New-York tribune., 1908-05-11
THE SHREWSBURY ACCIDENT

Winston Spencer Churchill, in his capacity as
newly appointed President of the Board of Trade in
the Asquith Cabinet. has jIst made public the re-
port Of the careful investigation by his department
INTO the terrible railroad accident at Shrewsbury in
ocfoher last in which so many American lives
were lost. 1t shows that the catastrophe due
to the engine driver Martin. a perfectly sober.
eathy and careful man. having fallen. if fast
asleep. at any into a doze at his post which
prevented him from seeing the signals set against
MN. The English papers treat this overwhelming
sense of drowsiness by which the engine driver
was overtaSen with such fatal results as some
thing altogether unusual. although drowsiness is
a condition to which people watching machinery in
motion for any length of time are particularly
prone
History furnishes number OF similar instances
Thus. Lord Wolseey is the authority for the story
that his comrade and friend. General Sir Poneroy
Colley. one of the most brilliant officers of the
English army. who commanded the British forces
IN South Africa at the time of the crushing de-
feat at Ma3uba Hill. was in the habit of being
overcome at odd and most fnconvenient moments
with an tnvincible and altogether unconquerabe
sire TO sleep These fits would come upon Sir
Pomeroy without warning. and the efforts which
he would then make combat this almost insane
desire TO sleep would reduce him to of
tai stupor, from which II impossible arouse
him, no matter what means We're adopted for the
purpose.
Lord Woseley is convinced that Sir Pomeroy had
been overtaken by one of the fits Majuba HILL
the sudden loss of his head and of his ordinarily
brilliant faculties, which threw his command into
disorder at the most critical moment of the con-
fct, resulting in defeat being undoubtedly at
tributable thereto Sir Pomeroy. as every one
knows, met his death during the battle by means
Of Boer bullet. and hence never able to
furnish any explanation OF his nlomentary aber-
ration. accountable only in the manner explained
by Lord Wolseley.
The latter who is Of the most erudite stu
dents of military history. ancient as well as
modern, also adds the not generally know fact
that the first Napoleon subject 70 the same
occasional affCtiOn General Sir Ponleroy
Colley, and that his defeats at Ieipsic and at
Waterloo were attributable TO the fact that his
mind. practically speaking. had stopped working.
through overwhelming dToRsiness, the
critical moments of the respective battles It was
this, indeed that led 10 the wild legends bout his
being at times incapacitated by drunkenness Many
Of the comrades of Admiral Sir George Tryon are
of the opinion that IL something same
kind which led him to make, while commanding
chief the Mediterranean squadron. the lamentable
mistake which caused his flagship. the Victoria to
be rammed and sunk off the coast of Syria. with
more than six hundred men board; and the
dence collected during the investigation of the
Of the ocean liner Mohegan the Manacle rocks
off the coast of Cornwall. all show that the
captain. man Of acknowledged absteniousness. of
rare experience and apparently magnificent health
physically well as mentally. and the commodore
Of the entire fleet Of the company. had lost mo-
mentarily his faculties through this peculiar and
Ill timed drowsineSs which the Scotch style
''dwarns'' and the French medical men designate
by the old French word ''pettmal."
MARQUISE DE FONTENOY.