The Press. — London, England, 1858-09-04 00:00:00

THE PRESS, SEPTEMBER 4, 1858. expired. If be saw the least chance of superseding the bankruptcy he would act upon this advice, but as the contrary was the case, he thought it would be most unwise, obstinately to retain a position until Parliament assembled, to be then kicked out of the house. He felt also that he had no right to keep M.P. attached to his name unless he could fully perform those onerous duties which appertained to a member for such an important borough as that of Greenwich. He had told them on the hustings that whenever the time arrived that he could no longer serve them efficiently, he would resign his trust into their hands. He bad fully considered the subject, and believed that such time bad arrived, and, added the hon. member (who appeared to be labour ing under emotion), I hereby resign into your hands, and the hands of the electors of this borough, the seat in Parliament which they freely accorded to me by an immense and overwhelming majority. They were probably surprised to hear that he had deter mined in future to adopt the profession of the stage. A princely offer had been made to him, and as he was most anxious to pay off his debts, he had deter mined to accept that offer. He thought they would not condemn him for this decision. When such men as Sheridan Knowles and the Hon. W. Thesiger, son of the Lord Chancellor of England, adopted the stage as a profession, he thought that it could not but be deemed an honourable calling. He was yet but a young man, and he would never rest satisfied until he had paid to his creditors every fair and just debt. He trusted that the time would yet come when he should appear before them under more favourable circumstances, and he should ever feel grateful for the extraordinary exertions they had made on his behalf. Mr. DAVEY, of Charlton, then moved the following resolution :—" 1 hat this meeting of electors, having heard from Mr. Townsend a statement of his reasons for immediately resigning into their bands the important trust reposed in him as a representative of the Borough of Greenwich, in accepting such resignation, cannot but express their opinion that Mr. Townsend's parliamentary conduct entitles him to the esteem of all earnest and sincere reformers." Mr. MEAD seconded the motion, which was unani mous!y adopted. After some discussion it was unanimously resolved that the Townsend League should intrge into an association to be designated the Borough of Greenwich Reform League, that the present organization should continue, and that the executive committee should be requested and empowered to communicate with certain gentlemen who were considered to be probable candidates. COMPLETION OF THE COUNCIL OF INDIA. WE believe we may state that the four vacant seats in the Council of India have now been filled up, and by men whose appointment will be hailed without a dissentient voice. One is held at the disposal of Sir John Lawrence, and the other three are allotted to Sir Proby Cautley, Sir Henry Montgomery, and Mr. William Arbuthnot. The first of these three gentle• men, the most distinguished officer of the Bengal Artillery, arid constructor of the Ganges Canal, repro. gents the Bengal army, and also the department of Public Works ; the second, the Madras Civil Ser v;ce ; and the third, twenty years in the Madras Civil Service, and then a member of the leading commercial house at that presidency, Indian com merce. It will be seen, therefore, that all the im portant interests are now worthily represented in the new Council. Thus— Bengal Civil Service j Mr. Prineep. }Mr. Mangles. Madras Civil Service Bombay Civil Service Bengal Army Sir P. Cawley. Madras Army Bombay Army The Punjaub The Affghan Frontier and Persia Sir H. Rawlinson. Native State Law . 1 Sir. J. Hogg. IMr. Macnaghten. Shipping Interests Finance Indian Commerce Püblic Works Several of these gentlemen have claims to repre sent other departments, as Sir J. Lawrence, Mr. Willoughby, Sir H. ltawlinson, and Captain East wick, have all been politically employed, and may therefore be said to represent the native princes ; but, on the whole, the scheme above drawn out will probably appear to be the proper one, Cettainly, if there is any interest which requires a plurality of representatives, it is that of the princes of India, which has bithertg been the worst treated and most neglected of all. But we abstain from ill omens, and trust that with the tpw Cowil fal Woos will be Dort CAUSE OF RAILWAY ACCIDENTS, THE Report of the Select Committee of the Rouse of Commons un the subject of Railway Accid ent , has lately been published, accompanied by 200 Pag es of evidence and an index. The resolutions of the committee are these : That your committee has heard much evidence upon the subject-matter of inquiry brought before it ; that the evidence has been chiefly given by officers of the Baud of Trade, by eminent engineers, and by directors and