Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-09-28 00:00:00

INQUEST ON THE BODIES.

On Friday, an inquest was held at the Newcastle Arms,
Tuxford, on the four persons killed last Thursday. The
jury viewed the bodies, which were laid on stretchers, in
the large room of the inn. That of the Hon. W. W. Clive
presented no marks of violence, except a supe-ficial cut on
the face. The head of Miss L. Paget was a shapeless
mass. The head of Mrs Heaton was crushed almost
entirely flat. The body of Mrs. Pitman exhibi ed no out-
ward marks or injury, and her face wore quite a placid
expression. The jury next proceeded in a special train to
inspect the scene of accident., and other evidence was
afterwards taken.

Mr. James Smith, of Bury, Lancashire, a first-class
passenger, deposed to th, exactness with which the time
was kept. The speed was not such as to excite remark.
He felt the accident all at once like a gun shot. The effect
was as if a person had pat his foot into a bandbox and
crushed it; did not remember any prayious oscillation of
the carriage.

Mr. Braithwaite Rayner, also of Bury, had not observed
any jumping of the carriages previous to the accident, or
anything indicative of an obstruction.

John-Shaw, of Peterborough, the engine driver, ex-
amined—Was driving at the rate of fifty to fifty-five miles
au hour ; did not put on any extra steam. The evidence
of the fireman did not differ materially from that of the
driver.

Mr. Childs, surgeon of the Great Northern Company,
described the appearances which the different bodies pre-
sented. In the cage of Mr Clive there is severe laceration
of the left thumb, and a smaller wound over the right angle
of the lower jaw ; no fracture of the skull ; the cause of
death is uncertain, except that it arose from the accident;
it may have been from concussion of the spine or brain.
Kiss L. Pa:;et had a severe fracture of the Elan, and there
was an escape of nearly the whole brain, also a fracture of
all the bones of the lace. Mrs. Heaton has a fracture of
the skull ; the top of the skull is completely gene from the
base without any appearance of scalp wound. Mrs. Pit-
man had a simple fracture of the left leg, and some abra-
sions of the face; the immediate cause of death is uncer-
tain, and may have been fr.ms concussion of the brain or
concussion of the spine . Childs stated that all the
wounded persons were going on fey, urably, and that it was
now hoped tho while of them would recover.

The inquest. is adjourned to Tuesday next.
The Observer, of yesterday. says: —The cause of the
accident was stated in the first account that appeared to be
occasioned by the breaking of one of the axlee, but this is
not the case. for on examination, the whole of the axles of
the carriages were found entire, and the tires of the wheels
were quite perfect. It is the opinion of some who ere
perfectly conversant with railway matters, that the acci-
dent originated in this way—The train, as befere stated,
was one of those which the company term "special service
trains," i e. one of the competing trains from Manchester
with the London and North Western Railway; they sup-
pose that the speed -vihich was put upon the engine was
too great for it, for at the time of the accident the velocity
was between six y and seventy miles per hour, which
exceeded the rate it should have proceeded; and that the
driver finding on nearing Tuxford that he was in advance
of his time, the breaks were suddenly applied, in order to
slacken the cpeed, thereby causing a too precipitate check
upon the engine, which had the effect of breaking the
coupling irons, and separating the engine from the carriages.
The impetus which the carriages had received caused them
to jerk, and the parapet of the viaduct being too low, they
were hurled beneath with most fe •rill violence, thus caus-
ing the deaths and injuries which the above list contains.