The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-04 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVE_NING, SEPTEMBER 4, 1808,

TIM AMERICAN MINISTER AND
MR. ROEBUCK.

SHEFFIELD, Thursday Evening.

The annual feast of the Cutlers' Company was
held this evening in their new hall, under the pre-
sidency of Mr. Mark Firth, Master Cutler. A dis-
tinguished company, consisting of the elite of
Sheffield and its neighbourhood, was present,
among whom we noticed Earl Fitzwilliam, Lord
Wharncliffg, Lord Denman, Mr. Reverdy Johnson,
the American Minister ; LDrd Milton, M.P., Mr.
Roebuck, M.P., Lord Edward Howard, M.P., Mr.
E. J. Reed, C. 8., Alderman Stone, Sheriff of Lon-
don ; the Mayors of Doncaster, Nottingham, Man-
chester, Halifax, and Sheffield; the Masters of the
Cutlers' Company (London), the Master of the
Grocers' Company (London), &c.
The usual loyal and constitutional toasts were
given by the Master Cutler, and most enthusiasti-
cally responded to.
In reply to the toast of " The Army, Navy, and
Volunteers," Major ALEXANDER responded on
behalf of the Army.
Mr. E. J. REED, C. 8., who acknowledged the
toast on behalf of the Navy, said that be was
hardly a proper representative of the navy on this
occasion, as he did not altogether belong to the
militant branch of the naval profession ; but,
although he did not share in its dangers, he had
been for the last five years constantly under fire,
and he was not sorry to have this opportunity of
making some explanations, which he would rather
make in Sheffield than in any other town. It was
not true, as persistently represented, that he was
an opponent of the turret system. He had de-
signed several turret ships. He had always been
favourable to that system, and had always used
his official influence, as his official superiors could
testify, to obtain a full and fair trial of it. At the
present time Captain Coles was building a large
turret ship under his sole supervision, according
to his own ideas, assisted by all the skill and ap-
pliances of Messrs. Laird, the eminent shipbuilders
of Birkenhead. (Cheers.) The only hesitation
on the part of the Admiralty with respect
to this system was that they entertained a
grave doubt how far that system was applic-
able to sea-going ships ; but the chief anxiety
of those who were responsible for the navy
of the country was to obtain a thorough and
efficient trial of that system as quickly as pos-
sible. (Cheers.) When he entered the service of
the Admiralty the largest gun "on board a sea-going
ship weighed 31 tons ; there were now ships afloat
which carried guns of seven, eight, nine, and twelve
tons, and the Hercules, now building at Chatham,
would receive an armament of guns weighing 18
tons. In addition, there were ships rapidly ap-
proaching completion which were to carry guns of
25 tons. (Cheers.) He thought it ought to be
readily known that the progress which had thus
bem made of late years in the armoured ships of
this country could not have been, by any means, so
rapid if it had not been for the experiments and the
daring enterprise of the manufacturers of Sheffield.
(Cheers.) tie trusted that the time would come
when the Adm'ralty would be better able to reward
that enterprise than they had hitherto.
Lord WHARNCLIFFE responded for the Volun-
teers.

Mr. J. J. SIIITII next gave "yhe Health of the
Hon. Reverdy Johnson, as the &presentative of
the United States to the Court of this country."
The toast was drunk with great enthusiasm.

