The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-14 00:00:00

TRF.L.AND.
EtiCUMUERED EETATEa COURT.
DUBLIN, MONDAT.—Out of 15 additional petitions
Mr sales presented bet e eon the 31 and 9th of Ja-
nuary, there is but little in the newest batch to call
for eb,ei vetion. Mr. Ernest De Tocqueville has
property in the county and city of Cork producing
a clear rental of 5401. per annum, upon which there
are encumbrances to the extent of 11,4271., the in-
terest due thereon not being known. The Meyo
estates of Mr. Joseph Miles MiDonnell, for some
time, by the grace of Dr. M‘Hale, one of the Mem-
bers
for that county, yield un annual profit rent of
3161. 65. 14d., by the sale of which encumbrances
amounting to over 20,000/. are to b 3 wiped out.
Mr. Patrick Shannon is possessed of property
in the city of Limerick of the yearly value of
1,7281. 143. 4d., and es the charges against it are but
16,339/. 12s. Li., and the interest 1,414/. 95., there is
a reasonable probability that the inheritor, who is
also the petitioner, may not merely discharge: his
but be left in possession of a residue out of
his estates. Mr. Alexander Arthur's property in the
county of Antrim owes, between principal and interest,
a ruts bordering close upon 10,000/., to free it from
which there is a profit rental to be disposed of which
produces 633/. a year, less 441. bead rent. The grand
total of petitions now figures at 1,492, and the cry is,
"still they come."
Tire " CRISIS" OF THE CHURCH.—The Archdeacon
of Limerick has responded to a numerously signed
rcquisition, and convened a general meeting of the
clergy of the diocese for Thursday next, " to consider
the course to be taken in the present crisis of the
Church of England and Ireland."
DREADFUL CATASTROPHE.
The accounts from Belfast bring the following par-
ticulars of the falling of a mill, accompanied by a me-
lancholy loss of life
" An accident, the most melancholy in its consequences
that has happened in the neighbourhood of Belfast for
many years, occurred yesterday morning, near Beer's-
bridge, and within a short distance of this town. We
allude to the falling in of a now preparing mill, the pro-
perty of Mr. Robert Boyd and the Messrs. Steen, which
had been commenced in the month of October last, and
was rapidly approaching completion. The persons who
have lost their lives (believed to be thirteen in number)
were workmen engaged upon the premises, carpenters
and bricklayers, with a few labourers in the employment
of the firm, who were at the time sinking a drain to carry
off the water along the base of the columns within the
building. The building itself had been roofed, and
the slating all but finished; and no cause can be as-
signed for the accident, save the supposition that the
heavy rain of the previous night had loosened the
brick-work to such au extent as to unfit it for the
support of the beams. About a quarter past seven
o'clock the workmen commenced their operations for
the day, and they had not been longer than
three-quarters of an hour at work when the whole build-
ing came down with a fearful crash. The ruin was
complete and instantaneous, and the unfortunate men,
souse of whom were employed in preparations for arch-
ing the second floor of the mill (which was three stories
high and about 80 feet in length), and others as we have
already described, were at once overwhelmed. Those in
the lower apartments, who had a slight warning afforded
them by the noise of the metal beams upon the first
floor, had of course the best chance, and most of them
escaped with trifling injury. Not so, however, those
whose business had brought them to the upper rooms.
They were driven down and covered with immense
heaps of building materials, planks, and metal beams,
which bore before them all impediments to the very base-
merit story in a few seconds. As might be readily sur-
mised, the noise of the fall was heard at some distance
from the place, all the assistance within a good distance
of the spot became immediately available, and the work
of endeavouring to extricate the unhappy men was set
about with zeal and activity. The position in which the
parties had been seen last was pointed out, and the work-
men commenced the task of searching them out among
the debris. During the day, no fewer than seven persons
were brcught forth from the ruins alive, and conveyed
to the General Hospital, where every attention which
their condition required was paid them. Down to six
o'clock in the evening, the remains of the following men
were taken out:—Samuel Benson, John Magill, Patrick
Kelly, John Shannon, James Greer, John Scullion, and
William M'llroy. It was then believed that seven others
named, respectively, Kelly, Lathers, Johnson, Bryson,
Rea, and Mallanus, were still lying underneath the mass
of rubeish which occupied what had been the ground
floors of the building. At that hour, however, even
should they be recovered, it would be wholly futile to
expect that there could he the slightest chance of their
resuscitation. We hare never seen such a wholesale
demolition of any structure as cecurred in the pre-
sent instance. The two gables alone now stand of
the entire edifice, the side walls and the whole of the
interior fixtures having come down together. The ap-
pearance presented by the bodies was, in almost every
case, truly appalling, owing to mutilations inflicted by
the falling mass; and the shrieks of the friends and
relatives of the deceased were truly heartrending. The
loss to the proprietors, we underetand, will amount to
3,0001."
GREAT WILL CASE.--The Court of Delegifes
gave judgment on Saturday in the celebrated will
case of " Thewles v. Kelly," involving property to
the extent of 300,0001. Judgment was unanimous in
favour of the appellant, the Court thus reversing the
decision of the Court below, and refusing letters of
administration to the will propounded by the respon-
dent, who was also condemned to all the costs of the
proceedings, amounting to 15,0001.
Yesterday morning the body of a respectable fe-
male was found suspended by the head from the area
railings in front of the Railway Hotel, Westland-
row, from one of the windows of which it appears
that she had fallen by accident or design. As far as
the particulars of the tragic affair have been collected,
it seems that about six o'clock on the previous (Sa-
turday) afternoon the deceased, accompanied by an
elderly man, of very gentlemanlike appearance, and
a young woman, aged about nineteen or twenty
years, with a fine boy of seven or eight years of
age, had come to the hotel, where a double-bedded
apartment was ordered, and into the occupation of
which they at once entered. The room was on the
fourth or topmost story of the house, and at least 40
feet in height from the street. The people of the hotel
had no knowledge of them. The two first-mentioned
parties seemed to be man and wife, and it is supposed
occupied one of the beds, while the juniors with
them took the other. The party had no refresh-
ments whatever from the hotel during the evening or
night, and the first notice which the people of the
place had of the terrible catastrophe, was from the
discovery of the body by the boot-boy. It may be
here mentioned that the deceased appeared to be in
the prime of life, somewhere about twenty-eight years
of age. It was then ascertained that the name of the
deceased was Margaret Anne Minniss, the name of
her male companion William Fivey, of Union Lodge,
in the county Down. The young woman's name
was stated to be Alicia Vaughan, and she was under-
stood to be the niece or some near relative of William
Fivey. The boy, it was understood, was the son of
the deceased and of the male prisoner, who, we were
informed, had been living together for some years in
an unmarried state, and had had several children, but
one of whom (the above mentioned) only survived.
According to report, a marriage was fixed to take
place between the parties at Monkstown Church on
the day following the sad catastrophe, and the neces-
sary licence was lodged with the clerk or sexton of
that parish. The inquest will be held to-day.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

