The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-11 00:00:00

~ / ~
//~----,~ jr.

/L-'

RAILWAY TRAFFIC OF THE
PAST YEAR.
The increase of revenue for the year 1846 over that
of 1845 (says the Railway Chronicle) has been most
satisfactory. The gross receipts have considerably ex-
ceeded a million of pounds sterling. Upwards of 900,0001.
of this amount have been yielded in the following pro-
portions by the undermentioned companies:—

Total of
1815.

Total of
1546.

[ncrease
on the
whole
year.

949
170,789
00,232
69,583
119,094
49,495
1,284
52,563
88,369
15,030
42,476
45,073
76,400
137,344

The only company whose revenue has be.-n materially
affected in a different direction has been the Dublin and
Kingstown; and here we regret to remark a decrease on
the year of upwards of 3,9001. The greatest per tentage
of increase has been on the Norfolk, a line whose traffic
is almost wholly agricultural. Is fares are very mode-
rate, and its traffic principally what may be called
" short." On this railway, though there has been only
an addition of 11 miles to a line already 59 miles in
length, there has been the enormous increase of upwards
of 135 per cent. So much for encouraging agricultural
traffic in a.thinly populated district! Let us hint to the
Great Western, and to the South-Western likewise, to
ponder on this fact. On the York and North Midland
the increase has been 86 per cent., the mileage extended.
from 53 to 162 miles. On the Sheffield and Mancheshz,
with a mileage increased from 19 to 49 miles, the in-
crease has been upwards of 82 per cent. The Next
greatest increase, and great it is, considering the pro-
portionate amount of mileage, 124 miles in 1844 and
161 miles in 1846, is on the Eastern Counties; here we
find the increase to be as much as 62 per cent. On the
South• Eastern the mileage has increased from 88 to 140,
and the increase in the traffic has been 23 per cent. The
London, Brighton, and South Coast traffic has increased
15 per cent., with mileage from 60 to 'll2 during the
latter part of the year. That of the Manchester and
Leeds has increased 16 per cent., with mileage extended
from 84 to 117. On the. Midland the increase has been
11 per cent. On the London and North-Western and
Great Western each 7 per cent., with increased mileage
on each of some 20 miles. On the South-Western 'tbe
traffic has been nearly stationary as to_ receipts.,-,W4 a
-slight advance however ; as to numbers' of passengera,
the increase has been considerable, occasioned 'by the
liberal reduction of fares, to which the company adhered,
even with decreasing receipts, for a long period. If we
make the required deduction for working expenses and
for extensions opened, we shall find the increased
value of the old railways over last year amounting to
about fifteen millions sterling ; a fact which sufficiently
shows the absurdity of the present depressed value of
such property in the markets

HORRIBLE ACCIDENT ON THE

SOUTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.

We regret to have to announce that an accident of a
very frightful character, and attended with fatal con-
sequences, occurred at the Weybridge station on the
South-Western line, on Saturday evening. The following
are the partictilare of Ahis melancholy affair:—Amongst
the passengers by the half-past five P.n. train from Nine
Elms, was an elslerlse-person of respectable appearance,
and wh6rdwe understand has been since identified as the
schoolmaster at the Chertsey Union. This person had
paid his fare to•Weybridge, which is the nearest station
to Chertsey, but it seems.that on the train arriving there
at twenty minutes past six o'clock, although the name of
the station was called out repeatedly, and several pas-
sengers had alighted, the deceased, who was seated at
the extreme end of a second-class carriage, and most
probably dozing, did not become aware of • thefact until
after the train was in motion, when he instantly opened
the door and jumped out, and as the other passengers
thought, had alighted in safety, as the train had not then
cleared the platform. The result, however,' was not so.
Whether the deceased had failed to lose his hold
of the carriage, or had got any portion of his dress en-
tangled with it, is not known, but it is quite 'certain that
he must have been speedily thrown down between the
platform and the metals, and dragged several yards, as
at the spot where he had attempted to get out was found
the iron heel tip of one of his boots, firmly driven into
the edge of the platform, and from thence, for nearly
twenty yards, the brickwork was grazed and besmeared
with blood. The servants in attendance at the station
had no intimation of an accident having occurred, until
one of the passengers, crossing the rails after the train
had left, heard a groan, and, when the porters proceeded
to the spot, they found the deceased lying upon his face,
and as they approached him, he turned over and expired.
The sight that presented itself was of the most horrible
and sickening kind. The left leg and thigh had been
torn away from the hip, the right leg was broken in three
places, and the foot was all but separated. The deceased
was conveyed to the station, and the attendance of a
surgeon procured as speedily as possible; but, of course,
his services were of no avail. The body was afterwards
taken to the Hand and Spear Tavern, adjoining the
station; but the landlord refused to receive it. Mr
Keene, the governor of 11 orsemonger-lane gaol, was in
the same carriage with deceased, and he, with other
gentlemen, concur in stating that the servants of the
company were not in any way blameable.

