The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-12 00:00:00

EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY AND
THE BOARD OF TRADE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Eastern Counties Railway, Secretary's Office,
Bishopsgate Station, London, Jan. 11.
Sir,—l am instructed by the directors to forward you
a copy of my letter, which has been addressed to the
Board of Trade, together with a copy of the enclosure
therein alluded to.—l am, &c.,
J. B. OWEN, Secretary.

Eastern Counties Railway, Secretary's Office,
Bishopsgate Station, London, Jan. 10.
Sir,—The Board of Directors ofithe Eastern Counties
Railway Company have had under their anxious consi-
deration your letter of the sth inst., enclosing, by order
of the Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council for
Trade, copy of the report of Colonel Wynne on the state
of certain parts of the Eastern Counties Railway.
I am desired to state, for the information of their lord-
ships, that in October last a special committee of this
board was appointed to deliberate on the condition of
the permanent way and works of the Eastern Counties
lines, and to take such action thereon as, under the ad-
vice of their engineer, Mr. Bruff, might be thought

necessary.
The board have called the attention of their engineer
to the communication received from their lordships, and
the accompanying report from that officer will show
generally the course which has been taken by him, both
before and after the appointment of the special commit-
tee, and the plans proposed for the future, togeth(-r with
his views as to the safety of tlae line between London,
Cambridge, and Norwich.
The board feel that by the additional precautions sug-
gested therein, and which they have ordered forthwith to
be adopted, the public safety will be satisfactorily provided
for.

The board are gratified to find that Colonel Wynne
agrees with their engineer, that weak or decayed timber
structures may be temporarily made safe by additional
struts and other appliances of new timber.
This strengthening of the timber structures, together
with the introduction of new sleepers, and the general
rectification of every deficiency, has been, and is being,
carried on with unceasing energy, and unsparing expendi-
ture, by a force of upwards of 1,000 men, foremen, and
superintendents, in addition to the ordinary establish-
ment.

The board concur frilly in Col. Wynne's opinion, that
to make the larger timber structures permanently safe
they must be all carefully stripped and overhauled,
which, of course, will require the removal of one of the
lines of rails during the process.
This thorough restoration has been in progress for
some months past, and will be continued with as much
expedition as is practicable, and therefore the board are
prepared to meet the exigency of the circumstances to
the full extent indicated by Col. Wynne.
The board trust that by these precautions, and by the
skill and vigilance of their engineer and his staff, all
danger will be averted and the public confidence be fully
restored.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,
J. B. OwEN, Secretary.
To Captain Gallon, R.E.. Railway Department,
Board of Trade.

Bishopsgata Station, Jan. 9.
To the Chairman of the Way and Works Committee.
Sir,—l have carefully read and considered the report
of Colonel Wynne upon the condition of the permanent
way and wood bridge upon this company's line between
London, Cambridge, and Norwich ; and however ap-
plicable his observations would have been some few
months since, I am constrained to differ in opinion with
him to a considerable extent as to their present condi-
tion, or the danger to be apprehended by the public in
travelling thereon, and for the following reasons :
L The wood bridges were carefully examined,t sated,
and classified soon after I became engineer of the com-
pany ; and those structures which exhibited the most
serious decay and weakness were at once placed under
reconstruction, and others less urgent were made tem-
porarily secure until time permitted their renewal.
2. A large force of foremen and workmen distributed
throughout the line have been actively engaged t.nder
my direction for many months past in the reconstruc-
tion and reparation of the wood bridges, whose efforts
must of necessity result in the daily improvement of
their stability, and whose duty it is to guard the public
safety to the utmost extent, by a daily examination of
every wood structure.
3. The reduced weight and speed of passenger trains
now adopted on the section of the line in question, and
more particularly the greatly reduced speed at which
they pass over those wooden structures at present under
repair, or which have not been permanently rene
4. The greater weight of the goods and mineral trains,
which 'pass in rapid succession both day and night over
the whole line, which act as continuous tests of the
stability both of the permanent way and of the wood
bridges, and may consequently be considered as afford-
ing a fair guarantee for the safe passage of the lighter
passenger trains.
5. The fact that no accident occurred when the way
and works of the company were in a far less satisfactory
condition than at present, and in the absence of those
precautionary measures and limits of speed which now
exist.
Absolute safety in railway travelling, I need hardly
observe, can be secured upon no line, however new or
perfect it may be in all its parts ; and upon the Eastern
Counties' London, Cambridge, and Norwich line, I see
.0 reasonable op-enuis to doubt, with a continuance of
the present efforts to maintain and improve its condi-
tion, and of those further precautionary measures herein
referred to, that the public may travel as safely as upon
th© generality of lines under ordinary circumstances.
And I would beg to observe, in reference to this opi-
nion, that I can have no object other than giving you
correct information, seeing that it fell to my duty first
to call the attention of the board of directors to the
dilapidated condition of your way and works almost im-
mediately after my appointment, since which time, with
the cognisance of yourself, colleagues, and shareholders, I
have been actively employed in effecting their restora-
tion.

