The Sun. — London, England, 1846-02-19 00:00:00

on A t St. lbert sr' fore t! .° !eh, Lad) . 1 ? ting ; 1 Arb, clt , a nd u`'," . Lenn, ° ';' sir Geo. t . 0 1 less Lis 110* r ed at St )rd C 11 '; )om gidgc, ot; Iligh" li.. e ' ng Fes is de " '1 . , 10 CO Itit ei l C V'' e rs Eng in 'op , onlo issi ti Att" Innis, 11.C.5.. William Wood, E. Hevin, George Pon sonby Hume, Bridges, W. 11. Sumer, H. Rudd, Ha milton, Kirkland, Ebrington, Campbell. LIE UTENANTS. —Palmer, W. E. Hope Yore, George F. Dawson, Hon. H. Manners Monckton, G. C. browns., William Philip Snell, R. W. Artbur Sleigh, 11?nry Sandor Thuillin, Rattray, Hylton Jolliffe, Ar 11nts E. W. Bray, Riddell, Charles Brisbane Ewart, J. L. Bolton, Ormsby Gore, M.P., Somerville Burney, A. J. Shuldham, Kinkead, W. E. M. Reilly, G. H. Fraser, Manners Wood, Hammond, E. Belfield, W. N. Hardy, Webb. S. Singleton, Cubitt, Edward Gordon, Wilber force Greathed, Cox, W. E. Remington, R. W. Arthur Sleigh, Hend erson , Ch arles Colville Young, C. C. Chesney, F. H. Crawford, Robert Follett Synge. Tur ner Arthur Macon, Waugh, James Money, C. 11. White, J. R. Lugg, G. Walter, F. B. Morley, T. B. Jones, G. Chetwynd Stapylton, Saunders, H. Phill gta, A. J. Cattley, Maxwell, Sir A, St. John, A. H. . Mercer, 11. Ponsonhy. G. Scriven, Crickton Stuart, Ritca v i n Onslow, Charles Lewis, R . Hallowell Carew, Nugent. - CORNETS —E, A. Brudon, Lord 0. A. Fitz Gerald, W. ' 7 9 Hope Gambill, R. R. Wilford Brett, J. T. Armitage. -ENsioNs—John Frederick Woodhouse, E. A. Whit more, C. P. Beague, King, Lynch, C oore. E. B. Hart, Edward A. Ati annaLs--Sir Robert Stopford, Sir J. Wentworth 44 ,..ringS K C. 11., Sir Graham Hamond, Ross, C.B. a u-kPrAssis (ROYAL NAvY )— Meynell. Lord Adolphus R .witze erbel ar Z nee' Gordon Falcon, Richard Hoare, Sir Thos. R.C.8., Thomas Knox, Thomas Dickinson, Sir Th.. ornas Bouchier, Mu rra y, Buckle, R. F. Stopford, arles ilepe, W. H. H a ll, Sir John Marshall, Robb, ~LY?i A. Willis, George Evans, Evan Nepean, George ' t li , Horatio Austen, C. 8., Rodney Eden, Carter. C APTAIN. (TRINITY HonsE)—Probyn. lov uo ,,,, lt araNnEns—Langton Browell, Hon. Robert Gore, sas"'"„,"aln lieriot Maitland, Hon. Francis Maude, Codd, e,"' • 0 - Cooper, R. Strode Hewlett, C. H. Beddoes, W. Virobinson, W. Croke, Henry Wedderburn Johnstone, Sir If is B . Wiseman, Bart., William Loring, Gladstone, Westbrook, Jay, J. S. Elliman. sLIEUTENANTS (ROYAL NAVY) Waghorn, Ewart, er ge ' Frederick Campbell, M. H. Perceval, W. G. of.Tbert, George Greathead. he following noblemen andgentlemen had the honour e ing presented to her Majesty James Stuart Wortley, on • his appointment as 7 - 0 12d ge Advocate General, by Sir Robert Peel. of Dalhousie, on being appointed Lord Registrar l ir• e!' Scotland, by Sir James Graham. Yarde Buller, by Sir John Yarde Buller. Samson C a hl mann , C onsu l f or hi s R oya l Hi g h ness tee Gra n d D u k e of Saxe We i mar, by the Convoy et .s. alraordi nary, and Minister Plenipotentiary of his 444, 1e4 ty the Ki ng o f P russ i a . I. ' Stewart Mackenzie, of Seaferth, on his marriage, by Delaw arr . ssle W iliam Downing Bruce, Second West York Militia, k p . the Vi ce -C hance l lor K n i g h t B ruce . L 4 J ames Nugent Daniell, by the Earl Delawarr. • Robert Taylour, on appointment to the Scots Guards, by Lieutenant-Colonel B. Drum bunsandle, on his elevation to the Peerage, by Sir Thitobert Peel. xedßonoursble Mr. de Blaquiere, Captain 3d West h il " ia Regiment, on his return from the West Indies, Tll3',.,Major- General Sir Henry Wheatley, G.C.H. .o.,,amuel James Capper, by Mr. Masterman, M.P. ;-.."ev. W. 11. Bierdermann, on his preferment to the ri eh le .„erage of Egham, by the Earl of Liverpool. Edmund Gambier Monckton, on his marriage, by e Earl o f R osa l yn. e et , the lion. Horace Manners Monckton, 29th 4 0 1t e s gitnent, by G enera l L or d St ra fford. Thu. Sk effington Daly, by Lord Dunsandle. pAtettarl of Selki r k, by th e D u k e o f B acc l e uch. of Mount Charles, by the Marquis of Conynghatn. is urge F. Dawson, Royal Engineers, by his uncle, Is a; e lAight Hon. George Dawson Damen r's°r-Getieral Sir John Burgoyne, on appointment as pl'3l3setor-General of Fortifications, by the Master .ses, L icu .. kral of the Ordnance.. o e t . , Colonel Pearse, on his appointment to the Lieut.- b , l oneley of the Hon. the Artillery Company, by Sir eeTehard Bulkeley. 4 4 , 1 Bouverie , on promotion by the Marquis of G en glesey. p er ai Sir Thomas Bradford, on appointment to the4th L ip ty his Grace the Duke of Wellington. ti e jz t-'4ll, arl of L denkinson, Bth Hussars, on his marriage, by iverpool. United States Navy, by the American e luster. ie* W. E. H o p e V ere , on hi s app Oi ntment to the. Li,„ te nadier Guards, by the Earl of Dalhousie. Sigh ' G. C. Distrowe, Grenadier Guards, by Col. Home. w. i? Pof Jam a i ca , on T rans l at i on , b y t h e Ri g h t *H on . Co d Gladstone. „ th A l r ider Langton Browell, R.N., on promotion from Nli e i f "°Yal Yacht, by the Earl of Ellenborough. binirr - General for' Ireland, by Earl St. Germans. Rev - f ,'"ry Graham, Mate R.N., by Mr. Curteis, M.P.. tj,'Ssor ge H. Repton, on being appointed Priest in Is sm r u'eary to her Majesty, by the Rev. Edward Repton. Its.:`,.)ChaiSes J. Smith, br the Lord Bishop of Jamaica. P ' rotherOe by Lord Granville Somerset. d'L lnee Jepson, by the Right Hon. Chas. Tennyson The itirt, M.P. Ite s. l7v. Dr. Francis Hessey, by the Roy. E. Rcpt... L Musson, by the Bishop of Jamaica. to th "s rs or wsns to kiss hands, on his appointment .the "eanery Wells, by Sir Robert Peel. Si r el eau of Canterbury, by Sir Robert Peel. Pe 4c le Wade, C. 8., on his marriage, by Viscount Si r r eersto is. his ti s s ' ll( my Perrier, her Majesty's Consul for Brest, on Bir r''mlghtheod, by the Earl of Aberdeen. kt ( i?rge Jackson, her Majesty's Chief Commissioner Til st_b erc l e a e n z ?a, on his appointment, by the Earl of Th e 1E1,41 of Limerick, by Lord Monteagle. ten -sarl of Verulam, on his appointment to the Lieu- ,T a , e an eY of He r t s , and on coming to his title, by Sir Lord Graham. Lord ‘RePter, on his marriage, by the Duke of Buccleuch. g er ':"rit Kerr, on returning on leave from foreign Lo rd 'lee, by the Duke of Buceltueli. s,,,slphus Vane, on his appointment to the Scots Is er t "er Guards, by his father, the Marquis of London srgel.y. D I Z I G raves, 7th Dragoon Guards, by Sir Charles kr. e l ae• uolte, 7th Queen's Own Hussars , by the Marquis 411 loses . Ineton 7th Queen's Own hussars , by the Mar i:Nis k r. of Anglesea. w ard 'Award S aun d ers, 2d Dragoon Guards, by Lord 4 rhha tu . ae Cha mberlain, er of London, by Sir William Magnay, Su r " ,sgeon-M a i or William Henry Judd, Scots Fusilier u ss uards, o n hi s promotion, by Colonel B. Drummond. llal s . a Ise% late Judge of the Southern District of trev Zsaland. on his return to England, by the Right 1 1 - .. (?0„,n. Mr. Secretary Gladstone. `th,.• Charles Hamilton Parks, on his appointment to kr, 44th Regiment, by his father, Mr. H. Parks. Blunt, by Lord Cottenham the Earl 41r. Tudway, by Mr. Miles. • air. E. Hammond, by Mr. En of Aberdeen. • Every , by Lord Farnham. za.r. E. Grattan, her MsjestY's Vi e 4 the E ar l o f Ab erdeen. eCo nsu l at Boston, b y ‘,. air, Cyril Williams Alayor of Pwllh e li Hughes, M.P. , by Mr. Bulkeley 1," Walr on d, b y Admiral S i r R . Otway; Dem I 's ; S. R. lbb etson, by Major-General b. m.Leod. ,sz Row urrardland E. Cooper, on his marriage, by S ir George air, Bart. J c'octi, on hi s marr i age, b y Viscount Emlyn, M.P. Y,rznris Burgh, by Lord Jocelyn. Is Willis Fleming,on his marriage, by th e D u k e Sir f i tor t sh -(eitferoln:oung Spearman, Bart., on return from Co nt . r L e. Continent, by Lord Monteagle. ted one 'le Lyon Goldsmid. Bart., on his being appointed I li kitl, l ° l,, f , the Deputy-Lieutenants for the county of t4t by the Marquis of Salisbury. tf) th e and Rev. Viscount Hereford, on succession 41 40 tie, by Talbot. r. a 4te • 4th Light Dragoons, by Sir C. Dalbiac. I, fr cti 11 arry, Surgeon to the Forces, on his return "e li on idad, by the Earl of Lonsdale. 1 4 °41 1t 11, 0 , 1) !reY Barrington, on his marriage, by Vis 4. rngton. air. i s, r 'ldtien, on his marriage, by Lord Barrington. 14t-L• Kinglake on his appointment asSergeant u.,e,;(o3J tho Lord 'Chancellor. of 1,,, j11 "; !lel Willi ams, on promot i on, b y the Marquis Ett k i n, i a )11 1 der ry , " t Ptki East Middlesex Militia, by Col. , ti e ll , ° t l . i& T ,T r n e i . ngs, on his return from India, by Lieut.- I,lnstion Str aubenzee on return from India, on pro -14 ieut.-General Sir John Wilson, K.C.B. '4l I.l)euudi,ll:ller Arthur Macau, by Major-General Sir hill er Li aery Oet,"lnd Stapylton, on return from foreign I n. p.icNlll.l le o Chancellor of the Exchequer. tiby Gone r , y, on hi s return f rom f ore i gn serv i ce , t i e ut. and • Ihe M arqu i s o f Ang l esea. else e s ',shutout Maxwell, by Col. F. A. Parke, C.B. . I rt. "ries Louis, by Rear-Admiral Sir John Louis, t. llall ‘ . Bl gn J oh _ c), Tell Carew, by Capt. Hallowell Carew. o `tirei gt , se, .l red. Woolhouso, on hk return from ( !Nt J lt!e, by Mujor-Gen. Sir Dudley Bill, C.B. Cavalry, b•A-rmitage, 2d West York Yeomanry Enna airy Y Capt. Armitage, 2d West York Yeomanry ' l zi, s e t , - CryorsAr e h ib 9 on appointment to 40th Regt., by Col. I le hits. I aid Christie, K.C.H. the t 1 1 "Pe, R.N. on return from foreign service, ' e aten. 'lt ' ar Haddia ' t ret4 ea ten. p g . on. ern fr o urawtord, 93d Iliglslanders , ,. on his I.* Q ulslas is ' en a 3 a, by Lieutenant - General Sir James I"tn ant'la ‘ ' CB . 1..;Att0rb,..-.?hert Follett Synge, 67th Regiment, by the I ,!Utc, s , e ! T . 14 th " l 'aysar I G sa etit ev, C o l e ordon, Royal Engineers, by his vanenel Gordon. M " =belay, Royal Artillery, on corn 141:ukitt(!sh-ttnn't by the night Hon. Lord Sandys. Ath,"railt S ourer ,Wood, Od, olioVo Bth Hussars, by Col. Stawell. ' l4, nt e ' L ieuten s Burney, 25th Regiment, by his chati:l-001011e1 Burney, K.ll. ti eut ss lis a Prmint rose Brisbane Ewart. Royal Engineers, ap p ':ant nt by his father, Colonel Ewart. oint re "Ai Jolliffe eate n sue b 3, Sir William Guards, on his fttrve ant je t by William G. H. Jolliffe, Bart. ea,p tt : i i, or, h• is r , lath, or Pane.) Albert's Light In r etur n on tunn from India, by Lieut.-Col. Squire. Ca ptein n * urn Ind! Gaitskell, Bengal Artillery, on his f• ront f eholr eeie l , l 4,hY Sir Charles Hopkinson, C.B. ‘ , ltpt i , i °rei gn ssering, Light Infantry, on his return serviee b • Nr . 44 tngh ton y • iscount Barrington. eames, 18th Bombay Army, on his w return from India, by Lieutenant-General Sir John Fi•zg. K.C.B. Captai:, E li_.gton, Coldstream tytiarct3, on appointment as Adjutant, by Col. Walton. Captain Ki• Illand, Coldstream Guards, on promotion, by Col. W:iltbn. Captain Hamilton, Adjutant Royal East Middlesex Militia, on his appointment, by Col. Wood, M.P. Captain IL Bridges, 47th Regiment, on his return from foreign service, by Gen. Sir Wm. Anson, K.C.B. Captain George Ponsorby Hume, 58th Regiment, by Gas. Maitland. Captain R. H. S. Jackson, on appointment to the Adju taney of the Durham Militia, by the Earl of Had dington. Captain Arnold Rawson Wilson, 14th Regiment, Bom bay Native Infantry, by Sir Henry Willock, Chairman of the Court of Directors. Captain Lumley, Bth Regiment, by Gen. Sir H. Bayley. Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. Percy Evans Freke, on promo tion by Viscount Hawarden. Major Creagh, 81st Regiment, by Gen. Sir .Tames Kempt, G.C.B. Major John Gordon, 47th Regiment, by Gen. Sir Wm. Anson, Bart. Major Carvick, Royal East Middlesex Militia, on ap pointment, by Colonel Wood, M.P. Major Mills, 3d West India Regiment, on promotion, by Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Maxwell. Lieutenant Colonel P. Dundas, 47th Regiment, by General Sir W. Anson, Bart. Col. Austen, M.P. for Kent, by the Earl of Delawarr. Lieutenant-Colonel W. Wyllie, on receiving the Honour of C.B , by Viscount Palmerston. Lieutenant-Colonel Brandling, 2d West York Militia, on promotion, by the Earl of Harewood. Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis, Grenadier Guards, on pro motion, by Colonel Home. Lieutenant-Colonel Matheson, on promotion, by General Sir Willoughby Gordon. Captain Christie, 13th Prince Albert's Light Infantry, on promotion , by his father, Colonel Sir Archibald Christie, Captain Carlton, South Notts Yeomanry Cavalry, by Lord J. Manners. Lieutenant Frederick Campbell, Royal Navy, by the Hon. Edmund Phipps. Commander William Loring, on appointment to her Majeoty's ship Scout, by his father, Rear-Admiral Sir J. Wentworth Loring. Cornet R. R Wilford Brett, Bombay Cavalry, by Lieut.- General Sir Robert Arbuthnot, K.C.B. Ensign E. B. Hart, 65th Regt., on appointment, by Lieut.-General Sir Jonn Browne, K.C.H. Ensign King, 3d Food, by his father, Major-General Sir Henry Ensign C. P. Bengne, on appointment to the 84th Regt., by the Earl of Haddington. Ensign Edward A. Lynch, 13th or Prince Albert's Light Infantry, on appointment, by Lieut.-Colonel Squire. Lieut. Henry Landor Thuillier, Bengal Artillery, by Lord Charles Beauclerk. Colonel, the Hon. George Cathcart, Deputy-Lieutenant of the Tower, by the Duke of Wellington. Captain Hinde and Lieut. W. P. Snell, by Colonel Wood. Rear-Admiral Roes, Captain Buckle, on his promotion and return from foreign service, and Lieut. G. Great head, by Sir G. Cockburn. Cornets E. A. Breedon, Lord 0. Fitz-Gerald, and W. J. aambier ' by Colonel Bodverie. Lieuts. C. H, Nugent, S. St. John, Armit, Phillpots, E. Belfield, and C. Chesny, by Sir J. Burgoyne. Majors Hatfield, P. Cauntly, and D. Swart, Captains W. Lower, J. H. Rudd, Lieuts. Jones, G. Striven, Kinkead, and H. Hammond, and Doctors H. Falconer, and Peterkin, by Lord Ripen. Lieut. Colonel Crawford, on return from Mauritius ; Captains Riddell and Boyce, on their promotion, Lieuts. J. Lugg, S. Singleton, G. Fraser, W. Hardy and J. Bolton, Doctor W. Mackictosh, on return from. foreign service, and Mr. Gilborne, by Sir G. Murray. Lieut.