The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-27 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, JUNE 27, 1864.

The rapid extension of railway works in the
metropolis has had one important effect which must
not be overlooked in the annoyance consequent upon
the deterioration of property or the gratification
attending improved facilities for traffic. It has prc-
duced other results less apparent, perhaps, to the
Upper classes of society, but no less deserving of at-
tention. The demolition of houses consequent upon
the passite of the lines through the densely packed
streets of London has sensibly diminished the
amount of house accommodation available for the
poor, and of that necessary of decent life there was
dcficient
already a supply. Our philanthropists
and social reformers are beginning
to turn their
thoughts seriously in this direction, being fully
aware that preaching and good advice are
alike
and
moral
n education
thrown away—that the inflaence e •
moral training is lamentably Counteracted by the
squalid rooms into which two or three families are
often huddled together. The Earl of DEni has
busied himself in securing to the labouring classes
the right of railway travelling at the lowest pos-
sible rate, bat much remains to be done in providing
decent houses for those whcse occupation or neces-
sities keep them within the bounds of the metropolis
and its immediate suburbs. The scandalous condi-
tion of the dwellings of some portions of our agri-
cultural population has 'lately been much discussed,
and some severe strictures were deservedly passed
on the neglect or indifference of landlords, but
Lendoners must not exempt themselves from blame
if they fail to encourage and assist the work of pro-
viding homes for the metropolitan artisans and their
families. There is much being done in this way by
various estociations and by private benevolence.
One of these societies held its general meeting the
other day, when the report of financial returns, the
statistics of the number of houses, &c., was read.
It is satisfactory to find thet this benevolent asso-
ciation was able to pay a dividend of 3 per cent. to
the shareholders, besides carrying a balanca of
£2OO to the guarantee fund. This is doubly
because it nut only preserves those
gratifying,
charitable persons who
invested their money
in such an undertaking from Pecuniary loss, but it
tends to substantiate the assertion that improved
dwellings for the poor can be made to reimburse
their owners and become self•supporting. There
will always bo found benevolent and liberal persons
to come forward and build model dwellings and
lodgiug:houses, but if the whole system of house
accommodation for the poor is to undergo that
reform which it imperatively demands, it must be a
matter of business, and not of charity. Philanthro-
pists will always be the exception, and we cannot
suppose that even. a considerable fraction of the
metropolitan householders will make their own
interest subordinate to the good of their fellows.
We usenet reasonably anticipate that men will lay
out money in repairs and alterations, and enter
upon a losing speculation in the ordinary way of
business, and, therefore, it is of the highest im-
portance to make our plans practical as well as

