The Sun.
London, England, 1849-11-23 00:00:00

FRIG. RTFUL ACCIDENT.

PRESTON, Nov 22.—This morning a dreadful
accident occurred at the cotton-mill of Messrs. Swain-
son, l3irley, and Co., Fishwick, near this town, by
which one man was instantaneously killed, and another
so fearfully injured, that, in all probability, death
must speedily ensue.
It appears that on Wednesday morning Mr. Oddy,
the manager of the mill, perceived an escape of gas,
and gave orders for an examination of the pipes. This
morning, about twenty minutes to seven o'clock, a
labourer, of the name of Thomas Lawson, proceeded
to search for the leakage ; it being dark he procured
a lamp, when the gas from the main pipe imree..
di2tely ignited at the mouth of a sewer. The conse-
quence was, that the whole of the lights in the north-
east portion of the mill were extinguished , upon
which the weavers instantly threw their looms out of
gear. The engine being relieved of a great propor•
lion of its weight acquired such a velocity from the
impetus thus given to it that the fly-wheel was splin-
tered to pieces. This engine (which was a small one,
there being two in the factory) was situated at the
east-end of the large mill, and worked the looms in the
north-east mill. The ordinary speed of the fly-wheel
was about 50 revolutions per minute. One of the co-
lumns of the large engine was broken off, sad the frag-
ments were scattered in various directions ; some to
one end and some to the other end of the engine-
house, which is 80 feet long. A partition wall two
feet thick, dividing the engine-room, was levelled
with the greund by the force of the shock. John
Cooke, engine tenter, a man about 60 years of' age,
was dreadfully injured whilst endeavouring, as was
supposed, to stop his engine. His right arm was
torn off near to the shoulder joint, and he was also
otherwise kurt—so much so, indeed, that his life is
despaired of. He was ,struck by a fragment of the
fly-a heel, and fell a depth of 10 feet through a hole
which hal been made in the floor. The stop valve
and chest of the engine (which was of 40 horse power)
having been broken off caused it to stop. Shortly
after the accident, Henry Kirkham, manager in the
throstle-room, was found lying behind the door of the
south entrance to the engine-house. lie was quite
dead, having been struck on the head by a fragment
of the wheel, and his legs also were broken. He
,was
24 years of age.
A fragment of the fly wheel penetrated the wall at
the north end of the engine-room, which is 18 inches
thick. Another fragment was thrown through the
window at the south end of the large engine-house.
The small engine. house, where the casualty occurred,
is 28 feet by 10 feet. The engine sustained compa-
ratively little damage. The windows at each end of
the engine-house were sha'.tered to pieces. A por-
tion of the hands, from 600 to 700 in number, will
be deprived of work for a short time by the accident
probably, however, not for more than a few days.

r Advertisement.]
1/ECTUIIES ON CONSUMPTION, &c. &c.—Dr. Cronin
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by diagrams, miercvsopical observations, &c., his new
and original theory of the nature, causes, and forma-
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mode of treating consumptive, asthmatic, and &FIN pun
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ester-place, Leicester-s quart'.
DEATH OF COLONEL JOHN BIZOWNE•—With the
most sincere regret we record the death of Colonel John
Browne, of Brtaify, on yesterday, after a protracted and
lingering illness. The deceased was the youngest son of
the late A. Browne, Esq., of Breaty, and from a very
early age embraced a military life. He was present (and
not inactively) in all the engagements during the Penin-
sular campaign, up to the period of the battle of Water-
loo, where he was so severely wounded that his life was
for many months despaired of. He has been for some
years residing on his paternal inheritance in this neigh.
bourliood.—Mqo Telegraph.

Wittlidi altit
LONDON, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1849.

