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THE RAILWAY MASSACRE AT HELMSHOKE.
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EXAMINATIONS AND FAILUEES. tho first
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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WE are . again .. startled this week by one of those gigantic railway collisions now unhappily so common . Accidents we can not call them , inasmuch as the cause is generally traceable to o-ross ne ° -ii <* ence and want of common presence of mind on the part of the railway officials , when the greatest care and forethought is required . Had the officials of the East Lancashire Railway on Tuesday morning been " good men and true , " no such deplorable event as that we now proceed to detail could possibly have occurred . On Monday afternoon , from 3 , 500 to 3 , 000 persons were conveyed from Colne , Blackburne , Burnley , Church Acerington , Haslington * Helmshore , and Ramsbottom to Manchester , to witness some fete or wake at the Belle-vui ? Gardens . These trains ( for there wej-e three ) the Manchester Guardianstates , were composed of some old yellow Chester and Birkenhead carriages , and are lig htly constructed for excursion traflwxiie
that line , and not at all adapted for heavy . three trains started on the return journey ^ jlrom the Now ** l » ey Station at Manchester , between eleven and half-past eleven on Monday evening ; the first train reached its destination in safety , the second train , with some thirty odd carriages , containing about 1000 passengers * reached Helsushpre Station at 13 . 45 a , in ., oi Tuesday . Up to this time , all was right . It xs said , although wo scout the idea , that after tho train had stopped , and at its starting again , the breaks wei * 5 taken ott an * that the expansion of the buffers caused the connecting chains or links to snap asunder , and this was immediately followed by the side or preventor chains also giving way , The Helmshoro . ( station is on an incline , stated to vary from 1 in 42 to I in 78 j Jown this incline , towards Manchester , weut the detached portion ot the train , some 14 or 16 carriages , with 600 passengers ; at first they moved but slowly , and at no time more than at a brisk walking-pace . OnA o-uard ran to the movinff mass , and put on his break . There
wa $ another break , but no guard to put it on , he being engage * attending to % \\ o passengers who had previously alighted 5 after running down tho incline 400 yards , the detached carriages-wiet tho third excursion train running up the incline at the rate 15 miles an hour , tho " collision was , terrific . The engine and three carriages cominffling in one mass of splinters of carriages and mangled human beings . While this little backsliding journey of 400 yards was taking place , and previous to the collision , we learn thut a Mr . Shaw , a traffic superintendent of the line , who was riding in the front or non-dctaohefl portion of the train , got out , and mounting the engine , crossed to the other line and steamed oft towwaa the advancing train in hopes of ( stopping it , but was too Jfttoythe . xniaresult 01 tms
ohiof being done Wore he got to tho spot , w » e au splendid exhibition of carolessness was 10 jf not 11 killed , 23 broken legs , and Home < L 6 others more or less seriously injured . _ Tflow , we candidly ask tho directors of the East Lancashire Railway , can all this 1 > e jitstijiod ? First of all , in tho . face of , such a lesson as was road to all railway officials by tf » o accident tyro years ago at Round , Oak , between Wolverhampton aud Worcester , all tho
circumstances of which are so like this affair , Excepting the carnage ( which is now much greater ) , that one is almost led to fancy the Round-Oak tragedy- 'was only a rehearsal of this tie great massacre of all . - . , ¦ ¦ ; Reviewing , ihe whole of the details of this affair . at Helmshore we are led to enquire whether the driver did not start his engine with a violent tug , as engine drivers are very apt to do , particularly if out of temper from a late journey , or after hours . We know , from personal observation , that engine men have their tempers , and and whirl the
do show off their airsy and put on full steam driving wheels round , and bang , bang , snap , snap , goes the train , and chain after chain undergoing a Severe test . The proper , way to start a long heavy train is gently at first , and after all is in motion then to put on the steam and go a-head . Again , after the occurrence had taken place , why did not Mr . Shaw , or the Helmshore Station-master , order some scotches or sprags under the wheels of the slowly moving train ; these would , if judiciously applied , have stopped the train at the expense of only a little jolting to the passengers ; again , if Mr . Shaw could find time to disengage the engine from its tram , go
through the operation of shunting to the up-hne and run a little way , and as is stated knocking down some of the escaped passengers , query , could he not have gone with his engine after the runaway on the same line , and hooked on again ; for at a walking pace ¦ anything can be done on a railway by properly trained railway men . There is a-regulation of the Board of Trade , that railway companies shall erect , and maintain two distance s ' grials ab each station . The signals being placed 500 yards from the station , one on the up , and the other on the down line ; and the railway regulations generally 2 > rohibit drivers from passing these distance signals where a red lamp ought to be when another train is in the station ; the object being to keep all trains outside the station over _ & 00 yards , so as to prevent a train being overtaken at a platform . .. - Now this train only ran back 4 OQ yards , consequently 100 yardsr withm a distance signal the collision took place , whereas if the third train
had stopped at the 500 yards' signal , the only collision ( it one at -all ) , would have been the runaway carriages with a momentum pf only a run of only 500 yards running into a standing engine , probably resulting in nothing more than a- severe shaking of the passengers . It maybe said there were no such distance signals . Then , we ^ ask , why are there not , and why does-not the Board of Trade enforce their , adoption ? ' ,, ... , . , Another-query is , why were the guards away from the tram , and why was one assisting passengers to alight from a train after the train , had been started ? Why were these trams allowed to run so close after each other ? Why does the Board of Trade allow this ? Why weretherethree break carriages and only two guards ? orwhy wa « - « 4 Mr Shaw himself on the platform superintending the
