rgt Vrturiurtg.

The Manchester meeting arising out of the proposed renewal of the Indian " Charter;" which Mr. Barnes, the Mayor, convened last week, -was held on Tuesday ; and a very influential body of local notabilities at-

tended. The object of the meeting, according to the terms of the requisition, was restricted to the consideration of suggestions which might be made to Government or Parliament, ".for the better development of the resources of British India, and the consequent amelioration of the con-

dition of the people." To this point the speakers, with one exception, confined themselves. Mr. Bazley, President, and Mr. Henry Ashworth,

Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce, and Mr. J. A. Turner,

President of the Commercial Association' exposed in a variety of ways the chief Indian grievances. Mr. Bazley dilated on the great -lack of in- ternal communication - as did indeed the other speakers. There are not a hundred miles of railway, he said, •in existence or in prospect, and ordi-

nary roads are unknown ; a state of-things disastrous to commerce and to the welfare of the people. Mr. Turner showed how the resources of In- dia, of her soil and her rivers as means of transit, remain undeveloped ; the people ignorant, the law badly administered, and the free action of trade interfered with. Mr. Ashworth contrasted our export trade with America-11,800,0001.—with our exports to India-8,000,0001. Of this, 6,000,0001. consists of the poorest unfinished cotton : and the average to each inhabitant is two yards, or about tenpence a head. And he ar- gued, that, if properly cultivated, India might supply us with raw ma- terial, especially cotton, sufficient not only to obviate the inconveniences of short supplies from America, but to create new trade.

The meeting agreed to a petition to the House of Commons, containing the following suggestions—

That it is the imperative duty of the-Government of India to promote the cultivation of the soil,-and to remove all obstacles which impede the pro- gress of industry ; that, beyond making useful experiments, Government should not be permitted to become -cultivators, manufacturers, or traders," to purchase produce on their own account, or receive it by hypothecation ; that 10 per cent of its revenues should be spent on public works, under the control of a local board, nominatedpartly by the Imperial, partly by the In- dian -Executive ; "that the Government should give every facility for the permanent occupation of land, by removing the objections so often urged to

a fluctuating land-tax ; by encouraging the .purchase, for oultivation, of the waste and other lands of India; and by giving such certainty of tenure as

will insure the safe implication of capital to the universal cultivation of the soil. That prompt attention be paid to the removal of evils now existing in India consequent upon the uncertainty of the due administration of justice

and the prevailing -ignorance-of the, people. That an annual detailed report on all East Indian.affaira should, as was formerly done, be laid before Par- liament by a Minister of the Crown." It was resolved that a collective -deputation should be invited to as- semble in London and wait on the President of the Board of Central.

Mr. Bright M.P. stepped oat of the limits of the-requisition, and-di- rected almost the whole of his speech to a description of the system of Indian government.

All that the petition set forth, -he said, is true.; but unless a motive power were provided to do what is recommended, these resolutions and petitions were so much wastepaper. The-evil-lies in the imperfection of the govern-

ing machine ; it is totally unfit for the work for which it was designed.; and the result is cruelty and- tyranny. But he did not intend to charge the

Company with an intention in all this ; they are merely a machine that cannot work, one of the moat complex and clumsy the ingenuityof man ever devised.

"In the firstplace, the proprietors-of East India stock, who are the con- stituency electing this Government, have no more interest in the govern-

