The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-27 00:00:00

S 111Nr JANU AR 27, 184,6 piticE SD.
LNDON: T UESDAY
.
• 4
=

OTICE.-ALTERATION OF TIME AND
LN REDUCTION OF FARES. GRAVESEND for 6d. or 9d., A
boat and railway included. The STAR and ELACKWALL
PACKETS are now running at the above reduced fares from the
Brunswick Biackwall, at 9%, 10%, 12, 1%, 3%, and 5.
anndays, 12 and '3% excepted. From the New Terrace Pier,
Gravesend, at 8%, 9%, 11% 1,2%, and 5. Sundays 9% and 1 ex-
cepted. Fare : Fore Cabin and Second Class Railway, 6d.; Saloon
and First Class, 9d.
• Star Office, Gravesend, Oct. 11, 184

NATIONAL LOAN FUND LIFE ASSUR-
ANCE SOCIETY,
26, CORNIIILL, LONDON.
Capital 1t.500,000.
Empowered by Act of Parliament.
This institution offers important and substantlia advan-
tages with respect both to Life ASSUTSZICCB and Deferred Annuities.
The assured has, on all occasions, the power to borrnv, without ex-
pense or forfeiture of the Policy, two-thirds of the premium paid,
(see table); also the option of selecting benefits, and the conversion
of his interests to meet other conventmces or necessity. Assurances
fur terms of years are granted
IO on
OF the lower
t possible rates.
DIVISN P.O.OFIT::.
The success and increasing prosperity of tte Society has enabled
the Directors, at the last annual investigation, to declare a third
Bonus, varying from 30 to 76 per cant. on the premiums paid on
each Policy effected on the Profit scale,
EXAMPLES

i
rn ' "4 Bonus
i Premium. ° • 3en" l'a .50
!.,' arided. Cash. 5 0 i o
......_ --- -----
I 1837 £l9l 13 5 .f. 87 13 5 213 17 1.395 I 1 1
61 100 S 74 3 4 1838 165 13 0 74 13 10 11 8 6 346 2 3
1 1 • 1839 138 13 6 61 14 3 92 10 296 13 4
'lB4O 89 0 0 41 13 4 68 0 247 4 5

The dtvisioa of profits is annual, and the next wUI be made in 13e-
comber of the present year.