Alecto steam-sloop will be completed at Woolwich
by the 25th instant.

Banshee steam-packet, for the Mediterranean, will
be completed at Woolwich about the middle of Fe-
bruary.
Rosamond steam-sloop arrived at Devonport on
Friday night, in charge of Lieutenant Roberts, of the
Fisgard, and party. She went kto harbour on
.Sa-
she will convey
1 be
ee Completedthereturncompleted
bayt
25th instant.
WiroVolowodiclharbkysuLeying
The Admiralty, have given notice to Messrs. Rigby,
the contractors for the repairs of the buildings, &c.,
at Pembroke, that their contract will not be renewed
after the 31st of March.
KEriasf.—The Admiralty have now ordered
that arrangements be made for proceeding with the
excavations of the South or No. 1 Dock at these
works.
PLYMOUTII, JAN. 11.—The Volcano steam-vessel,
at this port, was paid wages in advance yesterday, and
sailed this morning for the coast of Africa, with the
monthly mails.
The screw steam-ship Sanspareil, 84, building on
No. 5 slip, will be launched on Tuesday, the 18th of
March next.

APPOINTMENTS.
WOOLWICH, JAN. 13.—Captain the Right Hon.
Lord Edward Russell (1833) to command the Ven-
geance, 84, at Portsmouth, vice Sit Henry N. Black-
wood, deceased. .

Commander William C. Chamberlain (1844) to
command the Cormorant, 6, steam-sloop, on the
south-east coast of America station, vice :Herbert
Schomberg, promoted to the rank of captain.

PROMOTION.

Acting mate Sir Henry Blackwood, serving in the
Hastings, 72, flag-ship, on the East India station since
August 20, 1850, and son of the late Sir Henry
Blackwood, of the Vengeance, to be lieutenant.
The Resistance, 10, troop-ship, Master Commander
Bradshaw, is daily expected at Woolwich with three,
companies of the Royal Artillery on board—one from
Corfu, one from Malta, and one from Gibraltar, the
last having embarked on the 27th ult.

—TH—EARMY.—We understand that Lieut.- General
the Earl Cathcart will probably be removed from the 3d
Dragoon Guards to the Colonelcv of the King's Dragoon
Guards, vacant by the death of General the Hon. Sir William
Lumley, G.C.8.; and that Major-General Bourc.hier
succeed his Lordship as Colonel of the 3d Dragoon Guard.l.