The Hon. REVERDY JOHNSON, on rising to re-
spond, was received with much cheering. He said
—Mr. Master Cutler, my Llrls, and Gentlemen,—
I return you my most grateful thanks for the kind
reception I have met with, and you, Mr. Smith,
for the complimentary terms in which you have
brought forward my name. You have my warmest
acknowledgment. I came to your country, gentle-
men, as a messenger of peace—(cheers) ; that mes-
senger I mean to be—l could not be otherwise if I
carried out the instructions of my Government.
(Loud cheers.) I value your reception the more
because it assures me, in addition to the assurances
which I have had since I landed on your shores,
that you entertain a friendly feeling fur the Go-
vernment and the people of the United States—
(cheers)—and I am most happy to assure you, my
lords and gentlemen, that that feeling is warmly
reciprocated. (Continued cheering.) I speak only
what I know, with every opportunity of becoming
acquainted with the sentiments of my country-1
know that for no people on the habitable globe is
there a kinder feeling entertained by those of the
United States than for the subjects of her Ma-
jesty. (Cheers.) We are, in fact, by origin and
by institutions, one people ; we have a common
name, a kindred blood, similar privileges and
equal protection, and these, in the language of
one of your philosophic statesmen, who taught the
world what it was to be just and right, " are ties
stronger than links of iron." During the domestic
trouble which agitated our land, and which brought
to almost every household sorrow and death, differ-
ences of opinion were entertained, and it was not,
therefore, to be wondered at that differences pre-
vailed here in England as to the causes and the
justice of the struggle in which we were engaged.
But the struggle now, thank God, is at an end
(loud cheers)—our differences have disappeared,
and I rejoice to believe, and every day of the short
days that I have lived with you satisfies me that I
am justified in believing, that all such differences
here have disappeared. (Cheers.) We have be-
come convinced that we must be one and indivisible.
(Great cheering.) Nature by her mountain, and her
river, and her ocean has proclaimed to us that we
must be one, and I beg you to be assured that, as
we are one, that very unity which will increase our
prosperity and power will increase, as I hope and
believe, your prosperity and power. (Cheers.)
Our political institutions are like yours ; they
are fashioned from yours, and in their founda-
tion lies a deep and never-dying attachment of
human liberty. In our hand—l mean in our
joint hand—that liberty will live for ever. (Loud
and continued cheering.) The troubles to which I
have referred, great as they were, sad and heart-
rending as they have been, have been attended by
one compensation. We had an institution, not in-
digenous to us, but brought to us from a common
ancestor—human slavery. (Hear, hear.) Four
millions of people were in that condition ; how to
abolish it without dangers even•worse than those
which followed from its existence was a problem.
Our domestic strife has solved that problem.
Slavery, thank God, is now extinct—(loud cheers)
—and no footprints are to he found on the soil of
the United States but those of a freeman. (Cheers.)
Dreadful as the havoc has been ; prevailing -as the
slaughter was, literally miring almost every battle-
field with blood; in future times it will be said
that all was well spent in getting rid of that blot—
not of our own creation, but of that blot which tar-
, nished the fair fame of the United States, and gave
the lie to the. Declaration of Independence, by
which we claimed our right to freedom and liberty.
(Cheers.) What is man without liberty ? It is
liberty alone " that gives to life its lustre and per-
fume, and we are weeds without it." Mr. Master
Cutler and gentlemen, the political canvass which
is now on foot in the United States involves the
question who shall be at the head of the Execu-
tive of that great country, but I beg to assure you
from my knowledge of both candidates that which-
ever shall be the choice of the people you will find

a friend of England. (Cheers.) In your political
contest in which you also are engaged we have no
other interests, whatever the result may be, than
that your Government may b 3 strengthened, and
not weakenel. (Cheers.) We have philosophic
statesmen among us in the United States as you
have here, and we look to the continuance of your
Government as of itself a security that political
freedom is to be our lot for ever. With your Go-
vernment and ours united in friendship, as I have
no doubt they will be through all time, we may
defy the world. (Cheers.) Liberty we have, but
it is like your own liberty—liberty restrained by
law—liberty which finds its own safe protection only
in the restraint to which it is made subject by law.
(Cheers.) Mr. Master Cutler and gentlemen, don't
believe that I am a stranger to your association. We
have felt you in every form in which man can be felt.
Your cutlery, your penknives, and your steel are

just as well known with us as
_they are here, and
they have benefited us as they have you. We have,
I believe, in some measure, provided ourselves with
what is called a table cutlery, but in the way of
razors, if I may say so in the presence of ladies, you
best the world. (Laughter and cheers.) We also
acknowledge your superiority to us in your steel
manufactory. Nothing can be finer and nothing
has contributed more to our own success than the
success to which you have brought that particular
manufacture, and I trust that you will never, with
all the skill which from time to time you have ma-
nifested, construct au instrument that will cut the
cord that binds us together as one people. (Cheers)
I have said more, gentlemen, than I intended. I
came here not willingly merely, but eagerly. I re-
fused, or rather I declined, at first, bec am I sup-
posed I might be obliged to see her Majesty the
Queen for the purpose of:presenting my credentials,
but the moment 1 heard that she would not be here
as soon as was expected I changed my mind, and
the happiest hour I have had is that in which I ad-
vised you that I should ba here, except that I have
been a great deal happier since I came. (Laughter
and cheers.) Your Government, my lords and gen-
tlemen, is dear to us under any circumstances.
The name of Lord Wharneliffe, should be dear to us.
Your father, my lord (turning to Lord Wharn-
cliffe), was a guest of mine for some four or five
days some four or five years ago. It was during
the session of a Convention for the nomination of a
candidate for the Presidency. He was doing me
the honour to stay with me, and he expressed a hope
that we should stand together. He was obliged to
leave me, and I received a telegraphic communica-
tion from him from Philadelphia, after which he
wrote me a long letter, saying that he had never
heard the name of the gentleman nominated, and
therefore did not know how we could stand toge-
ther. (Laughter.) But we have stood, and I
trust that for ever stand we will as long as we can,
your friends, warm, sincere, willing, and solicitous
to be by your side if you at any time should be in
serious trouble. (Load and protracted cheering,
amidst which the honourable gentleman resumed
his seat.)

In responding to the toast of ,‘ The House of
Lords," Lord WITARNCLIFFE, after ridiculing the
suggestion of Mr. Horsman for the reform of the
House of Lords, said that they had heard a great
deal about the unerring instinct of the Ilouse of
Commons, but they might safely rely upon it that
there was also an unerring instinct in the House of
Lords, which would always keep it in unison with
the public opinion of tke country.

Mr. W. FISHER proppsed the toast of "The
House of Commons," which was responded to by
Lord MILTON.

