Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-27 00:00:00

VIE NORTHERN TIM S, THITRgnAY, 'UNITARY 27, 1859

PRINTERS' COMBINATIONS

HennisoN v. PEARCE.—This was an action for libel,
brought by the plaintiff, who is the proprietor of the
Sheeld Times, against the proprietor of the Sheffield
Daily Telegraph, fora libel contained in a document
issued by the Printers' Union in the town, and published
in the defendants newspaper. The case was tried before
Mr. Baron Martin, at the sittings after last term, at
Guildhall, and resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff, with
£5OO damages. Daring the present term a rule was
moved for by Mr. Chambers, on the part of the defen-
dant, for a new trial, on the ground of the improper
reception of evidence, misdirection, and excessive damages,
and their lordships deferred expressing an opinion on
the application until they had read over the short-hand
notes.
In the Court of Exchequer, on Tuesday, before the
Lord. '
Chief Baron, and Barons Martin, Watson,' and
Channell, Mr. James applied to the Court to fix a day for
the disposing of the case.
The Lord Chief Baron : Is there any disposition
amongst the parties to come to an arrangement ?
Mr. James : No, ,my lerd. They have been, pending
this case, publishing other libels on the plaintiff, on the
learnedjudge who tried the cause, on the counsel, and
every one else. (Laughter.) I may say, on behalf of the
plaintiff, that I will willingly leave any question as to
damages to the court. This case, my lords, is really
one of pecuniary consequence to the plaintiff. His men
refuse to work for him, and he is even in dread of
physical violence.
The Lord Chief Baron then delivered jndgment.
He said : I am of opinion that there should
be no rule to Show eause ' why the verdict should
not be set aside. The grounds on which Mr. Chambers
moved for a xule were threefold ; that improper
evidence was received; that the learned judge had
misdirected the jury; and that the damages are excessive.
We have heard the arguments, and, at the request of my
brother Martin, we have carefully read over the short-
hand writer's notes, that we might have the benefit of
the most accurate information. We have considered the
evidence most seriously, and we have all arrived at the
decision which I have already- expressed. The supposed
objection in the case was that evidence was received
of the diminished success of the plaintiff's newspaper,
without an allegation of special damage, which could
hardly be alleged consistently, for the action was
brought the day after the libel was published. I
am of opinion that this evidence was properly received.
In a case of this description the plaintiff had a right to
claim general damages, and if the time which elapsed
between the commencement of the action and the trial
discloses anything which can throw light on the question
of general damage, the plaintiff had a clear right to give
that evidence. I, therefore, think the evidence was
properly received, especially -with the caution -that the
jury must judge for themselves, and not take it for granted
that all the plaintiff had suffered was attributable to this
libel. The case may be compared to an action to recover
damages for a railway accident. The general inefficiency
of a man who had suffered the loss of. a limb to conduct
the affairs of life is not special but general damage.
It would be special damage if he lost a
situation in consequence of • injuries he received.
The jury could receiN e evidence prospectively
as they often did. Thus the question would be put,
" Are you of opinion the plaintiff will ever get well ? "
and the medical man might reply, " No," which would
govern the damages, It appears to me that the evidence
was most properly received. As to the alleged misdirection
of the learned judge, we have read the summing up,
and we are all of opinion it was perfectly free from
objection, The learned judge, in directing the jury,.laid
down the rule for awarding damages.
Mr. Baron Martin (interposing): Am Ito understand,
Mr. James, that the libels are .still being published in the
same paper ?
Mr. James : No, my lord.
Mr. Baron Martin : It vas stated that the verdict
would ruin the defendant. _ _

Mr. tames : Not at all, my lord; there is ne pretence
for such suggestion.
The Lord Chief Baron proceeded: The evidence of
damage WAS very far beyond the amount awarded, and it
cannot be endured that because two persons, on the
same day publish the same libel, each is to say, " It was
not I who caused the mischief, it was the .other man."
There can be no doubt but that !the plaintiff lost much
more than the 5001. awarded by •the jury. If we granted
the rule, and we could not bring the parties to terms, we
should have to discharge it, and I think it better not to
grant it in the first instance.
Mr. Baron Watson and Mr. Baron Channell said they
fully concurred inethe judgment.
Mr. Baron Martin, in reference to "the rejection of evi-

Bence, said he was of opiuio► that a party must -recover
ell the damages he had suffered in one action, and
that recovery world be bar to another action. Tor his
own pail he wished the jury had awarded a • less sum ;
but he,quite agreed with the other members of the court,
that they sheuid not interfere in a !natter which, exclu-
sively belonged to a jury. He wished it to be understood
that this judgvnent had not been hastily given on the
application of Mr. James, this morning, but after a great
deal of anxious consideration.
Rule discharged.

ANOTHER TRADES UNION OUTRAGE AT
SHEFFIELD.

