The Sun. — London, England, 1846-07-02 00:00:00

bounded by Skinner-sleet, Farringdon-street, and the Old Bailey. This line would be about 5:3- miles in length, and the entire estimate is 1,200,0001. A tunnel would carry the railway through Clspton-hill. From Kiugslaad-road to the City-road the line would b in an open cutting, and from the City-road to Skinner street there would be a continuous tunnel of more than a mile in length. If this line should in other respects receive the sanction of Parliament, it should be on the condition that its terminus is placed on the north side of the City road, where it would confer as much convenience on the public u if it had been placed in Farringdon-street ; while the company would save a great and unnecessary expense ; the invasion of private property would be avoided ; and the public would escape the inconvenience that would result from the crowding of some of the principal thoroughfares of the city. 4. THE LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM TERMINUS AT PAR- RINGDON• STREET. It was proposed by the London and Birmingham Com pany to construct a line from their goods station at Cam den-town, which, after crossing College-street, Kentish town, would have been carried in a direct course to the angle formed by the intersection of the Holloway-road with William-street, and thence would have proceeded across the New-road, near Winchester place, by the north east side of the New River Head, to form a junc tion with the Tottenham line, near the north end of St. John's , street. By this means the terminus of both companies would have occupied the area inclosed by Farringdon-street, Skinner-street, the Old Bailey and Ludgate-hill, (ex cluding the houses on the north side of Ludgate-hill, and a few adjacent houses in the Old Bailey.) This project was designed by the Birmingham Company as a means of delivering to the pub lic, at a reduced rate, such goods as might be destined for that quarter of the City, and also of providing a few trains for the convenience of short traffic to and fr. the City. But Mr. Glyn, the chairman, and Mr. Green, the secretary to the company, having stated in their evi dence that they have abandoned this scheme. fir,tly, be cause it is not IN quired far the public convenience, and secondly; on account of the large capital which the con • struction of such a tv-rk would demand, it is unneces sary for us to take any other notion of this project, than to say that the reasons for its abandonment appear very conclusive and sufficient. 5, THE DIRECT LONDON AND MANCHESTER LINE, AND THE LONDON AND MANCHESTER EXTENSION TO THE CITY. For the Direct London and Manchester it is proposed to have a terminus at Battle-bridge, near the City-road; and for the London and Manchester Extension to the City, it is proposed to have a western terminus, bounded by Holborn-hill, Farringdon-street, Shoe-lane, and Harp-alley, as well as an eastern terminus inclosed by Victoria-street, West-street, King-street, and Skinner street. The line down the Fleet valley would be by a subway, partly formed by tunnelling, and partly by open cutting. Neither of these lines is now before Parliament. The estimate for the extension into the city is 750,0001., the distance being two miles, two furlongs, and seven chains. The lines are shown on the map as starting from Holloway, and running within a short distance of each other, down to the City-road. The te.rm;_nus at Battle-bridge seems well calculated for the Manchester. and London and the intermediate traffic. But tare separate branch, commencing at Lower Holloway, and pzsstug through a considerable length of the city, for the purpose of establishing a terminus at Farringdon-street and Skinner -street, is, in our judg ment, quite inadmissible. 6. THE NORTH LONDON JUNCTION RAILWAY. This line, which comprshends the birch already described as commencing on the Eastern Counties Rail way at Bearbinder's.lane, is intended to connect the Great Western and London and Birmingham Railways with the Eastern Counties line. Commencing on the west at the Paddington station, it would take a north easterly direction, passing through Portland-town, above Lord's Cricket-ground, so as to form a junction with the London and Birmingham Railway near the goods ter minus at Camden-town. At that point it would turn to the eastward, crossing the Kentish-town and Camden town roads, and running down nearly to Frog-lane, whence one branch would, as already described, bo car ried to join the Eastern Counties' line, near Bearbinders'- lane, and another would proceed direct to the Fore-street terminus. The distance from Paddington to Fore-street by this line would be six miles. The terminus is proposed to occupy a space of eleven acres, and the whole cost of the work and purchase of the property is estimated at 1,392,8291. ; as already men tioned, there will be l 4 mile of viaduct from Islington to Fore-street. We are of opinion that this line presents considerable conmercial and other advantages, in so far as its main trunk would, to a limited extent, answer the purposes of such a line as we have ventured to recommend in the first part of our report ; that is, a line encircling Lon don, connecting all the railways entering the town with each other, and with the docks, and thereby enabling an unbroken communication to be maintained between all parts of the country through the metropolis. We are not, however, prepared to say that the line which the North London Junction Company propose xo take is, even so far as it goes, the best for this pur pose. The ground over which such a railway as we have suggested would most conveniently pass, would lie beyond the limits of our inquiry ; and for this reason we have not entered into any compprison of the merits of the North London Junction line with other lines, or portions of lines of a like nature, which we shall have to notice hereaiter. • As to that branch, however, of the present scheme which would come to For-stree! . , and theref)re within our limits, we are of opinion that it is open to the same objections its apply to other proposed extensions to ter mini in the City. 7. TIIE REGENT'S CANAL RAILWAY. The capital of this line (which is not before Parlia ment), was intended to be 3.000,0001., of which 1,000,0001. was to be paid for the canal. The railway would, with a few slight deviations, have kept the line of the canal. The leading feature of the project was to unite all the railways north of the river Thames - with the Post-office, and with the docks of the port of London. The terminus was intended to occupy an area of eight acres, and to be placed in Alclersv ' ate-street, by which at would be bounded on the west, having Barbican for its northern limit. The line was to commence at the Paddington station of the Great Western Railway, and to proceed, according to the present course of the Canal as far as that point which is nearly opposite to the end of the grand avenue in the Regent's-park, where it would branch off in three .directions ; the northern branch curving to the left to form a 1 junction with the London and Birmingham Bailway at the Camden-town goods station, and the southern branch running down to the basin, near the back of the Life Guards barracks. The centreline, which indeed is the main line of this scheme, would be carried through Pentonvillo to Islington, where a branch would be constructed by one of the two alternative lines shown on the plan, to the point of their junction, at the inter section of Old-street ar.d Golden-lane, whence one line would be formed direct to Barbican. From Islington, the main line of the railway would continue by the course of the Canal to the south angle of Victoria-park ; there a branch would go to the north east, while the main line would keep a southerly direc tion towards the Thames, until arriving at a point of the : 1 3E1i-end-road, it would separate into two branches, one westward to the basin of the Regent's Canal, and the other eastward to the West India and East India Docks. The observations which we have made upon the North Landon Junction apply also to this line. And for the reasons which have already been given, its central ter minus in Aldersgate-street cannot be recommended, 8. THE DIRECT NORTHERN RAILWAY TERMINUS IN HOLBORN. The company associated for the purpose of forming the Direct Northern Railway, in the first instance, con ten-lotted establishing their terminus on the north side of the City-road, near King's-cross, in a space abutting to the east on Maiden-lane, and to the south on Weston place. . - Subsequently they proposed to leave the main line _half a mile north of the originally intended terminus, n d to carry their railway nearly parallel to Gray's lon- Jane on the west, Baldwin's-gardens on the north, and Leather lane on the east. This line would be throughout on a viaduct. The estimate for the works, and for the purchase of the pro perty required, is .58,0001, as applicable to the London and York train, to which it is proposed to assign a ter minus of about thr , e acres in extent ; the remainder of the space, via., 5i acres baing reserved for other northern lines. The purchase of this latter area is not included IX the abive stated sum. We consider that no public advantage, commensurate with the amount of incycivenience i t would create, is likely to result from establishing the terminus of the Direct Northern Railway at Holborn ; and it appears to us that it would be more convenient, and much leas ex pensive, to place it on the north side of the City-road. 9. THE EXTENSION OF THE LONDON AND BIR3IINGIIAM TO THE EAST AND WEST INDIA DOCKS. Beyond the limits referred to this Commission, there is shown on the plan the course of a line proposed by ythe London and Birmingham Company to connect their roils station with the West India Docks. s t arting from Camden-town it would run past the Mode; Prison to the north of the Islington Cattle market, and, taking nearly a straight course between Hackney S and Homerton, would proceed on to Hackney Wick. Th are it would turn to the south, and continue in nearly a s).'raight line to the east end of the West India Docks. It would cross the Eastern Counties line ; and it is stated to. be the intention of the Birmingham Com pany to cross the .Black wall Railway on the level. This would be particulaily objectionable, and should be avoided. In other respects, the observations which have bee/ made upon the Norti.' London Junction line apply to this scheme. 