philanthropical, with a due regard to the rocket of
the landlord, as well as to the moral and physical
wellbeing of the tenant. There will atways be
much that benevolence alone cen do, and surely the
riches of a charitable man can find few more praise-
worthy outlets than- the improvement and embel-
lishment of the homes of the poor. It is one of the
Happy privileges of wealth that it can afford to dis-
regard the monetary returns which are so valuable
to ether men, and thus some of the model dwellings
can lay claim to attractions which many houses of
a far higher standing have no poetentions to. In a
very interesting pamphlet, recently published by
the Society of Arts,* we find an account of various
experiments made throughout the metropolis with
regard to improved dwelling=, model lodging-
houses, &c. Mr. TWINING, a member of the Coun-
cil, has, at his own expense, collected all available
information as to the results obtained in a financial
as well as a sanitary point of view, by the societies
and individuals who have occupied themselves in
this matter. It was thought, with justice, that
such information would supply most valuable aid in
further proceedings of the kind, by showing what
contrivances had proved most effectual in " render-
ing sanitary and other improvements acceptable to
the poor and remunerative to builders and capi-
taliets." This combined result is the great object
to aim at, since it is useless to construct model
dwellings cn such a plan as to disgust those who are
intended to occupy them, while, on the other hand,
it is, as we have said, imperatively necessary to
make them rernanerative investments if we hope to
see them supply in any degree the wants of our
labouring classes. It is by no means impossible to
unite these two objects, and in many parts of Lon-
don model dwellings have succeeded in every point
of view. 'What are called the renovated dwellings are
naturally more profitable than new bouses,ss so much
preliminary expense is avoided, and, in one instance,
that of the Charles-street renovated lodging-house,
belonging to the Lsbourers' Friend Society. returns
or from 12 to 15 per cent. have actually been ob-
tained. This is the more gratifying, as the locality
is one of the worst in London ; and it is, therefore,
somewhat surprising to find that a lodging-house
conducted under strict regulations should prove a
profitable speculation. This is not, however, always
the case, since the Peter-street Lodging-house, in
Westminster, has during the last few years been a
decided lose, co that it will not do to base too
favourable awicipations on the returns of the
Charles-street experiment. Lodgingehouses natu-
rally present a great difficulty in the necessity of
enforcing some rule as to hours, Bes., which the
migratory and vagrant class who patronise them
may be unwilling to submit to; besides, in less
select houses, liberty is allowed as to card-playing,
gambling, &c., that is inadmissible in the model
dwellings. Still the fact that such satisfactory
results can be attained in a neighbourhocd like
that of Drury-lane is very important, and at Vic-
toria-chambers, belonging to Mr. BARRY, of Ebury-
street, the manager is frequently unable during the
winter months to receive all applications. The
model dwellings for families are, perhaps, of more
importance, and of these we find several interesting
particulars in the Reportawe have alluded to. They
are subdivided in the list into three departments—
urban dwellings, with external galleries ; urban
dwellings, without galleries ; and suburban dwell-
ings. The plan of galleries is one much esteemed
by some persons, on account of various advantages
in populous districts; besides relieving the building
from the charge of house duty, as each tenement in
houses of this kind has been decided by judicial
authority to be a separate house with regard to
taxation. It is, certainly, a matter of common
prudence to adopt any plan, consistent with health
and propriety, by which the inevitable expenses
can be reduced, and it is the lack of this
kind of, prudence which often makes bene-
volent undertakings so oppressively expensive.
The gallery system has great advantages in case of
fire, when accidents are too probable in houses let
out in floors. Another very excellent and practical
plan for lessening the expense of such establish-
ments is the letting of the ground floor out in
shops. Thus in the Lisaon Grove Buildings, belong-
ing to the Mary lebone Association, shops are let out
at £35 per annum, thus mAking a material diffe-
rence in the balance sheet. The various !schemes
r"or increasing the comfort and convenience of the
tenants are weighed in this report, and form an
important part of the affair, since it is absolutely
necessary that the poor should be attached to the
dwellings if they are to bo of any real service. It
is only philanthropists like Miss BURDETT COUTTS
who can afford to sacrifice a whole floor of a block
of buildings to club-rooms and wash-houses, but
there are many less easily ways in which the wishes
of the tenants can ba consulted. 'What is most
urgently needed is a reform in the dwellings of the
classes who can only afford to pay ls. 61 or 2s. 6d.
weekly, and this is most difficult to bring about
It is much easier to provide for the necessities of
the class above them, who can pay from 53. to is. 6i.,
bat they are more able to get respectable places to
begin with and more likely to keep them in order.
It is the lower class that must be reached before we
can make any impression on the overcrowding and
other evils at present existing. We are, therefore,
very glad to find that the trustees of the Peabody
Fund are directing their efforts towards the eleva-
tion of this class, and their model dwellings near
the Great Eastern Iteilway Terminus are designed
for the lower paid rank of workmen and their
families. One great obj,,ct to attain is the avoid •
ance of that overcrowding which has been styled by
a competent
authority the worst of all unwhole-
some influences, and which is so frightfully common
where room are let out singly to families. Such
laws bring a terrible punish-
outrages of sanitary
mutt in the shape of epidemic disease, which finds
its nursery in these abodes, and thus the neglect of
the wealther portion of the
Population recoils upon
themselves. There is every reason
for a thorough
reform in the matter of dwellings for our labouring
classes, and the first step towards lasting and effec-
tual improvement is to consider carefully the exile.
rience of the past in order to prcfi: by its successes,
and to take warning from its failures.

