We understand that a communieatiou has been made to the
Grand Junction Railway Company, intimating the intention of the Govern- ment to have the Irish mails conveyed by way of Holyhead ; and that immediate measures are to be adopted for carrying out the projected railway from Chester to Hols, head, on the practicability of which Mr. Stephenson, the engineer, some time ago made a most able and satis- factory report. In this manner, the Grand Junction Company will con- tinue, as heretofore, to carry the mails, bringing them to Chester in- Mead of Liverpool.—Lianapool Standard.
The adjourned inquest at Harrow on the bodies of Simpson and Dawson, who were killed by the recent collision on the London and Birmingham Railway, was brought to a close on Wednesday night. Quinlan, the stoker on Simpson's engine, was sufficiently recovered to give his evidence, though lie is still confined to his bed. It was con- clusive against Simpson ; to whose recklessness, it appears, the accident was to be principally attributed. He had been known as a fist and careless driver ; of which Quinlan gave the following instances- " I was with Simpson one day in the month of September last, when a bul- lock jumped over one of the vattle.waggons by the train. The bullock fell over on to the line, and lest his horns by the occurrence, but was not killed. No other accident happened during the time I was with Simpson as fireman, until the late fatal one near Harrow station, except that on one occasion a red board was put up between the rails at the Harrow station for Simpson to pull up; but he did not do so. This was-Idler the bullock affitir, but I cannot say Low long since. The board, upon that occasion, was raised in height about five feet. In our progress we knocked it down into the ash-pit of the line at the station, and passed over it. We could sec that signal about two miles off in a straight line."
In reference to the fatal accident which caused this inquiry, Quinlan Stated— They stopped at Boxmoor, and were there told by a policeman to drive with care on passing the Harrow station. Simpson seemed in a flurry with the po- lieetnan on receiving this order. As they came towards harrow station, they saw a red light : it was a policeman's light. When he saw it, he told Simp- son to turn off his steam ; which Simpson did, all but one inch; but even that was too much to enable them to stop the engine, as they were then going about twenty-five miles an hour and on an inclined plane. At the time the red light was visible, Brown, the driver of the second engine, turned off his steam. There was ample time to have stepped at Harrow it' the steam of both engines had been turned off and the gears reversed. Brown gave notice to Simpson by lifting the valve, which makes a loud noise, and is the usual signal between men on engines. Deceased had more than once befitre passed a station without taking smy notice of the red signal to stop, as it was wanted to hook on a waggon. Did not know of any complaint having been indite by Simpson to the Superin- tendent, except in the case of the bullock w hich got out of a cattle-van, but saw no red flag then. Simpson was always a hard driver, and would not lank for- ward. On the evening of the accident, when he saw that he was coining on the engine before him, be shifted over to the other site of the engine, and prepared to jump out, lie told Simpson that it was time to he jumping; but Simpson made no answer that he heard, but kept looking forward. Witness then jumped out, and did not rerollect atty. thing after that. Ileard Simpson hallo out to Brown, but did not hear n hat word; he said. Simpson was perfectly sober at the time of the accident. lie always thought that Simpson drove too fast.
Mr. Wakley, the Coroner, in summing up the case to the Jury, told them that it was their duty to make every man, whether connected wills railways or not, know what the law was- h appeared that the engineers of No. IS and No. 82 could, with only a mo- derate degree of care and atteirtion to the signals, have avoided the dreadful calamity, which killed two, and had nearly killed them all The law said, that if a man, having received every caution, and having been earnestly entreated not to do so, should enter a powder-mill with a lighted candle, and thereby caused the death of himself mid others, he should at the same time be guilty of suicide and murder. Of this decision in such a case there should not be the slightest doubt. The decision would he the same even in a less aggravated case : for it was reenriled that a man had been executed for throwing is to ache out of a window, whieli killed a person passing below, although the man inul not seen tie passenger. The law inkrred murder front the wicked negligence of the criminal in not having taken care to see that the way was clear before be threw out the brick, as he knew it must fall into a street which was a place of constant thoroughfure. The negligence in this ease was made,
and justly made, the same as malice aforethought—a malevolence of disposi- don towards all human kind, and therefore the act was justly punished as murder. The act of Simpson must, after the manifold evidence the Jury had received, be regarded as one proceeding from a deliberately wicked disposition, regardless of his own life and of the welfare of human society. In this case, the author of the calamity, Simpson, who was now no more, seemed beyond a doubt to have been actuated by a wicked recklessness of his own life and of the lives of others; and the Coroner believed, that in consequence of Simpson's eriminal wantonness, his life and that of the unfortunate Dawson were lost.
