The Sun. — London, England, 1846-04-01 00:00:00

0 4 4. • • - P 441 titton • SUN OFFICE, Seven o'clock. RAILWAY CoMMITTEES. (THIS DAY.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. GROUP VIII. The Hon. Mr. TALBOT (in continuation from our Afternoon Edition) Said—He would now proceed to detail the particulars of the other branches. The Selkirk branch was a portion of the Peebles branch. Selkirk was a manufacturing place, and the inhabitants desired to be connected with the main lines of this Company, for the obvious pur pose of obtaining a plentiful supply of coal, &c. East and west, north and south of that branch he was happy to say the inhabitants desired the project of this Company. With regard to the Kelso branch. It lay in the neighbourhood of St. Boswell's, which was a small town of some importance, and would bring considerable truffle upon the main line. The Kelso branch would be impeded by no en gineering difficulties, and the town of Kelso embraced a population of 5,000. It was the centre of an agricultural district of very great importance, and was, in fact, one of the largest agricultural market towns in the south-west of Scotland. But it was sadly deficient in accommodation with regard to the coal and lime that were used for agricultural purposes. The length of that branch was twelve miles and three furlongs, and the worst gradient in It was 1 in 100 —there was no; tunnel. At Kelso they joined the Berwick and Kelso Railway so as to gain ac c; ss with Newcastle and all the principal towns in England. lie would new call their attention to a case of opposition which it ap peared was intended to be offered against the Kelso branch by a landed proprietor, Sir George Douglas, a resident in the neighbour hood, who was the owner of a beautiful ruin on which he set much value. He alluded to the ruin of Roxburgh Castle ; but if they did not interfere with the property of Sir George Douglas they would fall into a more violent conflict with Captain Scott. There was ab solutely no alternative, and he, there , ore, appealed ad misericorddun, and he hoped that the Committee would mot sanction an unfair opposition to his client's pro jects for the purpose of preserving a valued ruin or a a beautiful prospect. The length of the branch to Jedburgh was eight miles, and Jedburgh being the county town of Roxburgh it was of course, a matter of importance to afford the inhabitants railway accommodation. He concluded by stating that th e different pro;ects of the Company had received the sanction of the inhabitants of tile districts through which they passed, and if the Legislature refused to authorise them they would deem it a matter of great disadvantage to the public. The CniontstAx then proceeded to the House of Commons, for the purpose of obtaining an order from t he Speaker to compel the attend ance of the two witnesses previously reierred to ; and in a short time returned, and stated that the witnesses had been ordered by the Speaker to tender their evidence, or warrants would be issued against them. Messrs. Ord, Dudgeon, and Laing, extensive farmers in the districts of Kelso and Jedburgh, were then called, and gave evidence to the effect that those districts were well cultivated, but entirely destitute of lime, coal, &c., which had now to be transported in carts from 2Q to 30 miles, and that the construction of a railway would reduce the cost of essential articles from one-half to one-third, as well as afford a good outlet for their agricultural produce. I'rovost Ker, of Peebles, and Messrs. Roberts and Gillen, manufac turers, also spoke to the great advantages the Peebles branch would confer upon the manufactures of that district, particularly in giving increased facilities to new mills which were about to be raised on the Tweed and the Leithen, near Peebles. They admitted that, at pre sent, the intercourse between Peebles and Cialashiels was not consi derable. • Mr. Marshall, traffic accountant to the principal lines in Scotland, deposed that he calculated the passenger traffic on the Kelso branch would bring in 8,6181. per annum ; goods, 8,5801. ; coals, lime, &c., 1,8181. ; parcels, mails, &c., 1,2501. ; cattle and sheep, 1,0151. ; total, 2,18561. On the Jedburgh branch, passengers, 2,518/. ; goods, 1.0391, ; coal, lime, &c , 1,9501. ; parcels, 7501. ; total, 6,3071. On the Selkirk branch, passengers, 1,3321. ; goods, 6011. ; minerals, 906/. ; mails, &c., 500/. ; total, 3,3391. On the Peebles branch, 1,8261.; goods, 2,6861. ; coal, 7501. ; parcels, 7501. ; cattle and sheep, 1,0001. ; parcels, 500/. ; total, 7,5621. Mr. John Miller, engineer of the Company, was next called, and deposed that he had laid out the several branches. The Kelso branch left the main line near to a place called St. Bo?- 'well's, which was the nearest point to Kelso on the main line. The length was 12 miles 3 farlongs and 30 yards. There were no tunnels, and with the exception of the crossing of the Teviot (which would be effected by a viaduct) there were no engineering difficulties. The worst gradient was 1 in 75, and there were no objectionable curves. The Jedburgh branch was seven miles three furlongs and 150 yards in length, the steepest gradient 1 in 165, and the curves were not objectionable. There were no engineering difficulties. The Selkirk branch was two miles six furlongs and thirty yard 3, the steepest gradient being 1 in 204. He was responsible for the laying down of these branches. The Peebles branch had been projected to accommodate the people of the Tweed, and give communication to Glasgow and Ayr. Inner Leit&en was a place of great resort in summer, and factories were in course of erection there. He attached great importauce to the communication which the scheme of this Company would afford to the east and west of Scotland. The district between Galashiels and Peebles would also soon require railway accommodation. The estimate of the Peebles branch was 242,0001., of the Selkirk, 25,8101., the Kelso, 175,6851., and the Jedburgh, 62,5841., making an aggregate of 806,0791. ; to which he had added 43,9211. for contin gencies, which would give a grand total of 556,0001. He considered that the project to cross Captain Scott's property was much prefer able to interfering with Lord Ellbank's, on many grounds. This concluded the evidence on behalf of the promoters. Captain Scott's opposition being withdrawn, the Hon. Member for Berwick was released from attendance. Mr. PATON then proceeded to call evidence in support of Mr. Bal lantyne's opposition, the first witness being Mr. C. Hackett, a landscape gardener, who stated that he had laid out the grounds of that gentleman, and he was of opinion that they would be most materially injured. He had often been referred to in cases of this sort, and his arbitration had always been satisfac-- tory to both parties. The situation of Holylee was very pretty in deed. There were 68 acres planted, and the expense about 9,0001. Mr. Evans, a gentleman residing in the neighbourhood, described the property as very beautiful, and the house, which was built by Mr. Ballantyne, as excellent. The Cr:tumuli said the Committee did not want any more evi dence as to the amount of resident:ll injury. Kr. Paten said he should like to tender engineering evidence, for the purpose of showing that it would not be a difficult matter to alter the line, so as to leave untouched the Holylee propery. Mr. Sergeant Bei-Luis having replied to the evidence, The room was cleared, and on our re-admission, The CHAIRMAN said—Mr. Sergeant Bellasis, the Committee are of opinion that the immediate prospect of traffic will not justify the in terference with private property and the expenditure of capital re quired to form the Peebles branch, and therefore recommended the Peebles branch to be struck out of the preamble ; that is to say, where it forms a junction with the Selkirk branch. Mr. Sergeant BELLASIS assented to the recommendation. The Committee then adjourned till eleven o'clock to-morrow. GRUIX. The Committee m e t to-dayO at half-past eleven o'clock, Lord 'Noraley in the chair, when the remaining clauses of the GLASGOW GENERAL TERMINUS N.A.R.— SOUR MILLI were gone through, and, with several verbal amendments, agreed to. The Chairman was then instructed to report the Bill, with the amendments, to the House. WEST OF SCOTLAND :JUNCTION. The evidence on behalf of this scheme was then resumed. Mr. Wilson was recalled, and cross-examined by Mr. Holm, en behalf of the river trust, the bridge masters, and the Corporation of Glasgow. Great complaints at present existed, on account of the Bridge -street station being so distant from the principal parts of the city. He was satisfied there would be a considerable through traffic, but he could not say how much in tons. It was not so great as the harbour traffic. The traffic of the harbour herepre sented last year before a Committee to be, in iron 82,000 tons, and coals 119,000 tons, exclusive of coals to the steamers. He did not be lieve the most of that traffic would go down on the north side. A great part would go on to the south side of the river by the west of Scotland Junction, or the Greenock lines on to the general terminus, for which the Bill had been agreed to by the Committee. The traffic from the Port of Glasgow could be reached by other means. It could do so by the Airdrie and Monkland scheme, which did not touch the city, but went round it. Mr. Lea !better gave evidence nearly to the same effect as the pre vious witness. He had considerable experience in railways, having been chairman of the Ayr Railway, and on a careful examination of the whole question, he thought this junction would give the best ac commodation to the public, with the least interference with property, and without affecting the ornamental parts of the city. Mr. Macfee, of Greenock, a sugar refiner, gave evidence as to the great amount of traffic in raw and refined sugars and molasses with the east and north of Scotland. His house sent 60 or 70 tons a month, and several other houses did as much. The junction at Glasgow would give great advantage by establishing a direct through connexion. Mr. Adam Black, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, deposed as to the feeling of that city. It was generally in favour of this connexion, as the break at Glasgow was very much complained of since he left the Town Council of Edinburgh. Mr. Muir, Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce at Leith, generally agreed with the evidence of the Lord Provost, and deposed as to a large provision traffic between Ayrshire and the west and east of Scotland. Mr. Perry, merchant and manufacturer of Aberdeen, gave evidence as to the traders of that city being generally in favour of this scheme. There was a strong feang that the gap at Glasgow should be filled up, as the trade southward was at present impeded. Mr. INl`lionagill, provision merchant, of Glasgow, generally gave evidence as to the advantage of the proposed junction. The trade between the north of Ireland and Glasgow was very great, and a large atnount of it went through to Edinburgh. This trade was so great, that last year 250,000 f ow l s went through, with 900 tone of eggs, and 500 tons of barn and bacon. Ailey, Lord Provost of Perth ; Mr. Archibald, of Alloa • Mr. David "linen, of b unferrnline ; and Mr. David Murray, of Paisley, gave evidence generally respecting the feeling of their respective localities, which were represented to be in favour of the scheme. The Committee then adjourned till to-morrow at half-past eleven o'clock. ' 3l ' 43 uP xi'. airnsuzzz, MUDGE OF GLASGOW z uz r e . i .Zlß, AND PORT (C m oo r ti . nu g ed av lr e oevinidoeunreektfteo RriinznZthOalinie.), non-construc- Mr. Stewart . Hon of the branch to ' Port Glasgow was never until it was now put forward to serve a puep ow a grievance publicly complained of he must have heard of it in one or lf i t t h had been cities—as Member for the county ot Renfrew, a. directhrreeecaPa. f the Greenock Company, and as curator and guardiae of his neph ew, Michael Shaw Stewart, whose estates would be effected. lie knew the county between Port Glasgow and Johnstone, and the only town on the proposed route was Kilmalcolm, which had a population of 377 souls.— (Laughter.) There was, however, excellent shooting on the line—(Laughter)—as a considerable portion of the country was moorlands.—(Continued laughter.) He thought that the line would be difficult of construction, because he remembered that they had on the Greenock Railway a cutting of 800 feet through a granite rock which had been once in a state of fusion.