The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-31 00:00:00

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STEAM-BOILER EXPLOSION.
THREE LIVES LOST.
AINTON-UNDER-LINE, OCT. 29.—0 n Thursday morn-
ing, a few minutes before six o'clock, this town was
thrown into the 'greatest alarm, in consequence of the
explosion of a steam-boiler at the cotton-mill of Messrs..
Bayley and Dewhurst, Charlestown, which destroyed the
whole of the adjoining property, and caused the loss of
three lives. So far as we have been able to ascertain,
amidst the general confusion which this melancholy
event has created, the following appears to be the facts :
—The mill where this sad catastrophe has occurred,.
has, for a considerable length of time, been unoccupied,.
but was taken some months ago by Messrs. Bayley and
Dewhurst, when considerable alterations were made,
and the mill was put into thorough repair. In addition
to this was erected a strong fire-proof building, three
stories high, which had been filled by machinery,.
and under which was the boiler which has caused
such devastation. It seems that about five minutes
to six o'clock, just as the engineer was on his way
to start the engine, the boiler collapsed in that part
which is over the fire, and caused an explosion which
knocked down the entire building before referred to,
and also partially destroyed several cottages both at the
back and front of the factory. Such was the force, that
the boiler, which is 26 feet long, and about 7 feet in dia-
meter, was completely capsized, being turned upon its
end, and falling the contrary way to its previous posi-
tion. Across the street opposite to where the boiler
originally was, whore a number of cottages which had
been made into warehousing, for the purpose of storing
the cotton, &e.; the windows in front of these buildings
were forced in, and the embers from the fire-place being
blown through, ignited the cotton and set Lire to the
buildings. The two fire-engines belonging to the tows
were quickly ofi the spot, and by dint of great exertion
the fire was extinguished. In the mean time a number
of men commenced to remove the fallen materials out of
the street, when they found, opposite to where the boiler-
house stood, the dead bodies of a man named Abraham
Fitton, a spinner, 42 years of age, and his daughter Erni-
line Fitton, a piecer, 13 years o, age. These unfortunate
creatures w ere passing in front of the boiler at the time
the explosion took place, and were going to their work,
being employed at the mill of Messrs. Knotts, which is
in another part of the town. The bodies were dread-
fully crushed and scorched, the skin from the hands
and arms hanging in tatters. They were taken to the
Nelson tavern, a public-house close by. On further
seaiet being made, the body of a female, named Mar-
garet Fitzgerald, eighteen years of age, who was mar-
ried three months ago, was found in the same woful
plight, bring quite dead. This woman was employed at
the mill where the accident took place, and was about to
enter the staircase when she was so suddenly deprived
of life. The whole of the bodies presented a most
shocking spectacle when taken out of the ruins. A re-
port was prevalent that there were several other persons
missing, but after a careful search during the whole of
the day, no other bodies were found. The hair-breadth
escapes are innumerable. We may, however, mention one
or two cases. The first is that of a married woman, named
Milki Truin ; she had just got into the second room,
over the boier, and when about to pull off her clothing
to make ready for commencing work, the whole of the
building was lifted by the boiler and fell in with a tre-
mendous crash, the report being heard at the extreme
ends of the town. Notwithstanding that this female fell
along with the ponderous mass, and was buried for
near an hour in the ruins, she was got out, having merely
received a few bruises on her left side. The engineer,
who was on his way to the engine-house at the time of
the occurrence, was partially screened from the falling
materials by a portion of one of the floors having fell in
a slanting direction under which be was. The cottages
which surround this portion of the mill, to the number
of four, were knocked down, and although in two of
them the inmates were in bed, they escaped with but a
few bruises, while the whole of their furniture, &c., was
completely destroyed. In reference to the cause of this
accident there are many opinions, but in the absence of
any scientific investigation, we forbear giving any defi-
nite statement. Such was the feeling created when the
report became known through the town that thousands
of persons congregated, and it was found necessary to
send for the military to guard the approaches to the
place. The inquiry is fixed for Monday next,t . oder
whole
to give time for a scientific investigation of he r
affair.

A GOOD DAY'S WORY.—A correspondent of the
Hartford Courant gives an account of a wedding which
he attended in Alabama, the bridegroom of which had
done his courting, found the 'Squire, invited the com-
pany, rode 42 miles for the license, was married, and
rode 15 miles for the whisky in 12 hours.—American
Paper.

