3 August, 1831.
serious accident, except perhaps the first accident in going up Highgate Hill, which was five years ago; the Carriage was not then complete in reference to dragging. I went up the hill contrary to the expectations of every body present, and the workmen were so delighted at it that they neglected to lock the wheel; the carriage was started down the hill without any drag to it; it became difficultly manageable, and ran against a stone, and was upset. This is the only accident I have ever experienced myself; I believe Sir Charles Dance once upset the carriage in a first essay; those are the only accidents of the kind I am aware of.
It has been stated that one of your engines has blown up at Cheltenham; is that the case?—I am not aware of that; I rather believe that the lifting of the safety valve when the Carriage stops is considered to be a bursting, which I think must be so in this statement; I saw the Carriages the day after the accident of the crank breaking, where it is stated to have burst, and certainly the Carriage had not blown up then; nothing more than the safety valve had lifted; I came to Cheltenham the day after the accident occurred.
What was the nature of the accident which occurred?—The breaking of one of the cranks, occasioned by the extra difficulty the Carriage was placed in; new stones were laid in a hollow of the road. I am told about 18 inches deep; the Carriage had gone through it twice with twenty passengers; the third time it fractured the axle, from the extra force necessary to get it through; the road was in an unusual state; I saw the passengers of a four-horse coach get down in the stones. I was told at the time, by people of great respectability, that all the two-horse coaches invariably put down their passengers; that the mail was stopped; that there were two waggons and two coaches in the stones stopped at the same time, and that they were obliged to exchange their horses to get through.
Has any other accident occurred to that Carriage except that you have now stated?—Nothing that I am aware of material.