—(Laughter.) He was quite certain that the line if constructed would never pay its cost of 300,0101. After a short discus:don Mr. Harding proved that the Conapauy, in the years 1841, 1842, and 1843, when he was secretary, paid the cartage from the railway to the harbour of Port Glasgow, and that no complaint had ever been made on the subject of the Lon-construction of the b:anch. Mr. Errington, civil engineer, was examined to show that the pro posed line could not be remunerative, scarcely practicable; that it would be attended with great and serious evils to the public from the prevalence of fogs on the Clyde, the de scending gradient of 1 in 75, and the sharp curves just before coming to the station at Port Glasgow, which would render it a matter ofimpossibility for the engine-man to time his speed BO exactly as to come correctly to the station. The wants of the dis trict where not supplied would be amply provided for by a branch tO Houston and Bridge of Weir, promoted by the Greenock Company. They would only require to construct a length of seven miles of new railway, while the Gl asgow an d A yr Company woul d requ i re a b o ve fifteen miles. The cost in the one case would only be 60,0001., in the other the estimated cost was 300,0001. l d l e r r . s Errington was cross-exami n ed on the part of Mr. Spires, of Ei lie, to show that injury would be done to the residential pro lurte, and for the Glasgow and Ayr Railway, to ,show that there were many railways is that kingdon which were worked en as steep l ag n radient as the Ayrshire, B r id ge o f W e i r, and Port Glasgow Juliet io. At the station near the litter place, there was a descending gradient, on the Ga rn ki r k Railway, of 1 in 80, with a level before Coming to the station of only 100 yards. The case was not parallel because on the f ormer the heavy gradient extended for four . miles, while the level, before coming to the station, was only 396 yards. The Committee then adjourned. GROUP XIV. SOUTIE ZASTERN ELLILWAT. The Committee met to-day at twelve o'clock. Present, Mr. Pro thcroe (chairman), Lord Evelyn, General Lygon, Mr. J. O'Connell, and Mr. Grogan- After a delay of twenty minutes, caused by the absence of Mr. Austin, the examination of Mr. (/ Bidder was resumed by Mr. MERREVVETHER. The witness stated that the moat severe gradient on the South,-Eastern, between Woolwich and D ar tf or d , i s one in 150, and that , level. The work ing f" a short distan ce . T he remainder is practically a working gradient of Mr. Vignoles, over the same ground, is 1 in 100. The works of the So uth-Eastern, from Woolwich to lineare light, whil e 2 Vignoles's are rather heavy. The would be a perfect eng+ " ntaeteili:g anomaly. The four acres pro posed for the Union -street n , would be wholly insufficient. The Paddington statien occupies'anthdirteenh acres. The Shoreditch station occupies five Seers aal f. and is about to have an increase of four acres more. The Union-street station would be thirty feet above the level, and a good ap pro::ch to it would require a road o f 300 Yards in leng th . The Lon don and Birmingham station occupie s seven acres. The station at London-bridge is about four a.'re,s. There is a station at the Brick layers' Urns, which occupies the very large area of twenty-six ac The Union-street station of the North K ent line would be tr ueens' venient, as people going to it would have to cross Southwark-bridge and pay the toll, and besides the streets tra It 1, t are very dirty and narrow. The London-bridge station Cl 5t305,5001., exclusive of what • was expended by the Greenwich Company. The arching of th e lUnion-street station would cost 80,0001., and hat would merely be the platform for the railway; 20,0001. would not then Complete the station. The estimate for this station is only 100,0001. Believes that before the Union street statio n could be built so as to accommodate all the traffic which it was intended to accommodate, it would cost 250,0001. Mr. Vignoles proposed to carry the line from Union-street to the junction with the Croydon line on an embankment held in by retaining walls. That embankment would cross more than 900 yards of street, and there would of course be so much arching required. A populous neighbourhood ought not to be crossed by an embankment. Mr. I Vignoles's line affects a rental of 16,0001. per annum. The purchase of that at thirty years' purchase would be 480,000 L, and the legal expenses attendant on the transfer of property in the metropolis are very great, in fact they would be in this case about 70,0001. When the Blackwall Railway was about to be constructed it passed through some property of the most wretched description, in fact mere shells of houses, of which the rents were collected every morn ing, and yet the cost of three miles of line which affeected that part cost more than 700,0001. There is no possibility of making a correct estimate where house property is concerned, as so many con t ngencies arise in the formation of the works. Believes that the three miles of line from the Union-street station to the Croydon junction would cost 1,150,0001. The junction at New-Cross would be a most dangerous junction, as the embankment is constantly slipping, and the New-Cross station is situated at the foot of a long incline. There would also be the inconvenience of crossing the atmospheric pipe, in order to get on the rails. The way in which it would be necessary to join there would require a gap in the pipe of from twenty to thirty yards, and the atmospheric train would have to be drawn across that space by some other power. The gradient of the North Kent, at the point of junction, is 1 in 569, and the Croydon line, where it is joined, has a gradient of 1 in 100. The South-Eastern is so continued as to avoid' the powder-mills at Dartford, and the Company will purchase the Ospringe powder-mills in order to avoid any danger from the proximity of their line. Mr. Vignoles proposes, in the tram-way which he intends to throw out to the town of Faversham, to cross the main stre et at a level with gradient of one in seventeen—an incline ra ther steeper than the present approach to Westminster-bridge. Th e length of it Is t o be half a mile, and the total declivity or fall is , I,l,efth/taia Isntrceaeste atof ens of the waggons getting loose it would cros s rate of forty miles an hour, and from the curve at the bottom of the tram-road would inevitably be projected into the creek. The line from London to Chilham, as proposed by the South-Eastern Company, has a decided advantage over the North Kent Company, in point of direction, expense, gradients, and working. a I s t o t h o R b i e d g p e a s varyse t by m h a t t e u l n y n i e h l The Balton Ridge, near eCaltehr,beduryt-, 1,500 yards long. Had. x 1832. In that year it was his opinion that Chilham, lower down the ridge, was preferable for a railway, as it avoided the capping of clay at the top of the ridge, and was more availablefor general pur poses.wm, Vise cutting to the Balton Ridge will be forty or fifty feet deep, and about thirty feet into the clay. The depth of his cutting in one place will be Neal to the height of the Duke of York's column, and the width will be 280 yards. The cost of the work will be about 290,0001. Mr. Vignoles will, by his tunnel, save about 2X miles in distance,: but it is not worth the expenditure of 30,0001. The interest of 30,0001. would run four or Viva long special trains per day from Canterbnry to London. The expenditure of that 300,0001. would only save four minutes of time to a special train and eight minutes of time to an ordinary train. The distance from Greenwich to Canterbury by the South-Eastern line is 58 miles, and by the North Kent it would be 54 miles. The South-Eastern would, from its arrangements, be able to reach London in the same, if not in less, time than the North Kent line. of Colchester, and Ilalstead, and Sudbury. It was proved that the carriage of coal at present cost from Is. to 10s. per ton, while the carriage of other articles were equally expensive. Exports of flour and wheat were large, and the imports of coal, timber, and agricultural materials no less extensive. One witness stated that there were large flour mills in the valley of the Stour, which would be greatly accommodated by the proposed railway. The Committee stopped the progress of this evidence, declaring that they were convinced the district afforded sufficient traffic to justify the construction of a railway. The Committee adjourned t , ll to-morrow at twelve o'clock. t3IPERIAL PARLIAME..`i'L (THIS DAY.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) DESTITUTE POOR (IRELAND) BILL. Mr. P. SCROPE would beg to impress upon the House the importance of the present measure. On the 21st of July, 1834, on the order of the day being read, he moved a resolu tion to the effect that, in order to the security against agra rian outrages, the poorer classes should obtain a sufficiency of the necessaries of life by honest industry. In 1835 he hal ventured to divide the Mouse on the same principle. He o had co-operated with many Members of the House in obtain ing r t p n o o e r- hadw fo e r nd lr e e a l v a o n u d r , e a d nd tosvheen carry thery Commission for in quiring into the state of Ireland had made theit re port, their recommen dations into effective operation. By that report it ap peared that the Commissioners were decidedly of the opinion that if the poor population could not obtain a subsistence by their industry, they ought to have an allowance out of the Consolidated Fund, and in fact, that they were entitled to be secured from destitution. But the Government thought this recommendation went too far, and they sent only another Commissioner, Dr. Nicholls, who had made a rep , r e on which the Ministry acted, and confined the relief to that which was given at the several workhouses. What bad been the result of that system was evident in the agrarian outrages which originated in want, and had mast certainly led to crime. The workhouses were only finished last year, and they had proved totally ufficient for the purpose. He conceived that the objects for which a poor-law ought to be established were threefold. The first of these was the relief of the poor destitute, as a matter of charity, with a view to put down vagrancy, and all those evils which flow from a condition of society which is at once beyond the power of the law, and incapable of orderly or ganisation. The second ground was a matter of police, with a view to reduce the amount of the crime and privation, that temptation to break the laws which the impulses of nature would always occasion. The third ground was the protection of the poor man from those positions which were opposed to all the foundations of law. By the present state of things, land, which was the common gift of the munificent Creator of all mankind, was confined for the profit of the few, and therefore it was that some mea sure should be devised for the relief of that class who suffered most from that perversion of the natural state of things. These were the three grounds on which a poor-law ought to be based, and the attempt to restrict relief therefore to the workhouse rule must prove totally inoperative. The work houses in Ireland were incompetent to relieve one per cent. of the pauperised population of that country. In England it is well known that the pauper popu lation constituted ten per cent. of the whole com munity. Now here there are 534 workhouses, a much greater number than there were in Ireland, and yet in this country it was a matter notorious to all that in these workhouses there was not more than one-sixth of the relief given of the whole that was granted. It appeared that in Limerick, according to the report of Lord Devon's Commis sion, that the poor were absolutely in a worse condition than they were when the law was first passed. The schem,e, then, had evidently failed, and he (Mr. Scrope) was of opinion that until the poor were saved from the destitution which pushed them on to crime these agrarian out rages would not cease. The poor man was evidently entitled to be saved from starvation by an allowance from the land on which their forefathers were born. (The Honourable Gentleman then read a series of extracts from Dr. Doyle's pamphlet, and from the work of Mr. Evans, secretary to the Poor -law Inquiry for two years.) There were three means by which the country was governed. There was the law of the land, with their judges to administer it and backed by the military and civil authorities, but which had proved quite inoperative for its purpose. Then there was the convention between the parties who were the objects of the law's direction and who had succeeded in evading all the carefulness of the law. The Right Hon. Baronet (Sir J. Graham) had stated the other night that outrages were not prevalent throughout Ireland and that the increase of crime was confined to five counties. Bat what was the reason of this, why because the law of the land was inoperative to protect the lives and properties of the peasantry, whereas the agrarian law was effective for that purpose. He would ask whether the law of the land did protect the life of the peasantry.