The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-09-09 00:00:00

EAST LONDON .11ECIIANICS' INSTITUTION.

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On Thursday evening, a General Meeting of the Members, was
held at the Rooms of the Institution, near Stepney Church, for the
purpose of electing the President, and other Officers, for the next
year. when thc tid low ing gentlemen were elected ; President, Dr.ll i rk.
heck; Vice Presidents, Dr. Black, Rev. Joseph Fletcher, Abraham
Gole, Es9.ltobert M` Will isms, Esq. Dr. James Mitchell, and Wm.
Stone, E.g.; Trustees. Messrs. Bambry. Browning, Munn, and
Peche. The first public meeting for the establishment of than
Institution wss held in June last, and since that time it has
proceeded with great activity. A Lecture Room has been
obtained. capable of accommodating six hundred persons;
convenient rooms have also been formed for classes, Scc. Nine-
teen lectures have been delivered. on various branches of
science, by Messrs. Pariington, Mitchell, Peche, and Fowler.
Classes, which are numerously attended, have been established for
drawing, arithmetic, mathematics, and geography. A commence-
ment has been made for forming a library of circulation and re.
ference : and front the number of members, and their zeal and ac.
tivity, there is every appearance of the Institution proving eminently
successful.

CITY OF LONDON LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC
INSTITUTION.

A General half•yyearly Meeting of the members of this Institu.
tion was held on Wednesday evening. 'I he chief business of the
Meeting was to confirm some regulations proposed at a former
fleeting, to raise a fund for the building of a Lecture-room. It
was reported that a public subscription hod been opened for
this purpose, and that in less than a month upwards of SOW.
had been subscribed. During the late distre_sveit in trade
the number of Members belonging to this ■s well as to the
minor Institutions of a similar description had considerably
diminished. But it was now reported that the deficiency
had been snore than supplied, and there was not the slight.
est doubt that its present prosperity would increase with the
return of commercial prosperity in the city. Much zeal was mani-
fested in favour of' the Institution by many citizens who were desi-
rous of obtaining other alternatives h,r the amusement of the com-
mercial and professional youth of the city than the saloons and
the t seems. Twenty-right harken: had not only subscribed them-
selves, but had opened books at their houses for a public subacrip•
tion. Mr. Whitmore (of the firm of Whitmore and Co. the bankers)
reported the funds for the current expenditure of the Institution to
be in .. good condition. A large stint h.itl been applied to the
purchase of a library, and the entries of books taken out to be
read, amounted, since it was opened for circulation, to upwards of
4000. The Report was agreed to.
Thanks were voted to Mr. IL Grote, jun. the banker, for his
conduct in the Chir, when the Meeting separated.

COWES, SEPI MUER 7.

ROYAL V.A.AIT CLUB.

• Lird Belfast and Mr. Weld, onvthe commencement of
this week, made up their minds to sail their two vessels,
the Harriet, belonging to the former, and the Arrow, be-
longing to Mr. Weld, for 150/. aside, and to wart from
Cowes Castle (this morning), to go round the Nab 1411 t,
back through Cowes Roads, round the Warden Ledge
buoy, in the Needles Passage, .rad horn thence to a vessel
moored off Cowes Castle.

They started at twenty minutes to one p. m., with a
double-reef mainsail breeze from the W.S.W. ; a strong
wind, and every appearance of one of the finest treats of
nautical science that have yet occurred in the Noble Club.
On starting, the llartiet had great advantage, by being
ahead a cable's length or more. At this moment (four p.m.)
we have only time to tell you that the Arrow is ahead
about four miles, and Lord Belfast's yacht has carried
away her boom, apparently close to the tafrail ; therefore
having a distance of 25 miles yet to go, the bet is decidedly
in favour and certain for the Arrow, should she not meet
with a similar accident.

An alteration has taken place in the sailing of the first
class yachts for the gold cup of 1001.: instead of going to
Swanage and back of the island, it is arranged that they
shall sail inside of the Wighte.

DISTRESSING ACCIDENT AT THE COIWRG THEATRE.
—Yesterday morning the whole of the neighbourhood sur-
rounding the Coburg Theatre was thrown into a state of
very considerable agitation and alarm, in consequence of the
explosion of a gasometer within the theatre. About two
years ago it appeared that the proprietors of the Coburg
had a gasometer erected at the extreme end of the
house, on a level with the stage, which was intended to
supply the whole of the interior with light from oil gas.
The design, however, failed, in consequence of the offensive
effluvium arising from it, and that method of illuminating
the house was consequently abandoned from that period,
and the regular gas-works brought into action. The old
gasometer, however, remained in its situation, and,
within the last two days, on account of the stench pro-
ceeding from some stagnant water that it was supposed to
contain, several men were employed in pumping hoist. Fire
not having been introduced into the place where the men
were at work, no accidents of course were anticipated, par-
ticularly as no individual connected with the theatre had
any conception that foul air was within the gasometer. Yes-
terday, however, three men, named Duke, Webb, and
Dursey, incautiously took a candle into the place; one of
them was proceeding to knock some of the nuts off the ma-
chine, when the candle immediately ignited the gas it con-
tained, and the gasometer blew up with an explosion that
shook the whole edifice, burying the unfortunate men in
the ruins. Two of them, Disney and Duke, were taken
from underneath the rubbish immediately, very much
injured, but their more unfortunate companion Webb was
not extricated for nearly an hour, when his body presented
a frightful aspect, being shockingly mutilated; be was im-
mediately conveyed to St. Thomas's Hospital, where little
hopes were entertained of his recovery ; Duke was also
conveyed to the same place ; and Dorsey, after having been
bled, was enabled to proceed home. It is but justice to state,
that the proprietors of the Coburg House have shawl'
every disposition in their power to assuage the afflicted
families of the sufferers.
At the Shaftesbury Borough Sessions, on Saturday last,
the Magistrates manifested a very difFaent. spirit from that
which Mr. Bankes and other Justices are reported to have
done at Wimborne on Friday. On the entrance of the
Reporter into the Justice-room, before the other Magis-
trates had arrived, he was recognised by Charles Bowles,
Esq. the worthy Recorder, who said, " Mr. Reporter, I
am very glad to see you here, and you may depend upon
it that at these Sessions you will never find I trances,
but the utmost accommodation that it is in our power to
afford you."
ARFLICTTNG COINCIDENCE.—It seldom occurs to us to
have to record a more melancholy instance of the visitation of Di.
vine Providence than the case we are about to state relative to the
family of Mr. Mills, of Nu. VI, Drury-lane. AV ithin the spare of
a few days, the wife, and now widow, of Mr. M ills, was seised with
the small-pox, underwent in that state the pangs of labour, buried
one child, saw her husband breathe his last by her side, and beheld
her trio remaining fatherless bakes pining for want. The body of her
husband was removed for the purpose of being interred, and the poor
creature, unable to leave ber bed, in a state of the most poignant
anguish, is thus left helpless. Mitch to the praise of the (her-
seers (particularly Mr. Silk, of Lospaere). every assistance the pa-
rochial funds would allow has been afforded ; and we undentand
a subscription will be instantly set en foot to alleviate the awful
I visitation.