The Sun. — London, England, 1845-10-25 00:00:00

E SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING OCTOBER 25, 1845. RAT T,“ AVS. SPIRIT OF TIIE 'FELT jO l 7 e' A XDAPD ea, • aate T i mes per: everts lit its efforts to dl U , pante in the railroad share market. The p_ eject has ia otr ' Jemptatien of extreme facility. Let a etrild or an t r i f i7e the cry of fire in a crowded theatre, and the sa t4ill7._ t the lives of many will be the probable, if not cer t„."lseettence. If it is asked what other temptation the 4. c; ean have t o p ro d uce suc h a ca l a mity as a great corn toeit7t alarm, the answer will be found in the uniform del of that journal. It is enough filet the Times is lat e e e t 0 he named in connexion with any topic of general ei tlee , ensure that the Times will press that. topic pro st,,9,l.lpon public attention without the least regard tit, (th er it may produce ' by doing so. Theme may be ta ce "i nt °ta es understood at Ca el-court leer the line taken by kre er aPorarv, but as we know them not, we shall not Jarticularry advert to them, and the motives that a t 114 re already assigned are quite sufficient to explain keei t e ' o n e dnet of the Times. That journal, in an Kilo this morning, prosecutes its design by treeathag all NO Projects in the mass as bubbles. Now we have al ei'ots,nswaered this misrepresentation. A railevay project 1 41,1eh e l 'e. bubble, because it proposes an object. of solides tYttaelr4,searneed permanent duration. That sucih a project 4 or that men may speculate indiscreetly 'itliteP r° Jeete prudently conceived, is what no man familiar ife h ,e spirit of commerce will be disposed to deny ; there Vitas-Te's much rash speculation in the ordina material 9f can be charged against railroad enterprise. This Nita hlp, if it were desirable to prevent it, but . are there,4 treason to extinguish all trade and all enterprise? 18 in the country an amount of dormant capital ~aatm th * ' ° two-folci the cost of the projected railways, and is dormant cap i ta l i s i n a course of rapid. increase, no ! I k: L te denY, at this time. of day. Why, then, must r h -ee ' sar ilY be a deficiency of means to corn 'etieeee works in contemplation ? If some indi t' without capital have committed themselves hy a t e ares t et t their places -will soon be occupied by parties ,"eate n 0 complete every engagement ; and this simple bee t d 'fly:met noise and without injury, tr ea _, xecu e wi eais and tumult are not created by the means which the Nie e lt° Ny employing. It is to be remembered that the Nie s Pen railways must be necessarily gradual, extending al as present present scale, very little beyond the annual ac ,t of of the country, aid therefore leaving the vast If dormant capital already accumulated as a reserve ‘lreed ie ,the country, indeed, is unable to meet the railway i 4 tee 1 , 4 ° . w could it support a single year of that war N 1!! the Times has, by its libels upon the French e ll s ' e tthe French army, the French marine, and people, been for years labouring to plunge kkmay be that though the ultimate . ability to is shareholder; generally to meet their en- Ott is admitted, serious difficulties threaten 04 4 7 of the . process. We are told of an extraordinary e` °r money to supply the instrument of deposit, but i lle s :ve that the deposits may be made by very slightly k 't•Lii l e n g , if at all, upon the general circulation. Exche- L'lns, - e Probably or transfers of stock will serve the ; ;Preit e , ° ' money except in the case of the very smallest ; 8 ! and even in their case the demand for Bank Ot °- t , n ea ,Sh cannot be more than transient, certainly Ot. " A " beyond the license of issue lately givan to the ) . I !4e„'"'s to the absurd hypothesis that money must be t7,4,11Yee-Ivtitrl from trade in order to meet railway en g a g ements, r e t es's exposed by us long ago , the T imes does not OMaly 5 reproduce it. cVhat, then, is the danger attending te et4„' ll terprise, that must not attend every great im 7r-ut, and that may not be obviated by the exercise of then nd common sense? In all cases of vast enter ee,lh_will be much gambling; this is inevitable. But i Ztsse , erefore, to sit with our arms folded and our legs 1,1 11 sttli enly resolved to abstain from all means of im -4- circu ms tances,because forsooth a few penny less tt e t4re rs • our company, to I.k their 'nay be tempted, by MON in, t'tt as poverty and want of principle. We would go Bert. the Times in recommending reasonable caution in th' -er P r ise• But to recommend reasonable caution is 111 44, 1° g, and to proclaim to men they are ruined, when . rll but the effect of such a proclamation can injure another and a very different thing. 'We are as d er d r e 'nvinced as we can be of any thing, that there is no ,natever of failure in the railroad share market, " 4 failure be artificially produced by an artificial Olf e ,„ e "as the Times is labouring to produce. The spirit lft,ll o ' s ,'ne Times writes upon this subject w ill be seen b y le ,' If ti t 'ung extract • t eountr Y can complete the railways already autho- Ne ‘'it heeet t tit most serious and, for the time, a most incon a; raiton its capital—if it can without an immense el of the inconvenience authorise next session only er t"' . pl e lleli as it did last—if 15,000,000/. are next February ense "to the Accountant-General without a great eon- Ntle t !liet Only in the share-market, but in the money 'l;llr - L t .'', en, of course, the event will show the worthlessness aVei"e,iPations. Strange is it that people should be found rage, when our error , i f error it is, l 'itteie' ri ng its own conviction and its own p enalt y . The ''enian moralist observed, that the worst you could ‘a t a Arnata was that he might prosper a s much and as fis'e 1 1 e. A rational hostility would leave us alone to f;e are t o . fruits of our own pervereity." ' ° ° l th e elistaken, the Times has here borroweg i kti bG " e its former prompter and patron, a Fi b % re •As we ree e amb r the convulsion was a few weeks Veer fate nod for -' o '- e enber • it is now postponed to oe li j• This is just accorma r ' ~, , kin te, , st Prediction appears hasty to lair. O'Connell's practice. 4 o be falsified at its first p Leh date, he is sure to borrow a Inai e time, and in this T as been annually repealins the union for fourteen 4 : 4 4 One respect the Times improves - a e. — at-- ear_ the aidedges his head, waeele, whatever its value (and Fte e'ount St. Paul's head, we cae imagine it in a place k i ka, would be useful), still exists in rerain nature. The I,', 4o e" d ges only its character on the worth of its antici ei'a t he stake is indeed small, but in February we shall 4 e watch to claim it. And it is chiefly on this account ei tk iNfr e serve the foregoing extract. Cr e f tr e - -The course we have thought proper to pursue a7e o flee to the mania for railway speculation has ee zet, kinsLderable alarm among those who depend for their rn a certain temporary value being attached to 011e ts ,essentially a worthless article. It is not the dabblers Viat e - t e nts and the speculators in scrip alone whose harvest ktle i r ' t ° he cut short by the bursting of the railway bubble. Ole 'IAD) , others whose interest it has been to keep the (14esire for speculation alive, and who when it receives ee e - blow will find themselves deprived of a source of Which, having never been fair and legitimate, will not be permanent. The clamour raised against us k lei e o ntemporaries is natural eaough ; for while the mos 5 `41.0 8 and corrupt of them has been saved from til'tlie-Vtteedneebankrupt.cy, three or four have been called by the insanity which had taken possession tSe e a P e tt hlie mind, and they all feel that their gains will . people are brought to their right senses. The ti l "tt in 4 7,"IYIng share in railways that will never be made i s ease .eePing with the absurdity of paying for advertise eee,as c o l Jeurnals which nobody reads, and the proprietors of ; 4 e,erns are acutely sensitive to any attac k on trash y en ; nePression in which has a tendency to bring all R ea f a Per down to its proper level. Such has been the • k eel, or railway advertising that papers have been started eath 'wer ° never intended to be sold or read, but only lily e ec some of the money that was being thrown away e t i -- Preliminary announcements and prospectuses. ke . ,eli tG i -r se, all this kind of emolument will cease healthe„ public mind has been brought to a sound t e t. '"ee e 3" condition. We could not blame the em rs of th • journals who profit by the folly which soapet ti th e i r e „ columns as a medium of publicity, but we do b e „ule dishonesty which some of our contemporaries d i l 'aci e ' n guilty of in reporting all the exaggerations a . n I L R th e ' sPoken at railway meetings for the purpose of deceiv te'ePnblie,—a fraud in which a portion of the press has, n.lll.se •sake of a bribe, allowed itself to participate. Of , ~celr Would not have been coneistent with our principles Posi t i ki ar ge i on to have betrayed our duty to the community 11 %iti the manner to which we have alluded ; but it is o ar g to find ourselves charged with inconsistency by one ta, e ""temporaries, because we will not lend our influence 4etit ApsuPPort of schemes to which we allow the , our advertising columns. We are accused, t tis e-441 gb, of "writing against our ow n sentiment;" 1 044: OUr opinions have been freely expressed against Au hli c ' e orapanies some of which have, of course, sought y`rar, s 'Y thro ug h the medium of our paper. We should be t o 4 4Q e° Trniounds indeed if we were compelled to adopt the - -ente" ofnumerous advertisers the mere attempt ee e . our nu me would involve the impracticable task of reading ti l"eth, t neuneement brought to our office, and deciding e thi i t Was one in which we could sympath ize. The foll y , 1 4 1li k i s i`;' , trin. is so apparent, that we wonder at the amazing could have committed so egregious a bIWI - se t 0 "large us with inconsistency for not supporting all Certies and projects to which in the way of business our Wi t i: n g columns are open. We can understand the won t.4ll elli which our contemporaries contemplate the contempt t(,'ztrs ell we can afford to regard the minor considerations a dvertisements, or the purchase of a few hundred t „"nee b y s , a company wishing to see its proceedings re e-ettlirei;" a length they do not deserve; but we cannot teee g i n end he w we can be accused of venality for not t ,,lere, • g this paltry and dishonest traffic. We are, as we said q a t , ll 9 , position that renders it impossible for us to stoop teleation in a fraud upon the public, for our interest I,l` l much higher ground, and it is to the knowledge of s 4t f il r ,g placed far above all other considerations than t rl Y (lee' ut Y to the public that we owe—we say itwithout t Zek r O s e to boast of it—our transcendent influence. The 10 5 we have felt called upon to make on the subject of l e k t eat e n e e speculation in railways that has lately occupied th s 'eie e ', er ,Y class of the community, have, we are happy . to e e 'pehr`aKen the effect we desired—namely, that of causing 44 , ty tO pause and discriminate before risking money in t s.. tli e %' ° )eet that was advertised. We have never said that a, 4 itt,;"' Projects are bad alike, but nearly all of them have Is a f eee t - i P a r v ernium, which the prospect of their value as a per oreeq estment has not warranted. Every scheme that etia e UP, either by fraud on the one hand or credulity on tt te al r, to a price much higher than is justified by its b e the s, W orth,A, will ultimately find its level. Some one will et, ei/erer when the crash arrives, and our warnings have eei to. ;r ect , "n- against the madness of buying that which, JO ia t' e .ea a llv e nothing but waste paper, must eventually be aha c k in eueli from the market. We have been accused of ettenterprise, but a theseparce of pickpockets disturbed in ta'e th e ' e ,sful practices by ntrance of the police might 41 4 '41 :ne outcry. Our warnings have been already jus s at tn i the effect they have produced; and we feel satisfied tNee t IY will o th en , have cause to thank us hereafter for "havinOWri g e ect from ruin. The conduct of those who profit bi a!foe l e ente nt , and are desirous of s ti m ulating it for thw sSr age, is intelligible, if not !excusable. Our inter ;lent euti c 'f fia a higlier kind, and we cannot sac.ifice the .pernaa deee t ' e nee of the public in order to gratify its inthilg -,e'tstrolta '"' ll Porary humour which is likely to prove most . „,, , - , 11R0 m ,, ,, n its effects, if the evil be not firmly grappled with. r nethi n 'e: l aLE.