The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-22 00:00:00

FEARFUL ACCIDENT ON THE RIVER

MEDWAY.

A frightful accident occurred on Thursday evening at
Hartlake-bridge on the river Medway, near Tunbridge,
by which it is supposed that nearly 40 persons have
perished. The accounts of the accident are at present
somewhat imperfect, but it appears that, in consequence
of the river Medway having overflowed its banks, the
hoppickers in the employ of Mr. Cox, a large hop-
grower living at Golden-green, in the parish of Hadlow,
near Tunbridge, after having finished their day's work,
were being conveyed through the flood in a waggon,
drawn by three horses, when, on arriving at Hartlake-
bridge, they became alarmed at the rush of water, and
uttered loud cries. The party consisted of men, women,
and children. The noise made by them alarmed the
hors-s, and it seems that the animals consequently ran
away, and came in contact with the side of the bridge,
which, being in a dilapidated state, broke down. The
consequence was that the waggon was precipitated into
the rivez, and all the persons in it were drowned.
Up to yesterday the bodies of two women only had
been recovered, but, according t. the best information
that could be obta;ned upon the spot, no less than 37
persons are missing.
In consequence of the vast body of water which is
now flowing down the river, and the locks being open,
the probability is that the bodies may be washed a con-
siderable distance from the bridge. Numbers of per-
sons are engaged in endeavouring to find them. The
names of the two women whose bodies have been re-
covered are not known

The coroner is to hold an inquest upon them to-day
at the Bell Inn, Golden-green, in the parish of Hadlow.

WEST SUSSEX QUARTER SESSIONS.

IGNATIUS FRANCIS COYLE V. THE DUKE OF RICHMOND
AND THE SUSSEX JUSTICES.
The appeal against the conviction by his Grace the
Duke of Richmond, Mr. Bridgeman (the Recorder for
the city of Chichester), and a bench of Sussex jus-
tices, under the Vagrant Act, of the appellant for
an attempt to pick pockets at the late Goodwood
races, having been fired for this day, the quarter
sessions were invested with a more than ordinary
interest. The notoriety acquired by the appellant
from his having been for many years connected with the
" turf," but more particularly his alleged participation
in the " Running Rein" alair, his trial and conviction
on a charge of forging the name of a sporting nobleman
to a bill of exchange, and his general intimacy with the
" men about town," had not only attracted consider-
able interest to the affair, but rendered the case one for
sporting speculation, and, so confident were his friends
of success, that they freely offered two to one that the
conviction would be quashed.
At 11 o'clock Mr. PRIME, M.P., the chairman,
took his seat on the bench, and there were present
a greater number of magistrates than, perhaps, had ever
assembled on a similar occasion.
Mr. Creasey and Mr. Johnson appeared to support
the conviction, and Mr. E. James, Mr. Ballantine, and
Mr. Wyatt were in attendance on behalf of the appellant.
The court throughout the proceedings was crowded
to excess, and many of those present were from London.
The evidence taken at the petty sessions when the
case was first heard was reproduced. Mark Loome, a
sergeant of the metropolitan police force and B division,
distinctly swore that on the 27th of July last, he saw
the appellant attempting to pick pockets in the Good-
wood betting enclosure.
Mr. Cope, the Governor of Newgate, produced a cer-
tificate of the conviction of Coyle at the Central Crimi-
nal Court on the 25th of October, 1851, on a charge of
forgery, and his sentence to 12 months imprisonment.
Sergeants Quinnear and Combe, of the P and L divi-
sions
of police, deposed to having seen Coyle in the com-
pany of the swell mob.
The cross-examination of the latter witness by Mr.
Ballantine created considerable laughter in the court.
Other witnesses were called to prove the same facts,
and this closed the case in support of the conviction.
On the part of the appellant, the Earl of Uxbridge
was called and deposed,—That when he asked the officer
why he did not bring forward the persons on whom
the robberies were attempted, he said he could not find
them when he took the accused, and did not mention
a word of that to which he had sworn on that day,—
namely, that one of the old gentlemen had so many
bets on the race that he could not attend. His Lord-
ship also said, that on tel'ing Loome that he thought
he had made some mistake, or had acted under some
personal or vindictive feeling towards Coyle, his reply
was, that this was quite impossible, as he knew nothing
about him.
Mr. Pearce, the superintendent of the F division
of pollee ; Mr. Field, the late inspector of the
detectives ; Serjeants Langley and Whicher, all actively
employed in police matters for many years, were exa-
mined, and, one and a'l declared that they had known
the appellant for many years, and that he had never as-
sociated with the members of the swell mob, nor had
they ever heard of his being concerned in or addicted to
picking pockets. The witnesses went further, and said
they must have heard if he had made such attempts.
Mr. James addressed the bench in a most forcible
speech, commenting in severe terms on the conduct of
Leone, the officer. Mr. Creasy also spoke for some
time in reply to the evidence called on the part of the
appellant ; and the Chairman having read over the evi-
dence, the Magistrates deliberated for about 10 minutes,
and then affirmed the conviction.

MONUMENT TO THE LATE LIEUTENANT BELLOT.--
It is stated that Lord John Russell and the Earl of
Ellesmere have requested Sir Roderick Murchison to
place their names on the list of the Committee for
the purpose of furnishing the erection of a monument to
the memory of the late gallant French officer, Lieu-
tenant Bellot, and have authorised him to announce
that they are ready to contribute liberally to the laud-
able object.