ment of the RastIndies than the. proprietors of the Lancashire.and Yorkshire Railway. Their dividends and revenues are certain, secured by act-of Par- liament on the whole revenues of India, and form not much more, I suppose, than the thirtieth or fortieth part of -those revenues, and therefore there is no risk of their dividend being unpaid. They are composed of some1700 or 1800 individuals, all over the three kingdoms; not a few of them reside abroad ; one-fourth of the whole number are -women; a considerable number are foreigners ; great numbers of them have never been in India, and have no more knowledge of -the country than of any other country in the world, ex- cept thatthey may have seen it on a map or atlas. Now, they.elect the Court of Directors. The Court of Ilirectors have to go -through a system of canvassing and coaxing, and promising and corruption, in order to.become Directors, such as Members of 'Parliament Who represent places very different from Manchester have, unfortunately, some 'knowledge of intheir political career. It has been sated, I 'believe, 'before theComaiittee now sitting, that the-dirt of -the 'kennel through Whith men have to crawl to getto the dirty dignity-of an 'East India 'Director is such-that-many respectable anti some of the most eminent and able men shrink from it, and will not be conta- minated with it at all. The result is, that one-third of your East India Directors have never been in India ; merchants, leoikers, and various people in London, who find it very convenient to have a position like that and find the patronage of great use to them in one way or other, are elected—twenty- four of them. Six go out and six come in each year. Thirty of them make the roll of the corporation. Well, their whole business, or nearly so, is the distribution of patronage. They get 4001. a year each as salary ; but they each have patronage, the value of which, according to the account of a man most competent to givean opinion, would, if itcould be sold, be worth 80001. or 10,0001. a year. To this Government is committed the whole collection of the re- venue in India, and every matter which affects the affairs which we have been discussing this morning. The great political questions of India are disposed of by the Board of Control; which is another body, the President of which is always a Cabinet Minister. But now observe what has been done in the Board of Control. Within the last twelve months there have been no fewer than four Presidents of the Board of Control. In February of last year there were three Presidents in one month : there was Lord Broughton, there was Mr. Fox Maule for about three weeks, and then there was Mr. }ferries. Then in Christmas week we had Sir Charles Wood. Only conceive that you have got a corporation of thirty men in Leadenhall Street —twenty-four in office, and then you have another office in Cannon Row with four Presidents in the course of twelve months—three in the course of a month. This corporation is very powerful and very permanent. The President of the Board of Control is generally a person who has never been in India, and is often a person who has never paid more attention to Indian subjects than any individual in this room. Then these two Governments somehow or other are expected to carry on a system of administration ad- vantageously for a hundred millions of people sonic thousands of miles away. It is one continual jangle and wrangle between these two Boards from Jan- uary to December. If you could have brought before the public an accurate return of the cases in which these two bodies have disagreed, and of the compromises of strong opinions which are made, where both do something which neither believes to be right, because one would not allow the other to do what they thought to be right, you would see such a state of things as would speedily explode the government of India, and could not fail to bring about an improvement. If you ask a question in the House of Commons of the President of the Board of Control, he mumbles something across the table which refers you to Leadenhall Street, and suggests that you should make application to the Court of Directors. If you move for a return of any kind of statistics from India, you get them in about—two years—when the thing for which you wanted to use them has entirely gone by ; and then they come in-such a -shape that I defy any man to snake the slightest use of them." No Member of the House of Commons, who has any regard for his own ease or reputation, almost, would touch anything connected with the government of India. He is sure to be baffled, and draws back in hopelessness. " Now, my idea of what Government should do is this—Unless they are prepared, during this session, to bring in a bill involving a total change in the government of India, and placing that government directly under the Crown' and making it directly responsible to Parliament, I humbly submit that it is-their duty to pass a continuance bill for two years, or three at the outside—say two years from the 30th April next year, which would bring it to the 30th April 1856 ; and then during that time to allow public opinion to grow, as it is now rapidly growing through the country—to allow the ques- tion to be fairly sifted by the press, thoroughly investigated by Committees or Commissions; and at the end of that period, to establish, not a govern- ment for ten years or twenty years, with an act of Parliament terminating at a given period, but a permanent government, that shall be rightly con- structed, as a principal machine, at home : and then you may rely upon it, that a government like that, acting through wisely-appointed agents in India, will very speedily, or as speedily as possible, carry out the various ad- mirable recommendations contained in this petition."

As the subject of the political government was not included in the re- quisition, it seemed to be thought proper not to pronounce an opinion then, but to leave that subject to another meeting.

There have been two elections this week. At Bridgnorth, where matters are easily accommodated, Mr. Pritchard, a local banker, and a " Conservative in every sense of the word," offered himself, was no- minated and elected on Tuesday, with great peacefulness. At Blackburn there has been a contest. The rival candidates, nominated on Wednes- day, were Mr. Joseph Montague Fielden,—resting his claims on his advocacy of the ballot, and a considerable extension of the suffrage ' - and Mr. William Henry Hornby, Chairman of the Bolton and Clithero Rail- way,—who is a Conservative, a Free-trader, and who put forward as an in- ducement -to the electors the benefits he had bestowed on the town, espe- cially by means of the works over which he presided. The show of hands was very close, but the Mayor decided in favour of Mr. glornby. Thereupon a poll was demanded; which took place next day, and ended in the election of Mr. -Fielden, by 631 votes, to 574 polled by his opponent.

