The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-25 00:00:00

mated " danger." The length of the horse-box train
was about 171 yards. It stood with its head at the
semaphore. An ordinary passenger train would
consist of four or five carriages and an engine, and
would occupy about 40 yards. lam not competent
to say whether Ward could have pulled up before
passing the semaphore, supposing the line to
have been' clear. I believe it to be almost im-
possible to calculate the rate of speed at which
a train is travelling, or has travelled, excepting
from a knowledge of the time of its departure
from one point and its arrival at another. The
appearance of signals at night is often very decep-
tive. I heard two whistles as Ward's train ap-
proached, and I took those to be signals from Ward
to his guard to put on his break, but I cannot say,
from the sound of the train, whether the break was
applied or not. Had Ward run into the horse-box
train at the rate of 35 miles an hour, I should think
more damage must have ensued. The horse-box
train was moving on at the rate of about four miles
an hour when it was run into. I did not go that
night to examine the auxiliary signal from the
Dullingham side.
By Mr. Rawlings—The horse-box train certainly
waited longer at the station than an ordinary pas-
senger train would. The order, " Go on," is usually
got in readiness for passenger trains ; it is tele-
graphed for to Cambridge as the train is -coming in,
but special trains, and the horse-box train was a
special, have to wait for a special order. The time
an ordinary passenger train would stop would be
from two to three minutes. It was no part of the
duty of the guard of the horse-box train to go back
and show danger lights beyond the auxiliary sig-
nal ; the latter is the only and generally accepted
protection to a stauding train. I have no doubt
that Ward was sober on the night of the accident.
The Rev. Mr. Hailstone here asked Mr. Kitson
whether it was possible that the auxiliary signal
could show a white, or " all right" light on both
sides ?

Mr. Kitson replied that it was, but such a cir-
cumstance was exceedingly improbable, and could
only arise from the spectacle (the red glass) not
falling properly over the white light. (The signal
alluded to was worked before the coroner's jury
and performed its functions most efficiently.)
Mr. Hailstone—Presuming that such a casualty
did take place, is not the same likely to occur to all
the signals on the line ?
Mr. Kitson—lt might, of course; but I consider
such a result highly improbable.
By Mr. Cooper—l ordered the drivers on the
horse-box train to go a-head, because I saw that
Ward had passed the auxiliary signal.
By the Bench—The time a. driver should shut
off his steam would materially depend on the
weight of his train. Ward's was a hght train and
could be easily managed, and he ought to have
shut his steam off on emerging from the Dulling-
ham cutting. He could have seen the signals there,
and no sane. man on seeing those signals would
have neglected to stop. If I were driving and saw
a signal partly red and partly white, I should con-
sider it was my duty to pull up. I should suppose
that there was a doubt that the signal was not
working properly. I should consider it my duty to
pull up, and should do so also out of regard to my

own safety.
James Nichols, who acted as Ward's fireman on
the night of the accident, deposed that " caution"
lights (green) were shown at Dullingham, but that
Ward paid no attention to them; and actually put
more steam on, but- turned it off again in the cut-
ting. Could see the auxiliary signal more than a
mile from Six-mile Bottom station. That signal
showed half red and half white. Ward turned off
his steam when he saw the light was half and half.
The steam was turned off in consequence of the
state of that signal: They travelled at from 25
to 30 miles an hour between the time at which the
steam was turned off and running into the station.
He put the break on before they reached the
auxiliary, but on passing that he took it off by Ward's
direction. When he took the break he could see

the lights at the tail of the horse-box train. The
tail lamps of the horse-box train would be visible
on emerging from the cutting. He jumped off
before the collision took place, because he could see
that it was imminent. Ward whistled to the
guard to put on his break between the auxiliary
and the semaphore; he put his break on again too,
when Ward whistled to the guard. The train
was going at from 10 to 15 miles an hour when he
jumped off, and that was about three telegraph
posts from the collision.
By Mr. Rawlings—l have often seen the
auxiliary signal in the state it was in on that
night—half red and half white. Had I remained
on the engine I don't think I could have rendered
Ward any assistance. I thought that if I did I
should be killed. It is possible for a fireman to
assist the driver in working the handle of the rever-
sal lever, but Ward had reversed it when I jumped
off. The only thing that could have been done was
to put on the steam against the engine, and Ward
had done that.

