The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-09-27 00:00:00

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by its-reflection in the mirrors. The very sim-
plicity of the -arrangement renders it ant to be
undervalued- by the ctirsory* observer ; but its
importance being -easily illustrated, we cannot
but feel amazed that an invention at once so simple
and valuable, should
.not long ago have been in
use. Collisions, the uncoupling of carriages,
fire, rpbberies, and assaults, the breaking of
wheels or springs, persons falling or leaping
from the train in motion, the sudden illness
of a passenger, and any other occurrence in or
-outside the train requiring the attention of the
officials, might, by this invention, be either antici-
pated or instantaneously detected, so an, more or
less, to prevent serious -consequences. In the
shunting of carriages at stations, especially at the
•
principal goods stations, where so many lives are
sacrificed in performing that operation, the value
of this apparatus would be most manifest. It
might be supposed that these reflectors would
prove
_useless a,t night, or in fogs and heavy
storms of rain and snow-and -even were it so,
this would only be a partial drawback, and no'
-argument against such -a simple application in
ordinary weather ; but Mr: GRANT, the ingenious
inventor, is prepared to meet even these diffi,
'oulties.

Why 'hare these railway, reflectors not received
fair ttial ? Is it not the' fact that as a systeT-
there has never been a serious effort on any line
to proVe the practical value of the invent-
lion? The Matter has been repeatedly pressed.
Upon the attention of several teams, by the in-
'qntot, during the last two years without success.
The nature of the difilculties thrown out by the
'nincials shows pretty clearly that there is :really
,nn disporaionlo give the improvement_fair play.._
The of applying the reflectors
:would, not be
great matter, but to make them really useful,
it is Reobable some additional assistance would be
rso.lred in the guards department. Is it possible
that this last difficulty is one of. the obstacles
'Which have .hitb.erto been .insurmountable-? . ,We
'are perfectly aware that many attempts have
been 'made to apply reflectors to 'trains, Without
success; but why not try Mr. pRANt's
Is it , any excuse that he is a poor man
e.
in humble circumstances, and unable to bring
money and 'influential Connection. to bear
vindicating the merits of his invention ? Are the
professional engineers of our great lines so jealous
of their dignity, that they dare not allow. them-
selves to report favourably of a valtiable'schemd'
for the prevention of accidents, because it has not.
been originated in their own chambers?, > is the,
genius of a respectable mechanic to be-deSPised,.
and the, lives, of the lieges to be set at nought,
lest .the importance of wellpaid professienals,
should be ditninished?.. Let our railway directors'
take a' hint, and see to it that their interests
in, this, respect are not being sacrificed by the
short-sightedness and red-tipeism of their
professional servants. The history of Mr.
GRANT'S attempts to introduce his invention
t© one great Railway .Company, is in Many.
l'espects remarkable, and at another time we may::
,go a little into details which will astonish our
readers. We Content ourselves in the meantime
with having, directed attention to the subject
generally, in the hope that something may be
done before long to redeem the past. "A word to
the wise is enough."

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

FRANCE,
'(FROM OUR OWN 'CORRESPOND E N T.)
PARIS, Wednesday, Sept. 26.
The report that immediate possession was to be taken
'of Sicilyby a6orps.of 5.,000 Piedmontese troops, of which
I spoke ins my yesterday's letter, not in opposition to
the authority of the King of Naples, but to that of Gari-
bAdi, appears unfortunately. .to be confirmed,- so far as't
have 'been able to ascertain. It could only be conduct

'of the ,mast imprudent description on the part. of the
:Dictator 'which would justiy such a step ; and if it be,
`Carried into effect, it is really impossible to foresee all
lhe eonsegitences of such a disastrous proceeding. It is
also stated that the Sardinian Government has inter-

dieted, in the most absolute terms, all further
enrolment of volunteers for Garibaldi. It would

'Would be well if this circumstance were known in

'lngland and Scotland, for I question whether many of
Ili3; spirited and enthusiastic countrymen, who are con-
'tinning to .fly to the standard of the Dictator, would be
so anxious to enrol themselves among his volunteers, if,
there was a chance of their being called upon not to
fight 'against Naples or Austria and for Italian unity and
-Victor Emmanuel, but against Italian , unity and
'Victor Emmanuel. I trust these wordi of caution may

