The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-27 00:00:00

• TL EXPRESS, .146StAlt -EVEWIWG, Atfi JST 27, 1866.

Cockle, of Australia, had arrived at a similar result as he
did himself odtbe same subject, although by a different
system of calculation. A paper was next read by Pro-
fessor Plucker "'On Complesces of the Second Order."
lb bection also received the following payeei—Professor
H. J. El, Smith, "On a'Propert7 of the
second order ;" W, H. L Rummell,' On the Hyper,lliptio
Transcendent' (Go pe system) ;" Mr. A. Cornu, 'On a
New Geometrical neorrati relative to the Theory of Ro-
-1
fiection and Rafraction of Polarized Light ;" A. J. Ellis
"On Mine Stigmatic'," A. J. Ellis, "On Praatieai
Hypeareetry." •
1. Sacrtoz C.;-GEOLOGY.
This meetintopenad punctually at 11 o'clock, and sat
tilll2. There were present on, the platform Professor
Ad C. Ramsay, the proddent, and Messrs. Pengelley,
C. Le Neve Foster, J. W. King, S. R. Pattison, and J.
Peacock. The business opened with the reading of a paper,
written by Mr. J. F. Walker, "On the Lower Green Land
of Bedfordshire." It was not of any great length, and con-
tained an account of the nature of the land, with an enu-
meration of the fossils and other substances contained in
it..: A few remarks were made upon it by Mr. Le Neve
Fester. It did not, however, lead to any further discus-
sion; A short description followed next "On a change of
form and position of land at the south end of the Isle of
Walney,"ly Mr. Peacock.

SECTION E.—GEOGRAPHY, &c.
. his ovation met again on Saturday under the presi-
dency of Sir Charles Nicholson. There was a considerable
attendance.
'A paper by Colonel Goldsmid on Eastern Persia and
Western Belooohistan was read by Mr. Markham,
ssecretarT to the Royal Geographical Society. Colonel
Goldsmid is the first Englishman who traversed the
country in question, the means of journey therein being,
as he describes, scanty and most inconvenient..
Mr. MARKHAM read a paper by Colpnel Tremenheere
on the " Physical Geography of the Lower Indus."
Mr. J. Erroll read a paper on the various theories of
man's past and present condition. He stated that there
were three theories by which it was sought to account for
the origin of man. The first—that which they had been
taught from their infancy—namely, creation by God of
men who were a little lower than angels, which he would
call the religious 'theory;' the second, which was anta-
gonistic to the two others, was the Darwinian theory, that
man descended from the ape ; and the third was the poly-
genous theory, which propounded that the primitive
men were savages, but lower than any known race of
savages, as they could not speak. There were many minor
distinctions, but that classification would suffice for a tole-
rably completereview of the leading theories opposed to the
Scriptural one, which differed nereatially from the others in
this respect, that it not only held a special creation of man
but also that man was not crested a low-cast, speechless
savage, but created a man in perfection. All theories re.
cognised the fact that there bad been some kind of deve-
lopment or change in the human family. The chief diffe-
rences between them related to the origin and character of
the primitive man. In one essential particular Dar-
'Animism differed from them all, for it began with a
human infant which bad not human parents ; but, he
would ask, how was the first young mammal nourished in
its struggle through life byparents that were not mammals?
How was the progeny trained and elevated into man, when
we, with all our education, were scarcely able to
prevent our masses falling back to a state rather
akin to monkeys or brutes ? All that Darwin had proved
in his work " On the Origin of Species " was that numer-
ous varieties of plants and animals were developed within
the limits of each particular species. All beyond the pro-
bable (but not proved) origin of species was a proof in sup-
port of it. Raving enlarged at great length with great
minuteness on these chief features of the paper, Mr. Reddie
came to the conclusion that no theory about man or lan-
guage which we can devise—even with all our after-know-
ledge of the facts now existing with regard to both—
will so well account for all the facts of the
case as our old, religious, and time-honoured theory,
of man's origin and the confusion of language at Babel.
Professor HUXLEY was invited to speak on the subject,
and said as president of section D he felt it his duty to
say that it comprised a department for anthropology, which
was the science embracing everything relating to the past
and present condition of men, and if the paper should have
been read at all it could have been in that section of
which he was president ; he must, therefore, decline to
discuss it in this section. In section D there was a whole-
some system of referring papers, and by which it was
decided if there was anything in them new enough or good
enough to entitle them to be read ; he could not pledge
himself to say that would have been the fate of the paper
if it bad been referred.

Mr. NASH, president of the Ethnological Society, de-
fended the reading of the paper in this section, inasmuch
as it was not only a geographical but an ethnological
section.

