The Sun. — London, England, 1830-09-17 00:00:00

hope slid believe it will be permanent. But do-not let es be sipine, anti think that the energies under Which diffi culties are diminishing may relieve us , from the necessity maretreitting exertion. In foreign countries you have power ful rivals ,to endoenter ; and you can only hope to con tinue your superiority over them by iuccssantly labouring to lighten the pres►ure upon the industry of our own people, and by prounning every measure which is calcul►ted to give Increased vigour, fresh life, and 'greater facility to the powers which create, and to the bands which die. tribute, the almost boundless productions of this country. I tend, gentlemen, that, by a steady adherence to these views end principles, I shall most faithfully represent your wishes and feelings in parliament. So long as we are in unison upon these points, I shall he most happy and proud to continue to be your representative, under the sanction of your confidence, and so long as health and strength shall be vouchsafed to toe to fulfil the duties of the station Wilittie+nntellibrie one of your Members in the House of Commons. I, am persuaded, Gentlemen, that by this eourse. I shall best consult your prosperity ; end I am still more immoveably convinced, that. whatever :advances the general interest of this great mart of commerce, will best advance all the other great interests of the country ; and first and feremest, that interest which is the eldest and the greatest of ell—the landed interest, upon which, as the example of the country so well demonstrates, industry and commerce have already conferred so many benefits.' " The conclusion of this speech was followed by nine times nine as hearty cheers as ever beat from the lips of a Liverpool assembly. Mr. Huekisaon then visited the Underwriters' Booms above, where he was as warmly re. aived. lie then left the building, and, as he posed through the .crowd, . shook bands with hit numerous Maids, en his - wily to the King's Arms." OPENIN'CI OF 'rim MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL RAILWAY. DREADFUL ACCIDENT TO MR. lIUSKISSON. LivEttPoot, WEDNCSDAY NIGH . T.—The Man• cheater and Liverpool Railway opened this day; but what Was expected to have afforded pleasure and satisfaction to, so many thousands, has been the source of an accident which has thrown a damp nu the whole day's proceedings, and prevented that joyous conclusion to it which had been anticipated. I will not,, however, anticipate, but endeavour, as far as time- will allow, to describe things in the course in which they happened. As, however, the company were not brought back to Liverpool till past eight at night, I shalt not be able to be so full in my particulars as I could have wished. The fact of the Railway opening this day collected in Liverpool more strangers than ever were known iu it before at any one time; and it was next to impossible to procure accommodation at any of the inns or hotels. An immense number of the nobi lity, and persons of chief consideration in the county, flocked into the town, and tickets, to accompany the procession, were selling at an enormous price. The start sac appointed for ten o'clock, but long before that hour moat of the company had arrived at the great inclosed yard of the Railway Company, where the carriages waited for their reception. At a quarter past ten the Duke of Wellington made his appearance, ac companied by numerous persons of distinction. At tit quarter past eleven, all preparations being made, the start took place, and the vehicles went through the small tunnel at an easy pace, the principle of motion there being that of an inclined plane. The whole line of railway, for the first four miles out of Liverpool, W 44 crowded with persons anxious to catch a glimpse of the procession, and the cheers with which the cortege were received were very enthusiastic. The first striking object we came to Was the cut that has been made through Olive Mount; the artificial chasm at this place presents an extraordinary appearance, and strongly reminded me of the rocks of Clifton, as seen when passing down the river Avon between them. The depth to which the cut has been effected is in some places as much as seventy feet ;- and from the proportionate narrawaila of the width, looks still more. . of the cleverest pieces of execution on the railway are . the ' SkeW bridges, and'that at Itanehill, in par ticular, is worthy of attention; the whole of the nuetoory'ef that, with the exception of the outer lin e , is on. the 'Skew, and is as linen piece of work manshlp as I ever saw. Before arriving tit this bridge, we passed under a wooden bridge thrown across the railway, which, with the aid of wreaths of flowers, and of ribbons, produced the effect of passing under a triumphal arch. Equal to the cut through Olive Mount in curiosity, and still more picturesque in effect, is the view from the Sankey Viaduct, though why called Viaduct I do not very distinctly apprehend. It is a Inidge conveying the Railway over a wide stream; but from the waxing height which it is above • the landscape beneath, a most extensive prospect is laid open, and unit alto of first-rate rustic. beauty. It was tit s place called Park-side, near Newtown, that the engine otoppod to take hi a supply of vitt!er, and It Was here that the dreadful accident occurred, Which I am afraid will terminate fatally, an d w hi c h , has thrown the greatest gloom on a day which oth er _ wise would have passed of with the greatest joy rot hilarity. The order in which the cars quitted Livetpool was r-- The Pl e anir The North stor Yellow. The Rocket The Dart The Comet . The Arrow Pink. Tlik Meteor Brown. _ _ The Northumbrian or Royal Cur, in which the Duke and all the principal persons of the party, to gether with the Directors were, was on the other line of Railway, so that it had an entire passage to itself, by which means it was sometimes In advance of the other cars, sometimes behind, and sometimes abreast with them, At Parksitle it was arranged that all the care should atop to change water. The Northurobrian, being in advance at that time, stopped tiro, while the others passed her in turn. I was an the Phomix, and consequently 40head of all the others, *lid (when we had all passed the Northumbrian) of course thi*eiliest from her. The first hint we bad of an Ilea* having happened was a gentleman earning up at Itill speed from the cars beilind p, and exclaiming, " Is there , a enrgeon among you ?" But Whetiitittormentioned that it was Mr. Ilusklison that was hurt, there was no one that could botieve it; it teemed to incredible that he, out of the nevetii, hundred that were in the cars, should be the sok later Determined, however, to be informed of correctness of the report, I was ninon to maltri c way back to the.cars in the rear, when the Nordin' : beam engine aR advancing on the other line of o il. It o y evoolo d me . pasactl-.