F. FERGUSON (1 A WirROTTX, gt.*•

THE TONTINE LIFE ASSURANCE
COMPANY.
(Pre visionall y Reg i s ered.)
Capital 2,000,0001., in 100,000 Shares of-20/. each.
Deposit, in compliance with the provisions of the statute 7 and S
Viet., c. 110, Two Shillings per Share, until the complete Registra-
tion of the Company, when the same will be increased to li. per
Share, which, with the assistance anticipated from the Tontine De-
partment, will, it is expected, be sufficient to carry out the object's
of the Company.
The plan of this Company offers considerable and peculiar advan-
tages to the Shareholders, as in addition to the profit arising from
Life Assurance transactions, it is proposed to raise a capital of
1,000,4001., or more, by the grant of Tontine Annuities, in classes
to be regulated by the ages of the .Subscribers or their Nominees ;
which capital, on the death of the survivor in each class, will he
divided exclusively among the Shareholders. The principle of the
Tontine Annuities is explained below.
TRUSTEES.
John Elijah Blunt, Esq., 4, NEW-SqUATC, Lincoln's Inn
John Conolly, Esq., M.D., Lawn-house, Hanwell
James Martin, Esq., 68, Lombard-street.
PROVISIONAL DIRECTORS.
John Elijah Blunt, Esq., 4, New-square, Lincoln's Inn
Walter Wyndham Burrell, Esq., Knepp Castle, near Horsham, and
5, Richmond-terrace, Whitehall
John Charritie, Esq., Moorgate-street Chambers, City
John Conolly, Esq., M.D., Lawn house, Hanwell
John More Douglas, Esq., Belvedere-read, Lambeth
Walter Etty, Esq., Lombard-street Chambers
Edward Hamilton, Esq., M.D., Grafton-street, Piccadilly
William Henderson, Esq., 16, Bishosentte-street Within
Hector Monro, Esq., Walsham le Willows, Suffolk
Savile Craven Henry Ogle, Esq., 31. P., 84, Eaton-square, Pimlico.
Ambrose Frederick Proctor, Esq., Ware, Herts
C ode Taylor, Esq., LL.D., Fleet-street
Joins Alfred Trimmer, Esq., Haslemere, Surrey
Forbes Winslow, Esq., M.D., Sussex-house, Hammersmith.
BA/meas.—Messrs. Martin, Stone, and Martins, 68, Lombard-street.
SOLICITOR—WiIIiam Dimes, Esq., 46, Lincoln's Inn-fields.
MEDICAL AND SURGICAL REFEREES.
Thomas Caitaway, Esq., F.R.C.S., Wellington-street, Southwark
James Copland, Esq., M.D.. F.R.S., &c., &c., Old Burlington street.
DISTRICT MEDICAL REFEREES IN LONDON.
William Preston Lauder, Esq., 31. D., F.R.8.E., Sloane-street,
Knightsbridge
Edward Lloyd, Esq., M.D., Jewin street, City
Walter Hayle Walsh, Esq., M.D., Professor of Pathology at Univer-
sity College, Upper Charlotte-street, Fitzroy-square.
CONSULTING AcTuAar—David Jones, Esq., Author of " Tables on
Annmtes," &c., King William-street, City.
ACTUARY AND SECRETARY—Wini= Clark, Esq.
Temporary Offices, No. 16, Lincoln's Inn-fields.
It is unnecessary in this Prospectus, to enlarge upon the advan-
tages of Lite Assurance, or its adaptation to most of the exigencies
and relations in life. These benefits have been so extensively pub-
lished, that they are already well understood and appreciated.
This Company is formed for granting every description of Life
Assurance, Annuity, and Endowmentr; Loans either for long or
short periods to persons effecting Assurances, upon receiving satis-
factory security for the payment of, premium and interest, and the
repayment of the principal, by instalments or otherwise, as may be
agreed; also for the purchase of Reversionary Interests, Policies of
Assurance, and every other Oescription of property.
Persons borrowing money of the Company, upon approved se-
curity, and effecting a policy of Assurance for the amount bor-
rowed, will not be called upon for the repayment of the loan, so
long as the interest and premium are regularly paid. Thus a party
borrowing 1,0081. upon security of his estate, and an assignment of
a policy on his life, would at his decease leave his estate unencum-
bered, the sum assured being applied by the Company to repay its
t' Tame,
The premiums are based upon data derived from the most recent
and authentic sources, presenting a moderate and equitably-adjusted
scale.
One of the principal objects of the Company is to assimilate its
benefits as nearly as possible to those of Mutual Assurance
Societies, with the additional gem 7of a subscribed capital. With
this view, four-fifths of the profit* Wittig from Policies affected by
parties on the terns of particip, ion will be divided every three
years, after the first five years, nnioug those who assure for the
whole term of life. The sum eo divided among the Assured to be
applied to the reduction of the itnnaal premium, or added to the
sum assured as bonus, or paid in present value, at tke option of the
Assured.
Parties may also effect the assurance by payment of one-half only
of the premiums for a stipulated term of years—the interest upon
the unpaid portion of the premiums, at the rata of 5 per cent. per
annum, being annually paid in advance. Upon payment of the
arrest of the premiums, the Assured will be entitled to a fall parti-
cipation of the profits.
For persons who may wish to assure for short periods, or for the
whole of life, without participation in the profits, a scale has been
adopted, which is as moderate as it *an be rendered consistently with
the interests of the Coinpany.
The Assured may at all times borrow an amount equal t• the value
of the policy, on its security.
In all the transactions of the Company the utmost liberality will
be exercised.
Life Assurances will be effected with all the advantages to the
assured afforded by the most respectable established companies.
A Table of Premiums will shortly be published.
TONTINE ANNUITIES.
This Company, in submitting the subject of Tontine Annuities to
the public, is influenced by the belief that there are many persons,
who from the hope of longevity, and the desire of ease and affluence
as they progress through life, will gladly avail themselves of this
mode of investment ;—by which they will secure a large remunera-
tive and increasing income, guaranteed to them by the Company
during their own lives or the lives of their nominee.
The following is an illustration of the principle of the Tontine An-
nuities :—lf 1,000 persons subscribe 1001. each, they or tkeir respec-
tive nominees, being of an age to enter the class in which the an-
nuity granted is 61. per cent. per annum, each subscriber or nominee
will, during the continuance of all the lives, receive an annuity of 6/. ;
but as the lives drop, the share of the deceased parties will be
divided among the survivors, until they are reducto six.. eash of
whom will then receive 1,0001. per annum for life but as they re-
spectively die off, the 1,0001. per year which the deceased party re-
ceived will fall into the funds of the Company, for the benefit of the
shareholders ; and so in proportion for a larger or smaller number of
subscribers or their nominees.
This mode of investment will place it in the power of almost every
individual, at some period of life, by prudently and legitimately ap-
propriating a comparatively small sum of money, which in niftily in-
stances would he otherwise uselessly expended, to secure indepen-
dence and comfort in their declining years.
Parents may also by these means provide for their children.
Wealthy relatives for their poorer relations.
Applications for Shares, in the following form, to be directed to
Clihar4,. 'Barker, Esq., No. 46, Lincoln's Inn-fields :
To the Directors of the Tontine Life A/misrules Company.
Gentlemen,--I request you to allot me Shares in this
Company: and I hereby agree to accept the same, or any less nem-
ti.en=oalln.''atnmPaalsnod tot° execute the thdeoPV•eitd of Two
TZtotlSei'llmenlintgosf Pt:
tar
Company when required to do se.

