The Sun.
London, England, 1850-08-24 00:00:00

THE SUN,

Still, it appears to us, that, by a proper arrange-
ment, even that man's life might have been spared, and
a large amount of property saved, at the same time,
from confusion. According to the evidence given
on the occasion of the inquest by one of the
principal witnesses, a railway porter in the employ-
ment of the South-Eastern Company, it appears that
the entire occurrence was purely. accidental. From
the disjointed examination of this and some of the
other witnesses a tolerably clear notion of the cir-
cumstances of the case may be formed. It seems then
that these circumstances were as follows :—A power-
ful engine, driven by a man named STEVENSON, was
attached to a train of carriages, the last two of which
were unhooked on the turn-table for the purpose of
being shifted on to the express line, in compliance
with the directions of the head-porter. Only one of
these carriages had been removed in the required
direction, and the second was only three-quarters
turned round on the turn-table, when the engine al-
ready mentioned unexpectedly backing, the train to
which it was attached caused the last carriage con-
nected with it to strike the carriage on the turn-
table. Seeing that the latter (the carriage on the
turn-table) had at the moment an oblique or diagonal
position, extending over the line on which the engine
and the other carriages were backing, it may be at
once conjectured howthe last-mentioned carriages strik-
ing the buffer of the one on the turn-table caused it,
by its impetus, to dash against the supporting column,
and thereby produced the entire catastrophe.
Briefly, then, the blame of the accident appears to be
attributable to the circumstance of the engine being
backed before the line was entirely cleared
by those who were shunting the car-
riage. A larger amount of blame, however,
is attributable to the mode in which the roof of the
terminus had been constructed—the whole shed being
dependent upon a single cast iron column, of such
comparatively slight proportions, that, according to one
of the witnesses, it might have been broken in two
by the blow of a sledge-hammer. Before the repeti•
tion of such calamities, therefore, can be henceforth
avoided, the sheds raised over the termini of our
railways must be constructed with a greater view to
their stability. Tbis consideration should weigh
heavily with the different railway companies through-
out the United Kingdom.

Since we last directed public attention to the Irish
" Land Question" circumstances have invested it
with more than ordinary interest, and have forced it
on the attention of our contemporaries in both islands.
The friends of tenant•right from all parts of Ireland
have met in the Irish metropolis to promulgate their
notions on this vital subject, and to deliberate on the
most effectual means of carrying their object into
practical operation.
This important conference was remarkable for
numbers and for talent, but still more remarkable for
the cordial unanimity which prevailed throughout the
entire proceedings of a great body composed of the
most heterogeneous elements. The Catholic priest of
the south, the Presbyterian minister of the north, laid
their differences of creed on the altar of their country,
and, met on common ground in the spirit of a generous

compatriotism. These parties have been hitherto
kept asunder by the prejudices of religion, and if, in
the glow and fervour cf a first meeting, as fellow-
Christians and fellow-countrymen, some of the
speakers might have outstepped the limits of a calm
discretion we cannot help thinking the offence a very
venial one, and particularly when we look upon this
combination of different castes and creeds as tending
to cure that which has been ever looked on as one of
the greatest curses of Ireland—disunion.
After several days' deliberation, this great and im-
portant conference eventuated in the enunciation
of their notions of the rights of tenants,
and in the formation of an association
called the " Irish Tenant League," the " sole
objects of which are to protect the tenant,
and to procure a good landlord-and-tenant law, by
the legal co -operation of persons of all classes and of
all opinions," &c. The rules of the Tenant League,
and the strictly legal and constitutional manner in
which they announce their intention of carrying its
objects into effect, appear to us most unobjectionable.
But we confess we are, notwithstanding, somewhat
disappointed at the complicated machinery which
they propose to introduce for the adjustment of the
rights of landlords and tenants. We confess that we
do not think they have taken the most speedy and
effectual mode' of procuring a satisfactory settlement
of this question.
We find in the report of the conference the fol-
lowing as the mode of arrangement proposed between
landlords and tenants :

" That the valuation shall be made by tribunals which
shall unite as far as possible the advantages of impar-
tiality between landlord and tenant, cheapness, accessi-
bility, and nomination by the parties interested.
" That these advantages may be seemed to a reason-
able degree—first by local tribunals, consiating of two
valuators, one appointed by the landed proprietors, and
the other by the tenant-farmer of the poor-law union ;
secondly, by having these ♦aluators bound to value ac-
cording to instructions embodied in the law; and thirdly,
by having attached to each local tribunal a registrar or
secretary, whose duty it shall be to register all the pro-
ceedings of the valuators, and to keep them informed
and reminded of the requirements of the instructions
under which they act."

We certainly expected something better than this
complicated puerility from the combined wis-
dom of the steady northern and the acute
southern. Undoubtedly the Legislature can
embody in an Act of Parliament stringent rules
and instructions as to valuation ; but we do not think
it is within the province or power of Parliament, by
any legal:enactment, to bind any two men to an
agreement in opinion either on this or any other
subject. It is proposed that one of these valuators
shall be nominated by the landlord, and the other by
the tenant. Is it likely that these nominees of oppo-
site parties and jarring interests will agree in
opinion ? Is it not more in accordance with a know-
ledge of human nature and the history of arbitra-
tions that each arbitrator will look to the interest of
the party by whom he has been appointed? And in
the more than probable event of a disagreement,
where is the umpire or tribunal to reconcile
their differences, or to bring the points at
issue to a satisfactory adjustment? This proposal
of but two valuators we cannot look upon otherwise
than as a lame and impotent conclusion. It is leaving

the matter as it is at present between the owners and
occupiers, or, what amounts to the same thing, placing
it in the bands of their partisans or nominees. Itie
can anticipate from such a course nothing but
interminable disputes and litigation.

We cannot say that the attempt made to define
what should be deemed rent has been more successful
or satisfactory. The introduction of new theories is
not, in our opinion, calculated to bring the question
at issue to a speedy conclusion. To give the arbitra-
tors the power to supersede every contract between
the proprietor of the soil and his tenant would tend
to unsettle all the laws and rights of property.
And to render nugatory all contracts in
reference to land by a complicated attempt to appor-
tion the lid profits through the instrumentality of
arbitrators, without regard to, or perhaps in contra-
vention of, solemn engagements, would, we feel con-
vinced, but lead to eternal disputes and dissatisfac-
tion, and prove a disadvantage to the tenant as well
as to the landlord.

If the Tenant League be not able to frame
some more simple and satisfactory grounds for legis-
lation upon this matter before the next meeting of
Parliament, it is to be feared the whole session will
pass away in useless and angry discussions about im-
practicable theories. The great objection to the Bill
introduced by Sir W. SomEavinLE was its cumbrous
and complicated machinery. We have not as yet
been able to discover that the Tenant League
have much simplified the subject. While
upon this part of the subject we cannot
avoid expressing our regret at the unwarrantable
language used by one of the reverend orators in
reference to the Right Honourable Gentleman the
Chief Secretary for Ireland. Rude wit is a poor
substitute for argument, and vulgar abuse should find
no place in the councils of those who meet for high
and important purposes. There should be some con-
sideration for the difficulties of men in office, and it
should be remembered that the representatives of the
tenant interest are not the predominant party in the
present House of Commons.
Had Sir W. SOMERVILLE meraly wished to obtain
a little popularity, he might have introduced some
sweeping measure of landlord reform, which would
be at once scouted out of the House, while