The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-25 00:00:00

(LEFT SITTING.)

4HIPPING.-4THIS DAY.)
LONDON, .TuNE 25.—Wind West, moderate breeze, and cloudy.
FALMOUTH, JUNE 24.—Wind W.S.W.—Off • port, St.
Dcshaides, Cape Coast t ast,e. Sld. 23d April, and proCeeded for
London ; Funchal, Sayers, Siert a Leone. Off port, Ocean, Mon-
serrat ; Dolphin, St. Thomas, Mr Amsterdam ; Oscar, Dahl, Bahia.
LIVERPOOL, JUNE 22.—Wind S.W. to W.N.W., fresh. 24.—Arrd.
Henry Curwen, Vickers, Barbadoes ; Burlington, Crawford, Mobile ;
Cambridge, Bars ow, New York; Caledonia, Brandes, Deccan, ditto;
Barnstaple, Hall, Boston. Off port,' 24tb, Fernandes, and, the bade-
-, fatigable. id. 23d, Lord Nelson, Griffiths, Africa -
BELFAST, JUNE 20.—Arrd. Argyle, Butler, St. John's, New
Brunswick.

•
DOVER, JUNE 24.—Wind El;zabetti and Mary, Santa
Graz.

JuNE 24 —Aral. Marquis of Breadathane, Reid, St.
cent's ; Comet, Davis's Straits.

CLYDE, JUNE 21.—Arrd. Atalanta, Leitch, Tr:nit ; Wanderer,
Reid, ditto ; Zebulon, Jupp, Newfoundland Sid. Eliza Loislunan,
Dickson, 31auritius ; Grtuige, Marshall, Boston ; Ilclen, ltiske, St.
Joint's, New Brunswick ; Affglian, Black, Qusbec.
LONDONDERRY.—ArId. 9th, Ann, Maxwell, lrinidad; and sailed
19th on her return. -

(`owls, •JUNE 23.—Arrd. Geory Ryan, Singapore, and not the
Wellman, Ryan, as reported.

PonTEAND, JUNE 19.—Arrd. off, Hentietta Klasina, Hoffinau, Ba-
tavia, for Amsterdam, out 141 days.
SEAFORD, JuNE 21. —Arrd off, Sara Maria, Batavia, for Amsterdam.
CLYDE, JUNE :1.-•—Sld. St. John, St. John's. New Brunswick.
DEAL, JUNE 24—A.M., Wind N.N.W. light; P.M. W.S.W. strong;
9 3J P.M. S.W. moderate.—Arrd. Libra, Batavia; Alcyon, New
York ; Carmeneita, Osiniga, Havannah ; Albion, Saldanha Bay ;
Chamois, Buenos Ayres; Union, limo Grande; Reserve, Cousins,
Jamaica ; 'Ann Welsh, Magna, Mobile, for Amsterdam. Arrd. from
the River and sailed for, Brightman, Boon*, Antigua ; arrd. front the
River for, Wm. Bailey, Tyack. Valparaiso; Minor, Brightman,
ditto ; Neptunus, Wissing, Rh} Janeiro ;.Perthshire, Drake, St: John's,
NeW Brunswick ; Malay, Smith, Valparaiso.
PORTSMOUTH, JusE 24.—Wind hard and squally.—Arrd. Mediator,.
Chadwick, New I% rk. Sid. 2d. inst. and proceeded for London, Great
Liverpool steamer, Alexandria.

JLNE 24.—Arrd. Regalia, Lawson, Sierra Leone.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUV.