The Jury remained in deliberation nearly three hours. At twelve o'clock, the Foreman, Mr. Botch, read the following special verdict-
" We find a verdict in the case of William Dawson, Wilful murder against Joseph Simpson,' and in the case of .Toseph Shnpson, Feb de se.' Wu im- pose n deodand of 2,000/. on the engine and tenders No. 15 and No. 82. With respect to Bradburne, the Jury have felt considerable difficulty in not agreeing to a verdict of Manslaughter ; and they beg to express their sense of the great impropriety of his leaving his engine without putting it on the siding, and of his leaviug it at all in the situation which proved so dangerous."
Mr. Botch, the Foreman, then read the following observations of the Jury- " The Jury cannot conclude their labours without expressing their surprise and regret at the manifest inefficiency of the Executive of the Company as connected with the matters that have come before them in this inquiry. The Directors seem to have passed and printed many excellent rules and resolutions, which have been neglected to be carried out and enforced ; while in some in- stances printed instructions have been given to a class of men unable, for want of eduration, to read them ; and in some cases persons appear to have been put on as drivers of engines, having the whole conduct of the trains, without being duly qualified for the ptirpose. ii The Jury consider great blame is attributable to the Directors for con- tinuing in their service such a reckless driver as the unfortunate man Simpson ; and they are forcibly struck with the ignorance of the Executive of the nu- merous acts of disobedience and wanton carelessness on his part, which have been produced before them in evidence. " Considering the immense importance to the public of safe conduct in a mode of conveyance over which they are deprived of all control, or, when in motion, even of the power of remonstrance or complaint, and are entirely at the mercy of the engine-driver, the Jury feel the public have a right to expect that some person of superior education and attainments as an engineer should be appointed as a captain of each train, to proceed with it and conduct it to its final destination. The night- signals are evidently insufficient, and yet no efficient means seem to have been adopted to improve them ; while it is evident that no security can be attained until a means nf communication between the guards and the engine-drivers is established. To all which matters the Jury titel it is the bounden duty of the directors to turn their immediate and earnest attention."
The agent of Lord Northwich, the Lord of the Manor of Harrow, who attended the inquest for the purpose, claimed on behalf of his Lordship the deodand which had been awarded, and gave notice of his intention to prosecute the claim before the Court of Exchequer.
At Chelmsford Quarter-sessions, on Wednesday, Josiah Thorogood, who was described as an auctioneer, was found guilty of having turned on the steam of a locomotive engine which was left unattended on the Eastern Counties Railway, on the night of the 22d September. The eugine, which had arrived at the Brentwood terminus from London, bad been " scotched," as it is termed, and left for the night ; with sufficient steam in the boiler, however, to set it in motion. Between twelve and one o'clock, the men were alarmed by a whistle from the engine, which they found moving along the rails—fortunately, in a con- trary direction to London. It, however, cause in collision with, and had dashed to pieces, a horse coal-carriage and a coal. truck ; and these impeded its course. The prisoner, who had evidently been thrown from the engine, was found upon his hands and knees upon the line of railway ; and \Olen questioned as to the right he had to be there, and what he had been doing, he said that he had tried to reverse the engine; the effect of which would have been that it would have pro- ceeded towards London. He was sentenced to be imprisoned six mouths and to pay a fine of 474. to the Queen.
An accident occurred on the Birmingham and Derby Railway on Wednesday evening, by which one man was killed and several other pas- sengers were severely injured. The train which left Birmingham at five o'clock, on its arrival at Whitacre Heath, near Coleshill, came in con- tact with a truck on the line ; the consequence of which was, that the engine was thrown off the rails. The first-class carriages thea broke away frosts the tender, and ran on without the engine ; but one or more of the third-class carriages in the rear were thrown over, by which one passenger was killed.
On Wednesday evening, on the arrival of the Hull railway train at the York station, it was reported that a third.class passenger was miss- ing, having either leaped from or fallen out of the carriage. An ex- press-engine was immediately sent up the line. When near the 13olton station, the man was found laid by the side of the rails ; and on being taken up his injuries were ascertained to be of a slight nature.—Mall Observer.
A fearful accident occurred on Tuesday, at Danford Bridge, about three miles from Hohnlirth, near Leeds, in a postion of the tunnel now forming connected with the Sheffield and Manchester Railway. Six men were " blasting," when a large quantity of gunpowder, through some unexplained cause, suddenly exploded. The consequence was the immediate death of all present.—Leells Intelligencer.
On Sunday night, as a train on the Great Western line was running between Bull's Bridge and 'Janssen, it actually passed over thirty-five sheep, the whole of which were destroyed. The train was not mate- rially interrupted. On Saturday evening, as the Victoria coach was proceeding from Newcastle to Alnwick, when passing along the road within three miles
of Felton, where improvements have lately been made, the coach was upset and foil over a mound of about twenty feet high, carrying wills it the horses, and two inside and four outside passengers : they, however, fortunately fell into a soft field, and no one was hurt.—Caledontan Mercury.
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