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

FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT.

PRESTON, Nov 22.—This morning a dreadful
accident occurred at the cotton•mill of Messrs. Swain-
eon, I3irley, and Co., Fishwick, near this town, by
which one man was instantaneously killed, and another
so fe:;rfully 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 lor the leakage ; it being dark he procured
a lamp, when the gas from the main pipe imme-
diately 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-
tion of its weight acquired such a velocity from the
impetus thus given to it that the fly-wheel was splin-
tercel 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, i id the frag-
ments were scatterea 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 ground by the force of the shock. John
Cooke, engine tenter, a man about GO 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 hurt—so much so, indeed, that his life is
despaired of. lie was struck by a fragment of the
fly-%heel, and fell a depth of 10 feet through a hole
which had been made in the floor. The stop valve
and chest of the engine (which was of 40 horse power)
having been brcken off caused it to stop. Shoitly
after the accident, Henry Kirkham, manager in the
throstle-room, was found lying behind the door of the
south entrance to the engine-house. He was quite
dead, having been struck on the head by a fragment
of the wheel, and his legs also were broken. lie was
24 years of age.
A fragment of the flywheel 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 shattered 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.

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DEATH OF COLONEL JOHN BROWNE.—With the
most sincere regret we record the death of Colonel John
Browne, of Breafy, on yesterdtly, after a protracted and
lingering illness.• The deceased was the youngest son of
the late A. Browne, DI., of Breaty, and from a very
early ago embraced a 'unitary life. lie 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 1144 neigh-
bourhoca—Alayo Tcltyraph.