal rope. The desired
effect was pniduced : thousands of pertains of depraved taste
flocked to the exhibitim in such crowds as often to incom-
mode the free passage along the streets. At this rate the
euterprtse went on until a few days back, when some suspi-
cion as to the genuineness of the digesting spectacle gave
a temporary cheek to its cueoess. But on Tuesday lit a
new feature gave another impulse in the former direction—
namely the hangman of Reid, Nathaniel Howard, who was
present at the exhibition its propreei pet sorni, express from
York. displaying the mode of managing his horrible profes-
sion deposing to every new auditnce to the veritability of
Itent's clothing; and actually, by experiments with the rope
and the waxen liaure, showing the causes which made the
nixie partially inctfee'ual at the execution, and attributing
the slipping of the rope to the " culprit's curiosity in turning
pound, and to the rope being heist' stiff !" " :needy," con-
cludes the Leeds Mercury, which reports these facts, " this
must he the climax of everything revolting to the better feel-
ings of humanity ! "
ETAEPOROMIIRE
THE COAL ISIINE EXPLOSION AT WEST BROM-
wicit.—At the stage at which the inquiry into the cause
of the accident bad arrived when the report was des-
patched on Friday evening several of the jury expressed an
opinion that the evidence went to show great blame existed
somewhere, inasmuch as the safety-lan p was not taken into
that part of the pit where the deceased men wire at work,
but merely into :he gate-roads ;in consequence of this, and
of the absence ol other important evidence, the inquest was
adjourned until Friday next.
CHESHIRE.
AFFRAY WITH HIGHWAYMEN, AND TWO MEN SHOT,
—On Friday afternoon, a cheesefactor, on his way to Mac-
clesfield, whilst walking along the high road leading to the
briJge over the London and North-Western Railway, at
Adliugton, Cheshire, was attacked by two men, who 'pre-
sented piatols and th naandid his money and watch. lie had
courage enough to refuse compliance with the demand, and
the highwaymen were proceeding to win his scotch guard,
when fortunately a fourth person ame up, ,ma demanded if
their object was murder ? Startled by the unexpected inter.
ruption, the highwaymen made off; but the other parties.
net being armed, did not Hs' nit it prudent to pursue them
without obtaining aid. The robbery bad been attempted
near to the railway-bridge, err aide of which there is a
public liou-e, and thither they instantly proceeded. The
landlord, having heard their account of the daring outrage,
mounted his Lone and rode in pursuit. He was suc-
cessful in overtaking the men, but they presented
their pistols when they had ascertained his object,
and threatened hi, life it he did not desist from any attempt
to secure their apprehension. Intimidated, but still bent
upon their capture, the landlord rode to a neighbouring
quarry, and obtained the assistance of two labourers, with
whom he renewed the those, and so successful was his eccond
pursuit, that the highwaymen were rim down at a distance
of about • mile and a ha:f further, or about three miles from
where the robbery was attempted. The name of the place is
Bann's Fold. Bit though out of breath and no longer able
to run, at this place they turned fiercely on their pursuers,
and threatened to shoot the first who should attempt to get
within arm's length. The two labourers, however, who are
brothers, named Whyatt, rushed torward at them. The
highwaymen were as good as their word, Mint almost simul-
taneously, and, I regret to sac, with such off. et, that both
discharges took dirt. The younger brother.
