The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-06 00:00:00

IstreitSDAY ItYgNINGLAPRIL iss

NELSO.

rALTIC.

Agua Fria -
Anglo Austrin. Gold
filiforuian
.%.ustntlasiau
lustralian
Australian Cordillen,!
lustralian Freeholt:'

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ip
1 d
ti 2
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,Vve Maria
iadeu (Gd. Duchy of,
Lilaenarvon Ir. &Com:
dritish Austrlu. Gold
British Iron .
Brazilianlmp.(issued
at £5 pm
Do. Comes & Cuiada
Do. St. John Del Re}
Carson's Creek
.31arendon Con. Min.
Co. of Jamaica
Cobre Copper
jolouial Gold

9 11
- 6
8 d
3i 4i
14 2
29 31
d

39 - 41
10 - 12
50 - 60
2 - 4

Copiapo
.topper
.Min. of Eng
Do. Pref. 7. p. cent.
English and Austrin
Copper Smeltg. Co
General

li - 21

Great Nugget Vein,
Do. Registered
Great Polgooth
Liberty
Linares
Loud.&Califoru.Golii.
Quartz Crush. Co
4ariquita
'itexican&S.Amerien
New Granada

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G A - 64
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and Smelting C 0.,.
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Pontgibaud. Sili-er
Lead Min. Smelt.
Port Philip
4nartz Rod(
thymney Iron
Jo. New

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15 - 17
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28 -30 i
8 -10
3i - 4A
3} - 4A
3 3 1
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'outh Australian
fin Croft
United Mexican
Waller
West Granada
' West Mariposa .
Vorthing Mining of
Australia .•••
Yuba

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MARKET NEWS--(TMIS DAY.)

BAY MARKETS.
SMITHFIELD.—Meadow hay, 21 154 to 5/ Os ; clover
ditto, 31 15s to 61 Os ; and straw, 1/ 16s to 2/ 4s per load.
A moderate supply, and a sluggish demand.
CUMBERLAND.—Meadow hay, 21 16s to 51 5s ; clover
ditto, 31 15s to 61 Os; and straw, 1/ 18s to 2/ 5s per Joad.
Supply good, and trade rather dull.
WHITECHAPEL.—Meadow hay, 2/ 14s to 5/ Os; clover
ditto, 31 154 to tit Os ; and straw, 1/ 1.6 s to 2/ 4s per load.
Trade steady.

MEAT MARKERS.
NEWGATF: AND LEADENHALL.—Eaoh kma. oi meal.
moved off slowly at this market to-day, at our quotations.
Beef, from 2s 10d to 4s Od ; Mutton, 3s 2d to 4s 4d ;
Lamb, 5s 2d to Gs 8(1; Veal, 33 6d to 5s 2d ; pork, 3s 4d
to 4s 8d per 81bs, by the carcase.
SOUTHALL, APRIL s.—Wo have to report a dull trade
for each kind of stock at this day's market, at drooping
terms :—Beef, from 3s Octto 48 2(/ . Mutton, 3s 8d to
54 01 ; Lamb, 5s 6(1 to 6s 8(1; Veeil, 3s 10d to 5s Od ;
Pork, 3s 4d to 4s 8d per Albs, to sink the offals.
RoMFORD, APRIL s.—Our market is heavy, and last
week's currency is not supported. The quotations are as
follows :—Beel, from 3s Od to 4s 4d ; Mutton, 3s 6(1
to 5s 3d ; Lamb, 5s 4(1 to 6s 10d; Veal, 39 ad to 5s 0(1 ;
Pork, 3s 4(1 to 43 8(1 per Sibs. Quarter old Store Pigs,
21s to 26s each.

LLOYD'S SHIPPING.-(TB1S DAY.

LONDON, April G.—Wind this day at Noon, W. ;
light breeze, and fine clear, dry weather.
PORTSMOUTH, April s.—Wind, W. .Arrived—H.M.S
Cumberland, Halifax.
COWES, April s.—Wind, W.N.W. Arrived—Tylland,
Callao, and sailed for Antwerp.
OFF SALCOMBE.—Elinbeth, Mauritius.
POOLE, April s.—Wind, W. Sailed—Port-Glasgow,
Quebec
OFF DARTMOUTH, April s.—Arrived Maori, Hong
Kong.
PLYMOUTH, April s.—Wind, S.W. Arrived—Daylea-
ford, London, for Melbourne. Sailed—John, Quebec.
PENZANCE, April s.—Arrived—Melbourne, Belize, and
sailNEd e for London.
WRY.—Arrived—John de Wade, St. John's, N.B.
QUEENSTOWN, April 4.—Wind, S.W. Anived—Leba-
non, Mazagun. Sailed—Louisa Munro, Bay of Fundy ;
Atalanta, Rio Janeiro.
BERWICK, Aptil 4.—Wind, N.W. Arrived—Harebell,
Callao.
SHIELDS, April 4.—Wind, N.W. ; fresh gale. Sailed—
Homer, Quebec; Agnes, do.

