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

J UARY 27,
1846.
LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING S
-

NOTICE.-ALTERATION OF TIME AND
REDUCTION OF FAKES. GRAVESEND for 6d. or 9d.,
boat and railway included. The STAR and BLACKWALL
PACKETS are now running at the above reduced fares from the
Brunswick 11 Blackwall, at 9%, 10%, 12, 1%, 3%, and 5.
Sundays, 12 and 3% excepted. From the New Terrace Pier,
Gravesend, at 8%, 9%, 113 1,2%, and 5. Sundays 9% and 1 ex-
cepted. Fare : Fore Cabin and Second Class Railway, Gd.; Saloon
and First Class, 9d.
Star Office, Gravesend, Oct. 11, 1845.

THE NEW REVOLUTION.
A (GRATIS)
SUPPLEMENTusTRATTODTLIiONEND ON NEWS
Wog a ill
be
mtblished on SATURDAY, JAN. 31, 1846,
FULL REPORT of the New Measures proposed by Sir
ROBERT ?EEL and the Speeches In the Debate, relative to these
Containt
important alterations in the Policy of the Government.
No measure ever proposed or carried by any Administration ever
equalied the importance of the proposed REPEAL of the CORN-
LAWS, and other alterations in Custom Duties. These Government
proposals, If carried into effect as a law, will undoubtediy cause a
complete revolution in the social condition of the people of England,
far beyond any political changes ever effected in any country.
*4. 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 tor any period
at the office, by remitting the cash in advance.
Office, 198, Strand, London.

NATIONAL LOAN FUND LIFE ASSUIi-
ANCE SOCIETY,
26, COIINHILL, LONDON.
Capital X 500,000.
Empowered by Act of Parliament.
This Institution offQrs important and snlostantial advan-
tages with respect both to Life Assurances and Deferred Annuities.
The assured has, on all oceasiens, the power to borr)w, without ex-
panse or forfeiture of the Polley, two-thirds of the premium paid,
(see table) ; also the option of selecting benefits, and the conversion
of his interests to meet other conveniences or necessity. Assurances
for terms of years are granted on the lowest possible rates.
DIVISION OF PROFIT:.
The success and increasing prosperity of the Society leas enabled
the Directors, at the last annual investigation, to declare a third
Bonus, varying from au to 75 per cent. on the premiums paid on
each Policy effected on the Profit scale.
EXAMPLES.

q 040
rn . Bonne Benasin gg 0 ~.0
In. = Premium., - ,
ri I added. Cash. aEi E
.9 pi a
1 . 1
. 1 5 tiJil- ‘:":4 2. . 1
.1837 £l9l 13 51X87 13 5 £l3 17 1 £39511 1
69 1000 74 '3 4 1833 la 13 01 74 13 10 11 8 6 346 2 3
1839 138 13 61 61 14 3 9 210 296 13 4
1 1840 89 001 41 13 4 6. 0 247 4A

The division of prefitz is annual, and the next will be made in De-
cember. ef the present year. _ _______ _ .

F. FERGUSON CAIIROUX, S.

IN THE CITY OF LONDON.-VALUAELE FREEHOLD

PROPERTY, situate No. 91, Bishopssate-street.

MR. W. W. SIMPSON has received instruc-
tions from the Trustee under the will of Isaac Laugh-
ton Marsh, Esq., deceased, to offer for SALE by AUCTION, at
the Mart, on TUESDAY, February 17, at Twelve,
A valuable FREEHOLD PROPERTY, comprisinea substan-
tially-built Freehold House and Shop, desirably situate No. 91,
Bishopsgate-street, containing five bed-rocms, handsome drawing.
room, dining and breakfast parlours, two kitchens, cellars, water
closets, &c., the whole well arranged and fitted up in a superior
style. The premises, which are in excellent repair, are let on
lease to Mr. Henry Peacock for an unexpirJd term of 21 years; at
a ground rent of 391, per annum, and in the occupation of Mr.
Tyler, at a rent of 1401. per annum. The commanding situation
of this property renders it very desirable for investment.
The premises may be viewed by permission of the tenant, and
particulars, with plan annsxed, may be had of Messrs. Desbo-
rough and Young, solicitorst 6, Sise-lane, City; at the Mart; and
of Mr. W. W. Simpson, 18, Bucklersbury.

