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ligtrfcened ^ tyimrals-have smd ^ veryl ^ le- ^ froirt thVcholera , bejfbnd the expression of their profound faith in Sir Benjamin Hall , and have talked incessantly , and with revolution-. — + « --rnous . odious , ary Tenemenee , aooux ; tut » " ««— -- » --,-.-criminal , and stupid , management or rmi-™ It ' u > as a "bad accident at Croydon . ^ Xke
driver of a train , being in a temporary state ; of unaccountable imbecility , decline ^ to notice certain signals winch-warned bun , to slacken his speed , and he accordingl y rushed into another train . That reads very criminal or very stupid , or both : and . the coroner ' s jury is perfectly logical in bringing in a verdicb of manslaughter against * Hobert Simpson , the said driver . But b . ow is this sort of accident
to beprevented 2 It occurs on tlie very line referred to by the Board of Trade , in its recent circular , as the model line , for the imitation of other railway companies . If the Soiith-iEasteril' s systeiii of telegraphing a train Icoa station to station , as each station is { passed ^ had . been rigidlyobservedin this instance , and if statiori A M&r 0 mever passed "by a train turiil all ^ as clear up to station B , such , an accident as that at Croydon , could not happen . Xet , _ practicatiy , such a system cannot always wprk ; andinthis case , negligence in th ^ t respect cannot he sai d to have pccasibned
the disaster . If Robert Simpson had observed ; the signals , the accident ^ wotild ript have happened . Common sense should therefoie suggest io the public , and to the journalists , tha ^ b the most perfect machinery may sometiines get wrong , and that it is as illogicial to denounce railway companies for an accident- such as this , as it would be to denottnce the decalogue , because Jones oeeasionaUy murders his wife . We allow for all sorts of accidents in the ordinary , social , moral , physical , and civil organisation of life . Why not for accidents on railways ?
The accident at Oroydon will cost the Soutn-Eastein Gompany 20 , 000 / . ! Can . we not place some reliance upon the inducements of a fact suoh as this to caution arid con ^ scientiousness in railway management ? Railway directors ' -are certainly not infallible ; even enlightened journalists are occasionally foolish : but as a large extract from the practical talent of this pre-eminently practical country is engaged in the organisation of
railways , it is very fair to presume that the general management of our iron roads is , on the whole , nearby as joerfected as human management can contrive to be . When an accident , such as that at Croydon , unhappily occurs ( costing the Brighton Company about asjmuch as it will cost the South-Eastern Company ) , public criticism is perfectly proper ; cut reckless abuse of the directors by the newspapers is not only unjust but rather absurd .
( At . the same time , in offering these deprecations , it would be as absurd not to , urge upon our railway officials the necessity of observing ¦ what is clearly their duty , namely , to develop to the utmost minutiae preventive phnis—r such as the last proposed by the Board of Trade—which , though they cannot guarantee the public against an accident , can at least diminish in detail the chances of fatalitiesand certainl y can suffice to answer , on proper occasions , the twaddle of enlightened
iourjialists . TJhe accident at Croydon should , not in the least induce any inattention to the advice of the Board of Trade with respect to the greater use between stations of the electric telegraph . This system , which in general results has succeeded so admirably , o » tho South-Eastera line , is one which all tho other jlinea , should possess . It is only an additional £ y < stem of signals . It cannot dispense with ^ is ^ ing , systems pf signals ; but it will perfect every system . It was Mr . Jamea Mac-£ regor who first instituted this plan on the
South-Astern ; and-fHe - a ' ^ fS ^ TfT { ^ pressed at the time " -f ^ akon ° ! S ^ magnates can leav Jf \ f * f <* Railway as well as tV ^ &o doubt that , practically security w ' ¦• s ^ etieally , it is about the best • / «*» cn railway * companies can have i ? r ' ^^ ts , costing 20 , 000 Z ., and which JJ O public ' can obtain against loss of life in sueii accidental
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TSg , INDIAN PRAYER FOR THE ENGLISH ARMS . Makt questions are suggested by the religious observance in Bombay on Sunday , the 16 th of July—observed as a day of humiliation and prayer for the success of the British arms in . the East . It was observed also by the Hindoos , and the Parsees ; the Mussulmans alone holding back . The mode in which the Hindoos perform their ceremonies—^ the worship of idols , the ringing of pagoda bells , and other forms , might , on almosfc any other occasion , raise a smile . The notion that Xiord Raglan , and Iris companions in the Bast will derive some assistance from lighting a fire , called tlie < Jwiii , at Mtimhadavie , pr the ringing hells with peculiar lotidhess , is abstractedly ; laughable . But such incidents only remind us of a truth which may be predicated of almost any established persuasion , that its forms and dogmas are behind its spirit . The spirit is constantly fed by the growing intelligence of the people ; while the forms degenerate into a trade , if not something which
is below commerce , as a means of extorting petty plunder . In the main / however , the Hindoos understand the nature of the case , and their appeal is intelligent . Tbvsy have , fro * in experience , and especially . ¦ from recent experience , a conception that upon the whole the English , are a just people : they find that a stop is put to in . valuable works by the diversion of public attention to war : they hold such neglect of improvement to be an injury to the supreme Ishwar , and they invite their Lord to be " the pointer pfrfche good faith . "
