OUR HOME LETTER.
LONDON, 31st August, 1868." One of the most "dreadful railway accidents ever noted'has taken place this month. The Irish Mail train, which is noted for its regularity and speed - left London^ at 7-25 a.m. as usual on the 20 fch, "reached Cheater where some carriages were taken, up, forming ' the forepart of the train, and then ;pr.ooeeded to Abergele(in Wales) which it passed at the usual time 12.40 a.m.- About' twenty minutes before this a goods "train, had passed, which ran on as far as the/next station Llandudlas, where it was shunted and partly broken up. For this purpose it had to run into a siding, but there not being - sufficient room some of the end trucks were left on the main line, at the top of a rather steep incline, and from some not -yet clearly ascertained caiise, they ran. down this incline, of course gathering velocity as they went. There is a sharp curve at one point of the line, and also- a cutting, so that the driver of ttte mail train "could not see the danger until the trucks were close upon him. He immediately shut off the steam, put on the Makes, and jumped from %v engirie, getting only some bruises and a severe shaking, .while the p^ker .who either would not or coSld not jump, was killed. At the' end- of the^goods trr\in was a' truck containing some barrels of petroleum, and immediately these came into collision pnth the engine 4i^y were, of courssVymasfeshed, and in an instant tin front'-sMJages were in a mass of. flames, the otMfrig ignited by the engine furnace, was utterly impossible, and thepejily- thing that coulcj be done was to save the train. * -Fortunately this was possible owing to the post office van jpeing double, and. connectedly leather land indiarubber fastenings, which were cut through, before the flames reached the 'hinder van. It is believed that the death of the unfortunate passengers was instantaneous, as .no attempts -to escape- were noticed, and 'notjn cry was hearjl. Affor the 'fire had* sufficiently burnt out to allow examination to take v place, it was found that merely-calcined remains of the bodies-were left, no trace' o? identTffcitfofn being visible, and it ?waa found necessary to engage -three, surgeonji/to Examine these fragments- to ascertain f lft>w many persons had' actually perished. After verycareftil eramitfalon they report th§t -thirty-throo ■■ porsens^harvg .the reijJauis <ha*fe Ueen iriten-e&» ii£ oile' common grave in the churchyard of St. Mich^^^j^rgcte^^AmoiiJthti© who tavejjgnshed, ana are known to have' been in the tram, j*r,«Lord and Lady Farnham and-ifteir servants, the Re*. Sir Nicholas and Lady Chinnery Capt. J. P. Edwards ancTlis son, John Harrim £?£»»# ''fyi-i oi ■^alwortii- Oastle,
County Dufrham, his wife, so*, and nephew, th(| Duchess of , Abercprn, the wife of the i>resei*fc Lord:d||B*enant of Ireland, wasjin the LondoaTJart of tha train .with' several members of her family also Lord Oastlerosse and children. The inqnest is still being proceeded with. On the 3rd instant a sad accident o<> curred at, Chatham 'at the close of the rehearsal of some siege operations. A flying .bridge constructed of spars and sc^gojd poles firmly bound together with ropes had been put together by a party of sappers and miners under the direction of L'ietaenautf Hfe- Royal "Highness Prince Arthur. While the troops were crossing over slight delay took place, and an undue strain coming upon the bridge it "B?o^*ffe*a&^Ke' J ditclH"Sga'as-^y^ e re marching . with, fixed bayonets several were severely wounded^ and" one man •killed? • <Ffinee *Arthwr *was""Wnt* *>f the first to.spring. into, the ditch to, assist the poof v fellows, and rendered most" praiseworthy Assistance. The bridge appears -to have- been -put together in 5'5 ' a most workmanlike manner, and was composed of -new materials. " - f ;^.; One of those, . unfortunate outrages which were formerly so -'common in Ireland. Mr. W. Scully, an extensive land owner, wished tojenforce some very arbitrary rules upon new tenants of his near the town of Tipperary, and as they refused to accept them he attempted to serve notices to quit. "Finding, however, some resistance $n; his first visit, he procured the assistance; of some constables. The resistance was bujfc passive .until he reached oue farm .Tiouse wiiich'appeared to be