The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-05-08 00:00:00

FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE GREAT

lay all these charges on the home trade, and to relieve foreign
snipping entirely
Lord Bury c il the whole sy.tem on which our
lights and buoys are managed, as wasteful in a pecuniary
point of view and inefilcient and bewildering for navigation On Thursday night, in last week, a most shocking and
pirposes.
Mr. Shaw Lefevre, who replied on the part of the Govern- distressing railway accident occurred about a quarter
1
meet pointed out that only £55,000 of the annual charge 4 a mile from Dielcot Junction, whereby two guards
p
w. paid loy the coasting trade, and that fell entirely on the .4 a goods train lest their lives. How the two air
consundir. 01 the remainder, £2,0,000 was paid by the fellows, both well-tried servants of the Great Writ-
foreign-going ships; and th ugh it was difficult to trace tern Railway Company, and sober men, should have
the ultimate incidence, it certainly did nut 1 all
on the shipowners. Only ,CSI,OOO was paid by been overwhelmed by so sudden a calamity appears
quite inexplicable, and the mystery can never be
foreign ships Though highly eulogizing the prac-
cleared up, as one was killed on the spot, and the other
Veal ability of the Trinity-house management, he admitted
that its constitution was not perfect The accounts of the lid not recover consciousness during the few minutes
Board were not, he allowed, altogither satisfactory; but thia he lived after he was fOUIId.
might be cured hy phwing all the expenditure for lights, It appears from the evidence that the names of the
beacons, fie., on the annual votes of Parliament.
After remarks from Mr. Cave, the Chancellor of the Ex deceased were Stephen Walah and Joseph Deacon, in
chequer, Mr. Graves, Sir. Bright, Mr Henley, and Mr. the service of the company as guards to a goods train,
Candlish, both married, and residing at the village of Appleford.
air. liewilam at first protested his determination to go to On the eveniog above alluded to they brought their
diVillloll, but ultimately he yielded reluetantly and against train into Didcot station as usual, and just after the
his own judgment, to appeals from Mr. Glailstoue, Mr. Nur- clock struck nine they left the platform together, to go
wood, and others, and withdrew the motion.
The Municipal Franchise bill was read a second time, and to their homes at Appleford by way of the line, in
the House adjourned - accordance with their regular custom, that being the
THE MAYOR OF CORK, nearest way. A few minutes afterwards the seven
o'clock down train from Paddington left Didcot for
To the Housed Commons, on May 5, Mr. Gladstone moved
that the orders of the day be postponed until after the bill of Oxford, and the train due from Oxford at mime
which the Attorney-General for freland had given !tidier, o'clock arrived at the junction at 9.18. On the arrival
dealing with the case of the Mayor of Cork, of this train, a porter, named Wallis, discovered a
In reply to Mr. Bagwell, Mr. Gladstone said that the piece of a roan's waistmat, with a book in the pocket,
course of proceeding w ould be that the bill would bth e read a hanging the guar.! iron of one of the trucks, and
Mat time that afternoon, and svould be sent by post to the immediately called the attention of Inspector Barnett,
aj or of Cork to-night. The second reading would be fixed
fir a morning sitting upon Tuesday, and in the interval the Who was on duty tot the platform, to the fact.
Mayor of Cork would have time to consider what steps Ile Upon examination of the book it was ascertained
would take, and ati opportunity would be thus given him to by the inspector to belong to 'Walsh, and as he
be heard by counsel at the bar against the bilL hail gone down the line just before an impression pre-
The orders of the day twine loeen postponed, vailed that he moat have been run down and killed
The Attorney General for Deland moved tor kave M bring either by this train or the one gone down. Police-con-
t. a bill to disable Daniel tysullivan, tug., from holding, en-
stable Rowley and Dawson, the supernumerary porter,
joying, or taking the office of Mayor, or Justice of the Peace,
or any «Mee or place of magistracy in the city of Cork or immediately hurried down the line to satisfy their
elsewhere in Ireland. Ile traced the conduct of the Mayor fears, and when they had reached a part of the line
of Cork iron the commencement of Ida taking office, and near the pump-house, about a quarter of a mile from
said that from the first he hail assumed an insulting and the statuteplatform, they were horrified at the ghastly
abusive tone towards his brother magistrates, which sight of poor Walsh lying in the six-foot way, close to
had brought great scandal on the administa alum of justice,
and tended to bring it into ridicule and contempt. 'the the moraila, with his head towards I)iticot, and poor
Govertiment hail previously been considering whether they Deacon lying close by between the rails of the down line,
should not have recourse to the ordinary coarse of procedure, with his head towards Oxford, the former quite dead,
and cause the Mayor of Cork to be ',Meted n a minds- upo anti the head and body frightfully mutilated, and his hat
meatottir for Ins general conduct in Ms official capacity, which lying about 200 yards further down the line. Deactm,
bad culminated at the banquet given to Warren and Costello. however, WAS alive, though unconscious, but had
ife went into that matter at some length, and said there
