The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-16 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY SCENE AT A
RAIL W,aY
(From the Manchester Examiner.)
A most extraordinary and unprecedented scene oc-
curred yesterday morning at Clifton station, about five
miles from Manchester, and the point where the East
Lancashire line, midway between Bury and Manchester,
forms a junction with the Lancashire and York-
shire Company's lines of rails from Manchester
to Bolton, Preston, and Liverpool. The East
Lancashire Company pass over the Lancashire and
Yorkshire Company's rails between Clifton and Man-
chester, paying toll, and it appears that some misunder-
standing has arisen between the two companies as to
the means of ascertaining the proper amount of toll.
The East Lancashire are in the habit of running
several up-trains to Manchester, past the Clifton
junction, without stopping, and afterwards making
a declaration to the Lancashire and Yorkshire
Company of the number of passengers the trains con-
tained, and for whom they will have to pay toll. The
Lancashire and Yorkshire Company object to this plan,
and demand that the trains shall stop at Clifton, so that
the number of passengers can be counted, and give up
their tickets. The East Lancashire Company say, that
in addition to their declaration, the other parties have
access to all their books, and to the returns of their
(the East Lancashire Company's) servants ; and that
the demand to take tickets, or to count, is only
one of annoyance and detention, adopted since
the two companies have become competitors for the
traffic to Bradford. Towards the close of last week the
dispute assumed a serious aspect, by one of the Lanca-
shire and Yorkshire Company's agents at Manchester
(Mr. Blackmore) threatening that he would blockade or
stop up the East Lancashire line, at the point of j unction,
with a large balk of timber. The East Lancashire
Company got out a summons against Mr. Blackmore on
Saturday; but, notwithstanding this course, the Lanca-
shire and Yorkshire Company's managers proceeded,
yesterday morning, to carry the threat into execution,
and despite also the presence of a large body of the
county police from Bury, and of a second body from the
Pendleton county police-station, near Manchester.
From ten to twelve o'clock in the morning, in addition
to the police, bodies of the directors and servants of
both companies arrived at Clifton. The immediate
neighbourhood is far from populous, but as the lines of
railway from this point pass over rather lofty embank-
ments, it could be seen from seme distance around that
there was an unusual commotion, and numbers of people
were attracted to watch the proceedings. The East Lan-
cashire early trains were allowed to pass upon the
Lancashire and Yorkshire line without obstruction, and
run to Manchester; but at half past ten in the morn-
ing, as the next East Lancashire train to Manchester
was one which would not stop at Clifton, but attempt to
pass on to Manchester, so as not to allow the Lanca-
shire and Yorkshire Company's servants to count the
passengers, the latter began to take active measures to
stop up the East Lancashire line, and raise a sufficient
obstruction to the passage of trains to their own line.
A number of labourers were set at work for this pur-
pose under the direction of Captain Laws, managing
director of the Lancashire and Yorkshire line ; Mr.
Blackmore, superintendent of the traffic on the
Bolton line; Mr. Hinmers, superintendent of the goods
traffic; and Mr. Hurst, superintendent of the locomotive
department. Their first step was to lay down across the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's down-line of rails to
Manchester an immense balk of timber—laying it close
to the points of the East Lancashire Company's rails
forming the junction, and opposite the Semaphore signal-
house of the East Lancashire Company. Behind this balk
of timber, at either end, were driven down into the bed of
the railway two heavy, long iron crow-bars, to hold it to its
position. Then again, behind this balk of timber, the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Company brought up a train
of six empty carriages, with its engine at the Manches-
ter end; and this may be said up to this time to have
completed the blockading scheme. The train of empty
carriages was understood to have been for the double
purpose of blockading the line, and of carrying forward
to Manchester any of the passengers from the East Lan-
cashire train who might choose to leave it and go for-
ward, over the Bolton line, to Manchester.
