LORD BROUGHAM presented a petition from Attorneys and Solicitors practising in the Superior Courts of Law and Equity, praying for an alteration of this Bill, so as to declare Solicitors eligible for the appointment of Chancery Examiner. The Petitioners complained of the qualification clause of this Bill, which for the first time incapacitated attorneys or solicitors from holding the office of Examiner in Chancery. The Petitioners did not, of course, pretend that they had any right of appointment to the office, but complained of being incapacitated from holding it, which appeared to attach a kind of slur to the members of their branch of the profession. The LORD CHANCELLOR said, there could not really be any reflection upon attorneys in the enactment in question, because it was not as though they had been qualified for the office under former Acts, and now were incapacitated; but, until now, there had been no qualification at all required. LORD ST. LEONARDS remarked, that the duties of the office were now very different from what they had been; and he did not take it that any sort of slur was cast on the profession of attorneys by the qualification now proposed. If there were, he should be the last person in the world to assent to it. Afterwards, an Amendment to said Bill reported (according to order); a further Amendment made; and Bill to be read 3a on Thursday next. MR. OWEN'S PLANS. LORD BROUGHAM, in presenting a Petition of Robert Owen for measures for making known his alleged discovery of the means of preventing and mitigating the evils suffered by all classes in all countries, said, the Petition was from a gentleman whose great respectability and worth in his private capacity, and whose long exertions in the cause of human improvement, according to his own long-cherished opinions and conscientious convictions, were well known to their Lordships. Upon some subjects, including those of very high importance, their Lordships might widely differ from him; but upon his services in the great cause of education there could be but one feeling, that of general gratitude to the author of infant schools. His Petition set forth, as had other Petitions of his, formerly presented by him (Lord Brougham), the importance of the doctrines which he maintained, the discovery which Mr. Owen considered he had made of the true remedy for the evils that afflict society, and the prevention of which he deemed easy by his methods, when the cure of them would be hopeless. He repeated his desire to explain these principles either before a Committee of their Lordships, or in any other formal and regular manner; and he urged that a late illustrious Member of their Lordships' House, His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, had entered fully into the investigation of his methods and doctrines, had become entirely convinced of their soundness, and had been resolved to support them with his whole power and influence. It had sometimes been affirmed that Mr. Owen was a mere speculatist or theorist. Now, it was but fair to him and to his system to state, that whatever might be said of his opinions, and how much soever we might dissent from them, to the charge of being a mere visionary and impracticable speculator he was not at all exposed. He had passed his long life in active exertions, and these had been both made upon a large scale, at a great cost of money as well as toil, and with extraordinary success. From the early age of twenty he had been actively engaged in business, and had always connected with his professional pursuits the great work of improving the habits, the character, and the condition of the body of the people, the labouring classes. He began at Manchester as early as 1790, and there, employed as clerk or superintendent of a considerable establishment, he had effected a most happy change in the habits and the condition of the working people in the establishment, but so little to the detriment of the proprietors | in this country, and expressed the belief of the works, that they raised his salary he entertained, in common with great to three, four, and five hundred pounds; numbers of his countrymen, that some and they desired him to name his own arrangement should be made, over which terms, if he would continue to superintend the Government should preside, and which their work people, whose health, education might at least tend to diminish, if not and comforts he had improved, while he altogether to prevent, the lamentable loss had diminished the length of their day's of life and limb which had occurred, and work. But he removed to Scotland, and to the continual recurrence of which he in 1799 began that establishment at La- had then declared that he looked forward nark, which was known to many of their with apprehension. Although in his own Lordships, and which he had himself visit- mind persuaded that he was not at all ed more than once-the first time in com- exaggerating the danger which existed, pany with his friend, Lord Denman, and and that his expectations were not errofrom whence he had, with others of their neous, nor his belief that the danger Lordships, transplanted to this city the might be averted by proper and prudent infant school system. At Lanark, Mr. intervention, he did not expect that his Owen had to work on a smaller extent of opinions should so speedily and so fatally population than at Manchester, but of a be confirmed in every respect as they had description in no way better when he began been during the short interval which had his labours. He had to work on a large elapsed since he had last addressed their body of persons belonging to the estab- Lordships on the subject. It was on that lishment. Instead of 500 or 600, it con- day fortnight he had asked the noble sisted of between 2,000 and 3,000. That Lord opposite (Lord Stanley of Alderley) the greatest success attended the methods for returns of the number of accidents employed for training these persons, was on railways which had occurred during known to all who had visited Lanark. That the year 1852, and in that fortnight not much expense of labour and money was less than five accidents of a most serious bestowed on this great and good work, no nature had taken