The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-07 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDO', AION .9 ir P 7, \TEN I N 3, APRIL 7, 1862.

TRE METROPOLITAN AND SUBTER-

RAIVAZIN RAIL WA

On Saturday afternoon, a number of the direc-
tors, shareholders, and others, interested in this
important line of metropolitan communication, paid
a long visit of inspection to the works as far as they
have yet been completed, from Victoria-street sta-
tion, Clerkenwell, to the Great Western Railway.
A short time since a detailed notice of this very
curious undertaking, and of some of the great con-
structive difficulties which Mr. Fowler, the engi-
neer of the line, bad to overcome, appeared in our
columns. At that time, however, the line proper
was only completed to King's-cross, for, though the_
greater portion of the tunnelling was finished to
the beginning of the New-road, no rails were laid,
and the passage itself was almost filled with ballast.
Since then the works have been pushed on with the
utmost activity, and the line now brought beneath
Coppice-row to whore its main station is to be
erected on the dirty piece of waste ground on the
east side of Victoria-street. Now, therefore, we
shortly hope to see at least one side of this disrepu-
table-looking thoroughfare, which has been an eye-
sore and almost a disgrace to our metropolis,
occupied en permanence by the warehouses and
buildings of a handsome railway station, when, in
the natural course of things, it will not be long be-
fore the ground on the opposite side of the road
will be covered with shops and places of business,
and the hideous ruins of Field-lane and Saffron-hill
concealed from the public gaze. Thas, in every way
the public will be gainers by the completion of this
project. The Victoria-street station being intended
as a main terminus for the Great Western, Great
Northern, London, Clitham, and Dover, and Metro-
politan traffic, is to be one of great size and extent,
the whole of the eastern side being devoted to a
goods station and warehouses. Ultimately the sub-
terranean line will be continued from this place in
an easterly direction, passing under the ground
north of Smithfield by Charterhouse•square, and so
on beneath the Barbican to Finsbury-circus, where
its final London terminus will be erected. Its total
length will then be about four miles and a half, of
which little more than three miles is through tun-
nels and the rest through open cuttings. The works
for the great station in Victoria-street are going on
very fast, and there being now through communi-
cation into the Great Northern Railway, the earth
is taken away as fast as excavated. The founda-
tions, retaining walls, bridges, sewers, and drains
are advancing, and the temporary offices, w hich are
to be of timber, are already in frame at the work-
shops, and can be put together in a few days after
the site is ready to receive them. The visit on Sa-
turday was chiefly made to inspect the new stations
on the line, and the accommodation they will afford
with regard to light, space, &c., for the traffic. The
first length of tunnel passed through was that lead-
ing from Victoria-street to Frederick-street, a dis-
tance of some 700 yards. The party were conveyed
through this in trucks, on which candles were stuck,
with a few candles along the walls of the tunnel,
just enough to " make darkness visible." From
Frederick-street the line is continued along an open
cutting to King's-cross, the various roads leading
to Pentonville and Bagnigge.wells being carried
over it on handsome bridges. The station at
King's-cross is one of the principal halting
