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 fist to the
ways, and holds the cage fixed. 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 result 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, Although
Mr. Puller was not a great orator or a conspicuous
politician, there was scarcely 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 1841.
He first contested Hertfordshire in the Liberal in•
terest in 1852, but was defeated, Sir E. B. Lytton,
Sir IL Meux, and Mr. Halsey being returned on
Conservative principles. In 1857 he again came
forward for the county under peculiarcircumstances.
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, except 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, i❑ his speech at the hustings, the
Derby Retorm 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; bat he
was one of a moderate and truly liberal character.
He was a strong opponent of the balky ; he always
voted against the abolition of church rates; he voted
against the abolition of the paper duty ; and in Net
was practically a Liberal Conservative of the most
sensible class, like Sir Robert. Peel, "Liberal from
feeling, Conservative from principit," as the late
Prince Consort once said.

Mr. Puller married, in 1831, Emily, youngest
daughter of Mr. William Blake, of Danesbury,Hert-
fordstaire, by whom he had a large family. His
suns were, like himself, educated at Eton, and some
have distinguished themselves as proficients in ma
theinatics and modern languages. Oue is a fe►iow
of Trinity College, Cambridge, and another an able
member of Baiiiol College, Oxford.

The Seizure of the Pampero,

- -..-

This case was called on Wednes2ay before Lard
Ormidale as Judge Ordinary of Exchequer in
Scotland, for the hearing of counsel on the pre-
liminary objections to the information. Mr. Clark,
for the owners, complained of the information as
bad in law, and as not properly libelling the
offences constituted by the Enlistment Act. He
took the objection stated in the Alexandra case, but
not disposed of (that case having turned on other
points), that the information combined and mixed
up two offences which wer3 quite distinct in the
statute. There were 98 counts in the information,
of which 96 related to the equipment of the ship
with intent to be employed in the service of a cer-
tain foreign state, and with intent to cruise and
commit hostilities against another foreign State..
Now, the statute contemplated two offences in this
branch of it,—first, the equipment of a ship with
intent that it should be employed in the service of
a foreign State as a transport or storeship; and,
second, the cqutpment of any ship or vessel with
intent to cruise and commit hostilities against a
foreign State. The information had, he held, con-
founded these two things by applying both intents
to the one act of equipment—namely, of the cruiser.
Ile Act being directed against British subjects, the
intent libelled must apply to British subjects. It
was quite conceded bo,h by the Bar and the Bench
in the Alexandra case that it was a perfectly
lawful thing for a person to build and arm a vessel
of war, and send it to a foreign prt, being the
port of a belligerent Power, and sell that ship there
as an armed ship. That had been decided over end
over again, and especially
in the American Courts,
under the Act of Congress on this Matter, Which
was fully more strict than the British statute, Lord
Ormidale• lVeitid they hold that now P (A laugh.)
Clark,•,=l'ne ledges deetaiely would, whatever
the people teight say. its Lordship would observe,
therefore, that in fittiug out the vessel and sending
her out to the port ofa belligerent Power, the per•
sous so fitting her out could not have the intent to
employ her as a ship of war. Lord tit-middle.—
Suppose there *Sti an antecedent contract ? Mr.
Clark did not think that would vary the matter at
all, because to constitute an offence under this
statute the employment of the ship must not be the
employment by a foreign Power, but an employ-
ment by the persons, being British subjects, woo
equipped the ship. As he read these counts, they
expressed an intent on the part of the foreign State
to cruise and commit hostilities I at all events, they
did not connect that intent with the persons who
equipped the Vessel. The only good coun in the
series Was the 97th, which alleged the intent that
the vessel would be employed as a transport or
storeship by a foreign State, the 98th count being
also open to objection. Mr. Shand followed on
behalf of the builders, objecting to the case going
to trial on an ambiguous and irrelevant information.
He held that at least 72 of the counts were objec-
tionable?. Mr. Rutherford asked adjournment
before Crown counsel should reply, which was
granted.

REPRESENTATION OF GREAT YARMT:JTIT,—The
Liberals, it is understood, propose to bring forward
Mr. W. F. M'Cullagh Torrens (author of the " Life of :lit
J, Graham" and other works, and M.P. for Dundalk in
the Parliament of 1817) and Mr. David Falcke, as candi-
dates for Great Yarmouth at the next election. Mr
M'Cullagh Torrens was returned for the town in 1857, but
was unseated on petition. Mr. Falcke, who is of the
Hebrew persuasion, and a highly respectable retired trades-
man, was recently appointed by the Lord Chancellor, one
of the magistrates for the borough. The Conservatives will
again support the sitting members, Six E. H. K. Lacon,
Bart., and Sir H. J. Stracy, Bart.

THE SOMERS FUND.—Among the list of Dublin
contributors we find all parties, such as The O'Connor Don,
M.P. (a Conservative), J. M'N ,mars Cantwell, F. Mac-
donogh, M.P., Q.C., and his Excellency the Earl o,
Carlisle, tut a writer in the Mail states that none of
thope gentlemen who got valuable at pointments in all
branches of the services, civil and military, have as yet
subscribed. If so, it shows great ingratitude. We would
recommend a committee here, which would do much good
for the widow and orphan. ' •
A SHILLING'S' WORTH OF 'I3LAEPHEMY!-- The
Paris Precise announces that M. Ernest Renan is about to
bring out a popular edition of his celebrated " Life of
Jesus," which will be sold at one franc,