Blackburn election was distinguished by disgraceful riots. After the nomination, crowds assembled and fought. " Roughs" were brought into the town from Preston and other places ; and on Wednesday night Liberal electors were kidnapped by main force. The town was full of people of the worst character from all the country-side; while a local ruffian, with an unpolite sobriquet, led a congenial native band. On the polling-day the rioting continued. The Hornby gang took possession of abridge over the ;Blackwater, to keep-the Fielden voters on the other side from the polling-booths ; and there was a long fight for the bridge. The windows of the Bridge Inn, a Conservative house, were smashed. At ten o'clock the Magistrates sent for the military ; a company of the Fourth Infantry and a squadron of the First Dragoons soon arrived ; the Riot Act was read ; and the mobs were dispersed by a military patrol in two divisions. Several isolated riots occurred notwithstanding.

Mr. W. A. Mackinnon senior is a candidate for Rye ; Mr. Thomas Barrett Lennard for Malden ; Admiral Stirling probably for Chatham, should writs be issued to either of these corrupt boroughs.

At a large public meeting held in Huddersfield, it was resolved to peti- tion Parliament for a Commission of inquiry into the corrupt practices of the borough. Mr. W. Winans, the unsuccessful competitor of the un- seated Member, has consented to stand in the event of another election.

The Liverpool .railway-porters in the goods-department of the East Lancashire, the Lancashire and Yorkshire, and the North-western Rail- ways, have obtained an improved rate of pay by "-striking." The com- panies at firat resisted the:movemerrt, but were soon obliged to give in. The North-western men were-the last to strike : they left work non Mon- day, and on Wednesday their demands were granted ; 'the mercantile community Iseving 'been greatly alarmed by at prospect-of the detention of

their ships. The Company, however, instantly advertised for five hun- dred men at the old rate. Considering this a breach of faith, the men again struck : whereupon the Company posted a notice that the men had thus forfeited their pay, had violated their contract, and were liable to imprisonment. The men replied by holding a meeting, reiterating their demands. Meanwhile, the breaksmen employed at the tunnels also struck, demanding pay for Sunday work and clothes. Fifty new men had been taken on, and the old hands demanded their dismissal. At present the Company resist this demand, but seem disposed to accede to the others. This took place on Thursday ; and on the same day the porters of the East Lancashire and Yorkshire again struck for fewer hours.

The carpenters of Reading demand an increase of as. a week in their wages : it is believed the masters will avoid the inconvenience of a " strike " by assenting, some of them admitting the justness of the claim. The labourers on Mr. Crawshay's estate, Caversham Park, have struck for 12s. a week in lieu of lOs. When food was very cheap, Mr. Craw- shay reduced the men's wages from 12s. to 10s. ; provisions are now dearer, and the labourers reasonably ask for their former pay. At Swindon, and some other places in Wiltshire, it is believed the quota of volunteers for the Militia will not be forthcoming ; the demand for labour exceeding the supply, especially at Swindon, where the Great Western Railway Company have not only secured many additional hands at high wages, but are ready to employ 300 more.

The Cheshire Militia, 800 strong, have recently completed a twenty- one days' drill, in a most satisfactory manner. Though the men had to be billeted on the public-houses at Chester, not a single complaint of bad conduct has been made to the Magistrates.

On Saturday last, about fifty wheelers at the Royal Arsenal, Wool- wich, received an increase of pay, from 21s. to 24s. 6d. and from 24s. 6d. to 28s. per week.—Koitish Mercury.

An action for 24901. 6s., electioneering expenses incurred on behalf of Mr. Prinsep, in defending a petition against his return for Harwich in 1847, and subsequently in carrying on a scrutiny, was tried at the Kingston Assizes, on Wednesday. The plaintiff was Mr. Elmslie, the solicitor of Mr. Prinsep. The defendant, Mr. Prinsep himself, had been unseated on the ground that his qualification was not good ; he then insisted on a scrutiny, in order that Mr. Wigram Crawford, his opponent, should not obtain the seat. In this he was successful; the election was declared void. The issue did not go to a jury on the merits, but by consent a verdict was returned for Mr. Elmslie, on the understanding that the question of Mr. Prinsep's liability should be tried, and the bill of costs submitted to arbitration.

