The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-26 00:00:00

TUN SUN,

tent tribunal we avoided any allusion thereto.
Therein, however, no longer any necessity for pre-
, serviog silence. Two inquiries have taken place be-
fore coroner's juries. We have also the official re-
port of Captain laarrasz, R.E., the gentlemen ap-
pointed by the Railway Commissioners to inquire
into the circumstances attending the melancholy
transaction, and the reply of the directors thereto.
These latter documents, which may be considered the
charge and the defence, will be found in another part
of this day's impression, and it is for the public, on
considering what has thus been alleged on either
side, to pronounce their verdict and to declare whe-
ther the directors are indeed worthy of censure, or
whether they had adopted the fitting precautions
which men of ordinary prudence would re-
sort to in cases where their own personal
safety and property might be at stake.
The directors confidently appeal to that
decision, they feel that they can come into court with
clean hands, that they have nothing whatsoever to
reproach themselves with, either in the nature of the
directions issued for the guidance of their subordi-
nates or in the conduct of their servants, for which
thaymight be considered responsible ; and, although
they lament the frightful catastrophe, as every person
of common humanity must do, they consider them-
selves totally free from blame in respect thereof, he,-
lieving it to be one of those accidents which no degree
of merely human foresight could prevent or mitigate.
While on the topic, they refer with just pride to the
fact that for more than nine years preceding the late
disaster, the extensive, and complicated traffic on this
important line, of which they have the control and
management, has been worked without a single fatal
accident to any passenger, and although this happy
result must in some degree be ascribed to great good
fortune—for "accidents will: happen in the best re-
gulated families "—it also shows that the parties who
can with truth make such a boast could not have
been influenced by any sordid consideration as to ex-
pense, or actuated with reckless indifference as to the
safety of the passengers.
We are well aware that there is on every side a
tendency to condemn rail way directors on any, the
slightest grounds. Many persons consider that every
advantage should be given to the community in
general, without reference to the fact whether it may
or can prove remunerative to the companies. It is
proverbially impossible to please all parties, and per-
haps there are no classes so loudly and universally
attacked as the managers of railway traffic, and
that on the most trivial and insufficient grounds. If
a train travels slowly, one indignant passenger de-
nounces the conduct of the directors, which he con-
trasts with that of other boards, and the rapidity of
transit on other lines, so beneficial to men of business.
If the wpeed be slightly increased, some timid
valetudinarian protests against the dangerous ra
pidity, and in a whining epistle suggests the propriety
of inflicting capital punishment, or at least per-
petual transportation, on some delinquent director.
Journals are to be found ready and willing to afford
a place in their columns to any complaints, even of
the most opposite characters, as if a fling at rail-
way managers would certainly attract notice, and be
received with approbation. We would, however,
venture to remind these persons that it is impossible
to attain perfection in this world, and that we cannot
hope to procure the services of men of superhuman
abilities and foresight, who could anticipate matters
that might baffle ordinary calculation. With
these cautions we shall proceed to consider
the report and answer, and, we are satisfied, that the
public will, after a calm and dispassionate perusal,
arrive at the same conclusion which we ourselves,
after a searching examination, have had forced upon
our minds.

And first it appears that the immediate cause of
the accident was the fact that a sleeper had been
placed across the line, which threw the engine and
carriages off the rails, and that none of the servants
of the company could be charged, or even reasonably
suspected of being cognizant of the act. Tee jury at
Lewes, who could not be accused of any undue pre-
judice in favour of the company, declared that
" there was no evidence to show how the sleeper
had come on the line." The jury at Brighton, who
had additional evidence, and sat at a later period,
found that the sleeper had been " wilfully, felo-
niously, and maliciously, placed across the outer rail
on the northern side of the down line by some person
or persons unknown ;" and Captain LAFFAN adopts
the same view, as being established beyond the
possibility of doubt. The Gallant Gentleman, in
his report says :

Ou reviewing all the evidence bearing upon the
subject of this inquiry, it seems evident that the imme-
diate cause of this dissater was the circumstance of a
sleeper being I,ft re<ting upon one of the rails; and
that the act of placing the sleeper in that po,ition cannot
ue attributed to any or the cJwpany's bervau;s."