10. TIIE CENTRAL TERMINUS IN .F A RILINGDON • STREET. Mr. Civvies Pearson has brought under our notice a project which, it would appear, has long occupied his at ;tendon, for _forming a Great Central Terminus at Far ngdon-strcet. .11e recommends a trunk railway, consisting of three do t wle lines, to run from Battle-bridge to his proposed grand terminus at Farringdon-street, for the use of such of the northern, north-eastern, and north-western lines, as should desire to have a terminus in the centre of the City, and who should be inclined to contribute fairly towards formation. Mr. Pearson would carry the line of railway between two rows of houses, which he proposes tq build, so as to ,form a spacious and handsome street, 80 feet in width: and 8,506 feet in length. The railway to be on t h e b a sement level, and to be arched over so as to sup port t h e na vement of the street, which would be on the level of the ground-floor of the houses. Mr. Pearson ve light and air to the railway by open proposes to 5 e -way and foot-path. ings in the cart g • • • two contiguous termini, one being on There wouid TtlE SUN, LONDON, TITURSDAY MOR the western and the other on the eastern side of Far ringdon-street. The area occupied by both would lac_‘, 500,000 feet. Mr. Pearson proposes a very ingenious arrangement of his terminus with a view of economistng space ; but his s .heme is open to the same objections as apply to all other city termini, and we, therefore, cannot recommend it. Mr. Pearson has also placaed before us plans for im proving the habitations and increasing the comforts of persons of the middle and lower classes, by means of a railway in connexion with a suburban village, which are ingenious and highly creditable to him. But on these it. is not for us to offer an opinion. 11. THE GREAT WESTERN, BRENTFORD, AND CENTRAL JUNCTION TERMINUS RAILWAY. The promoters of this project, for which a company has not been formed, intend that it should leave the Great Western at West Drayton, and pass through Hounslow, Brentford. Turnham-green, Hammersmith, Brompton, Chelsea, Pimlico, and Westminster, and meet the Thames Embankment line at Hungerford. It is also designed that this railway should be the means of bringing the London and Birmingham traffic to the same southern terminus by means of the West London Line ; and that it should receive the traffic of the Direct Exeter Railway, should such a liue be formed. It is proposed to have four lines to accommodate the short traffic,. as well as that coming from the two long lines. The trains to be propelled on the atmospheric principle. The engineer of the Brentford Junction proposes to take a low level, so as to pass under the roads and streets in coming into London ; and it has been suggested by Mr. Moffatt, the architect, that from Pimlico to West , minster the line should be laid down in a railway street. the opposite sides of which should be 160 feet apart, hav ing rows of trees on each side of the railway. It is further intended, if the Landon and Birmingham and Great Western Railway traffic should be brought in by this line, that an ample station should be provided in that part of Westminster which is behind the Mews and Westminster Hospital; and in this case the Mows would be taken by the railway company. Thence the line would pass under the junction of Great George street and Parliament -street, and be brought into con nexion with the Thames Embankment in front of and under the Terrace of Whitehall-gardens; but in such manner that the railway would not be visible from the gardens. Proceeding eastward from Whitehall-gardens, the railway would rise to a higher level, so as to correspond with the top of the embankment at Hungerford-bridge. The line would pass under the first arch of Waterloo bridge, then rise from Somerset Hou se t o a l eve l o f 42 feet above the Trinity datum, in front of the Temple gardens' and pass over the north end of Blackfriars bridge by a viaduct. Thence it would be carried through the City, crossing King William -street. to form a connexion with the Blackwall Railway. In front of the Temple-gardens the railway would be 38 feet above the carriage-way on the proposed embankment. Be tween Blackfriars-bridge and the Blackwall Terminus a railway street would be formed, having a width of 75 feet between the opposite houses; the carriage-way being under the railway. At King William-street the viaduct would be at such an elevation as to leave 20 feet head room for loaded waggons. . _ _ The projectors of Thames Embankment Railway Company propose to construct the embankment free of cost to the public, provided they are permitted to form the Hungerford and Blackwall Railway. The estimate from Hungerford Market to Blackfriars, including the Thames embankment for that portion, is 500,0001. The estimate from West Drayton to Hungerford is 1,100,0001. There would be stations at Hungerford, Waterloo-bridge, Blackfriars-bridge, King William street, and at Fenchurch-street, where additional ground would be taken to enlarge the present station. It is also a part of this project to form a junction with the London-bridge station of the Dover, Brighton, and Croydon Railways, by carrying a double line of rails over the present carriage road of London bridge. This, however, as well as the crossing of the Southwark bridge in the same manner, to join the North Kent Rail way, would have been independent parts of the general scheme. To that portion of this line by which, leaving the shore of the river, it is proposed to connect the em bankment with the Blackwell terminus in Fenchurch street, all the objections which vie have pointed out to the passage of a railway through a populous and busy part of the City apply in their fullest force. We also see great objection to a railway being carried across any of the bridges, at a level s ) high as to allow of the carriage and other traffic remaining undisturbed. The advantage of an economy of space effected by such an arrangement would be more than counterbalanced, by the necessity which it imposes of approaching the bridge on a viaduct ; which, of all methods by which'a railway can be carried through a town, is the most in convenient and injurious to property. As regards that, p-xtion of the line which would con nect the Great Western Railway and the neighbourhood of Hounslow, Brentford, &c., with a terminus in West minster, we are of opinion that the wants and conveni ence of the district through which this line would pass, might be equally well served by one which would carry passengers and goods to the already existing station of the South-Western Railway at Nine Elms, and to the other terminus of that line, already sanctioned by Parliament, at Waterloo-brilge. And therefore we are not disposed to recommend the establishment of a terminus in the heart of Westminster, at the expense of much interfe rence with property, and probably with future improve • meats in that part of the metropolis. There remains that portion of the scheme which would follow the line of the Thames Embankment. To this, unconnected with any terminus for the reception ot traffic from distant parts of the country, and used solely as a line of short passenger traffic, in the manner of the Blackwall Railway, we are not prepared to raise any ob jection. We are, on the contrary, disposed to think that such a line might be a convenience to the public ; at all events it would draw off a considerable portion of the overcrowded traffic of Fleet-street and the Strand, and therefore that if it can be constructed as net to disfigure the embankment, or to cause any additional interference with the traffic of the river, and with the convenience of wharfs and warehouses, or any det"rioration of private property, it will deserve the consideration of Parliament. In the doubt which exists as to the formation ot an embankment, we have not thought it necessary to exa mine closely how far t' e above conditions might be com plied with, but if an embankment of the river should be sanctioned by Parliament, we have no reason to think them impracticable. 12. THE THAMES EMBANKMENT CENTRAL TERMINUS. Mr. Page, the engineer, has informed us that the Central Terminus Company propose to subscribe money for the construction of a cen - ral portion of the Thame4 Embankment, provided they may have space on the embankment for a grand terminus between Waterloo and Hungerford-bridge. The confusion that would result from any general terminus, for the accommodation of several railways, is a matter so generally admitted, and so strongly insisted on by persons most experienced in railway matters, that such a project could scarcely be entertained, even if ample approaches were formed to it ; but any such ter minus, which would have to be approached by the nar row and much-thronged thoroughtare of the Strand, as it now exists, would, it appears to us, be a great public evil, 13. THE LONDON RAILWAY. -Mr. James Clephan has submitted to us the general outline of the London Railway, the object of which is stated to be to form a connexion with all the existing termini in the vicinity of the m)tropolis, going partly through the town, and principally constructed on a viaduct. Mr. Clepban describes the line as follows :—Starting from Rlackfriars-road, it is proposed to cross WatPrloo bridge and the Strand, and to pass up Bow-street into Tottenham-court-rcad ; thence a branch would pass along Paddington-street, and Crawford-street, to the Great Western Railway • and pursuing a cnurse to the New-road, the line would skirt the reservoir in the Hampstead-road, and join the Birmingham Railway-, at Euston-quare. Proceeding still further eastward, the line would pass through Somer's town, and join the New-road at Pentonville. At Icing's-cross it would be connected with the London and York line, if that rail. way should be made. From King's-cross, the line would proceed down the City-road, and take such a direction as to join the Eastern Counties Railway. From Shore ditch it would pass through St. Mary Axe and Lime street into King William street, which it would cross, as well as Thames-street and Southwark-bridge ; and from the south side of the bridge the line would curve into Union -street, and continue on until it reached Blackfriars-road, at the point from which it started. Mr. Clephan also stated that, from Fenchureh-street there would be a branch to the London and St. Cathe rine's Docks, and that from Union-street there would be a branch to the Greenwich and Brighton Station at London-bridge 9 • and that there would be -likewise a branch to join the South-Western Railway. It appears that this scheme is estimated to require a capital of 5,000,0001., of which 3,300,0001. would be necessary for the purchase of the houses to be removed by this railway. Although a company has been formed for this scheme, no deposits have been, made, nor are there any surveys of the line. _ _ As ia - Pro j ect ors con t e mplate occupying two of the bridges ove r th e T hames, and passing through the heart of the metrop o li s i n two directions in a most objection able way, we consider this scheme altogether inadmissi ble. 14. THE LONDON CONNECTING RAILWAY AND _RAILWAY TRANSIT LINE. ---- This project has been brought before us by Mr. John Martin, K.H., who gives a general description of it in a paper dated May, 1846 (See Appendix). Commencing at Barking-creek, this line would run along the north bank of the Thames, to a , point i n Woolwich-reach, nearly opposite to Bu gs by s Marsh, where a branch would diverge towards a station to be placed near the north-east angle of the East India Docks, at which point it