The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-12 00:00:00

ACCIDENT AND LOSS OF LIFE 47'
BL ACKFRIARS- BRIDGE.
Last night, abou,, nine o'clock, the utmost alarm and
excrement were experienced by the persons passing
over Blackfriars-bridge, on witnessing an accident of the
most serious description, by which it is feared that the
lives of several persons are sacrificed.
It appeared from the best information that could be
obtained that at the time above named a shallop was
seen coming up the river on the Middlesex side near to
Blackfriars-bridge, containing six men and three women,
but in consequence of the Waterman steamer No. 11,
lying alongside, and landing her passengers at the pier
at the time, they pulled the bea! further into the stream,
and passed through the first arch of the bridge, but had
scarcely got through, when they found themselves close
upon the Dahlia penny steam-boat, that was on its way
with a load of passengers to London-bridge, and not
stopping at Blackfriars-bridge pier, was going at a
rapid speed. The eontequerce was, that the boat came
in collision with the steamer, which immediately
swamped her, arid the whole of the persons were precipi-
tated into the river. A scene of the most exciting
and painful nature immediately ensued. Cries for help
arose not only from unfortunate persons, but from at
least a hundred persons on the bridge, who witnessed
the melancholy occurrence, and in an instant two of the
men engaged at the pier named John Bull and William
Neary, Jumped into a boat and rowed to the spot, and
succeeded in rescuing Thomas Gwynne, a man 65 years
of age, and Jaimes Gwynne, his son, who were just on
the emelt of finally sinking, and conveyed them to the
Glaziers Arms in Water-street, where they were put to
bed, and Mr. Hutchinson, the surgeon, promptly attended
upon them. The other persons who were in the boat
consisted of George Williams, Francis Williams, Alfred
Williams (three bother:), Mary Williams (wife of George
James Smith (who had charge of the boat),
and two females, whose names could not be ascertained,
but were personal friends of the Williamses.
The persons on board the Dahlia rendered every
assistance in their power, and from inquiries made late
last night it was stated that they had succeeded in saving
James Smith, and a female, whom it was believed to be
Mary Williams. It was therefore feared that the rest
of the party, consisting of the three Williamses and the
two other females, had perished; but in consequence of
the great excitement that prevailed it was with difficulty
that any information oould be obtained. It is to be hoped
that some of the persons may have escaped, but the
worst fears are entertained. Mrs. Williams, on her arri-
val at the Swan Tavern, London Bridge (to
which place
she had been taken on board the Dahlia), made frequent
and anxious, inquiries as to bar hu.bnnd, aud hopes were
kept up to her that he was saved; but it was all along
feared that he had met with a watery grave, as nothing
whatever was seen of any of the men by the piermen but
the two above alluded to, who were saved. When they
were taken out of the water the poor fellows were
clinging to the rudder of the steam-boat, and nothing
whatever was seen of their companions.
Mr. George Williams, although much injured, was
rescued. The paddlebox caught the left side of the
face, lacerated the flesh, the wheels of the steamer then
seized upon his shirt, lifted him twice or three times out
of the water, and in all probability would have drawn
him into the flats of the wheel, but he, having the pre-
sence of mind to tear his shirt away. and in so doing his
chest was terribly cut, and at the time this account was
writtt n he was obliged to be conveyed to the surgery of
Mr. Hutchinson.
It was stated by the younger Gwynne that before pass-
ing through the arch of the bridge ,hey called to the
persons on board the steamer, seeing themselves in
great danger, but that they were disregarded, and she
con,inued on her way, while, on the other hand, it is
said that everything was done by them to avert the
calamity.
The boat was called the Moor, and belonged to Mr.
Charley, of Hungerferd. It was hired in the morning by
(be party to go to Greenwich, and was on its return
when the melancholy accident occurred.
For hours after the occurrence the bridge was ren-
dered almost impassable horn the number of persons
collected,andwgiethnesr:lu,,s,my an end.
yia.p,:lthy was expressed for those
who had mat
The whole of the party were from Clare-street, Clare-
market, and its neighbourhood.