—[ Sir J. Graham—"Yee."] Did it? He denied it ; for it did not protect him from starvation, and he was compelled to resort to agrarian disturbances, in order to protect himself against the extremity of want. In reply to a petition the other day, the Right Hon. Baronet had stated that they could not expect a man to suffer the last evils of starvation, but that he was to a certain extent justified in resorting to violence, or at least illegality, to save himself and his family from starvation. When a man was evicted from his holding without any compensation for the improvements he had made upon it, was he to lie down and die in a ditch ? On the very principle which the Right Hon. Baronet had propounded there was evidently a necessity for an alteration in this mode of relieving the poor. Throughout a great part of Ireland there was a peculiar tenant right by which the tenant was entitled to cora pensation, but did their law protect that ? It was notorious that it did not. In Ulster the tenant right was recognised and allowed, but such was not the case generally, and in some places the tenant was evicted from his holding without any compensation whatever, after having bestowed as much as would amount to a twenty or thirty years' purchase. In the counties of Down and Armagh, it was the fear of agrarian outrages which preserved this right. In Ulster, therefore, it was upheld, because the legal authorities gave way to the agrarian law. lie might refer to the evidence of Mr. Senior, and to the late frightful case of eviction in Galway, for a confirmation of what he had stated. He thought that he had proved that the statute law did not protect life in Ireland, and that was the reason why, in moving the second reading, he had given the title to the Bill which it now bore. There was not protection from destitution, and, therefore, as wrong begets wrong, so long as that destitution existed crime would exist. He would not palliate the enor mity of the crimes in the slightest degree, but he was de sirous of impressing the House with the belief that there was a duty to perform in saving the poor from the destitution which was the source of crime. As Lord Brougham had ex pounded the law, the landlord had at present the right of sweeping off the whole of their tenantry from their estates without the slightest recompense, and Blackstone had stated that there was no man so indigent but that he might demand relief in case of destitution. It was clear, therefore, that the landlords of Ireland ought to concede to the people the right to a maintenance from the land of their birth. He thought it was now high time to alter the laws relating to the destitute poor of Ireland The existing laws had a tendency to produce crime, by not effectually relieving the destitution of the pecple. The rights of the poor were left to the discretion of the landlord, and the rights of the landlords were enforced, and exposed to the mercy of the land lord. The poor of Ireland had a right to relief, and he proposed that out-door relief should be afforded to them under the discretion of the guardians. There was a great quantity of waste land in that country, amounting to 4,000,000 of acres, w hich might be made to produce crops , and give employ ment to the able-bodied poor; and he contended provision should be made by the law for the employment of such persons in such manner. It might be done under the superinten dence of the Board of Works. He believed that great gain would result from such a mode of employment, both to the landlords and to the country at large, which would be cleared of the vagrancy, immorality, and crime which at present existed there. Sir J. GRAHAM said he was sorry that a subject of such immense importance should be discussed in such a hurry. But, after the speech which bad fallen from the Honourable Gentleman, he found it necessary to make some observations on a few points touched upon in that speech, and, in the first place, he would acquit him of any intention to create any evil excitement by a dis cussion on the subject, but on the contrary, he would give him every credit for being actuated by the purest intentions to promote the public good. However, the Hon. Gentleman would excuse him if, considering the present state of Ireland and the excitement which prevailed there, his humble judgment led him to the conclusion that a discussion on this subject was, to say the least of it, ill-timed. The Government had received much information upon the subject, which differed in many es sential points from that urged by the Hon. Gentleman, and he therefore considered that the Legislature would act wisely in receiving any advice with great caution. There had been reference made to the starvation which was accustomed to exist in Ireland. Now, he did believe that there was not one single instance of death arising from starvation in Ireland, and that so far from robbery and depredation having been committed in consequence of starvation, the Irish people were extremely honest amid the greatest want and privation. That was their character, and with reference to what he GROUP XXIX. This Committee re-assembled this morning in Room 19 ; present, the Right Hon. H. Labouchere (chairman), Sir William Molesworth, Sir T. Duckworth, Mr. John A. Smith, and Colonel Rawdon. SOUK'S (HUNTINGDON "ULAN CH). The evidence on behalf of the promoters of this scheme was re . Mr. Robert Stephenson, the engineer, was the first witness examined—His attention generally had been called to the district south of Leicester, with a view to railway accommodation. He was asked to become engineer to the Rugby and Huntingdon (competing) line, but he refused on the ground that the scheme was uncalled for, and would prove ruinous to the shareholders. His reason was, first, the exceedingly difficult nature of the country which lie had surveyed before that for the Londm and Birmingham line. He also thought it would not be so good a line as others that might be selected for the accommodation of the district. The proposed branch had been laid out in connexion with the scheme of the South Midland Railway Company, and would in his opinion be much pre ferable to the competing scheme. Witness then went into a comparative statement of the relative merits of both projects, from which he concluded that the South Midland was preferable, on the the ground of the greater accommodation it would afford, the less distance which would require to be con. structed, and the consequent less expense which the branch would cost. The promoters of the present line would start with a balance in their favour of 7001. per mile over their competitors. The one scheme would :take only an outlay of new capital of 300,0001., while the other line would take an outlay of 700,000/. It must thereore be evident that the former would be able to charge leas fares, and at the same time be a more remunerative undertaking. The gradients of the projected line were much more favourable, and though the other scheme was six miles shorter, the distance between Huntingdon and Rugby would be accomplished sooner by the proposed scheme in consequence of the easier gradients. Cross•examined—There could not be much difference in the rela tive merits of the two schemes as regarded the communication with the south-west. The Rugby and Huntingdon line, of which he spoke, may not have been the present Company. What he meant was that no direct line from Huntingdon to Rugby would ever pay a penny. Considerable time was here spent in discussing the propriety of confining the questions to witness to the relative merits of the two competing lines per se, or to view them in connexion with other more extended lines, of which they in reality form a portion. The Committee was of opinion that it would be better for counsel on both sides to confine themselves as much as possible to the branches immediately under the consideration of the Committee. The CHAMMAN again intimated that it was the wish of the Com mittee that the counsel for promoters should confine the question as to gradients to that part of the scheme between Huntingdon and Stanwick as compared with the competing scheme. By this means the investigation would be considerably narrowed. Mr. Liddel, civil engineer, was then examined, and corroborated the evidence of the last witness. The steepest gradient on the whole of the proposed branch was lin 100. It was on the west side of the Blisworth and Peterborough Railway. The length of it was one mile and three-quarters. From Huntingdon to Stanwick the steepest gradient was 1 in 144. There was no gradient so severe as that on the existing line. On the competing line between Kettering and Stanwich the steepest gradient was one in a hundred. The length of that gradient was one mile. Witness then gave the formal proofs as to the curves, estimates, &c. Cross-examined—The worst gradient on the competing line was e:ie in a hundred, and its lengtk was one mile. There was a gradient in the proposed line of one in a hundred, the length of which was one mile and three-quarters. Mr. Morrison, superintendent of the goods' department of the The Committee then adjourned until four o'clock to-morrow. GROUP XIX. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) BRIDGEWATER AND MINEHEAD. Sergeant Murphy and Mr. Cockburn appeared on behalf of the promoters of this line. Mr. Talbot, Mr. Merivale, and Mr. Carrow appeared in support of certain petitions from landowners against the projected scheme. Mr. Sergeant Wrangham and Mr. Hoskins appeared on the part of the Bridgewater and Taunton Railway and Canal, the opposing scheme. Mr. Sergeant MURPHY then addressed the Committee in sup por of the pproposed line. He said that the primary and lead ing objects of the promoters of this line of railway was, that it afforded a safe and convenient harbour in the port of Minehead for vessels frequenting the Bristol Channel. Another was connecting the port of Minehead by a railway with Bristol and London, which railway will proceed immediately from the proposed ports through a well-populated and rich agricultural district, and join the Bristol and Exeter Railway at Bridgewater. The dangers attending the navigation of the Bristol Channel was, be be li e ved, considerable, but these dangers existed priecipally above Minehead. There was not a spot on the coast from the Avon to the Hartland Point offering such advantages and conveniences as the port of Mine head. It was accessible at all times of the tide, and he was sure no site could be discovered on that coast uniting the advantages of a position for a trading harbour and a place of refuge for shipping in distress of weather. By this scheme passengers from the South of Ireland and Wales, and all other parts of the world, would be afforded the most rapid and con venient means of reaching Bristol and London, and that there was no such means of transit for goods and cattle from the South of Ireland and from the South of Wales, offering the same faci lities, having regard to the economy of time or expellee. This line of railway would pass through, or near to, thirteen considerable villages with a population: afford ing a prospect of eminent utility and profit independent of the advantages arising from the pier. Ile was quite sure he need not mention that Minehead was situated in the midst of some of the most snperb scenery in the kingdom, and was in the summer season the resort of large numbersl of persons in search of health and recreation The Learned Sergeant concluded his address by calling the Committee's attention to the numerous petitions from Cork, Bridgewater, Taunton, Poole, Minehead, and other places. Captains Parrett and Evans, both of the Royal Navy, were then examined as to the depth of water and soundings in the Bristol Chan nel, and also the advantages that Minehead offered as a harbour of refuge. It being past four o'clock, the Committee adjourned until twelve o'clock to-morrow (Thursday). London and Birmingham Railway, was examined, With the view of proving that that Company charged by the line from Northampton to Peterborough, as well as to London, by the geographical distance, or " as the crow flies," for all goods. Mr. Charles P. Berkeley, a laud valuer, deposed to having valued the land over which the proposed line passes. 