The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-09-11 00:00:00

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 135;

FROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.

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MONDAY MORNING.
'TEE summer season continues to act severely upon "Life
in London." The courtly emigrants, who in vast numbers
composed a voluntary suite for the recent royal visitors to
France, still linger in crowds among the seductive gaieties of
the French capital, or lounge amid the provincial attractions
of la belle France. The Society of Arts, and all whom it
delights to honour, as well as those who seek reflected honour
from its accidental smile, have betaken themselves to Paris,
and in the course of the present week, it is understood, will
be received at the Tuileries. The savans have broken up
their several bivouacs in the metropolis, and are speeding
with all the facilities offered by steam towards the general
rendezvous at Glasgow, the capital of the Caledonian Becetia.
The Court, and with the Court its royal mistress QUEEN
VICTORIA, turning her back temporarily upon her southern
palaces, has sought shelter and repose within her Highland
mountain home at Balmoral, leaving cockneydom a prey to
ennui, and the numerous social ailments which follow in its
train.

In such a state of matters, "trifles light as air" assume im-
portance in the general strain of gossip, and of these many a sin-
gular vesicle is inflated and dispersed. Within the last two days
no small amount of anxious discussion has taken place in refer-
ence to a subject which, occurring through some mismanage-
ment, might have been attended with results the most cala-
mitous. This was an account of the dangerous series of acci-
dents which accompanied the royal train on its journey from
the metropolis to the Scottish border. It is long since that
inveterate joker, the Rev. SIDNEY SMITU, said there would
never be safety in a railway train till a director of a railway com-
pany was'accidentally roasted by the firing of a carriage ; and
not much shorter a time since his jest was almost converted
into earnest by the burning of a bishop. For Thursday last,
however, was reserved the distinction of almost the dread con-
jecture in the destruction of our gracious Sovereign. HER
MAJESTY and the Royal Family, as is well known, left the
King's Cross terminus of the Great Northern Railway at an early
hour on Thursday morning. Notwithstanding all the pre-
cautions, ostensibly taken to prevent accident, or, indeed, to
obviate the chance of even the slightest casualty, it appears
that, not long after the starting of the royal train, it was dis-
covered that some of the axles of the carriages, especially one
of the last break van, were in an unsatisfactory state. When
the train reached Peterborough, one or two of the axle-boxes
had to be washed out. At Grantham the state of affairs was
found to be still worse ; and at this point a man was stationed
on the footboards of the train to grease the axles in the pro-
gress of the journey. From Retford a telegraphic message had to
be despatched to Doncaster ordering a fresh break to be got in
readiness. At Bawtry the train was detained five minutes to allow
the axles—all of which were more or less heated —time to
cool. On reaching Doncaster the last break of the train was
exchanged for a fresh one. Even thus, however, the danger
was not obviated, for after getting rid of the nearly ignited
break, when the train got once more into motion the condi-
tion of the axles of some of the other carriages continued to
excite the most lively anxiety in the officials having charge
of the train, and to call for ceaseless vigilance on their part.
As the train approached Darlington, one of the men stationed
on the footboard, to grease the axles, while engaged in
the performance of his perilous duty, came accidentally in
contact with the girder railing of a small culvert bridge ; by
the collision he was knocked off the train, and was so crushed
and mutilated in his fall as to cause his death in a few
minutes afterwards. This accident was not known
to the Royal travellers till their arrival at Darlington.
On the melancholy fact becoming known, HER MAJESTY
expressed deep regret and warm commiseration in re-
ference to the sad accident. At this point it was found
that the axle of the Royal: saloon carriage had become so very
hot, that it became iiidispensable to detach this carriage from
the train; and the QUEEN, Prince ALBERT, and the Princess
ROYAL, who occupied it, were compelled to abandon it, and
proceed for the remainder of the journey in a saloon carriage,
occupied by some of the junior branches of the family. The
chronicler of these seried mishaps adds that HER Ma.rEsry bore
the contretemps very good humouredly. Fortunately the
remainder of the journey was accomplished without any mis-
adventure, and the Royal cortege arrived at Hoiyrood about
half-past six in the evening. On Friday morning the Royal
party resumed their journey northwards, arriving at Balmoral
towards nightfall of the same day. As already stated, much
anxious and some angry conjectures have been hazarded upon
the subject of these dangers in the purlieus of the clubs, many
of the sojourners in which, being men of routine, cannot trace
any connection between this perpetual "frenzy of the wheels"
