The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-26 00:00:00

RAILWAY BILLS.

In the Lords' committees on Thursday, the Wrexham,
Mold, and Connah's Quay (Extension) ; the Wrexham and

Minera ; the Bishop's Castle (Chirbury to Minsterley) ; and
the Bishop's Castle (Extension to Craven Arms, &c.) Bills
were passed. The London, Chatham, and Dover (No. 1),
and the Greenock Bills were proceeded with. The Burton-
upon-Trent, the Burton-upon-Trent (Connexion), the
Althorpe-on-Trent and Lincoln, and the Bishop's Castle
(Deviations, &c.), being unopposed, were referred to Lord
Itedesdale's committee.

In the Commons (Committee of Ways and Means), the
Southern Bill was passed.

;:n the Lords' committees on Friday the case of the
shre\vsbury and Potteries Junction Bill was opened, and
evidence for the promoters taken. , One committee, A, was
engaged ail day with the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast case,
and another committee passed the London, Chatham, and
Dover .(No. 1) Bill. The case of the North and South
Wiltsniro Junction Bill was finished, and that of the Wilt-
shire Bill commenced. The preambles of the two bills are
to be decided on when both cases are concluded. The
Greenock Bill was proceeded with before a committee of
the Commons.

On Saturday, in the Lords' committees, the Aberystwith
and Welsh Coast Bill was proceeded with; and the Wilt-
shire and the North and South Wiltshire Junction Bills
were passed.

The Leeds Bankruptcy Court Inquiry.

-4,.- --

On Saturday was issued the report of the select commit-
tee appointed to inquire into all the circumstances con-
nected with the resignation of Mr. Henry Sedgwick Wilde,
as registrar of the Court of Bankruptcy at Leeds ; the
granting him a pension; the appointnient of Mr. Welch to
the said office; and whether he was to resign his appoint-
ment in favour of the Hon. Richard Bothell and receive
another appointment in London.

In regard to the first subject of their inquiry—the' cir-
cumstances of Mr. Wilde's resignation of the office of
registrar in the District Court of Leeds—the committee
report :—Your committee cannot but regret extremely
that such a letter as that of the 26th of June should have
been written by the Chief Registrar, not merely on ac-
count of the impropriety of its-terms, but because the sug-
gestion of retirement probably induced Mr. Wilde to apply
at once for a pension, and thus frustrated the Lord Chan-
cellor's declared intention of having the charges against
Mr. Wilde publicly heard in court. Mr. Wilde pressed your
committee to enter upon a farther investigation of these
charges ; but, as there appeared to your committee to bo no
ground whatever for any suspicion that there had been any
improper motive for preferring the charges against Mr.
Wilde, and as, moreover, the reports and documents (includ7
ing Mr. Wilde's own explanatory statement) clearly sup-
ported those charges, at least to such a degree as to justify
the Lord Chancellor in calling upon Mr. Wilde to answer
them in open court; and further, as Mr. Wilde had him-
self chose to retire on a pension rather than submit to a
public inquiry into his conduct, your Committee refused to
prolong an investigation, which, whatever its result might
have been, must have been far less satisfactory in its
nature than that in which Mr. Wilde had declined.

On the second head of inquiry—the granting a pension
to Mr. Wilde—the Committee report that the haste and
want of caution necessarily give rise to suspicion that a
vacancy in the office is the object sought rather than jus-
tice to the officer or the public. In this instance, how-
ever, your Committee consider that no improper motives
are to be imputed to the Lord Chancellor.
With regard to the third head of inquiry—Mr. Welch's
appointment—the Committee are satisfied that no im-
putation can fairly be made against the Lord Chan-
cellor; but they call attention to some "remarkable
evidence touching this part of their inquiry." This evi-
dence relates to monetary transactions between Mr. Welch
and the Hon. R. Bethell, and the charge made by the
Rev. R. Harding, vicar of St. Ann's, Wandsworth, that the
Hon. R. Bethell was to use his influence with his father to
secure an appointment for Mr. Welch, Mr. Welch paying
£5OO down and £l,OOO on securing the appointment. The
charge is denied by Mr. Welch and the Hon. R. Bethell.
The committee say—Mr. Harding's statement, if true, dis-
closes a corrupt bargain between the three parties ; if false,
it is a gross attempt at extortion. One or other of these
conclusions would be established by a judicial investigation
of the facts of the case; but as each of them involves the
liability to a charge of a highly penal character, your
committee, not having the opportunity of examining
witnesses upon oath, or of bringing the persons inculpated
to a formal trial, purposely abstained from expressing any
opinion as to which of the two views above mentioned
ought to be adopted. They consider it their duty to ob-
serve, that the indisputable facts are such as to render it
essential to the public interest that the case should, as soon
as possible, be made the subject of legal investigation.
On the fourth and last head of inquiry, whether Mr.
Welch was to resign his appointment at Leeds in favour of
Mr. Bethell, and receive another appointment in London,
the committee say :--" In the month of May, 1864, the
Lord Chancellor, on being informed that his son was
deeply indebted, compelled him to resign his office of
registrar in the Court of Bankruptcy. Mr. Bethell
shortly afterwards went abroad with his family, and re-
mained abroad during the summer and autumn. Towards
the close of the year he returned to England, having
formed a plan for making some arrangement with his cre-
ditors, and hoping to be reconciled to his father. Appli-
cations were made to the Lord Chancellor to induce
him to relent in favour of his son, and give him some ap-
pointment. The Lord Chancellor was asked to appoint
him to the office of clerk at the table of the House of Lords,
which he peremptorily refused to do. He was asked by
Mr. Miller to give his son the appointment of registrar in
bankruptcy in London vacated by Mr. Slingsby Bethell,
and Mr. Miller, in the hope that his request would be
granted, but without any authority from the Lord Chan-
cellor, prepared an order appointing Mr. Bethell to that office.
The Lord Chancellor refused to make the appointment ; but
upon a suggestion being made Dither by Mr. Skirrow (an
intimate friend of the Lord Chancellor, and a trustee of
Mrs. Bethell'a marriage settlement) or by Mrs. Bothell herself,
that Mr. Bethell might be appointed to an office in the coun-
try, the Lord Chancellor appears, on Feb. 22, 1865, at an
interview with Mr. Skirrow, to have held out some expec-
tation that he would consider the matter if Mr. Bethell
could obtain a release from all his creditors ; up to that day
he had peremptorily refused to entertain the subject. Mr.
Skirrow's view was in favour of an office at Bristol, as
being in the neighbourhood of Mrs. Bethell's relations.
Later in the same day Mr. Bothell called on Mr. Skirrow,
at Staple Inn, and probably thenunderstood from him that
there was some probability of his receiving an appointment
in the country. Mr. Welch was then introduced to Mr.
Skirrow by Mr. Bethell, and some remarks passed which
show that Mr. Bethell expected to obtain the office at Leeds,
and Mr. Welch hoped to be transferred to London. Mr.
Bethell went to Leeds on the following day, saw Mr.
Welch at his office on the 24th, and it is clear that it was
generally understood in the Bankruptcy Court at Leeds
that Mr. Bethell was shortly to bo appointed registrar there,
and that Mr. Welch was to bo transferred elsewhere. In the
meanwhile, Mr. Miller had been informed of the plan, and,
in full expectation that it would be carried into effect, pre-
pared two orders of-appointment, one of Mr. Welch to the
London registrarship, the other of Mr. Bethell to that at
Leeds. He says that Mr. Skirrow gave him the information
upon which ho relied ; but this Mr. Skirrow positively
denies. Mr. Miller further states that ho prepared the
order before-mentioned, appointing Mr. Bothell to the
London registrarship, and the two orders last men-
tioned without the knowledge of the Lord Chancellor,
and that they wore the only appointments ever prepared
by him wfthout the Lord Chancellor's sanction. The
Lord Chancellor also states that he did not hear of
these orders being prepared before this inquiry took place.
' On Sunday, the 26th, the Lord Chancellor, from some in-
formation which he had received as to his son's conduct
at Paris, determined not to appoint his son to any office;
he sent for Mr. Skirrow, and declared his decision. On
Monday, the 27th, Mr, Miller was about to present the
two appointments to the Lord Chancellor for signature.
Mr. Skirrow saw him, and advised him not to do so,
mentioning what had occurred on the previous 'day.
Mr. Miller did not show the appointments, but men-
tioned the subject to the Lord Chancellor, who said that
he would make no appointment. It appears to your
committee that Mr. Skirrow acted simply as a friend
of the Lord Chancellor's family. No improper motive
has been suggested for the part which Mr. Miller took,
although his conduct in preparing the appointments
without the sanction, or even knowledge, of the Lord
Chancellor was highly reprehensible. Mr Bethell and Mr.
Welch were undoubtedly desirous of promoting the arrange-
ment for their own interests; but the Lord Chancellor ap-
pears to have had no knowledge of the plan, beyond the
suggestion made to him by Mr. Skirrow and Mrs. Bethel!,
and no knowledge whatever of what had been done in ex-
pectation of its completion until some time after he had
finally refused to make any appointment in favour of
his son.

