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

r r.-Ta flita
N°.lB 333.] LONDON THURSDAY N 7Y*1..",..tt,
9 JUNE 26, 185

NEW NOVEL BY TILE AUTHOR OF TIIE DISCIPLINE OF

LIFE
Now ready at all the LMraries, in 2 vols.,
CL ARE ABBEY.
By the Author of " The Discipline of Life," &c.
" Lady Ponsonby's Clare Abbey' is a book far before her former
novel, The Discipline of Life.' "—Observer.
"Lady Emily Ponsonby has constructed a charming romance.
Indeed one that may take its rank with the works of Miss Austen
and the other lady writers who have embellished the literature of
fiction, delighting the fancy while improving the heart and elevating
the standard of the morals of society."—Morning Advertiser.
Colburn and Co., Publishers, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

20, Great _Marlborough street, June 25.
NOTICE.-CLARA CAMERON,
THE BELLE OF THE SEASON, 3 vols.,
Will be Published on S A.TLTRDAY next, by
W. Shoberl, Publisher, 20, Great Marlborough-street.
*4,* Immediate orders should be sent to the Libraries for the above
Story of high Life, so as to prevent disappointment.
Also now ready, in 3 vols.,
2. Lord W. LENNOX'S New Novel, "PERCY HAMILTON."
3. Lady BULWER LYTTON'S "MIRIAM SEDLEY. 3 vols.

Just published, in 2 vols. Svo., price ss. 6d.,
POEMS, ESSAYS, AND OPINIONS. By
ALFRED BATE RICIIARDS, Esq., (barrister-at-Law.
Aylott and Jones, Paternoster-row.

/sow ready, Volume I, price Os. 6d.,
THE EXPOSITOR; containing 1,300 Columns
of Letterpress, devoted to New Inventions—Registered De-
signs—lmprovements in Machinery of all kinds—Original Papers on
the Great Exhibition—Ample Accounts of the Articles in the Palace
of Industry—Original Correspondence connected with the Preceding
Subjects—and a mass of Miscellaneous Information not to be found
elsewhere on the Industrial Arts and Sciences. It contains 300
Engravings by Lanitills, and is handsomely bound in Cloth, with
full gilt back, and ornamental design in gold on the side. It is not
too much to say that it is the Cheapest and best Illustrated Work
of tie kind ever published. The Volume is admirably adapted for
presentation. Subscribers' Copies, bound as above, at 35., or the
Covers supplied at 2s. 6d. ; or in Exhibition Blue or Turke3 Red
Cloth, gilt edges, 10s. 6d. Joseph Clayton, jun., 265, Strand, and
223, Piccadilly; and all Booksellers and News Agents.

Just published, price 2s. Cd.,
THE GREAT EXHIBITION PRIZE ESSAY.
By the Eev. J. C. WIIISII, Mit., Incumbent of Trinity
Church, East Peckham, Kent.
" A. fitting counterpart cf the physical wealth contained in the
Palace of Industry."—The Expositor.
London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans.

NEW WORK ON STRICTURE AND SPERMATORRLICEA.
Just published, Bvo., in cloth, price 3s. 6d., by post (free), 45.,
A TREATISE on the CURE of STRICTURE
of the URETHRA; containing the True Reasons why that
Disease so often assumes such an intractable character; with Rules
and Instructions for the successful Treatment uf every Form of
Urethral Contraction, based on the results of extensive and pro
longed experience. To which is added, Practical Observations on
the Treatment of Spermatorrhcea by Cauterization.
By F. B. COURTENAY, M.R.C.S.L.
" Those who complain most loudly are those only who know not
how to use the common instruments. • • . . The prac-
tice of surgeons has been marked with all kinds of violence, and in-
difference about the simple cure of diseases, and a passion for
operations, and all the excesses and horror of surgery."—John Bell.
11. Bailliere, 219, Regent-street, London.
- -

The Great Exhibition and the Royal Polytechnic Institution. in
All the most interesting Deposits at the Great Exhibition will,
turn, be lectured on at the
ROYAL POL YTECHN IC INSTITUTION.
The present Lectures are on the Chemistry of the Minerals
and Crystals at the Great Exhibition, beginning with Diamonds,
Rubies, and Pearls, by J. 11. Pepper, Esq. ; and on Bakewell's Patent
Copying Telegraph, by Dr. Bachhoffner. —The Rotation of the Earth,
exhibited by Foucault's Experiments.—The great economy of Cook-
ing by Gas explained.—A Lecture on the History of the Harp, by
Frederick Cbatterton, EsQ,,, with Vocal Illustrations.—Two Series
of splendid Dissolving Views.— Diver and L iving Bell, &c.
Admission, Is.; Schools, Half-price.
Open daily front Half-past Ten to Five, and every Evening from
Seven till Half-past Ten.

LAURENT'S GRAND CASINO,
Licensed by Act of Parliament.
ARGYLL ROOMS, GREAT WINDMILL-
STREET, ST. JAMES'S.
,Sole Lessee, Charles Emile Laurent, Jun., 57, Brompton-square.)
OPEN EVERY EVENING,
With LAURENT'S UNRIVALLED BAND.
Principal Cornet-a-Pistons, M. Boulcourt.
Doors open at Half-past Eight o'clock—Dancing to commence at
Nine and terminate at Half-past Eleven o'clock precisely.
Admission, One Shilling.