and the operation of any known rule of cross-purposes. All
classes sincerely rejoice to-know that the danger was only
threatening and not tangible, although obviously imminent.
The absence of interesting events confers a double piquancy
on subjects of speculative controversy; and this latter kind of
stimulant has been of late rather freely furnished,—the treat-
ment of Mr. BAKEWELL by the authorities at the Horse-
Guards, and the gentle passages of letter-writing and pub-
lishing between Sir CHARLES NAPIER and Sir JAMES GRA-
HAM affording abundant food for surmise and racy conjecture
on all hands. In respect to the former case, general opinion
appears to take the ordinary course in reference to all Crimean
matters, directly antagonist to official usage. The treatment
of Mr. BAKEWELL is generally admitted as original and
unique, whether the statement for which lie has been cashiered
be true or false. Mr. BAKEWELL, as an assistant-surgeon, on
an important occasion, the assault upon the Redan on the
18th of June, avers that the preparations made for relief of the
wounded on that memorable occasion were inadequate to the
reasonable expectation of the casualities ; and grossly, ter-
ribly deficient compared with the actual occurrences of that
day. He is himself, shortly after making the accusation, for
it is now all nonsence to talk about its anonymous character,
prostrated by disease, and forced to retire from the Crimea to
Scutari. Here he is officially informed that an inquiry
is to be made into the truth or falsehood of his accusa-
tions. He expresses his willingness immediately to proceed
to the scene of the inquiry, and verify his charges. In answer
to this offer he receives an advice to attend better to his
health, and remain where he is. The inquiry, meantime, pro-
ceeds; and, after a brief space, he is told his accusations have
been investigated, and proved groundless ; that he himself is
an anonymous slanderer, and, as such, has been dismissed from
his post. Startled, as he well might be, at the arbitrary rapi-
dity of this species of military justice, lie applies to have an
opportunity of substantiating his charges, or, at least, pf 'being
heard in his own defence, ere he be punished. for a crime '
without having even been told it was to be preferred against '
him. This request is sternly refused ; and lie is coolly told
by Mr. FREDERICK PEEL that a man who would make
charges against his fellows behind their backs has no right
to be heard in his own defence, or to complain of the injustice
of his condemnation ! The plausibility of this style of pleading
is not sufficient to secure it from the scrutiny of men as disin-
terested as Mr. PEEL. These scrutineers see plainly and
say boldly that making such a statement is putting a false
colour on the transaction. Mr. BAKEWELL was not arraigned
on any charge, or, if he he had, who knows that he could not
have rebutted the charge ? But whether his averments were
true or false, they could not be fairly said to be anonymous,
as he had given up his name to be used, if requisite, when lie
made his criminatory statement ; and above all, when he was
told the inquiry was to be made into the circumstances of his
charges, he at once expressed his willingness to meet the
inquiry and substantiate his charges. He is arraigned, tried,
convicted, and punished for the crime of laying a " masked
accusation ;" whereas, withdrawing any mask that ever
was held up, he expressed his willingness to come forward
in the face of day and substantiate his accusation.
This surely is in a considerable degree akin to the
Donnybrook measure of justice which first knocks a man
down and then kicks him for falling. The parties whose con-
duct was impeached by Mr. BAKEWELL, if innocent, have more
reason to complain than he has. They have been, they and all
men are told, exonerated from all blame implied in the asper-
sions. A court of inquiry which excludes the statement of the
accuser, is not just the first that honourable men would claim
or value a verdict from : but apart from this consideration, iu
itself no trivial one, there are other circumstances connected
with the transaction which do not greatly brighten its aspect.
Every one is familiar with the fact that at the time when
matters were at the worst, or rapidly approaching to
it in the Crimea, the intelligence received by Government
from Government officials was of the most satisfactory kind.
All was going on swimmingly and well. The sick and the
wounded were, according to these reports, most admirably
tended. True, the reports of " masked accusers," as the
newspaper correspondents are considered, by Mr. PEEL and
gentlemen of his kidney, were pertinacious in declaring the
state of matters to be the reverse of the official representations.
Investigation took place, not through a military court of
inquiry, but by parties as willing to listen to the accused as the
accuser, and the result of that investigation showed clearly
enough that the truth was in the statements of the " masked
accusers," that the deception pertained to the official state-
ments. With these facts staring the public in the face, no
amount of official pertinacity nor any skulking behind
the bulwarks of military etiquette will induce a general
belief in the groundlessness of Mr. BASEWELL'S allega-
tions, or acquiescence in the sentence which condemns
him unheard. As regards Sir CHARLES NArura and the late