A few hours before the accident happened Mr. Milner Gibson
had been asked if Government intended to take any further pre- cautions to prevent such accidents, and answered with cool indiffer- ence in the negative. He only wondered more accidents did not occur, and contrived to leave the impression that he rather wished they would. Mr. Byng, the chairman of the South-Eastern Rail- way, was at least equally cool. At a meeting on Monday he spoke of the accident as "an awful visitation "—on the company, as " a severe disposition of Providence," and as an event which might make " even Mr. Hamilton "—obnoxious shareholder of inquisitive mind—" feel for the directors." Not a word of regret for the victims ; the chairman can think only of the till. We could almost wish the " visitation" had really fallen on the Board, but chairman and directors are never smothered in the mud, like the passengers they care so little about. It is fortunate that carriages cost money, and that compensations reduce profits, or we should have these bodies congratulating themselves on the saving in haulage caused by massacre.
