The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-12 00:00:00

WEST NORFOLK.

There is now every prospect of a severe contest
in this constituency. Both parties have rallied their
forces, the Conservatives in support of Mr. G. W.
P. Bentinck, M.P., and the Hon. T. De Grey, and

the Liberals on behalf of Mr. Brampton Gordon,
M.P., and Sir Willoughby Jones. Mr. Bentinck's
address is vague and brief.

WIGTOWNSHIRE.

Viscount Garlies has come forward to oppose Sir
Andrew Agnew for the representation of this
country. In his address, he says :
" Standing pre-eminent among nations as this country
does, I should wish to see her time-tried Constitution re-
main fundamentally unimpaired. Therefore I declare
myself a Conservative,—although quite prepared to sup-
port measures having for their object the progressive im-
provement of our institutions and the further prosperity
and contentment of the people."

WILTON.

For this borough it is not anticipated that there
will be any opposition to the re-election of the pre-
sent member. Mr. Antrobus in his address to the
electors avows himself a constant but independent
supporter of the policy of Lord Palmerston.

The Catastrophe on the South-Eastern
Railway.

THE INQUEST.

The inquest was held at four o'clock on Saturday, at the
South-Eastern public-house, before 11.r.W. J. Neve, coroner
for East Kent. Mr. Eborall, the general manager ; Mr.
Knight, the traffic superintendent ; and Mr. Harris, the
deputy-superintendent, were present to watch the case on
behalf of the company. Mr. Vining, of No. 4, Moorgate-
street-buildings, watched on behalf of Mr. Whitby, a mer-
chant of Lierpool, whose wife was killed. The jury having
been sworn, with the Rev. Robert 400 re as chairman, the
coroner said :

" Gentlemen,—You are summoned here to-day to make
inquiry into the most lamentable accident which has ever
happened on the main line of this rail. You are about to
inquire into the cause of the death of 10 persons who were
in the tidal train yesterday on this line, and which ran off
the line at a place not far from here, which was under re-
pair at the time. In the course of the proceedings you
will have to inquire who has been to blame. Whether
the man who managed the repairs was making them at
an improper time, or whether the signalman has com-
mited a breach of duty in not giving proper notice, or
whether the driver of the train was guilty of gross
neglect in not 'giving his attention to signals. To-
day we had better confine ourselves to the simple identi-
fication of the bodies and the medical evidence as to the
immediate cause of death, and then adjourn to some day
which will be convenient to all parties, when the more
important question can be gone into. lam informed that
one of the directors is present, and the general manager
also, and they are willing to afford you every opportunity
of going down to the spot, and all necessary information
within their power as to tho cause of this sad calamity.
Mr. Beattie said that he had come down as a director of
the railway company; and he need hardly speak of the very
great and severe distress which the directors felt at such a
most dreadful accident to a service which had been 'con-
ducted with amazing safety to the public, an the jury
might well suppose what poignant distress it had caused
them under the circumstances The directors were anxious
the inquiry should be as deep and as searching as possible,
to discover the cause of the calamity and to prevent its re-
currence.

Tho jury then proceeded to view the bodies and the
scene of the disaster, and on their return the following
evidence was called :

Lloyd Rayner, of Liverpool, merchant, identified the
body of his wife, Amelia Rayner. He had a letter from
her the day before when she left Paris, on her way to
Liverpool. He had six children. He last saw her alive
nearly a month ago in Liverpool. She was 37 years of
age.
Frederick Bodenham, solicitor, of Hereford, identified
the body of his wife. Her name was Anna. She was a
passbnger with witness in the tidal train. She has left no
family. She was 28 years of age. Witness himself was
not seriously injured. He last saw her alive at the mo-
ment of the accident, and heard her speak then. It was one
of the middle first-class railway carriages that fell into the
water. Witness was thrown into the water. She died four
or five minutes after ho found her, when he came to his
own senses. Witness desired to add that the train was going
at the same speed when it went off the line as before.

By the Rev. Mr. Moore (the foreman of the jury)—The
breaks were not on. The speed was the same as usual. It
is a goods train.

John Lomax, of Bolton-le-Moors, auctioneer, identified
Adam Hampson, who lived at the mine place as witness
did. He was a surgeon, about 41 years of age, and was on
his way from Paris to London.

George Whitby, of 24, St. James's-street, London, mer-
chant, identified the body of his wife, Lydia. She, was 28
years of age. Witness was not travelling with her, but he
expected her by the tidal train.
Rev. Arther Thompson, the British Chaplain at St.