And with praiseworthy candour he adds—
" It is evident, also, that the company's servants can-
not, by any practicable exercise of vigilance, prevent
persons mischievously disposed and watching for an op-
portunity, from getting unseen upon the line."
This would clearly and completely exonerate the
company but for the addition to that paragraph, in
which he declares—

" But it is equally clear, that undue fsoilities for mis-
chief are afforded to such trespassers by the practice of
leaving sleepers in secluded spots in such close proxi.
miry to the rails ; and, independent of this, there is
a strong probability, that had the traffic on the
Lewes branch been conducted with a proper regard
to public safety, the wanton act of placing a sleeper
on the rail would not have been followed by the fatal
cons(quences which actually ensued. It is quite clear
that the train, when it met with the obstruction, was
running at a speed which was imprudent at that spot;
and it is equally clear that the circumstance of the en-
gine running tender foremost had a most important in-
fluence on the result."

Here, then, is the entire gravamen of the charge
compressed into the briefest compass. It may be
divided into three branches :—First, the fact of the
sleeper being left on the line, so that it could be made
use of for an improper purpose ; secondly, the undue
rapidity of the train at that particular point ; and,
thirdly, the tender being placed before the engine.
A sufficient answer to the first point was given by
the ~workmen on the line who were examined at
the inquest. They showed that it was essential
to have the materials ready at hand for repairing the
defects that might arise, without a moment's unne-
cessary delay; nor could it for a moment be sup-
posed that any person would make use of them to ob-
struct the line. If such arguments were admitted,
stones could not be placed at a road side for necessary
repairs, lest some madmen might fling them at the
passers .by. A carpenter could not lay by his chisel
lest it might be used to stab a companion. There
would be an end to the ordinary business of life, if
such views were carried into practice. Any malicious
person could easily find means of obstructing the
line if determined on so doing, which might possibly
be even more formidable than that which was at
hand. Much weight is not attached to this
point by Captain LAFFAN; the two latter points,
the rate of speed and the tender being
foremost, are those to which the greatest im•
p_ortance is assigned, and these are fully answered by
the directors. Now, on the question of speed, the
entire
evidence is opposed to the conclusion arrived
at by ca .
PtSlll LAFFAN, that it was " cer-
tainly
L' less than 27 miles an hour."
On the
contrary, the evidence not only
Parke's empdoyes who were examined,
s toh
thato
n'
bofut alla of the passengers who were examined,
proved that it wu
about twenty miles
an hour, or, as there will necessarily be dif-
ferences of opinion, from
seventeen to twenty-
three miles an hour, which were the
statements on oath of the persons present at the trans-
action, while the t Captain formed his opinion
t
from subsequent experiments. The facts are, there-
directors ; but were i
fore, in favour of the t other-
wise, they show that even 27 miles an hour would
not be an undue or dangerous speed, and that much
greater rapidity is resorted to every day on some of
the best managed lines of the kingdom, and that
without any unfavourable re,u ts. On the
third point their argument is no less satisfactory.
They first show that there is a very great difference
of opinion respecting the effect that would have
been produced had the engine been before the
tender ; and that the views of Captain LAFFAN
are totally opposed to those of Messrs. WOODS,
FENTON, and CRAVEN, all competent witnesses, who
differed widely as to the probable consequences from
the Government official. It also appears that no acci-
dent has ever occurred from that cause, and that the
Railway Commissioners themselves have heretofore
considered it immaterial, from their sanctioning the

LONDON,

opening of the Ashford and Hastings line More any
engine turn-table was provieled,aud where consequently
all trains must run of necessity one way tender foremost.
On the whole, we think that every unprejudiced per-
son will agree in thinking that the directors have
clearly entitled themselves to the favourable verdict
for which they so confidently, and on such satis-
factory grounds, appeal to the community at large.