ATTIC'S GRAND NATIONAL
lIIPPODROMF,, Kensington.—Crowded daily with rank and
fashion to witness the most surprising feats ever performed in Eng,-

Land.
Doors open at Five. Performance to commence precisely at Six.
Private Bcxes - - - - Is. Od.
Admission to the Reserved Seats - 3s. Od.
First-class do.
Second do. - - - - - - Is. Od.
Third do. - -

Mons. Franconi, Director of tho Cirque National de France, and
his unrivalled Troupe of Equestrian Artists are engaged, and will
appear twice daily :—Afternoon, at Three ; Evening, at Eight.
CREMORNE GARDENS.
This Mammoth Establishment is NOW OPEN for the
Season, under the direction of Mr. T. B. SIMPSON, with a new
Grand Gala, entitled THE FE AST OF ROSES, of a novel
and startling description, illustrative of T. Moore's beautiful poem,
" Lallah Rookli"—lmmense concentration of talent and attraction—
new Fairy Ballet, entitled THE STAR OF BEAUTY ; or, The
Imp of Fire, composed and produced by Herr Deulin, with entire
new scenery, by Messrs. Gray and DevigneS —New Tableaux Vivants,
representing the Six Prize Medals of the Exhibition—New Chinese
Pagoda—Orchestra and novel Platform, 100,000 feet, brilliantly il-
luminated, and decorated with luminous flowers—Dancing al Fresco
to Itorini's celebrated Band—W. G. Pell (the original Bones), De
Brenner, and Ledger—The Three Brothers Elliott in their surpris-
ing exercises—Madame Tallien, the Female Wizard—War Exercises
and Domestic Cus °ins of the Bosjesinans, illustrated by a Family of
that Tribe, on a new stage, with appropriate scenery—Professor Tay-
lor and the Double-sighted Youth—Splendid Pyrotechnic display on
the Polychrome Palace, by Chevalier Mortram—A new mad intricate
1 Maze—The Gipsey in her Tent—Shooting Gallery and Archery
Grounds. and numer,us other Entertainments.
Admission, One Shilling—Children Half-price. Doors open at Half
past Two.
On Sundays, no charge for Admission, except by Refreshment
Card, price Sixpence.
The Proprietors have made arrangements with the Iron and Ci-
tizen Steam-boat Companies to convey their patrons to London after
the entertainments.

ft. LA'MERT ON THE ONCRET INFIRMITIES OF YOUTH
AND MATURITY.
With Plain Directions for their Prevention and Curo.
FIFTY COLOURED ENGRAVINGS ON .TEEL.
Just pubashea, in French, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, and
Italian, in a Sealed Envelope, 2s. 6d., or post-free, from the
Author, for forty-two Stamps,
SELF P RE SER VA TI ON; a
Medical Treatise on the Physiology of Marriage, and on
the Secret infirmities and Disorders of Youth and Maturity,
isually acquired at an early period of life, which destroy
the physical and mental powers, diminish and enfeeble the natural
feelings, and exhaust the vital energies of Manhood ; with Practical
Nservations on the certain Prevention and successful Treatment of
Nervous Debility, Local and Constitutional Weakness, Syphilis,
itricture, and all Diseases and Derangements resulting from Inflis-
oretion, as adopted by Lallemand, Ricord, and other eminent mem-
bers of the faculty in France. With Fifty coloured Engravings,
liluatrating the ,inatoEay, , Ohysiology, and Diseases of the Re-
productive Organs, explaining their stroetures, uses, and functions,
and the various Injuries that are produced in them by solitary
habit% excesses, and infection.
BY SAMUEL LA'MERT, M.D.,
87, BEDFORD-SQUARE, LONDON.
Doctor of Medicine. Matriculated Member of the University of Edin-
burgh, Honorary Member of the London Hospital Medical Society,
LlCClltiflte of Apothecaries' Hall, Loudon, Member of the Flunterian
Medical Society of Edinburgh, &c., &c.
This work contains a plain and complete description of the ana-
tomy and physiology of the reproductive organs, and of their relative
conditions in health and disease. The author, who has taken the
highest medical honours, as evidenced by the diplomas and testimo-
nials inserted in the work, is the only legally qualified medical man
who has exclusively, and for many years, devoted his studies to
the treatment of these complaints. Ile may be consulted es ith ad-
vantage by all those whose constitutions may have become debili-
tated throagli secret practices acquired in youth, or by the excesses
of later years, whereby the pleasures of life are marred, the objects
of marriage frustrated, and existence itself rendered a term of un-
ceasing misery and regret.
Published by the Author, and may be had of J. Gilbert, 49, Pater-
noster-row ; Hannay, £3, Oxford-street; Starie, Titchborne-street,
Haymarket; Gordon, 146, Leacienhall-street ; Mann, 23, Cornhill,
or free by post for forty-two stamps, from the author's residence, who
may be consulted on these disorders personally, or by letter , daily,
ram tan till two. and from six till eight.

