A disastrous railway accident occurred at Elliot Junction, near Arbroath,
in Forfarshire, on the afternoon of Friday week. Owing to the heavy snowfall, the trains proceeding northward had been blocked for twenty-four, hours, but at three o'clock a local train was made up at Arbroath for the convenience of weather-bound passengers and had pro• needed as far as Elliot. At this point, while the train had halted, a North British express dashed into it from, behind, completely wrecking the guard's van and the next carriage. Thirteen persons were killed on the spot, and twenty were injured, the death-roll having since been increased to twenty- one. Amongst the victims was Mr. A. W. Black, the much-respected M.P. for Banffshire, who, after enduring great suffering with Christian fortitude, succumbed to his injuries on the following day. The cause of the accident is as yet a, matter of conjecture, and as the driver of the express, who miraculously escaped without serious injury, has been arrested, it is premature to express an opinion. The week has been also unhappily marked by two terrible railway accidents in America, both attended by heavy loss of life, while the damage done to Government stores by a great and hitherto unexplained outbreak of fire on the Portsmouth Gun Wharf early on Thursday morning is estimated at not less than a quarter of a million.
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