Sin,—Would you allow me, through your journal, to
call the attention of the chairmen of the various com-
mittees -ou-radways to strongly enforce, in their reports
to the •Mouse, of such lines as they may think wor: by of
adoption, the •positive necessity of compelling all future
lities to have sa!ky flango•rails, on the old-fashioned
tram-rail principle, thereby avoiding all possibility of
accident by -the trains getting off the line, and
Moreover preventing most serious consequences,
should two traits meet or run into each other.
The present rate of velocity, thou,gli it may- be 50 miles-
an haul., is but slow work to what it will be, some five
years hence, and as such something' ought to be done to
compel the • eimpanies to make the lines safe, without
the least possibility of aceident-thereby ensuring confi-
dence in the public mind and a corresponding increasing.
traffic for the benefit of the shareholderi. It is no joke
to travel in fear, and be only 'at ease when you arrive
safe at yotir journey's end. A day will come when some
most disastrous accident will happen to the Iti4bly
born, and then, no doubt, amendment will folliow.
Few—very few—are aw..,re upon what a narrow
edge or brink they- are travelling,. and that
a mere flauch, not more than an inch and a quarter
deep, from the sole of the wheel, is all the security they
have of the train keeping within the rails. Moreover,
the wheel, in its rapid revolution, is exerting itself with
all its might at every oblique movement of the carriage,
to get this narrow flinch over the rail, and were it not
for the
.downward pressure, it would very soon accom-
plish. . .
Engineers prefer edgerails to traairails, because they
look nicer to the eye; though they know full well the
tramrails may be made quite as strong—l say stronger
than the edgerails. Now, Mr. Editor, as I cannot give
you a diagram, I will explain myself thus briefly:-eTake
a bit of paper, the length no matter, but the width must
he, say 28 inches. Now, told the paper longitudinaily, •
12 inches from the outer edge ; turn the pap r over and
fold this side also 12 inches from the outer edge. Now,
the two folds will be back to back, and if you open theie
fidds you will have a settee-like form of rail, consisting
of a back or flange 12 inches deep, a seat or level'sur-
f.tce 4 inches wide, and a bottom or lower .flange 12
inches deep. Now, if you turn the paper over you still
will have the same form preslented t you ; thus proving
that the rail' will possess a most everlasting wear, as,
When the upper side is injured or worn it may be turned
over, and what was underneath will in like turn ,be-
come the future rail. Upon the 4-ineh level surface
or ledge the soles of the wheel wid rest or travel,
having a high flange facing their outer side, and a cor-
responding one downward inside. These rails may be
either fixed in chairs, or else fastened to the sleepers by
screw bolts. There must be on the Outer side of the
upper flange brackets or stays, kstened at their upper
part to the flange, and at their lower part to a cross
sleeper ; and thus we shall have, as it were, a trunk or
Channel railway, with an utter impossibility of the train
ever getting or running off the line, as it will be kept
from swerving to the right or left by the upper flange.
The outer edge of theaole of the wheel need not touch
the upper Hinge, thereby avoiding friction, but
the upper flange will present to • the wheel,
should it be inclined to swerve by iti rapid progress, a
butt, or throw-off, which the wheel would merels play, •
as it were, again-t, but over which it could not go, fur
the want of a direct bite. These high flanges may be,
either erect or outwardly inclined a little.. This ctian-
net railway, as 1 shall call it, is not intended to sup( r••
sede the flange of the wheels, but they ought to be made
a little deeper ; their present depth is quite inadequate
to their eurpose, viz, keeping the train on the line. Now,
should this channel raiiway be nut approved of, then let
the present flimsy rails remain ; hut, for the safety of
all, let there he flanges bolted on to the inner side of each
wheel, full .12 to 14 inches in depth. Never mind. the
look, so we. the travellers, are safe. These flanges may
be slightly tsp,-,ring towards their outer edge, so as to
avoid unnecessary friction.

