The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-30 00:00:00

o. 16,936, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING

ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.
BY PERMISSION.—PROFESSOR
SCH(ENBEIN'S GUN COTTON, differing from all other spe-
cimens recently before the public, is LECTURED on, with other ex-
plosive compounds, by Dr. RYAN, daily at Half past Three; and on
he evenings of Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
The principle of the ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH DEMONSTRA-
TED daily, by Professor BACHHOFFNER, especially with reference
o the new patent of Messrs. Nutt and Gamble, By the OXYFIYDRO-
GE N MICROSCOPE areexhibited spechnens of the DISEASED PO-
TATOE, chewing the Leaves, Cuttings of the Tubers, &c., together
with the DES TRUCTITE INSECT, sipposed, by A. Sae, Esq
F.a.s., I. be the canes of the disease. Tke PIIYSIOSCOPE,
DIVING EXPERIMENTS, DISSOLVING VIEWS, by Smith, &c.
Admission Is. Schools, half-price.
An entire NEW and BEAUTIFUL SERIEA of DISSOLVING
VIEWS will be introduced at CHRISTMAS, and tile Institution will
be open on the evening of Saturday, the 2Gth.

The. Midland are about to remodel the old Leicester
and Swannington line, by—lst, the formation of the line
from Burton-upon-Trent to Moira, including the Swad-
lincote branch, a length of 84 miles ; and 2d, by widen-
ing of the line from the 14th to the Bth mile on the
existing line, including the formation of two miles of
new line fur the alteration of the Bagworth incline. This
is one of the oldest lines, incorporated in 1830, and con-
structed by George Stephenson. It connects the coal-
fields near Ashby with Leicester, and is principally,
though also a passenger line, used by the collieries and
quarries. It wag opened in 1832, and only cost 8,0001.
per mile.
NEWCASTLE AND BERWICK.—The opening is likely to
be postponed until April.
GREAT NORTHERN.—The Colebrooke Dale Company
and the firm of Bailey Brothers have taken the contract
for 35,000 tons of rails, at 101. per ton, 721 b rails.
Railways, while they are the ready means for the con-
; veyaace, are thought, anomalously enough, to be instru-
mental in the diminution of sheep, if we may believe
Mr. Waddington, M.P., who, at the West Suffolk agri-
cultural dinner, is reported to have said—" He was
afraid that the sheep of the country were very fast c'imi-
nishing. What was the reason for this diminution he
could not snake out, unless it was that many of the
labourers were employed on the railroads at good wages,
that they worked very hard, and required greater
sustenance than formerly, and that they had caused an
increased consumption of mutton."
LOCOMOTIVE PATENTS.—The following are some of
the patents for improvements applicable to railway pur-
poses, registered from October 21 to December 15 :
G. Borelli, Milan—for improvement in bridges, via•
ducts, acqueclucts, and other similar erections ; J. Todd,
Glasgow, and W. Johnson, Birmingham—for improve-
ments in arranging the rails on certain parts of railways.
Wheels and Axles :W. Adams, Croydon--for certain
improvements in railway wheels ; G. Eddy, Waterford,
America—for an improvement in the manufacture of
cast-iron wheels for railway and other carriages ; W.
Exalt, Reading—for improvements in the construction
of wheels, and in certain implements employed therein,
and in the mode of forming the tires, metallic rings,
bands, &c. Steam-engines : Mr. Leaby, Westmin-
ster for certain improvements in steam-engines ;
E. Galloway, Middlesex—for improvements in rota-
Cary engines, and in locomotive carriages and railways ;
T. Craddick, Birmingham—for improvements in steam-
engines and boilers, and in machinery connected there-
with. Electric Telegraph : A. Bain, Edinburgh—for
certain improvements in transmitting and receiving
electrical telegraph communications, and in apparatus
connected therewith ;M. Poole, London—for improve-
ments in the construction and working of electric tele-
graphs Propulsion and Motive Power F. H. Ma-
herly, Stowmarket, and T. Branwhite, Rattlesdea, and
D. Lusten, Finborough—for improvement, in machinery
for obtaining and applying motive power, and for accele-
rating and retarding the same ; W. Eaton, Surrey—for
improvements in obtaining motive power ; W. H. Talbot,
Wilts—for improvements in obtaining and applying mo-
tive power ; W. Johnson, Millhank—for certain improve-
ments in propelling carriages on railways. Carriages :
W. Aitken, Aberdeen— for improvements in four-
wheeled carriages ;J. Boydell, Dudley—for improve-
ments in applying apparatus to carriages to facilitate the
draught.