Name • • • • • • • •
Prottoston or Business
Referanoe .. • . -- •• • • • •

PUBLICATIONS.

MAUNDER'S POPULAR TREASURIES,

Recently published, price 10s. each volume, bound in cloth, or 12s.
bound in embossed leather, gilt edges, New Editions of
MR. MAUNDER'S FOUR TREASURIES,
1. BIOGRAPHICAL. TREASURY;
2. SCIENTIFIC and LITERARY TREASURY ;
3. HISTORICAL TREASURY ; and
4. TREASURY of KNOWLEDGE, and Library of Reference.
London ; Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans.
IFIENRY RUSSELL'S NEW SONGS.
" Man the Life boat."
" The Slave Ship."
•"Phe Sea-Kings Burial."
" The Struggle for Fame."
" Little Fools and Great Ones."
" The Three Despots." (Ignorance, Intolerance, and War.)
" Last night Mr. Henry Russell gave one of his celebrated enter-
tainments, in which he introduced no less than six new composi-
tions. Amongst them, though all beautiftd, we think The Life
Boat.' The Struggle for Fame.' "The Feast of the Despots,' end
• The Slave Ship,' to be amongst the most striking, original, and
effective of any of his compositions. Of the poetry of most of them,
taken from Mr.' Charles Mackay's well-known • Legends of the
lees,' it is not necessary to speak; a crowded audience received
them with such repeated exclamations of delight as must have satis-
fied the eminent vocalist that he had added greatly to his rising and
well deserved reputation by Hodgson,pMng Paper.
Published by Addison and 2lO, Regent-street, London.

