The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-28 00:00:00

THE RAILWAY CATASTROPHE

NEAR CHESTER.
The inquest on three of the bodies lying at the
workhouse, which is adjacent to the railway, b.etweett
the broken bridge and the Chester station, was com-
menced yesterday (Tuesday), at half-past one o'clsek,
before Mr. Hostage, the coroner, and a highly respect-
able jury of twelve gentlemen of Chester, of which Sir
Edward Walker, of Chester, was the foreman. The
only witnesses examined were those who could identify
the bodies.

Clayton, the engine-driver, who had so narrow an
escape himself, identified the body of the stoker; and
the bodies of the two coach drivers having been identi-
fied by their friends, the inquest was then adjourned to
the Chester Infirmary, where the body of Roberts, the
guard, is lying, having been conveyed thither, though it
seems the house surgeon, who saw the men carrying it
on the Roodee, examined the head, and found it so
frightfully fractured that life was then extinct.
Clayton having identified the body as that of Roberts,
The CORONER intimated to the jury that he should
not examine any further witnesses that day, and declared
the inquest adjourned t,) ten o'clock o❑ Friday morning
next, at the Town-hall, Chester, when the inquiry as to,
the probable cause of this catastrophe will be entered into.
Amongst the parties present at the inquest, were the
law-clerk of the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway Com-
pany, who said he attended for the purpose of offering
every facility in the power of that company for making
every investigation. On behalf of the Chester and
Holyhead Railway Company (the owners of the bridge),
Mr. Munt appeared, and voluntarily offered to procure
the attendance, on Friday, of Mr. Robert Stephenson,
the engineer-in chief of the company, and also to have
Mr. Betts, the contractor for the bridge, in attendance,
Mr. Lee, the resident engineer of the Chester and Holy-
head Railway, was also present during the proceedings
yesterday.
The CORONER, when intimating that he should have
scientific evidence on Friday, said he should require the
attendance of the engineers of the Chester and Holyhead
Railway Company. He also said that he had requested
an engineer to examine the structure, and to furnish him
with a report as to the probable cause of the occurrence
on behalf of the Crown.—Manchester Guardian.

ITER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.--The Queen and his
Royal Highness Prince Albert, accompanied by her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, and his Serene
Highness the Prince of Leiningen, honoured her Ma-
jesty's theatre yesterday (Thursday) evening with their
presence. In the Royal suite were the Viscountess Can-
ning, the Viscountess Duncannon, Lady Augusta Bruce
Hon. Miss Stanley, Hon. Miss Dawson, the Marquis of
Ormonde, Lord James Murray, Lieutenant-Colonel .the
Hon. C. B. Phipps, and the Hon. Captain Gordon. Her
Majesty the Queen Dowager accompanied by their Se-
rene Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of
Saxe Weimar, and his Serene Highness Prince Edward
of Saxe Weimar, awl attended by the Countess of
Assemburg; the Marchioness of Ormond°, Earl Howe,
Lady Augusta Cadogan, Col. Buest, aad Baron
Ziegesar, were also present. Amongst the illustrious
personages present were his Imperial Highness the
Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, attended by Adml.
Lutke, and a numerous suite. Her Royal Highness
the Duchess of Cambridge was also present. We also
noticed the Duke and Duchess of Cleveland. The Duke
of Devonshire, the Marquis of Donegal, the Marquis of
Huntley, the Marquis and Marchioness of Sligo, the
Baroness Brunnow and Madlle. Olga de Lechner, the
Earl of Lansdale, the Earl and Countess Grenville, the
Earl of Munster, Viscount Cantilupe ; Llrds Sandys,
Gardner, Southampton, A. Fitzclarence ; the Baron and
Baroness Rothschiid, the Baron and Baroness L. Roths-
child, M. de Berg, H. G. Byng, Sir W. M. Stanley, Sir
H. Webb, Sir H. Mieux, Colonel Wildman, Colonel
Arden, Mr. Hubert de Burgh, &c. &c.
IRRIGATION IN CHINA--Rice is grown on the
lower terrace ground ; and a stream of water is always
led from some ravine and made to flow across the sides
of the hills, until it reaches the highest terrace, into
which it flews, and floods the whole of the level space.
Whenhich isth sufficiently tly r ri
s ehsighthfroere
the
er
rifooeu,ritinficehdess
ventin h esitgbarn,
w
opening made for the purpose in the .
bank, through
which it flows into the terrace belie', which floods ia

