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

COL. TAYLOR'S EXPLANATION.

Colonel Taylor writes to contradict the. Watement
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,
" Mr. 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 he 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 iu connection with the
Reform Bill, nor did I state to any one that he bad
done eo. 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 comtnunication with Mr. Osborne until
five minutes before he addresed 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 a 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 struggle, 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 rresatent 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. With 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
dartlepool 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-
,tuned 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, Whompson 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
norther❑ 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 magistrates, at York, for breach of con-
tract. The bench were
.about to proceed with the
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 locomotive 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
service of the railway company came before Col.
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. Riberts, 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 1
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. His engine was ready for going away. He was
in charge of the engine. He was going to Brance-
peth. He said he would not go. None of the other
men had come to work on that morning. He 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.
31-65. 6d. ordinary wage, 12 hours a day, and 7s.
a day for long trips. He 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
75. per day. The defendant for driving a large en-
gine always got 75., making a total for the last fort-
night of £3 18s. 91 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 111311 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

concessions were-7s. a day, ten hours a day. He
stipulated that they should have no shed day. He
promised to visit the districts to remedy any diffe-
rences. On April 4he visited Darlington district.
He sent for a number of men to meet him, and pro-
mised them a shed day as heretofore provided they
kept their engines in order. After the men had
struck work he went to Darlington and called at three
of their houses, but found none of them at home.
He sent for them to the club, and they would not
come. He would never allow a shed day as long as
be bad power. Mr. John Bell, the locomotive fore-
man at Darlington, was also examined. Mr. Roberts,
in defence, urged that the men had not been fairly
treated with reference to the shed day. On the con-
clusion of his address the case was adjourned until
May 13.
Yesterday six of the drivers were summoned before
the Leeds magistrates, also charged with leaving
work without notice. An adjournment until Thurs-
day was asked for on their behalf, as the summonses
were only served on Saturday evening, and the men.
wished to have the professional advice of Mr.
Roberts, of Manchester. The application was op-
posed by Mr. Ferns, solicitor, on behalf of the rail-
way company, on the ground that the men had held
two or three meetings since they received the sum-
monses, and it was not usual to grant adjournments
except for want of witnesses. The present ease was
different from any other only because there was a
conspiracy of a great number of men to ill-use and
alarm the public. The magistrates refused to post-
pone the hearing until Thursday, but fixed it to take
place to-day (Tuesday). The men yesterday re-
ceived a telegram assuring them of the full support
of the London engine-drivers, and stating that they
were pledged, at the meeting held on 'Sunday, to de-
mand legislative arbitration in all these cases.

Ai&
tei; AfrAr
Tort '* 'i°t►

HER MAJESTY, &c•

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

Princess Louise, attended by:the Hon. Flora Aac-
donald, went out walking this morning.
Prince Christian also walked out.
Prince Henry of Prussia, attended by Captain von
Scbroetter, went to London, and visited the Prince
and Princess of Wales at Marlborough House. 11i3
royal highness afterwards returned to Windsor
Castle.

His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, attended by
Major Elphinstone, has left the Castle for Green-
wich-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 Price°
Henry of Prussia, at Windsor Castle this after-
noon. The Ladies and Gentlemen in Waiting were
in attendance.

The l'i incess Christian.

The following bulletin was issued yesterday

morning :

" He; Royal Highness Princess Christian has
passed a quiet night, and the Princess and infant
Prince are well."

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN.
A Wharncliffe meeting of this company was held
on Saturday at the Euston station ; Mr. R. Mewl
in the chair.

Mr. S. Reay, the secretary, having read the
notice convening the meeting,
The CHAIRMAN said the first bill he had to deal
with was a bill to enable the company to construct
a railway from the Stockport, Risley, and IVhaley-
bridge Railway, at the Chapel-en-le-Frith station,
to Sheffield, and for other purposes. When the
importance of such a place as Sheffield was consi-
dered, they would agree with him that the directors
could not allow the North Western system to be longer
disconnected with that district, and it appeared that
Parliament was of the same opinion, for a bill ena-
bling them to connect the London and North-Western
system direct with Sheffield had passed the House
of Commons. (Hear, hear.) He was happy, how-
ever, to say that circumstances had occurred which
by means of conciliation with the Manchester,
Sheffield, and Lincoln Railway Company, would
save the London and North-Western Company the,
expense of further procedure with that bill and of
constructing the contemplated line it had proposed'
(Hear.) He was happy to say that an agreement
had been come to with the Manchester, Sheffield,
and Lincoln Company, and the deed had been dull
signed and executed that morning, by which the
London and North-Western Company and the Man-
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Companies bad
agreed that the North-Western should have all the
advantages through the Manchester, Sheffield, and
Lincoln line which this new bill and the railway was
to be constructed under it would give to thew'
(Hear.) The London and North-Western Cora"
pany were to make their own arrangements for ma-
nagement, work their own trains with their own
staff, and make their own rates. Such being the
case, and the directors of the Sheffield company
having met them in the conciliatory and in the fair
and honourable spirit they had done, there was no
longer any necessity for entailing oil the proprietary
the expense of constructing the proposed new line
and the proposal he had, therefore, to submit was
for the sanction of the proprietary to the withdrawal
of the bill. (Hear.) He and those who acted with
him, as well as the directors of the Sheffield Cora:
pany, had come to the conclusion that they could
not live by living on each other, and therefore they
had come to the very wise and amicable determine'
tion to which he had referred. The chairman then
moved that the bill for constructing the line he
withdrawn.
Mr. WESTHEAD, the deputy chairman, seconded
the motion.
Mr. PARKER congratulated the directors of both
companies on the new policy which he hoped would
be adopted in future by them and other railway
companies. _ _ _

Mr. WATKIN, M.P., the chairman of the Mar:
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, expressed 10
gratification that peace had been restored, and b°
had no doubt that both companies would work hat.-
moniously in developing the traffic to and frolo
Sheffield. They were all greatly indebted to Alf;
Smith, the chairman of the North-Western audit
committee, for his able exertions in bringing about
an amicable arrangement between the two cola'
panies.
The resolution withdrawing the bill was then car-
ried unanimously.
A bill authorising the company to make a jtl°°-
tion line of three or four miles in length, for COlr
fleeting the London and North-Western and MO-
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railways W 613
also agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN then submitted a bill to extolici
the time for the completion of the railway of tbice
Dundalk and Greenore Company, and to enab
that company to construct new railways. at PCI3;
dalk, and to complete certain joint works. Therti
was a clause in the bill to enable the London ate
North-Western Railway Company to subsco'o.
£130,000 towards the construction of those railvva)
The bill, after some discussion, was approved'at
The next was a bill for conferring on the Gree,
Western Railway Company further powers ill r„,
lation to their own undertaking and the undertsedi'.
ings of other companies, which was also app r°
A bill to enable the North London Railway C°l9:l
party to widen further portions of their railway, a;
for granting various additional powers to the Loa,
don and North-Western Railway Company
nection therewith, was agreed to, and the pro ee
.r,
ings terminated with a vote of thanks to the chair
man and directors.

THE TEA TRADE, April 15.—The deliveries 0,
Loudon made up for the week were 1,509,2071 b., beia
increase of 32911.971 b, compared with the preiioB