The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-23 00:00:00

A BOY ACCIDENTALLY SHOT.

Mr. White, coroner, held an inquest at Irnham,
on the 16th inst., on the body of John Searson, son
of Mr. John Searson, farmer, of Bulby. Mr. Searson
deposed as follows :—I was in Bulby Hall Wood
with my son, the deceased, and another younger son,
aged six, named Frederick, on Thursday last, the
14th inst., between three and four p.m.. and was
holding a loaded double-barrelled gun in my right
hand. I held it almost parallel with the ground,
with the muzzle inclined towards the ground. All
of a sudden I heard the report of a gun, but did not
know it was from the gun I had in my hand, till I
saw the deceased turn round, and say, " Oh, father,"
and then I saw he was shot. I exclaimed, " Oh,
how could it have happened ?" and Frederick, who
was a very little behind me to my right, said, " I
turned the gun, father." At that time Frederick
had some young rabbits on a stick. I was not
aware that the gun had gone off, and had not felt
any pressure on the gun. The discharge of the gun
was all in the calf of deceased's leg ; and he fell down
immediately. I called to Perkins, a gamekeeper, and
he came to me, and we got a horse and cart, and I
brought deceased home myself. I sent for medical
aid. Deceased became very faint and weak. The
medical men said the limb must be amputated, and
that was the only chance of saving his life. An
amputation took place accordingly, and deceased
sunk and died soon after—about an hour—about
a little before 10 p.m. Wiliam Perkins, of Irn-
ham, gamekeeper, said—l was in Bulby Hall
Wood on Thursday afternoon. John Foot, a game-
keeper, gave Mr. John Searson his gun, and he
and his two sons left me in the wood, and went
homewards. I soon after heard the report of a
gun and an unusual noise. I thereupon ran to the
place the noise came from, and found deceased
lying on the ground, shot through the left leg, and
bleeding. The child seemed fainting, and I got
some water for him. Mr. Searson said he did not
know how it had happened. I sent for the doctor.
The father tied up the wounded leg as well as he
could. Mr. William Hart, Corby, surgeon, said—
About four o'clock last Thursday Mr. Collingwood
and I saw deceased at Mr. John Searson's, Bulby.

His left leg was completely smashed to pieces by a
gunshot wound. On observing the nature of the
case, I sent for another medical man from
Bourn. Mr. Byriie attended, and we all three
agreed that amputation of the leg above the knee
was the only chance to save deceased's life. It was
accordingly done under chloroform, about 7 p.m.,
stimulants having been previously applied. At first
after the operation he seemed to rally a little, but
he soon began to sink, and at length died about
half-past nine. I believe the shock from the injury
from the gunshot and collapse were the cause of
his death. The jury found that the " deceased was
accidentally and by misfortune shot and killed by
a gun whicl his father was carrying."—Nottenq-
ham Journal.

EXTENSIVE FIRE IN FlNSBURY.—Yesterday, in
addition to the fire at Deptford, which destroyed so much
property, three others took place in different parts of the
metropolis. The most serious of the whole was in Finsbury-
street, Finsbury-square, the property of Mr. W. Breadstreet,
box manufacturer. The misfortune commenced in a range
of manufacturing premises nearly 50 feet long, and which
contained a costly stock in trade, some finished and some
partially so. The moment the discovery was made an
alarm was given, and messengers were dispatched in diffe-
rent directions to call the engines. In- a space of time
almost incredibly brief sundry engines of the London
Brigade attended, but the fire had previously obtained
such a strong hold that it was attacking with full
vigour the premises of Mr. Harman, and the houses
numbered respectively 3,4, 5, and 6, in Finsbury-
street, which were all let out in tenements. So fearful an
appearance did the scene present, that there appeared
at one period not the least chance of saving any building
near. The engines of the brigade, under Mr. Fogo, the
chief officer of the A district, were set to work, but in spite
of the exertions of the firemen, the conflagration could not
be subdued until the workshops of Mr. Breadstreet were
burned out, and the five other houses severely damaged by
fire, water, and hasty removal.
EASTER EXCURSIONS.—Espies trains of the
South Eastern Railway, at cheap fares, economising the time
and money of the excursionist, afford him the opportunity
of spending a few hours on either Easter Sunday or Mon-
day, at the most attractive places on our sea-coast,
as well as the ether accustomed haunts of the Lon-
doner. Dover, Ramsgate, Margate, Hastings, Canterbury,
TunbridgeWells, Aldershot, Cam, Reading, Box Hill, and
various places in these directions are rendered accesible
for the day by cheap excursion trains, or for longer periods
by the special arrangements in connection with return
tickets. The South-Western Company afford every facility
for the conveyance, at low fares, of the metropolitans to the
various attractive spots along the banks of the Thames and
to many inland picturesque places to which their system
of railways extends. Not the least attractive of these
trains are those which are advertised to run to Windsor,
Twickenham, Richmond, Kew, and Hampton Court ; the
Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Winchester, and the Channel
Islands. The Great Northern issue, for the holidays, day
tickets at cheap rates to all important on their line ;
and the Great Western have issued a liberal programme,
which offers every convenience for travelling to the many
beautiful scenes traversed by their railway. The Eastern
Counties and Brighton Companies also run excursion trains
at cheap rates.
UNITED SERVICE INSTITTJTION.—At the last
meeting of the above institution a most instructive and in-
teresting lecture on " The Screw Fleets of England and
France in 1858-59," was delivered by Charles L. Pickering,
Esq., member of the Society of Arts. The subject was
illustrated by a number of admirable diagrams, prepared by
the lecturer from theoriginal models, and reduced to a quar-
ter-inch scale ; and from the peculiar opportunities he has
enjoyed of obtaining authentic information upon this sub-
ject, which at present absorbs so large a share of public at-
tention, there was a numerous attendance of distinguished
officers of both services—Captain Fishbourne, R.N., taking
the chair. The lecturer first addressed himself to the argu-
ment that Sir Wm. Symonds' ships, though not perfect,
were the forerunners of our present best models of each
class, and gave numerous proofs that the screw steamers of
our fleet, in beauty of construction, power, and general effi-
ciency, were unapproachable by the very best built abroad;
and that our ships, when completed entirely upon the plan
of Sir Baldwin Walker, were as near perfection as possible.
These facts were proved by trials at which he had himself
assisted. He demonstrated that, from the small number of
our ships, our admirals were unable to carry out Sir H.
Douglas's suggestions on the new combinations of tactics
likely to come into practice, and which he foretold would be
carried out in the French service. The lecture appeared to
be designed as an answer to some anonymous letters Dist
had appeared in the public journals and to those of some
ill-informed foreign writers. In adducing numerous in-
stances not hitherto made public in England, the lecturer
expressed his opinion that whilst navalitrchitecture was on
an equality, or nearly so, in both countries, our own was
certainly not in a satisfactory state in respect of number as
compared with that of France, and verified the statements
• of Sir J. Pakington and Lord Hardwicke on this subject.
In every other respect we had no reason to fear a compa-
rison with our gallant neighbours. At the conclusion of
the lecture Mr. Pickering was complimented upon the able
manner in which he had treated the subject and the plea-
sure it had afforded. A short discussion ensued, and the
proceedings were brought to a close.