(BY SUBMARINE AND EUROPEAN TELEGRAPH.)
GRAVESEND, Thursday► 10.40 A.M.
Arrived—Baron Osy (s), Antwerp ; Rhine (s), Rotter,
dam ; Gonge de 8011, Amsterdam•
Sailed—Herber, Sydney; Sir O. Forbes, Port Adelaide
William Joliffe (a),

DEAL, Thursday, 9 a.m
Wind, S.W., very light, and fine.
No arrivals.
Sailed—Express, Demerara ; David, Quebec.

CAUTION TO MARINERS.
UNKNOWN SHOAL AT MANILLA..
The following is an extract from a letter from her Ma-
jesty's Consul at Manilla, received at Lloydso from the
Board of Trade, regarding an unknovre !ih that bay
—Manilla, 20th Jan., 1854. A British vessel, the
Stratheden, on its voyage from this port to Sydney, with
a full cargo, struck on a rock, or shoal, between the main
laud to the right, and the island of Corregidor, at the en-
trance of the Bay of Manilla, and became a wreck. Part,
of the cargo was recovered in a sound state, and the da-
maged part and vessel have been sold at auction by the
Captain. The situation of the Shoal (after passing out-
ward-bound the Punta de Caucaveo is near the sounding
No. 7, in a line of soundings successively marked 7, 25, 45,
31, from the Main up to the Isla de Coyregidor, in the
üblished at Madrid
Spanish chart of the Bay of Manilla, p
in 1807, in the " Direccion Hidr?grafics." Between the
Shoal and the Main land there is a navigable depth of
water, and the master of the Stratheden stated that through
that passage he entered the bay on coming here. He was
ignorant of the existence of a reef there. It is not indi-
cated in the chart, and in its immediate vicinity 7 fathoms
water is marked. Some months o a Swedish vessel of
war touched on the same part, and lag
ti 7, hear that several
vessels on their passages in or out of this bay have touched
it. No measures have been hitherto taken by the Govern-
ment here to avert the danger, hut I will bring the subject
to their attention.
•

