The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-16 00:00:00

TRIAL OF RAILWAY DIRECTORS FOR MANSLAUGHTER.

Har rypSte.espl
tt ena
Thompson,
directorsO of the
Hicks
andeorgehSey Seymour,
. oui,
Northand
Samuel rz vi
Midland Railway, were charged with the manslaughter
of Joseph Sykes and John Thompson, at Brayton, near
Selby, on the sth of May last.
The defendants were not placed in the dock, but ap-
reared in the magistrate's gallery. The grand jury
gnored the bill against them, and Mr. Milner, M.P.,
the foreman, state to the learned judge that it was
their unanimous opinion the death of Sykes and Thomp-
son had arisen owing to the bad state of the permanent
way; The directors were arraigned under the coroner's
inquisition for the offence stated, to which they severally
pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Hall stated that the charge instituted against the
directors arose out of an accident which occurred on the
Leeds and Selby Railway, on the sth of May last, the
result being that two of the servants of the company lost
their lives. The cause of the death of the deceased was
carefully and patiently inquired into before the coroner's
jury, who after mature deliberation, returned a verdict
of manslaughter against the directors of the railway.
The case had also received the anxious attention of the
grand jury, and they had thrown out the bill preferred
before them. After carefully going through the whole
of the facts, they had come to the conclusion that no
culpability or negligence rested against the directors. If
it should eventually turn out that other parties were to
blame for the accident, the guilty persons would not be
suffered to escape with impunity, as further inquiry
would be made on the subject.
The jury then returned a verdict of Not Guilty, when
Mr. Knowles said lie and his two learned friends ap-
peared on behalf of three directors, but from the course
the case had taken it was hardly necessary for him!
to make any observations. The grand jury, howei
having made some remarks in reference to
acci-
dent, which they attributed to the.t dneeefeeestsaryive s
permanent way, he considered
the
make an observation or two. The remark
grand jury was probably warranted by zethheoinifthew
bi
adyne ne cxe.
proceededoftie ac.
brought before them, but he contendeda e
e"tnin.hasea doeefv
parte character. If the inquiry
with it would have been shown that _
cident was owing, not to the bthae cause
state of the line, but to the
reckless speed at which the train was going.
regretted E le said he rather the
observa-
tion Mr. Justice Er
which had been made. He, however, believed that
to the point alluded to by
the evidence, as .
had been fully weighed by the grand jury jr.Knowles,
previous to
giving their opinion. He gathered from what had been
stated that it was considered necessary for the interests
of public justice that the matter should be further in-
vestigated in an authentic manner.
Mr. Knowles said the directors, he was sure, would
throw no obstacles in the way of such an inquiry.
Mr. Justice Erie stated that the directors were not
responsible, but the grand jury had come to the conclu-
sion that some one else was responsible, and if their
opinion should turn out to be well founded, the matter,
as he understood it, -would be put in train for a prose-
cution.
The three directors then left the court.
P.

'A.RLIAMENTARY PAPERS TO MECHANICS' INSTITO-
TIONS.—Yesterday a select committee of the House of
Commons reported on the question whether Parliamen-
tary papers should be supplied to literary and mechanics'
institutions. They recommend A supply on a moderate
scale at Anti