place, occasioning conone doubted; but that the expenditure was siderable loss of life and injury to the prudently undertaken, the figures proved. passengers. One had taken place on the About 1,2001. was the cost of the training. South Eastern, another on the York and The concern, during more than a quarter Newcastle line, another on a branch of of a century, flourished equally as a com- that line, and the most recent on the mercial enterprise and a philanthropic ex- Bristol and Birmingham line. And when periment. From 1799 to 1827, after pay- he mentioned that within the past fortnight, ing the interest upon the capital embarked, in consequence of these accidents, not less at the rate of 5 per cent, there was divi- than eleven persons had been suddenly and ded the sum of 335,000l., or 12,000l. a at once destroyed, and forty persons seriyear of clear profit, over and above the ously, many of them irremediably, injured, yearly interest, at 5 per cent on capital. he did not think that he should be considHe (Lord Brougham) conceived that he ered importunate in again presenting himhad said enough to show how groundless self to their Lordships, for the purpose of the notion was of Mr. Owen having all his calling their attention to the subjectlife been a mere theorist, and unacquainted especially as he believed he could now with the practical affairs of society. He give further proofs that many of these moved that the Petition do lie on the table. accidents had arisen, not from mere casuPetition to lie on the table. alty and bad fortune on the part of the companies, but actually from mismanagement and the want of care; and that they were attributable ultimately to the want of some presiding system which should keep in order the directors of these companies, or the management of these different railways. He trusted that if their Lordships were satisfied he was right in his deductions from the facts he brought forward, the Government-seeing that this was no political or party question-nor one on which they need have any difficulty in ACCIDENTS ON RAILWAYS. The EARL of MALMESBURY rose, according to notice, "to call the attention of Her Majesty's Government to a Correspondence which has taken place between Mr. Spence and the Board of Trade on the subject of a Bridge on the North Shields Railway." The noble Earl said it was just a fortnight since he had directed their Lordships' attention to the dangerous system of mismanagement of railways and concluding as follows:-'I observe that the bridge in question is now in course of repair, and I consider that it is necessary, for the safety of the public, that the Railway Department of the Board of Trade should appoint some competent person to examine into the state of the bridge, and, if it should in any respect be found needful, they should order the railway company to make such repairs or alterations as would place the safety of the numerous travellers by this line beyond question." The reply was as follows: "I have been directed by the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st inst., and to inform you that my Lords are in communication with the York, Newcastle, and Berwick Railway Company on the subject of your complaint. I have also to inform you that my Lords have no power to order the railway company to make repairs or alterations in their works." moving-would give their attention to the subject, with a view of providing, if possible, a remedy for what was now a crying evil throughout the country. He did not want to agitate the feelings of timid persons; nor, on the other hand, ought he to be deterred from bringing this subject forward by the confidence of the bold. There were persons manifesting both extremes of feeling on such matters as involved physical danger; he had known some persons who dreaded to mount a pony, and others who would follow the hounds in front of a railway train. It was not either for the timid or the daring that he desired to interfere. The mass of his countrymen could not be accused of being weak-nerved; but at the same time a certain prudence attached to the English character, and he believed that the class of persons generally alarmed at This was the important part of the comthese railway accidents had been so with munication from the Board of Trade. The just reason. What he wished to know was, correspondence did not go beyond that. why a board of management or a central The Board had no power to do anything; power of executive control should not exist although satisfied that the bridge was unwith regard to railways as existed already safe, they had no power, it appeared, to in other branches of our locomotive system. compel the railway company to place the He was persuaded that, if this were estab-bridge or railway in such a state as should lished, many of these accidents would be spared. He had received a letter from Mr. Spence, a gentleman who had been in communication with the Board of Trade, and whose letter to the Board he desired to have produced. The letter he (the Earl of Malmesbury) had received from this gentleman was not long, and as it bore very strongly on his argument, he would read a few passages from it. Writing from North Shields, the gentleman says "I have occasion in the course of my business to travel upon the North Shields branch of the York, Newcastle, and Berwick Railway daily. It is a line of about eight miles in length, in a densely populated district, and the passenger traffic upon it is very great. About the middle of the line there is a wooden bridge, called the Willington Bridge, and for some time past it has been very commonly reported that the bridge in question was in a very unsafe state. On Saturday, the 19th of February, two luggage carriages in a luggage train got off the line, broke through a slight wooden railing, and were precipitated to the ground, a distance of fifty or seventy feet. I had myself passed over this bridge in a heavily-laden passenger train half an secure the safety of the public. The letter of Mr. Spence proceeded to say— "On Wednesday, the 2nd of March, eleven days after the accident, and nine days after the date of my letter, a fatal accident happened to a passenger-train at this very bridge. In consequence