-Colonel Brough, by Sir J. Kemp. Lieut. Henderson, on his return from Canada, by J. Bur- goyne. Lieut. Cox, on return from India, by Sir J. Macdonald. Lieut. Cubitt, by Lord Bloomfield. Lieut -Colonel E. W. Bray, on promotion and return from India ; Cal:rains G. Falcon, on appointment to the Royal Sovereign Yacht; Sir T. Herbert, on appoint ment to her Majesty's ship Raleigh, and Robb, on ap pointment to her Majesty's ship Gladiator; Com manders J. Ellman, W. Crooke, Sir W. Wiseman, and C. Beddoes, on their promotion; W. Maitland, on ap pointment; W. Johnstone, on return from experimental squadron; and R. Hewlett, on promotion and ap pointment; Lieutenants W. Perceval, Tonge, W. Her bert, and E. Bray, by Lord Ellenborough. At the Levee, the Earl of Egmont presented an Ad. dress from the county of Surrey; and the Earl of Strad broke 137 petitions from Suffolk praying for coLtinued protection to British Agriculture. After the Levee, Earl Granville had an audience of the Queen, and delivered to her Majesty the Ensigns of a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, worn by his late father. Viscount Canning had an audience of her Majesty, and delivered to the Sovereign the Ensigns of a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, worn by the late Lord Stuart de Rothesay. Tne queen gave audience to Sir Robert Peel. The severe and continued illness of the American Minister prevented his attendance at the Levee yes terday. _ _ Ile - r Majesty and Prince Albert, attended by the Royal Suite, returned to Buckingham Palace after the Levee. Mr. Shephard, with Mr. Miller, had the honour of an audience of his Royal Highness Price Albert, by com mand, at Buckingham Palace, yesterday morning, for the purpose of exhibiting a model of a self-locking gate, adapted to palaces, country seats, fortifications, rail ways, &c. His Royal Highness was pleased to express his approbation. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited her Majesty yesterday. The Queen had a dinner party yes terday evening at Buckingham Palace. The invitations included her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, the Duchess of Buccleuch, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Mrs. Howley, his Excellency Count Pollen, the Marquis of Abercorn, Lord John Russell, Earl Cawdor, Earl of Morley, Lady Fanny Howard, Colonel the Right Hon. G. L. Dawson Darner, Hon. Bingham Baring, Baroness de Speth, and the Hon. and Rev. C. Leslie Courtenay. The band of the Coldstream Guards, led by Hr. God frey, was in attendance at the palace during dinner, and performed the following pieces:— Overture, " Maritana, —W. V. Wallace. Valse, " Fleur de Marie,"—Barrett. Grand Selection from Don Carlos,—Costa. Original Polonaise,—Jullien. Vaudalia, " Mecklenburgisches Volkshid,"—Oertzen. Marsch,—Von Scharda. The Chevalier de Ribeiro, presented by his Excel lency the B iron de Moncorvo yesterday at the Queen's Levee as Secretary of Legation, held the same appoint ment, as also that of Portuguese Charge d'Affaires, in this country a few years ago. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England had a general meeting yesterday, at the office in W hitehall place. There were present the Archbishop of Canter bury, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Carlisle, the Bishop of Chichester, the Bishop of Ely, the Bishop of Oxford, the Bishop of Rochester, the Earl of Bess borough, and the Right Hon. Sir George Grey. REPORT OF THE GAUGE COM. MTSSIONERS. [PRESENTED TO BOTII BOtTSi2B OF PARLIAAIENT BY CON MANI) Ot' HER MAJESTY.] THE ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION. We arc glad to find that the spirited directors of this most excellent establishment have determined upon try ing,.on a very large scale, th e mer it s o f C o l eman ' s loco motivesscend ing erected t e descending the l o inclined - planes. e n Theygine hfoavre therefore, le ry of the instituti on a ra il way with a gradient of one in ten, and extending the whole length of the building. This is, in our opinion, a very judi c i ous step , as it will enable engineers and others to form a better estimate of the merits of the invention; we are glad to learn, also, that the building is to be very much increased iu magni tude, so as to enable the directors to pay more attention than hitherto they have done to the subject of steam locomotion. The lectures on general chemistry, by the chemical lecturer, Dr. Ryan, are at this season of the year ex tremely attractive and various, drawing, as usual, crowded audiences both at the day and nightly exhibitions. Dr. Bachhoffner also continues to attract crowds of admirers to his beautiful lectures on natural philosophy. Nor must we neglect to refer to the school of Steam Navi gation under Dr. Ryan, attended at this moment by great number of our naval officers of the highest rank, The school also for railway engine-drivers is numerously attended. This is certainly a class worthy of all com mendation, as it enables us to obtain as drivers men of good education and sound practical knowledge. May it please your tlie Commissioner Appointed by writ, under your Majasty's privy seal, hearing date the Ilth of July, in the ninth year of your 'Majesty's reign, to inquire whether, in tureprivate Acts of Parliament for the construction of railways, pre vision ought to be made for securing an iinifo:m gatige, and whether it would be expedient and practicable to take measures to bring the railways already constructed, or in progress of construction, in Great Britain, into unitbrtnity of gauge, and to inquire whether any other mode could be adopted of obviating or mitigating the evil apprehended as likely to arise from the break that will oceur in railway cothitunl cations from the want of an uniform gauge, beg dutifully to submit that we have culled before us such persons as we have judged to be, by reason of their situation, knowledge, or experience, the most com petent to afford us correct infcrmation on the subject of this inqury, and we have required the production of such books and documents, from the various railway companies, as appear to us to be the best calculated to aid our researches. We have personally examined into the usual course of pro ceeding on various railways both at home and abroad, espe cially those which are incident to a break, or interreption of gauge; and we have personally inspected several locomotive engines, as well as mechanical contrivances invented, either for the general use of railways, or for obviating the special difficulties presumed to arise from the break of gauge, or otherwise connected with the sub ject of our inquiry ; and as we believe we have now carried our in vestigation to the utmost useful limits, we feel in a position dutifully to oiler to your Majesty the following report:— I. Our attention was first directed to ascertain whether the break of gauge could be justly considered as an inconvenience of so much importance as to demand the interference of the Legislature. Gloucester is the only place where a break of gauge actually exists at the present time. It is caused by the meeting at that place of the broad or 7 feet gauge with the narrow or 4 feet 834 -inch gauge. There are other points, however, where a transfer of goods occurs similar to that which must result from a break of gauge, and per sons well acquainted with railway traffic have no difficulty in fore seeing the nature of the ineonvenieuce that would arise from any further intermixture of gauge ; and we humbly submit the obser vations that occur to us as to the whole of Ms important part of the question. We will divide the subject of the break of gauge under the follow ing heads :- Ist, As applying to fast or express trains; 2dly, To ordinary or mixed trains ; idly, To goods trains ; and 4thly, To the conveyance of your Majesty's forces. 1. Fast or express trains. We believe that the inconvenience produced by a break of gauge will, in some respects, be less felt in these than in other trains, be cause the passengers travelling by fast trains are usually of a class who readily submit to many inconveniences for the sake of increased speed on the journey, and who are, perhaps, generally less encum bered with luggage than persons travelling by the slower trains ; and as it is understood to be the general practice that no private carriages or horses are conveyed by these trains, the inconveniences of a break or gauge are reduced lu this instance to the removal of the passengers and a moderate quantity of luggage; and although such removal must create delay and some confusion, as well as personal discom fort, especially at night and in the winter season, besides the risk of a loss of luggage, yet we de not consider the break of gauge in this instance as being an inconvenience of so grave a nature as to call for any legislative measures, either for its removal or for its mitigation. 2. Ordinary or mixed trains. In these trains the passengers considerably exceed in number those who travel by the fast trains, and they have generally a much greater quantity of luggage. To such travellers a change of carriage is really a serious inconvenience, and it is a well-known fact that persons travelling by railways in communication with each other, but under different managements, endeavour to make such arrange ments as to admit of their travelling by those trains which afford them the accommodation of occupying the same carriage from the beginning to the end of the journey. The managers and directors of railways are well aware of this feeling, and in some instances where they do not allow their car riages to run through, yet with a view of diminishing the incon venience to which this exposes their passengers, they send a luggage van from terminus to terminus, to prevent the evil of a removal of the passengers' luggage; and some railway companies incur con siderable expense in running trains of return empty carriages, in order to accommodate the public by enabling travellers to avoid a change of carriage on the journey. It is by the ordinary or mixed trains that private carriages and horses are conveyed, and the removal of either from one truck or horse-box to another, at any part of the journey, would be attended with inconvenience and delay; and with regard to the horses, it would involve considerable risk. We arrive, therefore, at the conclusion, that the break of gauge would inflict considerable inconvenience on travellers by the trains non under consideration; and that this inconvenience would be much increased at points of convergence of more than two lines. The change of carriages, horse-boxes, and trucks, and the trans ference of luggage of an entire train of much extent, must, even in the day-time, be an inconvenience of a very serious nature; but at night, it would be au intolerable evil; and we think legislative inter ference is called for to remove or mitigate such an evil. 3. Goods trains. From the statements made to us by carriers on railways, and from our own observatit.n, we are induced to believe that not only a con siderable degree of care, judgment, and experience are necessary in the stowage of merchandise in railway waggons, but also that it is desirable that, when properly packed, the articles should, generally speaking, not be disturbed until the journey is completed. We find that in the arrangement of merchandise the heavier goods are placed at the bottom, and the lighter at the top of the load, and so secured as to prevent friction, as far as practicable, from the jolting of the waggons : and it is considered very desirable, with a view to prevent loss by pilfering, that the sheeting which is placed over the load should not be removed till the completion of the journey. Indeed, acting upon this principle, carriers find it profitable to send their waggons partially filled from various stations on the line, thereby in creasing their toll to the railway company, rather than incur the risk of loss by theft, to which they would be exposed by uncovering the waggons on the journey, to fill up with intermediate local goods wogg ns that may have started with light loads from one of the termini. The stations for re-arranging the goods trains are therefore as few as possible; thus, between Leeds and London, the points for un sheeting the goods waggon are only Derby and Leicester, and be tween Liverpool and London, the re-arrangement is confined to Birmingham and Rugby, and even at those stations the proportion of waggons which are uncovered is very small ; indeed it is stated that at the important town of Birmingham five-sixths of the waggons pass without arrangement. In the conveyance of machinery and articles of a similar class, which are both heavy and delicate, it Is of the utmost consequence that the load should not be disturbed between the beginning and the end of the journey ; a change of carriage, such as would result in all probability from a break of the gauge, would altogether prevent the transport of such articles by this mode of conveyance. We believe that the traffic upon the line of railway between Bir mingham and Bristol has been greatly restricted by the interruption of the gauge at Gloucester. In respect to the conveyance of minerals, the Inconvenience of a break of gauge would be very serious; the transfer being attended with an expense which would be sensibly felt in consequence of the low rate of tolls charged on such articles; moreover, many descrip itons of coal, such as a considerable proportion of that of the midland counties, are subject to great deterioration by breakage. In regard to various articles of agricultural produce, the loss by re moval would be less than on other classes of goods ; much incon venience, nowever, would be found in the traasfcr of timber ; and the difficulty in shifting cattle would be so great as to present an insur mountable obstacle to such an arrangement, from the excited state of the animals after travelling by railway, and the reatztanee they in consequence offer when it is attempted to force them a second time into a railway waggon. 