In conclusion, I have to recommend that, in deference
to the expressed opinion of Colonel Wynne to the Board
of Trade, and to allay apprehension in the public mind,
the rate of speed of all passenger trains between London,
Cambridge, and Norwich, be for a time still further re-
duced ; that a safety-travelling inspector be appointed to
travel upon the engine with every passenger train be-
tween those points to enforce strictly the company's re-
gulations ; and notwithstanding the unfavourable period
of the year for extended operations, that a considerable
increase should be made to our present means, with the
view of expediting repairs and facilitating the progress
Of reconstruction.—l remain, sir, your obedient servant,
(Signed) PETER BRUIT, Engineer.

SINKING OF AN EXPERIMENTAL MOR
TAR-VESSEL, AND LOSS OF LIFE.

PORTSMOUTH, Jan. 11.—The new India-rubber cal
lapsing mortar boat or raft, the invention of the Rev
E. Berthon, of Fareham, was taken out of harbour this
morning, between 7 and 8 o'clock, to a point off South-
sea Castle, to undergo a final trial of her capabilities for
the service for which she was designed. This mortar-
boat differs from all other mortar-vessels yet invented,
inasmuch as she is constructed of India.rubber, and in
such a manner that she can be made to collapse, and
so may be stowed away in a small compass—the
object being to admit of a screw hoe-of-battle ship,
or other large vessel, conveying from six to ten
of such craft to the scene of operations. When in
use they present more the form of a raft than that of
a vessel, not being intended to carry masts of any kind.
The raft in question has been tried several times already,
and has hitherto answered very well ; and the
object of to-day's trial was to test her capability of dis-
charging 150 shell from a 13-inch mortar, the charge of
powder being the usual one for such mortar, viz., 201bs.
The mortar was Lilting on Captain Julius Roberts' plan,
by which a great deal of the concussion in the firing is
avoided ; the weight of the piece, with the bed, &c.,
being little short of seven tons. The raft was towed out
of harbour by the cutter and pinnace of the Excellent,
gunnery-ship, Captain Sir Thomas Maitland (the trials
being under this officer's superintendence), Lieutenant
Lethbridge, of the Excellent, and a dozen seamen gun-
ners of the same ship, together with the inventor, the
Rev. Mr. Berthon, going out in them. The first 14
rounds were highly satisfactory in every respect, when
the Rev. Mr. Berthon left the raft in a waterman's
boat-, and proceeded a short distance from her, to see
what amount of recoil she suffered from the discharge.
Toe 15th shell was then discharged, and in an instant
she sank—Lieutenant Lethbridge and the 12 men being
immersed; in the sea. The wind being high the sea
was somewhat rough, and the cutter and pinnace had to
exert themselves to rescue the officer and men. Lieut.
Lethbridge was first picked up, and the men were all
saved, with one exception ; his body unhappily could not
be found. It is supposed he sank immediately on the raft
going down. It appears that the raft's sides were fairly
blown out by the concussion.
Sir Thomas Maitland was to have gone out in the
Sprightly steamer at nine o'clock to witness the experi-
ment, and that vessel had her steam up to convey him
out ; but before he started one of the men who had been
immersed in the water arrived at the dockyard, and told
the tale of the disaster. The Sprightly immediately went
out to try to pick up the lost man, without having sue.
ceeded in doing so.
Some of the men who were picked up are in a bad
state from exhaustion, and fears are entertained for the
lives of some. They are, however, receiving every
attention.
Much sympathy is felt for the Rev. gr. Berthon,
who has distinguished himself by several useful inventions
of lndia-rubber life buoys, and who bad given up his
incumbency at Farehani with a view of devoting himself
to the perfection of the invention in question, and which
would have been of great service to the art of war.

Tat BURNOPFIELD MIIRDER.—At the adjourned in-
quest held on Tursday in Burnopfield, the jury returned
a verdict of murder against the two men Cain and
Rayne. A pardon has been offered to any unlicensed
pawnbroker who will produce the watch of the deceased
gentleman.
LAURA GAY.—Tvvo VOLS.—This novel, by a writer
who, we cannot imagine, will long be permitted to re-
main anonymous, will attract an unusual number of
readers by the warmth of its colouring and the vivacity
of its characters. The purple of Italian skies, the bright
beauty of Welsh hills and vales, the glories of a London
season, and, best of all, the hearts of handsome women,
good and bad, are woven by the author of these pages
into a story of exquisite tenderness. If we had a fault
to find, it would be with reference to the bitterness of
its satire ; but to many readers of " Laura Gay" this
ay prove one of its chief attractions.