The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-20 00:00:00

KIDDERMINSTER ELECTION

(CO M MIT TEE.—(YESTER DAY.)
The Select Committee appointed to try the merits of
the petition presented against the return of Mr. Best,
the Member for Kidderminster, on the ground of allege d
bribery, treating, and corruption of the constituency,
re-assembled this morning, at eleven o'clock, to continue
the inquiry.
The first witness called this morning was
Edward Wyre, who said he was a cordwainer at Sat•
ton,. near Kidderminster. He remembered the polling
day at the election, which was ou a Wednesday. On
the Monday preceding he went to a public-house called
the Grand Turk, in the evening, towards nine o'clock.
Went into a large room up stairs, used for a club-room,
where there were about a dozen people, whom he did not
know. They were seated. Remained there till half,
past eleven. Mr. Samuel Tolley, Mr. Clews (who keeps
the Horns), Mr. William Butler Best, the father of the
Member, Mr. Whitehouse Best, the Member's brother,
and his cousin, Joseph Best, jun., came into the room.
The. Member himself also came in about ten o'clock.
The room afterwards became quite crowded with people,
whotwere drinking at a table. Mr. Tolley was in the
chair, and addressed the people in the room upon poli-
tics in general. That was before Mr. Best came in.
Mr. Best, the Member, spoke on the subject of the elec•
tion, and his brother, Lather, and cousin sat down at the
table where the drinking was going on The beer was
brought into the room as often as it was wanted. Did
not notice whether Mr. Beat, the Member, drank any of
the beer, but the Member's father drank, as did also
Mr. Whitehouse Best. The Member stayed in the room
about an hour, during which time the drinking went on.
Knew a person named Benjamin Harvey, a voter. Saw
him in the room. Harvey was asked tg drink by Mr.
Pitt, the butcher, and he refused. Witness asked
Harvey to drink with him (witness), and he did so.
Harvey got up, and interrupted the Member, Mr. Best
while he was speaking. Harvey was one of Mr. Gis-
borne's party. Harvey wanted to go out of the room,
when Mr. E. Keysell and Mr. Pitt brought him back
again, and got him to drink with them. They then
kept 'him in a corner of the room for some time, when
he attempted to go away, but the same two gentlemen
brought him back again. The Member was there all
this time, as was Mr. Joseph Best. Witness paid no-
thing for the drink, nor did he see any money paid for
the drink by any one. As he was going away there was
a " row" in the back yard; a man named Casewell, a
voter, was kicking up a disturbance, and Mr. Keysell
and witness brought Casewell through the crowd, and
took him to the Lion Inn, when Casewell went into a
room up-stairs. Witness heard Mr. John Best, ae
Member, speak from the window of that room during the
election. Afterwards saw Casewell have a sovereign in
his hand, when he came out of the Lion, which he did
not see him have before he went into the house. Witness
afterwards went with Casewell to the Pack Horse, where
they had something to drink without paying for it. They
then returned together to the Grand Turk, and after
staying there awhile, they went together to the Weary
Travellers public-house, about one o'clock in the morn-
ing, to have a glass of brandy-and-water, which they hal.
Crdss examined by Mr. ALEXANDER—Is not a voter
for Kidderminster. Had known Benjamin Harvey a long
time, but was not intimate with him. Harvey was drunk
when he came into the room. He did not get mere
sober whilst he remained there; on the contrary, he was
very drunk when he left the room. Witness was quite
sober the whole night. Had drunk about two pints of
beer before he went to the Grand Turk. Was not so
sober that night as he was now, though he was not
drunk.—(Laughter.) Could go and drink five or ix
quarts of beer, and not be much the worse for it.
Mr. ALEXANDER—You are a strong friend of the
brewers then 2—Always took brandy-and-water after
drinking beer, to keep the beer down.—(Laughter.)
He was not that night in the state of drunkenness de-
scribed as "market pert" in that part of the country.
There! was no brandy at the Grand Turk, but if there
had been he should liked to have had some of it.

(Arter the examination of other witnesses the Com-
mittee adjourned till to-morrow.)

THE LATE DREADFUL ACCIDENT
IN FRANCE.

PARIS, FRIDAY!

The President of the Republic set out yesterday
for Angers, in order to ascertain personally the extent
of the disaster of the 16th, and to administer conso-
lation to the sufferers.