—Our contemporary, the Times, displayed k ' e raa„ a b ye °f abetter feeling yesterday in his commentaries lia e •Nera, is e importance and uaefulness of the ra . ilw,ay siaties g ~n ? iv* admitted, and credit is asked by him tor We 41. It Pr e vious occasions descanted with some entha :ithi fee ts r o ' f ug2 h hout the e 33 th e splendid results which the completion of rail sland would produce upon the social en. e y e people He e looks forward to the lime Station cry • • ven day; s , and et' a- ,ge.in England will be within a walk . of the fet,' Joun ley Individual Englishman brought within a „ es.. re th an _ each other. This is seeing further into the Cl t lg' or ea,7e have yet attempted to do, but the main see d eie el_e e prevailing speculation is, that the bulk of the eed t 438 8 1 00 k at the question in a similar light. Con.: 1 n ere "at tbe country will in the end be cut up aridcrossed th_ ley quarter by e e t i p i retit s of in _ i _ nr, raelroads, they desire to participate in them. They expect that the new lines lu l ls Will fio__P„aur less cost than the old ; that 15,000/. per i t se a r te :s r now as 80,000/. did when the system was of qds nee i' and that, although fares must. he reduced, di thee. iaot be 1 W em. shares of " 8 - Building their faith on the price oth _ r ere, , sind the London and Birmingham, Great 1 1 4 com patti .._ s om e . other leading lines, they expect that r eet ,affordeh e . ! 6 _ will be equally desirable investments, eiee:v . es, whi lame amount of dividends. Actuated by these Troia arel cherished by the great mass of the na aad aVielity tog _est . to the lowest, they have rushed forward i ll v. cri p , hav _ f>htain shares in every scheme announced, ie t ,'"'t Market. ha ve been bought up with avidity at a premium svh.: zi stei:ieth The splendid visions of wealth thus conjured e m m o a d d e e eae ut light hay have received a check of late, and specula! ors, " good thing of it" had they been rate profits, now haunt the alleys near :c Ai Ls. Capel-court with v;segee, sicalie.d o'er with the vile cast of ih light, aml bralae aeo !),?!ore received them with ows and smiles, now look cohlly at the contents of their pocket books, arid pronounee thous lee hine better than "rubbish." This disparaging valuation is flail( d te all scrips alike that do not command a premium, and the scrips of some lines may not perhaps be much above par at present, which com manded 9 /. or 3/. premium before the Bank of England threw . out the signal to shorten sail ; and the shares of really good lines are thus indiscriminately mixed up with, and suffocated by, the bad We have used our humble endeavours to stop this evil, not seeking to conceal our misgivings respect ing the state of thinge, frequently urging on the promoters of new schemes the propriety of postponing them, and il lustrating the illusory means adopted ie same cases to force up the value of shares. We have pointed out at the same time that. in the midst of all this abuse and danger, the ex tension of internal communication by railways was in itself worthy of the age. and deserved the support of every friend to peace and civilisation. We do not, on the whole, believe that there is much difference cf opinion about this amongst impartial and intellectual minds. Our contemporary bears testimony that his thoughts are not at variance with those who expect immense advantages from the construction of railroads, but he says, and we have often said the same thing nearly in the same words, " that it cannot be done all at once, and the more haste the less speed." Let the public press then use its influence to induce the promoters of new schemes to be less impatient, to be less impetuous in their movements, satisfied that if their schemes be really useful and brought forward under proper auspices, that they will ulti mately receive the sanction of Parliament when there is time allowed fairly to discuss their merits. Having said so much upon the general question, we have still a few words to offer on the deposits. It would afford us some gratifica tion is we could discover signs of accordance on this point, but we have not been able to discover any. After all that has been asserted and argued, admitted and denied, the pea, according to our contemporary, is not with the bankers after all. If they have got it, he says they have not kept it, and whether it be 15,000,0001.. or twice as much, the money has not yet been paid. We freely acknowledge that there is no certainty of the amount that has been paid, but we repeat our statement, which will be borne out generally by those versant in the practice of the market, that in the great bulk of schemes the deposits called for were duly paid to the bankers on allotment. It seems to us that much confusion has arisen iu reference to this matter from not attending to the manner of payment. It has been supposed, and very naturally to, that if the banks have received payments to the amount of ten per cent. on 300,000,0001., or even on 150,000,000/., that they would show evidence of pecuniary plethora; they would be holding out encouragement to the most improvident specula tion, and in place of seeking to raise the value of money, they would find it a mere drug in their hands at the lowest rates; in short, that they would be up to the eyes in scrip, and urging the members of the Stock Exchange to take money from them on any terms. But it must be kept in view that in the majority of cases, both in number and value, these dep•sits were paid into the bankers by cheques. The parties went with their letters of allotment to the bankers appointed by the provisional committees on the stipulated day, and received a receipt fur the proper sum in simple exchange for their own cheques, and where the person paying had not an account with the bankers of the company, he gave a crossed cheque for the proper sum. The operation, therefore, was merely a transfer in the bankers' books from the accounts kept by A, B, and C, as individuals, to the credit of D, the name of the company. The actual amount of deposits in the banker's hands may not have been increased to any material amount by payments ufede in this way for deposits. The character only of them may have been altered, in so far as the cheques paid were placed to the debit of the individual accounts of A, B, and C, and passed to the credit of the companies. When the transaction was managed again either by pay mentsfrom country banks or by crossed cheques, the whole affair resulted in settling of balances at the clearing-house. These remarks exhaust the subject so far as concerns the payment into the hands of the bankers. The next operation will be to transfer the amount from them to the Accountant- General, but that branch of the question has been already worn threadbare, it being, as our contemporary truly ob served, merely "a transfer of so many names and figures from certain accounts in the banks at large to one account in the Bank of England." HERALD.—The Times has at length "let the cat out of the bag." It has disclosed the motives—or at least one of the motives—by which it has been actuated in its crusade against railway enterprise, and its attempts to create a panic in the Railway Share Market. It charges upon the more in fluential portion of the metropolitan press that, in opposing its efforts to destroy public confidence, it has been influenced by self-interest, inasmuch as it participates largely, in the shape of advertisements, in the " profits of the bubbles" and " chimeras " they recommend. " The peculiar morality to which Capel-court has given a local habitation and a name, may," it says, " have trespassed into the purer regions of the press." This imputation of corrupt motives against the entire press, for the Times has the satisfaction of standing in a minority of one on the occasion, comes with a very bad grace from a journal, whose character for corruptness has long since passed into a proverb. If the rumour so pre valent on the Stock Xxchange, in reference to the probable origin of the onslaught of the Times upon railroad specula tion be correct, it has very substantial reasons for its policy. We shall not, however, stop to refute a charge evidently de signed to avert the suspicion of bad faith from its authors. It is clear, from the subdued and modified tone which they have now begun to assume, that they have discovered that they have gone a little too far, even for them. The Times of yesterday has dropped one-half of its 30,000,0001. of depo -;te_ an' z. aew content to urarni that even 15,000,0001. can not be paid into the hands of the Accountant-Genera] without a most inconvenient drain on the capital of " the countrn a and a- great convulsion in the Railway Share Mar ket." 