The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-15 00:00:00

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THE BRIGHTON RAILWAY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sin—Being somewhat recovered, after the first good
night's rest I have enjoyed since the late fatal railroad
accident, I beg you will give my unfeigned thanks to my
numerous friends and the public for their kind inquiries.
I will now state what occurred to me from the moment I
left my home to the moment at which I now dictate. I
accompanied my daughter (who was conveyed in an in-
valid carriage) to the railroad station. On her arrival
there, she was conveyed to the coupe which had been
prepared for her, accompanied by three of her
sisters. Having seen the principal railroads, I was
anxious to see the structure of the Brighton line. I
entered an open carriage, with two of my servants,
the third carriage from the locomotive engine. I did
not apprehend danger, inasmuch as I supposed that,
as there had been so many railroad accidents, the Direc-
tors, engineers, &c., would use only such engines as they
could depend upon, and which had been as well tried as
the cannon at Woolwich are. We proceeded on our
journey, and as there are gentlemen appointed by Par-
liament to investigate the safety of railroads, I shall not
make any remarks. However, my poor faithful servant
Henry, now no more, became greatly. alarmed at seeing
the number of locomotive engines ; in truth, he seemed
to feel a presentiment of what would occur. When we
arrived at the place where the accident happened, and of
which I know not the name, I passed over from the right
to the left to inquire of Henry what this noise meant.
In an instant I saw a flash of light, and I was encased in
the debris of broken carriages. I endeavoured to keep
a perpendicular position. From this moment to the
time when some one pulled me by the arm from the
ground (the person seemed to me to be Baron Rothschild),
I had not the least idea of what was passing. I now
cried out, " Are my daughters killed ? Will any one in-
quire what has become of the Miss Carpues ?" I was
now in the most horrible agony. I exerted myself, and
dashed through between two rails. I fell on the ground.
I saw a dead person covered with my cloak. Some ono
supported me. On the left I saw a dead female, who I sup-
posed might be my female servant. I asked some one how
many were killed. At this moment, to my unspeakable
joy, I saw my four daughters sitting in the coupe, where I
had left them. It is impossible to describe what we all felt
at this meeting. My daughters thought me dead, but my
youngest daughter thought she heard my voice, calling
for the Miss Carpues. I was now taken out of the coupe
in which I had been placed. I was literally covered with
sand from head to foot. I was carried over the.debris, and
was desired not to touch the boiler, which had burst, as
it would burn me. I was dragged on and laid upon the
ground, Some humane persons raised me and carried me
forward, when my pains were so excessive I said I could
proceed no further. They now procured a board, upon
which I was placed; from this I was cor.veyed into one
of the railroad carriages. Here I saw Major Holland,
my brother-in-law, who was going to town by the up-
train. I begged him to make inquiries if my servants
were living, and if they were, that he would see every at-
tion should be paid to them. He went and returned, and
said all was over. My daughters now thought it would
be better to convey me to Brighton in a cart. However,
we at length consented to being carried on in the rail-
road carriages. On our arrival at Brighton, we met
Mrs. Carpue and my second daughter. I was placed in
a carriage and conveyed hither. I was led up stairs and
placed in bed. My old friend Mr. Attree immediately
attended, and did not leave me till he had applied, I be-
lieve, 100 leeches; and I beg to state, that to that gentle-
man's judgment, attention, and unremitting kindness I
owe my life. I hare also to return my thanks to the
gentlemen of the County Hospital for allowing Mrs.
Pearce, the head nurse in the accident ward, to attend
me occasionally. She is highly qualified for her situa-
tion. I shall not state my case, as Mr. Attree will give
an account of it; but this I must say, my sufferings have
been great, and I am even now unable to move; and
when I think of the melancholy death of my servants,
which affects me powerfully, I have only one consola-
tion, which is, that I did not place them in a dangerous
situation, and myself in one which might be supposed
more secure. I never again should have had a happy
moment.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant,

-
J. C. CARPUS.
3, Cannon-place, Brighton, Oct. 12, 1841.

(From the Brighton Gazette.)
We are glad to find that the efforts made by the Di-
rectors of this railway to ensure the safety and promote
the convenience of their passengers, have had the effect
which was to be anticipated, in setting the public mind
at ease. Professor Barlow, who had been sent down by
Government for the purpose, has during the week in-
spected the whole of the line ; and we hear that his
opinion coincides with that of Sir Frederick Smith,
made previously to the opening, namely, that it is in ex-
cellent condition. That the late continued heavy rains
should have produced the slight fall of earth which we
have elsewhere noticed, is a matter that can excite no
surprise ; that it•has been so slight, may be fairly re-
garded as a proof of the care bestowed on the con-
struction of the line. One of the local journals, whose;
selfish and notorious hostility to the railway renders
its remarks altogether innocuous, has indulged in a tirade
against the Company for what he terms the premature
opening of the line, before the embankments had settled
and attained solidity, and complains that, in consequence
of the late accidents, the flow •f visitors to Brighton has
been checked, and the prosperity of the season blighted,
all which he lays at the door of the Directors. Now,
so far from these allegations being facts, the town was
never fuller, as our arrival lists this week will ►how,
than it is at present; and the feeling of the public as
to the safety of the line is shown in a variety of
ways, one consisting of the fact that on Tuesday a
single train carried upwards of 100 first-class passen-
gers, with three private carriages and several horse-
boxes. As to the solidity of the embankments, all
which need be said is that the greater portion of
them, throughout the line, were among the earliest
works commenced, and that consequently the settlement
of the earth must have already taken place. A great
number of letters have during the past week appeared
in the London papers, most of the writers of which as-
sume perjury on the part of the witnesses examined at
the late inquest, and propose their own suggestions and
opinions as substitutes for the facts stated on oath. So
numerous and contradictory are the suggestions made
by these writers, that could the whole be attended to,
not only would every railroad in the kingdom be im-
mediately shut up, but the turnpike roads would share
the same fate.

One of these writers appears to be horrified at the
passage of the viaduct, in all probability forgetting
that what takes place at the momentary transit of the
train over that magnificent work, is only the same as
the ordinary travelling on the Greenwich Railway, which
is, in fact, one large viaduct from end to end. This may
be taken as a fair sample of the whole.