4. Conveyance of troops. There is another use of railways which we have deemed it neces sary to consider; we allude to the transport of your Majesty's troops, with their military stores, &c., either in the ordinary movements of corps through the country, in the time of peace, or in the more pressing and urgent case of their movements for the defence of the coast, or of the interior of the country. We have carefully weighed the important information given to us by the Quarter-Mastei-General of your Majesty's Forces, as well as by the Inspector-General of Fortifications, both officers of great ex perience ; and we deduce from their opinions, that although a break of gauge, on the line of route, would product both delay and con fusion, yet, that min time of peace it is usually practicable to give notice of the intended movements of a body of troops, the Inconve nience of the break of gauge might be so reduced as not to be an evil of great importance; but in the event of operations for defensive objects against au enemy, the inconvenience would assume a serious character. It would appear, that for the defence of the coast, the proper course would be to retain the great mass of troops in the interior of the country to wait until the point selected by the enemy for his attack should be ascertained with certainty, and then to move upon that point such au overwhelming lorce as should be adequate to the emergency. _ _ It is obvious that the success of such a system of defence must depend upon the means of conveying the troops with great diipatch, and without interruption on the journey. The troops should be carried with their equipments complete in all their details, and with their artillery and ammunition ; and it therefore appears indispensably necessary, in order to insure the re • quisite supply of carriages, where perhaps little or no notice can be given, that the whole should he conveyed in the same vehicles from the beginning to the end of the journey. The effect of a break of gauge might, in this view of the case, ex pose the country to serious danger. To all classes of merchandise, as well as to all military operations connected with railways, one general remark will apply—that, in starting from any one point, it is usually practicable to obtain a suf ficient number of waggons for whatever may be required to leave that point, however irregular the traffic may be; but the conver gence of several lines, where the greater number might be of a gauge not corresponding to the gauge of the other lines, if it happened that all were unusually loaded at the same time, it would probably be impossible to provide on the latter an adequate number of waggons to carry eff all the loads thus brought ; the alternative would be, on the ono hand, to submit to great confusion, delay, and inconveni ence, on all the converging lines having the majority on the same gauge • or, on the other hand, to maintain on the lines being In the minority a very extensive stock of carriages, which in general would be totally useless. There is one point which forcibly presses on our attention, and the OFFICIAL TRAVELLING.—It being considered, with reference to the great reduction which has taken place in the expense of travelling in the United Kingdom, conse quent upon the introduction of steam vessels and the forma tion of railways, that the existing regulations under which mileage allowances have been granted, both to superior and inferior officers of the revenue, are no longer applicable, it has been determined that such allowances shall be in future discontinued, and ordered that in lieu thereof tie actual and necessary expenses only be allowed ; and that in cases where the officers proceed by railroad or steam vessels, which they arc to do in all cases when practicable, superior offi cers are to be allowed first-class cabin and railroad carriage fares and their day pay; and inferior officers, second-class accommodation by such conveyances. It has not at present been deemed expedient to disturb the existing rates of tra vellit g allowances to officers of the coast- gard, other than to direct that the half-mileage allowances to officers of that branch of the service, travelling by water, be extended to conveyances by railroad. A memorial, numerously signed by the tenant•farmers of East, West, and Mid Lothian, has been addressed to Sir Robert Peel, with a view to obtaining the power of con verting money-rents into grain-rents.— Cialedonian Mercury. lloyErt CLIFFS.—The late heavy rains having de tached small portions of the cliff overhanging the bottom of Snargate-street and the Admiralty-yard, a memorial, signed by several of the inhabitants, was sent to Captain Mercer, R N., who forwarded the same with a representation to the Admiralty. The cliff has been surveyed by the Board of Ordnance, and we understand it is proposed to scrape off about 40,000 tons of chalk. --Maidstone Journal. Sia ROGER DE COVERLEY.—Among the celebrated characters who have rendered the reign of the Merry Mo narch so brilliant for wit and gallantry, the famous " Beauties" of the Court figure prominently in the ani mated narrative now before the public, under the title of " Sir Roger de Coverlcy, a Tale of the Court of Charles II." By the author of the much-admired work, " Maids of Honour." The amiable, yet amusing, Queen Catherine, of Braganza, of course, heads the list, which boasts of the names of the Duchesses of Cleveland, Portsmouth, Rich mond, Mazarin, and Buckingham; the Countesses of Dor set, Southesk, Ossory, Rochester, and Falmouth ; the La dies Bellasis and Sunderland ; and the equally celebrated Nell Gwynne, Moll Davis, Venetia Digby, Arabella Churchill, and La Belle Jenninge. truth of which must be readily acknowledged, but of which the importance is not at first equally obvious; it is, that the greater part of the inconveniences to which we have alluded, are not incon veniences of rare occurrence, and which would affect only a small number of persons, but, on the contrary, that many of them would occur several times in the course of every day, to a great number of persons, at each point at which a break of gauge might exist. The cumulative amount of such inconvenience would of necessity be very considerable, and we feel bound to sum up our conclusions, by stating that we consider a break of gauge to be a very serious evil. 11. We are now brought to the second stage of our inquiry, which is, to discover the means of obviating or mitigating the evil that we find to result from the break of gauge. The methods which have been laid before us, as calculated for this purpose, are as follow:- 1. What may be termed telescopic axles; an arrangement of the wheels and axles of carriages, permitting the wheels to slide on the axle, so as to contract or extend the interval between them in such a manner, that they may be adapted to either of the gauges. 2. A form of truck adapted to the broad gauge, but carrying upon its upper surfac e pi eces of rail 4 feet 83! inches asunder, so that a narrow gauge carriage may be run upon these rails without any dis turbance of its wheels. 3. A method of shifting the bodies of carriages from a platform and set of wheels, adapted for one gauge, to a different platform and Set of wheels, adapted to the other gauge. 4. A proposal to carry merchandise and minerals in loose boxes, which may be shifted fromone truck to another, and of which one only would probably be carried upon a narrow gauge truck, while two would be conveyed on a broad gauge truck. fl in rst ifs if a i p t p a l d ie mi ati t o te n d , tohfe easiest bingused safely of all. By the operations of detaching the wheels from one limitin g . O andf theesxetveanrsiiovusely, metho ds,would the be, ill hold, of pushing the carriage al on g conver g in g or diverging rails, until its wheels were brought to the requir ed width, and of then con necting them by another limiting hold, the transformation of the narrow gauge carriage to the broad gauge carriage, or vice versa, would be completed. But this construction is liable to grave ob jections. It is stated to us as a matter of experience (and we believe it admits of satisfactory explanation), that a very small unsteadiness of the wheels of a railway carriage upon the axle renders the carriage liable to run off the rails. A far more serious objection, however, is, that the safety of a carriage, and Om whole train with which it is connected, would depend upon the care of the attendant, who has to make the adjustments of the axle-slide. It is true that there are other cases, as in the attendance on the switches and signals, which depend upon the care of the person who is stationed to work them ; but the circumstances differ very widely. In these cases, the attendant has a single act to perform (or at the utmost, two acts only), he is not hurried, and his whole attention is concentrated on very simple duties. In respect to the shifting axles, the attendant would have to adjust a great many carriages in succession (as there are sometimes a hun dred waggons in a goods train), the adjustment must be made hur riedly, and often in the night; and the attendant's thoughts would probably have been partly occupied with the loading of goods, and other station arrangements. On tile score of danger, therefore, we think that this construction must be at once abandoned. But we think it proper to add, that if even there were no such essential ground of objection, a construction of this nature could not be adequately useful, unless it were ex tended to every carriage which is like'y to pass the station where the break of gauge occurs Under the existing system of interchange of carriages, which is adopted by all the railway companies whose lines communicate, and of which the advantages are recognised in special clauses of the Acts of Parliament applying to several rail ways, carriages belonging to distant railways will frequently be found at the place of junction of tile two gauges. This construction, therefore, will lose much of its utility sinless every railway carriage were made in conformity to it, that is, unless a vast expenditure of capitol, and a corresponding annual expense in replacing worn.out carriages, &c., were incurred even on railways very distant from the break of gauge. 2. The plan of placing a narrow gauge carriage upon the top of a broad gauge truck has, on the face of it, this obvious difficulty, that a broad gauge carriage cannot he placed in the same manner upon a narrow gauge truck, and -therefore, unless not only the broad gauge railway, but also all others communicating with it, be flir nished with trucks proper for carrying narrow gauge waggons, and with narrow gunge waggons also, and unless the loads travelling towards the narrow gauge be placed only in those narrow gauge waggons, the system affects nothing as regards the passage in one direction But even with regard to the passage from the narrow gauge to the broad gauge, the system will not bear examination. If the trucks are supported on springs, there is practically a difficulty in running the waggons upon them ; and if they arc not supported on springs, they will sustain great injury on the journeys. If they are loaded singly there will be a great delay ; if they are ;laced in a row, and the narrow gauge carriages are run through the whole series, very great caution will be necessary to secure each carriage both in front and in rear. When heavy loads are thus placed in elevated positions, and when the security of each depends upon adjustments hurriedly made, there will be the danger to which we have alluded in noticing the first proposed construction. Finally, an enormous amount of dead weight will be carried on the broad gauge line. We reject this proposal as entirely inapplicable to the traffic of railways. 3, The System of shifting the bodies of carriages from road wheels THE SUN, LOistDON, THITRSDAY EVENIN to railway wheels is practised successfully in Franco, where the diligences from Paris to distant towns, proceeding on road wheels rroni the MesSagetio pf Paris ttt the rajtwtty.statiovi. aro. parried on raiii4ay- thick as tar as Wuen and Orleans, and ate then again placed on road wheels to continue their journey. At the le* steeds of the French railways this system is safe, but we doubt whether it would be safe with the speeds of the English railways. Moreover, it deprives the railway system of one Of its greatest donVenienees ; namely, its reatlinesS to febeite althoSt any number Of passengers Without warning, and to carry them tti auk diStatice; small or great. Carriers' c a r t s a r e a l so conveyed (btit to ho great amount) in the same manner. In France, as we understand, it is not thought likely that the system will be in any degree retained when those railways shall have been extended Anther. The same reniarks, we conceive, would apply entirely, or in a great measure, to similar proposals for the shifting of the bodies of railway car riages ; but as this plan has never been strenuously urged, it is un necessary to criticise it more minutely. 