The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-13 00:00:00

HAY MARKETS.

SmintriELD.—Meadow hay, £3 lOs to £5 10s; clover,
£4 15s to £6 lOs Od; and straw, £1 8s to £1 12s per load.
Trade steady.
CUMRERLIND.—Meadow hay, £3 10s to £5 lOs ; clover/
£4 158 to £6 108 Od; and straw, £lBs to £1 12s per load.
A fair demand.

WILITECHAPEL—Meadow hay, £3 108 to £5 10s ; clover,
£4 16s to £6 lUs Od ; and straw, £1 8s to £1 12s per load,
Trade firm,

The Explosion at Erith.

Yesterday evening Mr W. Payne, coroner for the City
and Southwark, held an inquiry at Guy's Hospital respect-
ing the death of Elizabeth Osborn, aged 8 years and 4
months, who died from the effects of the explosion.
._ .

Mr George Osborn said that he was a painter, in busi-
ness, and resided at Bromley, in Kent. His daughter
Elizabeth went on a visit to the house of Mr Silver, the
manager of the Lowood Gunpowder Company's maga-
zine, next that of Messrs Hall, at Belvedere. She was
there a fortnight when the explosion took place.
Mr Sidney Turner, house surgeon, said that the deceased
was brought to the hospital on the Ist October, in a severe
state of collapse. She had received dreadful lacerations on
the face, chest, and arms, apparently from broken glass.
She died in 10 days, and it was then found that the base of
her skull had been fractured.

The Coroner said that at the proceedings held on the pre-
vious day at Erith an important letter was produced. The
document was proved to be a letter written by Rayner, the
manager of Mr Hall's magezino, and it was addressed to
the foreman, Mr Monk, at Faversham. It contained most
serious complaints of the condition of the powder barrels
sent to Erith.

Mr John F. Hall hero stepped forward and said that he
was the son of the London partner, and was assistant to the
firm, he coula therefore give some explanation. The firm
had received no complaints for three years past. Three
years ago they had received from a maker a number of very
defective barrels, and in consequence of the complaints then
made the Messrs. Hall had erected a large cooperage, at
which all the barrels were now made, under their own
supervision. The letter of Mr Rayner bore no date, but it
was evidently written in reference to what had happened
three years ago.
The Foreman—Have you not other magazines at Erith
where an examination of the general condition of the barrels
could be made ?

Mr Hall—Not at Erith, They are not in use ; but we
have magazines at Liverpool and elsewhere which would
admit of examination. Barrels manufactured by the same
are in those magazines.
A Juror—Mr Hall distinctly told us last week that no
iron was used in the magazines, and now we find that a go-
vernment officer saw iron nails and rods on all aides.
11 itness—l cannot speak from personal knowledge of the
old magazine, which the Government bought three years
ago; but in the magazine all the nails, &c., were copper.
The witness who spoke as to the state of the old magazine
admitted that he had only been in it once for a moment,
The Coroner—l think it would be best to write to the
Board of Trade, and ask them to appoint some competent
scientific man to make an examination of the general state
of the barrels in the other magazines.
The Foreman—The question of the bad manufacture of
the powder barrels has suddenly arisen, although it was en-
tirely unsuspected by us last week. It would therefore be
very necessary to ascertain by some disinterested evidence
what the actual state of the case may be. It would be ab-
surd for us to return a verdict that the explosion took place
from an accident if another jury were at the same time in
possession of evidenco proving that there was culpable neg-

ligence.
The Coroner said that he should at once communical
with the Board of Trade upon the sui,joet.
The court then adjourned.

MUNIFICENCE OF A LADY.--A benevolent lady
has paid the cost, amounting to LAS, of the Valentia life-
boat establishmsnt oa the coast of Kerry, Ireland, which is
now being formed there under the superintendence of the
National Lifeboat Institution. It is the only lifeboat station
on that wild Atlantic coast. The same lady had previously
defrayed the cost of a lifeboat and transporting carriage for
a station on the north-west coast of England.