-ATO ENI

It was at the end of March that our fleet entered
the Baltic in 1801 to crush the Northern confede-
racy. When .. e read of all that is done now by the
foe to render our visit perilous, to wreck or blow up
our ships—it is not only interesting, but highly re-
assuring, to read the account of that expedition of
53 years ago. Nelson was not in command, we
Must remember, though he soon won that station ;
and he was not slow in giving his opinion to his
superior. Then, as now, there was doubt about
whether to go by the Sound or the Belt ; and while
Sir Hyde Parker was hesitating, Nelson said,. "Let
it be by the Sound or -the Belt, or any way—only
lose not an hour ;"—a rather Napier-like speech.
It was the 30th of larch when the ships passed the
Sound ; when, by the way, the Emperor Paul had
been dead nine days without the world being aware
of it. Again then as now, the buoys were all re-
moved ; and it was necessary to have the channels
surveyed and marked ; and this work went on day
and night. When Nelson and his ships were off
the shoal in front of Copenhagen, the pilots were
found to be untrustworthy, and were dismissed; and
it was under this enormous disadvantage that the
attack on Copenhagen took place. Nelson always said
that it was the unequalled difficulty of the naviga-
tion that made the glory of that victory.' The only
pilotage was that of a Mr. Bryerly, the master of
an English vessel, who undertook to lead the fleet.
He did his best, but three ships grounded at the
outset. Then as now, the fortune of the whole war
appeared to depend on the peomptitude and vigour
of the Baltic fleet }but the Napier of that day was,
,for some time, understheForders of an irresolute
superior, whose delays.drove the hero to that memo-
rable act of disobedience which he made a sublime
jest of, when he put his glass to his blind eye that
he might not see the signal to stop fighting. When
he got his ships safely away, the northern allies
were in great amazement that he was fairly riding
in the Baltic. The Russian fleet was then frozen
up at Revel. The Admiral wanted to wait, while
Nelson chafed to go forward. The wind was wes-
terly for one thing—fair for Revel ; and at this
season a westerly wind in the Baltic is rather a rare
blessing. The wind is usually strong from the east
all spring ; and in those days, and in that sea, a
fair wind was all in all. If the Russian fleet should
get out of Revel, it would be an eternal disgrace.
How it would have aMazed Nelson to know that
the next great Baltic expedition would be able to
make its way without a wind—actuallY in the teeth
of those easterly gales ! Early in May he received
his appointment to the command, and the news
of the Czar's death ; but he still pressed on—hav-
ing no great faith in the word of Czars, old or
young, about wishing for peace, which Alexander
then professed. The Russian fleet had got away
from Revel to Cronstadt ; but there was to be no
more fighting ; so we have no precedent about the
passage of that channel, which is said to be now
about to be choked with boulders—these boulders
being as many mines, charged, and connected with
galvanic apparatus on shore, or on board Russian
ships, to blow our heroes to the moon. It must
be rather a pity in Russian eyes that this little
device has got wind ; for Sir C. Napier, once fore-
warned, will take care thatjt gets water too. We
imagine he will let the wet in among that terrible
powder ; and as for else. boulders—the probability
is that the ice will not stand still to be incited ,
exactly where the Czar commands, but will be
driven all abroad by pressure from Within. The
melting of that ice does not proceed from the wes-
tern margin inwards, but is occasioned by the rush
of those formidable easterly winds, and the
warmth of the inland shores, whereby a de-
luge is brought down from the lakes and rivers,
heaping up the ice in huge piles, and smashing
it into pieces, which drift out before the cur-
rent far away from that narrow Cronstadt channel.
There is no saying how far away the geologists of
a future century may find those boulders. The
want of pilots in Nelson's day was decidedly a more
formidable evil than this game of nine pins that is
threatened upon the ice. The great expansion of
commerce, as well as science, which has taken place
in half a century is favourable to modern naviga-
tion. There must be abundance of persons, other
than Russians, who know every foot of the channel
to St. Petersburg—the captains of the Hull traders
to St. Petersburg, for instance.
Those persons could easily explain, if explana-
tion were wanted, why the Czar has been pertina-
cious about obtaining delay, even more for the sake
of the Baltic than the Black Sea warfare. He
would have liked, no doubt, to put off the collision
another month, in order to manoeuvre his ships as
lie liked, and to get in a good deal of the spring
merchandise, which his people must now go with-
out. But that is not all, nor perhaps the chief.
March and April are the months when the peasantry,
and indeed all below the capitalist classes of the
Baltic provinces, are in their poorest plight, as to
health, strength, and spirit's. 'All household stores
are so exhausted by the long winter that the
gentry themselveS repair to the coast towns, and
live there till the national larder is .replenished,
and the mass of the people, who have been mixing
chopped straw or bark with their rye flour more
and more copiously as the winter wore on, have
now but a pinch of flour to a handful of straw ; so
that if the careles.s housewife allows any cake or
loaf to burn, it blazes like a torch. Thence ensues
disease, of course, and the wan population is swept
away by fever or indigenous cholera. Whole vil-
lages ace left without aged or infant inhabitants,
While typhus spreads among the rest. The remedy,
as far as the coast is concerned, is in the marine
harvest which our expedition must intercept this
year. When the sea begins to toss—when the
strong east winds and the various and powerful
currents of that confined and agitated sea encoun-
ter each other, and make what sea-sick voyagers
know so well as a " short sea," the amber gathering
begins. The greater part of the amber in the world
comes from those coasts from which the residents
are now flying, bag and baggage, in the horror
of invasion. There will be little amber gather-
ing this year ; and if there were ever so much,
there will be no merchants hovering about
the coasts to buy it. The other spring harvest
is gathered from the herring shoals. As soon as
the boats can get out, they go after the strceming
—the Baltic herting—and then the inhabitants
get human food again. How much will they have
this spring ?
They are hastening into the interior. Hovs will
they be off there ? The landed proprietors look as
eagerly as anybody for the spring supplies from the
Baltic. At this season, the peasantry of the inte-
rior depend wholly on the daily dole furnished from
the stores• of their -owner. They sit before the
doors of their hovels, waiting hungrily for the
flour or bread, and salt fish, when that luxury is
afforded them. And now, when there will be no
spring supply, these villages will be invaded—aro
at this moment invaded—by a second famishing
population, who must be fed or die. The Asiatic
commerce of Russia does not yield food—except
merely tea. From Turkey, wine, oil, and fruit
have been obtained, but the bulk of Russian com-
merce, and that in which the popular welfare is
most concerned, is that of the Baltic ; and sorely
will the accustomed cargoes of corn and fish be
missed this year. It is nothing to the peasants of
exhausted villages in spring that Russia supplies
corn to other countries. She cannot. supply it to
her own serfs. There are no roads ; there is no
communication ; and the country people are often
dead before their need is known in the towns. One
of the painful thoughts attendant upon the crisis
is that of the innocent peasantry, who are to be
starved out of life through the insane pride and
creed of him whom they are told to call their
" Father." It is from this peasantry that the
Czar's soldiery is drawn. It is the same class that
is perishing of disease and misery on the swamps of
the Danube, and on the sands of the Baltic, and
on the bleak steppes of the interior. Mercy to
these poor slaves requires a vigilant promptitude
in the Baltic. The speedier the blow at the heart
of the empire, the shorter will be the pain of its
helpless inhabitants. Our fleet must first pick its
way, as carefully, as perseveringly, and intercept
all the Russian commerce of that sea ; and then—
once before the islands that lock the gulfs—once
within view of Russian fortifications, behind which
lies the empire in the form of three or four great
cities, the rest will soon be settled.—Daily NeWS.

