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 standing 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
conld 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. Coo.per—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 light train and
could be easily managed, and he ou°ht 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.
Ho 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 P

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 com-
mitted 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 CLERGYMAN'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 iCvon,
and entered into conversatiox 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 Richmond 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-
nessed 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 face 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 leo.s 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 aft6rwards 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.

METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS.

The ordinary meeting of the Metropolitan Board
of Works was held on Friday, in the Council
Chamber, Guildhall, Mr. J. THWAITES in the chair.
The cash statement showed a balance of £143,459
Gs. 4d.
FINANCE AND METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS.

Mr. DOULTON, pursuant to notice, moved that the
following information should be given as instruc-
tions to the finance committee in reference to
metropolitan improvements : " The various
sources of revenue available to other corporations
for puposes of improvement and public works,
including the municipality of Paris and other bodies.
The amount of money granted by Government to
metropolitan improvements during the present cen-
tury, stating to what purpose and from what
source. The amount collected annually from the
metropolitan area by direct and indirect taxation ;
total amount raised by Government and the City
from the trade of the port of London ; an approxi-
mate estimate of the expenses of the board, includ-
ing main drainage, metropolitan communications,
parks, Thames embankment, and other improve-
ments ; a statement of the sources available in
the opinion of the committee for metropolitan
revenue applicable to public improvements ; an
estimate of their probable annual amount ;
amount of local taxation raised on the metropolitan
area." He (Mr. Doulton) contended that the board
ought to have powers for indirect as well as direct
taxation. They ought to have the benefit arising
from taxation on the coal duties, cabs, omnibuses,
and other things. This was adopted in the pro-
vincial towns of Liverpool, Birmingham, and Man-
chester, and found to be successful, and ought to be
adopted in London. He concluded by moving that
the above recommendations be adopted.
Mr. DALTON seconded the motion.
After a considerable discussion it was carried
unanimously.
The board then adjourned.

EMPLOYMENT OF NATIVES ON THE

INDIAN TELEGRAPH&

(From the Bombay Telegraph and Courier,.)
There is-an article in the Bast Goftar of Sunday,
containing some ill-conditioned remarks with re-
gard to Mr. Owen's exclusion of natives from em-
ployment in the Electric Telegraph department.
We thought that we had sufficiently shown that
men who were either going to drink water or re-
turning from prayer, or ablution, were not the sort
of people to be entrusted with the working of such
an institution as the Electric Telegraph. We
refrained touching upon the real objection from
motives which may be understood. As, however,
our native friends do not seem to understand our
delicacy, we must at once enlighten them as to the
reason of their exclusion from an establishment,
where secrecy, confidence, and fidelity, are the pri-
mary elements. Mr. Owen has discovered that
natives cannot be trusted in the department. He
has carefully tried them, and found them wanting.
Scarcely one of them was above a bribe ; and those
that were honest were go devoid of all prudence that
a message, after it had passed through their hands,
was no longer a secret. It was a native signaller
that precipitated the revolt at Kolapoor, last
year, by• disclosing the preparations which were
being made -to throw troops into Southern
Maharastra. There are many other instances which
might be adduced, but we have shown sufficient
to prove that Mr. Owen is perfectly justified in
making a distinction, invidious although it may
appear to those interested. The names of many
wealthy men who have endeavoured to tamper with
the telegraph are well known to us, and." we would
advise our friends of the Bast Goftar to permit Mr.
Owen to manage his establishment as he sees best.
He knows the materials that are best suited for his
purpose ; and so long as he performs his work satis-
factorily, Government have about as much right to
interfere with him as the Rast Goftar has. He
has had sufficient experience to be able to judge
what kind of men suit him best.; and it would be
a nice thing indeed, were Government to adopt our
contemporary's advice, and compel him to engage
people in whom he has no confidence. These are
disagreeable truths, and we would rather not have
been forced, as it were, to give them publicity ; but
we cannot permit the head of a department to be
blamed without a cause. Since Mr. Owen assumed
charge of the electric telegraph, we have scarcely
had a single complaint from the public. Delays, it
is true, have occurred ; but when we look to the
unsettled state of the country, the wonder is that
We have had any telegraphic communication at all.
Everywhere a marked improvement is observable.
A system has been introduced and established, and
owing to this the confidence of the public has been
obtained. We have no doubt, however, now that
the howl has been commenced, that it will be pro-
longed. But Mr. Owen need not regard it ;he has
so firmly established himself in the good opinion of
all whose good opinion is valuable, that the cla-
mouring of a few raw and uneducated boys will do
him but little harm. As we have more than once
stated, natives will have to compete with Europeans
upon a footing of equality, or not at all. They will
no longer be promoted over the heads of deserving
men, simply because they are natives, and can read
and write English tolerably well. They must rise
above prejudice, show themselves the equals of
Europeans in all that contributes to success in life ;
respect the feelings of all beneath them ; and ab-
stain from servility to those above them. By these
means they will be enabled to enter the arena of
strife ; contend for the prize for all and sundry ;
and compete with the European for the highest
honours the State can bestow. Before they can
reach this altitude, however, they must learn to
refrain from shuddering at the sight of a Mhar ;
and, if need be, learn wisdom from the experience
of a Mhang. They must cease to believe that
the touch of a Christian is pollution : they had
better refrain from prayer except in their closets
and temple; and, as, much possible, abstain from
all extravagance in red-raddle and yellow-ochre.
When they can eat and drink like men ; treat their
wives and daughters like ladies ; and conduct them-
selves, generally, after the manner and civilisation
of the West ; there will be far higher appointments
open for them than clerkships in public offices. As
we have before stated, these are disagreeable things
for us to publish ; but our friends who are repre-
sented by the Rast Goftar seem to forget, when
they hold the Englishman up to scorn, that there
are often two sides to a picture. Let them cultivate
the virtues which we inculcate, and they will reap
a richer reward than by declaiming upon the few
vices which we practise. By doing the first, they
may in time rise above us ; but in continuing in
their present course they merely exhibit the ambi-
tion of vulgar minds—a desire to reduce all above
them to their own level.

TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION IN

FRANCE.

The Constitutionnel publishes an article on the
development of communication by the electric tele-
graph. Looking at- the number of despatches
sent, it says—lt is interesting to ascertain to what
account the public has turned this means of corre-
spondence. In 1852 the number of despatches sent
for the public was 48,000 ; in 1856 it rose
to 360,000 ; and in 1857 to 413,000. It is true,
that in 1852 there were only 43 stations, whereas
in 1856 there were 167, and in 1857, 171- But still
the increase is remarkable; it was, for example,
53,000 more in 1857 than in 1856, though the
number of stations was only four more. Referring
to the electric telegraph as a source of revenue to
the State, the article observes:—The Government,
in placing telegraphs at the disposal of the public,
has created a new branch of revenue. In 1852 the
receipts from telegraphs were only 542,000 f. ; in
1856 they were 3,191,000 f., and in 1857, 3,333,000 f.
These, it will be seen, are not to be disdained. No
doubt, the expenses of the functionaries employed
absorb the largest part of them ; but notwithstand-
ing telegraphs already present net profits, and they
cannot fail to increase by the extension which tele-
graphic communications are destined to take all
over the country. The 3,333,000 f. of 1857 were di-
vided amongst the different stations in this man-
ner :—Paris alone for 1,466,000 f. ; Marseilles for
455,000 f. ; and the towns which followed in order
of importance were Lyons, Bordeaux, Havre,
Nantes, Toulouse, Lille, Rouen, Strasburg, and
Bayonne. The number of towns from which the re-
ceipts exceed 10,000 f. is 30. It will be noticed that the
stations of the seaports which possess a Bourse and a
Tribunal of Commerce are amongst the most im-
portant. The average sum received for each de-
spatch was in 1857 only Bf. 6c., whilst in 1856 it
was Bf. 83c: But it must be remembered that the
Government for the sake of commerce has made
several reductions in the charge for despatches.
The Treasury, however, has lost nothing ; its re-
ceipts, on the contrary, have increased ; thus whilst
the average charge for a despatch was in 1857,
79c. less than in 1856, the average yield per kilo-
metre rose from 283,000 f. to 291,000 f„ an augmen-
tation of more than B.per cent.

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