till Vrinium.

A public meeting at East Grinstead, at which Earl Delavrarr, Colonel St. Maur, Lord Colchester, Mr. R. Trotter, and the Reverend T. P. Hut- ton, took leading parts, lately resolved to address the Lord-Lieutenant for the formation of a county Rifle Corps, "provided the Government consent to furnish arms and ammunition., '

The above resolution was taken before the announcement on Saturday last of the Government intention that Volunteer Corps should pay their own expenses.

fA meeting of the Surrey Magistracy and gentry at Epsom, held on Tuesday, resolved to establish a Rifle Corps, under the conditions, we suppose, of the Government notice.

On Friday last week the Holmfirth Committee obtained a general esti- mate of the ravages caused by the bursting of the Bilberry reservoir. It shows in brief the frightful nature of the calamity with regard to pro- perty and the surviving workpeople.

Property totally destroyed—mills, 4; ffyehouses, 10; stoves, 10; cottages, 27; tradesmen's houses, 7; tradesmen's shops, 7; bridges, 6; county bridge, 1; warehouses, 10 ; barns and stables, 18.

Property partially destroyed, or seriously damaged—mills, 17 ; dye- houses and stocks therein, 5; stoves, 3 ; cottages, 139 ; tradesmen's houses, 7; large shops, 44 ; public-houses, 11; bridges, 5 ; county bridge, 1; land seriously. damaged, 200 acres ; water-course, mill-falls, and highways, sus- taining immense damage, over a distance of five miles.

Workpeople—The workpeople thrown out of employment by the catas- trophe are thus returned : adults, 4986 ; children, 2142—total out of work, 7128. These people were earning, upon an average, the weekly aggregate amount of 37481.

At Holmfirth the subscriptions amount to 20001., at Huddersfield to 10,0001. A City meeting was held in the London Tavern on Monday,— the Lord Mayor presiding,—when a fund was commenced with upwards of 10001. The Leeds subscription began with a nucleus of some 20001.

On the 6th instant, a formal verdict of "Found drowned" was returned by a Coroner's Jury on a great many bodies. Oa Wednesday the real in- quiry began on four selected bodies. Captain Moody, R.E., attended on be- half of the Government. Mr. Jacomb, clerk to the Commissioners of the Holme Reservoirs, gave evidence at great length, showing how the Commis- sioners had been involved in constant troubles—litigation, insolvency, bad performance of work by contractors, Parliamentary contests, &c. ; while they were themselves a divided body.

Mr. Jacomb—" During the time I was clerk, I always understood the Bilberry reservoir was only relatively safe. It was safe up to a certain height of water, but not secure beyond that." Coroner—" What height ?" Mr. Jacomb--° I don't know. I never saw the reservoir until since the late accident." On the 26th of August 1846, the followin order was made That an opening be made in the waste-pit of the Bilberry reservoir, at the of eighteen feet above the' dough' or' shuttle,' and that Mr. Littlewood be re ilested to see that the same order be carried into effect." Coroner—" Are you aware that that was done ? " Mr. Is- comb—•' I never knew to the contrary until after this accident."

Mr. Leather, a civil engineer, who had been employed at one time to make plans for the reservoir, said he did not consider " it was ever completed." He had advised that the reservoir be "paddled" [lined with well- kneaded clay] all over; he thought it was to be done ; afterwards he found that the Commissioners had not done it. There was an early failure in the embankment.

Captain Moody—" To what height had the embankment risen when its first failure took place ?" Witness—" It was approaching the top. There was a head of water in the reservoir, and a settlement in the embankment had occurred—"

Captain Moody—" That, I fear, is the whole story." Witness—" The water became muddy, showing that the ' puddle' was being acted upon. We heard from some of the men, that what ought to have been solid masonry in the culvert was only faced with stone and backed up with dirt. This was found to be the fact, and it was at- tempted to remedy the defect by sinking shafts; but it did not stop the leakage." Coroner—" Suppose the embankment had been the proper height above the waste- pit, would the latter have been sufficient to have carried of the flood-water on the 4th of February " Witness—" No doubt of it, if it had been in a proper work- ing state I think it rather extraordinary the embankment has stood so long, seeing there was a leakage. My opinion is, that the water flowing over the embank- ment washed away the outer slope, and took away the support of the puddle' which would already be weakened by its subsidence. Then, inasmuch as there would very likely be a apace or crack between the ' puddle,' and the inner face of the em- bankment, the water getting in there would cause it to give way all at once when ea. Loved from the support on the other side." Coroner—" In point of fact, then, had the waste-pit been seven or eight feet below the embankment, this accident would not have happened?" Witness —•• I consider that to be a fair inference. Had a bole of a proper size been made in the waste-pit, at a sufficient depth, I think it very likely the accident would have been prevented. Had 1 been consulted, I should have recommended lowering the masonry of the waste-pit below the embankment, as the readiest means of remedying the diffioulty. The cost of doing this would have been comparatively nothing—a very small sum—say 121. 10s." On Thursday, Charles Batty, the " drawer " of the reservoir, stated that he was appointed in 1846: since that time the embankment had been sink- ing—he 'thought it had sunk as much as ten feet. Mr. Roebuck and Mr. Hirst, tie Commissioners who attended to this reservoir, knew of this. In three places, water ran out of the bottom of the embankment, varying in amount with the depth of water in the reservoir; sometimes the water es- caping was muddy; when the water was very high, there was a fourth leak.

Jonathan Woodcock was drawer from 1843 to 1845. In September of that year, the leakage was so great, that for a fortnight together with the shut- tle down, there was sufficient water to supply the mills. Ile never had to draw until the water in the reservoir was as low as thirty feet. The em- bankment began to sink as soon as the contractors left it; it was below the top of the waste-pit before witness left the service. On the night of the disaster witness was at the reservoir. He saw a few people there, and among them Mr. John Roebuck. He staid a little time, and returned again at eleven o'clock. The water was nearly running over. Mr. Roebuck told witness, that before two o'clock he would see such a sight as he had never seen before in his life ; he added, that there would not be a mill left in the whole valley. The water began to run over the embankment at half-past eleven. Witness remained at the bank till it burst.

Coroner—" When Mr. John Roebuck told you there would not be a mill left in the valley, did he send any person to give warning ?" Witness —" There were two per- sons sent, but who sent them I cannot say. The remark was made by Mr. Roebuck half-an-hour before the embankment gave way. I cannot exactly say how long be- fore the accident happened the messengers were sent off." Cross-examined by Mr. Jacomb—The greatest height of reservoir was not figured in by witness in his book. lie had ceased to enter the height three months before. There was no use in "figur- ing," for nobody ever came to inspect the book.

Two newly-constructed reservoirs at Edenfleld in Lancashire burst during the late floods. They were of comparatively small dimensions ; and though some damage was done, no life was lost. The embankments are said to have been most inefficient: made of peat, on a peat foundation, and without proper waste-weirs and discharge-pipeti.