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    0™^ IH S TAK OJ FSEEIOM. m

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    ACCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES.

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    Fall of Houses at Bayswater — On Sunday ...

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    SHIPWRECKS AND ACCIDENTS AT SEA. Wreck o...

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    —It — I Dreadful Murder Near Stafford.—O...

    codling by . a Ship's Captain . —The police of Paris arrested Js altffcy theC - apta 1 ^ an 4 En Iisll T merchant ship , the Shakspeare der the foUowmg circumstances : In March last the Shakspeare , ftthe port of Canton , having on board an American . This American Lis very badly off , and had no goods ; but he and the captain conpried a scheme for commiting a fraud on a grand scale . On arriving at the Cape of Good Hope , the captain presented the Amerito a commercial firm with whom he was acquainted , and Presented to thenv that he had on board his ship about £ 6 000 Lorth of goods > which he was conveying to England . He also provoucherswhich seemed to confirm

    Lduc ed , the statement . The Ld to oblige the American , who was in want of money , agreed to iorchase about one-third of the cargo , and paid at once £ 900 on accoun , giving a draught on their agent in London for the remainder -T he American then insured the rest of the cargo for about £ 5 000 * Shortlv after this the Shakspeare set sail ; but the American remained ^ t the Cap e , on the pretext of having to conclude some business On arriving at St . Helena the captain said he would give up the command of his vessel to the mate , as the health of his wife , who ff 33 with him , rendered it necessary that she should proceed to iand by steamer , being unable to bear the fatigue of the

    Bng voyage in the Sh akspeare . But he had previously come to an understanding tfhh the mate that on leaving the port of St . Helena he should sink or set fire to the ship , in order to destroy all proofs of the fraud ffhich had been committed , and also to cheat the insurance c ompany- A liberal recompense was promised to the mate for his complicity . The mate promised to fulfil his share of the contract , and sailed from St . Helena . A few days after the East India steamer touched at the island , and the captain and his wife ffent on board . There they met the American , as had previously beeu arranged . As soon as the steamer arrived in London the Ame .

    rican and the captain went to the agent of the merchants of the Cape , and received from him £ 1 , 535 , the balance due on the cargo . They then waited for news of the loss of the Shakspeare , in order to apply to the insurance office for the amount of the insurance . A short time back , to their profound astonishment , they learned that the Shakspeare had entered the movtth of the Thames : the mate , king an honest man , as it turned out , having brought her safe home , instead of making any attempt to destroy her . The two men there '

    upon deemed it prudent to fly . The American embarked on board a vessel whiclrwas about to proceed to the East Indies , whilst the capiain and his wife came to Paris , and took up their residence in the Champs Elysees . Theagent of the St . Helena merchants , having learned the fraud that had been committed , and having ascertained that the captain had come to Paris , immediately came over here , and obtained , by the interference of the English embassy , the assistance of the police . In a very short time the residence of the captain was discovered , and he was secured .

    Diabolical Malice . —The following case of almost unparalleled atrocity occurred at the lace factory of Messrs . Cropper and Redgate , at Nottingham , on the 22 nd inst .: * It appears that there is upon the premises a large boiler , the steam from which works the machinery . The tap connected with this boiler some miscreants had contrived unobserved to turn , thereby rendering that portion of the machinery dry . Forlunately the boiler was discovered in this state ere any cold water was put in , otherwise an explosion would have been the consequence , and the lives of the workpeople placed in extreme jeopardy . A reward has been offered by the firm for the discovery of the parties implicated .

    The Attempt to Murder a Female by . " Burking / ' —The investigation before the magistrates into the revolting case of attempted murder of a woman on the North Denes , a secluded portion of the beach to the north of Yarmouth , by placing a pitch-plaster over her face , and inflicting dreadful injuries upon her . person , was resumed at the Town Hall on Tuesday . It was proved that the substance on the plaster corresponded precisely ' with the contents of an iron pitch kettle which was found by thejpolice after the prisoner ' s apprehension in the cellar of the house where he was living , on the morning after the outrage . A woman ' s glove , besmeared with tar and pitch , and a man's trowsers brace , were discovered by the artilleryman near the spot where the woman was found lying . The

    glove was ascertained to belong to her . When Howth was arrested only one brace was attached to his trowsers , which , however , did not correspond with that picked up on the sands . Two witnesses , fellowworkmen of the accused , were called , who spoke of having seen him wear old braces , and when called upon to describe them , both gave a description answering in every particular to those in , court , more especially the one found on the beach , which had been broken and sewn together by some coarse thread . On the braces being procured , however , the witnesses declined saying whether the one picked up on the sands was like the one which the prisoner wore or not , and , indeed , the men so much prevaricated , as to lead to an impression that they had been tampered with . The evidence having closed , the prisoner was committed to Norwich Castle for trial at the next assizes .

