the door; and upon opening it, observed an armed man
outside. The fellow told Hurley's son to go back, and
with the muzzle of the gun, forced him to the centre of
the dwelling; when his father, mother, brothers, and
sisters, promptly assailed the intruder, who was repulsed;
but, as Hurley was locking the door, the ruffian fired
from without; the ball entering his left eye, carried
away the upper part of his skull; and the victim fell
dead on the spot.

A Dreadful Explosion of Naphtha took place about
six o'clock, on the evening of the 17th, on the premises
of Mr. Moffett, 61, John Street, Tottenham Court Road,
which resulted in the death of a youth named Moore;
and the serious injury of a younger brother. They were
alone in the shop at the time. It was very dark; and
the deceased was going to fill the lamp, which usually
burnt naphtha. The deceased held the can which
contained the naphtha, and the lamp in the other hand. His
brother stood at his side, with a lighted match in his
hand, while the deceased was pouring the spirit into the
lamp; he drew the lamp close to the light, and the
spirit immediately exploded.

Mr. Robert Rouse, of Walham Green, surgeon, who
had been in practice nearly thirty years, destroyed
himself by Swallowing Prussic Acid, on Friday the 25th.
Not making his appearance as usual in the morning; he
was found dead in his bed, with the empty phial on a
table near him. Of late he had suffered severely from
illness; and was constantly saying he must come to the
workhouse. During the prevalence of the cholera, he
had exerted himself very much; and on its subsidence
wrote a very intelligent report on the sanitary state of
Fulham parish.

Mr. Joseph Ivon Winstanly, aged fifty-eight, an
outfitter of No. 54, King William Street, London Bridge,
committed Suicide on the 29th. The day previous he
called at the shop of Mr. Buckle, chemist, in Leadenhall
Street and purchased sixpennyworth of the essential oil
of almonds, which he said he wanted to scent pomatum
with. It was of the greatest strength, and consisted of
thirty drops. He was found dead, with the empty
bottle in his pocket. Depression of mind, arising from
his business not prospering, is supposed to have occasioned
the act. A verdict of "temporary insanity" was
returned at the inquest.

Buchanan house, the seat of the Duke of Montrose on
the shores of Loch Lomond, was Totally Destroyed by
Fire on the night of the 26th. Much valuable property
was lost, but the pictures and the principal family records
were preserved.

The Tide Rose to a great Height in the Thames on
Tuesday the 29th. On Monday the water had been
unusually low, so that at some parts it would have been
possible to walk across. About three o'clock, p.m., on
Tuesday, the stream began to flow higher than ordinary,
and eventually it stood two feet one inch higher than in
the destructive flood of Oct. 1844. Some damage was done
at Woolwich Dockyard, the water getting into the building
docks and saw-pits. At Charlton the houses were
flooded. Wharfs and streets on the low-lying parts of
London were inundated. In Lambeth, Vauxhall,
Battersea, Fulham, Bermondsey, and other places, the
streets became rivers, cellars and kitchens were filled
with water, and the destruction or damage of property
was very serious. The Temple gardens were covered
with water for a time. It does not appear that any one
was drowned, though some children narrowly escaped.

An inquest was held on the 31st at the Middlesex
Hospital, on the body of Mrs. Elizabeth Mitchell, aged
35 years, the wife of Mr. Mitchell, the proprietor of the
Crown public-house, at the corner of Broad-street,
Golden-square. The deceased, while labouring under
Delirium Tremens, leaped from a second-floor window
into the yard, a distance of 30 feet, and sustained some
dreadful injuries in the fall. She died on the 29th at
the above-mentioned hospital. The jury returned a
verdict of "Death from delirium tremens; but whether the
deceased jumped from the window with a suicidal intent,
or not, there was not sufficient evidence to prove."

A Fire of agricultural buildings and produce took
place at the homestead of Mr. Smith of Girton, near
Cambridge, apparently the work of an incendiary, though
Mr. Smith has the character of being a kind and spirited
employer of the poor. The labourers, accordingly,
exerted themselves to subdue the flames, but without
success. The fire arose in the eye of a high wind, and
had risen uncontrollably high even before discovered.
Eight fine horses, three bullocks, two calves, twelve
cows and heifers, twenty-seven pigs, and a large quantity
of poultry, were consumed. The cries and moans of the
poor animals, which were beyond the reach of human
aid, were frightful. The yard-dog succeeded in saving
himself by an almost supernatural effort; for he made
off with his kennel (a very heavy one) at his heels, and
was afterwards found at some distance. The damage
done to Mr. Smith's property was about £2000, but he
was fully insured. Mrs. Carter, an aged person whose
cottage was burnt, has lost the whole of her furniture
and clothes.

SOCIAL, SANITARY, AND MUNICIPAL
PROGRESS.

In pursuance of directions from the Commissioners of
Baths and Wash-houses for the parishes of St. Margaret
and St. John, Westminster, several houses in Ann Street
and Peter Street were sold by auction, for the purpose
of being removed to form the site on which it is intended
to erect baths and wash-houses for that district. There
are to be 60 baths, and as many washing and ironing
departments. There will also be two plunging-baths,
each above 40 feet in length, and from about 4 feet to
5 feet 8 inches in depth. The Commissioners have
purchased the area for the building, and will be empowered
by the Select Vestry to borrow £9500 to carry the object
into effect.

The Gazette of the 4th contains the names of the
Royal "Commission for the promotion of the Exhibition
of the Works of all Nations, to be holden in the year
1851." They are—Prince Albert, the Duke of
Buccleuch, the Earl of Rosse, Earl Granville, the Earl of
Ellesmere, Lord Stanley, Lord John Russell, Sir Robert
Peel, Henry Labouchere, William Ewart Gladstone,
Sir Archibald Galloway or the Chairman of the Court
of Directors of the East India Company for the time
being, Sir Richard Westmacott, Sir Charles Lyell or the
President of the Geological Society for the time being,
Thomas Baring, Charles Barry, Thomas Bazley, Richard
Cobden, William Cubitt, or the President of the
Institution of Civil Engineers for the time being, Charles
Lock Eastlake, Thomas Field Gibson, John Gott, Samuel
Jones Loyd, Philip Pusey, and William Thompson.
Secretary, John Scott Russell. The Commission orders
an inquiry as to the best mode for introducing the
productions of Colonies and foreign countries, the best site,
the general conduct of the exhibition, and the distribution
of the prizes. The following gentlemen are
appointed an "Executive Committee."—Henry Cole,
Charles Wentworth Dilke, jun., George Drew, Francis
Fuller, and Robert Stephenson. Secretary, Matthew
Digby Wyatt.

The College of Preceptors held its half-yearly meeting
on the 5th, at the Institution in Bloomsbury Square;
Dr. Hodgson of Manchester in the chair. The financial
report showed that the receipts and debts for the year
make a total of £1565; the payments and debts due
from the College, £922. Dr. Wilson, the Dean, read the
report of the results of the examinations, and certificates
were presented to the twenty candidates who had passed.
Amongst these were two ladies, who obtained great
credit for the manner in which they had gone through
an examination in history and the classics. The
Corporation then revised some by-laws.

The expediency of the adoption, in banking, of the
Scotch System of Cash Credits, was discussed at the
half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of the London
and Westminster Bank, on the 16th. The practice in
question is this:—A bank agrees to advance to a
particular person, a sum within specified limits, to be drawn
for as needed; security for repayment being provided
by a bond bearing the names of the person for whose
use the money is to be advanced, and of two and
sometimes three other persons, who join as sureties. Two
objections to the adoption of this plan were stated: first,
that the bank-note system does not hold in London; and