SERIOUS ACCIDENT ON THE MANCHESTER,
SHEFFIELD AND LINCOLNSHIRE RAILWAY.
On Sunday evening, at about thirty-five minutes past
eight o'clock, a serious accident occurred on this line, near
the Woodhouse Junction Station, to the Great Northern
express train from London to Manchester, which leaves
the King's Cross Station at five p.m. The train consisted
of three passenger carriages and a luggage van. All went
on smoothly and punctually until the' train arrived within
seven miles of Sheffield, when suddenly a series of shocks
and jumps indicated that the train was off the line of
rails, and the upsetting of the carriages, accompanied by
the noise of breaking glass and splintering wood, put an
end to its further progress. For nearly a minute after
the accident, no sound was heard except that of the steam
issuing from the engine, but very soon a general knocking
from, the inside of overturned carriages was heard,
arising from the efforts of the passengers to release them-
selves. The writer of this report was in a carriage which,
after sundry violent shocks and gyrations, finally rested
on its side, and the difficulty was to ascertain in the
darkness of the evening where the door of the carriage
was situated. At length the lamp hole of the roof was
discovered on one side, and this conveyed the first idea
of the actual position of the carriage. The ferrule of an
umbrella was then vigorously applied to the glass blind of
the door over-head. At last it gave way, and egress was
obtained, when the scene that presented itself in the dim
starlight was truly appalling, the belief being that many
were killed. By standing on the top of the carriage the
writer observed that the accident had taken place on an
embankment some 10 or 20 feet high, that the engine
was lying on its side on the southern declivity of this
embankment, that two of the carriages had taken an
exactly opposite direction and were lying across the rails
towards the northern declivity, whilst one of the carriages
had rolled down to nearly the bottom of the southern
slope and had its wheels almost uppermost. Two or
three colliers from an adjoining coalpit, with flambeaux
in their hands, who had witnessed the catastrophe,
arrived about this time, and with the aid of a
large screw-key, which they obtained from the
engine, rendered effective assistance in breaking
into the carriages and liberating the passengers, who
were found to be only about twelve in number. As
there did not appear to be any fatal cases, nor any
injuries of a dangerous character, the minds of the
passengers were greatly relieved. The engine driver and
stoker were discovered. lying near the engine in a fainting
state, but by the administration of brandy they recovered
wonderfully. The two guards of the train had instantly,
on the occurrence of the accident, gone in opposite three-
tions to stop any approaching trains, and to bring assist-
ance from the nearest station. In order to give notice,
however, to approaching trains, a large fire was soon
formed out of the debris of the broken carriages, and
danger lamps were fixed on conspicuous parts of the
wreck. After waiting about one hour and a-half, an
engine and three carriages, with a number of active
workmen, under the direction of Mr. Waugh, arrived
from Sheffield, and did everything in their power to
alleviate the sufferings and inconveniences of the passen-
gers, The want of a surgeon, however, was deemed a
great omission, as several of the passengers had sustained
severe tilts and bruises, and were anxious to have their
wounds examined and dressed without delay. At about
eleven o'clock the assistant special train returned to
Sheffield, taking with it all the passengers and as much
of the luggage as could be extricated from the wreck, It
was found that" some of the -passengers were unable to
proceed further, but the greater number were taken by
special train to Manchester, where they arrived about
two hours and a-half after the usual time. Amongst
those seriously injured were Mr. J. It. Ceulthart, of
Ashton-under-Line, who had his head severely cut, and
his left arm and shoulder much bruised ; Mr. Porthouse,
of Northampton-square, London, who had his knee and
shoulder badly cut ; and Mr. J. Huntington, of Queen's
-road, Holloway, London, who had his right hand cut,
and his shoulder much contased. Mr- Hawksley, civil
engineer, was also in the train, and sustained some
injury. The origin of the accident is not known, but
from the best examination of the rails which could he
given by starlight, it appeared that ,a defectively fitting
rail Was the proximate cause, as the rails on the north
side of the down line were all torn up or displaced for
about one hundred vards behind the spot where the aeci:
dent occurred, and the fish-joint of the length of rail first
displaced 'clearly exhibited a defective joining.