The East Lancashire train was due in Manchester
about 10 40, but it was nearly that time before it came
up to Clifton, and when it came in sight it was signalled
to stop, of course, rather than allow the engineer to
break his own and the passengers' necks by running
upon the obstruction. Immediately the East Lanca-
shire train stopped, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Com-
pany's servanis went and demanded the tickets from the
passengers. This demand, however, was fruitless, in-
asmuch as the East Lancashire parties had taken the
tickets from their passengers at the previous station—
Ringley—a course which they are said to have now fol-
lowed for three months past.
This was the signal for retaliatory measures by the
East Lancashire party, who had till now walked in silence
on either side their own line, as the servants of the other
company had done on their own property. The police,
meantime, looking on at both, from the window of the
railway station-house, situated in the cleft of the fork
formed by the two railways branching off to Bury and
Bolton. The first act of the East Lancashire Company's
servants was to remove the balk of timber, and this they
did without hindrance.
The next proceeding of the East Lancashire party
was to run forward their train and attempt to force be-
fore them the Lancashire and Yorkshire blockading
train. This, however, the others appeared to have anti-
cipated, and having put on their breaks and brought
another engine up in front of their train, which they
had detached from an express train from Manchester,
that had come up while the previous proceedings
were „Ding on, they were able to maintain their ground.
The East Lancashire Company by this time having
brought up a heavy train laden with stone, on their
other line, now caused it to run forward and take up a
position pn the shnnt across the Lancashire and York-
shire's up line to Manchester, exactly abreast of the
blockading train on the other line of rails. Thus the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's double line of
rails was now completely blocked up—one line by
their own train, and the other by the stone train of
the East Lancashire Company. In this position mat-
ters remained till near twelve o'clock ; and in the mean-
time the affair every moment assumed a more serious
aspect. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's trains,
either way, as they came up, kept accumulating the
means of blockade; and added to these were the trains
coming to the spot belonging to the East Lancashire
Company, and thole belonging to the Blackburn and
Darwen Company, which come upon the Lancashire and
Yorkshire rails at Bolton. By a little before twelve
o'clock there were altogether eight trains on the double
lines of rails of the two companies; extending side by
side for more than half a mile. Many of the passengers,
in some alarm, got out of the trains to remonstrate with
the companies' servants, and one party are said to have
sent to Pendleton for a postchaise, threatening an action
for detention. What occurred to break up the blockade
we have not accurately learnt; but we are informed that
the Lancashire and Yorkshire blockading train having
been left in the sole charge of Mr. Blackmore, at a little
before twelve o'clock he withdrew the obstruction, and
the various trains were allowed to pass onwards, fortu-
nately without accident or injury to the passengers,
though it must be confessed to have been a dangerous
experiment.
No doubt the ultimate decision of the matter will, like
most other such disputes, have to come before a civil
tribunal, and furnish employment and funds for the
" gentlemen of the long robe."
It is but fair to say that the servants of the various
companies behaved with admirable temper and coolness,
and that there was no necessity for the interference of
the police.
FURTHER HOSTILE PROCEEDINGS.
(From a Second Edition of the Manchester Examiner.)
In our fifth page we give an account of some novel
proceedings between the managers of these two com-
panies, yesterday, at the Clifton Junction. We had
supposed the acts of hostility had ended here,
but we find that in the evening of yesterday
the East Lancashire Company proceeded to obtain
forcible possession of a hoist belonging to the other com-
pany, at the Salford station, and this led to another
scene of a very exciting and strange character. The
Lancashire and Yorkshire Company sent message,
soon after four o'clock, to the Salfordt!, police-station,
stating that the East Lancashire Company had brought
up a great number of navvies from a distance, armed
with pickaxes, crowbars, shovels, &c., and that they
apprehended a breach of the peace, and desired pro-
tection.