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    Accidents And Casualties.

    ACCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES .

    Fall Of Houses At Bayswater — On Sunday ...

    Fall of Houses at Bayswater — On Sunday morning , at an earlv hour , between three and four o ' clock , the inhabitants of Sutherland-place , Bayswater , near the bottom of Westbourne-grove , were alarmed by a noise like thunder , which turned out to be the downfal of nearly the whole of two houses which were in the course of erection in that place . The houses in question had been . " run up" by contract , and had reached their full height , but the root had not yet been put on , the scaffolding was consequently still standing . They certainly were not built very substantially ( as is

    the case to a great extent in that nei ghbourhood ) , and it is supposed that the accident was caused by the great wet which has prevailed lately , and has affected the foundations , which are laid on a clay soil . The family in the adjoining house , which belongs to the Rev . Dr . Magee , were very much alarmed by the sudden crash and the shock which followed ; but fortunately no personal injury was sustained . Had the accident happened when the labourers were at work some six or more men would in all human probability have

    , been buried alive in the ruins . The damage done is estimated at above £ 200 . A further portion of the outer wall came down with a tremendous crash at two o ' clock on Sunday afternoon , when a boy who was passing from out of the vestry of the adjoining church into the house of the Rev . Dr . Magee , had a narrow escape of his life large portions of the brickwork falling down just behind him as he entered the door . A further portion fell on Monday morning , between twelve and one o ' clock , including a large portion of the

    third house , and almost all the timber-work of the interior . The late Lifeboat Accident at Lytham . —On Sunday last the body of John Whiteside , one of the Lytham boatmen lost through the upsetting of a lifeboat , was picked up near Heskethhank / and brought to Ly tham on Monday for interment . On Tuesday afternoon the body of a man was seen floating in the surf off Blackpool . A young man of the name of Wilkinson , seeing it in the water , jumped in * and broug ht it ashore , not , however , without having undergone some risk to his own life . It was recognised as the body of William Swann , the ill-fated captain of the lifeboat . The subscriptions for the relief of the widows and families of the mifoxtimate boatmen amounted , on Wednesday last , to £ 1 , 050 . — Preston Chronicle .

    Fall Of Houses At Bayswater — On Sunday ...

    Serious Collision at the Camden-town Station -An acci-2 S fatal ^ 7 alarmln g CharaCt 6 J' th h ^ tunatel ^ nattend d with fatal consequences , occurred on Monday moraine to the ten t 2 > n ° Ze ^ X ^ «<^ the clmln ' own station , lhe tram left Eus on-square about five minutes after ten , and was assisted up the incline by a pilot , which had "hooked off " only a few seconds , when a goods engine improperly attempted to cross the mam line at a point just beyond the Vket ^ S Ind striking first the engine of the mail , grazed three or four of the sueceedmg carriages , and cut the train in two about midway The collision blocked up both the up and down lines for a considerable period and the traffic in the early part of the day was consequently much disturbed The escape of the passengers be consWered

    may most providential , two or three of the carriages having been much shattered , and thrown to a considerable distance .-The alarm occasioned by the accident was very great . Fortunately there were plenty ot workmen on the spot , and the best resources of the company were soon brought to bear in relieving and assisting the passengers . There was some difficulty in extracting the occupants of ottne carriage resting on its beam ends , but this was at length accomplished , and the passengers having taken their places in the ed