~SirJ.Lraax► supported the Darwinian theory, and con-
tended that there was nothing in science opposed to reli-
gion, or in religion opposed to science.
Mr. CRAWPORD, in one of hie characteristic humorous
speeches, condemned the Darwinian theory.
Mr. C. Bi.sia and Mr. Frmiows having briefly addressed
the meeting,
Mr. Ramos replied, and received a vote of thanks for his
paper.
Mr. F. WHTNTER contributed a paper " On the progress
of the Russo-American telegraph expedition vil Behring's
Straita." He said—This great enterprise is the work of the
Western Union Company of America. In order to make it
a success, a large amount of exploration had been found
necessary, and this being almost entirely in new or little
known countries, would of course add considerably to our
knowledge of them. The first officials of the company
reached Francisco late in 1864, and some of them at
once proceeded to British Columbia to commence the pre-
liminary exploration. The line had previouslybeen carried
through Oregon and Washington territory to New West-
minster, Fraser River, and the commencement of the new
line is at this latter place, which is the embryo
capital of British Columbia. and it terminates at the
mouth of the Amoor river. The organisation of the first
expedition wail not completed until the end of July, 1865.
Five vessels, including a screw steamer, were employed to
take up the exploring parties, and to leave them at their
several destinations, with stores for their subsistence, &a.
All returned to San Francisco before the Ist of December.
The preparations for 1866 were oil a more extended scale.
Seven vessels, one of which is a magnificent clipper ship,
' would be employed in transmitting principally to the coast
of Asia men, supplies, and telegraph material. More than'
300 men would go to Kamschatka and Siberia, whilst
the line is already constructed for about 700
miles north of New Westminster. By the end of
this year about 1,500 miles of wire would be
stretched northwards, and other sections of the line
commenced. During the first halt of June three vessels
left San Francisco. Colonel Bulkeley (an engineer of im-
mense experience, a colonel in the United States regular
army in the corps of engineers, and who was during the
late war principally engaged in military telegraphing) was
accompanied by Count Ansoff, a Russian commissioner ap-
pointed by the imperial government to see that every
facility was afforded to the expedition. The United
States steamer Saginaw would convey a part of the expedi-
tion, and a Bossism man-of-war was ordered to report to
Colonel Bulkeley at Petropauloski for the same purpose.
On the deck of the clipper ship Nightingale, the largmt
vessel ' of the expedition, two small stem-wheel
steamers ' would be carried, which were intended
for the navigation of shallow rivers on the coast of
Siberia and Russian America. Early this year, in British
Columbia. Major Pope explored the country from Lake
Tatla to the head waters of Stekin River, and then de-
scended that giver to the sea, travelling more than 500
miles in snow shoes, and the remainder of the distance
(from the bead of the navigation) in a boat. He was ac-
companied by one white man and two Indians for the
greater part of the journey. He described the country
north of Tatla Lake as lightly wooded, though there is
much prairie and land which is very unlike the greater
part of British Columbia. Every facility had been given
to the expedition by both the British and Russian colonial
governments, and all material for the company's use was
everywhere admitted duty free.
Samoa G.—MECHANICAL SCIENCE.

This section commenced its proceedings at St. George's-
hall punctually at 11 o'clock, at which hour there was •
numerous attendance. Lord Helper and Lord Wrottesley
were present. Mr. Hawksley occupied the chair. Mr.
Fleming Jenkin, F.R.S., read • paper explaining his
" New Arrangement for picking up Submarine Cables."
After giving a very lucid description of his apparatus, he
remarked that the Telegraph Construction and Mainte-
nance Company had taken one of his machines on board
the Great Eastern, but up to the present time they had
not caught hold of the old cable, and he was doubtful
whether the machine had been fixed in sufficient time
to use this year. He also showed the applicability of
parts of the break apparatus to ooal drawing and several
other. purpoees.—Mr. Bramwell asked whether a weight or
• spring was used, and if the former, whether it did not
exercise an injurious effect on the pitch of the vesseL —Mr.
Jenkin acid that the weight was adopted, and undoubt-
edly affected the pitch of the vessel, but it was found to
be so alight, compared with the gross weight, that in prac-
tice it did not deteriorate from the useful of the appa-
ratus.—The thanks of the section was unanimously voted
to Mr. Jenkin for his excellent paper.—Mr. R. Musket's
paper on the " Treatment of Melton Iron and its Conver-
, MINI into Iron and Steel, by the pneumatic process," was
read by the Secretary (Mr. P. Le ',./eve Foster), in the un-
avoidable absence of the author.