At the Liverpool Assizes, an action for breach of promise of marriage was tried. The case is 'peculiarly shocking. Delemere, a Frenchman, lodged with a worthy couple named Ostler, at Manchester, in 1847. In the same house was an orphan girl, Kate Richardson, the niece of the Ostlers. Dele- mere, desiring to learn English, paid great attention to Miss Richardson, and courted her favour so effectually that she agreed to marry him. He proposed to the aunt formally, in July 1847 ; and his suit was acquiesced in; only Mrs. Ostler desired him to wait a twelvemonth. In 1848 his circum- stances were not flourishing ; and he wrote desponding letters, and wept when he spoke on the subject. But Mrs. Ostler, being a kindly-hearted wo- man, told him that it was not the time to forget him when he was in trou- ble; and she prevailed on him to spend Christmas-day with them. Next year his circumstances improved, and the courtship continued. But in 1850 it became evident that he had been too intimate with Miss Richardson, and the aunt and uncle then pressed the marriage. Delemere constantly pro- mised; he would marry "immediately." The uncle offered to lend him money to marry ; he declined, and was ordered to quit the house. Before doing so, he made an attempt to obtain the poor girl for his mistress. He did not attach "any importance to a ceremony which was only made to put money into priests' pockets." Miss Richardson remained with her aunt ; was subsequently confined in Lincolnshire, and has been ill ever since. Delemere married another. At the trial, Mrs. Ostler was the principal wit- ness; but her evidence as to Dclemere's intentions was corroborated by others. Evidence was given to prove that he was still in very narrow cir- cumstances. Damages 1001.

A Jury at Stafford Assizes has given a verdict for 100/. damages against Mr. Russel, a surgeon of Wednesbury, for his breach of a promise to marry Miss Adcock, the daughter of a gentleman at Birmingham. Everything had been arranged for the marriage—legal documents were drawn out, in which Mr. Russel agreed to settle 20001. on the lady, her father endowing her with a like sum, and a marriage-licence had been obtained—when Mr. Russel broke off the match. It was admitted that the gentleman had been the sub- ject of very unpleasant rumours as to his bodily health, upon which subject the lady's mother had, not altogether delicately, communicated with him and a family surgeon : but this was some time before Mr. Russel made the preparations for the marriage. The Jury deliberated for some hours before they gave the hundred pounds damages.

At Kingston, on Monday, the four Frenchmen accused of the murder of Frederick Cournet, who was killed in a duel at Englefield Green, near Wind- sor, were put on their trial. Barthelemy was the surviving principal; Bar- ronet and Allain were Cournet's seconds ; Mornet was one of Barthelemy's seconds—the other escaped capture. The accused elected to have a Jury half foreigners. The case was very clear so far as the duel was concerned : before the Magistrates, Barronet and Allain had admitted their share in the affair. The duel was fought with pistols; a bullet went through Cournet's body. The counsel for the prosecution pointed out that when the pistols were returned to the man of whom they were hired, one was found to have a piece of rag stuffed into it, so that it would not explode; that pistol was still loaded : this looked like foul play. But from the testimony of a wit- ness who saw two of the seconds clean the pistols and seal them up, it would seem that the presence of the rag was quite accidental, it being a remnant of the cloth with which the pistols had been cleaned. [The pistol used by Barthelemy would not explode, and Cournet lent his.] Mr. Montague Chambers, Mr. Parry, and Mr. Ballantine, addressed the Jury for the prisoners. Mr. Chambers contended that it could not possibly be supposed that Cournet's seconds intended to murder him. The counsel enlarged on the facts of some of the best men of this country having felt obliged to fight duels; that no conviction for murder had followed fatal duels ; and that the survivors of duels are never ranked by mankind with murderers. Mr. Parry censured the reference made by Mr. Locke, the counsel for the prosecution, to the piece of rag found in one of the pistols. In summing-up, Mr. Justice Coleridge said, that the counsel for the pri- . goners had told the Jury that the law is that which they knew it is not-

.. had attempted to mislead the Jury : in the eye of the law, every one con- nected with a fatal duel is equally guilty—all are held responsible. After deliberating for an hour, the Jury found a verdict of "manslaughter" only. In passing sentence, the Judge said, the prisoners had already been in pri-

" son more than five months: he thought it probable that, being foreigners, they were ignorant of the law of this country upon the subject of duelling: taking all the circumstances into consideration, the sentence would be much lighter than it otherwise would have been. He sentenced all the prisoners to be further imprisoned for the space of two months.

