The Sun. — London, England, 1846-01-29 00:00:00

THE SI7N, SOUTHAMPTON, MANCHESTER, AND OXFORD JUNCTION RAILWAY COM PANY. A public meeting of the sharehelders in this Company was held on Tuesday, at the Hall of Commerce, Threadneedle street, which was convened by the solicitor, Mr. Par. sons, in compliance with the wishes of a large number of the shareholders, to take into consideration the agree ments entered into by the Managing Committee with the Oxford, Southampton, Gosport, and Portsmouth, and the Oxford, Newbury, Andover, Manchester, and Southampton Companies respectively, as well as the general state of the affairs of the Company, and to consider the steps necessary to be taken with reference to the same. After a delay of about half an hour, Mr. PARSONS said, that Mr. Wilkinson, who was to have presided, was about fifty yards distant, and had been sent for, but as he had not appeared he would call on Mr. Muntz to take the chair. had not stated one-half of the evil which must yet come before the public.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. Muntz, said he was ashamed to be connected with the committee. [Mr. Muntz said he meant the acting parties, the engineers. and such like.] But surely such men were most detrimental to the Company, and he (Mr. Muntz) ought, when he knew what he had stated, to have displaced them by men in whom the committee could confide. [Mr. Muntz—l was at home unwell.] According to Mr. Muntz's statement, the committee was under the control of Mr. Parsons, who had been the cause of but one-half of the shares being allotted, and much money had thereby been lost to the Company. But Mr. Muntz ought when he saw that to have called a meeting of the shareholders. Yet, instead of that, what does the committee and the Hon. Gentleman do? They go and negotiate an amalgamation with another company, and call upon shareholders to come up and sign the deed under this new agreement, of which the shareholders know nothing, and have no means of knowing what they are rendering themselves liable to when they sign the deeds. It was the most extraordinary thing that had occurred in the railway world : the committee surely did not expect to find such another company of shareholders, upon whose stupidity they could hope to work as they had intended to do on whether theirs. it h s' e s h ta a t d em n e o nt m , heaendsidofn judging, and and Mr. Muntz had given them but little help. Mr. Muntz was As c fo o r rret f t r. or Pa n rs ot s ; n had said nothing of the arrangements entered into, whether it would be advantageous or not ; he had not mentioned it. Mr. PAYNE, of Birmingham, said that the number of shares allotted was 400,000. He had himself moved in the committee that 600,000 should be allotted, and the reason that it had not been 900,000 shares was that Mr. Parsons objected to it, for he had in view amalgamation with Mr. Bethell's, company, whi c h Company had allotted only 600,000 shares, so that by this number being allotted on their part also, both Companies would be on a par. The 600,000 shares had not been al lotted, because Mr. Parsons had kept back 1,000 of them, and several other persons had reserved allotments for themselves. Mr. PARSONS begged to say, that when he went down to Birmingham with the prospectus, he had not concealed that there were competing lines. He called on Mr. Spooner, and told him of the other two lines, and if he did not tell Mr. Muntz of them he had no intention to keep him igno rant of the fact ; but whether he had told him of them or no, he must have heard of them. [Mr. Muntz—No.] When he asked Mr. Muntz to become a director he had said he could not give much time to it, but when he came up to London he would give as much attention to the business of the Company as he could. And he (Mr. Parsons) put it to Mr. Muntz whether he did not receive a letter from him asking him to become chairman of the committee. When the shares were about to be submitted to the public, there was a re solution passed in the committee, but not recorded on the mi nutes of the committee, reserving the right to every member of the Provisional Committee of purchasing 150 shares, and to every member of the Managing Committee the right of purchasing 500 shares. Besides these, 17,000 shares had been reserved for another purpose, so that these taken into account, make it evident how the allotment was made for but 400,000 shares. Mr. Parsons then particularised the persons appointed by the committee to till official situations, and denied having ever had anything to do with their appointment, or with filling any of the offices connected with the Company. As for the arrangement with Mr. Bethel], he (Mr. Parsons) had, himself, been the first to move in it. He called on Mr. Bethel!, and having stated his ob ject, Mr. Bethell requested him to put his statement into writing. He proposed to Mr. Bethell that 600,000 shares of the amalgamated Company should be allotted to the shareholders of the Southampton, Manchester, and Oxford Company, and that they should exchange their scrip for that from Mr. Bethell. That gentleman was limited as to time for reply, and did not reply within that time. That he (Mr. Parsons) advised the Committee to allot the rest of the shares, and proceed without waiting longer, as Mr. Bethell seemed to be only amusing them, but they did not allot them. Al though hundreds of shares were applied, under good and bond fide names, no shares were given to some, and others had got twenty and fifty ; and now they turned round on him (Mr. Parsons), and would make him the scape -grace for their own faults. Mr. SPOONER M.,P., admitted that there had been such a resolution moved as Mr. Parsons had alluded to, at least he believed so, for he bad not been present. A circular, too, he believed was sent round, inti mating the substance of that resolution. He had himself received one, but had personally intimated at the Committee room that he would not purchase more shares than he had already taken. When Mr. Parsons called upon them to allot the rest of the shares, they were at that time at a dis count in the market. Mr. Parsons advised them to allot more shares at such a time, and did he dare now to turn round and blame them for not doing so ? Nor were they now placed in a worse predicament by the amalgama tion with Mr. Bethell, for if their Bill were thrown out by Parliament, they themselves were unaffected by it. the amalgamation of course became a nullity, and they returned to their former position. He said he would have been happy to have called a meeting of the shareholders to consider their affairs. He had often talked of it, and urged even a dissolution upon his Honourable Friend Mr. Muntz and Major Morse Cooper, but they said, no. They said they cared less for the loss they:might sustain ; they had allied themselves to the scheme; they were not altogether without good prospects, as a matter of duty, therefore, to the rest of the shareholders, and in hope of ultimate success, route qui route, they would stand by it. Colonel JoistisTorrE said that a meeting now to consider the affairs of the Company, after a circular had been sent round asking them to sign the deeds of amalgamation, was like putting the cart before the horse. Mr. HEELE, the present solicitor of the company, was called upon to state the terms of the amalgamation. He said they were these—that there should he fifteen directors in all, that there should be three chosen from the South ampton, Manchester, and Oxford Company; six from the Oxford, Newbury, Andover, Manchester and Southampton Company; and six, half and half. The shareholders in the new company were to be as many as were in the South ampton, Manchester and Oxford Company. And that upon going to Parliament, should they be unsuccessful, then that the Southampton, Manchester, and Oxford Company should amalgamate with the other Company. A PROPRIETOR asked whether the Committee knew what was the capital of the other Company?—(Near, hear.) Mr. SPOONER—No.—(OI), Oh.) He begged to say that a capital equal to their own was to be subscribed by that Company. After much debate and wrangling, Mr. Heele was called on to say what would be the effect if the original share holders refused to sign the deeds of amalgamation—how their shares would be affected? After consulting some time with Mr. Muntz and Mr. Spooner, he said he was unable then to give an opinion, but he thought it would be better for them to sign the deeds, and he would therefore ad vise them to comply.— (Laughter.) Much more discussion followed between individual share holders in the body of the meeting as to calling a meeting of the shareholders; whether Mr. Muntz ought not to do it after seeing the animus of that meeting. But Mr. Muntz refused to interfere, and advised them to send in a requisi , don to the committee. Mr. MuNTz, M.P., said he must decline presiding, be cause be did not recognise the right of those who had called the meeting to take that course. The shareholders were ready to render any explanation that might be required, but it should be to a meeting convened by persons entitled to do so. He was unfortunately the chairman of the Company, but it was with the express condition that he was not to take any part in the proceedings. Same other gentlemen having been called on, and having refused to preside, the chair was at length taken by Mr. Graham. The CHAIR3IAN said he would call on Mr. Parsons to state the circumstances under which the meeting was called. Mr. PARSONS, having read the notice convening the meet ing, said, that it became a duty imposed on him, or, rather, which he had taken on himself, to state the circumstances that led to this meeting being called. It was well known to them that it was he who had originated that line (the Southampton, Manchester, and Oxford Junction), and that to distinguish it from another line it was called Parsons' line. As the projector, he conceived he would not be doing his duty to himself if he did not respond to the call of those who had relied on him in that matter, a nd who had been induced by his representations to take shares in the Company, and whose desire it was that that meeting should take place.