The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-12-17 00:00:00

LIABILITY OF RAILWAY COMPAYI.ES.

Two questions of some importance, both to the trading
community, and to railway companies, were decided by the
judge of the Pontefract County Court (Mr. T. H. Marshall)
on Tuesday last. The case in which the points were in-
volved was Blackburn v. the Lancashire and Yorkshire
Railway Company.
This was an action brought by Geo. Blackburn, :a potato
dealer at Brotherton, to recover the sum of £7 lOs from the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Company for damages
sustained by him from the neglect of the company's servants
on the 30th August last, to deliver in due time 27 sacks of
green peas, received by the company at Knottingley, to .be
delivered at Leeds. It appeared that they were delivered at
the company's stores in time for the train, which should
arrive at the offices of the company's station at Leeds, at
half-past two o'clock in the morning. They were not de-
livered until seven o'clock,\ when, the market being over,
Blackburn refused to take them. _ _

For the defence it was alleged that they were sent by the
first train which ought to have arrived at the hour stated,
but being a goods train was delayed, and did not reach
until 6 o'clock a.m. It was denied that there was any pro-
mise to deliver them at any specific hour, and that no servant
of the company was authorised to make such an engage-
ment. At all events it was contended that Blackburn should
have sold the peas at what they would bring, and claim the
difference.

The judge held that a contract was made to deliver the
peas at half-past two o'clock; but he also held that the
plaintiff should have taken the peas and sold them for some-
thing, and sue for the difference of value caused by the
delay. He therefore gave a decree for £4 48.

The Duke of Bedford has given the whole of the land
gratis for a branch railway to Tavistock, so far as the line
will pass through his estates.
The Dissenting body has been appealed to, to contribute
to a testimonial to Professor Maurice, late of King's College.
A memorial has been forward from Edinburgh, calling for
the cessation of the removals of Excise officers.

On Tuesday evening the house of Mrs. Cocker, of Shef-
field, was robbed of £lOO by a servant of her's, who got
clear away.
STRIKE IN GLASGOW. —A Glasgow paper says :—" We
regret to state that there are every probability of a strike
taking place in Glasgow, in consequence of seven master
spinners having agreed to cut down the scale of prices agreed
to by all Scotland besides."
An " indignation meeting," as our American brethren
would phrase it, was held in Paisley on Monday night. The
provost presided, and Mr. Urquhart addressed the assembly.
Resolutions condemnatory of the policy of Lord Aberdeen
were proposed and passed.
On Thursday, a young woman, aged 22, flung herself off
Blackfriars-bridge. The unfortunate creature, falling on the
abutments, broke both her thighs, but she was taken up ere
life was extinct.
EXPORT OF SCOTCH Inox.—The total declared value of
iroi exported is 70 per cent more than last year, but there
has been about one fourth more iron exported. The price
paid on the average for every ton of iron exported this year,
including wrought iron of all sorts, is 40 per cent more than
the price paid last year.—North British. Mail.
HOLIDAY ON THE 26TH INSTANT.--A report that the
Stock Exchange will be closed on Monday, the 26th instant,
is premature. The committee have not, and will not, come
to a decision on the subject until the Saturday previous (24th),
and their resolution will be regulated by the course of events
in the East.

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.— On the night of Tuesday
last an accident occurred at the Glasgow and South Western
Railway Station, by which an industrious man, named John
Crawford, employed as fireman on one of the engines, was
deprived of life. The Ayr train fiad arrived about half-
past ten o'clock, and made the usual stoppage a short dis-
tance from the platform, to admit of the engine shunting off
and recoupling behind. It was while thus engaged that the
deceased missed his footing, and falling between the engine
and tender, was instantly killed on the spot. He has left a
wife and two children.—North British Mail

