The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-11 00:00:00

SERIOUS RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

A serious railway accident occurred at the Gretna
Green station of the Glasgo w and South-Western Railway
an Saturday morning. A goods train of some thirty or
forty waggons, which was timed to leave Carlisle at
5.30 for the North, left that city a few minutes late on
that morning, and when it arrived at Gretna Green
station it had to be shunted from the down line to the
up line, in order to allow the passenger express, which
leaves Carlisle at 6.30 a.m., to pass. The men in charge
of the goods train were under the impression that they
had nineteen minutes to spare, the passenger train
being known to be fifteen minutes late ; but as they
were backing across the line into the "up " rails,
the express came dashing along, and a fearful
collision took place. The driver of the passenger
train in approaching the place had " slowed"
his engine, either in obedience to signals or because he
saw the goods train in front, but he was unable to avert
the catastrophe. He ran into the side of the goods train
with a terrible crash. Five or six of the goods waggons,
containing yarns and drapery goods, were knocked over,
some of them being broken into splinters, and their cow
tents scattered on the line. There were two iron vans
laden with gunpowder in the hinder end of the goods
train. One of these was tilted over by the force of the
collision, but fortunately it was not much injured. M
the passenger train collided with the other at an angle, the
engine and tender seem to have cannoned off to the
left. They went toppling down the embankment, both of
them being completely overturned, the funnel of the
engine being buried in the hedge of the adjoining field,
and the contents of the tender—the coals, tool boxes, &G
—being thrown out. The engineman and fireman had e
most wonderful escape, sustaining no injury. The fireman
was found lying among the coals of his overturned tender,
apparently very little the worse for his fall. When the
engine and tender left the metals the coupling links which
fastened them to the train broke, and this circumstance
secured the safety of the passengers, none of whops
were hurt. A passenger carriage next the guard's van
was thrown off the line and considerably damaged, but it
was empty. Next to that was a saloon carriage, occupied
by a family travelling north. This also left the
rails, but not a single occupant, it is said, was injured.
None of the other passengers complained of being hurt,
and they all resumed their journey.

SCANDALOUS PROCEEDINGS AT S'EFTOY.

The disturbances which originated five or six weeks AV
on the appointment of a new curate to the parish church
of Sefton, and which have been continued each
succeeding Sunday, instead of subsiding, grow worse.
Last Sunday there was the most scandalous
exhibition ever yet witnessed in connection with the
present differences. The church in the morning
was not attended by so many as on previous Sunda)ll,
but the majority of those who were present were men and
young lads, and a few women, who had come from a dir
tance for the express purpose of creating a row. EverY
respect was paid to the service, and the sermon was lir
tened to with due attention, but there was the usual
interruption at the conclusion, when the clergyman
faced to the east and afterwards proceeded to the
communion table to read the prayer for the church militant.
Immediately the sermon was finished, nearly the whole
of the congregation left their seats. Some of them Went
into the churchyard and remained there, but a great
number stood in the centre aisle of the church, crowding
up to the chancel, and stared at the clergyman until h°
had got to the end of the prayer. The service over.
they joined those who had already taken up their position
outside. They strolled about the churchyard, and stood
in groups in the adjoining lane, watching for the apPear'
ance of the clergyman. Amongst those in waiting were,
several Orangemen from Litherland. The majority 0'
those in waiting had yellow flowers in their coats, and
those not already possessed of that distinguishing badge.
especially the younger portion, scampered about the
churchyard and plucked dandelion flowers, which they
placed in their hats and coats. Whilst the 111°17
waited for the clergyman some of the singers, highly'
respectable and good-looking young ladies, came out of
the church. As they passed out of the churchyard they
were grossly insulted by the Orange rowdies. The curate,
after an imprisonment of about three-quarters of an hour,
ventured out of the church to proceed to the rectory*,
where he is at present located, the system of persecution
being carried so far that he is now denied lodgings
at Sefton. Immediately on his issuing from the
vestry a shout was raised of "He's coming," and
the whole mob rushed after him, and howled and yelled
like a horde of Indian savages. Mr. Inspector Moss and
several policemen followed close to see that no harm wag
done to the rev. gentleman. The mob crowded close upon
the heels of the rev. gentleman until he reached the
rectory, yelling and shouting at him the whole way, and
when he reached his journey's end they yelled still louder
by way of a parting salute.

There was a very heavy rain on Sunday and through
the night at Birmingham. Mr. Planes rain gauge showed at
8 o'clock on Monday morning the amount of three inch°
and one-fifth. This is said to be unparallod in the time-

➢lr. Gladstone's bill ‘, to put an end to the Estab:
lishment of the Church of Ireland, and to make provision 111
respect of the temporalities thereof, and in respect of t 136
Royal College of Maynooth," as amended in committee, 11°°
been printed to-day. It contains 68 clauses.

A telegram from Belfast states that the late rob-
bery of fire-arms there has turned out to be a local affair, ad
was anticipated. The property has been discovered, 5130
the supposed burglar, Joseph Berry, of Shankhill-road,
been captured.

Some consternation has been caused in YorkshirAB
by the "mysterious disappearance" of a gentleman
Rills, of Colne, Essex, who left York on the 11th of April'
without acquainting any of his friends of his whoreahoet'
since that time. A reward of £lOO was offered for his
covert', and it has now transpired that he is living in P3rl°.
Meetings in support of the Permissive 13i11 ate
just now being hold throughout the country. A large
was held in the open air on Saturday at Liverpool, told rem
solutions were unanimously passed in favour of the Tile,
sure. The Reform League of Birmingham has adopted,
petition to Parliament, praying that the bill should be Passe
Colonel Cowell Stepney writes that he was ti'e
member who, in reference to Mr. Bright's land Felledv;
uttered the emphatic " No" generally supposed to 133:4
come from the Premier himself. Tho gallant member
Carmarthen was sitting immediately behind the TreeslltCr
bench, and of course it was difficult to tell the exact (1.051.-°
from which a single exclamation of that kind came. Aa
A singular excuse for attempting to commit siliciLlA
was made before the Liverpool magistrates on SaturdsY' lies
man named Griffiths had been apprehended by a Pi ;"a
officer in the act of hanging himself up to a beam. 1:(1
remonstrated with his excuse was that he had got vr°t9 9
that he was "hanging himself up to dry." The magistrat-
'e
discharged him.
At the IVorship-street Police-court on 31'11:
11
a man named Stevens was fined 55., or, in default, live
imprisonment, for being drunk and incapable in church 10
Sunday. The defendant entered the church of St. Stophel3' r,
the Commercial-road, in a state of helpless intoxicgtvlL
and roots went to sleep in one of the pews. lie eras Csco.
lied out of the church without having made any disttnban
The seventy-fifth annual meeting of the men3berf
and friends of the London Missionary Society— the firs,t co
a series of meetings to be held during the week-00k P
eet,
on Monday morning at the Mission House, Bloinfield-st:ul
at half-past seven o'clock. The meeting was of a deyetl°l3x.
and business character ; and in the afternoon, at three e'cl°c
the annual meeting of directors and delegates was held'
Cn Monday about 1,700 men of the 111)3_
Naval Reserve left the various southern ports °f
Eice
land and Scotland for the guardships of their resPect to
districts, from which they are to be forwarded at °flcheich
the vessels composing the Whitsuntide squadron,
is to rendezvous at Portland on Monday, thence to pro
fir
Otl3o
on a cruise of about a fortnight's duration under thuds
mand of Bear-Admiral Key, 0.8., and it is said un
porepaloppryilipnAtlio First Lordll-4-4346411.