—(Hear.) He also held between 400 and 500 shares. Before proceeding further he must observe, that the line, asprojected by him, had its commencement at the South-Western Railway, and ter minated in two points at the Great Western. It did not depend upon any other lines than those which were es tablished, and it was intended by that arrangement to obtain and consolidate all the other advantages arising from the north to Southampton. Now that was the line he had projected, and it was a rational scheme, but at the time that he was relieved from professional care of the project, an advertisement appeared which contained a statement on the part of the Provisional Committee which to him wasquite suicidal. The line projected was in itself a good scheme It proposed to have branches to Swindon. But what was his surprise to see that by an agreement between both Companies, the main trunk and branches were given up, the only branch reserved being that to Swindon. It did not propose to have an amalgamation of the two Companies. There was no reciprocity of advantages at all, and the entire benefit resulted to Mr. Bethell, even if the Act were obtained. But it was absurd to suppose that an Act could be obtained for such a line. Therefore their Company,would have no interest in Mr. Bethell's Company. On the contrary they, if it were carried out, would be left te fight single-handed against the Great Western and toe Southampton Railway, and the Committee took upon themselves to alter that line, so that it was perfectly absurd to bring it forward as a distinct branch, because the line then laid down was within two miles of the Great Western, near Huneerford. They would, therefore, for that distance, be a competing line with the Great Western. It must, therefore, be obvious to them that to go to Parliament for a Ilne running two miles parallel with the Great Western would be - absurd. Supposing the line was made from Swindon to Hungerford, it would then fall into Mr. Bethell's line—would it not be ridi• eu essus to think of bringing such a scheme before the House? lee had been called on by parties for an explanation of what ail that meant, but he could only repeat what he had read in the newspapers. However, being acquainted with the localities, he ,aw that the proposed scheme was an absurdity. Besides t n era was no mutuality of benefitabetween the two companies. Fr. , m he numerous inquiries that were made of him by ~.,veral great shareholders, he was urged to make some re mo.istrance witti the p irtie4 before the line was persisted in. .!' evious to doing so, however, he was determined to take the a .I..ice of course', and laid a case as to whether a Company, having abandoned the original line, could retain the deposits. The answer of Mr. Kindersley and Mr. Hetherington was, that they could b?. compelled to return the deposits, in con sequence of the line being altogether changed. Shortly after an advertisement appeared in the paper, to the effect that,tf i et an arrangement had been made with Mr. Beteell and. the Managieg Committee, ani it was declared that there was an amalgamation of the companies. There was some mystery which could not be discovered in the face of the a dvertisement. It was evident that Mr. Bethell's line pro • posed to go to 3linchester and Andover. If that were a bond fide agreeme.)t, it was impossible the Company could preserve their line to Swindon; therefore the whole project was abandoned, and the Directors had no right to retain the in ney. The line, which was to have terminated in two points at the Great Western, would have secured the assist ance of that Company, but they had now incurred the re sentment of two powerful companies, and there would be great danger in going to Parliament. Here they were called on to sanction a line which deprived them of the communication with Portsmouth and Gosport, which would have procured for them the patronage of Go vernment, from the facilities it would afford of conveying troops there. How could any men of business sanction such an arrangement. But this had been done without even con suiting the wishes of the shareholders on the question. He could not place much confidence in men who had betrayed so much infirmity. In the first instance only half the shares were allotted, so that instead of raising 900,0004 which they could have easily done, they only raised 400,000/., and with so small a capital it was impossible they could go before Parliament. Moreover, there were applications for nine or ten times more shares than could be alloted by the committee. Now, under the circumstances, how was it, he would ask, that they had been induced to give up that line? Why, the project was so ab surd that it could not be submitted to Parliament, and it had been intimated to him that they could not show a traffic on the line. And it was proposed now to hand over their money, nolens miens, to carry out those views on which the Directors were determined to act, without even consulting the shareholders, and they persisted in going before Parlia ment with a line quite different from that for which they had paid their money. The shareholders were now called on by the advertisement to sign the deed, or forfeit their deposits. It had been said that the lines with which they 'tad amalgamated had only sufficient to pay their own expenses, and therefore they would incur the responsibilities of two lines. Instead, therefore, of bettering their condition they were getting worse and worse. He conceived now that the shareholders had a right to demand some explanation from the Directors, who ought to state the position in which they were placed and give them up their deposits, which they refused to do.—(No, no.) A LADY (a shareholder) said that she bad called at the office in Throgmorton-street, and stated that she would much rather get back her deposits than sign the deed, but this was refused. The Cuanteiaer said this was a corroboration of what he GENERAL PASLEY and the GAUGE lied stated. A SHAREHOLDER asked why Mr. Parsons had not called a QUESTION. meeting at the time when the first advertisement appeared? TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Mr. PARSONS said he was consulting counsel on the Sir,—l had laid down a rule not to reply to any of affairs of the Company, and of course it occupied him some the articles in which my opinions or reports are at tacked, either in the daily or weekly papers, or in those at time in drawing up a case; besides that, he had the engage . specially devoted to the subject of railways; nor to enter ments of his business on hand. into . any discussion with persons who propose new in- Mr. Mucus, M.P., rose in the body of the meeting, and ; I after what had fallen from Mr. Parsons, he felt called ventione to prevent railway accidents, all of whom in said, , . on to animadvert on some of the statements which had fallen from that gentleman. For himself, he said, he had never deem their own projects infallible, and some of whom been a speculator in railways, and was not one, except to the are unreasonable enough to be offended by my returning extent to which he had been involved by his connexion a mere acknowledgment of the receipt of their commu with that Company, and he begged to seate how that con- nications. To enter into a controversy with the former, flexion came to be formed. When Mr. Parsons had brought or into a correspondence with the latter of the parties out his line, he wrote to him ( Mr. Muntz ) , s p eakin g alluded to, would waste the whole of my time in inter of the good prospects of the scheme, and its advantages, terminable altercation, leading to no useful result. Con and asking him to take shares in it. In reply, he wished to sequently, when I have been charged with an equal see what names Mr. Parsons had got on the committee; Mr. want of practical knowledge and of science ; when I Parsons went down to Birmingham and called on him with i the information, representing the scheme so fairly that he was accused of astounding ignorence, because I reported consented toion , take shares, but observing at the time against the use of improper switches, viz., shifting rails that there must be a greater number of working men on the and cross-rails, to connect with a passenger railway, committee, for he could not promise to work himself. Some which had caused the death of two men; when I had time after Mr. Parsons wrote t o hi m to say that the prospec- been described as an infirm, superannuated person, in tus from one cause or another had not then been published, capable of supporting the fatigues necessary for the and asked him to allow hims e lf t o b e put d own as chairman. efficient execution of my public duties ' • when I have S u bsequent to that he had become unwell , so as to be unable been reproached with neglect, because I did not examine to be present at any me etin g s of the com m i tt ee, at first the levels of every rail an d o f ever y c h a i r , b e f ore I allowed a line to be opened, or when, after I had re when he was able to attend, he found, he was sorry to T i y, ported a new railway to be in a safe state, accidents oe all the acting persons who had been appoint dby r. erred afterwards, through carelessness, or even when Ilarsons, with one or two exceptions, the most le u i n ie fit h p ad er e so v n er s for their duty, the most fraudulent set of peop met with. He had no interest apart from the interest corn- s ipsoecurred afterwards, caused by continued rains and 'neon to the shareholders; he considered he had lost from foe; inundations, to which persons who understand anything or five hundred pounds by the scheme into which he had of railways know that the best are liable for years after been led by dishonesty—for he had to state to them the way they are opened; when my inspections have been alleged in which he had been lugged into it. He said to Mr. Parsons, to be a useless form, and nothing more than a party of when he was down at Birmingham, "Is there any railway in pleasure in a first-class carria2e, ending in an entertain competition with your line?" "Oh, no, decidedly not," ment provided by the Directors, whose invitations on was Mr. Parsons' reply; but the first thing he had the contrary I have always declined, when I could do so met with after that was a notice of Mr. Remington's without a want of courtesy—l have passed over such line. He would, however, notice some of the points of Mr. . misrepresentations with silent contempt, sensible that parsons' statement. He (Mr. Parsons) said they were poor, —, ,aisnoora , and absurdity an d perhaps they were poor, but how did their poverty the r of the whole of them is well arise? Why, one-half the shares only had been sold by Mr, known to the Directors of the Railway Companies Parson's own recommendation.