The Sun. — London, England, 1847-05-15 00:00:00

RAILWAY COMMITTEES, HOUSE OF COMMON S.-(YESTERDAY.) GROUP VI. WILTS, SOMERSZT, AND WEYMOUTH ANIZNDMENT (NO. XI.) The Committee announced at the commencement of the proceedings that they regretted to have to state that they had received a note from Mr. Deedes (the chairman of the Committee), containing also the certificate of his medical adviser, that he was completely incapacitated from attending the Committee to-day, but hoped to be able to do so on Monday next. Mr. Round presided in the absence of the llonourable Member. The first witness called was Mr. Maitland, late surveyor of the Shepton Mallet turnpike roads. llis evidence went to show the importance of the town of Shepton Mallet, and the advantages to be derived from a railway communicating with that town. Mr. Spencer, brewer, of Shepton Mallet, gave evidence of a similar character as to the importance of the town of Shep ton Mallet. Mr. Paul, farmer, near Sherborne, Mr. Saxen, farmer, of Bruton, Mr. Clarke, chairman to the board of guardians at Wincanton, gave evidence in favour of the line. The Committee then adjourned till Monday next. GROUP XV. TU EASTERN COUNTIES (CAMBRIDGE, ROYSTON, AND NV &C.) (Continued from ~ur Afternoon Edition of ye6terday.) Mr. Borthwick, C.E., was then examined in support of the Bill. The Committee adjourned at four o'clock. GROUP XVII. (Continued from on; Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) GRZIAT TeOltakl 3 Cß N ( D EVIATIONS FROM LONDON TO GRANTHAM). Mr. Packe, the Deputy-Chairman of the Company, and Mr. Charles Miller, ex-Mayor of Grantham, were also ex anined in favour of the line. 'This closed the case of the promoters; when that for the opposition was proceeded with. Mr. Welby, M. P. for Grantham, was then examined, and gave evidence as to the injury which would be caused to Mr. Oastler's house by the proposed deviation. Mr. Wood, the architect who built the house and Mr. . ler's agent, confirmed this evidence. lipe Committee then adjo u rn e d till t we l ve o ' c l oc k on ouday. GROUP XVIII. The Committee met this morning at twelve o'clock—the Earl of Lincoln in the chair—when Mr. TALBOT replied on behalf of the Great Western Corn• pany, and, after clearing away all the erroneous suppositions, that he or his clients intend any the slightest disrespect to the inhabitants of Cheltenham, proceeded to say that he be lieved that they were fully entitled to have all their com plaints freely end thoroughly investigated. The view which he bad always taken was that a priori, most astounding, that, in this happy country, which had been the parent of such eminent engineering skill, there should be found such a case of difficulty in Cheltenham, that men like Mr. Brunel, who possessed not only a European but an Asiatic reputa tion, were unable to grapple with it. As an Englishman, he must say that it would to him be a matter of affliction if any such insurmountable obstacle co uld exist. Here there had been not only the talents of Mr. Brunel, but of Mr. Cubit Sir J. Rennie, Mr. Simpson, 'and Mr. Hawkshaw applied to investigate the causes of this difficulty, and to ascertain the best means of surmounting it. But the doubt which he entertained, if he entertained it at all, was al together removed when he remembered that, peculiar as the soil of Cheltenham might be—and peculiar it certainly was— the very same difficulty had been overcome by Mr. Stephen son in his works on the North-Western Railway at Camden town. He was free to confess, in his opening speech to the Conrmittee, now about I._moritll ago, he had been somewhat rash, for he had mixed liffself anti Mr. Brunel up with things which were different from each other in their character, and had stated, am, indeed, he must state now, namely, that the passage through Cheltenham was, and was intended to he, neither more nor less than a common railway cutting; and if there was a difficulty at all from the pressure of the water, it surely would be ascertained by the present condi tion of the sewer that had been firmed by the construction of the Gloucester Railway. They had proved the level of the sewers; they had called Mr. Paul, who had been the sur veyor of the sewers, as well as several other witnesses, and those witnesses had proved that the level of the sewer was precisely the same in 1846 as it was in 1845, and that in 1845 it was precisely the same as it was in the year 1836. It was true that there had been some evidence which proved that the height of the water in the wells had been altered. But was it likely to be oth , t vie , when, during the last few years, there had been a population growing up cf tens of thousands, and when every man who sank his well lower than his neighbour, robbed him of the quantity of water that he had previously enjoyed? Why, there was pre cisely a sirpilar case going on in another room, where the Liverpool corporation had shown that they had become alarmed by the abstraction of their usual supply of water, and they had sunk a well down into the sandstone, and had succeeded in draining the Springs for three thousand b feet on each side of it. A n d a ll t h e witnesses who had ad duced from Cheltenham h a d eac h stated that when they een sunk their well lower, th e y h a d each recovet-ed had tle water that had been abstrac t ed by t h e formation of thel sewer. Further than this, it had been put in evidence b 3 Mr. Dawke, that only at a distance of 374 yards fr om the Gloucester Railway, the water absolutely stood higher in the sand than it did in the cutting of the line; and every engi neer who had been called on the other side had all, without a single exception, repudiated every notion that the water would be permanently abstracted. Mr. Wood, Mr. Locke, Mr. Leather, and Mr. Gibbs, had all said that, although the work would be diflieu't and expen sive, yet, atter all, the water would not be permanently, even if it were temporarily, abstracted ; end even Mr. Stephenson himself had allow e d th a t the level of the water would not be permanently altered. In truth, it was the wit nesses for the Great Western project who had stalest most strongly the difficulties which would have to be encountered. Mr. Brunel's plan was to pump out the water from the exca vation by small portions at a time, so that the in stance which bad been adduced by Mr. Stephenson of the pressure of forty feet at the iiileby tunnel was not a case at all in point, and he must charge that gentleman with something