The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-17 00:00:00

TUE SUN, LONDON, '1 UESDAY, NOVEMBER 17. 1810.

LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM

RAILWAY.

INQUEST ON THE BODIES AT HARROW
An inquest on the bodies of the parties killed by
the recent collision on the London and Birmingham
Railway was held at the Queen's Arms, at Harrow, be-
fore Mr. Wakley, the Coroner, and a respectable jury.
One of the deceased was named Simpson, and the other
was William Dawson.
The Coroner and jury retired to view the bodies.
Both the deceased appeared about 33 years of age.
They were not much mangled, nor was there much
blood about their persons. The Coroner had the Jury
re-sworn over the bodies. Mr. Benjamin Rotch, the
Magistrate of Middlesex, was appointed Foreman to
the Jury.
Mr. Creed, the Secretary of the London and Bir-
mingham Railway Company, Mr. Bedford, the Super-
intendent of the Police on the line, and other gentle-
men connected with the railway were in attendance at
the ion.
Mr. WAKLEY in addressing the Jury said, the in-
quiry they were about to make was most important.
The casualty into which they had to inquire, had ex-
cited a more than ordinary degree of attention, and the
excitement of the public respecting the inquiry was
very great. But he was sure the Jury would dismiss
from their minds all they had heard about the accident ;
they wAid remember they had to act under the sanc-
tion of an oath, and give an impartial decision on the
evidence which had been laid before them. For him-
self he had not read anything about the accident, and
knew nothing of it. He would proceed to state the
law relative to accidents. The law which had been laid
down respecting accidents during the inquest which
was held at the London and Southampton Rail-
way was most dangerous, and he was anxious to
disabuse the public mind on the matter. It had
been said at that inquest that persons were not under
the control of a Coroner's Jury, from accident which
might have been occasioned through their neglect of,
or inattention to their duty. If this wera the law it
ought to be immediately altered ; but it was not the
law, for when fatal results ensued through the non-per-
formance of duties., that party neglecting the duties
was strictly responsible to the law. If this were not
the case, what would be the position of the R tilway
Directors Every person connected with a railway
was responsible to the law, whether he was Chairman
of the Directors or merely a labourer on the line. He
had no doubt, and no hesitation whatever in saying
that where a party had been guilty of gross neglect of
duty, so as to occasion the death of another, that party
in the eye of the law would be guilty of murder. If
this were not the case, any person receiving notice of
dismissal might out of revenge to the Directors cause
an accident, and so injure the railway. Mr.
Wakley went on to refer to a charge delivered by
the Lord Chief Justice of the Pleas, in 1837, in
which he laid down that any person driving a car-
riage improperly or negligently, or furiously, and there-
by occasioning the death of another, would in the eye
of the law be guilty of murder. He was most anxious
that it should be known that the law was wide enough
and strong enough to reach any man guilty of gross
neglect of duty. He was rather surprised to find that
according to the law of deodand, no deodand could be
inflicted on a man causing the death of another by mis-
adventure ; but, if the death, for instance, was caused by
a carriage belonging to another party, a deodand could
be placed on tbat. This was a strange state of the
law. He was sure the Jury would investigate the
matter which had been brought before them with the
attention that it so imperatively demanded.
James Bradburn was called. He said, lam an en-
gine-driver on the London and Birmingham Railway.
I drive the engine No. 15 ; it has no name. 1 live in
Camden-town. I was at the Harrow station on Thurs-
day evening. I was giving a message to the clerk in
doors : this was about ten minutes past. I heard the
engines coming along, I was rather late in getting to
wy engine. I saw the engine No. 82 flung out of the
road.

The Foreman suggested that as the man was away
from the engine he should be cautioned as to what he
said.