—( Hear, hear.) Ought he not whose lines I have inspected, as well as to their officers to have stated then that he had advised that measure? And and the persons in their employment, from all of whom, ought he, after that, to come and make a statement about a in my official intercourse) with them, I have inns,- poverty which, if it has existence, derived that existence riably experienced, not merely civility, but respect and from himself? Mr. Parsons had blamed them for giving cordiality. tip the original line, but th e y had done so because Mr. - In respect to the statements made by me when sum- Bethell'e Company, with which the y were on ter ms , had mooed to attend coroners' inquests, held in consequence their line already, and they ba d retained as much as the Why, i t of fatal railwa y accidents, the case is different. I have money they had on hand warrant ed them to do.. was asked, had they given up the arrangements negotiated always had a great reluctance to appear On such occa with Mr. Bethel? Mr. Parsons should have known that; lions, for not having been myself present at any of them, if he did not, he (Mr. Muntz) could tell him affairs had I could not, of course, say any thing from personal know turned up with that Company which were beyond ledge as to the facts. Only in the trial at the York As his (Mr. Muntz's) control, and the control of the committee, s i zes , on the 15th of last month, of Thomas Wheatley, which warranted their breaking off as they did. If thegentle- the engine man would wish to know further he might go and inquire naan, who ran with a pilot engine into the rear of a train which he was sent to assist, which he did on an of Mr. Bethell what these affairs were. They had given up ascending gradient with such violence as to cause the death part of th e l i ne because t h ere was a p ara ll e l an d a better of y. i 3 r. oteler and another gentleman, I certified, from line. As for the waste of money with which they had been personal knowledge, that the breaks of the tender at charged' Mr. Parsons might call together a meeting of all the shareholders, a n d the lashed to that engine, which were asserted by the stoker committee would render ups faithful account of all the e irtrausactions. For himself he to have been unserviceable, in palliation of the pri wished nothing more ea rnestly, unless :it be one thing, and goner's conduct, were, on the contrar y , p erfectl y ser that was that he h ad Company, for he had been apythfng to do with the viceab:e, they being the first and only pattern that had hi s will and most deceitfully, lugged Into it against been used on railways for many years, and being still Y i • aeeti Me a. Parsons' connexion a i v sso er l t v e r far reams w ith the committee had in very general use, though mote powerful ones have which he could himself have mr. p When he recently been adopted in making new tenders. Here (31r. 3funtz) came up he found there could be no misrepessentation or mistake, and my excising control over the ecommittee and all business,iatrssosex. opinion was not asked for, though if it had been I should They were obliged to get th rid of ie - im on account of hi s o not, of course. have withheld it, it having been previously du,...t, for it was such as leycould not put up w i th. lie l tio n n ec i e n ss w it h y ich lk h i er . f. p ar,,. was submitted to Lord Dalhousie, the President of the Board committee o n of 'Trade, as willappear when the reports of the Rail such at parting with gentleme_ri of the . eons had to thank evil' a ground, buth,it s was f fo r a t Ile a I p n o f s u i lin 'Con which the committee weren u e% between hew would way Department of Government shall be published, In respect to the report of my proceedings on the himself and for the posi i the Easterne CWounentide°sn Bth of August last, when I visited the hispart, as he had said already, spot w e occupying . most willing to give For a statement to the shareholders, ..ero a fatal accident had taken place, be had ad done, sa 1 dßa an il d way Che a s e t d erfo w r h d en s a ta ft t e io r n w s ard o s f shareholder,that theyrose when convened for that purpoeeofall Mr. WILKINsoN, a largegiving evidence at the , t d b cha'r ien ma e y any i -Coroner's inquest held in copse he had 'Sever heard a statement though he had At- quence of it at Littlebur o the ). in of a railway company, Where my opinion was pointedly nt n e di lsth of the same month all wa re, such as tended many meetings on r 3'' bo had 17ust far different, that the news y asked, the case was so Gentleman vi paper reports, which included 1. d been made by the honourable said he rid not only my evidence but my pr ivate eat down. That Honourable Gentleman had been of sation, bein not entir l though lugged in, deluded, seduced ; but, he would ask any tog _ ey, not very nearly, 4cptt th,,se in that room whether the Member for Birmingham rate, ledattac k s upon me not only for what I said, Was one likely to be seduced and hoodwinked? (T he g en- but also for what I did riot say. Still it did not appear' tleman here alluded to the statement made by Mr. Muntz, as worth while for me to take any notice of those articles. to the manner he had been led to connect himself with the In the case, however, of my evidence on the late coro committee, remarking however on what the Chairman of ner's inquest at Thetford, on the I3th instant, it hiss ' the meeting s a id were i misquotations.) . He then then in 'ours and in that his gro un d of said so i na ccurately reported ;1, the other comlaint was against gentlemen who al- been of the day following—not only opinions, lowed themselves to bo p p ; order to gain subscri fiut upon commit pf railways, in morni g 'n papers having been Unsstated—that I ore it to i n :the newspapers. p_ ens by the authority of their name but even facts to correct the errors into whiub o n rere alleged; th e ... On that occasion when difficulties A..cnourable c i , ' my own character . t is not fair to assume that a atieraan, be considered, reporters have fallen, 0 1 -- ... The result was, that the meeting separated informally, and we left several signing a requisition got up on the occa sion, praying the committee to call a meeting forthwith of the shareholders to take the affairs of the Company into consideration. LONDON, THURSEV,A,,Y MORNING,--JANUARY 29, 1846. person said what he did not say, and gave opinions which he never entertained, and then to attack such statements and opinions as if they had been really his. I seldom read the numerous papers on railway subjects, having better opportunities of judging of points connected with my own official duties than the editors or correspondents of those papers are able to afford ; but the editor of one of them usually sends me the articles that he writes against me, and, on receiving his last number, I found, after perusing a few lines of it, that he grounded an attack on me upon the erroneous passages in the newspaper report of my evidence at Thetford and at Littlebury, on which I laid aside his paper, as I have done on former occasions, without reading any more of it, for such attacks are to me a matter of perfect indif ference. After this I found that one of your corres dondents, who signs himself " 5.," has written a letter, published in your paper of the 15th inst., headed " General Paisley on Railway Accidents,"in which, under an erroneous impression that I am a partizan of the broad gauge, he controverts my supposed opinions, but with more temper and moderation than my other assailants. If he had known my real sentiments, he might have saved himself the trouble, not of writing the letter to you, in which he discusses the subject of long and short boilers, but of mixing up my name with it, as far as the gauges are concerned. 51y opinion on that question has always been, that the narrow gauge is too narrow, and the broad gauge much wider than was absolutely necessary ; and, therefore, I recom mended in March, 1843, that a gauge of 5 feet 3 inches should be established for all railways in Ireland, in pre ference either to the narrow gauge of the English rail. ways (4 feet 8f inches), adopted on the Dublin and Kingstown railway, or to the broad gauge of the Ulster Railway (6 feet 2 inches), which, though ten inches narrower than that of the Great Western Railway, I considered wider than was absolutely necessary, My opinions on this head have not been altered since, and on being examined by Lieu tenant-Colonel Sir Frederick Smith, Mr. Airy, Astro nomer-Royal, and Professor Barlow, the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the gauge of railways on the 18th ult., before the accident on the Norfolk Railway occurred, I stated that the extent of Railway lines in England would certainly be doubled, and might probably be trebled, in the course of some years, and therefore thought that both the present wide gauge of the Great Western Railway, and its extension and branches, as well as the narrow guage of the other railways in Great Britain, ought to be abolished, and the .5 feet 3 inches gauge adopted instead. opportunity of travelling some stages on that engine ; but this he did of his own accord, and not by my desire, as your reporter stated through mistake. The experi ment, however, can easily be tried on a descending gra dient. Let an engine with its tender, drawing a train of coal waggons, be set in motion. lam ready to go with Mr. Bidder on any of the narrow gauge engines, except :hose of the long-boiler pattern, at full speed, down an incline, and to shut off the steam suddenly, and to cast off the train immediately afterwards by dis engaging a pin, as is done by the auxiliary engines of heavy down-trains of the London and Birmingham Rail way Company, near their Camden-town station, several times every day, and I will prove to him that the effect is null. Should he have doubts as to the safety of the experiment, he may ride in a carriage in the rear, whilst I stand on the engine, in as much confidence of the safety of my position as he can have of his own. But I shall not argue the point with him in writing. He has given his opinion, and I have given mine; and his time may be be:ter employed than in paper warfare, which can prove nothing. Having always had occasion to approve of the railway works actually lesigned and executed by Mr. Bidder, though nominally under Mr. Robert Stephenson, as en gineer-in-chief, in which he has displayed equal skill and judgment, and especially in his iron swing -bride over the river Wensum, near Norwich, which does him very great credit, it was a matter of regret to me, that I could not conscientiously do otherwise than entirely dissent from Mr. Bidder's opinion in respect to the cause of the accident on the Norfolk Railway. Having now explained my evidence in a clearer manner than was done in the report made in the morn• ing papers of the 14th instant, before alluded t0,.1 must notice some errors as to fact in that report; after having corrected which, the remainder of it will be quite accu rate. In the first place, I did not say that the flangei of Messrs. Stotherd and Slaughter's engines were deficient in depth; on the contrary, they had the usual depth of 1* inch, which I stated as being quite sufficient; but they were set nearly at right angles to the tread of the wheel, contrary to the rule followed in all other locomo tive engines that I have seen, which is to round off that angle nearly in the form of a quadrant. Though similar to Mr. Robert Stephenson'e last pattern in other respects, the fire-box did not project entirely in the rear as a dead weight, but had its centre placed over the axle of the hind wheels, which rendered it necessary to raise the top of the boiler about nine inches higher, and conse quently, though better balanced on their wheels, they had the disadvantage of being more.top-heavy than Mr. Stephenson's pattern. The present locomotive engineer of the Eastern Counties Railway assured me that they had not only been all provided with new wheels of the usual form, but that they were much improved since two of them ran off the rails and overset, the first with ex cessive speed down an incline and along a curve, which terminated fatally; the second on a level and straight portion of the line, and at very moderate speed, so that no person was injured. If these engines had been an exact copy of Mr. Stephenson's pattern, the last-men tioned accident would not have taken place. _ . The trials between the broad and narrow gauges made under the inspection of the Gauge Commissioners, by means of experimental passenger trains and goods trains, loaded with equal weights, had not then taken place ; but previously to my being examined by the Gauge Commissioners, I had been required, in the course of my duty, to give an opinion whether the speed of the express trains then running on various railways might not be dangerous to the public safety. As I knew from long experience that the oscillation of a railway carriage was no proof of danger, and its steadiness not always a proof of safety, I therefore in vestigated this subject by travelling on the locomotive engines of all the express trains in England, which qffords the only just criterion of safety or of danpr; and I found that not only the engines of the Great Western, but those of the narrow gauge lines, such as the South-Western ' the Brighton, Grand Junction, Mid land Counties, and other Railway Companies, whether constructed according to the designs and specifications of their own locomotive engiacerss, with outside or inside cylinders, or from the designs of Messrs. Sharp Brothers, Hawthorn, Fairbairn, and other skilful loco motive engine -makers, as well as the new pattern engine of Mr. Bodiner, were all steady, especially the last, and consequently all safe ; but when I tried the White Horse of Kent, one of Mr. Robert Stephenson's last patented long-boiler engines, on the 18th of September last, I found that it rolled like a ship at sea when pushed to a velocity of about 45 miles an hour between London and Tunbridge, on the Sonth-Eastern Railway, and this uneasy motion having increased in proportion to the speed, I came to a conclusion, if an attempt were made with such engines to rival the speed of the Great Western express trains, that they would run off the rails and overset. I have expressed this opinion since to the Noble President, and to my colleagues, the other officers of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade, and to railway officers whom I have met with on duty, not excepting gentlemen who have been pupils of Mr. Robert Stephenson, or who are employed on railways of which he is either the engineer-in-chief or the con setting engineer. I have also stated the same opinion to enginemen in charge of locomotive engines of this construction, on which I have since travelled, but I never had occasion, as mentioned in the newspaper re port, to tell these men that they were actually in danger, for they never went down descending gra dients at a greater speed than about thirty miles an hour ; and they never exceeded the speed of 4.5 miles an hoar on level portions of railway, whilst I was present. Hence I did not think that the dangerous character of these engines would ever be practically proved, because both on the Eastern Counties and Nor folk Railways, where they were most used, the time between the stopping stations of the swiftest trains was o regulated, that there was no necessity for exceeding that speed, excepting on the old well-consolidated por tion between London and Bishop's Stortford, which I have travelled over at 45 miles an hour on an engine of the construction alluded to, but even at that speed it oscillated a great deal ; when diminished, it became steady. My former opinion of Mr. Robert Stephenson's new long boiler engines was favourable, for when I first travelled on them on the 12th of April, 1844, whilst in specting the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway, it was at rate not exceeding from 30 to 35 miles an hour, at which they are steady and safe ; nor did I discover any objection to them on the Gravesend and Rochester Rail way, where they are always used at moderate speed, until I travelled on the White Horse of Kent with a swift train of the South-Eastern Railway Company, as before mentioned. In mentioning the gauge Commissioners, there were also several inaccuracies in your reporter's account of my evidence, in consequence of which I was obliged to write to them to explain, lest they should consider me wanting in courtesy towards them. In the first place, being independent of the Board of Trade, they gave no opinion, as implied in the newspaper account, and sent no report to the Board, of the accident that occurred to an experimental train on the Great North of England Railway on the Ist inst., by a long-boiler engine run ning off the rails and being overset; for though they afterwards inquired into it at York, in presence, I pre sume, of Mr. Close, Secretary of that Company, the de positions of the evidences who came before them on that occasion were transmitted officially by that gentleman, together with a report of the accident, as required by Act of Parliament. On inspecting the engine itself, at Derby, last week, I found that instead of being an exact copy of Mr. Robert Stephenson's long-boiler pattern, as I had supposed at the period of the inquest, it differed from it in two points; first, in having been made with inside cylin ders, in order to do away with the oscillation general'y, but I think erroneously, ascribed to outside cylinders; and, secondly, in having an oval boiler in order to obtain greater sectional area than the narrow gauge admits of when the cylindrical form is used. Neither of these alterations can be considered an improvement, as they both produce the unfavourable effect of rendeting it necessary to raise the boiler higher than in Mr. Stephen son's pattern. It was also erroneously stated by your reporter, that the gauge Commissioners were in a train from Bristol to Gloucester, upon the engine of which I travelled with Mr. M‘Connel, locomotive superintendent of the Bristol and Birmingham Railway, erroneously styled Mr. M'Connel, when I first tried the experiment of shutting off the steam in going at full speed. Moreover, when I tried the same experiment a second time, by permission of Mr. Brunel, on the engine of an experi mental goods' train, on the Great Western Railway, in which the Commissioners were travelling from Padding ton to Didcot, it had a load of 205 tone only, instead of 2,000 tons, as stated in the newspaper report. I shall here observe, though it made no part of my evidence before the coroner's inquest at Thetford, with which the question of the gauges had very little to do, that I have drawn an in ference from the performances of the experimental trains of both ; namely, that the narrow gauge has failed in the most important points of railway travel ling, as it has not room between the wheels for a boiler of sufficient power to obtain that speed, combined with safety, which the travelling public have a right to ex pect, and which the express trains of the Great Western Railway Company have proved to be perfeefly wee ticable. This is another argument for abolishing the narrow gauge and adopting 5 feet 3 inches, as the standard gauge of all our railways, as that will admit of a boiler of more than four feet in diameter, which is the maximum dimension hitherto adopted for the engines of the Great Western Railway. To conclude, I hare no doubt that the reporters for the London morning papers would have given my evi dence with perfect accuracy, if the coroner had examined me in the usual manner, by taking down what I said, and reading it over again, and asking me whether it was cornet. But he did not follow this mode, only asking a few questions, to which I not only replied, but stated my reasons in full, lest there should be any misconception of my opinions. In so doing 1 spoke too rapidly for any person, however well educated and intelligent, to report accurately, unless •he were an engineer, who understood the details of locomotive en gines and of railway constructions. After my evidence closed, the coroner read over a brief abstract of it, that he had made, which I signed, and for which lam re sponsible, hut not for the matter contained in the news paper reports. Before I quitted the Town-hall, two reporters, brothers, introduced themselves to me, and asked me to correct their notes, to which I agreed, being anxious that my statements and opinions should be accurately reported in a matter of so much delicacy and importance. One of them accordingly called on me afterwards at the Bell Inn, and read over such parts of his own notes on my evidence as he considered doubtful, which I corrected wherever he had mistaken my mean ing. If he had read over the whole to me, as I sug gested, it would have been more satisfactory, for in that ease no possible mistake could have been made ; but he assured me that he was confident it was all right, which I could not help doubting, as he seemed to have taken hasty notes of the heads of my evidence, trusting to memory for putting in into form afterwards, in which, if he had been more successful, I would not have troubled you with this long letter, which I shall be very much obliged to you to insert in your columns.—l have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant, C. W. PASLEY, Major-General, &c. London, Jan. 19. In my evidence before the coroner's inquest, at Thet ford, I therefore ascribed the accident party to the im prudence of the engineman in running down a long descending gradient of 1 in 200 at the utmost speed that his engine could command, and partly to the peculiar construction of that engine, which I considered unsafe at a speed exceeding 45 miles an hour ; a speed that was perfectly unnecessary on any part of that line, but espe cially on that portion of it where the accident occurred, between Harlingroad Station and Thetford, a distance of only 8 milts, for travelling over which 46 minutes were allowed. As I inferred, from a question put to me, that the jury had an erroneous notion, that the engine to which this accident occurred, as well as those which ran off the rails on the Eastern Counties line first near Chesterford, and afterwards near Littlebeach, were engines built for the wide gauge, and therefore unsafe for the narrow gauge, I explained to them that the width between the wheels on the narrow gauge was too small to admit of boilers of such large diameter as those of the engines of the Great Western Railway, which had greater power than any before used. Mr. Robert Stephenson tried to get over this difficulty by increasing the length of his boilers, since hecould not increase their diameter beyond a certain limit, in hopes that the greater length of the boilers, and consequently of the tubes, would produce an additional evaporating surface, and render his long en gines superior in power to all the former snort boiler engines of the narrow gauge, as well as to the engines with boilers of larger diameter of the Great Western. In this attempt, which at the time appeared very promising, I consider that he has failed, as I stated in my evidence before the coroner's inquest ; for his engines with long boilers are by no means so powerful as those of the Great Western, nor do I think that they excel in power ; indeed, from my personal observation, I should say that they are inferior in power to other engines made for the narrow gauge, having boilers of moderate length, to which they are certainly much Inferior in safety; for I have travelled on the engines alluded to, whether having outside or inside cylinders, at the rate of 50 miles an hour or upwards ; and I am of opinion that though certainly inferior to those of the Great Western Railway in power, they