The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-13 00:00:00

TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE INEEK.

Railwa 1 Miles Opened. Receipts.
ys. ~.___...,...____, ~.....___,...____,
1800. 1859. 1860. , 1859.
-- -- -----1
X
Belfast and N. Counties.... 65 65 £
1,510 1,319
Belfast and County Down.. 20 20 691 668
Birkd., Lane., &Ches. June 32 32 3,106 3,931
Blyth and Tyne 2O 20 1,653 1,641
Bristol and Exeter 125 125 7,120 7,509
Caledonian
Ches.&llolylie&d(withMold) 94/ 94/ - -
Cockermouth & Workington 81 S. - -
Cork and Bandon 2O 20 395 341 ,
Cork, Blitekrock, & Passage 6l 61 412 316
Cornwall
Deeside l7 17 389 366
Dublin & Belfast J mie lion
Dublin and Drogheda 63 63 2,031 2,043
Dub. & Wicklow (in. Kings t ) 401 401 3,026 2,795
Dundalk and Enniskillen
Dundee and Arbroath 174 171 797 702
Dundee, Perth, & Aber. Jun. 31 31 1,216 1,101
East Anglian 671 671 904 1,019
E.Counties,Nrlk.,&E.Union 499 489 28,021 26,362
East Kent l9l - - -
E.Lancashire(in.Blackburn) 111 105 - -
Edinburgh and Glasgow ... 142 142 7,003 6,802
Edinburgh, I'erth,& Dundee 78 78 4,150 4,184
Forthurness &
3 Clyde Junction
F 1 22
Glasgow & South-Western 1831,534 937
1
1834 10,059 8,164
Great Northern 283 283 25,131 26,267
Great North of Scotland
qt. Southn. & Westu.(lrlnd ) 329 226 8,726 7,668
Great Western 466 466 37,600 35,961
Hull and Holderness - -
inverness & Aberdeen June. 55 65 870 1,001
Irish South-Eastern 254 251 290 293
Killarney Junction -
Lancaster and Carlisle (in.
Kendal and Windermere) 100 1004 - -
Lanc. & Yrks.(in.Blackburn) 395 3951 42,469 37,450
Limerick and Foynes 26 261 228 255
Llaneliy 46' 46f 721 668
London & North-Western . 950 936 04,163 88,732
London and Blackwall 5l 51 1,908 1,888
Loudon & South-Western . 389 339 24,673 20,807
Lond. Brighton, &S. Coast. 2234 2021 23,684 23,679
L'derry and Enniskillen 1 60 60 - -
Lond., Tilbury, & Southendl, 421 40 2,883 2.698
slan.,Sheffield, & Lineolnsht 173/ 1731 12,427 11,594
Manch. S.Jun.& Altrincham 94 94 1,153 094
Maryport Apt Carlisle
Midland VI 6141 6141 42,827 37,775
Midland Gt.Westn. of Irind. 177 177 4,009 3,878
Monkland 52 52 1,500 1,073
Monmouthsh. Hail. & Canal 44 44 2,298 2,185
Newcastle and Carlisle 7B 78 3,500 3,680
Newport,Aberg.,&llerefor 5O 50 _ -
North British (in. Dalkeith) 161 161 6,710 7,548.
North Devon 35 35 567 612
North-Eastern 761 764 42,216 40,788
North London 9 9 2,766 2,791
North Staffordshire 246 233 8,148 7,430
North-Western 461 461 - -
N. Yorkshire and Cleveland 101 - - -
Oxford, Wore., & Wolver - -
Peebles lB4 181 - -
St. Helen's Canal & Railway 30 30 2,031 2,285
Scottish Central
Scottish North-Eastern ll5 115 4,515 4,455
L Shrewsbury & Birmingham 291 2981 2,264 2,116
4 Shrewsbury and Chester ... 48 3,482 3,559
Shrewsbury & Hereford ... 51 51 2,043 2,009
1 Shropshire Union 291 291 949 941
South Devon
I. South-Eastern 306 302 30,056 26,021
South Wales l7ll 1711
• S. Yorkshire and River Dun 118 108 2,360 2,591
7,940 7,183
Stockton and Darlington
Taff Vale 53 53 4.907 4,621
,727 51:M
' Ulster
3 Ulverstone and Lancaster
251 25/ 1 Vale of Neath
i Warrington and Stockport lO - - -
T Waterford and Kilkenny 3l 31 162 301
Waterford and Limerick
West Cornwall 271 274 80S 70
W.llartlepool Harbr.&Rail 39 39 4,528 3,831
Whitehaven Junction l2 12 724 54)
Whitehaven & Furness Jun 35 35 734 631
- W'haven,Cleator,&Egrmnt 7 7 497 341
C FOREIGN AND COLONIAL
Antwerp and Rotterdam 52 52 1,699 881
Austrian B2B 673 37,492 33,661
• Belgian Eastern Junction 264 264 284 251
) Buffalo and Lake Huron l6l 161 813 61)
, Detroit and Milwaukie lB5 185 2,132 1,841
Dutch Rhenish
) Grand Trunk of Canada 970 880 10.430 7.691
I Great Indian Peninsula 277 1941 3,916 3.63,
Great Luxembourg l2B 122 2,636 2.391
Great Western of Canada 345 345 5,894 5,473
;, Lombardo-Venetian 285 285 - -
1 Lyons and Geneva 142 142 5,844 5,45(
▪ Madrid, Saragossa & Alicant 310 284 15,058 8,19 E
Maria Antonia 2l 21 - -
Northern of France 613 602 44,467 40,70",
' Norweoan Trunk 44 44 - -
Paris, Lyons, & Mediterrn 879 840 74,719 70,069
Paris and Orleans 922 922 52,210 44,56 f
Paris and Strasburg ,1,032 1,016 - -
Royal Danish 69 69 535 551
Sambre and Meuse CS 68 1,285 1,35 E
t Southern of France 717 773 18,470 15,637
West Flanders
W. and N.W. of France 742 730 40,819 37,111

