The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-09 00:00:00

The Condemned Convicts at Kirkdale.

•
The four men, Alvarez, Hughes, Thomas, and*
James O'Brien, who await execution at Kirkdale
Gaol, on Saturday next, have not been respited up
to the present time, end there seems every proba-
bility that the law will take its course. The men
are diligently attended to by the clergymen,
Protestant and Catholic, and seem for the most part:
to appreciate their position. With respect to
Hughes, charged with wife murder, the following
letter has been received by Mr. Little, the barrister,
who defended him on his trial :
Whitehall, Sept. 7/ 1863.
both
Sir,—l am directed by Sir G. Grey
to acknowledge the
receipt of your letter of the 4th instant, on behalf of John
Hughes, now under sentence of death for murder. I era
to
acquaint you that after a careful consideration of all the cir-
cumstances of the case, bir G. Grov.regrets that he cannot
see any sufficient ground to justify him in advising' her
Majesty to interfere with the due =live of the law.—l 21331
sir. your obedient servant, WADDINGTON.
R. Little, Esq., Canning-street, Liverpool.

Collision on the North-Eastern RailwaY;
On Monday evening the Parliamentary train from York
to Newcastle, where she is due a c 10 5, ran completely
through a mineral train, consisting of 25 ironstone waggons
heavily laden, which at the moment happened to be passing
over the very dangerous point where the Stockton and Dar-
lington and North-Eastern—two of the busiest lines for
mineral traffic in the kingdom—cross each other at right
angles. Behind the engine and tender of the passenger train
were three or four third-class carriages, all occupied. These
were thrown off the lice by the force of the concussion, and
although greatly crushed, fortunately preserved their per-
pendicular. One of the waggons was carried on the buffers
of the engine for several yards, and acted as a power
ful break. Another was pitched end over into a ditch close
by ; and a third fought, as it were, in the front rank of the
mineral train with the passenger train for the right of waY,
and so caused the injury to the carriages. Miraculous to
state, no lives were sacrificed. The driver of the passenger
engine was cut about the face; and a commercial gen-
tleman from Liverpool, named Potter, had to be con-
veyed to the King's Head Inn under medical care. He
is supposed to have received internal injury, .as he cried
out with pain. Other passengers got slight bruises, but
with this one exception, were enabled to resume their jour-
ney two hours afterwards, when, by availing themselves Of
a branch line, they evaded the obstruction on the main line
caused by the accident. Mr. Bell, the locomotive superin-
tendent of the railway at Darlington, and a numerous stag
of workmen, set to work to clear the permanent way, which
they effected by 2 o'clock yesterday morning. The blame
rests with Chaytor, the guard of the mineral train. This
train had just reached Darlington from the Cleveland mines,
and should have been shunted into a siding, where in the
ordinary course it would have remained until next morning,
and then been taken forward to Newcastle. It was Chaytor'a
duty to look to the points, but asked a fellow-servant named
Gale to do it, he being busy with his van. Whether Gale
did anything or nothing to the points remains to be inves-
tigated, but certain it is that instead of the engine pushing
the waggons into the siding, the waggons ran away from
the engine down the slight incline towards the crossing.
Had the passenger train been one moment earlier in arriving
at the crossing the consequences must have been frightful'
as the whole weight of the 25 laden ironstone waggons
would have come broadside upon it, and in all probability
have caused a serious destruction of life.