-the only eat attar:he ' , o ? it wits that which had servid.as an orchestra fo r ' le band. The musicians had been removed, antic ; the bottom of the car, attached on a board vowed with cloth, hey the unfortunate gentleman; M a , Huskisson was leaning over him, and about ha 44 dozen gentlemen were also in the ear, to do w . t. ever might be possible to mitigate his sulikalifts,l An eminent medical Wan in theses parts, of the name of Brasidreth,,wes also with him 1 and it was u nder isle directions, I believe, that he was forwarded at' the full speed of the engine to Eccles, winch is about three miles nearer to Liverpool than Muncliester hi, With rovect to the manner in which the accident tnuk place, several accounts were rife, but after this hest inquiry I could make among those imenedi wtsly present when it happened, I am inclined to think that the following is a correct statement of whet tools place. I L . :. L b * NOrtinnahrlint as I stated before, having s w torl a: t aat i e t it ai tzmhlr u of its Intaaetiger4 got ' out to y tied among them Mr. Huskis. sun„ in the til" 4 titt i te the other ears were in turn commit Op cm the other l' „n I,a the stations who 1 Ifte°"""'"Y ' ""d ""i"g water awaited them. Tile 14 , rti n i t f x t t nt t d o i te m N w O ia r r tt i l lit;t tit it r o4 had already pasted. Aet. Jost at it it a lt p t pp ., ath e l r e e n, su M n r , alos t k io is ose a ttto 11:1 1 , 1 Mr. W, Mimes, Nor thumbrian; Ur, &tries got l e t , d r i r d l' i4 ,lt 11441681 ml to do the woe. li e % taa t i ,i ( 4:!,' ;'''','"*. which to do—whether to pet into the vehic=l e, e ‘:7 l step on one side till the noeket had passed: Il o e wavered too lung, and found th a t t h e nett,,,,t, en ins was dose by Ms side, he saw that it was necessary to do something, but even then hardly knew what step to take, and, as a last effort, endeavoured to get round the door of the Northumbrian, which was standing open, and so gain the steps which were on the other side. As he took hold of the door to do this, he must have thrown his gravity too much upon it, for on its suddenly turning on its hinges, on being seized by him, the motion throw him off his balance, and before he could recover, he was dragged down by some part of the projecting ma chinery of the Rocket, and the consequence was that the left thigh fell on the railway, close to the wheel of the Rocket, which instantly passed over it, in an oblique direction. There was a natural and spon taneous shriek from every one who witnessed the melancholy circumstance, and prompt assistance was afforded to the sufferer, who fainted away from the severity of the injury. The velocity of the Racket having been materially checked shortly before, it advanced on the party standing round the Northumbrian so suddenly, that it was a sort of saurve qui peat when it was per ceived. I believe Mr. Holmes was the first who perceived it, and he called out to all to cling close to the Northumbrian, which advice, had it been taken, would certainly have prevented the accident, for the interval between the two Railways is full six feet, and it was only by Mr. Huskisson's having lost his balance that he was brought in contact with the Rocket. The accident happened about five minutes to twelve. By the time that Mr. HuskisSon recovered, Mr. Brandreth was in attendance, end made a cursory examination of the'ektent of the mischief. A com pound fracture of the thigh h, I fear, certain; the muscles also of the limbs were entirely laid bare, and presented a dreadful spectacle. As soon as Mr. Ilusitisson had recovered his senses, the first thing he did was to inquire for Mrs. Iluskisson ; and a lady who heard him said that she was quite sure that he would recover, from the firmness of his voice when lie made the inquiry. Of course not a moment was lost in making arrange ments for his removal to a place of rest, and where full surgical assistance could be procured. As I have already stated, he was instantly forwarded to Eccles for this purpose in the orchestral car. It is a curious circumstance, that only a minute or two before the accident happened, Mr. lluskisson Was congratulating Mr. Joseph Sanders on the suc cess of the undertaking, of which he was one of the Directors. " This must be a happy day to you, Sandars," said he, " for you have lived to see the successful end of what you so warmly engaged in at. the beginning." lie then turned away from Mr. Sanders, with the observation, " I will go and shake hands with the Duke;" and he was probably on this very errand when the fatal event occurred which I have too much reason to fear he will never get over. On the departure of the orchestral car, a discus sion took place us to what course the Directors and party ought to pursue. The Duke at once perempto rily declared that he would return to Liverpool ; a damp had been thrown on the proceedings—there could be .but one feeling of affliction—and he thought that on all accounts it would be both delicate and wise to put an end to the gala as speedily as pos sible. Some of the Directors were not altogether satisfied with this arrangement, but they seemed at first inclined to bow to the Duke's decision ; and indeed, on the first impulse, there could be but one feeling present in the minds of all. But while matters were still in agitation, it was suggested to the Direc tors by some of the . proprietors, that they lied a sort of ditty to perform, and that the success of the Railway might, in a great measure, depend on their carrying through the proceedings :which they had chalked out, and which were expected on all hands. The Directors felt the difficulty of the situation in which they were placed, and further consultution took place. at length proposed that the Phoenix should gaintO . Manehester,;so us in a manner to go through the ceremony that was expected there, while the re. minder of the cepe'and the engines returned to! Liverpool. This, however, was also objected to by several of the proprietors; and by degrees they persuaded the Directors to be of their opinion, that they absolutely owed it to the public, and to the interests which they had in charge, to carry into effect the original plait. When this seemed to be the gencial feeling, it .became necessary to announce it to the Duke. His Grace, however, still objected to carryipg the matter further; and he Was joined in his views of the ques tion by Sir Robert Peel. • Mr. Helton, of Helton, then addressed the He said that he did not wish to make any observe- lion thetwas beyond what he was entitled to make; but he , would nevertheless take upon hims e lf t o say, that the procession must go on to Manchester. The Duke was still 'obdurate. Mr. Sanders and ,Mr. Cropper (ti proprietor) them urged it upon the Duke, that