Three days have been occupied at Stafford in the trial for the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn, at Ash Flats. The persons accused were Henry Blackburn, a son of the deceased, and Moore and Walsh, labouring Irishmen. Another man, Kirwan, was subsequently arraigned on the Coroner's inquisi- tion, but no evidence was offered against him. The murder was a peculiarly atrocious one. The victims were very old people; they had considerable property ; but they lived by themselves in a lone house, in a miserable and dirty state. One morning the place was discovered to be on fire; the flames were extinguished ; and then the charred remains of the Blackburns were found. The woman had been strangled by something tied round her throat, and then beaten on the head ; this had been done at the foot of the stairs. Previously to this the old man seems to have been butchered in his bed. The wife's corpse was dragged up stairs, and laid across the man's feet. Com- bustibles were applied—probably resin as well as other matters—and the bedstead set on fire, in the hope that the bodies and the house would be con- sumed. A pocket-book had been ransacked, showing the motive of the mur- derers. There was great difficulty in ascertaining the perpetrators: Henry Blackburn's behaviour appeared suspicious ; Moore wrote anonymous letters to the Police, implicating Henry Blackburn and his brother Thomas, as well as Walsh and other persons. Moore was detected as the writer; and he then pretended to give more information in writing—fatally for himself, for his statements led to his arrest, and greatly tended to his condemnation. At the trial, the crime was fixed upon Moore and Walsh ; and witnesses were called who fully rebutted the evidence that bore strongly against Henry Blackburn. The Jury acquitted Blackburn, but found the Irishmen guilty ; recommending Walsh to mercy, as not being so bad as Moore, though present at the murder. Amidst cries for mercy and protestations of innocence, the convicts were sentenced to be hanged. Moore repeatedly declared that Walsh " was not in it."

At Exeter Assizes, Sparkes and Hitchcock, the reputed murderers of the tax-collector Blackmore, were tried. Sparkes was found guilty, and Hitch- cock was acquitted. Our readers may recollect that Sparkes confessed that he killed Blackraore, with a pair of tongs, soon after they left a public-house where they had been drinking and cardplaying. In passing sentence, Mr. Justice Crompton wept aloud, the ladies in court cried also, and tears ran down the prisoner's cheek. Sparkes was "prayed for" in the churches at Exeter on Sunday. Prayers will be continued until the execution. [A let- ter-writer in the Times marvels at this display of morbid pity for a mur- derer, and confesses be was filled with indignation at the misplaced sympathy. The writer wonders whether any of the audience would have given half-a- crown to aid the murderer's necessities before he achieved notoriety by crime. In sooth, we see nothing in the trial or its conclusion to warrant, at least, the tears and convulsive sobs of the Judge.] Sebire, the Jerseyman who fired a loaded pistol at Emma Hellyer, at Plymouth, was convicted on the count charging an intention "to do bodily harm." Sebire had made every preparation to marry the girl, though he had a wife and family in Jersey; but he bought two pistols, fired one at Emma, and discharged the other athimself : fortunately, neither took effect. Sentence, fifteen years transportation.

At Norwich Assizes, last week, Samuel /forth was tried for attempting to murder Ann Proudfoot, at Yarmouth, by placing a pitch-plaster over her mouth and nose. The particulars of the case were mentioned at the time. Horth not only placed the plaster over the woman's face, but when she tore it away he savagely beat her, crushing in her front teeth. The Jury, how- ever, did not find him guilty of the murderous intent, but only of the as- sault in placing the plaster over the face. Sentence, eighteen months im- prisonment.

William Jarvis, a watchmaker, only eighteen years of age, was convicted of setting fire to his shop, with intent to defraud an insurance-office in which he had recently insured for an excessive amount. The fire was dis- covered before it got much head : combustibles had been arranged in many places, and a candle left so that it would burn down and set fire to some sticks and paper. Sentence, ten years' transportation.

The burglars who invaded the house of Mr. Horton at Tanworth, where the farmer so gallantly attacked the thieves, have been brought to justice at Warwick. Sentence of death is recorded against Hughes, and the others are to be transported for fifteen years.