~~
',9~',b2: `BAIL Yfr"~ Ys~

TERMINATION OF THE SEAMEN'S STRIKE.—The re-
ports of our correspondents at Shields and Sunderland
state that the strike of the seamen of those ports is at
an end. At Shields the resolution to break up the strike
was last night carried, at a meeting of the seamen, by a
large majority. An effort was made by the minority to
rally a party in favour of a continuance of theme trome
ike,
but happily it proved of no avail.- Without havin c
to any definite resolution on the subject, many of the
Sunderland men, it appears, have entered into engage.
ments, and a number of vessels have proceeded to sea.
MUNIFICENT DONATION.—Mr. Richard Devereux, of
Wexford, who has just left for Rome in company with
his parish priest, transferred, previous to his departure
for the Eternal City, the sum of 14,
000/. in tr
Roman Catholic charitable and religious uses. In the
distribution of this munificent donation Mr. Devereux
has allotted the sum of 1,0001. " for masses for his
family ;" and it is understood that 4,0001. are devoted
, about two
to the fund now raising for the establishment of the
Roman Catholic University.
) LIVERPOOL, WEDNESDAT.—This afternon
o'clock, the United States mail steam-ship Arctic,
Captain J. C. Luce, sailed for New York, with the
usual mails, 128 passengers, and a large and valuable
cargo of merchandise on board. Copies of the London
journals of this Morning were placed on board prior to
her departure by Messrs. Wilmer and Smith, news
agents, Liverpool, for the press and news room of the
Western Continent.

g ca‘ , cuch—aß n iliei'—ent enginevp%itiVitriatstlW
timepieces, &c, and the absence of a communication be
tween the guards and engine-drivers, and would appear.to
have contributed to cause the accidents in thirty-eight in-
stances; and the neglected condition or the defective con-
struction of the rolling. stock and the road appear to have
contributed to cansethe accidents in forty-three instances.
2.—Cases referable to an Inefficient System and a Deep'
tive State of Discipline,
The unpunctuallity of trainsappears to have contributed
to cause accidents in fourteen instances.
Insufficient or inadequately enforced regulations core
tributed in forty-two instances to cause the accidents.
And a defective system for seeming proper intervals be-
tween trains would appear from these reports to have con-
tributed to cause accidents in fifteen instances.

Report to the Lords of the Committee of Privy Coun-
cil for Trade, clas!,ifying the causes of the principal acci-
dents which have occurred on railways during the year
1853.
Railway Department, Board of Trade, Whitehall,
February 28, 1854.
My Lords—ln analysing the reports which the inspect-
ing officers of this department have made upon the ace,i-
dents which have occurred on railways during the year
1853, I have endeavoured to classify the causes which have
led to the several accidents in such a manner as to point
out what are the influences which the system of manage-
ment and the discipline on railways have had in causing
them.
The total number of persons who have been reported to
your lordships as having met their death on railways
during the year 1853 is 305, and the total number of in-
jured is 440; of these the total number of passengers who
have suffered from accidents would appear to he 64 killed,
and 300 injured; and of this number 36 have been killed,
and 280 injured from causes beyond their own control.
The returns of accidents for the haltyears ending 30th
June and 31st December, 18.'3, respectively, which have
already been laid before your lordships, exhibit a detailed
account of these accidents.
From these returns it would appear that the total num-
ber of accidents to trains and engines which have been re-
ported by railway companies as having occurred during
the year 1853 is 103.
Of these 76 have been more especially brought before the
notice of your lordships by the reports of the inspecting
officers, or by the correspondence which has taken place
upon them.
These accidents may be generally classed as
I. Accidents appertaining to the 'lolling stock and road.
11. Accidents appertaining to the management of rail-
ways.
Under the head of accidents appertaining to the rolling
stock and road of railways may be classed the following :-
Ist. Accidents from engines or carriages leaving the rails.
2d. Accidents from trains running through facing points
into sidings.
3d. Accidents from persons in trains being struck against
works adjacent to the line.
4th. Boiler explosions.
Under the head of accidents appertaining to the manage-
ment are classed :-
Ist. Collisions on double lines of railway.
2d. Collisions between trains at junctions.
3d. Collisions on single lines between trains meeting in
opposite directions.
4th. Miscellaneous.
Inasmuch as several of these accidents are classified un-
der more than one head, it is desirable to analyse them as
follows :