whatever their private feelings might ,be, they were bound in this instance by a solemn pledge, Something was expected of them, and I they were bound to fulfil it to the best of their lability. It was quite certain that the news of the melancholy accident would reach Manchester ; and this rendered it still more imperative on them to go forward then, and allow them that nothing had gone wrong in the machinery, which otherwise would certainly be the report raised to the infinite detri ment .ef the Railway. The Directors and Proprietor* were as sorry as any one that so lamentable a cie.' cumstunce had token place; •but as it was clear that it had not arisen from any mistake or blunder in the machinery, they were bound to do everything in their power to prevent such a rumour taking wind. These arguments seemed to have some weight with the Duke, and they were strongly enforced by the Boroughreeves of Manchester and of Salford coming forward, and stating to his Grace, that if the procession did nor go on to dente towns they could not answer for the peace of the places within their jurisdiction—for aoreileh inent and .expectation existed natant the people there, that it was to be feared. they would bear a dieappointrnent with a very ill grace. To all these iirgureents united hie Grace at length yielded, and flits ears accordingly proceeded to Manchester. As they approached that town, the whole of the hilt*, seemed to pour out to greet their arrival, and . 'cheers for the most part were heard in all directions; (sorne few hisses, however, occasionally stole in, but, 'es I apprehended, they were directed' more against 'the principle of the rail-road than any individual.— There were full as many people at Manchester its Liverpool, eager to see the passage of the cars; :arid I think that I may, on a moderate calculation, **eft, that there could not be less than half a tail lion of permits present at one pert or other of the litre of way. Pst Manchester the. coinpany staid about half an hour to breakfast, and then . tettlrned to Liverpool.— The halt4t.'tho' former place would have been an hour and half,' but for the time loot at Park-ride, settling whether the engines, should be turned to wards Liverpool or 'Manc4stet. As a work of art, and us a commercial specula don, I may speak in the highest terms Of praise of the Railway. I never saw work so admirably eae cuted; and I never saw an undertaking more likely j to prove prnfitablo to the proptietors. The fact or WI. shares beating already a premium of lOU, aayx u good deal in support of my latter , ossertion. Several times in the course of the Journey I timed the rate at which we went, and as every quarter of a mile on the line of way is marked, I was able do this very effectually. Eighteen, nineteen, et . 4 twenty miles an hour I found to be a common ratef at one time we were going twenty-four miles an hour ; and Mr— Stephenson, the engineer, assured me, that after he had deposited Mr. fluskisson, at Ecclea, and went on to Manehester, for a ourgeon, he pushed forward at the rate of thirty-three milt.% an how. On onr return from Manchester we stopped st Eccles, in the hoes of hearing how Mr. &ultimo Was going on. I regret exceedingly to state tint the account was melancholy in the extreme. Mr. %AMO. a most enshitnt surgeon at Manchester, has! attended Mr.'lluskisson ; but though the necessity of amputation was pressing in the extreme, his pa tient was in such a state, that he did not deem him self justified in performing the operation. Spasms had taken place, and it was generally apprehended that the unfortunate gentleman would sink under them. It is well known that Mr. Iluskisson's con stitution has long been in a feeble state; and there fore he was the last man in the world to be able to hold up against so heavy a blow. It was not till half-past eight that the ears re turned to Liverpool. The Duke of Wellington absolutely declined attending the dinner to which he had been invited by the Directors, and got out of the Northumbrian at that point of the rail-road which is nearest to Childwell, the seat of the Mar quis of Salisbury, whose guest he is at present. The rest of the company proceeded to Li verpool, and passed through the great tunnel, which is a mile and a quarter long—spacious in the extreme, and in its general effect may be said to realize the most fairy page of the " Arabian Nights' Entertain menu.' Some of the company, however, were not so fortunate as to arrive as soon at their journey's end, for owing to the engine getting on a wrong line of Railway, there were several left at Manchester without engines to bring them forward, so that at what hour they reached this town it is impossible to say. (ANOTHER ACCOUNT.) As this stupendous specimen of human enterprize and perseverance has never been described to the public, the following particulars may not,be uninte resting to our readers in London, who have not had the gratification of contemplating the giandeur arid importance of the undertaking by a personal inspec tion :—The project of establishing a correspondence by railway between two of the most populous and important towns in the kingdom, was not started till 1824, when a Mr. James proposed it to a gen tleman, who had great practical knowledge of the inconvenience of the mode of carriage then prac tised, namely, by land carriage, or by water on the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal, and the Irwell and Mersey Navigation. The principal inconvenience resulted from delay; as it would often happen that goods would arrive in a shorter time from New York to Liverpool than they could afterwards be conveyed in from Liverpool to Manchester.— It having been ascertained that the average weight of goods in daily transit from Liver pool to Manchester amounted to no less than from 1,000 to 1,200 tons, the projectors called a meeting, and brought the plan in its then crude state before the public. Mr. San ders, to whom Mr. James had communicated his calculations, succeeded, after great opposition, in getting a Committee formed, and in appointing an engineer to make a preliminary survey. This, how ever, was not accomplished without maki ng hi mse lf singly responsible for all the expences, as even in those days of bubble-hunting, this project was looked upon by many as an attempt at deception, or as the wild chimera of a well-meaning but dis tempered mind. Nor was this all with which the projectors had to contend. In addition to the numerous persons whose interest from being em ployed in one or other of the existing modes of transit made them strenuously oppose any innova tion of their monopoly, the undertaking was also op posed by the Earls of Derby, Sefton, and Wilton, who expressed the most decided disapprobation of the plan, as it crossed a part of their extensive do mains. The proprietors, however, with