The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-16 00:00:00

COL.__TAYLOR'S EXPLANATION.

Colonel Taylor writes to contradict thestatement
made by Mr. Osborne in the House of Commons
on Friday. Mr. Osborne stated that Col. Taylor
had, in speaking to Mr. Dillwyn, undertaken, as a
gentleman and a man of honour, to press upon the
Cabinet the desirability of adopting Mr. Hibbert's
amendment, and, further, assuring him that Lord
Derby and Mr. Disraeli were personally in favour of
accepting it. " A few days since," writes Col. Taylor,
6, Dir. Dillwyn and I were in conversation respect-
ing the Reform Bill, and he expressed himself
strongly in favour of the principle of Mr. Hibbert's
amendment. I observed that I was aware that many
members on both sides the house wished the con-
cession to be made, and that 1 had represented the
feeling that existed to leading members of the Go-
vernment ; but that the point was so important that
it could only be decided at a meeting of the Cabinet,
where it was obviously essential that Lord Derby
should be present ; and that, unfortunately, he was
then by his state of health entirely precluded from
transacting business. It therefore seemed to me
undesirable that a division should be hastily taken
on any main point of the bill, as it appeared likely
that the votes of many members on the question of
personal payment of rates might be influenced by
their feelings on a point not really then at issue. I
therefore expressed an opinion that an adjournment
of the debate would be advantageous, especially as
there could be little doubt the Chancellor of the
Exchequer would bring the subject of the compound
ratepayer before his colleagues at the first conve-
nient opportunity, and as I believed he was indivi-
dually not indisposed to give the question a candid
consideration. I added that I was not without hopes
that some satisfactory conclusion might be arrived
at, which would greatly facilitate the progress of
the bill and the settlement of the Reform question.
There our interview ended ; but about half an hour
afterwards Mr. Dillwyn met me again and said he
had put upon paper the purport of my remarks, and
reading what ho had written, he asked whether it
was substantially correct. I assented, observing that
our conversation was a private one, that I expressed
my own opinion and belief only, but that I had no
objection to his repeating what I had said to any of
his friends. Mr. Dillwyn has since assured me that the
paper in question has never left his possession, and that
no copy whatever has been made of it; therefore,
the only possible inference is that the statement
read by Mr. Osborne was compiled from materials
supplied by the too fertile memory of some one of
the gentlemen to whom Mr. Dillwyn may have
shown it. I will only add that in conversation with
Mr. Dillwyn I never assumed any authority, nor did

I name Lord Derby or Mr. Disraeli, except in
reference to the illness of the former, and the inten-
tention of the latter to submit the question to the
Cabinet, as I have already stated."
Mr. Dillwyn, on the same subject, writes
" What Mr. Bernal Osborne read was not a copy
of the memorandum in question, and which I
neither gave out of my own possession nor allowed
any one to take a copy of. The statement he made
was substantially incorrect, as neither did Colonel
Taylor directly nor indirectly allude to Lord Derby's
opinion upon any question in connection with the
Rofornt Bill, nor did I state to any one that. he had
done so. I have given notice that upon the meet-

ing of the House of Commons after the recess I
shall ask Mr. Osborne how he obtained the paper
purporting to be a copy of the memorandum made
by me which he read to the House. Had he given
me any notice whatever of his intention to bring
the matter before the House I should have been
enabled to set him right as to the facts of the case."

Mr. Owen Stanley also throws his quota of light
upon the matter as follows :—" The document was
never in my hand at all or a copy of it, except for
the few seconds when Mr. Dillwyn asked me to read
it in the lobby of the House of Commons about
eleven o'clock on Thursday night, and I have never
seen it since. Being no secret or confidential docu-
ment, I spoke of it to several members. I never
had any communication with Mr. Osborne until
five minutes before he addressed the House, when
he asked me if I could substantiate the fact of my
having seen such a document ; to which I replied I
would if appealed to."

The Strike of the Engine-Drivers on the
North Eastern Railway.

At &large meeting of engine-drivers and fire-
men, held in the Metropolitan Music-hall, on
Sunday night, the following resolutions were unani-
mously passed :

" 1. That the vacillating and oppressive con-
duct of the directors and officials of the North-
Eastern Railway Company justifies the engine-
drivers and firemen in refusing any longer to sub-
mit to it.

" 2. That this meeting sympathise with the men
on the North-Eastern in their present strugglp, and
pledges itself to give them every moral and mate-
rial aid during the contest.

" 3. That a deputation he appointed to wait upon
the President of the Board of Trade to represent
the grievance under which the North-Eastern men
are suffering, and desire legislative arbitration be-
tween them and their directors."