places on the line, where it effects a junction with
the Great Northern Railway ; this station is about
20ft. below the surface of the ground. The side re-
taining walls are constructed as for piers and arches
spanning a width of nearly 90ft., and sustained upon
powerful open-work girders is the station building
itself with its booking-offices, waiting-rooms, &c.;
duplicate stairs, one for arrivals and one for depar-
tures, communicating with the rails beneath. The
whole is to be covered with an elliptical wrought
iron roof, let in with glass sufficiently to light the
entire substructure. Another chief station is near
Gower-street, in the New-road, which is constructed
in a different manner. The platforms here are under
the footpaths of the roadway above, and the whole
station is comprised in a huge arch of 45ft. span.
The sides of this arch at its springing are perforated
with circular openings, extending outwards and up-
wards through the thickness of the brickwork, till
they they emerge in the fore courts or front gardens
of the houses on each side of the road, where they are
glazed in. The sides of these openings are lined with
glazed tiles, so that both direct and reflected rays
are thrown upon the opposite platforms, and com-
pletely illuminate the station with a clear and strong
though not a glaring light. Ingress and egress to
the stations are obtained through the booking-offices
on the north and south sides of the Euston-road, in
gardens purchased'for the purpose, and thence by
exit and entrance stairs to the platform below. The
Portland-road station is complete, and the rails for
the mixed gauge laid. There will only be one book-
ing-office here, and the station beneath will be lit
from glass doors and openings in the crown of the
arch. The station at the Edgware-road is smaller,
but very similar to that at King's-cross. The brick-
work is faced with Ransom's patent stone of which all
the ornamental work of all the bridges is formed.
Throughout the whole journey on Saturday the air
in all the tunnels was perfectly sweet and good, free
even from the peculiar damp and coldness almost
always to be met with in underground works of
ovary kind. When locomotives were used in draw-
ing the trucks they were those of Mr. Fowler's
patent, which have been specially designed for use
on this line. These engines condense their own
steam and consume their own smoke, so that no
matter how long in the tunnel neither gas or vapour
is perceptible. Of course, without some inyvention
of this kind subterranean railway travelling would
not only be too disagreeable, but even too painful
and injurious for anybody to endure. With Mr.
Fowler's engine, however, all these threatened in-
conveniences are totally obviated. As a practical
illustration of its advantages, the party were drawn
on Saturday from the King's-cross station to the
Great Northern line by an ordinary locomotive, and
the gas and vapour in the narrow tunnel were all
but suffocating. The surface of the rails on the line
is all of steel, and the points and crossings of Besse-
mer steel, which is now coming into use for this
and other purposes. The line is laid for the mixed
or double gauge throughout, and it is intended to
open the first part from Victoria-street to the Great
Western by the beginning or middle of next June.
The:carriages will be roomy, well ventilated, and
handsomely fitted, and each one well lighted with
portable gas. Whatever the financial results of the
scheme may be, the line will prove of the greatest
convenience to the public, and will do very much to
relieve the present overcrowded traffic of our great
thoroughfares to the city.