    uninjurcarriages , were brought back to Euston-squafe , where the tram was re-made up , and despatched shortly after eleven o ' clock , the passengers , with very few exceptions , continuing their journeys . Another fall of Brickwork . —On the evening of the 22 d inst . as a number of men were at work finishing a shed , on Morden Wharf , East Greenwich , being built by Mr . Rutledge , the walls , which were twenty feet high , suddenl y gave way . Two men who were on the roof escaped with a few slight bruises , but a man named John Kitson , who was at work inside , was buried in the ruins . The

    aid of several men was at once procured , and in a short time the unfortunate man was rescued from his perilous situation in a senseless state . He was at once conveyed to Morden Cottage , adjoining , and medical aid procured , and is now fast recovering . Awfully Sudden Death . —On Saturday last , as John Briggs , of Shelf , near Halifax , was returning to his work , from his dinner , he fell dead in a field leading from home to the place of his employment , where he was found by some persons who were travelling that way . The unfortunate man has left a wife and a number of children to lament his loss .

    Narrow Escape . —One of the most extraordinary escapes upon record occurred upon the Bristol and Exeter Railway during the past week . A gentleman was awaiting the arrival of the up night mail at the Collumpton station , and to pass away the time-he commenced smoking , whereupon he was requested to go outside the company ' s premises . This he did . x . At length the train arrived , and , there being very little to do , it started rather sooner than usual . The guard's whistle , indicating to the engine-driver that all was right , aroused the unfortunate gentleman from the reverie which he was enjoying over his pipe . Rushing across the platform , he made a leap

    into the space between the mailbox and the adjoining passengercarriage , imagining , as it is supposed , that he could ride to the next station on the connecting chains . Some gentlemen on the down platform as well as the porter saw the imminent 'danger in which he was placed , and while the former shouted to the driver at the top of their voices ,, the latter ran forward , and , between them , the driver was induced to stop the train . The station-master and other officials at once removed the man from his fearful position . The shock

    produced by the fright was tremendous . Although when pacing the platform he presented an exceedingly ruddy and jolly appearance , all colour had left his face when he was extricated , and the dreadful tremor which was visible in his whole frame bespoke the effects ot the accident . No bones , however , were broken , and he was placed in a carriage and proceeded on his journey . We hope this will act as a caution to those persons who are in the . habit of entering and leaving railway carriages while they are in motion .

    Balloon Accident . —An incident , winch was near being attended with fatal consequences , marked the descent of M . Mayer , in his balloon at Marseilles , a few days since . The balloon came down in a field near the railway terminus , but just as M . Mayer was stepping out of the car it again rose , and , losing his balance , he was thrown down , his feet becoming entangled in the cords of the car . Three municipal guards ran to his assistance , but they also were lifted several feet from the ground and carried for some distance , until , from the escape of the gas , the balloon came again to the ground , when they were all released from their perilous position without any injury * V

    Collision on the Oxford , Worcester , and Wolverhampton Railway . —Worcester , Tuesday .- —An accident occurred last night to the up mail train from Bristol to Birmingham , near to the goods station of the Oxford , Worcester , and Wolverhampton Railway Company at Worcester , arising from gross negligence On the part of the officials . By a recent arrangement part of the Bristol and Birmingham trains leave the Midland line at Abbot ' s Wood , and traverse the loop line of the Oxford , Worcester , and Wolverhampton Company to Worcester , joining the Midland line again at Stoke . The mail train due at Worcester at ten o ' clock arrived at its proper

    time last night , but on leaving the station , at about 200 yards beyond it , while going at the rate of ten or twelve miles an hour , ran into two trucks which had been left upon the line . The trucks were thrown off the line by the concussion , and one of them embedded in the sand ; the fore part of the engine was also damaged , but not so much as to prevent it proceeding on its journey in ten minutes after the accident occurred . There was but one carriage to the train , and this contained but few passengers , who luckily escaped unhurt . Two men , named John Nash and John Done , porters in the employ of the Oxford , Worcester , and Wolverhampton

