The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-10 00:00:00

-
t

kll

escape, was stopped by a Custom-house off icer,
Santa Lucia drawing a. dagger from his breast, stabbed{
him to the heart, seized the officer's doable-'harrelleil
carbine and cartouche-box, and made off .to the moune-
tains in safety. Reports were then spread,. that the men%
being all dead, the bandits were about to immolate the,
women, and under the impression caused by
li these.:
rumours, on the 20th of November last, Marie
the sister of one of the victims, while going to -the spring
for water; met the Mayor of the commune, who was
alleged to be the protector of the Santa ,Lu Ile
stopped the girl, and made an insulting gesture. towards.
her. Irritated at ilds, and carried away by r n impulse
of revenge for the murder of her brother, s he drew a.
pistol from her dress and shot him (lead o n the spot.
For this act she now made her appearance at the: bar if
the above Court. The circumstances attendiug trier
crime having been proved in evidence, site was, .after
short deliberation, found guilty of murder, without pre-
meditation, but with provocation, and u nder extenu—
ating circumstances. The Court condei nned Marie--
Francois Quilichini to five years' i.mprisonment, and the
costs of the trial, limiting the duration. of im..trin"
ment in default to one year.

RAIL OVA. Y ACCIDE;NTS.
PARIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES'.—SITTING of