R. CULVERWELL'S NEW WORKS.
To be had of Sherwood; 23, Paternoster-row ; Carvalho;
147, Flcet-stre,t ; Mann, 39, Cornhill ; or direct from the author,
pilec Coo Bhilhng each ; by post, le- 6d.
ENJOYMENT OF LIFE.
"Roan, Recreation, and rational Use of Time."
Co :—Eariy Rising—Spring and Summer Mornings—Ea-
zurrions about the Environs of London—The Parks, Lunen, hills,
Forests, Fields, lligh-reads, and ether pleasant places—Country
'flips and Rambles—The Sea—London at Night—Evening. at Homo
—Music—The Drama—On Eating, Drinking, Sleeping, Bathing, Air,
Kest, Ease, Occupation, &c., &c.
11.
TRAGMENTS FRO-•,1 ?FE MOuNTAINf3, TWO
Vol I.
A VISIT TO TIM' LARTIS;b=,TCH OF EDINBURGH, ao.

Vol. 11.

T 1 LAKES Or KILLARNEY; REMINISCENCE/ 07
DUBLIN, gr-o.
WIIAT TO EAT, Ditrellr., AND AVOID.
"That three Score years and ten our course may run."
A pepular review of almost every form (cause and cure) of nor-
fer.ly-debilitated health and enfeebled constitution, that harasses
tbe young, besets the Irian of pleasure, business, er study, and em-
bitters old cge, with tables and rules for the diet and physical Toga-
ation 01 every-day
Tv_

THE PASSIONS.
g What passions hurt the body—what improYS,
-Lilt's pilgrimage, from infancy to old age. The advent
'lreths refincd as Athens ever heard."
ofSthusrl'e The casualties o.
ocentioasneq3 and dissipation, with illustrations, graphic, narrative,
pascTsio:ns. Chastity and its infringements.
and remediative. Advocacy of early marriagoe.;
.

THE MARRIAGE STATE.
To be or not to be, that is the question."
lIOOaASEITE:—Laws and obligations of nature, society, and re-
;Men regarding marriage, to be observed by either sea. Time and
choice, on both sides, m to age, temperament, complexion, and
figure, to secure healthy offspring, with the art of rearing them.
Physical defectiveness and its removal. Sterility and its conversion.
Oases, ace.
By CULVERWELL, M.D. (1841), M.R.C.S. (1827), L.S.A.
1224). Twonty-iiva years Medical and FOITIMIC Referee in these
siattom ',-z'ze4PtiOr; !'Cr:l75 iaily Eva. 32vsnings. seven till nips.
10 irryn-cIAN, Rovant-qtreat

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. I
,
POnTSMOUTII, WEDNESDAY.—Nineteen officers and
142 men belonging to the Royal yachts left Gosport this
morning by special train under the direction of Mr. Su-
perintendent R. Willoughby Stephens, at the expense cf
her Majesty, for London, to visit the Great Exhibition.
At the Waterloo terminus omnibuses were in readiness to
convey them to the Crystal Palace, which conveyances
also took them back to the station, and they returned to
Gosport this evening.
The Centaur steam-frigate, Acting Captain Patten,
struck Rear-Admiral Fanshare's flag last evening at
sunset.
The Sidon steam-frigate, Commander Gardner, hauled
off to the stream this morning to swing for the adjust.
ment of her compasses.
The Adder steam-tender sailed last evening for Dc-
vonport.
The Avon steam vessel, Second-Master Veitch com-
manding, camo into harbour this morning from De,von-
port with seamen and marines paid off from the Cale-
donia, 120.
The Court and the King of the Belgians arrive
at Gosport en route to Osborne, to celebrate the anni-
versary of her Majesty's coronation, on Saturday, re-
turning to town on Monday or Tuesday following, as at
present arranged.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST.
THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE FALMER STATION.
The following is the official report of the officer ap-
pointed by the Commissioners of Railways to inquire
into the circumstances attending the fatal accident
which occurred by a train of the London, Brighton, and
South Coast Railway Company running off the line
near the Falmer station, on the Brighton and Lewes
Railway, on the 6th day of June, 185 1:
" Office of Commissioners of Railways, Whitehall,
16th June, 1851.
" Sir,—I have the honour to report to you, for the
information of the Commissioners, the result of my in-
quiry into the circumstances attending the fatal accident
which occurred on the afternoon of the 6th instant,
upon the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway,
i❑ consequence of a train being thrown off the line be-
tween Brighton and Lewes.
" The branch line from Brighton to Lewes is eight
miles in length; there is but one intermediate station,
called Palmer, situated as nearly as possible half-way.
From Falmer the line descends towards Lewes, for a
distance of 3 e miles, at a gradient of 1 in 88, which is
succeeded by a short length of level line leading to the
Lewes junction. The company's regulations direct that
all engines should go down the descending gradient from
Falmer with the steam shut off; and they further direct
that the speed should not be allowed at any part of the
descent to exceed 20 miles an hour. The practice, how-
ever, of the engine drivers upon the Lewes branch ap-
pears hitherto to have been to shut off steam on leaving
the Falmer station, and then to allow the trains to run
down unchecked till it became necessary to apply the
breaks on approaching the junction at Lewes. From an
experiment trio d on the spot it appears that the speed of
trains so conducted varies frcm 10 or 15 miles an hour
at the head of the incline, to 50 miles an hour at the
point where it is usual to apply the breaks.
" Midway in the descent, or about 1/ miles from the
Falmer station, the line sweeps round to the left on a
somewhat sharp curve through a deep chalk cutting, the
upright side of which prevents a driver, conducting a
train towards Lewes, from seeing the rails i❑ front to a
greater distance than 200 yards. This is a point which
should be passed at a moderate speed. The ordinary
trains on the Lewes branch, eve❑ if running at no higher
speed than 20 miles an hour, could not always be stopped
within 200 yards upon so steep a gradient; and from the
experiment above alluded to it appears that the usual
speed of those trains at this point is not less than 27 miles
an hour. Engine drivers are seldom judges of the speed
at which they are running; they generally underrate it;
and when the steam is shut off the smoothness of the
motion and the absence of the beat of the engine, are apt