The following details of the catastrophe are given
in the Journal etc Maine et Loire of the 16th :
" A frightful event has just occurred here. We write
nnder the strongest feelings of distress. At 11 o'clock
this morning a squadron of Hussars, coming from
Nantes, had crossed over the suspension bridge
of the Basse Maine, without any accident, although
the wind blew very heavily from the west, and the
river was very agitated. The last of the horses had
scarcely crossed the bridge than the head of the co-
lumn of the 3d battalion of the 11th Light Infantry
appeared on the other side. Reiterated warnings were
given to the troops to break into sections, as is usually
done, but the rain falling heavily at the time, it was
disregarded, and the battalion advanced in close column.
The head of the battalion had reached the opposite
side, the pioneers, the drummers, and a part of the
hand were off the bridge, when a horrible crash was
heard; the cast-iron columns of the right bank sud-
denly gave way, crushing beneath them the rear of
the 4th company, which, with the flank company,
had not entered on the bridge. To describe the frightful
q.v.:tact° and the cries of despair which were raised is
impossible; the scene at the bridge of Beresina can
alone give an idea of it. The whole town rushed to
the spot to give assistance. In spite of the storm
which was raging, all the boats that could be got at
were launched to pick up the soldiers in the river, and
a great number who were clinging to
theirthe parapets
of the bridge, or who were kept afloat by
knap-
sacks, weret mmediutely got our. The greater number
of them were, however, found to be wounded. by the
bayonets or by the fragments of the bridge falling on
them. Every one on the spot vied with each other in ren-
dering assistance, and as the soldiers were got out they
were led into the houses adjoining, and every assistance
i
given. Those who were too muchinjured to walk
were placed on litters. All the authorities of the
town, the troops in the garrison, and the officers and
soldiers who had escaped injury had only one idea—
that of rendering all the assistance in their power. A
young lieutenant of the 11th (M. Loup) rendered him-
self conspicuous for his heroic exertions, and a young
workwoman, at the imminent danger of her life, jumped
into the water and saved the life of an officer who was
just sinking. It is impossible for us at this moment
to estimate the number of lives that have been lost ' •
of those that escaped with their lives there is
scarcely one but has received wounds from the
bayonets of his comrades. Several acts of devotion
deserve to be mentioned. A journeyman hatter, named
Turgis, who had acquired some notoriety in the late po-
litical trials, stripped and jumped into the river, and by
his strength and skill in swimming saved a great many
lives. One of the soldiers, who had reached the shore
unhurt, immediately stripped and swam to the assist-
ance of his comrades."

A letter from Angers says : :
•'The Lieutenant-Colonel, an old officer of the Em-
pire, assisted by the Adjutant and by some of his men,
escaped with his life; but although seriously wounded
and bruised, he would not quit the spot, but remained
to watch over the rescue of his companions in
arms. It is impossible to describe his solicitude and
his coolness in the midst of the frightful scenes
by which he was surrounded. The inhabi
-
tants of the town warmly seconded the exertions of the
officers, who forgot themselves to go to the assistance of
their soldiers. A grand musical congress was to have.
taken place next week at Angers, but, in consequence of
this catastrophe, the committee has decided that the fetes
shall not take place."
The following additional details are from the Pre-
cursor of Angers of yesterday :
" The suspension-bridge which has fallen was built
about twelve years ago, but about a year since under-
went repairs which cost the town about 36,000 f. The
suspending chains at first gave a ay on one side only,
when the soldiers on the bridge, feeling the movement
of the floor of the bridge, naturally rushed to the other

waves
were very rough; .Masses of men might be seen
clinging to each other, the waves every moment
washing away some of them until only one remained
Beams of wood, 'Auks, and every article that
could be laid hold of, were launched to enable the men
to keep themselves afloat until further assistance could
arrive. Ten o'clock.—The muster-roll has just been
called over. Of the Ist, 2d, and 31 companies there
only remain 14, 16, and 19 men respectively. The
nurnbTr deficient amounts to 219, to whick
must be added 33 dead, and 30 wounded in the
hospital, making the total loss to the battalion 282.
There is reason, however, to hope that there may he
)et some in private hones which may not be included
in the number of those whose fete has been known.
The Lieutenant-Colonel slipped off his horse as he
was falling, and escaped with a wound in his face.
Noun.—Since this morning seventy bodies have been
picked up, among whom are a eapt.iiii, a lieutenant,
and two sub-lieutenant,. The body of the porle.
chap. au was also picked up, having the standard firmly
clutched in his hand. One soldier heal a musket which
Lad run through his body. The body of ono soldier was
found completely pierced trough with a musket, and
many of the barrels of the guns were bent double.
"2 o'cLocx.
" The number of bc,dits picket up to this time amounts
to 143. The names of the officers killed or drowned, as
yet ascertained, are Cupt ein Dori,L'eutenant Cottez,Sub-
Lieutenant Forte-drapeau Cart tte, and Sub-Lieutenants
Forgoes and Lebrick. It apt ears that some people be-
longing to the town were walking on the bridge at the
time of the accident, for among the bodies found are
those of a servant and two children. Tine bodies of two
of the employes of the ocirei have also been found."