The committee say, in conclusion : •
Your committee, in performance of the duty entrusted
to them, went fully into all the circumstances which
seemed to bear on any portion of the subject matter ; in
their report, however, they have confined their observa-
tions to those points which they consider most material.
They must be allowed to observe, in conclusion, that
while the facts which they believe to be established by
the evidence acquit the Lord Chancellor from all charge
except that of haste and want of caution in granting a pen-
sion to Mr. Wilde, and although some of the questions asked
in your honourable house which led to the appointment of
this Committee were founded on information which was not
thoroughly accurate, yet the general impression created by
the sudden retirement of Mr. Wilde and the pecuniary
transactions which took place between Mr. Bethell and Mr.
Welch, coupled with the representations made by Mr.
Bethell on his visit to Leeds, were calculated to excite the
gravest suspicious ; and your committee are of opinion
that the inquiry which they have conducted was, for this
reason, highly desirable for the public interests.

MADRID, June 23.—The O'Donnell Ministry
have taken possession of their post. Marshal
Serrano is appointed Captain-General of Madrid.
A general amnesty has been accorded tp the press.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

CITY BETTING-THIS DAY.
NORTHUMBERLAND PLATE.
5 to 2 agst Caller Ou (taken)
sto 1 agst Brown Bread (taken)
6to 1 agst Revival (taken)
Bto 1 agst Le Marechal (taken)
10 to 1 agst Brandy Wine (taken)
10 to 1 agst Macbeth (taken)
100 to 6 agst La Toucques (taken;
100 to 6 agst Alice (taken)
GOODWOOD STAKES.
100 to .6 agst Claremont (taken)
20 to 1 agst any other (offered)

SPORTING NOTE F.

The
Liv-erpool Meeting was only noteworthy for the
small field that contested the Uv:rpool Cup. Of the
twelve horses coloured on the card ouly seven put in ap-
pearance, but this number only represented four stables,
as Holywell -sent three to the post—Stanton, Farce, and
Nu—while Mr. Barber was represented by Helen and
Macbeth ; those who fought on their own account being
Success and Sidewind. The two latter looked altogether
the best of the party, Sidewind being greatly improved in
appearance since she ran at York,, while Success, who is
one of the best-looking threal-year-olds in training, was in
superb 'condition. This pair, engrossed nearly all tho bat-
ting, but Mr. Barber, who declared to win with Macbeth,
supported him with some. spirit, while an odd " tenner',
was invested ou Nu, with whom the llolywall stable de-
clared to win. Duthie- the forenoon 'many investments
were made on Success at 7 to 4, but owing to the support
accorded to Sidewind,, and Macbeth by their respective
owners, Mr. Buckley's horse went back to 2 to 1 at start-
ing, while at half a point more Sidewind was very freely
supported, and notwithstanding Mr. Barber's declaration
to win with Macbeth, a good many investments were
made on Helen at 9 to 2, Macbeth's price being 100 to 15.
The race was run at as good a pace as the latter could
make, but - the favourite, who :waited until opposite
the Stand, there disposie'ssed Mr. Barber's horse
of the lead, after he had disposed of Sidewind, and won
very cleverly by a length, Sidewind finishing a neck be-
hind Macbeth, thus reversing the relative positions the
latter pair held on the Knavestnire.• 'The Surrey and Mid-
dlesex Stakes was a fec-simile of the Liverpool Cup, as
precisely the same numbers put in an appearance,' which
turned out the "good thing" for Auditor the latter's run-
ning in the Ascot Stakes betokened. Lord Westmore-
land's horse had been first favourite at " the lists" all along,
and they betted odds on him at starting, the only other
backed for money being Lady Valentine, who again cut up
badly as at Newmarket, whilst Hopper managed to save
her stake—the second appearance to-day of Fordham in
Mr. Parr's colours in that most unenviable position. This
is the first race of any consequence Auditor has won for
his popular owner since the Trial Stakes at Ascot last year,
though the public, with their usual want of discretion,
have been "waiting for him" ever since, under the impres-
sion that the horse was much better than he has since
turned out to be. Precisely the same number of compe-
titors ran for the Great Newton Cup, but Moulsey, although
supposed to be "out of his length," was backed against
the field; and jumping away in front, Lord Bateman's colt
was never approached. His lordship, however, did not
back the winner heavily, from a doubt whether the
son of Teddington would quite stay the course.
The only change in the betting was the decline of Revival,
and the support awarded to Caller On consequent on her
success in Her Majesty's Plate at Hampton.
The Newcastle-on-Tyne meeting commences to-mor-
row and extends over three days. The North Derby for
three-year-olds will be won by Oppressor in the absence of
Wild Agnes, and the Tyro Stakes by Split the Difference
or Blue Riband. The Grand Stand Stakes has The Lion
and Blue Riband engaged, and I shall look to one of the
pair furnishing the winner. The Northumberland Plate
once was a good betting race, but now, like all the other
handicaps that have been contested this year, will, in all
probability, produce a very small field. Those most
likely to take part in the race are the following :
Caller Ou, La Toucques, Buckfoot, Alice, Le Marechal,
Brindisi, Brandy Wine, Revival, Macbeth, Brown Bread,
Little John, and Strong Beer. Caller Ou has the top
weight, and has been backed as if the race were all over.
That she can win on her merits I do not believe in the
face of such lightly weighted horses as Le Marechal, Brin-
disi, Brandy Wine, Revival, and Brown Bread. But it
begins now to look like a case of " squaring" for the old
mare. If Jackson could only get 11,:vival out of
the way, wouldn't he like it ? The Jacksons, I'An-
sons, and Dawsons are all closely allied by family
ties, and whichever they stand will bo very near
winning. But if the mystery which surrounds the
starting of REVIVAL be cleared away, I shall stand alone
by the popular colours of Lord Zetland, who has run two
seconds for this race with Carbineer and Skirmisher. I
shall expect the judge to place.

REVIVAL ox LE MARECHAL 1
BROWN BREAD 2
MACBETH 3
The Corporation Plate, although it has nearly a hundred
entries, will produce about eight or niuo runners, and will
be won by the horse that most money can be got out of the
bookmakers. Bandarilla should win the Gold Cup Stakes.
A FRESH MAN.

CARLISLE
Acceptances for the Cumbert
a disc

Age st lb
The Tartar 4 8 12
Cathedral 4 8 7
Le Marechal 5 7 10
Alice ... 5 7 8
Brindisi ... 4 7 4
Helen ... ... 4 7 2
Crisis ... 4 7 2
Miss Pickle ... 4 6 12
Hopper ... 4 6 12
Revival ... ...4 6 11
Macbeth ... ... 4 6 9

MEETING.
and Plate. Twice round and
,an ce.

Age st lb
Vanessa ... 4 6 9
Auricula ... 4 6 9
Friday ... ... 3 6 9
Madame Tagliafico 4 6 6
Little John ... 3 6 5
Lady of Coverdale 3 6 2
Elastic ... 3 5 12
Harry Brailsford ... 3 5 10
Strong Beer 3 5 10
Curtain Lecture 3 5 7
Zenobia ... 3 5 7

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE—This day.

LONDON, June 26.—Wind this day at noon—North-
Easterly; moderate breeze, and fine weather, but rather
cloudy.

PORTSMOUTH, June 25.—Wind S.E.—Arrived—Roslin
Castle, from Calcutta; Lady Eglinton, steamer, from
Dublin.

CLYDE, Juno 24.—Wind S.lV.—Arrived—Bangshort,
from Matanzas.

COWES, Juno 25.—Wind S.S.E.—Arrived—lndiana,
from Callao.

OFF QUEENSTOWN, June 24.—Wind S.E.—Arrived—
Alfred, from Mauritius.

