The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-25 00:00:00

'!"It
_
the public, and have by no Teigio fr
garded with that implicit confideleeovlM-
we are accustomed to look upon the p&hniai Ea-
beedings of GoVernment. The inference fri :m all
the department should be recas t,-and
its f, .ci s carefully reconsidered. 'Of -this,
however, we see little prospect. Those whc ) take
upon themselves the necessary and honot treble
office of correctors of abuses devote their attention
to other and less useful objects. A reform of ;this
kind will hardly come from within, nor from 4rith.
out, unless some popularity were to be gained I )y it,
of which there is, of course, no chance. Irt the
meantime, then, the best thing that can be do n ie is
to select for the arduous and responsible offioe of
Secretary of the Treasury a person whose poll timal
and official antecedents are more conimensu rate
to its real importance than to its nominal rank;
who will not 0n1y,4 a viiilant guardian of the
revenue, but will keep"" -tear of the questions ,ble
practice of originating expenditure in a departre tent
formed expressly to check it, and who may be a. safe
adviser and efficient representative of the Chance llor
of the Exchequer in all matters into which he' (tan-
not or will not inquire himself.
Such a person we do not doubt that the (
To-
vernment of Lord Palmerston has secured in
Mr. Frederick Peel. He is a man of indepen-
dent character and independent means. `'V:9
look to him for the discharge of duties which;
are among the most useful, if among the least
ostentatious, that can devolve on a pubiSc man.
We do not doubt tthat we shall find in Idm a
faithful guardian of the public puree and ast urdy
and immovable opponent of anything which has
the least tincture or semblance of a job. We ex.-
peat to have no more of improvident contracts an&
reckless guarantees, no more rumours of useful
information conveniently leaking out, no more of
those vehement assaults on the public purse which
have come from the very quarter from which it
ought to look for protection. But we expect even
more• than this. The. duty of the Treasury is not
only to check expenditure, but to revise taxation...
We are not fortunate at this moment in the hands
upon which that duty has devolved. From Mr.
Gladstone's own extraordinary and inexcusable im-
prudence, and not from any captiousness bl
ue h
part of the Parliament or people of this country,.
has it come to pass that every step which he taw
is regarded with the deepest suspicion, and that
there is a general opinion abroad that our interests
are safer in any hands than his. We rely upon
Mr. F. Peel to offer a steady opposition to the sub-
versive tendencies of his chief. We are weary ,of
glitter and brilliancy ; we sigh for a little prudence
and solidity. We want as a coadjutor to Mr.
Gladstone some one who will be satisfied wiith
change a little short of revolutionary, some ones
who will throw his whole weight into the scale
to
preserve the equilibrium between direct and i adi-
rect taxation. Such a man we believe we have in
Mr. F. Peel. He has an opportunity of dtoing
great public service, and of founding a reputation
which shall stand him in good stead in the political
changes of coming years. A better choice could
not have been made.

FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE RAILWAY

FORKS NEAR DO VER.

On Tuesday afternoon, at a little after one o'clock,
as the navvies engaged in making the line to *Dover
were at work at a bridge at Temple Ewen, the
whole structure suddenly gave way with a ter. rifle
crash. Three men were at work under it at ,the
time, and they were all buried under the r0r1.4-
Immediate efforts were made for the recovery of
the bodies, but it was not until two hours had
elapsed that they were dug out. Quite dead, we*
need not say, they were ; and two of them had sus-
taiaed the most dreadful injuries, their faces being
so bruised that they were unrecognisable. Their
names were Henry Jackson, George Hammond,
and - Ramie. They were at once removed to
the George and Dragon, Ewell, and information
was conveyed to the coroner for East Kent, Mr.-
T. T. Delasaux.
The inquest was held by Mr. Delasaux, at the
George and Dragon, at a little after one yesterday
(Wednesday) afternoon. Mr. Potter was named
foreman. The jury first viewed the bodies of the
unfortunate men, and afterwards went to the scene
of the accident. Previously the coroner had in a few
appropriate observations explained to them that,
though the accident had resulted in the death of
three persons, yet the jury might confine their at-
tention to the case of Henry Jackson, because it was
presumed that the same cause which produced his
death produced also that of the other two. He felt
it necessary to request the jury to visit the scone
of the casualty, because they would not otherwise
have a clear idea of all the circumstances attend-

ing it.
After their return the f01..° wing witnesses were
called :
Thomas Russell—l come from Worcestershire,
and am engaged on the railway works at Ewell, as
labourer. I havFsecn the body of the deceased,
and I identify it as that of Henry Jackson, my
half-brother. I cannot say. anything as to the cause
of death. I had left the cutting about six minutes
before the bridge fell. For the last week I have
been working under or near it. The deceased has
been also so employed. I was working all yester-
day with the deceased. I heard the bridge fall just
as I had got out of the cutting. I ran back at once.
I am employed by Mr. Pa:loon ; but I do not
think he is the contractor for the erection of the
bridge. I have seen the bricks as they now lie.
Most of them seem as clean of mortar as ever
they were. Some have a little mortar ; but
many, I should think, can never have had
a particle of mortar on them. I cannot say
whether the bridge was properly built. I.
have seen many buildings pulled down, and
the bricks in these cases have always had a
, great deal of mortar sticking to them—very differ-
, ent to the bricks of this bridge. I was present when
my brother was dug out. I did not assist the work-
men. He was quite dead. His body was much
injured.
The Coroner asked Mr. Macdonald (Mr. Cramp-
ton's agent) who was responsible for the building
of the bridge ?
Mr. Macdonald—Messrs. Hawley, of Dover. I
think they had the sub-contract for its erection, and
they did not sub-let it to any one.
Mr. Delasaux—The - bridge must be rebuilt.
Who will rebuild it ?
Mr. M ills, the resident engineer of the comilinY
—Mr. Crampton, I should think. He is noble
"rm. I
to the company, and Messrs. Hawley to .
selves, and did not sub-let it. They aPPe'nwa
understand that Messrs. Hawley undertook
foreman to superintend the works.
f the coroner,
Mr. Hawley, at the suggestion
o m during the
must be produced,4atihdelnnao-
was sent for, and remained in the roe
rest of the inquiry.
interests, as
answer to the coroner, said
and
Mr. Crampton and
Mr. Crampton, and between
hctsthe public
that Mr.
h e Macdonald,
hadt
ii
nthaeteei( contracts
affected
:a
Messit. Hawley; but he had not got them with him
Ithoweeehanytheeac4pmrpoanfesysional
then.
The Coroner said
as the safety safety of the other labourers. It would,
a very important
uervnidtehneceinegouoilryd be taken, as as he should have
.
otflirton elaidhie°r
we
bridge, and
whether
the propel materials had been used, and in the
proper way. He should therefore propose an
adjournment.
After a little discussion, the
journed till next Tuesday morning
morning at 11 o'clock.
_..,..._.......____
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