The Express.
London, England, 1851-06-09 00:00:00

THE AMIDENTONTHE BRIGHTON

RAILWAY.

Lewes, SATIIILDAT.
In the account of this lamentable occurrcnc

which appeared in the Erpreas of Saturday, and by
which four persons lost their lives and a fifth is scarcely
expected to recover from the injuries he has received, it
was suggested that an obstruction had been placed on the
rails with a malicious intention. It would now seem that
it is likely to have been so placed through the thoughtless-
ness of some children, though even upon that point there is
yet no evidence to lead to a po,itive opinion on the subject.
The spot where the accident took place, which is known
as Newmarket Bridge, is about two miles from Lewes.
About 100 yards on the other aide of this bridge three
sleepers were stacked ready for use, to replace others
I whenever they might be wanted. These sleepers had
been in the same situation for upwards of two months, and
were not only found perfectly safe, at a distance of about
six feet from the line, seams the gaugers examined it in the
morning, according to usual custom, hut even as late as
three-quarters of an hour previous to the accident, when
the quarter past eleven a.m. train passed over tho line in
perfect safety, Mr. Laing, the chairman of the company,
and Mr. Braining, the inspector of the line, riding on the
engine. In the immediate vicinity of this spot stands a
labourer's cottage, with a garden abutting on the railway.
In this cottage reside several children, and there are also
other children living close by the railway, to which they
can at all times obtain ready access, and it is supposed that
some or other of these children had, unobserved, retuoviAl
ono of the sleeper,., and placed one end of it on the railway,
but without any malicious intention of causing injury.

THE INQUEST..