On Tuesday, four young men, named William White,
John Scotton, Charles Butcher, and John Jackson, were
charged before J. J. Smith, Esq., at Sheffield, with
violently assaulting a man, named William Mason. A
filth man, named Smith, was included .in the charge,
but did not appear.—Mr. Tretam appeared for the
complainant, and the two prisoners, Jackson and
White, were defended by Mr. Turner and Mr.
Chambers. Both the complainant and defendants are
fork grinders, and it appeared that in the early part
of ...November last, a meeting of fork grinders took
place, at which a committee of ten men were selected
to manage the.affairS of the fork grinders' union, and it
was.arranged that no man in the trade should.work for
any master, except with the approbation of these ten
men. The complainant, who had previously worked
for Mr. Burrows, transferred his services to a Mr.
Jackson, with the approbation of the committee. Find-
ing that he could not earn so much money under
Mr. Jackson as under Mr. Burrows, ;complainant, a
week ago, re-engaged with the latter, and on Wednes-
day last removedlis tools, with a view to resuming work
for Mr. Burrows next day. In the evening he went to
a beorbouse, kept by a person named Bolton. Ile
was followed into the house by a large party of fork
grindersrwho, after talking for few moments, dragged
him out of the house, knocked him down and punched
him in a most violent manner. They then escorted him
down Corporation-street, intending to take him to a
<meeting of their trades union which was being held at a
lublic-house in the Nursery. On reaching the ,Foresters'
nn, Bridge-street, he attempted to enter for the sake of
protection, but his assailants, numbering from twenty to
thirty, dragged him back again, knocked him down, -and
punched him over the head, face, and heart in a merciless
manner, at the same time swearing that he was working
for low wages, and they would murder him. Some
women interfered, and pushing Mason into a herbalist's
shop, locked the door. His assailants went away, but
returned in a few minutes, and again swore .that if he was
seen out on the following day they would murder him.
After some further conversation, the case was adjourned
for further evidence as to the identity of the prisoners,
the magistrates intimating that the case was a very
serious one, and would be dealt with accordingly, if made
out against the prisoners.

MEETING OF COLLIERS NEAR WIGAN
TUE STRIKE AT AN END.

At Wigan, a meeting of the colliers of the Wigan
district was convened at one o'clock on Tuesday, for the
purpose of taking into consideration the desirability of
returning to work at the old prices. A meeting of dele-
gates from the several pits in the district was also held
at the Bridge Inn, fronting the Common. They
deliberated for several hours, and at length came to
the conclusion (with but two dissentients) of resuming
work this. morning (Thursday), as the best means of
obtaining, at a future period, an advance of wages.
This resolution of the delegates was read to the
open-air meeting then assembled ; and, on a show
of hands being called for,- was unanimously rejected.
Notwii,listanding this, we think it may safely be
stated that the strike is at an end ; as, previous to the
decision of 1:•:lie delegates, great numbers of men had
signified their Lltention of resuming work ; and if such
is the case, the othe_rs will doubtless follow their example.
On Tuesday, more nis,rl were at work than has been
known since the commei:cement of the strike. There
have been many assaults upo:1 men going to their em-
ployment early in the morning • but now, the few men
at.work go down before dusk a:kd work all night, to
prevent attacks being made upon i.lkem. The flatmen
and others engaged in the coal trade aL Liverpool, have
been most anxious with regard to the Arike, as the
stoppage of the supply of coal have thrown Them almost
entirely out of employment.

ALARMING RAILWAY CO-LLISION ON THE,
LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN RAILVAY,
An accident of a most alarining character, resulting in
much destruction of property and injuries to a number of
passengers, occurred about two miles from Ken yon
Junction, on the London and North-Western Railv ray,
late on Friday tight. A passenger train, consisting: of
seven or eight carriages (Ist, 2nd, and 3rd class), drawn
by a powerful engine, left the Lime-street stn Lion,
Liverpool, for Manchestcr, Bolton, and the intermediate
places, at .7.15 p.m. The first mishap happened
immediately after leaving the Roby station, where one of
the buffers of the tender fell off, and, dropping upo-a the
metals, threw the first carriage off the line, and so br ought
the train to a stand. After an hour's detention there,
.the train resumed its onward journey, and was proct:eding
:at a good pace to make up-somewhat for lost time, when
it dashed with terrific force into a disabled engine jvhich
-was standing on the line, near the Parkside station . The
tender of this engine was doubled up and smashed, as was
likewise the engine of the passenger train. None of the
*carriages were broken, but the passengers.were all t brown
from their seats, several of them receiving sever o con-
tusions, arid all being much shaken. In the last ea .rriage
were a number of Bolton people, and these fared no •better
than their fellow passengers. Mr. Richard Bark, w was
thrown with great violence against Mr. Thomas H eaten,
and both sustained several bruises, Mr. Barlow, espe-
cially, on the head, leg, and hand. A lady was see 'rerely
'hurt ; and the guard of the train was also much bri used.
The driver and stoker•of the engine which led t( ) the
accident, jumped off on seeing the approaching t rain,
and so escaped uninjured:; and the driver and stok-er of
the passenger train, although they remained in t heir
.places, escaped with little injury. It is asserted that
there was no signal attached to the ,engine which
obstructed the line, and to this negligence the accident is
attributed. Both lines of rails were blocked up. As soon
as the extent of the disaster became known, Mr. Barlow'
and Mr. Heaton procured lamps and hastened to.
Kenyon Junction for the Bolton engine and carriages,.
which they took to the scene of the accident, and all the
. passengers were thus taken to Kenyon. Those for
Manchester were left there till the arrival of a train from
that place; but the Bolton train went on without further
delay.

The preparations necessary for fitting the Great Eastern
for sea have at last been decided en. The contractors
are to commence their work on the 15th of February/
and are bound under penalties to complete all in five
months from that date. The first trial trip will therefore
take place about the middle of July, when it is intended
to run out from Weymouth to the middle of the Atlantic,
and try the ship under all possible conditions of sail and
steam.