the most praiseworthy perseverance, published a prospectus, in which they proved to demonstration the great ad vantages which the plan has been since acknow ledged to possess. They employed some of the best and most scientific surveyors in the kingdom in ascertaining the best mode of construction for public railways, and the best means of propelling the car riages. Various plans were suggested, and among that of stationing engines the distance of every mile, and propelling the cailipges a COM. MlllllOlOOll of ropes and pulleys. This plan was not only found objectionable from its inude quacy to the proposed purpose, but was discarded sit once, whets it was calculated that a capital almost equal to the amount required for the prepa ration of the' road' would be requisite for the erec tion of the fixed engine and apparatus. From the immense traffic . thit :was expected on the projected road, the use'of hoiSe power was out of the ques time and the attention of the Committee having been directed to this Ipeomotive engines, those in use at the collieriie of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for propelling similar carriages to those intended to be used, made oconsiderable number of inquiries and examinations . as:to..their efficacy. As the only loco motive engines .•that had then been used for such a purpose wererionnd too heavy to accomplish the speed of tranaittwith which alone the undertaking could succesid,lliet came to the resolution of offer ing a premiums of 0004 to any person who should construct a Ideominive engine conformable to the following conditioits :—First, that the surd engine must effectually eotisume its own smoke; secondly, if it weigh tons it must be capable of drawing utter it day by they, on a level plain of railway, the gross weight of 20 tons, including the tender and water-tank, at the rate of ten miles per hour, with u pressure:of steam in the boiler not exceeding 501bs. on the square inch ; thirdly, there must be .two safettvalv'es, tine completely out of the reach .or contralti of the,.engineman, and neither fastened down while the. engine is working; fourthly, the engine and boiler Must be supported on springs and rest on six wheelie, mid the height to the top of the chisithey must -notexceed 1.5 feet ; sixth, the weight of the machisie s engine with its complement of water in the boiler,.niett at most not exceed six tons; and e , onichine of hisse.weight will be preferred if it draw after it a propionate weight; and if the weight of the engine, ! .does not exceed five tons, then,the gross weight tOtiee •drawn did not exceed fifteen tons, anti the CoMetsity shall be at liberty to put the boiler, B,tc.tohe test of a pressure of w a t er not etseeeting,lso4 per square inch,:without being ren tiered to,etty damage the engine may receive in consequenCtt.'. Previous, however, to this pre mium being "Shred, four Acts of Parliament had been broughLite.by the Company. The third Act stn to mithorisi the Exchequer Loan Commissioners to lend them the sum of 100,000/,, , This sum was' raised in . teddition to the sum of 400,000!. which they bad originally raised on shares of 100/, ea c h. The last Biltfor improving the line of road passed the' louso'rat Lords by a majority of 28. Earls Detby taut Wilton alone voting against. it. These several Acts of Parliament are estimated to have test upweids of 70,0004 These necessary prepara tions having been made, t.se litre of road was marked cot, and the first portion of it was commenced work- ing upon in the.sumtner of 1820, a short distance from Chat Moss, on the Manchester side, In order to bring .the reader, however, to us clear • en under standing w as i lce °4 lt e ra o h n le a t i tee r b ° e r g ls is t sTu 3 r i° le o se f r t ip lie ti ei) Rail way,o the 4iverpool end, and we will, therefore, describe the different', parts as they present themselves its proceeding to Manchester, Anti, first, of the Tunnel --This wonder fn 1 excavation warehouses o oti l o t yu i a s sied e s u s. t i nAt :I;iinitgpolit;etie;tl,e,, which would otherwise divide Liverpool from the t [rest of the mash The whole length of this subters from rlinetin tl i t l e ""*o Company's ihfare s space excavated is 22 feet wide, and 16 feet high. fit plunging itisg fronn the l y s t i o i o t 4 ; f i t) : a t :;e g e a c:l:7 l l i i i g c l i e l s i t e t s 1 , y o ) f f thtt trasted by the clear, red, they (road. The sides and roof are white-washed, and at first ``night would induce persons to believe that it had been cut out from a solid rock of limestone. Such however is not the case, its the greater part of what has been excavated was composed of blue shale clay and sand. —The road of the tunnel is an inclined plane, rising three-quarters of an inch its every yard. With this proportion of ascent the road measures in a straight line to the eastern end of the tunnel, This astonishing passage has been dug out in the follows itch Owner :—Aboet ten or twelve shafts were dug into the hill front the top, at certain distances, and o il the ettall taken . out by the shaft. As the shafts of course were dug in the course that it was in tended to take, the shafts and the lateral excavations working into each other, formed the tunnel. The thickness of the mass of aground which forms the roof of this arch varies from five feet to seventy. This immense piece of labour required several hun dred men to work night and day for nearly three years, at a cost of 33,9374 14s. 2d. There is also a smaller tunnel passing through the rock from the upper end of the large one to the warehouses on the top of the hill. On leaving the tunnel the rood is perfectly level for about a mile, till you arrive at the spot where it crosses Wavertree-lane, where a descent of four feet in a mile commences, and con tinues for five miles and a half under several hand some stone and brick bridges (in total number sixty three, costing 99,0000 Beyond the cutting is the ravine cut through Olive Mount. The surface of the Railway here is seventy feet below the surface of the ground. Then follows an embankment for two miles. This ridge varies in height from forty-five to fifteen feet above the level of the country. At some places the base is 135 feet wide. Then you arrive at Rainhill, where there is a level plain of two miles, on which the first engines were tried. The ascent then follows of an equal decli nation and extent as the Whiston inclined plane above referred to. The road then comes to Parr moss, where it is formed of clay and stone, across a bog twenty feet deep. The embankment is, in reality, about twenty-five feet in depth, although only five feet are visible above the surface of the Moss. About half way from .Liverpool to Man chester is the great Sankey viaduct. This is an .im mense bridge of nine arches across the Sankey canal and the valley through which