'To al rive at such a result, it is necessary to suppose that the bankers, to whose custody these deposits are con fided, will lock them up in their strong boxes, there to re main until their transfer to the hand s o f the Accountant- General. But this no more follows than that the bankers should re-issue them to pay for fresh sheaf's of railway scrip ; or employ them in imprudent and dangerous speculations. Such an imputation on the great body of the bankers of England is a calumny as un founded as it is injurious. Nothing but an obstinate determi nation to create distrust and confusion in the commercial world could have suggested so damaging an imputation. Were some 30,000,000 paid instead of half that amount, it might be temporarily withdrawn from circulation without any of the evil consequences predicted by the Times. But it is not surely pretended that the aforesaid bankers will repair to the Accountant-General at the period fixed upon for the transfer of these deposits, and pay them over in specie. If however our readers would fully satisfy themselves of the utter absurdity of such predictions as those which have been multiplied in the columns of the Times during the last few days, let them turn to the following authentic list of the s passed by bankers at the clearing-house an the year 1840 :- SUMS PAID BY BANKE B RS 4O AT CLEARING-HOUSE, 1. --- Barclay and Co. Glyn and Co—... ................. ... 105,327,000 Jones Loyd and Co 104,000,000 Masterman and Co 90,000,000 Robarts and Co. Smith, Payne, and Co Williams and Co 5 6 ;000,000 Barnetts and Co.. 50,000,000 Lubbock and Co. Stone, Martin, and Co 33,700,000 Prescott and Co. Denison and Co. Willis and Co. Hanbury and Co 24,700,000 Ladbrokes and Co. Curries and Co Spooner and Co. Price and Co. Haukeys and Co Barnard and Co. Veres and Co. Rogers and Co. ..... Dorrien and Co. Fullers and Co 7,500,000 Brown, Janson, and Co. Bosanquet and Co. ..... ....... Stevenson and Salt 3,500,000 Whitmore and Co. Total £954,558,000 Clearing in 1839 £954,201, 60 08ank-notes We have here an aggregate amount of nine hundred and eighty-four millions five hundred and fifty : eight thousand pounds sterling, without taking into the estimate the Bank of England, Joint-stock, and West of Temple-bar bankers, and ready money paid over the counter by City bankers. Can anything be more preposterous, therefore, than the as sumption of the Times, that the withdrawal of such a sum as 30,000,0001., under all the circumstances of the case, is cal culated to produce the disastrous results which it has suited its purpose to predict? We shall return to the subject; meanwhile, we may congratulate the commercial public on the fact that the absurdity, not to say corrupt prophecies, of the Times. have carried with them their own refutation, and are little likely to be mischievous for the future. THE REPEALED DUTIES.—The inspector-General of Imports and Exports of the United Kingdom, having, with reference to a minute issued by the Board of Customs some time back, relative to the amount to be taken on the importation of certain goods upon which the duties have been repealed by the new tariff; Bth and 9th Victoria, cap. 90, of the past session, submitted a list of articles of foreign and colonial merchandise, which are not subject to duty, specifying the manner in which each article will have to be described in the accounts taken at the time of landing from the importing vessels, and consequently in the returns rendered to his office for Parliamentary and other pur poses ; the saine has been approved by the authorities, and directions have been issued to the heads of the several departments in London, and the collectors and comptrollers of the Customs revenue at the various outports of the United Kingdom, to take care that the returns of all such oods imported are to be made to the Ins p ector. General of Imports and Exports in strict conformity with the said list, which specifies with respect to each article whether import ations and re-exportations are to be stated by weight, tale, measure, or value. As a full and particular account of the names of the different articles upon which the duties have been repealed was published at the time of the measure being introduced by the Government into Parliament, it would be superfluous to mention the whole of their names again. Etch article is to be returned in the manner which has been customary, or is from the nature of it best suited thereto, whether wet or dry goods. The values of of these duty-free goods, in the instances in which they are to be returned according to the value, are to be ascertained in the manner us directed by the Act Bth and 9th Victoria, cap. BG, sec. 23, and the whole of . them, whether at value, by weight or otherwi- , e, must be entered and returned in the manner and according to the form therein described. EMIGRATION TO AMERICA.—We have received a variety of statements from those who emigrated to the United States last year, or the year previous, and they gene rally concur, though there are exceptions, in representing matters in the new world as unpromising-and gloomy. Mr. H. Redgate has received a letter from a lace-maker, named Bennett, formerly of Old Radford, in which 7 it is stated, that the erroneous accounta sent by emigrants, who, to cover their own dissppointment, write in the most laudatory terms of their adopted country, are exceedingly injurious,insamnch as they tempt parties to emijate who had much better remain at home. Bennett had heard one poor labourer, thus tempted abroad, heartily wishing himself o nce more in Nottingham Market-place. - The poor man, however, like than t many others, has fouled it to be an easier co urse to emigrateo retuin. —Nottingham Review. TOE POTATO PEZTILENCE.—The prom sandy soil in this vicinity have on the light there are numerous comptatrts.. 'On heavy soils, more es.alied tolerably well, though re tentive of moist=re', " the pestilence" (for so it is not inaptly termed) is more manifest. There can now be little doubt of 1 potatoes becoming very high in the market in cr short time, the inteiligrtuce frere the north, and from Ireland especially, being so disastrous,-- and it will be an act of wisdom for all whe have the means, to immediately lay up a provision of sound roots for the coming season of scarcity.—Nottinshcon Review. ~, -~ i ..i.:~ L ,; ht: LA' IVE CLOSING PRICJIS OF RAILWAY SHARES IN Tint PRINCIP&L CITIES AND TOWNS IN El cGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND. NAMES OF RAILWAYS. ca. Oct. Oct. Oct.l Oct. 24. 24. 24. 24. 5U 5 Aberdeen Airdrie and Coatbridge • • Arbroath and Forfar • • • • Ditto Half Shares • •.• • A rte agh , Coln, & Portrush Bandon and Bantry . • • • • Belfast and Ballymena • • Belfast and County Down Birkillid.Lan.&Ches.Jne. Birmingham and Glo'ster Do. New (iss . at 734 dis.) Ditto Half Shares • • • • Itinninginn&Osfrd.Junc. Itickburn, and Preston • • Illckburn, Darwu,& Bolta Bolton, W igan, & Liverpl. Boston, Stamfrd and Birin Brighton, Lewes, & Hast. Bristol and Exeter ••• • • • p Ditto New..• • • • 101 1 Bristol and Gloucester • • Bristol and S. Wales June. British and Irish. Ltnion•. Caledon. and Ayrsh. June Cal edo n & Dumbar. June Caled , n lan . • • • • • • • • • • • • I)itto Extension • • • • ,• Cambridge and Lincoln • • ' Chester and Birkenhead Ditto New Shares • • • • Ditto Half Shares • • • • Chester and Holyhead Cheltenham and Oxford Chichester and Brighton Clittrnet Valley .• • • • • • • • Cli theroe Junction • • • • • • Clydesdale Junction , • • • • Cork, Illackrck & Passage Cork and Bandon .•. • • • • Cork and Killarney .• • • - Cork and Waterford • • • • Cork and Voughal Canterbury and Dover Coventry and Leicester • • Cornwa' ,erby and Crewe . rest hon. and Manchstr Las, Beccles, & Yarmoth irectMan.(Remington's) tract Northern • • •• • • tract Norwich .• • • . • • • • blin and Belfast June. bibs, Belfast, & Colme blin and Drogheda • • • • blin and Galway . • • • • ndalk and Enniskillen mice and Arbroath . • • mice and Perth •• • • fun and Sunderland „ancashire (No. 1) :s (No. 2) .. •• • • • unties . • • • • • • 54 . , I - :1 12% 12% - 3% - - 4% 5% 5 1 A - .__ - 5% - I -- 3% 3%1 3 1 ,4' 2% 1 I - I - - 4 Eastern t.., 21% 21X 22 Do. New .• . ... . Do. Perp.s pr Ct., No 1 —p 1)0. do. N 0.2 3i p 3% Ea.st i)creham &Norwich East I.Tniou .• • • • . Ditto Extension Glass., and Dum ~ dinburglt and Glasgow. Do. Quarter Shares • •• Do. New Quarter Shares ?din b. Leith, and Granton Do. Pref. 5 per Cent Edinburgh and Northern Edinburgh and Peebles Edinburgh and Perth• • • • Ely and Huntingdon •• Enniskillen and FZligo • • • • Exeter, Yeovil, & Drchstr Fltwood, Prstn, & W. Rid. tianiltirk and Glasgow • • Glasgow and Ayr. • • •• •• Do. Quarter Shares • • •• Glasgow and Greenock • • Ditto New........... Ditto Preference • • • • •- filasgw,Dmfries, and Car. ( Ilsgw, Kilmarnck, & Ard. 3%1 Glasgow and Belfast Un. Goole and Doncaster .... p 10113 Grand Junction .•••• •• • . 260 Ditto Half Shares • • Ditto Quarter Shares • • Ditto New Quarters Ditto Eighths • • ...... Grand Union. ••• • - •• • • Great Eastern & Western (It (Irlinsby & Dk Extens. (It Grimsby and Sheffield I (lt Sthrn & Wstrn (Irind) 23 Ditto Extension ••• • .. 15%1 Great Munster • • • • Grt Northern of Scotland Grt Northern of England Do. New 401. Shares • • Do. New 301. Shares .. Great Western - •• • • • • • • Ditto Half Shares • • Ditto Fifths .......... (Ittilfrd, Farehm, & Ports 4% - - 1 _ t4% 1 4% - 1- ( 4 3% - 314 1 3!41- 3% - 1 -- ar~rich .• • ••• • • • • • •• • udraf l& Man. R. & Canl 2%1 2%1 2%' - •2% 16%1 18 - 49%1 - - - [44 150 84 - 34 - tiddersfield and Sheffield Hull and Gainsborough. • !lull and Selby •-••• • • • • 'Hit° Quarter Shares 21 Ditto Half Shares •• • • Inverness and Elgin •• Isle of Jersey • • • • Kendal and Windermere Kingstown and Bray .• • • Killarney Junctions .•• • • Lancaster and Carlisle • • -- Lancaster and Preston Leeds and Bradford • • Ditto Extension — heeds and Deivstiry• •• • -- Leeds mid Thirsk •••• • • • • 13% 15 Leeds &W. Riding June. 12 Leicester & Birmingham 1 1 ,{i p 2% Leicester and Bedford . 114 p 2% 2% —.— Limerick and Waterford Kil. Jnc. Lincoln, 'fors, and Leeds LIN% Man. &GtN. of Eng. Liverpool and Manchester Di tto Half Shares • • — Ditto Quarter Shares Liverri3Ormskrk,& Prstn 7 London and Birmingham 217 216 Ditto Thirds •• • • 44 Ditto Quarters • •• .• 27 27 London and Blaekwall . • 94 Lunn. Oxfthec Chltnham7 Loudon and ilrignton• • . 654 - Ditto Consolid. Eighths London and Croydon - 0 Oct. i,Clos'dl Oct. 24.. 1 23. Ditto New . ••••• • • • • Do. Guariint. 5 per Cnt. • 9M ',undo!' and Greenwich - Do. Pref. or Privilege,.• r.ondon and South Westrn 1)o. New Cons. Eighths 33 Do. New, 501 Shares • • 1)o. New, 401. Shares • • London and York . • • • • • • Ditto (Bawtry). ...... 6 % 7 - P 1 I 3 53 PI line), % p.—North Devon, % p.—Taw Vale Extension, % p. —Devon and Central Cornball, % p.—Aberdeen, 5/.=-South Wales, 6—Bristol, New. 10 1 A. HULL, OCT. 24. The morning's meeting did not furnish so much proof of depression as the accounts from London and the provincial markets might have led us to expect. At the afternoon meeting the Bears operated to some extent in light stock, and the consequence was a fall on the morning's quotations. Axholmes, which left off in the morning at 565. to 575. 6d. prem., closed this .afternoon at 425. 6d. and 455. preen. Hull and Barnsley opened at 3% prem., closed at 2% prem. Derby and Gainsborough began at 30s. prem., and, although the eaorts were great, the price could not be brought below 275. prem. The sales were—Hull and Selby, Half Shares, 22 .;—London and Croydor, 21—Blackburn, Darwen, and Bolton, 6—Great Grimsby and Sheffield, Quarter Shares, s—North British (Carlisles), 3%—Oxford, Worcester, and Wolver hampton, 7 3 / 4 —Cambridge and Lincoln, s—Dudley,! Made ley, and Iron Bridge, 12s. 6d. p.