CARDIFF, June 25.—Wind N.W.—Arrived—Albion,
from Bremen.
SWANSEA, June 24.—Wind S.W.—Sailed—Athelstane,
for Valparaiso.

LIVE;POOL, June 25.—Wind S.W.—Arrived—Governor-
General, from Bombay ; Zouve, from Pernambuco ; Win-
consin, from New York.

BY MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

GRiVRSEND, Monday Morning.

Arrived, June 25.—Burgeminster Kestina, from Buenos
Ayres ; Result, from Guernsey ; Linguard, from Gefle ;
Margaret, from Dominica ; John Bull, from Hamburg ;
Danube, from Dantsic ; St. Croix, from Barbadoes ; Nep-
tunus, from Warberg; Rose Gray, from Cronstadt ; Black
Prince, from Bahia ; Franque, from Gothenburg.
DEAL, Monday Morning.

Passed—Star of Denmark (in tow), from Calcutta ;
Normal (in tow), from Singapore—both for London; Clara,
from the north for the west ; Marshal, from the west, for
London ; Sunbeam, from London, for Auckland.

SIGNOR ROSSINI, we are rejoiced to hear from
Paris, is again in perfect health.

A MONUMENT TO HOMER.—Signor Regaldi, an
Italian poet, has written a letter to the Foreign Minister of
the kingdom. of Greece, suggesting that a monument to
Homer should be erected in Athens.

THE DUKE OF SOMERSET, accompanied by his
private secretary, Captain Robert Hall, R.N., and several
of the members of the Board of Admiralty, visited the
Great Eastern on Thursday at Sheerness.—Army and
Navy Gazette.

A GAS TRICK.—Some rogue has entered two
chapels in Chatham by getting possession of the keys by
falsely pretending that he was employed by the gas com-
pany to take a record of the consumption of gas by the
meters in the chapels ; from one chapel ho carried off some
money in missionary boxes, &c.—Chatham News.
A MEMORIAL TO MILTON, at Chalfont St. Giles,
Buckinghamshire, is talked of. The house wherein he
finished "Paradise Lost" is known to be still in existence
at this place.

POOR JULES GERARD'S PERSONAL EFFECTS have
realised an insignificant sum compared with what his
friends had hoped and expected. His aged mother had
looked forward to a small income for the rest of her days ;
but the auction which scattered her son's guns and hunting
knives to the world failed to excite any attention other
than that of a few dealers and tradesmen who, with one
exception, bid for the groat hunter's weapons, without at-
taching the slightest importance to their late brave pos-
sessor. The only article which was keenly contested was
the skin of a lion, which Gerard killed on the 30th of Jan.,
1850, in the Sequin country. The proprietor of an im-
mense shop on the Boulevards, La Regence, gave 600 francs
for it, and also bought the huntees letter, describing the
exciting struggle he had with the brute.—London Review.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Clanricarde
entertained the Duke do Richelieu, the Earl and Countess,
do Grey, the Earl of Harewood, the Earl Annesley,
Viscount and Viscountess Sydney, Lord Harris, Lord and
Lady Egerton of Tatton, Lord and Lady Dufferin, Lord
Dunkellin, Colonel the Hon. John Stanley, Hon. Frederick
Cadogan, Mr. and Lady Margaret Beaumont, &c., at dinner
on Saturday evening, at their residence in Stratton-street,
Piccadilly.

91 Locomotives on line.
85 Ditto building.
51 Passenger cars (to carry 60 persons).
40 Ditto building.
16 Baggage and Mail cars.
2,566 Freight cars.
It is all in splendid order, the engines being of a parti-
cularly fine description.
From Dayton to Cincinnati the line belongs to the Cin-
cinnati Hamilton and Dayton Railway Company. This
Company expended $1,509,000 in laying a broad gauge
" straddle" track (rails on either side of narrow gauge rails),
and building passenger stations and freight houses to ac-
commodate the Atlantic and Great Western traffic. The
passenger station at Cincinnati is one of the best and most
convenient in the States, containing arrangements for the
comfort of passengers not usually to be met with on Ame-
rican lines. A fine suite of offices are nearly completed for
the use of the Atlantic and Great Western Company. The
freight houses adjoin the station and are rented by firms
who take the freights from the Railway Company, charg-
ing for storage, and assuming all the responsibility of de-
livery; an excellent arrangement that relieves the Com-
pany. of a vast amount of risk. The line from Dayton to
Cincinnati is in perfect order, is well ballasted and main-
tained, the stations are good, and there is every facility for
conducting a very large traffic with regularity. The junc-
tion with the Ohio and Mississippi Railway is about half a
mile from the main station. Arrangements are contem-
plated by which the two lines will unite at the main sta-
tion. The line to St. Louis, considering the severe winter
and the floods, is in very good condition. The track is
being carefully repaired, and a large amount of iron is being
re-rolled and re-laid. It is the intention of the Directors
to re-roll nearly all the metal now down. The line is broad
gauge throughout.

Franklin Branch has been extended from Franklin
to Oil City, 8 miles, a very important addition to the line.
From Meadville to Franklin the rails originally laid are
very light, but from the fact of the joints being fished they
have worn most surprisingly well, and would last for years
to come. However, it is intended to replace them with the
same description of rail used on the main line. The light
rails will be kept in stock in all prObability for sidings. The
track is well maintained, and the enormous traffic over this
branch is admirably managed.
The Cleveland Extension runs over the Mahoning Rail-
way (leased by the Atlantic and Great Western Company
for 99 years), and is a " straddle" track ; the narrow gauge
cars and engines belonging to the Mahoning line are there-
fore used in common with the broad gauge ; trains of the
mixed gauges being run with the greatest safety. Tho
line is in splendid order, and the traffic over it immense.
The works on the Buffalo Extension and New Lisbon
Coal Branch will be energetically carried on. Those on
the Erie and Niagara line are nearly complete.
Having thoroughly satisfied myself that the lines now in
operation are in proper order, I have devoted considerable
time to ascertaining what are the traffic prospects for the
future. I append a return of the towns and villages within
a radius of about 20 miles from the main line, from which it
will be seen that the railway passes through settled and
populous districts. In fact, from Saegar Town (97 miles
from Salamanca), west the country is as highly cultivated
as any part of the States.
I am prepared for somewhat lower traffic receipts for the
summer months of this year, and believe that they will be
lower than at any future period, for the following reason :
The heavy decline in the eastern markets (consequent
upon the large fall in gold) in the value of western pro-
dUcts, such as tobacco, grain, hemp, and hogs, has almost
stopped shipments to the seaboard, holders generally hoping
for a reaction in prices, and as a rule being unwilling to
face a sudden loss. All this freight is in the west, and
sooner or later must come east. If held back until the
harvest there will be an immense pressure of freights, and
the roads will be enabled to advance their rates.

The connections with the various cross-roads are highly
important, and when arrangements are completed for ad-
ditional sidings, transfer houses, &c., will open up to the
Atlantic and Great Western at points such as Corry,
Clarkesville, Mansfield, and Galion, feeders fully as valu-
able as any now in existence, and in addition a class of
traffic that hitherto has not been sought after ; I mean the
stock traffic. Dull as this branch of trade is at the present
time, a neighbouring line for instance is carrying from 40
to 50 cars per diem. This, at $3O (a minimum rate) gives
upon the lower number $1,200.
1 anticipate that the Atlantic and Great Western will
contain about the same traffic in dull times from Cleveland
to Salamanca. The amount of stock, however, to be con-
veyed from Cleveland will not compare with that which
will be forthcoming from Mansfield, Galion, Urbana,
and Dayton. The States of Kentucky, Southern
Illinois, and Missouri, are the great stock pro-
ducing States, and the Atlantic and Great Western
line from these points (arrived at by the Ohio and`
Mississippi, Cincinnati Hamilton and Dayton, and Cin-
cinnati and Indianopolis, and other lines) offers to stock
producers an unbroken broad-gauge line to New York.
theia a fair calculation to estimate the stock traffic over
south western portion of the road at from 50 to
100 ears per diem. Taking the lower figure at an
everago of $5O to $75 per car, and the lowest rate
o
38111 20re 52,500, which added to the Cleveland, estimate of
week of
a total of $3,700 per diem, or $22,200 per
f 6 days for stock traffic alone.
A great source of traffic at present is, and will be, for
many
wells.to come, the oil from the Pennsylvania
we
yars
Notwithstanding the enormous yield for the last
three years, the supply shows no sign of exhaustion, and
as a consequence fresh
adventurers are daily arriving
and expending
capital in the hope of " striking oil."
The large number of
the value of lajompanies formed of late, has in-
creasedrially adds to the Frankln
to an enormous extent, and mate%
wells ranch. It is estimated that
nearly 2,000 fresh
pumping engines for these
will be started this season • the
pumping are 'scate-
tered in all directions,-200
form at one time last week. e on the Franklin. plat-
h extension of the line to
Oil City will necessarily secure an immense amount of oil
traffic
that last year was transported East h
routes. A large plot of land has been presented to t :ire
Company in the neighbourhood of Oil City, on the
river bank, upon which large wharves and sheds will
be built exclusively for Petroleum traffic. The oil will
be sent direct from the wells on the creek to these land-
ings, and as a saving of some seven miles of road hauling
will be effected, it is fair to suppose that a large amount of
traffic that has hitherto gone by river will be diverted to
the rail. The number of barrels transported by the At_
lantic and Great Western line last year amounted to the
enormous number of 675,028.
Coal in the course of a very short time will form one of
the largest items of traffic. The facilities for shipment at
Cleveland are so great (the Company having
.between 3,000
and 4,000 feet of river frontage) for the West ma the lakes and
railways, that it is impossible to estimate what the value of
this traffic will be. At present it is only beginning to be deve-
loped. In addition to the Western shipments, there will be
an enormous demand for Canada, via the Buffalo Exten-
sion, and Erie and Niagara line. Cheap coal is sure to bring
a large number of manufactories to the towns in the neigh-