SURGICAL UPERATIONS BY THE'
INHALATION OF ETHER.
The following particulars, connected with the intro-
duction of the recently-discovered .ethereal influence:to
patients in the course of undergoing surgical operations
at several of the metropolitan hospitals on Saturday,
and which was generally adopted at those institutions on
that day, will doubtless be read with considerable in-
terest.
Mr. Ferguson, the eminent surgeon of King's College
Hospital, having signified his intention of operating on
three patients by the inhalation of ether in that institu-
tion, the theatre was crowded by members of the medical
profession, amongst whom were Drs. Forbes, Todd,
Rudd, Farrar, Pabridge, Avery, Bowman, Drewett,
Hall, Thompson, Robinson, Cartwright, Stevens, and
others. The first patient operated upon was a young
woman, a sempstress. She had been admitted on the
31st ult., suffering severely from an abscess formed by
constantly sitting at needlework. It was the second time
it had so formed. It appears that she had it opened on
Thursday, and the operation rendered necessary on Sa-
turday was the removal of what was described to be a
blind external fistula. The young woman when brought
in had a handkerchief tied over her eyes, and seemed
exceedingly weak. Having been placed on a kind
of couch, the inhalation of the vapour was proceeded
with, and in a few seconds she fell asleep. Dr. Forbes,
perceiving Mr. Ferguson was about commencing the
operation, observed that the patient was not effectually
etherised, adding, as a proof of his assertion, that she
still clenched his hand. In the next moment, however,
the knife had completed its work, without a murmur
from the patient, or the least muscular action. The
apparatus was only kept to her mouth till insensibility
was apparent, not more thsn two minutes. She recoi
vered to a state of consciousness immediately after the
operation. On Mr. Ferguson asking her if she was aware
the operation was performed, and whether she felt any
pain, she replied that she was confident she felt the use
of the knife, but experienced not the slightest pain.
Two other patients (nr,les), who evidently were suffer-
ing severely, were next operated upon with equal suc-
cess. One of them, on recovering from his insensibility,
remarked that he had had a dream.
On Saturday the inhalation was tried by Mr. Mac-
murdo, at St. `Thomas's Hospital, in the presence of Mr
Green, Dr. Barker, Dr. Leeson, Mr. Clark, Mr.
W hitfield, and other gentlemen connected with the in-
stitution.
Tne effects of the ether were first tried on a patient
who is to be operated on hereafter. The inhalation,
although continued for upwards of three minutes, did
not produce insensibility on the patient first tried, and
the amount of cerebral. congestion, contracted iris, and
other symptoms, were so unsatisfactory as to induce the
medical gentlemen to desist. The next patient was a
child, six years old, who had a scrofulous disease of the
index finger. Insensibility was speedily produced, and
Mr. Macmurdo immediately removed the finger. The
child did not attempt to withdraw the hand during the
operation, and on recovering asked if his finger was oft
He did not seem cognisant of the fact, and when asked
if the finger should then be removed, answered " No."
The child seemed to suffer no subsequent inconvenience,
neither did the patient to whom the ether was first ad-
ministered. On the whole the result was considered
very satisfactory.
At Charing-cross Hospital an operation was attempted
under the influence of ether. It was the removal of s
large fatty tumour over the shoulder of a young woman,
twenty-two years of age. It is difficult for the writer to
state whether the non-success of the trial arose from th
defective construction of the apparatus,or
No doubt in course of time this
in the vapour
not acting upon the constitution of the female.
edrousiscover
will be brought into general use
hos-
pitals throughout the kingdom. valuablethenum

EXPERIMENTS WITH QUARTER-MASTER FREB.
BURN'S CONCUSSION SITELL£I.—The select committee
having reported in favour of the adoption of these shells
in the service, but the Lords Commissioners of the Ad•
miralty having a predilection in favour of metal fuses
over those made as in the present case with wood, a
trial was ordered at Portsmouth, which took place on
Thursday and Friday last in the presence of Captain
Chads, R.N., Major Lethbridge, R.A , Major Stevens,
R.M.A., and other officers. One hundred') and twenty'
shells were fired on both days. On the first day fifty- •
five shells were fired—thirty from an 8-inch gun of
ninety-six cwt., with a full charge of 151bs. of powder,
and twenty-five from a 32-pounder of fifty cwt. The
shells were fired at a range of 2,450 yards, and at an ele-
vation of 20i degrees. Ten of the shells struck the
i target, of which nine burst, on striking, and one did not
burst; one burst in flight, and of the remainder no ac-
count was taken, as the height of the angle at which the
shells were fired, and the great length of range, rendered ,
the task of hitting the target a very critical one. iThessj j
fuses have hitherto proved highly satisfactory, whilst- ..
their small cost must recommend them for general use,
the expense of preparing them being only three half-
pence, whilst the brass fines cost 6s, 6d. each.
Macready has been fulfilling short engagements at
Canterbury and Exeter. Hinry Betty is announced
to appear at Canterbury on Thursday next; Jan. 14,
in the character of ltiehard the Third, and afterwards
proceeds to Exeter atrd Devcuport, previous to his par.
.
foruung at the Surrey Theatre on Monday, Feb. 22.