LOWESTOFT, SUFFOLK.
BREWERY, INNS, PUBLIC AND BEER-HOUSES.

R W SIAIPSON has received directions
to SELL by AUCTION, at the Mart, in the ensuing
month (unless an acceptable offer be previously made by Private
Contract),
The FREEHOLD BREWERY, with Spirit Trade attached,
situate in the High street, Lowestoft, and carried on successfully
for many years by Messrs. G. and W. Everitt, but in consequence
of the death of Mr. George Everitt the property will be sold, and
offers an eligible opportunity (or investment, as skiVnlness and
industry only would be required in the management to
realise an extension of the free and private trade, which is
at present considerable. The home premises comprise an
excellent residence, brewheuse, with tun rooms and stores,
yard and stabling. The fixed plant, which will be included in
the purchase, consists of a 15 quarter tun, two brewing coppers,
one of 38 and the other of 19 barrels, and all other requisite
plant in proportion. Also 14 inns, public and beer-houses, which
are all freehold, with the exception of one copyhold ; six of the
houses are in Lowestoft, and those in the country are generally at
convenient distances from the brewery : a malthouse with 15-
quarter steep, two working floors, &c., maltster's cottage and
,yard. A considerable portion of the purchase-money may remain
on mortgage.

Particulars are in preparation, and may be bad in due tires of
Mr. William Everitt, the proprietor, who will now on application
show the premises, and give all informatioa required ; of Henry
Ling, Esq., solicitor, St. Gies's, Norwich ; and of Mr. W. W.
Simpson, estate, brewery, and distillery agent, &c., Bucklersbury.

FATHER WINTER'S EXPLANATION !
How is it, Father Winter ? Explain yourself, I pray I
How is It that you're acting, Sir, in this uncommon way?
It seems that you've dismiss'd " Jack Frost" (that chilly little
fellow),
And the only thing we hear of you is now and then a " bellow."
No frozen water-drops are seen, wherever we may range,
No snowy show'rs aro seen to fall—'tis, really very strange.
/Tow is it, Father Winter? Explain yourself, I pray I
How is it that you're acting, Sir, in this uncommon way.

THE REPLY.
I'll tell you how it is, ray friend : The winter dress of MOSES
Has made me shrink from an attempt at biting off your noses.
With winter articles like these, 'twould bo of little use
To try to chill you with my cpld, or fright with my abuse.
While Messrs. MOSES have fhe power to wrap you up so warm,
You'll only mock my icy hand, and ridicule my storm.
But do not take advantage, pray, because I'm so remiss,
And cast aside your winter dress at such a time as this.
For, if I take it in my head, as I very likely may,
I'll show you that the Winter King can " corn, another day."
You'd better stick to MOSES' coats, whilst they •vill stick to you.
And, when you find them rather old, you'd better purchase new.
Unless you act on this advice (which I would not withhold),
Depend upon't, you'll have to say—. Oh, dear ; It's very cold!"
LIST OF PRICES.
BEADY MAIM

d.
Beaver Taglionis ....... ......................from 04 18.
Cheste:llaltis sr A "odrington ••
D'Orsays, Attols, l'embroke, and every description of
Winter Coats •• .. •• • • ... 1 5 0
Boys' Winter Coats in every style ..............from 0 8 6
Winter troasers, lined ...... •••• .• .• .............. 0 4 6
Doeskin, ditto .............• ••••• • • • • 0 19 6
Dress Coats, edged ....... ....... .............. 1 0 0
frock, ditto•• •• .• .• •• •• •• ••
801 l Collar Vest
Double-breasted ........ ......................... 0 2 6
Boys' Hussar and Tunis 5uit5............ • • 0 18 6
Ditto, Winter •• • • ••• • • 0 3 0
Ditto, ditty Vests ..
MADE TO MEASURE.
Winter Coats, in every style and shape, handsometly
trimmed ....................
Milled cloth Great Coats, velvet collar and cull); ...... 1 12 0
Tweed Wrappers ...... ......................... 0 18
Ditto Trousers .. • • ....... ...........
Winter Trousers, in all the new patterns 0 12 0
Doeskin ditto 0 10 6
Best quality, or dress de ............ ...... ......... 1 6 0
Dress Coats.
Ditto, best quality mad
Frock Coats....
Ditto, best quality made .
Cashmere Vests.. •••• • • • • : ............... • 8 6
Satin do., plain or fancy •0 12 I
Boys' Hussar and Tunis 1 6 0
Great Coats .. •••• • • • •