hit t 1)-.,
litt ,
~ S HFkL-ALL,
ritzt,,,tilz,l,4,cl,_t it RR ATEDEMBROCATION,
or he kki tier" Teed,. i. 6 out f
~ the , brei. nese or rheumatism, lumbago. pains in the
"Mlle, Joints ~"4, h',4 sciatic and paralytic affections, face-ache,
the e,.,. It to like e5,1.J,12 and scalds, spasms and cramp, stiffness
a re'Whins°3" or 8,"Ilic ,„frozen limbs, chilblains before they are
OneeTt_rean,.,,e three,' %fallible cure fer that dangerous disorder,
to "•4CD'ir •-''eatlfze -' 14 which it was never known to fail after
110 Ztcb...hotlje That no l;,
ohmic,:" 95 Ics,(ltate3-4,,ean be genuine unless the Stamp affixed
.: 'abeti: • - rrin 'la Name sad Address • BARCLAY and
kr h;,*, late ; article &o-street, who have purchased the property
bar `tie; and' Withf• M the executors of the Inventor, William
IP4 ithd tom ard, Wilts.-Retail price, Is. lid. and 2s. 9d.
c°4l*.r• r4tail• h3r all respectable medicine venders in
Itßpr,
...i_jOivi f
ran COUGH in TEN MINUTES
n
4.., ott,„ R. T,,,,,,._,ter use is insured by
'l'• Cenwellre 0-i-I`,,,X.'S PULMONIC WAFERS.
Ds ' t4tin tan "a •"'ula, from Mr. W. Barton, APOtheaarlasi
'rtieni 'Men ' gr cider
-eh -sir, ,
_--Ifetir , e, dated March 1, 1645 :-
Are els., a„11 old ge "
fl Aft"
glYe great satisfaction ; one case in
or lltiotai., on 7......., who for years has been afflicted with
,leil'te Ilse'. methiciries lad quiet night's rest, had used very many
Pis ',Well e.;(ince h began ell as medical prescriptions, but all were
cite Nile ik. lie sleeps FOURTEE
-341 e gele LocockWafers, he feels himself NTH EDITION of the SILENT FRIEND on Human
Frailty, with Coloured Engravings.
elk 8/.1.... Psl at ight, and is quite refreshed„in
(42; ring ae,f4(S and p.,, (Siged) " WILLIAM ItswreiN.
Liri-Ecea.,22... 621., free by post (in &sealed envelope) 3s. 6d.,
NTT FRIEND AI dial Work on
;a e c
iiiivt•-N-, stret,
_ril spEldurAs they are invaluable for
else vete, 1, Itili.,, 2s. 9d., and l'ls pa-
ilin, attld (14 1.1. lL:rrimg the Voic,e •th r es, most pleasant
the System n both sexes ; and OR the loss
Jest pHubßlishsedi
rictiv:eOwners, with means of restoration. The baneflil
PR
"alio, Fleet-street,. Ilrdon •
e-Agents : Da .1_ -
mg by an me- offfethotse roeflitadiage ea, &c., are fully pointed :at; Illustrated by En-
TO kit.
ings • followed by observations ononsmtieggtiargeons,
I,endon.
rse4-.... PROTens ' the Intl
.----
graving.;
' L pERRY and Co., (-•,'
their residence
0 11
they ti- ' r°11.03,1 ti II 229 STRAND, Log:oo.N. •
Y . and
L.
Authors,
Published b. 7 and may be had at the
OXFORD-STREET.
Doncaster September 26th, 'S q.
In tiERNERS-STREET,
w • Hannay and C., 63, Ox-,
tiro that the ng Particulars h '
liblicati 3 blight be ave been handed to us withlf ,•-• -, y strange 21, Paternoster-re ,
h t et • Purkiss Compton-
.. en. ~. forwarded to you with permission for /34. 16-
Gordon,l46, Leulen all's
Oxford-street;l.e and d all Booksellers.
ttet 11za you Should deem them worthy of such. fore-stredf, ; d
Ti,
0, as a work
er, *At heth B Sanger an C 0.,,
trmt.'
8'4161
preen the t e
-lie a fort . rearle3, reed, J. BROOKE and Co., Doncaster. work bef
3 441 We regard 44-$ al views of a series of complaint,
the fled to 3 and art_ _ ng in Duke-street, Doncaster, agedest clear and by a majority of the me-
l'tol)cWer el," bed fof.' was
severely afflicted with Rheumatism and embraeing in e-.; and passed over
1 sto know. We must
e 40, - lift he a Period of nearly two months with ear' cel hitherto little underaw.ef4
t' son we are at a _O2
ft
such
a faveurable
ilib, ea bf BLUR, r arm ;she was signally ' e .3' %cal rofession, for wba ree
f this work has le su The't bee boS GOUT and benefited after taking d P
that a Paril64 o .only recommend, but cordially RHEUMATIC PILLS, and after however confess
*nds that We De. or suffering Prom indic-
t! 114344"0 recent Wee quite recovered.' imprestan on eur mi ,
l Nis vale bi en, testimonial le victim of pzst folly, ~_._ . e
and
Amis.
one who is thed Le its pages kg
1i0„,,,. Rh 4o In , a turther proof of the great efficacy wish every he medicine, enleole, 'which la th the advice content
1 i is exclusively directed
Ith ''''' and p In
Sciati e most effective remedy for cretion, to profit)**
_ALm of sye,TACl_ I
Imes% loss of ap-
elk y, ace, eft ca, Lumbago, Tic Dolorous Pains in the The CORDIAL B irreceleritYl Wea • i ing from
It i • fie Tem ,n mistaken for tooth-ache, and for 'all G of nervous debility,
abits, and debilities ar
%Al" 34° gratlfeTnecies' outy and to the taro
estion, consumptive h ^ tity of four in one
aoei4ltteti, selected- I-g to have permission to refer to the following petite, ititg _
bottles, Them I is., or the...4_
rive..peand oases may
' Y lies ee from a multitude of others mhos -excess, 60
....._Le...fwbi be. ere saved.. Tno
,_'teem
.....,_. ntributed to advance this , station in E bottle fur 3-se.s •,..7
SiFint, a remedy
70,t_ y u. mandan, E
coroner, pi?pular ne in public ; 12e Itad as
aisnaI.NTRATED DETERSIVE Z ,
scurvy, blotches
14a la 71() the Chevalier de Garde;: mronemtelft; the Rev. Dr. r: 'NIS CONCE .
and
purifying the blood frond those pstitafiil
e3,'. L,••7lfard ; lir. Richard Stone, Lutc:n ; Johns iej brewer
..n,,,i ri tb, 60/aching out
d body, ulcerations, I
mercury,
J. Giles, Lsq. 1 ~..., the head, face, aM
tor the efleets ei
attern ,4?tetsacr: inwood, Perbright ; William Courtenay, F .
sq : .toff toes arising from improper treattmen
ions of the RI tin. Prim:
Ar,-e.eteees.,_; . laen fir Andover Railway Station, Hants. ; all of whom , ecoving secondary symptoms, and all erupt oer t.or-_,_ .e._ tilt by taking this medicine, and have allowed the • lie, and 3?,5. per bottle. rice 2s. 9d., 43. U.,
P
'''ac :',1.4. '4° Privilege of publishing the same for the benefit of the PERRY'S PURIFYING SPECIFIC MILLS,
..
strictures, ham,
kt in
bY 1110 4 effectual remedy tel '"“"'
: send Ils. per box, are the most
}ziirt 1,,,
~, Mae ?rout, 229, Strand, London ; and by his ai t ' Es without hindraece to business.
bin eemary.
,ncri '07,," leePectable Medicine V d h h United°n'
174aticin'
c"
if by letter; id. Minute detail of _ _
~4
th;;.A.,. . price 2... n.. en o rung out the 0 Consultatiee fee, may cosulted, .
t tor ee per box •
.. RLAIR'S GOUT '•-
daily, and at
ttb.Zall le iind „,,,,_ AND RHEUMATIC PILLS, and observe I -usual, at 1, Berners-street, Orford street Londen.
Fridky, and Saturday ;
clz=vou 4 u„,:i;e4ml of "Thomas Prout, 229, Strand, Londoon," , Ito, Duke-sreet, Liverpool, every Thursday, . ,_r 01 mondays,
Nlilee . ull'ainetri„ e Government Stamp &faxed to each imx of the i land at 10, St. John-street, Deansgate, Mancne.ne ..
1 aeaviars. shed Wedeesdays,

