The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-20 00:00:00

do not know that tho flag was exhibited before I saw it. Wo
had a beaming sun in our face, very powerful. I had looked
out all the way up to Ileadcorn and beyond. On that road on
such a day, and going at such a speed, I should want at least
three-quarters of a mile to pull up. There were no fog
signals out.

By the Rev. Mr. Moore (foreman of the jury)—l have
often driven tidal trains, and we had that day the usual
allowance of brake power. I imply we should require the
brake power as usual to stop the train as I mention. We
never pass a red flag without stopping.

By a Juror-1 have often overrun fog signals after pass-
ing the red flag, and passed the red flag hundreds of times
without hearing the two explosions of fog signals. Fog
signals are most used in foggy weather, and although we
attend to hear them, we very often do not. I never counted
the telegraph posts' distance, where the red flag is usually
put.

By Mr. Abrahams—lt would have taken three-quarters
of a minute to stop the train.
By Mr. Minter, jun.—l was nearly three-quarters of a
mile past the overbridge on the London side of Ileadcorn
station when I first saw the signal. I could not have
stopped the train in 500 yards. I did not know the amount
of brake power I had.
By Mr. Freeland—lt is only an idea of mino that it
would take three-quarters of a mile to pull up that train,
at 50 miles an hour, with the brake power I had.

Joseph Gall imore recalled and examined by Mr. Bradbury,
the managing clerk to Mr. 11. Ody, solicitor, 14, Trinity-
street, Southwark—Benge was not bound to go out with
the signalman to ascertain that ho went 1,000 yards. It is
always necessary to put down fog signals when repairs are
going on. The fog signals should be put down by the
signalman. _

William Martin, farm labourer at Headcorn, said—On
Friday, the 9th, I was at work in a bean field below
Sloman's crossing, on the Headcorn side, adjoining the
line. I did not see the accident, as tho hedge divided us.
I was from 90 to 100 yards below the crossing. Ido not
know how far the crossing is from the viaduct. The signal-
man was there when the train approached. He held out the
flag before the engine, but what it meant I do not rightly
understand. He was not waving it. I know it was John
Whiles, as I saw him after the accident. The danger whistle
was sounded when the engine got level with the flag. It
was not a double whistle, but a continuous whistle, which
lasted till the accident happened. I saw the engine coming
up, and just as I turned round I saw the engine and the
flag all of a lump. I had not noticed the flag on any day
before.

By a Juror—l did not notice whether the white steam
had ceased to come out of the funnel.

By Mr. Bradbury—l do not know whether the steam was
shut off. I am sure the signalman was where I have stated.
John Goldsmith, labourer, from Headcorn, said that on
Friday week he was at Sloman's beanfleld, at the other side
of the viaduct. Saw the signalman at the same place as last
witness did. He waved the flag just before the train came
up, and the whistle was sounded just after.
By the Rev. Mr. Moore (foreman of the jury)-1 am quite
sure the whistle was not sounded till the train got up to
the signalman.

By the Jury—The engine was seven or eight rods from
the flag when I first saw it.
William Beattie said—l have been fireman five years in
the South Eastern Railway Company's service. On Friday
I was on the tidal train engine. I first had notice of the
danger by the whistle sounding—two quick whistles. I was
attending to the fire, but jumped to the brake and saw the
red flag as Ilooked round. I then looked for ward and saw
the rails were up. I was putting the brake on, but had not
got it on thoroughly when we passed the red flag. I was so
engaged that I cannot say the distance at which my mate
saw the flag,' but he must have seen it. There was a strong
powerful sunlight out that day.
By the Rev. Mr. Moore (foreman of the jury)—l was not
hurt much, and remember all that took place. I should say
there were from 40 to 45 seconds between the whistle and the
disaster, and when I first saw the rails up we were not more
than 20 to 25 yards off, just upon it in fact. klt would take
20 seconds to put the brake on. We never pass a red flag.
I had noticed the repairs going on.
By Mr. Bradbury—I cannot say whether if the engine-
driver had been looking out he could have soon the flag at
800 yards distance.