Mnamts (85 miles). Small place.
CAMBRIDGE (88 miles), population 2,000. Endenboro, 6
miles, population 600.
VENANGO (92 miles), population 1,200. Rockville, 8
miles, population 1,000.
&EGER TOWN (97 miles), population 500. From this
station, west, a marked change is visible in the country ;
up to this point there is much forest land, and the resources
of the country are undeveloped. Still, much has been done
during the last four years, and a dally improvement may be
expected.
MEADVILLE (103 miles), population 8,000 ; important
commercial and manufacturing town. General offices of
the railway are at this place, and a large and admirably
managed hotel, the "McHenry House," where passengers
dine, &c.—indeed, if it were twice the size, it would always
fill. Eight distinct table d'hote dinners are served here for
the convenience of persons living in the house, and passen-
gers arrivisg by the trains. The Company's workshops
are in a forward state, and will be of great service when
completed. Tributary towns—Riceville, 18 miles, popula-
tion 1,000; Cooley, 12 miles, population 500; Couneout
Lake, 7 miles, population 600 ; Cochranton, Utica, Evans-
b►idge, Sugar Creek, small villages on Franklin Branch,
which joins the main line at Meadville, in Crawford County,
the population of which is 48,755.
FRANKLIN (131 miles), on the branch from Meadville,
population 5,000. Great point for the shipment of oil.
This station is at the junction of French Creek and Alle-
ghany River.
OIL CITY (81 miles) from Franklin, furnishes a great
amount of traffic in passengers and freight to the road,
population 10,000 ; situated at the junction of Oil Creek
with the Alleghany River. In the spring and fall, when
the water is high, but before the opening of the line to Oil
City, most of the oil went down the Alleghany to Pitts-
burgh, and thence east. In the summer when the water
is low, and all through the winter, all the oil comes over
the Franklin Branch.

SurroN (110 miles). No village, but a good lumbering
point.
EVANSBURG (115 miles). Town of same name is 4 miles
from station, population 800. Hackstown, 5 miles, popula-
tion 500 ; Georgetown, 10 miles, population 700.
ADAMSVILLE (121 miles). Population 500.
SUGAR GROVE (124 miles). Small station.
GREEVILLE (129 miles). Population 4,000. Tributary
towns—Miner, 15 miles, population 2,000 ; New Hamburg,
7 miles, population 600 ; Delaware Grove, 9 miles, popula-
tion 100 ; Centreville, 28 miles, population 200 • Balm, 25
miles, population, 100 • New London and Maysville,' popu-
lation, 100 each ' • ShaCkleyville, 10 miles, population 600.
CROSSING OF ERJE2AND PITTSBURGH RAILROAD (132
miles).
CLARKSVILLE (136 miles). Population, 1,000. The Erie
and Pittsburgh runs parallel with Atlantic and Great
Western track 8 miles. Tributary towns—Newcastle, 17
miles, population, 3,500; Pulaski, 10 miles, population
800 ; West Middlesex, 20 miles, population 1,000 ; Sharon,
8 miles, population 1,500; Jamestown, 10 miles, population
1,000; Brownsville, population 300; Lindenville, popula-
tion, 200 ; Espyville, population 200 ; Conneautville popu-
lation, 1,500 ; Linesville, population, 200.
CRAWFORDS (139 miles). Large coal fields at this point.
ORANGEVILLE OHIO (141 miles). Population, 1,200.
Tributary towns—Sharon, 7 miles, population 5,000 ; Hart-
ford, 44 miles ; Vernon, 4} miles ; Kinsman, miles ;
Maysville, 5 miles; Sharpsville, 5 miles.
The above-mentioned towns have a population of from
500 to 1,000 each.
BURGHILL (145 miles). Tributary to this station are the
above-named stations, under head of Orangeville.
Large dairy farms are along the line of the road between
this station and Akron, and consequently large shipments
of butter and cheese are made from these points. The
amount varies from 500 to 1,200 tons per annum from each
station.

JOHNSON'S SUMMIT (149 miles). Fowler, 5 miles from
station, population 700.
The remarks appended to Burghill station apply to this
station equally as well.
BACONSBURG (154 miles). Population 500 ; Mecca, 7
miles, population 1,000; Johnson's, 6 miles, population 500;
Gustavus, 15 miles, population 500; Williamsfield, 20 miles,
population 1,000.
This is called the Mecca oil region, and produces valuable
oil in moderate quantities. _ _ __ _ .

WARREN (162. miles). Population 4,000 ; enterprising
town ; fine water power, furnished by the Mahoning River,
which is much used for motive dower in mills, &c., &c.
Tributary towns—Gustavus, 6 miles, population 600 ;
Bristol, 9 miles, population 600 ; Farmington, 5 miles,
population 600; Southington, 10 miles, population 500;
North Jackson, 10 miles, population 800.
Above towns are in Trumbull County, Ohio, population
of which is 30,813.
LEAvirrssunsur (164 miles). Crossing of Cleveland
Branch. No station here, but is an important transfer
point, both iron and coal passing east and west. Towns
on this branch between Leavittsburgh and Cleveland—
Braceville, Windham, Garretsville, Mantua, Aurora, Solon.
The above-named towns are the centres of large dairy
districts, and large shipments of butter and cheese go from
these points to the east and west,
CLEVELAND (2141 miles). Terminus of the Cleveland
Branch of the Atlantic and Great Western Railway •, po-
pulation about 70,000. It is a well laid out town, and large
manufacturing interests are represented here, encouraged
by the unequalled railway facilities for transportation.
The following roads centre at this point :—Cleveland and
Toledo Lake Shore Line ; Cleveland, Columbus and Cin-
cinnati and the Atlantic and Great Western Railways,
and the Cleveland and Pittsburg Railway. Large quan-
tities of iron ore pass through on its way to Youngstown
for smelting, thereby affording a lucrative business to the
Atlantic and Great Western Railway Company.
YouNGErrows is an increasing town of 4,000 inhabitants,
at the southern end of the Mahoning Branch, and in the
centre of the coal fields of Ohio. Here are large iron works
supplied via the Cleveland Branch, with ore from Lake
Superior.
The district is very rich in coal, and the traffic derived
from Sharon to Cleveland, and elsewhere, cannot but prove
a lasting source of revenue to the Company.
For some weeks, however, in consequence of a strike
amongst the coal miners, the traffic has suffered much.
The miners belong to a trade's union, and are holding out,
forewxhviheoeibut being
work
cinign nowtwo
obratdhlyreoeffwefoerksm. money, are
New Castle, tributaryft to Youngstown are—Sharon, Pa.,
843., an outlet by railroad and canal to Erie ;
towns, the
business
sinogf
which is
.arel alll iron
Good coal banks underlie nearly
manufacturing
to which Lake Superior ore is transported foarlilssmthaeirletgirenegygi
which
ihndea
ssrt to resume wages,
de-
veloping.on
BRACEVILLE (169 miles). Situated. between the Main
and Cleveland Branch, population 1,500. Tributary towns
5 miles, population 500 ; Fartun' gton, 10 miles,

BERWICK. (310 miles). Population, 700. From hence to
North Lewisburg, about 30 miles, the country is new and
thinly settled. The woods contain very valuable timber.
From Marion, east, the country is highly cultivated.
RicHwoon(3lB miles). Population, 800. Bryant 4 miles ;
Carey, 7 miles ; Middletown, 6 miles. 500 to 800 each in
population.
NEWTON (328 miles). No town on line ; small village 1
mile distant ' - large amounts of lumber (timber) sent from
this station to Dayton and Cincinnati.
Nolan LEW/SBURG (338 miles). Population, 1,000;
Bellefontaine, population, 3,000 ; East Liberty, 12 miles,
population, 2,000 ; Woodstock, population, 600 ; Middle-
burg, 6 miles ; East Liberty, 81 miles ; Maysville, 10 miles •
Newton, 8 miles ; Middletown, 4 miles ; Pickorstown,
miles ; 'Lanesfield, 10 miles. These towns, from 500 to
2,000 inhabitants. Railroad runs through the centre of
the county.
MINGO STATION (343 miles). No village here.
TAYLORTOWN (348 miles). No town ; small village
north of it of 300 inhabitants.

