Litchfield enquirer., 1874-05-21
A TERRIBLE DISASTER.

The gate-keeper at the feserVOr notlced that the wall was breaking away at about ', a. m. He mounted his horse, rode down about three miles to Wiiliamsburgh and gave the alarm; but, even before the inhabitants could all escape, the flood was upon them. Leaving the usual bed of the river it dashed through the main street of the village, carrying away houses, uproot- ing trees, and crushing or drowning sixty people-all in few minutes of time. The next village in its track was the small ham, let of Skinnerville about the silk factory of MT. Wm. Skinner. Warning had been | sent in time Nevertheless the torrent than any one had imagined, that four lives were lost here. The large factory and over twenty houses were dashed to pieces and the flood tore on, carrying stones and the debris of houses and dams, trees and logs, and destroying everything in it's reach. At Haydenviile it crushed in twinkling the large brick factory of Hayden, Gere & Co.,, six hundred feet in length and valued at quarter of mil lion dollars. About two hundred and 1 twenty hands were at work in this factory | and the shock came so soon after the warning that thirty-one people perished. At Leedsvil1e, the next village below, much the same scenes occurred. A silk factory was destroyed and the washing away of a boarding house resulted in a fearful loss of life. Forty-nine persons are known to have been destroyed in this place. Below Leedsville and even as far down as Northampton the flood did con- siderable damage, but there seems to have been no further loss of life. The whole number of persons known to have been killed is one hundred end torty: :fve. Many women and infants and one old man, nine- ty-seven years of age, are among the lost. The terrible description of the similar disaster near Sheffield, England, in Chas. Reade's "Put Yourself in His Place, was realized to the full on this remarkable occasion. The waters of 8 lake covering about 125 acres and averaging from twen- ty to thirty feet in depth were percipitated down a narrow gorge, sweeping away everything in their path. The walls of the reservoir had been considered weak when first built, but use had accustomed the people of the valley below it to disre- gard the danger that has at last come upon them, like an avalanche, sweeping hun dreds to immediate destruction.
 The present members of the legislature are not likely to die of overwork at Re- form. When the proposition was made in the House, last Thursday, to adjourn over till Tuesday of this week, Messrs. Bills, of Winsted, and Baldwin of New Milford, opposed the motion, and, being supported by Harrison, of Guilford, they had the members put on the record. Mir. Bills remarked that if the members had not been presented with free passes over the railroads they would not be quite so ready for adjournment after three days session week. On 8 vote the motion was carried by only two majority, 93 to 91. The Courant has classified the vote and it stands as follows: Yeas,-Repubi- 1 cans, IA, Dems., S1; Noes, 63, Dems., 26. A fine showing for ''Re- form" at the outset
 The partisanship of our present legisla- ture shows itself in its refusal to pass the resolutions offered by Mir. Harrison of Guilford commenting the President for vetoing the currency bill. Had it been a Democrat who had checked an evil poli- cy by the most useful veto ever interpos- ed by an American president, the resolu- tions would have passed without a dis senting voice.
 The defeat of the Brogie ministry in the French Assembly is most hopeful symptom. Reaction seems to have over shot the mark at last i; and we sincerely hope the early dissolution of the Assem- ply, predicted by the London Times, will
 be the result. That body never repre- sented the wishes of majority of the
 French people, and has been principally occupied of late in deyising some form of government that should seem popular without being so.
 ST NICHOLAS contains: How the "Gull'' went down; The Heronry among the Guar led Pines; Fast Friends; The Two Car riages; Folded Hands; The Little Reform CTS; Mrs. Slipperkips Family; Nimpo's Troubles; A Nice old Gentleman; The Coast Wreckers; What Might have been Expected. This number opens with a beautiful cut: ''Ready for Action," and is finely and plentifully illustrated throughout.
 ScRIBNER's MoSvH1Y for June contains: The Great South, by Edward King; Vic torian Poets, by Edmund Clarence Ssed- man: A Song of the Sea; Katherine Earle (continued): Symbols; Adina; A Picture; Au Sable Chasm, Old Time Music: Thomas Bailey Aldrich; The Mysterious Island lconrinued), by Jules Verne; A Four-Leaved Clover; An Elephant Hunt in Siam; Monsieur le Baron; Decoration; The Best Fellow in the World; Editorial Articles.
 Scribner & Co, New York; $4 year. See Enquirer clubbing rates.
 The settlement of the Arkansas qnes- ton by the President commends itself to all sensible people.