7,548*

612
40,788
2,791
7,430

2,285
3,694
4,455
2,116
3,559
2,009

3,655
26,028
7,480
2,593
7,183
4,625
1,779
508
1,819

309
1,383

707
3,835
546

881
33,00

616
1,845
4,228
7.692
3.633
2.394
5,473

5,450
8,198

40,707

70,064
44,568

555
1,356
15,637

928
37,115

TIE _FATAL OCCURRENCE AT DOVER.

DOVER, SUNDAY

Contrary to general expectation, the inquest on
the bodies of the victims of the accident which has
taken place at Archcliff Fort Battery was not held
yesterday. The original opinion of the legal autho-
rities of the town, to whose judgment the matter
was referred, was that the Lord Chief Justice, in
his judicial capacity, was able to appoint a coroner
pro. tem, under the circumstances which have un-
happily occured in Dover—the same event which
renders an inquest necessary having deprived the
district of its properly appointed coroner. The
opinion was, of course, arrived at from the exercise
of legal acumen alone, and not from a reference to
precedents, the case of a coroner coming to a violent
death in his own district being so rare as to be
almost isolated. From a communication which was
received yesterday from Lord Chief Justice Cock-
burn it appears that the assumption as to his powers
in this matter was without sufficient ground, and
that the only person who can legally name a suc-
cessor to the late lamented Mr. Thompson are the
municipal council of the borough. A few days must
consequently elapse before the inquiry can be
opened.
The cause of the shocking catastrophe still re-
mains in obscurity. From all that can be gleaned,
however, there seems no reason to doubt the gene-
ral accuracy of what has already appeared. It is
stated that the portion of the gun which was picked
up in the station of the South-Eastern Railway on
the morning after the accident, and which was then
thought to bear evidence of defect, has since been
examined by a practical metalfounder, who is said
to discover no trace of imperfection. The whole of
the fragments have been examined by Col. Ingle-
field, Major Field, Capt. Bell, and other artillery
officers, who have made very careful obs°rvations of
the appearance presented not only by the remains
of the gun itself, but by the scene of the accident.
In the course of our investi°ation of the circum-
stances Serjeant Matthews, Rsoyal Artillery, who is
instructinc, sergeant appointed to the volunteer
corps, adwho, like most of his class, is a very in-
telligent man, has afforded us some valuable infor-
mation. It appears that he hadthe fullest confidence
in the whole of the volunteers who were employed
at the gun in question. The wad used was what is
called a " gramme wad, consisting of a circle of
rope spliced in one part and crossed in the centre,
and it fitted the muzzle of the gun particularly well.
The gun was well sponged out, and the cartridge
rammed home by two long-armed, muscular fel-
lows (gunners Pell and Penn) ; in short, it is the
opinion of the instructing sergeant that the work
could not have been better done. He relies upon the
fact of the ball reaching to within a short distance
of the target as one of the most important proofs
that could be offered of the proper loading of the
gun. The gun, in compliance with the regular prac-
tice, was thoroughly examined, or "searched," ac-
cording to the technical phrase, both by the Royal
Artillery and the volunteers, and several rounds
had been discharged from the same piece before the
explosion took place. It is supposed that the gun
must be nearly GO years old, the date of its compa-
nion piece being 1803. It is not thought, however,
that the gun was at all unsafe by reason of its age,
it being the practice to condemn ordnance, not on
account of the length of time it has been cast, but
by the degree of wear it has received. The suppo-
sition that the charge had got displaced is put to
flight now that the elevation of the gun has been
ascertained. It appears that it was pointed at 41
degrees, an elevation sufficient to prevent any chance
of displacement, although such an occurrence would
have been quite within the range of possibility i"
the elevation had been less decided.

Some of the escapes appear to have been little
short of miraculous. Mr. J. Stilwell, solicitor, who
was the lieutenant in charge of the gun which
exploded, was standing within a few feet of it, and
one of the pieces struck the ground a very few feet
distant from him, tearing up the earth, and cover-
ing him with mud and dirt, but inflicting no injury.
Mr. E: R. Mowell, Mr. R. Foster, jun., and several
other volunteers also very narrowly escaped accident.
We are glad to state that the sufferers are pro-
gressing;
9. favourably. Mr. Gilfillan, whose arm was
fractured, is quite conscious, but, singular to state,
he retains not the faintest recollection of the ter-
rible occurrence. Mr. Harris remained in a very
critical state yesterday, but confident hopes are
expressed of his recovery.
It should be stated that the Dover Volunteer
Artillery Corps are considered a smart body of men
by those cap 4ble of forming an opinion on the merits
of artillery service, and that they have earned spe-
cial praise for their activity and skill in ball firing.
Indeed their services would be esteemed, in case of
need, as little inferior to those of the regular bri-
gade; but, while sharing the skill of their profes-
sional brethren in arms, they are not preserved
from the risks pqnungn to their position. It is not
for a moment supposed that this accident will have