Petersburg, and of 3, Upper George-street, Bryanston-
square, identified Caroline Wyte, formerly of Regency-
square, Brighton, but now a traveller in various parts. She
was coming to stop at witness's house. She was between
45 and 50, as witness believed.
Richard Christopher Mansell, one of the officers of the
South-Eastern Railway (carriage and waggon superinten-
dent at Ashford), deposed to his being on the scene of the
disaster about four o'clock. lie received notice by tele-
gram from the station-master at Ashford, and proceeded
immediately with a train of carriages. He had seen the
bodies of Mae persons, and one had been sent away pre-
viously. Witness knew they were all taken from the
wreck of the tidal train, and saw them laid together. All
the bodies the jury had seen were taken from the wreck
of that train. No doubt their deaths were caused by the
falling of a train. There was a body removed which a
Mr. Faithful identified as his wife, and that body the jury
had not seen. She was lying dead on the railway, and her
husband was by her side. Witness knew nothing of any
of the deceased personally.
David Ovenden, superintendent of the Kent County
Police of the Cranbrook division, had searched the bodies,
and found papers and other articles on them. There is one,
a man, still unrecognised, with socks marked "H. M.,"
apparently from 35 to 40 years of age.
By the Jury—There were no papers or documents
about him.

By the Coroner—On searching the body of a young lady
richly attired witness found an envelope, addressed "Miss
Beaumont, 11, Rue de Chaillot, Champs Elys4es, Paris."
The post mark was "Lincoln." Another lady had her
linen marked " H. Cundliff," and there was reason to be-
lieve she was the wife of a gentleman now lying here in-
jured.
By the Solicitor to the company—Witness did not see
her pocket handkerchief.
John Hill Elder, of 333, City-road, Islington, accountant,
identified James Dunn, who had resided at the same house
as witness, and by business was a warehouseman at Messrs.
Leaf and Co.'s, 39, Old Change. Witness expected him by
the tidal train from Paris to go by a train the same evening
to Dundee. He was 36 or 37, and a single man.
John Frederick Williams, surgeon at Staplehurst, de-
posed—l was called by a railway porter to the scene of
the accident about half-past three yesterday. I saw the
nine bodies taken out which the jury have seen. I have
examined some ; others did not require it, the cause of
death being apparent. Some were quite dead, others
were not. The deaths were all caused by injury from
the accident br drowning. There were seven females,
one of whom the jury, I believe, have not seen. There
were three males. I believe they were all dead before
they were removed, but I left the train to attend to the
injured, to whom I could do some good.
The coroner said it would be necessary to view the sole
remaining body, and further evidence was requisite as to
the identification of three of the bodies, and they might
also have the advantage of assistance from a Government
inspector.
A gentleman said he could identify one of them.
Sidney Samuel Sbnkin was then sworn, and deposed
that he was a schoolmaster at Staplehurst. He took care
of a Mr. Cundliff, who had been injured, and he described
the dress and the appearance of one of the deceased, and it
corresponded completely. He did not describe where he
was travelling from. He was suffering very much.
At this stage of the inquiry the jury proceeded to the
house of Mr. Reeves, to take evidence as to the identity
of Mrs. Faithful, and then adjourned the inquiry till Mon-
day next at half-past two o'clock.

LATEST PARTICULARS.

STAPLEHURST, Sundry Night.

The whole of the wreck of the train has now boon raised,
and we are happy to state that the forebodings that other
bodies would be found underneath one of the carriages
have not been realised. The total number of deaths is
therefore no more than ten. Up to 6 o'clock this evening
the remains of the gentleman whose linen was marked
with the initials "H. M." have not been identified. This is
the only case in which identification has not taken place.
The injured who have survived are getting on favour-
ably; no further fatalities are expected. Master Rayner,
the young son of Mrs. Amelia Rayner, of Liverpool, who
was killed, is suffering fiom a broken leg. He is progress-
ing as well as Can be expected, but he cannot at present be
removed home.

Mr. Eborall, the manager, Mr. Harris, and other gentle-
men connected with the railway, have been down here all
day, and have been unremitting in their exertions to pro-
cure aid for the unhappy sufferers. Every facility has
been given to the relatives of those injured to visit them
here.

There is now no doubt whatever as to the exact cause of
the accident. The platelayer Benge admitted to Mr.
Eborall that he had imagined that the statement in the
time book referring to Saturday, that the tidal train would
be due at five o'clock, had reference to Friday, and that he
therefore removed the metals at the bridge at two o'clock,
calculating that he would have ample time to replace thorn
before the train was due. But it turned out that on Fri-
day (as the platelayer might have read in the book) the train
was due at 3 o'clock, and it consequently came to a spot at

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