—East Lincolnshire, 31 Grand Union, 21/—Great North and South Wales and Wor- Cester, I—Leicester and Bedford, 2 1 ,4—Lincoln and 'Wain fleet, ls. dis.—London and York, 4% —London and Man chester (Rem.), 3%—London and Norwich Direct, 55. Nottingham and Gainsborough, 10s. p.—Nottingham and Boston, 3% Shrewsbury and. Trent Union, 2—Yorkshire and Glasgow Union, were all aware of the extent which railways occupied in the Welsh attention of every class of society, and how anxious almost coa' every landed proprietor was to have a railway brought Weis] either through or close to his property, and it afforded him much pleasure in stating that generally a similar feeling existed along this proposed line.—( Hear, hear.) The South and Midlands Junction line would in reality form a trunk line as regarded that part of the country, for it would bring them into , each of the two great main lines of the kingdom —the Great Western and the London and Birmingham.— (Hear, hear.) By this course the inhabitants of Bampton would have a direct railway communication from one end of the country to the other. This line would commence at Bicester, where, by a junction with the Cambridge and Oxford line through Wolverton, in connexion with the Eastern Counties, it would afford facility of intercourse with the metropolis in one direction, with Stafford, the Potteries, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Man chester in the other. Near to Woodstock, close to which the projected line would pass, the Oxford and Rugby and Oxford and Worcester Railways would cross, and thus they would be presented with the opportunities of entering the two great railway arteries of the kingdom—(Hear)—at Didcot in the one case, and at Rugby itt the other. Passing next on to the town of 'Pitney the line would be crossed by a communi cation to the great manufacturing district of Stroudwater— the Oxford and Cheltenham line. At this point the South and Midlands line would bend off directly south-west, close to Bampton on to Lechdale. At both of these towns it was intended to have stations.—{Hear, hear.) At Swin don their railway would cross the broad gauge—an end which hitherto has never been attempted. At this point the inhabitants of Bampton and Lechdale would take up the' direct communication east and west, to London, and to Bristol and Exetr, Bath, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, and then on by means of the Gloucester and Aberystwith line, through the whole of North and South Wales.—(Hear.) He had already stated that their junction with the London and Birmingham Railway at Rugby would give them a, di rect communication with the whole of the north and mid land counties.—(Hear.) Most of the gentlemen present held a prospectus in their hands, and if they would do him the kindness to refer to it, they would find that there was scarcely a part of the kingdom to which they would not be able to travel by railway so soon as the south and Midlands Junction line had been constructed.—(Hear, hear. He was happy to be in a position to inform the meeting that along the line there was a general opinion in favour of the pro ject, and in most cases he had already received the writ ten consent of the landed proprietors. (Hear, hear.) These gentlemen appeared to think that the course this line would take was that which would confer the greatest benefit upon the towns and districts through which it passed—(Hear, hear)—the more so as it would provide them with railway facilities to every line in every part of the kingdom.—(Hear.) Bampton and its neighbour hood would thus have every market throughout the country thrown open to them.—(Hear, hear.) Before he sat down he might tell the meeting that he had had the honour, in company with some of the gentlemen who acted as local agents, of waiting upon nearly every landowner between Swindon and Bicester, and that out of between 70 and 80 noblemen and gentlemen, they had met with one dissent or ly, and that was in the case of a Noble Lord who thought that the line would cut up a fox cover rather too much. From eighteen gentlemen out of twenty on a portion of the line, the Company bad received a written consent to the rail way pas . sing through their land.—(Hear, hear.) - As a proof that the Company would be quite ready to deposit their maps and plans in the Parliament-office long ere the time had elapsed, he might state that upwards of fifty miles of the line were in the hands of the engraver. Mr. J. Durrox moved the second resolution:—" That this meeting having heard the explanation from the deputa tion as to the course which the South and Midlands Junc tion Railway is intended to take, and of the advantages which are likely to accrue to the town and neighbourhood of Bampton, pledge themselves to give the undertaking their fullest support."—(Hear.) It appeared to him, from what Mr. 11I'Murdie had just stated, that this was by far the very best line that could possibly be constructed for Bampton and its neighbourhood.—(Hear.) In that part of the country they were very awkwardly situated as to the other portions of the county. Look at Bicester, for instance, and the whole of that portion of the county, what difficulty the people of Bampton had to get over there.—(Hear.) They had a very long and tedious ride, but with this line it would be found that the ride was not merely one of rapidity, but one of. ease. So it would be with respect to the journey to any other part of the kingdom.—(Hear, hear.) It was well known, even in their quiet and sequestered town, that the subject of railways had for some time occupied very much of the attention of the public, and moreover that great benefits had accrued to all the towns were they ran to. The town of Bampton then de sire to participate in all the advantages which a railroad was calculated to afford to its inhabitants. The inhabitants of the district, as well as the town itself, were anxious to have the benefit of a rapid, easy, and safe mode of travelling, and that facility appeared to him to be promised by the South and Midlands Junction Railway.—(Hear.) He hoped sin cerely, too, that the line might be obtained.—(Hear, hear.) The alteration in the rate of postage had been a vast boon to society at large ; but it would appear that something was required to cause that boon to be the more general in its operation and more speedy in the method by which it shall be carried out.—(Hear, hear.) Would it be believed that at this time of day, in the year 1845, in the existence of rail ways too, that at such a place as Bampton, not more than about 60 or 70 miles from London , if an inhabitant of their town wanted to send a letter to the metropolis, which be wished should arrive the following morning, he was com pelled to put it into the post-office before half-past three o'clock the preceding afternoon.—(Hear, hear.) He trusted, then, that if it were upon no other ground, they might have this South and Midlands Junction Railway, for that surely would lead to an alteration in this system. (It was under stood, by a private communication made to our reporter, that the letters which left Bampton at half-past three o'clock in the afternoon, were not dispatched from Oxford until twenty minutes past two o'clock in the morning.) With regard to himself he would pledge himself to support them with every means in his power, for he was confident it would be most beneficial to all person connected with the town. Mr. T. H. BATEMAN seconded the resolution, and it was carried. R. BUTLER, Esq., said that it was of little use the meeting saying they would support an undertaking unless they went further, and did all they could to back that resolution by another.—(Hear, hear.) With the view of carrying out that feeling, he would move " That petitions be presented to both Houses of Parliament in favour of the South and Midlands Junction' Railway, and that the Members for the county be requested to support the same."—(Cheers.) Mr. H. MORRIS having seconded the resolution, it was put and unanimously agreed to. A vote of thanks was then passed to the Chairman, for his awe conaucc l .- tho °bail viz the 000 actio n meeting then separated. WARWICK, BIRIIINGHAM, AND NAPTON CANALS A special meeting of the proprietors of the Warwick and Birmingham and Warwick and Napton Canals was held on Tuesday last, at the Woolpack Inn, Warwick. There was a numerous attendance. Mr. W. C. Russell:having been called to the chair, the meeting proceeded, in terms of the requisi tion, "to take into consideration a certain agreement pro posed to be entered into between the said Company and the Provisional Committee of the London and Birmingham Ex tension, and Northampton, Daventry, Leamington, and War wick Railway Company, and to confirm such agreement or otherwise; and also to take into consideration and determine on the propriety of applying to Parliament for powers for converting the said canal, or any part thereof, into a railway, or for making a railway along the line of the said canal, or any part thereof, and to enable the said Company to sell and dispose of the stock and property, or to lease the tolls of the said Canal Company, to any company or persons whomsoever, and to amalgamate with any railway or other company, or to enter into any arrangements or agreements with any other company or persons for the purpose of constructing a railway along the line of the said canal, and of the Warwick and Napton Canal, or either of them, into or from any place or places contiguous thereto, and for raising the necessary capi tal for the purpose aforesaid, and also for powers to consoli date this Company with the Company of Proprietors of the Warwick and Napton Canal Navigation, and Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal Navigation, or either of them, and for such other powers for the purposes of managing and conducting the affairs of the said Company as may be deemed requisite." In the course of the discussion which ensued, Mr. D. Ledsam, of Birmingham, opposed the sale ; but it was finally agreed, there being no other opposition, to dispose of, the canals to the railway company, each share holder i❑ the Warwick and Birmingham Canal receiving 1751. per share cash, or shares in the Railway Company to that amount ; and the shareholders in the Warwick and Napton receiving 1371. 