The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-18 00:00:00

notion suited some people, and it was as well to
take advantage of the chance that presented itself
so fortuitously, thus gaining the support and
ccuntenance of those who would have blushed
to be associated with the belligerents, had
they known the manner in which the warfare
was to be prosecuted. It is a melancholy thing to
contemplate the loss of life and the great waste of
property which have been sacrificed to the prosecu-
tion of this struggle. All war is costly, and often
after the shortest and most economical conflict the
contending parties have had ample cause to repent
at leisure of the extremities into which they plunged
in haste, but the details of this transatlantic fend
are fearful to picture and overwhelming to con-
template. When we hear of the position of the
North, the men called forth, the sums raised to
meet the expenses, it is strange to consider that so
far from having at all accomplished their object
they are as far off as ever, and further indeed, since
they must feel the conviction of their failure steal-
ing upon them. Mr. LINCOLN has called out troops
in almost fabulous numbers, but to no purpose—
and, as Mr. LINDSAY put it, " the capital of the
North seems in greater jeopardy than that of the
South." The consequences of this war are deplor-
able to dwell upon ; they affect the people of Eu-
rope, while they cruelly injure those of America.
The West is now coming to the rescue in America,
and condemning the mode of proceeding which
has occasioned so many evils, and gained no avail-
able benefit after all this sacrifice. Mr. LINDSAY
animadverted upon the course pursued by our Go-
vernment throughout this disastrous war ; he said
very truly, without taking part they might have
used their friendly offices in averting the continue
ante of the conflict. France was willing to act in uni-
son with England in the work of mediation, but her
suggestions were unheeded, and we have to regret
the consequences. The hon. member for Sunder-
land, in conclusion, made some impressive declara-
tions regarding his reasons for taking a part in the
discussions on this subject. He assured his hearers
that he was actuated by goodwill on both sides,
and he could not but " sympathise with people who
havesprung.from the same land with ourselves, who
speak the same language, whose history is oar
history, and who worship the same GOD." This
speech is an admirable one, for it is free from bitter•
ness and prejudice, yet it declares the truth in
plain and unvarnished terms, and all who would
obtain an insight into American affairs cannot do
better than peruse it attentively, for it clearly ex-
plains the merits and demerits of the complicated
question..

The return of the excursion season usually brings
with it a plentiful supply of the sensation element.
We are continually startled with accounts of dread-
ful accidents or impressed by narratives of hair-

breadth escapes and dangerous delays. Sometimes

a year elapses without any catastrophe of magni-
tude; at other times disasters follow each other in

rapid succession, as in the instances of the Clayton

Tannel accident and that which immediately suc-
ceeded it on the North London Railway. It is
happily very seldom that the ace dents are of stub

a terrible character, and the effect of the double

catastrophe on the public mind was !Fry great.
People lost all confidence in railways, and it was
well for the companies that the excursion season
was near its close, for, owing to the paniz, it was

virtually ended by those disasters, The next

summer the effects were still felt, and excursionists
were few and far between. Happily there
has been of late years no similar catas.
trophe, and the pleasant and healthful cue•
tom of snatching a few hours by the seaside
or in the wocds in the midst of hard work or
pressing business is agein in full force. This year
we are having a complete circle of disasters ; the
railway lines taking in turn the unenviable dis-
tinction. We had the Egham accident, which
threw such a gloem over the gay doings at Ascot;
we had the appalling murder of Mr. BRIGGS on
another line, to be followed by an accident, cum•
paratively trifling in its results, but most alarming
in its character, at Margate ; and now within the
last two days London itself has been startled by an
engine turned acrobat. It is worth notice that
none of these disasters occurred, properly speak-
ing, to excursion trains, unless the extra trains in
a race week can be reckoned as such. Mr. BRIGGS
was assassinated on a short journey of the most
ordinary kind, and it must be remembered that no
especial blame could attach to either company or
driver. The unfortunate system of isolation to which
so many individual accidents and annoyances
are due, does not belong exclusively to any
particular line. Indeed it has been in existence for

a good many years without the public seeming
sensible of its danger. The same remark applies to
that dangerous midnight journey northwards which
we have omitted from our list of railway alarms.
The unfortunate train at Margate was one of only
a few carriages going on its usual track, while the
accident at Camden-road Station (again on the
unlucky North London), had nothing to do with
excursions or excursionists. So that the public
need not be startled into abandoning their proposed
pleasure trips when danger lies in the ordinary
prosecution of daily business as well. It is made.
viable that excursion trains have met with a greater
proportion of accidents than other trains, but such
is not necessarily the case, and there is every pro-
bability that each successive accident diminishes
instead of increasing the chances of misfortune.
Wise men would tell us that, according to the doc-
trine of chances, accidents are less likely to happen
in close succession, but it is more satisfactory
to trust to an increase of care and vigilance on the
part of the officials of the line than to any theoreti.
cal calculation. We may reasonably suppose that
every accident teaches some particular lesson, espe-
cially where it is, as too often happens, the result
of recklessness and negligence, We cannot sup-
pose, for instance,
flat another stationmaster will
dismiss two trsjins, in rapid succession, telling' the
first to sto7-e at a certain station, and the second to
go 0r.., We can hardly imagine that directions
wlll again be given to suspend the danger signal,
or that men will be kept at work for eighteen or
twenty hours in succession, as was the case in one
of the most frightful accidents of our time. All these
lessons are learnt at heavy cost by the Companies,
who pay dearly in hard coin, as well as suffering
in public estimation, not always deservedly. The
actual expenss of remedying the accident is the
least is'srt, though that of course is- sometimes at -
tened with serious expense. But the public have
I a right to expect that every possible provision
will be made for their safety, and if the
companies propose to combine profit for themselves
with pleasure and convenience to the public, they
are bound to take extra precautions instead of
diminishing their usual care. They are left the un-
controlled management of their own affairs; they
are free to fix what prices they charge, what
salaries they give; they arrange their own hours
of departure, arrival, and the like, and therefore
the responsibility rests exclusively with them. It
is becoming doubly necessary that all due care
should be taken now that railways are intersecting
our streets, burrowing underneath our highways,
so that the most resolute pedestrian cannot escape
their dangers. An accident occurring in the midst
of our densely populated metropolis would probably