count he no doubt that the Mayor had used the word, attribu- escaped mutilation. The constable ran back to the
toil to him,which all would agree were, at the It test, seatidaloua station, while Dawson remained with the bodies, and
and disgraceful The Govertimmit had, atter carefully having got assistance they carried Deacon back to the
considering the case, come to the conclusion that it was not station, and five minutes after they had laid him down
dedrable to resort to the ordinary course of procedure, which in the porter's room he expired. The mutilated body
would take considerable 'tar to bring m a general bill, of poor Walsh was then brtoight into the station and
but to deal with the intlivicase.
After expressions of Opinion from several hon. members, laid by the side of his deceased companion to await
Mr. Disraeli said he thouuht it unnecessary to refer to the the coroner's inquimition.
causes which had led to such language being 11604, but he On Friday night the coroner held the inquest at the
sag not astonished that such language had been used, when Didcot Junction Hotel. The bodies wore identified as
prisons in Ireland had been opened and traitors and assaasins those of Stephen Walsh, aged forty-three, and Josephhad been let loose over the land. Some M.llltha ago the May ur Deacon, aged twenty-eight. The jury returned aver.
used language dbgraceful coins position, and why did not the .
" "
Attormy.General tor Ireland then take measui es for the sup-
diet of Accidental Death. The jury sympathised
pression of such conduct ? He was not aware that there was with the distressed widows and children of the de-
afly bill which imposed pains and penalties for words ceased, and on account of their great bereavement
spoken If they were to bring in a bill of that description r Lied a small subscription among themselves on the
they were bound to satisfy the conviction an I conscience of
the nation that the facts were as stated. lie did not Ilse to
oppose the introduction of the bibl, babe hoped the Govern-
ment ssouli think again before they asked the House to pass
such an extraordinary measure, merely upon the ipse dad of
the Attorney-General for Ireland.
Mr. CM:heater Fortescne made an explanation of the
statein rut mare by him the other night as to the two parties
at Derry being armed. The conduct of the police on that
occasion called for a strict inquiry and an inquiry would be
made. In reference to the present till he thought it was
certainly an extraordinary one, but the case was no excep-
tional that tt had become absolutely necessary to introduce
such a ineasure. He stated that up to the time of
the Major's speech now complained of, the Slayer's
conduct had not been such as to justify the
Government or the liouse to bring in such a bill. The right
hon. getitleman then read a letter from Lord Fernley, the
Lord-Lieutenant of Cork, which urged that some steps should
be taken to put a stop to the recurrence if such eoenee as
daily occurred on the bench in the city of Col k.
Colonel Wilson-Fatten was una illing tor the debate to
pass without expreasom his abhorrence of the language used
by the person whose c induct was now under considerath
it
He urged the House not to legislate too hastily in the matter
which involved comtitu ional principles.
Mr. Gladstone informed, trie Hiouse that the first stage of
such bills of pains and penalties had been taken on Cr pa rte
statements, and on the second reading full liberty was given
to the permns implicated to answer the allegation. Tney
had made inquiries, and they considered themselves Jan-
till d in asking the House to agree to the introduction
of the bill lie believed it was intended to move imme-
diately after the bill was ordered for the first reading,
and on the order for the second reading it was intended to
MOVe "that a copy of the bill be forthwith sent to Daniel
Sullivan, Esq.," and " that the AttornerGeneral fur Ireland
be directed to take care that evidence toe produced in sup-
port of such bill upon the second reading." He stated that
bills of pains and penalties had been passed before now
through the flours C.tminons and taken into the House of
Lotus on statements similar to that on which the present
bill was founded.
During the discUssion, in which several hon. members
took part,
Mr. Gathorne Hardy said they had to take their choice of
two evils. As taming that the facts of the ease were true, a
Nan who would speak of the Clerkenwell ASSOSein as a man
actuated by high 'notices was not fit to hold the office of
mayor for one moment. Such a man must be deposed from
his ottice as mon as possible. Evidence on oath could not
be given in the Donee of Commons, but such evidence
colild be viken in the House of Lords, and he believed it
would have been better had the measure been intt odneed in
the Upper House, but he for one 'tumid not fm- one :moment
impede tie progress of the Government in the removal of the
cause of such a scandal.
The Attorner-Geueral of Ireland, in reply, said the Govern-
ment intended to prove that the armor of Cork had made
use of the languaee attributed to him, and he stated that
there were precedents upon precedents of the action which
the House of Commons would take upon this question
The motion (the discussion of which oecupie.l the attention
of the House until our o'clock was thou agreed to, and the
bill was brought in and read a first time and ordered for
second reading on To, sday next.
The niottons referred to by Mr. Gladstone were then put
and agreed to, and after some other business of no public
interest had been disposed of, the House adjourned.

spot.