like disingenuousness in making such a charge. It had been assertj z from the letter of Mr. Close, that the water had been reduced eight feet in the line of its level, but on cross-examination that gentleman had ad mitted that his letter was awkwardly expressed, and that a usual reader might have so understood him, but that in reality it was not so. This was his answer to the Cheltenham case, and he firmly believed that if the respectable inhabitants of that place heard such eminent men as Mr. Locke and Mr. Gibbs state that it was merely a matter of expense to the company, the whole of their opposition would be immediately with drawn. Then, as to that great objection respecting the station at Chekenham, it had been shown that the flow there was upwards instead of downwards; and even if there were, as was represented, a pressure at that point of 5 feet 9 inches, a flooring of 2 feet iechea would be amply sufficient. And with respect to the assertion that the water could never pass under the railway in the way which was supposed, Sir. Stephenson himself had allowed, that even if the piling did prevent its crossing at one particular phase, it would follow the bend of the work and ultimately find its way after the same course. Then as to the attack en the estimates, an attack which he had hoped never to see, sail which of all. thinga he least expected from a company of such railway experience as the North-Western, be would show that it was utterly groundless and insufficient for its object. The works had been estimated at 60,000 L, and the land at 85,0001. ; but Mr. Haynes and Mr. Dawke had together made out that those were quite insufficient, and that they ought for all these purposes to be at least 287,0001.; but evon Mr. Stephenson himself had not ventured to attack these calcu lations ; and even it the allegations of excess were correct, if it was true that the works would cost 90,000/. more than they had been estimated, there was still an ample supply in the million which Mr. Brunel had taken as the capital for the line, for out of it there were 20C,000/. for Which no occupation had been provided. He had made these remarks, because he really expected that the main ground of objection would be the abstraction of the water. As to the assertion that there would be great injury to the house property in Chel tenham, Mr. Brunel had shown that there were only six houses which would in any way be affected, at least injuri ously, in the whole of the town, and with the present mania for central stations, it was impossible to prevent some injury; but, taking the main case which had been brought forward— he meant that of the Wesleyan chapel and the place of worship used by the followers ofLadynuntingden,—he thought the Committee would not consider it to be of much import ance, when they recollected that since the construction of the line, a goegeous ecclesiastical edifice had been erected within fifty-five yards of the Great Western Railway. This, he be lieved, would close all that he had to say respecting the Cheltenham case, and he would now proceed to unfold the second volume of this same work, of which one was quite sufficient, and to enter upon what he believed to be the teal merits of the case. He was not blind to what was passing around him, and allowing for them all the importance of the representations in the fourth estate of the realm; and acceding at once to the assertions of the difficulty of raising capital at the present time, he would at the same time express his conviction that it was in no way applicable to the opposition of the North-Western Company ; for if it were applicable to all, it was equally applicable to both companies, and was easily to be met by the insertion of a clause giving a power to construct the line in rive or six years instead of three. lie trusted, therefore, that the Committee would at once come to a decision upon the matter. There must be railway communication to Cheltenham. That was a matter upon which no one could entertain a doubt, and that being the case, the only question was by whom it should be made. There had already been ten years of litigation, and a very expensive litigation it had been. Then, on what principles were they to decide? Mr. Hildyard had, in the first blow which he levelled, opened the whole subject of which gauge was to be preferred. The Great Western Company had already a line from Fish guerd, through South Wales, and had indeed opened up the the whole of the c oun t ry to t hi s di str i ct, w i t h a v i ew t o s horten distance between Ireland and the metropolis; and if the Bill of that compan y w ere to be granted, there would be an unbroken and co ntinuous communication all the way ; whereas, if they int , n)oaeci the narrow gauge, if they did break the communication, they would at least very seriously cripple it. That this was aquestion of i mmense i mpor t ance to the Forest of Dean there could a he n o d ou b t , f or if t hi s break of gauge w ere allowed, traffic mu s t o f necess i ty be cut off; and that coal which pocket of the purchaser at Chelte . n ir r a pound from the n un, ought, according to the representations of their P w t ments, to be cold at Ms. 2d. a ton. On the narrPo already access to the Derbyshir e and Leicester ge •there wa s c,oarfilatirrelod‘s; a nd only allow the Staffordshire coal to come gauge, and they would at once insulate the Forest th o coal as much as if there was no railway in t h e e " - e , an h bourhood at all. But allow the preamble of the w i lj l , ii' n q make a broad gauge line from the west, and the Committee would give, not only in Cheltenham, but in Oxford also, a fair competition for the coals of the different districts. The Learned Counsel then went on to discuss the legal e ff ect of the report of the Boa rd of Trade on theetroective merit of the gauges, and state d that ,a clause serX• inserted to show what the gauge should be, and unless the Committee were prepared practically to repeal an . Act of Parliament, which they were only caked upon to administer to the satis faction of the public, the Great. Western Company would get to London by their own broad gauge line, and westward of Cheltenham there was an uninteappted chain of communication on the same gauge. The question then was, on what principle were they to act in joining these two•portiuns of the line between Fishguard and the metro polis. Mr. Hildyard had rightly s t a t e d th a t . p u blic enter prise had taken its tone from the reports of