Mr. ROEBUCK, who met with a very warm recep- '
tion, said—l feel deeply the way in which you have
received the mention of my name. I regret the absence
of my colleague on this occasion, and still more tie
occasion of it. lam called upon to return thanks
for the House of Commons. This I consider a
great honour, for I have long been a member of
the House of Commons, and I may say, as Grattan
said of another House of Commons, that 1 am now
attending upon the hearse of the present House of
Commons. The House of Commons has done for
England what England will ever remember; and
alt hough it may have done it slow'y it has done it
surely; and at last the present House of Commons
has admitted the peo,,le of the country to its admi-
nistration and government. Therefore I say we
are bound t) thank the House of Commons for
what it has done, and 1 take pride for myself for
having been a party to it. (Cheers.) So much for
the House of Commons, and now for the present
occasion. I congratulate you, Mr. Master Cutler,
on account of the distinguished guest whom you have
at your right hand. He has come to us, as he tells
us, under the belief that he is a minister of peace.
He has come to us as the representative of the
haughty offspring of a haughty parent, and II
feel certain that in his ban is there will be
no degradation either to on:. country or to
the other ; that there will be no paltering
with interests, no sham expressions of gran-
deur on the one side, or of humbleness on the other;

but that we shall rn-3et on terms of perfect equality
and friendship, but desirous of doing all that can be
done for the good of ourselves and of humanity in
general. And I hope and I believe that Mr. R.,?.-
vordy Johnson, from his character and his antece-
dents, will so c3nduct negociat:ons between this

•
Jountry and hi 3 own Viat there will be no lack of

honour on one side or the other. (Cheers.) Now,
air, I believe th tt if I were prudent I should
riuish ; but I am not a prudent man, and meeting
here, as I believe, many friends, I. wish to explain
to them the feelings of my mind on the great changes
that have occurred in
i the government of the coun-
try since we last met n this hall. Now first of all we
must understand and acknowledge that the govern-
ment of this country is no longer in the hands of the
arisoft othecracy
as represented to us by Lord Wharncliffe,
or middle classes as represented by the Master
Cutler. The Government of this country is now
in the hands of the working-classes ; we must not
conceal this fact from ourselves; the thing has been
done and we must endeavour to meet it. Then
comes whichex good or not from
Ipect
wish to talk to you
it. Now, lam glad to have Mr. Reverdy Johnson
on the right of the M toter Cutler on this occasion,
the
about—whetherquestilo vna
must
because this change has already been made in
America ; but, as I believe, made under more un-
favourable conditions than in England. The cir-
cumstances have been more favourable in America
than in England because of the almost boundless
power which it possesses of giving grants of land
to all comers, which we have not ; but more unfa-
vourable because there is poured into America a tide
of corruption, a pecule nt torrent of almost all the vice
and turbulence of Europe. We see the wild Irishman,
the fiery Frenchman, the assassinating Italian, and
the dumfounded Spaniard all going out in one mass,
and wishing to fulfil their expectations in the mind of
America. This we are free from. Our experiment
in England is made with our own people alone ; we
have Englishmen, we have Scotchmen, and we have
Irishmen, but we have them alone to deal with ;
and my belief is strong in the good feeling of
my countrymen that I feel no harm will happen
from having granted political power to them.
After this, no man certainly will be able to say
that we are coerced or misled by the aristocracy,
for the government of the country will be in the
hands of the people ; and although I believe that
this Government will be for the interests and ad-
vantage of all classes, I wish to call attention to
this fact. lam told that in America the better
educated classes have withdrawn themselves from

.
political life, that they have been ousted and driven
into the background by the vast population which
has grown up around them. The educated classes
in America have stepped aside from the politi-
cal torrent, perfectly contented with their lot,
and, feeling that they will be perfectly safe, have
let political affairs settle in the hands of what we
may call the buccaneering portion
of society. I
consider there is a great danger in this, and so
thinking, I ask you to take part in every poli-
tical movement. I don't ask you to coerce any-
body as landlords ; but what I do ask of you is to
act upon the principle laid down by Jeremy Ben-
tham, and to make a great and most pregnant dis-
tinction between the power of will and the power
of mind over mind. The power of will means the
power of the landlord to coerce his tenants; that I

do not ask you to do ; but I will ask you to exert
the power of mind over mind; and, further, I ask
you to tell your workmen what you believe to be

•
fair and right—not coercing, but letting them do ex-
actly as they like. That is in our power, if we do not
withdraw from our present position, under a new
feeling of inferiority created by the present law. It
would be unwise to take up that position ; but tell
the men under you what
you bJlieve to be right,
and let it work in their mind 4, then I believe
we shall see what has never before been seen, a
people governed by itself. America does not do it,
there is a government of a people outside America;
but here we shall have a
people inside ourselves,
and Of that people I ask, as I ask of you, not to be
coerced by anybody, not to be misled or frightened
by any Trade Unions, not to be anything but
Englishmen considering simply the good of your
country. (Cheers.) I ask you, working men of
this town, to have confidence in yourselves and in
the dignity of your own nature, not to be coerced

or frightened by anybody, but do what you think
right as your country demands. (Loud cheers.)
Lord EDwAIID IIoWARD, M.P., responded to the
toast of "'The Lord of the Manor" on behalf of the
Duke of Norfolk, and Earl Fitzwilliam returned
thanks for his health as the Lord-Lieutenant of the
\Vest Riding.
Several other toasts followed, and the company
separated at a late hour.