With these remarks we will have done, exe,pt to draw
the following conclusions :—First—That with these
alterations there will be an utter impossibility o' the trains
leaving the line, either by jumping, jolting, hopping, or
bounding, or oscillating. Or should two trains meet,
their headlong butt will be in a straight line, nut as it is
at present, sideways ; but one thing will happen with
the se alterations, through the present imp-I.feet mode of
placing the buffer-swings. The two engines, the mo-
ment they meet, will rear up, ram-like, both by thir own
impetus, and that of the hinder carriages pressing hard
upon them ; but if the buffer-springs were plac -d flight r
up, say two-thirds &mu the ground, they nit only would
not trip or rear up, but could not run into or over each
other, but each carriage would receive no more than the
amount of shock due to that carriage, according to its
distance from the point of collision, as it will be no more
than a very severe thrust, and not an overturning shock.
This part deserves very great attention, as the buffers,
which are intended to ease, if not avoid, a casualty,
are the very things, through their being misplaced,
that cause the overthrow of the carriages.
Again, I do not see why there should not
be eight buffer springs to each carriage, four
in front and four behind, placed thus—two in front,
one on each side, one-third from the ground, the other
two front ones, one on each side, one-third from the top,
but these top ones ought to be a little longer than the
bottom, so that they may receive the shock first. Now
the hinter ones are to be placed in the same manner,
and if these buffers are furnished with a plug and key
sort of adjustment, they may when a severe shock takes
place become firmly keyed or locked into each other, and
thus the whole line of carriages, at least those who are
in the vicinity of the shock, will become as one body im-
movable ; no running over each other or overture ing, as
they are as one carriage firmly united with the buffers,
but which may be instantly disconnected by suitable
gear.
Note.—The accident that happened this week on the
Great Western Line to the rapid train, was canted by
the jumping, or hopping to and fro swerve of the car-
riages through there being no stay fl inch to the
rails, but merely the foolish inch flanch of the wheels.
Many will say the flange rail will be too expensive for
the companies to adopt. I say, no ; a very great saving
will arise front it, not only by no accident ever happening
of any moment, and, therefore, no eypense in repairs,
but a very great increase of passengers will take place
through the 4reat confidence the people will have in the
Channel fiai;way.
I tan, Mr. Editor, yours respectfully,
JOHN SUTTON.
14, Crown-row, Walworrh, Juno 20, 1845.

REPORTED DEATH OF AIR. COMES, M.P.-It was
reported in the House of Commons this afternoon that Mr. Somes,
the celebrated ship.owner, and M.P. for Dartmouth, died sud-
denly this morning. We hope that this report will prove in.
orrect. _ _ _

'FHE QUEEN V. GREGORY.—In this case an attempt
was made by Mr. Cockburn, upon the authority of a dictum in
Coke's 2d Institutes, sec. 109, to show that the indictment was
bad, in not describing the Duke by his own name as Charles
Frederick D'Este, Duke of Brunswick, but by his title of honour.
Lord Denman said he wou'd make a note of the objection, and
after briefly addressing the jury lett them to decide upon the mean-
ing and application of the passages complained of. The jury im.
mediately found the defendant Guilty upon all the counts.

THE WEATHER. ON THE CONTINENT —AS a proof
of the violence of a hurricane which lately visited the department
of the Aisne, and which was most severely felt at Guise, it is stated
M. Wanet, a candlemaker of that town, having gone out to close
the shutters, in order to save his windows from being blown in,
was driven by the whirlwind with such violence against the corner
of a house ten yards distance, that his neck was broken and his
skull fractured, so that he survived only four hours. Many other
persons were severely injured, either by being blown down or by
fragments of houses falling upon them, but no further deaths are
mentioned. Within the last few days the river Marne has in.
creased so much that it has overflowed its banks, and so completely
flooded the meadows that nearly all the hopes of the hay harvest
are lost. We also learn that the Loire and Thouet rivers have also
broken their bounds, and caused similar disastrous consequences.—
French: paper.
AIURDEIIING IN JEST.—A very singular circum-
stance, involving a duel and death, took place at Cincinnati last
Tuesday. An Englishman, named Robert Bland, kept a tavern
in that city. On the afternoon of Tuesday (as we learn
from the Commercial) Mr. Bland got to arguing with
one Samuel Powell, on the subject of shooting at a mark,
and each had been boasting of his skill. From shooting
at a mark the subject turned on duelling, when Bland
went behind the bar in his tavern, and took up a pair of pistols, let-
ting Powell take his choice, signifying that they could determine the
point by a trial of skill. As they both went out of the tavern door,
Mr. Bland said to Powell—" The pistols arc loaded." They had
agreed, it appears, to tire at a distance of twenty steps, but after
taking their positions, in the manner of duellists, they each walked
two or three paces, wheeled, and both fired! The result of
this was, that Mr. Bland was shot, the ball entering the right side,
and then passing through the iegion of the chest to the point of
the shoulder-blade, where it lodged. He lingered till about halt-
past eight o'clock next morning, when lie dies, having a wife and
two children. Both parties in this tragedy were natives of Eng-
land, :•.nd what led to it is a mystery. During the night knowing
Mr. Bland stated that " lie had not intended to kill Powell. and was
glad he did not."—.Neu, 1 ork Paper.