of the disgraceful and dangerous state of the line, an engine, tender, and guard's van were thrown down an embankment on the approach to the bridge, and the engine-driver was killed on the spot. The stoker and guard were also seriously injured, and many of the passengers suffered from severe contusions. Fortunately the coupling-chains between the guard's van and the passenger carriages were broken, otherwise the loss of life would have been much greater, for the train was going at such a speed that the carriages ran without the engine about 200 or 300 yards. Now, I can say with some degree of certainty, that if any Government officer had seen the state of this line, and the bridge in particular, at any time during the last few weeks, and if such officer had had the power to compel the railway company to put their line into good working order, this lamentable accident might have been avoided." But there was still stronger and more recent evidence as to the necessity for some authority to compel the companies hour before; and had this accident happened to to put the lines in due order, when found my train, not a passenger could have escaped destruction, in case the carriages had been thrown to be dangerous for the public safety. over. I am not acquainted with engineering He (the Earl of Malmesbury) alluded to matters, but I could see quite enough to convince the evidence given by Captain Wynne, me that some powerful body should interfere the Government Inspector of Railways, with the railway company for the protection of who was last Saturday examined on the travellers, and I at once wrote to the Railway Department of the Board of Trade, stating the inquest held upon the bodies of the perfacts as I have detailed them to your Lordship, sons killed by the accident on the Man, chester and Bolton line, when five persons were killed, and twelve mutilated or severely injured. Why did the accident happen? Comparing the evidence of one witness with another, it would appear that the train must have been going at the rate of forty or fifty miles an hour, and that was as much as could be collected from the witnesses; but he wished to call attention to the evidence of Captain Wynne: the timber bending and the chair rocking, produced a very compound or complicated and uneasy motion to a passing train. It would give considerable motion to a train. I found the keys required very generally renewing; the worms were worn off the screws which secured the chairs to the sleepers, and in other instances the nut into which the screw should work at the bottom of the sleepers would not hold. Underneath the chair required repacking with other pieces of timber, to give it a firm bed. I should say 75 per cent of chairs were deficient of strength, either from bad screws, keys, or nuts; and several parts "I attend here at the request of the Board of deal of motion, I had the line, or the ballast of the line where I found the timbers with a good Trade. I have gone over the line from about a mile east of the Clifton Junction (Agecroft Hall), chair screwed down, and, where the nut was opened, beaten up underneath the sleeper, the and walked to Bolton, closely examining the line deficient, replaced with another, a fresh key put throughout. On this length of line there are several descriptions of permanent way laid. With of the evil, but not an entire improvement. I in, and I found this caused a great amelioration the exception of one, they are all of modern construction, and quite suitable to the traffic. It will, abundant. There was, therefore, no excuse from found the ballast throughout the line good and therefore, be necessary for me only to describe the state of the weather, in allowing the line to one description of permanent way I think excep- become so deteriorated. In some lines, where tionable. I find this part is laid on longitudinal the ballast is bad, or consists of mud, to open it sleepers. The timber has been down 14 or 15 in bad weather would not improve the line, or it years. The rails they carry are the second set of might make matters worse; but such was not the rails, which have been down, I find, about six case here. I would conclude by saying, the line years. They are of old pattern, but of adequate is quite inadequate, and not of sufficient strength strength, and 70lb. to the yard. The great object for the traffic; dangerous for trains at high speed, to be attained in a line of this description is, that or for trains at 30 miles per hour." the sleeper shall have a solid bed. The construction of this part is such that that object is not Captain Wynne proceeded to make stateattained, or only partially so. The timbers restments which would not reassure the pubupon cross-sleepers, every nine feet apart, which are dovetailed into the bottom of the longitudinal timbers. When this line was originally laid down it was never contemplated that the traffic would be so great, or locomotives be so heavy. In consequence of this being the second line of rails the timbers carry, in taking off one and putting down another set of rails the timber has been so wounded and shaken, added to the long time it has been exposed to the atmosphere, that I have no doubt its bearing strength is impaired fully one-half. Therefore, although it has to carry a greater traffic and greater weight, its strength is greatly impaired. The jury will understand that, with a long piece of timber, a heavy train will bend them between the points of support unless the ballast was well beaten up under them, which was not the case here. In consequence of the nature of the road, it is one very difficult to maintain properly. On the upper surface of the rail I find that the rail has buried itself in the sleeper to the depth of the flange. The rail is secured to the sleepers at the joints by a chair, fastened down by bolts screwed into the timber, and intermediate between those points the rail is fastened down by spikes. From the weakness of the timbers there is great working in the joints, and the chairs have buried themselves very much and eaten a way into the timber. I found the rails work very much in the chairs, and the chairs work very much on the timbers. I would observe that the timbers present a