URBANA (352 miles). Population, 5,000, in Champaigno
County, Ohio ; population of County, 16,591. To this
point from Dayton the line runs alongside of the San-
dusky. Dayton, and Cincinnati Railroad, and here inter-
sects the line from Indianopolis, Indiana, to Columbus. A
fair business is derived from this road. A largo live stock
trade from the States of Indiana and Illinois will strike
here.

TREMONT (360 miles). A small village; population, 300.
The road from here to Eayton runs near Mad River. This
valley is not excelled for fertility and agricultural resources
by any portion of the West.
__ _

-SFIIIiGFIELD, CLARK COUNTY (366 miles). Population,
8,000 ; a large manufacturing town ; milling capacity,
130,000 barrels per annum ; town is 1i miles from wad ; is
a very enterprising place.
SNYDERS (370 miles) No town here.
ENOU (372 miles). Population, 1,000 ' • town 1 mile from
station ; population of County, 25,445. Road traverses
centre of eounty East and West.

OSBORNE GREEN COUNTY (378 miles). Population, 1,200;
of county, 26,778; town of Fairfield, 2 miles; population,
1,000 ; Carlisle, 4 miles ; population, 1,500.
KNEISLEY'S (381 miles). No village, 6} miles from sta-
tion ; a large mill, capacity 100 barrels flour per diem, and
an extensive distillery.
DAYTON, MONTGOMERY COUNTY (387 miles), population
of city 22,000, of county 52,213 ; is a manufacturing town,
largest item of production being flour to ;the extent of
150,000 to 200,000 barrels per annum ; the tonnage shipped
in 1864, by statements from books of various railroads to
New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore was
24,693 tons; it is the northern terminus of the Cincinnati
Hamilton and Dayton Railroad 60 miles long; and the
Eastern terminus of the Dayton and Western Railroad 40
miles ; Eastern terminus of the Greenville and Miami Rail-
road 42 miles, Western terminus of the Little Miami Rail-
road 70 miles from Columbus (capital of the State.) The
Southern terminus of the Dayton and Michigan Railroad
140 miles; also of the Sandusky Dayton and Cincinnati
Railroad 154 miles. Not much trade will be drawn from
the North for the Atlantic and Great Western Railway,
but a large amount will come from the South and West.
A large manufacturing and mercantile jobbing business is
carried on here with surrounding country. The road
traverses the centre of ,the county, and connects by the.
Cincinnati Hamilton and Dayton Railroad with Cincin-
nati, the largest commercial and manufacturing city of the
West, having a population of some 200,000.
In the above Report, the population has been chiefly.
taken from the census report of 1860, since which time it
has considerably increased.

THE EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW RAILWAY.—An
alarming accident occurred to the passenger train
leaving Glasgow on Thursday, at 11 45, and due in Edin-
burgh about two hours later. While passing Hay-market
depot, about a mile and a half from Waverley station, Edin-
burgh, the train came in collision with a goods engine
which had just come off a siding. The driver of the goods
engine, Peter Hamilton, had left his train on the down line
to go to the water tank, across the up lino, but, unfortu-
nately, in returning, he failed to regard the danger signal
placed on the up line to protect the passenger train, which
was immediately due. The driver of the passenger train,
John Shedden, observing the error, signalled to Hamilton
to keep up steam and go on through the tunnel before the
passenger train ; but having in the alarm of the moment
stopped his engine, the latter could not again put it in mo-
tion in time. A sharp collision occurred, which was severely
felt throughout the train, and many of the passengers were
seriously, though it would not in any case appear danger-
ously injured. The train was thrown off the line, and with
one exception the carriages were broken, one third class
being partially stove in, while an empty carriage truck, a
horse-box, and the guards' van in front were shattered to
pieces. The engine of the passenger train was completely
smashed, while the goods engine after the shock, ran for-
ward about 100 yards and broke down. John Shedden, the
driver of the passenger train, was badly cut about the head
and face, but his stoker escaped with but little injury.
Cunningham, the guard of the passenger train, was cut on
the head, while the goods' engine-driver escaped almost
without injury. Most of the passengers were cut and bruised
more or less painfully, and to some of them the nervous
shock was very severe. Three of them were taken to the
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, suffering under concus-
sion of the brain—namely, Mrs. Ann Mackenzie, a young
woman travelling from Dumbarton to Inverness, who also
suffered some severe bruises, Michael Brady, a navvy from
Ireland in search of work, and Thomas Duffy, an Irish la-
bourer, who was also much bruised. The passengers were
conveyed to Edinburgh in a train made up at the carriage
depot, Haymarket, arriving about three-quarters of an hour
late. The violence of the collision was greatly lessened bT
the circumstance that Shedden had, according to the usual
practice, shut off steam just before coming in sight of the
obstruction. Shedden's conduct in the emergency is highly
spoken of. Hamilton, who also bears the character of a
careful driver, was apprehended in the afternoon. In con-
sequence of the accident the up-line was blocked for three
or four hours. Great attention was paid to the sufferers by
the officers of the company and by the medical gentlemen
who were called to their aid. A blood horse, which was
in the shattered horse-box, escaped almost without injury.
The news of an accident so alarming in its character
caused great excitement and led to greatly exaggerated
rumours of the result.