Elegant Pocket Edition, price Is., by post Is. 6d.
DR. CULVER WELL ON MARRIAGE,
its KINDRINCES and OBLIGATIONS.
" Te be or not to be, that is the question."—Shakspeare.
Contents :--On Matrimonial Eligibility and Unfitness—Laws of
Paternity—Phenomena of Gestation—On Maternal Influence—On
infelicitous and unproductive Unions—Curiosities of Medical Expert.
once, Cases, &e. &c.
Also Companion to the same, price Is., by p3st Is. 6d.

CH/STITT ; its ABUSES and DISEASE' (72 Engravings).
These two interesting little volumes are net intended for idle or in-
discriminate perusal, but they are earnestly offered to the attentive
consideration of these who may be mere legitimately and perhaps
painfully interested.
Sherwood, 23, Paternoster-row; Carvalhe, 147, Fleet-street ;
Mane, 39, Cornhill, and all booksellers, or direct from the Author,
21, Arundel-street. Strand. At home daily till 2 ; Evenings. 7 till 9.

THE NEW REVOLUTION.
SUPPLEMENT (GRATIS)
TO THE
ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS
Will be published on SArnankr, JAN. 31, 1846,
Containing a FULL REPORT of the New Measures proposed by Sir
ROBERT PEEL and the Speeches in the Debate, relative to these
important alterations in the Policy of the Government.
No measure ever proposed or carried by any Administration ever
equalled the Importance of the proposed REPEAL of the CORN-
LAWS, and other alterations iu Custom Duties. These Grovernment
proposals, if carried into effect as a law, will undoubtedly cause a
complete revolution in the social condition of the people of England,
far beyond any political changes ever effected in any country.
*** The ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS may be had, If or-
dered two days previously, of any bookseller or newsman in the
United Kingdom, price 6d.' stamped, with the Supplement for
Nothing ! ! The Illustrated London News may be had for any period
at the office, by remitting the cash in advance.
Office, 198, Strand, London.