ACCIDENTS APPERTAINING TO TEM ROLLING STOCK AND
ROAD.
I.—Accidents from Engines or Carriages leaving the Rails.
There are twenty-four cases of accidents to trains whore
the engines or carriages broke down or left the rails.
These may be further divided into—
(l.) Accidents beyond the control of the management.
—Three accidents may be placed in this division, which
were occasioned solely by the neglect of the platelayers
who were employed in the repairs of the line.
In nine instances the accidents arose from the fracture
of machinery (viz., tyres of wheels, axles, or springs), in
consequence of the internal defects in the material, which
could not be detected by external scrutiny.
In one instance the cause of the accident could not be
ascertained ' • some of its resulting consequences, however,
might have been lessened, had a communication existed
between the guard and the engine-driver.
(2). Accidents which might have been guarded against.
In five instances the accidents were caused by the bad con-
dition of the road ; but in one of these instances the worn
condition of parts of the carriage would appear to have had
souse influence in causing the accident, and in another the
effect produced by the defective condition of the road ap-
I pears to have been much increased by its mode of construc-
tion.

In one instance the accident appears to have arisen from
a considerable internal defect of the material, but which
might appal ently have been traced on the surface by care-
ful examination.
In three instances the accidents would appear to hate
arisen from the construction of the engine and road, or
from the neglected condition of parts of the line. And in
two cases the peculiar construction of the engine, carriage,
and road, combined with the defective regulations of the
company, appeared to have caused the accidents.
It would thus appear, that of these i 4 accidents, 13 or
little snore than half, may be classed as out of the control
of the management of the company, of which three were
due to neglect of inferior servants, and 9 to fracture of
machinery from internal defects ; and the cause of one has
not been ascertained. _ _ _

The remaining eleven accidents might have been pre-
vented by proper management.
2.—Accidents from Trains running through Facing
Points into Sidings.
Two accidents have occurred from facing points having
been wrongly set, which have caused collisions by admitting
trains into sidings. The immediate cause of both acci-
dents was the negligence of inferior seavants ; but in one
case the use of facing points at the place was highly im-
proper, and in the other the regulations of the company
were not sufficient for ensuring safety.
3.—Accidents from Persons in Trains being struck against
Works adjacent to the Line.
There are four cases of accidents from passengers having
been struck against bridges or works adjacent to the line ;
of these, two were due to the use of improperly con-
structed carriages ; one to the improper use of cattle truck■
for conveying passengers ; and one to the defective con-
struction of a tunnel.