The Now Work, entitled the " Monareh Mart," with full directions
or self-measurement, may be had, on application, " Post Free."
IMPORTANT.—Any article purchased or ordered, If Rot approved of
exchanged, or the money returned.
Observe—E. MOSES and SON, Tailors, Wholesale and Retail
Woollen Drapers, Outfitters, and General Warehouromen, 154, Mino-
ries, and AG, Aldgate, City, opposite the Church.

N.B. No bnsinoss transacted at this Establishment frrin sunset on
Friday till sunset on Saturday, when business is reclined at twelve
o clock.

CAtrriow.-11. Moses and Son are obliged to guard the public
against imposition, having learned that the untradesmanlike false-
hood of being connected with thers, or its the same concern, has
been resorted to in many instances, and for obvious reassus. They
have no connexion whatever ith any other establishment, in or out
of London, and those who desire genuine Cheap Clothing should (to
prevent disappointment, &a.) call or send to 154, M: cries, or 86,
Aldgate, opposite the Church.

[ADVERTISEMENT.I—DOCTOR BINNS AND HOLLO.•
WAIT'S Ot stirsucwx. —Doctor Binns, who is one of the prin-
cipal physicians in the island of Jamaica, has expressed him-
self in the following manner respecting the surprising healing
properties of Holloway's Ointment :—" 1 made many trials
of this Ointment in cases of Chronic Ulcers, which several
years experience in the West Indies taught me to consider as
incurable. lam now happy to say that in all cases it was
really and truly efficacious. Signed, E. Bisrsrs, M.D. F. S. A.
Sco. ' Holloway's Ointment will cure bad legs, however long
standing •, likewiqt the most obstinate cases of King's Evil
or Scrofula. Sold by all medicine vendors, and at Professor
Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strand, London.
FROST, WILLIAMS, AND .TONES.—OD Monday night a
public meeting was held in Marylebone to petition for the
pardon and restoration to their native country of Frost,
Williams, and Jones,

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 now 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 ignorance, because I reported
against the use of improper switches, viz., shifting rails
and cross-rails, to connect with a passenger railway,
which had cau-ed 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 invitations on
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, ai d being still
in very general use, though more 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 not say. Still it did not appear
worth while for me to take any notice of those articles.
In the case, 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—that 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 himself 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 too 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 8} 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 I
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 trials 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 tile 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 therefore in-
vestigated this subject by travelling en 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, diand Junction, Mid-

land Counties, and other failwaY 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, Fairbai▪
rn, and other skilful loco-
motive
engine-makers, as well as the newpattern engine
of Mr. Bodmer, were all steady, especially the last, and
consequently all safe ; but when I 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 au hour
proportion to the between London and
Tunbridge, on the South-Eastern Railway, and this
uneasy motion having inincreased
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 overser. 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 who'll I have met with on duty, not
excepting gentlemen who have been pupils of Mr.
Robert Stephenson, or who are employed on railways
of which he is either the engineer-in-chief or the con-
salting engineer. I have also stated the same opinion
to enginemen in charge of locomotive engines
of
this
construction, on which I have since travelled, but I
never had occasion, al mentioned in the newspaper re-
port, to tell these men that they were actually in
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 hoar on level portions of railway, 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
between the stopping stations of the swiftest trains was
so regulated, that there was no necessity for exceeding
that speed, excepting on the old wit-consolidated por-
ti.m 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 even at that speed it
oscillated a great deal ; when diminished, it became
steady. My former opinion of Mr. Robert Stephenson's
new long boiler engines was favourable, for when I first
travelled on them on the 12th of April, 18.14, whilst
in-
specting ,
the Yarmouth and Norwich...Rai
an hour Railway, it was at
a rate not exceeding from 30 to 35 miles an
which they are steady and safe ; nor did I discover any
objection to them on the Gravesend and Rochester Rail-
way, where they are always used at moderate speed,
until I travelled on the White Horse of Kent with

