The Express.
London, England, 1853-01-25 00:00:00

VOLUNTEER RIFLE CLUBS.

TO TIN IDITOI OF Till WILMS.

Stn,—Allow me to ask, through you, whether any-
thing is doing by the members of the various rifle dull*
that were formed, or in course of formation, at the accession
of the Derbyites to power, twelve months ago, but which
were, for the time at least, checked by the sapient hut
chilling decision of Mr. Walpole? I, tor one, was deeply
disappointed at that decisioa, and know that, had it not
been made, more than one volunteer corps would have
been formed in this neighbourhood; and now that we
have a government of • different, and 1 trust a better stamp,
I have looked with some anxiety for symptoms of revived
action among the volunteers of the south of England,
which would, I do not doubt, be speedily followed by
others throughout the kingdom.
At the parting meeting of the metropolitan Club espe-
cially the resolution was very strongly expressed of con-
tinuing their orgmisation and practice, and awaiting, a
more favourable time for again offering tteir servi es to
her Majesty. Assuredly the state of affairs abroad, which
suggested the offer they made, is not less precarious than it
then was, and, in spite of our now having a militia, I be-
lieve that the call for the voluntary metiers of patriotic
citizens is no less imperative ; and I think Lord l'almir-
ston would not be lets willing to accept them than Sir
George Grey was. Has the Metropolitan applied for the
sanction of government, or what do thty it.tend to do?
No time should surely be lost. A year has been already
wasted, which, employed by these corps in equippicg and
drilling themselves, would have given us at this moment a
force that would have gone tar to make successful infusion
impossible. We in the country are lool.ing fur leaders, and
Dupe to Iliad them in the metropolia.
I am, sir, your obedient servant, ANGLUS.
Manchester, Jan. i 2, 1833.

A " RAILWAY POLICE."

TO THE EDITOR OP THE DAILY NEWS.

SlR,—Allow me to draw the attention of your
readers to the following letter, sent to Lord Palmerston :
A prolonged series of railway accidents has at length
excited the public attention to railway travelling. I request
consideration to the following propositions :
The expediency of forming a Railway I'olice, similar in
organization to the Metropolitan. Rail% ay property, direc-
tion and government are distinct from the supervision for
the safety of passengers. This part of travelling cannot he
private property. The companies have entered into In
implied contract with the public to adopt every precaution
whizh can afford security, and if the companies cannot ful-
fil their. engagement the public are entitled to take the
matter into their own bands. Railweys should be con-
sidered as roads and streets, and be under the same
species of
_superintendence. A police is efficient in pro-
portion to its discipline, nor can any be effective whose disci-
pline is much less than military.llence a railway police should
be is distinct body, under the command of experienced
chiefs, and to that police should be entrusted the cure of
railways. Thus police would act on all the line. der a
uniform system. Suppose a division of the Metropolitan
pollee to have the charge of a rail way, the instil etors or other
officers being station masters, and the regulations of start-
ing, stopping, &c. (the times being fixed by the directors of
each company), and the control of the guards (also police-
men) and of the drivers committed to them, doubtless acci-
dents would but rarely occur.
At the present time our railways are under no general
system and organisation; there is little discipline and sub-
-4toation—no unity—no central authority ; and under
-•-wces accidents are inevitable. Any loss of

patronage would not be put by the direcors or vimpanies
into competition with the preservation of the lives of the
public. The government alone can tfeetively establish a
railway police.
I have the honour ti be, &c.,
Lineoln's•inn, Jan. 21. F. 11. ELWIN.

MUSIC.

MR, ALLCROFT'S CONCERT.

Last night Mr. Allcroft gave what he called "a
grand musical festival" in Exeter Hall. It was ono of
those entertainments which thin gentleman has long been in
the habit of giving, and to which that portion of the public
who are not much accustomed to concert-going are attracted
by a hill of far,• more profuse than recherchi, and possess-
ing the additional attraction of great cheapness. We are
far from objecting to concerts of this kind: they in-
duce and enable many people to bear music of
a kind which probably would not otherwise be-
come known to them, and thus tend in some de-
gree to improve the public taste. Mr. Alleruft brings
together, certainly at no small expense, every eminent
performer within his reach, and is thus enabled, in his bills
and advertisements, to make a display of names which
never fails to "draw." Last night. Exeter-hall was fuller
than at the greatest performances of the Siered Har-
monic Society—it was, indeed, crowded to suffocation.
The programme was of enormous length, coot iining no
less than forty pieces of vocal and instrumental
music ; besides • number of national ditties
by the Tyrolese singers, introduced between the
parts. At this season the number of eminent performers in
London is but small, and Mr. Alleroft swelled his list by a
good many names unknown L., fame; but still he was able
to muster, as vocalists, Madame Fiorentini, Mr. Sims
Reeves, Mile Rebecca Isaacs, Miss Kathleen Fitzwilliam,
Madame Doris, Madame F. Lablache, Miss Dolby, Mr.
Leffler, and Signor F. Lablache ; and, as instrumentalists,
Mlle. Coulon, M. Sainton, Mr. Richardson, and Mr. Case.
The list incluied the name of " the unrivalled Signor Bot-
tesini"—a great attraction certainly ; but we du not know
how it came to be inserted, as Signor Bottesini is profes-
sionally engaged at Paris, and could not be in London at
this time.