it runs. This asto nishing work of art and perseverance is truly su blime; for as the Railroad passes over the viaduct, the vessels may be seen sailing beneath them. The next object worthy of great attention is the ridge over the Chat Moss, commencing at about nine miles from Manchester, and extending for four miles and a half towards the town. The road is actually formed on u bog so fluid that it was found impossible to drain it, as a rod of iron laid on the top of it would sink in by its own gravity. The road was made by pitching almost innumerable waggon loads of clay and stone in the intended line, and many thousand loads disappeared in the bog before any thing like a road was discerned. Everything being in readiness across the moss for receiving the rail-road, the Company were obliged to have recourse to wooden instead of iron sleepers, and at last effected as good a road as any other part of the line, and considering the expense of that 41 miles of bog to have been less than the average ex pense for the same distance on any other part of the road, although, from that perishable nature of the wood sleepers on which the rails rest, it will be much more expensive to keep in repair. As this road is constructed on the most improved principles yet known, some account of its formation may not be unacceptable. On the clay and stone on which the road is to be formed, a layer, two feet thick, of broken rock and sand is deposited, one foot below the sleepers, and one foot distributed between them. The sleepers, us they are called, being the blocks on which the rails of the road rest, are com posed of blocks of hard free -stone, from Peel, in this county, on the excavated part of the road (about eighteen out of the thirty-one miles); while on the raised embankments and the mosses the rails are supported by sleepers of oak or larch. The stone blocks are about two feet over, and about a foot and a half thick; for the reception of the chairs (which are the bones of iron which secure the iron rail to the stone sleepers), two holes are drilled in the top of each block, and filled up with hard oak pins ; the chains are then fastened on by two large spikes being thriven through them into the oak pins, which process is forced to be so secure, that it is almost im possible to separate a chair from a sleeper, when thus fastened. The rail upon which the wheels of the car riages run are made of malleable iron, about two inches brood at the top and forming merely u prqiurevg (1 1 ; This is found to answer much better than the old method of having the carriage wheel to run in an. guilty shelves, as the snow and the dirt was always putting them out of repair. With the rails on this road there is the least possible friction and chance of impediment. The wheels of the carriages are eight or nine inches broad, with tt flange or projecting ridge on the outer edge of about an inch broad and an inch and a half high, to keep the machine mike rail. The rails are about twelve feet long, with about five sleepers to support each of them. They are formed so as to slip into the sleepers which they are drawn through.— On the inside hollow of the sleeper there is a sort of rabbit or square groove, which receives a corresponding ridge on the rail. When the rail has been placed on it, a entail iron wedge is driven between the inside of the sleeper and the side of the rail opposite the ridge. This drives the ridge of the rail so securely into the groove of the sleeper, that it is impossible for the rail to shift without moving it. On a road thus prepared celerity and safety are nearly certain. In fact we may say, without fear of contradiction, that so pleasing, easy, and steady a motion cannot be given by any other mode of conveyance. The carriages are broad and low, so that all the weight they carry, as well as their Own weight, acts as ballast. The rate of travelling is spoken of as being likely to average about sixteen or eighteen miles air hour, so that it will bring the two great towns, Manchester and Liverpool, within half the present distance from each other--that is to say, for purposes of despatch. The people of both towns speak with confidence of the practicability of breAfasting at home in the morn ing, and return to thinner, after having twice passed the length of the Railway, and hardly any doubt remains that before many years we shall have a line of Railroad from Liverpool to London. CEREMONY OF OPENING THE RAILWAY BY TIIE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, &c. bur readers will, no doubt, feel anxious to learn the particulars of this important ceremony, and, as far as has been practicable, we will endeavour to supply them that gratification. On Tuesday, the whole of that part of the country seemed iu as much commotion as if they were threatened with a foreign invasion, and every one was making his way for Liverpool, to be, if possible, preseat at the opening. In Manchester every stagecoach, post. chaise, and vehicle of every description was hired for the Liverpool road. So great was the scarcity of post-horses that his Grace the Duke of Wellington had only been able to secure one pair, although lie had beepoken them on tl,e previous day. His Grace passed down the road to Child well, the Marquis of Salisbury's seat, on Tuesday after noon, and was well received wherever he was recognized. In Liverpool " the sensation" was first rate : not a bed could be procured without great difficulty snd seine priva tion. Every inn was full, and the anticipation of an in teresting event was legible on every countenance. The tickets which had been issued for the excursion on the Railway and the dinner had long before been seized with unusual avidity, awl although some courtesy or Jimmie . - dation has generally in such cases been extended to the Presa, it was, on this occasion, absolutely refused. It ap pears that we alone were not subjected to as enormous ex pence in sending down a reporter for nothing, but that others were in the same situation: A Liverpool Paper gives t h e following account of the affair, and we so far concur in the propriety of the conduct of the Liverpool Presses to g i ve its own words The facts of the case are simply thew—Tile Directors of the Railroad, anticipating that numerc us applications might be made by persons con nected with the public press for admission to the Welling ton rooms, on the evening when they shall have the ho nour of entertaining the Duke of Wellington, and know. ing that there would not be accommodation for the whole of the Reporters that might apply, came to the resolution D en i g re ag eto ed rs u , nd w e i r k t o oo m k ad to e p e rform the of employing one person, who should supply a report of the proceeding* to the Liverpool Paper of the following mor ning. The person Ti e s uttelhodr the beft h t eliinee screen, p a.ncilg'usar. included