swift train of the South-Eastern
-eraez--e-aees
ee55...........ae5e5..„
belfohreirmyeenrtii,oienneet Railway Company, as '
before the coroner's inquest, Al 11'. trainsr of both ; namely, . that the narrow gauge has
ford, I therefore ascribed the accident. party to tb-e im-et failed in the most important points of railway travel-
prudence of the engineman in running dove loifn
sufficientg, as ith has not Too mo betweenbtaib tha
that
the
eed, wheels
combinedfor a boiler
prudence
descending gradient of 1 in 200 at the utmost sni.eaedltohnagt pest, safety,e nssdhli‘c,
which
theei: t
htravelling s
tpublicrmiiis
ofh atvhee
his engine could command, and part)Greata right
Westernto e
construction of that engine, which I .3' Jo the peculiar Railway Company have proved to be perfectly prac.
a speed exceeding 45 miles an hour considered unsafe at ticable. This is another argument for abolishing the
perfectly unnecessary oe any pare ; a speed that was narrow gauge and adopting 5 feet 3 inches, as the
chilly on that portion of it wh- re "of that line, but cape- standard gauge of all our railways, as that will admit of
between Harlingroad Stati-
on an tlh,ehaefcident occurred, a boiler of more than four feet in diameter, which is the
of only 8 mils, for tr'avelling over het ford, a distance maximum dimension hitherto adopted for the engines of
which 46 minutes the Great Western Railway.
were allowed.
As I inferred., • To conclude, I have no doubt that the reporters for
from a question put to me, that h jury had an -
`..rroneous notion, that the engine to which
dente
London morning papers would have given my evi-
this accide-nt occurred, as well as those which ran off the with perfect accuracy, if the coroner had examined
in the usual manner, by taking down what I said,
rails o7i the Eastern Counties line first near Chesterford, ainned
tading it over again, and asking me whether it was
at'''. afterwards near Littlebeach, were engines built for correrce But he did not follow this mode, only asking a
'the wide gauge, and therefore unsafe for the narrow few questions, to
.which I not only replied, but
gauge, I explained to them that the width between the stated m
wheels on the narrow gauge was too small to admit of misconception of ' be
boilers of such large diameter as those of the engines of too rapidly for a
I sons in full, lest there should any
my opinions. In so ,doirg 1 spoke
an person, however well educated and
the Great Western Railway, which had greater power intelligent, to report ac tely, unless he were an
than any before used. Mr. Robert Stephenson tried to engineer, who understood
"The details of locomotive en-
get over this difficulty by increasing the length of his gines and of railway constructions After my evidenceboilers, since hecould not increase their diameter beyond closed, the coroner read over a brief abstract of it, that
a certain limit, in hopes that the greater length of the he had made, which I signed, and for which
am' re-
re-
boilers, and consequently of the tubes, would produce an sponsible, but not for the matter contair.ed in the news-
additional evaporating surface, and render his long en- paper reports. Before I quitted the Town-hall, two
gines superior in power to all the former snort- reporters, brothers, introduced themselves to me, and
boiler engines of the narrow gauge, as well as asked me to correct their notes, to. which I agreed,
to the engines with boilers of larger diameter being anxious that my statements and opinions should
of the Great Western. In this attempt, which at be accurately reported in a matter of so much delicacy
the time appeared very promising, I consider that he has and importance. One of them accordingly called on me
failed, as I stated in my evidence before the coroner's afterwards at the Bell Inn, and read over such parts of
inquest ; for his engines with long boilers are by no his own notes on my evidence as he considered doubtful,
means so powerful as those of the Great Western, nor which I corrected wherever he had mistaken my mean-
do I think that they excel in power ; indeed, from my ing. If he had read over the whole to me, as I sug-
personal observation, I should say that they are inferior gested, it would have been more satisfactory, for in that
in power to other engines made for the narrow gauge, ease no possible mistake could have been made ; but he
having boilers of moderate length, to which they are assured mo that he was confident it was all right, which
certainly much inferior in safety; for I have travelled on I could not help doubting, as he seemed to have taken
the engines alluded to, whether having outside or inside hasty notes of the heads of my evidence, trusting to
cylinders, at the rate of 50 miles an hour or upwards ; memory for putting in into form afterwards, in which, if
and lam of opinion that though certainly inferior to he had been more successful, I would not have troubled
those of the Great Western Railway in power, they are you with this long letter, which I shall be very much
perfectly safe at the utmost speed they are capable of at- obliged to you to insert In your columns.—l have the
taming. Indeed, I have been informed by railway honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant,
officers not personally interested in the battle of the C. W. PASLEY, Major-General, &e,
gauges, that one of Messrs. Sharps Brothers' engines London, Jan. 19.
with a light express train, travelled over the wole dis-
tance of 31 miles, between Manchester and Crewe, in 30
minutes, which must have exceeded 60 miles an hour
for great part of the way. But when I rode upon the
same engine afterwards, on the 23d ultimo, from Stock-
port towards Crewe, whilst it was drawing a train of
47i. tons, in a stiff gale, it only accomplished 10 miles in
13 minutes and 52 seconds, which induced the narrow
gauge party not to employ it in the trial of power and
speed before the gauge commissioners, as they had at
first intended ; but to transfer the scene of action to
York, and to use engines of the long boiler pattern.
The peculiar danger in Mr. Robert Stephenson's long
boiler engines, whether made with outside or inside cy-
linders, is, that, in consequence of their extreme length,
he has placed the axles of all his wheels under the
boiler, having the fire-box and dome an overhanging
weight in the rear, which was never done before, ex-
cept in the short four-wheeled engines of Mr. Bury's
pattern, on the London and Birmingham Railway, which
I do not consider by any means so good as six -wheeled
engines; but in travelling upon one of them by an ex-
press train on the 6th of October last, I found it steady
and safe, in consequence of the tender being screwed up
close to the engine with buffers and springs, which con-
verts the tw ) as it were into an eight-wheeled engine.
I never travelled an a four-wheeled engine at a very great
speed before, but lam informed by locomotive engineers and
enginemen who have, that until this improvement was
adopted, they pitched and rolled like a sailing vessel in
a gale of wild. Probably the same expedient may ren-
der Mr. Stephenson's long-boiler engines also much
steadier, and consequently safer.
