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ABERYSTWYTH.

MACHYNLLETH.

CORRIS.

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POLITICAL EVICTIONS IN WALES.

TRAFFIC RETURNS.

[No title]

'-'-GREAT FLOODS IN MONTGOMERYSHIRE,…

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GREAT FLOODS IN MONTGOMERYSHIRE, MERIONETHSHIRE, AND SHROPSHIRE. Consequent upon the violent gales and heavy rainfall of last week much damage to property has been caused in various parts of Montgomeryshire and Merionethshire, owing to the overflowing of the rivers. On Saturday morning th scene which presented itself along the route of the Cambrian Railways was extraordinai^ and. farm- ing. In the neighbourhood of Moat Lanel Junction, the Severn, swollen to an unusual height, had swamped many acres, of land, and at Caersws Bridge, the stream was at times almost., level with the woodwork. At Llanidloes arid Njewto«#t manv of the houses in the vicinity of the SfeUarsfullofwatgyand much personal in- and discomfor-were exnerienced bv the ij^iMn^mmates. At Llanbrynmair the Dovey, foaming in its narrow bed, carried away a portion of the buttress: of the stone skew" railway arch, which spans, the river near the railway station. From Cemmes Road to Glan- dovey Junction the whole valley of the Dovey was sub- merged, the course of the river being lost in the vast expanse of water. At Machynlleth egress and ingress were completely cut off on the Pennal side of the town, the turnpike road leading out of Machynlleth on that side being rather like the bed of a mighty, rushing stream, so violent was the course of the flood. On the Glandovey side of Machynlleth the flood in several places was almost level with the metals, and feal-s were entertained for the safety of the line under such exceptional circumstances—men being placed at short intervals along the railway to watch the action of.the water. No injury, however, resulted to any part of the line, except on the Dolgelley branch, near Penmaenpool station, on that portion of the line which was opened last summer. The overflow from the Mawddach becoming dammed up opposite Glynn effected several breaches in the line on Saturday morning. The first pas- senger train from Barmouth Junction passed over safely, but, on the arrival of the mail, it was found that the water had made several breaches in the embankment, and traffic was consequently suspended—the intermediate passage being worked by omnibuses from the Ship Hotel. The line was, in several places, completely submerged—the water being, at one time, on the turnpike road leading to Dolgelley. A strong body of men, under the direction of Mr Edwards, the district inspector of permanent way, and Mr Robert Green, were hard at work all Sunday repairing the breaches, and the line was in perfect working order on Sunday evening in time to allow the mail train to pass through. Heavy rain fell on Saturday night, and early on Sunday morning there was a sharp storm of hail. On Sunday afternoon the waters had greatly subsided, and on Monday the rivers presented their ordinary appearance- the only traces of the flood being apparent in the broken ffences, damaged hedges, and miniature lakes which were visible in the low-lying fields contiguous. to the rivers. Several of the farmers in the neighbourhood of Machyn- lleth have, been sufferers from numbers of their sheep having been drowned and carried away by the waters. Owing to the overflowing of the mountain streams, por- tions of the turnpike-road between Dolgelley and Dinas Mawddwy, and Dolgelley, and Machynlleth, have been blocked by the masses of earth and stones which have been swept down from the mountain side. Near Dinas Mawddwy a great quantity of debris has fallen on the new road re- cently constructed by Sir Edmund Buckley: the block on the Machynlleth road is about two miles from Talyliyn. A large body of men are engaged, under the direction of Mr Wm. Scott, the district surveyor of roads, in removing the obstruction. Yesterday the Severn was in many places bank high, and between Welshpool and Newtown several of the low-lying meadows contiguous to the river were yet under water. A large tract of land, midway between Forden and Montgomery, known a the Floss, was entirely submerged. We have it on the authority of that personage, the oldest inhabitant, that the floods now abating in Llandrinio, Llanymynech, Maesbrook, Llwynytidman, and Melver- ley God Help," have not been equalled since 18-52. On this point, however, opinion differs.gome asserting that the floods seventeen years ago exceeded the present by a foot in height, and others going in for a foot