A convict attempted to escape from the precincts of Dartmoor Prison; he was chased, but he outdistanced his pursuers; a soldier fired, and at 250 yards hit him in the leg.

Mr. John Barff, one of the largest woolstaplers in the West Riding, and a Magistrate, has been selected as the first victim for the "garotte" system at Wakefield. He was walking home in the evening to his house in the suburbs ; near his residence, a man put his arm round his neck, and vio- lently compressed it ; another man approached in front; Mr. Barff kicked at this one, and his struggles so far released his throat that he could shout " Murder ! " A gentleman approached at the moment ; the robbers threw Mr. Barff down, and ran off. Mr. Barff was not seriously hurt. There had been a wool-market on the day of the outrage, and the robbers no doubt suspected that Mr. Barff would have a large sum of money in his possession.

Mr. Richard Blundell, of West Derby, near Liverpool, an extensive coal- proprietor, and a Magistrate, has been found drowned in a pond on his own estate. His health had been failing lately ; he had been "odd" and shy, but his mental sanity was not doubted. He had never intimated any suicidal intent. There was no proof how he got into the pond. Under these cir- cumstances, a Coroner's Jury gave a verdict merely describing the finding of the body.

At least thirty persons have been killed, while others have been hurt severely if not fatally, by an explosion at Arley coal-mine, near Wigan. It occurred on Wednesday, and seems to have been caused by mismanagement or neglect in respect to a furnace employed in the ventilation of the pit : the furnace-fire was first allowed to go very low, that some repairs might be ef- fected ; then an immense fire was made, and the explosion ensued.

The inquest on the three men killed by the explosion of a locomotive at Brighton was resumed on Monday. Captain Galton, the Government In- spector, stated that the boiler was of a construction less strong than boilers are now made, and the riveting was only single. The iron appeared to be sound and good. He did not think the pressure had been 300 pounds to the inch, but ascribed the bursting to some deterioration of the rivets. "It is impossible to tell at what pressure the boiler did explode. If the driver screwed down the safety-valve, there is scarcely a limit to the pressure of the steam. The calculation from Mr. Fairbairn's formula is, a diameter of 3 feet 6 inches, and 'a thickness of somewhat less than 5-16th, at 450 pounds to the inch : but then his riveting is different from this. He states as the result of his experiments, that double-riveted joints retained the strength of the plate unimpaired; single-riveted joints would lose one-fifth. In this case, the engine-boiler was single-riveted." It is very desirable that one of

the safety-valves should be out of the control of the driver. Mr. Craven, locomotive superintendent, stated that even "improved" valves were not beyond the control of the driver entirely: he could throw the weight of his body on the safety-valve. A Juror—" Then there is no protection for the lives of passengers against the :recklessness of a driver ?" Mr. Craven— "We have not found ft out yet, sir." Mr. Gooch, locomotive superintendent of the Eastern Counties Railway, ascribed the explosion to excessive pressure. More drivers are discharged for valve-closing than anything else. In the course of evidence given by Mr. Fenton, engineer at the Lowmoor Iron-works, the witness was asked, " Would this accident have happened had the engine been in motion ?" Mr. Fenton—" I know of no instance of an explosion while in motion. We can use steam faster than we can generate it. We have printed rules of management for matters which don't vary ; but a driver may be put on several engines in a week, all requiring different instructions. Written instructions would be as likely to be disregarded as verbal : besides, some of the drivers can't read." Foreman—" And you mean to say that men are intrusted with trains of passengers who cannot read ? " Mr. Fen- ton—"This has occurred to me on more than one occasion."

The Jury declared in their verdict, that John Young, the engine-driver, caused his own death, and "did kill and slay" the other two men, "by his own reckless conduct in placing a higher pressure on the engine than it was fitted to bear." They added a recommendation, "that in future a more frequent and rigid examination be made of the locomotive engines; and that the di- rectors be requested to take into consideration whether an improved system cannot be adopted of instructions to the drivers. And the Jury hope that the time is not far distant when the safety-valves may be placed beyond the undue control of the drivers."