would meet tt line also starting from Barking-creek, but passing over the levels 200 or 300 yards north of the river. From this point of junction, the line would pass between Mile-end town and Ktratford, le-Bow, close to the south side of Victoria-park, through Hackney, above Islington, and through Kentish-town From thence it would curve round between Hampstead hill and Primrose-hill, continuing the curve so as to pass Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, and Waltham-green, and crossing the Thames shove Battersea. From that point it would sweep round to form & junction with the South Western Railway at the Nine-elms station, and thence proceed to Lambeth, where, opposite the Obelials a grand terminal ste.tien will be established for the Dover, Brighton, and South Western Railways. From that ter tipus the line would proceed hz. a curve towards Rother:ll4 ll :e, Yviee79 it would separate into Lraprhes, each taking the ,eot,use south bank of the river; one eastward along Ore yrach, and the other westward, intersecting all. the 4rlag . frost TJondon. bridge to Vauxhall, and terminating a 4 4 sOAp *ety tt bridge which Mr. Martin proposes to construct over Chelsea Reach. Mr. Martin proposes to have a continuous line along the north bank of- the river, from Barking-rea:•h to Chelsea ; and he proposes further to hare a branch from the river side, near L:mehouse, up to Stratford, and another from Blackfriars bridge, passing the north side of the Tower to the north side of St. Katherine's and the London Docks, and joining the former branch at Stepney. He also suggests that in connexion with this railway there should be a great northern depot at Shore ditch. The object which Mr. Martin has in view is to connect the northern and southern railways, to afford travellers a facility of transit from one metropolitan district to another, and to facilitate the transmission of merchan dise and coals from the river to various parts of the metropolis, as well as to the different railway stations ; for this last purpose he proposes to construct (as shown in his plan) 70 floating piers on the north bank of the river, and 51 on the southern bank. It appears that Mr. Martin has neither prepared de tailed estimates nor surveys of any part of the scheme he has submitted to us ; and, therefore, it is not pni sible to enter into its merits. But it is quite evident that to carry it into execution would require an enormous outlay of capital ; and we can conceive no commen surate advantages in the construction of a very expensive railway along iyotii hanks of the Thames, or in the con struction of his numerous floating piers, which, it ap pears to us, would very materially interfere with the general navigation of the river. The line from Blackfriars-bridge to Stepney is open to the same objections as those we have represented to exist to other lines passing through the City. The greater proportion of Mr. Martin's project being beyond the limits of our inquiry, we are precluded, even if we had the means, of drawing a comparison between this and other projects for connecting the northern and southern railways. 15. THE NATIONAL JUNCTION AND CITY OF LONDON TERMINUS COMPANY. No company has been formed f>r this project. The ob'ect of its promoters is to connect the southern and northern railways, and to make one general terminus in the City. No general plan was produced to the com mission ; the surveys of the line are not complete, neither has any estimate been formed of the probable cost of the work. It is proposed to allot ten acres in the City for their c ,, ntral terminus, which would be at or near Farringdon street, and to provide wharfs and stations on both sides of tlie Thames. A direct line of communication would be formed from the south-eastern parts of the borough cf Southwark to the north-west, by King's-cross, to Camden town. It is proposed to pass 18 feet below the level of the present surface of Fleet-street by open cutting, across the high ground of New-street-square, under the present level of the surface of Holborn-hill, and by open cutting to Back-hill. The promoters of this scheme contemplate com municating with the Great Western, by passing round the ri , ge.tit's-park, by St. John's-wood and Nlaida-hill; but the whole project is in so undigested and imperfect a state, that we cannot form any just opinion either of its merits or defects. On the south side of the Thames, the schemes which come within the limits prescribed in our instructions are us follows : Taking up the line from New Cross it would proceed towards Union -street, through Lock's-fields across the New Kent-road, passing between the County Gaol and Trinity-square. At New Cross it would he carried over the Croydon Railway, having a back branch ad mit the traffic from Brighton and Croydon. There would be a branch into the New Cross Station commu nicating London-bridge, and further eastw ar d another branch which wou ld be in connexion with the Greenwich Railway. The principal terminus of the North Kent Riilway is proposed to be at Union-strt et. In approaching this terminus the line is to be carried uron a viaduct, and no road would be crossed on a level between New Cross and Union-street. The .onnexion with the West-end is proposed to be accomplished by forming a junction with the proposed South-Western Extension line ; and should tha South-Western Company think fit they would be permitted to use the Union-street terminus. - This terminus, which appears to be conveniently con trivtd, as well as that part of the line which is in imme diate connexion with it, would pass through the district called the " Mint," consisting chiefly of houses of an in ferior description. It was originally the intention of the North Kent Company to form a West -end line from Union-str. et ; but, with the view of avoiding expense and unnecessary destruction of private property, the company, on finding that the South- Western line was to be extended to London-bridge, came to an arrangement to form a junc tion with that extension, and to make the viaduct on which it would be constructed common to the traffic of both companies. The North Kent Railway, in its approach to Union street, would not interfere pith any church property or public buildings. From the New Cross to Union-street, the property is valued at 303,0001., the distance being 3i miles. This includes the price of the land required for the terminus ; which is estimated at 80,0001. The viaduct would be of brickwork principally ; and in the open country it would be upon an embankment be tween retaining walls. _ _ The extent of stati ,, n room at Union-street is to be ftmr acres. The upper level, which is twenty-feet above the pavement in Union street, would be appropriated for pa•,sengers, and the lower portion for the stowage of goods. _ _ 1 The roads for the egress and ingress of passengers and carriages appear to be very conveniently arranged. • For the project, a part of which is above described, a Bill has been for some months before Parliament ; but the North Kent Company have a separate scheme for extending the line across Southwark-bridge to Thames street, where they propose to forma goods station. To the passing of this bridge, and the establishing a station in so thronged a part of the metropolis, we see grav,, objections, as we do not find that any improvement of tie adjacent thotoughfares or approaches is contem plated by the company. They at one time had an intention of still further ex tending the line for passengers up Bucklersbury. But to such a scheme, whatever may be the inconvenience it would afford to the city passengers in general, all the objections which we have already made to such projects fully apply._ _ _ We are, however, of opinion that the North Kent Railway, or any other line which might be sanctioned by the Legislature as best suited to the wants of the country through which that railway proposes to pass, may properly, and with advantage to the public, be per mitted to approach the south bank of the river at any convenient spot in the neighbourhood of the bridges ; and in this view the Union-street Station seems unob jectionable as a City terminus, provided the North Keet Company will undertake to widen one side of Union street ; and to make such arrangements for the standing of the public and private carriages, as shall prevent any interruption of the street traffic in that quarter. An improvement of the street communicating between Union-street and Great Surrey-street is very desirable, even in the present state of thingS; and should the North Kent Railway be formed, and its terminus be placed at Union-street, that improvement would become absolutely necessary, not only for the general street traffic, but also for railway passengers. Under these circumstances, the North Kent Company should be required to contribute towards such improvement. If a new street should be formed in that quarter, the traveller by the North Kent Railway would be able to approach the terminus from the City, either by Black triars-bridge or London-bridge, toll free ; and it is a question whether the c-ampany would not find it to their advantage to make Southwark-bridge toll free also for the railway passengers. If the approaches to a terminus in Union street we re thus opened and made commodious, we are of opinion that a station on that spot wadi be more convecientao the City passengers to and from North than one-at London-bridge ; because they would then have three bridges by which to reach the City ; whereas the Lon don-bridge Station is chiefly dependant on the approach by London-bridge. We also think that the convenience of the West-end passengers would be satisfactorily provided for by a junction with the South- Western Extension. We, however, gather from the evidence that has been laid before us by the South-Eastern Company, that there has been a want of proper combination in the en gineering arrangements of the South-Western and North Kent Companies; but an improvement in these arrangements might be made under the sanction of the Legislature, which would produce the required result without entailing unnecessary expenditure upon the parties. 