English and Foreign Items.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 803, 11 July 1870, Page 3

English and Foreign Items.

The New York papers contain the account of a fearful accident on the regular morning train on the Mississippi Central Kailroad for New Orleans. TUo train leaving Humbolfc behind time, rapidly approached Buckler's trestle, neat* Oxford, which is 40 feet high and over a ravine. The engine crossed safely, but the remainder of the train lan uff the track, crossing the trestle-work, and completely wrecking the baggage, mail, express, and three passenger cars. The cause of the accident is helieved to have been the unsound condition of the trestle timbers, which permitted a rail to slip out of place, and thus switch off" the cars, which crushed through the trestle work or plunged into the ditch, livery car was utterly destroyed ; the baggage, mail, and express freight broke loose, and were scattered on the sides of the rawine, where the wreck plunged. The first and second passenger cars were shattered into pieces. The remaining passenger car kept the track, while it.s forward end rested on the wreck of the second car in the ravine, at an inclination of fifty degrees." [Two women, four children,

twelve white, and three colored persons

' are known to have been killed, and it is ,' feared that fourteen or fifteen passengers were injured fatally. Amongst the injured ' was a young lady, of New York, who was fastened for an hour in the wreck by the side of five men who were killed, but she was rescued without mueh injury. Col. Samuel Tate, president of the road, was nearly suffocated by the pile of passengers thrown upon|him in the wreck. A large number of wounded were'jtaken to Oxford, where the citizens proffered every assistance possible. The European Mail, April 22, says: — So another chain of civilization has been wrought, and of a morning we know what was done in Bombay the previous night. What would our forefathers say if they could only visit the earth once more, and claim their estates ? In the morning the President of the United States exchanged compliments with the Queen of England, and in a couple of hours the heads of every nation in the world could join, if they pleased, in the international greeting. The value of the Atlantic cable has already been made abundantly evident, and that the Indian Submarine Cable will be of proportionate importance no one can dispute. In fact, all methods of communication which can closer connect the various branches of the human family must be of paramount importance. Mild weather and grateful rains are working wonders in most parts of England. Vegetation is shooting rapidly, pastures have changed from a dead and frost-nipped condition into bright, green herbage within the short space of three or four days, and clovers are springing up with specially good and plants. The wheats, more backward, thin, and weak than they have been known for years, are just coming into readiness for the hoe ; the roller and presser have been universally in requisition for solidifying the dry and dusty soil about the plants, and the crop has suffered severely from the drought following upon an excessive rainfall. Beans and early peas are coming up well; both oats and barley have this year a good seed bed, and we do not remember a more favorable season or a better mould for potato-setting, which is now nearly completed. Many years ago—we cannot the exact time—there were two schoolfellows, one named William Ewart Gladstone, the other Luke Hamer. The former quitted school for the Senate, and became as distinguished in politics as he had in early life" been in letters. Fortune was not fickle to him, and he is now the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Luke Hamer's career seems to have been far more die quered with the ills of life ; and the world would have remained ignorant, even of his existence had he not recently applied for an appointment to a public office. The office" in question has no connection with the Cabinet, It is only that of porter at the Ormskirk Workhouse. Poor Luke Hamer, who now verges on his sixtieth year, has probably had a hard battle in the world, and things must have gone ill with him if his story be true that he went to school with the present Premier. We have no reason to doubt it, for it was told to the Guardians, who could easily have tested its truth, had they thought it necessary to do se. Luke Hamer was one of five candidates for the humble office, and the guardians appointed him to it.