10s. per share, with a like option. Six of the directors of the railway company were present at the meeting, and signed the proper documents for the ful filment of the contract, and a check for 10,0001. was handed over by them to the Canal Company, as a deposit. The seals of the two companies were then affixed to the con tract, and the meeting adjourned to the 7th of January, when the next meeting will be held at the same place. The en gineer of the railway company attended, and gave a detail of the intended operations of the company. He stated that the whole line of the canal would be available for the in tended railway, except about three-quarters of a mile. After the conclusion of the business a large party of the share holders dined together. MINERAL LINES. The vast influence which the universal construction of railways will have on the development of the mineral riches of the earth, has, perhaps, never entered the minds of many who are thoroughly conversant with the details of their several routes; yet little doubt is there but that many household luxuries—at present denied not only to the poor, but even many of the middle classes—will come into very general use ; among these are marble for side tables, mantel pieeeg, wash-stands, &c., slates for paving, roofing, shelves, and safes for provisions, and numerous other productions of the mineral kingdom, will find, in every direction, markets alike numberless and insatiable. These productions of Nature's beneficent arrangements have hitherto lain in use less profusion, only attainable by the wealthy, from the ex cessive cost of transit; but when the districts are traversed in every direction by railways, renewed energy will be instilled into the owners. of mineral property, and these pro ducts raised and distributed among the community, giving employment to the immediate neighbourhoods, dispensing c omfort, and increasing the civilisation of mankind in gene ral. It is au interesting subject to notice the peculiar mine rals which each of our projected railways will aid in more general distribution ; and we have selected the following, stating the productions likely to form a large proportion of their traffic, viz : Ambergate, Nottingham, and Boston—Coal, lime, grit stone Bridgewater and Minehead—Lime, slate, and copper ore Bradford, Manchester, and Liverpool—Building stone, coal, Stc. Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex—Chalk and chalk rag Colebrook, Swansea, and Lougher—Coal, copper, iron Cumberland Union—Coal, lead, slates, flagstone Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire--Coal, lead, iron, stone Dudley, Madeley, and Iron Bridge—lron Direct London and Holyhead—Silver, lead, copper, slate, stone Erewash Valley—Coal, ironstone, &c. Great Eastern and Western—lron, coal, anthracite, copper, lime; salt Great Welsh Central—lron, copper, silver, slate Huddersfield and East and West Coast—Coal, stone, lime stone Irish West Coast—Beautiful marbles, lead, iron, slate, and a hard close-grained gritty flagstone Isle of Man—Lead, copper, iron, lime, granite, marble, man ganese, pottery clay, /cc. Lincolnshire and Eastern Counties—Coal, from Yorkshire and Derbyshire Leicester and Birmingham—Coal, ironstone, manganese, granite, and lime Leicester, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and Stafford—Cannel coal, lead, iron, granite, limestone, slate Manchester, Buxton, and Matlock—Coal, lime, building . stone, marble, lead Nottingham, Ambergate, and Manchester—Coal, lime, grit stone, limestone [ Oxford and Worcester Extension—Coal, ironstone, limestone Rhondda and Ely Valleys—Coal, ironstone, limestone Shropshire and North Midland—Coal, lime, lead, zinc, iron, [ • marble, &e. Tean and Dove Valley—Coal, iron, lime Wear Deck and Railway—Coal 4~ +, YORK, Ocr. 24. STOCK EXCUANGE.—The sales are—Newcastle and Dar lington, New (Brandling), 50—North British (Carlisles), 3 3 % —Axholtne, 4%—Cambridge and Lincoln, s—Derby and Gainsborough, 2%—Grand Union, 2 1 ; .i—Leeds and Thirsk, 12—Leeds, York, and Midland, 4s. p.—Leicester and Bed ford, 2 1 4 —Liverpool, Manchester, and Newcastle Junction, 5 —London and York, 4 3 /—Newcastle and Berwick, 13%.__ Welsh Midlands, 27g. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. • BROAD AND NARROW GAUGE COMMISSION. The Commissioners have been considering the merits of the gauges during the last three days. Mr. S. Clarke, su -- perintendent of the traffic on the Great Western line, was asked by Sir Frederick Smith whether he had formed any opinion of the comparative merits of the broad and narrow gauges. Mr. Clarke replied that he had, and that it was in favour of the broad gauge. His reasons for forming that 2% opinion were the steadiness of the trains, diminution of the wear and tear, the strength of the carriages, the greater speed which is performed upon it, and at a less cost. The carriages on the broad gauge were heavier, and the motion in consequence steadier. Sir Frederick Smith inquired whether if the broad gauge were reduced to six feet six inches, any advantage would be lest, to which Mr. Clarke replied that the increase of safety was pro -- portioned to the increase of base within reaso n a ble limits. No difficulty was experienced in going round 85 curves. The great oscillation on the narrow gauge had a 4 % tendency to throw the carriages off the rail. A gauge of six feet six inches would answer every purpose for the present speed. The speed they aimed at was sixty miles an hour. •Mr. Gooch, being questioned, said a seven feet gauge was preferable to one of six feet six inches. No greater width of the pavement would be • required for safety. The .great superiority of the Great Western consisted in the con - struetion of the engines, and the poWer given to them by the driving-wheel. The gradients did not operate in their _ favour. They had worse gradients than on the narrow —. gauge. They bad more power concentrated in one engine with one driving-wheel. With a seven-feet wheel they would lose six miles an hour. The back pressure would be equal to 21 per cent. With a six-feet wheel it would be 25 per cent., with one of five feet six inches it would be 27 per cent., and with a five. feet wheel it would be 30 per cent. • They had also advantage from the larger size of the fire-hose in their engines. One square foot of arena in the fire .hose was equal to two feet cubic of evaporation in the boiler. They could not obtain a similar advantage on the narrow • gauge. They would not gain the same power to their engines. The larger the fire-box, as compared to the boiler, the greater was the power obtained. Professor Airey then entered into a long examination of the witness with re - ference to the ratio cf evaporation consequent on the larger size of the fire-box in the engines on the Great Western. The narrow gauge would gain an advantage by corrugating their fire-boxes. That would increase the power of their engines. They had, after much trouble, succeeded in getting plates corrugated fur the construe - tion of fire-boxes. It was very difficult to induce parties to undertake the manufacture of them, on account of the expense it would involve for the necessary machinery to effect it. Mr. Clarke's examination lasted the whole of one day, but nothing very material was elicited. Mr. C. A. Saunders, secretary of the Great Western Company, was -_-_- then examined. In answer to a question from Sir Fre derick Smith, whether it was contemplated from the -. beginning to form the seven-foot guage on that line, Mr. 23 % Saunders said it was not. The intention was not formed 16 until after the Act had been obtained. The company was projected in January, 1833 ; went before Parliament in 1834 for a line from London to Reading, and from Bath to Bristol. They applied for that limited length of line in consequence of difficulty in completing their subscriptions. It was thrown out in the Lords on the second reading. The opposition was a combined one ; they were opposed by the South Western, Etou College, and the canal owners. In the interval between 1831 and 1835 they completed their subscription. After a protracted contest they obtained their )7- Act for the whole line. In other cases the width of gauge was fixed by the Act of Incorporation. That clause was omitted in the Act of the Great Western. Could not say whether it was the first instance in which the clause fixing the gauge was omitted. Sir Frederick Smith—Do you know what objects Mr. Brunel had in adopting the broad gauge? Mr. Saunders—l do. They were in order to obtain - a greater power in lever-motion engines and greater speed; 2% to be enabled to place the wheels on the outside; to obtain greater strength in the construction of the engines, and to effect greater safety at a high speed, which Mr. Brunel looked forward to as an object to be accomplished. These were the main objects which he had in view. Sir Frederick Smith - Do you consider that these objects have been attained? Mr. Saunders—Yes. If the line was to be re-constructed, they would again adopt the broad gauge. It gave increased speed and safety in proportion to the increased weight required to be carried. 4% They would carry a greater weight at a greater speed than could be done on the narrow gauge. Sir Frederick Smith—Was there greater economy by adopting the broad gauge? Mr. Saunders—There was; he formed that opinion from an ex , amitiation of the returns made by other companies, and a close inspection of the accounts of the Great Western. The accounts were drawn out upon uniform principle, in order ' that the different companies might reciprocate informa tion, and therefore form a standard of comparison. Sir .Frederick Smith—Jll,r, Gooch, when examined, stated t-ErGd.rand Junction ; by one nd Gloucester; by four-tenths ' - thattwiiasithird d theless less .Frederick_ Smith— no o n f teh- eh traction aßl fs than Bristol • than the South-Western ; and by one-half than the London and Birmingham. Mr. Saunders—He had no reason to doubt the accuracy of that statement. There was in some - items, in the construction of the locomotives, an increased - cost; in others it was the same. In reply to further ques tions, he stated that the adoption of the broad gauge did not necessitate a greater width of way. They had none _ on the Great Western thirty feet. Sir Frederick Smith - Is the Great Western under an obligation to run a - narrow gauge from Oxford to Rugby? Mr. Saunders - There is a clause in the Act of Parliament which ren ders it obligatory, should ' the Board of Trade require it. Sir Frederick Smith -Assuming a narrow gauge line from ----- Rugby to Oxford? Mr. Saunders—There should be a change of carriages whenever there were converging lines, in any case. There could be no question about that, both on the score of economy and convenience. A change of carriages would promote greater speed and give greater cone - venience to the passengers ; and with regard to goods, the body of the carriages should be removed, as on the Paris and Orleans line. No greater delay would arise from adopting the loose hose system. Sir Fr ederick Smith—Can you'state what branch and extension lines the Great Western Corn - patty proposes to construct, in order to accommodate the public with the broad gauge? Mr. Saunders—He could; but lie should consider such communication private and con -- fidential. The information was-then communicated to the Commissioners privately. After some further examination 2% the Commission adjourned, and lit is un derstood that th ere will not be another meeting for some days. THE SOUTH AND MIDLANDS JUNCTION RAILWAY MEETING AT BAMPTON, OXON. On Wednesday afternoon a very numerous and highly re spectable, as well as influential, meeting of the landowners and residents in the town of Bampton and its neighbour hood was held in the Town-hall, at which Le Forrestier, Esq., presided, for the purpose of receiving and hearing from a deputation of the Committee of the South and Midlands Junction Railway Company, a full explanation B of ui t i h en e , m E er s i: of their project, especially in so far as it was proposed to benefit that town. Amongst those present were the Cha irman, Dr. Whittaker, F. Whittaker, Esq., G. Whittaker, Esq ., R —. Price, Esq., W. Bradshaw, Esq. , E. Wri ght , Esq., --- Cooper l _Esq., B. Holloway, Esq., F. Hunt, Esq., IL Turner, Esq., -11. Morris, Esq., G. Holloway, Esq., T. Holloway, Esq., James, Esq., 11PMurdie, Esq., Sic. The CIIAIRAIAN said that as the meeting were aware they had been called together to hear what effect the proposed South and Midlands Railway was likely to produce on their town—(Hear)--it was a most important project, as far as thetown of Bampton was concerned, because it would thrn open to its inhabitants a direct railway communication, amongst other towns, with Bristol, Bath, Poole, and South ampton on the one side, and Liverpool , Manchester, and Bir mingham on the other. Some gentlemen were in attendance from the Company, by whom an explanation would be given of the peculiar operation of the line ; but ere that was done, he should be happy to hear the opinion of any of his neigh bours as to the expediency of their having a railway to their town. Dr. WHITTAKER thereupon said he did not, in the present day, consider that it was necessary for him to point out to the meeting bow very beneficial a railway must be to any town to which it came.