2. SOUTH-EAiTERN EXTENSION TO WATERLOO•BRIDGE. This is a part of the South-Eastern scheme for the North Kent traffic, and it is for the purpose of giving the travellers by that line a West end terminus. More properly, it might be called the West-end branch. It is intended to connect it with the Greenwich Rail way at the point where that line crosses the Grand Surrey Canal. This branch is to commence at the junction, by a plane descending to the point where it would pass under the embankment of the Croydon Railway; from which point it would again ascend to the level necessary to admit of crossing the streets in proceeding to the ter minus at the Waterloo-bridge-road. The descending plane would have a gradient of 1 in 29, and the ascend ing a gradient of 1 in 233, extending to the Grange road, where the railway will have attained the requisite height. This line would, in its course, interfere with church property in two instances. It would have to be formed over the site now occupied by St. Mary's Church, the new district church of the parish of St. George the Martyr ; and after passing the WeAtminster-bridge road, it would be carried close to a new district church, which, :waver, has not been consecrated. It is generally admitted that the Bricklayers' Arms terminus is very Inconvenient for passengers coining from or proceeding to the north. side of the Thames ; and thpre c,n be no question that any station near Waterloo bridge would be much more central and convenient for them. There the approaches are numerous and spacious, and the level of the terminus might be made to corre spond with that at the south end of the bridge. Should such an arrangement be approved, it would be dosirable, in order to obviate the great inconvenience which arises from the stoppage of a continuous stream of traffic at a toll-bar, that Waterloo-bridge should by made free to the railway passengers. AiLlio4 , ,h we are not required to enter into the con, sideration of tho ei3gipeering details of the various pro jects brought before us, wa think it necessary to state, that it is by no means clear, from the evideppg of the ; i ;;.,p4, witnesses, that, under all the circumstances, the most tavotii4l4 ine bas been selected for this extension. There are no objections to tho arrongernents of the levels war the present Bricklayers' Aitus"st4t4qp l n.# 70 its to the propoKd erossirg of the South-Western:Extension .;in. on a level. In the first case, the project of the South Eastern Company is to carry their fine- for goods to the Brick layers' Arms on graslietits which would compel the puhl c, in using some thoroughfares in that neighbour le,(cl, to cross the rails on a level. Nothing can he more objectionable ; for although this branch is only for the goods trains, which should not move at high velocities, yet it is well known that engine drivers are very regard less of regulations as to the limit of speed. The public safety therefore demands some changes by which the great risk cf collisions, which would result from adopting the plan submitted to the Commission, may be avoided. This, however, according to the plans at present pro posed by the company, cannot be effected by carrying the public roads over the goods line in bridges, inasmuch as the viaduct proposed for the extension line would run so close to the goods line as to make that impossible. . Some alteration, therefore, in the direction of the exten sion line is indispensable. In the second place, it is proposed by the South- Eastern Company to cross the South-Western Exten sion line on a level in running into their terminus. This is quite inadmissible, for as both companies propose to run frequent . trains for the short tuff* it would be im possible to adopt such precautions as would in foggy weather prevent collisions of a fearful character. It is, therefore, necessar) that one or both of these companit s should so alter their levels or lines of direction as to re move this objection. If the North Kent Company should fail to carry their .Bill, the S.sith-Eastern Company would have the oppor tunity of taking a fresh line, in which the defects of their present extension schtme might be altogether avoided, and it cannot, therefore, in its present shape he recom mended. P; however, the general line should be sanc tioned, some means should be found for overcoming the difficulties pointed out. 3. THE SOUTH -WESTERN EXTENSION FROM THE YORK- ROAD TO LONDON BRIDGE. The Bill obtained by the South-Western Company last year enables them to extend their - line from Nine Elms to a station or terminus at Waterloo road. Their present object is to extend the railway to a terminus which they propose to establish on the right bank of the Thames. near Sr. Saviour's Church, where they would have the advantve of good wharfage. This further line of extension would cross Waterloo-road and Great Surrey-street, and touching the south-west angle of the Borough-mai ket, it would pass near the west-end-of St. Saviour's church, and terminate at or near the river side. In its whole length this line would be carried on a lofty viaduct. From the evidence before the Commission, there is every reason to believe that the proposed extension would afford considerable facilities for the commercial transactions of the South-Western Company, and that it would give great convenience to the City pa: sengers who use this line of railway. It has been suggested by Mr. Alderman Humphreys and others, that, coupled with the permission to make the extensien line to London-bridge, there should be the obligation to leave, on one, if not on both sides of the proposed railway viaduct, a wide thoroughfare or street for the accommodation of the foot passengers and car riage traffic of that district. There can be no doubt that such an additional thoroughfare would be a great accommodation to the public ; but as it has not been shown that the district through which the line is proposed to he carried would be materially injured, or that any important lines of communication would be Intel fered with by the railway, we cannot recommend that it should be made com pulsory oa the company to incur the whole expense of purchasing the property necessary to make this thorough fare. The whole width that would be occupied by the rail way would not exceed 35 feet, and for access to the viaduct on one side 15 feet more would suffice, making a total of 50 feet. But if the company should be compelled to leave a thoroughfare of 50 feet in width, as proposed by Mr. Alderman Humphreys and others, they would have to purcl.ase as their minimum width 95 teet, which would nearly double the cost of the property to be ac quired. They might, however, fairly be required to contribute toward the of jest in view, and at le::st they should give over for this public purpose all such portions of ground as they may be under the necessity of purchasing beyond the space absolutely required for the railway ; and we have received evidence that they would not be unwilling to do this. Objections have been made to this extension, on the ground of its interference with the Borough Market, and some alms-houses in that neighbourhood, and also on the ground of its pasting so near to the west-end of St. Saviour's Cht.rch as to interfere with the approaches to it, and to subject the congregation to interruption during the performance of divine service. None of these objections are, however, insuperable. In the first place, the company should be prohibited from running trains either into or from this terminus during the hours of worship. Secondly, an arrange ment satisfactory to the trustess for the alms-houses should be entered into, subject to arbitration, if neces sari ; and a similar arrangement might be adopted with regard to the Borough Market. Subject to these conditions, and the further condition that an arrangement, satisfactory to the proper tribunal, takes - place between the South-Western Company and the South-Eastern Company, that shall Rrevent the necessity of these lines crossing each other upon the level, the projected extension of the South-Western line from York-road to the proposed terminus at London brid_,e is recommended. 4. THE WEST-END AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES RAILWAY. This line is projected to join the Greenwich Railway ' at the station at High-street, Deptford, from whence it would take a westerly course, passing over the Dover hi.h•road near Mitcham, and running nearly plraliel to the high-road, through Peckham and Cualberwelf. It would there sweep round the north side of Benning ton-common, and, 2rossing the Clapham-road at New ington -place, it would proceed in almost a direct line to Watt: duo bridge, which it would cross, as detailed in the evidence of Mr. J. D. Paine, to its proposed ter minus in Wellington-place. No traffic returns were laid before the Commission ; but taking into consideration the cost of the work, and that it would convey very little of the Greenwich or Deptford population, in the event of the South-Eastern Company forming a West-end line for passengers, and bearing in mind that the Greenwich railway has been found a very unprofitable investment, it is manifest that, even if such a line is wanted for the district through which it would pass (a matter open to doubt), it can hardly be expected that it would be remunerative. The passage over Waterloo-bridge, in the manner proposed by the engineer of this line, is considered quite inadmissible, as well as the contemplated terminus on the north bank of the river; and it may here be ob served that this project has been laid before us in a very imperfect state. Having now given our opinions upon each railway project which has been brought before us, and the general considerations by which we hare been guided in forming those opinions, it only remains for us humbly to submit to your Majesty the following recommenda tions : 1. That on the north of the Thames no railway now before Parliament, or projected, be permitted to come within the limits described in our instructions. 2. That if at any time hereafter it should be deemed advisable to admit railways within those limits, this should be done in conformity - with some uniform plan, carefully laid down under the authority of your Majesty's Government, and sanctioned by the wisdom of Par liament ; and that under no circumstances should the thoroughfares of the metropolis, and the property and comfort of its inhabitants, be surrendered to st pirate schemes brought forward at different times, and without reference to each other. _ _ _ 3. That on the south of the Thames, either the North Kent Railway be permitted to have its terminus in Union street, and to join the terminus of the South-Western Railway at Waterloo-bridge ; or that the South-Eastern Railway be permitted to extend to Waterloo-bridge ; accordingly as one or other of these lines may, upon a comparisun of their general merits, receive the sanction of Parliament, and subject, in either case, to the *condi tion:* which we have pointed out in this report. 