4. The system of conveying goods in loose boxes, carried upon railway trucks, has been seriously discussed. It has been repeatedly tried, and we are able therefore to give an opinion on it, founded on experience. _ . The result of this experience is, that is one instance of a temporary character, where the whole operation was under the control of one engineer, it succeeded; in other instances, although always under the control of one engineer or one company, it has usually failed; and these failures have occurred where, from the deterioration, caused by hand-shifting, to the mineral conveyed, it was matter of anxiety to avoid transference of the load, from one box or waggon to ano ther, and where no expense was sparedin the erection of machinery proper for the transference of the loose boxes. These failures, it is to be remarked, occurred in a traffic which is comparatively regular, viz., that of coal ; in traffic of a less regular character, the causes tending to produce failure would be very much more numerous. We consider that this method is totally inapplicable to remedy the inconvenience of a break of gauge. Some of the witnesses whom we have examined are of opinion that there would be less difficulty in unloading the waggons of one gauge, and placing the articles in waggons of the other gauge, by having two rows of waggons cn the different gauges, marshalled alongside of each other; but having witnessed this process at Glouces ter, we are of opinion that such a system Is totally inapplicable to an extended traffic. We sum up our conclusions en this head by stating our belief that no method has been proposed to us which is calculated to remedy in any important degree the inconveniences attending a break of gauge. 111. Considerations on the general policy of establishing an uni formity of gauge throughout the country. We approach this momentous 'question with a full conviction of its importance, and of the responsibility that rests upon it. That an uniformity of gauge is now an object much to be de sired, there can, we think, be no question. In the earlier period of the railway history of this country, the great trunk lines vi ere so far separated .as to be independent of each other, and, as it were, isolated in their respective dis tricts, and no diversity of gauge was then likely to interfere with the personal convenience, or the commercial objects of the com munity; but now that railways are spreading in all directions, and becoming interlaced with each other in numerous places, that isola tion is removed, that independence has ceased, and the time has ar rived when, if steps cannot be taken to remove the existing evil of the diversity of gauge, at least it appears to us imperative that a wider spread of this evil should be prevented. If we bad to deal with a question not affecting the interests of par ties, who are not only unconnected, but who are opposed to each other in a spirit of emulation, if not of rivalry ; or if we were deal ing with the property of the public, and not of private trading com panies, we should merely have to consider, whether that uniformity of gauge which we deem to be so desirable, would be too dearly purchased by an alteration of one gauge to suit the other, or of both to some fresh gauge which might be considered preferable to either, if any such there be. Bat our position is different from this, since we have to consider not only the relative length of the different systems, the comparative mechanical efficiency of each, the general superiority of one above the other, their adaptation to the wants of the country, and the pos sibility as well as the policy of a change, but also the pechntiary means of effecting it. We have further to look to the consequencesef an interruption of the traffic during the progress of an alteration. There is still another view of the question, and that is, the expe diency of having, on lines of railway, additional rails, so as to afford the facility of using engines and carriages on both gauges. This expedient, in whatever form adopted, cannot be considered as free from difficulties. If two rails, forming a narrow gauge way, are placed between the two rails which form a broad gauge way, car riages of the different gauges may run in the same train, without alteration even of their buffers, which in the ordinary construction of the carriages correspond exactly on the broad and narrow gauges. But the expense of whim insertion would probably be not lees than that of an entire change of gauge, including, in the latter, the change of engines and carrying stock ; and the complication which it would introduce at the crossings might produce danger to rapid trains, unless their speed were diminished, on approaching such points. The difficulty of packing the rails, if longitudinal sleepers were used, would also be much greater than if rails of only a single single rail w ere i nser t e d eccen t r i ca lly i n gauge were employed. If a sin a broad gauge way, so as to form, in conjunction with one of the broad gauge rails, a narrow gauge way, the expense of the inser tion, and the danger of the crossings, as well as the difficulty of packing the rails, would be somewhat diminished, but it would be imprudent to run carriages of the different gauges in the same train; and as it would probably be the policy of the railway company to adopt for their own stock of engines only one of the two gauges, and to Interpose those difficulties which amount to a prohibi tion of the use of other companies' engines, the inconveniences of a break or gauge would exist in almost all their force at every junction of a branch railway on a different gauge. We consider, therefore, that the general adoption of such a system ought not to be admitted. We remark, however, that the difficulties to which we have al luded ma y be greatly diminished on any railway where the system of combined gauges is cordially taken up by the company ; and we think that great respect ought to be paid to the rights which the companies may be supposed to possess in the systems which they have devised or adopted. At the same time, we lay it down as the first principle, that inter-communication of railways throughout the country ought, if possible, to be secured. If, to obtain the last-men tioned object, it should be necessary to alter or make a change in any existing railways, we think that it may be left as a matter of ulterior consideration for the Legislature, whether in these limited instances the combination of gauges may not be allowed. Whatever may be the course which at the presenttime circum stances will permit, it will appear, from the opinion we have ex pressed, that we think, abstractedly, equalisation desirable ; and we shall therefore proceed to consider what gauge would be best, in such a system of equalisation. We shall examine this :part of the question under the following heads : Ist. Safety. 2nd. Accommodation and convenience for passengers and goods, 3rd. Speed, 4th. Economy 1. We will commence with the question of safety. We are of opinion that experience will, in this matter, afford a better test, by which to compare the systems of the bread and narrow gauge, than any theory ; and we therefore have made inquiry into the nature of the accidents recorded in the official reports of the Board of Trade, as well as of such as have happened since the last re port was published. We find that railway accidents arise from collisions, obstructions on the road, points wrongly placed, slips in cuttings, :subsidence of em bankments, a defective state of the permanent way, loss of gauge, broken or loose chairs, fractures of wheels or axles, &c. ; and, lastly, from engines running off the line through some other cause. Of these several classes of accidents, all except the last, are ob viously independent of the gauge ; and with reference to this class, we have thought It right to endeavour to determine whether the advo cate. of either gauge onnld fairly claim, in regard to these accidents, a preference for their respective systems, on the score of greater se curity to the traveller. In these lists we find, only six accidents of the kind we are considering recorded from October, 1840, to May, 1845, whereas, there have been no less than seven within the last seven months, and these are all attributable to excessive speed, the majority having happened to express trains. Of the whole number of these accidents, three have occurred on the broad gauge and ten on the narrow ; the former, however, differ In their character from the latter, the carriages only, in the last two cases, having been off the line, whereas, in all the ten narrow gauge cases, the engines have rim off, and the consequences have been more fatal. We must here observe, however, that the extent of the narrow gauge lines is 1,901 miles, and that of the broad only 274 ; therefore the comparison would be un favourable to the broad gauge if considered merely with regard to their relative length; but it must be borne in mind that the general steed of the Great Western considerably exceeds that of many of the narrow gauge lines, and that some consideration is ou this account due to the broad gauge. The primary causes of engines getting off the rails appear to be over-driving, a defective road, a bad joint, or a badly balanced en gine. If, in consequence of heavy rains or other unfavourable circum stances, any part of the road becomes unsound, the engine sinks on one side as it passes along such part of the rail, suddenly rises again, and is thus thrown into a rocking and lateral oscillatory motion, with more or less of violence, according to the rate of speed, and a very similar effect is produced in passing at high speeds from one curve to another of different curvature. A succession of strains is thus thrown upon the rails, and if, before the rocking subsides, the wheel meets with a defective rail or chair, which yields to the impulse, the engine and train are thrown off as a necessary consequence ; but, as far as we can see, such casualties are equally likely to happen on either gauge, other circumstances being similar. It has, indeed, been stated by some of the witnesses whom we have examined that the broad gauge is more liable to such accidents, from the circumstance that the length of the engine, or rather the dis tance between the fore and hind axle, is less, in proportion to its breadth, than in the narrow gauge engines, and that therefore, the broad gauge engine is liable to be thrown more obliquely across the lines, and in case of meeting with an open or defective joint, more liable to quit the rail; but we cannot admit the validity of this objection against the broad gauge lines. It may be, that the proportion between the length and breadth of the engine has some influence on its motion, and that the motion is somewhat less steady where the difference between the length and breadth is con siderably diminished, but practical facts scarcely lead to the con clusion that the safety of the trains is endangered by the present provrtion of the broad gauge engines; for it appears that on the London and Birmingham Railway, where the engines hitherto employed have been, generally, short four-wheeled engines, the distance from axle to axle not exceeding seven feet, or seven feet six inches, no such accident as we are considering has been re ported ; and, we are informed by Mr. Bruyeres, the superintendent of that line, that no such accident has ever occurred. The same remark applies to some other narrow gauge lines ; and if, as has been stated, exemption from these accidents has resalted from the close fixing of the engine and tender adopted on this line, the same system might be adopted on any other line, whether on the broad or narrow gauge. An evil may also sometimes arise in six-wheeled engines, by the centre of gravity of the engine being brought too much over the driving wheels, and the springs being so adjusted for the sake of the adhesion of the wheels to the rails, that the front wheels would have little or no weight to support, and would be thus in a condition, by any irregularity in the road to other obstruction, to be more easily lifted off the rails. But here, again, if this fault in the construction or adjustment has been any where committed, it is a fault or defect wholly unconnected with the breadth of gauge. Another cause of unsteady or irregular motion, dangerous to the safety of the train, has been stated to be the great overhanging weight beyond the axles of some engines of recent construction, and of the weight of the outside cylinder beyond the axle bearings. So far as this construction is concerned, it certainly appertains to nar row gauge lines only, but at the same time we must remark, that it is not essential to their working. Upon the whole, therefore, after the most careful consideration of this part of the subject, we feel bound to report, that as regards the safety of the passenger, no preference is due, with well -proportioned Engines, to either gauge, except, perhaps, at very high velocities, where we think a preference would be due to the broad gauge. On j this part of the subject we would beg to point to the nature of the evidence of Mr. Nicholas Wood. 2. We have now to advert to the question of the relative accom modation and convenience for passengers and goods. The first-class carriages of the bread gauge are intended to carry eight passengers in each compartment, and the compartments are I sometimes subdivided by a partition and inside door. On the narrow , gauge lines, the first-class carr ia ges are usually constructed to carry only six passengers in each compartment, and we find that about the p same width is allowed for each asseiger on both gauges. Some of were adapted to four p assengers , an d we the original mail carriages believe that the public had a preference for these carriages over both the other descriptions. ages were alto ge th er more com au carriages Until lately, the broad g ge modious than those of the thenarrow narrosv gauge lines nearly as lofty gauge, but recently carriages have been introduced on several of d as .those on the broad ga u g e, and equally On—y commodious; in short, we now see no