    Company , were brought before the magistrates of this city this morning , and charged with having negligently placed the two trucks on the main line , which caused the accident , and it appeared from the evidence of the goods clerk , that at half-past eight o ' clock last night he desired the defendants to fetch two waggons laden with hops from a siding to the goods station to be unloaded , and that they did so but he gave them no instructions to move any empty trucks upon the main , nor was he aware that any were there until after lhe accident . It appeared that in removing the waggons the men had shunted the two trucks upon the main line , and then went

    home to supper and forgot them . The men in their defence said that they had been told to put the trucks theie , and that they did not know anything about the line * Nash was fined in the penalty of £ 1 , and 5 s . costs , or fourteen days to hard labour ; and Done in 10 s and 5 s . costs , or seven days' hard labour . The money was paid . Fatal Accident in Pall MALL . —On Wednesday morning , about half past eight o ' clock , an-individual , ' respectably dressed , believed to be Mr . William Laurence , butcher , of Croydon , expired in the Charing-cross Hospital from the injuries which he received on the previous night about , nine o ' clock , opposite the University and

    Club-house , Pall Mall East . He was in a light chaise cart , while passing by the Club-house , as is supposed , on his way home to Croydon , he came in collision with something by the side of the road , and was pitched with great force on . his head . Few persons seem to have witnessed the occurrence , but a gentleman who is connected with the University Club-house immediately went to his assistance , and finding him wholly insensible , accompanied him in a cab to Charing-cross Hospital , where the house surgeon , and other medical officers of the institution , paid him every attention , but the base of the skull was so dreadfully fractured that his recovery was hopeless , and he died yesterday morning ,

    Fall Of Houses At Bayswater — On Sunday ...

    A very extraordinary accident occurred a week ago , on board the Swedish steamer , the Lennart , as it was proceeding from Stockholm to Ystad . In the night a violent tempest arose , and a large vessel containing sulphuric acid , placed on the deck , was broken . A portion of the corrosive liquor passed through the crevices of the planks , and fell on to a bed in the cabin beneath . In this bed the Count Eric Chretien de Pontin , chamberlain to the King of Sweden and Norway , was sleeping . The acid soon burnt through two blankets , and ached the

    re abdomen of the unfortunate gentleman , burning it dreadfully , lhe gas which escaped made it impossible for him to cry for help , and he became senseless . The next morning his servant on going into the cabin , found that he had the lower part of his bowels entirely eaten away . The unfortunate gentleman was unable to speak a word . The steamer immediately put back to the port of Colmar , and the count was conveyed to the hospital . Every possible attention was paid to him , but he expired after some hours of horrible suffering . He was only twenty-six years of age .

    Fatal Railway Accident . —On Wednesday morning Mr . Wak " ley held an inquest in the board-room of the Royal Free Hospital , on John Strong , aged 19 , a porter at the Great Northern Terminus , King ' s-cross . The body was very much mutilated . It appeared from the evidence that , as the morning mail train entered the station , and while it carried its full momentum , deceased leaped from the platform upon the step of one of the carriages . In so doing he missed his footing and fell under the train , three of the carriages passing over his body ; the right leg , from the hip to the foot , was crushed and broken ; the whole scalp was torn from the back of his head , and his left arm and hand were crushed . He lingered fifteen hours , when he expired . —Verdict , Accidental death .

    Shipwrecks And Accidents At Sea. Wreck O...

    SHIPWRECKS AND ACCIDENTS AT SEA . Wreck of the Kincardineshire .- —A few days since intelligence was received in Banff of the total loss of the brig Kincardineshire , of Aberdeen . The vessel was bound from Archangel , laden with a mixed cargo of seed , oats , and wheat , and the wreck took place on the 26 th of September , on a reef of rocks on the coast of Norway . The following is the narrative of the master , Captain John M'Kcnzie , who writes from the Shetland Islands to the managing owner of the vessel , Mr . T . Adam , banker , Banff , by whose kind permission we are enabled to publish the letter : — " For a week after I left Archangel we had fine weather and variable winds , until I got as far as Reacel Island . It then came to blow a

    dreadful gale of wind from N . W ., attended with a very high sea . We could show no sail but a close-reefed mainiopsail ; our ship laboured very hard , and began to make a good deal of water , but nothing to prevent us keeping her free with the pumps . By the working of the beams in the after part of the ship the cabin bulkheads gave way , and she shifted her cargo a good deal . Under these circumstances , I put in to Sweetnoes-bay , and got the bulkheads and cargo secured the best way I could . In the course of fortyeight hours I left Sweetnoes , With the wind atS . W . ; but in the course of the day it came round to the E . N . E ., and blew a dreadful gale , with a very heavy sea . I ran under the close-reefed