The inquiry at Mangotsfield, on the two persons killed on the Gloucester and Bristol Railway, was concluded on Saturday. It will be recollected that the mail-train came to a stand from a defect in the engine, and before it was again in motion another locomotive ran into it. The main question which the Jury bad to consider was, whether the two guards of the mail-train had taken all the precautions in their power to prevent an accident. Two pas- sengers estimated the delay at from five to ten minutes. The driver of the mail-train stated that he had examined his engine before he left Gloucester, and it was perfect then ; the delay on the line was not more than two or three minutes. It was a very foggy morning. A pointaman at Westerleigh said there was an interval of ten minutes between the passage of the engines. An engineer stated that the accident to the "set-pin" could have been re- medied in from two to ten minutes, according to the expertness of the opera- tor. The two guards tendered statements. The head guard, Perkins, stated that he sent back Maycock, the under guard, to stop any approaching train. In a minute or a minute and a half the driver announced that he was ready; but before the driver could get on to the locomotive the pilot dashed into the train. Maycock stated that he went down the line as fast as he could—the road was bad, and the weather foggy—but in less than two mi- nutes the pilot almost ran over him. After the accident, he went back a mile and stopped another engine. The Jury found that the collision was caused by "neglect of duty" on the part of the guards ; and they recom- mended that at every station the "caution" signal should be exhibited for ten minutes after the "danger" one has been shown for five minutes sub- quently to the passing of each train. As the verdict was substantially one of "manslaughter," the guards were committed to prison.

The Coroner has held an inquest in Manchester Infirmary on the bodies of Master Barbour, Mrs. Horroeks, and Betsy Macartney, three of the suffer- ers by the Dixonfold "accident." The evidence was in great part similar to that given at the former inquest; but with additions. Captain Wynn, the Government Inspector, after further inquiry and examination, was convinced that the breaking of the axle of the engine was a consequence of the accident, not the cause of it. Mr. Nasmyth concurred in this view. Mr. Stubbs and Mr. Blake stated that the same velocity is maintained on the railway as before the first inquest. Mr. Blake added, that on the previous day he had travelled down the line with the tender foremost. He had re- ported the circumstance to the board, for he had got no satisfaction from the officers, every one saying it was not his fault. Captain Wynn—" That was a most dangerous method of travelling." Captain Lewes, the general mana- ger of the Lancashire and Yorkshire line for the district, repeated that the drivers were prohibited from making up lost time. [The printed "instruc- tions" were produced, but on reference to them no such prohibition could be found. The only passage in the "instructions" bearing on the point was this —"Enginemen are to regulate the speed of their trains by the time-table as near as safety will permit." There was no express mention of thirty miles an hour, although the time-table was constructed according to that average.] The verdict was "Accidental death," with a condemnation of the state of the line : the deaths were "entirely in consequence of the bad state of the permanent way, and the excessive speed at which the engine was proceed- ing : and the Jury wish to express their decided opinion, that the Company are highly blameable in allowing the line of railway to becomein such a state as to be unsafe for the public to travel upon."

At an adjourned inquest at Wallsend, on Wednesday, on the body of an engine-driver on the Tynemouth branch, who was killed on the 2d by the locomotive running off the rails, Mr. Beck, engineer at a colliery, gave a very bad account of the state of the permanent way. Soon after the acci- dent, he went back to where he thought the engine had got off the rail ; and it appeared to him that the engine had got off the line within a few feet of where a crossing plate or rail was on the line. He examined the chairs at that place, and found several about the spot had only one pin instead of two, and the double stands had two pins instead of four. The pins appeared to him to be small for the holes. The pins did not fill the holes. There was another stand and another chair on the opposite side of the crossing, a little further on. The wood on which they were was decayed, and the water was rising out of the holes in which the pins were. He put his foot on the chair, and it worked up a quarter of an inch with his weight. The engineer of the railway, however, stated in his evidence that the line was in good order.

A Jury who have been inquiring into the origin of the fire which destroyed Doncaster Church, after seven meetings, have pronounced an opinion that it most probably arose from the defective and unsafe construction of the flues, and the negligence and inattention of the people who had charge of them : the flues were swept once instead of three times a year.

As the Reverend William Beauchamp, Rector of Chedgrave, was on his way to Norwich, his horse took fright on going down Bixley Hill, near Trowse ; Mr. Beauchamp was precipitated from his gig, and tell upon his head, which caused instant death. He was the son of Sir William Beau- champ Proctor, of Langley Park ; and has left a widow and five children.— Essex Herald.