SUNDAY TRAINS.—At a meeting of the town council
of Stirling on Monday, Mr. Burden moved that the
council should express their disapproval of the conduct
of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway directors in
discontinuing the Sunday morning and evening trains.
Bailie Morrison moved the previous question. In the
course of the discussion the Dean of Guild said " he had
seriously, and for some time, considered this matter, and
had at first felt some difficulty, but his mind was now
made up, and he could see no right that these directors
had to dictate to people who thought it a duty to travel
on the Sabbath. The directors of a public company,
having the sole traffic between Edinburgh and Glasgow,
had no right to dictate to a million of people composing
the inhabitants of these two cities and the other towns
along the line." On the vote being taken, the mo-
tion, censuring the directors, and requesting the
resumptio❑ of the trains, was carried by eleven to
three—the provost, three bailies, treasurer, and dean
of guild voting in the majority. The minority of
three are free churchmen. Three elders of the estab-
lishment, and all the Dissenters (with the exception of
one, who declined ♦oting) supported the motion. We
understand that the council are prepared to fellow up
the first step of memorialising the directors in the same
way as the councils of Edinburgh and Linlithgow. All
the town councils in the neighbourhood of the line—
Edinburgh, Leith, Falkirk, Stirling, Linlithgow, Queens.
ferry, Cu par, Dunfermline —have now condemned the
conduct of the directors, who have obtained countenance
from no responsible and representative public body, ex-
cept at such places as Inverness and Rothesay, where
people are in utter ignorance of the facts of the case.
—Scotsman.
THE EDINDURCII SUNDAY TRAIN MEETING.—The
hall was crowded chiefly by ladies, and the quantity of
clergymen present was great. It was truly what Mons.
Michelet would have called a meeting of "priests, wo-
men, and families."—Feshire Journal.

EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW ACCIDENTS.
Some strange fatality seems to attach to the manage-
ment of this railway. Scarcely a week elapses without
the occurrence of an accident more or less serious in its
results, and we are again called upon to record below
another of those unfortunate casualties, in addition to
those given in other parts of this sheet, by which a
considerable number of passengers have been severely
injured. The officials connected with the working of
the line seem now to be so much accustomed to these
affairs, thnt the matter of broken legs, dislocated arms,
or other dangerous bodily hurts, are described by
them as trifling injuries ; in fact, when applied to for
information on the subject they appear to be utterly im-
pervious to the knowledge of a serious accident. They
are used to it, like the eels to skinning, and whether by
the instructions of their superiors, or from an instinctive
perception of what is for the interests of the company,
they are perfectly alive to the importance of refusing all
details of collisions, break downs, overturns, and those
numerous other incidents to which their trains seem
heir to. It was lately suggested by Punch—and we
think not without propriety—that,
y trainslwa h
fosrtohueldsabkee of rail-
way
passengers,
accom-
panied by a party of the directors of the compan3 •
tahnd er s farmo
isnas oar
an a
geen t— knowledgeof this o
lfi
nt e management—or
smeaonnane er
concerned,
t io rsr
preve
travelledtc
huerr
directorse n c e s
ap-
pears to us the only practical way of
anranetniyndag:ce,osaculralceeeshitothoinvact-t
individual amal
capacity, but we never yet beard of an accident to any
uponas othfat
ththeisdetailed line,rail wianyballenlaovwin:
frequently conveyed a
midn
fithfteeesn minutes,
tspace
of one hour and a half, and
and no accidents have occurred ; and this, of course,
arose from the caution and circumspection exercised by
those in charge of the line. How does it come, then,
that with the slow trains of the company so many acci-
dents should happen ? The subject is one entitled to
prompt and serious attention ; and as such we hope it
will be appreciated by the public.
Since the above was witten, a meeting of the passen-
gers by the quarter to eight o'clock, P.M., train from
Edinburgh, was held today in the Black Bull, at which
the details connected with the accident of last night
were embodied in the form of a memorial and adopted.
The following is an outline of the proceedings :—The
meeting, which was large and highly respectable, was
composed principally of passengers who had been
bruised and otherwise injured, but who had escaped
with their lives, and were able to attend to take part in
the proceeding. Nearly all of them, however, were
complaining, and some so much so, that they could with
difficulty adhibit their signatures to the memorial which
the
n
was agreed to.
Mr. WALKER, of the Edinburgh and Glasgow
one of the passengers, having been unanitnousl
calledßa
to the chair, opened the business by explaining
ob-
ject for which the meeting had been called. lie then
read the following memorial:--
" TO THE DIRECTORS OF THE EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW
RAILWAY.