other officials of railway companies. That it appears to your committee, from that evidence, that the causes of accidents on railways may Le classified under the three following heads : inattention of servants; defective material, either in the works or rolling stock; er, cessive speed. That it appears to your committee that the strict pers ona l supervision which alone can check the carelessness of the men employed on the lines, and detect the insufficiency of the material used on them, can best be obtained by the attention of the companies themselves, and that the very serious losses they incur by any accident ought to render it sufficiently their interest to pay minute attention to these points; but cases having occurred when these questions have been neglected by railway companies, your committee is of opinion that the Board of Trade should be invested with the fullest powers to investigate, and report to Parliament, upon any accidents which may occur on railways. That your committee is of opinion that a rate of speed, considerably in excess of what was considered safe, in the opinion of the great majority of the witnesses exausined, is sometimes attained on many of the lines. That the evidence taken further tends to show that sorb excessive speed has arisen ' not so much from the average speed required as advertised by the railway time-tables, as from the want of strict punctuality in the time of the dem. Lure and arrival of trains from each station, which leads to an excess of speed for the purpose of endeavouring to make up time lost. That your committee, impressed with many difficulties and complications connected with this part of the subject, and also with the inexpediency of relieving railway cum• pauies from the responsibility which now devolves on them, is not prepared to recommend any direct legislative interference by the house upon the question of the extreme speed at which railway trains may be permitted to travel. But your committee is of opinion that the perfect regu larity in the time of the departure from and arrival at each station by the trains, which would appear to be a material element of safety in railway travelling, may be attained by legislative interference, to the extent of enacting that, ez• cept under exceptional circumstances, the public should have some means of obtaining prompt and cheap rthess in the recovery of penalties iu every case of want of punt • Walk) , in the departure and arrival of trains at eery station, thereby rendering it imperative upon railway eompanies not to advertise a rate of travelling which they cannot always maintain with undeviating punctuality. That your committee is of opinion that it should be made imperative on railway companies to advertise a suf ficient time bef3rehand the exact hour of departure and arrival of trains at each station. That your committee is 4140 of opinion that it should be imperative on every railway company to establish a means of communication between guards and unglue• drivers. That your committee has received much evidence with reference to the advisability of enforcing a system of telegraphic communication, and the utility of enacting that trains should not be despatched without having ascer• tained by such communication that the line was clear. That your committee is not prepared to define the dis tance at which such telegraphic stations should be placed, but is of opinion that a recourse to tills system would a most effective means for the prevention of railway accidents, the largest proportion of which arise tram collisions. That with respect to day and night signals, breaks, and other precaution., your committee is of opinion, from the evidence which it has heard, that such details are better left to the management of the railway boards. That your committee is therefore of opinion that it is incumbent on the Board of Trade to apply to Parliament for such further powers as may enable that department nu carry out the above recommendations, which in the ?pawn of your committee would tend greatly to diminish dm number of railway accidents. FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE. Tuesday, August 31. BANKRUPTS.—EDwAno JOHN Ccoa, Triall.street, CitLl . road, commission agent—GguanE ROSE BIRCHES, Burton. npon Trent, brewer—THOMAS llawsow, Birmingham, printer — EDWARD BRCRETON BALDWIN,IBP—JOHN MADLY aDd RICHAILD WIIIISTER, Newark, brewers—Jesuit Bosixre, Liverpool, inminouger—WlLLl•3l NICHOLAS JOHNS, Newport, Mniamouttishire, stationer—WlLLlAM Ansom. BAILEY, ford, wine merchants—HENßY LARNSHAW, Mytholuiroyd, lork• shire, corn miller—Wu. PANSONALIE, Liverpool, steaukpackei agent. sCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS --JAsitss awl Tiros. STEW, ECANRlzlllxll:ll:lll;:—buJroglhlHcAboLEktAalle/Er.ll, GlSSgoH,riawkr Friday, Sept. 3. DAN KUUPTS.