APRIL 1.
We have already given an account or a paper rea 3 to
the Academy by M. Piobert, on the ac eidents wl lich
have occurred on railroads, and the importance of an in-
quiry into the means of rendering this mode of com mu-
nication and transport more secure. At, the opening
of this day's sitting, M. Poncelet read the report of
a Committee on M. Piobert's paper, approving of it
generally, and recommending that it should be referred
by the academy to the Government, w ith a view of
directing its attention, in a marked and of ma I manner, to
the important subject under consideration. The reading
of this report led to an animated di icuosion. •
Lionville contended that the course recomr aentled by the
Committee, as regards a reference "to the Gov ernment,
was contrary to the regulations and usai ;e of the Aca-
demy ; but he was replied to with great ei iergy by M.3YI-
- Charles Dupin, and Poncelet, who observed
that the question was one of toa great ianportance for
the academy to hold itself bound by the strict Mtn- of
its regulations, which declare that
shalt not assume
the initiative of advice to the Governm.
but shall offer
its opinion only when called upon by the Government to
give it. If, said these gentlemen, the _Min istry slept
whilst the lives of the people were in clang, tr, it becaree
the Academy to offer its advice even when u narked. This
opinion having prevailed, and the Aca dewy being
almost unanimous as to the propriety of th e course re-
commended by the committee, a long conves .sa tion then
ensued as to whether the Academy should n sere ly direct
the attention of the Government to the acci dents which
have taken place, and the necessity of inquiry into the
means of prevention for the future; or state, in a precise
manner, the means which the Academy considers it
most urgent to adopt. The arguments advanced by the
gentlemen who spoke in support of this s eco'ad pneeposi'
tion prevailed; but it may interest our rea dens to lull
something of the views expressed as to tL'e means o
preventing accidents like those which ha ye been 50
destructive of human life. One of the chief' questi°ll9
discussed was that of breaks. Hitherto all a ttempts te
arrest suddenly and effectually the progress oi" a trail/
by means of breaks, when it is proceeding at a high rate
of speed, have been failures, as every scion titic ors°,
knows they must be considering the impete s egad
which they have to contend. A great deal Was sal
about the superiority of one kind of break ove r another
kind, and some of the speakers charged certa) compa-
nies with culpable negligence in not adopting the • ,break 00
which other companies place full reliance. To rove the
superiority of one of break over another un d, er orcli'
nary circumstances may not be difficult, but to prove,
thatanyktihnadt of break
is would have prevented the fate
collisions
Yen place is beyond the power of
any man, whethe- menlber of the Academy or nn'
There are two r As to be considered in this 4 luestion
of collisions. 'lee first and most important is to esttli
blish such severe regulations as to the manage pent °0
railroads, and such heavy punishments for nef ;ligennv
on the part of the persons employed upon their ~ as
make collision a very rare event. Let it be aorne 1"
mind that a collision never can take place withou .t the c/t-
-istence of culpable neglect. Two trains cannot run into
each other if the time and rate of speed be so .egulsteth
that they can never be in a position to produce such ;
result. To prevent negligence altogether, to r ender
men prudent and careful, is, we know, beyond the porwilr er
directors of railroads, or of the government.. howele
severe the regulations may be. But a great deal inai be
u„r
done in this respect, and we are sorry to say that twit'''.
the directors of companies nor the authorities ha re &,°..no,
all that they were bound to do. One of the icau,l
causes of collisions is the irregularity of the sisslea_7o
which trains proceed. A few minutes are lost u pal (Lud,
portion of a line, and caught up again on another,. ,_4llOl,
consequently, precise calculations as to the time ett 0f,,11,0
this or that portion of a line shall be fre e Oun,,
obstacle are thrown out. More than four yes ti's 110
Mr. Wroughton, a gentleman of London, whowas
actuated by no other motive than humanity, in fen: 0
an ingenious tell-tale, which would' register the' tit
occupied on every portion of the line, and enablse t
director of each station to know whee.c there had blet;
delay, and where unauthorised speed, svD that amp alte
check might be kept on all the driversl, who, ,a
that detection was sure, would be careful not to one-or
This ingenious tell-tale was submitted to the Gove.,o
went, and to two or three railroad companies, but e'
a trial was refused. Our readers will be fig;
tonished when we tell them that, in one instance, ;
aredaospotningaistsiwgnaesdthabtyitowneas of the
vainthe taoutmhaokrietik:s for 11°0
for companies, as they would not be observe:egulLA:tl
sriai.
are not convinced by this argument in the cas,
roads, and can see no reason why laws and reg
should not be made and enforced, we hope t .511Vbe
Government will come to a different decision now.
tit
next point to be considered, since it must be edit be
that, in spite of all laws and regulations, there rua•Le-
negligence on the part of railroad agents, is the pre`.
4
tion of collision by mechanical means when imnseul
danger is at hand. We do not, as we have already ilf
served, think that any kind of break will effectuate
do this ; but within the last two or three days 0
have seen a plan for which an English gentle
named Alexander, but who is a resident of P,side
has taken out patents here, and in other countries, wl"„is
would, we think, prevent at least nine-tenths of the Bo
that a collision now produces. By an admirable we''''nt
nism applied to each railway carriage, the Winos
the collision takes place the ground between to
rails is forcibly grasped, and the impetus of ~„Itr
train is checked. This will not perhaps t°':„o,
prevent injury, nor does even the inventor Oro
such a result, but it will reduce the danger or
the proportion above stated, and will effectually Eich
vent the carriages riding over each other, wbos.
is the most serious consequence of railroad collisiner
We, however, now return to the discussion in the s
dewy. The members who spoke were unanimous 4
opinion that all inventions having the reason of the:d
in their favour should be tried, that the Goverinn—ef
sfiauhtnoi
dou
lotions
for
aansd
ttohthistaht purpose
be liberal
general
mdaukteiesstro in h
stronger
gr
eatrilareon
adadppl a
better ti ornegoir
agents
opinion in which we cordially concur. Thect'rain:lil
cations to the Academy at this sitting were fee
number, and destitute of interest to the public at lary
4:1