* Report addressed to the Council by the Special Co_m
mittee, on the Statistics of Dwellings Improvement in the
Metropolis. Simpkins, 701, Strand.

The inquest held at Egnam regarding the cause
of the deaths of the five unfortunate persons who
perished at the recent accident on the South
Western Railway was brought to a conclusion last
Friday, and resulted in a verdict of manslaughter
being found against THOMAS LEE, the engine-
driver, end 3011 N TRAINER, the fireman of the
second train. We have hitherto refrained from
commenting on the probable causes of the acci-
dent, deeming it right to await the result of the
coroner's inquest; but now that the verdict of the
jury is pronounced, we shall proceed to make a few
remarks upon the evidence before the jury, and
which induced them to return- their verdict. We
do not quarrel with their finding, for, practically,
it was the only one which they could legitimately
come to, unless they found that the collision was
accidental, and this they could hardly do. It no
more conclusive evidence of negligence is brought
far rd at their trial, we do not believe that the
meta couiraitted hAro much to apps heed from i 6 i

As regards the company, the verdict of the jury is,
however, both just and severe, and will be received
with satisfaction by the public. After dec_e.ring
the engine-driver and fireman guilty of man-
slaughter, they, as it were, recommend them to
mercy by adding that they considered they
were labouring under great disadvantages owing to
the general mismanagement of the company, and
then proceed to particularise the more especial in-
stances in which this mismanagement was conspi-
cuous—namely, the want of a turn table at Ascot;
the absence of a means of communication between
the guard and driver; and the reckless manner in
which the trains were started. In most railway
accidents where the company's servants are to
blame, it is generally among the subordinates that
the fault rests; but in the pros ,nt instance, by the
evidence of Mr. ARCHIBALD SCOTT, the traffic

manager of the line, the accident is mainly attri-
butable to the too faithful fulfilment of his master's
orders. Although five minutes is but a short
time to elapse between the starting of trains,
yet provided that proper precautions were taken
there is no reason why an accident should occur.
Care seems to have been taken to provide extra
signals for the occasion, and the men employed upon
this duty seem to have performed it correctly; but
it was a great mistake, on the part of Mr. SCOTT, to
give written orders to the driver of the first train
to stop at Egham, and to the driver of the train
which followed, only five minutes later, orders to
pass through Egham and not to stop until he
reached Staines, and yet not informing him that the
preceding train was to stop at Egham. Tne driver
may not have observed the danger-signal at the
auxiliary station ; but up to the moment of reach.
ing that point, all the signals had shown him that
fire minutes had elapsed since the passing of the
preceding train, and here then, although the driver
may have been guilty of neglect, surely the conduct
of his superior is far more reprehensible. Again,
why was there no turntable at Ascot ? Mr. SCOTT,
in his examination, gave a most extraordinary
reason. "He did not think a turntable was neces•
eery at Ascot, as the only time at which it would be
used would be during the race week, when the
arrivals of the trains would be so frequent as to
prevent the possibility of reversing the engine. He
thought such an arrangement would be productive
of great danger. Although the proper way of
running an engine was tender behind, he did not
think that any danger would result from reversing
it." Why, that is the only time when it would be
required. In fact, it was the profit expected to be
derived during the Ascot Races that induced the
company to construct the line, and its extension to
Reading was an after-thought. In reply to Mr.

