Star. — 1805-07-25 (London, England)

BLACRSVALL CANAL.—An unlucky accident happened at this place yelierday, which• might have been productive of great calamity, but happily no lives were loft. The cue from Blackwall to Liinehoufe, intended to carry velfels directly through, without going round by Greenwich, had been nearly finifhed, and was to have Iste,h opened with great pomp on the tath of Augult next.—Yeflerday forenoon, about twelve o'clock, being near high tide, while a nutnber of people were at work at the extremity next thc River. they were fuddenly alarmed by a noife, and the appearance of water entering from below.— Scarcely had they time to make a precipitate retreat, when the outward dam bull with aflonifhing violence, and what a minute before was dry land, was inftattly covered with twelve feet of water : the fecond dam, about so yards farther on, compored of logs of wood, twelve inches thick, befides a ftrong diagonal log, by way of bar, was in like manner forced by the current ; and this amazing bong bar fnapped in two, as if it had been a piece of lath. The Canal was immediately tilled, at far as the fecond Rood ?ate next to Limehoufe, which being flan, happily refilled the force of the current. Confiderable injury has been dcne to the banking and mafon work at the extremity, as well as at the firft lock, great part of the abutments on each fide having been carried away. CORONER'S Itozyarr.--George Hodgfon, Ef.;. one of the Coroners fot the County of Middlefez, ytflerday evening at feven o'clock, returned his Court of Inquiry into the caufe of the death of _Michael Lennn who expired, after lighting .a pitched battle for half: a-guinea, with Dennis Dillon. The Court was again held at the Cannon tavern, the corner of Carburton.fireet, Portland.road. The evidence of yet- ' terday was repeated to the Jury, and in addition to it they had the tellimony of Mr. Charles Lane, of Carburtonßreet, furgeon, who examined the body ' of the deceafed in company with Mr. Reeve. of ' Great Portland-ftreer, furgeon. The fubllance of his evidence was, that they had been employed about three hours in the examination, and that, upon the mug minute obiervation that could poffibly be made 1 it did not appear that there was any injury done to the vifcera or the thorax, neither WAS there any extravafated blood within the head, fuch as would have ' been the cafe if a blood veftel had burft. Upon the whole, he conceived that the lofs of life mutt have been occafioned by fome injury done to the nervous fyllem, or elfe by a violent concuffion of the brain, which might have arifen either from great exertion of palm or from repeated heavy falls, in whichcafes there might not be any mark upon the fubjed from which a profeftional man could form a decided opinion. Blli, from the evidence which he had heard of the fight, which was fworn to have taken place, ht had no doubt that it was from tome circumltance that had taken place during that affray that the deceafed came by his death._ _  The Coroner repeated his admonitions to parilh officers in general, to provide a furgeon in filch cafes as the preterit, but added, that it did not appear to him that in the intlance then before the Jury, there appeared to have been any thing of culpability in the officers. He then acquainted the Jury, that in his opinion where there was a premeditated defign between the parties to commit a breach of the peace, and where that violation of law terminated fatally to one of them, with the additional confideration that it was a prize fight, in which each had money as an inducement to do an injury to the other t in fuch cafe he thought the ad of the one man who killed the other, was clearly murder. If they thought other. wife, however, they would fay fo. But of this the Jury had not the lea doubt, and immediately gave a verditit of—Wilful Murder, by Dennis Dillon.