4. That the extension of the South-Western Railway to London. bridge be permitted, subject to the conditions pointed out in this report. • 5. Thot a communication between the railways ap prsaching London on the north and south sides of the river, and a connexion between them and the ducks being desirable, this should be effected by a railway encircling the metropolis, crossing the Thames at some point west of Vauxhall-bridge, and not coming within the limits of our inquiry on the north side of the river. Whitehall, June 27, 1846. (L. S.) CANNING. (L. S.) DALHOUSIE. (L. S.) JOHN JOHNSON, Mayor. (L. So J. C. HEERIES. (L S.) J. M. F. SMITH. REPORT FROM THE LORDS SELECT COM- mirrEp ON RAILWAYS. By the Lords Committees appointed a Select Committee to take into consid erat i on t h e b est mean s of enforcing one uni form system of managemen t on ra ilroads in operation, or t o be constructed, an d to secure t h e d ue fulfilment of the provi sions of the Act s of Parliament under which the co mpanies ' have obtained th e i r powers, whereby greater accommod ation and safety may b e ensured to the public; to t ake into con sideration wh a t means may at t en d a nt on obtaining Acts of best be adopted for dim i nishing the extravagant expenses Parliament for l eg i t i mate an d necessar y undertakings, and at the same time f or discouraging th e formation of schemes got tip for the mere purpose of specu l a tion ; to consider what legislative meas ures cou l d be frame d to protect individuals from the injury th ey may sustain by the lay in g down lines of railway through th e i r property , w i t hout subjecting them to the ruinous exp ense o f oppos i ng Bill + in Parliament:— That the Commktee have met, and considered the subject matter to them referred, and have examined several wit nesses in relation thereto. The Committee directed their first inquiries to the prelimi nary expen-es attendant on obtaining Acts of Parliament, and particularly to those rendered necesAsary by the standing orders which have been established by both Houses for the protectit n of public and private interests, by securing to all parties concerned full notice of the direction of the line, and the mode of its construction through the different properties affected. It has been brought under the notice of the Committee that objecti ins to Railway Bills for non compliance with the standing orders are generally brought forwa rd, either di rectly or in drectly, b y compet i ng c ompanies, and almost always by parties who h ave no rea l ground of complaint on the score of the want of due notice at; to the nature (*f the intended measures, but who for °thee reason s ob j ect to th e m . This is a mode of opp,siti on just as likely to s uc ce e d against , the best as against the worst R a il wa y Bill ; and in point of .' carat 4 has ball stated to the Comnittee that Bills which it would have bt en highly f or the public interest to have passed have thus been defeated. _ 1 _ . It has also been shown that it is obligatory on companies to prove their complianc e with the standing orders on every point, and 4.3 theje is freoentiv much tintiertalnty at to , when a Bill may come befotl6'the - Committee; it is necessary for both promoters and opp onen ts of .Bills to keep their wit nesses in town fora con s id era ble time. One witness men- Lion s a case in which he himself had 100 witnesses waiting for three weeks for the Committee of the 'Luse of Coannons on ;standing order?. Another witness, states... that he has known one company to fr.: at an expense of nearly 1,0001. a day, for ten days, merely waiting for their turn to be heard. The total amount thus expended in contests before the Standing Orders Committee must in the present session have been ex,eedingly large; and it is to be feared that a large proportion of this expenditure has been worse than useless, having been incurred in brging up witnesses from the country, much to the injury of their own business, and with a very demoralising effect upon themselves. It should, however, be noticed that the number of witnesses whose at tendar.ce is required before the Standing Orders Committee of this House has been much reduced by the recent altera tions in the standers, and the expenses to the promoters of Bills proportionably diminished. The Committee are of opinion that means may be devised by which more direct and better protection may be afforded to proprietors than they have hitherto enjoyed. and that at the same time the promoters of Bills may be relieved from many of those charges to which they are now subject. It appears to the Committee, in the first instance, te.be very oesirable that the standing orders of both Houses affect ing railways should in all respects be, as far 29 possible, sim plified and assimilated; and that much advantage would arise if some mode were adopted by which proof of a corn pliaece with these standing orders might be taken before some proper authority, sanctioned by both Houses of Parlia ment. whose report might be received as evidi nee of the facts by the Standing Orders Committee. The Committee are of opinion that the detailed enumera tion of parishes now required by the standing orders might be dispensed with, as no distinct information is conveyed to parties interested, owing to the number of parishes which, as a precautionary measure, or in some instances for the ex press purpose of misleading, are inserted in the notices ; and that in lien tbereof the usual notices in Gazette, newspaper, &c., should be given, indicating the general direction of the line, and stating that a map from the Ordnance where there is one, or, where there is no Ordnance survey, from some published map, on a scale of not less than half an inch to a mile, showing the same within a limit of deviation that ' should not exceed one mile on each side, will be deposited with the different clerks of the peace on or before the last Friday of September preceding the session in which the Bill is to be applied for, which would also obviate the objection in Scotland to notices being affixed on church doors. The present system of serving detailed schedules upon owners and occupiers, containing the depth of cutting and height of embankment, may also be dispensed with, as, owing to the limits of deviation causing in many instances great alterations in the line, and owing to the impossibility of de scribing precisely the field or portion of field through which it passes, they seldom afford accurate information. In lieu thereof the Committee propose that the parish plans should be lodged at the same time, or within a week of the time of the lodgment of the Parliamentary plans in the end of No vember, which the Committee would suggest would be the last Friday in that month; to obviate the objection which occurred last year of the Both falling on a Sunday ; a n d th a t notice should be served on proprietors pointing out the figures on the plan which ref. r to their property. It has been proved to the Committee that a large amount of expense is incurred by the services of the notices on land owners living at a distance from the line of railway. With a view to meet this difficulty the Committee endeavoured to ascertain how far it might be possible to provide for the due performance of is service by means of the system of regis tered letters. It appears, however, from the evidence of Mr. Blott, an officer of experience in that department of thePost office, that there would be insuperable obstacles to the attain ment of that object, from the inadequacy of the establish ment, both in town and country, to the proposed duty. The Committee have already observed that schemes likely to be of great public advantage have hen lost through non compliance with the standing orders, while proprietors are often seriously injured by the plans when once deposited being final. The Committee are therefore disposed to suggest that all objections on the ground of non-compliance with the stand ing orders, or to the portiOns of the line as injuriouslyaffcting private property, should be lodged with some constituted authority on or before the second Friday in January, or with in six weeks after the lodgment of the parish plans, such authority having the power to call upon the other parties for their answers', and if necessary to send down their own officers to inspect and report to them, at the expense of the company, there being a fixed charge calculated according to time and distance. That such constituted authority should have power to sanction correction of inaccuracies in the plans, and to inquire into deviations suggested by parties whose pro perties are affected thereby, making a full report of the same, to be laid before Parliament when the Bill is introduced, stating the manner in which such deviations affect all other properties, and recommending either their adoption or rejec tion. The Committee do not consider that this would in duce carelessness on the part of the engineers in getting up their plans, as all errors would appear by the report, and might, if Parliament thought fit, be fatal to the Bill. The Committee are of opinion that the plans so corrected, together with the report, including the result of their in quiry as to compliance with standing orders, might be fur nished to Parliament in the course of the month of March, and not cause any material delay in the progress of the Bill. The Committee are satisfied that in a great number of cases the views of landed proprietors would be consulted, without detriment to the public interests, and a great amount of unnecessary expense in Parliament avoided, by this mode of proceeding. Such constituted authority would act in this respect as a court of arbitration, not only between companies and proprietors, but between companies themselves,and under proper rules and regulations for guiding its proceedings, which experience would soon suggest. It appears also to the Committee, that, according to the present system, the selection of the line does not rest with the Parliament as a body, but virtually with a Committee of five Members of that House in which the Bill is introduced, whose attention is necessarily confined to a single district, and without the information necessary to enable them to judge of the effects of the particular undertakings on the general railway system of the whole country; the other, House hiving only the power to approve or reject the scheme so sent to them, not to select Oat which may be considered the best. The Committee have taken into their consideration the very serious extent to which the projection of new lines has been carried, without any well-defined system for the accom modation of the country being laid down. Schemes have frequently been got up, and acts obtained by parties, for the mere purpose of speculation, without any definite object beyond that of selling them to companies with which they now compete, and existing companies have been compelled to project new lines, before eveii their own means would warrant their undertaking them, or the necessities of the district call for them, in order to protect themselves front rival schemes. The Committee have had their attention especially directed to the fearful amount of gambling consequent on the existing state of things, by which many persons have been entirely ruine I, and a demoralising effect produced upon the humblest as well as the highest class of society, while the trade of the country has been injured, owing to capital being diverted from its ordinary channels. Two courses have been suggested, and appear to be open, with a view to the restriction and control 'of this gambling is railway scrip. The one is to render the sale of such securities before the regular for mation of the company invalid, and to require that the original allottee should, either by himself, or, in the event of his death or bankruptcy, by his representative, be alone ad missible as the shareholder until after the first