Mr. Cornelius W. Eborall, recalled, said—There has not
been any accident to a tidal train before of this destructive
nature, nor do I know of any passenger being hurt who
travelled by the tidal train, or on this part of the line.
By Capt. Usborne (a juror)—lt was the duty of Bongo to
instruct the platelayer Whiles as to his duty. If there was
habitual neglect of the use of fog signals and nags as to dis-
tance, it would clearly and decidedly be the duty of the dis-
trict inspector to discover it.

Byanother Juror—That train could, as I think, have been
stopped at about 600 or 700 yards, looking at the brake power.
By Mr. Abrahams—The signals were sufficient to protect
the train if they had been carried properly out. The fore-
man of the platelayers ought to have placed the signalman
Whiles at the proper distance, 1,000 yards off.
By Mr. Bradbury—The guards might not know that re-
pairs were going on, as they were of such a character as not
to:require a special notice. I believe Bongo to be a very steady
man, and I tun carry to see him in the position he is now.
Capt. Rich, the Government inspector, being recalled, said
—I am anxious to explain that since I gave my evidence I
find that only two of the three brakes that were attached
to the train were applied. When I stated the other day
that the train could have pulled up in 500 yards I was under
the impression that the whole of the brakes had been
applied, but as there was one brake less down, that would
have the effect of somewhat extending the distance within
which the train could have been brought to a standstill.
The Coroner then proceeded to sum up and read over the
evidence very carefully. He impressed upon the jury the
necessity of their dismissing from theirminds anything they
had heard out of doors, and considering the matter solely
on the evidence which had been adduced before them. It
was proved that the ten persons who had been killed had
met with their deaths by drowning or other injuries they
had received from the train running off the line. It had
also been proved that the train ran off the line in conse-
quence of two 21 feet lengths of the line being up. By the
rules of the company the ganger of the platelayers (Henry
Bengo) was the man responsible for the safety of the line.
He was a man of experience and must have known how
long it would take him to do the work. It would have re-
quired at least three-quarters of an hour to complete it.
He with his men commenced the job at 2.51 in the after-
noon, and tho tidal train was due at 3.18, or only 28
minutes afterwards. When the train arrived at the via-
duct the work was not half finished. It appeared that
Bengo had told Mr..Eborall, the traffic manager, that ho
had made a mistake, and had taken the Saturday time-
table instead of that for Friday. That would have given
him two hours more to do the work, which would have
been ample for him to have done it in safety. No one could
imagine that he would have made the mistake intentionally,
but if that act was one of culpable negligence, it would
render him criminally responsible for it. By one rule of the
company, it was provided that when they wanted to stop a
train, it should be done by detonating signals, and that ono
should be laid down at every 250 yards until the signalman
reached 1,000 yards, and that then there should be two laid
down, and one danger flag exhibited. This would have
given them five signals and the danger flag. Had these pre-
cautions been carried out, in all probability the train would
have been stopped, and the accident never happened. That
was the opinion of the Government inspector. But it ap-
peared the man went back only 500 or 600 yards, and that
no detonating signals were used. It was also shown that
although the works at this viaduct had been going on for
10 weeks, Bengo had never used detonating signals. It was
attempted to be shown that Bengo was an illiterate man,
yanernd an ill-paid
Cstoerrytrat but it was the opinion of the Go-
he was a fit man to be so employed.
If it turned out otherwise, his unfitness for the situation
would be a question for the judge and the jury who might
have to try him. With respect to Gallimore, he was the
person under whom these repairs were being executed. He
admitted that ho did not inquire whether the fog signals
were used, and that ho did not apply for any special order
from the general manager, calling tho attention of guards
and drivers to the repairs that were going on. If they were
of opinion that he knew that the fog signals were habitu-
ally disregarded, without calling attention to the fact, he
would be guilty of such gross neglect as would make him
criminally liable on a charge of manslaughter. After refer-
ring to the conduct Of Whiles, the signalman, and Crombie,
the driver, both of whom he exonerated in general terms,
the learned coroner concluded by saying that the line had
been singularly free from accidents. The rules of the com-
pany had worked extraordinarily well, and had they been
adhered to in the present instance, there would doubtless
have been no accident. It appeared to him, however, that
official orders cautioning drivers and guards, whenever
works of this kind were about to be undertaken, should be
issued, that the number of district inspectors should be in-
creased, and that a more constant supervision should be
exercised.