Mr. Rawlings—Could you not have held the
handle of the lever while Ward used his whistle ?

Witness—No ; not unless it fell properly into the
notch, and it did not. There was no time for me to
render assistance. I have known levers to fly out of
the notch .before when they have been used on sud-
den emergencies. We left Newmarket at 11.15, and
both Ward and I were perfectly sober. In my opi-
nion Ward did all he could to stop the train we were
on when I, saw the tail lamps of the other.
Absolom Watson, signalman at the Six-mile Bot-
tom station, swore that he worked the auxiliary on
the night of the accident, and turned the red or
danger light on against Ward, on the arrival of the
horse-box train. The auxiliary showed a white
light towards the station, and witness knew by that
that the red must have been towards Ward. _ _

Mr. Rawlings made a forcible appeal on behalf of
the prisoner, relying principally on the fact of his
nonabandonment of his engine, but the Bench coin-
'flitted him for trial, bail being taken for his ap-
pearance—himself in £5O, and two sureties -of £25
each.

HORRIBLE AND FATAL ACCIDENT TO
A CLERGY3LeIN'S DAUGHTER.

BRISTOL, SATURDAY NIGHT.
Our fashionable suburb of Clifton has just been
thrown into a state of the most painful excitement,
in consequence of the death of a young lady, the
daughter of a clergyman residing in the neighbour-
ing county of Gloucester, under circumstances of
the most appalling description. The young lady
in question, Miss Mary Richmond, was an interest-
ing girl of 18 years of age. Miss Richmond, at the
time of the occurrence which terminated so fatally,
was on a visit-to a connection of her family, Mrs.
Marshall, the widow of a clergyman residing at No.
8, Arlington -villas, Richmond-park, Clifton. The
young lady was of a contemplative turn of mind,
and the weather yesterday being of a very inviting
character, she 'went out in the afternoon to take a
stroll upon the Downs. She appeared to be greatly
delighted with the beautiful scenery of the Avon,
and entered into conversation with some ladies on
the promenade, and also with two of the men who
stand near the Observatory vending specimens of
the famous " Bristol diamond" and other fragments
of the rocks. From two of those vendors, Chas.
Burston and William Bryant, she purchased
fossil specimens, after which she was observed
to wander to a cliff called " The Lion's Head
Cliff," which stands at an elevation of upwards
of 300 feet from the road below, and from
which is obtained magnificent views of the Avon—
the Hotwells, the Leighwoods, Ashton, and the
surrounding scenery. From this tremendous
height the unhappy young lady fell. The precise
circumstances which led to the terrible accident
were differently stated, but that it was an accident
and not, as was at first stated, a suicide, there can
be no unreasonable doubt. According to one state-
ment, Miss Riehmond was absorbed in the perusal
of a book, and unconsciously walked over the edge
of the precipice ; another account states that she
was endeavouring to gather one of the pretty rock
plants which grow in the crevices of the limestone
formation, and that in her efforts to reach it she
overbalanced herself, and so fell. In her descent
she was observed to beat against the projecting
points of the cliff, and finally to pitch on her head
on the winding road which skirts the river. Henry.
Houston, a man in the employ of the Great Wes-
tern Railway Company, and a young man named
Castle, residing at 4, Dowry-parade, Hotwells, wit-
neszed the accident, and ran at once to the spot, but
the unfortunate young lady was beyond the reach
of any human aid, having been dashed almost liter-
ally to pieces. Her fade was shockingly torn and
mangled, her lower jaw being broken and forced in
on one side, several of her ribs and her arms- and
thighs broken, and the flesh of her, lea torn and
lacerated. In her descent her clothes were
much torn, and her bonnet and shawl remained
half way up the cliff. Her body was removed to
the Gen. Draper Tavern, where Dr. Crichton was
called to see it. Information was afterwards given
to the coroner for the city, who will hold an in-
quest on Monday (this day.) By the coroner's
leave, the corpse will be removed at a late hour to-
night to Clifton. This is the fourth or fifth acci-
dent of the kind which during the last 20 years has
occurred from the same cliff, and . an impression
prevails that the Society of Merchant Venturers,
who are lords of the manor of the Downs, ought to
put some sort of fence so as to protect visitors
against the danger of falling over. This is a matter
that. will doubtless: engage-the attention of the
coroner and jury,