After the magnificent reception given by the in-
habitants of Malta, on the 10th instant, to his Excel-
lency the Right Hon. RICHARD Moue O'Fettitann,
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of that island
and its dependencies, we question very much whether
his calumniators will have the temerity to renew
their misrepresentations of his character and their
aspersions upon his government. It must be suffi-
ciently manifest to every unprejudiced observer that
all those stories which have been so vociferously
repeated of late by a certain portion of our contempo-
raries are nothing more than imaginary, are nothing
less than fabrications. We allude, of course, to the
preposterous tales accusing him of we know
not what cruelty and injustice. His as-
sailants will find that their voices are inaudible
above so much genuine and spontaneous enthusiasm,
and that their shafts of vituperation will find consi-
derable difficulty in penetrating through his shield of
popularity. Nothing could have afforded deeper
consolation to his Excellency than the affectionate
ardour with which he was welcomed back by all
classes among the Maltese to the scene of his admi-
nistration. From the moment when he stepped from
the deck of the Euxine to the quay fronting the
Pinto Magazines, until his entrance into his palace of
Valetta, Mr. O'FERSALL, as Governor of Malta and
its dependencies, appears to have been greeted by
the most cordial acclamations. His passage through
the streets, according to the Maltese news-
papers, must have borne rather the appearance
of an ovation than of the recepti on given to a civil
administrator. And we doubt not but that a more
genial tone of earnestness was imparted to the feli-
citations of the multitude by the very recollection of
the abuse to which the name of their principal ruler
had been recently and undeservedly subjected. As
will be seen from the narrative of these interesting
festivities, published elsewhere in this evening's im-
pression, the welcome received by his Excellency was
not restricted to the shouts of the people as he first
traversed the city in the carriage of Sir AGOSTINO
PORTELLI, illuminations, and other marks of
rejoicing being added on the following Monday,
in order the better to celebrate the occasion
of his arrival. Scarcely anything further, however,
would have been requisite to evidence the estimation
in which Mr. O'FenasiLn is held by the Maltese than
the number, the respectability, and the enthusiasm of
the individuals who attended his levee on that morn-
ing. A glance at the different addresses presented to
the Governor by deputations from the more important I
divisions of the community, would be amply sufficient
of itself to assure the Cabinet that they have not un-
wisely selected his Excellency as the representative
of the SOVERtIGN. From the address of the Chamber
of Commerce he is assured of" the feelings of satisfac-
tion with which they hail his return," the document
concluding with the hope that he " may
long continue to direct the Government of this island,
to 'witness its increasing prosperity, and to be re-
warded by the increasing confidence and affection of
its inhabitants." From the resident and practising
barristers he receives an equally cordial assurance of
congratulation, their address expressing very dis-
tinctly the pleasure with which the legal body join
the rest of the population in evidencing their satisfac-
tion at his happy return, assuring him, moreover, that
they perform a grateful duty
.in offering to him their
earnest felicitations as a homage of the high esteem
and respectful attachment with which they are pene-
trated towards the person of :his Excellency, " un
grato dovere di cfferirle, distintamente, le loro
sincere felicitazioni, come un ommaggio dell'
Alta stima e del rispettoso attaccameuto, onde
sono penetrati verso la persona di Vostra
Eccellenera." In a similar strain of emphasis
the Agrarian Society approaches Mr. O'F.Eastam.
with the declaration of its profound gratitude, " di
sus profonda gratitudine." Such also, it appears
from the statement made in the Maltese journals,
was the language of affectionate regard and implicit
confidence with which his Excellency the Governor
was greeted at a levee, where all ranks and classes
were unanimous in their attendance.
Towards evening, the welcome accorded to the
Right Hon. RICHARD O'FERRALL assumed a different
aspect in illuminations, fireworks, and that peculiarly
Italian mark of rejoicing, a serenade. An English
Ode, an Italian Sonnet, and a Latin Sapphic expressed
an poetry those emotions which had been inadequately
articulated in prose ; and the tokens of loyalty to the
QUEEN blending with those of attachment to her
se presentative constituted, towards the conclusion of
the fete, not the least gratifying portion of the celebra-
tion. After this it cannot surely be again insinuated
that Mr. O'FERILILL is alike unfitted for his high
position by his administrative harshess and his personal
unpopularity. Of his popularity we conceive there
ammo: be henceforth a moment's doubt; neither does
it appear to us at all compatible with our proper estima-
tion of the character of so many respectable and honour..
able individuals as those forming the inhabitants 01
Malta and its dependencies, to question for one instant
whether or not the acts of cruelty and injustice im-
puted to his Excellency may be founded i❑ reality:,
Of these imputations w e can only say, that to us their
total want of veracity would be sufficiently demon-
strated by the indisputable popularity of the Governor
of Malta, and by the remarkable enthusiasm of his
reception. After all that has occurred we do not
hesitate to regard the stories told by the opponents of
hie Excellency as shameful fabrications, or, at the
very ,least, as grievous and wilful exaggerations.
No further doubt can be entertained that the course
pursued by the local authorities, in obedience to his in-
structions, was of all courses the most rational and judi-