•
[ADVERTISEMENT.]—DIBILITY AND WE Atr
EXTRAORDINARY CASE. CURE BY HOLLOWAY'S Fi
Mitchell, of Bristol-road Birmingham, was in that wee 'toll 6ttso;
not to be able to dress herself ; besides which, there was f' She vO,l
pain in the right side, preventing her from lying upon it.. ,1,11 011"
never free from head-aches; appetite and digestion very ; 1,5
her spirits always greatly depressed. Now this lady, ere la br:,
came so extremely ill, visited various watering places, whi irs se:
the best medical advice, but her case baffled the skill a t:0 peL
yet, to the surprise of her family and friends, she is rector, td ,gifw
mancnt health by the use of Holloway's Pills.—Sold by all fir
llden
and at Professor II olloway's Establishment, 244, Strand, IA oft
ADVENTURES IN THE PUNJAB.—Major La virl
the author of this work (which bas already appeart .
second edition) has just been appointed to the importas Irot
bore
of political agent, in charge of British relations with L droultl
We are not surprised that the gallant writer's volumes Poef
be so cordially received by his countrymen, since they cp,ag.
so animated a picture of the Seikh Chiefs, of their larll9 0
and manners, of the country contiguous to the Sutlej, srtetl!
the novel life of a European in this interesting and i rafl,treo
region, where everything presents so remarkable a OP
1,001
to his previous experiences.
Letters from Rome state that a commission is the
to be appointed to proceed to the various provinces tb:
Roman States to inquire into the grievances of whiff,e
people complain, and report the same to the Goverrier
The Russian Minister, M. de Butienoff, has recei,red
gence from Naples that the Empress of Russia, owingjc,"fQf
disposition, has deferred her departure from thtit re,' se
Rome for a few days. The Grand Duke Const
cording to the arrangements at present in conte.re;ll 11°'
will remain in Rome with his illustrious mother 101„--
Pf
departure from thence. His Imperial Highness the he r. 74
poses proceeding to Toulon and Brest, from wheal°, rettr,
pairs to Plymouth, and then sails for Stettin on .11's,;s1 P's,;
to St. Petersburgh. The Empress and all the 1mP,',.,"0
mily are to be assembled in the Russian capitilL h-neo7-4
national fete day, the Ist of July. Their Imperial IL bee;
Prince and Princess Peter of Oldenburgb, who 1/1.,/- fo'7o,
passing the winter in Italy, are expected at Rothe
to the north. Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg Ntais
Lisbon on the 23d ult. for Rome.

------------=w-v---
tO°
MA, Arillf
On the Ist inst., at Zierow, inTHS
Mecklenburgh Schflit ,„.
Baroness de Biel, of a daughter. P
'Pr
On the 2d inst., at Bellevue, Horsforth, near Leal°,
shire, the lady of H. G. Baker, Esq., of a daughter. ~ Co.'
On the sth inst., at Woodside, Liverpool, Mrs. J 017"
lf . i
michael, of a son. Pi
On the 6th inst., in Oxford-terrace, Hyde-park, tie
of John Gregory Forbes, Esq., of a daughter. to
vo ii,
On the 6th inst., at Ibstone House, the lady of P. 'T of
ton, Esq., of a son. life
On the Gth i-st. ' Albion-street, Hyde-park, the' r,

Jr, le _ inst., in aion-o—
the Rev. W. D. French, of a daughter.
On the 6th inst., at Doncaster, the wife of the 11°11' ‘l‘
of
W. Woodyeare, of a son. lite
On the 7th inst., at Amen-court, St. Paul's, t.'6

the Rev. W. J. Hail, of a son

MARRIED. Chols6s'
On the 4th inst., at Trinity Church, Upper tstigh
el
W. Earl, Esq., of Hampstead-heath, to Clara, der 4,i
of Captain Siborne, of the Royal Military Asyluni.

val
On the 4th inst., at OdeD
llIE) Castle, the Right-Will' of
Elizabeth Perceval, aged 83.
On the 20th of January, at the Island of Bourbon
Baroness de Maydill, the lady of the late Colonel -I°
Maydill.
On the sth inst., at Salisbury, Mr. C. SquaroY:„ 130 et
On the sth inst., Sarah Powell, wife of Mr. tx• $O4.
Carey-street, Lincoln's Inn-fields. old '
* f 0
On the 7th inst., at Upton, Essex, R. Foster Reirelica
On the 7th inst., in Canonbury-square, pyiary,e**,
Lane, Esq., aged 76- --jll
prl°1:141
1 o ern; Y'rrPT)o ~-in toe -
Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, 0,112, straw.,
of the Savoy, in the County of laiddleseZ,
10, 1548.