GENERAL PASLEY and the GAUGE

QUESTION.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—l had laid down a rule not to reply to any of
the articles in which my opinions or reports are at-
tacked, either in the daily or weekly papers, or in those
specially devoted to the subject of railways; nor to enter
into any discussion with persons who propose new in-
ventions to prevent railway accidents, all of whom
deem their own projects infallible, and some of whom
are unreasonable enough to be offended by my returning
a mere acknowledgment of the receipt of their commu-
nications. To enter into a controversy with the former,
or into a correspondence with the latter of the parties
alluded to, would waste the whole of my time in inter-
terminable altercation, leading to no useful result. Con-
sequently, when I have been charged with an equal
want of practical knowledge and of science ; when I
was accused of astounding ignorsnce, because I reported
against the use of improper switches, viz., shifting rails
and cross-rails, to connect with a passenger railway,
which had caused the death of two men; when I had
been described as an infirm, superannuated person, in-
capable of supporting the fatigues necessary for the
efficient execution of my public duties ; when I have
been reproached with neglect, because I did not examine
the levels of every rail and of every chair, before I
allowed a line to be opened, or when, after I had re-
ported a new railway to be in-a safe state, accidents oc-
curred afterwards, through carelessness, or even when
slips occurred afterwards, caused by continued rains and
inundations, to which persons who understand anything
of railways know that the best are liable for years after
they are opened; when my inspections have been alleged
to be a useless form, and nothing More than a party of
pleasure in a first-class carriage, ending in an entertain-
ment provided by the Directors, whose invitatiortron"
the contrary I have always declined, when I could do so
without a want of courtesy—l have passed over such
misrepresentations with silent contempt, sensible that
the falshood and absurdity of the whole of them is well
known to the Directors of the Railway Companies
whose lines I have inspected, as well as to their officers
and the persons in their employment, from all of whom,
in my official intercourse with them, I have inva-
riably experienced, not merely civility, but respect and
cordiality.
In respect to the statements made by me when sum-
moned to attend coroners' inquests, held in consequence
of fatal railway accidents, the case is different. I have
always had a great reluctance to appear on such occa-
sions, for not having been myself present at any of them,
I could not, of course, say any thing from personal know-
ledge as to the facts. Only in the trial at the York As-
sizes, on the 15th of last month, of Thomas Wheatley,
the engineman, who ran with a pilot engine into the rear
of a train which he was sent to assist, which he did on an
ascending gradient with such violence as to cause the death
of Mr. Boteler and another gentleman, I certified, from
personal knowledge, that the breaks of the tender at-
tached to that engine, which were asserted by the stoker
to have been unserviceable, in palliation of the pri-
soner's conduct, were, on the contrary, perfectly ser-
viceable, they being the first and only pattern that had
been used on railways for many years, at d being still
in very general use, though mote powerful ones have
recently been adopted in making new tenders. Here
there could be no misrepresentation or mistake, and my
opinion was not asked for, though if it had been I should
not, of course, have withheld it, it having been previously
submitted to Lord Dalhousie, the President of the Board.
of Trade, as will appear when the reports of =the Rail-
way Department of Government shall be published. In
respect to the report of my proceedings on the
6th of August last, when I visited the
spot where a fatal accident had taken place,
between the Wendon and Chesterford stations of
the Eastern Counties Railway, and when afterwards
giving evidence at the Coroner's inquest held in conse-
quence of it at Littlebury, on the 15th of the same month
where my opinion was pointedly asked, the case was so
far different, that the newspaper reports, which included
not only my evidence but my private remarks in conver-
sation, being not entirely, though not very nearly, accu-
rate, led to attacks upon me not only for what I said,
but also for what I did riot say. Still it did not appear
worth while for me to take any notice of those articles.
In the ease, however, of my evidence on the late coro- '
ner's inquest at Thetford, on the 13th instant, it has
been so inaccurately reported in yours and in the other
morning papers of the day following—not only opinions,
but even facts having been misstated—teat I owe it to
my own character to correct the errors into which the
reporters have fallen, as it is not fair to assume that a
person said what he did not say, and gave opinions which
he never entertained, and then to attack such statements
and opinions as if they had been really his. I seldom read
the numerous papers on railway subjects, having better
opportunities of judging of points connected with my
own official duties than the editors or correspondents of
those papers are able to afford ; but the editor of one
of them usually sends me the articles that he writes
against me, and, on receiving his last number, I
found, after perusing a few lines of it. that he grounded
an attack on me upon the erroneous passages in the
newspaper report of my evidence at Thetford and at
Littlebury, on which I laid aside his paper, as I have
done on former occasions, without reading any more of
it. for such attacks are to me a matter of perfect indif-