72,6531. was the amount of the total valuation. That was a high average for the land. This closed the case for the promoters, subject to putting in a list of g• adtmts. Mr. DE.mx, en the part of Lord! Sandwich, addressed the Com mittee against the proposed line. He complained that it ran for a considerable distance along his park, and unless public necessity mado it imperative, he did not wish either the proposed or the com peting line to be made, but of the two he would prefer the competing one. If the London and York line were carried Lord Sandwich would be completely hemmed in. The Learned Counsel concluded by entreating the Committee to take his Lordship's petition into their consideration, as they did that of Lord Harborough in the case of the Syston and Peterborough line, and give him that protection which his case required. There being no other opposition this case closed. Some discussion then took place as to what line should be taken next in order, and the Committee, on referring to the minutes of the first day's proceedings, found that they had decided on taking the projects in the order they were read the second time, irrespective of any other consideration, and whether they were com peting lines or not. In conformity with this decision, the next Bill was the Group XX. . h a d observed, namely, that the discussion was inopportune, he would say that an imprudent expression would be now calculated to produce effects 'Which he trembled to contem plate, effects which might be written in letters of blood in Ire land, and he therefore approached the discussion of the snbject with a degree of awe and hesitation. In the first place, he considered that the doctrine laid down by the lion. Gentle man was the most dangerous that was ever pro pounded, for if the doctrine was worth anything it amounted to this—that occupation for any length of time should be converted into a perpetual right, subsequent to the payment of a quit rent. —(Hear .) Why, it would be the subversion of all rights of property.—(Hear.) Mr. POULETT SCROPE said he distinctly declared that ' he had no such intention, and that he only sought by his Bill to obtain compensation for improvement. Sir J. GRAHAM said he appealed to the House what was their recollection of the words of the lion. Gentleman / (Hear.) But rejecting mere words, and attaching themselves to the principle of the Bill, he did still allege that, in his opinion, the Bill reached to the extent whch he had just stated. The Hon. Gentleman bad stated that there were 2,300,000 paupers in Ireland; now it_must be apparent to the House that land iu that country could not be adequately taxed for the support of such a vast number. He admitted e s ss e i ff on ec s ted h , e it w w as ould eo b m re t a le k lle d d ow t n o distinctly that property with its rights existed for the be nefit of the community.—(Hear, hear.) But, whilst there as this He respected law prescrip twhaos suchrights a charge p r tions and possessions, and must join issue on this point ; a re l tr thweitshecontdherseea:diog of this Bill. Respecting the feelings and the motives of the Honourable Gentleman, he was impressed with the belief that the speech of the Hon. Gen dolman was likely to lead to more dangerous consequences than the motion itself; yet, entertaining that belief, he should resist the measure which was now submitted to the S it M u lth i ll p e op i° u rit l sß a h rEir liCretti.ind. For three years the Govern' as an Irish landlord, and deriving tlr , ‘ land, was grateful to his Hon. Rouse. torward tbis motion, and he per fectly agreed with him t•lut the cessation from outrage was owing to the agrarian association. With the fact before him that the Government bad . brought in a Bill for coercion, he a sufficient protection ; but still it was people had a right to protection from He admitted that the Bill now before the Ministry. hie; ensudbfsoirsth,enavceingfrborraough an advantage, and the more so as the Bill of the Govern went was accompanied with conditions which were likely to ucting an ex Thought a li k r e . pens' • • ive inquirv, and t m h e e nt H o h u a s d e was not n n o e t 0 lid although the Noble Lord near him (Lord J. Russell) had expressed his opinion against it, yet he still must persist in the• belief that some system of out-door relief should be adapted. In Englan d the matter was different, for thew the labourer with 9 a . or 10s. a week, but in -Ireland a man, all his exertions, could not ob tain more than 4s, or, at the most, ss. a week, so that there was no . possibility of making a provision for the future. In his opinion, the rule for separating the hus band and wife, and the parents and children, was altogether bad;, and he thought that where such an effect was likely to occur, out-door relief . ought to be granted. That relief ought also to b e given . in the cases of sick poor, and of orphans entitled t;? .. relief, and especially in the cases of persons growing up, " bad habits were easily formed, and the workhouse was the grave of economy. With respect to the granting of relief out of the C onso lid a t e d Fund, he was ag . einst any but direct application of the p u bli c f unds ; the Governmen t might take another cours e . Th ere were farms w hi c h required improvement, thousands of acres whitch were at present waste lands, on which capital mi;,,Jit be very profitably embarked ; there were public works on which labour might be very profitably employed, while there were thousands of persons who were in want pf employment" and in this Way their labour might be RUN LoN1)0 N 11:1 I) LI 71' VMaO4 1 IN 1 1.7 al - EV a 1-.4 4 9 ,r,-zw• advantageously employed: He did not mean to sar that I every able bodied person was 'to rush to the public funds for assistance; but taking the workhouse test they might apply it to the out-door relief: He was no friend to the compulsory emigration, which was not popular in Ireland; but yet voluntary emigration might be encouraged in a very serviceable way. Now, to all these points the Government might direct their attention, and they ought to do so. They might frame the machinery as they liked, but still the princi ple ought to be adopted and used. There were several clauses in this Bill that ought to be withdrawn without injuring it, but the principle itself was good, and, if carried out, would tend to improve many estates in Ireland ; and believing so, he gave the Bill his most cordial support. Sir JAMES GRAHAM explained that he opposed the Bill on the grounds that it gave relief to the able-bodied poor, that interfered with the exercise of their duties by the Poor-law Guardians, disposed of the great question of the out-door relief, and proposed an impossibility in attempting to do away with mendicancy in Ireland. Lord J. RUSSELL, though favourable to any improve ment in the condition of Ireland, could not give his assent to this Bill, for though the Commissioners might be very good judges of the state of Ireland, but he had very great doubt of their recommendation to give relief to the poer at their own hands. It had consulted Mr. Senior and Mr. Cornwall Lewis on this point, and they had both given great attention to this subject, and their impressions were that the alteration would have the effect of adding new evils to those which already existed in the old poor-law of Elizabeth. He would call upon those who impugned the reasons of those persons if they could, and he was the more impressed with their conclusions, by the reasons which they had assigned for them.—(Hear.) They stated, for instance, with regard to emigration, that a difficulty would arise in the event of those who professed to be ready, declaring when the ship was about to sail that they were unable to go with it. If they yielded to such a declaration they lost all the benefit of the outlay, while if they persisted in forcing the parties to emigrate who had obtained the assis tance of Government would lay themselves open to the re proach of having absolutely transported these indi viduals, instead cf having encouraged voluntary emi gration. It did not follow that because there were 2,300,900 poor people in Ireland, there were so many paupers, but that there were 2,300,000 persons not in the possession of the comforts Of others of similar condi tion in this country. He would not enter into the great ques tdieoenlsareof h t i e s nur b e eli o e f f l t e h n a d t an t d her t e ena m n u t st rig b h e t, a bu w t o h r e kh in ou u s s e t or some other similar test, and he conceived that if the poor were to be relieved, it must be through the agency of other and indirect means. For these reasons he should oppose the Bill, conceiving that it was not calculated to accomplish the ends which the mover intended. The O'CONNOR DON thought that the feeling in Ire land was decidedly against any increase of the poor-rates, and that, therefore, if there was difficulty now, it would be increased if this measure were passed, and he should, there fore, oppose it. Mr. P. BUTLER said that there was evidently not any necessity for the charge. The Charitable Society and the Benevolent Society, the two great charitable institutions of Ireland, relieved every week .168 individuals. His belief is that the guardians in Ireland ought to be compelled to provide relief for the destitute poor. Mr. WAKLEY—(Question, question)—had heard only a part of the discussion, and ho regretted to have heard that. The Right Honourable Baronet the influential member of the Government that is, and the Noble Lord who expected shortly to be at the head of the Government that is to be, bad both positively declared themselves decidedly opposed to the principle of the Bill, but he had yet to learn why there should be a difference between the manage ment of the poor in Ireland and in this country. What was the fact ? Why that the Irish poor prefered to be sent to a gaol to returning to their own country. This was a fact which ought to secure the most serious attention:of the Irish Members. He believed that this subject would grow intrength from year to year, until the same system of legislation was adopted with regard to Ireland as was adopted with respect to this country. His conviction was, that outrages would increase until they gave a right to relief in cases of destitution, and as soon as that was granted, a great moral change would be wrought in the:condition of the poor of that couutry. He shculd give the Bill his cordial support in all its stages, and he hoped the Right Hon. Baronet would allow it to go into Committee and there be modified if he desired it, for he thought this was a duty which he owed to the poor of Ireland, and if he did not do so his (Mr. Wakley's) impression was that his refusal would be a source of very painful reflection. Lord CLAUDE HAMILTON opposed the Bill. Mr. SCROPE said he would not trouble the House by dividing, and the second reading of the Bill was negatived without a division. COUNTY ELECTIONS. The County Elections Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Tuesday next. INSOLVENT DEBTORS (INDIA BILL). Lord MAHON moved that the Insolvent Debtors India Bill should be read a first time ; agreed to, and ordered to be lead a second time on Monday. FACTORIES BILL. Sir R. INGLIS presented several petitions numerously signed by. clergymen, praying the House would prevent young persons from being employed more than seven hours. The other orders of the day were then disposed of and the House adjourned at six o'clock. DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN EDINBURGH. — On Saturday night a fire took place in Edinburgh which for rapid de struction and frightful appearance we have seen nothing to equal since the memorable fire in Greenside-street, about nine years ago. It appears to have begun shortly after 9 o'clock, in the premises belonging to and occupied by Messrs. Stevenson and Co., printers to the University, Thistle-street, and which before 11 o'clock were entirely destroyed. The fire commenced in the drying-house in the upper story, west side; but the alarm did not reach the po lice-office till about half-past 9. The Rose-street engine was on the spot about a quarter of an hour after, followed shortly by the whole fire brigade;. but, unfortunately, it was nearly half an hour before the first engine could be supplied with water, and that very inadequately, while in the meantime the flames were running riot nearly over the whole building, the flame shooting upwards to the skies, which were illuminated to a great height, ar.d the glare must have been seen for many miles around. An engine was sent round to the back lane, but for this there was no fire plug nearer than the centre of George-street, where it crosses Hanover-street, and the quantity of hose was found insuffi cient to reach the distance. The consequence was another delay of about half an hour, until an additional supply of hose could to brought from the principal engine-house at Melbourne-place. To save the premises was now altogether hopeless, and the fire-master directed the energies of the brigade to the preservation of the adjoining buildings, east and west, in which they happily succeeded, though many of the inhabitants in their Mann were removing their furniture, of course to their serious hurt. By twelve o'clock the fire was subdued, or rather had exhausted itself, and the print ing office showed nothing but the front and back walls, with the steam chimney standing. We understand, however, that on the lower or street floor, the steam-engine and printing presses, especially towards the west end, sustained no injury but what may be repaired. We are glad to hear that the premises were insured ; and, as will be seen by an advertise ment from the firm, the stereotype department, which was in a separate building behind, remains untouched. How the fire originated we have not heard, nor will that point, perhaps, be easily ascertained.