The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-18 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL FLNANCIAL REEORNI

capacity, as the representative of this (Tot NORTHER*
TIMES) journal, you know how to act." Kir R. accore-
- ingly attended, and, in the waiting room, where several
At the weekly meeting of the Council on Thursday it gentlemen were in attendance, be was handed; a ticke-,
was resolved to hold a public meeting early in December, to on which was written—" Admit the hearer to the dinner.
report proceedings, submit a statement of accounts, and disems Signed by Mr. Stitt." Being still doubtful as to the
the measures necessary for carrying out the objects of the position in which he stood, he asked Mr. Brumfit
in
Association. what capacity he should consider himself—whether as a
ADIHNIsTRAnvE AND ELEDTDR/AD REFORM.—Two letters private guest, or in his public capacity ? Mr. Brumf t
on these subjects were read—one from the Onairman and Vice. consulted with a gentleman, and returned to Mr. R. at d
ChaiimanoftheAdministrative Reform Association, soliciting the said, "'Phis invitation was, in the first instance, intended
co-operation of the Financial Reform Association, and that of all as a private one, but the committee will feel obliged it-
good citizens, in the endeavour to prevent ‘‘ the waste and inca- you will give a short notice of the dinner in the paper pacity which have recently been shown to pervade, to a fearful This at once settled the question, and the result was, the
extent, the various depaitments of the government. " The report which appeared _in our paper, and which the Post
other from the gentleman who addressed the Council on two c spied, with the insinuating and offensive paragraph, that
former occasions, in reference to such a re.arrangemen of parlia- our representative went on a " mis-directed " invitation.
mentary representation, as shall give the larger boroughs their We leave Mr. Stitt and the Pose to arrange about
due influence in the Legislature, and do away with the injustice the " mis-directed" note, and the public to judge
and glaring anomalies of a system which gives Liverpool no more whether we were not amply warranted in repelling the
voting pow6r than Aylesbury ; and places Manchester on a insinuation of the Pat ? We repeat, it is with reluctance
level with Wells, either by their division into separate that we revert to this subject, but the duty of defending
boroughs, or by giving them additional members, on the ourselves became imperative, so we take leave of this
principle of one member for every 50,000 inhabitants. Tho subject, which, in our opinion, should not have been
writer states that the movement is making good way in the made one for public discussion.
Metropolis, and that Birmingham is quite orenared t. tho

ASSOCIATION

WHO IS TO BLAME ?

Railway accident succeeds accident—sacrifice followersacrifice of life and property—grief to persons, loss to
Oareho:ders, as regularly 'a the planets succeed one another.
Tee "impossibility* dogma of railway officials—of trains
meeting face to fac 3 —has received a;practical matter-of-fact
reputation ; and we, of the present day, have to record the
fact of trains running on the same line, face to face, against
one another, and announce the fact that it is a practice to
start trains from opposite ends of railways, face to face,
trusting to the accuracy of a cmple of inches of iron cross-
rail to lead one of them away from a tete a•tete ! Perhaps
the injury of a "live Lord" may wake up the somnolent
Board of Trade to insist on a change in management—tho
shareholders and public in managers—and a practical
enquiry into the working of railway trains. Let us see
what were the events of the last few days in the accident
line, and what is the result of twenty years' management
and experience in worki railway trains.
The SOUTH EASTERN, it transpires, has been in the habit,
for years, of starting their every Tiarter hour trains, with.
ten thousands of daily passengers, on the same line of rails
from either en :l—that is, faoe to five—trusting to chance,
or rather the chance of a self-acing spring to a heavy iron
side rail (called a "point") to shift one of the trains to a
side road !—that is, to cross over to another road, by means
of points, which, by a motion or non-motion of about one
inch of space, carries the fate of thousands of passengers.
A stone or cinder between this point of the original rail has
been known to prevent the action of the " points," in draw-
ing aside the side-rail on which it is to continue the journey 1
Why such designed ard needless peril has been put upon
, the public in the last few years, it is difficult to fathom,
while there is a double line of rails throughout the distance,
It seems dictated by mere caprice or ignorance of manage,
ment.

The GREAT WESTERN practice it, in one sense, by its one
sided stations at Slough, Reading, and Swindon stations;
yet that line is managed without such a disaster, because
its ;leads give their minds to the subject of safe working,
Still, safety requires stations on both sides of a line and a
rornoval of the "possibility" of two trains running and rneetirg face to face on the same line !
The NORTiI WESTERN double accidents exhibit an mese
of traffic, and a deficiency of careful management, which, in
any ordinary concern, would lead to a change of " heads."
G )ods trains and passenger trains follow one another en
quickly, that any emergency stopping the one cannot prevent,
a collision by the other. A fast express passenger train at
the heels of a slow good's train, exhibits one of the most
careless and unpardondable acts of "management" that
can well be conceived—overtaking and smashing it !
Surely some change in management—some precaution
—is deminde I in the interests of the common
nubile," or the adoption of that competing route by the
Great Western line to the • north, which promises so
much facility to the mercantile community, or the adoptioni
of the well-managed Great Northern with a few
branches into the Midland districts. One more
owing to the separation of an enging tom its goods
accident.
tr. in, exhibits the false economy
and
of "managers-in-chief" to the toorking details ;ttention
for why
should passenger or goods tngines be attached to a train by
a single lin t of chain, as in the North Western Wolverton
accPe it? The signalsystem, too, is signally defective when
an emergency happens. Instance the station signals on the
South Eastern, which were never communicated to any one;
and the North Western, which were as imperfect and
insufficient as could possibly be imagined for the prevention
of accidents—for they could not stop a train unless with,
so much time that ordinary signals would do equally as
well !