—(Hear.) This was quite clear, however, that as railways were becoming so general—indeed they were going over all parts of the country—it was absolutely neces sary that they should have one brought to their district, in order that they might participate in the advantages which all other towns possssed. That being so, he would move as a resolution, " That this meeting is of opinion that a rail way communication to Bampton will be productive of great advantage to the town and its neighbourhood."—( Hear.) Mr. G. HOLLOWAY, with much satisfaction, would second the proposition, which was then unanimously carried. Mr. WMURDIE said he had the honour to appear before the meeting as the representative of the South and Mid lands Junction Railway Company — the Company which proposed to bring a railway communication to Bampton and through its neighbourhood. Before, however, he en tered into a statement to show what would be the effect of the proposed line in reference to it, he should ex plain why it was that so few members of the deputation ap peared in that room on that occasion. It was no intended _disrespect that such : was the case.—( Hear.) A meeting o f the inhabitants of the town of Bicester, as they no doubt were aware, had been called for the 17th. At the last mo ment, however, the solicitor of the Company received a re quisition from some of the inhabitants,asking that the meeting might be postponed until the following day. The arrangements of the deputation would not admit of this, and therefore a reply was sent stating that fact, accompanied with an intimation that the meeting would be held on the 20th in stead of the 17th, to accommodate them. On that day, ac cordingly, the deputation arrived at Bicester, but nothing was done, because they found that on the 18th some parties who were connected with other Companies, finding that they were unable to carry resolutions in favour of their respective projects, had in the end induced the inhabitants to pass a re solution declaring that they would not entertain any of the projects which proposed to pass through their town until after the 30th of November, so that they might see which of the schemes were likely to go before Parliament, as by that period they must have deposited their maps and plans, &c.—(Hear, hear.) The majority of the deputation returned to London, whilst others remained and went over to Woodstock on the following day. The deputation now came to Bampton with the hope that they should obtain the ap proval and support of the inhabitants of that town.—(hear, hear.) Those gentlemen had already, by the resolution they had just. agreed to, declared in favour of a railroad being brought to their town, and it would therefore be for - him, on behalf of the Company, to explain how it was proposed, that a benefit should be bestowed upon all those connected with that district.—(Hear, hear.) They :.~:~.. three a 1. 7s t 9 ',1 The wi nr t r nuicio; sal. o° rick, .‘°t , 10 ;ley, 815 / 1 )0A' Cix WY" i - c , h° is JO r ist A., of l, 'ov • 0. room , I , ter e ~ v es 7 ' • O ftt tit IZe • ; : 11; s teo Coif hriste, /pa ;ertoo; b I 5 I 47i London and Windsor • • • • Condo, Salsbury, & Yeorl 3% Londonderry & Coleraine Lottd„nd en y & Enuiskilln Lynn and Ely • • • • • • • • • • • Lynn and Dereham .• •• . '! al a n c hester and Leeds • • - Ditto thin Shares • 4 Ditto Quarter Shares • . - Ditto Sixteenths ••• • • • - al:melts' r and Birkenhead - Mai ictiester &Birminglarn 81 Ditto .luarter Shares • 14% Ditto New Quarters 12 Do. Con. & Welsh June. - 11anchestr, Boltn, & Bury - Mitelistt, Buxtn, & Matlk 4p xl Han. Shef. and Mid. June. - Aancliestr & Southamptn Midland ..• • • • • • • • • • • • • • Ditto Fifths • • • • • • • • DLoNew .• • • • • • • • • • Do. Con. ilirm. & Derby Midlial (It Westrn (Irish) - Do. Extension to Sligo - NeiVeSil & Daringtnjune. 57 Do. New (Brandling).. 49 Newcastle and Berwick • • 16 Newcastle and Carlisle • • - Nwestle Durham, &. Lan. Newori & Abergavenny , :Cowry and Enniskillen • • Newark and Sheffield . • • Norti British • ..... Ditto New Shares . • • • Northern and Eastern • • Do. Scrip (iss. at 5 dis.) - Do. Quarter Shares • • - Not th levon . ••• Kent • • . . North Staffordshire •• • • 4%p 6% 6% North Eastern • • • • • • •• • - North Union (A). ...... . - 213 Ditto (B) . - North Wales Mineral..... Ditto New Shares • • - Not th Western ••• • • • North Wales ....... • • Norwich and Brandon Ditto New . • • Not., Belvoir, & Granthm Nottingham and Boston • • Not t., ET wsh. Val. &Man. Nottingham & Mansfield Oxford and Binning. June Oxford and Worcester • • Oxford and Cambridge • • Perth and Inverness • • • • Portsmouth Direct.. .... treston and Wyre Ditto Half Shares • • • • Do. Pref. 5 per Ct. Guar Do. Pref. 5 per Ct. & Preston & Wy re Extene. Richmond & W. End June Rugby and Huntingdon-. S'eottish Central • • • • • • • • Scottish alldland• • • • • • • Sheffield and Manchester - Ditto Quarter Shares - Ditto ditto (No. 2) - Ditto ditto (No. 3) .. - Sheffield and Lincoln.. • • - Sheffield and Rotherham - Shrewsbry& Grand June. - Shrewsh., Wor., & Crewe 1 Shrws - Sitrwshry & Trnt Val. Hu. % p Shrws, Ilerefd,& N. Wales - -- Slarnannan .• •••••• • • • • • - - Smith Devon .••••• • • • • • - - 1 - South Midland .• .. 3%p' 6%, 6 South Eastern and Dover 35 ill- Do. New (iss. 321.) No. 1)0. (i55.331.68.8d.).• 1)0. (iss. 301.) „ Staines and Richmond . • • Staffordshire &Shropshire Stirling and Dunfermline - South Wales •••••• • • • • • • 4%1 - Tenn and Dove Valley • • .2% 174 - Trent Valley .• •.• • • • 15% - 1 6 Do. and Holyhead June. lie -- 153 s 9 d Vale of Neath. •••• . • • - - - West London, Old Shares - - - West End & SothrnCoun. - - - Wexford attd Carlow .. • - - -- Warwick anti Cheltenham - - Waterford and Kilketuay - - Watrfd,Wxfd,Wick& Dub - - Wakefield and Bradford • • - - Walsfid,Penteiret, & Gool - - Wakefield and Harrogate -- - Warwick and London .•• - West Lancashire........ - Worcester and Tring.. • . - Wiliteharen :and Furness - Do. New Half Shares.. Wall. MID and West Cornwall.... , West Yorkshire • • • Wilsontwn, itt. & Coltness - Wilt 3, Somrst, & Weymth 514 - Wills, soul rst, & Southam 1% - Yarmouth and Norwich.. - Ditto New. • • .• York and Carlisle .. ••• • • - 31 York and North Midland 109 Ditto half Shares .. • • 53 - Ditto S'ear:bro t Branch 55 - DULA' ' .•• • • • 80 - Ditto 7 ntention ••• • .. 2634 , - y or kst, , ,, 0 ..S;(11;gow Hen. - 71' 4 1 1145 .. I 64 12 14153 d 8% 4%1 4%1 4% 48s 67 167 Oil 23%1 4% V4l - 4% : - SN 4 3% 4 _ - 5 -4% - 1 :;1 8 1-,,„„ i% 2 14 l 2 12 - 8%1 9% b 2 ll 3 - 13d - - 4 . 6% 5Fs 5 p i 4 pl ,%1 I'p 51% 2%p 31A1 3%1 3% EXETER, Ocr. 24. STOCK EKCTIANGE.—The sales are—Exeter, Yeovil, and Dorchester, % p.-44xeter, Topsham, and Famouth (Head's 351 i 2 %i 2 38 - 4% - - - 14 14 23% - URNS. 2UI - 5 !;; 17s6dp 1 - 20s pi 9s p South-llid!and—Fr)duce of great Welsh ironworks, 1 RAIL &c. Midland—Coal, lime, iron, copper, tin, zinc, &c. It is rumoured that the Banks of England and France are about to make arrangements fur the reciprocal remittance of railway deposits, so as to obviat e derangements in the currency. On Friday a deputation of bankers waited on the Chancel lor cf the Exchequer to know whether he would take stock wi in Exchequer-bills for the railway deposite. enc Arrangements, we understand, have been made for the amalgamation of the Brighton and Croydon lines. A communication, amongst other rumours, has reached us to the effect that Mr. Hudson is to join the Birmingham and ort Boston, and that Mr. Gl3 n is to be the Chairman. The Tring, Reading, and Reigate line proposes to form a triangular route, and to establish a triple terminus, by adopt ing the Birmingham Railway for its northern, the Great and South-Westerns for its western, and the Dover and Brighton for its southern extremities. We learn from the Railway Telegraph that at a meeting of the Directors of the Eastern Counties Company, on Tues day, Mr. Bagshaw in the chair, a resolution of thanks was passed to Mr. Bosanquet, the late Chairman, for the manner in which he had presided over the Company's affairs for the last ten years, requesting bite, at the same time, to retain his free pass-ticket over the railway and its branches. At a meeting of the Kendal and Windermere, on Wednes day_, it was agreed to lay down a double line of rails. DIRECT LONDON AID M.ANCIIESTER LINES.—The amal gamation between the two companies (Rastrick's and Re mington's) has been finally concluded. Yesterday the two engineers met the Directors at the:offices in Moorgate-street, and gave the board the assurance that the survey of the line from London to Manchester was completed, and ready for Parliament. GREAT WESTERN. The Directors have given notice that they have entered into the agreement recently pub lished, fur the permanent possession of the Bristol and Exeter Railway, subjected to a fixed rent-charge, for the express purpose of promoting, with perfect fairness to that Company and a due regard to the interest of all parties, the very best direct line, on a continuous broad gauge, from the south-western ports of Cornwall and Devonshire, through Exeter, to the metropolis, thus affording comprehensive com munication in the district between Yeovil, Bridport, and Exeter, recognised by Parliament in last session. The Di rectors will recollect, that at the forthcoming special meeting the undertaking and extension of their own line from Hunger ford, through the Pewsey Valley, to Westbury, with abranch to Malvern, will be considered. By a change in the direc tion of the Wilts and Weymouth line, between Westbury and Frome, the main western traffic, direct from London, will reach Yeovil within a distance of 126 miles, of which 91 miles of railway have been either constructed, or already sanctioned by Parliament. A new Company will be formed for a line between Yeovil, Bridport, and Exeter, by an asso ciation of residents and landowners, with guarantee and prospective increase of dividend. The surveys are said to be in progress, together with the necessary applications for the coming session. RAILWAY TBAFFIC.