TIIE SPECTATOR" ON THE ELECTIONS AND MR.
GLAIISTONE.—The general Liberal notion seems to
be that it is an admirable thing for Mr. Gladstone's
prospects as .the future leader of the House of Com-
mons, that the elections for the new Parliament
should be carried through under the shield of Lord
Palmerston's great name and reputation. No one
hopes that the present Prime Minister—who, during
the long vacation, will attain the great age of 81—
can guide the new Parliament far upon its way.
The most that is to be hoped is, that he may see the
Administration fairly out of port, or at best pilot
his vessel through the shoals and quicksands which
beset the run out of soundings, and then leave her
to the new captain. But the general view appears
to be that if thus much is gained, everything will be
gained for the Liberal party and much for Mr.
Gladstone. No doubt the Liberal party will gain
by this arrangement a greater, perhaps a much
greater number of supporters than could be expected
for a iussell-Gladstone Ministry. There are many
quasi-Conservatives who support Lord Palmerston
who think Mr. Gladstone the Prince of the powers
of the air, or his political equivalent. Then the tone
of the Tory Opposition to Mr. Gladstone would be
something very different indeed, and something re-
quiring much more judgment, nerve, and coherence
to resist than the tone of the Tory opposition to
Lord Palmerston. All this is indisputable. But
on what side does it tell? Does it show that Mr.
Gladstone ought to be thankful for the protecting
aegis of this political Ajax ? or that he should regret
being taught to rely upon its shelter in a battle the
greater part of which must be fought after that
shelter is withdrawn ? To answer this question it
is essential to consider not only the incoherences in
the Liberal party, but the special temperament and
Parliamentary temptations of Mr. Gladstone. There
can be no doubt that Mr. Gladstone's greatest diffi-
culty as a Parliamentary leader will be to lead an
Opposition with discretion. In office he is weighted
by a very scrupulous sense of official responsi-
bility, and by that perfect command of all
the sources of correct information which
always gives an Administration so much ad-
vantage over an Opposition. There can be no
question but that one of the most difficult of all
the functions of a Parliamentary leader is the con-
duct of the Opposition, and that it is the one most
menacing to the present Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, who, though he has learned many and im-
portant lessons from his first great leader, Sir
Robert Peel, failed to learn the greatest lesson of
tactics he had to teach, a singular moderation and
sagacity in offensive warfare. During the -short
time when Mr. Gladstone held a small Opposition
party—after his resignation of office during the
Crimean war—he showed singularly little prudence
or forethought. He fought keenly and inflicted
many telling blows, but he fought wildly, and laid
down—for instance, in criticising Sir Cornewall
Lewis's financial operations--many principles which
he must have since regretted. It may be said, and
said truly, that for Mr. Gladstone it was a much
greater trial to find himself in some sense ejected
from office and criticising former colleagues, towards
whom his feeling was not only hostile, but sore,
than it would be to be resisting a party constitu-
tionally, so to say, opposed to his own. There is
no doubt of it. But this is precisely the reason
why we feel for him the special difficulties to which
he is likely enough to be exposed. If the contest of
the elections were' to be fought explicitly for a
Russell- Gladstone as against a Derby-Disraeli
Cabinet, we should not be very sanguine of a Libe-
ral success ; but in case of defeat, we should have
great hopes of Mr. Gladstone acting with prudence
and moderation as head of the Liberal Opposition.
There would be nothing irritating or in any way
jarring in a Conservative success achier-d under
such circumstances, and the strong hope of speedy
victory which must sustain a Liberal Opposition
would in itself conduce to as much caution and the
exercise of as much generalship as it would be in
Mr. Gladstone's power to exact. He would feel
sure at all events of his own party, all of whom
would have deliberately chosen their side in view of
of the particular emergency, and while he would
feel that he had to win his way fairly to power, he
would have nothing to regret and no one to ap-
proach. If Mr. Gladstone can lead an Opposition
prudently at all, these would be the very cir-
cumstances to call out such prudence, and to
develope that strong desire to unite and satisfy
his party without being unjust to his oppo-
nents, which constitutes Parliamentary tact. To
have a party behind him which had deliberately
chosen him as their leader, and not another, would
be the very thing to inspire Mr. Gladstone's scru-
pulous political conscience and fine political feeling
with a sincere resolve to avoid all dangerous or dis-
organising action. But now look at the other
alternative, and, as we fear, the probable alternative.
Suppose lord Palmerston, after inaugurating the
new Parliament—after receiving the most respectful
criticism even from Tories, the most encouraging
support from Liberal Conservatives, and uniting all
shades of Liberalism in favour of his general
policy, to retire from political life, and that shiver
to run the Liberal party which precedes an earth-
quake. We all know what the Opposition policy
would be. Mr. Gladstone is probably the best hated
politician in England at the present moment. The
Tories hate him with a hatred compounded of the
feelinr, they feel towards renegades and the feeling
they feel towards the Manchester school. The Times
detests him, nobody knows why. The Saturday
Review never misses an opportunity for a sneer.
Mr. Horsman cannot forgive himself for having
been unsuccessful in his bitter assault on the French
Treaty, and still looks down upon him, like Jupiter
on the tattered beggar in Aristophanes, " through
those rags." Mr. Lowe thirsts for vengeance on the
man who has admitted an abstract right in the
citizen to vote till cause be shown why he should
note vote. He is suspected by numbers of the wish
to render England again defenceless for the sake of
economy ; extreme Dissenters think him a Jesuit,
and extreme Churchmen a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Add to all this, that Englishmen as a rule will never
have thought of his succession to the leadership in
the Commons till he does succeed, that they will be
unprepared for the event, and feel it almost a kind
of religious duty to their sainted Palmerston to
quarrel with his successor as the man in Bulwer's
play felt towards his sainted Maria—and it is
not easy to doubt that Mr. Gladstone will find the
opposition to him becoming acrimonious and fierce,
and the support behind him faint and wavering.
If in such circumstances he is defeated and compelled
to resign, he will assume the lead of the Opposition
under circumstances the most nicely calculated to
bring out his parliamentary weakness. He will feel
sore at the desertion of Palmerstonian Liberals, sore
at the comparative asperity and unfairness with
which he will have been treated by the Opposition,
sore at the depreciation of the press, and with all
ofprophetic power to hew
before the Lord. In such a
d for him a wild and impru-
i thisairs e. spwo riesernma eesalisy
icanopnppsirceeichoe
sue
apprehend
tempered by no delicate
lsdeeeannd
sste coaafrnerdee rsl ikonenlOpposition, tsbprejudice
tthe disorganised party he
permanently his pros-
pects as a Minister. It may be said that even if all
this is true, it is a misfortune not to be avoided,
only to be deplored. This is not altogether the case.
What we wish to impress on both constituencies and
than candidates
should define their attitude to Mr. Gladstone no less
to
oLoes
rdatptahlme
Palmerston. No
elections is, that they
No one now wishes to
displace the veteran chief. So long as he can lead
the Liberals every one must wish to have him, if
only for the satisfaction to one's sense of historical
continuity in being ruled, and ruled ably, in 1866
by the man who was helping to rule our grand-
fathers in 1806. But it would be a parade of de-
licacy and a criminal negligence to overlook the cer-
tainty of a coming change, and not to define our
attitude in relation to it. The constituencies ought
to know their members' intentions towards Mr.
Gladstone no less than towards Lord Palmerston,
and the members ought to define their intentions
no less clearly. If this were done the danger would
not indeed be surmounted, but it would be lessened.
Mr. Gladstone would know beforehand on whom to
count and whose desertion to expect, and would be
altogether better prepared to face the break-up con-
sequent on Lord Palmerston's retirement and to
estimate its consequences. To a mind such as his,
painful surprise is an infinitely greater trial than the
fulfilment of a painful anticipation, and by a clear
understanding of the feelings of the Liberal candi-
dates to him personally at the hustings in July, the
Liberal party may be saved the mortification of an
unexpected collapse, and the pain of contributing to
jar the equanimity and exaggerate the peculiarities
of their greatest and most original statesman.

" THE EXAMINEE" ON THE BALLOT.—We shall
not waste words upon the dispute whether the
franchise is a right, a privilege, or a trust ; be it what
it may, the true question is how it can be freely
exercised for the benefit of the community without
injury to the
Possessor. " The man who holds a
trust for others," says Lord Palmerston, " is bound
to them for the manner in which he exercises a trust
,so held ;" but what if the honest and faithful exe-
cution of the trust would be rendered impossible by
a disclosure of -what is to be, or has been, done in it ?
Are we to spoil a result in_order to scrutinise a pro-
cess, as children pull up seeds and roots to see how
they are growing ? It is contrary to reason to
destroy our object in order to ascertain the method
of performance. The best illustration of the folly
is to be found in an examph we have often quoted
from Froissart of Bajazet, who ordered the stomach
of one of his grooms to be cut out to see whether a
woman's charge was true that he had stolen her
milk. This was carrying publicity somewhat far-
ther than justice. Light was thrown on tho man's