call shall have been paid up; the other, on the contrary, regularly to legalise such transfer of scrip, requiring in each case a regis tration of the purchaser, and his substitution in place of the vendor. The Committee recommend the adoption of the suggestion first mentioned. This :m portant consequence would follow, t hat whereas at present railway scrip is transferred from hand to hand with the facility of a bank-note, this would cease to be the case, and no person would venture to purchase sharel unless satisfied as to the respectability of the original holders, and of their readiness honourably to fulfil an engagement to which they could not be held by law in the event of the Act for the proposed railway being obtained. It appears, further, that the system of provisional regis-. tration, and the payment of a deposit, taken by themselves, and without any other immediate control, are rather calcu lated to form inducements to speculation which have no public object in view than to check them; the first giving apparently the same importance and foundation to a eradu lent scheme as to a sound one, and the other aff , rding to the projectors the means of securing themselves aga:nst many of the liabilities which they may incur in attempting to carry out for their own ends the most worthless schemes. The Committee have considered the fact that everything Is tending to throw the whole power, both as to the promo tion of new lines, and the management and appropriation of lines and branches and independent schemes, into the hands of great companies, in consequence of their command of capital ; and though this in many points of view, may not be considered objectionable, yet. the necessity of establishing some efficient control is very apparent. The question of amalgamation has been considered by the Committee, and they agree in the recommendation con tained in the report of the Railway and Canal Amalgama tion Committee of the House of Commons which has been laid before them, the concluding paragraph s o f w hi c h are to the following effect: The system of railways• and canals is now become so extensive, and their relations amongst themselves are so complicated, that no enactments passed by Parliament for their government and regulation can provide for all contin gencies, or be properly carried into effect, unless by the aid ' of some more efficient machinery than any which exists at the present moment. "After mature consideration, your Committee have come to the conclusion that it is absolutely necessary that some department of the executive government so constituted as to command general respect and confidence, should be charged with the supervision of railways and canals, with full power to enforce such regulations as may from time to time appear indispensable for the accommodation and general interests of the public. " Your Committee in their former report adverted to the ease of private arrangements between railway companies as requiring serious consideration. t' The — evidence they have since received pas shown that arrangements of this nature between railway and canal com panies may affect the public interest to a still greater de gree; and they are convinced that the effectual mode of ob viating the evils which might arise from an abuse of the power derived from such private arrangements will be found in the constitution of such an authority as they have . now recommended. " Your Committee entertain no doubt that a department so constituted might, in addition to these duties, afford mate rial assistance to Parliament in railway legislation. " It might save, by prelimin ar y investigation as regards facts, much expense to parties applying for Bills, and much of the valuable time of both Houses, without in any way in terfering with the paramount powers of Parliament, and its sole adjudication as to the rights of property. The Committee, having had these various subjects undo their consideration, seeing the evils of the existing system, recommend the establishment of some department of the Executive Government, on whom should be imposed the duty of considering the whole existing system of railway communication through the country, the best means of per fecting it, and of hereafter controlling the management by the various companies in such a manner as to make tile eon * flexion between their different line 4 cninlueive to the general advantage of the country, and most seryie: able to its various local inttlrests, . . _ It cannot bd expected of the Committee to enter into any detail as to the manner in which proceedings before this board would be tarried on. They recommend, however, that all propositions for any scheme of railway should in the first instance be'submitted to this board, who should require the promoters to lay before them some general statement a its object and advantages, and such evideng; of their capability and bona fide intentions a, might be deemed a sufficient &uarallte9 MI which to sanction further proceedings. This board should have the power, if they thow2,ht It, of giving authority for the survey of th e proy.„-;.3 itne;'similar to what is given to pers.ms et.T . ,plc.yen in the Ordnance sur vey, but reltlirmg from the promoters security, by the Oe posit of a sum of money, as an indemnity for any injury that . might be done during the progress of the sm•voy. ' • On the completion of the plan and 4 - ,enCiovt at 4 its deposit' with the board, as formet k r. wggeStOd, tlio investigation wotild 1;0 uoderta - ken the board with the view of ascer taiang'not only tbeoompliance with the standing orders. anti the importance in a public point of view of the pzur,444 its practicability, &c., but also in what, rei)4 aitY c‘O,Ii434CT , V • IN G, JULY 2, 1546. able interference was proposed with private property, and what particular objections any proprietor might haYe to the same, as effecting his estate, and how far means could be taken to obviate tries , objections. The Committee'consider that, with the aid which the officers bebo ging to the board could render to the Committees of Parliament, by laying-be fore them such investigations, and giving evidence in ques tions in dispute, the decisions of such Committees would 1,.• more uniform, and the rights of individuals, no less than the public interest, would be better protected than under the present system. The decisions and proceedings of the Board in ell . cases would of course be reported to Parliament, stating the grounds upon which the same had been come to. The necessity for the immediate appointment of such a Board, with sufficient powers delegated to it by Pariament, has become the more urgent, as it appears that Committees of Parliament on railway Bills, by way of solving difficui ties, and making provisions for contingencies, are constantly in the habit of referring matters and attaching responsibilities to the Board of Trade, which Board has not the means at its disposal, or sufficient authority, to carry out many of the subjects referred to them ; and the Committee are further of opinion that there aro many functions, both in regard to the control over railways when opened, as well as questions of amalgamations, which might be advantageously intrusted to such authority. One of the witnesses examined by the Committee is of opinion that all railways should be in the hands of Govern ment, and leased to parties by whom they should be worked ; or, it not, that the country should be divided into districts, as pointed out by the existing trunx lines; and that the public interest would be best secured by control, combined with a certain amount of competition. Mr. Cubitt, to whose evidence the Committee wish especially to refer, has suggested a plan of merging all railway capital into stock, by which a great saving in cost of management and other expenses would be made, and a valuable stock for investment would be created, which, owing to the grea - , amount of trust money invested in the public funds, becomes very desirable. _ The question of the gauge has been brought incidentally under the notice of the Committee. The evidence of diffe rent witnesses points out the great convenience which would be obtained by a uniform and proper gauge; and the Com mittee wish to direct particular attention to the very impor tant evidence given by Mr. Cubitt, as to what in his opinion appears to be a practical mode of obtaining this object, but on which the Committee have not sufficient evidence before them to pronounce an opinion. And the Committee have directed the minutes of evidence, with an index thereto. to be laid before your Lordships. be had no hesitation in sAying that the cost of maintenarce of each pauper, reckoning the interest of the money, would be at least 15. x. a week. B , sides this, it appeared to him that it vr:s too much to :ask fir i.cree.s,:d ccommodli f,r 400 patients, when acc•irdyip; to the same showine., they only made out that there was 298 more to he admitted. After a lengthened discussion the Court divided when the motion was deesred to to eirri,d hv a majority of 7, the numbers being for the mr , ti , ,n 20, ag .ins• it 13. PSIS .N DISCIPLINE OF THE COUNTY. The next question for the consideration of the Court was the condition of the prisons of the county, and the propriety of adopting the separate system of imprisonment. Mr. AUSTIN, in rising to make a motion upon the subject, said it was not his intention at present to press upon the Court the consideration of the question as to the value of the system of separate confinement, but his object was to obtain a remedy of the great evils th. t at present existed, and induce the Court to endeavour to adopt some beam system of prison discipline, leaving them to determine whether it should he by separate confinement or not. They should recollect that they were placed in tl e position of having the charge of the crime of the county, and he called upon them to consider what steps they bad taken to check it. They had made two great changes. Before the year 1800 their prisons, the Clink, the Borough Compter, and above all, the Ilarshalsea, were a disgrace to the county, but about that time they made some improvement, by building the county gaol, and from th a t p er i o d th ey appeare d to ev i nce some little philanthrophy on behalf of their unfortunate prisoners, In 1820 there was another great change, and the system of classification. labour, and silence was intro duced ; but, although the p o p u l a ti on had wry much in creased, very little had been done in the way of enlarging their gaols. and they were fast coming to the condition they were in when described by Howard. The returns from all the prisons in tl:e county showed what a crowded state they were in, and, with regard to Guildford, if they had a hun dred additional cells, the accommodation would still fall short. In this prison it appeared. that the unfortunate in mates had each only one-eighth of the space that. was consi dered to be necessary, and upon one occasion, 32 female pri soners were shut up in a room 13 feet square, and 10 feet . high, each of them having, therefore, only 50 feet of cubic air, it being well known that 800 feet were necessary for the preservation of health. In Brixton gaol, also, it was shown that the smell of the cells was so offensive that it could not be borne, even at a distance of se veral feet. It being admitted that there was this great want of accommodation, he thought, made nut a strong prima . facie case in favpur of some alteration ; and the question then arose, what system should be adopted? In his opinion, the system of classification, labour, and silence had completely failed, and that with regard to classification it was impossible to make it effectual, and where prisoners were brought together contamination was sure to result from it. He was of opinion also that the tread-wheel was a sense less and degrading labour, and that. it caused no terror to the prisoner, and the system of compelling prisoners to be silent in each others presence was cruel in the extreme. They shut the unhappy persons together in a room during a long winter's night, and if they dared to speak to each other, they were punt:shed. They just placed them in a position where it was hardly possible for them to avoid the commission of the offence, and then punished them for it ; and in one year, at Brixton gaol alone, 4,000 prisoners were punished for this offence. In one case, two women were -confined in a dark cell for three days for this offence, and because they sang and made a noise while so confided, they were sentenced to four teen days' imprisonment in additi on to t h e i r original sen tence. The only way, in his opinion, to prevent these evils, was to place prisoners in a complete state of isolation from each other. The Hon. Gentleman then proceeded to comment upon the evil consequences of prisoners being allowed to communicate with each other, and said it ap peared by the evidence given by some of the officers of the gaol, that the robbery at Chipstead, for which a man named Harley was hanged, was actually concocted by that person and another ma n name d Bedser, in Horsemonger-lane Gaol. He concluded by moving that a committee be appointed to take the matter into consideration, and to obtain the neeese sary plans. See., for the erection of a new prison or prisons, in! some convenient part of the county, with a view to the con-' solidation of the whole, or most of the present prisons into, one or more establishments. LAW Li TE LLIGEN CE. COURT OF co,vrmorv,PLEAS. June 30 (Sittings after Term at Nisi Prius, in London, before Mr. Justice ERLE and Common Juries.) BAKER AND ANOTHER D. PLASKETT. In this case Mr. Sergeant Byles anci Mr. Unthanko ap peared for the plaintiff; and Mr. Whitehurst and Mr. Ser geant Dowling for the defendant. The action was brought by the plaintiffs, who are share brokers in London, t, recover from the defendant, who is an attorney residing at Gainsborough, the sum of 1,0651. 12i. 6d., being the full value of 550 shares in the East Indian Railway Company, together with the plaintiffs' commission as a broker for purchasing the same. It appeared on the part of the plaintiffs, that, in December, 1845, the defendant employed a person named Stark to pur chase for him from 500 to 750 East India Railway shares, which Stark undertook to do, and to deliver on the 30th or the 31st of December, 1845, to be settled for on the 15th of January, 1846, and Stark purchased 550 shares in pursuance of this arrangement from the plait - riffs; and the plaintiffs, on learning that the defendant was Stark's principal, wrote to him in March for payment. The defendant, however. denied that he ever gave Stark authority to pay for the shares, or that he had constituted him his agent to that ex tent, but only that as a broker he was to buy the shares for him. For the deferdant it was contended that Stark was in debted to the defendant in a large sum for some Preston and Wyre shares, and that in liquidation of his claim he was to obtain for the defendant these East India Railway shares; and that he was employed merely as a broker. It was, also contended that the company came into existence before the Ist of November, 1844, at which date the Joint-stock Com panies Act came into operation, and that the shares could not, therefore, be legally sold. His LORDSHIP left it to the jury to determine whether the contract declared upon was proved by the evidence and whether the company was es t a bli s h e d b e f ore t h e l et of No vember, 1844. It so, they would find for the plaintiffs. Thejury found a verdict for the plaintiffs—Damages 1,0007., the valhe of the shares; and 31/. sa. brokerage. _ . Mr. BEST seconded the motion. A long discussion ensued, in which Mr. Briscoe. Mr. Trotter, Mr. Denison, Mr. Freshfield, Mr. Kemble, and Colones: Chal loner took a part. The latter gentleman eventually moved an amendment, to the effect that it was not advisable to incur so heavy an expense as the motion involved, until the Court were in possession of more information upon the subject; and upon a division the amendment was declared to be carried,, and the original motion was, therefore, lost. SECONDARIES' COURT, July 1. (Before Mr. Secohdary POTTER.) WUNDOCK V. WALLIS. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. BOW-STIcEET. A youth named Robert Bartlett, who had been nine years in the service of Mr. Ackermann, the printsellerf of the Strand, as a shopman, was charged with' stealins a number of prints, albums, &c., the property of his em' ploy er. _ _ This was an action to recover the sum of 2251., the balance of a sum due on some shares in the Tower Hamlets Loan Society, in which the plaintiff was originally a large share hulder, and the defendant the secretary. It was proved in evidence that the defendant had pur chased shares of the plaintiff. on an agreement to pay by in stalmerits, and that the sum claimed was due. The defendant having suffered judgment t' go by default, the jury gave a verdict for the amount claimed. It appeared that the prisoner had been indulging iD this system of plunder for some time, and the prase'. cutor suspected that others were identified with him, 0 the articles which led t o t h e di scovery o f the fact b a d passed through the hands of other parties before bell sold to Mr. Willi ams , anot h er shopkeeper in the Stran, who, having rea son t o b e li eve t h at the property o ffer el to him had been obtained by dishonest means, went ati conferred with the prosecutor upon the subject. The prisoner at once dtnitted his guilt, but deniei that any one else in M r . A c k ermann ' s employ had bee° connected with him. Mr. JAIMINE remanded him for further examination' MARLBOROUGH -STREET . Mr. Charles Bindley, Albert-terrace, and Mr. Joshed Hide, of the same place, were summoned before M r ' Maltby for an assault on Mr. George Hayward T a ylor. Mr. Taylor said the defendant Bindley was former% a tenant of his, but had l e f t th e h ouse w i th arrear s 0). . rent unsettled. He. called at Alb er t- terrace , whe,7 now lived, and 'was'invited by Bindley to 1 011). into the garden, to talk about the business, between their' After a short and unsa ti s f actory conversat i on, h e violently assaulted by Bindley, who seized him by o s hair or the head, and then twisted his cravat s 0 nearly to stranglf, him. ilyde, who was present chitty this violence, called o u t, " Wh en you have done n " him, hand him over t 3 me." Complainant, o n ber released by Bindley, was l a id h o ld o f b y Hyde, "1,,S thrust him _several times a ga i ns t th e gar d en wall. B.tis forced his knees against his stoma c h. C omp l a i nan t" so much injured by the ffl-treatment he had s u stain e d' that he had been ever since under medical treatment. 0 The complainant said th e case , h e cons id ered, wa s I ,0 f serious to be d ec id e d un d er the summary jurisdiction ti)j, a magistrate, and he hoped, therefore, the charge vv° l2 be sent to th e sess i ons . - Mr. Hyde said he took no part in the assault on 1 %: 1 ( 1. ; Taylor. On th e contrary, he interfered to part IS . P . Taylor and Mr. Bindley, who ha hold of each other. a Mr. Taylor de c la re d p os i t i ve l y t h at he was attacked as described by Mr. Hyde, Mr. Hyde then earnestly entreated the Court n ot t o send the case to the sessions; but to hear the evidenc e ' in order to give bun an apportunity of calling w itnesse s :, Mr. TaylOr appeared undecided whether to go 0 with the case against Hyde, or press' for a remand to th sessions, POTTINGER V. DE TROVDIR, This was an action to recover the sum of W. 10s., for goods sold. The plaintiff is a tailor in Eastcheap, and the defendant a wine merchant in Mark-lane. The defence was that there had been an agreement on the part of the defendant to take the amount out in wine. From the evidence it appeared that a letter had been sent by Mr. Iveson, the defendant's partner, to the plaintiff, stating that defendant had just come to England, ,and would be willing to deal if plaintiff took the amount of the bill out in wine, and that plaintiff subse quently said he had received the letter, and would agree to it. A coat, however, being considered a misfit, it was re turned, and a dispute arose. The garment was returned, and plaintiff refused to take any wine. Defendant not holm , : able to speak English, Mr. Iveson wrote to .Fly that the ac count should be discharged if the coat was taken back, and in another letter that the account should be Paid; but it was contended that it there had once been an agreement for barter, that it must be more distinctly alteied by the parties before an action could be brought for goods sold, and that the plaintiff's remedy was to recover the wine, which the de fendant was willing to deliver. The SECONDARY acquiesced in this view of the case, aml left it to the jury to say whether the letters were in tended to do that, or whether the object was to settle the matter under the agreement. „ The jury, having retired for some time, gave a verdict for the defendant. COURT OF BANKRUPrey July 1. (Befare Mr. Commissioner GOULBURN). IN RE lIARIA)W. In the case of this bankrupt, who had formerly carried on business in Leicester-square, as a tobaconist, Mr. Horwoon, a solicitor, applied to the Learned Com missioner to appoint a day for a private meeting for the ex amination of witnesses under this est.de. The application was made by the assignees, and on the application of the creditors, one of whom, however, resided at Vienna. The Learned COMMISSIONER, after considering the Act of Parliament, was of opinion that he could not grant the appli cation, which must be made by persons who were willing to enter into an undertaking to pay such costs as :he Commis sioner might think fit, and a foreign crelitor. residing abroad, ,was not in a position to enter into such an undertaking. Mr. Horwoon said he would, probably renew the appli?a tion on beh.lf of other creditors. SURRE V SESSIONS. Mr. MALTBY said he would give the complainant few days longer, that he might make up his mind wh f; course h. - . would adept. Mr. Stephens, pawnbroker, Wardour-street, was