The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-21 00:00:00

The Fatal Railway Accident at Staplehurst.

Joseph Gallimore, district inspector of that por-
tion of the South-Eastern line lying between Ash-
ford and Tunbridge, and Henry Benge, foreman of
the gang of platelayers who were engaged in repair-
ing the viaduct on which the accident to the tidal
train occurred on the 9th inst., were yesterday
brought up in the custody of the police before Mr.
W. H. Pattenson, Mr. R. Tooth, Mr. A. Oakes, and
Mr. G. French, wagistrates for West Kent, sitting
in special session, at Cranbrook. The charge pre-
ferred against the prisonerswas one of manslaughter,
and evidence in support of that charge was gone
into at considerable length. Mr. Minter, of
Folkestone, appeared on behalf of Gallimore,
but Benge was unprovided with professional advice.
The witnesses called were for the most part :lose
who had already been examined before the coroner,
and their testimony was in substance the same as
they had previously given. Benge himself confirmed
before the magistrates the statement that he had
made a mistake as to the hour at which the tidal
train was expected ; and John Wiles, the signalman,
in addition to his former evidence, stated that he
had never received instructions to put down fog-
signals except in foggy weather. He mistook, he
added, the tidal train for a ballast train when he
first saw it on the Friday, and he did not therefore
run to meet it with the red flag, as he should other-
wise have done. The evidence of Mrs. Tunstall, a
new witness, sister-in-law of Mrs.Condliff, who was
killed, went to show that the deceased lady had met
her death by suffocation, as there was no trace of a
wound upon her person. Edward Coleman, one of the
carpenters employed on the repairs which were being
carried on when the accident occurred, said he could
not swear that he had ever seen Mr. Gallimore ab-
solutely inspecting the works, although he had fre-
quently seen him pass up and down the line in a
train, while John Dawson, foreman of the gang of
carpenters, deposed that he saw Mr. Gallimore on
the works more than once or twice during their pro-
gress. Mr. Ashcroft., the engineer of the line, who
was examined on Monday before the coroner, stated

to the magistrates, in reply to questions which were
put to him, that he did not believe it possible that
the signalman could have been unacquainted with
the rules requiring the laying down of fog signals
at the distance of 1,000 yards from the point of
danger, inasmuch as he had been employed upon
the line for twenty years. He further observed
that the district inspector ought, as a practical
man, to have kept a careful look out over
the thirty-six miles of line under his charge ;
adding, that he thought the foreman platelayer
might very fairly be held to be capable of laying,
down a rail when necessary without, in the first in-
stance, applying to the inspector, and that he, under
all the circumstances of the present case, regarded
the work to be done on the day of the accident as the
simple taking up and putting down of a rail. He
did not think, he said, that it was absolutely requi-
site that the inspector should read the rules of the
company to Benge, inasmuch as he could. himself
read and write, but it was no doubt the duty of
Gallimore to ascertain as far as possible that those
rules were carried into effect. Mercer, the guard
of the train, and two or three other witnesses were
then examined, and repeated their former testimony.
When it was concluded Mr. Minter briefly ad-
dressed the Court, contending that the only evi-
dence against Gallimore was that of the engi-
neer, Mr. Ashcroft, which in reality did not
establish in his case the existence of any
culpable neglect of duty. His client, as had been
proved, had 20 gangs at work under him,—the
foreman of any one of which might break up the
rails when he thought fit, in the same way as had
been done between Staplehurst and Headcorn. It
was therefore impossible that he could in every in-
stance be present when the work was actually being
done, and it would be just as fair to convict' Mr.
Ashcroft, the general manager of the line, or the
directors themselves, as to lay the blame on the
shoulders of the district inspector. The man who
ordered the road to be taken up was the person re-
sponsible for seeing that the work on which he was
employed was protected, and that person in the
case under consideration was Benge. At this point
of the proceedings it was intimated to the prisoners
that they might make any statement which they
pleased on their own behalf, but the suggestion was
responded to only by Benge, who said that he had
been employed as signalman on the line for three or
four weeks on one occasion, and that the only signal
which he had ever received was a flag, with which
he was required to go back not more than about the
same distance as that at which Wiles was standing
on Friday week. He had never known the rules to
be carried out to so full an extent in respect to
signals as it was stated in evidence the regulations
required all the time he had been upon the line.
The magistrate, after short consultation, committed
both prisoners for trial at the next assizes at Maid-
stone, but accepted bail for their appearance.

TRIAL TRIP OF MR. COXWELL'S GREAT BALLOON.
—This new and magnificent aerial machine, which
has recently been exhibited at the Crystal Palace, inflated
with atmospheric air only, made its first and successful
trip from York on the 15th ult. in the presence of 25,000
spectators, the occasion being the Yorkshire Gala, which
takes place annually. The christening and launch of
Coxwell's Research was an interesting ceremony. The Lord
Mayor of York was in the car ready to accompany Mr,
Coxwell, and his daughter, Miss Wade, broke a bottle of
champagne over the anchor and car, naming the giant bal-
loon Coxwell's Research. Besides the Lord Mayor, Mr.
Coxwell was accompanied by a party of officers belonging
to the Royal Horse Guards Blue. An altitudey of two miles
was obtained, and a good descent was made at Knotting-
ley. Mr. Coxwell expressos himself, as did the Lord Mayor
of York and the rest of the party, in every way pleased with
the balloon, which is beautifully formed and ornamented.

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