are perfectly safe at the utmost speed they are capable of at taining. Indeed, I have been informed by railway officers not personally interested in the battle of the gauges, that one of Messrs. Sharps Brothers' engines with a light express train, travelled over the wolo dis tance of 31 miles, between Manchester and Crewe, in 30 minutes, which must have exceeeed 60 miles an hour for great part of the way. But when I rode upon the same engine afterwards, on the 23d ultimo, from Stock port towards Crewe, whilst it was drawing a train of 471 tons, in a stiff gale, it only accomplished 10 miles in 13 minutes and 52 seconds, which induced the narrow gauge party not to employ it in the trial of power and speed before the gauge commissioners, as they had at first intended ; but to transfer the scene of action to York, and to use engines of the long boiler pattern. The peculiar danger in Mr. Robert Stephenson's long boiler engines, whether made with outside or inside cy linders, is, that, in consequence of their extreme length, he has placed the axles of all his wheels under :the boiler, having the fire-box and dome an overhanging weight in the rear, which was never done before, ex cept in the short four-wheeled engines of Mr. Bury's pattern, on the London and Birmingham Railway, which I do not consider by any means so good as six avheeled engines; but in travelling upon one of them by an ex press train on the 6th of October last, I found it steady and safe, in consequence of the tender being screwed up close to the engine with buffers and springs, which con. verts the tw3 as it were into an eight-wheeled engine. I never travelled an a four-wheeled engine at a very great speed before, but I am informed by locomotive engineers and enginemen who have, that until this improvement was adopted, they pitched and rolled like a sailing vessel in a gale of wind. Probably the same expedient may ren. der Mr. Stephenson's long-boiler engines also much steadier, and consequently safer. In respect to the question put to me by the coroner, whether shutting off the steam suddenly at high speed could cause the carriages to run against the engine with such violence as to knock it off LAUNCH or A STEAM-SHIP. —Yesterday a new steam the rails, I explained that a locomotive engine being ship, considerably heavier than the tender, and at least double p called the Moozauffa, which has been built for the ser vice of the East India Company, was launched from the the weight of any of the carriages of a railway building-yard of M essrs Fl e t c her at Limehouse. The new train, and the whole moving, of course , w ith equal velo- vessel is 246 ft - let in length, and of 1,440 tons burden. She city whilst connected, I thought that the act of suddenly Is to be propelled by t wo eng ines of 400 horse power each, shutting off the steam from the engine could not possibly manufactured by M essrs . s ea ward and Co. The Chairman cause the carriages to press upon it, because having and Directors of the East India Company we re present, with much greater momentum it would retain its speed longer; their ladies, to witness the launch, whichtook place a few and if the connexion between the engine and tender, and minutes before two o'clock. The ceremony o f naming the . vess3l was performed by Miss Willock, the 0144011er of Sir the carriages of a train were cast o ff immediately after Henry Willock, the Chf t irrnah of the East India Company. —Two magnificent gold shutting off the Ware, the engine would leave Oft car! Tim EAST 'INDIA COMPANY. riages behind, and travel to a greater distance than any swords have been manufactured by Messrs. Garrard and Co., of Pan -9f them Wore it stopped. If shutting off the steam ton-street, Haymarket, by order of the East India Company. The suddenly cou ld h ave any e ff ec t, as I f oun d by t r i a l th a t following are the inscriptions upon them, w e b Je t ! th wi e ll_ .., :tlf t tl i c i i i e ci i i ttl6 ez -194 1 10 t, acpidents like that near Thetford ought to plain the object of presentation : P P"nglete in 'testiniony of their ()emir every . 41137 for it is a common practice with en- / ;e'iite t t f C or . litina n t a L A ri P tettr Sal d titinbSian acknowledgment of his un ginemen, on preparing to atop, to shut off their steam swerving fidelity and attachment to the British all at wipe sas I observed that the driver of one of " Presented by the East India Company ra G l l e a nt i; Messrs. §totkefd and Eilwaiglitert* et git } ea while evening that / rethpio4 froui w et ra c i , did,the grateful recognition of the eminent service? r t t e o n e _e ' : . 77 . 4 a , by o h p i pt m b , s'i. Governor of Peshawur, in co-operatios IS US4 I took the to reilitary eperatieusin .441111Atitail.". TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir.—A lung letter from. General Pasley, of the Board of Trade, Inspector-General of Railways, on various matters connected with railways, especially as to the construction of engines, appears in your paper of to-day. The Inspector-General's letter is avowedly to correct errors in the report of statements made by him at the coroner's inquest lately held at Thetford; but among other general remarks on points connected with rail- Nays, the Inspector-General thinks fit to prejudge the inferences to be drawn from the late experiments on en gines of the broad and narrow gauges. The parties interested in the narrow gauge, who were commanded by the Commiessioners to undertake the ex periments, desire me to explain that they were made for the information of the gauge commissioners—to whom, and not to the Inspector-General, the doci• sion of the question of gauge—including, therefore, the inferences to be drawn from the late experi ments—are referred by her Majesty ; and that consequently, the correct and authentic report of these experiments has been put into the hands of the gauge Commissioners only. They further desire me to say, that the reports which have been published in the newspapers, from the omission of essential facts, do not afford the means of deducing from the experiments any correct inference as to the issue of the question to de termine which they were made. The parties at whose request I write are, therefore, they believe, in possession of more precise information as to these experiments than is possessed by General Pasley, who, though present at the experiments on the broad gauge, was, it is to be remarked, not present at the experiments on the narrow • but respect to the Commis sioners, under whose consideration the matter still rests, prevents them from saying more than that they them selves feel satisfied that a correct statement of the whole facts connected with the experiments leads to a directly opposite conclusion to that expressed by General Pasley, and that the results of the experiments, as far as they prove anything, tend to confirm in every respect the evidence (derived from long experience) which his been laid before the Commissioners in favour of the efficiency, as regards safety, speed, command of power, economy, and convenience, of the engine which the narrow gauge admits of, as compared with those which the broad gauge admits of.—l am, Sir, your most obedient servant, Loudon, Jan. 21. GEORGE P. BIDDER. THE CORN TRADE. BRITISH. Though the details ef Sir Robert Pe: - .l's ints rale ti change in the corn-laws are not yet beore the pual;c, there is now no lon ger a doubt that the measure to he proposed by the Ministry will he tantamount to a free trade in gram. Without in this place t.welling on the political bearings of the matter, it may not he amiss to consider what immediate effect is likely to be produced by a total repeal on the value of agricultural produce, We say immediate, for that the ultimate result must be unfavourable to the British farmer there can, we think, be no question ; we are, however, of opinion, that ex isting circumstances will, in the first instance, prever.t that fall in prices which would, in ordinary seasons, have followed so hazardous an experiment as that about to be tried. One of the principal reasons which have induced us to come to this conclusion, is the fact that last year's crop of wheat was deficient in all the chief corn-growing countries of Europe, whilst at the same time stocks of old corn are unimportant at most of the continental ports. The course adopted by the Dotch Belgian, and other Governments, viz., that of prohibit ing the export and allowing the free importation of grain, must have considerable influerico indirectly on prices here ; for, instead of supplies reaching us from these places, a proportion of the small surpleis more favoured countries may have to spare will be diverted from the British to other markets. It must also be borne in mind that the information which the Legislature have been enabled to collect respecting the yield of our OWD har vest must have been of a very unsatisfactory, not to say alarming character, to have led them even to contemplate such an unusual expedient as that of opening the porst by an Order in Council. Such a step Sir Robert Peel and some of his colleagues, it appears, considered the state of affairs warranted two months ago ; from this it may be inferred the parties in a position to obtain the very best information deem that a large importation of grain will be necessary to make good the deficiency of food caused by the indifferei t yield of wheat and the extensive failure of the potato crop. In addition to these reasons for supposing that prices cannot, until another harvest shall have beee secured, recede materially in this country, we may add that the' public mind has been gradually prepared by political events to expect a great alteration in the ;aws by which the importation of corn is at present regulated, and that the effect has therefore already, in a great measure, been anticipated. Wheat is now at least 10s. per qnarter lower than it would in all probability have been had there been no talk of a re peal ; hitherto no one has taken advantage of this im portant reduction to increase their stocks ; on the contrary, the utmost reluctance has prevailed for many weeks past to buy more than just sufficient for pre sent purposes, all parties being alike anxious to refrain from entering into extensive eagagernents, until the corn-law question shall have been been disposed of. Under these circumstances, it is not unreasonable to believe that the value of grain will be but little influ enced. Indeed, we should not be surprised if an im petus were to be given to businese by the removal of the uncertainty which has so long hung as an incubus over the trade, and, instead of a fall, a rally were to take place in prices. The advices from the provincial markets are not of much interest this week ; there has as yet been scarcely time to see how the news of the proceedings in Parlia ment, on Thursday, has been received in the country ; but at the few towns where the markets were held on Friday no material effect was produced thereby on quo tations. At Liverpool holders of free wheat remained firm, and bonded was generally held at enhanced rates; buyers appeared, however, at a loss how to act, and the business done was on a restricted scale. It