PCPILIC RECANTATION.—The ordinary course of
morning service at Burslem parish church was departed
from on Sunday last for the purpose of enabling a convert
from Roman catholicism to make a public recantation, and
to afford an opportunity of re-baptizing a child of the
convert, a
the
of the mime of Hollamby. In the
middle of service Mr. HoUamby presented his child for
baptism, when the questions prescribed in the Prayer•book
in the case of • child supposed to have been previously
baptised were put to him by the rector, the Rev. Dr.
Armstrong. Dr. Armstrong baptized it in the usual form,
he and his niece acting as sponsors. Mr. Hollamby then
requested to be allowed publicly to read his recantation.
The rector produced the form of recantation which was
sanctioned by the late Archbishop of Canterbury, and used
by the rector on numerous previous occasions. This was
read aloud by Mr. Hollamby. During these ceremonies
the most breathless attention pervaded the church.

EXCURSION TRAIN ACCIDENT ON THE
GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY.

An accident, attended with fatal consequenCee,
occurred on Saturday afternoon on the Peterborourh and
Fly branch of the Great Eastern system, about a mile and
three-quarters from Ely and a mile and a half from
Chittisham- stations. Every Saturday an excursion traia
leaves London for Imenouth and Lowestoft, and takes up
passengers at very moderate fares at the whole of the
principal natio:meat the line. This train is due In Ely at
3.25, and out at 3.35. To meet this, and to ►ccommodate
residents oil the Peterborough branch, a train leases Peter-
borough aa2.30, mid on arrival at Ely between the above
times, is coupled on to the main train. On Saturday last
the train left Peterborough as usual, made up is the fol-
lowing order :—A powerful tank engine, which had under-
gone most thorough repair at Stratford within the last
two months,-• guard's break (next the engine), • first-class
smoking carriage, an ordinary first-class carriage, One
second and three third-class carriages. William Brown,
an old and experienced band was driving, and •
guard named Fuller was in charge. The train passed
Wbittlesea, March, and Chittisham stations in safety,
and bad taken up about 130 passengers, who were distri-
buted through the various carriages except the "smoky, "
whichwas empty at the time of the accident. All went well
until reaching the spot mentioned, which is on • curve of
about • mile radius, with a slight up gradient to Ely. On
the Ely side, about half-a-mile, is the junction of the Lynn,
Norwich, and Peterborough lines with the main line.
About half a mile on the Peterborough side of the junc-
tion is an auxiliary signal, and this was against Brown as
he approached, but he " whistled it off," and was proceed-
ing at the rate of about 25 miles an hour when the train
left the metals at or about a spot known as the Adelaide
crossing of the Peterborough turnpike road, and close to
the auxiliary signal. The engine, break, " amoky," and
first-class carriages ran down the bank (here about five feet
high) and were heaped upon each other in the adjacent
field, quickly changing the scene from one of enjoyment
and hilarity into a moment of death, terror, and confusion.
Tha,train had been observed rounding the curve by some
bystanders, and one of them a moment or so before the
•ecident took place, remarked how " beautifully " she was
coming along.
The alarm being raised, Mr. Barnes, the station-master
at Ely, with all available assistance, hastened to the spot.
The telegraph was put in requisition to summon some of
the head officials, and Mr. Sproul, the district superin-
tendent, arrived with all speed, followed by Mr. Robertson,
the general superintendent, by special train. The scene of
the disaster directly after the accident presented an
appalling spectacle. The engine lay upon its side partly
embedded in the soft earth of the field ; upon this the
break had partially mounted ; the " smoky " had shot out
and lay upon its side at a short distance, and on the top,
or nearly so, of the break and engine the ordinary first
class carriage had mounted, and had turned itself com-
pletely topsy-turvy. The remaining carriages were off the
metals, the wheels embedded in the bank, and leaning
towards the field, looked as though the slightest touch
with the hand would topple them over after their fellows.
The break was literally smashed to atoms. Such passenger.
as had escaped from the carriages were grouped
round in a state of the utmost consternation. The
whole of the available medical assistance in Ely
was freely rendered, Messrs. Muriel, Davis, and Cole,
surgeons, being engaged in attending to the sufferers. It
was soon discovered that the unfortunate driver was killed;
he was found pinned down by the hand rail of the engine ;
he bad one leg over the hand-rail of the engine, and the
other round the pillar of the break ; so it would appear
that he was iu the act of jumping off when be met his
death ; his ribs were all broken, and portions bad pene-
trated the heart and lungs, and he had received other
severe injuries, so that death must have been instaa.
t•ucous. Had he not endeavoured to jump off, he would
probably have escaped, for the fireman was found unin-
jured under and protected by the wind-guard of the engine.
The escape of the guard was • miraculous one. He was
literally hemmed in in all directions by the
remains of hie break. He was with difficulty
got out, when it was found one leg was slightly
injured, and he was suffering from concussion. He
speedily recovered from the latter, however, and pluckily
set to work to render what assistance he could. So soon
it it was known that the whole of the passengers were
collected, the medical inspection resulted in the discovery
of the following injured :
Mr. and Mrs. Grounds, the landlord and landlady of the
Griffin, Commercial Inn, at March, were in the ordinary
first class carriage. They wereremoved to the Lamb Hotel
at Ely, under the care of Mr. Muriel. Mr. Grounds is much
cut about the head, and severely injured on the back, so
much so that on Saturday night paralysis, resulting from
concussion of the spine, was feared. Mrs. Grounds is
much shaken by the concussion, and bruised and scratched
She was insensible for a considerable period, and great fears
are entertained in ber case. Miss Coward was on her way
from Barnsley to North Walsham. She is suffering severely
from concussion, and was in estate of collapse for some con-
siderable time. She is out about the face, and it was at
first feared that her jaw was broken, but such is happily
not the case. This lady is likewise at the Lamb, under
the care of Dr. Mural, and will be unable to be moved for
some time. Mr. John Hills, jun., son of Mr. Hills, wine
and spirit merchant of Ely, was returning home ; he
was removed to his father's house ; is much bruised and cut,
and has received a tremendous blow on the back of the
head ; he is suffering in addition from intense nervous ex-
citement. Mr. John Legge, Jun., son of Mr. Legge, boot-
maker, of Ely, was returning home ; he was conveyed to
his father's house much and severely cut about the head,
with the branch of temporal artery severed, and severely
bruised. Many of the other passengers were bruised or
suffered temporarily from concussion, but not so severely
as to prevent their return to their homes, to effect which
every facility was afforded by the company.
The remains of the driver were conveyed to an adjacent
public-house to await an inquest. He was a married man
with a family, and resided at Peterborough. He was a
careful, frugal man, and reputed one of the best drivers on
the line. The fireman was one of the steadiest. The
most strict scrutiny has failed at present to reveal the
cause of the accident, and it will probably never be known
for • certainty. The appearance would lead to one of two
conclusions. The first departure from the metals appears
to have taken place opposite the auxiliary signal, where
one of the rails (which are fish-tail jointed) is broken in
four pieces. The sleepers were new twelve months ago,
and the wheels of the engines are in perfect order. After
the train left the metals it appears to have pro-
ceeded about 100 yards along the port ballast of
the bank ploughing up this, and tearing up the
outside rails as it progressed till the engine
finally canted over into the field, dragging part

