The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-05 00:00:00

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Yesterday morning, shortly before eleven o'clock, an
accident, attended with the loss of two lives, occurred
upon a portion of the East and West India Dock and
Birmingham Junction Railway, now i❑ course of con-
struction.

The melancholy occurrence resulted from the falling
in of three of the arches of a viaduct recently erected.
The place where the accident occurred is known as
Burgess's-fields. It is almost the very centre of the
line, and lies between Bridge-street, Hackney, and
Shepherd's-lane. The country here, and for a short
distance on each side, is low, and the soil swampy, so that
it became necessary, in order to preserve the level of the
railway, either to construct an embankment some twenty
feet high, or to carry the rails along upon arches. A
viaduct, which was the plan adopted, was accordingly
furmed for about half a mile in length, and it was three
of the arches near the dock end of this viaduct which
unfortunately gave way, burying the deceased persons
in their ruins. They were each thirty feet span, the arc
starting from the springing—that is, leaving the per-
pendicular piers at a height of ten feet, and forming the
segment of a circle.
It appears that, shortly before eleven o'clock yester-
day morning, without the slightest warning, or any
symptom of yielding, the three arches suddenly fell in,
burying two men who were engaged in screening gravel,
and two horses, in the debris. The arches were sup-
ported upon solid brickwork piers, four feet in width,
and were stated by the employes of the contractors and
engineer to have been built about two months. The
same persons also state that the wooden centering had
been struck about three weeks. Persons in the neigh-
bourhood, on the contrary, assert that the centering had
been struck much more recently.
It is calculated roughly that the total mass that fell
must have weighed at least 100 tons, and masses of
brick-work, some three or four tons in weight, are still
to be found.

The names of the sufferers aro George Breed, better
known as George Ward, aged 19 (killed); Joseph
Langston, aged 22 (killed); and John Garratt, aged 22,
severely injured.
Immediately on the accident becoming known, Mr.
Att wood and Mr. Potts were on the ground with a staff
of between 70 and 80 men, and vigorous measures were
at once adopted to extricate the sufferers. The unfor-
tunate men were extricated in about an hour after the
occurrence, and were immediately attended by Mr.
Crocum, of High-street, Homerton' and Mr. Garrett,
surgeon to the police-station. Ward and Langston were
pronounced to be quite dead, and were removed to the
Woolpack Inn, Bridge-street. Garret was severely
wounded, and was removed to his lodgings. Hopes are
entertained of his recovery.

EXTENSIVE CIRCULATION OP FORGED BANK
NOTES.—The following description has been circulated
by the police of a man who, a few days since, purchased
a leg of mutton at the shop of Mr. Peachy, a butcher, at ,
Brixton, and paid him with a forged 51. note, purporting
to be note upon the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Branch
Bank. On the same day he uttered to Mr. Matthews, a
butcher in the same neighbourhood, a forged 51. note of
the Manchester Branch Bank. Both the notes were en-
dorsed Penfold, Railway Hotel Brighton. Ho appeared
to be about forty years of age, five feet four inches high,
rather stout, and of fair complexion, and was well
dressed. A forged 51. note, purporting to be of the Man-
chester Bank, was uttered to Mr. Tucker, a woollen-
draper, in Sun-street, Bishopsgate, by a man who gave
the name of Rose, about the lame age and height as the
other fellow, but of dark complexion, and assuming the
character of a sailor. He had also two lads with him,
16 or 17 years of age, dressed as sailors; and it has been
ascertained that immediately after passing the forged
note there they rode in a cab from Shoreditch to St.
Giles's. A description has also boon received of one
Joseph Wright, alias Reynolds, a native of Ludlow, who
had absconded after issuing several forged Si. notes simi-
lar to: those above mentioned. He is a tall middle-aged
man, with very fresh colour, and dark brown hair, and
has latterly been dealing in cattle, sheep, and pigs.
THE LATE FATAL FIRE IN GRAY'S INN-LANE.—
Yesterday afternoon an inquest was held at the Plough,
Caroy•street, before Mr. Bedford, on the body of John
Thackery, aged 22, a shoemaker, who, as well as his
wife, lust his life at the fire in Gray's Inn-laic on Thurs-
day night lest. After hearing some evidence, the Co-
roner said it was important to know the exact cause
of death, and adjourned the inquest until Thursday next
fur a post ntortent examination. It was stated that a
subscription is being raised in the neighbourhood, for
the bene fit of the lodgers whose property was burned;
also to reward the fire-escape man and a female who
rescued four young persons from the tire,