4. Accidents from Boiler Explosions.
Three cases of boiler explosion have been reported upon.
In one, the accident was due to the negligence of au in-
ferior servant. In another case the boiler was much worn ;
and in the other case tke arrangements of the company
would appear to have had a bearing upon the accident.
It would therefore appear that, of the thirty-three ac-
cidents considered as appertaining to the rolling stock and
road, only fourteen can be assumed to have been due to
causes over which the management of the company had
no control, whilst the remaining nineteen accidents are all
more or less traceable to want of care on the part of the
superior officers of the companies, and in some cases to
undue economy.
ACCIDENTS APPERTAINING TO THE MANAGEMENT OF
RAILWAYS.
1.--Collisions between trains on double lines of railway.
Thirty accidents are contained in this class, of which six
appear to have been occasioned by trains shunting at
sidings or at stations.
In only two cases were the trains which were run into
delayed by purely accidental causes, and in one of these
cases the accident was partly due to the negligence of the
guard, and partly to unpunctuality caused by an improper
system of working. In the other case, which was the one
on the Groat Southern and Western Railway ar.t Straffan,
a want of break power, au inadequate supply of signals, in-
efficient regulations, and a defective system for securing a
proper interval between trains, were combined with
negligence in the inferior servants, to produce the
accident.
In one case the accident was partly duo to unpunctuality,
over which the management of the company had no control,
but it was also occasioned by the system of working the
line not being sufficient for securing a proper interval be-
tween trains.
Of the remaining 27 cases, the negligence of the inferior
servants of the company appears to have partially con-
tributed to cause 17 accidents, but the other causes which
combined with this negligence were as follows, viz.:--
Sixteen of the accidents wore attributable to insufficient
or inadequately enforced regulations. In six cases the sys-
tem for securing proper intervals between trains is stated
to have been defective ; in seven cases the accidents were
attributable to unpunctuality caused by an inefficient eye.
tem ; in one case, deficiency of engine power and of
breaks ; in five other cases, the insufficiency of signals ; in
another, the want of timepieces ; and in another, the want
, of communication between the guard and engine-driver,
contributed to cause the accidents
Of the remaining ten cases, three were due to the in-
sufficiency of the regulations of the company, combined in
one case with want of tireepieees among the company's
servants, in another with the want of adequate signals,
and in the third case both signals and timepieces were
deficient. In six instances the accidents were due to the
want of a proper system for securing intervals between
trains. In five of these the accidents were also attribut-
able to the insufficiency of the regulations; and in three
the accidents were partly attributable to unpunctuality,
not beyond the control of the management. In two in-
stances the want of timepieces, and in another the want of
adequate signals contributed to cause the accidents. Ono
accident was due to unpunctuality, caused by a defective
system of working, combined with the inadequacy of the
signals.
It would thus appear that twenty seven accidents out of
these thirty might have been prevented by the exercise of
a proper degree of care on the part of the mauagers of the
companies ; and in the other three cases the serious conse-
quences of the accidents would probably have been
averted, had the companies' regulations and systems of
working been well framed, and had the proper discipline
been maintained.
2.—Collisions between Trains at Junctions.
Under this head two accidents have been reported upon
during the year.
In both cases the signals were insufficient; but in one case
the danger from this cause was aggravated by the driTtell;
and fireman of one of the trains being unacquainted ,wvi
th
the road, the servants on the line not being supplieded
time-pieces, the breaks on the trains being insufficient,
and
the regulations for working the line defective.
3.—Collisions from Trains meeting on a Single Line.
There are eight cases of accidents from trains meeting on
a single line.
tashnoedc,ctwurre.readdnueearptahrtel jyutuocttiohne
In two instances the accident
rains, but che to in-
of a single with a double lino,
want of break power in one of
sufficient regulations.. In one of these cases Chieflyat of
adequate signals, and in the other the negligence of an in-
ferior servant was combined with the other causes.
The remaining six accidents were attributable to insuffi-
cient regulations for ensuring safety, combined in
one in-
stance with the negligence of an inferior servant; in another
with want of break power ; and in a third, which was the
most formidable (viz., the accident near Oxford, 'on the
luckinghamshire Railway), the insufficiency of the regula-
tions was combined with a want of communication between
the guards and engine drivers.
4.—Miscellaneous.
Under this head may be mentioned three accidents—of
which, one occurred in consequence of the direct neglect,
or rather violation of the ordinary rules, under which the
line was was worked, by the superior officers of the com-
pany ; and another was the result of insufficient regula-
tions combined with a want of break power, and a defec-
tive construction of gates at a level crossing.
The third accident occurred in consequence of some pas-
sengers having got out of a train on the wrong side, and
having been run over. This was due to the neglect of the
regulations for locking the doors of the carriages on the
off ride, occasioned by the want of the proper platforms at
many stations.