—The following are the Total Receipts of Rail ways for the past week—that is to say, up to the date to which the respective returns are made, together with the receipts of the same week in the previous year : Last week. 1, 2.84 231.1 obn Da 824 13,837 SCOTCH LINES. CYDESDALE JUNCTION RAILWAY.--An extraordinary meet ing of the shareholders of this company was held at the Black Bull, Hotel, Glasgow, on Tuesday evening ; James Dunlop, Esq., of Glyde Ironworks, and chairman of the corm. pany, in the chair.. The following report by the directors was then read by the secretary : " The directors have called this general meeting of the shareholders fort he purpose of submitting to their approval an arrangement which has been entered into with the di• rectors of the Cal edonian Railway. " That arrang, anent is embodied in the minutes of this hoard of the 24th and 25th ult., which arc now laid before the meeting ; and the following is an abstract of the terms : "1. That the stock of the Clydesdale Junctign Railway Company (includisig the 120,0001. of stock agreed to be given for the Poiloc atirl Govan Railway) shall be immediately amalgamated wit h the stock of the Caledonian Railway Com pany at par. "2. That the holders of the" Clydesdale Junction stock shall be guaranttted a minimum dividend of 6 per cent. p annum thereon, payable half-yearly, from the date of th opening of their line. "3. That they: shall likewise participate share for share with the holders. of the Caledonian stock in the profits of the united company, so far as these may exceed the above per centage on united' stock. " The directors; feel no doubt that the above arrangement will meet with the cordial approbation of the shareholders. They are satisfied. that it is greatly for the advantage of both companies. To the Caledonian Company it secures con nexions with the various Renfrewshire and Ayrshire rail ways and the hrtrbour. or Glasgow, and also the means of obtaining a pass( anger station in the centre of that city worthy of so important a line; and to the Clydesdale Company it ensures a large fixed return upon their capital, commencing from the moment their line is completed, with a participation in all the additional profits and other advantages which may be expected from such an alliance ; among these the directors may refer to the new stock about to be issued by the Cale donian company for carrying out the various extensions, branches, and st ations, acquired and projected by them. " The sharehotders in the Clydesdale Company will be en titled to an equal allotment of that new stock, which it is understood will be issued in the proportion of one share of 25/. to each origin al share of 50/. " The directors have taken the opportunity of the present meeting to request the shareholders to fix their remuneration, and that of the auditors, and secretary, and treasurer of the company, until the act of amalgamation be obtained." R. JAMIESON, Esq., of Newferry, Cheshire, asked if there was any fixed time hen the railway was to be completed? The CHAIRMAN said it was proposed to open it in two years from the time they took possession of the ground, and he was not aware of anything to prevent this being accomplished. DAVID SANDEMAN, Esq., of Kirkwood, then moved that the meeting approve of the report, confirm the arrangement therein referred to, and authorise the directors to concur with the Caledonian Railway Company in applying to Parliament for an Act to carry it into effect. G. KIDSTON, Esq., merchant, Glasgow, having seconded the resolution, it was carried by acclamation. ROBERT JAMIESON, Esq., then moved that the following sums be placed at the disposal of the directors :—viz., 500/. for the remuneration of the provisional committee, 750/. for the remuneration of the directors for the current year, 50/ for the auditors, and 4001. for the salary of the secretary and treasurer during the same period. J. MACDONALD, Esq., seconded this resolution, which was carried nem. con. Mr. Lt liEsor then asked when it was proposed that the new stock should be allocated ? The CHAIRMAN said he believed it would be immediately. The Caledonian Company would meet upon Nov. 5, to allo cate mem Lie w stuck. A vote of thanks to the Chairman was then proposed by W. DixoN, Esq., and carried unanimously, after which the meeting separated. STATISTICS OF GERMAN LINES. TRAFFIC FOR AUGUST, 1845. Luiz AND BERDEREIS. -Passengers, 3,129; goods 65,970 cwt. ; receipts, 28,22611. Corresponding month, 1844, 25,0671 Length 85 miles. Linz AND GmminEN.-Passengers, 22,003 ; goods 81,000 cwt. ; receipts, 28,47911. Corresponding month, 1844, 26,73211. Length 45 miles. KAISER FERDINAND'S NORTH LINE.-Passengers, 71,133 ; goods, 193,751 cwt. ; receipts, 174,4341 Corresponding month, 1844, 156,12111. Length 210 miles. A BRUIN (BRANCH To). -Passengers, 35,879 ; goods, 180,513 cwt. ; receipts, 158,6098. Corresponding month, 1844, 139,72711. Length 195 miles. b STOCKERAN (BRANCH TO). -Passengers, 35,254; goods, 13,238 cwt. ; receipts, 15,724f1. Corresponding mouth, 1844, 16,39411. Length 12 miles. VIENNA AND GLOYNITZ.-Passengers, 172,600 ; goods, 144,634 cwt. • receipts, 132,6008 . Corresponding month 1844, 125,0141 Length 50 miles. AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT LINES.-No returns published. BAVARIAN GOVERNMENT LINES.-Passengers, 66,993; goods, 58,000 cwt. ; receipts, 59,376 Rhen. flor. Correspond ing month 1844. line not opened. Length, 106 miles. a MUNICH AND AUGSBURG.-Passengers, 28,734; goods, 36,000 cwt. ; receipts, 31,558 Rhen. flor. Corresponding month 1844, 30,555 Rhen. flor. Length, 41 miles. b AUGSBURG AND DONAUWOERTIL-Passengers, 111,199 ; Foods, 13,000 cwt. ; receipts, 9,072 Rhen. flor. Correspond ing month 1844, not opened. Length, 26 miles. C NURNBERG AND BANSBERG.-Passengers, 27,420 ; goods, 9,000 cwt. ; receipts, 18,744 Rhen. flor. Corresponding month 1844, not opened. Length, 39 miles. NURNBERG AND Funm.-Passengers, 45,770 ; goods, 228 cwt. ; 1 receipts, 4,979 Rhen. flor. Corresponding month 1844, 5,226 Rhen. flor. Length, 4-Imiles. TAutius.-Passengers, 107,538 ; goods, not known ; receipts, 71,383 Rhen. flor. Corresponding month 1844, 62,236 Rhen. flor. Length, 27 miles. B ADEN .-Passengers, 258 , 874 ; goods, 118,896 cwt. ; re ceipts, 223,241 Mien. for. Corresponding month, 1844, 123,242 Rhen. length, 182 miles. HAMBURG AND B E RGEDORF.-Passengers, 25,653 1 ,!, goods ; 1,270 cwt. ; re cei p ts, 12,392 mark cour. Corres p ondin g month, 1844, 9,286 m. c. ; length 11 miles. ALTONA AND KIEL.-Passengers, 37,004 ; goods, 130,922 cw t. ; receipts, 73,560 m. c. Corresponding month, 1844 (not opened) ; length 70 miles. GLUCKSTADT AND ELMSHORN.-Passengers, 6,422 ; goods, 900 cwt. ; receipts, 4,000 m. c. Corresponding month, 1844, (not opened) ; length 15 miles. RENDSBURG AND NEUM.UNSTER.-Opened on the 18th of Seplember ; length 25 miles. BERLIN AND AsuALT.-Passengers 37,597 ; goods, 41,753 cwt ; receipts 64,837 thalers. dorresponding month in 1844 ; 64,267 thalers, length, 102 miles. BERLIN AND FRANKFORT.-Passengers, 25,066 ; goods, 10,770 cwt. ' • receipts, 19,821 thalers ;Corresp ondin g month, 1814, 19,285 thalers ; length, 53 miles. BERLIN AND POTSDAM.-Passengers, 45,439 ; goods, not known ; receipts, 19,173 thalers. Corresponding month in 1844, 17,957 thalers ; length, 17 miles. BERLIN AND STETTIN.-Passengers, 32,279; goods, 61,1412 cwt. ; receipts, 45,114 thalers. Corresponding month in 1834, 40,679 thales ; length, 90 miles. UPPER SILESIA.-Passenge rs, 25,849 ; goods, 31,745 cwt. • receipts, 15,965 thalers. Corres p onding month in 1844, 14,654 thalers; length, 53 miles. BriEsrAw, SCHWERDT, AND -PnEmuno.-Passengers, 36,311; goods , 95,133 cwt.; receipts , 25,739 thalers. Cor responding month in 1844, 21,150 thalers; length, 42% miles. LoWER SiLESIA.-Passengers, 20,930 ; goods, .1,275 cwt. ; receipts 11,257 talers. Corresponding month in 1844 (not g opened); len th, h 41 miles. SAXON BAVARIAN LINE.-Passengers, 18,757 ; goods, 36,077 cwt. • receipts, 15,952 th. Correspondingmonth, 1844, 13,959 th ; length. 45 miles. LEIPZIG AND DRESDEN.-Passengers, 56,876 ; goods, 92,643 cwt. ; receipts, 62,906 th. Corresponding month 1844: 57,600 th. Length, 71 miles. MADGEBURG AND LEIPZIG.-Passengers, 72,429; goods, 10,1191 cwt. ; receipts, 66,064 th. Corresponding month 1844, 63,045 th. Length, 80 miles. MADGEBURG AND HALBERSTADT..-(NO returns published.) BRUNSWICK.-Passengers, 67,509 ; goods, 112,748 cwt. ; receipts, 30,791 th. Corresponding month 1844: 25,687 th. Length, 45 miles. lIANOVER.-Passengers, 24,349; goods, 32,678; receipts, 15,904 th. Corresponding month 1844: 13,951 th. Length, 41 miles. DUSSELDORF AND ELBERFIELD.-Passengers, 40,548 ; goods, 1,110,42%cwt. ; receipts, 29,462 th. Corresponding month 1844, 47,818 th. Length, 17% miles. RHENISH LINE. -Passengers, 56,608 ; goods, 261,967 cwt. ; receipts, ;73,616th. Corresponding month, 1844, 672-46th. Length, 67 miles. Born , / AND COLOGNE.-Passengers, 90 , 243 ; goods, 1,348 cwt. •, receipts, 19,098 th. Corresponding mouth, 1844: 10,709 th. Length, 18 miles. Total number of passengers in Aug., 1845. 1,477,909 ; goods, 1,455,617 ; receipts in Rhen. flor., 1,755,639. Total number of passengers in Aug. 1844, 1,183,553 ; goods, 1,242,058 ; receipts in Rhen. flor., 1,444,989. Increase over the year, 1844 : passengers , 284,336 ; goods, 213,558 ; receipts then. flor. 310,649. DEATH OF W. F. BOTTLER, ESQ., THE COMMIS SIONER OF BArmnurrs.—Yesterday the bell of Lincoln's Inn was told, on information received from Leeds of the death of Mr. Boteler, one of the benchers, who died from the injuries received in the late accident on the Midland Railway. Mr. Boteler was a conuuissiones of bankrupts for the Leeds Ing I NAME OF RAILWAY. 18 Arbroath and Forfar Bristol and Birmingham . 17 Chester and Birkenhead 16 Dublin and Drogheda.. ............ 21 Dublin and Kingstown • • 19 Dundee and Arbroath .•• • • • 18 Durham and Sunderland... • .... 18 Edinburgh and Glasgow .• • • • • 19 Eastern Counties and North Eastern 18 Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ayr • . 18 Glasgow and Greenock - 17 Grand Junction 18 Gravesend and R0che5ter............ Great North of England ............ 19 Great Western. •••• •• • ..... •••• •• • • Hall and Selby • • Liverpool and Manchester •• 18 London and Birmingham . •• • 19 London and Blackwell ...... •••• • • •• 18 London and Brighton. •••••••• • • • • • • 21 London and Croydon .