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Leader (1850-1860), 31st May 1851, Edition Town of 1, Page 507, Untitled Article

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      THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION . The reduction in the price of admission to Is ., ¦ which commenced on Monday , was not attended with such a rush of visitors as had been apprehended . The first day of low prices was actually the dullest day that had been from the commencement . On Tuesday there was a considerable improvement , and the numbers have rapidly increased since then . The total number who paid Is . each on Wednesday was 37 , 184 . On Thursday the numbers were 54 , 667 The progressive increase in the sale of the Catalogues is a sure proof of the determination of this class of visitors to pay good attention to the contents of the Crystal Palace . As compared with the sale of the Catalogue on the five-shilling days , the sale of Wednesday and Tuesday exceeded the former by 1500 and 1300 each .

      More persons attended the Crystal Palace last Saturday than on any day since the opening . The doors , an usual , were opened at twelve o ' clock , and b y an hour before that time an immense and continually increasing crowd besieged the various entrances . For an hour after the opening of the six-and-twenty doors by which visitors are admitted the public flocked in , and by two o ' clock the interior of the building was one moving mass . At the close of the day £ 6072 had been received at the doors , which , at 5 s . each person , gives 20 , 291 visitors , besides those who purchased season tickets or already held them . The day was very hot , and altogether such a one as must realise or condemn the fears which have been so loudly expressed for the comfort of locomotion under a glass roof on a summer ' s day . But notwithstanding the great heat out of doors , the temperature in the building never rose above 65 deg . F .

      The Mayor of Southampton is about to give his workmen—between 100 and 200 in number—two days , as holidays , on which to visit the Exhibition . He has also been successful in his appeal to the railway company , requesting them to take the men and women belonging to the Conveyance Club to London in closed carriages , at a very moderate charge , and to allow them to return by the ordinary train at any time within a week or ten days . An enterprising mariner at Hull has fitted out a dapper little smack , which , is to sail shortly from that port to London with passengers for the Exhibition . The craft will be moored in the Thames , and serve as a boarding house for the passengers as long as she remains there . She is to make several trips during the summer .

      The clerks and surveyors in each of the departments of the Liverpool public bodies have been allowed a week ' s leave of absence , and presented with a sovereign , to enable them to visit the Exhibition . Despite the vigilance of the police constables employed to protect the treasures of the Crystal Palace , several robberies of minor articles have already been effected by the ingenuity of certain well-dressed London thieves , who have made their way in some respectable guise into the Great Exhibition . In one , however , an amateur distinguished himself , in the shape of a person occupying a decent position in society , who was detected in helping himself to no small quantity of the finest foreign tobacco from the sample casks opened for exhibition . He was much confused and alarmed at the discovery , but the authorities , at the suggestion of the parties despoiled ,

      preferred taking the milder view of its being a fraud on the revenue , and the " respectable" culprit was discharged , much to his own delight , on payment of five pounds to the accident fund of the workmen—which sum he disbursed with many expressions of contrition and gratitude . Much apprehension is entertained by the attendants at the foreign counters , where valuable articles of bijouterie are displayed , in regard to the anticipated rush of the mixed classes ^ of the London population , at the low prices of the present week—and a suggestion made that some of these articles should be withdrawn or cohered over on " the shilling days ; " but , on consideration , this notion has been overruled , nnd the whole wealth of the World ' s Fair will remain for the gratification of the millions who , we have no doubt , will amply justify the confidence placed in them .

      To the astonishment of almost everybody , notwithstanding the fall of price to Is ., the interior of the Crystal Palace was not so much crowded on Monday as uBual . A great crush was anticipated , and the consequence was that a comparatively small number came . Up to five o ' clock only 21 , 258 persons entered the building , and the receipts at the doors fell to £ 920 . This , with the sale of season tickets , made a total of £ 960—an immense decline from the amount collected on Saturday . The visitors appeared chiefly to belong to the middle class of society , and few fustian jackets were observed among them . They did not confine themselves to the nave , but were well spread over the interior , and all seemed intent on making good une of their time , and studying carefully the departments which most interested them . By a judicious arrangement the Bents which had previously been

      distributed in the iiave and transept were removed to the . nore retired nnd lens attractive parts . It id not now probable that there will be any very great , rush of people to Hyde park till the 1 st of June , when the summer excursion trains begin to run . The only other novelty connected with Momltiy ' s experience at the Exhibition worth mentioning is the capture of three pickpockets , two women and one man , who made a sad mist ake in going there to exercise their vocation . The women were . detected by two Belgian policemen , and from their dialect were evidently provincial thieves . One stated that she was from Edinburgh , and spoke undoubted broad Scotch . The other said she came from Cork , but her accent in not Hibernian . The male thief in a Frenchman , and has b . en " in trouble" before . He was admirably got up for the occasion , with u new hat und eoat , an unexceptionable white waistcoat , and patent lo « th « r boots . The