ference. After this I found that one of your corres-
dondents, who signs himself " 5.," has written
a letter, published in your paper of the 15th inst., headed
"General Paisley on Railway Accidents," in which, under
an erroneous impression that I am a partizan of the
broad gauge, he controverts my supposed opinions,
but with more temper and moderation than my other
assailants. If he had known my real sentiments, he
might have saved him. elf the trouble, not of writing
the letter to you, in which he discusses the subject
of long and short boilers, but of mixing up my
name with it, as far as the gauges are concerned. My
opinion on that question has always been, that the narrow
gauge is to.) narrow, and the broad gauge much wider
than was absolutely necessary ; and, therefore, I recom-
mended in March, 1843, that a gauge of 5 feet 3 inches
should be established for all railways in Ireland, in pre-
ference either to the narrow gauge of the English rail-
ways (4 feet 8i inches), adopted on the Dublin and
Kingstown railway, or to the broad gauge of the
Ulster Railway (6 feet 2 inches), which, though ten
inches narrower than that of the Great Western
Railway, I considered wider than was absolutely
necessary, My opinions on this head have not
been altered since, and on being examined by Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Sir Frederick Smith, Mr. Airy, Astro-
nomer-Royal, and Professor Barlow, the Commissioners
appointed to inquire into the gauge of railways on the
18th ult., before the accident on the Norfolk Railway
occurred, I stated that the extent of Railway lines in
England would certainly be doubled, and might probably
be trebled, in the course of some years, and therefore 1
thought that both the present wide gauge of the Great
Western Railway, and its extension and branches, as
well as the narrow guage of the other railways in Great
Britain, ought to be abolished, and the 5 feet 3 inches
gauge adopted instead.
The trills between the broad and narrow gauges
made under the inspection of the Gauge Commissioners,
by means of experimental passenger trains and goods
trains, loaded with equal weights, had not then taken
place ; but previously to my being examined by the
Gauge Commissioners, I had been required, in the
course of my duty, to give an opinion whether the
speed of tlie express trains then running on various
railways might not be dangerous to the public safety.
As I knew from long experience that the oscillation
of a railway carriage was no proof of danger, and its
steadiness not always a proof of safety, I theretore in-
vestigated this subject by travelling on the locomotive
engines of all the express trains in England, which
affords the only just criterion of safety or of danger;
and I found that not only the engines of the Great
Western, but those of the narrow gauge lines, such as
the South-Western, the Brighton, Grand Junction, Mid-
land Counties, and other Railway Companies, whether
constructed according to the designs and specifications
of their own locomotive engineerss, with outside or
inside cylinders, or from the designs of Messrs. Sharp
Brothers, Hawthorn, Fairbairn, and other skilful loco-
motive engine-makers, as well as the new pattern engine
of Mr. Bodmer, were all steady, especially the last, and
consequently all safe ; but wheni tried the White Horse
of Kent, one of Mr. Robert Stephenson's last patented
long-boiler engines, on the 18th of September last, I
found that it rolled like a ship at sea when
Pushed to a
velocity of about 45 miles an hour between London and '
Tunbridge, on the South-Eastern
railway, and this
uneasy motion having increased_ in proportion to the
speed, I came to a conclusion, if an attempt were made
with such engines to rival the speed of the Great
Western express trains, that they would run off the rails
and oversee. I have expressed this opinion since to the
Noble President, and to my colleagues, the other officers
of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade, and
to railway officers whom I hav
have e met with on duty, not
pupils of Mr.
excepting gentlemen who been
Robert Stephenson, or who are employed on railways
of which he is either the engineer-in-chief or the con-
sulting engineer. I have also stated the same opinion
enines s
to enginemen in chare of locomove
travelled of,
butthi I
construction, on which I have sintice
never had occasion, as mentioned in the newspaper re-
men that they were actually in
port, to tell these
danger, for they never went down_ descending gra-
dients at a greater speed than about thirty miles an
hour ; and they never exceeded the speed of 45 miles
an hour on level portions of ra__way, whilst I was
present. Hence I did not think that the dangerous
character of these engines would, ever be practically
proved, because both on the }eastern Counties and Nor-
folk Railways, where they were most used, the time
o necessity for exceeding
between the stopping stations of the swiftest trains was
so regulated, that there wasn
that speed, excepting on the old well-consolidated por-
tien between London and Bishop's Stortford, which I
have travelled over at 45 miles an hour on an engine of
the construction alluded to, but
_Tien at that speed it
oscillated a great deal ; when emi
"-ea, it became
Mr.
steady. My former opinion of Robert Stephenson's
new long boiler engines was favourable, for when I first
travelled on them on the 12th of April, 1844, whilst in-
specting the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway, it was at
o rate not exceeding from 30 to 35 miles an hour, at
which they are steady and safe ; nor did I discover any
ohjectiou to them on thieGeavcsend and Rochester Rail-
way, where they are always used at moderate speed,
until I travelled on the White Reese of Kent with a

