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 Accident,
has lately been published, accompanied by 200 Pages
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 personal
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—EowAso
TERNS, Coventry, hatter-0 zonoE WHITE, B1rIIHU8141111gr°"r
—.ABRAHAM DAVID LEWES, North Shields, wine IBSICILAIII--•
JOSEPH Wit/oHT. C.iyet,try. watch manufacturer—llicituto
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.—IIAvto TUBNEB, Gusgo)
spirit dealer-4;k, and M, kt 92140, Igyerarp spavbuildep IA!
PgatfuloP,