In respect to the question put to me by the coroner,
whether shutting off the steam suddenly at high
speed could cause the carriages to run against
the engine with such violence as to knock it off
the rails, I explained that a locomotive engine being
considerably heavier than the tender, and at least double
the weight of any of the carriages of a railway
train, and the whole moving, of course, with equal velo-
city whilst connected, I thought that the act of suddenly
shutting off the steam from the engine could not possibly
cause the carriages to press upon it, because having
much greater momentum it would retain its speed longer;
and if the connexion between the engine and tender, and
the carriages of a train were cast off immediately after
shutting off the steam, the engine would leave the car-
riages behind, and travel to a greater distance than any
of them before it stopped. If shutting off the steam
suddenly could have any effect, as I found by trial that
it had not, accidents like that near Thetford ought to
occur every day ; for it is a common practice with en-
ginemen, on preparing to stop, to shut off their steam
all at once ; as I observed that the driver of one of
Messrs. Stotherd and Slaughter's engines did, the same
evening that I returned from Thetford, when I took the
opportunity of travelling some stages on that engine ;
but this he did of his own accord, and not by my desire,
as your reporter stated through mistake. The experi-
ment, however, can easily be tried on a descending gra-
dient. Let an engine with its tender, drawing a train of
coal waggons, be set in motion. lam ready to go
with Mr. Bidder on any of the narrow gauge engines,
except those of the long- boiler pattern, at full speed,
down an incline, and to shut off the steam suddenly,
and to cast off the train immediately afterwards by dis-
engaging a pin, as is done by the auxiliary engines of
heavy down-trains of the London and Birmingham Rail-
way Company, near their Camden-town station, several
times every day, and I will prove to him that the effect
is null. Should he have doubts as to the safety of the
experiment, he may ride in a carriage in the rear, whilst
I stand on the engine, in as much confidence of the
safety of my position as he can have of his own. But I
shall not argue the point with him in writing. lle has
given his opinion, and I have given mine; and his time
may be better employed than in paper warfare, which
can prove nothing.
Having always had occasion to approve of the railway
works actually designed and executed by Mr. Bidder,
though nominally under Mr. Robert Stephenson, as en-
gineer-in-chief,
in which he has displayed equal skill and
judgment, and especially in his iron swing-bridge over
the river Wensum, near Norwich, which does him very
great credit, it was a matter of regret to me, that I could
not conscientiously do otherwise than entirely dissent
from Mr. Bidder's opinion in respect to the cause of the
accident on the Norfolk Railway.
Having now explained my evidence in a clearer
manner than was done in the report made in the morn-
ing papers of the 14th instant, before alluded to, I must
notice some errors as to fact in that report; after having
corrected which, the remainder of it will be quite accu-
I rate. In the first place, I did not say that the flanges of
Messrs. Stotherd and Slaughter's engines were deficient
in depth; on the contrary, they had the usual depth of
11 inch, which I stated as being quite sufficient; but
they were set nearly at right angles to the tread of the
wheel, contrary to the rule followed in all other locomo-
tive engines that I have seen, which is to round off that
angle nearly in the form of a quadrant. Though similar
to Mr. Robert Step'nenson's last pattern in other respects,
the fire-box did notprojeet entirely in the rear as a dead
weight, but had its centre placed over the axle of the
hind wheels, which rendered it necessary to raise the
top of the boiler about nine inches higher, and conse-
quently, though better balanced on their wheels, they '
had the disadvantage of being more top-heavy than Mr.
Stephenson's pattern. The present locomotive engineer
of the Eastern Counties Railway assured me that they
had not only been all provided with new wheels of the
usual form, but that they were much improved since two
of them ran off the rails and overset, the first with ex-
cessive speed down an incline and along a curve, which
terminated fatally; the second on a level and straight
portion of the line, and at very moderate speed, so that
no person was injured. If these engines had been an
exact copy of Mr. Stephenson's pattern, the last-men-
tioned accident would not have taken place.
In mentioning the gauge Commissioners, there were
also several inaccuracies in your reporter's account of
my evidence, in consequence of which I was obliged to
write to them to explain, lest they should consider me
wanting in courtesy towards them. In the first place,
being independent of the Board of Trade, they gave no
opinion, as implied in the newspaper account, and sent
no report to the Board, of the accident that occurred to
an experimental train on the Great North of England.
Railway on the Ist inst., by a long-boiler
engine run-
ningthey
off the rails and being overset;for though
ce I afterwards inquired into it at York, incpresen
pre-
sume,'the of Mr. Close, Secretary of ihabtefoormeptahneym,
on that
de-
positions of the evidences who cameby thatgentleman,
occasion were transmitted officially
t of the accident, as required by Act
together with a report
of
Parliament. On inspecting the engine itself, at Derby,
last week, I found that instead of being an exact copy of
Mr. Robert Stephensons long-boiler pattern, as I had
supposed at the period of the inquest, it differed from it
in two points; first, in having been made with inside cylin-
ders,
in order to do away with the oscillation generally,
but I think erroneously, ascribed to outside cylinders;
and, secondly, in having an oval boiler in order to obtain
greater sectional area than the narrow gauge admits of
when the cylindrical form is used. Neither of these
alterations can be considered an improvement, as they
both produce the unfavourable effect of rendering it
necessary to raise the boiler higher than in Mr. Stephen-
son's pattern. It was also erroneously stated by your
reporter, that the gauge Commissioners were in a train
from Bristol to Gloucester, upon the engine of which I
travelled with Mr. M'Connel, locomotive superintendent
of the Bristol and Birmingham Railway, erroneously
styled Mr. M'Connel, when I first tried the experiment of
shutting off the steam in going at full speed. Moreover,
when I tried the same experiment a second time, by
permission of Mr. Brunel, on the engine of an experi-
mental goods' train, on the Great Western Railway, in
which the Commissioners were travelling from Padding-
ton to Didcut, it had a load of 205 tons only, instead of
2,000 tons, as stated in the newspaper report.
I shall here observe, though it made no part
of my evidence before the coroner's inquest at
Thetaard, with which the question of the gauges
had i ory little to do, that I have drawn an in-
ference from the performances of the experimental

