found his man on the railway works at Bunger Hill, in the parish of Ore, and made him a prisoner. But Phillips (who was the superintendent of railway police) was immediately set upon by five or six other labourers, who struck the constable, threw him down, kicked him, and rescued the prisoner. But Phillips, having ascertained the names of the ruffians, went back to Hastings, and obtained warrants for the whole party. Later in the day, the constable, notwithstanding his ill-treatment, pursued Brown to Battle and recaptured him. The magistrates sentenced Brown to three months’ hard labour, in default of £6 18s. 3d. fines and costs.
About the same time, for nearly an hour, and a furious fight by a railway labourers, involving women and children, was carried on in the Fishmarket, and until stopped by a policeman, when the men went down to the sea to wash the blood from their bodies. Soon after, a similar scene was witnessed in Church street, the combatants being four men and two women. Both parties appeared to have been drinking to access.
On the 19th of April, a heavy rain during the night, laid under water nearly the whole of the brick fields north of the line where it crossed the ozier grounds from St. Mary’s terrace to the Gas works, and in a short time a cluster of four temporary huts were reduced to ruins, and the occupants had to find shelter in one small house on higher ground.
On the 3rd of May, an inquest was held on the body of James Colin who, a few days before, fell backwards while running a waggon of earth, and had one leg cut nearly in two; the limb was amputated, but erysipelas set in on the other leg, which was also injured, and proved fatal.
Another inquest was held on May 21st, this time at the Fortune of War, on the body of William Gear, who was killed by falling down number three shaft at Bunger Hill, a distance of 180 feet.
Another death, and one that was greatly regretted, occurred on the 25th of May in the person of William Hoof, jun., son of the railway contractor. The deceased attended a cricket-match, a few days previously between East and West Sussex, where he caught cold, which was followed by inflammation of the lungs. Mr. W. Duke and Dr. Blakinston were called to the Marine Hotel, where Mr. Hoof had been staying, and the patient’s father was sent for. On Saturday the sufferer expressed himself as feeling much better, but shortly after was seized with violent shivering and sudden giddiness, which terminated in death. It was only about six months since his elder brother died at Wolverhampton. Two days later (May 27th) the remains of deceased were conveyed from the Marine Hotel to the St. Leonards station of the Brighton Railway, en route for interment in the West London and Westminster Cemetery. Despite the rainy weather so greatly respected was the deceased that an immense crowd -