the Board of Trade, and those reports had evidently shown that if the commu ication between the Welsh coal-fields and the manufacturing Alistricts of the north were necessary, it was equally advisable that the communication east and west should be on the broad gauge. Mr. Talbot then read the Earl of Dalhousie's remarks in the report, to show how Newport, Swansea, and tether places would be affected, and to prove that there was ' on absolute requisition for a coast line to bring them into contzct with the districts eastward. The South Wales line, therefore, was the line for the mineral tratlic, and if for the mineral traffic, then for all o ther speeies of traffic that could be brought upon it ; a nd they had therefore to judge whether they would ta ke the narrow he gauge in the bush in the pl broadaceofthg,g the broad at ref adglyegeiod n r t , and all th evidence.hanri.,Flieyllacl already gotthe of their opponents hail gone to sho n w at t a h r a r t ai t i h y e t n r o a r ffi th e y, o a f r t d h , e . narrow gauge ought to be, and wa„, M. Hildvaru had not been content h with ithreamtatarkeks at the inthe m l a in in e under discussion, but had leve l. line of the South Wales itself ; and had stated because it hugged the coast, as he termed it, that it was unnecessary, from its adjacency to the River Severn and the Bristol Channel. Why, it was well known that the very reason why that railway was necessary was the tediousness, the uncertainty, and the risk of that passage. And certainly wonders would never cease, for it was perfectly astounding that the North- Western Company should allege such an argument in the teeth of the very fact that they were themselves reaping in ordinate profits from carrying' merchandise to Edinburgh, in competition with the very best system of steam navigation that this country had ever possessed ; and had, in consequence of its powers, almost absolutely ruined some of the best canals of the country. The Learned Counsel then entered into an examination of the relative advantages of the two schemes to the public, from the facilities which they gave at the ports of Gloucester and London, and showed that whatever might be the present posses ions of the North-lVestern :Company, the Great Western had at least as powerful means for meeting the necessities of public accommodation, and stated his belief that in these days it was impossible to live in apathy or quiet, and it was therefore evident that this line would be made by some party, and the Great Western Company were, in his opinion, entitled :to its construction. The Learned Counsel then went into an examination of the convenience that would be obtained by the construction of the Bir mingham and Oxford line, and the consequences that would flow from the establishment of the several projects, which extended to the south-west, and concluded a long anSpower ful speech a little before four o'clock, when The Committee intimated that they would give their de cision as soon as they received the report of the Railway Commissioners, unless something should transpire in the course of the cases about to come under their consideration that they ought to postpone the declaration of it, till those cases had been heart]. Tn.E Stnsl, LONDON, SATUItDAY EV`NING, MAI?' 15, 1847. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT BLICISE OF LORDS, May 14. The LORD CITANCELLOR Wok his seat on the Woolsack at Five o'clock. A number of Bills were brought up from the House of Commcns. TIIE TOWNSIIEND PEERAGE. Mr. AUSTIN having concluded his address in this case shortly before the assembling of their Lordships, a num ber of papers were handed in, and attested by witnesses on oath at the bar. The Bill was then read a second time. THE FACTORIES BILL. Lord FEVERSHAM presented a petition from Leeds, signed by 25,300 persons, in favour of this Bill. IMMIGRATION OF IRISH PAUPERS. Lord CAMPBELL said he had a petition to present from Liverpool. It had been sent him on account of his connexion with the Duchy of Lancaster. They com plained that, since the Ist of January of the present year, 150,000 destitute Irish paupers had migrated into Liverpool, taking up their residence in the town and neighbourhood, taking possession of cellars condemned as human habitations ; and that in these places fever, small-pox, and dysentery had broken out. They peti tioned that their Lordships, in order to save them from not only this pressure upon the poor-rates, hut from the contagion which eve s spreading into every quarter. LUNATIC ASYLUMS BILL. The NORLE AND LEARNED LORD moved that this Bill should go into Committee pro forno;. The Duke of RICHMOND was opposed to the pro gress of this Bill. Ha had opposed the original Bill, but the present changed the only redeeming parts of that old Bill. Lord CA\IPBELL said it would be committed pro form, and ample opportunity for discussion would be offered when it was in Committee. The Bill then went through EDUCATION . Committee pro formii. The Bishop of EXETER gave notice that he would, on Tuesday next, ask the Government a question, in regard to a communication made to a deputation of Dis senters on the subject of education. POOR REMOVAL ACT. Earl FORTESCUE presented several petitions in favour of the Poor Removal Act. TEN HOURS' BILL. Lord STANLEY presented several petitions in favour of the Ten Hours' Bill. One of them had received ten thousand signatures. Lord BROUGHAM presented several petitions to the same effect. The Duke of RICHMOND presented four petitions from the West Riding of Yorkshire, which were also to the same effect. Lord FEYENSILIM presented a petition to the same effect, which had received the signature of twenty•eight thousand persons. IRISH POOR RELIEF BILL. Earl FITZ WILLIAIII moved v for a return from each rateable district, whether union, elec toral division, or otherwise, of the rates struck, levied, or in arrear, under the provisions of the Act for the temporary relief of destitute persons; also, an account of the number of persons, distinguish ing males and females, adults and children, to be relieved in each district, according to those provisions of the said Act, by which the lists of such persons are to be made out within each division; also, a return of the estimates made by the relief committee of each electoral division, of the sum needed from time to time for the purchase of food, under the provisions of clause 7 of the said Act ; and also a statement of the rate per cent. of the rates, whether struck or levied upon the valuation of the district accordinc , to the poor-law valuation. Ile bad asked his Noble Friend to give him some infor mation upon these points, but he was unable to do so, and he was therefore most anxious that the House should have such documents in their possession as would en able them to come to a sound and accurate judgment. And he could assure the House that there was a great difference between rates struck and rates levied.