CONCEALMENT OF WRECKAGE--Joseph and John Law-
rence and William Southgate, belonging to the smack
Martha, of Rowhedge, were summoned by Mr. Raggett,
comptroller of Customs at Colchester, before the magistrates
at Colchester castle on Saturday last, for having in their,
possession, on the 2d December, certain goods and stores
recovered from a wreck, of the value of £2O, and unlawfully
concealing the same, contrary to the statute, whereby they
had forfeited double the value of the goods, and a penalty
not exceeding £lOO. The 'magistrates at the suggestion
of the prosecutors allowed the accused to compromise for a
payment of £2 10s. each.
THE GROWTH AND PREPARATION OP FLAX IN YORK-
sin:Rm.—A meeting of parties interested in flax was held at
the Leeds court-house, on Thursday, for the purpose of con-
sidering the best mode of promoting the culture of this
article. Henry Cholmondely, Esq., of Brandsby, was in
the chair. Some influential parties at Leeds having de-
termined to raise and appropriate the annual sum of £lOO
and upwards to promoting the :object, it was determined
that three prizes should be offered at the next annual show
of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, which will bo bold at
Ripon. in August, 1851 ; fizbt for the best specimens of flax
grown within ten miles of Leeds ; secondly, for the best
specimen of flax straw grown in Yorkshire ; and thirdly, for
the best specimen of scutched flax produced in Yorkshire.
A dreadful malaria fever has broken out at Swansea,
ameng the parties who had attended a country ball ; the
number of the sufferers is variously reported from 20 to 40,
and it is asserted that this distressing affliction has been
occasioned by the accidental breaking into an old drain
during some alterations carried on in the immediate vicinity
of the ball-room, and which it is said had not been opened
for upwards of twenty years. The Rev. George Traherne,
a clergyman greatly esteemed in the neighbourhood, and
Miss Richards, of Roath, cut down in the bloom of youth
and beauty, have fallen victims to the terrible malady.
Members of nearly all the influential families in the district,
who attended the ball, are suffering in the same way, many
of them not expected to recover—among those are members
of the families Sir G. Tyler, M.P. ; Mr. Booker, M.P. ; and
others.
THE WINDBOUND IN THE DARDANELLES.—The Sun-
derland chamber of commerce have addressed the board of
trade, urging the adoption of measures by her majesty's
government for facilitating the transit of grain-laden ves-
sels through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, and also,
if necessary, through the straits of Gibraltar, by allowing
her majesty's steam vessels, when not otherwise employed,
to assist in towing them. The mercantile community have
been much disappointed in the result of their application. In
consequence of the government steamers in the Bosphorus
being otherwise fully engaged, and there being none avail-
able at Gibraltar for such a duty, the reply received has
been to the effect that the request of the memoralists can-
not be granted. It appears that the French government,
on this, as on a former occasion of a like expediency, has
given instructions for the vessels belonging to France to be
towed by the Magellan steamer ; probably when she
has completed her task some of the English vessels may be
indebted to the courtesy of her commander for like assis-
tance. Last the English government should entertain an
incorrect idea of the importance of the service it has been me-
morialised to grant, the Liverpool, and several other cham-
bers of commerce purpose addressing a similar communica-
tion to the board of trade.

NEWALL'S RAILWAY BBBAK.—A special train, consisting
of six carriages and two break vans, started from the Euston
station of the London and North-Western railway yesterday,
for the purpose of testing the value of the new system of
breaks patented by Mr. Newall, the engineer of the East
Lincolnshire Railway. The train left the Euston station and
proceeded to Watford, making two stoppages on the way.
At a point near Harrow the train was travelling at the speed
of about twenty-six miles an hour, when the break was ap-
plied, and in thirty-two seconds it was brought to a stand,
the distance run from the time of applying the break to its
final stopping being 293 yards, upon an ascending gradient
of lin 341. At the next experiment the train was travelling
at the rate of forty-one miles per hour, the break was
applied, and in 301 seconds, and within 340 yards, upon an
ascending gradient of 1 in 603, the train was brought to a
stand. At a short distance from Pinner, however, the
breaks were applied, when the train was travelling
at the speed of forty miles an hour, but it was not brought
to a stand within 700 or 800 yards.
BUSENB&S OF THB,HOUSE OF COMMONS.—It appears by a
return moved for by Mr. Brotherton, that the number of
motions made in the session of 1849 " that the house do now
adjourn," was 11 ; 6 of these were withdrawn, and 5 were
negatived upon a division. A similar return for 1850 shows
the number of motions upon the same question was 21 ; 11
of these were were withdrawn, 2 were agreed to, 9 were di-
vided upon, and 8 were negatived. In 1851 the number of
similar motions was 20 ; 11 of these were withdrawn, 7
were negatived upon a division, and 2 were agreed to. In
11852 the number of similar motions was 15 ; of these 7
were withdraWn, 4 were negatived, and 4 were divided upon.
In 1853 the number of similar motions was 21 ; of these 7
were withdrawn, 7 were divided upon, and 6 were negatived.
The same return further shows, that in 1849 the total num-
ber of times the following questions were put—that the
house do now adjourn, that the debate be now adjourned.
that the chairman report progress, that the chairman do now
leave the chair—amounts to 42 2 • 14 of these were with-
drawn, 26 of them were negatived, 2 were agreed to, and
27 were divided upon. The total number for 1850 amounts
to 86 ; of these 39 were withdrawn, 40 were negatived, 7
were agreed to, and 44 were divided upon. For the session
of 1851 the total number amounts to 74; of these 27 were
withdrawn, 41 were negatived, 6 were agreed to, and 40
were divided upon. In the session of 1852 the total num-
ber was 39 ; of these 19 were withdrawn, 10 were negatived,
1 was agreed to, and 9 were divided upon. In the session.
of 1853 the total number was 83 ; of these 21 were with-
drawn, 30 were negatived, 5 were agreed to, and 27 were
divided upon. The number of motions for an adjourned
debate was, for the session of 1849, 15 ; of these 5 were
withdrawn, 8 were negatived, and 10 divided upon. For
the session of 1850 the number of similar motions was 33 ;
14 of these were withdrawn, 18 were negatived, and 19
were divided upon. In the session of 1851 the same motion
was made 23, and in the session of 1852 it was only made
14 times, but in 1853 the total number reaches 33 again, of
which 6 were withdrawn, 12 were negatived, and 13 were
divided upon.