NEW SOUTH WALES.

Colonist, Issue 90, 31 August 1858, Page 3

NEW SOUTH WALES.

The mortal remains of the Rev. Dr. Cowper, were conveyed and committed to the tomb on Friday, February 9. The funeral was a public one, and one of the largest ever seen in the colony. The Government Offices, the banks, and other public offices, beside the majority of private places of business, were closed. The Governor-General, two of the Judges, the President of the Council, the Speaker of the Assembly, numerous members of both Houses, Church of England Clergymen, the Roman Catholic Archbishop, Clergymen of other denominations, the heads of the Jewish persuasion, and a vast assemblage of all ranks and conditions of men, formed a part of the procession, which is said to have been one mile and a half in length. It. was conducted through some of the principal streets of Sydney, which Tvere thronged by mourning crowds, in the most solemn mannei*, aud without accident. The body \\ras placed in a vault in the Old Burying Ground, the Bishop of Sydney reading the appropriate and impressive service of the Church whose faithful servant and conspicuous ornament the deceased had heeu for so many and eventful years.

A meeting had been held in the parish of St. Philip, John Campbell, Esq., M.P., in the chair, with the object of erecting a memorial to tlie memory of the above deceased gentleman.

The Rev. W. M. Cowper, the son ofthe late Dr. W. Cowper, has been appointed to succeed him as incumbent of St. Philip's, Sydney, and also as Archdeacon of Cumberland, by the Lord Bishop of Australia.

Fatal Accident on the Great Southern Railway.—On Saturday morning, the 10th July, the down train left the Parramatta station for Sydney at about 13 minutes to 9 o'clock, and proceeded onwards at what might be termed good speed. The passengers were rather sparse for Saturday morning—the carriages being in technical phraseology "light." Between the locomotive and tender, and the passenger carriages, were two horse-boxes, said to be empty. We are informed that this position of the horseboxes formed before the accident occurred "a subject of comment among some of the passengers. In the carriage next to -the horse-boxes was Mr. J. H. Atkinson, of Liverpool; Mr. George Want, of Parramatta; Mrs. Hackett, of the Pennant-hills road; a gentleman, whose name we have not learnt; and some other persons. After leaving Parramatta, Mr. Atkinson entered into conversation with Mr. Waut in reference to railway matters generally, and particularly with regard to the increased speed with which the train travelled shortly after leaving Parramatta. These gentlemen observed the horse-box to sway about very much, but did not apprehend the terrible catastrophe which was about to occur. On arriving at Haslam's Creek Bridge, a tremendous shock was felt as if something had broken; an opinion prevailed that one of the wheels or the axle-tree of one of the horse-boxes had given way. The huge van tilting on one side struck the rail, jumped slightly off the straight running, and in so doing parted company with the locomotive and tender. The impetus the train had received forced the carriages a-head, and some of them immediately following the horse-box also got off the down line. Thus freed from all control and management, the train without the engine and tender careered along the narrow embankment for a distance something like three hundred yards; at this point the horse-boxes took a sharp turn to the right, crossed over the up line, and then fell over the embankment on their side; having at the time of falling a considerable momentum on them, the three following carriages also fell over, and by their peculiar position brought the remaining portion of

tlie train to a dead stand-still, thereby causing a tremendous concussion. Mr. Atkinson was sitting on the left hand side in the carriage next the horse-box ; Mr Want on the right hand side, nearly opposite Mr. Atkiuson ; Mrs. Ilacketfc was sitting by herself on the right hand side ; the gentleman whose name we have not learnt was sitting in tlie same compartment of the carriage with Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Want. The two latter were engaged in conversation at the moment of the first shock ; the collision of the overturned carriages from the moment of the shock to that of the catastrophe occupied but an instant. Mr. Atkinson had, by the most rapid operation of forethought, barely time to lay hold of the top side1 of the carriage when he found it hurrying down the side of tlie embankment. In another instant the carriage was thrown on its side with terrific violence. The right hand side on which Mr. Want and Mrs. Hackett were sitting, being the lower, struck the earth, and, what with its own weight and impetus and the great pressure of the remaining portion of the train, was splintered into fragments; Mr. Atkinson was flung from the left hand side to the opposite one with violence, and on recovering from the shock found himself lying on the body of Mr. Want, whose death must have beea instantaneous. Mrs. Hackett had also ceased lo live. The mutilation in Mr. Want's case was dreadful. Mrs. Hackett's person was also very much disfigured. The character of the injuries inflicted in both cases were such as to leave little room for doubting that the vital current had ebbed simultaneously with the concussion. Two of Mr. Atkinson's teeth were knocked out and he suffered some smaller injuries. The gentleman whose name we do not know suffered severely; one of his arms was broken, and he was otherwise sadly injured. In the other carriages which had fallen over the embankment, a distressing scene was presented; two or three passengers had sustained serious injuries in the shape of one or more broken limbs, and a considerable number had received contusions and bruises of various kinds. The engine, which had parted with the train in consequence of the shock in the first instance, immediately came on to Sydney for assistance.—Abridged from the Empire. .

Geological Curiosity.—- : The lime-burners at Gerogery have discovered the bones of a human being, imbedded in the limestone of the quarry. The remains are in a semi-petrified state, and were found five feet below the surface. Doubtless, the skeleton is that of an aboriginalWe leave this fact to be dealt with by the scientific world; for we believe the discovery is an important one. Dr. Buckland and other distinguished geologists have noticed the absence of human bones amongst the fossil remains discovered on our planet, and the skeleton at Gerogery, for all we can say to the contrary, might prove to be a relic of the pre-diluviau era; and might be the means of establishing the universality of the deluge, some faint tradition of. which event are preserved by the blacks. We trust the bones will be preserved and brought into Albury.— Border Post.

John Chinaman, having for some time hidden his talents under his umbrella hat, is at last coming out. The Victoria papers complain that he has been "smashing" at the diggingspassing counterfeit nuggets upon the storekeepers, and taking a rise out of even the sharp practitioners in those quarters. One Teit Ping has been apprehended in Sydney, under a warrant-from the diggings,-charging him with obtaining money from the Oriental Bank under false pretences.