— (Laughter.) It was quite easy for the officer to strike a rate, but it was quite another matter to collect it. After a few words from Lord BROUGHAM, The Marquis of LANSDOWNE suggested that the Noble Lord_ should postpone the motion which he had submitted to the House. After some further conversation, Earl FITZWILLIANI consented to postpone his motion until Monday. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE rose again and said that, in the Committee on this Bill, after considerable difficulty in fixing a limit to the duration of the measure, he then stated that he would reserve to himself to take that course which he might think proper at the subsequent stages of the Bill. It was now his duty to retain the opinion which he expressed in Committee, namely, to strike out of the Bill those clauses which were intended to affix a limit to the measure, or to make it of a temporary nature. The arguments on both sides lay in a very narrow compass. It was stated by those Lords who wished to affix a limit to this mea sure, that it was in a great degree experimental. lie admitted on introducing the Bill, and he now re peated it, that the measure was of an experimental na ture, but he still as strongly objected to have any fix - ?d period assigned for its duration.—(Hear, hear.) Ile also was oppooed to its being made a temporary mea ,ure, from the difficulties which they would have to en counter in carrying it out; and in the course of time they would be enabled to ascertain the nature of those difficulties, and to be, as a matter of course, in a better position than at present to amend them. Of course :heir Lordships would reserve to themselves the power if reconsidering the measure in two. three, or even ten vears hence ; unless they reserved this power, the greatest inconvenience would result. An additional rea ' ion in favour of the permanency of the measuro was to 'so found in the diversified arguments of Noble Lords in t'avour of the limitation of the Bill, some being in favour of one year, some one year and a half, end some or it: limitation to five years—(Hear, hear)--that in ;tself was an additional reason why they should not anticipate the duration of the measure, but more cspe ,tially was it inexpedient to do so at the present moment. the experience which they had bad of Ireland ought .o prevent them from passing the Bill as a temporary one.—(Hear, hear.) The 'Anse of Commons intended that it should be a permanent measure; that, however, was no reason why it should not he submitted to revision like all other measures.—(hear, hear.) They might pass it as a temporary measure, and subsequently alter ir abrogate it altogether. Under these circumstances lie begged to move that their Lordships do disapprove ,f those clauses which made the Bill a temporary one. Lord BROUGHAM begged to say that he maintained the opinions he had formerly expressed. He was the first per son tempo rary, and not permanent. He retain e d th a t o pi n i on s till, al though hehi s g u h g ly ge a st i e ,p d ro th ve e d eoxfpetdhieenscuy of making it gg suggestions of the Noble Marquis, and did not think they would l ose an ythi ng by taking the discussion in that way. He was surprised, however, at the line of argument adopted by the Noble Marquis. Had ho not distinctly heard him say that he was about to move that the clauses givire , a temporary character to the Bill should be omitted, he would, he confessed, have believed that he was arguing in favour of the course adopted by the Commit tee for making the measure a temporary one.—( Hear, hear.) He said the idea of binding themselves to use their discretion at an after-time was most absurd. He agreed that the measure ought only to be temporary, and he thought so because it was new in system and gave out door relief. The Noble Marquis himself admitted that the measure was only an experiment; yes, a great experiment—a hazardous experiment encompassed with every risk. Surely, it ought to be but a temporary enactment. Did they forget the measure of D'34, that it was made a temporary measure, and that merely ? He felt that he must vote against the motion. Lord CAMPBELL thought the Learned Lord had surely never read the measure as amended. Never was /a reuse le rout or le oil teem! pronounced over a more miserable farce of legislation If the Noble Earl on his right had moved a clause at the close of the Bill that it be in force for three or five years, that would have been in the regular course of legislation. But the Bill as it stood contained clauses at utter variance with each other. It contained four clauses, severally permitting the giving of out-door relief; of provisional relief without the knowledge of the guardians and of medical relief. These were temporary. But there were classes inserted by the Noble Lord which quite stultified these. Clause 3 was to be a per manent clause ; and it enacted that an exact return should be made of all applicants for every kind of relief— medical and out-door relief. In 1850 the powers to grant out-door relief would have failed. But it did not cease then. There was a clause respecting er-ogieio guardians. He would not go through all the details of the Bill to point out its various incongruities. They had the confessions of three-fourths of those who voted for the Bill that they did not know what they were abOut: , , Lord MONTEAGLE said, though he had not the experi ence in legal matters that his Noble and Learned Friend pos sessed, yet he thought the fallacies in this ease were so potent that even an unlearned person could discover them. Medical ielief differed alto Aether from what was called out-door relief. There was no inconsistency in the measure, as it clearly pro vide:l that out-door relief•should be given for three years, and that the Commissioners Should have the power of controlling and regul a ti ng i t. And the ot h er o bjections of his Noble Friend w ere equa ll y untenable, name ly, that permanent and temporary c l auses i n a Bill were i rre concilable. The charter of the B an k of England and of t h e E as t I n dia Company, for instance s contained temporary clauses with others which were perpet ua l, an d th e refore the insertion of clauses of this kind in the Bill was no novelty, and was no evidence of inexperience on his part. Therefore, as the Bill stood it was partly temporary and partly the reverse, but they should bear in mind that the temporary part related to the most important and at the same time the most serious part of the Act. Nothing was more likely to prove fatal to the measure than making it permanent, because it proposed the introduction of r.dangerous principle, which its supporters ad mitted to be purely experimental. If they believed that the experiment would be successful let them make it permanent, but if they felt that they were introducing a dangerous expe riment—a frightful one, in his opinion, if they thought they were groping in the dark, he asked them to support the clause which he had succeeded in carrY ing.