would be useless to refer to other places, as business has been at a perfect stand in all parts of the kingdom, in expectation of positive information of the Ministerial intentions from London. At the leading markets in Scotland and Ireland affairs have been in much the same position; and the only in telligence of importance from the latter country is that resp , cting potatoes- The accounts on this important subject are decidedly of a less favourable character than they were a week or two ago ; and so much doubt was felt whether those in the pits would keep good, that shipments of oats and oatmeal had almost ceased, a notion prevailing that these articles would bring high prices as substitutes for the staple food of the poorer classes. We have again to report a very moderate arrival of English wheat into London, the quantity reported coastwise up to this (Saturday) evening, amounting to only 2,241 quarters. The show at Mark-lane by land carriage samples from the neighbouring counties has likewise been small ; indeed, beyond what was left over from Monday, scarcely anything has been exhibited on the Essex, Kent, and Suffolk stands. In the absence, however, of demand (the millers having adhered to their determination not to purchase until the mystery re specting the Corn-law alteration shall have been aelred). the insignificance of the supply has not been felt ; and so far from any improvement having taken place, the reverse has been the case, great difficulty having been experienced in placing the few parcels on sale at the reduced currency of Monday. Holders of fereign free wheat hare generally refused to accede to a decline corresponding to the reduction which the prices of Eng lish have lately undergone. the transactions in the article heve been very unimportant. Since Monday so little. has been done in the article, that quotatioes can only be regarded as nominal at present. The inquiry for bonded wheat on Belgium accoent has continued; but the limits of the orders received from thence having been Is. to 2s. per quarter below the rates demanded, the actual trans actions have nut been of conse:quence. In the early part of the week a cargo of Olessa wheat on passage was we believe sold at 475. per quarter, including freight and insurances; hut for parcels on the spot 50s. per quarter has been general asked. On Friday what under lock was certainly held with more firmness than in the com mencement of the week. under the impression that the laws will undergo such an alteration as materially to reduce the duty. This opinion failed, hoe ever. to give rise to any inclination to enter into speculative invest ments, and few bargains were closed. Though the stock of flour in the hands of the metro politan bakers are greatly 'educed, the sale for the article has continued as dull as ever, purchasers being appa rently not yet satisfied that prices have reached the lowest point. We are inclined to think that the slightest indication of a rise in wheat would be immediately fol lowed by a very active demand for flour, and, on the whole, there is not much prospect of the latter article being cheaper than at present; good Norfolk households having been sold in the river at 40s. to 425. per sack during the lest week or two. The arrivals of barley have been fair; having, in addi tion to 6.876 qrs. from our own coast and Scotland, received 720 quarters from abroad. This grain has been very difficult of disposal, and the currency of Mon day last has bearly been supported; 38s. per qr. has be come an extreme quotation for even the best malting qualities, and secondary and inferior sorts have been re latively cheaper. Malt has likewise held heavily on hand. Only choice qualities have met attention, at former rates ; and, though the common descriptions have not been quoted lower, the turn has recently been in favour of the buyer. We are still without arrivals of oats from Ireland, and the receipts from our own coast and Scotland having rather fallen off than increased, whilst the supplies from abroad have been most amply landed in bond, the market has become very bare of good fresh corn. The dealers seem contented, however, to draw on their stocks to supply their customers, and have shown no anxiety to purchase; the trade has consequently remained in the same lifeless state as before, and, with the exception of a slight advance realised in partial instances from needy , buyers, no change has occurred in prices. The con sumption of oats in London is at present very extensive, and unless increased supplies shortly reach us, an ad vance seams inevitable. The recent reduction in the value of beans has not hitherto caused any improvement in the demand ; in deed, it was rather difficult to make sales, at the close of the week, at Monday's currency. Peas of all sorts have also continued to be negl, cted, and the tendency of prices was still downwards on Friday. The - duty rose a step on Thursday on the follobting articles :—wheat, oats, beans, and peas. FOREIGN. Nearly as much interest is felt respecting the settle ment of our core--law question abroad as at home, and most of the continental letters received this week make some allusion to the subject. The belief that a great change was about to be made in the import duties by our Government had, we are informed, caused an almost total suspension of business; merchants having mani fested an unwillingness to enter into fresh engagements till news of the definite settlement of the question should be received. The latest accounts from Dantzic state that the trans actions in wheat had for some weeks been on an ex tremely restricted scale, the foreign demand having en tirely ceased; holders had, nevertheless, felt satisfied that Great Britain, as wall as Holland and Belgium, would sooner or later require supplies, and had consequently remained exceedingly firm. Fine old high mixed wheat could not then have been bought below 565. to 575. per qr. free on hoard in spring, and the better sorts of new were held at equal to 48s. to 50::.p!r qr. _ . . . At Konigsberg prices were higher than at Dant:do, and purchases of the lower qualities of wheat had from time to time been made at the latter town for the supply of the former. The advices from the Lower Baltic ports are very un interesting ; indeed, they are a mere repetition of previ ously-received statements. At R 'stock, Wismar, Stettin, &c., quotations of wheat had become quite nominal, so little business had been done ; and contracts for good qualities, weighing 61 to &Jibs. per bushel, might have been closed at 475. to 48s. per quarter free on board. Spring corn seems to become more scarce than wheat at the principal continental markets, and rye—the staple article of food with the poorer classes—has everywhere risen to an almost unprecedented high price. The latest accounts from Antwerp state that rye had for some time been, and then continued, in lively re quest at equal to 41s. to 41s. 6d. per quarter. For wheat a good demand has also ben experienced, and Polish Odessa had sold at 525. per quarter. Up to the present time the fact of a rather large stock of bonded wheat being held in England ready to be shipped immediately, if there should occur a prospect of a p ro fi t, has kept prices a wheat mere moderate in the Dutch and Belgian markets than they would otherwise h ave b een ; and now that there is a certainty of an alteration being made here in the laws, which will prevent us sending any portion of our bonded wheat rt,broad, we shall not iwonder to see priel,Lsingeitinamp bmuartgehriwalelyhaatvleioltettetredrsamuf, ATnutewsdearyp,,s&dca. n for were fully aesrut,hebn nutoaleixpaorrtitcledemsad date ; s th p e ri r e e g m e , either wheat or I as high as the previous week, say good wheat 50 to 535., Seale barl e y 245. 6d., ar d o;t ( for shipment inlas, d spring from outport s ) 6u. to 50s. p er qr . f ree on board. The advices fr om t h e Mediterranean are of even less I • interest at present than those from the Baltic, quota tions being relatively much too high in the southern and eastern markets of Europe to permit of shipments to this country, unless a material advance should occur here. From Odessa we learn that the demand for wheat had slackened; still prices were high there, and as the avail able stock was by no means large, no material fall in the value of the article was expected ; good qualities were then held at 31s. to 325., and fine parcels at 355. 6d. to 375. per qr. free on board. —Mark- lane-Express. OUR HOME and FOREIGN TRADE. (From the Sentinel of Jan. 25, 1846.) Mr. Porter, in his " Progress of the Nation," fixes the annual amount of our home trade at eight hundred millions, and that of our foreign trade at forty millions. According to this estimate, the former is twenty times more valuable than the latter, with this additional ad vantage in its favour, that nothing but our bad legisla tion can prevent its expansion ; while the foreign trade is always exposed to the jealousy or the ignorance of some hostile tariff. The opening of Parliament is oppor tune for some tenser ks on this subject. We hold it to be the first duty of a Government to foster t!,e home trade ; and we think the means to that end very. simple, for they are evolved out of the prin ciples of human nature. The desires and appetites of men are the true sources of national wealth, because they are the incentives to labour, which creates all wealth. Now, these desires and appetites are insatiable, since we all crave for more than we have. Conse quently, there is no assignable limit to consumption, and, therefore, in the sense and spirit of this argument, there can never be over-production ; for, whoever con sumes, must replace what he consumes by equivalent production ; and thus the balance between the two may may be perpetually preserved. Over-production, in the sense of merchants and manufacturers, rests on very dif ferent principles from those here indicated, on which we shall comment presently. All classes and grades of men, under the promptings of nature, desire to be consumers ; a wise and paternal Government should enable all classes and grades cif men to gratify that desire Not a man, woman, or etild, but ought to be well fed, well clothed, and well housed. It seems strange, we had almost said unna tural, to clothe foreigners, when our own countrymen are in rags. It is also curious to note, that, if corn prove scarce in any country, and is about to be ex ported, the people frequently resist the shipment ; but whoever heard of the naked populace stopping the passage of a vessel out of port laden with cottons, or calicoes, or broadcloth ? It may be said that the re ' sistance in the one case and the passiveness in the other, are accounted for by the fact, that the desire of food is more imperious than the desire of clothing. Such an answer may satisfy small philosophers, who confound the degrees or modifications of a principle with the principle itself ; but it ought to have no weight with an enlightened statesman. We have said that it seems strange, and almost un natural, to send clothing to foreigners, when our own countrymen, perhaps the very persons who made the clothing, are in rags. If it be replied, that the foreigner