At twelve o'clock on Satunlay the inquest was held at
the County Hall, Lewes, before Mr. Gell and a jury of
fifteen tradesmen. The jury having viewed the bodies of
the four deceased persons, the names and ages of the de-
ceased were then given :—Mrs. Mary SiIIIMOIA Chatfield, a
widow, aged 73; Miss Sarah Chatfield, aged 33;
George Chase, fireman of the train, aged 19; and a man
sinned Langhorne, Chri+tian name unknown, aged about 30.
The ptoecedings were watched on the part of the com-
pany by Mr. Lang, the chairman; Mr. Nix, one of the di-
rectors ; Mr. Slight, the secretary ; Mr. Hawkins, the
traffic supaintendent ; Mr. Craven, the locomotive super-
intendent; and Mr. Faithful, the solicitor, of Brighton.
Mr. Somers Clarke attended to watch the proceedings on
the part of the relations of the Chatfield'. The bodies of
the deceased havin4 been identified,
Mr. William Machin, station-master of the Brighton
terruinee, was then called—At a quarter-past 11 o'clock
yesterday morniug I despatched a train front Brighton
station to Lewes, with which Mr. Laing, the chairman of
the company, travelled. At five minutes past twelve I
started another train to Lewes. It consisted of an engine
and teuder, a first-clam carriage, two seconds, and a third.
There were about eight or time passengers. In the first
carriage, a second class, there was no passenger ; in the
next, a third class, there were four or five ; in the next, a
first class, one or two ; and the last, a break second, in
which was the guard. The engine driver, Samuel Jaelisou,
and George Chase, the fireman, were hot:. on the engine.
The guard was in the last carriage. The second train
which left Brighton had the tender fires, before the engine.
It is usual with short trains un this liue. In many places
we have no turn tables to turn the engine.
By the Coroner : it never occurred to me that danger was
to be apprehended in running the tender first. With light
trains it matters but very little, but with heavy, or goods
trains, it is necessary to send the engine first.
Henry Earl—Was guard to the train which left Brighton
at five minutes past 12 yesterday (Friday). We went ou
safely until we ai rived at the spot of the accident, and I
was in front of the last carriage. We stopped at Fulmer,
and on re-starting travelled at from 20 to '2l miles an hour.
'the first I felt of the accident was a sudden jerk, and the
moment I looked I saw the tender it. front of the engine go
over the wall of the arch, as did the engine, and my car-
riage turned round and up a little. It kept to the road,
and un arriving near the arch it stopped. I got down and
looked over the arch and saw the engine. There wad a deal
of steam, but I could not hen- any one. I then placed sig-
nals up and down the line. The gentleman in the first-
class, who was not hurt, let himself out. I assisted two
passengers out of a second class carriage. I then went
down to the arch and saw three dead bodies. Observed the
driver, who spoke to me; he was in much pain and was
crying deeply.
Coroner—Now, dad you notice anthing of a sleeper on
the line ? Witness—Yes; before [went down to the arch
I saw a man, a plate-layer, whom I had sent towards
Fainter with a signal, lilt a sleeper off the rails as he went
along. I saw him take it off, and I said, "'That is what
threw us off." I was following the man with a fog.signal,
and that is why I noticed it particularly. One end of the
sleeper rested on the north metal, and the other end on the
sleepers of the road. There were fragments of the sleeper
lying about.
Mr. Superintendent Flannagan here produced the sleeper
and fragments, and it was obvious that it had been split and
shattered by something heavy passing over it, such as
the wheels of a locomotive.
Coroner—Did you see any persons near the spot ? Wit-
nes—l saw three men, plate-layers, about 300 yards front
where the accident happened, and a man on the bank about
200 yards off.
Samuel Falvey, a young agricultural labourer, who was
in the third class carriage which was dragged over the
bridge, and whose extraordinary escape excited much
interest, was next examined. Hu seemed to be suffering
from the effects of the fall, Ile said, I was a passenger by
the third-class carriage. After we left lalmer a thick dust
arose. I felt a shock, and I lay down at the bottom of the
carriage under the seat. The carriage went over the bridge
and fell on its end. The three passengers who were in the
carriage with me were killed. They stood at the other end.
Coroner—Then how did you escape ?
Witness—Why, I held on under the seat, and then
scrambled out ou to the embankment of the line. I did not
think the train was going at too fast u rate.
The proceedings were here adjourned for an hour and a
half.
Upon the reassembling of the jury at seven o'clock,
Richard Chatfield, a plate layer, in the employ of Mr. Oli-
ver, a contractor of the line, was examined, and said—l
have been employed five years and nine months on this
line. There are three of us there employed. I had to go
round my " length " about 100 yards over the arch. I ex-
amine the line twice a day. I examined it yesterday. I
had been weeding the line. I did not at all disturb the
sleepers, nor put down fresh rises. I was at work about 50
yards from the sleepers. I saw the sleepers on the north
side of the line in the morning. I placed them there about
three months ago. I have never moved them from that
time. There were three sleepers. The last time I saw
them was about half past *even yesterday morning. I did
nut, while I was at wore, see anybody near the sleepers.
By a Juror—We were too far from the sleepers while at
work to see where they were removed. I was about half a
mile from them.
James Chatfield, brother of the last witness, said—l
should think, when I last saw the sleepers, the nearest part
of them to the rail was about six feet. I did nut see the
broken sleeper until I saw it in this room to-day.
By Mr. Clark—While I was at dinner my brother walked
down the line towards the archway. I supposed my bro-
ther was going to his garden, which he has at the end of
the cutting. That is about 150 yards from the place where
the sleepers are deposited.
Ilannula Boakes—l am the wife of Henry Boakes, a
labourer. I live near the Newmarket archway. Ido not
know whether there were any sleepers on the line. I did
not see the accident, or hear the crash. I have five child-
ren ; three of them were in the house when the accident
took place. My eldest son is about ten years old. lie was
at work during the morning in the garden. I never knew
my children to play on the railway.
By Mr. Faithfull.—l never saw my boy for about an
hour. The railway adjoins the garden. His little brother
was also in the garden. They both came in together. I
called them in about 12 o'clock, and they came in. When
I told my eldest boy to go to Aid-immix!, he said he must
first see the train go past. Ile appeared very anxious to See
the train pans. When he came back he said, " Oh, mother,
the train has gone over, what shall we do." Ho did not
anxious to see whether there was any one hut.
?Irra eris a man and his wife, and four other children named
Wicks also living in the house. Wicks's two boys wars
both at school. My eldest girl is away from home, end
the next girl at school; she don't come home till six in the
evening. My second boy is five years old. It did not
strike me as anything particular that my boy wanted to see
the train. My children and Wicks's children often play
together, but yesterday morning I know Wicks's boys
were at school, and the girl in the house. My husband
was not at home that day until after he heard of the
accident.
James Edward Boakes the child, ten years of age, was
then examined as to his knowledge of the obligation of an
oath. He stated that he went to school. He knew that
there was a God, and he should be punished if he did not
speak the truth. lie went to church and knew his cate-
chism. The jury, however, expressed an opinion that the
child ought not to be examined, we believe because Do
cried.
The inquiry was then adjourned till 12 o'clock on Friday
next.
BRIGHTON, flonnmr.
The unfortunate engine-driver, Jackson, died this morn-
ing at the Sussex County Hospital, at 12 o'clock, from the
effects of his injuries. In the course of the day bills were
posted in Brighton, offering a reward of 501. for the appre-
hension of the person or penes§ who had wilfully placed •
wooden sleeper on the rails, by which means the train was
thrown off.

THE Haiwiem Eti.cnon.—The second election !
for the borough of Harwich, it appears, is not to pass by
undisputed for on Friday evening a petition against the
return of Mr. Crawford was presented to the House of
Commons. The document alleges, as the foundation for ,
the petition, that the poll was closed on the day of voting
before four ock prematurely and unlawfully by the re-
turning officer, without any sufficient excuse for or notice of I
such closing ; that • number of voters were then wading
to vote for Mr. Henry Roby Prinsep, but were prevented
from so doing by the premature closing of the poll ; that
ings at the said election were, before the closing '
of trpeeedl,l interrupted and obstructed by open violence ; I
that many persons not properly qualified had voted for Mr.
Robert Wigrant Crawford, and that their votes ought to be
streak off ; that divers persons had voted for Mr. Craw-
ford, who had asked, raised, and taken money or other re-
ward, and were therefore disqualified ; that the agents of
Mr. Crawford had been guilty of bribery, treating, intimi-
dation, and other unlawful acts and practices in order to
procure vette, and that the votes of properly qualified per-
sons had been refused for Mr. Prinsep ; that under all these
eireamstanow, the election of Mr. Crawford ought to be
laid null and void.