—(llear , hear.) If the Bill wer e t emporary it would be more successful and more advantageous, because it would be tried at a time when every one w as i nterested in secur i n g its sue"' owing to the calamity which had visited Ireland, from which they could hardly expect she could extricate herself in the next three years. He denied that there was any truth in the statement which had been made, that he had brought forward his amend ment for the purpose of defeating the measure ; his sole object was to render it more efficient and less injurious than as it castle before them. His Noble Friend the Postmaster-General (the Marquis of Clanricarde) in 1833, when he was connected 'with the administratio n of affairs in Ireland, was strongly ,opposed to out-door relief ; and said that he wondered that any :man could have th e h ar d i h ood to i ntro duce a Bill to carry into effect such a syst em , as i t woul l l ea d to the confiscation of property, and t o th e considered the propo s iti on of the N o ble Marquis (Lansdowne) hardly respectful to th e N o bl e L or d s who, in Commit t ee , sup ported his clause. T o t h em h e appealed to continue t hat sup port to it, and not t o consent to the proposition of the Noble Alarquis. The Marquis of CL ANRICARDE greatest misery and in j ustice. He said his Noble Friend had, in his clause, lost s i g h t o f t h e m ain principles of out door relief, and had confi ne d i t to i ts least important matters. He admitted that, at the time to which the Noble Lord had re ferred, that he was strongly opposed to out-door relief ; arid, if the circumstances were the same at present, he might, no doubt, have been of the same opinion ; but at that time he contended that out-d oor relief should be given to the indigent ipor, and he was of th e same 00E11011 now, and that GROUP XIX. This Committee met to-day at twelve o'clock; Mr. Dennis toun in the chair. COVENTRY, BANBURY, AND OXFORD (FROM SOUTHArd TO COVENTRY.) The case on behalf of this Bill was resumed. _ _ Mr. Fuller, a surveyor, was examined at some length as to the value of the land and the nature of the property which the line intersected. The remainder of the sitting was occupied with opposition evidence, when the Committee adjourned till Monday at twelve o'clock. GROUP XXI V. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) MOLD. Further traffic evidence was received from the promoters of this railway. The formal proofs were then put in, and the room was cleared. DECISION. On the re-admission of parties, The CHAiItmAN announced the decision of the Committee —preamble proved. The Committee then adjourned. GROUP XXVII. GREAT NORTHERN (BRANCH TO KINGS LYNN). (Continued fro our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) The Committee having dispensed with any reply on the part of the Eastern Counties Railway (Wisbeach to Spald ing), the room was cleared. On the re-admission of parties, The CHAIRMAN" announced that the Committee would defer any decision upon th.: Bills until next week, when they should be aware of the intentions of the Admiralty. The Committee then ailj,eirneil. GIIO Vl' XXXI. SHEFFIELD AND LINCOLNSHIRE JUNCTION. The Committee sat this morning at twelve; Mr. Shaw in the chair, and took the general evidence of Mr. Milnes, father of Mr. M. Milner, the Member for Pontefract, with the testimony of several other gentlemen, in favour of the Bill. GROUP XXXIII. GREAT NORTHERN (EXTENSION TO • LEEDS AND WAXErIELD). Evidence in favour of this line was continued this day upon the subject of the proposed levels at the station at Leeds. In consequence of some errors in the levels of the Great Northern Railway extensions to Leeds and Wakefield, the Bill was thrown out; and the Committee at the same time strongly intimated their opinion that they would be under the necessity of throwing out all the other lines before the Committee. Mr. Sergeant WILKIN3 then claimed to be heard as a landowner against the opposing schemes of the North Midland Railway and the Leeds and Dewsbury Railway. The Committee stated that should any alteration take place in their opinions, after having heard the speeches of Mr. Temple, for the Leeds and Dewsbury Railway, and Mr. Baines, for the North Midland Railway, they would hear him. Mr. TENtru: and Mr. BAIN-Es then addressed the Com mittee on behalf of the Leeds and Dewsbury Railway, and the North Midland. The Committee then decided that they would hear Mr. Sergeant Wilkins on behalf of the Manchester and Leeds 11.1i1Nvay. At the conciwion of the Learned Sergeant's address, the Committee adjourned till twelve to-morrow: GROUP XXXI'. The Select Committee appointed to consider tha Tills in this group re-assembled at the usual hour this morning; the Marquis of Granby in the chair. THE EAST LAN CAS HIRE (CLITHEROE EXTENSION). The whole of the day WLS occupied with the landholders' opposition to this line. This Committee adjourned at four o'clock. GROUP XXXIX. This Committee re-assembled at the ❑sual hour this morn ing ; Lord Charles Wellesley in the chair. YORK AND NEWCASTLE (PURCHASE 01' THE HARTLEPOOL DOCKS.) The Committee were occupied the whole of the day inves tigating this case. The evidence, however, was purely of a general character. The Committee adjourned at the usual hour. GIZOCP XLIIL The. Committee met again this morning at the usual hour; Mr. Prutheroe in the chair. WATERFORD AND 1.121/ERICH. Tha CIIATIMAN then formally declared that the preamble of the Bill with respect to the Bansha deviation had Ibeen proved; he