position to subordinate the States into a provincial relation to the central authority, should characterise all our exercise of the respective powers temporarily vested in us as a sacred trust from the generous confidence of our consti

tuents.

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In like manner, as a manifestly indispensable condition of the perpetuation of our Union, and of the realisation of that magnificent national future alluded to, does the duty become yearly stronger and clearer upon us, as citizens of the several States, to cultivate a fraternal and affectionate spirit, language, and conduct in regard to other States, and in relation to the varied interests, institutions, and habits of sentiment and opinion which may respectively characterise them. Mutual forbearance, respect, and non-interference in our personal action as citizens, and an enlarged

exercise of the most liberal principles of comity in the public dealing of State with State, whether in legislation or the execution of laws, are the means to perpetuate that confidence and fraternity, the decay of which a mere political union on so vast a scale could not long survive.

Conclusion.-"Entertaining unlimited confidence in your intelligent and patriotic devotion to the public interest, and being conscious of no motives on my part which are not inseparable from the honour and advancement of my country, I hope it may be my privilege to deserve and secure, not only your cordial co-operation in great public measures, but also those relations of mutual confidence and regard which it is always so desirable to cultivate between members of co-ordinate branches of the Government.

"FRANKLIN PIERCE."

sent a message inquiring whether he might dispatch a coal-train : the Oxford station-master replied that he might. A passenger-train was to leave Oxford at 5.30; the guard and driver were warned not to move till they received instructions, as this coal-train was expected. At 5.30 the London train was made up. It consisted of an engine and tender, three carriages, and a break-van, with Joseph Kinch as guard in charge. There were 21 passengers booked by the train, most of them of the poorer class. Having given directions to Kinch not to start until the coal-train had come in, the station-master went into his of fice. A ballast-train came in from Wolvercot Tunnel, and entered a siding; it bore a white light, whereas coal-trains always carry a green light; yet the guard appears to have mistaken it for the coaltrain, and, without waiting for orders from the station-master, signalled the driver to start. The station-master and the locomotive foreman rushed out to stop the train, but all they could do was to alarm the guard; he applied the break, but failed to attract the attention of the driver. The policeman on duty at the auxiliary signal, about 200 yards out of the station, aware of the danger, exhibited his red signal as it approached. Owing to the steam in which the engine was enveloped, the driver appears not to have seen the red light until he got very close to the signal-post. He then sounded his whistle twice; but, instead of keeping the dangersignal on, the policeman shut the red off and turned on greensignifying caution only. This probably reassured the driver, for he increased the speed of his train

immediately afterwards. The railway, after leaving the station, runs parallel for some considerable distance with the Oxford and Rugby line; from which it is separated only by a ditch, about 20 feet wide, generally full of water. Both lines intersect a large tract of common land, known as Port Meadow; at this time, owing to the floods, covered with water to a depth of 2 or 3 feet. The uptrain had not traversed this meadow, and had scarcely got a mile from the station, when it came into violent collision with the coal-train, proceeding in the opposite direction. The consequences were of the most awful character. The engine of the passenger-train was turned completely round, and thrown into the water-ditch in a frightfully shattered state. The first engine attached to the coaltrain fell upon it, the wheels of each being transfixed; the second engine rushed upon the wreck, and the shattered machinery formed a pile overtopping the telegraph wires. To add to the horror of the scene, the fire of the engines ignited the woodwork of the carriages. The third-class and second-class carriages were completely broken up, scarcely two boards remaining attached; and the passengers were scattered about the line in every direction. Of the six drivers and stokers five were killed, having sustained dreadful fractures. The sixth, Kinch, the author of the catastrophe, escaped death, but was much injured.

Of the passen

gers, one man was thrown under the ruins, and before his body could be extricated the upper half of his frame was burnt to a cinder. A young woman was thrown in the water, and in some extraordi

nary manner became imbedded under the boiler of the passengerengine she was only discovered by her legs appearing above the water, and it was 6 o'clock next morning before her body was extricated. Another, whose arm was broken and his body much crushed, died, after undergoing amputation. Of the 21 passengers, scarcely one escaped severe injury. A woman was terribly crushed about the chest, her breast bone being broken; a man suffered fractures of his knee and thighs; another had four ribs broken; others were cut and bruised, and endured dreadful agonies from burns.

A lengthened inquiry took place into the causes of the disaster, which resulted in a verdict of "Manslaughter" against Kinch, the guard, who was indicted on that charge; but the grand jury threw out the bill.

3. BLOWING UP A CHIMNEY.The extraordinary height and dimensions of the chimney-shaft of Messrs. Muspratt's chemical works near Warrington have long excited the wonder of travellers on the North-Western Railway. It was 406 feet high, 46 feet diameter at the base, 17 feet diameter at the summit, contained 3,500,000 bricks, 3500 tons in weight. Only one chimney-shaft in the kingdom exceeded it in height, namely, that of the chemical works of Mr. Tennant, near Glasgow, which was 20 feet higher. The ground occupied by Messrs. Muspratt's works being required for railway purposes, it was thought the cheapest mode to destroy their shaft by gunpowder. A number of holes were delved round the base, and 14 charges of gunpowder were inserted. Nine charges ex

ploded without any apparent damage being done to the stability of the shaft; but the report of the tenth had no sooner been heard than the chimney was rent from top to bottom, and the huge fabric fell, crumbling away gradually from the base upwards. The whole of the column fell nearly within the circumference of its own base. A dense cloud of lime dust hid the ruins for a few seconds; but when it cleared away the 3,500,000 bricks were perceived in the shape of a huge mound.

VIEW OF APSLEY HOUSE. The praiseworthy interest taken by the people in the private life of the late Duke of Wellington has been highly gratified by a liberal admission to view his residence, readily accorded by his son.

The well-known pile at Hyde Park Corner is, it is believed, an old red-brick mansion, altered and stuccoed to suit modern taste; and presents nothing of interest in its exterior or its internal arrangements. Such as it is; however, it surpasses the most princely residences of London in interest. His house, his pictures, his furniture; the hall in which his crowning victory was annually commemorated, the library in which he transacted his business, the bedroom in which he slept, are objects of no ordinary interest or impertinent curiosity.

The rooms to which the public were admitted were 10 in number, and are by no means remarkable for their proportions, or for the magnificence of their decorations. The picture gallery, which is the largest of them, has nothing striking about it apart from the merits of the paintings themselves and the appearance of some magnificent