—Caledonian Mercury. TAMBURINI.—This distinguished artiste will be in town next month for a short time, to sing at private parties and concerts only. The Emperor of Russia has appointed him " Singer to the Imperial Chamber." His duties in that honourable capacity commence in July, consequently his visit to this country will be but of short duration.—Musical World. IMPERIAL PARL [AMEN T. HOUSE OF LORDS, March 31. The LORD CHANCELLOR took' his seat upon the Woo sack at Five o'clock. - THE NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE rose to move the address, of which he had given notice, relative to the new Houses of Parliament. If they were about in any way to advise the Crown upon auy matter that would touch the buildings erected for the service of the House of Commons, thereby interfering, if not with the pri vilege, at least with the business of that House, then indeed it would be necessary for them to con fer with the House of Commons before they could take any step in the matter. They, however, did no such thing. The address referred only to the buildings for the sole use and service of the House of Lords. It was a matter of fact, that the Board of Works had been incorporated with the office of the Woods and Forests. There could be no doubt that all palaces and buildings of the Crown or great works of a public nature erected in the metropolis came under the superintendence of that department. There was, therefore, nothing said in the address which he was about to read. Within the last nine months the work, as regarded their Lordships' Rouse, had been at a stand-still. The delay originated out of the differences that arose between the gentlemen employed in the execution of the work. The architect entrusted with the work, and a scientific gentleman who had been called in to superin tend the ventilation and heating of the House differed and the consequence was a total sus pension of the work as regarded the comple tion of the House. What, then, did the Committee do? They did not presume to undertake to settle the difference, and he held that it would not be competent for their Lordships or the Commoni, or for both, to in terfere, as it was the Queen's privilege, and therefore the Executive Government alone could interfere. The Committee therefore referred to the Executive Government for the interposition of their an thority, with a view that they would direct both gentlemen to do their duty, and speedily and imme diately complete the work with which they had been entrusted. The superintendence of the work having fallen on the Woods and Forests' department, no other commission or board was established for that purpose. Now he considered that that was unfortunate, as the department of Woods and Forests had already so much business thrown on them that they could not give the works that serious attention which they deserved. It would appear, notwithstanding, that the calculations made by the architect, both as to time and expense, were erroneous; and with that view he moved for the Committee. The Committee felt bound to make some suggestions, which he was happy to say had been adopted by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. But, notwith standing this report, the Committee were powerless upon one point, and that a point for which they had been appointed, namely, to accelerate the build ing of the House. They bad not the power to make the building go on as they wished, for they had not the authority, and they were therefore obliged to call upon supreme authority to make them go on. They had called upon the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. He did not think that any public building erected by public money had . ever been erected ex cept under the superintendence of the Board of Public Works, and he thought it was a great pity that in the present case they had not acted on the same principle. He maintained that the agreement which had been entered into had not been carried out. He did not wish to impute blame to any one ; it was no doubt a work of a difficult nature. The Noble Lord concluded by moving that an address be presented to her Majesty, praying that her M-tjesty may be pleased to direct Mr. Barry to proceed with the New Houses without delay, and that Dr. Reid be directed not to interfere with the works by his plans of ventilation, and that directions be given for the com pletion of the House of Lords by the commencement of the next session. The LORD CHANCELLOR having put the motion, Lord CANNING opposed the motion, because the report on which the address was first grounded had only been laid before their Lordships the previous day. Tyne; Harle, Newcastle-utonsTyne ; Chis o 113, He confessed thist he was unwilling to take the step re- Gibson, Lincoln's Inn-fields, London. commended by his Noble relative, inasmuch as the report DIVIDENDS DECLARED. which he had alluded to had only been laid on the table W. Blink horn, manufacturing chemist, Little Bolton—first last night. He particularly objected to that passage indi I t r f a s2se.r3A i t an in a t t h es e tt r i !ound, any Tuesday, at the office of the report which had a reference to the impediment put J. Gainer, dyer, Bridgend, Gloucestershire --a dlr. of 2s. to the completion of the works by the proceedings of the Board of Works. Now he thought that it was im- 3d in the pond, any Wednesday, at the office o f Mr. Hut ton, Bristol. possible to entertain a recommendation of this sort, until W. I. Newman, horse dealer, Norton, Gloucestershire —a the evidence was laid before the House in which this div. of 3 s. Id. in the p ound, an y Wednesday, at the office of impediment was witted. That Board, as now constituted, Mr. Hutton, Bristol. was so divided into its departments that it was not W. R. Watts, chemists, Bath—a clic , of 90. in the pound, likely that the impediments were as bad been represented any Wednesday, at the office of Mr. Hutton, Bristol. to their Lordships ; and he protested against any charges J. Young, shipbuilder, Newport—a div. of Id. in is the being made by implication, until the evidence on which pound, any Wednesday, r at the office et:i.fvMro.fH2ustto3nlßFin totlhe they were based were laid on the table of the House. ound 3 , l , an re, F d ri zer, a ` t f m y h the w office — of Mr.' Follett, Sambrook- There was another passage in the address moved ! Court, BasTrighall-etreet. for by his noble relative, which he conceived it was in- J. S. Herring, builder, Cecilia-place, Spa-road, Bermond competent for their Lordships to entertain, for the fact sey—a div. of Is. 3d. in the pound, any Friday, at the office was, that the recommendation was founded upon that of Mr. Follett, Sambrook-court, Basinghall streef. report which bad been submitted to their Lordships, D. Baseley, cheesemonger, High-street, Southwark—a div. but which had never been yet made known to the House of 20. in the pound, any Friday, at the office of Mr. Fol of Commons. No report ss yet'had been made to the lett, Sambrook-court, Basingball- street. House of Commons upon the ventilation of the new B. Baldwin, warehouseman, Liverpool—a div. of ss. 4d. houses of Parliament or respecting the plans for veutila- in the pound, any Friday, at the office of Mr. Follett, Sam tion proposed by Dr. Reid, and which were alluded to brookicourt,Ba.singbali-street. in C. m ates, banker, Stafford—fourth and final div. of_ 35.. 3d.. in the report before their Lordships. There had been Birmingham. pears, any Thursday, at the office of Mr. Christie a resolution come to by the House of Commons it ap pears, but they could Lot recommend any specific pro ceedings until tge report of the Committee had been made. Then the Committees of their Lordships' House reported that the w hole of the system of ventilation proposed to be adopted under the management of Dr. Reid would require several years to be carried out, and that they could not recommend the expenditure of more money on the ventilation of the houses of Parliament. Then this was not so much a question of convenience to the House of Lords or to the House of Commons, but rather as of ventilation. But the House of Commons, vvlOch was not so impatient as their Lordships, took a different view of the matter. If both Houses addreesed the Crown, each in accordance with its own views, let them consider the position in which the Crown would be placid by such a course of procedure. Their views were entirely in consistent with the views of the other House of Parlia ment ; and, therefore, be sought them to pause before they adopted the motion of his noble relative (the Mar quis of Clanricarde). It gave him great satisfaction to hear that the Noble Lord spoke in terms of praise of the department to which he (Lord Canning) had the honour to belong. He thought the course which their Lord ships pursued, in granting Committees on the motion of his noble relative from time to time, had not answered the object for which they were appointed, as the delay and disputes which had taken place had increased since they were appointed, and had led those engaged in the works to look for instruction to others than their real mas ters. He w ould not presume to decide what the course should be that their Lordships ought to pursue, but he might express his earnest hope that the members of the Com mittee should be careful to confine themselves to an in vestigation of facts ; and if they should wish to offer any recommendation or suggestion, that they would do so—not in the shape of a report—but by a representa tion to the department, to which allusion had been made more than once that evening by his Noble relative. That Board had been ever anxious to meet the wishes of their Lordships, and he thought this course the one most likely to expedite business, and, in his opinion, to give the greatest degree of satisfaction to that Board of which he had the honour to be a member. These were the grounds on which he trusted their Lordships would not assent to the proposition of his Noble relative. Lord REDESDALE, having had something to do with the preparation of the report, would wish to make an observation or two on the subject matter contained in it. The facts expressed in the report were very few, and they were published to the world long ago. It was perfectly notorious that since the year 1843, when the Committee was first formed, the whole of the evidence taken before them was known from time to time. The report referred to the state of the building now and the state in which it should be. H. seesad"rensind their Lordships that it was impossible to get the Commissioners of Woods and Forests to move without an address to the Crown. In the last session of Parliament the Commissioners refused to take any step upon a report of that House upon the subject, and the reason they expressed for such refusal was, that no address has been made to the Crown. This, therefore, .was a good reason for the adoption of the address which the Noble Marquis had proposed. He thought it would be best to leave it to the discretion of the Woods and Forests, without recommending them the adoption of any particular course. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said that the pro gress, or rather the absence of progress, in building the Houses was perfectly notorious. He should submit that the consideration of the question had better be ad journed till the report of the Committee was printed. He considered that it was necessary that their Lord ships should have the House ready for their reception, and that they should not be subject to delay occasioned by the disputes of parties who might attempt utopian systems of ventilation. There was but one other de partment which could take cognisance of this subject, and that was the Treasury ; but that department was already so overloaded with business that he knew of no other department that ought to have it in charge than the Board of Woods and Forests ; and, therefore, he trusted the House would not take it off their hands. The Duke of WELLINGTON said there could be no doubt that the recommendation of the Noble Marquis who had just sat down ought to be adopted, namely, that the question should be adjourned for the present, in order to ascertain what proceeding had been taken by the other House of Parliament. The Government were responsible in some measure for this delay, but they were not wholly responsible, inasmuch as that respon sibility had been to some degree limited ; but if the Board of Woods and Forests were to undertake the su perintendence of those who were employed to complete this building, it would be better to leave it in their hands. Government was most anxious to carry out the intention of the House, and also to carry out such de tails as might seem consistent with the wishes of both Houses of Parliament. He was in favour of the motion of the Noble Marquis, but he wished it to be adjourned. Lord CAMPBELL thought there was no reason to say that the motion of the Noble Marquis interfered with the other House of Parliament. At the time the plans of the Houses of Parliament were accepted, it was said that their Lordships would be able to take their seats in four years, and it was not till long after that period that Parliament interfered. It had bien said that the other House bad shown no intention of co operating with their Lordships. They had got a cham ber which, for hearing, temperature, and ventilation, was perfect, and they might think themselves lot tunate if they should be as well off in any exchange they might make. The chamber their Lordships occupied was in every respect inconvenient, and especially so in the morning, and Lord Brougham had, in consequence of the temperature, frequently been obliged to leave whilst hearing an important cause. He thought that if a loyal and dutiful address were presented to her Majesty, it would have the effect of calling the attention of the Government to the subject. After a few words from Viscount CANNING and Lord REDESDALE, The Marquis of CLANRICARDE consented to the course recommended by the Noble Duke, and moved that the debate be adjourned till a future period. He did not expect that it would be resumed till after the evidence was printed, and he dd not think that would be till after the holidays. The subject might be dropped altogether if the Government would interfere and settle the differences referred to themselves. The motion for adjournment was then agreed to. RAILWAY COMMITTEE. On the motion of Lord KINNAIRD the members of the Committee which he moved for yesterday were agreed to. Their Lordships then adjourned. DIVIDENDS. At the Court of Bankruptcy, Basinghall-street. J. Jenkins, currier, Crown-place, Old Ker,t-road, April 22, at one—T. Pulvertoft, iron-master, Pembrey, Carmarthen shire, April 22, at one—T. Pulvertoft, T. Gaunt, C. Benner, and J. Calthor, iron -masters, Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, April 22, at one—J. Calthorp, iron-master, Pembrey, Car marthenshire, A l ,ril 22, at one—J. Hill, licensed victualler, Queen-street, Hammersmith, April 21, at one—J. Waddell, shipbroker, Lime-street, April 21, at half-past eleven—C. Bonner, scrivener, Spalding, April 22, at one—G. Stephen, scrivener, Skinner's-place, Sise-lane, April 17, at two A. L. Newton, merchant, Bury-street, St. Mary-axe, April 21, at two—R. Musgrove, woollen draper, Birmingham, April 21, at one—W. H. Alexander and C. B. Richards, hard waremen, Upper Clifton-stree, Finsbury, April 24, at twelve --J. Durnall, ironmonger, Dover, April 22, at one. In the Country. E. and T. Oldham, builders, Chaltord, Gloucestershire, April 27, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court—J. Lowthin and R. J. Brinley, printers, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, April 23, at half-past one, at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne District Court —J. Henderson, horse dealer , High Crosby, Cumberland, April 23, at twelve, at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne District Court — P. Hansen, merchant, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, April 23, at one, at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne District Court. CERTIFICATES to be granted, unless cause be shown to the contrary, on the day herein mentioned. J. Coe, money scrivener, Sise-lane, Bucklersbury, April 22 —I. Denning, watchmaker, Titchbourne-street, St. James's, April' 22—T. P. Hawley, cheesemonger, Brunswick. parade, Barnsburst-road, Islington, April 22—R. Gunn, corn dealer, Clare, Suffolk, April 22—E. Eedle, bookseller, Chancery-lane. April 22—T. Bowel!, tavern keeper, Queen's Head-passage, Newgate-street, April 22—T. F. -aunders, brewer, Burton upon-Trent, April 22—C. Blackmore, tailor, Cork-street, April22—J. Clu . talen,brewer, Odiam, S ou th am pton, April 22 —G. W. LongriclK e,ir onmonger, Sund er l an d, Ap r il 23—G. P. Payne, dealer in cptical instruments, Liverpool, April 21— ,1. W. Frost, coffee dealer, Back-lane, Kingsland-green, April 22—A. Oakley', seedsman, Southampton, April 23 H. Frisker, innkeeper' Southampton, April 23—W. Fisher, commission agent, York-place, St. John's-wood, April 21— T. Wren, sharebroker, Preston, Lancashire, April 22—R. Kilpatrick and J. Smith,• ro pe manufacturers, Liverpool, April 24—J. Miller, cordavaaner, Southampton, April 21— W. Wilks, builder, Leeds, Aoril 21—W. Ibbotson, merchant, Sheffield, April 21—A. Palm sr, druggist, Feltwell, Norfolk, April 21—B. Wood, jun., wine ‘ merchant, Leeds, April 21— T. Hodgson, bookseller, LiveMool, April 21—G. Osborn, whip maker, Exeter, April 21L--B. Agars, woollendraper, Kingston-upon-Hull, April 21-11. Sturley, organ builder, Southam, Warwickshire, April 21-1 F. Gee, linendraper, Leeds, April 21—V. S. U. Lenormand, milliner, Regent-street, April 21—T. Ratnett, tailor, Cambridge, April 21. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. H. D. Norman and W. Rawlings, woollendrapers, Liver pool—S. R. and S.H. Jutsum, butchers, Aldgate High-street —J. Hawkins, jun., and A. Smith, surgeon's, Bristol—W. H. Smith, J. Knowles, and J. Cooke, sharebrokers, Leeds—A. Butterfield, H. Butterfield, and W. P. Butterfield, brick • layers, Hitchin, Hertfordshire—J. Bingley and R. P. Petti grew, tailors, Duke-street, Grosvenor-square—J. White and R. Rouse, painters, Exeter—E. Allatt and J. Manuel, cabinet makers, Sheffield—F. D. Lewis and G. R. Lowe, printers, Laurence Pountney-lane, City—J. B. Pillin and T. Warren, sword cutlers, Cursiter-street, Chancery-lane—G. Peel and R Carr, manufacturing chemists, Ossett, Yorkshire—J. H. Coates and J. Loveday, jewellers, Wakefield, Yorkshire— W. and W. S. Young, hatters, Oxford-street—W. Cooper, J. Cooper, and B. Best, preserved provision merchants, Cornhill —'l'. and B. Butterworth, woollen manufacturers, Green booth, Lancashire—J. Royle, F. P. Walker, jun., and E. Butterworth, sharebroke rs , M anc h es t er — J. D ea n and H. Williams, sack dealers, Liverpool—J. Capstick and T. Bass, general furnishing warehousemen, Portman-place, Edgware road—J. H. Bamford and J. Stell, cotton manufacturers, Todmorden, Lancashire—T. Joyce and R. Church, carpenters, Thatcham, Berkshire—P. A. Burrell and E. Paterson, attor neys, White Hart-court, Lombard-street—T. Helliwell and W. Davis, sharebrokers, Halifax, Yorkshire—J. Pool and R. Cooper, slopsellers, Commercial-road, East—S. and T. Cane, weelwrights,Elmbon, Essex—H. Patteson, jun., and P. Ilud dleston, sharebrokers, Threadneedle-street—C. M. and T. Westmacott, seedsmen, Cheapside—J. R. Cowell and R. M'Laurin, sharebokers, Leeds—J. (lowland and J. Harbottle, drapers, ,Newcastle-upon-Tyne—J. F. Hayward and W. Macdonald, Liverpool—J. Birkett and R. Foster, attorneys, Liverpool—A. Park and J. Armstrong, surgeons, Gravesend —R. and B. Urwick, Foster-lane, City—A. Ball and E. Morris, surgeons, Spalding, Yorkshire—W. Lock, jun., R. Lano, and A. H. Lano, stone merchants, Portland, Lancashire. SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS. John Orr, spirit merchant, I,lasgow, April 6 and April 27, at twelve, at the office of Mr. Miller, Glasgow. Edward Khull and Alexander Poison, printers, Glasgow, April 3 and April 24, at two, at the chambers of Mr. Smith, Glasgow. Macgregor, Poison, and Co., publishers, Glasgow, April 3 and April 24, at twelve, at the chambers of Mr. Kerr, Glasgow. James Law, innkeeper, Kilmarnock, April 4 and April 25, at two, at the chambers of Mr. Fulton, Kilmarnock. David Smith, writer, Dundee, April 8 and April 29, at one, at the Royal Hotel, Dundee. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. EPSOM SPRING RACES. Hitherto the interest of the Spring Races at Epsom has been confined to the Trial Plate, for three-year-olds, given by Sir Gilbert Heathcote, and a stake or two in heats for the especial amusement of those to whom quantity is everything. Matters, however, are no longer to proceed at the old "jog trot" pace. The grand stand, and with it the active arrange ment of the races, has passed into the hands of Mr. Henry Dorling, and under the immediate patronage of the Stewards of the Jockey Club, (now associated in the Stewardship with Sir Gilbert Heathcote), and, with the best wishes of every man who would maintain the turf on a sound and respecable footing, he has in the short time that has elapsed since he 'reigned, sealed, and delivered," accomplished suf ficient in the shape of improvement to convince the world that Epsom is no longer to be dependent solely on its Derby and Oaks. All the modern improvements have been already or will be adopted, and, malgre the selfish opposition of a dis appointed clique, will henceforth rank with the best in the country. The first meeting under the new regime will take place on Friday next, and in a few words we will endeavour to show that the anticiaations we have occasionally indulged of its success are not likely to be disappointed. The course has been thoroughly dressed and levelled, and we hear that more money and labour have been expended on it during the last winter than in twenty years previously. A great number of posts and chains have been set up towards Tattenham Corner, where the pressure from the crowd is usually greatest ; and it is with much pleasure we notice that the officials have reserved a space for the people who may not be rich enough to obtain admission to the stands. The judge's chair has been removed to the upper or north side of the course, an alteration we have often suggested, and entirely approve of. A new telegraph has been completed, showing the names of the jockies as they weigh, a decided improvement to any that we have yet seen in this quarter. But the im provements in and about the grand stand throw all others, excellent as they are, into the shade. We were surprised to see the vast quantity of earth that had been removed ' since last year, and the solidity and excellence of the new works. The lawn, or enclosure in front, is now earned up in a rather sharp slope from the edge of the course to a level with the principal floor of the building, and will furnish accommodation for many thousands of spectators, and afford them an uninterrupted view of the races. The hail opens immediately upon the lawn, and will be a con veni eht refugeforthe " should inniig," say half as large again as As wet or cold weather. The enckai o n o rg isextensive—we t* butraaiowen of the fanc D it will b n , ot ad b d e li f n our in front.toos Theacious roomswit h on tbe theatt basement are appropriated to the officials of the course. They include the clerk of the courses office, the weighing roma, jockey's retiring-room, prieting-offiee, and many other con veniences. This Fart of the building is warmed by a powerful stove, and is laid down with matting and properly ventilated. Two rooms on the principal floor are reserved, one for the Jockey Club, the other for the Bench of Magia, trates, and the remainder being open to the public. The Grand Saloon is now in progress of decoration, and we can see enough to warrant us in stating that, when finished, it will be one of the handsomest rooms of its kind in the country. On this floor there are two elegant ladies' rooms. fitted with toilets, and handsomely furnished. A grand en trance has been made at the back of the building, and is most conveniently arranged. A large yard has been en, closed with gates, so as to allow of carriages setting don; without being molested by the rabble, and the entrabee is wide enough for three carriages to draw up together, As far as our judgment goes, the arrangements are unex ceptionable, and we trust the liberal proprietor and lessee will reap the reward of his labours ; at all events, from the interest attached to the great race to come off on Friday, the number of horses already en route, and the favourable state of the weather, we do not hesitate to predicate that the Spring Meeting willl be a bumper. We shall give the entries and arrivals to-morrow. BETTING AT MANCHESTER.—TrEsDAY. CuasrEa Cur.-13 to 1 agst Sweetmeat-20 to 1 agst Best Bower (taken)-20 to 1 agst Clumsy (taken and afterwards offered)-2' to 1 agst Hope (taken) -25 to 1 agst Mica Burns-25 to 1 agst Fitzallen -40 to 1 agst Crim. Con. (taken freoly)-40 to 1 agst Weatherbit-40 to 1 agst Inheritress (taken) -50 to 1 apt Lothario (taken)-50 to I agst Polish (taken). DERBY.