deserted, *bnt here the party was tired upon ? from one of the windows. Mr. Scully received three severe wounds, a policeman and the bailiff were killed, and four others of the ' party were wounded. Nine persons were arrested, but. only three remain in custody, one of whom is the occupier of the house, who, however, was,knb;wn to. hav.e beefa p the lowj of Tipperary all .day., The coroner's, jury returned a verdict "of .murder by somo persons' at present unknown, and stated in addition, ".The jury are further of apbion that, the conduct of Mr. William Scully ar regards proceedings towards his tenants at Ballycohey, is much" to be deprecated,^ and the sooner legislative enactments are passed to put a stop to any such proceedings ihe better for the peace and welfare of the country." Mr. Scully is slowly recovering,' the wounds he received being of^a very dangerous . character. Great indignation is ' expressed at his tyranny, as it is stated that he was abont ejecting the whole townland of Ballycohey, ajid certainly the terms which he offered to his tenants appear to be most arbitrary. The first private execution in thi3 country took . place at Maidstone on the 13th instant,' the culprit being a railway porter, .Thomas We\ls,.who murdered the station master at Dover." ' ' •'< The! trial' of -Madame • Rachel -for obtaining money from, /Mrs. Borrodaile under false pretences, took' place on the 20th and. 21st. The most conflicting statements w§re made on the part of jthe prosecution, and the case appeared:' so very improbable, that the counsel -foi^he . defence • relied upon that and proJM^ no witnesses. After a very lengthy 'consultation the jury, stajted-that it- was very impossible for them to give an unanimous verdict*"* and they were therefore discharged; Madame Rachel in Newgate until the next sessions unless she can procure bail, the amount of which has now besn , reduced! Since the trial took place some of ihe jury have made public statements-to|the effect that eleven of them were for a 'conviction, but the other man' had evidently prejudged the case, and w.as prepared with refreshments to. enable Jrim to stand, out until .they agreed with his view, or stated that they could not come to a decision. The. trial attracted considerable attention during its progress', but Very - few expected that Madame Rachel wpuld- be convicted. Mr. Richard, Pigott, the proprietor of the "Irishman" newspaper, "was^released from prison on the Bth instant, having seryed.half the period' foif which _£c was sentenced. The prospectus of a; new^ Atlantic Telegraph Cable between France and America, has ,been issued, arid/ the* shares have been well taken up. The chairmanship of the English board has been accepted by the Right Hon. Robert Lowe^M.P., while M/Drouyn de'l/huys will -occupy a seat in the French direction. The new cable will be laid from Brest to. the island 'of St. Pierre,' and froni J there to ' New York, thus avoiding the risk of * damage .by icebergs, while- a contract • will be entered into with the submarine .Telegraph Company, for the use of one. of their lines from England to Dieppe, a line being made from that place f o Brest, so as to give direct communication from England to New. York. The deep sea Cable will be laid by the Great Eastern, and the arrangements will be under the most skilful direction. The Cable of 1866 has .failed, having ! heenl broken by an iceberg abont 100- miles from Heart's Content. A steamer has been sent out to pick it up and repair the ; damage. The weather changed entirely in the month, .and .we have Tiaflsome heavy rains and cool wjeathei"._^j;!present ike temperature is about the average at this time' 6f 'year. During great heat reaping was carried on by moonlight with great success, as all the corn crops having become ripe at oncethfe reaping machines were obliged to be kept going both night and day. Unfortunately the bountiful harvest* jdoes not-rappear to jbave hkd'jk softening influence on the hearts of some of the farmers, two instances having occurred of women having been taken up for gleaning — the firat case being at Chestgr, /Rfyere a, w/nnan^was sentenced to three« days' imprisonment, dnd'the second • at Warminster, where three women were sentenced to a nominal punishment of twelve hours' imprisonment. It is fair to state that in both instances the fields w^re^ot tpit%_ l f deared^ x "]fcf]nt:tlie public indignation at the' first case was very strongly evinced, and the woman received substantial sympathy. Great preparations are still being made for the coming elections. The membera oftae,. Reform Le.agn£.»e very A busy — Sdme of the more prominent having consented to be put in nomination as candidates -for representation, Mr. Beales being about to contest the Tower Ham? lets ; Mr. Bradlaugh, Nottingham j and Lieut. -,Colqno,l Dipkson, Hackney.- Tip overseen? of Salford; have' placed" I,3Q§