" " Glasgow, Dec 26, 1846.
We, the undersigned, passengers by the quarter
to eight o'clock, r'. c., train from Edinburgh, on Friday,
the 25th inst„ beg to address your board relative to the
serious collision which took place last night, near Bishop.
bridge station, which was occasioned by the grossest
carelessness and mismanagement on the part of your
servants, and the results of which might have been of a
more appalling nature. The train was about 400 or
500 yards from the above station, which it passes, and
going at full speed, when it ran into a coal train, luckily-
:or us, proceeding in the same direction, but et a much

RAIL WAY INTELLIGENCE.
COLCHESTER, STOUR VALLEY, SUDBURY,
AND HALSTEAD.
COLCHESTER, MONDAY A FTERNOON. --This day a
special meeting was held at the office, No. 1, High-street,
when resolutions were passed authorising the leasing of
the line to the Eastern Union, and to proceed with cer-
tain extensions.
Mr. T. L'Estrange Ewen, the chairman of the board,
presided.
Mr. F. B. PHILB RICK, one of the solicitors, read the
report, which set out with recommending the adoption
of a resolution to enable the board to pay interest upon
the calls, the provisions to that effect having been in-
advertently omitted in the Act of Parliament. The next
subject treated of was the agreement with the River Stour
Navigation Company for purchasing their interest in
such river at the rate of 7001. per share, half the amount
to be paid in cash, and the other half in Stour Valley
Railway shares of 23/. each; to raise the capital re-
quired for this purpose, as also to convert such portions
of the work as might be deemed desirable from a single
to a double line of rails, it was proposed to create 10,000
new shares of 10/. each, to he first offered share for share
to the holders of the original shares in the company, and
to rank in all respects as part of the original capital of
the company, such new stock to be called upon from
time to time as the payments of the river shares became
due. The report next noticed the proposed extensions
to Milford, Lavenham, and Clare, and from Lavenham
to Bury St. Edmunds, all of them called for by the wants
of the districts. The additional capital, which would be
thus required, the directors recommend to be raised
by extension scrip to be allotted as they might judge
expedient.

Mr. GREENE, a shareholder, suggested that the
meeting deal with the directors, whD were not to blame,
in a mild and conciliatory spirit, because it was evidently
their interest that such things should not take place, and
it would be their duty to make the most searching inquiry
into the whole facts of this case.
Mr. HENRY Durti.or, of Craigton, who had by this
time arrived, after having had read over to him the me-
morial proposed by the chairman, said—He bad only a
short time previously been informed of this accident, and
he thought that in the meantime they ought to express
their thankfulness that no loss of life had occurred in
connexion with it. At the same time, ho thought it right
that the gentlemen present should take every necessary
step for the safety of the line. The directors of late bad
been quite annoyed at the number of accidents on the line,
and had done everything they could to prevent them, but
with all their care and attention they had been unable to
prevent such occurrences. For his brother directors, he
could assure this meeting that every attention would be
given to any memorial which might be addressed to
them on the subject. In the meantime they had not
had time to inquire into the cause of the accident but
the servants of the company were to be examined on
Monday first, when the strictest investigation would be
made of their conduct. It was only a few days ago
since an accident occurred from the neglect of orders by
the servants of the company. On inquiry into the cause
of the accident, the directors had dismissed the station
keeper, who ought to have seen that his servant did his
duty, and along with him the servant who had
neglected the signals. That was all the directors could
do, and otherwise he could assure this meeting that no
egrt was wanting on their part to prevent such casual-
ties, which were obviously not for the interest of the
company.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. DAVIEs, jun., said those present had nothing to
do with the pecuniary interests of the company. They
were here for the protection of their lives, and the ful-
lest investigation should be mad into the facts of the
case. For this purpose, and for the satisfaction of the
public, he wished to know from Mr. Dunlop if, at the
inquiry on Monday, the reporters of the public press
would be admitted.
Mr. DUNLOP said—Certainly. The directors were
anxious for the fullest inquiry, and he would propose
that the sheriff of the county, or some other official
person, ought to superintend the inquiry.
Mr. CRUICRSLIANICS, who had previously moved a re-
solution calling upon the Board of Trade to interfere in
the management of this line, and to supersede the di-
rectors, until they were satisfied that the directors had
taken all proper steps for the efficient working of the
ine, here intimated his willingness to withdraw his mo-
ion, on the understanding that the fullest and most