An amendment in the Patent Laws may at length
be confidently anticipated. It will be remembered
that already two endeavours have very recently been
made in this direction—the one by Lord BROUGHAM,
and the other by Lord GRANVILLE. These proposals
for an improvement having been referred to a Select
Committee, and that Committee having minutely in-
vestigated the evils complained of, a comprehensive mea-
sure has at last been introduced by her MAJESTY'S
Government, the second reading of it being formally
announced to come on this evening. Remembering
the enormity of the grievances relating to the posi-
tion of scientific inventors, it is most earnestly to be
hoped that the debate, which will in all likelihood take
place to-night upon the questions involved in this Bill,
may demonstrate the fact of a searching investigation
having been adventured upon during the recent la-
bours of the Select Committee. Otherwise we fear
there can be but little probability of any very consi-
derable advantages flowing from the present effort any
more than from the previous attempts in the like
course by my Lord BROUGHAM and my Lord
GRANVILLE. It must be acknowledged, at the same
time, that the precise character of the evils to be dis-
sipated has long since become a matter of notoriety
to the general population. All the difficulty in their
regard at present remaining is to discover the exact
manner in which it would be most desirable that they
should be removed. That discoverers in chemistry
and inventors in mechanics should have the products
of their philosophic research protected by the laws
of the land, in such a way that the emolu-
ments arising out of the employment of their
ingenuity by the community may flow principally
into their ow❑ pockets, must be obvious to all men as
a matter appealing to common sense and to our con-
victions of the necessity of fair-play. Yet assuredly
it cannot be requisite that for this purpose a scarcely
numerable gang of petty officials should be fleecing
the unfortunate applicant for a patent before he can
shelter the fruits of his intellectual inquiries under
the shadow of that very desirable document. For
the advantage of science, and that necessitates
also the advantage of the country at large,
it is always to be hoped that facilities instead
of impediments should be placed in the way of every
aspirant for the privileges of a patentee, so that the
industry of the country may be promoted, and the
convenience of the multitude secured as readily as is
at all practicable. Precisely the reverse of this, how-
ever, would appear to have been the opinion of the
Legislature, if the system as it at present stands can
be regarded as any criterion or testimony. Aided by
the indignation felt by the mass at the long continu-
ance of this abuse, the Ministry, we are sanguine, may
at length be enabled to sweep away in one fell swoop
the whole of its intolerable concomitants. Legal an-
tiquaries will then, perhaps, be induced to examine
with the more complacency into the precise nature of
that unaccountable item in the old calculation, Night
the " Deputy chaff wax," and the astonishing
oddity of whose cognomen induced Mr. DICKENS to
inquire whether it signified a man or a process.
Nothing can justify us, we are rejoiced to believe,
in anticipating the perpetuation of an evil
so inimical to the interests of knowledge
and civilization, an evil destructive of the spirit of
enterprise among philosophers, and derogatory to the
genius of our liberal and enlightened institutions.
What is principally required by inventors may be
readily particularised. First and foremost it is de-
manded by them that the mode of obtaining the pro-
tection of a patent may be very materially simplified,
and, secondly, it is insisted upon by the common
principles of justice that the charges of purchasing
these letters patent may be very considerably and
immediately reduced. That the preservation of a
catalogue periodically arranged would materially
benefit the public at large is, of course, unquestion-
able. That other and minuter arrangements of the
like description would be beneficial must be equally
apparent. But before any of these advantages are
looked for it is assuredly much more to be desiderated
that the inventors should in the first instance have
their individual claims allowed, and their class
interests taken into earnest consideration. For these
benefits we look confidently to the two branches of
the Imperial Legislature ; the more fully satisfied
that the matter in question will obtain a
proper amount of attention from the circumstance
of its being put forward simultaneously with the dis-
play of so many scientific marvels in the Palace of
the Industrial Exhibition. Confirmed by reflection
in these salutary anticipations, we await with some
eagerness the second reading this evening of the Mi-
nisterial Bill relating to the Patent Law Amendment.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris journals of yesterday.
The Debats publishes the following analysis of the
speech of M. DE 13aoamil in the Committee of Rb.
vision :