FATAL HEAT OF THE WEATHER
The bumper of ,tl.l(leri d ?aths directly attributable to
the extreme heat of the weather increase with every day.
At eleven o'clock on Saturday night Mr. G. S. Brent.
held an inquest at the Wellington, University-street, St.
Pancras, on Mr. O.car Webb, aged 39, cheesemonger,
109, Tottenham court-road. On Friday afternoon de-
cea.ed, M h,1.4 standing in the shop, was visited by a
friend, who raid to him, It's a very hot day," to which
df ceased replied, " very," and instantly dropped dead.
Mr. Derbyshire made a post mortem examination, and
found in the right ventricle of:the heart a rent produced
by the heat of the weather, and which caused an effusion
into the pericardium, and that produced death. The
heart had been previously diseased. The Coroner said
that he held the inquest at so late an hour in consequence
of the putrifi,d state of the body, and the intense heat
of the weather, which rendered it so dangerous to keep
a body in that state in the house, that Mr. Carter, the
landlord of the Wellington, had kindly allowed it to be
removed to his premiees. The jury unhesitatingly re-
turned a verdict in accordance with the medical evi-
dence.

Communications have reached London from several
districts announcing numerous fatal catastrophes from
the same cause.

A Paris contemporary of Friday says:—The great
heat of the last few days has occasioned many cases of
mental alienation; on Wednesday not fewer than seven
persons giving evident signs of insanity were found in
the streets. In the evening of that day a tradesman
residing in the Rue Pagevin plunged into the Seine at
Choisy-le-Roi, but was rescued before he could commit
suicide. Ile could assign no reason for the act; and on
being taken before a medical man was declared to be
mad. On the same evening a female, aged 74, who
formerly kept a wine-shcp at Mantes, threw herself
into the river at Choisy-le-Roi, but was saved by
two persons who were passing. She also said that she
could not explain why she attempted self-destruction.
All these persons have, by order of the Prefect of Police,
been admitted to asylums. The heat of yesterday was
not tempered by the pleasant breeze which prevailed
during the two preceding days. The thermometer of
M. Chevalier marked, at two o'clock. 30 deg 8-10ths of
centigrade, or 874 of Fahrenheit. Several horses have
fallen dead in the streets in the course of the last few
days by the excessive heat. Yesterday one fell dead
under an omnibus belonging to a school just as it came
o the descent from the Pont des St. Pares. Madame
Gonzall., Widow a an army surgeon, and mother of M.
Emmanuel Goi-ahß?s, an author of some note, died at
Paris on Thursday, of apoplexy caused by the extreme
heat. As M. Laureau, the manager of an eating house
in the Rue Fontaine- Molter°, was the evening before
last standing at his counter conversing cheerfully with
some friends, be suddenly fell lifeless to the ground.
lie was immediately bled, but without avail. He was
only 38 years of age, and was a man of very robust
constitution.