711 E ACCIDENT TO THE IRISH MAIL

MAIN.
- -

A BERGELE, Thursday.

On the reassembling of the Court Arthur Thomp-
son, driver of the mail train, was called and sworn.
Ile said—l live at Stafford, and am in the service
of the London and North-Western Railway Com-
pany. I have been with tLe company for 31 years,
during 21 of which I have been driver. Oa Thurs-
day, the 20th August last, I drove the down Irish
mail. On entering the second cutting after passing
Abergele I observed some waggons coming towards
my train. At first I thought they were on the
other line. I was going at the sate of 33 or 31
miles an hour. In less than a moment I saw they
were coining down the same line of rails as we were
on, and I chat off steam. 1 touched the whistle
once to Live an alarm; 1 had not time to do more.
The first time I saw the waggons I thought they
were about 120 fo 130 yards from me. There is a
sharp curve at the spot. When I saw the waggons
were on the same line as our train I called out to
the fireman, " For God's sake, Joe, jump off ;
we can't do no more." I then got on the step
myself and dropped off on the land side. I kept
on my feet till a splinter of wood from the brake-
van of the goods train struck me on the head and
another on the knee. They knocked me over. I
dropped off just before the collision took place. I
did not feel the shock of the collision. I heard one
scream from my mate as the waggons struck. I
heard the noise of the collision. I saw only one
set of trucks coming towards me. I have no idea
'of the length. I have an idea that I heard two
&Jocks of collision, but I am not sure, as there was
a great noise from the steam of the engine. I did
I not lose my consciousness. The first thing I heard
when I got up was a gentleman calling out, " Who
has got a carriage key ?" I was not down half a
second. When I got up I gave him my key. (It
is supposed that this gentleman was Mr. Town-
send, but that gentleman having left the court
there was no means of identifying him.) I could
not see the front part of the train in conse-
quence of the fire and smoke. I could see three
carriages in front of the mail-van when I got
up. The fire was just coming up between the
front of the mail van and the preceding carriage. I
saw some people trying to detach tha second mail
van from the first by cutting the leathern commu-
nication. It would have been impossible for any
one to uncouple the first mail van from the preced-
ing carriages. I was the first man who got off the
train. At the very moment I got up I saw that the
guard's van next to the engine and the first carriage
were on fire.
The Assessor—Then how soon was the rest of the
front part of the train up to the first mail van en-
veloped in flames and smoke ?
Witness—Almost before I could get out of the
ditch into which I was knocked.

The Assessor—How far had you to get out of
the ditch?

Witness--I could get out at a stride.
The Assessor—Then the fore part of the train was
enveloped in flames almost instantaneously ?

W itness —Yes.
The Assessor—Did you hear any cry from the
occupants of the fore part of the carriage?
Wittess—Yes ; from the sea side of the carriage
I heard two female voices, but I did not hear what
they said then.

.The Assessor—Then did you at any time ?
11ituess—Yes. When I was detaching the car-
riages of the hinder part of the train from the mail
van I put my head under the buffers to get on the
six-foot way, and I heard a female voice say,
" Mind your own business." I did not see the
speaker, but the voice cane from the fore part of
the train.

The Assessor—Did you see who the words were
spoken to ?

Witness—l saw Mrs. Dickens coining from the
front part of the train.
The Assessor—But were not the carriages in the
front part of the van on fire?

Witness—They were just beginning to catch fire
at the corner next to the post-office. The carriage
then was about three parts burnt.
The Assessor—And yet at this moment you heard
a female voice speaking ?
Witness—Yes. It happened, as nearly as I can
say, about a minute and a half after the collision.

The Assessor—ls it possible for you to be mis-
taken as to the direction from which this voice

came ?

Witness—lt is impossible.

The Assessor—Supposing that there had been
passengers in this part of the train at that moment
was there any means of saving them ?
Witness—lt was impossible for them to have got
out oa the land side, because of the fire and smoke.
I do not think that those in the front carriages
could have got out on either side. Those in the
carriage near the sea could get out only through
the windows, supposing the doors to have been
locked on the sea side. With the exception of
the shriek from my mate and this female voice, I
heard no human cry from the burning carriages.
By Mr. Littleton—l got a bad blow from the
splinters, and am still suffering from the effects of
the accident. I went dizzy a bit, but did not lose
my senses. I have had some talk with Mrs.
Dickens abont this matter. I could not distin-
guish what the other female voice said, though I
heard a second voice. I will undertake to swear
that the words I heard were " Mind your own busi-
ness," and not " Never mind me." It was the
hinder mail van that I uncoupled. The reason I
did not try to uncouple the carriages from the front
mail van was that it was too hot for me on the land
side. lam certain that when I jumped up I was
not further back than the mail van. The side of
one of my shoes was burnt. I know Mr. n ood-
ruffe, mail sorter, who travelled in the van. I did
not see him nearer to the engine than I was when I
got up. I cannot tell whether the engine ran for-
ward after the collision. (On the question being
repeated, witness corrected himself, and said the
train did go forward a little, but he could not give
the distance.)

