up the Bricklayers' Arms branch, and medical assistance
was summoned to the worst cases. The following
are the principal sufferers:—Mr. Thomas F. Allen,
confectioner, of High-street, Deptford; W. Priest,
gardener, of Brixton-place; R. Hurst, mariner, of West-
street, Brixton; J. Todd, of Bermondsey; and Miss
Eyre, of Lewisham. The worst case is that of Mr.
Allen. Although the accident occurred before six
o'clock, this unfortunate man was so buried beneath the
broken carriages that it was nearly eight o'clock before
he was admitted into the hospital. Mr. Clark, one of
the chief surgeons of St. Thomas's hospital, immediately
saw the case, and felt it his duty to explain to Mr.
Allen, that the right leg was so seriously fractured that
amputation, and that immediately, was inevitable. Mr.
Allen consented to the operation, which was performed
by Mr. Clark very shortly after the patient's admission.
Mr. Clark, after making a minute examination of the
other leg, informed the sufferer it was so seriously
injured that the chances of his life being saved if he
retained it were extremely remote. The patient,
although suffering extreme agony, refused to consent to
the removal of this limb, remarking, that he might as
well be dead as be deprived of both his legs; but he
afterwards submitted to the operation. W. Priest sustained
a fracture of the thigh, and some internal injuries.
An inquiry into the cause of the accident is going on.

SOCIAL, SANITARY, AND MUNICIPAL
PROGRESS.

A REPORT from Dr. Letheby to the City Commissioners
of Sewers respecting the shocking Condition of
the Churchyard of St. Andrew, Holborn, has excited
considerable feeling in the city. The soil of the graveyard
is from ten to fifteen feet above the level of the road;
it is rising higher and higher by the daily addition of
fresh bodies, there being three burials, on the average,
every day; the gravediggers have found it necessary to
support the earth against the railings by means of
planks, in order that the soil and the protruding bones
may not fall upon the passengers as they travel on the
public road. The place is literally crammed with dead
bodies; in several parts the coffins are not more than
three feet from the surface, and in one case the coffin
was found to be covered with less than two feet of earth.
During the present year 1026 bodies have been interred
in this churchyard, which is considerably less than an
acre! In May, 1853, the secretary of state ordered the
place to be closed immediately. For some unexplained
reason, it was closed but for one day, and since that
time the number of interments has been 3000. The
result is described in the words of the report addressed
by Dr. Letheby to the Commissioners—"Everywhere
on the surface of the ground bones and decaying wood
were abundantly scattered about, and the soil itself was
saturated with decomposing organic matter; indeed, it
exhibited in a very marked degree that peculiar oily or
unctuous quality which is characteristic of the
overcharged soil of the London graveyards. I took away a
portion of the earth for experiment, and I place before
you the disgusting, fetid liquor, which I obtained by a
distillation of only two ounces of the soil. This will
convince you that churchyard-earth is not so innocent
or innocuous a thing as many have supposed." A copy
of the report was ordered to be sent to Sir George Grey
immediately.

A Meeting of Shareholders of the Eastern Counties
Railway was held on the 7th inst. to receive the report
of a committee appointed to investigate the affairs of the
company. The report gave a gloomy view of the
company's condition, and disclosed an almost incredible
amount of malversation on the part of Mr. Waddington,
the chairman, and some other officials. At the meeting,
Mr. Waddington took the chair. From beginning to
end, all was strife and confusion. The shareholders
fiercely resented the appearance of Mr. Waddington in
the chair. Mr. Waddington, grounding himself on his
legal right—confirmed by the company's solicitor—held
his place, but vainly demanded a hearing. He
persisted in speaking; pledging himself to answer the
charges in the report; and concluded by moving an
adjournment till the 3rd of January. Mr. E. Ball, M.P.,
asked whether one who knew in his conscience that he
had clean hands, would require seven days or seven
hours to answer the accusations? Mr. Pulley moved
that the report should be received and adopted. Mr.
M'Lauren moved that the report should be received,
and the meeting stand adjourned till the 3rd of January.
The amendment was negatived by a vast majority, and
the original resolution carried. A poll was demanded,
and granted; a step on the part of the chairman
followed by twenty minutes of uproar, during which
nobody heard what anybody said. Mr. Pulley then
moved that Mr. Waddington should no longer be chairman
of the company; that his pay should cease from
that day, and that he should be requested to resign.
On this Mr. Waddington made a stand. He would
answer the charges minutely, explicitly, and deliberately,
but he required time: he would not abandon his
position; let their resolution be what it might, he was
their legal chairman until next February. The resolution
was carried. Next, the Committee of Investigation
was ordered to continue its labours until February
next; to confer with the directors, and make suggestions
for the administration of the company's affairs.
It was resolved "that no order from Mr. Waddington
be attended to from the present time." Here again Mr.
Waddington made an ineffectual opposition. The
directors who are proved not to have watched over the
interests of the shareholders, were to be requested to
resign; and votes of thanks were passed to Mr. Bruce,
Mr. Broadbent, Mr. Margrave, and Mr. Simpson. At
the close of the proceedings the demand for a poll on the
first resolution was withdrawn, and the meeting
dispersed in confusion.

The Annual Smithfield Cattle Show has been held in
the Baker Street Bazaar. It has been rather below the
average, both in quantity and quality. The usual
dinner, with the Duke of Richmond in the chair, took
place in the Freemasons' Tavern on the 12th. The
chief incident of the evening was the presentation of a
handsome testimonial to the secretary, Mr. Brandreth
Gibbs, consisting of a candelabrum for six lights, the
base surmounted by figures of cattle. In acknowledging
the compliment, Mr. Gibbs suggested that the club
might enlarge the scope of its exertions. It would be
a benefit to the agricultural interest, if, in addition to
the prizes offered for animals, prizes were also offered
for treatises on the best mode of feeding and managing
them; on the chemical qualities of their food, and its
action on their systems. They had to deal with nature;
and to deal with nature successfully, they must
understand its laws.

The members of the Carlisle Mechanics' Institute
held their anniversary soirée on the 19th inst. In the
course of the evening the mayor, Dr. Elliot, took occasion
to mention, that the government had invited the
municipal representatives of the town to report on the
feasibility of establishing a free library in Carlisle.
That report had not yet been made, but he had no
doubt it would soon be laid before the council. Public
attention had recently been drawn to a correspondence
between Lord Stanley and others in the Times, respecting
the education of the people. Lord Stanley advocated
the formation of large central institutions for that
purpose; whilst, on the other hand, a clergyman (whose
name his worship did not remember), commenting upon
his lordship's proposition, maintained that greater
results were to be derived from the encouragement of such
institutions as were in existence in Carlisle. He (the
mayor) was inclined to the same opinion, because so far
the experiment here had worked exceedingly well.

A Supply of Books has been sent from the War Office
to the Garrison at Chatham, for the benefit of the
soldiers in barracks during the winter evenings, a great
many of whom appear to appreciate them. The reading-
room is large, well-lighted, and heated by a stove,
offering every inducement to the soldier. There are
3000 volumes: those recently added are principally of a
military character, offering instructive as well as
interesting reading.

The Juvenile Offenders' Act of last session is to be
brought into immediate operation, by enforcing payment
from the criminal parents of juvenile offenders towards