to deceive them.
"On Friday, the 6th instant, a train consisting of
f ur carriages, one first-class, two second, and one third-
class, drawn by an engine with the tender foremost, left
the Brighton station for Lewes, at five minutes past
twelve; it stopped at the Palmer station, and then pro-
ceeded to run down the incline as the driver had been
accustomed to do, with the steam shut off, but without
any breaks being applied. It swept round the curve al-
ready described at a speed which was certainly not less
than twenty-seven miles an hour, and at the end of the
carved cutting came in contact with a wooden sleeper,
the end of which rested upon the left-hand rail; this
threw the train off the line to the opposite or right-hand
side, and the centrifugal force, due to the combined
effect of the speed and the curve, tending in the same
direction, the train ran onwards, taking an oblique
path, crossed the opposite line of rails, and about eighty-
five yards from where it had left its own line, came in
contact with the parapet wall of a bridge which carried
the railway over a public road. The parapet wall was
swept away, and the tender, the engine, and two of the
carriages fell over into the road; the other two carriages
had fortunately become detached when the train crossed
the opposite line. Of the two carriages which fell into
the road, one was a second class, in which there were
no passengers; the ether was a third-class, and there
were in it four passengers, three of whom were killed;
the fireman of the train was killed on the spot, and the
driver so seriously injured that he only survived forty-
eight Bourn.
" Thu wooden sleeper which threw this train off the
rails was one of three spare sleepers which had been
placed at that part of the line about two months previ-
ous to the accident, for the convenience of the plate..
layers when they should require a new sleeper for the
repair of the permanent way. The three had been
stacked one above the other on the north side of the
line, abouf five feet from the outer rail. These sleepers
are nine feet long, ten inches wide, and five inches thick,
one of the three, happening to be a half-round balk, was
placed above the others with the round side uppermost.
It appears that a short time previous to the arrival of
this train at the spot, one end of the half-round balk
must have been lifted up and pulled round till it rested
upon the outside rail, while the other end was left bear-
ing upon the two sleepers.
" The three sleepers had been seen in their proper
places at eight o'clock that morning by a platelayer who
examined that part of the line; and a train which left
Brighton at a quarter-past eleven had passed the spot
without finding any obstruction in the way. After that
to the time of the accident there were none of the ser-
vants of the company within sight of the spot; three
platelayers were at work about a quarter of a mile off,
but they were hid from view by the curve of the chalk
cutting.
" On reviewing all the evidence bearing upon the sub-
ject of this inquiry, it seems evident that the immediate
cause of this disaster was the circumstance of a sleeper
being left resting upon one of the rails ; and that the
act of placing the sleeper in that position cannot be at-
tributed to any of the company's servants. It is evident,
also, that the company's servants cannot, by any prac-
ticable exercise of vigilance, prevent persons mischie-
vously disposed and watching for an opportunity, from
getting unseen upon the line ; but it is equally clear,
that undue facilities for mischief are afforded to such
trespassers by the practice of leaving sleepers in secluded
spots in such close proximity to the rails ; and, in-
dependent 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 consequences which actually ensued. It is
quite clear that the train, when it met with the obstruc-
tion, was running at a speed which was imprudent at
that spot ; and it is equally clear that the circumstance
of the engine running tender foremost had a most im-
portant influence on the result.
The practice of running engines with the tender
foremost is objectionable. When the engine is in that
position, it is impossible for the driver, without neglect-
ing his other duties, to keep a proper look out upon the
road in front; tied' when the engine attains even a mo-
derate speed, the fine dust blown off from the coke ren-
ders this necessary duty extremely difficult of per-
formance. Engines, also, are specially constructed to
run in one position—namely, with the chimney end in
front, and the weight is so distributed on the wheels as
to insure the utmost attainable degree of steadiness
while running in that position. In the engine which
drew this train, tho weight upon what should have been
the leading wheels was more than double that on the
trailing wheels, and that arrangement, from being an
additional security, became a positive source of danger
when the engine came to run at a high speed with the
lightly weighted wheels in front. In addition to this, it
is to bo remembered that the engine, when running in its
proper position, affords, by its weight as compared with
the tender, a much greater security against the train
being thrown off the line; besides which, it is nearly
certain that, had the engine in this instance been in
front, the iron guard which precedes the leading wheel
I would have swept the end of the sleeper off the rail, and
thus rendered the mischievous act of placing it there
perfectly innocuous.
" It appears that for some time past it has been the
practice upon the London, Brighton, and South Coast
ltailway to run all the short trains, whether on the main
line or on the branches, without turning the engines ;
and that, therefore, either on the out or on the return
journey, the engines must travel tender foremost. In the
present instance there were turn-tables both at Brighton
and at Lewes, and there was therefore no necessity for
having recourse to such a dangerous practice. The prin-
cipal reason assigned by the secretary and the locomotive
superintendent to justify the proceeding was the desire
to save time, and thus conduct the short traffic trains
with fewer engines. The chairman, however, of the
London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company,
in the evidence given by him before the coroner, at the
inquest held at Lewes, on the 14th, endeavoured to
support the practice of running engines with the ten-
der foremost on other grounds. I append a certified
copy of the chairman's evidence, which the coroner
has been good enough to send to me. It will be seen
that Mr. Laing stated that he was chairman of the
board of directors of the London, Brighton, and South
Coast Railway Company, and that he was previously
secretary to the railway department of the Board of
Trade for several years; that it was then his duty to
I receive reports from the different railway companies as
to accidents occurring on their lines, and to classify
them, and report them to Parliament every session; that
it has all along been a very general custom to run short
trains tender foremost;that millions of miles have been
run tender foremost, and that he does not recollect any
case of accident arising from that circumstance. In giving
this Lvih'ener>, the recollection of the chairman of the
London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway must have
failed him as regards his experience when secretary to
the railway department of the Board of Trade. On that
subject I beg to call the attention of the Commissioners
to the report of the officers of the railway department for
the year 1841, when Mr. Laing was secretary. It will
be seen that iu that year a circular bearing Mr. L: tfatits
si;4nature was sent to all the railway companies,and
the replies to that circular called forth the following re-
mask in the annual report:—
" Another result which appears from the returns in
the appendix is, that the practice of running tender fore-
most is universally pronounced to be dangerous, and
that a very general opinion is pronounced against pro-
pelling; trains by an engine from behind when it can be
avoided. These opinions are entirely conformable to
the recommendations frequently made by the inspector-
general in his reports, and urged by this department, and
it is believed that the practice of running tender fore-
most with passenger-trains is now almost entirely dis-
continued, and that the practice of propelling passenger-
trains from behind is rarely resorted to,'