By the Assessor--I am positive that when I got
up I was opposite the carriage before the first mail
van. When I was walking back towards the rear
of the train and from the fire some 0130 nearly
threw a post-office bag upon me. The front wheel
of the first carriage was off the line. It would have
been impossible for the passengers in the front car-
riages to have escaped alive whether the doors were
locked or unlocked.

By Colonel Rich—l cannot say whether at the
time I got up the first three carriages were or were
not on fire, the smoke was so dense. It would not
have been safe for me to go to those carrirges on
the laud side. The wind blowing obliquely from
the sea rendered the flame and smoke less fierce
and dense on the sea side.

Colonel Rich—Then you heard these female
voices coming from a carriage before the first mail-
van when you were stooping down to unfasten the
coupling irons of the van attached to it, and at a
time subsequent to that at which you believed it to
be dangerous to approach the front carriages ?

Witness—l did, sir.
After the evidence of this witness had been read
over to hint, a statement, in his own handwriting,
was put into his hand, and he was asked to say
whether he had ever stated that the gentleman to
whom he gave his key had got upon the steps of one
of the burning carriages. The witness admitted
that he had said so.

This inquiry referred to the evidence of Mr.
Charles N. Townsend, given this morning, in which
he stated that upon the driver giving him his key
he opened the door of the carriage whence the little
girl was calling for aid, and which did not form a
portion of those consumed. .

Thomas Hinton, rear guard of tLc mail train

was next. examined. He said—Upon the collision
taking place I was struck senseless on the floor of my
van. It was 12.45 when I got out of my van, and
at the time the whole of the front part of the train
was in flames. I gave instructions to two men to
go up and down the line and stop all trains, and as
I finished speaking to them I saw Mrs. Dickens
coming up from the direction of her own house,
and proceeding towards the front portion of the
train. I did not see where she went. I lost sight
of her for a moment, but I saw her again later
on. She was carrying a pail of water on one oc-
casion, but I cannot positively say which. I can-
not say whether Mrs. Dickens or myself got to
the front first, but I rather think I did. Supposing
her to have got up as soon as myself, it would
not have been possible for her to have spoken to
passengers in the carriages between the engine and
the mail vans. I saw the last witness, Thompson,
uncoupling the carriages from the post-office van.
It was after I had been up to the front of the train
and returned to my van at the rear Thompson called
out to me, " Tom, take off your brake," and I re-
plied that if was off.
This witness, .notwithstanding his condition from
_ _

the effects of the accident, was subjected to a long
cross-examination by Mr. E. Wood, the purpose of
which was not clear, and which certainly did not
elicit a single fact in addition to those brought out
in the Assessor's examination.

George Wright proved that Miss Mary Anne
. „

Roe, of Dublin, was a visitor at the Queen Hotel,
Cheater (of which the witness is head porter), on
the night of the 19th August. On the following
day the witness accompanied her to the mail train,
and saw her get into one of the first carriages. All
Miss Roe's luggage was labelled by the witness,
" Miss Roe, passenger to Dublin." She was in the
front compartment of the same carriage that the
late Lord and Lady Farnham travelled in, and con-
sequently nearer the engine.
Mr. Humphrey, of Saltney, said he was engaged
at the St. David's Works in the manufacture of oil
from coal and shale. On the 20± August 50
barrels of oil went from the St. David's Works to
Dublin. They were sent from the works by the
"pick-up luggage train" for Holyhead. It was the
ordinary quality of burning oil, or paraffin oil. It
was called the Cambrian oil. He was acquainted
with the properties of the oil. It is not explosive,
and no amount of concussion will cause it to ex-
plode. The application of fire would cause com-
bustion. Ile wished to state that the oil would not
ignite until its temperature was raised to 135 Far.
It is then inflammable, more so than ordinary oil,
approaching more nearly to the quality of a spirit.
The application of the fire from the engine was
quite sufficient to cause the conflagration which

followed the collision of the Irish mail. The car-
riage of this oil by railway was not more dangerous
than the carriage of naphtha or strong methylated
spirit. Spirits over proof were more dangerous to
carry ; strong Irish whisky, for instance, would
take fire more readily and burn_far more fiercely.
By Mr. Grantham—There is an act of Parlia-
ment which requires that this oil shall not throw off
inflammable vapour under 100 degrees, which is
considered the safety point. lie had tested the oil
when manufactured, and it showed that it would
not fire except at 137 degrees, 37 degrees of te►n-
perature above the safety point. lie had never
known a case where explosion or ignition of the oil
had resulted simply from concussion. They bad
had barrels of the same oil smashed during transit
over the railway, an 1 no explosion had resulted.
The men in the works did not use covered lights,
but worked with naked candles. The fumes of the
oil when ignited were not particularly noxious,
being composed chiefly of hydrogen and carbon.
The effect of any large volume of smoke upon hu-

man life was almost immediate suffocation. It
would burn out the oxygen, and leave nothing but
carbon.