A CHEATER CHEATED.—A rather neat exemplifica-
tion of the " biter bit " occurred at Glasgow a few days
ago. On Wednesday last, a young Irish woman, named
Judy Doherty, proceeded to the hiring market in Gra-
ham-square, Glasgow, for the purpose of offering herself
as a farm or domestic servant. She was unsuccessful in
getting " fee'd," however, and on leaving the market a
little down in spirit, she was accosted by a plausible-
looking girl, who learned from her the cause of her dis-
appointment, and also that she was a Roman Catholic.
" In that case," said the other, "if you want to raise the
wind, you have only to go down to his reverence in the
street before you, pretend you are hard up, and want to
go back to Ireland, and you aro sure to get a few shil-
lings." Judy thought the hint a good one, and resolved
to act upon it, and the pair accordingly set out to wait
upon the highly respectable Catholic clergyman who
resides in Abercrcmby-street. As they approached
the door, the Irish girl handed her bundle, contain-
ing some good wearing apparel, to the woman who
had taken such an interest in her welfare ; and, at the
same time, the latter considerately hinted that Judy
wore far too good a gown to make a poor mouth in be-
fore the priest. They accordingly retired to an entry,
were the gown was doffed, and placed in keeping of the
friend who had charge of the bundle; and a tattered
handkerchief being thrown over Miss Doherty's shoul-
ders, she was pronounced to wear a very decided air of
destitution, and quite appropriate to the occasion. Judy
accordingly went forward, but, after some delay, ascer-
tained that the reverend gentleman was not to be seen
at that time; and as she was getting rather afraid, and
ashamed of the object in view at any rate, she thought
it best to retire and resume possession of her gown and
bundle. The friend, however, had in the meantime
bolted with the Irish servant's gear, and, in fact, has not
been heard of since. Judy came to the police-office to
make her complaint, where the above particulars were
elicited, and has to admit she herself was very properly
" done" for having attempted to " do" the priest.—
Glasgow Herald.
UNITED SERVICE MEDICAL INSTlTUTlOlsr..—Wed-
nesday afternoon a meeting of medical officers in the royal
navy was held at the British Hotel, Cockspur-street, Ee
consider the propriety of forming an association of mem-
bers of the profession. Mr. Drummond took the chair,
and said that the object of the society they were about
to form was the advancement of medical science, the in-
vestigation of the modifications of endemic and epidemic
diseases in different climates, and the maintenance of the
honour of the profession generally. On the motion of
Dr. Evans, deputy medical inspector, seconded by Mr.
M‘Ternan, it was resolved that the society should be
established, and that a proposal should be made to the
council of the United Service Institution to form a union
with that body. Dr. Lindsay then moved that medical
officers in the sister services—the army and the East
India service—should be eligible for admission, and that
the association should be called the United Service Me-
dical Institution. This resolution was also carried unani-
mously, and a committee was appointed to confer with
the United Service Institution on the subject.
COMMON LAW COURTS.—On Saturday on the ter-
mination of the long vacation, the officers of the several
common law courts, 'resumed business, when the lists of
the arrears, appointed for the ensuing Michaelmas term,
commencing on Monday next, were exhibited. The lists
are greatly improved in appearance. The arrears are
trifling to what they were some few years back, and
the Court of Queen's Bench, which for a long time
showed a considerable arrear, has now a healthy
appearance, so that by the exertions of the Learned
Judges, the customary observation, that to get a rule
nisi was to tie up an action for eighteen months or two
years, will be shortly inapplicable. From the lists of the
Court of Queen's Bench for Michaelmas term, it appears
that there are 76 rules in the new trial paper for argu-
ment, and that the earliest was moved for in Easter
Term, 1845, and eleven rules standing for the judgment
of the court. In the special case and demurrer paper
for the court, there are five for judgment, and thirty-
eight for argument. There are in the Court of Common
Pleas, four enlarged rules, three for new trials moved
for in Trinity Term last, and sixteen rules waiting the
decision of the court. Four days have been appointed
for demurrers, and on the first day, the 6th of November,
Sixteen are entered for argument. In the Court of
Exchequer there are three cases in the peremptory paper,
and eight for judgment in the special paper, and thirty-
one for argument. In the new trial paper there are
four for judgment and five for argument, the earliest of
which was applied for in Easter Term last. The'
Courts will witness some changes since Trinity Term.
A new Judge in the Court of Queen's Bench, in the
place of the late Sir John Williams ; and in the Com-
mon Pleas a new Chief Justice, and the Court thrown
open to barristers generally "to have audience in term
time." It seems that the Court of Queen's Bench issued,
26,375 writs of summons in six months,
_ ending, on the.
10th May last ; the Court of Common Pleas 12,873 in
the same period ; and the Court of Exchequer as many
as 30,763 in the time.
CHURCH PASTORAL Am SOClETY.—Wednesday, at
a meeting of the managing committee of the Church Pas-
toral Aid Society, it was stated that a contribution of
200 guineas had been anonimously sent for the purposes
of the society through Messrs. Hoare and Co. The donor
merely gave the initials of "C. C." The society have
selected 25 cases as being most fit to be provided for out
of the 2,000/. appropriated from Mr. Scott's bequest, and
which are therefore called the " Scott Grants." In ad-
dition to these grants the society now provides 311 in-
cumbents with the means of supporting 299 curates, and
68 lay assistants to labour among an aggregate popula-
tion of 2,151,027, at the cost (when all the grants shall
be in operation) of 32,3331. As several of the grants
_ are
at present unoccupied, the incumbents not being able to
procure suitable fellow labourers, the actual expenditure
of the society this year will probably, it was stated, not
exceed 27,0001.
STOCK EXCHANGE SPECULATIONS.—Yesterday the
Lord Mayor, in the course of some conversation at the
Mansion House, relative to the lateinquiry into the cir-
cumstances of the case in which Messrs. Rochas were
defendants, expressed a hope that the Committee of the
Stock Exchange would adopt some measures upon the
subject. It is currently reported that an immediate in-
vestigation will take place into the particulars of the
dealings referred to in the report. A similar charge
against another broker is, we understand, to be laid
before the next Court of Record. Alderman Copeland,
who has given notice of it, has expressed his determina-
tion to prosecute it rigorously.