The Sun.
London, England, 1869-07-30 00:00:00

SINGULAR RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

A very strange railway accident occurred on Thursday
at Preston. A train, consisting entirely of waggons filled
with stones, is run down to Preston from the Longridge
Quarries every day, and the whole of the line, about
seven miles in length, being cn a strong down gradient,
no engine is attached to them, the waggons coming
along in charge of break:men by their own momentum.
On Thursday morning a stone train consisting of twenty-
five waggons and one van was despatched frcm Longridge.
It was in charge of two break:men—Henry Helm and
William Wearden—who have for some time been used to
the road. Everything went on right until the train bad
got within a short distance of Preston, when the breaks-
men found that they could not check the waggons pro-
perly—the breaks having been either applied too late or
the train being too strong for them. The line on which
they were proceeding runs within about eight yards of
the front of the house occupied by the breaksman Helm.
His wife who was looking out of the parlour window, saw
the train approaching at a rate more rapid than usual,
apprehended that it would break over the buttress in front
of the house—used forblocking waggons—and run right into
the dwelling, so she at once seized her two children, ran into
the back yard, lifted one of them over the wall, and then
got over it herself with the other child. A moment or two
after she had effected her escape, the train, which was still
running at eight or ten miles an hour, came into violent
collision with the house, and broke in a large por-
tion of the front. A van weighing between nine
and ten tons at the front of the train was
driven completely through the parlour window. It
pushed in the surrounding masonry, and was driven
through the wall about half its length—fitting tightly in on
every side—before it was stopped. Two men, who were
passing the front of the house when the train came up,
had a narrow escape from being killed. The van was very
nearly broken into pieces, a waggon was also driven into
the end of it, another waggon was nearly smashed to atoms,
one was pitched across the adjoining rails, and damage
was done to others. No one was, fortunately, Burt by
the accident.

LAW AND _POLICE.

-.0.-

TitusTs DECLARED VOID.--Vice-Chancellor Malins, On
Thursday, gave judgment in the case of "Peek v. Peek,"
in which William Peek, as heir at law of the late Richard
Peek, of Hazlewood, Devon, prayed that a certain settle.
ment should be declared void, or that its trusts might be
carried out under the direction of the court. The Vice-
Chancellor said the trusts regarding the house and land
were void. if they were permitted to take effect, the
property might be inalienable for generations to come.
He held that the charitable trusts in the deed also failed,
and the whole of the trusts must be declared invalid, and
the heir at law would consequently be entitled.
. A RAILWAY COVENANT.—A question of some interest
to railway companies was raised in the case of " flood v.
North-Eastern Railway Corn pany," before Vice-Chancellor
James. The bill was for the specific performance of a
covenant entered into in 1838, on the occasion of the sale
of the Pepper Hall Estate, in Yorkshire. The railway
company undertook to use the station at Cowton, and
the plaintiff, who is the successor in title to the vendor,
Lord Alvanley, alleged that the company did not observe
their covenant, as no fast trains stopped at the station,
and there was insufficient accommodation there, and no
depot for luggage. The question turned on the
meaning of the words " first-class railway station,"
and the Vice-Chancellor held that there had been a
breach of the covenant. There would be an order on the
defendants to provide proper accommodation, and an in-
junction to restrain them from allowing any ordinary or
fast trains, not including snail or express trains, to pass
the station without staying there.

STRANGE SCENE.—An extraordinary scene took place at
the Thames Police-court on Thursday. Four Irish
labourers (brothers) were charged with assaulting a
relative. The case arose out of an old family
quarrel, which was- heard before Mr. Paget
eighteen months ago, and he then sentenced the
male prisoners to four months' imprisonment. On the
present occasion it was ascertained that a woman had
been badly used, and Mr. Paget denounced the men as
ruffians, and sentenced them to various terms of imprison-
ment. As soon as the sentence was pronounced Ulf
prisoners set up a loud yell and abused the magistrate.
They made an effort to reach the bench, and were with
difficulty prevented from so doing. Some police constables
were sent for from the adjoining station-house, and they
assisted the ushers of the court and others in removing
the prisoners, but a violent struggle took place before they
were taken away. These men have often been convicted
and havebeen in custody for felony.
THE GRAVESEND ELECTICN EIOTS.—The case of the
fourteen electors of Gravesend, who were charged at the
Maidstone /I.ssizes with riot and destruction of property,
was decided on Thursday, when the jury returned a
verdict of Not Guilty against all the defendants.
ATTEMPTED POISONING.—At the Berks Petty Sessions,
James Heath, a shepherd, was charged with attempting
to poison his wife and child. The prisoner left
home early on Tuesday morning, and his wife
and child, with a neighbour, sat down to
breakfast. The child and neighbour became very ill
after tastinz the tea, and the wife was also affected. The
sugar was examined and was found to contain portions of
stone mercury which was used to destroy insects in sheep.
Prisoner denied his guilt, hut was remanded for further
evidence.

A NEW GUN.—A gun, called the mitrailleur, ez
rifled battery, was undergoing trial on Thursday at the
Inner Range, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, under the super-
intendence of Major Fosberry. It consists of thirty-seven
barrels, each of which is discharged in succession, firing. a
bullet, and is worked round by a handle. The object of
the gun, by the rapidity of its firing and supposed destruc-
tive effect, is said to compare with-that of shrapnel shell
fired from field guns.

RUNAWAY SEALS.—Two seals which recently
arrived at the Zoological Gardens at Brussels escaped a
few nights ago from the reservoir in which they were kept,
and, crossing the park, climbed up the wall and dropped
into the road which skirts it at a depth of six feet; they
then set out on a nocturnal promenade in the direction of
Wavre, much to the terror of the persons who met those
singular-looking animals on the way. Their absence being
perceived, they were overtaken, and brought back by their
keeper. A strong railing was the next day put up round
the liethiltsunonat atinelitign:9llWizeak.