The traffic arrangements of the North-Eastern
Railway Company are rapidly assuming their ordi-
nary condition. The directors and managers of the
company are determined not to re-engage any of
the 1,500 engine-drivers and firemen who struck
last week on their various branches of railway, and
it seems certain that they will succeed in doing
without them. As stated before, the managers
have no difficulty in engaging any number of
men fully competent to work locomotives. On
Saturday alone upwards of 50 applications had to
be rejected from persons desirous of filling up the
places of the men on strike. The only obstacle
to the traffic being fully resumed at once is that
the newly-engaged drivers have not as yet made
themselves fully acquainted with the road, cross-
ings, signals, switches, shunting-places, &c. But
they are being rapidly schooled by the company's
managers and servants, who travel with them on
the locomotives for the purpose. The traffic of
Saturday, the most trying day of the week, was got
through without accident or stoppage, and the
running of the passenger trains on Sunday was
carried out without any departure from the ordi-
nary time bills. IVith the assistance of the colliery
owners, the shipments at the Tyne Docks are being
rapidly brought up to the ordinary daily average,
and there will be little detention of shipping. At
tiartlepool little inconvenience has arisen from the
strike. All the Saturday trains were run from
that town ; 14 engines were employed in working
the coal traffic at West Hartlepool, and a similar
number at Old Hartlepool, and there appears to be
a plentiful supply of engine-drivers in the Cleve•
land district. Some of the collieries in the neigh.
bourhood of the city of Durham were laid off on
Saturday in consequence of the North - Eastern
being unable to convey the coals to the seaports.
But that difficulty is being rapidly overcome, and
it is anticipated that these collieries will have re-
sumed work by this time.
A meeting of engine-drivers and firemen not spe-
cially connected with the North-Eastern system
has been held at Newcastle. Mr. Thompson at-
tended as a deputation from the Engine-drivers'
Association. The proceedings were private. It
was resolved—" That this meeting deeply sym-
pathises with the North-Eastern members, and
pledges itself to support them in every way; and,
further, that the meeting is of opinion that the
scope of the strike ought to have greater ramifica-
tions, and suggests that influence should be used to
obtain the sympathy of the men on the London
and North-Western and other lines."

The meeting further resolved that the men in the
northern district should strictly stand by the memo-
rial they had sent in to the directors.
Yesterday, ten of the men on strike—viz., nine
engine-drivers and one fireman—were summoned
before the magistrates, at York, for breach of con-
tract. The bench were
,about to proceed with the
case of George Preston, who was charged with
having, on the 11th inst., without giving the required
notice of a month, absented himself from his service,
when Mr. Webster, of Darlington, who appeared for
the defendants as well as the other men, applied for
an adjournment of the hearing, on the ground that
the defendants had not had sufficient time to meet
the charge, the summonses only having been served
late on Saturday. Mr. Gutch, who represented the
North-Eastern Company, opposed the application,
stating that in Preston's case the superintendent of
the loeomotive department had told him on the 10th
inst. what the consequences would be if he left with-
out
giving notice. Eventually the hearing of the
cases was
adjourned till Thursday next.
Yesterday cases against several men who left the
company came before Col.
service of the railway
Scurfield and the Rev. J. W. Smith, magistrates, at
Darlington. The first defendant was George Heavi-
side, who was charged with breach of contract by
leaving his service without one calendar month's
notice. Mr. Richardson, of York, appeared for the
railway company, and Mr. W. P. Roberts, of Man-
chester, appeared for defendant. Mr. Richardson
said that great dissatisfaction existed among the
engine drivers on the railway, and the chief cause
was that they could not have a " shed day," which
means that they could not have one day during the
week on which they could remain in shed for the
purpose of cleaning and packing the engine. This
the directors at first declined to grant, and the men
sent in their month's notice to leave as required by
the rules under which they were bound. Upon the
men doing this the directors made certain conces-
sions, among which one was that the men should
have a shed day. The men were satisfied, and they
withdrew their notice and continued work until the
10th April, when a man named Scrafton, who had
already done his day's work, having finished at 10
o'clock, applied to Mr. Bell for his shed day. It must
be here stated that there are more men in the Dar-

lington district than there are engines, and on this
man Scrafton finishing his day's work the engine
was despatched to the scene of an accident by a fresh
engineman and stoker. There was in consequence no
engine for him to clean, and on this account it was
refused him. Upon this the whole of the engine-
drivers left work. Mr. Richardson contended that,
if Scrafton had any difference with the company, it
was no reason why the other men should have left
their work without notice. Robert Bell, locomotive
foreman of the North-Eastern Railway Company,
said he saw Heaviside on his engine on Wednesday
last. Ilis engine was ready for going away. lie was
in charge of the engine. He was going to Brance-
reth. He said he would not go. None of the other
.tticu had come to work on that morning. Ile put the
engine into the siding and went away. He left in the
morning. Thos. Robson, the cashier of the railway,
produced the pay sheets for the fortnight preceding
the strike. The total paid to defendant was £3 17s.
31.-6 s. 6d. ordinary wage, 12 hours a day, and 7s.
a day for long trips. ILe produced the pay-sheet for
the last fortnight, up to 10th April. Under the new
system defendant had 11i days, 10 hours a day, at
7s. per day. The defendant for driving a large en-
gine always got 75., making a totalfor the last fort-
night of £3 18s. 9d. During the fortnight he had
two shed days. The entire number of hours was 103,
exclusive of shed days. He got 7s. for shed days.
Mr. E. Fletcher, locomotive superintendent at
Gateshead, said he was present at the meeting at
York on March 22, when the me❑ gave a month's
notice to leave. He had on the 28th a meeting at
Newcastle with the men, when concessions were
made, upon which the notice was withdrawn, The

HER MAJESTY, &c.

WINDSOR CASTLE, April 14.
The Queen drove out to-day, attended by Lady
Churchill.

Princess Louise, attended by;the Hon. Flora gac'
donald, went out walking this morning.

Prince Christian also walked out.

Prince Henry of Prussia, attended by Captain von
Schroetter, went to London, and visited the Prince
and Princess of Wales at Marlborough House. Ilea
royal highness afterwards returned to Windsor
Castle.

His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, attended by
Major Elphinstone, has left the Castle for Green'
wick-park.

Lord John Manners, the Right Hon. Spencer
Walpole, and the Bishop of St. David's have also
left the Castle.

The Japanese troupe had the honour of perform'
ing before their Royal Highnesses Princess Louise,
Prince Leopold, Princess Beatrice, and Prioc°
Henry of Prussia, at Windsor Castle this after-
noon. The Ladies and Gentlemen in Waiting Were
in attendance.