Melancholy Catastrophe.
The Times, 1824-09-14T00:00:00

(yrotn she Bpvk4 rie, r t.h.) Ass event ofa'aibostdoi bsing-n aureWiCIL baa sprgd. a dce concern around she neIghbourhood,- Oec83tr hn-l y vteniiig last, in the wiile part of the Granil Juniction Can4l, rA ,Itlpltoh M1oor, within a mile of Wendover, neat Ailesbusy. 'A eaiy, consisting of3aix persons, chiefly inhabitants of- Truig-(five fertails and a young man), had engaged a boat to convey thetri from tht1lt Vslnc to iriendover, front whence they proideMd i:o $hit'imuch'rAquentea spot Velvet l.awn, to spcnd the day. On theft rebirn in theeVening, and when -hey had proceeded aboat a rnilefrom Wendever, the boatf apset, and two of the femnales Miss Lydia TButcher, of Trting, and licss Alartha Allen, of Leighton Buzzard) were unfortunately drowned. The ladles wvere found, one aboat an hour, snd the uther 3bout two hours afterwards-. hev were conveyed as expeditioussly iw posaible to the house of Mr. William Reed, near the Reservoir, in, the parish of WVendover, where every means was resorted to without ff'ect to restore animation. Too much cannot be said in praise of Sir J. D. King, who was on the spot Immediately bfter the fatal oc- currence, and who continued using every exertion, both for the reco. lery of the deceased and the consolation of the survivors, till 4 or 5 'clock yesterday morning. That gentleman, on hearing of the fatal accident, ordered sereral horses to be sadldled, and gave directions fafter his services in other respects were useless) fbr the sad news to be carried to the parents of the deceased persons, maid to others. Sereral religious books were picked tip near the fatal spot yeater. day morninrg, and also a reticule and a beok on matrimony, into which state we are informed one of the unfortunate females had been about to enter. The boat which caused this dreadful disaster was a flat-bottomed akiff, peaked at each end not more than three yards and a half in length, and about one ant a half broad. It vas towed by a horse, which was driven by a man and a boy, but no blame appears to at- tach to either of them, as had been reported before the inquest was held. The boy, as will be seen by the itquest below,- was in ad. vance. opening the gate of the towing path, and it id not unlikely but the opening of the gate might somewhat have alarmed the horse, and catused him to have given the " snatch" opoken of by the w7lt. ness Lake. Thc Corbner, .T. CseEAIvSLE:Y, Erq., arrived at the house of Mr. um. Rced, the place where the itnquest was held, about two o'clock yesterdlay aternoon, and the jury having already been summoned by Sir J. D. King, the inquest proceeded1. CORONER'S INQUEST. The jury, of which Sir J. I). King was the toreman, proceeded to view the bodies; after which the following witnesses were ex. amined:_ Br. William LaIte, of Alarsworth, surreyor, a young man about 20 years of age, said he was'tn the boat with the twro deceasted and three other females, on Thursday night, about half-pasteight o'clock, near Halton-moor; the boat wat towed by a horse, which was Iriven by a man and a boy. The boy was torward, opening a gate an the tov7ing-path, at the time the accident took place. The party was perfectly steady and the boat was going at the rate of four miles per liour. j Sir J. 1. King here stated that the accident happened in deep water, where the buoyancy of theboat was greater than In shallaw water; and afrer stating some facts, which he hoped would -xclude the necessity of the surviving females being called on for their evidenlce, thereby saring their already too much distressed eelings, the witness proceTededl. The patty reached about a mile From WVendover; believed tke boat was going a little faster thant sefore: it became agitated, as if the horse had given a sudden snatch, when the fore-end pitched into the water; the boat imn nediately filled with water, it upset, and the whole party were immersed in the water. The canal was deeper than the height 3f thc witecss. Witness could swiFn a little, and succeeded in rescuing three of the females; ly this time the twa deceased femnales 1iad sunk. He make some efforts to find them; but he was quite axhausted, and could not have done more without endangering his wn life. The party was seatsed quite steady when the boat was apset; the drivers were quite steady, and stopped the horse when they were called to, and witness could not attach the least blame to any one. Robert Falkner (the boy) said he was openino thegate at the time the accident took place; he heard a voice cry "Ito'S !" it appeared a cry of alarm; the man who drove the boat stopped immediately,and went back to the b',at, and assisted to get some of the females out of the water. Witness saw the deceased females sink; they did not rise again; did not Irnow the cause of the boat sinking. The boat was upset in the parish of Halton. The boat, horse, and towin,g. rope belonged to Air. Lake. rThe Coroner said it was necessary to ascertain this tact, as the law detmianded that a deodand siould be laid on every thing at all itistrumental in the death of the deceased per3ons.1 Thotnas Barwick, labourer, was present when the first deceased odtly w3s taken out of the water, about nine o'clock. The other was taken out about an hour afterwards. The surgeon and Sir J. D. King were attending the tirst body, while search w2as making for :he discovery of the other. The person who drovethe boat was search. ,mg, and appeared quite steanly. Ir. W. Reed corroborated the evidence of last witness. .Mr. T. W. Tturner, surgeon, of Weredover, was called to the Srit deceased body tbat was found about a quarter past ten o'elock, rnd used every means to restore animation for nearly three hours, bot all his effrts proved ineffectual. He saw ttheleher body about ane o'clock; it was quite in an irrecoverable state. The death of rbe untortunate females was caused by suflbcation, in consequence tf immersion in water. The Jurv were satisfied with the evidence, and by the Coroner's directions considered the case, and returned a verdict " Acciden- tally Drowned." A deodand of Ss. was laid on the boat, 5s. on the horse, and Is. on the rope. Sir J. D. King, as Lordof the Alanor, expressed a wish that the boat should be broken up. to prevent the recurrence of stich a dreadful catastrophe. An undertaker attendeed early yesterday to measure the unfortu- nates for coffins, and it was expected they would be removed In the course of the evening to thie habitations of their distresed parents and friends, wvtich-they bad e0 lately quitted in health and spirits. Trley were both possessed of great beauty. The surviving females were, to alate hour yestecrday, at the Engine-house, about 200 yards from the melancholy abode of their deceased friends and companions. Mtiss Butchler was daughter of Mr. Butcher, grocer, at Tring, and Aliss Allen, daughter of-Mr. Allen, parchment-tnanufacturer, at LeighlstonBuzzard. MALAZATOHOLY -C42X4s2'As#E