less. Be this as it may, the flood of last week had the effect of terrifying those living adjacent to the rivers, and materially damag- ing the property of farmers—many persons, indeed, did not retire to rest between Thursday and Tuesday. The principal damage is done to field produce, and cart-loads of turnips can he seen at the present time decorating the hedge-rows of "many a fair and open field." We do not know whether it is a recommendation or not, but it was singularly conspicuous that the purple-topped" turnips had a greater tenacity for "mother earth" than any other description of the genus. The chief sufferers in the turnip line are Messrs Croft, Rogers, Ward, and others, in the Llwynytidman district. The vast amphitheatre of hayfields"to quote a con- temporary-and other fields situated between the unfor- tunate Potteries line of railway and the Breidden, lie many feet deep under-the waters of the Virniew. The "argy" belonging to Mr Humphreys, of Middleton, and Mr Wilds, of The Grove, gave way to the extent >»f sixty yards, and the consequence was a general flooding of some thousands of acres. The damage done to this district, and its desolate aspect, are rather more than we can describe, but when it is taken into consideration that large oak, ash, and other trees only mark their vicinity by their top- most branches, the depth of the water inundating this part of the country can be imagined. The highest flow was at three a.m., Sunday, the flood remaining stationary until seven a.m., when the waters be^an to abate. A small" flood was experienced in the Melverley district on Thursday, but on Sunday the extensive rise of the flood was only equalled in its rapidity by the ebb of the waters. France's line" has sustained very serious dam- age, and;, upon enquiry, we ascertained that 250 yards of the line, in patches varying from thirty to seventy yards, were washed away, the ballast in many instances being carried into the adjoining fields. The flood when at its highest level covered a country six miles in breadth, and more than that in length, between Llanymynech and Shrewsbury. Gangs of labourers, under the superintend- ence of Mr Stephen Mason, have been employed in mak- ing the Potteries line eligible for traffic, and the trains which had been stopped since Sunday commenced running yesterday, at three o'clock. The lower part of Melverley was unapproachable, and we saw a house nearly swamped by the flood, the waters being on a level with the firit floor A man well known in the district of Kinnerley occupied the house in question, and it is reported that he has been drowned, together with his family, but it is46 be hoped the report is untrue. Several sheep have been lost by Mr "Croft, Mt Thronger, and others. The districts about Llanfyllki and Meifod were also flooded, of course, but we have heard of no serious damage. In the valley of the Clwyd and the Dee great floods have also taken place, doing damage in various places. SHREWSBURY. Monday Afternoon. On Sunday morning the Severn presented a grand but a very sad sight grand from the expanse of water, sad from the injury and havoc it has wrought in the numerous houses of the poor in the suburbs of the town. On Friday evening the river rose rapidly, and on Saturday it had swollen to the dimensions of an ordinary flood." Fears were engendered in those parts of the town which are liable to flooding, and in Coleham and Frankwell many of the residents began to remove th furniture from the ground floors in expectation of the inroads of the river. Early on Sunday morning the rising rapidly increased, and portions of Frankwell and Coleham befcame partially flooded, the houses in the district known as "Back Coleham" being inundated. During the night the water rose with almost unexampled rapidity, and on Sunday at ten o'clock the spectacle presented itself of a large flood. The streets in Frankwell, the road in Coton Hill, the highway in Coleham, were very nearly sub- merged, and of course, for the river to have spread to this extent, the Abbey Works, the courts and passages in Frankwell, and the fields in Coton Hill and Berwick, had been completely covered. The extent of flood continued throughout Sunday to grow greater, and on Sunday night the suburbs of the town were literally under water, which in Coleham, Belle Vue, and Coton Hill and Frankwell, was several inches deep in the street. On Monday morn- ing the depth in the public roads was from one yard and a half to two yards, and the sight throughout the districts outside of the bridges was pitiable in the extreme. From the Congregational church to the establishment of