The Parsees have been singular in the history of religion , for the general purity of their doctrine , the emblematical character of their forins , and the persecution they have endured as idolaters at a period when they deserved that reproach less than any other people upon , earth . Their priests on this occasion used a prayer in their vernacular , and not in their sacred language , to the Supreme Being , which might indeed be adopted word for word by the Archbishop of Canterbury ,
or by the Great Rabbi of the Jews . Now these joeople in the main understand the justice ot th © case , and the purport of their prayer is exactly that in which tlie Christian English people of tho Protestant faith , and the Jfrench people of tho Rpinan Catholic faith , must concur . Very different is tlie condition of these races , oven whore they met uppn the common ground of India j yet their motive and , in -the main , their addross are as one . It needs npt be said that the Supremo Power , to whom their address is directed must , whatever the diversity of the language in which the worshippers speak ,
abo be one . The several races address him according to their intelligence ; but the heart feeling is tho same , the worship ia jn tho samo spirit . The justice of tho case is one . What human , presumption could venture to as « ert that the prayer of the Inunblest nnd moat iguornuli amongst these aspirations is nioro fatally mingled with human error i ^ luxn tho prayer pf tho highest ; what human arrogance could assume that , tho prayer ol one race or persuasion will be rojectod for defect in . form , while tho others will be accepted ? T'fje Mussulmans stood aloof ; they cannot
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stolen or str , axed- an angel of . ; . ¦ ¦ . ; ' : ¦ . . ¦ ¦ .. peace . ¦ . ¦ ¦ , / , ¦ ¦ ,. ¦ , Dj > Ait IVIiss Bremer- ^ -rhovv sweetly she comes forth to protest against that horrid war I It is really " quite i * efreshing , " as they say ,. when women enter into politics . They handle the subject with so inuch grace and gentleness , that it matters little whether it is a cannon or a teacup ; It is so cheering ^ tooj after struggling for vears , for a life , or for
many lives in one ^ against the stei'ii laws of necessity , to sese those laws set aside at a word ; for woman never loses the power of over-riding the laws ' - of necessity . However man feels the pressure of that tyrannical rule , woman repeals . it by the simple question , ¦ ' / Why don't yp , u ? " do the exact oppor site to tliat which you find impossible or improper 1 Of course the arrival of Miss Bremer on
the battle-field reverses the previous state of things . All before was wickedness and folly j now it is grace and wisdom . "With the humanity- that adorns loveliness , iFrederika Brerner , the " lady Superintendent" of the Ladies' Association , that is to compass the globe in its fair arms—so she proposes—intimates that she is amongst the " humblest " of women ; but yet how exalted the position that she takes by a right , which , of course ,. we all concede to her ! On the one
side there are " the Western Powers arming , themselves against those of the East . " It is , indeed , a painful fact for public writers who have to deal with realities , that the Powors of the W . Q&t do not happen to have armed themselves against the Powers of the East , but against the N " orth . However , what are geographical distinctions or the points of the compass to the Lady Superintendent pf the Ladies ' Association who takes the earth in horarms ? IVpni the manner of her describing the commencement a quarrel in which " the Powors
of the "West arm themselves against the Powers of the East , " tho poor lady evidently has some idea that England and JBYance are invading Turkey ; a notion . suggested by Nicholas ' s own complaint that ow »* troops had entered Turkey . But Misa Bremer must be allowed to treat things in her own way . Those lxateful Powers , then , are " entering into a struggle" which in Miss Bromer ' s evos is " like a largo bleeding wound ; " so that the horrible monsters , the Powers of tho West , not only cut open a wound , but march into it ! There is a rescue . Miss Bremor
propoaoa that tho ladies of all the Christian countries , whom sho assumes to bo already united , should associate on tho principle that " < lrpps of water united form tho pcean , atoms ujiite the universe . " . Now wo
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reconcile themselves to British supremacy in India , for tlxey claim a , fulfilment of the grant to them of the heritage " wherever the datetree gi'ows . " A selfish grudging , the natural sulkiness of the lost power , makes them hold back , and positively take part with the " Orfcliodox Greek Christian" enemy against the reiguing head of the Church of Islam ! But bow is it that the races of India are brought to this harmony with the Christian Powers of the West ? " is it not because recently , in Lowever small a degree , the British Grovea'n .-
ment in ludia has bestowed itself to do ^ astice , to benefit tlie native races , to encourage the development of intelligence amongst them ,, "to guide their leading men into the civilisation of Europe P Thus they have been practically converted to the spirit of Christianity , though they could render very little account of the dogmatic grace which they have imbibed , prevenient or subvenient . The lesson for us is— -to secure Indian prayers for all our undertakings by securing still further and better " good government '* to India .
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§^ THE LEA DER , [ Saturday ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 2, 1854, page 826, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2054/page/10/
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