The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-04-06 00:00:00

INQUESTS.

On Saturday no fewer than ten inquests were held. The first
was on Mary Boreham, about fifty-six years of age, who lodged
at No. 1, Upper Essex-street. It appeared that, on Thursday
night, she went to bed apparently in good health, and that on
the following morning she died suddenly, most probably in one
of those apoplectic fits to which she had been subject for the
most part of her life.—The second was on Michael Collins,
about twenty-two years of age, who, on the 19th of January
last, was on the landing-stage of the Seacombe slip waiting to
get on board the Prince of Wales, which was coming alongside.
Whilst getting on board that steamer, he missed his footing,
and, catching hold of a friend who stood near, they both fell
into the river.- The friend was taken out of the water imme-
diately, but the deceased sank, and his body was not found
until Friday, when it was discovered off the new battery on the.
North Shore.—The third was on a female child unknown, aged
about three months, which was found in the Salthobse Dock
by two men who were engaged in warping a vessel. It had a
bruise on the right side. It was wrapped in a chemise and a.
nightcap, and did not appear to have been long in the water.—
The fourth was on Elizabeth Barton, aged about sixty-three,
who lived in Porter-street. It appeared that, about twelve
o'clock on Wednesday night, she went to bed in good health,
with the exception of a swelling in both her legs, with which
she had been troubled for the past month. In the course of the
night, she quietly breathed her last.—The fifth was on Mary
Susannah Ashmore, of Bedford-street, Toxteth-park, about six
months old, who was placed on one side of her mother, on
Wednesday night, and was most probably suffocated- front
having been overlain.—The sixth was on Martha Crabh, of
Lower Beau-street, aged about nineteen. On Thursday-night,
she was sitting by the fire on a stool, with her head leaning on.
a box, when a hot coal flew out of the fire and set her clothes in
a blaze. She was so severely burnt from head to foot, that she
only survived the injuries twenty-four hours.—The seventh was
on Patrick Quin, aged twenty-eight. He was engaged at the
works at the new North Dods, and, on the 10th instant,
he prepared a piece of rock for blasting, and then charged
it with gunpowder. It missed going off at the usual time.
lie accordingly went to clear it out, when the powder ex-
ploded, and he was heard to exclaim, " I'm smashed." Two
of the fingers of his left hand were blown off, and his right hand
was also very much injured. He had the entire charge of the
blasting, and there was no blame attachable to any of the other
workmen. He died in the Northern Hospital.—The eighth was
on E len Kensley, about seventy-six years of age, who lived in
Camden-street, and who fell down suddenly on getting out of
bed on Friday morning and instantly expired.—The ninth was
on Michael Neale' two years old, who lived with his parents, in.
Summer-street. It appeared, that, about three weeks ago, he
was left with some other children in the kitchen, and that in a
very short time his clothes took fire and he was so severely
burned in the breast and neck that he died on Thursday last.—
The tenth and last was on a new-born male child, found by a
little boy in a field near Prince Edwin-lane. There were na
marks of violence on the body, and it was wrapped in a piece of
old calico.

Verdicts in accordance with the evidence were returned is
each case.

THE GREAT INDIAN PENINSULAR RAILWAY-

That there is no country from which so many advan—
tages are likely to accrue, not only to its own population,.
but to the British nation, from the, improvement of its
internal communication, as from India, is an almost
universally acknowledged fact. That valued possession
has never yet had justice done to it in this particular.
We draw a large revenue from its population, and we
have hitherto done little indeed as a return. With respect
to its roads, all that we can be said to have accomplished
has been done to facilitate our warlike and defensive
operations ; whilst such a provision as ought to be made
by a great power for the convenience of its commerce and
the amelioration of the social condition of its population.
has been almost entirely neglected.
Private enterprise is at length about to attempt what
the sluggish course of a great company would probably
have left for years neglected. The company bearing the
title of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway Company
have laid down we hope the first only of their lines of
railway communication from the coast of India, at Bombay,
to the interior of Western India ; and from the plans and
documents before us, we entertain no doubt that by the
carrying out of even the limited facilities which are thus
to be afforded, both India and Great Britain will reap a
rich harvest of benefit.. If we intend that the three
hundred millions of our Indian population are to become
consumers of the products of our industry, we must take
measures to promote our approaches to those consumers.
If we hope to civilise and christianise Ilindostan, we
must provide roads for the missionary and the neophyte.
' India is fertile in nearly every article of produce and
nearly every mineral required for the consumption of man ; but that produce is locked up, as the
producer is locked up from communication with the
marts of commercial and social interchange by had roads
and the inaccessibility of portions of the country.
The Great Indian Peninsular Company at present limit
themselves to the construction of a line from Bombay to
Allen, whence a bifurcation takes place, one extending
northerly to the Peera River, and the other in a southerly
direction to the Valley of the 'Mhuse, a distance in all of
about 170 miles. The engineering difficulties are repre-
sented by Mr. Robert Stephenson as not at all serious.
Along the greater portion of the line the gradients are ex•
cellent ; and in the difficult portions, stationary engine
power can be applied without difficulty. The estimates of
traffic, taking existing data, and looking only at incr,
rqiu p.
n n
dise and produce for revenue, show a clear profit
o
in have
•
wards of eleven per cent. In addition, however, to the
line at present laid down, the company'sengeers
and the result of
examined other portions of the country; at
their examinations is, that this line will form
India may a nucleus by
which the resources of the whole of Western
be developed.