111 eel, the eye of any Liverpool young men who may be
arttemplating joining the standard of Garibaldi.- -
All the .reliable intelligence. which comes from the
Two Sicilies points to the probability of an early capi-;-
talation on the part of the Neapolitan army, and of
the departure of Francis 11., and this notwithstanding
the number of troops the, ex-King is said to, have abOut
him and nominally under his command. One hardly
/.equired any fresh proof of the utter insanity of those
"loptimi,-,ts of absolutism" who seem obstinately bent
'On striking another blow on behalf of the unfortunate.
ioUng monarch. If one did, it would be found supplied
1):V‘ a fact which is mentioned by an evening journal
'Called the _2l76,evelle:—" Francis IL has caused General'
l'ineda, who was accused of having been desirous of
betraying Capita to Garibaldi, to be executed without
.any form of trial."
•

•
The
.text of a treaty,' by which the Piedmentese,
'Government engages to cede Sardinia, in certain, events,
to France, as a recompense for its indirect concurrence,
er at
,all events, its forbearance, with reference to the
annexation 'of the Two Sicilies to Piedmont, has been
'published in the Italian journals; and, strange to say,
-ate publication of this document, or pretended docu-
ment, does not appear to. have been interdicted by the
§ardiniau. authorities. As you are aware, the exist-
ence of any treaty of this kind has been eneigetically
denied by the 'Patric ; but so was the arrangement
relatiVe :to the cession of Savoy and Nice. It is,
boWeyer, but right fo 'observe, at the same time, that
the embarrassments---or rather the complications—
to Which •the acquisition by France Of these .two
Ft ovinees has given rise, greatly diminish the probability
any fresh transaction of the kind being carried into
execution, even although the poar-parlcrs for the purpose
may leeve been actnallyagreed upon.
The Council of Ministers on .Monday was a very pro-
li)nged. and important One. • All the members of the
'Cabinet breakfasted previously with the Emperor. AL
• Icrigra had an audience, and took leave of flis Majesty
on the preiions day; and it is asserted that he is greatly
Pleased with his reception. In fact, there is no_douht
I°.halever- as I have all along said, that, the actual rela-
tions between these Governments have undergone only
tboim. temporary modifications, which followed from to
ehauge giae the form in which the diplomatic relations
ferAbe:preeent to he carried on.
Several of the papers have reproduced a ramour
wliieli'originated in the Guinan Chancelleries, where
`915 faculty of clairvoyance is so much practised, •to the
'eff(fqt, that the Emperor has addressed an autograph
-letter to the Emperor of Russia, to propose to him to
the meeting at 'Warsaw, in order that by this means
a variety of questions 'which are left in a state of uncer-
t4iniy by...the ordinary channels of diplomatic communi-
cation; might.be satisfactorily and easily solved. It: is
'hided that these overtures on the part of Napoleon 111.
Were entertained by Russia and Austria, but that they
Met With very little sympathy from the English Govern-
ment. I suspect in this, as in so many similar cases,
the." wish was father to the thought."
The European Commission, which is to meet at
is likely to have a very difficult mission to
discharge. Fuad Pasha has forwarded a memorial' to
Constantinople, threatening to resign if the powers of
the Commissioners arc to be permitted to extend to any
.acts of interference in the internal .government of the
!'ell!ltry. Up to the date of the latest news the French
,
. • 'reells continued in a state of inaction, of which they
lere greatly complaining. Some work will no doubt
bv
6 cut out for them soon, as well as for their successors.
The works which are being executed by the French
irovernment at Thonon have been the cause of a good
'lea' of uneasiness to the Swiss Government; but the
.re"nt interchange of compliments between the Govern-
Zent of the Emperor and, the Federal Committee have
the effect of removing them to some extent. There
s, nevertheless" no little uneasiness in these preparations.
•
iton trenier arrived at Paris yesterday from Naples,
anecompanied by all the members of his Legation. It is
ot .id whether he has brought the scudi with bins or
The latest despatches from Naples confirm the arrival
uai,:lazzini'in that city. The large fortune of this arch-
bas
as
alsono
eatables him to do a vast deal of mischief, and
it'Nteatcir
dmibt this command of the supplies which
enabled him to evade the vigilance_ofiethe Austrian
_
eapolitau police, who were venal as well as vigilant.
The e intelligence from Ancona is scanty. The citadel
continued to respond to the fire of the batteries. On the
afternoon
of the 21st, a lively cannonade was said to
have been heard•
at sea, proceeding from the right of