satisfactory inquiry wouldrbe made by the directors, and
everything done to satisfy the public, and put the line in
a position of safety. At the same time Mr. Cruick-
shanks assured Mr. Dunlop that the resolution he had
moved was not dictated by any other motive than a de-
sire for the public safety.

After some further conversation, the above memoris,
was unanimously adopted, and a small committee was
appointed to attend the investigation by the railway
company on Monday first.
The
broke meeting, after voting thanks to the chairman,
P.

EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW.--QUICK TRAINS.—In
reference to the manner in which the trains on this line
of railway are usually conducted, and the speed at
which the engines are sometimes worked, a corre-
spondent says :—" On Wednesday last I left Glasgow
for Edinburgh by the eleven o'clock forenoon train,
and was fortunate enough to roach the latter town by
two o'clock, thus accomplishing the distance, by
one of the fast trains of the company, in the in-
credibly short space of three hours—putting me in the
position of being just one hour
bt hind' the time
appointed for transacting the business for which I set
out. The reason assigned for the delay by those in
charge of the train was, the condition of the engine and
the want of steam. So much was this the case, that on
the road the engine several times nearly came to a full
stand, perhaps with a view to a friendly salute from the
next train which followed it. On returning by the after-
noon slow train at five o'clock—which ought, in the
ordinary course, to have reached Glasgow at half-past
seven—another of the excellent engines of the company
(No. 3, North British) broke down when about four miles
out of Edinburgh. Luckily, on account of the snail way
pace at which the train was goingprevious to the occurrence
no lives were lost, and no bones were broken. The passen-
gers, however, had the agreeable alternative of going out
into the open air with the prospect of being nearly frozen
to death, or remaining in the carriages with the risk of
having themselves cool'(ey)d. After an elapse of two
hours, during which the passengers amused themselves as
they best might, in an atmosphere by no means sultry,
an engine was brought from Edinburgh, not much supe-
rior to its predecessor, by which the train reached Glas-
gow at ten o'clock, thus accomplishing the distance in
five hours." Looking to the frequency of such casual.
ties, our correspondent suggests that the railway com-
pany might in future not improperly provide each train
with a truck containing a team of horses to draw the
engine in the event of similar accidents, and a few bas-
kets of refreshments for pic-nic parties, that may
neces-
sarily require to be formed on the line.—Glasgow Satur-
day Post.