Mr Pountney Smith, in "Longden, Coleham," a distance of nearly a quarter of a mile, was one sheet of water; from the entrance to the Smithfield-road in Chester-street to the London Apprentice in Coton Hill, another broad ex- panse and from the bottom of Mardol to the Prince of Wales in Frankwell, was a nearly continuous flood, ex- cept just on the Welsh Bridge. This immense and almost unprecedented submersion of the town has caused, of course, a good deal of injury to property. Some houses at the bottom of Mardol which lie low were nearly sub- merged, and the residents, all poor people, were taken in a waggon by the chief constable to tne workhouse on Sunday night. Hundreds of the poor have been deprived of innumerable articles of furniture, and numbers of tradesmen have had their merchandise completely spoiled. Barns from fields, bowers and summer houses from gar- dens have been swept away, and some gentlemen have lost collections of valuable statuary which adorned their gardens. An entire suspension or ousmess nas, or course, been caused in the flooded districts, and those whom busi- ness had compelled to come into the town, have had to come in boats, breaks, and carts. Flys were used, but the water was so high that it got inside them, and in Coton TTill so deep that flys could not work there. Boats, Coracles, and rafts, have been used to carry provisions to the people who have been obliged to seek refuge in their upper rooms, and who have received their necessaries through the windows. No serious consequences, such as the destruction of bridges, embankments, or houses, have as yet (Monday afternoon) been discovered, but at pre- sent it is impossible to give particulars of the havoc wrought, and these cannot be found out until the flood has subsided. The water is now lowering, but very gradu- ally, and unless the decrease increases, the river will not become confined to its natural course until late to-morrow. The Mayor and several members of the Corporation, and the chief constable and the police are most assiduous in their attentions to the imprisoned families, riding through the Water to relieve their wants. It should be stated that the business of the town has been materially interfered with by this untoward event. A public sub- scription is already talked of for the benefit of the desti- tute sufferers, and the Mayor, we believe, will at once commence it. It is said that this flood is higher than the well-known inundation in 1852. and several circumstances are mentioned in proof of this; as, for instance, the Abbey Church was not then flooded, but now it is, bnd service could not be held'there on Sunday night. Six of the steps were visible at the English Bridge then, but now 9 there'are only five. Whether the flood is equal in its pro- portions to that of 1852 or not, It is sufficiently wide- j ¡. L i spread to be asShistoric event, and to be the source of such loss and stnlering as have not been experienced here for years same cause. m'A- Tuesday Morning. The water has subsided about 'four feet, and passage' throughout the suburbs is partially restored, bnt there are still portions in Coleham, Abbey Foregate, and Coton Hill, submerged. The decrease, however, has become* ffrapid, and probably by this evening the whole of the water-covered streets will be free. In the districts named the inhabitants are busily engaged in "resetting their houses in order," and in clearing their cellars from the' water. It will be some days before the premises which have been flooded can be put right, and a great loss in the shape of damage to furniture, and a vast amount of suf- „ fering and illness, must ensue. Yesterday his worship the Mayor, _Mr H. Fenton, was occupied all day in goinfL-V upon rafts, in boats, or carts, and supplying the wantB Qiffi the poor. In some instances the Mayor took the watMi^la and waded through it in passages and courts up to waist. As yet we have heard of no loss of life, orof^S very serious loss of property. A horse and a hay came down the river yesterday evening. Tuesday Evening. The river continues to go down, and by to-moiTow it" will, no doubt, have returned to its natural boUl1 A public meeting of the inbabftants, convened by the Mayor, has been held to-day. Resolutions were carried that a public subscription be opened for the relief of the sufferers i from the flood, and that a committee be formed to collect 1 subscriptions and distribute the relief. The Mayor was J thanked for his zeal and energy in administering to the- 1 poor in the flooded districts. 5.

NORTHERN FARMER.'

4 ORDINATIONS.

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