    foretopsaii as far as the North Keam , from which I took my departure , the wind continuing with little variation until I reached the lat . 64 deg . 28 min . N ., and long . 3 deg . 7 min . E . This day at noon I was in lat . 6 & deg . 58 min . N ., and long . 6 deg . 20 E ., by dead reckoning , for I had not seen the sun or stars for some days . I was quite aware that my ship was fast drifting on the coast of Norway , and used overy means that was in my power to keep her off the land ; but all to no purpose , for towards night it came on to blow harder , and the wind veered to the N . W ., which was right on to the shore . I was well aware of my dreadful situation , and used every exertion that was in the power of man to keep my ship off the

    rocks ; but ail to no purpose , for at eleven p . m , on the 26 th of September the ship struck the ' ground on a reef of sunken rocks about sixteen English miles off the mainland of Norway . There had been flying showers of snow for twenty-four hours , which still continued , so that we could see nothing . —In this dreadful situation , the first thing that we attempted to do was to get the longboat out , to save our lives ; . but unfortunately she sank alongside . The jolly-boat was fastened on deck , so we attempted to get her out , which we fortunately accomplished , for in our case there was no time to be lost . The hands then got into her the best way they could—some without stockings or shoes , or hat or cap , some with no

    covering but drawers and trousers . The manner in which Ave saved our lives was a complete miracle . Such a thing is hardly to be found in the annals of the most disastrous shipwrecks . We had only a small boat to convey eight men , in a dreadful gale of wind , in a dark night , through sunken rocks and dreadful breakers , with nothing to direct us but God Almighty ; for we had neither chart nor compass , nor a bit of bread , nor water , nor anything that was fit for the use of man . At ten , a . m . we landed on a small island in a very exhausted state , especially the cook , who was an old man . He was quite delirious , and if he had been in-the boat one half-hour longer he would have died . We wrung our wet clothes , and exercised our

    limbs , for we were almost frozen . At eleven , a . m ., we landed on a large island , where we found a few natives , who used us very kindly , as far as their circumstances would allow . On the 28 th of September I employed a boat and seven men , with what part of my crew were able , and went off to an island that was near the place where the ship had struck , to see if I could find anything belonging to her ; but found nothing either of ship or cargo , and not a vestige ofhertobe seen . I overhauled some of the adjacent islands , and found some broken casks and the head boards , but nothing of any value , not so much as one stitch of clothes of any kind . Perhaps the vessels may be sunk in 100 fathoms water . I have done all that I could do—I could do no more . " The Kincardineshire was a vessel

    of 193 tons burden . Wreck of the Thomas Kin g , and Murder of the Crew , — The Sydney Morning Herald publishes a long account of the loss of the Thomas King , and the sufferings and murder of its crew . The i vessel struck on Cato ' s Reef early on the morning of the 17 th of I April , and soon went to pieces . The crew and passengers , however , , succeeded in reaching the shore , but were afterwards attacked by y the natives , stripped naked , and the greater part of them killed , i . Only the master , Mr . Walker , and another man succeeded in reach- - ing New South Wales .

    Loss of the Enchantress . —By the arrival of the brig Richard , I , from Pernambuco , we have received intelligence of the . loss of the ie Enchantress , Captain Buckland , of Yarmouth , on her passage ; e from Pernambuco for Falmouth . The Enchantress struck on a a sunken reef , three days after leaving that port , and immediately ly went to pieces . The captain , two mates , one man , and a boy ,. y , were washed off the reef and drowned . The remainder of the ie crew , six in number , succeeded hi constructing a raft out of the lie bowsprit of the wrecked vessel , and another which they found id on the reef , by which means they reached a small uninhabited ed

    island , some distance off , called Lass Island , where they ie- remained for twenty . five years , enduring the worst of privation , the he only thing they had to subsist upon being the eggs of sea birds , as . There seeming to be no hopes of their being taken off the island , id , they again put to sea on the raft , where they were fortunately fallen ten in with b y the Richard , and were taken on board , most oHhem m ana dying state . Every attention was paid to them by Captain White , ite , and they are now in a tolerably healthy condition . .

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 30, 1852, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_30101852/page/5/