stomach, but what became of his life, innocent or
guilty ? And all account of the trust is not really
presented in a view of the suffrage. A man who
votes under the influence of a bribe or of intimida-
tion against his sincere preference commits a breach
of the trust, if a trust it be ; but there is no test of
the base coin, and it passes current. And if it were
possible to establish a scrutiny of motives, elections
would fill the country with contentions and discords
of a most pernicious nature. As it is, the trustees
are not called to account, simply because there are
no means, and honest and dishonest votes pass with-
out distinction. The effect of the ballot would be
to turn some of the bad into good, that is all. As
for the deceit imputed to the secret system, it is more
than the deceit of the suffrage against the convic-
tion, analogous to a false verdict? A promise is
broken, but it is a promise which should never have
been obtained ; and a promise against a public duty
cannot bebinding; it is more honoured in the breach
than the observance. Lord Palmerston contends
that shutting up the vote cannot shut out the influ-
ences, and to a certain extent this is quite true :
" Whether it is territorial influence, or whether it
is the influence of commercial engagements, you
cannot divest mankind of those influences which are
inherent in the nature of things, and must influence
the conduct of men." It is the special virtue of the
Ballot that it will defeat none but the foul influ-
ences. The genial, the kindly influences will pre-
vail as much in the Ballot as they do in the open
poll. The tenants of a good landlord, the work-
people of a kind master, will naturally be disposed
to go with opinions they have always seen well
directed, unless there should be strong cause to the
contrary. They will be inclined to defer to the
choice of the man who has always done wisely and
well for themselves. Thus the legitimate influence
of property would have its sway in the Ballot to the
exact degree that it had its sway in the hearts of the
voters. Mr. Berkeley's speech on the question this
year is one of exemplification. It has been said that
the foul influences are in unabated force. The Times,
opposed as it is to the Ballot, handsomely acknow-
ledges the humour and fertility of illustration with
which Mr. Berkeley handles the question. Of the
many speeches he has made on the subject no two
are alike, and yet all engage the attention and ad-
vance the argument. He speaks, however, to a
house, the majority of whose members are com-
mitted to practices which they are just on the point
of renewing, and whose thoughts are like those of
the poet's glutton in the moment of dissolution, full
of the salmon's jowl. The opponents of the Ballot
have not much reason to boast of a majority of 44
in a small house of 192. The same ratio in a fuller
house would have given a minority which would
have appeared considerable. It was in large houses
that the minority mounted above 200.
THE " SATURDAY REVIEW" ON THE ELECTIONS.—
If the Irish elections are to be decided by the rela-
tive bearing of the contending parties towards the
Roman Catholic Church, the Government may be
considered fortunate in two recent opportunities of
conciliating wavering friends, if not professed oppo-
nents. Although the priests and their superiors
may possibly prefer the secular interests of Rome to
the relief of their co-religionists from a disagreeable
ceremony, they are perfectly aware that Mr. Dis-
raeli, while he refuses a reasonable demand, has no
practical facility for promoting or defending the
temporal power of the Pope. A year ago it was
I thought impossible to give office to an Irish mem-
ber, because the vacant seat would have been en-
dangered by the Italian policy of the Government ;
and it is still uncertain whether domestic liberality
will be considered an equivalent for diplomatic
heterodoxy. Mr. Hennessy has proclaimed, in an
address to his constituency, his determination to
adhere to his party ; but Mr. Monsell, Mr. O'Reilly,
and even Mr. O'Donoghue seem inclined to accept
the compromise of an Irish University in which the
Roman Catholic College will be included. It is but
seldom that an Irish or religious grievance can be
so easily abated. English experience has shown
that an agitation for academic privileges may be
quieted by the establishment of a mere Board of
Examiners. The University of London is neither
more nor less a University than the Civil Ser-
vice Commission, except that the prizes at its dis-
posal are much less valuable. The examinations
are useful as a test of the efficiency of schools and
local colleges, but a graduate who boasts of his
education at the University of London employs a
mere figure of speech. He has certainly not been
educated in a back room of 'Burlington House, and
the University to which he nominally belongs has
no other place of existence. Sir George Grey wisely
offered a similar sop to the advocates of sectarian
teaching in Ireland. If the students of the Catholic
College at Dublin think it worth their while to be-
come Masters of Arts, they will have the oppor-
tunity of applying to authorised examiners without
the trouble and expense of visiting London. As if
for the purpose of giving value to a cheap conces-
sion, Mr. Whiteside vindicated the vested rights of
Trinity College and of the Queen's University,
which is no longer to consist exclusively of
godless colleges. The Irish elections must have
been considered either safe or desperate before
another Opposition leader ventured to oppose
another Roman Catholic demand. Mr. Henley's
denunciation of the godless colleges may, how-
ever, in some degree have counteracted Mr. White-
side's imprudentcandour. Scotland has no national
injury to resent, and the Edinburgh Annuity-tax
furnishes it with its closest approximation to a grie-
vance. It appears, however, that there is at Edin-
burgh a little Protestant conspiracy against the in-
dependence of Scotch members. Lord Elcho, having
a safe seat for the county of Haddington, has had
the pleasure of administering a rebuff to impertinent
intruders, but it is impossible to say that the No-
Popery or Sabbatarian faction may not sacceed in
imposing its tests on some less fortunate candidate.
English candidates, except when they talk about
church-rates and Parliamentary Reform, are inclined
rather to boast of past achievements than to make
large promises for the future. By a natural confu-
sion of ideas, the prosperity of the country isattri-
bated to the financial skill of Mr. Gladstone, who is
in turn identified with his more or less congenial
colleagues. During the existence of the present
Parliament several millions of taxes have been re-
pealed, and the national debt has been perceptibly
reduced. Success covers questionable experiments,
and two or three consecutive deficits have been
naturally condoned or forgotten. The greater part
of the gratifying results which have been produced
was inevitable in six years of increasing revenue and
of diminishing need for expenditure. Any tolerably
competent finance Minister would have reduced the
tea and sugar duties and the income-tax ; nor can
it be doubted that the excise on paper would have
been abolished in later years if it had not been re-
moved in 1861. Mr. Gladstone's chief merit has
consisted in abstaining, during five successive years,
from the ambitious projects which have on former
occasions attracted his imagination. He has now
reduced the income-tax to the convenient rate of
fourpence in the pound, but in 1860 he raised the
percentage from sevenpence to tenpence, for the
questionable purpose of providing the purchase-
money of the French treaty. It may be admitted
that no rival financier is equally familiar with details,
and Mr. Gladstone is incomparably the ablest ex-
pounder of doctrines which are all but universally
accepted. Finance, which formerly supplied the
matter of eager party contests, has now become a
neutral subject. It is the interest of every Mini-
stry to diminish the public burdens, and the
surplus which indicates the growth of the national
wealth is applied by general consent to the removal
or diminution of taxes rather than to the reduction
of the debt. The sinking fund is limited to the
margin between the estimated revenue of every
year and the receipts which eventually accrue. As
ten or twelve millions have been paid off during the
administration of Mr. Gladstone, it is not necessary
to remember that five years ago he increased the
debt by withholding the payment of a million of
Exchequer Bonds, at the same time that he made a
large addition to the Income-tax. While candi-
dates seek in vain for distinctive theories to profess,
it is gratifying to find that the crotchets of little
sections and knots of politicians have rarely met
with acceptance. There seem to be few boroughs in
which a belief in the Permissive Bill is necessary to
success, and Maynooth, with the great Protestant
cause which it symbolised, has sunk into total ob-
livion, unless its ghost still walks in Scotland. Even
Westminster ten-pounders appreciate the oddity of
the medical attempt to decide an election with re-
ference to the views of the candidates on different
modes of administering physic. The argument of
the professional mal-contents would be equally ap-
plicable to other collateral issues which are proposed
by sectional fanactics. Little globules, according
to the doctors, are absurd ; and if the candidate be-
lieves in an absurdity, he is incompetent to under-
stand the interests of Westminster, of England, and
of the world. It may be not less forcibly argued
that beer, or nunneries, or Sunday walks are mis-
chievous, and that a member who would perpetrate
or tolerate mischief ought to be summarily rejected.
It might be urged that the House of Commons is
never likely to pass a resolution for or against glob-
ules, whereas it will have many opportunities of re-
jecting bills for enforcing abstinence from alcohol
on the poor. In reality, compulsory temperance is
not a more practical question than homoeopathy, or
than proposals for Protestant inspection of nun-
neries. The only pledges which it can be worth
while to exact from a candidate concern his future
treatment of measures which may possibly be
passed. Even if Mr. Mill had any followers in his
schemes for the political enfranchisement of women,
they would waste their votes if they insisted on
the adoption of their fancy as a condition of
their support at the polling-booth. Skilful
advocates of special opinions always contrive to

attach themselves to some considerable party.
The doctrines of valuable allies are favourably con-
sidered, and sometimes they gradually find their way
into the authorised creed. The early opponents of
the Corn Laws faithfully adhered to the cause of
the Whigs, at a time when an overwhelming majo-
rity of all parties still believed in Protection. In
the same manner, the American Abolitionists were
satisfied to be a section of the Republican party, on
which they have since been enabled by circumstances
to impose their convictions. Within six weeks, at
latest, the election will be over, and the country
will subside into its accustomed repose. It is hap-
pily unnecessary that the new Parliament should
meet before next February, and the comparative
strength of parties can be easily calculated from the
list of successful candidates. The Ministers have
little to fear, unless Ireland should prove contuma-
cious, although they are not likely to receive any
large addition to their present majority. Unless the
returns unexpectedly forebode an early change of
Government, the possible composition of a future
Liberal Ministry will excite more curiosity than the
proceedings of the House of Commons. As long
as Lord Palmerston retains power, there will be no
exciting changes of domestic policy ; and foreign
affairs have, for the first time in many years, almost
ceased to provoke comment. More stirring times
may be in wait for the political survivors of the
present Ministers. It is not likely that the present
content and stagnation will last for ever. Political
prophets are sagaciously announcing the approach
of a democratic movement, and they appropriately
remind a sceptic generation that more than thirty
years ago the majority of the educated classes was
opposed to a Reform Bill. The prevailing indispo-
sition to change may be founded on an erroneous
judgment of expediency, or on miscalculation of
probable events ; but London society forms a not
inconsiderable element in the entire community,
and, on the whole, it is perhaps well advised in
abiding by its own judgment and feeling until they
are proved to be erroneous. It is not impossible
that a powerful Government might even devise a
Reform Bill which would be approved by the more
liberal opponents of innovation. The Constitution
works tolerably well, but in some respects it looks
anomalous, and the dissatisfaction which its eccen-
tricities may create is in itself a practical evil. It
is better that the House of Commons should re-
main as it is than that it should sink to the level
of a powerless American Congress ; but a mode-
rate enlargement of the constituency would not
necessarily impair its supreme control of national
affairs.