intimated yesterday that the Committee were of this opinion, but he was not in a position to make a formal declaration of that opinion, as the Railway Commissioners had not then made their report with respect to the finances of the case. The report was laid before the Committee this afternoon, and he was therefore now enabled to do so.t The clauses, with some amendments, especially one which was agreed to between the parties with respect to the way in which Mr. Baker's property should be treated, were then agreed to. The remaining deviations sought to be made by the Bill were from Kilsheland to Lisnamuck, and from Garnavella to Town Parks, near Caher, both in the county of Tipperary, which being unopposed were at once agreed to. The works on the main line, which was passed last session, are proceeding with great activity. Twenty-seven miles between Limerick and Tipperary wilt be opened to the public in the cour,e of a few days. The report was then agreed to, and Mr. PROTIIIRME intimated that he would report the fa vourable decision of the Committee to the House. The Committee then broke up. GROUP XLVIII. GLASGOW, AIRDRIE, AND IVIONICLANDS (COWL AIRS, CARMYLE, AND CENTRAL JUNCTION BRANCHES)._ - --- - (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) Mr. Worthic, carrier of Stirling, gave evidence as to the great amount of gooda traffic from the east of Scotland to Glasgow and the west of Scotland. Mr. Archibald, a woollen manufacturer of Scotland, de posed that the goods manufactured in the Alloa district was 750,09 a, of which about three-fourths were westward. The junction would greatly benefit this traffic. Mr. l'hillip, merchant of Leith, was examined. lie gave evidence to a similar effect, as it regarded the imports of Leith, going westward. Mr. Thompson Potter, of Glasgow, gave similar evidence as to the expected accommodation. After some similar evidence, The Committee adjourned till Monday at twelve o'clock. GROUP L. The Committee met at twelve o'clock ; Mr. Bankes in the chair. ILIZIVIARNOCIL AND AYR DIRECT. Mr. WzrATELET, Q.C., said parties had considered the recommendation of the Chairman as to withdrawing the Bill, and were only constrained to go on by the heavy tolls which were exacted on minerals upon the Troon branch ( f the .41.2,-r line. If the Committee could seve the public against these impositions they were prepared to withdraw the Bill. . _ The CHAIRMA N, after consideration of severabsuggestions made on behalf of the Kilmarnock and Ayr Direct, said the C o mmittee must endeavour to arran ge the tolls in quest i on by clauses, and declared the preamble not proved. The Committee then proceeded with the clauses of the GLASGOW. KILMARNOCIL, 6. ARDROSSAN, which were read and agreed to. The clauses of the GLASGOW. PAISLEY, AND 'MILLET, were read and agreed to. GLASGOW, PAISLEY, AND GRBENOCIL, (AMENDMENTS AND DEVIATIONS). GLASGOW, PAISLEY, AND GREENOCH, (BRANCH TO PORT GLASGOW). The preambles of these Bills being unopposed, were de clared proved, and the clauses were then read and agreed to. The Committee closed their sittings. GROUP LI. WEE CALEDONIAN (CANON/LIE, &C.) This Committee was occupied the whole morning in arranging the c l auses of this Bill ; Sir J. Y. Buller, chairman. The Committee adjourned till Monday, to gi moters an Ob riortunity of introducing a clausve the Ke e, grantig power (under certain restrictions) to the Dumfries Compan ff y to work the line from Springfield to Carlisle. COMMITTEES -------- " 516 On P R (YESTERDA I Y V .) ATE BILLS. D i t O t eNe toC 04101EtRhCesleAkilGisAhSaaCbOeMeliPrAeTery, COMMERCIAL GAS.LIGEIT AND - COKE r , n „ y , (SURREY). —""---AXY to day in No. 7 Committee-room; General L • The C t ß 'o O m l tn referred met ) ,t:na in the chair. The Committee, after hearing evidence in favour or the first-mentioned Bill, declared that its preamble bad been proved. They then adjourned without having entered into the investigation of the second Bill, which will be taken at the nest meeting of the committee. SANDWICH HAVEN. This Committee met again to-day, in No. 17 Committee room, at twelve o'clock, when further evidence in favour of this Bill was adduced. The witnesses agreed in stating that the dredging of the water would be productive of the greatest good to the naviga tion, and might be accomplished at no great, outlay of capital. Adjourned until Monday. LIVERPOOL GAS COMPANY—LIVERPOOL GUAR DIAN GAS COMPANY—ASIITON GAS COMPANY. The Committee re-assembled again this morning at the usual hour. Evidence in favour of the first-mentioned Bill was con tinued. Its object is to extend the operations of the com pany, and to increase the capital to 200,0001. It is opposed by the second-mentioned company, and by the corporation and some of the rate-payers, consumers of gas. Mr. Milord, the accountant to the company, was examined at great length with respect to the past operations of the company, and as to the necessity for increasing the supply of gas to the inhabitants. Adjourned until Monday. SAFFRON WALDEN RATES BILL. This Committee met at twelve; Mr. Gisbourne in the chair, and read and agreed to the clauses of the Saffron Waldon Rates Bill. They then rose. METROPOLITAN SEWAGE MANCRE. After hearing Mr. Hopwood against the Bill, the Com mittee declared the preamble proved. AYR IIAr.BOUR BILL. After hearing some evidence on behalf of this Bill, the Committee decided that the preamble was not proved. SWANSEA DOCKS. The Committee on this Bill met this morning at twelve o'clock; Mr. Hodgson Ilinde in the chair. The object of the Bill is to obtain power for the construction of docks at the port of Swansea, and it is opposed on behalf of the harbour trustees, who apprehend injury to the piers and quays. ➢lr. Mu., Q.C., replied on behalf of the promoters, show ing that there were clauses in this Bill which would oblige them to repair any damage they might occasion to the prc perty of the trustees. LIVERPOOL WATERWORKS. _ The Committee met this morning—Sir J. Johnstone in the chair—and proceeded with the opposition of the landowners, Mr. Winstanley, the eminent surveyor, and several other witnesses, being examined to show the injury that would be done to property by the construction of the works, especially to that of Mr. Benderley, of whose land 135 acres are to be taken. NORTH WALES RAILWAY. A special meeting of the proprietors of this railway took place yesterday at the offices of the company, 2, Guildhall chambers, to take into consideration the propriety of reducing the number of directors from eleven to eight, in accordance with the provisions of the North Wales Railway Amendment Act passed last year. A requisition for such an object had been presented to the directors. Mr. Shaw, of Huddersfield, took the chair. The usual routine business having been transacted, a very irregular discussion took place as to the best method of in vesting the funds of the association, and in order to give time for the attendance of parties for the purposes of investi gation, and the meeting was adjourned to next Monday month. READING, GUILFORD, AND REI GATE RAILWAY. A meeting of the shareholders of this railway was adver tised to take place yesterday, but the directors haring found themselves in a position to transact the required business without the sanction of the shareholders, no meeting took place. RAILWAY RETURNS. RAILWAY Tam - rte.