" Among other letters also referring to tab subject,
which will be found in the appendix to ti© same re-
port, I beg to quote one at length, inasmuth as it wrts
specially addressed to the London and Brghton Rail-
way Company.
Lotter sent to the London and Brigiton Railway
Company, with a copy of a memorandum from Sir F.
Smith, relative to the working of the Shorciatn branch.
" Board of Trade, 21st August, 1841.
" Sir,—l am directed, &e,, to subjoin a copy of a
memorandum which bas been addressed b their Lord-

ships by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir F. Smite, rehitive to
the working of the Shereham brunch of tte London and
_ .

Brighton Railway, and to request that yet will call the
attention of the directors to the proprieti„, of adopting
the recommendation therein contained, which appears
to their Lordships very important to thepublic safety.
" It appears that in consequence of there being no
turn-table for the engine at the Shoretum terminus, it
is the prac:iee to run the trains fron Shoreham to
Brighton with the tender foremost.
" The accident which occurred fron this cause on
the 3d June feat, on the Sheffield and :intherham Rail-
way, and which was attended with arch fatal conse-
quences, has sufficiently proved, if any proof were ne-
cessary, the danger of this practice. :t therefore seems
expedient that the Lords of the Countil should recom-
mend to the directors of the Brighter Railway to dis-
continue it.—l am, &c.,
(Signed)
" ' The Secretary of the
" London and Brighton Railway Company.'
" To this letter a reply was sent by the Secretary of
the London and Brighton Railway Company, stating
that the letter had been laid before the director,, and
that he, the secretary, was instructed to say that tne re-
commendation to discontinue the practice of running the
tender foremost on the Shoreham branch should meet
with immediate attention.

" ' S. LAING.