essential difference as re g a rds accommodation and con venience to individua l passengers in the first-class carriages of the two gauges. on fte In the second-class carriages broad gauge six persons sit /l iege being capable of side by side, each ca en holding seventy-two On the narrow gauge, g erally, only four persons sit passengers. in each carriage; 'by side, the total number being thirty-two : in side, d cOnsi er the this respect we are inclined to latter are more comfort ably accommodated. With reference to the ease of the carriage and the smoothness of the contradictory evidence, motion, we have had very and it must be admitted that great difference is experienced on the same line at diff e rent times, depending u pon tile state of the road, the springs of • the number of persons in a carriage 1,0 bring the springs into carriage, the carriage in the train, into action, the position of which the train is propelled, all which conditions are independent of the breadth of gauge. We have, however, with a view of making our own observations on this question, travelled several times over all those lines having their stations in London, and after making, to the best of our judgment, every allowance for the circumstances above mentioned, we are of opinion that at the higher velocities the motion is usually smoother on the broad gauge. His now to be considered whether either gauge has a gimp - foray over the other in regard to the conveyance of general merchandise. Under this head we class m anufactured goods and their raw ma terials, mineral products, such as coal, lime, iron, and other onto ; agricultural produce, such as corn, hope, wool, cattl e, and timber'_ On these points we have taken the evidence of persons well ac quainted with the carrying trade, and from their information, and our own observation, it does not appear to be of consequence to the parties sending or receiving goods whether they are tr ansm itt e d in the waggons containing fiv e or six tons, o r i n waggons of larger capacity, provided that the c ost and security are the same, and that the carriers undertake the responsibility of any damage that may result from the size of the load. But Messrs. Horne and Chaplin, and Mr. Harvard, who are largely i nterested, and have had great experienee in the carrying trade, have expressed a strong opinion that the smaller waggon is far the more con venient and economical. The same opinion is still more strongly expressed by those witnesses we have examined who have expesienct of our mineral districts. These persons state that the smaller waggon can be more easily handled, and can be taken along sharper curves than would be suited to a broader waggon; that such sharp curves ar e very common in mineral works and districts, and that the broken nature of theground would render curves of greater radius inconvenient and expensive. Another important difference between the two gauges, in this com mercial view of the question, would present itself in localities in which there may be a difficulty of readily obtaining fhil loads for the waggons at road stations. Here the defect of ..he dead weight, which we find to apply snore particularly to the broad gauge, would be greatly increased, unless another evil of still greater commercial • importance were created, that of detaining the waggons to receive fall loads. On the whole, therefore, we consider the narrow gauge Az the more convenient tot tiy in(qchanciihe or the country. 3. We now come to the important consideration of relative speed. With a view to form our judgment on this subject, we have exa mined the time tables of the several companies leaving express and feiSt trains; and, the returns furnished by those companies of the actual Speeds dttained by the express traißs, on thirty successive days, from the 15th June to the 15th July, 15.15. We have also, on various occasions, travelled in the express trains, and noted the speed mile by mile. The result has been, that we are fully satisfied that the average Spe;ed bn the. Great Western, both by the express trains and by the braille& Was, exceeds the highest speed of emilar trains on any of the nano* gauge lutes. Bdt some of the latter have 'trains which exceed in speed the corrtlpodding trains of the Bristol and Gloucester line and also of the Swindon and Gloucester line, both of which are oh the broad gage; but these latter, it is to be remembered, arc still of recent conStrtittitin. With tmfavoarable curves and gradients; and we have been informed by Ift. N: Stephenson, in Lis evidence, that at one period, the speed on the North= And Eastern line even ex ceeded that of the Great Western. In treating of a difference in the speed, other cfrettnstartees besides the mere gauge must be considered. The inclinations and curves of the Greet Westerti Railway, between London and Bristol, and even for forty miles beyond Bristol are, with the exception of the Wootton Basset Arid the Box Inclines, particu larly favourable to the attainment of high velbtities ; and it is im portant to remark that the inclinations and Witte Mt that part of the Northern and Eastern Railway, where the competltlttn in speed with the Great Western was the most successibl, are generally Of a similar character. One of the principal motives professed for constructing the Gre Western Railway on the broad gauge was the attaining of high speeds, and the credit of the proposers and defenders of that con struction has, therefore, been deeply engaged in maintaining them. The effect of gradients on the speed of the Great Western trains, even with the powerful engines used on that line, is shown in the time table annexed, where we find that, while the speed f rom Pad dington to Didcot by the express train is 471 miles per hour, from Didcot to Swindon it is only 41'1 ; and from Swindon to Gloucester only 31 . 7 ; from Swindon to Bath it is 48 . 2, but returning only 37.2 ; from Bristol to Taunton the speed is 46 . 3, and from Taunton to Exeter only 39'2. We must observe, however, that while the Great Western Corn pany have not altered in any degree the plan of their engines, the higher velocities of the narrow gauge lines have been attained by the introduction of a more powerftil kind of engine than was em ployed at an earlier period, and probably the new engines now used on the narrow gauge line are as powerful as they can well be made within the limits of their gauge ; Ithereas the broad gauge lines have still a means of obtaining an increase in the power of their engines, and of increasing their speed. provided the road be in a condition to sustain the great increased force which must result from any increased weight of the engine moving at such high velocities. Whether the permanent way is in such a state at present is very questionable, or even whether it be possible in all vicissitudes of weather to maintain it in such a condition. We ought not to lose sight of the fact, that since the introduction of express trains, the accidents arising from engines running off the line have been much more common than in former years ; indeed, these accidents have been more numerous within the last seven months, than within the preceding five years, and it is questionable whether this contest for speed ought to be carried to any greater length. We are, indeed, strongly inclined to the opinion stated by several engineers in their evidence, that it is the stability of the road, and not the power of the engine that will prescribe the limits of safe speed. On the first introduction of passenger railways, speeds of about 12 miles per hour only were anticipated; the rails then employed weighed only 351bs. per yard, and the engines about six or seven tons. As soon as speeds of 20 and 24 miles per hour were attempted, it was found necessary to have rails of 501bs. per yard, and engines weighing ten and twelve tons. Since that time the rails have been increased in weight progressively to 65, 75, and 851bs. per yard, and the weight of the esgine on the broad gauge exceeds 22 tons, and on the narrow gauge it now approaches 20 tons; indeed we have seen a narrow gauge engine on six winds weighing 30 tons. We doubt, however, whether a corresponding stability has been attained in the road itself. _ _ . Among other changes for increasing the power of the engine and the speed of the trains of the narrow gauge lines, there have been the giving an increased length to the engine, and the placing the cylinders on the outside of the framing ; but it is the opinion of some of the witnesses we have examined, that this position of the cylinder has a tendency to produce a greater wear and tear of the journals, and a consequent rocking and irregular motion of the engine on the line. This, however, while the engine is of medium length, has been denied by me Locke, who has had great experience in the working •of outside cylinder engines. But it is stated by Mr. Gray and Mr. Gooch, that where the length of the engine is greatly increased, this increased length, by causing the extremities of the engine to Over hang very considerably the fore and hind axles, has a great tendency to increase the irregular motion produced by the outside cylinder. Mr. It. Stephenson admits that in some of the later engines this irregularity does exist, but he•attrihutes it to the weight of the piston and its appendages, observing, " I de not believe it is the steam that causes the irregular action, but I believe it to be the mere weight of the pistons themselves, and therefore if we contrive to balance the piston by the weight upon the wheels, we should get rid of that very much." At all events, from whatever cause the motion may arise, the oscillations are very considerable in some of those long engines, and such as can scarcely be considered safe, at high velocities. This great length of engine is, however, by no means essential to the attainment of high speeds on narrow gauge lines. We found by timing the express trains on four different journeys on the South-Western line, in both directions, that the whole distance was performed very satisfactorily in about 1 hour and 52 minutes, including the time of two stoppages, being at an average rate of 41 miles per hour, on a line in which, in one direction, rites for a length of more than 40 miles on a very prevailing gradient of 1 in 330, and in the other rises for several miles on a gradient of lin 250. On each occasion a distance of five miles, on a level part of the road, was passed at the rate of 53 miles per hour. The length of the engine boiler was only 8 feet 7 Inches; the driv ing wheels 6 feet 6 inches in diameter ; the leading wheels had both inside and outside bearings. The diameter of the cylinder in one case was 15 inches, in the other 14y i inches, both outside, and at tached to the smoke-box. In proceeding to compare the locomotive engines, we remark in the first place, that the fire-boxes, boilers, &c., of the narrow gauge en gines still possess a smaller evaporating power than those of the broad gauge engines, although recent attempts have been made to raise the former to the level of the fatter; but those attempts have not succeeded ; and it is indisputable, that whatever can be done for the narrow gauge, in this respect, can be surpassed on the broad gauge, and we concur in opinion with many of the ablest engineers, who have stated that the engines of both gauges have nearly obtained the speed and power which It would be justifiable to employ in re ference to the present strength of the rails, and the firmness of the earthworks. We remark, in the next place, that the diameter of the driving wheels of the broad gauge engines is greater than that of the driving wheels of the narrow gauge engines, and although in many of the narrow gauge engines the use of the external cylinder has enabled the manufacturers to bring the boilers nearer to the driving wheel axles, and has thus permitted an increase of the diameter of the wheel, still it is always in the power of constructors of broad gauge engines to make a corresponding change, and thus to maintain the superiority; for the larger diameter of the wheel is unquestionably favourable to high speed, both because the steam is used to greater advantage, and because the alternating shocks upon the machinery are less rapid. It is, however, extremely difficult to say at what speed this advantage becomes appreciable. We think it likely, that as far as the speeds of 40 miles au hour, there is no great difference between the two, but that for speeds of 30 or 60 miles an hour, the difference may be worthy of notice. It becomes important, then, to inquire what may be the greatest speed that will probably be desired or maintained on railways for ordinary purposes. It is cextain that the wishes of the public will be limited only by considerations of economy and safety. The greater the speed the greater will be the cost, and it appears to be the opinion of many of the officers of railways, that it would be difficult to maintain with safety the present express speeds, upon the great trunk railways. The chicf impediments t. maintaining nrc.oitt. express speed are:— _ . . . . . . 4", • - let. The difficulty of arranging the trains, where the traffic is fre quent, se that the fast train shall be entirely protected from the chance of interfering with, or coming into collision with the slower trains, or those that stop at numerous stations. 2nd. The difficulty of seeing signals, especially in foggy weather, in time to enable the engine-driver to stop rte./het trains. We feel it a duty to observe here, that the public are mainly in debted for the present rate of speed, and the increased accommoda tion of the railway carriages, to the genius of Air. I.lrnuel, and the liberality of the Great Western Railway Company. As regards the applicability of the atmospheric principle of trac tion, or of any other principle differing from the locomotive, we see no difference between the two gauges. 