trains of both ; namely, that the narrow gauge has
failed in the most important points of railway travel-
ling, as it has not room between the wheels for a boiler
of sufficient power to obtain that speed, combined with
safety, which the travelling public have a right to ex-
pect, and which the express trains of the Great Western
Railway Company have proved to be perfectly prac-
ticable. This is another argument for abolishing the
narrow gauge and adopting 5 feet 3 inches, as the
standard gauge of all our railways, as that will admit of
a boiler of more than four feet in diameter, which is the
deu
questions,sua perfect
manner,
to
which
b
maximum dimension hitherto adopted for the engines of
the Great Western Railway.
To conclude, I have no doubt that the reporters for
the London morning papers would have given my
accuracy,evi-
litfaktuhionetgcordooonlnw)e,nr exam,hwraehdpalti
edlsaid,i nbeud
me
few n
ince
with
the
and reading it over again, and asking me whether it was
correct. But he did not follow this mode, only asking a
stated my reasons in full, lest there should be any
Astetrra metyofit, evidencethat
misconception of my opinions. In so doing 1 spoke
too rapidly for any person, however well educated and
intelligent, to report accurately, unless he were an
engineer, who understood the details of locomotive en-
ginessed
closed, the
of
Coroner r lwaryeconstructions. f
abstract
he had made, which I signed, and for which lam re-
sponsible, but not for the matter contained in the news-
paper reports. Before I quitted the Town-hall, two
reporters, brothers, introduced themselves to me, and
asked me to correct their notes, to which I agreed,
being anxious that my statements and opinions should
he accurately reported in a matter of so much delicacy
and importance. One of them accordingly called on me
afterwards at the Bell Inn, and read over such parts of
his own notes on my evidence as he considered doubtful,
which I corrected wherever he had mistaken my mean-
ing. If he had read over the whole to me, as I sug-
gested, it would have been more satisfactory, for in that
ease no possible mistake could have been made ; but he
assured me that he was confident it was all right, which
I could not help doubting, as he seemed to have taken
hasty notes of the heads of my evidence, trusting to
memory for putting in into form afterwards, in which, if
he had been more successful, I would not have troubled
you with this long letter, which I shall be very much
obliged to you to insert in your columns.—l have the
honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant,
C. W. PASLEY, Major-General, &c.
London, Jan. 19.