An entertainment of this kind is not a subject for
criticism. The perfornera sing or play the things which
they are most in the habit of singing or playing, which re-
quire the least preparation, and are attended with the least
trouble to thentaelves; things which are familiar to the
musical listener but are not, on that account, the lees
agreeable to a popular audience. Such was the case last
evening; every piece at all remarkable, either in itself or in
its performance, was so well known as to be even hackneyed ;
but the heartinere of the applause was not diminished on
this account, and the applause, generally speaking, was be-
stowed with discriminating judgment.

FATAL TERMINATION OP THE CASE OF CRUELTY
AT THR 011.111NWICH UNION. —The late atrocious C2llO of
barring at the Greenwich Union-house has excited much
attention throughout the country, and we have now to
announce that, after a most lingering illness, consequent
on the injuries received, the child Gaywoiid is no more,
death having put an end to its sufferings on Sunday last.
The public will very naturally ask, is the farcical sentence
of 14 days' imprisonment, passed by the Common Serjeant,
at the late session of the Central Criminal Court, to atone
for the depriving of this child of life ? If so, then, indeed,
are the poor left in our unions without protection; for
there can be little doubt but that the injuries inflicted have
been the cause of its death. From the time the discovery was
made till the day of its death the child became exceedingly
ill, and such was its state on Friday last, that Dr. Sturton
called in the assistance of Mr. South, the eminent surgeon
of Guy's Hospital, who, on seeing deceased, at once pre-
nonneed the case hopeless, and that there was no chance of
its recovery. The nurse, Oldham. we may mention, was
liberated from Newgate on the 15th instant, and a very'
few hours afterwards made her appearance at the Greenwich
Union in a disgraceful state of intoxicadon, and, claiming
admission, said that a gentleman had given her a glass of
wine, thus rendering her in the condition she was then in.
At the meeting of the board on Thursday she made her
appearance before the guardians, when they unanimously
resolved to expel her the house. The child, we may add,
was an orphan, its widowed mother having, at the recent
visitation, been taken off with the cholera, and, previous to
the injuries inflicted, was one of the healthiest and liveliest
in the house. The question now remains to he decided—
whether the inhuman monster esa or cannot be again ar-
raigned, seeing that death has since resulted from her con-
duct, and made to answer a charge, if not of wilful mur-
der, at least of manslaughter. If she is altogether to escape
then, indeed, is the law of England au anomaly.—Kentish
Mercury.
REBECCAITES IN SOMERSET.—A proceeding which
has excited much attention around the district between
Bath, Frame, and Warminster, took place on Thursday
morning last, being no less than the forcible removal of one
of the turnpike gates belonging to the Black Dog Trust.
This trust, for some time past, it appears, has been in diffi-
culties, and under the provisions of their act the trustees,
a few months ago, endeavoured to compel the parishes
through which their roads pass to repair them. They
failed, however, in consequence of its being shown that a
former treasurer was a defaulter to the extent of about
6,0001., and that this sum had not been brought into the
accounts. Accordingly, since that time, neither the trustees
nor the parishes have repaired the roads, which have now
beanie in a shocking state, while the bondholders, who
have seised the gates, continue to take the tolls for their
own security. High tolls and bad roads have caused com-
plaints to be incessant, and about one o'clock on Thursday
morning last a number of persons quietly assembled, and
not only unhinged, but carried away, the massive gates at
Midford, about four miles from Bath. The firing of seve-
ral guns had the effect of keeping the tolltaker within
doors, and so effectually was the thing done that not the
slightest trace has since been obtained of the missing gates,
or any clue to the persons whe removed them.
THE NEW CAPE MAIL STEAMER HYDASPES reached
Southampton from London, on her way to Plymouth, at 2
o'clock on Monday morning. She fired two guns on enter-
ing Southampton water, which being a signal for a mail
packet from abroad, and the Tagus, with the Peninsular
mail, being due, the government authorities wire aroused
from their beds, and a special train for conveying the mills
to London got ready. Every line of mail packets ought-to
have peculiar signals, on entering Southampton water, no,
cording to where they come from; and commanders and
pilots ought to observe the utmost care in attending to those
signals. The Hydaspes is a noble vessel. She is in the
inner dock. The dock people were to work all last night,
getting 600 tons of cargo into her. She is to leave South-
ampton tomorrow for Plymouth, to take the mails in.
The mail screw steamer Lady Jocelyn was hourly expected
at Southampton yesterday from Plymouth to discharge her
cams. When she arrives there will hp four of the General
Screw Company's steamers in the Southampton Docks at
one time—viz., the Queen of the South, the Harbinger, the
Hydaspes, an the Lady Joeels n. biter :ended her
mails at Plymouth three days before they were due at the
Post-office.