4. The question of economy is that which next demands our at tention. Under this head we have to consider the cost of construction, the purchase of the plant, which consists of engines, of carriages, and of other carrying stock ; and lastly, the cost of working. There can be no question that in the first construction of a railway, the narrower the gauge the smaller will be the cost of the works. This applies to tunnels, bridges, viaducts, embankments, cuttings, sheds, workshops, turntables, tranverse sleepers, and ballast, and the pur chase of land ; but it does not affect the rails, fences, drains, and station-houses. The exact difference, however, must depend in a great degree neon local circumstances, and no opinion can be given of the precise ratio of difference without going into a very minute calculation of each line on which the two systems are to be compared; for instance, in a line free from tunnels or viaducts, and in a fiat country, where there are neither cuttings nor embankments, the difference would be limited very nearly to the quantity of land to be purchased (the severance and damage being about equal in both cases), the amount of ballast ing, and some increase in the cost of the sleepers ; whereas, in a very undulating country, the difference would he more considerable. Ls to the cost of the maintenance of way, supposing the con struction to be the same, that of the broad gauge must be rather the greater of the two. In respect to the cost of the engines and carrying stock, we have to observe that they are generally more expensive on the broad than on the narrow gauge. But, on the other hand, it is asserted by the advocates of the bread gauge system, that as the engines will draw greater loads, as the carriages will accommodate a greater number of passengers, and as the waggons are capable of conveying a larger amount of merchandise, the work can be done and is done at a less charge per ton, and that a compensation is thus obtained for the in creased outlay. How far this isfound to be practically the case is the next sulject for inquiry. We were very desirous, if it had been found possible, thoroughly to investigate this part of the subject by means of the official data called for by us, and furnished by some of the principal companies, contain ing a statement of their working expenses ; but we find the circum stances so different, that very little satisfactory information can be thus obtained that has strictly a reference to the economy of the two gauges. There are, of course, various matters that have an in fluence on the actual cost of locomotive power and general traffic charges, that are in no way connected with the breadth of gauge ; such as the nature of the curves and gradients ; the price of coke ; the general nature of the traffic, the mode of working that traffic as adopted by different companies, the employment of engines of greater or less power, that increased accommodation to the public which in volves an extra expense for return carriages, &c. The London and Birmingham, and the Great Western Railway, as metropolitan lines of great traffic and of considerable length, would at first sight appear to furnish the best means of comparison, and there is, in fact, no difficulty in comparing the actual expenses; but these lines differ essentially In the character of their gradients, and in the amount of traffic, estimated at per mile, and above all, they differ in the character of the engires they employ. The London and Birmingham Company have from the commence ment persevered in the use of light four-wheeled engines, while the Great Western, availing themselves of the facilities their gauge affords, have adopted large and powerful engines, which are 1, "irked at nearly the same cost per mile as the former ; and if such engines as those on the London and Birmingham line were essential to the narrow gauge, the question as to the economy of working might be at once decided In favour of the broad gauge ; but this is by no means the case ; several narrow gauge lines employ engines of great power, and work, in consequence, much more cheaply than the London and Birmingham ; therefore, the comparison between the working ex penses of this line and of the Great Western can only be considered as a test of the principle of working with light and with heavyengines, and not as furnishing a test of the working economy of the two gauges. It is a common practice with different railway companies, in their half-yearly reports to their proprietors, to state the per centage of their various expenses, under a few distinct heads, as compared with their revenue ; and from these it appears that on the Great Western, the locomotive charges, during a period of three years, have varied between Bei and 1l• l, averaging 91 per cent. on their income; and on the London and Birmingham they have varied, within the same period, between 7•9 and 10*36, averaging about 13•6 per cent. on their income; and therefore, on a superficial view of the question, the London and Birmingham would appear to have worked their line at a cheaper rate; but valid objections have been made to this com parison on the part of the Great Western; because it is obvious from the several returns we have received, that the London and Birming ham Company has far the more abundant traffic per mile, and ought therefore to be expected to perform its work at a less per centage on its income. It has been stated by Mr. Goode that as locomotive superintendent on the Great Western, he is called upon to supply a certain amount of locomotive power, and that the cost of such power Is almost entirely irrespective of the load or number of passengers it is made to draw ; but that these numbers are of great importauce in comparing the locomotive expenses with the revenue. In the Appendix to this Report an abstract and comparative table are given, founded on returns furnished by the Great Western and London and Birmingham Railway Companies, showing that the revenue derived from the passengers trains is 64 per cent. greater per mile worked on the latter than on the former line. It must, therefore, be obvious, that as a test of economy for working, we cannot adopt the principle of a per centage on the revenue ; neither will the cost per mile run give a more just comparison' as to the economy of the two systems, because it is a well-known fact that the London and Birmingham Company have been conveying their traffic with engines of Inadequate power, and that a great economy would result to them by the adoption of larger engines. Other difficulties also occur in the comparison of these expenses on different lines, in consequence of the difference in the form of the accounts, and of the circumstance of one company adopting the prin ciple of having a reserve fund for renewals, and other companies having no such fund. We are, therefore, of opinion, that the most satisfactory compari son that can be made of the economy of working the two guagea, will be by applying to first principles, endeavouring merely to deter mine what the working expenses of the Great Western line, with their present amount of traffic, would have been, provided it had been made a narrow guage line, and worked with such engines as those employed on the South Western and some other narrow guage lines. The average weight of a passenger train on the Great Western Railway Ondepeudent of the engine and tender, which weigh 33 tons) appears, by the returns sent to us, to be 67 tons ; and theave rage number of passengers per train for the half-year ending the 30th of June, 18454 as appears by our comparative table, is only 47*2, whose weight, including their luggage, will be estimated at about 5 tons. Mr. Gooch estimates each carriage and its passengers on the broad guage to weigh about 9% tons, and therefore there would be seven carriages to make up the 67 tons above specified. The most com modious carriages on the narrow gauge lines, such as those on the South Western, weigh less than 5 tons ; seven such carriages would therefore weigh about 34 tons, and being capable of containing 126 first class passengers, weighing, with their luggage, 12% tons, the total load would be only 46% tons. Now we find that even with a traffic as large as that of the ',onion and Birmingham Railway, the average per train woullonly be 84'9 passengers, weighing about eight tons ; 50 that, under tha avlkpoiiitiori of a traffic of this eXtent, the load of 19 ; 1846 the seven narrow gauge carriages so occupied would only be 42 tons. But Mr. Gooch eetimetes, from his own experiments, the relative powers of traction of the broad gauge engines, and of the narrow gauge engines of the South• Western Railltity when working at the same speed, as 2,067 to 1,398, or as 67, the load of tiid broad gauge in tons, to 48 tens, which would be the corresponding load for the narrow gauge ; so that the narrow gauge engine has more power over the 42 tons it would have t draw, than the broad gauge has over its average load of 67 tens, both exclusive of the weight of the engine and tender —the narrow gauge carriage in this supposition being supposed to con tain 84'9 passengers, and the broad gauge only 472, If, however, it were necessary, 224 first-class passengers might be placed in the seven broad gauge carriages, and, as it has;before been said, 126 in the seven narrow gauge carriages; but it appears likely that this extent of accommodation would only be called for on such rare occasions, that the question of providing for it, except by as sistant power, cannot be taken nto consideration in the present com parison. tt is obvious from the foregoing statement, that the narrow gauge engine of the class we have been considering has more power over the seven narrow gauge carriages, and a load of 126 passengers, than the broad gauge engine has over the seven broad gauge carriages, and the load of the same number of passengers; and that, therefore, if the Great Western had been a narrow instead of a broad gauge line, the South-Western engines would have had the same command over the existing passenger traffic of the Great Western, as its own engines now have with the present construction of that railway. We must remark, however, that this calculation is for trains con sisting exclusively of passengers and their personal luggage. In the Great Western average trains of 67 tons thdre is au allowance of ats . — • et 16 tons for passengers and luggage, including gentlemen's car- Z riages. owing the same weight of luggage on the narrow gauge line, the train , still not exceed 50 tons, which is considerably within the power of tie narrow gauge engine. For it appears by the :. experiments that have bee.: recently made on the Great Western iven in the appendix to the evi -1 dence, that the Great Western engine te.s.apable of propelling 83 tons at a greater speed than the average speed of that line; and conse quently by the proportion above stated, t he h ei 7ow gauge engine would be capable of propelling 55 tons at the same rate. We con clude, theretbre, that the work would be performed at abolit the same expense for locomotive power. That there may be cases in which not only the full power of A broad gauge engine is required, but even the assistance of a second engine, is quite Certain, the rule in railway but such trains form the exception and not passenger traffic, and we doubt the soundness of a principle which involves a great expense in construction, for the sake of possessing capabilities so seldom called into action.* It is proper to observe, that. the foregoing comparison would have appeared to stand more in favour of the narrow gaure, had we taken for the engine of comparison one of those engines of whose increased capabilities some of the supporters of the narrow gauge system have informed us ; but we have preferred the comp ar i son aff o rd e d with the SoutleWestern engine, from its being the one on which Mr. Gooch, of the Great Western Railway, superintended the recorded experiments: hence, our deductions are made from data furnished by the advocates of the broad gauge system, without drawing any thing from the evidence on the other side ; and as those deductions sufficiently demonstrate that there is no economy in the locomotive expenses for passenger trains resulting from working a line on the broad gauge system, even on such lines as those which have at the present moment the most abundant passenger traffic, any analysation of the evidence offered in support of the narrow gauge system an pears to us to be quite superfluous. There is one point, however, stated in Mr. Gooch'e comparative table, and repeated in his evidence, which appears so much at vari ance with the results we have obtained from other data, as to require explanation. Mr. Gooch has asserted that the Great Western Company work their passenger trains at half the expense per ton at which the London and Birmingham Company work their passenger trains. The fact is, however, that Mr. Gooch's calculations refer to the gross and not to the net loads ; and therefore the comparison is not applicable, so far as regards the profits of these companies, and affords no proof of economy in working the passenger traffic on the Great Western system. There can be no doubt, jua t eing both from Mr. Brunel's evidence given to us, and from his report to the directors of the Great Western Railway Company, that he originally ee:liected there would be on the Great Western Railway a demand for carryhz great numbers of pas sengers at high velocities ; but from his own eviate2ce, it appears that the only heavy passenger traffic upon that railway is be:ween London and Reading, and between Bath and Bristol, being a total distance of about 50 miles, out of 245. On the remaining part of