The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-25 00:00:00

THE FACTORIES BILL.

The five gentlemen whose strange votes, against both pro-
positions, reduced Friday night's whole proceedings to a
nullity, were
W. Aldam (Leeds) William Ewart (Dumfries)
Captain Archdall (County John Martin (Tewkesbury)
Fermanagh) George Palmer (Essex)
The following Conservative Umbers, who had been absent
from the Factory divisions on Monday night, voted with the
Government, and against Lord Ashley, on Friday :
Allix, Peter Jollifl'e, Sir W. G. Hylton .
Arbuthnot, Hon. Hugh Lascelles, Hon. W. S.
Bailey, Joseph (Worcester) Maunsell, Thomas Philip
Bell, Matthew Powell, Col. (Cardiganshire)
Buller, Sir J. Y. (Devonshire) Rous, Hon. Captain
Cartwright, William Ralph Russell, Charles (Reading)
Charteris, Hon. Francis Seymour, Sir H. Beauchamp
Follett, Sir William Sheppard, Thomas
Hale, Robert Blagden Stuart, Henry (Bedford)
Heathcote, Sir W. (Hants) Waddington, Harry S.
Irving, John Yorke, Hon. E. (Cambridge)
The following Whig and Radical Members, absent from
the divisions on Monday night, voted with the Government,
and against Lord Ashley, on Friday :
Currie, Raikes Ord, William
Hayter, William C. Ward, Henry George
Marjoribanks, Stewart Wrightson, William Battle
Morrison, James (Inverness) ( North allerton)
Mr. O'Connell and Mr. Morgan O'Connell, absent on Mon-
day night, voted with Lord Ashley on Friday.
Captain Gladstone, M.P. for Ipswich? and Mr. Start,
M.P. for Dorset, who had voted with Lord Ashley on Mon-
day night, absented themselves from the division on Friday.
Lord J. Russell paired with Sir J. C. Hobhouse for Lord
Ashley's amendments ; as did Mr. John S. Wortley with Mr.
C. Wood. Mr. Wortley was absent solely through illness.
Mr. Aaron Chapman, who had voted with Lord Ashley on
Monday, was kept away en Friday by domestic affliction ;
and Lord Alfred Paget, who had also voted with Lord Ashley
in the previous debates, was absent on Friday in consequence
of the death of Lady Uxbridge.
Dr. Bowring, the Radical Member for Bolton, who voted
with the Government on Monday, was absent from the divi-
sion on Friday, in consequence of the great dissatisfaction his
votes of Monday had occasioned in that borough.
We hear that Mr. William H. Stanton, the Whig Member
for Stroud, who had not voted on the former night, went
down into the country on purpose to consult his constituents,
and came back again, saying that they had no objection to
the ten hours' amendment. He consequently voted with
Lord Ashley.—Tory paper.

FURTHER PARTICULARS OF THE
DREADFUL EXPLOSION ON THE POTOMAC.
(From the Public Ledger.)
Captain Stockton's great gun was again loaded with shot,
and another trial made of its strength and efficiency. The
gun was pointed to leeward, and behind it stood Captain
Stockton, a little to the left of him Mr. J. Washington
Tyson, assistant postmaster-general of your city. By the
side of the latter, a little behind him, stood.-Mr. Strickland,
also of your city; and a little to the right of, but behind
him, Colonel Benton, of Missouri, who had a lady on his arm,
and Judge Phelps, senator from Vermont. To the leeward of
the gun stood Judge Upshur, late Secretary of State ' • Go-
vernor Gilmer, late Secretary of the Navy, who had but a
few days ago entered on the duties of his office ; and a little
behind them our late Charge de Affaires to Belgium, Mr.
Maxey, of Maryland. By the side of him stood Mr. Gar-
diner (I believe this is the way he spells his name), of New
York, and Commodore Kennon, of the Navy, who at the
same time was chief of one of the bureaus of the Navy de-
partment.
When the gun was fired, the whole ship shook, a dense
cloud of smoke enveloped the whole group on the forecastle,
but when this blew away, an awful scene presented itself to
the view of the spectator.
The lower part of the gun from the trunnions to the breech
was blown off, and one half section of it lay on Mr. Upshur's
breast. It took two sailors to remove it. He was badly cut
over the eye, and in his legs ; his clothes were literally torn
from his body; he expired in about three minutes. Gover-
nor Gilmer, of Virginia, was found equally badly injured. He
had evidently been struck by the section of the gun before it
had reached Mr. Upshur. Mr. Sykes, the Member from New
Jersey, endeavoured to raise him from the ground, but was
unable. A mattress was procured and he was placed on it;
before any medical assistance could be procured, he was no
longer among the living.
Mr. Maxey had his arms and one of his legs cut off, the
pieces of flesh hanging to the mutilated limbs, cold and blood-
less, in a manner truly frightful. He died instantly.
Mr. Gardiner, of New York, and Commodore Kennon,
lingered about half an hour; but they did not seem for a
single moment to be conscious of their fate, and expired
almost without a groan. The flags of the Union were placed
over their dead bodies as their winding-sheets.
Behind the gun, the scene, though at first equally distres-
sing, was less alarming. Captain Stockton, who was }clocked
down, almost instantly rose to his feet, and jumped on the
wooden carriage to survey the whole effect of the calamity.
All the hair of his head and face was burnt off, and he stood
calm and undismayed, but silent, over the wreck. In addi-
tion to the deaths already mentioned, about a dozen sailors
were badly wounded ; one was dead, and behind him,
Colonel Benton, Judge Phelps, and Mr. Strickland, as if dead,
extended on the deck. On that side, by a singular concate-
nation of circumstances, Mr. Tyson, of Philadelphia, was the
only person who stood his ground, though a piece of the gun,
weighing about two pounds, had passed through his hat,
about two inches from his skull," and fallen down by the side
of him.
The lady who had Colonel Benton's arm was actually
blown into the rigging, but not hurt. Colonel Benton ex-
, claimed, immediately after he fell, " Lord, I am hurt 1" but
he was only stunned. He was carried aft and placed on
a mattress, where Mrs. Benton and his friends administered
to him what aid they could, which, however, he repeatedly
declined, saying there was nothing the matter with him.
He tasted a little brandy and water (no Cologne being at
hand), and was soon after able to walk, with some slight
assistance, over the railing of the ship on board the steam-
boat that took the company off to Washington.
Judge Phelps, of Vermont, had his hat blown or knocked
off, and the buttons of his coat torn ; but he was not other-
wise injored.
Mr. Strickland, of Philadelphia, was not at all injured, and
instantly recovered his position.
Miss Woodbury and Miss Cooper, who, in company of
Captain Reed, of the army, and Mr. Welles, of Philadelphia,
had been standing on a leeward gun, were not hurt ; but
Miss Woodbury (the beautiful and accomplished daughter of
the senator from New Hampshire) had her whole face
chwbauslwthaerkfosrwceeroef tlhiteeralty
sprinkled with Wood, which, however, I am glad to say, was
not her own.
larboardSu shattered, theand
starboardthat
part
a and
the explosion,
thuthat
gun I described was blown into twenty or thirty pieces
besides the two principal sections.
Judge Wilkins was only saved by a witticism of his. He
had taken his stand by the side of Governor Gilmer, but some
remarks falling from the lips of the latter, and in perceiving
that the gun was about to be fired, exclaimed, " Though
Secretary of War I don't like tb.i4 firing, and believe that I