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir.—A long letter from General the Board
of Trade, Inspector-General of Railways, on various
matters connected with railways, especially as to the
construction of engines, appears in your paper of to-day.
The Inspector-General's letter is avowedly to correct
errors in the report of statements made by him at the
coroner's inquest lately held at Thetford; but among
other general remarks on points connected with rail-
ways, the Inspector-General thinks fit to prejudge the
inferences to be drawn from the late experiments on en-
gines of the broad and narrow gauges.
The parties interested in the narrow gauge, who were
commanded by the Commisssioners to undertake the ex-
periments, desire me to explain that they were made for
the information of the gauge commissioners—to
whom, and not to the Inspector-General, the deci-
sion of the. question of gauge—including, therefore,
the inferences to bo drawn from the late experi-
ments—are referred by her Majesty ; and that
consequently, the correct and authentic report of
these experiments has been put into the hands of the
gauge Commissioners only. They further desire me to
say, that the reports which have been published in the
newspapers, from the omission of essential facts, da not
afford the means of deducing from the experiments any
correct inference as to the issue of the question to de-
termine which they were made.
The parties at whose request I write are, therefore,
they believe, in possession of mere precise information
as to these experiments than is possessed by General
Pasley, who, though present at the experiments on the
broad gauge, was, it is to be remarked, not present at the
experiments on the narrow • but respect to the Commis-
sioners, under whose consideration the matter still rests,
prevents them from saying more than that they them-
selves feel satisfied that a correct statement of the whole
facts connected with the experiments leads to a directly
opposite conclusion to that expressed by General Pasley,
and that the results of the experiments, as far as they
prove anything, tend to confirm in every respect the
evidence (derived from long experience) which has been
laid before the Commissioners in favour of the efficiency,
as regards safety, speed, command of power, economy,
and convenience, of the engine which the narrow gauge
admits of, as compared with those which the broad gauge
admits of.—l am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
London, Jan. 21. GEORGE P. BIDDER.