From the report of the Eastern Steam Navigation
Company issued on Saturday, preparat,ry to the meetingoill
Monday, it appears that an entirely new plan is to be lain
the shareholders in place of that which 21,•a. originally
formed in accordance with the views of the Parliamentary
Committee, and subsequently rejected by the
Instead of seeking by the aid of a subsidy,
an
to
dGionveconjunc-
tion with the steamers of the Austrian Lloyd's Company,_
• is now proposed to
establish a second line thr, ugh Europe,
ictet,ori
ginanstvhs construct
tetod
rcotpnat
hsswoit.
rrettaym..
tewr so of
dayssu ffiw coiueidit
voyage to Calcutta. via the Cape,
inr
the most favourable overland route. At present, undee
shortest estimated period
cir-
cumstances, thirty-five days is telim
accomplished, but if the entire
in which the journey can be size and power
time
than
a me a
by
ye
theth e
seventeen
ewere e performedote a e hour by
all that would be required.
be
eo
be submitted to the meet-
wsetaathcaetutthseterpapteagoefs,frtormemfifttweeennt3t,o-
The recommendation, therefore,atlhat speed should forthwith be built,
for the entire voyage, together with
ingl:rates at present paid to sailing vessels,
a heavy
icnagpaibs,letobfateavrerssyels of
passengers at about half the fare
number
route, but with a greater amount of
charged on the overland
ships making one voyage out and
accommodatio.° '.l
tw months would, it is contended, yield an
and a lafrregieg
home every - on the capital required, and there can be no
ample revenue
as far as the public are concerned, the experi-
ment that,
would not only demonstrate the advantages to be
succeed, it_ employing
hit] at
titer of
would t
rge importance.capa
c ity , Sbhuotu ladlsiot
derived w
froossible for those connected with steam enterprise'
from that timid dependence on the bounty s s-
tem injurious to themselves than 3
to the
tem
__ Times City Article.
countrY'
and the Prince Alfred,
LAND is
,nti.helepssrineeof
BREAKWATER.-0a Saturday last the
Wales,
atten .
ded by the non. Colonel Gordon, Mr.
R N • Gibbs, and Ca-
ptain CrisPio, • ~ paid an unexpected visit to the Portland
Brea.kwater, arriving shortly after noon in the Victoria and
Albert yacht. In the absence of Mr. Bendel,the •
engineer-
in-chief; they were received
by Mr.Coode, the resident engi-
neer, and were conducted by himend the b eak-
water stage, Where the _to the o f r
y examined with much interest the
different engineering operations involved in the rincarrying on
•th t ce expressed himself highly gratified
'il he progress made since the first stone was deposited by
his Royal highness in 1849. The Royal party lett for
Osborne about two o'clock amidst the hearty cheers of the
assembled workmen.
A gentleman holding a distinguished position in the
royal navy visited Portsmouth on Saturday, for the purpose
of making a survey of the port, and reporting on its capa-
bilities as a port of departure and arrival for the packets of a
new steam navigation company, being established for run-
ning a line of paddle-wheel steamers between England and
Australia.

MAD DOGS.—On Saturday a notice was issued by
the Commissioners of Police, Whitehall-place, calling upon
all owners of dogs which showed any rabid symptoms to
keep them within their houses, and which stated that should
any be found at large exhibiting appearances of suffering
from hydrophobia, they would be destroyed by the police,
who had authority to take that course.

SHOCKING SUICIDE WITH OXALIC ACID.—On Sa-
turday a young woman named Frances Skilton, aged 20,
committed suicide under the following circumstances. The
deceased resided at No. 16, Throwl-street, Spitalfielde, and
at eight o'clock she was discovered lying in bed in a state of
eans it, Brick-lane.
were resorted
excruciating agony. A surgeon was called, and it was soon
powerful found that she had swallowed a large quantity of oxalic acid,
Thewt
ohti
oc
stomach-pump
counteracts h e h ad
theeffects
wpurchasedffaesct
sat used,
of
andathchemist's
means shop
de-
ceased expired shortly afterwards The cause of the rash
act is not known-
haying undergone the necessary gentlemen, examinations
for the diploma, were admitted members of the college at
ROYAL CoLLEGE OF SURGE°Dis.—The following
the meeting of the Court of Examiners on the 9th inst. :-...
Augustine Batt, Witney, Oxfordshire; John Wells
F
Messrs. Frederick Carter, Birmingham ; James Ford, Aus-
triaelticah;er,
Earl's Croome, Worcestershire; William Roecroft,
N,aDGruibffilit4,
IVigan, Lane shire;* Thomas Croudace, Sunderland, Alfred
Gloucestershire;TAildistmresvois,ll:,t,ellme-Briioltnoent,bshirewiliiart I Griffither
ts, and John UntleY, LleclOD) Yorkshire.