—The following are the Total Receipts of Esil Trays 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:— NAME OF RAILWAY. Week ending May 9 8 IL 6 9 8 • 9 - 8 Amiens and Boulogne. • • •• • • • • •• • • • • Arbroath and Forfar •••• • • • •• •••• • • Chester and Birkenhead. • . • • •• •• • • • • Dublin and Dr0gheda............... Dublin and Kingstown • • • • • • • • • • •• .. Dundee and Arbroath . • ...... • •• • • •• 8 Edinburgh and Glasgow . .• • • • •• • • • • Eastern Counties and North Eastern. East Lancashire . • • • • • • • • Eastern Union .... . Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ayr • • • • • • Glasgow and Greenock • • • • • •• • • • • • Gravesend and Rochester•• • • • • • • • • •• Great Southern and Western • • • • • • • • Great Western, &c ..... .......... Ipswich and Bury— ••• •••••• • • •• Lancaster and Carlisle London and North Western, &c. London and Black London and Brighton ............... London and South Western ......... Manchester, Leeds, and Hull Assoc.. Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Maryport and Carlisle Midland, Bristol, and Birmingham.... Newcastle and Carlisle Newca.stle, Berwick, and North Shields North British .. • • • • • • • • •• • • Paris and Rouen . •• • • • • •• •• Preston and Wyre• • • • • • • • • • • Rouen and Havre •• •••• • • • Last rveck. 302 3,497 11,035 7191 2,407 1,161 1,55 19,841 429 1,17 s 42,321 987 6,761 7,927 7,727 1,995 615 19,843 2,191 768 1,877 1,707 7,964 649 2,17 f; ,Shrewsbury and Chester South Eastern and Branches •• • • • ... South Devon. ...... •• .... •• •• •• •• ' Taff Vale • ............... .. Ulster • •• • • ••• • • • ••••• • • • • • ...... 192 2,476 751 973 278 3,179 8,3G3 2,0.i•1 915 19,568 42,20 I,liB 5,774 7,715 8,16 i 1,661 400 10,824 1,76 510 1,206 Whitchaven Junction ......... • • York and Newcastle . • • • • •. •• • • 6,011 61s 478 8,149 1,361 1,171 IJ9 7,079 6,050 York and North :Midland ... .. 7,139 1,305 623 6,5'A 5,120 MARKET INTELLIGENCE. (From the London New Price current of May 14.) SUGAR.—TO-day any further advance in the value of hew Sugar was arrested by the increased quantities brought to market, still all parties were desirous to operate, and the supply did not exceed the demand. The biddings were spirited at the various public salee, West India was disposed of to a fair extent, and all kinds sustained the former worth; the quantity sold was 4.sojhhds, making the total sales for the week 1,870 hhde and trcs—the rise during that time has amounted to Gd to is per cwt. REFINED.—A considerable improvement has taken place in the demand for Refined Sugar for home consumption thi.l, week, and prices have risen Is 6d to 2s per cwt, although; the supply is good, and the refiners continuing to wort , freely, with every probability that they will keep so, as prices are very encouraging. Ali descriptions have been exten. sively dealt in by the town and country trade. EAST INDIA.—This afternoon Bengal Sugar was in ex cellent demand, and the parcels offered at public sale, amounting to 6,180 bags and 145 chests, were sold, but io some cases at easier rates. MAURITIUS.—This afternoon the quantity of Mauritius Sugar offered at public sale was large, and amounted to 10,522 bags, still the demand was active, and the whole sold at prices, in some cases, rather under those that existed previously. FOIIEIGN.—This afternoon at public sale 210 hhds Porto Rico Sugar were taken in—low yellow at 45s 64 to 465, mid dling 475 to 48s, good 48s 6d. COCOA.—For Foreign prices continue high, but there are not many buyers, and 43e to 45s is the value of grey Guaya quil. British Plantation has been operated in with caution ; there is a better supply. On Tuesday 211 bags of Grenada at auction were taken iu at 52s for middling rather dull red, and at 51s for dull ditto, being about the previous value. The arrivals are exceeding those of the previous season. COPFEE.—This afternoon at ptfulic sale 133 bags of Plan tation Ceylon were sold, but at barely former rate mid colory 583 to 603, line fine ord 533 to 565, and damageo 505 to 56s 6d; 141 brls Mocha were taken in—good yellow long berry at 753, mid 70s, low mid mixed greenish 58s ; 3 trcs Jamaica fine fine ord 5Ss 6d ; 422 bags of Mysore wer, taken in at 30s to 35s for ord and good ord mixed. Nativt Ceylon is wanted, and good ordinary at 375. TEA.—There has been more desire evinced to operate it, Congou this week, and a fair quantity of all kinds have been disposed of by private treaty ; but holders have been fre, sellers upon reduced terms, and the supply is plentiful. Pouchong is little wanted, and is offered upon rather lowel terms In the low and mid sorts of Green several purchaser have been made : but in some cases rather lower rates art again taken ; fine and good sorts have been sold to a fair ex tent, but at better prices. For scented Tea the market is very dull, and prices are looking down. The trade are com plaining of the low rates at which Tea is selling. Stuces.—To-day at public sale 138 boxes of Cassia Ligne s were taken in at 565 . 63 for good ordinary third pile, which i. above the value. 193 bags Pimento sold at rather lower rates. Mace is less wanted, and at public sale 20 chests went 2d per lb under former rates. For Nutmegs the demand is not so good, and 67 chests 15 bags went at a fall on former rates of 2d to 3d. Of Malabar Pepper 371 bags went at 34d for good heavy. 421 bags of Cloves were taken in at Bid to 9d for Zanzibar and Bourbon. RICE. —To-day the market was plentifully supplied with East India Rice, and there being little desire evinced to operate, a fall iu the value of most sorts took place. At auction 2,538 bags of Madras were offered, but a part only found buyers at 3d to 6d decline for yellow and pinky white —es h A e G o b t .