tilie witness produced a sample of the oil taken

from the bulk of that shipped by the luggage train,
and performed an experiment showing the proper-
ties of the oil. Ile poured a small portion of it
into a vessel and dipped a lighted, match into it, the
effect of the oil upon the light being exactly the
same as if it had been dipped in water. When,
however, at the request of the jury, the witness
held the lighted match over the vessel for a minute
or two, a flame floated on the top of the oil, which
the witness said:was explained by the temperature of
the oil being raised by the flame. It evidently ap-
peared that if the light had been sufficiently power-
ful to raise the temperature of the oil at once it
would have ignited.
In answer to Mr. Wool,
Witness said he accounted for the rapidity with
which the flames spread in the following manner.
The barrels of petroleum were all broken, and the
engine driving over the wreck ignited the whole
mass as it passed over it. There were about 1,700
gallons in all, and the combustion would be very
rapid.

Mr. Davies, solicitor of Holywell, said he had
been consulted by the two brakesmen, Richard
Williams and Robert Jones, as to the propriety of
tendering evidence in this case, and after consider-
ing all the circumstances he had advised them not
to appear as witnesses.
The Assessor—l think you have exercised a very
proper discretion.
Ralph Hall, locomotive superintendent, had ex-
amined the engine of the mail after the accident,
and stated that he found the engine lying on the
side of the embankment. It had been subjected to
intense heat, and the whole of the interior works
were melted.
Mr. Edwardes-Wood—Was the outside varnish
burnt off ? (Laughter.)
Witness—Yes. (Laughter.)
Mr. Wood then proceeded, amidst the manifest
impatience of the Court, to cross-examine this wit-
ness at great length on minute points connected
with the appearance of the engine.

Mr. Thomas Maguire, assistant engineer on the
Chester and Holyhead Railway, produced and
proved plans put in on the scene of the accident. It
is (he said) 66 yards from Llanddulas station to the
Llysfaen siding. The length of the longest line
of rails of the siding is 256 yards. The
length of the other line of rails is 100
yards. The length of a goods train of 44
waggons, with brake van, locomotive, and tender
would be 230 yards. If the longer side of the sid-
ing had been empty on the day of the accident it
would have taken the whole of the goods train.
The longer side of the siding is near the main line.
I have seen the point upon the rails where the three
loaded waggons were " kicked off" from the goods
train. There is an incline commencing on the Holy-
well side of the Llanddulas station, and extends
towards Abergele station for a distance of one mile
and a half.

Mr. Lee, resident engineer of the Chester and
Holyhead line, examined by Colonel Rich, said—
The incline from the east end of Llanddulas plat-
form, towards Abergele, is for the first 470 yards 1
in 660, for the next four lengths of 20 yards each
lin 203, 1 in 147, one in 119, and one in 102.
The next length in 1,350 yards, and the gradient
is one in 100. The gradient for the next two
miles 1 in 142, still falling towards Abergele.
When a goods train of 44 waggons was standing
with the engine at Llysfaen siding
.the two last
waggons would be standing on an incline of
lin 100. If the waggons are in perfect order they
will stand on a gradient of 1 in 260. A train of
six waggons would certainly not stand on a gradient
of 1 in 100 unless the brakes were on. I have known
the brake of a van to be broken or dislodged by a
concussion. The blow might have the effect of
breaking the teeth of the brake-wheel, and so wholly
releasing the wheels of the van, or it might loosen
the brake-wheel and partially relieve the van. If
the six waggons and the van had not • been stopped
by collision I expect they would have run down to
Abergele. The point wheu. the collision occurred
is a mile and three quarters from Llauddulas sta-
tion, and the incline is lin 412. The accident took

place in a cutting from fifteen to twenty feet deep

From the curve cm the line I do not think the
driver of the mail could see the waggons approach-
ing till they were within twenty yards of him.
Colonel Rich—Supposing these three waggons
that were kicked off from the train struck the tail
end of the train, could they have started the tail end

of the train, supposing the brake in the van:was
properly screwed down and the waggons themselves
braked ?

Witnea—Certainly not.
Colonel Rich—Supposing the tail end of the
waggons to have been braked, as you say theY
must have been in order to stand upon this in-
dine, and the three others backed gently down
towards them, would they have set the others 111
motion ?

Witness—l think not.
Colonel Rich—ls it not customary to brat°
waggons when they are kicked off ?
Witness—l have not seen it clone. It often
happens that they are not kicked far enough, Oa
have to be shoved along.
Colonel Rich—ls it not customary when kicking
waggons off to join others on an incline for the
brakesman to accompany and brake them ?