WRECK OF ME MARS STEAMER.

Betisroe.—The following account of the loss of
this ill-fated vessel has been obtained from Jones
Case, ono of the two seamen who were saved, and,
although it does not account for the precise cir-
cumstance to which the wreck is to be ascribed, it
gives the best history of the matter that is likely to
be obtained. Case states that the Mars left
Waterford at very near to her advertised time,
ten o'clock on Tuesday morning. After they
had been at sea some time the weather thickened,
and although the wind was not very high a
great deal of sea got up. As night drew on the
thickness increased and it became very dark, and
for many hours they did not see a thing. Case de-
scribes Captain B linman as having been remarkably
attentive to the working of the ship, and seemingly
anxious, and it was remarked that he did not go
below for more than five or ten minutes during the
whole of the afternoon and evening. He also caused
the patent log to be kept out, by means of which
the ship's progress is self registered, and so things
went on till approaching 8 o'clock in the evening,
at which time the ship must have been nearing the
Welsh coast—unfortunately nearing it more rapidly
than any one on board could have been aware.
Somewhere about that time Massey's log was taken
in, for it was seen hanging on the rail of the quarter
deck. At 8 o'clock the watch was changed, and it
became the turn of Case, Joseph Cross,
.the other
seaman who was saved, and some of the poor fellows
who were drowned, to go for what sailors call their
" watch below." At about 10 or 15 minutes after
8 o'clock the vessel received a tremendous shock,
and it at once became evident that she had struck
on a rock. The vessel at the time when she struck
was going, Case supposes, about 9 or 10 miles an
hour. The captain was heard to call out " Hard
a-port !" and in a few moments after, "Reverse !"
and it is believed the engines were then reversed.
As may be supposed, all at once became confusion.
The sea broke over the sides of the ship and poured
down the hatchway into the engine-room, and it
soon became evident she must become a wreck.
Case believes that the boats were then hurriedly re-
sorted to. He and Cross, with assistance, got a very
small boat and succeeded in getting her afloat, and
into that he, his messmate, two of the firemen,
brothers named Sutton, a youth who was about to
emigrate to Australia, 'and a drover named Kane,
got. Another drover was approaching to get into
her, but was too late. The Mars went down, as
near as the survivors can guess, in about five or six
minutes after striking.
Just before her being en-
gulphed Cross saw a woman, who he is certain was
the stewardess, Mrs. W, standing on the paddle
box, wringing her hands. After the boat
was floating and being tossed about by the heavy
ground swell Case and his companion heard the cap-
tain and others shouting to them as if to urge them
to keep near, but whether they were clinging to the
wreck, to some floating fragments, or had succeeded
in getting into the lifeboat they were unable to say.
But although Providence had so far favoured their
efforts as to enable them to get into the boat and
get clear of the wreck and the rock, the dangers
and difficulties of the unhappy men were by no
means at an end. They were without light, food,
or rudder, and the seamen had very little clothing
on. The boat in which they were was tossed vio-
lently about, while the risk of capsising was every
moment increased by the drowning cattle, some of
which swam about, occasionally thrusting their
heads over the boat, and threatening it and its
occupants with instant destruction. It was besides
dark and very thick, and the greatest difficulty was
experienced, by means of a couple of oars, in keep-
ing the boat's head to the sea, so as to prevent her
being swamped. Luckily, Case was a very good
seaman, and he hit on a plan for keeping something
like steering way on the boat by lashing an oar
through the rudder-hole. In this way the occu-
pants of the boat passed the long hours of the
night, tossing about at the mercy of the elements,
not knowing where they were, and praying rather
than looking for a deliverance. They suffered
greatly from exposure to cold and wet, and after a
time Case and Cross's hands became so benumbed
that they could hardly grasp the oars, in their
power to use which alone their chance of reaching
the coast lay. Break of day enabled them to see
where they were, and they made desperate efforts to
get their boat to the coast. This at length they
happily succeeded in doing, and landed ultimately
at St. Gowan's Head greatly exhausted, but with
hearts overflowing with gratitude at having been
spared. Once on the coast they received assistance
from the Coastguardsmen and others. They went
to Milford, where information of the wreck was
given by them. Since then they have been sent
on to Waterford, and it was in that city that Case
gave the narrative from which this is prepared to
his aged father, through whom it has reached us.
The following is a statement of the passengers on
board, as far as we have been able to ascertain,
none of whom have escaped from the wreck
Cabin passengers—Dr. Blist, of Portlaw, on his
way to Bristol ; Captain Russell, with his wife,
child, and servant, who were coming to this city
previous to their departure for India ; Miss Coombes,
residence unknown. Deck passengers—There were
15 persons entered as passengers on deck, of whom
the following were known to be present, and who
were all pigdealers coming to this city :—Messrs.
Cooper, Belcher, IN illshire, Kcrwick, Brien, and
Molloy. These are described as residing at Water-
ford, and most of them have left families to deplore
their loss.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT,—KINGSTON, April 5.
(Before Mr. .1-tmL!ftf% WsOtnian and a Common
Jury.;

BELSEN BELSEN AND ANOTEEER---THE ITEM- AT-

LAW-CURIOUS WILL CASE.