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women «%tM|!s&&isiS&! tora f ° r th fc* borgugh^ above offiX) women h° tts f' r< * lilii^ra have sent ui^cl^im^xto -vDte*"ifoi?" • the^t^T^MihSsiieir^aa' UeY^ral others'♦:idt'^yaiitius"' places.^ COf icdurSe ! ( all< ; tliese.. claims will be subject to the $ decision of the revising 1 5 .-\-:i < • t : . \- 1 ? " Several of the r Eqat -;pnd families who , have been suffering, so, difei7^reU^a^e S bSsent 'of' to Or eb>c;b>^e East findtaigi^%n J *Rehe;rFund Goip.flecuted"for several; andrth^ ottieK? being provided for .at Quebed until auitaible'6mplos^inent: can be. .obtained,' of)'jv;Mch, ,showeysr, be no wap.tr ,-'.-■ , ""The 'three great Southern Railways, the London, r jG^atham,,' ancl P;over, ( , the Sbutli 1 Ea^fera; ,' 'and. :'the". -• Brighton;, 'aiid' Sptt^H Coast/ attempted during the "■Parliamentary 'session to bring 'in a Bill fon ! tb.'eir- amalgamation^ /but as it contained iirovisions foe materially in"jcreasing the, fares', it- was throvm'Qut by the House oLLords. , At the commence- - .icentjPf' the mpntb. the three companies "rbaealTtheir'fares'to 'the. full legal maximum, ,and as. the greate^' propcpUon. of their p'asse'rigerjj are '"suburban' residents :: whoTiave < fo- : come-4o' : lj6n&dn dkily/ very ■ great indignation has been excited, 'the' papers*being. fuJl 'of complaints'. 'Should • f.the t present high -rates continud there is no doubt jbhat companies', receipts .^^wUUufreiylr-om iheir ill-judged, The Que,e~n arrived, safely at Lucerne, and is enjoying her Change of residence. "" Some alarm "was "created by "a" report "that a P^niaiii bad b§en carrested in jfront pf > Jler resldei^e, bn't v -ititurneA outjthat it lras merely a man of unsound mind who had endeavoured to enter the Queer's, private apartments^ ...- <• -. : The Princess' Tect (formerly Princess Mary of Cambridge) was safely delivered ■of a bpy T on the 13th, and, has progressed most 1 favourably since." - ' -' ''- j Jefferson '-Davis, the ex-President of the Confederate States, arrived in Liverpool on the 4th, and was very warmly rei oeived by -the merchant^ v'- ■* - X * « ■' ' : .' ' i Yachting has been in the ascendant during the >inonih.- --A-* great ocean race took place from Ryde to Cherbourg, as well as areturn.race^Then an American gentlemSnbrmightoverhißyacKt;theSappho,said to be the fastest in the American waters, and challenged- the-English yachts. His challenge was accepted, and the race took , ■ place. , The Sapßh9 was .very, .soon v bebirid'theffout cracit yachts -who were competing with her, but ft©ng before the conclusion she met with an accident which 1 • quite] prevehtedlher from continuing. . L The,news ,from ; ;the. - Continent j$ .pre- ' eminently .peaceful, t At. Aj^iwerpj ;grand < : fetes 'have 'been TTeld "to" inaugurate a statue of the late King. The French Governmental' loanV whlcjb. is". calculated to yield 4£ per cent to investors lias been taken up in an unlooked for manner, the - aumi-'asked'v-for :heihg>i;l9£ millions, of francs, and the amount offered upwards of 660 millionaj-'aJlafgeportion of which ■was in small sums. • From all parts of -"! the Continent *■ at '.the. -commiisgeefflej^t >of the mon.tiuc9.me reports pf .forests on fire. The ravages in Russia from this cause have been most t extensiye, Spain is still in a' disturbed state,* n but that may v be accepted as almost the normal condition of that unhappy country^
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Tuapeka Times, Volume I, Issue 38, 31 October 1868, Page 2
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2,005OUR HOME LETTER. Tuapeka Times, Volume I, Issue 38, 31 October 1868, Page 2
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