—TitomAs J. TAYLOR, Stoke Newington-rota. Middlesex, grocer—PHINEAS HALL, Bolton, contracto r ou- THAN MARSHALL, Tadcaeter, Yorkshire, grocer—EowAs o TERNS, Coventry, hatter-0 zonoE WHITE, B1rIIHU81 4111 1g r°"r —.ABRAHAM DAVID LEWES, North Shields, wine IBSICILAIII--• JOSEPH Wit/oHT. C.iyet,try. watch m anufacturer — llic ituto SMITH BULL, Newcastle-wider-Lyme, baker—TitomAs Jottos. Went Hartlepool, Durham, shipowner WILLIAM HOSMai CooLz, Great Bridge, Staffordshire, grocer—TnomAs SWAP. Charlotte-street, Fitzroy-square, bookseller. SCOTCH SEQUESTHATIONS.—II Avt o TUBNEB, Gusgo) spirit dealer-4;k, and M, kt 92140, Igyerarp spavbuildep IA! PgatfuloP, TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION (STAMPED) Per Annum . • Half Yearly.. Quarterly .. Ebe Vreos: .. ll 6 0 .. - 0 13 0 .. 0 6 6 PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. Subscribers are requested to send their orders through News Agents; if direct to the Ofllce, accomnanied by a remittance. Advertisements also must have a reference or remittance. Money Orders to be made payable to Mr. ALwwwn Iv; 110, Strand, London. TO CORRESPONDENTS. Communications should always be legibly written, and on one side of the paper only. If long it increases the difficulty of finding space for them. Whatever is intended for insertion mustbe authenticated by tho name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publica tion, but as a guarantee of his good faith. Advertisements sent from the country must be accompanied by remittance or a reference fur payment in town. It is impossible to acknowledge the mass of letters we receive. Their insertion is often delayed owing to a press of matter, and when omitted, it is frequently from reasons quite inde. pendent of the merits of the communication. irlit 211)rtgg• LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPT. 4, 1858. POSTSCRIPT. THE BOMBAY MAIL. The following is the summary of the Bombay Times : The rebel fugitives of Gwalior, after plundering Took, entered the Boondee territory, closely followed by Colonel Holmes's brigade. General Roberts, with the force from Nusseerabad, was still at Tonk on the 19th of July. Behar is in a more tranquil state than formerly, but the rebels occupied Shahabad in great force, ravaging the province with impunity. Captain Rat tray, however, had succeeded in killing several of the rebel leaders, who bad made themselves conspicuous by their attacks upon the villages. On the sth of July he defeated Judder Singh's force at Kusma, kill ing a great number. Sir Hope Grant left Lucknow on the 21st July, with a strong force, to relieve Maun Singh, and occupy Fyzabad. A small body of troops from Allahabad, under Colonel Berkley, which had moved across the Ganges, bed succeeded in capturing several of the enemy's strongholds. A fort near Suraon, occupied by 700 rebels, was carried, and all the garrison put to the sword. Sir Hugh Rose has resumed command of the Poonah division, and was on the 3rd of August sumptuously entertained by the Byculla Club. The gallant general appears in excellent health and spirits. The Governor-General is still at Allababad, but it is said contemplates a visit to Lucknow. An act had been passed in the Legislative Council extend ing the period of the Governor-General's absence in the Norch.West Provinces for six months longer. Lady Canning had left Calcutta to join her husband at Allahabad. Lord Harris, Governor of Madras, arrived at the Neilgherries on the 10th July. Sir Patrick Grant b till remained at Ootacan►und. Lord Elnhinstone and Sir Henry Somerset are both at Poonah, where they will stay till the end of the monsoon. REPRESENTATION OF GREENWICH. RESIGNATION OF NR. TOWNSEND. Ox Thursday evening a numerously attended meeting of electors of the borough of Greenwich (convened by circular) was held at the Lord Nelson Tavern, Trafalgar-road, Greenwich, to receive Mr. Townsend, M.P., and hear an address from that gentleman as to his future intentions with regard to the represen tation of the borough. The chair was occupied by Mr. Cherritt, of Woolwich. Mr. TowrisErin, on presenting himself, was received with loud cheers. Ile said he felt grateful for the reception they had given him, hut h.i could assure them that no man, except he went through the ordeal, could have the slightest idea of the pain, regret, and grief, which resulted from yielding up the high and distinguished honour which they had conferred upon him by electing him as their representative. He deeply felt the kindness which prompted the advice of many of his friends that he should retain the seat ktnU the teFtn (tlplyed b 7 ty) rues er the house bed rr- - r"!•-• By in Cr' t ipwhopof pos r1 : 1 the n Trun since u distri the c days The a well sUCC force but r is recut Sikh! the he cc 100 to vows Le Judd eerie 3 of hi tt, coral n• impr 111 NI Pd ne affor el. of th u- had eh corp 11 they by 1101 1 , aka! ILL the 63 men le • ry She ay Ley NYE out be deal if- perl thal live 11 the a littl eat ee cro ng thr er• bol eig is- pre the bel ay try thr nl Co lie tin er tLI th vt bu th bs wt di fri 1 ty• in IX et V A. or ID