AMERICAN NEWS.

THE OREGON QUESTION.

LIVERPOOL, MONDAY.
The New York packet-ship Henry Clay, Captain Nye,
arrived here this afternoon, after a voyage of eighteen
day s from New York, having left that port on the Bth
inst., and brought papers of her day of sailing.
The news by this arrival is again of a very warlike
tendency. A resolution from the Committee on Foreign
Affairs was brought up by its chairman, Mr. Wenthrop,
on the 3d inst., to the House of Representatives, to the
effect that immediate notice be given to Great Britain of
the termination of the joint occupancy of the Oregon
territory, after a very lengthy debate lasting four days,
in which the venerable J. Q. Adams took part in sup-
port of the Bill. It was referred to a Committee of the
whole House ; but, upon the motion that it be made a
special order for the first Monday in February, and
which required a vote of two thirds to carry it, it was lost,
the Ayes being 102, and the Noes 89. During the debate,
an outline of which we subjoin, the most violent language
was indulged in towards Great Britain, and the asser-
tion of the right of the United States to the whole of
Oregon, and the vehement repetition that they would
stand for "Me whole of the Oregon or none" was of fre-
quent occurrence; in fact, the whole of the proceedings
are characterised by the greatest violence of language,
and is throughout utterly unworthy of a deliberative
assembly.
The agitation of the question had greatly affected the
markets. Stocks of all descriptions were lower, busi-
ness in many kinds of produce dull and slack, and al-
though the best papers in the city of New York depre-
cated the war feeling, which was thus being so assi-
duously fanned into a flame, yet it is evident that the
feeling has taken a strong hold on the people, and might
work mischief.

