The Press. — 1858-12-25 (London, England)

T FIE PRESS, DECEMBER 25, 1858.  lttibtnts anV Offentes.  AN EXTRAORDINARY ACCIDENT occurred on the farm of Mr. Henry Newby, of Pittington Hallgarth, the other day. Benjamin Oyston, one of Mr. Newby's men, was engaged, with a two.horse cart, carting turnips from a field on the farm. While proceeding across the field with the cart the earth opened, and the first horse immediately disappeared in the chasm. The man, who was riding on the cart, jumped off, seized the remaining horse by the head, and by this means prevented it following its companion. The harness of the first horse held for some time, but when it gave way the animal disappeared. Shortly afterwards the ground, for some considerable distance round, gave way, and was completely swallowed up. Coal has been worked under the farm, and there cannot be the slightest doubt that the sinking of the earth is owing to the operations of the miners. A light was let down into the chasm by a rope, but, after being lowered for about ten fathoms, it was, owing to the foul air, extinguished.  A MOST DREADFUL ACCIDENT happened at Torquay on Tuesday morning. A wall some forty feet in height, which supported a cliff, the summit of which was being converted into a vegetable garden, fell in upon the kitchen apartments of Nos. 2,3, and 4, Beacon-terrace, reducing that part of the premises to ruins, and burying beneath the debris those who were sleeping in the bedrooms, namely, Mr. and Mrs. Tanner, the occupants of No. 2; Mr. and Mrs. Hellier, the tenants of No. 3 ; and Mr. and Mrs. Hambling, who resided in No. 4 The accident oc. curred shortly before one o'clock in the morning. Several neighbours, awakened by the fearful crash, bast med to the spot, and having procured assistance, made an energetic endeavour to rescue those who were placed in such imminent danger. This was no easy task; but so zealously did they apply themselves to it, that within an hour after the accident occurred their labours had ended. Melancholy indeed was the reward of those engaged in searching for Mr. and Mrs. Rambling. Their mangled bodies too plainly proved that the most diligent exertions could not have saved their lives. They were so fearfully crushed and mutilated, that death must have been instantaneous. At the adjoining house, No. 3, Mr.  and Mrs. Hellier were discovered and rescued in time to save life, although the injuries they received are of such a dangerous character that their condition is a very precarious one. Mr. Hellier sustained a fractured thigh, a compound fracture of the leg, and serious internal hurts ; Mrs. Hellier's collar-bone was broken, and her body dreadfully bruised. At No. 2, the results were not so serious; for, although with considerable difficulty rescued, Mr. and Mrs. Tanner were not so seriously injured as to justify unfavourable apprehensions respecting their recovery. Thera were other occupants of the back bedrooms of No. 2—a governess, a little girl, and two servants, but these fortunately escaped. The bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Hambling await the coroner's  inquest. THE WHOLESALE POISONINGS AT BRADFROD arising from the poisoned lozenges, have been judicially decided at York to have been the result of accident. Mr. Hodgson, the chemist, whose assistant sold the arsenic to the lozenge-maker, in place of the plaster of Paris, which he asked for, has been acquitted, Mr. Baron Watson, who tried the case, being of opinion that Hodgson had not been guilty either of culpable or criminal negligence. AN ATTEMPT AT SUICIDE was made in a prison van on Tuesday by a man named George May, who had been committed at the Southwark Police-court for a month for neglecting to support his wife. It appears there are separate boxes in the van, and about six o'clock May was placed in one of them, and on leaving the station-house seemed as collected as usual ; but in passing Vauxhall Gardens, Sergeant Russell, who was in charge of the van, heard a strange noise in the prisoner's box, and on immediately opening the door discovered him with his throat cut. He immediately took him to a surgeon, had the wound sewed up, and conveyed him with the other prisoners to Wandsworth House of Correction, when he was removed to the infirmary, where he remains in a precarious state. _  A REVOLTING CASE of attempting to poison a family took place on Monday night at Mr. John Blagg's, Crifton Rouse, Epperstone, ten miles from Nottingham. It appears that a servant girl, named Susannah Twells, was preparing some potatoes for supper, when the nephew of Mr. Blagg went into the kitchen, and there being a strong smell questioned her as to the cause of it, and, from her confused manner and silence, his suspicions were aroused that all was not right. The smell was like that of sheep wash, some of which had been recently used for washing the feet of those animals. Upon examining the potatoes he discovered that nicks bad been cut in them with a knife, and the wash, which is a deadly poison, inserted. A policeman was sent for, and the girl apprehended. She has been frequently told that the liquid was poison. On Wednesday morning she 

Article type: Incident