The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1807-09-26 00:00:00

DREADFUL ACCIDLNT.

We gave, in our Paper of Monday last, a short
account of the explosion of a corning mill at Faver-
sham, in Kent. The wins and scene of devastation
it occasioned are scarcely to be described ; the build-
ing was level:ea wish the ground, the timbers splin-
tered and dispersed in every diration for some rods
distaace, and the massive press and mill wheels dis-
placed and thrown many feet distant from their on-
ginal position ; the trees and plantations in the vici-
nity were also much torn and disfigured, and a
budding, called the Receiving House, only separated
• from this mill by a slight plantation, was else much
injured ; fortunately ar the moment a was empty,
or the consequence, would have been more dreadful.
The quantity of composition contained in the mill
was baOtbs. the usual charge received twice a day
nom the I;rinciinlahome, and the master worker had
lett the nod not a patter of an hour prior to the ex-
plowas. A lahourer, named :.homas Delo, who was,
mending the -gravelled walk leading to the mill,
about twenty yard: distao:. was thrown down, as he
himself desca ihea, from the effeel of the shock, before
be heard the noise, bit! attempting to rise a third
time, was struck by a piece of timher on tha small
part of the back, and rendered insen,ible ; he was
conveyed to the watch-house, and medical assist-
ance procured, sod is, we understand, now in a fair
way of recovery.
Of the unfortunate sufferers, one alone evinced
some sign of life, but that only in a faint respiration,
and heave of the breast, one was thrown to some
rods distant, and fell among. the willows ; another
(Scott, the tor eman) was cut asunder through the
middle, had one of his thighs broken, and the back
pareof his scull hiown off ; the others were ail,
more or less, disfigured, thelr clothes torn off, their
bodies scorchial black and lacerated. Their names
were Jtian Scott. William Elliott, Daniel Tappen-
; den, George blunts, John Sampson, and Audi ew
Shaling ; of t..ese., Elliott, and Sampson,
have each t a wife, and Tappenden and Liana
also each a wife and two children; Shilling was un-
married, and has left considerable property is the
funds.
Of the three horses employed at the mill, two were
dreadfully shattered, and the ibis,' was so much
bruised, as to make it necessaryto kill it immediately.
[he explosion was heard in the direalion of the wind,
which blew from the north east, to a considerable
distance, and much alarmed and agitated the hulas
bitants.
'ffir Corning Mill was No. 3. forming part of the
Royal Powder Works. The last accident of this
nature, and a similar one to the above, took place
ou the 7th of lieptember, I tis.)2: this was tbe Corn-
ing Mill. No. 1, and then also. six men and three
!raises suffered i this has since been rebuilt, with the
press separated firm the mill by a high mound of earth.
Ile corning mills are timber buildings, of an ob-
long quadrangular figure, somewhat similar to a
barn, with four entrances, one on each side ; the
inteiaai space divided by two partitions into three
compar:ment, the one containing a press with levers
and capstao, for pres,iog what is called, in the lan-
guage of the workmen, the green charge. into cakes.
whims cakes. after being coarsely broken with
wooden maJets, in a wooden mor.ar, are then
conveyed into sieves of copper, of different degrees
of fineness, for the purpose of being granul net!,
'the machinery for which forms the midde com-
partment. In the third is the horse walk and
wheel, the cogs of which give na•don to the whole
apparatus. and these form the second principal
stage of the formation of the powder. These mills
are each surrounded, at some distance, with a stock-
ade or palisade, and a platform leads from that
part where the press is placed, to a shed at the ex.
tenor of the palisade, in order that a communica-
tion may be had to the mill for the tumbrils, with-
out the necessity of their apprcachingnear to it.
The report seemed rather a protra.ed rumbling,
than an instantaneous blast, and hence it is supposed
that it mast have been communicated from some
one part to the other.

A. representation of the care has been made tw
tLe Ordnance Board, and there is no donbt bnt that"
the wives and families of the unfortuntte men will
be sufficiently provided for. as has been the case in
all former instances.

Mr. Jeszen PAYNE, who keeps the Queen's
Head public-house, in St. James's-street, broke
his leg last night, by the overturning of was cf
the Kew stages.