The jury retired at 20 minutes past 5, and after an ab-
sence of upwards of two hours returned into the inquest

room.

The Foreman (the Rev. Mr. Moore) then said—Our ver-
dict, Mr. Coroner, is one of "Manslaughter against Joseph
Gallimore and Henry Bongo."
The Coroner—How many of you have agreed to that ?

The Foreman—Twelve against Joseph Gallimore, and
sixteen against Henry Bengo. I am desired by the majo-
rity of the jury to append to our verdict the following :
" The jury, fully recognising the general sufficiency of the
company's rules to insure the public safety, yet strongly
recominend that, when possible, notice should be given from
a previous station of any works involving the breaking up
of the line."

Mr. Eborall (general manager)—Mr. Coroner and gen-
tlemen of the jury—l will take care that that recommen-
dation is placed before the directors of the South-Eastern
Railway Company, and I am quite sure they will give it
their most serious consideration. Before leaving here to-day
I have to express my regret, on behalf of the company,
that you should have been called upon to inquire into so
serious a calamity, and I trust that means will be taken to
prevent such another occurrence. I have also publicly to
thank you all residing in this neighbourhood for the kind,
humane, and Christian attention paid to the unfortunate
sufferers by this dreadful calamity.
These remarks were received with approval by the jury,

and the Coroner then made out the warrant for the com-
mittal of Benge and Gallimore to prison, the warrant being
placed in the hands of Superintendent Ovenden for duo
execution.

Death of Mr. G. Wingrove Cooke,
(From the Times)

A sudden and untimely fate has deprived the
world of a brilliant writer, an elegant scholar,
and a most amiable and accomplished gentleman.
Mr. WingrOve Cooke, who achieved for himself a
high literary reputation while yet an undergraduate
at Oxford, and whose many subsequent productions
gave evidence of the versatility of his powers, has
been unexpectedly cut off in the prime and vigour of
manho xd, and in the plenitude of his cultivated in-
tellect. He had apparently been only slightly indis-
posed for a couple of days, and until Friday last had
attended to his usual duties, as Commissioner, at
the Copyhold and Enclosure-office in St. James's-
square. On Saturday morning, as he experienced
some unusual, but not very painful symptoms, ac-
companied by a tendency to faintness and a slight
difficulty in breathing, he remained at his house in
Cheyne-walk, where he received several intimate
friends, conversing with them almost as cheerfully
as was his wont. He slept soundly that night, and
rose on Sunday at his usual hour, feeling himself, as
he said, considerably easier and altogether better. A
few moments afterwards, however, his dressing-
room bell was violently rung, and the servants on
answering it found Mr. Cooke extended on a couch,
struggling for breath and wholly unable to articu-
late. It was at once obvious that one of the large
arteries in the neighbourhood of the heart had given
way, and that the sufferer was already beyond the
reach of all human aid.

Thus has passed away from among us one who
was especially endeared to all who knew him by the
genial kindliness of his disposition, no less than by
his unblemished integrity and unswerving determi-
nation to discharge fully the varied duties that de-
volved upon him in the several relations of life.

Mr. Wingrove Cooke died in his 53d year. Thirty
years ago he had given to the world his " Memoirs
of Lord Bolingbroke," a work of no inconsiderable
merit, and one which, at the time it was published,
excited considerable attention as a remarkable
production of so young a mind. He was at-
tacked with vehemence by Mr. Croker in the
Quarterly, and was as warmly vindicated by the
Edinburgh and other leading organs of the Libe-
ral party. Two years later Mr. Cooke brought
out an impartial and carefully-written history
of the two great political factions which have
for so many years divided the country. The
" History of Party" is a standard work, and toge-
ther with " The Life of the First Lord Shaftesbury,"
published in 1838, established the reputation of their
author as a man of laborious and accurate research,
combined with a natural vigour and terseness of
expression usually the result of much greater prac-
tice than Mr. Cooke could at this time have had.
The memoir of Lord Shaftesbury, founded chiefly
upon materials left by Kippis, Stringer, and Martyn,
was frequently quoted by Guizot, who regarded it
as " a mine rich in historical authorities."