•••••••• • • • • • • London and Greenwich .•••••• • • • • • • 18 London and South Western. ••.•• • • • 19 Manchester, Bolton, and Bury •.• • • • 17 Manchester and Birmingham.. • . 18 Manchester, Leeds, and Hull Assoc•• 18 Midland Counties. •••••••••• • • • • • • • • 18 Newcastle and Darlington ••••• • • • • • 18 Newcastle and Carlisle.•. • • 19 Newcastle and North 5hie1d5........ 17 North Union and Bolton and Preston 20 Paris, Corbeil, and 0r1ean5.......... 20 Paris and Rouen 1s Preston and Wyre••••• 18 Sheffield and Manche5ter............ 18 South Eastern...... ...... .......... 18 Taff Vale Ulster . ... ....... ..... ..... Yarmouth and Norwich 18 York and North Midland 810 3,310 7,251 1,988 831 15,377 206 20,137 22,635 933 5,666 1,627 7,266 5,M2 MIDLAND GR AND JUNCTI 908 2,209 4,692 1,470 17,151 16,983 Sl3 5,174 1,525 6,869 919 3,489 5,962 15,798 1,C69 1,774 176 1,526 6,261 5,557 223 868 5,178 773 627 4,746 RAILWAY. A meeting of the Provisional Committee of this Com pany was held yesterday, at the London Coffee-house, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, which was very nume rously attended by gentlemen from several and different parts of England, all of whom seemed to vie with each other in their zeal in the project, and the proceedings throughout were of a most animated character. Wm. Melville Lomas, Esq, of Liverpool, was unani mously called to the chair; after which Wm. Burdett, Esq., one of the solicitors of the Company, opened the ousiness by detailing the proceedings which had taken place up to the present moment, in pursuance of the :arrying out of the undertaking from its first introduc tion to the public. The usual routine resolutions, all of which were una aimously agreed to, were moved and seconded by R. A. Riddell, Esq., John Holmes, Esq., William Yeily, Esq., New ton Crouch, Esq., J. Mannering, Esq., Capt. Twisie ton Graves, James Tracey, Esq., William Garrow, S. R. Riddell, Esq , and Robert Causton, Esq. William Burdett, Esq., Messrs. Elmalie and Preston, and J. E. Bales, Esq., are appointed solicitors to this Company • J. U. Rastrick, Esq., consulting engi leer ; and Oliver Byrne and A. B. Clayton, Esqs., acting engineers. On the motion of W. Garrow, Esq., icconded by Newton Crouch, Esq., N. J. Kempe, Esq., was proposed as secretary, on which the Chairman and several other members of the Committee bore very fiat ',ering testimony to the abilities and general eligibility of Mr. Kempe. He was unanimously elected to the office, Ind on the Chairman announcing his appointment, he very appropriately expressed his acknowledgment. For the information of the Company, the engineers presented the following report : " To the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Midland Grand Junction Railway. _ _ . . ''Gentlemen,—As a preliminary observation, we may state that the progress of the surveys are such as to ensure beyond all doubt, in ample time, a compliance with the requirements of Parliament. " The terminus of the railway will be on the west of the Great Western station at Reading, and will cross the Thames on the bridge by the Henley-road, passing along a perfectly dat country, to within one mile and a half from Henley, whence it will proceed between the hills at Druids' Temple, (the Thames at these points being about 150 feet bread). The line will then go near or through Great Marlow, and between High and West Wycombe, describing a segment of a circle with a radius of four miles. " From West,Wycombe to Aylesbury the line is direct, and the country flat. To the distance of about five miles beyond Aylesbury, the course is through a valley in a direct line, or nearly a dead level. "An opening then presents itself between the Quainton and Pitchcot-hills, where a slight cutting will be found necessary to enter into a level and continuous valley, through which it is proposed to lay the rail, cutting the base of Zion house-hill and Claydon-hills to the east of Padbury, from thence passing the Rivet Ouse to a proposed station within a quarter of a mile of Buckingham. From Buckingham it is proposed to pass through Whittlewood Forest in a straight line, the country here being highly favourable. After passing the forest, the country through which the line is pro.- posed to be carried is in some degree interspersed with hills, the valleys of which, however, with the assistance of slight cuttings, may be made to connect so as to form a continuous and easy line, until it connects itself with the London and Birmingham Railway at the station at Blisworth, where there is at present a branch line, about four miles long, into Northampton, which continues on to Peterborough. Here will be the terminus of the projected line of the Midland Grand Junction, and we cannot conclude our report without observing that we have seldom witnessed a railway present ing, from one end to the other, fewer difficulties in the con struction of it. " We are, Gentlemen, your very obedient servants, " OLIVER BYRNE,I E • Acting Engineers." " A. B. CLAYTON, .1 A long and animated discussion ensued respecting the constitution of the Committee of Management, when the following gentlemen were unanimously chosen, viz.:— William Bradley, Esq. John Holmes, Esq. C. Byrom, Esq. W. Kempe, Esq. IVni. Byrom, Esq. J. C. li'.ngston, Esq. %V. Caldwell, Esq. W. M. Lomas, Esq. 3. S. Fowler, Esq. R. A. Riddell, Esq. Thos. Wynne_, Esq. H. Taylor, Esq. W. Garrow, Esq. Richard Deily, Esq. Captain Twisleton Graves A. M. M•Muran, Esq. JOHN HOLMES, Esq., suggested that, in order to faci litate the business of the Company, two Vice-Chairmen should be appointed to assist the Chairman, which was agreed to. After some conversation, the Committee resolved to defer the appointment of the Chairman and the Vice- Chairman for the south. W. Melville Lomas, Esq., was unanimously elected Vice-Chairman of the Company, for the purpose of pre siding over the business of the northern districts. After a vote of thanks to the Chairman, the proceed ings, which were characterised throughout by great irit and unanimity, then terminated. 'THE EXETER, DORC HESTER, AND WEYMOUTH JUNCTION COAST RAILWAY, AND THE BRIDPORT AND EXETER RAIL. WAY. TO TIIE EDITOR OF THE DORSET COUNTY CIIRONICLE, AND SOMERSETSIIIRE GAZETTE. Sir,—ln troubling you with a few remarks on these two projected lines of railway, I think I ought to state that lam a large shareholder in the Exeter, Dorchester, and Wey mouth, and that I am a considerable landowner in Dor setshire. In Treictnan's Exeter Flying Post, of Thursday last, is contained a statement that the Bridport and Exeter line " is intended to complete the only link required in the great line of railway on the southern coast." If such is the intention of the promoters of that scheme, it is quite clear that it can never be realised, because the present termini of the Brid port and Exeter line is at those two places only, leaving a country of twenty-two miles on the coast between Bridport and Weymouth, and sixteen between Bridport and Dorches ter (the terminus of the Southampton coast line), and surely this is a link which will require to be filled up, and a most important one. That the public may not be misled, I think it my duty, Sir, through the columns of your widely-circulated paper, to state that the termini of the Exeter, Dorchester, and Wey mouth Railway will be at Exeter, Dorche i ster, and Wey. mouth ; and at the two latter very importtint towns, it will join the coast line from Southampton, and therefore this line will, in fact, " complete the only link required on the southern coast." It is not reasonable to expect that the promoters of any scheme ( whether a complete or a very incomplete one) will misrepre sent it, but to call a line of railway commencing at Bridport, and terminating at Exeter, a coast line, or to say it is tended to complete the line on the southern coast, whilst leaving a distance of twenty miles and more between Brid port and Weymouth and Dorchester, is advancing what very few persons will believe, although repeated In the Exeter Flying Post, or any other flying post, every day in the year. Facts are stubborn things, Sir, especially when connected with projected railways. I became a shareholder, Sir, in the Exeter, Dorchester, and Weymouth Railway for several reasons :—First, because that line will, in fact, complete the line of railways on the southern coast by k junction with the Southampton line at Dorchester and Weymouth ; secondly, because in its route it will in clude the two impoitant towns of Dorchester and Weymouth, as well as Bridport, Charmouth, Lyme Colyton, Axmouth, Sidmouth, Exmouth, and all other places on the coast to Exeter; and thirdly, because I am strongly of opinion that neither Government nor any Parliamentary Committee will be induced to adopt or countenance a line springing up about midway, and traversing part Only of an integral line, to ratify the inhabitants of a particular locality with whom it may have originated, and whether I am nght in this belief re mains to be seen as to the towns of Iloniton and Axminster, where the Bridport and Exeter proposes to run by two branch lines. These places are far away from the coast, and will shortly be reached by a direct line through those parts of Dorset and Devon. If you will find a corner for these remarks in your valuable' columns, your will greatly oblige, Sir A DORSETSHIRE LANDOWNER. London, October 20, 1845. P.S. I am just informed that the promoters of the Bridport and Exeter contemplate a landslip at Bridport, whereby that :own may some morning be discovered very near Weymouth. 4. - :c".-7" - -: - ............, 24 -4 , * .---i ~..s.;: 4 , vi.r. -\:4-----i:5--° CHATHAM, OCT. 24.—The Meander, 46 guns, in dock, fitting for commission, has had the whole of the copper taken off her bottom, and has been recaulked and coppered, and is now ready for the pendant. The Retribution steam frigate, Captain S. Lushington, has got her lower rigging over the masts-heads, and is fast progressing in her equipment for sea. Several hands from the dock-yard have entered for her. Lieutenant Hail, and a party of Marine Artillery, con. sistimi of about thirteen men from Portsmouth., are expected vveNusrszpeo l se a .E nd x a c ia:a c p o irt t y of Royal Marines, consisting guns, and the Eurotus, 42, are eighteen TheH m a r n , e w , w ill join join this frigate in the course of a f f foo o efrw r Ttthai days. this Bt about ordered to be fitted with screw-propellers for steam guard. ships for the protection of the River Medway : the former vessel is to be sent to the River Thames to be fitted by con tract ; the latter ship will be fitted at this yard, and will be immediately taken in hand, and shipwrights are to be hired OiTiCze.--Yesterday the new Exchequer officevin Stone-buildings, were opened for the first time since their erection. The masters of the Ex chequer assembled, and:socane of the other officers transacted business. The whole:4 'p establishment will not be pos - OVINd of the yerioutot es until Saturday. ..:, " ; Sr" t ii• Aleg e; od the 3 •3ins- tiC l IAY Itf r. ItS 10 p he: tor,' I