" M. de Broglie said that after so long a discussion he
should proceed direct to the subject, without making any
profession of faith. The Republic and the Constitution
existed, but he had not made them. He had refused to
be a mayor in 1848, in order to avoid being compelled
to rend the Constitution on the public place. As to the
Republic, he would behave towards it as a good citizen
ought to do. He demanded immediate revision in or-
der to avoid the misfortunes which might be forseen in
1852, not for the re-establishment of the monarchy,
but to ameliorate the actual institutions; he was, how-
ever, opposed to the expression of any wish in the re-
port, in the name of the Committee, for that ameliora-
tion. That desire would be vain in lace of the consti-
tuent powers necessetsily unlimited in their nature; it
would, moreover, be a manner of proclaiming the
perpetuity of the republican principle, a kind of act of
faith and an oath of fidelity; it would be to provoke tu-
multuous protestations; and, in short, would be to act
against the letter and spirit of the Constitution. It had
been maintained, said the Hon. Gentleman, that the re-
publican regime had been established by surprise, with-
out the country being consulted; it had also been said,
that the Constituent Assembly bad not been freely
, elected, and that, when once installed, it found itself
surrounded with the obsessions of the multitude
and enveloped with ti 'mutes. The Constitution was
deliberated on under the regime ,of the state of siege.
When the question of the two Chambers was raised, M.
de Laosarttne was right in saying that circumstances
required the dictatorship of a single Assembly. Atter
the adoption of the Constitution the • country was not
consulted. The demand for the revision has for object
to give to the new Constitution in a tranquil time a
character of liberty, which the present Consti-
tution had never had. M. de Broglie, there-
fore, adopts the principle which would limit
the constituent powers. He, nevertheless, opposed the
propositions of MM. Craton and Bouhier de l'Ecluse.
The actual Assembly he considered had not the right
to change the established Government. Art. 111 es-
tablished two missions—that of the actual Assembly,
and that of a Constituent. The Legislative Assembly
could only characterise the evil, and put its finger on
the wound. The remedy belonged to the Constituent,
which would be useless if the Legislative were to go
beyond the expression of a wish. He wished to have a
resolution to the following effect:—' The Legislative
Assembly, in furtherance of Article 111 of the Consti-
tution, expresses its wish that the Constitution should'
be revised conformably to that article.' The report
should develupe the motives of that wish. M.
de 'Broglie would, he said, have wished to
have pointed out the defects of the Constitu-
tion; but on that point he should adhere to what had
been so well remarked by M. Odilon Barrot. No an.
sorer had been given to what that gentleman had esta-
blished. It hail been objected, it is true, that the mis
hief came from the men charged to execute the Consti-
tution, and not from the Constitution itself. The insti-
tutions were made precisely to lead to a good choice and
to a good direction. If they are conceived in such a
way that they excite passions, and cause divisions in-
stead of preventing them, they are bad. To speak the
truth, it is not men that are accused, but one man alone,
the President of the Republic. It was not his (M. de
Broglie's) mission to defend him ; be was neither his
minister, his adviser, nor his friend ; the only ac-
quaintiiatios:ll e had with him was to send him to the fort
ut Ham, when he had been called on to try him ; but
ho o
efe;litt,,bbioisuliiida to be just—he did not think there was
any danger of an 18th Brumaire. Nevertheless, let us
admithe danger. What gave the President the
etxp,,).ek,d then d sraWaempuheneahitlriueeepertiophhaercerhsaeidPse:?o"uinldttereyhtadwunebiuetiaednryweoiestvheebhde
had been wishedhaqtvo have a Pertesbidedentbeweinth
iCt
f it
In-
stead of that, the President been
. sleeted dill rent,ly. In-
limited
powers, he should
eenvt had been put at the top of a
onde to climbup. lie had
former. Pu a man at themidtoeieptßizsg
hmeaeghdpe late: ghni-et'wienevni tian nullity u 1 ietr usurpation,wofeuid e o not consent
0 easnadaty
teedt
astoniehment had been felt Jat
olifeNotrethe
demandedlaemcteio,
nat and the
therevision, wuid
President havein or
should orvueldht regb
et o.
the
c;completely changed. All that
portion of the Constitution was an extravagance; any one I