The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-10 00:00:00

READING CHARITIES.

Mr. LOWE also moved for leave to bring in a bill for
confirming a scheme of the Charity Commissioners for cer-
tain charities in the borough of Reading.
TEMPLE BALSALL HOSPITAL.

Mr. LO WE likewise moved for leave to bring in a bill to
confirm a scheme of the Charity Commissioners for the Hos-
pital of Lady Katherine Levecon, at Temple Balsall, in the
county of Warwick.
Leave was given in cash case, and the bills were brought
in and read a first time.
POST-OFFICE SAVINGS BANKS BILL.

On the orderef the day for this bill as amended to be
considered,

An HoN. MEMBER objected to the centralising principle
of the bill, to the prejudice of Dublin and Edinburgh, and
entirely in favour of London. He moved to leave out the
word " office" and insert " offices."
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the
amendment, instead of improving the bill, would make it a
great deal worse. Nothing 3ould be more absurd than
creating three centres of investment. What he understood
was that these moneys should run in the same course as
those transmitted through the money-order offices. He
would take care that the bill was made conformable to that
idea. At the same time it was quite evident that the
whole operation must be performed at a central office.
After a few observations from Mr. VANCE, expressing
satisfaction with the explanation of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, clause 1 was amended by striking out the words
"in London."

The bill was ordered to be read a third time on Thursday
next.

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THE LONDON COAL AND WINE DUES CON-

TINUANCE BILL.

This bill was committed pro forma, and ordered to be
committed on Friday next.

THE ROYAL MARINE BARRACKS (EAST:
STONEHOUSE, DEVON) BILL.

This bill passed through committee.
The house adjourned at twenty minutes to eight o'clock.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, TUESDAY MORNING.

An inquest was held yesterday on the bodies of
some of the persons drowned in the canal on Satur-
day night. It was adjourned at 6 o'clock, and is to
be resumed this morning at 11 o'clock. So far as
the evidence has gone, no blame is attached to the
driver and conductor of the omnibus. Both were
proved to have been quite sober at the time, and
they bore the character of steady, careful men. It
was usual to stop for the purpose of letting
out passengers on the top of the bridge, where
there is barely room for the wheels on the
level spot between the inclines. The omnibus
stopped before it quite reached the top, and almost
immediately began to run back. During this pro-
cess, which occupied only three or four minutes,
the efforts of the driver had the effect of turning the
horses' heads towards Rathmines, and they thus
backed into the canal. The conductor remained
behind the omnibus most of the time, the omnibus
door being shut. One of the witnesses believed
there was " plenty of time" to open it ; but none of
the passengers was heard asking to have it opened.
The wooden railing, had it been sound, might have
saved the passengers ; but the portion in the ground
was quite rotten, and gave way like paper. It was
put up many years ago, and was merely intended
as a protection to foot passengers, and never could,
in the opinion of one witness, have resisted the
weight and force of the omnibus. If the railing had
been iron, as it should have been, no lives would
have been lost. Dr. Monks, who was on the spot
early, and, the coroner said, exerted himself in a
most praiseworthy manner, stated that the lamp on
the bridge was " disgracefully dim," and that the
bridge is always badly lighted. When the omnibus
fell in it was but half covered with water. Had the
lower gates been opened immediately to let off the
water in the chamber, some of the lives might have
been saved. But it was about 20 minutes before
this was done, as the lockman had to be sought, and
when he appeared he refused to open the lower
gates, because the upper sluice was partly open,
and he wished to shut that first. He seems to
have been stupified in the confusion that pre-
vailed, but the Coroner said that nothing on the
evidence showed him to be culpable. At length Mr.
Joseph Burke, C.E, opened the lower gates, but
before this was done the top of the omnibus was
covered ; and when the bodies, six is number, were
taken out, they were all dead, half the time suffic-
ing to drown them. It did not appear from the
evidence that any of the victims cried out when
precipitated into the dreadful abyss. The shock
and the terror seem to have struck them dumb be-
fore they were suffocated by the water. In the
darkness they probably hardly knew where they
1 were exactly till the last fatal moment.