The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-20 00:00:00

FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT.

On Saturday afternoon last a shocking accident
occurred on the river Wey, close to the town of
Guildford, which caused the loss of three lives by
drowning. From a few particulars which we have
been enabled to gather it appears that at about a
quarter to 5 o'clock two gentlemen—one of whom
appeared to be a German and the other an English
gentleman, who had been staying fer some days at
the Angel Hotel, in company with the wife of one
and the mother of the other, for the benefit of their
health.—presented themselves at Mr. Wells's boat-
house, at Guildford-bridge, and stated that they
should like to have a row on the river. As neither
of them was expert at the oar, they requested that
a man might accompany them to pull the boat, and
a lad named George Wheatley, who was well
accustomed to the river and a good waterman, was
selected for this purpose. The boat which they hired
was a stout skiff, called the Prince of Wales, calcu-
culated to carry four persons, and at 5 o'clock they
set out on their excursion, never to return. Shortly
after 6 o'clock, a messenger arrived at Mr. Wells's,
in breathless haste, and informed him that one of
his boats was lying bottom upwards, nearly oppo-
site Mr. Ross D. Mangles's park, at Woodbridge, and
that some hats were floating on the water. Mr.
Wells without a moment's delay despatched a punt
and the drags in the direction indicated. When the
punt arrived on the spot, the truth soon became appa-
rent. The drags were let go, and after two or
three trawls, the holies of the three unfortunate
deceased were raised from the bottom of the river,
and deposited on the lawn in front of Woodbridge
House. They were thence conveyed to the BD
Tavern, at Stoke, where medicalattendance waesthe
ob-
tained without delay, but too late to bee
any
use,
cannot pie
vital spark having long since flehd•
mesieY't3 my
other and wife
ture the agony and dismay of
of the deceased gentlemen and
eotufeeleV;
nh
be uttl
saw
their
the a
acct_fgriile
on receiving the fatal intelhg
no
one
course, to describe how it
was most disheartening. As
tion is that one of the gen
been about try his hand at an
theo Osnteemsidteo
atnh
de
rower'sotod
acee ernm:t
re,
arn i
net
ddmei
i:bhthuattthht:ahayse :e: impossible,
bill] ap
edfi.tgoo 111"111:11
thus
capsized the boat. The three bodiesdwepraeifro,uonnde
close together, as if, in the agony of es
had clasped the other. -Wheatley, who was regu-
larly employed by Mr. -W
ells, has been long acous,
tomed to the river, and he is stated to have been
ave agood boatman and an expert swimmer. The bodies
await an inquest by the county coroner.

In the Italian Parliamentt:tTurin it has been
proposed by the Radical members to strike from the
Budget the sum of 1,110,000 f., which the State pays towards
the support of the great Italian theatres—La Scala, in
Milan, San Carlo, in Naples, &o, Although the motion
was opposed in the professed interests of art and culture,
by some of the Southern deputies, it met with suoh a
strong support among all parties, that the Minister Peruzzi
had to give way on the principle, and only to plead for
delay and compromise, and the necessity of humouring the
city populations. The Chamber at last voted that the en-
dowment of theatres should immediately disappear from the
ordinary budget, empowering the Government, however,
to enter as extraordinary
expenses any sums that might
be necessary to discharge existing obligations to theatre
managers, ac.