"I would recommend that this dangerous practice be
finally discontinued upon the London, Brighton, and
South Coast Railway, and that the directors allow no
mistaken view of economy to lead them agai❑ to expose
the public to such unnecessary risk. I would also recom-
mend that steps be taken to compel the engine-drivers
upon the Lewes branch to comply with the company's
regulations as to the speed of their trains in descending
the Palmer incline, and particularly that they should
use great caution in passing througi the curved chalk
cutting. I would further suggest that the practice of
leaving sleepers and other materials in close proximity
to the rails at places where the coutiany'e servants can-
not keep watch over them, should at cute be discontinued.
" I have, &c.,
(Signed) "R. M. LAFFAN, Captain, R.E.
" Captain Sirnmone, R. E., &c., &e,"
THE DIRECTORS' ANSWER.
The following answer to the above report was yester-
day issued by the directors:—
" Secretary's Office, Londol, June 25, 1851.
" Sir,—l beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 231 inst., enclosing a copy of Captain
Laffan's report on the late accident tear the Palmer sta-
tion, on this line.
"I am desired by the directors testate, that although
they observe that no recommeedation founded on this
report is made by the Railway Comnissioners, they feel
themselves bound to advert to some of its statements,
which arc of such an extraordinary character that they
cannot, is justice to themselves, albw them to pass un-
noticed.
" While admitting that a sleeper, being either mali-
ciously or mischievously placed on the rails by some one
unconnected with the company, was the immediate cause
of the accident, Captain Laffen gots on to state, that
there is a strong probability that, 'Jed the traffic on the
Lewes branch been conducted with a proper regard to
public safety, the wanton act of plwing a sleeper on the
rail would not have been followed by the fatal conse-
quences which actually ensued;' and he subsequently in-
sinuates that the directors knowingly allowed mistaken
views of economy to lead them to expose the public to
unnecessary risk.
" This is an imputation to which the directors fee I
themselves bound at once to give the most emphatic
denial, conscious as they are that, during the long period
of more than nine years, preceding the late disaster,
during which the extensive and complicated traffic on
the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway has
been worked without a single fatal acddent to any pas-
senger, expense has never for ono moment been consi-
dered by them in any question affectitg the safety and
efficiency of the public service. Whether such an im-
putation ought to be made by a Government officer on
such grounds as Captain Laffan addeces, is a point
which they arc quite willing to leave to the public opinion
of those capable of forming a judgmern on questions cf
railway mautigement.
" The first point adduced by Captaie Laffan is, that
the rate of speed was excessive. Upon this point it so
happens that the testimony of a nninaer of witnesses,
several of whom were passengers by tao train, and to-
tally unconnected with the company, was unusually clear
and distinct. Captain Laffun says that the speed was
clearly imprudent.' The Coroner, who heard all the
evidence respecting speed, summed up to the jury in the
following teams:—
" So tar as the line is concerned, I hare always found
it an extremely well regulated line. With regard to the
speed at which the train was going on tic present occa-
sion, whatever it might have been at other times, it does
not appear that there was any undue Teed when the
accident happened. Some little suspicion ias been thrown
upon the company about it, but there is no good reason
fur it. Mr. Shaw (a passenger) says it was 20 miles en
hour, and he never wishes to travel slower. Mr. Weir

(another passenger) was reading, but it is fair to sup-
pose that it' the speed had been excessiee, his attention
would have been diverted from his book. Parsey says
that they did not go very fast, but he thoight very slow.'
" These are all witnesses unconnected with the com-
pany, in addition to the testimony of the guard, engine-
driver, and platelayers, who deposed on oath to a rate of
speed, variously stated at frcm 17 to 23 miles an hoar.
The experiments referred to by Captain Laffan, instead
of showing that the speed could not be less than 27
miles an hour, showed this as the maximum rate, which
could not have been exceeded under the most favourable
circumstances; while a similar experimeat tried by the
Brighton jury, when a !strong wind was blowing under
circumstances more nearly resembling those of the day
of accident, shuwed that the train, instead of accelerating
in descending the incline by the action of gravity, was
actually brought to a stand, and required the assistance
of steam.
"However, even if the speed should be taken, for the
sake of argument, at 27 or 30 miles an hour, are the
Commissioners prepared to adopt Captain Laffan's con-
clusion, that this is a dangerous rate of speed? Are
they prepared to say that there is any greater tendency
to quit the rail at this rate of speed on en incline, then
on a level? or that there is any peculiar danger in a
curve, which Captain Laffan calls a somewhat sharp
one,' but which is, in reality, one of a mile and a quar-
ter radius? and if so, are they prepared to enforce this
restriction as to speed on the New Cross incline, on the
Sutton incline of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway,
on the Shap incline of the Lancaster and Carlisle, the
Beattock incline of the Caledonian, and the innumerable
other inclines, which they must be well aware are tra-
versed every day at much higher rates of speed, and
where such a restriction could not be enforced without
deranging some of the most important lives of communi-
cation in the kingdom?
" The regulation referred to, that the speed should
not exceed twenty miles an hour down the Falser in-
cline, was never intended, as Captain Laffan seems to
suppose, to apply to the whole descent of the incline,
which would have been an absurdity, there being no
reason, of which the directors are aware, why trains
should not run us safely at the usual speed, upon this in-
cline, as well as upon any of the other inclines referred
to, or upon any other part of the line; and the object
of caution board simply was to prevent engine-
drivers from commencirg the descent too rapidly; in
which case, if the rails were slippery, or if the breaks
were from any cause to fail, a dangerous rate of speed
might possibly be attained before the train reached the
foot of the incline.
" The other point taken by Captain Laffan, in his re-
port, is, that the circumstance of the engine running
tender foremost had a most important influence in the
result,' and generally that the practice of running en-
gines with the tender foremost is most objectionable.'
" As regards the question, whether in this particular
case the probability of escape from the accident would
have been materially increased if the engine had been
foremost, this must remain matter of opinion. The di-
rectors have against them the opinion of Captain Laffan;
they have for them the opinions of Mr. Woods and Mr.
Fenton, as well as of their own locomotive superinten-
dent, Mr. Craven—gentlemen probably as well qualified
as any in the kingdom to form a sound opinion on all
practical questions connected with locomotives, of whom
the two former are totally unconnected with the com-
pany, and whose presence at the inquiry was so entirely
accidental, that in one instance the directors were not
even aware that the witness was about to give evidence,
until he appeared in court, on the summons of the co-
roner. These gentlemen think, that what Captain Laffan
considers nearly certain, namely, teat the iron guard
which precedes the leading wheels, would have swept
the end of the sleeper off the rail, would, under the cir-
cumstances of the case, have been highly improbable.;
and while Captain Laffan adduces no instances in sup-
support of his opinion, theirs is fortified by the nume-
rous practical instances, in which the guards have failed
to remove similar obstructions, and engines have come-
quently been thrown off the rails.
"The
whether, i
n the x
general
s ting of r
State however
railway
experience, the
directors or their officers can be justly charged with
reckless disregard of the public safety, because a short
train of three or four carriages, running at a slow speed,
was run occasionally with the tender foremost. Captain
Laffan observes, that it appears that for some time past
it has been the practice upon the London, Brighton, sad
South Coast Railway, to run all the shots trains, whether
I on the main line or on the branches, without turning the
I engines; end that, therefore, either on the cut, or on the
return journey, the engines must tiavel tender foremost.'
This assertion is entirely incorrect, and, as in the case
of the alleged sharpness of the curve, merely proves the
vagueness of the information upon which facts supposed
to bear adversely on the company have been assumed
throughout the official inquiry. The real fact is, that of
the numerees trains, short and long, running upon the

