The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-09-14

to recede from his unwarrantabie position, and
recognise the fact that an arrangement made ny
duly authorized Minister Of country with the
entire corps of foreign representatives, should
he carried out faithfully, though ii be disagree
able 10 the persona wishes and ambition of the
chief Of that government We can only regret
that Mr.. Eames, our own representative in
Venezuela, should. have been 70 weak as 70
accept a personal and national disco1rteay which
England and France wisely refused to permit.
/, MORE RAILWAY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AGITA-
TIoS ON THE SUBJEcr.-Cotemporane with
the suicide of the engineer who ran his train
off the bridge at .Norwalk, we receive par
!. tial details of what was supposed to be
a similar calamity on the Indiana and
Steubenville railway. The cool manner in
which the first despatch tells US that /" q great
many were killed." shows how much accus-
toned we have become to these horrible sacri-
fees, offered up to the shrine Of railway gods
1t is only for the moment after the accident
that the public mind is shocked. "a great
many were killed." If we were speaking Of
mosquitoes we could not be more Indifferent.
Although the Indiana affair happily turned Out.
less murderous than was at first reported, yet
that is the result rather Of the good fortune of
the passengers than any exertions Of the COM
pany. The present month has not yet reached
its fourteenth day, and during tho first fortnight
of September, when The travel is the greatest, we
have to record no less than four railway acct
dentSmore or less serious.
We have oil along warned the public that in
the. present condition of American railways,
accidents" would increase rather than d.
minish in number, and recent events show that
we were right In our conclusions. In England,
where the discipline is much more strict than
with us, the subject has attracted the attention
of the government, aud q select committee of
Parliament was appointed " to inquire into the
causes of accidents on railways, sand into the
possibility of removing any such causes by flu.
ture legislation" This committee. has made
report, the conclusions of which are
applicable to our roads as well as
to those Of Great Britain. The committee de-
fines the causes of railway accidents linden three
heads to wit:-Inattention Of servants defec-
tive material either in the works or rolling
stock; excessive speed. The committee is Of
opinion that the public should have some means
of recovering penalties for want Of punctuality
in the arrival and departure Of trains, and that
the Board Of Trade should be empowered to in
vestigate and report upon the causes of all acct
dents. There are some further recommends
tions and to give all the light possible on the
subject we have printed the report. in full in
another place.
There can be no doubt that the root Of all
the railway " accidents" here lies in the defec-
tive machiRery of the roads, and in the. exces-
sive speed which is caused by the competition
Of parallel lines. Many of our people will risk
their necks in order TO save an hour or two in
a journey'ofa thousand miles. 1t was the same
thing in the old.steamboat racing days; but we
should grow wiser as we get older. Excessive
speed wears out the road and multiplies tenfold
the risk Of such accidents" as that Of Norwalk,
Utica and Steubenviile. The railway companies
in this country are nearly all in bad way
about money matters, and they cannot beg nor
borrow money enough to keep their roads hide
cent order.
They are, therefore, crazy, tumble-down af.
fairs, over which the trains rush and sway and
tumble at tremendous rates of speed, trusting
to luck for the safe delivery Of their passen-
gers. They bring what is left Of them, and
compound for life or limb as If they were driv-
ing bargain for 80 much slaughtered beef or
pork. What we must have in this countryjs
stringent law under which the railway direc-
tors shall be held responsible for every "acd.
dent" no matter how it occurs. They mus. see
that the trains arrive and depart at the precise
hour indicated on their time tables, and they
must exercise vigilant watch over their sub
0rdinatea More than half the accidents on
our railways are caused BY running at great
speed, to make up for lost time. This should
not be allowed In France the trains must run
exactly on time. If they are ahead Of time at
any station they must wait; II behind, they can
not 60 on unit! the telegraph has declared the
road perfectly free for them. Sydney Smith
said that the system OF locked railway carriages
would never be abolished until bishop had
been roasted in one Of them; and we do not
expect TO see thorough railway reform until
some Of the directors shall either have suffered
the lose Of life or limb on their own roads, or
consigned to the State prison to expiate crimes
for which they are clearly and undeniably re-
sponsible.
THE INDIAN WAR IN OREGoN-The' last
news from the Indian war ground in Oregon
presents the state Of affairs there In very
serious aspect All the tribes on the northern