can pay for the clothing, while our countrymen cannot pay for it, we must demur to the efficiency of the ex planation, fur it cuts the knot, without unravelling it. For we demand, why cannot our countrymen pay for it? We presume they are capable of producing it, and, in fact, that they have produced it. Whence, then, their incapacity to purchase ? If it arises from being under paid in wages, pay them more ; if from being taxed, exempt them from taxes. No one can find a difficulty here, unless he is one of that class who find a difficulty in bring just. In what manner would the British manufacturer meet 'these objections? He would probably state his 'case in somewhat the folio ing terms:—" To compete with con tinental producers, I must reduce my cost of production to the continental level. It is true I have the advantage of superior machinery, but that alone does not suffice. The food of the foreigner costs less than mine costs, and his taxes are much lighter than mine. Hi wages, therefore, are less than mine ; and wages are a main element itt the cost of production. In a word, the successful prosecution of my foreign trade depends on cheapness." We may now understand why the British producer of clothing may be in rags, while the foreigner is clad with the hard labour of his unrequited hands. The wages of our workman are reduced to the lowest ebb, and are then taxcd at the highest possible amount by the Customs and Excise. Hence be is doomed to poverty as the reward for creating the wealth by which he is surrounded. Sir Robert Peel has boasted that he will make this country the cheapest country in the, world. Will this benefit the working man ? If he thinks so, the lower in value his labour becomes, the better for him. What has he to sell ? Nothing but his labour. Is he a gainer by selling it for sixpence instead of a shilling ? The Goat acre labourers don't think so. But who really does gain by the depreciation of labour ? Why the buyers of labour and of its produce, the fundholder, the Govern ment pensioner and annuitant, the idle rich, who buy a shilling's worth of labour for sixpence. These are the parties whom Sir Robert Peel's scheme will serve, while it will prostrate industry. It is cheap labour that sends women and children to the factory, for if the father re ceived sufficiently high wages, they might stop at home ; and . it is cheap labour tied has extended the hours of toil from ten to fourteen ho s. Now what is the remedy for this most horrible state of thiags? A general rise of prices in tine home mar ket, and such a currency as would permit that rise of prices. High prices would giye high wages to the working-classes, and high profits to the manufacturer. The idle and rich consumer would of course have to pay these high prices, and thus, his property would be taxed, while industry would be u n t axe d. Queen Ade laide's annuity of one hundred thousand pounds would he reduced in purchasing power, and to the extent of that is duction, labour would gain. Lord Brougham's pension would be diminished, as well as the salaries of the Judges, and the fundholder would have to disgorge a large per centage on his dividends. In fact, a general rise of prices, in a proper currency, would operate as an indirect mode of direct taxation. Just as we increased the wages of the working classes, who constitute the great body of consumers, so should we raise the value of our home market. If hey had money, they could purchase commodities, and the more money they had, the more they would purchase. Their desires and appetites would grow on what they fed. There would be no need to seek for a foreign trade, till our own population were fully supplied with every article they needed of domestic manufacture. That supply perfected, the surplus could be exported tor foreign luxuries. Nothing more is required to secure those results than enriching our own industrious classes, by giving them a larger share of the produce of their labour than they now receive, and this is only to be done by charging that produce dearer to the rich consumer. When our merchants and manufacturers talk of over production, they confound inability to purchase, with unwillingness to consume. A man may want money, though he does not want appetite. Nature is not affected by the state of the foreign exchanges or the quantity of bullion in the Bank cellars. The desire of food and clothing remains in full force, whatever may be the con dition of Threadneedle-street or Capel-court. And, if we had wise laws and an honest Government, that desire would never be allowed to remain ungratified, so long as industry was adding to national wealth. The reason why we are compelled to sell cheap to foreigners, is because they will only deal with us ac cording to natural value. If any part of our taxation is embodied in the price of our commodities, they will not purchase them ; for why sho u ld a f ore i gner pay any portion of our national debt, o r our pens i ons or annuities ? They therefore deal with us in exclusively gold prices. But we cannot de a l w i t h eac h ot h er on these terms ; for if we sell as cheap at home as we do abroad, all the taxes must necessarily fall on the pro ducer. If the English consumer pays in gold prices, he merely pays the natural value of what be con sumes, but ha escapes ail that addition to the cost of production which taxation demands and enforces. For the home-trade, therefore, we require a taxation cur rency, in which the nominal pound shall be just so much depreciated as to be the exact measure of the taxation. By that contrivance, the industrious class would escape taxation ; for though they would, in the first instance, still pay the customs and excise, they would recover 'C hat payment in the extra price charged to the cow.lsunier for their goods. This is the equitable ad.,j'.ustment which Ti Labour an d W e should forthwith be made betwee alth. raELAND. THE SPECIAL COMMISSION IN WESTMEATH. MULLIntAR. SATURDAY NIGHT, JAN. 24.—The .Special Com:mint!' has terminated, and it is to be expected that the examples which have been made of several of the offen ders will have the effect of restoring the county to tran quillity. Nothing could be better than the mild and tem perate manner in which the Attorney-General (Green) dis charged his responsible and important duties. Michael Martin, Michael Kiernan, and Christopher Mar tin, having been found guilty of an attack upon the police at liallintree, were sentenced to be transported, the first -named for life, the other two for fifteen years each. Bryan, William, and Michael Duffy were then sentenced to transportation for life for assaulting Hugh Irwin. Edward Keene, for serving a threatening notice upon Mr. Digby, was sentenced to be transported for seven years. Brian Seery, for attempting to murder Sir Francis Hop kins, was sentenced to be executed. SENTENCE OF BRIAN SEERY. The LORD CHIEF BARON said (addressing the wretched man), Brian Seery, it now devolves upon me, in the discharge of my most painful duty, to enact the most painful part that man can be called to perform—to pronounce upon his fellow creature a sentence which consigns him long, long before the natural term of existence, to the grave. You have been found guilty of having, in conjunction with another person, inflicted wounds upon the person of Sir Francis Hopkins, with intent to kill and murder him. You have had the benefit of a full and patient investigation of your case. You have been well end ably defended by the counsel to whom your defence was entrusted. The jury have considered and pondered, as they were bound to do, before they came to a conclusion that you were guilty; and whether I consider the facts that were sworn against you, or the conclusions to be drawn from those facts, the jury did not exceed their duty. I mention this not to justify or defend anything which needs no justification or defence, namely, the verdict of the jury, but lest your mind, or the minds of others, might unhappily have been misled that there is one part of your case which has not been justly and pro perly dealt with,, or that any conclusion or inference was drawn or could have been drawn which was not the legi timate, and I might almost say the inevitable conclusion which any rational mind must have drawn from the evi dence. When I come to think of the crime with which you have been charged I am appalled at the contemplation of it. You, who had received benefits at the hands of the man against whose life your arm was raised, against whom you had no cause of animosity or anger— the man of whom, 1 might say, ho was the person to whom you might, as you had done before, have always looked up as a protector and friend. Without a motive or cause that human eye can discover, you proceeded to the place of that gen tl eman, an d with deliberate hand levelled at him a deadly weapon, which, had it taken effect, would have =Weed him to a . . p rov idence premature grave. It was the .interposition of upon that occasion that saved hint from that shocking but you were not content with that ; the attempt ws?,,,r, petite(' when you were involved in a - struggle and that attempt was, as everybody must feel it a continuation of that first determination upon part to take the life of your benefactor. It is a fes";!d the is a sad case ; sad in all its features, whether. we rega o , he consequences to yourself • or the consequences t laig country. A gentleman enjoying the possession of s property, and devoting himself to the service of the P t r in living amongst his tenantry, and dealing with hi s es ,! a .routld death: way that was calculated to make it beneficial to a ll h`; him—he is marked for assassination. No one can tell and shocking it is to say yours was the hand-that was w o 'd willing and ready to accomplish that dreadful wail; w ill you have been brought to justice for the crime- Ait ion not—l cannot—l dare not add to the horror of your *Or c o by dilating further upon your criminality. I feel ths_bich arc in a very brief period about to undergo that change we must all sooner or later expect to meet. I t herefore o 9 and implore of you to devote the interval which has for to you to reflection upon what you have done, reP e n t j;o l your crimes, and those consolations from religion to f o ,bich trust you will find yourself capable of attending, anunio will prove the comfort and blessings of your last ba u dou, I cannot say more; the sentence of the law is, to Bs ion Seery, be taken upon a day to be hereafter usni'a n place of execution, the common dead, and the Lord have mercy on your soul. 4 1, Oth er The Learned Judges, in passing sentence upon "fbeiog prisoners, made some observations which are worth, f rcc.rded. The Lord Chief Justice said, " The stat e ( !do and there hung till Yo county has been demonstrated by the clearest evidenocF:hougb not pronounce a speculative opinion regarding it; L e ~beti the trials have not been numerous, I do not exagge ll ; a long I say, that approaching as I do towards the close c" dar ini professional al4l ti,lcrably protracted j u dicial life' .v ~tbes which I have had experienc e of many of the most br regions of this country, I have seldoin had cases ilnugaarget fore me--cases