Vrulliurial.
The West Kent election terminated on Thursday. There were two candidates. Lord Holmesdale proposed and Sir Brook Bridges seconded Sir Walter Riddell ; Mr. Norman proposed and Mr. Daahwood seconded Mr. Wykeham Martin. The show of hands was in favour of Mr. Martin, and he carried the election on a poll : at the close of the polling on Thursday, the numbers were—for Martin, 3580; for Riddell, 3198.
The great hall and picture-galleries of the Manchester Art Treasures Fsthibition were opened on Wednesday to subscribers and holders of season-tickets, for a promenade. Nearly 7000 persons assembled; including the Duke of Newcastle, the Earl of Lincoln, the Bishop of Manchester, and a great number of local notables. The building is said to have produced a favourable impression on the visitors.
The Livevrool Albion states that the foundation-stone of the Free Public Library at Liverpool is to be laid on the 15th April ; that Lord Derby, Lord Stanley, Lord John Russell, Sir John Pakington, Mr. Disraeli, the Mayors of Manchester and Salford, Mr. Cobden, and all the prominent advocates of education, are to be invited, and that there will boa magnificent dinner given to Mr. William Brown M.P., in St. George's Hall.
A desperate highway robbery, which imperilled life, has been committed not far from the Philanthropic Farm School at Redhill. Mr. Ovenden, draper of Warwick Town, was driving home in the afternoon; a tall and powerful man was lying partly in the road ; he pretended that lie was very ill, and asked Mr. Ovenden to lift him up and give him a ride in his cart. The request was granted. Once upon his feet, the powerful man demanded Mr. Ovenden's money ; a struggle ensued; the robber produced a pistol and discharged it at Mr. Ovenden—the bullet lodged in his left breast, and he fell. The robber then rifled his pockets, took 4/. 108., and ran off. After a time, Mr. Ovenden managed to get into his cart, and drove on till he obtained assistance.. He has since gone on favourably. The gentry of the neighbourhood have offered a reward of 2001. for the conviction of the assassin.
A thief, at present unknown, abstracted from the safe of Mr. Charles Shaw, of Birmingham, railway and other securities representing many thousands of pounds. Some of the railway shares have been sold at Manchester, by a person who falsely represented himself to be Mr. Walker, Town-Clerk of -Wolverhampton, and who got gold in payment.
Mr. Hugh Williams, clerk for twenty years to the Poor-law Union of Bangor, has been committed for trial for embezzling funds that passed through his hands.
The inquest on the body of Mrs. Ann Bacon, at Great Casterton, near Stamford, was resumed and concluded on Wednesday. Professor Taylor reported the result of his examination of the viscera of the deceased : he had detected arsenic in some portions, but not in others ; altogether he had obtained about three-quarters of a grain. He stated that his conclusion as to the cause of death—whether it was natural or from rsonic—must be founded on further evidence as to the symptoms exhibited during Mrs. Bacon's illness. The surgeon who attended the deceased, and the wife of one of Mrs. Bacon's sons, then detailed what they had observed. Professor Taylor, guided by these narratives, expressed an opinion that on certain days Mrs. Bacon had suffered from swallowing arsenic ; but he said that actual death might have resulted from a sudden recurrence of a disease of the brain. A number of witnesses related circumstances showing the probability that the hand to administer the poison was Thomas Fuller Bacon's : the motive, to get possession of some house property. The Jury pronounced a verdict of' Wilful murder against Thomas Fuller Bacon."
The body of Bacon's father is to be examined : it is suspected that Bacon poisoned both parents, for the sake of inheriting property.
Two suicides by strychnine are reported this week. Mr. Guinmow, of Newport in the Isle of Wight, swallowed three grains : the features and the whole of the body and limbs were fearfully contorted, and the sufferer endured extraordinary spasms ; it was found impossible to apply the stomachpump, the teeth being set together so fast. Anne Boxall, a servant at Petersfield, swallowed a " vermin-killer " powder, which contains strychnine. In her case also a surgeon attempted in vain to use the stomachpump.
One of the most destructive colliery explosions on record has occurred at Lund Hill, near Barnsley. While a great number of minors were in the pit taking their dinner on Thursday, the inflammable gas ignited ; and the explosion was tremendous. At seven o'clock in the evening, sixteen men had been drawn up alive, but some of them very badly hurt. In consequence of a vast body of flame issuing from the air-shaft, it was deemed necessary to stop up this and the other shafts, as far as possible by means of coverings of planks and earth. It was thought that some days would elapse before a further search could be made in the mine : in the mean time, it is feared that one hundred and seventy miners have perished !
An express-train on the Newcastle and Tynemouth branch railway bag been knocked to pieces, in consequence of the carriages leaving the rails— two were unfit for work, being worn-out, and the rails were in bad condition. Only one passenger was seriously hurt; the escape of the rest is surprising.
Another " accident" occurred on Tuesday morning : during a fog, a fast train ran into a slow one, which was behind its proper time. There was a serious crash, and a number of passengers were hurt.
Dr. J. T. Bateson, a medical gentleman of Lancaster, had lost his life by misadventure,. at Settle station. He was crossing the rails at night, to go home by a tram then approaching; it is supposed that he had dropped some article, and that he was stooping to pick it up, when the engine struck him.
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