among g th a e ge d m u e t n y t il , r s a urip i o r :l u n a g lY , ' from some observations that passed eti,,,,yo wishingvh a s n at o i toe to compromise ci t on h; ap t r otlieis corner, Reporter hebe hind e ilriir s in e ca e c : aware that he was not to be admitted to the table. The Reporter, bow. taking among the musician, (the usual custom being to afford Reporters good places at the table), declined the the Directors, ou ir'sbe t i h n a g t d h i e sti n n e c i t t l h y e s r tu w te o d ul t d o o among the company. The conductor, of the Liverpool grounds o n which the orintghethLomta_iadodr the Inlereposar,teroodecboelo pt i i n n e g dws in toi f ln o e, eormtasednkneocoftfei with trihepe unanimously approved of hi e conduct. We e P r: cedin g' , belief, that our Provincial Press, will consent to r e po r t t e except be Was the representative- of that p Pressi and roeeedings, through 14 public, admitt t - , - . of the to this tam an the footing of a gentleman. This is a plain statement of the affair, which .as become a topic of general conversation in the town. The public will be the losers by the exclu sion of persons connected with the Press, from the inte resting and nationally important proceedings on Wednes day next." We learned that no persons could be admitted to the Directors' dinner but those invited by ballot. This system of exclusion has been carried so far as to exclude Sir G. Drinkwater, the present Mayor, and Mr. Porter, the late one. With regard to the former gentleman, we believe that some reason did exist for the exclusion ; but with re spect to the latter, every one in the town is surprised, as he seems to be generally respected. On Wednesday morning, as early as seven o'clock, the people of Liverpool were seen flocking in crowds to the Tunnel, in order to secure good places for a view of the procession. The whole line of road for the distance of seven or eight miles out of Liverpool, was lined by dense crowds, and several public stands, to which the public bad been admitted at half-e-crown a head, were completely filled. Ten o'clock was the time fixed on for starting— eight of the Company's beautiful' locomotive engines were brought down to the mouth of the Tunnel at about half past nine. While these masterly productions of human intellect were being paraded up and down on the road with the same ease and under as much command as a small pony, we could hardly persuade ourselves that we were not look ing on animal life. The steam flowed from them with a curiously sharp noise, and considerably heightened the de lusion. A person who has not seen it, can have no idea sf the graceful and easy movements of one of those machines, and the power with which they perform their work is really surprising even in these days of mechanical improvement. !The Duke arrived about.ten, and his arrival in the Corn ipany's yard was greeted with considerable enthusiasm by the immense crowd who had assembled. On his arrival a cannon was fired, and we regret to say that a man who , was standing on the opposite side of the railway had his eye blown out by a splinter of wood, which was supposed to be a part of the ramrod. The splendid state carriage which wo have described on a former day as prepared for his Grate, was taken down the tunnel for his Grace to alight. The military band played " See, the Conquering Hero comes !" and in a few minutes the Duke was drawn from the tun nel. He was almost surrounded by ladies in the carriage, and was loudly cheered by all the spectators. The Northumbrian engine then " took him in tow," and drew his carriage and the one that contained the Directors up the road, where he waited till the company had taken their seats and were attached to their engines,. It was calculated that about 700 persons were carried by the eight engines, and asmuch as ten guineas had been refused for a seat. A more astonishing approach of mechanism to the tractibility of animals has, perhaps, never been achieved. Among the celebrated personages who were expected to attend the Duke in the procession were, Prince Esterhazy, the Marquis of Salisbury, Earls Cassillis, Glengall, Gower, Wilton, and Lauderdale ; Viscounts Belgrave, Combermere, Grey, Ingestrie, Melbourne, and Sandoo ; Count Potoki ' • the Bishop of Lichfield and Cl ventry ; Lords Colvile, nacre, Delarnere, F. L. Gower, Grenville, Hill, Monson, Stanley, Skelmersdale, and Wbarneliffe ; Right Honnuraldea C. .Arbuthnot, J. Cal craft, and W. Huskisson ' • Sir J. Graham, Sir R. Peel, Sir Samuel Scott, and Sir Jeffrey Wyatville ; General Gascoyne ; Wilson Patten, Esq., M.P., H. Brougham, Esq. M.P., the Boroughreeves of Manchester and Salford, &c. As we could not get sufficiently near to see who ac companied his Grace, we cannot say, however, who were not there, with the exception of Lord Combermere, who had sent a letter of apology for his absence. Prince Ester hazy, Sir Robert Peel, and Mr. Huskisson, we know, were present. After all the poisons had taken their seats, and the procession had started, they went along very safely and steadily. LivaarooL, .EIGHT O'CLOCK. DREADFUL ACCIDENT to MR. HUSKISSON,M.P. The procession has just returned from Manchester; but I am sorry to inform you of, it is feared, a fatal accident to Mr. iluskissen, the popular and highly-respected Mem ber of this town. As I said before, the procession went on smoothly for the first half of the journey; and the dis tinguished passengers, and the company generally, ap. peered highly delighted with the steadiness and velocity of the engines. The Northumbrian, which drew the Duke and his distinguished suite,. showed several different rates of speed, and appeared to be under the most perfect coin. mend. As that engine and the Duke's company were on the right hand line, of the Railway, and the engines and carriages containing the shareholdera stud ticket-holders on the left line, each part of the procession had an excellent opportunity of observing the command and power of the inaehines. At length the Duke's party, which had shortly before passed the others at a rapid pace, stopped to take in some water and fuel, and several of the party alighted.