came. The train proceeded, and, though speed was
slackened, it soon after ran into the goods-train. The
jury pronounced the death "accidental;" but added an
opinion that "the accident arose from the very defective
arrangements of the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton
Railway Company, more especially with regard
to the want of sufficient sidings, the irregularity in the
despatch of goods-trains, and the youth and inexperience
of the servants employed."

Mr. John Langley, of Burnley, has Lost a Limb by
attempting to Descend from a Railway-train, near
Burnley, before it had come quite to a stand—he fell,
and the carriages passed over his leg.

By an Explosion of Fire-damp in a coal-mine at Bilston,
said to have been caused by a boy having dropped
a lighted candle, two men and a boy have lost their
lives, and seven or eight other colliers have been badly
burnt. There were a hundred people in the pit, but
nearly all escaped unhurt: there were two shafts
communicating with the surface, and they ascended the one
most distant from the foul air.

Patrick Battle, a lad of 18, has died in Parkhurst
prison from Swallowing Poisonous Pills with intent to
get admitted to the infirmary and its comforts. An
inquest having been held on his body, the jury gave a
verdict that the deceased died by poison administered
by his own hands, with the view to gain admission into
the infirmary, and not to occasion his own death.

A dreadful Boiler Explosion took place on the 8th
inst. at Messrs. Losh, Wilson, and Bell's iron-works, at
Walker-on-the-Tyne, which caused death to seven
persons; their names are J. Jenkins, J. James, A. Dixon,
M. Brodrick, T. Griffith, P. Donnelly, and J. Porter.
Two men are also lying hurt at Newcastle infirmary,
but several other injured persons, who were conveyed to
their homes, are likely to recover. The boiler that
exploded was one of two employed to work an engine
which was engaged to drive some blast furnaces in the
rolling mill upon the works. The engine was in charge
of a man named Hall at the time the boiler exploded,
and was standing to allow some alterations to be made
in some straps. In exploding it lifted the other boiler
from its seat, and broke some pipes, which scattered hot
water about in every direction, and scalded a number
of persons. The boiler was rent asunder, and hurled
through the roof of the mill. It came in contact with
two large chimneys, which fell, with their furnaces, and
buried four of the deceased persons amidst hot bricks
and molten metal. It then alighted upon an elevation,
and as Dixon was running out of a shed where he had
been working, it dropped upon him and crushed him to
death. One of the ends fell through the roof of an
adjacent alkali works, and took three fingers from the
hand of a boy. The other portion, which weighed five
hundred weight and a half, fell into a yard amongst
some workpeople, but did no harm. Four persons were
hurled into the Tyne by the force of the explosion, but
sustained only slight injuries, and many of the work-
people had marvellous escapes.

A Singular Accident occurred on the 10th inst. at the
London-bridge Railway station. A train of fifteen
empty carriages were in the act of being withdrawn from
the Brighton platform for transmission to New-cross,
when, in consequence of the points on the main line
being set for a turn-table siding, the engine took a wrong
direction, and notwithstanding both the driver and
stoker instantly discovered the error, and endeavoured
by every possible means to stay the progress of the
train, the engine burst through the boundary wall and
fell into the street below, dragging after it the guard's
break and one first-class carriage, and completely blocking
up the thoroughfare of College-street, Bermondsey.
The driver and stoker leaped off just as the engine fell
over, and escaped unhurt, and as no passengers were in
the street below, no personal casualty occurred.

The Hon. Mrs. Matheson met with her Death on Sunday
the 30th ult., under very distressing circumstances.
Mrs. Matheson left home at Inverinate early on Sunday
morning, in order that she might walk leisurely to
church, and saunter along the picturesque coast by the
way. She did not appear at church, and not returning
to Inverinate, the alarm was given, and search made in
the neighbourhood, but without effect. Early next
morning, however, as Dr. Maclean was approaching
Inverinate, he observed a bonnet and veil on the water,
and further search having been made, the body of the
unfortunate lady was found in the sea at the base of a
rock, which it is supposed she had climbed to enjoy the
fine view of Loch Duich which it affords. The deceased
lady was sister to the late Lord Beaumont, was married
in 1853 to Mr. Matheson, M.P. for Ardross, and has left
two children, the youngest only a few months old.

The misconduct of a Drunken Engine-driver has
caused a fatal accident in the Clyde, on board the
steamer Duchess of Argyle. George Dunwood, the
engineer, got so intoxicated that, when the steamer left
Helensburgh, he could neither back nor set on the
engines, and fiercely attacked every one who went into
the engine-room to assist in the working of the engines,
until he was overpowered, and secured till the vessel
reached her destination. On the vessel's return to
Glasgow, when approaching the berth to land her
passengers, the engines, instead of being stopped, were set
on full speed, in consequence of which the vessel ran
up a good way under one of the arches of the bridge,
nearly carrying away the funnel and paddle-boxes, to
the great alarm of the passengers, but much more
so of the captain (M'Pherson), who, on seeing the
danger, fell down in a fit, and has since expired at
Garelochhead.

A Railway Collision occurred on the London and
North Western line on the 13th instant, at Heaton
Norris, near Stockport, by the mail train from
Manchester to London running into a goods train. The
mail leaves Manchester at 4·24 in the morning, and is
due at Stockport about 4·33. At the Heaton Norris
station the driver of a goods train was shunting out of
the way, when, either from the danger signal not being
displayed or from inattention to it on the part of the
driver of the mail train, the collision occurred whilst
the mail was proceeding at a high speed. The shock
was exceedingly severe, crushing and breaking the
carriages and waggons of the two trains considerably,
and the passengers of the mail train were thrown from
their seats with great violence, and were more or less
injured.

At the Southwark Police Court, on the 16th instant,
James Sopp, a switchman and signalman in the employ
of the South Eastern Railway Company, was summoned
before Mr. A'Beckett, for Neglect of Duty. The
solicitor to the company stated that the defendant had
for some time held the situation of switchman and
signalman in the company's service, and was employed
at the crossing between the Bricklayers' Arms Station
and junction of the line. It was his duty to attend to
the gates which opened for the public to cross, place
signals for the drivers, and set the points for the trains.
On the 3rd inst., it was the prisoner's duty to attend to
those points, and on the arrival of a train from Brighton
for the Bricklayers' Arms Station, the usual signal was
not up for the train to proceed. The driver with proper
caution, stopped the train, and got off the engine to see
what was the cause of the impediment, when he
discovered the defendant asleep in his box. The defendant's
solicitor hoped his worship would be lenient, as it
was not a passenger train that was impeded, therefore
the lives of the public were not endangered. Mr.
A'Beckett said that the lives of the engineer and stoker
were endangered, and he should inflict a penalty of £5
on defendant, and in default of payment commit him to
the House of Correction for three months, with hard
labour.

A fatal Accident has happened at Woolwich to two
artillery gunners. On the 16th inst., Captain Inglefield's
company turned out on Tuesday for target practice with
round shot and shell, firing at a target distant 1,500
yards. Eight rounds had been fired from the 56-pounder
in turn with four 32-pounders, the 56-pounder firing
round shot, the 32's shell. On firing the ninth shot
from the 56-pounder the shot had left the gun, and was
near the target, when from some unaccountable cause
the gun burst into pieces, the whole of the inner end of
the gun dropping at least one hundred yards from its
original position, "the outer end taking an opposite direction,
doing considerable damage to the next gun carriage
on the same battery. The outer fragments of the gun