of the train after it, and leasing the rest blocking
the line up. It is a rule of the company that speed shall

be reduced on approaching the junetion, and the guard
seconded the driver's efforts in that respect by screwing
down the break. Consequently either the rail was defec-
tive, or the break caused a wheel of the guard's van to
" jump the metals:" the break would then leave the line
and by side pressure force the engine off. The fact of
some of the carriages remaining on the bank is accounted
for by the providential breaking of the coupling chains
between the guard's van and the " smoky." •
So soon as the passengers bad been cared for, the next
proceeding was to clear the line, and this by reason of
the energetic action taken by Messrs. Robertson and
Sproul was effected by an early hour yesterday
morning, and the traffic, which in the meantime
had been worked past the shattered train on the
down line only resumed its ordinary course, the rails
having been re-laid. The disabled engine and the
carriages in the field are left for the inspection of the
coroner and jury and the government inspector. The car-
riages left on the bank have been restored to their
legiti-
mate uses. The engine is not much damaged, but lies
very awkwardly for replacement on the rails.
CAMBRIDGE, SENDAT EVENING.

To-day some of the sufferers, Mr. and Mrs. Grounds
more particabuiy, were reported worse, and additional
professional aid being deemed necessary, Dr. Carver,
of Cambridge, who is officiating for Dr. Humphry in the
absence of the latter, was despatched from Cambridge, at
the instance of the company, by special train, about mid-
day.

Vicromax EMIORATION.—We understand that
the Red Jacket, which is about to sail in the course of the
present week from Liverpool for Victoria, will carry oat a
party of a hundred female emigrants, under the su • -
Matianoe of Miss Maria S. Rye. Miss Rye, and that part
of her charge which mines from London, will leave the
Benton station on Tuesday next. Another vessel will
we are informed, on the same errand, and under the same
begerreient auspices, in October.

ipirrAng intrtligertre.

NOTES ON THE YORK AUGUST MEETING.

inteManut.

MITECIPOLITAN 0017NTY COURTS.
With* days appointed for the mere week.)
BLOONWIVILY, l'oriland-reed. —Tuesday, August 29; Wediusidar,
29 ; 'Thursday, 30.
SOUTHWARK. awan-drest.—Wedneeday, dogma 29 ;TharldaY.
38; Friday, 31.
LA 111 'MTH, Cssaberwell'llew-rosd.—Tusaday„ August W.
GRRINWICIL—Wednesday, August 19 ; Trida7.Bl.
Wooi.wicn.—Thars‘p, asSllO.
Cm or LORDOR, Idial3bandlngs. —Tuesday, August, 28
Wednesday, 29 ; Thursday $O ; Friday, 31.