suni; moiled by an i n di v id ua l named M • Kelland, for taking farthing more than legal interest. The ease was proved by a person named Johnstone;, Mr. Humphries, who attended for the defence, said th present was the first in which his client had been sa l : 0 moved to a police-court, a f ter h av i ng b een twenty-II years in busin,ss. The General Quarter Sessions fur the county of Surrey commenced on Tuesday at the Court-house, Guildford, and as there was some important business to be disposed of, there was an unusually.lorge attendance of magistrates. There were present G. T. Nicholson, Esq., chairman; Lord Love lace, Viscount Crawley, Lord Lovain, W. J. Dee ison_ t Esq., M.P., J. Trotter, Esti., M.P., H. Kemble, Esq., M.P., E. An trobus, Esq., M.P., Sir R. Frederick, Colonel Chtlloner, I. T. 13riscoe, E , q., C. Barclay, Esq , A. K. Barclay, Esq., R. C. Aus'in, Esq.. W. J. Freshfield, Esq., T. Puckle, Esq.. S. H. Lucas, Esq., and a number of other magistrates. The Governors of the different gaols in the county made their usual reports. It appeared that their respective establi&.ments were generally healthy, but that they were very full of prisoners; and in Guildford gaol in particular there were at the pre•-eot time a hundred more prisoners con tined within it than it was intended originally to contain. Upon the application of Mr. S the county nwiplece i treasurer, the C urt made an order for a county rate of 2d. in the pound, to be levied within six weeks. ENLARGE.IVOZNT OP THE COUNTY LUNATIO ASYLUM. The Committee of Visiting Justices appointed to this es tablishment made a special report, recommending that the present building should be enlarged, so as to enable it to contain 400 ad,litional patients. It at present was calcu lated for CO, but the committee having ascertained that then , were nearly 300 more lunatic or imbecile paupers con fined in different workhouses and In private establishments, they recommended that provision should be made in the county establishment for their reception ' and with this view they had ordered th e coun t y surveyor to make the ne cessary estimates and plans, and it was calculated that the whole cost of the additional buildings, furniture, &c., to ac commodate the additional 400 ,patients, would not exceed 35,0001. they concluded by recommending that the Court should sanction their proposal, and take the necessary steps to have the alterations carried into effect. , Memorials were read from the guardians of the poor of Lambeth and Newingtcn, in favour of the enlargement of the building, and from the guardians of Guildford, Chertsev, Epsom, and the Hembledon union against it. The grounds upon which the latter parishes opposed the enlargement of the building were, that the connt.y had already incurred a very large expense (nearlyhiat they 9 0 0,0 oclo,/.ldreienta hehte erection county a of ou the a t present building, and t not to be burdened with an additional charge. Mr. KEMBLE proposed the adoption of the report, which b e sa id w as agreed to by every one , O u t the visiting justices, wh() he ml, ur. Briscoe, with the exception of their chairttl:tn, regretted to say did not concur with them. He considered that by agreeing to this report they were merely carrying out their original object, of properly providing for that most helpless and afflicted class of the community, the pauper lunatics, and he begged to remind the Court that the Act of Parliament rendered it imperative upon them to provide sufficient accommodation for them, and that if they failed to do so, the Secretary of State had the power to interfere and compel them. At present a great number of these unhappy, persons were dispersed about the county ; and he thought it would be obvious to all that it would be much better to have them under one roof, where they would be likely to have proper attention and care, and undergo such treatment as would he likely to restore them to health. With regard to the expense, he begged to remind the Court that they had the power by the Act of Parliament to bor row the money, awl extend the „p un t for a period of thirty years, so that the amount to he repaid oaekyear would be very trifling. He cenehAdrd by moving the adoption of the report, Alr. A. I. IMROLAY seconded the motion, . , Celinel elett.emeErt opposed the metion, and said that when the erection of the original io, Kling Iva; Ir,:pos-11 k• Mr. Briscoe, a great many of the m..... , r . 0 . ~ ..,. support. upon the understanding tlia U: , ' '":%to!1 , .:. ,,,,, to be chiefly tre,ted as one for the ciii . ? . of the ma , 1 , :o .1 not for C!ti contional reeeptinn And housing of hop le-s cases, which now seemed, to he the object sought to be i,e- . . tained. He was tai epinlon that a great many of the cases NEL. On the 17th ult , at the baths of Schinznach, Switzerland, Geol if in the iie - euin might very properly hav e charge of the different workhouse& Mathew, Esq., aged 86. . c ottf Mr. Morrell said, thM 'We the Act. Twaained under the On the 21st ult., at Stratford, Essex, Alicia, widow of had no right to tithe erieh el use of the o N f vo P tfh l i i i a n i s n e e , On Au) ~ aged 51.C0," Of n t an they dit On the 26th ult., Miss Cox, daughter of the late Mrs. Co , " they did ila' agree to the proposed alteration, he was afraid Sloane-street. OP 1,4 seeietary of State would compel them. On the 26th ult., at Belmont, Torquay, IL Legh Thomas Mr. C. BASCLAY supported the notion, and said he hoped P.n.s., aged 78. On the 27th nit., in Weymouth-street, Catherine, only dong bter to see the rem— ierul”tion of the Vi- - erg Justices carried o '',. .e„ .„ 4111 of the late Rev. W. Gregory, aged 54. k INfio r into &Teat. . Oa the 27th ult,, Mts. ILufeury Leigh, of Pontypool-par- , moutlishire. Jose 1 4 1. ' AYSWIN. epcieed the motion 'and he observed that ha 1.V: 113 .. 910 1 1111‘r of one of the Boards of Guardians that had Oa the 27th ult., In Upper Phlillmore-place, Kensington. t eeereoriallsed the Court against the propoaed enlargement, England, Esq., aged SG. expended, for such a daughter of 2 and he considerecrthe large sum of ae,ooo/. ought not to be On The Chal!ilio? in imrpo. - 4e. He agreed with Colonel Eagles. E Bt d h wa u rd lt., in Worship -square, Emily Catharine , ° Riell ~...t .. ,er.-.-. . "4 11$' t!a opinion that many of the cases that were 1 3 0 . 1 . Y 44 f 0 06 asylum might be properly traaied in the T.4lreten: Printed and Pub!l s h e rl by VIJRDO YOUNG, o f i(o. ei ~„.0 1 0_, Workhous e s, and this would be done et mach l ess expense. Stra n d, P r i n t er , at The Sea Office, N 0.112, Strand, in the _fl.: --,1,07 The present building bad. already cost A very large sum, and of the Savoy, ,tin th e C oun t y o f Middl esex , puttlida 2, MG. A second s ummons , f or ta ki ng a penny more t lOO legal interest, was gone into and proved, on the same 1 ' timony as the preceding case. cl Mr. MALTBY i n fl icte d the mitigated fi ne of 40s. 0n - costs in each ease MoF•srs. Perry and Lance, pawnbrokers . , ComPt ° o street, - were summone d for taking five farthings In°r than legal interest on a pledge. Johnstone was the witness in this ca , :e. Mr. Humphries said his answer to the case wa s, t less instead of more than legal interest was taken. e j A shopman, named W a di s ,. swore th at h e only receiYro fourpence int eres t, an d nut s i xpence farthing, as svg' r to by the approver J o h ns t one . T he interest was O l t. pence farthing, but witn e s s usua ll y relinqukLed farthing if he hal not a farthing in change. The ticket, in a mutilated form, was produced. .• Mr. MAL T B Y re j ecte d the evidence of the ticket, 1 0 ' tf very doubtful form, and inflicted a fine of 3/. and costs' 'ARKET NEWS.—(YESTERDAY.) COEN EXCHAR7StE. The supply of English Wheat on sale was by no Ine s/11 large, but mor e th an equa l t o meet the wa n t s of the deaf '/ All descriptions met a very inactive demand, and Mond at. depressed rates were with difficulty supp orte d . N ear ly tr o whole of the Wheats having been tak en out of bon d, t' Foreign Wheat trade ruled heavy, at barely late Ott Barley was a dull sale, an d l s. per quarter lower. In Difu very little was d o i ng , a t l ate rates. Oats, the supply ni which was large, moved off heavily, and, in some instant:i. lower fi gures were submitted to. Beans, Peas, and Fl° " heavy,,at barely late currencies. ARRIVALS. English .. • • Irish ........ Foreign ...... Wheat. 2,450 qrs. Barley. 100 qrs. Oats 1 Flou r ' ; . 80 qrs. 790 s 8,590 2,450 I 7,690 1,520 Malt, 1,606 gra: VI7HI'rECIIII.OEX. II Prime Beef and Mutton commanded a s t ea d y sa l e at t 0,,, prices. In all other kinds of Meat ne x t to nothing w'-ot doing.—Beef from 2s 4d to 3s 6d ; Mutton, 2s lod 4s ; Lamb, 4s 10d to Gs ; Veal, 3s 4d to 48 4d ; and P° l. 8s 4d to 4s 10d per Blbs by the carcase. =TIM On the 25th ult., at 3rount RadeK.l, Exeter, the l a dy o f John Can'. ming, Esq., of a daughter. On the 26th ult., at Leominster, the lady of the Rev. J. C...-' ton, of a daughter. On the 2 iitrtall - .., at Brat - mote Lodge, Netts, the lady of J. Had& s ' Esq., of a son. On the 27th ult., at Michael's-pl ace , B romp t on , t h e lady of J' D. llewett, Esq., of a daughter. re ) On the 27th ult., I n Gos we ll- s tre e t, km. James H. WitchU ' prviaturely, of a 80111. eiti 6 Cvn the 27th ult., the laity of J. Wright, Esq., M.D., of Storey's - - St. James's-park, of a daughter 4,1i...R1Eb O' On tho.2stli ult., at Sleretiage, Iterts, William Adam Maibeth , a te i Marian, youngest daughter of tile . c o : r hr l i l Ei r r i o g fi l li t :. ) l ' ' '' l'i7r i lt r e e rl r ' ' a ' s, t : Esq., of Bigtleiwade, :Ileitis. .. m is. On the 17th ult., at i; , l Mark's, Mydd e lt ou -s quare , Mr. Tn. , Faie.r Wittenham, of Loniblni-streel, to Franevs Sarah, se con d daughter of the late .',' r. Richard Moss, of St. John-street-road•_/ • S IiOSKI/ tle Cobi Passel eight o'c Fares Single B freight o in Bristc Glasford A r(i the MA: terminei With a having TRAVE A.ddre to X, to treet, I CP 2517 $R The meeting Parliam Notice on or be, Bankers viz. : London. Bristol . Liverpoc Chelteol Reading Longo gx. The 1) of the Ilt the 4th o tered Prc Thelio ' Certifical t Wo clew Oflices, C ul RECEIV DERS fc interest abbe half • Tender - to be len London. _~LA~ In ord such an 18 prepar b greater e clivid ual name an Mane)] ] Sir,--) Coronary ter of the tion Rail of the St Perating ment of 1 Form s Pany's lAA/ All p e requester Seeretar3 31, Pr] ratron Duke of count/7: of Prusst who Bed made of touch, at correspoi repellent sire hod Charged, They ( Wareroo for it co respectf for then ence in oreign . lion. I ment t bottle b as each genuine JOH/ ESSEN the earn Years. t CAU stoners to be en And wh Cheinisl F R Possessii with col nese, 00 all, that bottler ii ollovrin Sir, salt of OF HE many yi result s f rom re therefor ong NAT esPecita valuabh to myse 111A -MI it ar The u eornmer 'tom 0 1 for np gi ut n trtidant Giddine ileartbt Two ' , recta. action Wad his ltrengu 101 11 be aceor a p Sold I Der box k ingdo Ask f mOUTA