Brighton and South Coast, and Croydon and Epsom
tfiomr ee
lines, with their branches, amounting in all to 1(39 trains
per day, it has only been the practice to run tender
care at onspeedspecial in
no
oease emergencies,
ex e eedi witho
miles
short
oarnt
md
g
otsot, runtex
train making ten trips a day in and out. of Brighton,
hour.
" The principal argument adduced by Captain reaffan
seems to be that the chairman of the company, in
giving his evidence before the jury, to the effect that,
with a very extensive experience of the causes of acci-
dents on railways, he never recollec red one rising from
running tender foremost, although millions of miles had
bean thus run annually; forgot the fact that in 1841 a
circular had been issued with his signature, by the
railway department, pronouncing the practice dange-
rous. This fact appears to be very immaterial, except
as proving what has actually been the case, that the
circular in question (which was issued in. the infancy of
information on railway matters, when a very different
mode of connecting the engine and tender prevailed from
that at present in use, and when many of the most or-
dinary practices on railways, as, for instance, a speed
of thirty miles an hour on an incline of 1 in 100, were
considered as bugbears), has been treated as a dead let-
ter by ell :parties, and that no accidents have occurred
during .. period of ten years to draw attention to it.
During le whole of this period the Commissioners
must be perfectly well aware that the practice of run-
ning short trains at moderate speeds, with the tender
foremost, has been resorted to every day on
all the principal, railways; and that same of
the largest passenger traffic in the kingdom, such as
that of the Greenwich Railway, has been constantly
conducted on this principle. Has a single accident
ever occurred, or have the Railway Commissioners ever
during the last ton years, offered a single objection?
Nay more, have not the Commissioners repeatedly sanc-
tioned the practice by allowing lines to be opened before
any engine turn-table was completed, and consequently
when all trains were run of necessity one way tender
foremost? Did they not do this only a few months ago,
in the case, of the Ashford and Hastings Railway, not-
withstanding an objection made by this company, under
a clause of an Act of Parliament, requiring the Hastings
station to be completed before any portion of the line
was opened; and has not the consequence been, that
trains have run over that line, with the tender foremost
by the express sanction of the Commissioners, and that
for greater distances, over steeper inclines, round sharper
curves, and at higher speeds than the short traits in
question has ever run on the Brighton Railway?
" if these be facts, is it right or fair for a Government
officer, in a report published by authority of Parliament,
to charge directors with knowingly endangering the
lives of the public, from motives of mistaken economy,
by doing that which every railway company in the king-
dom has done every day for the last ten years, without
accident, and with the acquiescence, and in some in-
stances with the express sanction of the Railway Com-
missioners?

" So far from motives of economy having actuated the
directors with regard to the short train in question, it
was put on, without any expectation of profit, in order
to increase the punctuality, and consequently the safety,
of the principal long trains, by relieving them from the
necessity of stopping at some of the small stations near
Brighton; and although the description of tank engine,
specially constructed to run with either end first, has
only been generally introduced on railways for about
twclvo racnths, the company have already constructed
three, and have three more nearly finished, in order to
be provided with the most approved form of machine for
running short and branch trains.