— The other party were a considerable distance behind, and, from the level of the Railway, did not appear to be coming very fast. Prince Eaterlialy, Mr. Huskisson, and several other gentlemen, in inspecting the engine, came round into the space between the two lines of road. As they were much struck with some parts of its construction, they were too much interested to think of the engine that was bringing the first portion of the other part of the cavalcade. The space between the inner rails of the two lines of road is not more than three feet six inches or four feet, and the body of each carriage projects about a foot over the wheel on each side, thus re ducing the space when one carriage is p a ssi n g an oth er t o about two feet and a half. The noise of the approaching engine at length roused the company to their danger, but not, however, before they had time to have got out of the way. Several gentlemen who were there did so, and had no snore time for retreating than those who remained; among the latter were Prince Eaterhazy, Mr. Huskisson, and several others, among whom was a very stout gentle man who seemed to stand much the worst chance of the whole. All those who remained, except Mr. Milldam, seemed to do so from choice, but the latter gentleman seemed very nervous and in great trepidation. Perhaps his late illness and present debility contributed to deprive him in some measure of his presence et mind—hot what ever was the immediate cause, Mr. Huskissen reeled round, and fell with his thigh upon the rail which the approaching carriages were to traverse. The engine whizzed past without being hardly inconvenienced by the obstruction, and Mr. Huskisson bad his thigh terribly crushed. The injury was a compound fracture, but from hie recent illness, and very doubtful convales cence, it is feared it will produce his death. The whole company was in the greatest possible state of alarm. The Duke of Wellington, Sir R. Peel, Prince Erterhazy, and, indeed, every one alighted and rendered what assistance they could. Dr. Hunter, Professor of Anatomy, from Edinburgh, and several other medical gentlemen were present, and immediately decided on the nature of the in jury, and the necessity of removing the unfortunate gen tleman to some quiet place. Mr. Huskisaou appeared to feel most poignantly from the fracture; indeed, so much so, that lie begged them, for God's sake, to let him lie on the ground and bleed to death. His Grace the Duke of Wellington advised an immediate return to Mr. Huskia. son's house at Liverpool ; and this course was also advo cated by several other gentlemen friend. of Mr. Huskis son. It was contended, in opposition, that the greatest danger would result from disappointing the thousands of people who were assembled at the Manchester end of the line. At length a gentleman respectfully informed his Grace, that if the procession re►urned, it must he on his respon sibility, as, from the late feeling of the Manchester people, who had repaired from work on purpose to see the pro• cession, it was to be apprehended that they would tear up the Railway. At length:the unfortunate gentleman was taken to Manchester, and every possible attention was paid him. It is feared his leg must be amputated. The Doke will not now, it is expected, dine with the Company, and every body seams to regret sincerely such an unfortu nate accident, on the first day of opening the Railway, to one of its best friends. The road front ienyon to Manchester was crowded on every point. At Eccles the people literally swarmed both on the road and on each of its &des. The engines here slackened their speed to avoid accidents, and passed slowly through one of the densest masses of human beings which we ever saw congregated together et one time. The pro cession entered Manchester amidst the loud cheering of the multitude. The Duke of Wellington, and several of the other per sonages in the grand carriage,. remained in the vehicle, re ! freshmer.ti being conveyed to them from the company's warehouse. The rest of the passengers who composed the procession ascended to the rooms, where refreshments were laid out, and where they all partook most plentifully. The Duke of Wellingtou left Manche ter about four o'clock, and got out ere he reached Liverpool.. The other part of the procession did not reach Liverpool till ten at night. The accident which befell Mr. fluskisson disar ranged every thing. Half-past Ten. Dr. Brandreth, who accompanied Mr. Huskisson to Eccles, joined the last division of the procession at that place. He left the unfortunate gentleman at six o'clock, and reports that there was scarcely a hope that Mr. Hus kisson would survive till morning. No operation had been performed, the medical' gentlemen deeming it altogether useless to put him to'the pain of examining the limb, Mr. Huskisson was quite sensible, and so great was his stony, that he **praised s wish for'tipiidi Woo treroideilli4 feting's. He had made an Wadi* to his will, received the sacrament, and was resigned to his fast liworautd * kisson was in a most deplorable *tat& ThisO*ol444Afir, and awful accident has cant a gloom over tbe,toyee - ef verpool and Manchester. • (From the Liverpool . Coorier) This day has been long looked forward to SA memorable epoch in the annals of Liverpool, ie Oar quence of its being appointed for Out opening of the RIO , : road. The Duke of Wellingtion and a largeAort4lo. o4 ' nobility and gentry, amongst whom was our.Righs ii9o% Representative, proceeded to Manchester. The )01011$11' , thither pasted off to the high gratification.of every dual. It is, however, our painful duty to record L'lori melancholy accident which occurred to Mr. Hoek** ja the course of the journey back. The particulars, afire we have been able to collect them, are as follow On arriving at Kenyon-cutting, the party stet ) take in water, and the passengers slighted. . Iluskisson's getting out of the car between the two lime of road, the door of the car was open , at his back, whe n the Rocket engine, with its traiwofearrhlgege one of them struck the door, which, by that mes,ssr, thrown against Mr. Huskisson's back, who it! down, and the wheels of one of the carriages' tit,VPTer his leg and thigh, and fractured amid a dr•iidfol Dr. Brandreth and two other medical ,gentlesolo were of the company immediately name to hiseadetilta: when it was found indispensably neceesarythae Hon. Gentleman should be removed to this** NI, 7,,, dwelling. The engine was therefore detached te"F"'"' Duke's carriage, and the seats taken from one ef:tbtother end fixed on the engine, on which Mr. Nusitisma WS : placed, and carried to the resident*. of sll'l4°H,, 4fr b; Blackburn., vicar of Eccles, where, WA rere t now lies in a very dangerous situation. ANOTHER. ACCOUNT. (From the Afanchester friends travelled was truly magnificen t ' The carriage in which the Duke of Wane* "'n 4 The 'toc an thirty-two feet wide, and is supported fen° eight largisraPstbL wheels. The sides are beautifully ortunneen''s: - a Grecian scrolls and ballustrades, richly gilt, sup r , massy hand rail all around the carriage* li tt4 fn ; d;eql• centre of which an ottoman was the , 11 **$, pany. A grand canopy, twenty-four Wet longs V ow , aloft upon gilded pillars, and is so contrived j o of ered for passing through the tunnel. The d the rich crimson cloth, and the whole is .sertleet jah n' ducal coronet. The other seven eeginall Pent"'”" aidd ly, have stated along the north line. The two fiat,_ the Phenix and the North Star, each drew fire ` the Rocket