This was an action of ejectment brought by Jas.
Baleen, against Caroline Belson, and John Belson,
his uncle and aunt, to recover possession of a house
and land at Frimley, in this county.
Mr. Hawkins, Q.C., and Mr. Garth for the
plaintiff; and Sergeant Shee and Mr. Pearce for
the defendants.
It appeared that the property in question for-
merly belonged to James Belson, the grandfather of
the present plaintiff. This James Belson had seve-
ral children, among whom were the defendants,
and there was an elder brother James, who was the
father of tho plaintiff, who, being dead, the plain-
tiff now claimed the property as his heir-at-law,
alleging that his grandfather had died intestate.
The old man, it appeared, died in 1845, and the de-
fendants had been in possession of the estate ever
since, the title upon which they claimed never hav-
ing been brought forward, and it was not until the
present action was brought that they set up a
title under a will which they alleged to have
been made by the grandfather on the 17th
of July, 1844. It was not disputed that,
but for this will, the plaintiff was entitled to
the estate as heir-at-law to his father, the eldest
son of the deceased ; and the question now to be
decided was whether the will in question was a
genuine instrument or not.
At the request of Mr. Hawkins, the witnesses
were ordered out of court and examined separately.
Sergeant Shee, in hie address to the jury for the
defendant, said he should not attempt to dispute
that the plaintiff in the action was the rightful
owner of the property, supposing that his grand-
father had not made a will, but he believed he should
be able to satisfy them that the old man did, in
point of fact, make a will shortly before his death,
and that the will contained exactly such a disposi-
tion of the property as would have been expectecl,
according to the circumstances of the family. Ho
should show that the paper upon which the will was
written bore the water mark and date of 1842, and
that it was actually written upon one of the sheets
of a brief for eounsel, having reference to an action
at law that was pending about that time, and in
which the family were interested; and he should i
also produce two most respectable witnesses who
were present when the will was ezecated, whose
evidence, he believed, would leave no doubt as to its
genuineness. The learned sergeant then read the
will in question, of which the following is a copy :
" I, James Belsen, of Frimloy, in the county of
Surrey, revoke all former wills and testamentary
dispositions by me at any time heretofore made, and
declare this to be my last will and testament. I
give and bequeath all my property -whatsoever of
which I am now, or at any time hereafter may be
possessed of, unto my daughter, Caroline Balms,
requesting her to give all orders for my funeral,
ana to bury me respectfully, and to pay all Anent
expenses ; and after my death I desire Caroline Nel-
sen to take care of my afflicted son, Edward Belsen,
as long as he do live, and I desire Caroline Belsen
to keep this, my will, secret as long as Edward Bel-
sen do live, and for 12 months after, unless great
disturbance should arise amongst the family ; under
these circumstances the will may be brought forth to
protect Caroline Belsen. I desire Caroline Belsen
to reside in the house as long as Edward Belsen do
live, and after he dies to bury him in my grave, and
to bury him ' respectfully' as myself, and after the
expiration of one year after the death of Edward
Belsen, Caroline Belson to do as she pleases with
the house and land, being her own property—the
house, and garden enclosed, one acre and a quarter,
11 acres of common land allotment, with the house
on the opposite side. Should the said Caroline
Belsen die before Edward Belsen, then I desire that
the same property shall be for Maria Augusta Bel-
sen, the illegitimate daughter of Caroline Belsen,
leaving Charles Miles, Bank Farm, Kingston, in
the county of Surrey, and Henry Mumford, of
Frimley, in the samo county, upon trust, that Maria
Belsen take every care of Edward Belsen, so long
as he do live, and to bury him as before said. In
witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this
seventeenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
one thousand eight hundred and forty four.
"jamas BELSEN t his mark.

" Signed in the presence of us, who were each pre-
sent at the same time, is and for the last will and
testament of James Belsen. _ _

(Signed) " HENRY MUMFORD, Grocer, Frimley.
" AMELIA GURNEY,Grove-lane, South-
wark, London."
The learned counsel then said he should call the
witnesses who were present when this will was exe-
cuted by the deceased, and when the jury had heard
the evidence they would give upon the subject, he
believed they would not entertain any doubt that
the will was a genuine one, and that the defen-
dants were entitled to hold possession under it of
the property, of which the plaintiff, by the present
action, sought to deprive them.
Henry Mumford was then examined—He de-
posed that he formerly lived at Frimley, and carried
on the business of a grocer, and knew the grand-
father of the plaintiff, old James Belson, for thirty
years, and frequently used to go to his house and visit
him. Witness signed the will that been produced,
and saw the deceased put his mark to it, on the
17th of July, 1844. A Mrs. Gurney came in and
witnessed the will afterwards. Witness read the
will to the deceased, and he said it would do very
well, and he then put his mark to it and said " I
declare this as my act and deed." The deceased
had a son named Edward, who was afflicted with
fits, and after the death of old Belsen, Caroline
Belsen lived in the house and took care of him and
the other children.

Cross-examined—He never saw the will again, or
was asked any questions about it from 1844 to 1862,
and he was not aware who made it, He went into

the house quite by accident on this occasion, and
found the will already prepared, and the deceased
asked him to be a witness to it. The deceased
could not read, and he read the will to him. No
one but witness was present when the old man put
his mark to it, and Mrs. Gurney did not come in
until after he had done so.

