The :Medway, a Gravesend steam-boat, with about 150 passengers on
board, took fire on Wednesday afternoon, in the Thames, off North. fleet- " The fire was not discovered till near four o'c'octs, when the vessel had nearly got to its destination ; and then the principal engineer, who was about to descend to the engiue-room, found an immense quantity of smoke issuing from that portion of the deck just above the boilers. Ile communicated the circumstance to Captain Smith ; who instantly proceeded to the spot, and or- dered the engines to be stopped ; but the engineer found it impossible even to enter the room, although he placed wet cloths round his mouth. The fire, it is sup• posed, had extended to the oil, and also to the beams which run across the hull of the vessel, and caused such an intense heat that the company were soon aware that the vessel was on fire : the smoke was at the same time issuing born the port-holes; and although every exertion was used to stop the pro- gress of the flames by throwing buckets of water down the bold, the flames were gaining a rapid ascendancy. The captain now thought it necessary to com- municate to the passengers the fact of the vessel being on fire ; and urged the propriety of their being calm, assuring them that there was no danger, as he would run the vessel ashore, and that they might then land with perfect safety. Notwithstanding this assurance, the confusion that ensued was scarcely imaginable, several entreating the captain:to run the vessel on the Essex coast ; but the answer he made was, thr I he would run her into shallow water. On the vessel striking, the flames burst forth from the deck and cabin.windows ; the screams of the females and children were dreadful ; and the number of per- sons who jumped overboard at the moment it was impossible to ascertain. The spot where she was run agrcand was directly opposite the village of Northfleet, about two miles and a half from Gravesend. The tide was, at the time, just about ebbing. The inhabitants and fishermen residing in the town were quickly ass the spot, and rendered every assistance in their power ; numerous boats were put off, and planks were placed in the mud, by which a portion of the crew affected a landing. The captain and mate never quitted the vessel till every awl had left, and the latter was then obliged to jump overboard to save himself."
One person, a Mr. Maurer, a German merchant in the City, was drowned ; and Elizabeth Davies, a young woman, is missing. Both these persons obstinately refused to leave the after part of the vessel, or they might have escaped. The facts above-stated were confirmed by the evidence of the captain, mate, and engineer, given on Thurs- day to the Directors of the Star Steam-packet Company, who met for the purpose of investigating the affair. The cause of the accident ap- pears to have been the too near approach of the timbers to the boilers. The fire had probably communicated to the beams for a considerable time before any one on deck was aware of it ; and when the flames once btoke forth, all hopes of extinguishing them were out of the question. An inquest on the body of the German gentleman was held yester- day, at Gravesend. All the witnesses examined spcke in high terms of the coolness and courage of Captain Smith, and generally confirmed the facts given in the previous account of the disaster. The inquest was adjourned to Tuesday next.
On Monday, Mr. Green, Mr. Gye, Mr. E. Hughes, Mr. Bish, Captain Polhill, and another gentleman, ascended from Vauxhall, in Green's balloon. They bad a rather perilous descent. Mr. Green's intention was to descend on the open lawn between the mansion and a lake which runs through Osterley Park, between Hounslow and Nor- wocd ; but the grapples caught in the upper branches of an elm tree, which rendered the situation of the aaronauts most perilous. Mr. Green at first endeavoured to extricate the grapple, but the weight of the balloon soon tore away the branch on which it had at first fixed, when it more firmly adhered to the trunk of the tree, while the bal- loon was beat about by the wind. The escape of the gas having, however, been effected, the car ultimately remained fixed like a nest among the top branches. All the gentlemen got down without injury, and the balloon itself received no damage.
Mr. George Rutherford, partner in the house of Deacon and Rutherford, and a man of large property, committed suicide on Thurs- day, by shooting himself in the head. He was a hard drinker, and occasionally had paroxysms of delirium tremens. A young woman with whom he cohabited was about to leave him, and this made him furious.
He shot himself when in bed, immediately after she told him that she was going ; and it happened that one of the pistol-balls entered the woman's arm, and wounded her severely. A Coroner's Jury yesterday !amid a verdict of" insanity."
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