SCOTT'S statement, however, Colonel YOLLAND
rem. arked in his observations at the conclusion o:

the inquiry, that running an engine backwards, or
having the " tender in front, did not give the driver

the same power over his engine. He was sure there
could be no difficulty in turning the engines that ar-
rived at Ascot at two, and did not leave till five, pro-
vided there was a turntable erected. He dissented
entirely from the statement made on behalf of the
company that, even if there had been a turntable
at Ascot, the engines would not have been turned
on the day in question. With a proper turntable,.
he repeated, he was perfectly satisfied that every
engine would be turned. He considered it most
dangerous to conduct any kind of traffic, more par-
ticularly in the case of special traffic, without using
a turntable, no matter how long the interval be•
tween the trains." This view of the case is talon
by the engine-driver, who stated that it took about
fear minutes to turn an engine at the 'Waterloo sta-
tion, and yet Mr. SCOTT does not think it possible
to turn an engine at Ascot, although the engines on
an average remained at that station upwards of two
houro. Mr. SCOTT'S reascn3, or rather excuses,
concerning the communications between the guard
and driver, are quite as unsatisfactory. He admitted
that the means of communication was broken, but
that the object of the communication was to enable
the guard to call attention to any accident, such as
a wheel breaking, and not for signalling danger.
He, however, afterwards admitted that in a case off
danger it might be made use of. Such an excuse
needs no comment, It is tolerably evident that the
want of this communication was the ultimate cause
of the accident ; for the guard, in his evidence,
stated that when he first saw the danger signal it

was some quarter of a mile distant, and on at dan-
ger. The speed was not slackened at the time, and
he immediately applied the break. Now, as the
speed was not slackened, it is obvious the driver
did not see the danger signal so soon as the guard
did, and this probably arose from the fact that, as
the engine was running backwards, his face would
possibly be towards the engine rather than in the
direction in which the train was moving ; but in
any case, had the communication been intact, the
guard could at once have signalled him to shut off
his seam. Half a minute's earlier intimation of
the danger, a few hundred yards more gained, and
the catastrophe would have been averted. Lastly,
let us ask why telegraphic communications were
not kept up along the line. Colonel YOLLAND in-

formed the jury that, in conscquence of an acciden

which occurred in two following trains at Virginia
Water, the Government inspector who attended the
inquiry recommended the adoption of the electric
telagraph for signal purposes, and the company had
promised that such a system should bo established
for working at any rate Ascot races traffic.
The danger of running special trains at short

intervals could only be obviated by using the
ordinary electric telegraphs or block system. The
Board of Trade had no power to enforce the use of

either of these systems. How well the company
kept their promise, the late lamentable loss of life
can show. With regard to the absence of a turn-
table at Ascot, we think that the Board of Trade
are to blame i❑ sanctioning the opening of the line
in its absence. Here Colonel YOLLAND observed

that " tho requirements of the inspecting officers o
railways varied according to necessity, and if Banc•

tion were sought at the present time to open the

Ascot lines, no inspector would pass it without a

turntable being provided. lie could not imagine

any case where a train ran more than four or five

miles in which it would be proper to place the

engine tender foremost." If it is considered unsafe
to permit a new line to b© opened without the re-

Waite turntables, surely it is unwise to permit the
traffic to be continued cn an oil line in an equally
unProvided state. No doubt this melancholy encl.
dent may have the effect of making the managers
and officials of railway companies more careful
generally ; but it is not creditable to the existing
state of things that human lives must be sacrificed
p-riodically for the better security and safety of the
public.
--____ •

THE SURREY CooxiNG DEPOT,--On J.ttirday a
meeting of noblemen and gentlemen, presided over by the
Earl of Shrewsbury, and which was attended by Lord
Brougham and other philanthropists,
was held at this
institution, established in the Ne-.v-cnt, Lambeth, for the
purpose of supplying the poorer classes with good and
substantial food at the lowest possible price. It was evi-
denced to their satisfaction that a substantial dinner can be
suppiied at a maximum sum of fourpenee with a profit ; and
a resolution was adopted to the effect that, in consequence
of the great sum= which had attended the Surrey Cooking
Depot, it is desirable that such depots should be established
in all quariers is London where the working and poorer
classes are congregated. Further, it was resolved to raise
a capital of £50,000 in klaaree, to effect the oLject,