TWENTY•NINTH CONGRESS-HOUSE OF REPRE

SE NTATIVEB.

WASHINGTON, JAN.-2, 184€7—Various resolutions, de-
claring the American right to the whole of Oregon, were in-
troduced; and upon the question being put to the vote, the
yeas were 75, and the nays 89.
A Bill was then introduced for the organisation of rifle-
men, as also for an increase of infantry, artillery, and
dragoons, for the purpose of protecting emigrants to Oregon.
After an animated discussion of the question, Mr. J. Quincy
Adams rose and addressed the House. After apologising to
the representatives for his physical inability to enter upon
the important matter before them with adequate power,
proceeded to say that he hoped the first measure adopted
by
the
notice would be to give in the most solemn manner
notice to Great Britain which the treaty required " Let it
be made the special order of the day; for, in his opinion,
they were wasting time in legislating or talking anything
about the increase of the defences of the e3untry until we
give this notice. It did not follow that there would be
war; it did not even follow necessarily that we should take
possession of the country. We would only say to Great
Britain, after negotiating twenty odd years under that
may negotiate.
That was the
convention, made and repeated, we do not choose to
negotiate any longer in this way. We choose to take
possessiv of our own. If we have to settle what is our own,
belotakngisngtopoyssoou;siz.
`Pe
wihneitghhert
negotiate
military way of doing business. It was the way in which
gyotratretion
after
Frederick 11. of Prussia had negotiated with the 14'
Austria for Silesia. He said he hoped the first 'naperor of
step taken
would be to give, in the most solemn manner,
Britain. Then we should have our elbows lb notice to Great
clear, and could
do as we pleased. It did not follotakew
" a necessary
con_
sequence that we should then possession, but he hoped it
would follow as a
consequence, and a very immediate one.
But whether we give the noticehostility or war. If Great Britain chose to take
it as an indication of hostility,
and then to commence hos-
tilities, why, we had been told that there would be but one
heart in
this country ; and God Almighty grant that it
might be so! But if this should be so, we should hear no
more of these extraordinary terrors of war on the part of the
gentleman from South Carolina, whose course on the Texas
question had been contrasted with his position on this
question. How gallant the gentleman was at the time
that Texas was in question was not for him to say. He did
not wish to draw any comparison between the disposition of
Members of this House for the acquisition of Texas, and the
—not acquisition but—taking our own, of Oregon. He said
if this war came—which God forbid! and of which, by the
way, he had no apprehension whatever--he hoped the whole
country would go into it with one heart and one mighty
hand; and if that were done he presumed the question be-
tween us and Great Britain would not last long, neither Ore-
gon nor any country north of this latitude would long re-
main to Great Britain. Strong as was his moral aversion to
modern war and military establishments, then, if he should
have the breath of life at the time when the war commences,
he hoped he should be able and willing to go as far in any
sacrifice necessary to make the war successful as any Mem-
ber of this House. He could say no more. He now said, and
he repeated, that until the notice was given to Great Britain,
ho was not prepared to go for any of the subsequent mea-
sures. He thought we might with great propriety, without
waiting for the effect of the notice, extend to our countrymen,
who are in possession of parts of that territory not claimed by
Greer. Britain, the laws of the counts y, and the protectiolistf
country in any form which may be necessary. Btuta.. n"e,
no necessity for an increase of the army or navi•ea
would not
supposed that the measures taken after the
nontoicv did he be of a disposition offensive to Great Britsm,
it. But for the
sup-
pose that they would commence
awmar upon
loiose some additional
occupation of the territory he
a ;"tind, however unveil-
ling would be necessary for
thete for the increase of the ling be was ever to give his N thought he should overcome
mili-
tary forces of the country, he
on the
the difficulties la the way, especially appearance
on