movements and seeing all were doing theirduty ^ insteadot his being in the carriages ? Why are not the side chains enabled to hold the train together , even if the patent screw connections do give way J These side chains are also called preventers ; what do they . prevent P or of what service are they if they do not perform this service P The patent screw connections are made of various weights ; fluentl y the heaviest are the strongest . Why do not the Board of Trade enforce the use of those of sufficient tested- strength and whv not test these chains and be as particular about their quality , as the Adimralty is over Trotman ' s . anchors and the chain cables , of her Majesty s navv ? Surely 3 , 000 excursionists deserve as great ; protection from the Government as 300 or 400 souls on board ™ Mst India ? h , p We hope the Government inspector , coroner , and jury will not fail to sift this catastrophe to the bottom , and that the conclusion wiU be nSro to the public satisfaction than that of tho Round Oak acexdent . two years since . ____ ,
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rf ^ HEEE are , nowadays , many kind ? pt . ursu , ana r ^ ou I for the latter . A report in one of the daily papers , a week or two back , tinder the head of * ' Woolwich Examinations , » and giving a somewhat unfavourable account of the general result of the last oAK may make a few remarks not unseasonable . There . wore at least half-a-dozen heads of study , on all of which the reports of Z examiners were not very creditable to the , establishment tUexamtners were , evidentlyf most thoroug h ^ dissatisfied with tainmentThis Mial ht to
thTg n : als tandard at . y oug notj be tlio oaso now , when tho minds of the whole youth of the nation marbeVad to be sot on making adequate preparation for these p ™ oL We believe that there may bo special reasons why Woolwich , though generally , 'it must bo confessed , greatly improved may not show tj . the higheat advantage on , such "Sons The fact is , that tho youth of that establis hment have been very much in ' the practice of regulating theu ^ tandard more bv their notions than by their powora or duties , and of makiL i dead sot against thPso of Wr , own number who would befaB they » re pleased to think , industrial - overmuch . Mnrno time asro a flaunt instanoo of this was mentioned to us £ ™ ££ tJ 5 E ? ' Si . Tunolo of one of tho students .: tho . boy entered
_ above . alluded to , who , »> y-tl ^ byo » mm ll l ^ ' ^ J both uis very dnxloua for hi * nephew ' s " ^"" A ^ J ^ X wliolo vacation talent and Muatry . . ^^^ ^ l ^ T ^ po « uftda & & co iXtX ^ £ &t ** ^ tart degree con-
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Sept . 8 , I 860 . ] The Saturday Analyst and Leader . 78 o
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This is by no means a question of humanity . The ^ only other mode of punishment foi murder- ^ -th at of ¦• solitary confinement for life ^_ is fai- less humane than the gallows . The rope is positive mercy , since the culprit who confesses his crime and expresses himself penitent , is assured that the steps of the . scaffold ¦ -are the gateway of heaven . The solitary dungeon , on the other hand , is the most unrelentine : venffeance . It is torture ,, degradation , infamy . How different
would have been the impression left upon the minds of tJie lawless mob who surrounded the gallows on Tuesday , if , instead of ¦ witnessing the execution of the murderer , 'they had been told that the criminal had been removed to some dungeon , there to live out his life in darkness and in solitude . Were such the punishment for the crime of murder , there would he no idea of heroism in connection with the culprit ; there would be no hope , of distinction by attracting thousands to the foot of tlie gallows ; no opportunity of exciting -sj : mpathy or admiration by ' * dying game .
The revelations of the police courts afford constant evidence of the demoralising influence of executions , and of the . emulation excited by the deeds of notorious criminals . How often do we hear of wives threatening husbands and husbands threatening wives in language something like Ihis— " I'll serve you as Paljiek served Cooke , " or " I'll do for you as Manning did for O'Connor , " or " I'll swing for you one of these days . " Here , it will be observed , the crime is contemplated not alone as an act of vengeance , but also as a means of attaining notoriety . In the eyes of the criminal class—the class that makes crime a profession—a public execution can have little terror . They know that detection does not always follow guilt . They have a chance of escape , and if the worst comes to the worst they will have the satisfaction of being talked about , prepared for heaven , and launched into eternity in the presence of sonie thousands of spectators .
to Ministers of State , and even to the Crown itself . Is ^ there nothing for morbid , untutoured minds to envy in such notoriety ? We see on every occasion how little impression is made on the mob by an execution—how-little impression for good . . May we . ; no . t , if we inquire , as ' readily discover what is tie impression foi' evil . The highest thought called forth in the bosom of that multitude by the spectacle of the murderer ' s expiation is , "May I die as ganie as he . " There is no horror expressed * by this reckless mob ; no hope whispered that they may never be led to commit such a crime ; there is not even to be discovered a symptom of p ityeither for the criminal or his victims . It is a spectacle which moves the heart only to harden it .
The Railway Massacre At Helmshoke.
THE RAILWAY MASSACRE AT HELMSHOKE .
Examinations And Failuees. Tho First
tno EXAMINATIONS AND FAILURES .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 8, 1860, page 783, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2364/page/7/
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