the line the passenger traffic, per train, is small. If the convenience of the public would admit of the whole of the passenger traffic of this portion of the line being conveyed daily by two or three large trains, Mr. Brunel's views would have been per fectly correct in providing such powerful means ; but experience has proved that the public require passenger trains to be run many times during the day, and with this frequency of trains such numbers of passengers as Mr. Brunel has provided for cannot be expected even on railways of the largest traffic, so that practically there is a waste both of power and of means. In the case of " goods traffic," the cir cumstances are not the same; railway conveyance for merchandise seems only to be required a few times in each day, and the trains are generally large. The " through" waggons have for the most part a full load, and the disproportion between the gross and the net weight is consequently much less than in the passenger trains ; still, how ever, it appears from the evidence of Mr. Borne, and of other persons connected with the carrying trade, that on the London and Birming ham Railway It frequently happens that weggons are forwarded to a cons derable distance to " road-side stations," containing not more than a ton of goods ; and there can be no doubt that this must hap pen on any long line of railway. The same also occurs in waggons coming in from branches along the trunk line, and in all such cases the heavy large waggon of the broad gauge must be disadvantageous but although the evil is not so great with goods waggons of the; broad guage as with their passenger carriages, still the loss by dead weight is greater with these than with smaller waggons, and we do not perceive any advantages in the broad gauge to counterbalance it, for where speed is not an object, and this is the case with goods trains, we believe, from the evidence we have received, that engines of nearly the same tractive power are to be found on as many narrow gauge lines as those in use on the bread gauge. Thus far we have considered the question with reference to the railways as they now exist, and composed in a great measure of trunk lines of considerable traffic ; but the railways to be made in Mitre will in some degree be branches or lines in districts having traffic of less magnitude than is to be provided for in the existing railways ; and hence, if for the greater trunk lines a superiority were due to the broad gauge system, that superiority would be less for lines yet to be constructed of a smaller amount of traffic ; and neces sarily, if the preference were given to the narrow gauge for the ex isting Rues, that system would be still more entitled to the preference for the railways of smaller traffic to which we look forward. We must here add, that, towards the close of our inquiry, Mr. Brunel requested, on the part of the broad gauge companies, to in stitute a set of experiments to test the power of their engines ; and Mr. Bidder, on the part of the narrow gauge companies, undertook, in consequence of such application, to make corresponding experi ments on the narrow gauge. After sanctioning these trials, and being present at the performance of them, a record of which will be found in the appendix, we may observe, without entering into a minute detail of the results, or the discrepancies between the returns as furnished by the two parties themselves, that we consider them as confirming the statements and results given by Mr. Gooch in his evidence, proving, as they do, that the broad gauge engines possess greater capabilities for speed with equal loads, and, generally speak ing, of propelling greater loads with equal speed ; and moreover, that the working with such engines is economical where very high speeds are required, or where the loads to be conveyed are such as to re quire the full power of the engine. They confirm, also, the evidence given by Mr. Bidder as to the possibility of obtaining high evapo rative power with long engines for the narrow gauge, but under somewhat peculiar circumstances. It appears, moreover, that the evaporation thus obtained does not produce a corresponding useful effect in tile tractive power of the engine; a circumstance that would probably be differently explained by Mr. Gooch and by 31r. Bidder; but as we do not refer to the power of this description of engine In the deductions we have made, it is unnecessary for us to allude fur -1 thor to them. After a till consideration of all the circumstances that have come before um, and of the deductions ere have made from the -evidence, we are led to conclude :- 1. That, as regards the safety, accommodation, and convenience of the passengers, no decided preference is due to either gauge, but that on the broad gauge the motion is generally more easy at high velocities, 2. That in respect of speed, we consider the advantages are with the broad guage. bat we think the public safety would be endan gered in employing the greater capabilities of the broad gauge much beyond their present use, except on roads more consolidated and more substantially and permanently formed than those of the existing lines. 3. That in the commercial case of the transport of goods, we believe the =Tow gauge to possess the greater convenience, and to be the more suited to the general traffic of the country. 4. That the broad gauge involves the greater outlay and that we have not been able to discover either in the maintenance of way, in the cost of locomotive power, or in the other annual expenses, any adequate reduction to compensate for the additional first cost. Therefore, esteeming the importance of the high speed on express trains for the accommodation of a comparatively small number of persons, however desirable that may be to them, as of far less moment than affording increased convenience to the general commercial traffic of the country, we are inclined to consider the narrow gauge as that which should be preferred for ge neral convenience ; and, therefore, if it were imperative to produce uniformity, we should recommend that uniformity to be produced by an alteration of the broad to the narrow gauge, more especially when we take into consideration that the extent of the former at present in work is only 274 miles, whilst that of the latter is not less than 1,001 miles, andlthat tile alteration of the former to the latter, even if of equal length, would be the less costly as well as the less difficult operation. We arc desirous, however, of guarding ourselves from being sup posed to express an opinion, that the dimension offonr feet eight and a half inches is in all respects the most suited for the generol objects of thc country. Some of the engineers who have been examined by us, have given it as their opinion that five feet would be the best dimensions for a railway gauge; others have suggested five feet three inches, five feet six inches, and even six feet, but none have recommended so great a breadth as seven feet, except those who are more parti cularly interested in the broad gauge lines. Again, some engineers of eminence contend that a gauge of four feet eight and a half inches gives ample space for the machinery of the engine, and all the rail way requirements, and would recommend no change to be made in the gauge. W. may observe, in reference to this part of the question, that the Eastern Counties Railway was originally constructed on a gauge of 5 feet, and has since been converted into a gauge of 4 feet 816 inches, to avoid a break of gauge ; and we have been informed that some lines in Scotland originally on the gauge of 5 feet 3 inches are about to be altered to 4 feet 13% inches for the same reason. Whatever might be the preferable course were tile question now to be discussed of the gauge for the entire system of railways, where none previously existed to clash with the decision, yet under the pre sent state sf things we see no: sufficient reason to suggest or recom mend the adoption of any gauge intermediate between the narrow gauge of 4ft. 834 in. and the broad gauge of 7ft. ; and we arc pecu liarly struck by the circumstance that almost all the continental rail ways have been formed upon the 4ft. 8 1 ,4 in. gauge, the g7_at t f o r,., num ber having been undertaken after a long experience e he 'fact both l ye lost tuc broad and the narrow gauge in this country. Nor constructedinus as well as sight of, that some of these railway have been planned by English engineers, and amongst tniliaigten.umiibrerr. Brunel vi 3 , t a r s . Brunel the original projector of the broad g e also the engineer of the Merthyr Tydvil and ardiff w li e ne u , the four feet eight and a half inches gauge ; and lin v lt hic th h a i t s the motives which led to his adoption of the narrow gauge in that In stance would equally apply to many English 'lnca. , of We are aessible of time Importance, In ordinary* circumstances , l ea ving commercial enterprise, as well as the genius of scientific men unfettered ; we therefore feel that the restriction of tl.,e gauge is a measure that should not be lightly entertained ; and we ,Z.re willing to admit, were it not for the great evil that must inevitably - be ex perienced when lines of unequal gauges come into contact, Pat varying gradients, curves, and traffic, might justify some differencil in the breadth of the gauge. This appears to be the view which Mr. Brunel originally took of the subject; for the Great Westeni proper I is a line of unusually good gradients, on which a large passenger traffic was anticipated, and as it touched but slightly on any mineral district, it embraced all the conveniences and advantages of the broad gauge system, and was comparatively free from the influence of those defects on which we have commented ; but such a breadth of gauge, however suitable and applicable it may have originally been considered to its particular district, appears whollyf ourin inapplicable, i p i p o li rth eab e l r e n , or at least very ill suited to the requirements of many of and midland lines. _ _ In reference to the branches already in connexion 'with the Great Western Railway, we may observe, that the greatest average train on the Oxford branch, for two weeks in July and October, was only 48 tons ; on the Cheltenham branch it did not exceed 46 ; between Bristol and Exeter 53 ; and between Swindon and Bristol it was wi der 60 tons. With such a limited traffic the power of the broad gauge engine seems beyond the requirements of these districts. We find, from an estimate furnished to us, and the general grounds of which we see no reason to dispute, that the expense of altering the existing broad gauge to narrow gauge lines, including the altera tion or substitution of locomotives, and carrying stock, would not much exceed 1,000,000/. ; yet we neither feel that we can recommend the Legislature to sanction such an expense from the public moneys, nor do we think the companies to which the broad railways be long can be called upon to incur such an expense themselves (having made all their works with the authority of Parliament), ner even the more limited expense of laying down intermediate rails, for narrow gauge traffic. Still less can we propose, for any advantage that has been suggested, the alteration of the whole of the railways of Great Britain with their carrying stock and en glues, to smile intermediate gauge. The outlay in this case would be very much more considerable than the sum above mentioned ; and the evil, inconvenience, and danger to the traveller, and the in terruption to the whole traffic of the country for a considerable period, and almost at one and the same time, would be such that this change cannot be serieusly entertained. Guided by the foregoing considerations, we most dutifully submit to your Majesty the following recommendations :- 1. That the gauge of four feet eight inches and a half be declares' by the Legislature to be the gauge used in all public railways now under construction, or hereafter to be constructed in Great Britain. 2. That unless by the consent of the Legislature it should not be permitted to the directors of any railway company to alter the gauge of such railway. 3. That in order to complete the general chain of narrow gauge communication from the north of England to the southern coast, any suitable measure should be promoted to form a narrow gauge link from Oxford to Reading, and thence to Basingstoko, or by any shorter route connecting the proposed Rugby and Oxford line wills the South-Western Railway Company. 4. That as any junction to be formed wills a broad gauge line would involve a break of gauge, provided our first recommendation be adopted, great commercial convenience would be obtained by re ducing the gauge of the present broad gauge lines to the narrow gauge, of four feet eight inches and a half; and we therefore think it desirable that some equitable means should be found of producing such entire - uniformity of ,"gauge, or of adopting such other curse as would admit of the narrow gauge carriages pas:-.114, without in errup tion or danger. along the broad gauge 11 1 ,w -s• (Signed) J. tr. F (L.S Lieut.