Amelia Gurney said in July, 1844, she was
acquainted with old Mr. Belson, and she went to
his cottage by chance on the day he made his will.
She heard Mr. Mumford read the will over to the
deceased, and he said it would do, and he then
asked them both to sign it, and they did so, and the
deceased then put his mark to the will, and said,
"This is my last will and testament." To the best
of her recollection, she and Mr. Mumford were bdth
in the room when the deceased put his mark to the
will.
ICross-examined—Witness would not swear posi-
tively they were both present when the deceased
signed the will, or put his mark to it.
Caroline Belsen, one of the defendants, deposed
that she was fifty years old, and she had resided
the whole of her life in the house in question. Her
mother died in 1825, and ever since that time she
had taken her place and Jaad had the charge of
her brothers and sisters. Her father died in
1845. He was very anxious that his son Edward,

who suffered from fits, and was otherwise afflicted,

should be provided for, and he talked of selling
his property and investing it for his benefit. She
knew nothing about the will until about a
month after her father's death, when she found
it among his papers and showed it to Mr. Mum-
ford, Seeing that his name was upon it, and he said
it was all right. She continued to provide for the
family as directed by the will, and her brother Ed-
ward died is 1851, and she supported him until his
death. Upon one °cession the present plaintiff came
to the house and told her that she must pay rent,
and she inquired who she was to pay rent to, and
he said that he would show her. He never com-
menced any legal proceedings, however, against her
until the present action.

Cross-examined—She was of course very well
pleased to find the will ; but she never said a word
about its being in existence to James, the plaintiff,
or her brother John, who lived with her, or any one
else. She remembered that in 1851 the lord of the
manor set up a claim to the property on the ground
that it was copyhold and belonged to the manor,
and she consulted her attorney and showed him the
will. He took the necessary steps, and the action,
she believed, was abandoned by the lord of the
manor. She believed the action was defended in the
name of the plaintiff James ; but it was by her au-
thority, and she paid the bill of costs. She told Mr.
Binna there was a will in existence at the time of
the action, but requested him not to tell the plain-
tiff anything about the will or show it to him. She
thought it- was quite time enough to produce the
will when anybody troubled her .in the possession
of the property. A letter that was produced was in
her handwriting, and she remembered saying in it
that she had heard some one say that James was the
rightful owner of the property, and that if he was
in his place he would clear the house of the lot
and " muck" them all out, as they had no right there;
but notwithstanding this she never showed the will
to any one, or produced it until the present action
was brought.
Re-examined—Witness considered that by not
bringing the will forward until legal proceedings
wen) actually commenced against her she was acting
in accordance with the injunctions 61 her father
that were contained in it.
Mr. Binns, the defendant's attorney, was then ex-
amined, and pioved that to the Lest of his belief
Caroline Bolsen shoWed
the will ill 1851, but he
could not swear Positively to the fact;
and he said
that he defended the action that was comnOnced by
the lord of the manor at her reg,neet, an 4 hex•

