jected to such an outlay being made in consequence of the state of the funds of the club; but as the question was decided against him, he refrained from attending the committees from that period (June, 1838,) till February in the following year. It was then found that the receipts were totally insufficient to meet the expenditure; the affairs were wound up, and the club was found to be in debt several hundred pounds. The defendants, feeling that the committee were bound to pay the outstanding debts, suggested that each member of the committee should subscribe a certain sum for that purpose a few paid their portions, but others refused to do so. The plaintiff, being unable to obtain the amount of the bill, brought the present action. On the part of the plaintiff, it was contended that the defendants being members of the committee by whom the orders were given, were liable for the amount; and some letters, written by them jointly, were put in, in which they expressed their fears that they (the committee) would be compelled to pay the outstanding debts. Mr. Thesiger, on behalf of the defendants, complained of the hardship of their being alone called upon to liquidate the debts of the club, after they had done all in their power to induce the other members to raise a sufficient sum to meet all demands upon them, and that no proceedings should be taken against those who had refused to accede to so reasonable and equitable a proposition. The learned counsel contended that the defendants were not liable in the present instance, as it had not been proved that they were present when the The question was not to whom credit was given, but with whom the contract was made. If it was proved that the committee made the contract either personally or by their agent, they would be liable; but if the order was given by the committee generally, the defendants would not be liable. Mr. Baron Alderson, in summing up said, the question for the consideration of the jury was, whether the work, the order for which was given by the secretary, was ordered by the defendants, or either of them. If they were satisfied that Mr. Hastings was present when the order was given for erecting the platform at the time of the coronation, he would undoubtedly be liable; but not under the present form of action. The members of a club were not bound, unless by some special agreement. If they were satisfied that the defendants were present when the orders were given, they would undoubtedly be liable; or if they believed that they had agreed to be bound by any order given by the committee; and although they were not actually present when the order in question was given, still they would be equally liable. Mr. Emly, in his letter, said, he considered the committee liable for the debts of the concern; and it would be a question for their consideration, whether by that he meant that he considered the committee, each and every one of them, bound by a previous agreement. The jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict for the plaintiff, for the amount claimed. APRIL. 1. INUNDATION AT DERBY AND orders in question were given. Loss oF LIFE.-Derby was this morning visited by the most calamitous and fearful flood that can be remembered ever to have occurred in the town. The footways were in some places covered deep with water. The first intimation within the town of apprehended danger was made about half-past one o'clock in the night, and those who reside upon the edge of the brook which passes through the town were promptly alarmed by the watchman. Immediate steps were taken to rescue property; but so sudden and rapid was the rush of waters, that even those who had early caution suffered considerable loss. The greatest calamity was the loss of one life, that of a young newly married woman, who slept on the ground floor, who was drowned in her bed. Copings of bridges and of St. Warbeck's church wall and railings were washed down, vaults within the church sprung, heavy town-carts floated from their yards and overturned in the streets; and an immense extent of damage was done to goods, furniture, &c. throughout the centre of the town. The market which lay in the fall or deepest part of the current, was swept away. 2. MURDER AND SUICIDE NEAR BRISTOL. The neighbourhood of this city has been the scene of an awful murder, followed by the suicide of the murderer, the victim being also the murderer's own sister. The scene of the murder is a cottage in the village of Kingswood, near the church, in which the brother and sister, Samuel and Edith Cook, had resided for several years (and their family for the last hundred years), Samuel Cook being about fifty-five years of age, and his sister about forty-six or forty-eight. It appears that Cook formerly followed the trade of a after which he was enabled, during the time he lived, to mumble out a few words, and once said distinctly, "It was I who did it; I murdered her first, and then myself." Every effort which surgical skill could direct was made to preserve life, but he continued sinking, and died in about two hours. The murderer's other razor was found lying on the table in its sheath, from which it is conjectured that he must have cut his sister's throat while sitting in her chair, and on making her escape into the garden followed her, and no doubt it was her cries in the garden which alarmed the neighbours. Finding discovery in evitable, he must have rushed back to the house and cut his own throat. The inquest was held this day, when evidence corroborating the foregoing account of the occurrence was given. The man Pea cock, however, gave his testimony in a very contradictory manner, giving two or three different versions of the way in which he found Samuel Cook to be lying. The jury could not agree on a verdict, and the inquest was adjourned afterwards; and as respected the body of Edith, the jury returned a verdict of " Wilful Murder" against Samuel Cook; the inquest on the brother being adjourned sine die. 3. LAMENTABLE OCCURRENCE. -This morning between two and three o'clock, as Sergeant Morris, city police, was going his rounds, his attention was drawn to loud screams which proceeded from the neighbourhood of Fish Street-hill. On going thither, he was horrorstricken at observing a female almost in a state of nudity, literally impaled upon the iron spikes of St. Benett's churchyard, and a large pool of blood on the ground beneath. Near her lay another female similarly clad upon one of the graves of the churchyard. Both the females were screaming in the most dreadful manner. Morris sprang his rattle for assistance, and some police constables were promptly on the spot, and with great difficulty the unfortunate female was removed from the iron spikes, her right thigh being lacerated in a most frightful manner, the iron spike penetrating completely through it, and, with the other female, was conveyed to the house of Mr. Croft, surgeon of Fish-street hill, who rendered them every assistance. As soon as they were capable of giving some account of themselves, it appeared they were domestic servants in the family of Mr. Isaac Worley, of the Monument Hotel, and that their names were Mary Cray, twenty-four years of age, and Ann Hallett, twenty-two; that about two in the morning Mary Cray was awakened by a noise which appeared to her as if occasioned by some persons attempting to break into the house. In her fright she awoke Ann Hallett, who slept with her, and the noise continuing, they both became so terrified that they flew to the windows, and throwing them open, both of them jumped out. Ann Hallett unfortunately leaped out of the window nearest the street, and falling upon the iron spikes below, got impaled as above described. Mary Cray fell upon the ground and escaped with some internal bruises. 