The EASTERN COUNTIR% of course, follow suit, and retains
its unenviable notoriety for " management," by a collision
of ore train and anoter,
"Undoubtedly" (as the Observer remarked) " the primary
cause of such collisions, is the non-regulation of the goods
trains, and the incapacity of managers." It has happened
on every line; yet, after twenty year,' experience, we find
the heads, whose duty should be that of overlooking and
guarding by every precaution and suggestion—we are
further off than ever of proper management. Old hands
are got rid of, interest app nnts or retains others, nothing
is desired beforehand, no defects foreseen ,• but now-a-days
managers enjoy their ease and dignity, 'bluster among the
small men, andfprove that military men are wholly unsuited
for controlling civil establishments, and that experienced
men, of quiet yet business habits and knowledge, make better
heads of departments, and promoters of better good feeling
and grace amongst the working staff, which, as usual, is ill,
paid and hard-worked like the post-office staff.
Of course, no one is to blame ! A coroner's jury settles
that—[how those inquests are managed, we may tell from
experience.] The Boar I of Trade steps in with a second
enquiry, after a long interval, on information " cooed" u
for it. So all parties are Exonerated, except, occasikonally,p some poor understrapper. Let the heads be held criminally
responsible, like other professional men, for defects, or want
of skill, negligence, or improper management. Also, that
for such shortcomings they be dismissed, and give place
to working men of experience and forethought. Otherwise,
shareholders may find that Government control mug be
efficiently interposed, perhaps in the shape of official station
inspectors-.for the public will not long tolerate the reme-
dying of defects AFTER death an destruction have pointed
them out—but require the " right man in the right place,"
unfettered, too, with nominal control from heads of a
circumlocution office, who are powerful enough to delay or
obstruct, but incapable to suggest or require, any remedies
suggested, and damp that zeal which seeks to promote
security to the money as well as to the passengers, and
which is sc essential to the efficient working of every
mercantile concern. The public will not suffer patiently
much longer under the treatment evinced to them and to
railway officials by the heads of companies and the Board
of Trade.

Dbfp 3.srattr Cams.

The SUBSCRIBERS issue Weekly (on Friday)
.0 a PRINTED LIST, with full particulars of the SHIPS
•
1.4,..A. (new and old) and STEAMEKS they have on SALE,
hoth in Liverpool and the Outports, from 00 to 1,500
tons ; and Monthly, a return of Sales made, State of
the Ma-kets, which may be had on application. N.B.—Contractors
for Building Iron Ship. and Sleamers.
CURRY & CO.,
Brokers for the Purchase and Sale of Ships, Shlp Valuers, and
appointed Brokers to the High Court of Admiralty, Walruer-
buildino, Watdr-street, Liverpool.

CUNARD, BRETT, & AUSTEN,

(Late Cunard, Munn, & Co.)
A\ SHIP VALUERS AND BROKERS,
JP'
AUCTIONEERS FOR THE SALE OF
SHIPS, WRECKS, &c.,
6, YOILIC BUILDINGS, LIVERPOOL; AND 150, LEADEN-

Awitratfa,

~,~ ~►

"WHITE STAR" LINE OF BRITISH AND
AUSTRALIAN EX ROYAL MAIL PACKETS.

Under contract to sail punctually at noon
ON THE 20TH OF EACH MONTH, FROM
LIVERPOOL TO MELBOURNE,
And landing passengers, at Geelong, Sydney, Hobart Town, and
all Ports of Australia, at through rates, and by first-class Steamers.
Tons.
Captain. Reg. Bur.
SARDINIAN B. Sheridan..... —.1150 2800..
RED J CK ET M. H. O'Halloran .. 2464 5000..
GOLDEN ERA H. A. Brown ....... 1643 1000..
MERMAID Edward Devey....... 1321 3500..
WHITE STAR.— Rober
FOR t Brown. 2430 5000..
MELBOURNE,
1.4 0 .
115s0 TAO() OF s
RTRHEe:,s2toer:
208F00 T ons NOVEMBER,
Bur
t he
nT;H E
.4.
1
''
.. INIAN,
B SHERIDAN, Commander;
This magnificent clipper will be despatched punctually at noon
of the 20th of November, with a Mail, Carg-, and Passengers. She
Is already well known as having made some of the most remarkable
passages on record, among which may be named—
From Halifax to Liverpool in 10 days,
From Liverpool to New York in 18 days,
From St. Andrews to Liverpool in 13 days,
And on her last voyage from Melbourne she landed Her Majesty's
Mails in 74 days, having beaten all her cotemporaries, ships and
steamers, and made by far the fastest passage of the season.
Cabins supplied with bedding and every requisite. Stewards are
found in the Second Cabin, an I her 'l'svixt deck accommodations
are equal to those of any other ship afloat.
Early application is necessary to secure bora s.—Apply to'
PILKINGTON & WILSON,
17, Water-street, Liverpool.

To Sail.

...20th Nov,
~..20th Dec.
... 21,th Jan.
...20th Feb.
...2oth Mar,