THE "LONDON REVIEW" ON RAILWAY Acci-
DENTs . —The excursion season has hardly commenced,
but in its yet early life we are in the midst of death.
The rails are replaced, the trucks have carried home
the broken travelling-cases in which human life has
been crushed out, left to linger a little longer in
agony, or spared life with maimed physical power ;
widows, widowers, orphans, have hardly seen their
dead to the grave, and again the long, crowded
trains of pleasure-seekers hurry, to the railway
station, with return tickets, more than ever a kind
of speculative scrip ; their hearts set on enjoyment
from a journey, which, it would seem from late
events, is fraught with the danger of a Blondin ex-
hibition, with the sole difference that the wonder-
ful skill of the traveller protects the one life en-
dangered ; in the excursion train some hundreds are
exposed to a destruction from which no skill of
their own can protect them. The public are for a
time awe-stricken. There is a great execution done
on a scaffold, upon which we are all for ever called
to tread. For a certain proportion of every week
of their lives, a large proportion of the public have
to pass many hours in a railway carriage. The
travelling power of a train depends upon the true
bearing the wheels of its engines and its every car-
riage obtain on the two rails over which it is driven.
To give this bearing the rails require the greatest
nicety of adjustment ; they are in limited lengths,
resting on chairs at appointed distances ; these, fas-
tened to sleepers resting again on ballast, or, in the
case of bridges, on certain framework. Every in-
dividual length of rail, so far as an accident is con-
cerned, is a matter requiring the closest supervision ;
on its being in its proper place, and there properly
secured, the state of its " face," its good or bad
wear, depend the safety of the train passing over it.
Any loosening of the chairs, sinking of the ballast,
displacement of the sleepers, at once makes the line
dangerous. Iron has a point of endurance at which
it becomes weak to sustain weight, refractory to
retain the position to which it has been bound.
Heat, cold, much wet, long continued dry
weather, all in their degree affect the condition of
railroads. Permanent way is only permanent by
constant repair of its actual material, perpetual
provision of means to keep its every detail in
proper condition. Philanthropists have great scope
for literary painting when they contemplate a large
excursion train in the process of being filled. Holi-
day work is pleasant to look upon. It may be after
its sort hard work, but it is no task-work. The
shop, the counting-house, the work-room, the
crowded town dwelling, the cares of home, and the
toil of business, are cast behind ; the crowd of men,
women and children, have come to the counter
where pleasure is sold as a matter of business. They
pay their money—who shall say with how much
self-denial it has been saved ?—take the little paste-
board passports which give them their title to be
driven through their journey at a pace which seems
to place the scene of their holiday enjoyment miles
away, within the space of a few hours' joyful
chatter. How content arc they to bear the close
packing of the carriages. So that they are once off,
sure that the treat to themselves and children is de-
veloping into all its full reality of quick travel, they
seem to care for nothing else. All is mirth, in the
vulgar tongue perhaps, but still real, honest, hearty
holiday enjoyment. Four or five hundred jolly,
pleasure-seeking souls, have cast care to the winds,
forgotten toil ; covering the fingers which scarce
ever feel a moment free of the needle, gloves are
daintily worn, until heat makes them a misery ;
frames of hardy men, from day to day guiltless of
other clothing than that which could make hard,
sweating work endurable, are clad in broad cloth
and clean linen ; children are Sunday dressed ;
" the excursion" to these folk is as spring to the
garden ; toil makes winter of the life to which these
holidays in mercy grant an occasional outgrowth of
rest, ease, pleasure—social flowers to the workers of
our great hive ; of short growth, but the more en-
joyable from their rarity. The platform is nearly
cleared ; the long street on wheels, every dwelling
of which is full of this pleasure-seeking life, moves
with a spasmodic jerk, producing from many a win-
dow the welcome which, in many varying expres-
sions, proclaims—" We are off !" The transport is
well afloat, its voyage commenced, -all seems pros-
perous ; the pace mends, the joy of the tra-
vellers increases ; baskets are unpacked, bottles
for men and women, bottles for babies. Each
carriage is a home, all at home in it We
will go-ahead some ten miles of this scene of
innocent, confiding happiness. It is a hot, reeking
day ; we sit on a rail a few score feet from the—
line. There is a gang of men at work upon it ; they
are repacking a portion of the line, lifting the
sleepers, and driving in ballast underneath them.
Some rails have been removed, and are now being
refastened to their chairs; the labourers look from
time to time up and down the line in a sleepy half-
stupid sort of way ; you see heat has driven them
wild with thirst ; the beer they have taken to
quench it only stupefies, does not refresh them.
Some are lying down on the bank asleep, with the
sun's rays full upon them ; one or two, a little
superior in dress to the others, seem to be giving
orders. You perceive these suddenly more author-
ritative ; there is a good deal of hasty activity,
certain lengths of rail have men busy on them.
Their tools are now cast on to the bank, the men
retreat from the line—a screech is heard—another,
and another. It is the train of our friends on
their holiday. The engineer has seen a red flag
less than a mile off ; it told him there was work
doing on the line. " Good God ! they are
coming full swing !" says the navvy close to us.
You hear the grinding of " breaks "—the engine
dashes by. There is a crushing noise as of gravel,
iron, wood, all grinding together ; a cloud of dust,
stones scattered in all directions —the engine
is off the rails ! Thirty yards further it is on its
side over a bank, in a cloud of steam. There is now
one long sound—long it sounds, although it was
scarcely for a minute—of crashing woodwork ; car-
riage is heaped on carriage. There lies the wreck.
From within come the screams, frantic and agonis-
ing, of the living crowd crushed in that mass of
wood, iron, and glass. Before the heart of the
spectator can again beat to the time which gives him
the courage to regard the scene at his feet, he hears
the orders given to men to run with all haste with
the red flag, to save, if possible, the next train, due
in five minutes, from rushing on, to add its burden
to the carnage. We will not attempt to describe
the cruel scene in its awful details. The telegram
has a marvellous power of fact-condensation. The
authorities, in an hour or less, hear, " Excursion
train thrown off the line at —; several killed,
many wounded." They gather together a staff of
surgeons and workmen, and hurry to the scene. The
dead are to be carried to the nearest place for an
inquest, the wounded to be given up to the medical
men, the rails to be relaid, that the traffic may not
be interrupted ; the debris of carriages, engine, &c.,
to be put out of the way. It is a railway
accident, there will be a good deal of public sensa-
tion—for ten days ; private acute misery for many
a year. Mourning for the dead ; pain to be borne,
and mourning to be worn by many of the living.
press will justly denounce the authors of the casta-
strophe, questions will be put in Parliament. The
company will be some thousands out of pocket. In
a few days, at many a spot, on many a " line," a

_ -
spectator may, for all we can see, look uponriujul
such another, or perhaps far worse scene.
which
such careless work be allowed on any line on
the Queen or Prince of Wales was expected'
travel? If the directors determined to have a 04. 1
" out" and dine together to celebrate a Parbid.
men tary triumph at some town on their line, w.roiliit
their special train be subjected to such risk? Is
not enough to know the danger ever present, free
defective wheels and ordinary machinery, Till.°
driven as railways are driven, without our ha'l
to learn that the safety of a whole train depen,
upon the care taken by the class of men erarlour_
to relay or repair the line, to so regulate the];
work and signals, that trains shall be condo
ctea_
safely over parts of it where nothing but slow PaCu
can be consistent with safety.