      uninitiated would have set him down as a fashionable foreigner come to look at the mob in s philosophic spirit of observation , but a detective with an urfortunately tenacious memory for faces recognized him as he passed through the entrance , and he was followed , observed actively engaged in the mysteries of his profession , and at once removed from the scene of temptation into which he had intruded . " What time did the magistrate give you before ? " said Superintendent Pearce to him at the

      station . " Six weeks , " was the reply ef the swell mob ' sman , who appeared to consider himself the most injured and unlucky of mortals . The unfavourable state of the weather on Monday had , no doubt , some influence upon the influx of visitors , who for the most part must have gone to Hyde-park either by omnibus or on foot . There were only 500 season ticket-holders there during the day , and the thoroughfare from Piccadilly to Knightsbridge presented a remarkable contrast to the bustle and excitement of the last three weeks .

      During the whole of Monday a very large number of fashionables and foreigners visited the Royal Academy , National Gallery , the Vernon Gallery , and the varied and numerous exhibitions at the west end of the town , probably under the impression that the great influx of visitors to the Crystal Palace on the first day of admission of the general public at the price of one shilling would interfere with their notions of quietness . The scene at the west end was one of unvaried bustle and

      animation , from the number of carriages of the nobility and gentry that were to be seen driving in every direction through the principal streets and squares . The British Museum was , as usual , visited by a large number of respectable persons , who evidently reserved to another opportunity their intention of visiting the Great Exhibition when the excitement for admission shall have a little subsided . The United Service Museum and Westminster Abbey also received their fair share of visitors , a very large proportion of whom were foreigners .

      On Tuesday the aspect of affairs was far different from what it had been the day before . Although there was no rush or excitement , still there was from the hour of opening a steady influx of visitors , until the general appearance of the building approached to that which it presented last week . There was this difference , however—that the centre and transept were not so crowded , and the visitors were more distributed and dispersed throughout the entire edifice . This may be partly owing to the fact that the executive committee have caused the seats to be removed from the centre of the building , and to be placed more in outlying and comparatively

      unoccupied portions—so as at once to prevent crowding and to promote the free circulation of the multitude . But perhaps a more potent cause is to be found in the fact , that the visitors were mostly of the class of those who paid to see the Exhibition , and really meant to see it , and who had no time to lose in useless promenading , but worked hard to do all they could in a day . Hence there were everywhere eager , observant , and intelligent groups . The usual placed of peculiar resort were of course as crowded as usual ; but there was a more even and equal degree of attention bestowed on the varied contents of the Exhibition . The useful as well as the ornamental

      had due consideration—the machinery not less than the statuary—the raw material , along with the rich , the costly , and the rare productions of art , manufacture , or skill . Everything was more or less examined ; and nothing could exceed the admiration and delight unequivocally displayed at the vast , various , and curious treasures of the Crystal Palace . The Queen and Prince Albert , with the Prince and Princess of Prussia , and several others of the Royal visitors , attended by the usual suite , arrived at the Exhibition shortly after nine o ' clock , and carefully inspected the contents of the transept end of the north English gallery—chiefly the Staffordshire pottery . The royal party remained in the

      gallery until nearly eleven , and consequently witnessed the arrival of the public . During the day the Duke of Wellington , the Earl of Olengall , the Earl of Carlisle , Earl Granville , Lord Broughton , Mr . Moffatt , M . P ., and other members of parliament , and one or two bishops were likewise present . The police did not enforce the regulation about passing up and down in a particular direction , except in one or two narrow and very crowded passages . The consequence was that throughout the day the utmost order and harmony appeared to prevail . The total amount of money received at the doors was £ 1 , 347 17 s . The produce of the sale of season tickets was £ 19 19 s . The number of visitors paying the shilling admission was therefore about 27 , 000 .

      About half-past nine on Tuesday morning , when but a small number of persons had arrived at the Glass Palaco , the Queen drove up accompanied by Prince Albert , the Princess Royal , the Prince and Princess of Prussia , and a number of her Majesty ' s German friends . The royal party remained about an hour and a-half perambulating the several departments , nnd left at eleven . About twelve o ' clock the Duke of Wellington arrived , but soon discovered he was too late to inspect the works of industry in his accustomed quiet manner . After passing a nhort way up the centre avenue he returned , nnd left the building , in which he had remained but ten minutes . In the courHe of the day two women

      were apprehended in the act of picking a lady ' s pocket , and on being searched a purse wbh found on one of them , the contents of which ahe was unacquainted with , neither could nlie give an account where she had obtained it . The probability is that it was a spoil which they had tuken from some person in the course of the day . OliicerB well Acquainted with the persons of alinont nil the professional thieves , were stationed at the doorH , and on any auupioious characters passing tlm . ugh they are followed , and their proceedings narrowly watched . Detectives , in plain clothe * , » 1 ko are ntutioned in various departments of the buildings , and every possible precaution hau been taken to provide for the protection of the public