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,
NEWMARKET CRAVEN MEETING.
BETTING ON THURSDAY NIGHT.
PORT STAKES,
Even on Lady Evelyn.
TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS STAKES.
10 to 7 agst Pitstord (tak.) I sto 2 agst Hardinge
5 to 2 agst Beehunter
CHEST
12 to 1 agst ESs.2darius
13 to 1 agst Peep-o'-Day
B )y
1000 to 10
DEI
11 to 2 agat Bolingbroke
13 to 2 agst Ghillie Callum
9 to 1 agst Mayors (t)
9 to 1 apt Clincher
14 to 1 agst Voltigeur
16 to 1 agst The Nigger
16 to 1 sgst The Italian
FRIDAY'S RACES.
Handicap Sweepstakes of 15" soya, each, 10 ft, for all
ages. T.Y.C.
Mr. Ford's Telegraph, 5 yrs, 7st 131 b ...(Dockeray) 1
Mr. W. S. Slaney's cby Mus, sst 1216 (Harlock) 2
Mr. Dennett's Grasshopper, 4 yrs, 6st 131 b (E. Sharp) 3
Mr. Payne's Farthingale, 4 yrs, 80 31b (Flatman) 0
Mr. W. Stebbing's Westow, 4 yrs, ,'at 121 b (Rogers) 0
Mr. Franklin's The New Era, 4 yrs, 7st Ilb (J. Mann) 0
Betting.-3 to 1 each agst Westow, Telegraph, and
Farthingale, and 4to 1 agat Virago colt. The three
placed laid in front from end to end, Telegraph winning
by three parts of a length, and the Virago colt beating
Grasshopper by a neck. Ran in 1 min. 14 sec.
The Port Stakes of 100 soya, each, for four yrs old;
colts, Bst 71b; fillies, Bst 41b; the second to save his
stake. T.M.M. (9 Subs.)
Mr. H. Hill's Osterley
Mr. Ford's Lady Evelyn
Duke of Rutland's Fire-eater (W. Boyce) 3
Lord Clifden's Honeycomb (Pearl) 4
Betting-2 to lon Lady Evelyn, 3to 1 agst Osterley,
and 6to 1 agst Fire-eater. The race was between the
two favourites, Osterley making all the running at a
very good pace, and winning cleverly by half a length.
Run in 3 min. 30 secs.

lilt CUP.
25 to 1 agst John Cosier
(taken)
1000 to 20 apt Osterley (t).
a4st Vesta.
1131 r.
20 to 1 agst Mildew (tak.)
22 to 1 agst Nutshell
22 to 1 agst Pitsford
22 to 1 agst Sot. of Avet.el
28 to 1 agtt Penang (tak.)
50 to 1 apt Deicoon

Match-200, h ft. Last half of Ab. M.
Lord Exeter's Preslaw, Sit 4lb . (Norman) 1
Lord Glasgow's c., by Bay Middleton out of Canada,
Bst 71b (Flatman) 2
Betting-4 to lon Preslaw. Won by a length. Run
in 52 sees.

LATEST BETTING.
SOHERsETSHIRE STARE*.
2 to 1 agtt Halo
3 to 1 agst Won't-you-come-out•to•night
Two THOUSAND GUINEAS STARES.
Even on Pitsford.
CHESTER CUP.
2 to 1 agst Peep-o'-day Boy I 1000 to 10 agat Osterley

No other change.
The special trains were so well arranged at this meet-
ing, and gave such general satisfaction, that it is in-
tended to observe the same hours of departure at the
First Spring Meeting; a cheap train will also be started
at 7 A.m., on the day of the Two Thousand Guineas
Stakes, returning from Newmarket at 7 P.M.
BETTING AT MANCHESTER—FRIDAY.
SOMERSETSHIRE STAKES (BATH).-7 to 2 agst Halo
(t), 9 to 2 apt Won't-you-come-out-to-night.
2,000 GUINEAS STAKES.-7 to 4 agst Gitsford (t),
5 to 2 apt Beehunter (t), 7 to 2 agst Harding() (t).
CHESTER CUP.-13 to 1 agst Miss Ann, 13 to 1 agst
Cossack, 14 to 1 agst Glauca, 15 to 1 agst Essedaiius,
17 to 1 agst Peep-o'-ilay Boy 18 to 1 agat Chantroy,
16 to 1 agst Roland (t), 18 to 1 agst Ellerdala, 20 to 1
John Cosser, 33 to 1 apt Woolwich (t), 40 to 1 apt
Collingwood (t.).
DERBY.-11 to 2 agst Bolingbroke, 7 to 1 agst
Ghillie Callum, 8 to 1 agat Clincher, 9 to 1 agat Mayorr,
16 to 1 agst The Italian, 20 to 1 agst Cyprus (all offers
—nothing backed).
HUNTING APPOINTMENTS.

Mr. Powell's hds., Tues., Lingharne; Fri., Cwni
Mydrim-10.
Bedale hds., Mon., Hudswe]l
Holdemess hds., Tues., Crauswick Bar-10i.
Sir Henry Seale's hds., Wed., Dart Bridge; Fri.,
Spitchwick— 10i.
➢ir. Trelawny's hds., Tues., Buller's Arms, Desn;
Thurs., Holnc Village-11.
B. V. harry., Mon., Milton Park Wood; Fri., Ibberton
Wood-11i (to hunt roe deer).