The Miner and Workman's Advocate. — 1865-04-15 (London, England)

WORKMAN'S ADVOCATE.  LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 15, IFE;S.  SUMMARY.  On Saturday the twenty-third boat race between Oxford and Cambridge was rowed on the Thames, and Oxford was again, for the fifth year in succession, the victor. The race was a very exciting one, as it was known that Cambridge had made immense exertions to retrieve her lost laurels, and actually took and kept the lead for more than half the race. The Oxford men, however, appeared to have the advantage of bottom, and gathered vigour as their opponents lost it. The difference between them at the goal was about three lengths. We may add that the conduct of the captains of some of the steamboats was most discreditable, and threw great difficulties in the way of starting. They went far to spoil the interest of a race which drew together to witness it many thousands more than had ever before assembled on the banks of the Thames. In the evening the two boats' crews and their friends dined together, when all feeling of rivalry was forgotten. On Saturday a man, named Beaver, was brought before Mr. Knox, the magistrate, on the charge of attempting to extort money from Madame Rachel by the threat that if she did not pay him £5, he would publish some suit she had in a county court in the newspapers. The defence was that Madame Rachel invited him to call, but this was positively denied, and the magistrate committed him for trial. An inquest was held on Saturday afternoon, on the bodies of two men who were killed by an explosion of steam in a workshop at St. Luke's. It appeared that two second-hand engines were being put up on the premises, and when one of them was erected it was set to work, the steam-pipe which was intended to connectthe two beingstopped up with a wooden plug. This was not sufficiently secured, as on Wednesday afternoon the plug was forced out, and the two men were so scalded that they only survived a few hours in great agony. A. third man was also scalded, but he managed to crawl to the engine and shut off the steam. The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental death," but censured the practice of working engines with plugs that were not fastened with hasps or bolts. An inquest was held on Saturday on the body of a man, named Perry, who hanged himself in his cell in Newgate, where he was taken on the charge of having robbed his employers. The suicide was committed in a very ingenious way, and betrayed much deliberation and forethought. The jury returned a verdict of "Suicide while of unsound mind."  Ifappily for the country the Lancashire Relief Committee has almost been forgotten of late. The central executive committee still meet, however, and on Monday afternoon Mr. Farnall, the Poor-law inspector, gave in a detailed report, from which it appears that the number of persons relieved was diminished last week by the number of 10,500, while a report from Mr. M'Clure, the honorary secretary, states that 7,327 operatives were employed this month more than last month. The health of the district, it was stated, was very satisfactory. The Lord Mayor of London and the Lord Mayor of Dublin were present during part of the proceedings, and expressed their gratification with all they had heard. The mortality of the country is slightly lower than last week, but it is still high. The death rate in the ten towns was 30 in the 1,000; last week it was 32. In London the rate was 39. The deaths in these towns numbered 3,200, of which London contributed 1,689, which. is 258 above the estimated number according to the increase of population. The .births in the week were 2,208, or more than half the number born in the ten towns.  At the Central Criminal Court, Captain Col borne was tried on a charge of libelling Mr. Davis as a money-lender, and in that capacity entrapping thoughtless young men into his power, and then ruining their prospects for life. The .prisoner, who had put on the file a plea of justification, now admitted through his counsel that he had acted rashly so far as Mr. Davis was concerned. The jury -found him guilty, with a recommendation to mercy, and the Court :sentenced him to pay a fine óf.2o. A serious fire and explosion •took place on Tuesday morning in Suffolk-street, Borough, by which a great many persons were more or less injured. Messrs. Tilleard have an oil and drysaltery warehouse at this place, an.d one of the firm was engaged in the cellar pumping up some benzoin oil, when a cry of fire was raised, and flames burst out in the premises, • and explosion after explosion, to the number of four or five, took place, by Which the house- was shaken down, the slates, beams, &c., were sent flying over the streets, .and nothing but the four bare walls were left standing. Several of the inmates on the premises were injured, and some passengers were knocked down, so that it was said nearly 100 per6ons altogether were .more or less injured. A railway accident, which fortunately was not attended with loss of life, took place on Monday in the neighbourhood of the Barnes Station of the South-Western line. An uptrain from Kingston was about to pass to the Kew station, and in order to do so it had to pass to the rails of the down loop line over a sharp curve. In making this .curve the engine went off the line, dragging two of the passenger carriages with-it, and ran on, tearing up the permanent way, till the driving wheels were embedded in the soil. The passengers were terribly frightened, but beyond the shaking none of them were hurt. The accident caused the line to be blocked up for some time.