It is desirable to point out the principal causes of acci-
dents under these two heads.
(1.) Cases referable to undue Economy.—Under this
head may be classed a reduction of the number of servants
below what was required for the efficient working of the
line, the postponement of the requisite repairs, alterations
or additions to works, &c., and the overworking of the
carrying stock.
When the servants have been reduced in number below
what the efficient working of the line has required, the re-
maining servants have been overworked. This practices
involves considerable danger, because the safe working of a
railway depends upon the servants being always on the alert.
The signalmen and pointsmen must always be on the look-
out for trains, and attend carefully to their signals and
points ; whilst the guards, engine drivers, and firemen
should, whilst on the road, have their attention continuelly
directed to the safety of the train ; and it is utterly impoN•
sible for men, however strong they may be, to keep a ,
proper look-out if their energies are paralysed by fatigue.
Yet, amongst the accidents which occurred last year, it
will be found that in one case men who came on duty at
six a.m., were sent out with a train after having worked
to between ten and eleven p.m. ; and, in another, meu
who were sent out with a. train in the middle of one day
were continually on duty till the evening of the next day.
The reduction in the number of servants has also con-
tributed to accidents; by causing eligine-drivers and fire-
men, unacquainted with the road, to be sent with trains.
To this cause was partly attributable a collision which
occurred. at the Euxton junction on the North -Union
Railway.
Several of the accidents occurred from the permanent
way on some lines having been allowed to become very
much deteriorated. But the accidents which occurred
directly from this cause were not the whole amount of in-
jury which resulted to the companies and the public from
this deteriorated condition of road. For a bad road re-
acts upon the carrying stock ; and it is probable that many
cases of broken tyres axles, which were considered as
purely accidental, were duo to the blows to which the
wheels had been subjected in passing over bad joints.
In other cases the accidents were attributable to the in-
sufficiency of the siding accommodation, the inadequacy of
the signals at newly constructed sidings, and to the ser-
vants of the company not having been supplied with a
means of measuring time. As regards this latter point, it
is to be observed that on lines of railway of large traffic
where the trains are worked to carefully regulated time-
tables, safety and punctuality must be to a great extent
dependent upon a correct.knowledge of time being possessed
at all times by the company's servants.
In other accidents to which unpunctuality has been a
contributing cause, this unpunctuality can be trooped 10
undue economy. In some cases the supply of engines has
been limited, and the trains have been worked upon a
system which entailed that the unpunctuality of a train in
one direction affected that of the corresponding train in the
opposite direction.
In other cases heavy trains have been forwarded with an
insufficient supply of guards and of breaks, Eta.
It has been the practice on some lines to effect a saving
in the working expenses, by contracting with engine-
drivers for working the trains, and in others by giving to
engine-drivers a direct premium for reducing the consump-
tion of coke below an average amount. These practices,
unless"guarded by very carefully framed provisions, contain
important elements of danger.
(2.) Cases referable to an Inefficient System and De-
fective Discipline.—On some lines of railway in an efficient
state of repair, accidents have occurred which were due
either to the defective system under which the lines were
worked, or to the rules not having been strictly enforced.
In some of the cases of accidents, it would appear that
the regulations have been such that the inferior servants
of the company have great difficulty in complying with
them, under even the ordinary exigencies of the traffics;
and other accidents have arisen from a violation of rules,
which would appear to have been permitted on previone
occasions without rebuke from the superior officers.
In many cases the rules have been inoperative from She
responsibility of carry them into effect not being clearly
fixed. upon particular individuals.
In other cases it will be found that accidents have oc-
curred owing to the system of issuing regulations having
been loote and negligent.
Of the accidents which have been classed as due to the
management of railways, a Very large proportion have
occurred to trains following each other upon the same line
of rails.
If the trains had been always punctual, and if no train
had been allowed to start without the driver having been
furnished with carefully-framed time-tables, to be rigidly
adhered to, these accidents would probably not have oc-
curred. Under such circumstances the use of signals
would he of less importance, and they would occupy
the position of being auxiliaries to safety ; but the re-
ports on accidents will show that on some railways
mineral trains, and oven occasional goods trains, have
b )(ea allowed to run without the engine-driver having bean
f irnished with any instructions as to the time at which
it was to pass or stop at the several stations, and on other
r ,ilways where carefully framed time-tables have been
p tblishecl regularly for the mineral and other trains,
these time tables have been allowed to be practically
disregarded. In many cases the punctuality of trains has
been much interfered with by the unpunctuality of other
trains in connection with them, and trains timed to follow,
1 or to be passed at stations by, other trains, have been fre-
quently detained by the unpunctuality of those latter trains.
This latter cause of unpunctuality has arisen on lines where
the traffic is conveyed in trains at different rates of speed,
but its effects might in some cases have been remedied to a
considerable extent, had a very much more extended use
been made of the electric telegraph in conducting and or-
ganising the traffic. It will he found, therefore, that in
the ordinary condition of railways at the present time,
punctuality is not sufficiently attended to, and that in
order to secure a sufficient interval between trains, lines
are practically worked to a very great extent by signals.
Several of the cases of accidents will show that to insure
the due exhibition of signals, it is the custom to organise as
mane- checks as possible upon the progress of trams ; and
for this purpose a system is in use on many lines of railway
by which guards of trains as well as station masters keep
a record of the time at which every train passes every sta-
tion. This record also shows whether the time of running
a train has been properly apportioned over the different
parts of the lint'.
It will, however, be found that in nearly one-half of the
cases of collisions between trains following each other on the
same line of rails, the lines do not appear to have been
worked under a limper system for insuring a sufficient in-
terval between trains ; and an examination of the cases of
this class of accidents will show that the method which has
been adopted on almost all lines of exhibiting at stations a
signal for a specified time after the passage of a train has
been in some cases insufficient for the purposes of safety.
This subject is a most important one as regards the traffic
upon lines of railway where the trains are numerous, sad
travel at different rates of speed.
On some lines of railway immunity from this class of ac-
cident has been secured by the use of the electric telegraph.
According to this system, the line is divided into portions,
the length being determined according to the amount of
traffic and the frequency of trains; a signalman is placed
at the extremity of each portion, with a simple description
of telegraphic instrument, and no train is allowed to enter
;,,my of these portions until the preceding train has passed
off' that portion. A special telegraphic wire must be ap-
pointed to this service.* This system is in use on almost
all :railways for working the traffic through tunnels.
Accidents from collision between trains following each
other on the same line of rails have been attended in-some
cases with very serious results, in consequence of the com-
panies not baying enforced the plan of placing a break van
in the rear of the train. This was particularly exemplified
in the .accident at Straffan, on the Great Southern and
Western Railway, in Ireland.
The accidents on single lines appear to have been name-
reus during the past year, and to have been due to insufE-
cient regulat ions. A single line to bo worked safely requires
to be worked Linder very special regulations, and those regu-
lations are such- as to be incompatible with running a large
number of train e. Of the systems in use for working single
lines, those which. would appear to be best adapted for ensure
absolute safety from collisions tire that either one engine
rain moving on the single line, or por-
gelevelrigye,. or that one particular man should ac-
tac-
tion shouldot. drawa
si
company every engine or train moving over it.
Several single lines of railway have been worked by the
but the safety of this system depends on
as to the starting of trains being very
clearly
if the causes of the accident which
ece trreiscpienfilsenigebtiall !pain d
one 4
occurred on the Buckinglramshire Railway at Oxford was
the want of a clear responsibility as to the use of the eksc-
tric telegraph having been fixed on individuals.
A careful consideration of the several accidents will show'
that many have arisen from the want of individual respon-
sibility. In ninny cases the responsibility has not been
clearly defined in the rules ; and in other eases it has not
been practically enforced ; and hence, in many accidents,
evidently due to positive errors, the blame cannot be axed
upon individuals.
Iu the case of two accidents which occurred last year,
attended with fatal results, the coroners' juries returned
verdicts of manslaughter against the superior officers of
the companies • but in neither of the cases were ilzese ver-
dicts sustained in the courts of law.
I have the honour to be, my lords, your lordship" most
obedient servant,
DOUGLAS GALTON, Capt. Royal Engineeee.
The Lords of the Committee of
Privy Council for Trade.