-9 to 2 agst Sting-12 to 1 agst Brecardo-20 to 1 agst lago-30 to 1 agst Tibthorpo -35 to 1 agst Fa nc y Roy (takon)— 35 to 1 agst Humdrum (taken)-1,000 to 15 agst Lucotta colt (taken). METROPOLITAN HANDICAP.-5 to I agst Peasant (teken freely)- 12 to 1 agst AUriCUla-13 to 1 agst Lord Saitoun (taken) -14 to 1 agst Carissima (taken)-16 to 1 agst My Mary (taken). OAKS.-16 to 1 agst Queen Anne (taken) -16 to 1 agst Osprey (taken). HOUSE OF COMMONS, March 31. There being only thirty-one Members present at Four o'clock, the House adjourned till to-morrow. TUESDAY NIGHT'S GAZETTE attended by Lady Anna Maria Dawson, s n th Sir George Cowper, and w ßo e y re al s pr i e g s h e n n e t ss at th h eth e D r e Baroness de his , u M i,o st en j s.s e s zo y it enD n ta, ::::: Lad ] an y t nig T h h t, e h re er Augusta Bruce, ig enstein and Prince Edward of Saxe by Baron Reitz Devonshire, the M • of CI • rd Marquis anrica e, Weimar, the Duke of the Marquis of Douro, C a George,p t . t the his Hon. sere n eGH..Vhuhnriresas 3 sE r - .. c ! elc el e n_ JGReztaghleeHoßfiliguislesniineasnins gApemnrin,basee at tended sadorbainondestbse Bareness Brunow, the Hanoverian Minister, the of Westmeath, the Earl of Lonsdale, the Earl of , 7 ,l, a v re ensa y, the Earl of Shelburne, the Earl of Liverpool, the E - firl of Clare t the Earl of Sheffield, the Dowager Countess of E sse x, the Viscount Duncannon, the Marquis of Huntley, the Marquis of Titchfield, the Earl of Falmouth, Viscount Beres ford, Lord William Beresford, Lord Sandy', Lord G. Paget, Lord W. Lennox, Lord Gardner, Lord Dufferin, Hon. Spence Cowper, Sir John and Lady Lawlor, Sir John Miles, Sir Job and Lady Burgoyne, Sir H. Webb, Sir Thomas Hare, S' Henry Willoughby u the Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgibbon, tl - Hon. Mrs. Tolmaehe t the Hon. R. Curzon, the Hon. Sophi i' Wheatley, the Hon. Mrs. Thelluson, the Hon. Colon, Wrottesley, Colonel Cavendish. Mrs. Stoddart Douglas, Mrs. Crawshay, Colonel and Mrs. Cornwall, Major Buckley, Mrs. Pack Bedding, kc. &c. .. . . RUGBY AND STAMFORD. Mr. Lawn, on behalf of the promoters, opened the proceed ings in this case. This was a branch railway projected by the Lon don and Birmingham Railway Company from their main line at Rugby to join the Syston and Peterbough Railway at South Luffen ham, about six miles from Stamford. The length of the branch was thirty-five miles, and passed through a favourable line of country. The estimated cost was 600,000/. The Learned Counpl then went into a detail of the advantages which it would confer on the district through which it would pass. Great benefit was expected from the conveyance of coal, which will be brought along the Syston and Peterborough Railway—or the South Midland Railway, if sanctioned by Parliament—direct from the coal fields of Leicestershire, Notting shire, and Derbyshire ; the present selling price of coal at Mar ket Harborough was about 21s. per ton, and it has to be carted from that place to the different villages on the line, at an expense which cannot be reckoned at much less than Is. per ton per mile. The railway would afford the means of deliver ing the coal in all parts of the line at from 10s. to 12s. per ton. It was also proposed to give to this branch the benefit of the low scale of tolls intended to be inserted in the Bill amalgamating the London and Birmingham, Grand Junction, and Manchester and Birmingham Railway Companies. Petitions in favour of the Bill were numerously signed from all the towns and villages on the line. There were on each side of the Welland valley, through which the line passes, a succession of large and populous villages, almost entirely of an agricultural character, the innabitants of which expect to derive the greatest advantage from the projected railway as a means of conveyance for their cattle, corn, and other produce, as well as giving them the facility of attending personally the mar kets before named. In this respect the line greatly resem bles that of the Northampton and Peterborough, sanctioned by Parliament in 1543, on which this particular description of traffic has far exceeded the most sanguine expectations. The Learned Counsel submitted that if these points were proved, which he proposed to do by the witnesses he would call, there could be no question as to the necessity of constructing the line. The Hon. Mr. Watson, of Rockingham Castle, was then examined —He knew the line of country well through which the pr oposed line would pass, and no district was more in want of railway communi cation. He thought this accommodation would be given by the pro posed line. The opinion of the people in the district was entirely in its favour. If it were constructed coals and other goods would be much cheaper, in consequence of the facility and cheapness of rail way conveyance. Mr. DENNISON applied to cross-examine this witness on behalf of the promoters of the Rugby and Huntingdon line, but the Committee decided that he had no locus standi, as the latter was not a competing line ; and with regard to the five miles common to both, the Com mittee would reserve to itself the power of insisting, if they agreed to the Bill, upon the insertion of such provisions as should secure to the other Company the free use of those five miles. The witness was cross-examined by Mr. FLOOD, on behalf of Mr. Marshall, a landowner, with a view to show that the means of com munication already existing between Rugby and Stamford were suffi cient to accommodate the traffic. Mr. Jeffery Palmer corroborated the evidence of the last witness. Mr. George Jones, engineer, living at Stamford, 111 - r. Tibbert, a grocer, and Mr. George Abbott, a carrier, were examined: to the same effect, all of whom were of opinion that there was considerable traffic on the district between Stamford and Birmingham, and the whole line of country, and in the event of this line being made it would afford great accommodation. Mr. George H. Betts, a dealer in corn and malt, was examined to prove - the traffic in corn, &c. It being now four o'clock, the Committee adjourned till twelve o'clock to-morrow. Sob-Committee No. 1. GLASGOW AND DUNDEE JUNCTION: (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) In respect to the datum line, the Committee decided that the standing orders were not complied with. EDINBURGH AND PERTH. The object of this line is to connect Edinburgh and Perth. The length, 39 miles. The estimated cost, 1,000,0002, The engi neers, Mr. G. Rennie, Mr. Bateman, and Mr. Gunn ; the agents, Messrs. Spottiswoode and Robertson. The formal evidence was given, and petitions against the line were received, and the Committee adjourned at four o'clock... Sub-Committee No. 2. IPSWICH AND BURY ST. EDMUNDS (ELY EXTENSION WITH BRANCHES THEREFROM). (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) The further consideration of the Bill was-postponed, .and the Com mittee proceeded with the LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM 'COVENTRY AND NUNEATON BRANCH). The formal evidence, in respect to this Bill was taken, and the Committee adjourned. Sub-Committee No. 3. NORFOLK RAILWAY EXTENSION (TIiTFORD AND REED- HAM BRANCH), (Continued from our AfternOon Edition.) The formal evidence was then gone into, and the tale was partly heard. The Committee decided that in respect to alternialve lines laid down in the plans deposited the standing orders were ,not complied with. The case was then ajourned. Sub-Committee No. 4. WHITEHAVEN AND FURNESS. (Continued item fur Afternoon Edition., This point, as well as several others, was reserved for farther con sideration. BIRKENHEAD AND HOLYHEAD JUNCTION. The formal proofs given in support of this Bill occupied the Com mittee up to four o'clock, at which hour they adjourned till t Welve to-morrow. Bub-Committee No. 5. At half-past twelve this Committee met,Mr. Nome Drummond'. in the chair, and proceeded with the case of the BRISTOL AND BIRMINGHAM (AS6IIIIRCH, TEWKESBUZY AND MALVERN LINE). Several witnesses were called in support of the petitioners agatost the line, and several questions as to inaccuracy of mileage, and d.is crepancies in the plans and sections, were raised at great length. Shortly before four o'clock the evidence for and against the line being concluded, the Committee decided against the promoters of the 13111 on several points, but reserved others for fUrther cornal deration. They then adjourned till to-morrow. Sub-Committee No. 6. I (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) The Committee next proceeded with the CALEDONIAN (DUNDYVAN BRANCH) RAILWAY. The object of this Bill is to connect the Castlecary branch of the , , Caledonia' Railway with the city and harbour of Glasgow by a line of eight miles in length, the estimated cost of which is 150,0001. Engineers and agents as above. cleared the between roo f. r the Scotch e The petition of William Sligo, of Carmigle, contained several allegations as to the legality of the subscription contract. distinction The first allegation had reference to a question depending upon a S ci co sio tc . h .p a o n n d this English point, t on i p o e u r re-admis sion, ad Committeemis sion, the Chairrnan'said that the Committee had ' to and would reserve the point till they should consult with the Speaker on the subject. Two of the allegations were not entered into, it being stated that they depended on the first. The fourth and last allegation was, that John Black, a lunatic, was one of the subscribers to the contract. It appeared that the deed was signed by " William Black, curator bonis for John Black, a lunatic," and the question in dispute resolved itself into this— whether " William Black, curator bouis for John Black," meant "William Black, as curator bonia," 5,,, The Committee ultimately decided that as the contract bound the subscribers, " their heirs, assignees," &c , it must be considered that William, and not John Blaek, was the party bound, as he cou ld not bind the heirs, &c., of his ward. The allegation was the re f ore de clared not proved, and the standing orders complied with. The Committee then adjourned. PRIVY COUNCIL -(THIS DAY.) IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF THE INHABITANTS OF CAPE BRETON. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) The arguments not having been concluded at four o'clock, the fur. ther consideration of the case was postponed till to-morrow. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—PALPITATION OF THE HEART, SHORTNESS OF BREATH, ♦ND GENERAL DEBILITY, CURED BY HOL LOWAY'S PILLS.--A gentleman of the name of Spencer, residing for the present in Saekville-street, Dublin, and who was for many years in the East India Company's service, fell into ill-health, and was even at death's deor, the action of his heart being frequently so violent as to cause, when lying down, the very bed to shake; and, again, from shortness of breath and debility he could scarcely walk twenty yards. This gentleman may now be seen out hunting, in the fullest enjoyment of health, having been cured by the surprising virtues of Holloway's justly celebrated Pills, which are sold by every chemist, and at Professor Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strand, London. FANCY FAIR UNDER THE THAMES.—The fancy fair in the Thames-tunnel proved highly attractive last week, having lasted from Monday, and was attended on the average by 9,000 per sons daily. The amount received at the usual charge of Id. only, was 1851. up to Friday evening. The Dtichess Dowager - of Cleveland, arrived at her re sidence in Seamore-place, yesterday, for the season, from her seat, Newton House, Yorkshire. LONDON AND BRIGHTON (WANDSWORTH BRANCH). (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) Mr. Fuller, surveyor, being examined, gave evidence of the value and ornamental character of the ground through which the whoie line passed. He thought that 40,0001., instead of 29,0001., would be the proper price for the land. He founded that estimate on the nature of the land, and the agreements entered into by the Company with other parties—with Messrs. Rawlinson and Co.