more unsound appear ance than they really have. I tried in several of the worst-looking places, by placing a pinch-bar under the rails, if I could lever it up and start the spikes, but I found that their hold was firm. The point to which I attach the greater security is the chair; for you perceive the compound motion of lic: : "I think the part of the line I was describing is unfit for twenty-five miles an hour. I think twenty miles an hour might be safe. I should like to make one observation-I do not think this is an extremely bad line, as an exceptional case. Captain Wynne added— I regret to say that there are a great number of lines in the kingdom, where very high speeds are maintained, of which this line is only a type." Then came the servants of the company, one of whom said— "I have asked Hughes and Garnett for materials, and have been threateued to be discharged. Those threats were, if I applied for bolts, keys, and chair-packings." The very things which Captain Wynne thought were wanted : "I certainly consider the rails required those things. The foundation is clay in many places, and very bad, having very little ballast under the sleepers. I never mentioned this to Mr. Izzard, always wishing to wrap things up and make the best of them. I attended on the previous day of the inquest." The witness concluded by saying that he should probably get discharged for saying what he had. He (the Earl of Malmesbury) could have gone much further, but would not trespass on their Lordships' | ought not to seek to give themselves time, except as regarded this case; but greater power than they now possessed. he thought he had shown on the best pos- Indeed they now appeared to possess really sible evidence that of the company's ser- none at all useful to the public; and he vants and the Government Inspector- was certain that they would be supported that one, at least, of those accidents was by public opinion in demanding such power to be attributed to the state of the road, as would enable them, upon proper investithe state of the road being such as not to gation, to compel the companies to do admit the rate of speed at which the train what was proper with a view to a just was travelling. If their Lordships agreed regard for the public safety. When he with him (the Earl of Malmesbury) in think- had referred to the subject on a former ing that it was necessary that there should occasion, he was sorry to say that he saw be some superintending power to look over no prospect of the Government moving in the state of the railways, and secure a the matter. due regard for the public safety, there was nothing in the proposition-that there should be some superintending power to overlook the state of the roads, and make the public secure of having them kept in an efficient state for travelling on-at all unreasonable, or partaking of the character of undue interference. He was asking for nothing but that which all English subjects were already liable to in cases analogous. In demanding that railways should be visited and reported upon by Government officers, and that if the lines were found unsafe, the companies should be compelled to repair them, he was only demanding what now was the law in respect to all common public highways. Every county or liberty was bound to repair its roads; and if a road were in an unsafe state, the county or liberty could be compelled to repair it by an order of magistrates, upon the report of the surveyor of highways. It was impossible, therefore, to maintain that in his proposition he in the least infringed upon the proper freedom of the railway companies, which he admitted they ought to exercise so far as was consistent with the safety and security of the public. In addition to the appointment of some central authority and some inspecting power, he should also suggest that the maximum rate of speed which was consistent with safety should be ascertained, and that beyond that maximum of speed the trains should not be allowed to run; and, thirdly, he should recommend that a minimum time should be declared within which interval no trains should be allowed to start. Instances had arisen last year of trains (especially "excursion trains") running within five minutes of each other, to which cause several accidents could be ascribed. He conceived it was the duty of the Government to consider whether, upon these points, they He had been told of a Committee of the House of Commons, to which the subject of railways had been referred. Now he had a great respect for the House of Commons and its Committees, and for the persons who were delegated by that House to sit on their Committees; but he knew from experience that subjects were given to Committees for investigation, which subjects had frequently never emerged again; indeed, he knew no surer way of shelving a subject than referring it to a Select Committee of either House of Parliament. He should himself prefer a Commission from the Crown to examine persons unconnected with railway companiespersons of scientific attainments and practical experience-from whose evidence it could be ascertained what was the maximum rate of speed and the minimum for the interval of starting different trains, and how far Government officers, following out the analogy of common roads and bridges, might interfere to compel railway companies to have their roads and rolling stock in proper condition. That commission might receive suggestions and also communications relating to new inventions for the improvement of carriages and the mcchanical part of railway work. Of those, nine out of ten, or ninety-nine out of one hundred, might be worthless; but if a commission were appointed to do what no commission had ever yet done, to examine those inventions, they would select from them, or discover among them, some good ones, which would tend to increase the safety of travelling, and which might afterwards be recommended to the railway companies for adoption. He could see no objection to the inspection he now suggested, because there already existed inspection in regard to seamen, emigration, and the like. It would appear, indeed, as if an exception were to be made in the case of railways. He did not want an exception made in |