Mr. WAKLEY said it was the custom to caution peo-
ple, but it was wrong ; it was like advising the man nut
to say what might implicate himself'. This was humane
to the individual, but unjust to the public. He did not
feel himself strong enough to depart from the custom,
say
Tah7. thing thatss p
rtoveoeuel
dd
erde ftloe c tvioyn
thhi ma
ts el
thet.
and therefore he would tell the witness that he need not
goods' train
was attached to the engine No. 82.
CORONER—Whom do you think is to blame for this
accident ?—I blame Simpson, the dead engineer, who
belonged to No. 82, for he did not shut off his steam as
he ought to have done, and as the driver of No. 1 had
done. I know Simpson did not shut off his steam, for I
heard his engine beat as I came up. It Simpson had
seen no signal to shut off, I admit he was not to blame.
The driver of the first engine should have seen a red
light a little way down oil the line tram a
and next at the station. I saw the red lights at the sta-
tion before I left my engine, and 1 thought all was safe.
CORONER—.What means has the driver of the first
engine to warn the driver of the second that there is
danger? Witness—His whistle. 1 heard no whistle
that evening. lam sure none was blown ; but the
driver of the second engine could easily have seen the
red light. It is five years since I was first employed on
the Birmingham line. I was first a ballast engine
driver. I was perfectly sober the whole of Thursday.
If we were caught intoxicated on or off the line, we
should be at once dismissed. We are all sure of this
if drunk on duty, but I am not quite sure about what
they would do it they caught us off duty.
Foreman—Perhaps the Directors do not see you
when you are off duty ? Witness—Perhaps so. An
engineer is liable to be fined when he leaves his engine
on the line. The fine will be 10s, or 55., according to
what he is after.
CORONER—It is clear that this man was entirely in a
new position on Thursday.
Mr. Thomas Hewlett, surgeon, of Harrow, was next
examined, and deposed to being called to see the bodies
of the sufferers on Thursday evening. He described
the injuries as follows :—Simpson has received a com-
pound comminated fracture of both bones of the left
leg, comminuted simple fractures of both thighs. The
scrotum crushed, and several wounds about the head.
Dawson—compound fracture of both bones of the right
leg and ancle joint. The bones of the pelvis broken,
and the head much crushed. Death was caused by
these injuries, which, no doubt, was instantaneous.
William Finch, a fireman attached to the engines No.
69 and 90—He was employed on No. 15 on Thursday,
because No. 90 had broken down. When Bradburn
went to the Queen's Arms to order bread and beer and
cheese for 46 men at work on Woodcock-hill, he left
me on the engine opposite the station, with orders
to move away if 1 saw a train coming up.
hadHe dl
eift ntohte s aeyng
ihnoew
an l odn ggolntee sihnotouldthbee
stTtvi
Oyn.-houllsee
several times that day before. The clerk of the
station-house was with us the last time we came down.
I had not been there more than two minutes when May,
the porter, said there was a train coming on. I moved
on towards the bridge a little. May cried out again,
If you don't move on the train will be into you." I
turned my head round, and seeing no chance of escaping
if I remained on, I shut off the steam and jumped off.
That was a dozen yards at this side of the bridge. Be-
fore the train came up there were red lights hoisted at
the station, and the policeman had raised a red light.
There was no light but that of the fire at the train.
The collision then took place, and No. 82 was turned
over wiih several of the waggons.
Martin Brown examined—l am an engine driver
on the London and Birmingham Railway, and re-
side at Wolverton. I had charge of engine No. 1,
on the day of the accident, and came in front
of the luggage train, in the charge of the deceased
'Simpson, from the Wolverton station—that is about
46 miles from Harrow. He started from Wolverton
about a quarter before four o'clock. On our way up,
one down train passed us. It was a passenger train.
There was no light on that train to warn us of any dan-
ger on the road. I think about six o'clock we came
within from a quarter to half a mile of Harrow station. I
then saw that the red lights were up. I did not see them
before, although I kept a good look out. I cannot ac-
count for why I did not see them before in any other way
than that there ssas a fog between us and the station. I
saw no other signal but the red lights. I knew by that
there was some obstruction, and I immediately gave a
signal to the deceased Simpson, who had charge of No.
82 engine. The signal I gave him was by opening the
valve of my engine. I repeated it once or twice, but I
don't know whether Simpson saw it. He ought to
have done so. I never sounded the whistle. The
signal 1 gave was one of danger, and when I gave itd
Simpson ought to have shut off his steam, and reversed
his engine, and used every other means to
.stop. I did
so off his steam at
so myself ; but Simpson did not s
all. if lie had done so there would have been plenty
of time after I gave the signal for us to have
heard
vvestopped
before arriving at the Harrow station.
broken
nothing whatever of a luggage train Navin;l
down on our arrival at Watford. Having shut off my
steam and reversing the engine, I had the break also
jkps lutIut
down by the stoker and kept a look out myself.
approached Harrow station I saw an engine on before
me, but 1 could not tell if it was moving or not. As
we approached nearer a collision appeared to meinevi-
table,ad and I slung myself on the step of the engine
jumped off. I 'nave seen both, bodies of the deceased
persons, and I can identify them as the bodies of Daw-
son
and Simpson.
By the CORONER.—Simpson had charge of the train.
I consider it no obstruction whatever to his sight that
an engine and tender was before him. I speak from
experience. In my opinion I could see the signals
just as well in one engine as another.
At this stage of the proceedings, it being five o'clock,
the inquiry was adjourned till Thursday morning next,
at nine o'clock.
T. —1; Id 11

he Dowager Countess of Clarendon wi :e.
main some time longer on a visit, 'to Lord and Lady M 4ry,
borough, at Deal Castle, Kcnt,