•
for
acyo nbsei dseurffii negi
eint
tdtaonrgeefreor u
ts ttoh
er
eu
vni
dtendero
off oLer
" As regards the other reasons assigned by Captain
Lineloffstltt
Woods and Mr. Fenton, and to the facts ascertained by
actual experiment. It was proved by actually weighing
an engine and tender, similar to those which met with
the accident, that instead of the engine, when running
in its proper position, affording by its great weight, as
compared with the tender, a much greater security
against the train being thrown off the line,' the weight
on the front wheels of the tender, which encountered the
obstruction, was as nearly as possible the same as it
would have been on the leading wheels of the engine.
" Whether an obstacle like a sleeper could be dis-
cerned as readily with the tender as with the engine
first, and whether the dust from the coke is an impedi-
ment to the look-out at moderate rates of speed, are points
upon which any one who has ever ridden upon an en-
gine can judge for himself, whether the opinion of Cap-
tain Laffa.n, or the evidence of :experienced engine-
drivers, deserves most weight. The tender obviously
affords less obstruction to the view iu front than the en-
glue; and although the engine-driver cannot constantly
keep a look-out while attending to his ether duties,
whether tender or engine be foremost, it must be re-
membered that ho is always attended by a fireman,
whose duty it is to look out when the engine-driver
is otherwise engaged. At any rate in the :present in-
stance it is cleat that as the steam was found in evidence
to have been shut off for some time before the accident,
the engine-driver and fireman could not have been pre-
vented by other duties from keeping a proper look-out.
" It appears singular, that in stating objections which
have never occurred to practical men in running tender
foremost, Captain Laffan has omitted all mention of the
real objections which have induced railway companies to
avoid the practice as far as possible in the case of heavy
trains running at high rates of speed, namely, that the
draught of air and consequently the efficiency of the
engine are diminished, and that at a very high velocity
propulsion is not generally considered so desirable as
traction, although as regards this latter point it is re-
markable' that one of the latest forms of engine recently
introduced for running at high speeds, namely, that of
Crampton's patent, plans the driving wheels of the en-
gine at the extreme hinder end, thus assimilating its ac-
tion in a great measure to that of an engine running
tender foremost.
Without entering, however, any further on those
questions of scientific speculation, the directors appeal
confidently to public opinion, whether the fact of an uni-
versal concurrence of opinion among railway authorities,
fortified by the constant practice of the last ten years on
all the principal lines of the kingdom, without an acci-
dent, is not sufficient to exonerate them from the impu-
tation of having knowingly sanctioned a dangerous
course in running a train between Brighton and Lewes,
on the same principle on which trains have been run
every quarter of an hour of the day on metropolitan
lines carrying the largest passenger traffi in the kingdom.
" They will also appeal confidntly to public opinion,
whether it is conducive to public interests and public
safety, that when an accident does occur from such a
cause as the malicious placing of an obstruction on the
line, attention should be diverted as far as possible by
the weight of official authority from the reprehensible
nature of such an act, in order to inflict ex post facto
censure on arrangements which were carried on for a
long series of years previously, under the very eyes cf
that authority without objection, and in many cases
with direct sanction; and whether hoards of directors
should he exposed to the most injurious imputations be-
cause they have not anticipated suggestions made, after
the event, by parties unacquainted with the practical
working of railways, and which no Government board
would venture to enforce, with the certainty that, by so
doing, the existing public communications of the country
would be obstructed. I have the honour to be, Sir, your
obedient servant,

"FRED. :SLIGHT, Secretary.
" Capt. Simmons, R.E., Secretary to the
Commissioners of Railways."

RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS.
LONDON AND NOILTII-WESTERN RAILWAY.—Return 01
Traffic for the week ending June 22:
Passengers, parcels, &c. ... £12,433 7 6
Merchandise ... 15,636 6 0
Cattle 941 2 11

Total ... —£59,010 16 5
Corresponding week last year 47,957 5 4

Note.—The returns as published are exclusive of the
traffic of the Huddersfield Canal and Shropshire Union, Nerth
Union, Preston and Wyre, South Junction, Manchester and
Buxton, and Buckinghamshire Railways, and of the propor-
tion of traffic deducted under agreement with the North
Staffordshire Company.
NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE RAILWAY.— (Miles open, 112.)
Return of traffic for the week ending June 15 :
Railway and canal ... £2,817 00*
Corresponding week last year ... 4,476 0 0
Note. —The above is exclusive of the receipts available
under the agreement with the London and North-Western
Railway Company.
* Annual stoppage of canal for repairs (eight days).
SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY. Gross traffic receipts for
the week ending June 21:—
Passengers ... £14,690 411
Carrying account .. 2,334 13 6

Total ... £17,024 IS 5
Corresponding week last year... 13,776 8 7
LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE RAILWAY. (260 miles
open.)—Traffic for week ending June 22...C16,521 13 2
Corresponding week in last year, (227*
....C15,067 10 10
miles open) ..
CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAlLWAY.—Traffic for the
week ending June 22:
MAIN LLNX.
Passengers ... £1,828 15 3
Parcels, H. C. and D. ... 44 0 0
Goods, cattle, &c. ... 51718 11
Mails ... 575 0 0

Total .. £2,965 14 2
mom).

Passengers ... £4l 12 1
Parcels, 11. C. and D. ... 2 3 8
Goods, cattle, &c. 87 9 6

Total ... .£l3l 5 3
STEAM-BOATS.

Passengers 5 2
Parcels, 11. C. and D. 14 2 4

Total

... - £2SI 7 6

How THE
WHIGS GET RID OF THE PUBLIC DUST.—
Lord Seymour,-. in answer to a question from Mr. Hume as
to the disposal of a sum of 1,2601. es " exp
lained that the vote
was for getting rid of the dust Of which the House had in
former years so much complained " Now, it strikes us, if the
Whigs had more dust than they knew what to do with, that
the easiest way of washing their hands of it would have been
by remitting the duty on soap.—Pwich.