The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-08 00:00:00

than by polluting the river. It must be remembered tha
there are places higher up the river than we are, and wha t
we can do with impunity others will claim to do also. The
result will he that the Themes above Teddington will 1)(3
little better eventually than an enormous cesspool. We
invite the attention of the authorities to the poseibility of
adopting some system of deodorization, and the subsequent
sale of the sewage matter for purposes of cultivation.--
West Surrey Times,

The Explosion at Cliilworth Powder Mills.

-v-
On Saturday evening, at six o'clock, an inquest on the
bodies of John Farnfield and Charles Mansell, the unfor-
tunate men who were killed by the late explosion, was
opened by Mr C. J• Woods, coroner for the Western divi-
sion, Surrey, at the Percy Arms Inn.
The room in which the inquiry was conducted afforded
ample evidence of the violence of the explosion. All its
windows were so completely demolished as to leave it quite
open to the elements, and the wind swept through it from
end to end. In other parts of the house the ceilings were
cracked and the walls riven as if by the shock of an earth-
quake, and outside huge beams, charred and blackened,
which had been hurled from the exploded mill a distance of
a quarter of a mile were lying about, mementoes of the
sudden and tragical disaster.
The Coroner made a few preliminary observations,
After which the Jury proceeded to view the bodies and
the scene of the explosion. On their return the follawir4
evidence was taken :
James William Upfold, foreman of Mr Sharp's gun.
powder works, deposed that he knew the deceased Per•
sons, who were it the same employ. The last thus that
he saw them alive was about ten minutes past elevel/
o'clock on Friday morning, when they were both stanchlft
at the door of the press-house talking to him. As be left
them he turned round and went into the press-11°u
They had both been engaged in the press-house from seven
o'clock on Friday morning, and witness had no occasion t°6
visit the building in his capacity as foreman. it was
duty to inspect the workmen on the premises/ an-a P:r
usually wont round between seven and eight o'clock,
.115
that purpose, The hour for commencing work in the mills
was seven o'clock, and there was no general inspectioar
of the men prior to their commencing work, asithef
were there any written or printed rules for the regulation the the establishment. The men were compelled to change r
ordinary dress and put on a dress specially adapted
fto
working in the mills, before any of them were allowed
enter any portion of the works, and a small building
freablipere
the " wash-up house," was used for the purpose. ,
was no person, however, employed to see that this "go ', j
ii
tion was carried out at the moment the men entered
premises. There were no other regulations besides tepee
mentioned, except general instructions as to the observaleft
of carefulness, and in relation to washing when them sn
here
the premises, which, however, was not compulsory. the
were no other persons besides the deceased employed in
0,
press-house on Friday, and after he left them svitrle,e,e,P:t
ceeded to his own house, about a quarter of a mile u's
and had just got inside whbn the explosion took place' -11,1 s,
caused him to return immediately, when he found the Pr,t,
house had exploded and disappeared and the two monk
not to be seen. He immediately set a party of men to w 0 p 0
and the body of Farnfield was shortly discovered about out
yards up the meadow, and that of Mansell in a ditch ab •
°
80 yards below the press-house. Farnfield was much '31130f
tared and both arms were off. There was not a particle
clothing upon either of the bodies. If the men had nharigsh ed
their ordinary clothing it would have been left in the
up house, but this had been destroyed, and all the clat"" :re
it contained, One shoe belonging to Farnfield has 131110
been found. Mansell had been employed upon the
for the past two years, and Farnfield almost from his
fancy. The machinery in the press-room was new, eleeti
the hydraulic press, which had been in work about sev"„f
years. When witness saw the deceased men at the door
the press-house they had their working dresses on.
rod
At this stage of the proceedings the inquiry was adieu-
for a few days.