—who had received 9,0001., and with Crooke, Ellison, and Co., who had got 6,0001. It came out in cross-examination that an agreement had been made between the Company and Mr. Fuller about the ground of Mr. Hague, giving Mr. Hague 400/. an acre, and 2,0001. Mr. Hague re pudiated the agreement, as not made wills his authority. Mr. SUTTON, the solicitor to the Company, stated that he had negotiated with Mr. Fuller and Mr. Hague's son, both of whom re presented themselves as authorised by Mr. Hague, sen. The witness put in a written assent to the Bill, signed by Mr. Hague, jun., and given in last year, when the scheme was before Parliament. lie said the sum given to Messrs. Crooke, Ellison, and Co. was incor rectly stated, it was but 3,0001. This closed the case. Mr. O'MALLEY, on the part of the South Western (Mitcham Branch), here objected to the Committee considering the line, for which he appeared, as competing with the Brighton line, and he would not offer any opposition to that line passing ' • but if the Com mittee considered it a competing line, he would be compelled to a I dress himself and his evidence against the preamble of the other Bill. The Committee decided that as Mr. O'Malley had already acted, by cros —examining the witnesses, as for a competing line, he had better continue to occupy the same position. SOUTH WESTERN (MITCHAM BRANCH), Mr. O'MALLEY then proceeded to open the merits of the Mitcham lie, and to put in evidence in favour. Mr. Iterwa opposed the line on behalf of owners and occupiers on a mile and a half on the projected line. . . . . The Committee adjourned till twelve o'clock to-morrow. GROUP XXI. LONDON AND OXFORD. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) Mr. Henry Dickson, land valuer, of Oxford, considered that the proposed station of this line in that town was admirably suited for a junction with the stations of the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolver hampton, and the Oxford and Rugby Railways, Which received the sanction of Parliament during the last session. The ground which they would all occupy was extremely level. Generally agreed with the evi dence of the last witness. He estimated the revenue which the Company would derive from the carrying of agricultural produce, beasts, coal, butter, wool, grocery, drapery, horses, &c., at 38,0001. Mr. Scales, salesman, Aldgate, said he was in the habit of receiving cattle and sheep from Thame, Princes Risborough, and considered the line would be of great advantage for their transmission. The Birmingham was the best station, as it was nearer the markets. ENGINEERING EVIDENCE. Mr. John Addison, the engineer of the line, was then called and examined by Mr. CALVERT—HQ said the Company was not new to him, as he examined it ten years ago as to its feasability for a rail way. He also examined a portion of it last year for the London and Birmingham Company. The line commenced by ajunction with the London and Birmingham Railway at Harrow, and seven miles from its station at Euston -square, and in its route to Oxford passed through Northall, Uxbridge, Fulmer, leaving Wooburn to the left, Loudwater, High Wycombe, Bradenham, Bledlow, Saunderton, Horsenden, Eamington, branch to Thame, from the neighbourhood of Tetsworth, Great Hagley, Little Milton, Carrington, Cowly, terminating in the parish St. Clements, at the 53d mile stone on the Lendon-road, about half a mile from Maldon Bridge, where a junction was proposed to be made at the Oxford and Rugby and the Rugby and Worcester. The ground at this part was very level. The ex treme length of the line was 47 miles, b furlongs, and 5 chains ; the branch to Thame 3 miles, 2 furlongs, and 2% chains; total length to Euston-square 54 miles, 7 furlongs, and 2 chains. On the main line there were four level planes, and the worst gradient was 1 in a 100. There were three inclined planes in the Thame branctr-1 in 220, 1 in 167, and 1 in 2,640. At Bledlow there was a plane of 1 in 136. The gradients were as favourable as the nature of the' country would allow, and were per fectly consistent with moderate works, and were laid out so as to compensate the mere level portions of the line this was also the case with the embankment and cuttings. There were ten sta tions—commencing at Northalt, Uxbridge, Edgley, or Stoke Common, Wooburn, High and West Wycombe, Princes Risborough, Tetsworth, Carrington, and the terminus at Oxford, which was well situated for the purposes of the town. There were engineering obstacles to putting Thame on the main line. The London and Birmingham station at Euston-square, possessed advantages over the station of the Great Western, because it was two miles nearer the centre of the metropolis, an advantage which he considered; and Mr. Robert Stephenson of the same opinion, said it was equal to tenmiles of railway travelling. There -were two tunnels on the line, one at Horsingden Wood, and the other under the Cricket-ground at Uxbridge ; the first was 457 yards, and the second 325 yards in length. The soil was favourable at Uxbridge, but not so at Horsingden, for which allowance had been made in the estimate. The worst curves were in the neighbourhood of Wooburn. There were two curves there of a radius of half a mile and eight chains each. At the junction with the London and Birmingham there was a curve a quarter of a mile in length, with a radius of three furlongs each. For the line, incl u di ng 10 per ES cent. for TIMATE. contingencies £739,875 Laud ..... • • ...... ••••• • • • • . The land required, on the average, would be • 61,643 cubic yards per mile. Cross-ex amined by Mr. TALB OT —S evera l schemes had been pre jected d uring the la s t t en years nearly along the route of this line , but but th ey were n o t proceeded with. Three or four plans were pro was for m aking a line t o O xford, in November, but this line the only one which had come before Parliament. This line was originally proposed to afford railway accommodation west, by Whitney, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, and so on to Hereford, after leaving Oxford, but this Banalas abandoned shortly after the report of the Committee on tke Gunge line last year. The Commit tee of this railway came to the decision of yielding the ground west of Oxford to the broad guage interest. He was a subscriber to the amount of 2 6,0001. or 27,000/. The junction with the London and Birmingham was north of the tunnel at Harrow, The line for six teen miles from London, ran about 316 from the Great Western line, towards Kilburn about four miles. They should no doubt run as many Oxford trains as the Great Western now did to that town. He had no doubt of the London and Birmingham line being able to afford them ample accommodation. On the main line there were thirty nine inclined planes and four levels ; but the total length of the levels from end to end was not more than two miles. The best gradient wag 1 in f 8t514. feet. The deepest p ar t of the cutting at Stoke-co was 68 mmo ton They passed about 14 f eet below, but parallel the present road. The strata was chalk and gravel. There would b e a viaduct of 2,220 yards in length ; the extre me h e i ght 112 feet. The viaduct on the Dover r e at Folkstone , was 100 f ee t in height ; at line, 68 feet in height. Wycombe there was a v The the Committee. examination of this witness was not concluded at the ri s i ng of GROUP XXV. The Select Committee appointed to consider the merits of the Bills comprise( in this group, re-assembled at the usual hour this morning in the Westminster Sessions•house. Mr. Monekten Mines, Vice-Pre sident of the Committee; in the chair. • STOUR VALLEY. Before the merits of this line, which stood next andlast of the line, was gone into, an incidental discussion arose as to the right of Mr. Sergeant Wrangham to appear in opposition to the Bill, as the repre sentative of the Chelmsford and Bury line. Mr. AUSTIN contended that the Stour Valley line, which ran from a point on the Eastern Counties Railway near to Colchester, to Sud bury, could in no way be considered in the light of a comparative line with the Chelmsford and Bury, which ran from Chelmsford through Sudbury to Bury St. Edmunds : while, on the other hand, Mr. Sergeant WAANGHAM urged that the two lines would compete for the direct through traffic between the metropolis and Sudbury, and Bury St. Edmund's ; and he had, therefore, a right to appear. The Chelmsford ar d Bury Bill, which was now before a Standing Orders Committee had been grouped with the Norwich line, but that fact did not prove that it did not compete with the Stour Valley line. _ _ Mr. AUSTIN called the attention of the Committee to the fact that the promoters of the Chelmsford and Bury Bill had not petitioned against the preamble of the Stour Valley Bill, and this was an addi tional ground why they ought to be heard. The question of compet ing lines had nothing to do with the matter. Parliament now con sidered no such thing as competition. Lines were looked at now, not in a competing point of view, but a comparative, and where two lines were projected for serving the same district of country, Par liament decided upon the two without reference at all to the matter of competition. Now these two lines did not serve the same district of country, and again ho said his Learned Friend had no right to be heard. The Committee decided that the promoters of the Chelmsford and Bury line could not be heard. _ _ Mr. MELLox then stated the case for the Stour Valley Company. It was to connect Colchester with its port, by means of the branch called the Hythe line. It then passed along the Eastern Counties line for some distance, and branched off down the valley of the &tour, and terminating in a fork, one prong at Halstead and the other at Sudbury. The length of the line was nineteen miles and a half, and the estimated cost 250,0001. At present the carriage of coals between these places was 7s. per ton. The proposed lino would reduce it to 3s. or 2s. 6d. Evidence of a general character was then adduced to prove the extent of tram* in coals, iron, timber, agricultural produce and ma terials, geode and merchandise, at present existing between the Port BANKRUPTS. John Charles Barrett, carver and gilder, Strand, to surren der April 3, at half-past twelve, and ay 8, at twelve, a the Court of Bankruptcy. Allsager, official assignee, Birchin lane : Taylor, Moorgate-street. Thomas John Moysey Bartlett, billbroker, Pall-mall East, April 7, at half-past eleven, and May 12, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Pennell, official assignee; Pocock and Marston, Norfolk-street, Strand. William Howe, bricklayer, Boxford, Suffolk, April 7, at half-past ten, and May 12, at one, at the Court of Bank ruptcy. Pennell, official assignee; Galsworthy and Nichols, Cook's-court, Carey-street ; Salmon, Bury St. Edmunds. Charles Couchman, brick maker, Hammersmith, April 6, at twelve, and May 9, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Follett, official assignee, Sambrook-court, Basinghall• street ; Jones, Clifford's Inn. , Lancelot Newton, warehouseman, Gutter-lane, Cheapside, April 14, at eleven, and May 12, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Edwards, official assignee, Frederick's-place, Old Jewry ; Hensman, Basing-lane, Bow-lane, Cheapside. Edward Dorling, Berlin wool dealer, Ipswich, April 9, at half-past eleven, and May 11, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Turquand,i official assignee, Old Jewry-cham bers; Reed and Langford, Friday-street. James Robert Ellis, brassfounder, Houndsditch, April 7, and May 11, at half-past twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Graham, official assignee, Coleman-street ; Lawrence and Plews, Bucklersbury, John Spaul, wine merchant, Beer-lane, Lower Thames street, April 8, at half-past one, and May 14, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Bell, official assignee, Coleman street buildings ; Philip, Great St. Helens. Valentine Elkins, coachmaker, Southampton-place, Euston square, April 14, and May 15, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Groom, official assignee, Abchurch-lane ; Fiddey, Paper-buildings, Temple. Michael Kelly, provision -dealer, Liverpool, April 24, and May 15, at twelve, at the Liverpool District Court. Turner, official assignee, Liverpool ; Vincent and Sherwood, Temple, London ; Jones, Liverpool. William Edmond and Thomas Edmond, merchants, Liver pool, April 17, and May 1, at twelve, at. the Manchester District Court. Hobson, official assignee, Manchester; Ab bott, Charlotte-street, London ; Atkinson, Saunders, and At kinson, Manchester. Henry Dunington, glove manufacturer, Nottingham, April 14, at half-past eleven, and May 3, at half-past ten, at the Birmingham District Court. Valpy, official assignee, Bir mingham ; Freeth and Rawson, Nottingham ; Hodgson, Birmingham. John Hirst and Joseph Graham, cloth dressers, Dewsbury, Yorkshire, April 13 and May 4, at eleven, at the Leeds Dis trict Court. Hope, official assignee, Leeds; Verulam-buildings, London ; Cariss, Leeds. Thomas Kenworthy Rowbotham, bookkeeper, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, April 13 and May 4, at eleven, at the Leeds Dil% s: trict Court. Hope, official assignee , Leeds ; Lever, !ing road, Bedford-row, London ; R obinson, Hudd,rsfield Sanderson, Leeds. conshire, April 23, and May 15, a t e e , James Roger Haver& commission l avgeennta,t Rthhuyßlest3o-,lBDries-- trict Court. Miller Gl amorg anshire. tfi cia l assignee. B ristol; Phill p otts, John Scott, fruiterer, Newcasttlhe-e poN uh ew -T eas yn t e l , e_ A u pril T 6 at twelve, and May 25, at two, at Pon- ..yne Di s t r i c t Court. Baker , official magnet% Newcastle-up on.