written authority, which he produced, He also
proved that the moment the present action was
commenced by the plaintiff, the will was brought to
him by Mr. Rumford and Caroline Belsen.
Upon being cross-examined, Mr. Bums admitted
Ceat in the course of the proceedings to which he
E.,ferre, that took place in 1851, his clerk made an
affidaeit, in which he shred that the present plain-
tiff was the landlord and occupier of the property,
and that it was upon this affidavit that the action
by the lord of the manor wee put a stop to. It also
op:peered that the action was defended in the flames
of the plaintiff, James Belson, and his sister Cr.m-
ime, one of the defendants. He also admitted that
in the communications that took place in reference
to the former action between him and the steward
of the manor, he did not mention a syllable about
the existence of a will, and he accounted for this by
saying that he, of course, kept the opposing party
" in the dark" as to the nature of the defendant's
case.
Mr. Hawkins then proceeded to reply on bebalf
of the plaintiff. He called the attention of the jury
to the very remarkable circumstances under which
this will was supposed to have been made, and he
submitted that if it had really been a genuine in-
strument it was not probable that it would have been
kept a secret for so many years, and he said that in
point of fact, down almost to the very moment that
the case was to come on for trial, these who were
conducting the plaintiff's case had not the slightest
idea that such a defence as this was to be zet up,
and the will was sprung upon them almost at the
very last moment, and no opportunity whatever had
been afforded for making inquiries respecting it.
The witnesses who had been called were, tan-
doubtedly, apparently persons of respectability,
and he should be very sorry to impute to them
that • they had committed perjury, bat at the
same time he thought that the jury would be
justified, under the very extraordinary circum-
stances connected with this will, to pause before
they came to the conclusion that it was a
genuine document, and permit the plaintiff to be
deprived of what were undoubtedly his just rights
by such an instrument. He then said that even if
jury should be of opinion that the will was a
genuine one, he should submit as a question of law
to the Court Zell'at, upon the evidence of the witnesses
leiumford and Gurney, it had not been made in con-
formity with the statute, And that it was conse-
quently of no value,
Mr. Justice Wightinan, in summing up, called the
attention of the jury to the material points, and he
also read the section of the statute relating to wills,
and said that in order to render all instrument of
this kind a valid instrument, it was absolutely
necessary that it should be signed by the testator in
the presence of two witnesses, and that these snit-
nesses should also sign it in his presence and in the
presence of each other. He then observed that the
witnesses who had been examined contradicted each
other upon these points, and if they should be of
opinion that the will was a genuine one, he should
then ask them to answer these two questions, first,
did the witnesses sign the will in the presence of
eech other in conformity with the requirements of
the statute ; and, secondly, did the testator put his
mark to the instrument before they signed it, and
not in their presence.
The jury, after a short deliberation, answered
these two questions, the first in the negative, and
the second in the affirmative.
The learned Judge then said that upon this find-
ing the will was not a legal will, and could not be
acted upon, and the verdict must therefore be for
plaintiff.
(Before Lord Chief Justice Erle and a Special Jury.)

THE QUEEN V. TRAIN AND OTHERS.
The trial of this indictment for a nuisance and
obstruction to the public highway in the Kenning-
ton-road, by the formation of an iron tramway, was
proceeded with at 9 o'clock.
Mr. M. Chambers, Q.C., Mr. Hawkins, Q.C., and
Mr. Joyce appeared for the prosecution ; Mr. Bovill,
Q.C., Mr. Knapp, and Mr. C. Pollock appeared for
Mr. Train; and Mr. Lush, Q.C., and Mr. Garth
appeared on behalf of several gentlemen, members
of the Lambeth Vestry, who were included in the
charge upon a count for conspiracy, the act alleged
against them being that they had unlawfully per-
mitted the defendant Train to establish the obstruc-
tion and nuisance complained of.
The evidence that was brought forward to•day
was pretty much the same as that which had been
given on the previous day, and consisted of proof
that several accidents had been occasioned by the
tramway, and as to the general annoyance and in-
convenience that the public passing along the road
sustained by it.
The jury, after two or three hours had been occu-
pied by the examination of witnesses, interposed,
and inquired whether it was necessary to proceed
further with the examination of witnesses, to prove
the inconvenience and obstruction to the public by
this tramway, as their minds were quite made up
upon the point. It was also stated that many of
the jury were acquainted with the road, and were
personally aware of the inconvenience occasioned
by this tramway.
Lord Chief Justice Erie addressed Mr. Bovill, and
said he had heard what had been stated by the jury,
and he inquired the nature of the evidence he pro-
posed to adduce in answer to the indictment.
Mr. Bovill said he had a great number of wit-
nesses who would prove that they were in the habit
of continually travelling upon the road, and that
they had never sustained any inconvenience by rea-
son of the tramway.
Lord Chief Justice Erie said he was of opinion
that this would be no answer to an indictment like
the present, and that even if it wore proved that 99
persons travelled safely, but that the remaining one
out of the 100 was endangered or put to inconve-
nience, that would be quite sufficient to support the
charge that was now brought against the defen-
dants.
The learned counsel then conferred together, and
it was arranged that verdicts of guilty should be
taken as far as regarded Mr. Train, and his sur-
veyor, Mr. Hathway, but that with respect to the
other gentlemen, the members of the vestry, the
verdict should be suspended until the legal ques-
tions that had been raised in their behalf by their
learned counsel, and which involve the point whe-
ther persons in their position can, under the cir-
cumstances, be legally included in such an indict-
ment, have been argued.