drew three, and the Dart, Con° 6 Meteor, each four. These engines are built M • mo Stephenson. It was intended that lefeatee•:" P "A l ie and Ericsson's engine, the King William mud Own laide should have been also employed on this OCt they could not be got ready in time. The tOtfd of persons conveyed was, we believe, 772. They procession did pot proceed at a partio° ll l l , t he pace--not more than 15 or 16 miles an benr;,..,,,j d e course of the journey the Northumbrian aceeZi'iy4. retarded its speed occasionally, to give the P". olo .kibi I lington an opportunity of inspecting the 1 003 t " parts of the work. ittle 0° On the arrival of the procession at Perkaille* ( l , id this side of Newton,) the carriages stopped t° I"'A 1 ""tpt supply of water. Before starting from Lieet:t 4j Is*. company were particularly requested no ; (1 ," led carriage., and the same caution was repeated wr io r tg alr directions describing the order of procession. L' stta standing this regulation, however, it appears "'li i d. Huskisson, Mr. William Holmes, M.P., and ottolf:„Fl men alighted from the carriage of the Duke of Welnitrild when the Northumbrian stopped at Parksitilw a s moment they descended into the road, three ' of thel;o4"` the other line, the Plurals, the North Star sad' . die die had passed on towards Manchester, and the othilZ,oo Dart, Comet, Arrow, and Meteor, were rapidly — l,; to Mr. Huskisaon with Mr. Holmes were standing deal road between the two lines of railway, and had h / d o in that situation no accident would have °wined* This lines being about four feet distant from each off! ' luckily, however, M r . Huskiseon imagined that O !'"S° ‘1". not room for a person to rtmel between the lines ..„ddi other engines wer e passing ; and, under that ilea bli ( he made an attempt to get again into the oserinti. 014 s fi to ire p e pe t d ha i t t, he bu los t Duke, before the Dart came up. With this vielefle.. i d d ah of the door of the earrings* and pulled it epee 11 1 7, — • the tbehifsobrea,lat:eise wasan feollmbpsiocukell:;c:;;;; rails of the other line, the moment littiorP be w r ,; l 4diSl the Dart. The conductor of that ea rn ° & a d d,' be wheels of the engine and one of those c of the tached to it passed over the right leg of the unfortuna body man, which was placed across the rail, his bas al Coda" being under the engine,. The right leg was fright ° , "J o ar tend below the knee, and we understand thi this peered to be fractured,—althoegh the precise latter injury was not immediately ascertained. 'in s • Wilton, Mr. Holmes, and Mr. Parkes, solicitor. i n tro a mingham, (th e author of a work of soot tale the Court of Chancery, and to whose kindoe" ":441000 0 debted for these few particulars), raised Mr. " 1 141 M from the gr o u n d. Th e on l y wor d s he utterelai (DP were to this effect :—" I have met my dealt' t wist , ' give me." Th e first thing that was done W& 11 "; ha, handkerchief (in th e manner of a toaraiquet)_," of round the wounded p ar t s o f th e limb, for the P stopping the eff us i on o f bl oo d ; a nd the P r i T ii toota being detached from the carriages, it tens . . 11 1 1 / 1 1r, IP* with the greatest po ss ibl e speed to 1:14:cles Wt"' — „„ir kisson, the E ar l o f Wil ton , M r . Stephenimn: - b u r 101 n o i r ise medical fentlemen who happened to be Pfi len d Lilisir their--D'--D' no surgical in s t ruments w i t h their --D' Ott Ot t ' London, and M r . B ran d ret h, o f Liverpeeo dto arrival at Eccles, Mr. Huskisson was een ll /"ebire house of the R ev . M r . Bl ac kb urne , Vicar of •ta l '''; it islieite t t adjoins the road, and the engine proceeded in a nd as we have alre a dy d escr ib e d, with Lord Walt: Stephenson, to procure farther medical assists° DINNER GIVEN BY THE bIRE 6I*IB grg ril RAILWAY COMPANY TO THS • WELLINGTON. (stoat atm OWN coLR isrosno/10 It would be impossible adequ ately for rriltSithal al the public the sensation whi ch the see,w elk had occurred to Mr. Ifuskiasun, produced,"; . ‘;l o , l73 morn than fifty gentlemen were present; sls caw* passed e as u As t e h f A dt o l e u r r .ogt B r ff oug h am, cloth a a w m c s u : b l a iiw n uj ie d t a rh a a l d n t b l r t l i ae l t : g gn i l u t o o, pip v injv l e i r e ; :: si l o blY z e ut a jo g : 41 1 er nagement of Mr.Radley, of the y Abdelphi Notelot0• 4easnitto he depression h a d pervaded the whole cou'll, and_ A t ig company shortly. Ile f el t too muuh oierl S " pull my w "pt!l i r a s s omeo n i pt i o i : r e te: w a t na i n gn er a e k r ; de yat i: l n l i'o e nd f t l i s l i ae , l u lle re n s ri p h to :ii,: sd e: Ly eti a l rt i nirl i l a i a ac n n t no— s a l er i ej lx o i r: e r: y e L a t 'l l: r y :f tly wr s . r i ft e b T z ei s i b t r u : i f event e ff ected the minds of all nesent, that sue gm° ad , • of It is a fact not unworthy of remark, tuts Nut' ends of the tunnel is adorned with the inscripti°!' o i o o kisson and Free Trde," an that on this fir st °eye et which he has been a an the d Railway he should i. hltiogitt with an ac c id en t o f so ser ious a nature. It orr oe• the Duke will not dine with the corporation to"" """"" ! 1 "... i r ) —"Pe %VIP DEATH OF THE RIGHT HO • . • , HUSKISSON. wd,haTitdihlleomipatuhisn(itrfsulaiela:relitia.rgb:l.ieednnearonitvicesipautepoi nfrosttriainti:teaell:l3_lll:lt3;:;a:itti:ineiil::;: ti,:n. ------.. :art:ttgicht sent you. The Right lion. Gentlem ►! n 00 11 °, 14 , o t the minutes past nine o'clock on Wedseedir t' i rlol lo s : house of the Vicar of Eccles, to which ple" j s'li c " taken upon the heppeohjit , of the aecitienit Joe has deprived the town of Liverpool o f mu a ble it' tentative, and the country at large of 0 0 w ' sasy' dots enlightened her connote and illumined her b , wat How frail are the hopes of man ! But yote d6 ,„ Y 0 04 active both in body and mind--to-day he 16 :,,:p Von , cone. The eyes of the whole count 4 Wer e i " i i svli! lt the day was considered as not far Mita i! ► , ► ip ch' he would again be the life and soul of geni e 4 !rut • Po . terial offices, and would be plaottl in that OOP; su ch " eminence which he so richly deserved. Ala!' 'tool h►s tiring dreams have fled, and the tool of . Lilytoritor in been deprived of its greatest ornament. 11 e ,.. 0 r ende r ! which this mournful event has taken I!!` th of tl' i its affliction doubly stucco,' and Ott de:iisiii Os Right lion. W. liuskinton will be an 00 11(4 i g hbee r .. h fi o l d t . t be s m o i t n b ds iag of n t o h w e people to o b f e lamentable occurrence ; every face you ,oas t .. 0 .04 t , subject; the Corporation dinner is • sutpended _' .. ' j I►,all ,?'.. it is expected will be done on the. ExeSege_L l l; fug 7 in gloom ; groups are all aver the t"'t. rt . u r _,, 0 10 ,,,r; the she►p . windows are partly closet. A Pm' alwantiviettd. thheitisrat°7lpolikeu"-otejaPiewl:loss. 'hi.