The Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser. — 1873-11-01 (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England)

BOAT ACCIDENT ON THB THAMES—NINE PERSONS Driowszn.—An accident occurred at Woolwich on Saturday morning resulting in eleven men being thrown into the river Thames, nine of whom were drowned, In consequence of a dense fog, the Great Eastern Railway Company's ferrryboat, whioh usually conveys the workmen living at South Woolwich to their 'work at Henley's telegraph factory and Beckton Gas Works, on the north side of the river, did not run. The steamboat usually crosses over at a quarter past five o'clock, and when the workmen reached the pier and found it would not ply on Saturday meruing, they rushed to the boats of the watermen, who charge a penny each for rowing them over. Amongst the others, the boat of a waterman named Digby, living at 10, Monk-street, Eleanor-road, Woolwich, .as filled in this manner, and it started off in the fog. Two men were rowing, and a man named Tanner watched the compass. Coming suddenly upon the Woolwich Steampacket Company's saloon steamer Prins coma Alice, anchored in the river, the rowers dropped their oars, but put their hands against the steamer to push back, when, in the fast ebbing tide, they were drawn under the stern of the Princess Alice. The waterman's boat capsized, and her occupants were thrown into the river. Digby, the waterman, managed to swim to the nearest buoy, and &nether man, named John Wright, clung to the boat, which was bottom upwards. These two men were rescued by a waterman named Chapel, but the nine others were drowned. With the exception of Tanner, the names of the drowned men are not known ; but it is believed that most of them were employed at the Chartered Company's Gasworks at Beckton, and a few at Henley's and Silver's. The boat, after capsizing, floated bottom upwards down the river. The waterman Digby is in a precarious condition, but Wright, the only workman savtd, has recovered.  Thomas Barras, a driller employed at Mr. March's foundry, Holbeck, Leeds, was killed the other day by a large iron plate wtighing 30 cwt. falling upon him from a crane by which it was being hoisted. The cable between Amoy and Shanghai has been restored, and messages for any place in China and Japan may be again sent direct via Teheran at the usual rates.  Thorn's private hotel. in Grosvenor-street, London, was burnt down on Sunday night, and all the contents were destroyed. Several adjacent buildings, including the residence of Lord Kensington, were damaged!. . .  General tiaribaldi writes to Mr. Arthur Arnold, stating that he has not left Caprera, and adding that England, by the repression of slavery at Zanzibar, has acquired a new title to universal gratitude.  An exhibition of art treasures, which has been held in the Bradford Mechanics Institute during the last four months, was closed on Saturday night. The number of visitors has been 157,900, and the amount realised towards paying off the debt on the building, £3,000. A night watchman, named Donald Campbell, has been apprehended on a charge of wilfully setting fire to Raeburn's Brewery, Merchantstreet, Edinburgh. Four or five fires have occurred at this brewery within a few months.  On Saturday afternoon, as three young men were walking along the bank of the Gaywood river, near King's Lynn, they discovered what appeared to be a sack near the surface of the water. Upon moving it, however, they found that it was the body of a man, and after obtaining assistance the remains were taken out- of the water. It was then discovered that the man's throat had been cut, the larynx being completely severed, Nothing was found on the body to lead to the man's identification.  Another death from violence has occurred in the county of Durham, in the county gaol of which eight persons already await their trial on the capital charge. On Saturday night a woman who had been singing in the streets of lieworth, a small village near Gateshead, was turned out of a public house, and on the following morning was found lying in the street quite dead, not far from the public house. She appeared to have been very badly treated. The body of Dr. Anderson was found in the Forth and Clyde Canal at Netherton last week. Dr. Anderson was seen on the previous evening in a public house in the neighbourhood. Ile is said to have been a man of superior education, having been educated for the ministry, and at one period of his life he stood high in his profession, and occupied a good. social position. Of late he had no fixed residence.  The Let of mourners at the funeral of Sir Robert M.Clure on Saturday, at Kensal-green, shows that the grand history of Arctic enterprise has many living representatives. Sir Alexander Armstrong, medical director-general of the navy, who served under Sir Robert when he commanded the Investigator, was among those who gathered round the grave. So, too, was Mr. Nelson, the " boy "of the expedition; and the names of M'CFntock, Sherard Osborn, and Bedford Pins were accompanied by many others worthy such association. Following the procession to the cemetery was the carriage of Lady Franklin. The rate collector of the largest parish in Reading committed suicide on Saturday by drowning. His neme was John Chamberlain, and he was a 3 years of age. At the inquest a relative stated that the deceased had been much depressed for the last week, and that his trouble was partially pecuniary, but would have been easily overcome by a less sensitive person. Mr. Pike, the clerk to the guardians, said the deceased was a very honest, upright man, but he seemed confused latterly in his affairs, and in making up his half-yearly statement there was found a deficiency of £l2B, some £6O of which was due to him as poundage. The verdict was "Temporary insanity.