......,...., ..„........._ ..., „..
the same manner, and so on to the lowest. In this way
the whole of the rice terraces are kept continually
flooded, until the stalks of the crops assume a yellow
ripening hue ; when the water being no longer required,
it is turned back into its natural channel, or led to a
cdri
offpe
sr.e n tlp,
haerste oruf
()tit;
Ile
t,liiitlil
sftorre
atmh es , nouri s
which
h m
abounde n n
t f
iother
l
1
parts of the hilly districts, are of the greatest importance
h
etoletvhaetintanrmi
nertn;
the; an
iansesti2at.yn'egyenunenral
csopnridnugetfer
be dom ata p Ilegah-
sure over all the lower parts of the hills. No operation
in agriculture gives him and his labourers more pleasure.
than leading these streams of water from one oie
another, and making them subservient to their purposes,'o
In my travels in the country the inhabitants often
called
my attention to this branch of their operations ; and I
pleased them much when I expressed my admiration at
the skill with which they executed it. The practice is
not confined to the paddy-fields, for I remember once,
when superintending the planting of some large trees
and shrubs in the garden of Messrs. Dent and Co., in
Hong-Kong, after I had given them a large supply of
water at the time they were put into the ground, I de-
sired the gardener to repeat the dose next morning.
But on the following day, when I returned to the spot, I
branches, c h surprisedes
ahnaddatbetehne
meanderingto
A findst
h ear littlee
na among
streamonno g s
thetre amdi
rootsv it dh divided
there
hnbeteofnoemrisea,inyly.
ravine—a work more easy than
examine its source, and found that i,t.
dfoerrie:dhßeEnivft`ErtNi:(:s'altpetre) and six drachms
neighbouringPßEVENTlON
following
OrFecleNipFtEo:TarkßeOsNiix
I"'pel
deannftrt
carryingeotdmo t largeara'eaens
—Dr.
jm.eom. osremeitffhee
obtainedt effectual.—Fortune's l. Fo r
st:onoeo'sLClfirionma.
IdniaPcslauhlmrpshs ParliamentuFo rfiEnpvoaEnwßi
acid
(oil of vitriol) ; mix them in a tea-cup. By adding one
drachm of the oil at a time,
f
nitrous acid gas will take place. a
eTophieoacusp dtion
bh
ea rg
during the preparation e
placed o
on on a hot hearth or a plate of
heated iron, and the mixture stirred with a tobacco pipe.
The quantity of gas may be regulated by lessening or
increasing .
e quantity of ingredients. The above is for
a moderate sized room ; half
the
quantity would be suf-
ficient for a small
room. Avoid as much as possible
breathing the gas when it first rises from the vessel."
No injury to the lungs will happen when the air is im-
pregnated with the gas, which is called nitrous acid gas;
and it cannot be too widely known that it posFesscs the
property of preventing the spread of fever.—Duutfris
Courier.
A MILKMAN'S CONFESSION.—A German had
made a fortune in Philadelphia by selling milt. He
started home with two bags of soverei2ns. On ship-
board he counted one bag of treasure. A mischievous
monkey was watchinte his operations. As soon as it
was replaced and tied up, nad the other hag emptied,
Jack.) snatched up the fo.l one, and was soon at the
masthead. He open.d the German's I
ing the pretty gold, he proceed to drop one piece upon
the r'e.k end ..-“,` a:et i 'he water imtii he had emptied
the bag. When he had finished, the German threw up
his hands, exclaiming, " He must be the dyvel, for what
came from the vater ho does give to the vater, (a, what
came from the milk he gives to me."