which more exhibited the dreadful scortNic that, wherever it was permitted to take ruoti plsc e A at the very foundation o f a ll soc ial order, In ;fl dicta' in jeopardy the peace an d security of ever!' I",,stetil in the country." Again, If the nature of that t 9.0008 unexplored, mysterious, and unknown, be such thilm'st men of the station and character of the pri4nne rs h ei° taught that whatever disposition has prevailed, s t - r iat cherished for years to miti ga t e to the Inw es , effel the severity of our code of laws, I am afraid Il ti cor' will be 'found that if there is an antagonist sYsttil! w ofe'' we should rise in the scale of punishment till the 01 101 land is regarded with terror ..similar to that whicii, h aul obeyed by them excited ; and I am apprehensive tu a of the the deplorable consequences of the disturbed sta te n ;is, 1 ' 4 4 country will be, that if the law, administered as the systece' not found sufficient for the putting an end to fideri . , which prevails, new means must be devised that C hief 10,0- the people of the protection of that code." ThP a," 51 'd very just I . e. remarked, "The people of this counti.:ooel),' used in banishing frown the county those whom Pr°ll,l friend placed above them as their natural benefactors They may succeed in closing the lips of those w"„"., go°;: i otherwise advocate their rights and seek to do th e ," le tc h . and they may paralyse the.hand which would ,h e s ' tlien i d . out to serve them ; but they cannot attain any gr fi djord 41' selves, or bring to the relationship between ni'" tenant anything but suspicion and distrust?' A very remarkable circumsta nce i n these c 011 116 :: that Brian Seery is the nephew o f the Rev. ~, parish priest of Summer-hill, county Meath. LAW IN-TELLIGENCE• COURT OF CHANCERY, Jan , . The Lord Chancellor was occupied the whoie 1 : 4 7 0 ;09 04 bankrupt petition, in re Brittain, the f ac t s of which the least public interest. 14P VICE—CHANCELLOR'S COURT, •• t l d ' A e re— a cv The Vice Chancellor of England heard motions an. _ go but no case of any interest, except to the parties col''' . before his Honour during the morning. POLICE INTELLIGEN- MANSION-HOUSE. Three men, named Kent, Wheeler, and rfreste747 summoned before the Lord May or upon the chari s e o 4°, l o l o unlawfully cast off the bo a t of M rs . Needham, o °nog' the original lessee of Paul' s - w h ar f, con t rar y to the to t of the 87th bye-law of the Waterman's Act. A sted . d Mr. Horry appeared for th e comp l a i nan t, an üb-eteerd the case did not at all ri se ou t o f t h e di s pute to o 'Corporation of London and the Waterman's Stean l " pa rr y. , tbelob) A servant of the complainant stated, that on January he saw the defendants approach the Wh i t si t, 4 o r barge, and deliberately lo ose hi s m i stress ' s 10ni,4", the was moored off the piles, an d cas t it adrift. Iv' dielr ness asked them wheth er th ey were aware o f tbe to s tfc nature of the act, they told him if he attempted ,gi board they would throw him overboard. . ter The defendants said they had removed the long, silo shoved the barge in it s pl ace i n or d er to pre vent W i e e rolli man's Steam-boat Company's men from forcing a P o . forrtil spot, well k now i ng th e i ntent i on to make a landifiroPlJe sengers there, as application had been i ne ffectuallY t potierei the Company t o th e N av i gat i on Comm i ttee for tbeoo,o The LORD MAY OR —Th e N av i gat i on Committee c i e feo4 l 1 the place inconvenient f or suc h a purpose ? The color replied that they refused on that ground, but the seemed determined to do as they pleased. ply The LORD MAYOR—I als o cons id er i t an extrefei; gIL r, l ll venient place. The fact is, that if the CotnPa n : nutted to do as they please, the navigation of tht , p ith be completely obstructed. W ee ,! The defendants declared that they bad no c such a set of ruffians as they had to deal with. 0 , The LORD MAYOR—If you h a d b een ill-treated l a - hi ' l ,i have applied for a summons, and the complaint sthe b t been attended to ; but y ou h ave o b v i ous ly violate ,A in in this matter. I have it in my power to fine you. o r in the hope that all th ese di sputes w ill soon be at shall only inflict a penalty of ss. each upon you. The defendants paid the fine. fe), t tr The Loan MAYOR subsequently observed, tha t -e t i l er r l Bret at seeing some remarks in part of the press, onio n ject of the exi s ti ng diff erences b etween t h e CorPor' th 1) 0,5 P( the Waterman's C om p any, ca l cu l ate d to excite brePe resisted the authorities t o f urt h er an d more violen t ell, of the peace. The Waterma n ' s C ompany k n ew 'ij di they might, if they agreed to the regulations tine for the public accommodation, ply at c ol, at Blackfriars-bridge ; b u t t h e f ac t was , that oaf' wanted to establish a monopoly, an d the City influenced by a desire to serve the public alone, %, f submit. The plan far opp os i ng th e au thorities hi t larly and systematically organized, and when the P ° peered, a signal was gi v e n by th e fi r i ng of a g ur, brought down multitudes to the support of those of the public peace. ROA4 f) MARKET NEWS.-(YESTE C OR.T.T—MXCILAINGE. ode" te,; mpre,4 The supply of Erglish Wh ea t on sa l e h ere was but : - , a3 y 4 Ai n the demand for that ar ti c l e was limited, at about 3 1 °`,:ree At the close of busine ss a c l earance was not effected. $ Wheat—the quantity of which on offer was small—sin 0;7 ; quiry ; but holders were firm, and obtained full Pric e !, stance. In Grain under l oc k nex t t o nothing was don e ' malting Barley was quite as d ear , b u t ot h er sor t s Malt, Oats, Beans, Peas, and Flour without alteration. pd' ARRITALS. I Barley, I Costs 1,•/ 2,410 qrs.! 1,740 4 0 ' / 1,580 1 1,230 I 1,430 is o Malt. 1.230 am • WHITECHAPEL. e e l 9 1 4 We had a steady demand for Mutton, at higher tt on i , the trade rul e d i nac ti ve. Been from 2s 6d to 3s 6d ; r to 4s 10d ; Veal, 4s 8d to 5s 8d ; and Pork, 3s lod to 'a by the carcase. English • • • • • • Irish Wheat. 1,230 qrs. Foreign .. .. .. 2,470 - • . BURN'S COMMERCIAL GLANSE.—. We have .. o g copy of this useful sheet of cotton stalistics , F l a eV, annual amount of exports of yarn and g oo ds dur A rsOi r ' o erl: five years,— 1841-1845. Indeed, the annual eiP s ,b e P 41 ; are given in each year, from 1837 inclusive tei' t he," g" time. Those of 1845 are 131,937,9351 b. ;i n 184* i fi cy 13 0,108,9131 b. ';',The exports of plain calicoes b°,: e d o ill, o o,; from 569,677,792 yards in 1844, to 613,138,645 Y 5 ',105,,r In printed and dyed calicoes, on the other hand , ,' ", of exports decreased from 313,111,455 yards in n i 0 1 101 310.850,697 yards in 1845. The chief source s , - 1 4° ,16 creased exports of yarn are in the Hanse Te w ....„ 13- C 1 0 1 : f or, Naples, and Sicily ; and those of plain calicoes, 9„ r eir l Peru (to which the exports have increased fr e " - t bel! i pirj yards in 1844, to 20,000,000 yards in 1845); ; b e t i ol i %Vest Indies; China, Turkey and Levant, 90d 'll}i P r States. The sources of diminished exports in P r r tu r dyed calicoes, are Egypt, France, Gibraltar, r o Madeira, aad Turkey and the Levant. of oe CLOSE or HOLIDAYS.—Now that the se 9s °7 „i" nual festivity is about t h terminate, and the resPe ctive lf,--? schools be reinaliatee. by the busy throng of youthful I f as personal comfbrt and attractions of whom become nattl 9 P v Ccr;, with Mewls and relatives of great solicitude, Howie , D eao ,je fd Oil, 0 7r accelerating the growth and for improving al c ollw, v o, tte hair; Rowland's Kalydor, for improving the skin an' utiO n e , and removing cuta , leous eruptions ; and Rowland'i_ersiFecol, beautifying the teeth and preserving the gums, are unl} oe sidered indispensable in the requisite accompaniments ° o il tISS.,I tive repository. The august p a t ronage conce d e d by 6 ) : 0 414, reigns of Europe to these cr ea ti ve renovat i ng specifies, 3 ` l i s ti L o l 4 tion, by experience, of their infallible e tflcacy, have ciulPeree them with perfection, an d g i ven t h em a ce l e b r ity 01 1 Beware of Spurious Imitations ! Each genuine articl e id' "Rowland's" on the wrapper. A 01 1 4 0," ANOTHER EXTRAORDINARY CURE OF - 05i HOLLOWAY'S Pfus.—Patrick Casey, residing at is , i t place, Brunswick-square,, had suffered from a ch rci- s o grie Oil for mo re th an th ree years. Thi s poor man W aS for ° Des sufferer that he did not dare to go to bed for ,bifl g od' phlegm choking hi m : i n d ee d, h e could not even 1 5 ,J .0 0 0 5 4 to upon a table for half an h our l es t h e s h ou ld b e lpo rS,!fi 4 Nevertheless this p e rson is now l a b o uring fro"' j, is night, sleeps as well as ever he did i n hi s life, an s o lii 0 5 1/' completely cured, by the use of Holloway's Pills' Oist) edi Holloway's Ointment) at Professor Holloway s' of ° ment, 244, Strand, and by all respectable vendor s tine throughout the world. ° BIRTHS' re On the 17th inst., at Maldon, Essex, . ,eorg e 61 the lady of c eo Esq., of a son. of te f° On the 23d inst., at Catisfleld House, Hants, th- ~,re. Taylor, Esq., of a son. _,,, e ic-s(i'" e On the 23d inst., Mrs. Richard Hunter, of BrUnaw. $o &tighter. 10 On the 24th inst., at South-place, Camberwe ll -w —.-y . • polljer land Nevitt Bennett, of a daughter. r ar Y On the 24th inst., in Lowndes-street, the lady of E-dic oti°l Esq., If a daughter. t d2l -ra , On the 25th inst., the lady of Matthew Flower, -- -1 . —Li s° la'' crescent, Hyde-park, of a daughter. s On the 26th inst., in Charlotte-street, tedford - s 4 0# Elam, of a daughter. • ....". 000 o f On the 26th Inst., at Church-street, Chelsea, 31 •" 00 duff, of a attn. OM the On the 26th inst., in Charlotte - st ree t, B e dford-14 Edward Gillam White, Esq., barrister- a t-l a w, of a so p' o f Ce l tai l' e° MARRIED. Willial of 1 ' On the 22d inst., at Maidstone, Air. Charles g ht t Paternoster-row, London, solicitor, tp Jane, eldest a . Gill, Esq., of Rocky-hill, Maidstone", le li e ' l DIED. On the 21st Inst., in the' Circus, Bath, Charlotte, relict - r, f .,.00 15° nant-General William Neville Cameron. L eopold ~,. j- On the 21st inst., at Leamington, the Bey' „ad , Dryden, Rector of Whitnash, Warwick. 0 . 6 1 53. ,r‘s On the 23d inst at Kennington, Miss Steinbac h '. a 'ter-DP" De vv.attipa s On the 23d In s t., in Gilbert-buildings, ~ Thomas Smith, aged 83. 0 0 • tig' o ff! J• Brig oet oe o On the 24th inst., at Guildford, surrey, Mr. ~ 0 ,4" J . On the 24th inst., in De Beauvoir-square, Mr• " 0.0 , (lus o' of On the 25th inst., in Guildford-street, Bus se 0' Johnson, Esq. - ft. r,. liel th ' as. On the 25th inst., Rebecca, the wife o f "•'• . 01 ,1,,5i 0 . Hoxton Old TGWU. ~, .else a' c.ntu . , On the 2 , 541.1 inst., at Holly Cottage, ISattieu" Ant i ' 9 0' -.---- q 1 1 ' On the 25th inst., in Upper Thames :street. - ,•tßss-- 0 . f t ' s 00 .. ,0 , 0 0, , r re oa f London z P ri nted and Published 1 MURDO ? ~( 1 , In TJo .B,trtahned,saPvrioent:rin, at th r o k e tu un n t O y fr 9 ,c;e Y , Bu N iv o. a . A eses "' S . J ill urid3ll 29, IB4a - 1 --1 - . ri v „ 11.1 11 'an TRry a , fro m iNc Ticket, ' f, days will i f bbtaizid ,_ p LI '~' Ifess ri n epon 'rh e ar eur ,', keftri