-RCoIoneIEDERIC Royal Engineers. G. B. AIRY, Astronomer Royal. (L.S.) PETER BARLOW. (L.S.) It appears that halfthe year ending the 30th of J une , 1845, the number of wiles run by coupled and assisting e ng i nes for duringiim pas6enger trains on the Great Western Railway, amounted to 11,628, and for goods trains to 51,155. The total number of 1Z 1W TIUI by t 7.4 &ma gai_ll4. POE 161,464 Awl OY tke latto I,s9init THE GAVGES. The following are the conclusions and recommendations Which. fretti Metz' importance, we recapitulate in a separate Ora, front the report:-- " 1. That as regards th e safety, CONCLUSIONS accommodation, and conve bience of the pdssengers, no decided preference is due to either gauge, }int that on the broad gauge the motion is generally more easy at high velocities. "2. That in respect of speed, we consider the ath-antages are with the broad gauge, but we think the public safety would be endan gered in employing the greater capabilities of the broad gauge much beyond their present use, except on roads snore consolidated and more substantially and perfectly formed, than these of the existing lines. " 3. That in the commercial cp.se of the transport of goods, we be lieve the narrow gauge to possess the greater convenience, and to be the more suited to the general traffic of the country. " 4. That the broad gauge involves the greater outlay, and that we have not been able to discover either in the maintenance of way, in the cost of locomotive power, or in tho other annual expenses, any adequate reduction to compensate for the additional first cost.!! ItECOMMENDATIONS. " 1. That the gauge of four feet eight inches and a half be de clareel by the Legislature to be the gauge to be used in all public railways now under construction, or hereafter to be constructed, in Great Britain. • " 2. That unless by the consent of the Legislature, it should not ,be permitted to the directors of any railway company to alter the gauge of such railway. "3. That in order to complete the general chain of narrow gauge communication from the north of England to the southern coast, any suitable measure should be promoted to form a narrow gauge link from Oxford to Reading, and thence to Basingstoke, or by any shorter route connecting the proposed Rugby and Oxford line with the South-Western Railway. " 4. That as any junction to be formed with a broad gauge line would involve a break of guage, provided our first recommendation be adopted, great commercial convenience would be obtained by re ducing the gauge of the present broad gauge lines to the narrow gauge of four feet eight Inches and a half; and we therefore think it desirable that some equitable means should be found of producing such entire uniformity of gat*, or of adopting such other course as would admit of the narrow gauge carriages passing, without inter ruption or danger, along the broad gauge lines." PARLIAMEN TARY BUSINESS. (From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons.) WEDNESDAY, FE.I3, 18. The following Petitions for Railways were reported, and the Bills ordered to be brought in ley the undernamed 116 n. Members : London and York—Mr. Astell, Mr. E. Denison, Mr. J. C. Dundas, and Mr. R. Yorke. Waveney Valley and Great Yarmouth—Colonel Anson„ Mr. Rumbold, and Mr. Wilshcrc. Great Western and Uxbridge—Mr. Dashwood and Captain Oswald. London, New bury, and Bath Direct—Admiral Dundas, Viscount Duncan, and Mr. W. Ileneage. Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction (Extension No. 3)—Lord Warsley and Mr. Christopher. London and Blackwall (Widening)—Dr. Bowring and Mr. Mitealfe. Great Grlms.7.7 and Sheffield Junction (Extension No. l)—Lord IVorsley and M72'. Christopher. East Lan cast. ire (p h yi anon and Branches)— Mr. Patten & Mr. Walker. Gloucester and Dean Forest—Mr. Philipotts and Captain Berkeley. Shropshire Union Railways And Canal (Chester and Wolverhampton Line)—Viscount Clive and Kr. Legh. Shropshire Unioti Railways and Canal (Newtown to Crewe Branches) —Viscount Clive and Mr. Logi, London and South Essex—Dr. IScrwring and Mr. Mitealfe. Harwich and Eastern Counties Junction Railway and Pier—Mr. Attwood and Mr. Spooner. Rugby and Stamford—Mr. S. O'Brien and Colonel Anson. ELECTION NEV S. SOUTH NORTHAMPTONSHOE. NORTHAMPTON, FEB. 17.—Captain Vyse is actively en gaged on his canvass. The pretectionists are very much divided amongst themselves. An impression prauils here that the Protection society is injuring the cause it professes to serve, and that its violence will lead to disgust, it ;tot re action. NORTH AND SOUTH NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. Norm;Grum, HALF-PAT FOUR, P.M.—The High-Sheriff has appointed the nomination for North Nottinghamshire to take place on Saturday, the 28th instant, at the Old Moot Hall, Mansfield. The voting will take place on the following Tuesday and Wednesday, at Zansfield, Nottingham, Nut tall, and Redford. The result of ye poll will be proclaimed on the following Friday. No candies ate except Lord Ben tinck has yet appeared ; but the elecuprs have been called on not to promise their votes, as a eandijate favourable to the Government measures will come forward. , In South Nottinghamshire Lord Lincoln rapidly gain ing ground. SOUTH NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. NEwAEK, WEDNESDAT.—The Earl of Lincoln a:Yrived at Newark on Monday, from the seat of Sir Robert BroMley, at Stoke, and has since been engaged in canvassing the vNters at Cottingham, and other places in the neighbourheod. Quarter before Two o'Clock.—The Earl of Lincoln has just attempted to address the crowd from the steps of the Town hall. His Lordship was received with shouts and groans by a knot of fellows, who exerted themselves so successfully as :o prevont him from obtainiag a hearing. The farmers took no part in this demonstration. Lord Lincoln professes himself sanguine of success. A few' days ago his Lordship looked extremely jaded, but this morn ing he appeared to have almost recovered his usual health. REPRESENTATION OF WEST SOMERSET. On the 9th instant a requisition was agreed to at Yeovil, calling upon the members for West Somerset, Mr. Acland and Mr. Dickinson, for " an explicit declaration of the view which they take of the Ministerial plan." Mr. Acland, iu reply, states distinctly that he shall vote with Sir R. Peel, and gives his reason at some length. Mr. Dickinson is less explicit, but gives the electors to understand that he also intends to support the Ministers in the coming division. A. county meeting is spoken of for the purpose of formally calling upon these gentleman to follow the example of Lord Ashley and Mr. Sturt. EAST GLOUCESTERSHIRE. GLOUCESTER, TUESDAY.—The nomination for this election is fixed for Friday week, and no opposition to the election of the Marquis of Worcester is expected.—The lion. F. CharLeris, the late representative, who resigned his seat be cause lie would not submit to the blind dictation of a " de monstration," is very popular, and had he come forward as a supporter of the Premier's proposed measures, in opposition to the Marquis of Worcester, he would, in all probability, have been returned in preference. A general election is deemed inevitable, here, and the free-traders appear to be determined to reserve their strength until a more fitt in g opportunity. SOUTH DURHAM. On the appearance all:. Bowes' address in 13arnardeastle last Wednesday, a public meeting of the electors resident in that town was called, and took - place in the - Town-hall in the evening. The meeting \ va.: attended by a numerous and respectable body of the elentols, when resolutions, ex pressing the pleasure with which t to meeting heard that Mr. Bowes was prepared to support 6,ovennent, and also their opinion that a total and immediate repeal would be better for the agricultural interest than three years' continu ance of a modified sliding-scale, were unaniteously passed. It was also resolved, that au address, embodying these reso lutions, and requesting Mr. Bowes to retain his seat and sup pert the Ministerial measure, should be signed by the electors and sent to Mr. Bowes. The address has received the signatures of nearly all the electors residing in Barnard ' castle, and has been forwarded to Mr. Bowes. Sir James Duke, in a letter to Thomas Gee,Esq., the chair man of the Agricultural Society at Boston, after alluding to his desire to .prottet the agricultural interests by advo cating a fixed duty, expresses his determination to support the Government on the gradual abolition of the corn-laws, rather than hazard by his vote the success of the present measure, and thereby force on an immediate repeal. Mr. Rashleigh, M.P., for East Cornwall, has assured his constituents of his adherence to the " principle of protection." ASSIZE IN TELLIGENCE. NORTHERN CIRCUIT Feb. 17. The assize for the northern division of the county of Lan caster commenced here this morning. Mr. Justice Patteson presided on the criminal side, and Mr. Justice Coleridge on the civil. 15 causes are entered for trial. The calendar contains the names of 22 prisoners. Of these one stands charged with infanticide, three with manslaughter, one with robbery, and four with cutting and wounding. CROWN SlDE.—(Before Mr. Justice PArrEsox.) Edward Leach, aged 46, was indicted for the manslaughter of William Day, at Over Darken. Mr. Whigham conducted the prosecution. The prisoner was defended by Mr. Brandt. The prisoner and the deceased met, it appeared, on one evening in the month of January last, at the Red Lion pub lic-house, in Over Darwen. They had had some previous quarrel, and the prisoner being somew hat intox i ca ted. to use towards the deceased some abusive lan gu age. d andto the e yard they seized on d ecea sed retorted in the same strai n, and th ey fi n ally agree d t o go out into thee y a a n r o d the t r o tight.g y ht. ll a the collar, g etting ti ng began, int as the witness expressed it, " raveling" backwards and forwards. The deceased at last got out of the hands of the prisoner, and got up two steps, which led to a back kitchen. The prisoner ran at him as if to seize him round the middle, when the deceased, who was a heavy man, leaped upon him, and bore him to the ground—the head of the prisoner hitting the deceased in the lower part of the abdomen. They struggled for some little time on the ground, until the land lord of the public-house came out with a light, and re quested them to desist. They both said they had had enough, and ceased fighting. They went into the public house, and deceased complained of being ill. lie was taken home, and became rapidly worse. A doctor was sent for, but he lingered in great agony till the following day, when he died. On a post mortem examination it was apparent that his death had been caused by rupture of the bladder, and the consequent inflammation of the bowels. Verdict—Not Guilty. The Court, in the course of the day, disposed of two Mint casesr, and a case of street robbery by a woman of loose cha racter. LONG PROTRACTED WILL CAUSE.—Mathias Aspden, merchant of Philadelphia, died in London about twenty-six years since, without issue, and leaving his estate to his heir at-law in England. Numerous petitions were heard in the High Court of Chancery, but, on failing to give the proofs required, each was dismissed, when John Aspdeu, of Raw tenstall, Lancashire, commenced establishing his rightful claim to the estate (now amounting to a sum of upwards of 500,000 dollars) as heir-at-law ; and, after more than twenty years' litigation in British and American courts, the court at Philadelphia has finally given judgment in favour of the Lancashire claimant. It is a remarkable fact, that nearly a quarter of a century has elapsed since this court issued its commission for proof in favour of the said claimant to the Rev. W. Gray, and other gentlemen of Haslingden, and though no evidence has been produced by the opposing party during the whole period, it appears they have at least succeeded in furthering delay until death has overtaken the executor as well as the aged t ;2aimaut, leaving the issue of the latter to reap the fruits of his Anxious care and arduous toils. FATAL ACCIDENT TO - A YOUNG GENTLEIILAN.79,n_ Monday night W. Payne, Esq., held a protracted vr ing2ig ies in A ta ll e . board-room of Guy's hospital, en the body of Math! 15 N - The deceased aged fifteen years, son of the late Captain Alt, young gentleman was heir to a large 11 Bo mother out Chester-terrace, Larnbeth-real...nooonoVst`:watout half. a l ) ;_l:x_es_ited,__u p , s l , th his i ! l s r e doors from the British rough-road, deposed that on Saturday f' past Iwo o'clock, he was standing about 10tH town cart on the oppo )nto a public-house, ~.s forced away site side of the way. The carman hadg suddenly p:....e . off. and Foreign School in that road, and sa r : l o in n e - r o ' - The and when ho came out, the horse oe _. ut .w 1 .. t (1 atdecta it sed p l sh. tl t moment rail hold of him, but was immediately Ihrown, carman thmeen.pitiimrsauled,. itteartZicnaguesphetedho.ldTehfel up to the horse and laid unfortunate y ‘ ling in a cab to the hospital. The house-surgeon g entleman was the right wheelfc(onp,a,es;s.iendg over his body. The- • " proved 1 tha t death was the result of the injuries received from heirer run over. The deceased expired about a quarter cf an hour after his a dmission. The jury recorded a verdict of `• Accidental death.' engine-driver, who. by I N DICTMENT OF AN ENGINE DRIVEL—At Hertford ' caused jhn e a lli t s ' ion on the Fas * te s r e n , by not attending to quarter-sessions, on a M s o ig n n d a 7 Counties Railway, near Waltham. on the 9th of last ' Eastern Counties rendered to take his trial. Alt objecti h on, owever was taken to the p r oceedings by his counsel, Mr. Ryland, contendedd, who' fendant ought to have been first taken that the &- Marquis of Salisbury, before a magistr a t e . Th e the chairman, and th de cued that the obj ec ti on was fatal to' the e other magistrates, dant was discha rge d. He Indictment, and the defen mav, however, be still taken before a ma gistrate to be Punished summarily. SIFT ROBERT PEEL Y. TION.—The 1 wh first person AND THE WESTMINSTER ELEC o voted at the polling-booth at St. Mar garet's Church, was Si r Robert reel. Tho Hon. Baronet arrived . ' as the chimes w ere go i ng for eight, the commencement o f th e polling, and gave his vote for C a pt a i n Bons. There were fekv persons present at that early hour, and few, except the poll-clerks, ritokof the_voter. were aws.re of the owl% ..~--