Mr. Neale, chief constable, finding there was truth
in this statement, and that there were sixty or seventy
navvies down at Salford station, belonging to the East
Lancashire Company, and an equal number of the nav-
vies or servants of the other company, sent down a large
body of the police, under Superintendent Taylor, to pre
serve the peace. He also communicated with Captain
Willis, of the Manchester force, to obtain a reinforce-
ment if necessary.
The brief facts of this portion of the dispute are
these:—The Lancashire and Yorkshire Company have
an immense yard for goods in Irwell-street, Salford,
on a level below the railway, where the goods are
first put into the railway waggons, and then hoisted
waggons and all upon the railway. In this yard the East
Lancashire, on payment of toll, have an accommodation
for loading and hoisting their goods on to the line.
It has been customary for the East Lancashire Coms
pany to weigh their goods before passing them for-
ward towards the hoist, and then passing with them
a declaration of particulars. The Lancashire and
Yorkshire then pass the goods over a weighing
machine to test the declaration, and proceed to hoist
the goods. Latterly, however, the East Lancashire
Company have refused to make the declaration until
their
oods have been hoisted on the line. With this
refusal, we have nothing to do; we can only presume, as
parties unmixed up with either of the companies, that
they have, or
this course suppose they have, some legal warrant for
proceeding. Yesterday, however, the
and
Lancashire Yorkshiree Company having given them
notice that they would
not hoist their goods, unless
accompanied with the
;ei
declarationl, the East Lancashire
proceeded to enforce
the t
i hoisting
veiioe
of
radromrist,
obrye
nitheir
own servants ; force being necessary
the Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's
least had possession of the hoist, or atlny's servants, who
waggons the latter had in the way ofsuch
goods and
a proceeding.
It was under these circumstances the servants of the
companies were collected in something -
hostile
the police were called '
array, and that The
East Lancashire Company proceeded to run their car
riages up towards the hoist, and to block up the ap.
preaches, and it was necessary for the Lancashire and
Yorkshire Company's servants to remove these obstruc-
tions before they could proceed with their own work.
For a time the latter suspended operations, but a
little before six o'clock they set to work, at the
-command of Captain Laws, managing director of
the Lancashire and Yorkshire .Railway, to clear away
the obstruction. In doing so, they were resisted by
the East Lancashire Company's navvies. A scene of
gropt excitement followed, each party using their crow-

bars as levers to move or prevent the moving of the
wag-gocr.% The police, oudor the direct'on of chief con-
stabi- Neale, looked on until they feared that blows
were likely to ensue, one of the East Lancashire
men having wielded his weapon or implement
round his head, so that it came rather roughly in
contact with the superintendent of police's arm (though,
it is believed, accidentally, and through the excitement)
and then he gave orders for four of the East Lancashire
men to be taken into custody. These men were locked
up, and here, so far, ended the contest. An amusing
scene occurred on the line above, subsequently ; the
East Lancashire party having brought an engine and
goods train and backed it against the top of the hoist,
leaving it there, with breaks on and engines reversed.
The other party then brought three engines and hooked
them to, dragging away the obstructing engines. The
men here, however, on both sides, exhibited great for-
bearance, and the police did not interfere.
Toe four " navvies" were brought before Mr. Trafford,
and the Mayor of Salford, this morning, when the
former commented in strong language on the conduct of
the parties, who, he said, ought to have been brought
before him; but said he must make those who suffered
themselves to be made their tools responsible, it they
proceeded to a breach of the peace. He discharged three
of the men, however, binding only one of them, Taylor,
over to keep the peace for three months.

RETURNS of the BOARD of TRADE.

The returns of the Board of Trade for the month
ending the sth of February were issued this morning.
As regards exports, they do not maintain the increase
of the preceding three months, the total being 216,5991.
below that of the corresponding period of last year.
Compared with February, 1847, the deficiency, however,
is only 67,3711. It will be observed that the falliug-off
has been principally in iron and steel, which, as well as
machinery, have now for several months been largely on
the adverse side:—