Witness —lt is not usual.
Colonel Rich—ls it not customat y when the tail
end of a waggon is left standing upon the mainline
during the process of shunting for a brakesnian t°
be left in charge of the van ?
Witness—Not unless it is upon a sharp incline'
All the waggons of the London and North-WeeWli
Railway Company have brakes attached.
By Mr. Wood —lf an engine had gone after the
runaway trucks on Thursday week it wculd have'
run down on the other line, and the driver would
have passed the trucks and tried to catch them 3t
the first crossing. If the brakesman had been in
the van he could have stopped the trucks as soon a°
they started down the incline upon being struck.
chain or strap with a ring attached to the brake'
wheel, so as to enable the brakesman to lock the
wheel upon leaving the van, is a great additional
security. If there is no locking apparatus to
brake it is liable to become dislodged by a.blow 0t
concussion. It is not quite clear to my mind Oa]
the three waggons kicked off did strike the tail
of the train.

Mr. Wood—Then if that was the case the brake'
van could not have been left upon the main line in
proper order ?
Witness—No ;it could not. I cannot say of nli
own knowledge whether the brake-van of thio
goods-train had a strap or not.
By Colonel Rich—Even if the brake had a .ecl;,
opened
it might have broke by a blow. The line was
in 1848. One siding was put in in the beginning of
1850, and the other siding in 1864. The distance
from Mrs. Dickens's house to the fence wall of the
railway is 29 yards. The wall is 4 ft. 7 in. high.
This she mounted by a ladder. There is then, ¢slope 21 yards in length, and to the spot where tn°
tender lay is a further distance of 571 yards.
At this stage the usual mid-day adjournment
took place.
Mr. Mason stated that the brakesman and the
station-master were responsible for the safety °f
the train during shunting.
Colonel Rich said that the brakesman had every
means at his command for safely shunting tU©
train ; and that the accident would not have 11311.
pened if the had been used.

almost by acclamation, President of the Argon
Colonel Sarmiento, who has just been cht*°'
pubtie, though he has shown his patriotism and 13,31.1
ability in the field, is chiefly known among his coun'rc,
men by his labours in the cause of education. 111 bore
he is popularly termed "the schoolmaster." He was -oon
in 1811, the year after the Argentine Republic
its independence, and is of Spanish origin' ti-
regarded the
anuynleysesarsthien
regarded the- establishment of Republican ."1"
educatsedArt
tution
studying the working of the common school system. After
that, returning to his native country, he was made 5,t1,:r
Sena"
cessively chief of the department of schools,•
Minister of State, and governor of his native province!
Ills election will, it is believed, bo immediately follovi"%
by the adoption of thefree-school system throughout tP
Argentine Confederation.
nu/
JOHN CIIINA3IAN.—The San. Francisco ,--- „,.
gives the following complimentary notice of "John Ch`_%o
man's" aptitude in railroad building :—"John China
is übiquitous. You see him everywhere—on `l,,
mile—on almost every foot of the road—from
to Reno. His bizarre figure greets you at ev'oif
silo
station, at the mouth of every tunnel, on the
every causeway and cutting, in the most perilous Place,,-,,st
where the snow is deepest and the avalanches thie7,r
peopleth Uuitodvetiruese
t-alt,te_ebr-s
—you see hint high up on the mountain tops, chciPP.;,.
wood, and you sue him down in the deep gulleys PlY1":y
his shovel or his pick; you see him at his task in the g
ir;t.
of the early dawn and the gloom of the evening t ffill="too
There is not a lazy bone in his body, and he is net.ded
fastidious to do the shabbiest kind of work, Pre sloes
he is paid for it. lie works hard and eats but little
his own cooking, washes and mends his own cloth bye rs,
is hardy, patient, persistent, faithful to his ewploy'e cie,
and seldom refuses to do what he is told. He 1130105
veloped such aptitude for certain kinds of work,i, of
made himself so essential an item in the great wethel
building the road over the mountain, and has been WI the
so true, steadfast, and inoffensive, that all, evbalieve,
common day labourers, speak well of, and, we larg
generally treat him kindly. If John is not veil largely'
stocked with ideas, ho has imitative instinct itiole.
developed. As a tunnel cutter he was especially invel there
During the progress of the great Summit tunn and
was a strike iu some of the Nevada Wince' for the
number of Cornishmen came up to work cola.
company. But it was found that the tihillanie,a fog
do considerably more work and stand the fatigne_.7oooo
air of underground work much better. The Cerra wing
tried it awhile, but concluded to leave the work
through granite mountains to the more adaptable v
tial, and went away in disgust."
,a
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t°
Wonder-working Remedies.—As the battle of life
fought alike by the naturally feeble and the coo for-
mert how momentous is it to preserve_ tbe
from adventitious ailments. A. scratch which
slight swelling or inflammation about the auk-7100W
would have been cured at once by HollowhY:_,utionB!
meats, grow, from the want of the commonest proirthe bed
into grievous diseases, which throw the sufferer if,veri
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peasant's home should have these remedies, they 4 ilbca,.
both parents and children frem much misery' '
ivg cost'
all, they will remove their complaints at a. tri;
and leave no disheartening heavy bills bellincl• valuable,
doubt the Arahlt,
[ADVERTISEMENT.]—iIenCeorth no one will O' oing
properties of Du Barry's health-restoring Revs , of ple
Invalids' and Infants' Food, since to the thousan!.l,ou pop
it has already received from Invalids whose Poe,l.'n'ess the
ears of
deemed hopeless, we may now add that of his 1101;th
thirty i I%B'lll
whose health has been perfectly restored by it „ 00e
unsuccessful medical treatment. We quote from ufte, of the %ie.
Midi," July 25th :—" Rome, July 21,1866. The
11111 other tenth
Father is excellent, especially since, abandOning....,,,,,
dies, he has confined himself entirely to Du 13.'"i eve'
Arabica Food, of which he consumes a plateful vio
It has produced a surprisingly beneficial effect on ni
g of
his Holiness cannot praise this excellent food too 4,sr3,highly
rio,
extract a few out of more than 68,000 cures: --1.70. conlPl3iioo
the Marchioness de Brehan, of seven YeArs,,:4ous PAlPitji,
wasting away, debility, nervouspess, with `^;,,,1 the ITO- t
JO
all over, bad digestion, constant sleeplessneee'.
Lord Stuar_sl6.
tolerable nervous agitation. Cure No. I•'il' dYe.,PeYsifh
Decies, Lord-Lieutenant of Waterford of '119".3' clisk7,:en,,
No. 49,832: "Fifty years' indescribable "IlYatuleneY4. 1.•
nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation,
_No 46,k; ;og..
sickness, and vomiting.—Maria Joly.' Cure
_nisosed
James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey, of so Year.s_,':,oo,fueSe•
0 the
spitting of blood, liver derangement, and parino. on
_Dig 3
portant Caution—Beware of the many unsavOurY yaroa
sloppy imitations to which, without authority, rte.'
name is most audaciously attached. 5 ts..xofok
In tins, at Is. 11d.: 1 lb., 2s. 9d. ; 21!35., 4%,,ENTA• it'up A'
12 lbs , 225.; 241bs ,405.—Also Biutity 115 v For 12 cat 3°'"
CHOCOLATE POSTER is packed in tin canistor,,,,
25., for 24 cups at Is. 6d., for 48 cups at Cs., f lup Tr
cc
pt
for 576 cups at 555. Being about one penny ,1)%to on 1/,
and Six. tins arc sent free of carriage in 1.11,0.,
of Post Office Orden—BAßßY DO BARRY ftuectri-t6.
Regent-street, London; and all Grocers and Ch