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      May 31 , 1851 . ] ffl > * & ** & *** 507

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      THE FATAL RAILWAY SMASH . —INQUEST . The inquest on the bodies of the two passengers , Mr . John Meynell and Mr . John Blake , commenced on the 20 th , the day after the collision , at Chesterfield . On the first day no evidence was taken except such as * was necessary to prove the identity of the dead bodies . The jury then adjourned until the 22 nd » when witnesses were called , who gave a circumstantial and chronological account of the affair . " John Sheldon said : On Monday night I was the driver of the train which should leave Derby at 9 . 5 p . m . The engine was in perfect good working order . We did not start till 9 . 20 , fifteen minutes after time . We travelled at our regular speed till within twenty or thirty yards of the Clay Cross station . I then heard a crash of some

      part of the machinery of the engine . As soon as the engine stopped I got down and examined the wheel and tire , and , finding them right , I turned my head to the driving-whrel of the engine and found the pump rod was broken , and the pump was broken down . We took the proper steps for repairing the engine with tools we have for the purpose . It did not take us more than four or five minutf s . After collecting the tools together I called out ' Right . ' My mate ( the fireman ) turned round , and was slackening the break , when he called out , ' Jack , there ' s something coming into us . ' I was then getting on the engine . I said to him , ' Go on , go on , as quick as possible . ' I had no sooner got upon the engine than I was knocked down into the tender . The train was put into as quick motion as the time would allow of . It had only proceeded eight or ten yard 3 when the other train ran into us . "

      He did not blow his whistle while the repairs were being done . He had no reason for not blowing his whistle . He did not stop the train immediately after hearing the crash . It was the duty of the guard to go back 800 yards upon the stoppage of a train . He did not know whether the guard did go back . There was time for a train , seeing the danger signal at Clay Cross , to stop . The danger signal was not turned on . The guard , if he had had time , might have turned on the danger signal , but he really did not believe that he had time to do so . Mr . W . Mansfeldt Mills , of Bremington-hall , near Chesterfield , was a passenger by the train on Monday night from Ambergate : —

      •• The train was overdue . Oa arriving at the Chesterfield side of the Clay Cross tunnel I discovered the speed was slackened . On the train stopping I looked out towards the engine , and observed ssme officials round the engine , consequently did not take much notice . About three minutes after the stoppage the guard came past our carriage . He had his handlight in his hand . In a few seconds after the guard passed me I heard some one cry out that a train was coming . I looked out and saw the reflection of an engine fire coming rapidly down . It was too dark for me to see the engine on the train . I heard the guard still crying out to ' put on speed , ' or expressions to that effect . I found the engine was not

      getting up sufficient speed to prevent a serious collision , therefore I jumped out of the carriage . Immediately after I jumped off the train I was struck down by something , but did not then know what it was . I rolled down an embankment , and , as I fancy , jumped up immediately , and found three gentlemen lying by my side . The engine and goods train were upon the ground where the passenger train had stood . I went up to these three persons and straightened their limbs , seeing they were much hurt . I went round to the opposite side , where I found the carriages all smashed , and lying one upon another . I have travelled with that train I should say 150 times , and not in a single instance has it arrived at the Chesterfield station at its proper time . "

      " George Johnson said : " I am signal-man at the south end of Clay-cross tunnel . The first train passed his station on Monday night at five minutes past ten . I received a signal back in live minutes that it was through . I then put on the caution signal , and kept it on for five minutes . In two minutes after this the goods train came in sight , and I signalled it through the tunnel , and in five minutes or more I received the signal back again that it was through . " By Mr . Fretson , who attended for the sufferers : " The passenger train was twenty minutes after time . The luggage trnin was rather before its time ; perhaps ten minutes . The passenger train had a tail lamp . " The inquiry was resumed on the 28 rd . John Thompson , the guard , was examined . When tho stoppage took place he got down and inquired into the cause : — " I know where the signal is placed at that , station , and I understand how to take on and off the semaphore signal , which ia about 190 yards from the place where the train stopped . I neither wulked nor run as I w « nt back , because I thought I had ten minutes' time . I knew that the luggage train started five minutes after hh , and wo were a quarter of an hour behind our time in starting , and ten minutes were lost on the road . " He was goinu ; back with tho signal when ho heard a cry of " All right : "" I shouted out , It is all right , ' and I commenced

      ' corning back . When I got a short distance back I heard th" approach of a train . I had not seen nor heard tho tmin before I turned back . The night wus dark , cold , and rather wet just at the time . I waved my red nignul when I pot to the lant rariijige ; our train wan moving on at that time . I continued waving und nhouted out to iho driver , ' Make speed ; get on us fust ae you can- ' II © wan KO'ng then . I was on the steps at the list carriage . We got <>»» a Hhort distance when the other train was coming upon in very quick . He could see my tail or aide lamp us well us my signal lamp . I was still on the

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), May 31, 1851, page 507, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1885/page/7/