* This method of working has been adopted on the South
Eastern Railway under the direction of Captain Barlow. O.
superintendent of the line.

GREAT NUGGET VEIN COMPANT.—At a meeting of
the Great Nugget Vein Company, held at Sydney en
the 16th of January, the report stated that the erectios
of the heavy machinery for the working of their pro-
perty by the Colonial Gold Company had just been oom'
pleted,
,and that in a few weeks the whole would be iu
operation, when the question would be decided, not
only " whether the claims of the company
are worthy
of their repute, but whether the country offers induce-
ment to enter upon extensive goid.rniuMg operations,
.or a field fur the desultory labours of individuals only."
'file Government had conceded s lease of the property
for 21 years, and the results of twelve mths' experi-
ments on various portions of the ground on
were as fol-
io\ vs :—namely, from 1,184 tons of alluvial soil 636
ou ncea of gold, and from 8G tone of crushed quartz 92
ou: eces. The company being relieved by their agree-
melat with the Colonial Gold Company from the ex-
capital NMI lying
idle, and it was proposed to invest it in advances on
pense of working the mines, their
railvi ay stock, guaranteed by the local Government, or
to tb to extent of 50 per cent. on the shares of the coLO;
pang , either in the colony or in England, redeemable on
three months' notice if required for mining purposes at
a future period. The balance remaining was 119,8171.,
and out of this, in consideration of " the profit upon
the sale of shares in England," a dividend was declared
of 5 per cent.
s Birmitivrs 011 SPECIE.—The shipments of specie by
the peninsular and Oriental steamer Colombo amount
to 1 84,714/., of which 35.800/. is gold for Alexandria,
Cey'leiv, Singapore, and Hongkong, and 98,400/• silver
for 'Bombay, Calcutta, Singapore, ligegkong, Canto*,
au a **Dog,