4. FALL OF A RAILWAY TUNNELL. An inquest was held to-day on the bodies of four men who were killed on the South-western railway the day before yesterday. The accident occurred in the shaft of a tunnel near Winchester, where several men were employed in removing materials round the top; and in doing that, part of the arch beneath the shaft gave way, and nine of them were precipitated into the tunnel, and were buried under a mass of chalk which fell with them. Four of them were killed, four others were taken out severely injured, and one was slightly bruised. The tunnel had been visited at a late hour the evening before by superintending officers, who left it in what they considered to be a perfectly safe state. From four to six on Saturday morning, indications of danger were observed by one of the foremen, and he removed his workmen; but the other, Ferris, did not appear to have any apprehensions, and he let his men go on with their work until the accident happened. The coroner's jury gave the following verdict-"We find a verdict of accidental death in each case, with a deodand of 501.; and the jury consider that Henry Ferris, the foreman over the deceased men, is not a fit person to be intrusted with the lives of men in so important a work." 9. ABDUCTION.At the Liverpool Police-office, on the 5th inst., Mr. John Orr M'Gill, described as a handsome, gentlemanlike young man, Dr. John Osborne Quick, Richard Jones, Margaret Jones, James Wormand Rogerson, and Jane Clayton, were examined on a charge of carrying off Miss Crellin, a person of some property. She had not long before accepted the addresses of one Martin, but had broken off the match on his demanding that half of her pro perty should be settled on him; and she paid him 250l. to buy off his threat of proceeding for breach of promise of marriage. He afterwards turned out to be really a Dr. Copeland, and a married man. On one occasion, she was prevailed upon to spend the day and night at the house of Mr. Rogerson; where she met a party, of whom Mrs. Jones, a charwoman and lodging-housekeeper, was one: the party went out for two days on various excursions, and there seems to have been a liberal use of brandy and champagne. At this party, she met M'Gill, and they wanted her to marry him at once: but she refused unless her property were settled on herself. She instituted proceedings against Martin, to make him refund the money which she had paid. One day she was induced to go to the house of Mrs. Clayton, a lodginghouse-keeper, with whom she had lodged, on the assurance that Martin was waiting for her with 150l. of the money; and there she was made to drink a liquid containing some dark stuff: she remembered nothing further, until she found herself, next morning, at Gretna Green, in bed with Mr. M'Gill and Mrs. Clayton; and she was then told by Dr. Quick, whom her screams brought into the room, that she was married to M'Gill. The case was adjourned till the next day, and then again adjourned. The prisoners were examined yesterday, and finally to day, when they were committed for trial. Dr. Copeland, a married man, who courted Miss Crellin under the name of Martin, was also examined and committed, on a charge of having defrauded Miss Crellin of 250l., which he ex torted under a threat of proceeding at law for a breach of promise of marriage. HORRIBLE MURDER AND MUTILATION.-A murder came to light this week at a villa on Putney heath, which rivals the Greenacre murder in circumstances of atrocity. The mode of the discovery was singular. At Roe hampton is Granard Lodge, the residence of Mr. Quelaz Shiell, an East-Indian merchant. Mr. Shiell's coachman, Daniel Good, a middle-aged Irishman, called in a chaise, at eight o'clock on Wednesday evening, the 6th inst., at the shop of Mr. Collingbourn, a pawnbroker, in Wandsworth, and bought a pair of black knee-breeches, which he took on credit. The shop-boy saw him at the same time put a pair of trousers under his coatskirt, and place them with the breeches in the chaise. Mr. Collingbourn followed him out, and charged him with the theft; but he denied it, and hurriedly drove off. The pawnbroker sent a policeman, William Gardner, after the thief; and with the officer went the shop-boy, and Robert Speed, a neighbour. Good lived at the stables about a quarter of a mile from Mr. Shiell's house; and when the boy rang the bel Gardner keeping in the background -Good himself came to the door. Gardner then approached, and told him that he was to arrest him for stealing a pair of black trousers. Good coolly replied, that he brought away some black breeches, and he offered to pay for them; but the policeman stuck to his instructions, and insisted on searching the chaise. Good offered no objection; and the chaise, the coachhouse, and one of the stables, were - searched. to no purpose. Gardner then approached another stable ; when Good at once put his back to the door and refused to let him enter. Their altercation drew to the spot Mr. Oughton, Mr. Shiell's bailiff; who insisted that Gardner should search the stable; and they all entered. Speed and the shopboy stood near Good, while Gardner searched. When he came to some corn-bins, the coachman exhibited great uneasiness, and urgently desired to go to Wandsworth to settle the matter with Mr. Collingbourn. Gardner then went to a stall which seemed to be filled with trusses of hay: he removed two trusses, and in some hay beneath, he discovered what he supposed to be a dead goose. He exclaimed, "My God! what's this?" and at the same moment, before he could be prevented, Good rushed from the stable, shut the door after him, and locked it. The party tried to burst it open, but could not; and then they returned to examine what Gardner had found in the hay. It proved to be the trunk of a woman's body, shorn of its head and limbs, and ripped open in front, with the internal parts removed. Renewed and successful efforts were made to open the stable-door; and the shop-boy was sent to the police on duty in the neighbourhood, to raise a hue and cry. The fugitive was tracked by his footsteps halfway across a field towards Putney; but he had escaped. The surgeon's assistant came and examined the body; the flesh of which had been carefully separated with a sharp instrument, while the bones had been broken or sawed through. The surgeon thought that the female had been about four or five and twenty; and that she had |