In January, 1835, Mr. Wingrove Cooke was called
to the Bar of the Middle Temple, and shortly after
•
achieved for himself an enviable position in his
profession by several able treatises, as well as some
well-considered tracts upon different branches of
law reform. Of the former perhaps the best known
are his compendium of " The Law of Defamation,"
" A Treatise on the Law of Rights of Commons and
Enclosures;" another on the " Law of Copyhold
Enfranchisement," and an important work on "The
Law of Agricultural Tenancies and Leases," allvalu-
able text books, and each comprising in a lucid and
condensed form a complete and well-indexed digest of
the particular branch of the law of which it professed
to treat. Mr. Cooke was for 12 or 13 years largely
employed, under the Tithe Commutation Commis-
sion, to decide cases of special difficulty in various
parts of the country, and also in adjusting disputes
relative to moduses and claims to exemption, during
the long period that all tithes throughout the king-
dom were undergoing the process of extinction. His
labour at this time was very great, as for many con-
secutive years he frequently held eight. or ten im-
portant meetings a week, often at distant places.
He, however, found sufficient leisure even then to
publish very interesting narratives of his vocation
rambles. Of these, his " Conquest and Colonisation
of North Africa" is perhaps the most instructive
and elaborate. In 1856 he gave a vivid description
of what he saw in the Crimea, under the title of
" Inside Sebastopol." In 1857 he accepted an en-
gagement from this journal as its special correspon-
dent in China, where he remained for upwards of a
twelvemonth, having during that period penetrated
further than any former European into the interior
of that strange land. His letters, which originally
appeared in these columns, were edited under the
title of " China and Lower Bengal," and went
rapidly through six successive editions.
On two occasions Mr. Cooke offered himself un-
successfully as a candidate in the Liberal interest
for Colchester, and once in 1861 for the borough of
Marylebone. In the following year a Commissioner-
ship in the Copyhold and Enclosure Office, in the
gift of the Home Secretary, was offeredtoMr.Cooke
entirely without solicitation on his part. It is almost
superfluous to add that a better selection could
scarcely have been made. His colleagues, indeed,
will long feel the loss they have sustained in the
great experience that Mr. Wingrove Cooke pos-
sessed, no less than in the readiness with which his
judicial and nicely balanced mind, in the many
intricate and involved questions continually occur-
ring in his department, was at once enabled to
grapple with the facts, and at the same time rarely
erred in affording a solution to the problem sub-
mitted to him. He wrote with facility and fluency,
and at the same time with marvellous terseness and
accuracy. Like Thackeray, he seldom corrected or
re-corrected ; like him, too, he had great readiness
in introducing an apposite illustration of the
views he was desirous of enforcing, and these
illustrations often showed a keen appreciation
of humour. His many friends will deeply
regret the loss of one who was esteemed and
loved in proportion as he was known, and whose
useful life, whose many accomplishments, and
whose kindly disposition, gave promise of good
service to the public and increased favour to him-
self in the society he adorned.

LAW INTELLIGENCE—June 19.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.

(Sittings in Banco, after Term, before Justices Willes,
Byles, and Keating.)
IRWIN V. SIR GEORGE GREY.

This case came before the Court on error in fact. The
plaintiff presented his petition of right, and the Crown
directed right to be done in respect of certain wrongs of
which the plaintiff complained against the defendant as
Secretary of State for the Home Department. The case
came on for trial before a special jury, and a verdict was
feund for the defendant. The plaintiff now, on the ground
that there was error in fact on the trial, sought to set aside
the verdict as not binding. A special jury of 24 was struck,
but without the knowledge of the plaintiff eight out of the
24 were not summoned. On the morning of the trial 10 of
the special jury summoned were in the boa before 10 o'clock,
and a tales being prayed by the Crown, two common jury-
men made up the 12, and the jury were sworn before the
clock struck 10.

Mr. Irwin, in person, now contended that according to
the statute 6, George IV., cap. 50, sec. 37, the names of
the special jurors were to be called over "at or after 10
o'clock." That this was not done, and that had it been
done there might have been a full special jury ; and,
further, that tales could only be prayed when the special
jurymen were in default in not coming; and they wero
not coming because a third of them had not been sum-
moned. On these grounds he contended that the issue had
not been tried by the appointed jury, and the verdict was a
nullity and the judgment founded on it erroneous.
Mr. T. Jones and Mr. Hannon appeared for the Crown.
The case was only part heard when the Court rose.

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