GuLoaodAyNG—rOnatnh,eoflsat
dinasulg.,ihrattethr.lo., Harcourt-street, publillt
ho Wit°
KNoLLys On the 9th July, at Morar, East Indies, t- of t+
of Captain Knollys, 93d Sutherland highlande°,
daughter. . of j).
the WI
URQUHART —Ou the Ist inst., at Geneva, C°
Urquhart, Esq., of a son.

BALD,E:ra
—rdPllraGldile;
late G. Pugh, ofOLnuMarriages. rinillech
and Wimbledon' 7 South amp on- ut
0 f
itdhll
Ludlow
12v,d
sinbsiito.p, alitt S. . t.bG;bdtft:: Lill too
, Surrey, t 3 Anne, oldest daughter 0
S 110. St. to
MIDDLETON nOt tO
t.,
STEVENS—On the 3d inst.,
mew' s, Sydenham, Frederick Middleton, at
of Finet",iik
Emily only daughter of the late W• Stevens, Ls(l "
' •
mnalty, Somerset House. W.
Deaths. tanda
Co,,U.S I " S —On the Ist inst., at 215, Camden-rowl, "---d 1.3.
cE. Cousins, Esq., M.ll, C.S., and F.IZ.C.S., ite, alga tile
AlLTHoitpE—On the 2d inst., at 11, Cheshatn-PliZ
N fon. Frances Eizaboth Gough Calthorpe, tilt/
V.,,,:, r,
ArER - On the 2d inst., at Woodcote, Jas. L. IV. .1-"'e
Esq., of Longcrew, aged 78. +Dill/
Syretitn—yOnhttinsenllistth,itEl,-stei,., aatgeNdo6rstb: Lodge; 31 tissVol
ni, 3 st.
SIIERSTON—On the 2d lust., Mrs. M. Sherston, -- 2 '
3
Martiu's-streot, Leicester square, aged 9.7 • 100.
TOOVEY—Ou the 30th ult., at Westerham, li.ent, 11.1
1). Toovey, Esq., aged 75.

London : Printed and Published by WILLISIg 1,14D,11,,
liof
of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tut; SUN 0010, rl-ati
Strand, in the Precinct of the
Se voy, in
the OP
Bliddlesex.---Friday, September 1, WM,