THE PAVEMENTS or PARIS.—From official returns
lately published, on the paving and maintenance of
the pavements of Paris, it appears that the paved
surface of the streets of that capital is 3,321,000
square yards, of which the state maintains 1,083,000
square yards, and the Corporation of Paris 2,q38,000
yards. The charge of keeping up this pa-vement is fixed Ft 53,0001. To this must be added the
cost of keeping up the public roads laid with l, bitumen, or small flints, such as the roads, grave
side-
the quaff Montebello, the exterior and inte-
walks, and alleys of the promenade of the
Champs
Elysees,
pavement cost 3id per annum for keep
rior Boulevards, and a great number of other places. A
s
most considerable operation, and which.
pavement, which costs
s. 1 od.
o
firnflogumauriept:yarih oef
expense, only occurs at distant periods, is taking
iu)epransdq
new square
stone.hic'i aurg(l
T'tihlne old pavement,
of course, the cost of
the eldi
budget of the Corporation of Paris
allots 10,000/. per annum for this purpose, a very in-
sufficient sum, as the complete repaving takes place
of Paris, such as the neighbourhood of the Palais Royal,
every 25 or 30 years, in the quarters situate in the centre
the Boulevards, the Bourse, and the Place Vendome.
In
the suburbs and more distant quarters, however, a com-
plete repaving is requirf d only every 40 years. In spite
of the care shown in keeping the pavement of the richest,
most central, and most frequented streets of Paris in good
order, it is remarkable that these are exactly in the
most unsatisfactory condition, being the rues de la
Chausstle-d'-Antin, Laffitfe, St. Lazare, St. Denis, Alont-
rnartre, du-Bae, do la Ilarpe, the boulevards and quays.

1111.1
slower rate. Had it been stationary it is impossible to
say how many lives must have been sacrificed. The con-
cussion was tremendous, and one at least of the passen-
gers was severely cut and wounded, while all were much
bruised and shaken. The engine was thrown off the rails
completely disabled, while the tender was dashed to
pieces. The parties in charge of the coal train said they
showed the danger signal lamp three-quarters of a mile
before they were run into, and, if so, the blame attachable
to the engineer of the passenger train is of a very serious
nature, and calls for the most searching inquiry, in justice
to the community at large, whose lives are thus put in
such imminerq danger, when unfortunately compelled to
be passengers on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway."
The CHAIRMAN said the memorial emraced an ac-
count of the accident as nearly as he could recollect the
circumstances. He understood since that one of the
passengers (Dr. Ballantyne) had been dangerously
wounded, and all were more or less bruised. It was
for those present to say if they would adopt the above
memorial, or what other steps they were prepared to
take. He had written to the secretary of the com-
pany that morning, requesting his attendance here,
along with any other of the directors he might think
it necessary to bring with him, but as yet none of them
had made their appearance.
Mr. CRUICKSHANKS, another passenger, next ad-
dressed the meeting. He entirely approved of the terms
of the memorial., There was evidently the grossest mis-
management on the part of the officers en the line, and
it could not be reprehended in too strong terms. When
this accident occurred at Bishop-bridge, the passengers
on coming out to the cold wintry air, found the door of
the station-house there locked, and no one in attendance
upon it. Women and children in a state of the greatest
distress were running to and fro. Not a drop of water
could they obtain for the faint and wounded, and a full
half hour elapsed before they could get any assistance
from the railway servants.
Mr. WRIGHT, secretary of the company, here entered
the meeting, and was accommodated with a chair. He
explained that he had xeceiveeta notice inviting him to
attend, and Tie Mirteen prevented from appearing
sooner, as he wished to have the chairman or deputy-
chairman along with him. He believed, however, that
one or both these gentlemen would be here immediately.
Mr. MORTON, a passenger, said—lt was evident there
was gross carelessness manifested in regard to the con-
duct of the line. After the collision occurred they were
coolly told by the engineer in charge of the train, that
if they had unfortunately been going at greater speed,
and been three minutes earlier in coming up, all of the
passengers might have been killed.
Mr. WRIGHT, secretary to the company, said it was
evident that there had_been some gross irregularity on
the part of the servants, but the fullest investigation into
all the circumstances would be made by the directors,
when he believed it would be found that this accident
was not occasioned by the want of regulations, but from
the carelessness of the servants, for which the directors
could not be found fault with.
Mr. DATIES, jun. (to Mr. Wright)—Why is it that
engines are sent out that are insufficient ?
Mr. WRIGHT—Some of the late accidents happened
to new engines.
Mr. ORR suggested that they should do nothing to
injure the interests of the company, while they took
every means in their power to obtain a satisfactory ex-
planation of this accident, and saw that steps were taken
to prevent a recurrence of any similar casualty.
Mr. MORTON proposed that the Board of Trade have
their attention called to the mismanagement on this line,
and that they be memorialised to interfere to prevent a
repetition of those numerous accidents that had occurred
of late.