The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-19 00:00:00

of the cage, travels up the ways, and is connected
with the hook of the chain in such a manner that
when the cage is suspended it travels freely up the
ways; but should the chain break, and the strain
be taken off the clamp, it at once bites fast to the
ways, and holds the cage fired. Why should not
such a contrivance be adapted to all railway car-
riages by a simple contrivance of this kind. Labour
would be saved to the guards, and safety ensured
to the public. By having the breaks so arranged
they would be relieved by the strain on the coup •
ling-chains caused by the tractive force of the en-
gine, and operate at once when that strain was dis-
continued. Had the carriages on the Gothland
incline been thus provided the accident would not
have been attended with the fatal results we have
mentioned. It may probably be objected that in
convenience would resalt by the adoption of the
plan proposed, when it was necessary to shunt a
train from behind, Of in backing it ; but surely
these are difficulties which practical engineering
skill could easily overcome. Let the Board of Trade
issue its fiat that such precautions must be taken,
and railway companies will soon find engineers
able and willing to carry them out.

Death of Mr, Puller, M,P, for Hertfordshire.

Mr. Christopher William Giles-Puller, M.P, for
Hertfordshire, died, after a short illness, on Tues-
day, at his seat, Youngsbury, near Ware. Al,though
Mr. Puller was not a great orator or a conspicuous
politician, there was sc'srcely any member of the
House of Commons more popular with all parties.

Mr. Puller was born in 1807, and was the son of
Sir Christopher Giles-Puller, Chief Justice of Cal-
cutta, by Louisa, daughter of Mr. Joseph King, of
Taplow. He was educated at Eton, and took a
double first class at Oxford, as a member of Christ
Church, in 1828. In 1832 he was called to the bar,
and practised in the Court of Chancery till 1641,
He first con►_ested Hertfordshire in the Liberal in-
terest in 1852, but was defeated, Sir E. B. Lytton,
Sir H. Meux, and Mr. Halsey being returned on
Conservative principles. In 1857 he again came
forward for the county under peculiar circumstances.
It had been " arranged" that one of the three seats
for the county should be resigned to the Whig
party. Sir Henry Meux had intimated his inten-
tion of resigning his seat, but—owing to certain
weaknesses of temperament which ultimately be-
came unpleasantly known to the public—he with-
drew his resignation, and Mr. Abel Smith most
honourably. retired from the contest. Mr. Puller
was proposed by Mr. W. F. Cowper, M.P. for the
borough of Hertford, and was elected without op •
position, his colleagues being Sir E. B. Lytton and
Sir H. Meux. He does not appear to have made on
this occasion any explicit declaration of his
political opinions, exaept on the China question, on
which he agreed substantially with Lord Palmer-
ston. In 1859 (May 2) Mr. Puller was returned
again with Sir E. B. Lytton and Mr. Abel Smith.
He attacked, in his speech at the hustings, the
Derby Reform Bill, bat admitted that there were
good points in it, as for instance the .£lO county
franchise.

Mr. Puller was, as we have said, a Whig; but he
was one of a moderate and truly liberal character.
He was a strong opponent of the ballot ; he always
voted against the e.bJlition of church rates ; he voted
against the abolition of the paper duty; and in fact
was practically a Liberal Conservative of the most
sensible class, like Sir Robert Peel, "Liberal from
feeling, Conservative from priuciplt," as the late
Prince Consort once said.

Mr. Puller married, in 1831, Emily, youngest
daughter of Mr. William Blake, of Danesbury,Hert-
fordshire, by whom he had a large family_ His
suns were, like himself, educated at Eton, and some
have distinguished themselves as proficients in ma-
thematics and modern languages. One is a fellow
of Trinity College, Cambridge, and another an able
member of Baliiol College, Oxford.