Whyatt, it is feared is dangerously wounded, a ball, which is
of large size, having been discharged from a cavalry
pistol, entering hi abdomen, end glancieg off obliquely
to the outer port of his right thigh. The elder brother, Tho-
mas Whyatt, was shot clean through the arm
Delisut the ball
having touched none of the bones or arteries,
Ito suffer much from the wound. The highwaymen did not
escape, however, notwithstanding their successful shots. The
I landlord of the Adlington public.house, who had led the
pursuit on horseback, having raised such a hue and cry, that
immediately the Whyatts were disabled, there were other
men ready to follow up the attack, and the two robbers were
'ensured, and subsequently given in charge to two officers of
the county police. They stated that their names were
Walinoley and Bates, and, like the highwaymen appre-
hended for the robbery of the Rev. Mr. Gormon, at Man-
chester, had assumed the garb and occupation of hawkers to
cover their real designs, and that they might attract less at-
tention. The event soon created coiaiderable excitement in
the neighbourhood, and a number of gentlemen resident in
it, including several magistrates of the county, interested
themselves in procuring the best surgical aid for
the brothers Whyatt, by senyling messengers off on
horseback to the nearest towns. William Whystt's wound
was dressed about two hours afterwards, the ball b. ing easily
extracted from its seat, not far from the skin outside the
thigh. As hinted above, however, it is thought not unlikely
it may prove mortal. The prisoners will no doubt be sent
to Chester for trial at the next 'mitre. One of them refused
to walk, and was drugged along on a hurdle. One of them
is an Irishman; both see strangers in the neighbourhood, and
neither of them is strong or stoutly made. There were taken
from them a brace of new hone pistols, of the largest Imre,
evidently but just discharged. Beth the Whyatts are power-
ful men,married, with families, and bear excellent characters.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
FOUR MEN WERE DROWNED IN THE TYNE early
on Thursday morning. They and three others were crossing
in a seuller-boat from North to South Shields, and when in
the middle of the stream they discovered two steamers ap-
proaching rapidly in their direction. They shouted lustily,
and were heard by the captain of the steamer which seemed
most likely to do damage. lie altered the course of his
vessel, but in ignorance of the precise position of the parties
who lead called; and as daylight had not broken, it unfortu-
nately happened that both the steamer and the .culler-boat
were turned to the same point. The consequence was, that
the steamer ran down the boat, and four of the seven men
perished before help could be afforded.
wARWICKtiIIIBE.
ACCIDENT ON THE BIRMINGIIAi AND DERBY
RAILWAY.—A collision, attended with contequenees of a
serious nature, occurred on this line on Friday. It appears that
I the train which 1 Derby at eight o'clock in the morning,
and which contained between thirty and forty passengers,
had proceeded at its usual speed till within about one hun-
drol yards of the Tamworth station, Mania signal was
msde by a person on the line to stop. t at the same
moment the enginedriver was enabled to discover through
the heavy fog that a train was standing at the station
on the tame line of rails. Immediately he shut off the
steam. reversed the engine, and applied the brake, but it
I was impossible to prevent a collision. The passenger train
dashed into the luggage vans before it, of which the other
train was composed, smashing to pieces the last van, on
which was the guard's brake, throwing live or six others off
the line, and all into the greatest eonfusion, The
shock threw the passengers into the greatest alarm,
and some were injured, although, fortunately, not
to any very serious extent. The principal sufferer was the
guard of the passenger train, who was thrown from his seat
to another carriage, and trots thence precipitated to the
ground. On being lifted up, it was found that he had fallen
on his bead and was much injured. Mr. Banks, of the well
known firm of Banks, Foster, and Co., Keswick, happened
to he in the seventh or eighth carriage from the engine, and
was Totaling • newspaper, when the collision threw him for-
ward on his face, inflicting a severe wound above the right
eye, and bruising one of has lags rather seriou,ly. A gentle-
man in the same carriage escaped unhurt. Dr. Palmer, of
Tamworth, was immediately sent for to the station, and paid
the wounded every attention. Their wounds were dressed
there ; but it was Impassible for the train to proceed onward,
as the lino w.a strewed with the wreck of the luggage vans.
At length the rails were cleared, and after ie delay of
about three hours the train proceeded onward to Bir-
mingham. As soon as poesible after the accident had
occurred, information of it was telegraphed to Birmingham
and to other places along the line, and a pilot engine was
despatched to take the train onward. The train was drawn
by two engines when it left Derby, one an entirely new one,
which was being conveyed to Hampton; it sustained great
damage from the collision. "There appears," says a- cor-
respondent on the spot, " to have been neglect somewhere,
or this accident would not have °muffed. The luggage
train was nearly two hours after its proper time, and, the
morning being foggy, it was imposaible to discern objects far
off; it appears, moreover, that the signal-man, instead of
making the signal to stop at least three-quarters of a mile
from the station, was not more than 100 yards from it,
when • collision was inevitable. Some inquiry appears to be
necessary."