—Althi t o e n , g h n o w t e i s i - e e r r e,broughtare sellersfu 11 rate. upon s rather lower s t c,. i e mh ah r e i ap n isltit s loes:co l e t o t t h e o a n m l y o ü b n y t o p f r v b a u t s e i n e t s r s e o t y a a a n c a t e d at he a a s uc b ti e n n n t 7 o Bo e of aa n sdelal sells small 3n more freely per c wwere cwt for a ttaken3a fine.t o in 4 a 30s ii. t s,zadg. o to A 31s Flour Iror nolrT 6 ri d for g wanted. iis yet little c o c w n a i n N Z. L —lmporters continue to be eager sellers, and subraltted to further reduced rates for every kind, yet ex porters and the home trade operated with reluctance, and the quantity brought to market exceeded their wants. Prices are much lower than they were in 18-1 G at this time. Hors.—The market has an improving appearance for all descriptions of Hops; in the better sorts large purchases have been made, and at rather higher rates; whilst in the lower kinds a fair business has been done, and in some cases at better prices. SPIRITS.—AII descriptions of Rum have met with increased attention, and a further improvement in the value has taken place. In all sorts of Jamaica a good business has been transacted by exporters and the home trade at prices show ing an advance on those of last Friday of 2d per gallon. The total sales amount to 500 puns. Demerara has been in ex cellent demand, and it is 2d to 3d dearer than on Friday last. Leeward Island is much wanted, but business has been much interfered with by the advanced rates insisted upon. East India has been sold to a fair extent at the advanced rates of 3s Id to 3s 2d for proof Calcutta. Brandy has been operated in with caution for all purposes, and there is a strong desire to realise, as the stock is very large. and arrivals neat at hand. Geneva is wanted for exportation, and prices are higher. Fine for home use in good demand. For British Corn Spirits the demand is very good. Gin cannot at present be quoted higher. INDIGO.—To-day 874 chests have passed the sale. Dur ing the progress proprietors have again withdrawn 797 chests. There was decidedly more disposition on the part of buyers to come forward, and more briskness in the biddings, but although we cannot quote any improvement on ordinary and defective descriptions of Bengal, the prices of good and sound sorts were a shade higher than on the three previous days. The quantity bought in this day is 132 chests. 6,750 chests have now passed the sale, of which 2,250 chests are sold. Oms.—This afternoon, at public sale, 112 pkgs of Cocoa s e n li d n,, fin in e, th an e Nut Oil fetched 48s to 48s 9d for fine. 85 tuns Sperm in cash, the supply part sold at 88/ to 891 15s for Colonial, and 91/ for Head- matter. 127 tuns of Southern sold at 261 to 271. lOs for good nelt.tALL°"-.-- d va a l t u 2 e l , / b t u o at 25/ 103 for low and middling. For home-made 46s 6d to 47s have been taken delivery in the last three Russian on the spot y t , not suffered a further de only a small amount being present l T il e : and the demand limited ance at 478 to 475 6d the trade have operated with reluct yellow Candle, butio per ewtion the spot for fine Petersburgh ver rates are expected to prevail.. For o months of the year there has been cwt. All ether i,it,cl4 of f l b a n u s o i w ne a ss re d u on ea e v a y t 0 1 . 5 a 5 i5 t0 p0 4 3 5 4 5 1. 6a per the state of Ireland rendered out-door relief to the able bodied indispensable to their preservation.—(Hear.) If they taught the people of Ireland that the Bill was merely intended to meet the present emergency, and to be abrogated as soon as it had passed away, he considered that it would be fraught with the greatest danger to both countries ; but if it were passed as proposed, it would settle the public mind on the subject ; its principles and objects would become generally known, and the people would know the position in which they were placed ; and, therefore, he should vote for the Bill being made a permanent one. Earl WICKLOW hoped their Lordships would not depart from their original decision. It had been said that if the measure were made a temporary one, that the guardians would work ineffectually; b u t h e cons id ere d that the best way to see how they would work for the future, was by making the Bill a temporary one. Ile was in favour of its permanency, and had proposed a motion to that effect, in order that the subject might in a few ears come again under revision, when the experience which they would have obtained would enable them to maturely improve its provisions. If their Lordships' should not confirm their former decision, he should feel it his duty to move, when they came to the last clause, that the Bill should be limited to three years. The Earl of RIPON said that after having given the Bill the 7. - .ost minute attention and consideration he had corn? to the conclusion that this measure was not calculated to relieve . the evils which at present afflicted Ireland. A system of out door relief might indeed provide for a few able-bodied poor, but it certainly would not enable them to provide for their fa milies. The principle, as applied to England, had not had that effect, it did not therefore appear likely to have it with regard to Ireland, he hoped their Lordships would most se riously consider the matter before applying to Ireland perma nently a measure of the effect of which they were not able to judge, and which was by no means certain to be carried effec tually into operation. The Earl of ROUEN said that he trusted that their Lord ships had sufficiently considered this Bill to have enabled them to have come to the conclusion that it might be benficial if passed temporarily, but as a permanent measure would be worse than useless. If it were once passed by that House as a temporary measure, all classes in Ireland would have the greatest anxiety to carry it well into effect, however much they might dissent from many of its clauses ; but if it were in flicted upon them as a permanent Bill, not only would its ope ration be inefficient, but most likely productive of mischief. If the Bill worked well, nothing could be easier than after wards to render it a permanent one, but if worked badly, they would have round their necks a burden which they would be unable to relieve themselves of. Earl FITZ WILLIAM (who was indistinctly heard) en tirely concurred in the observations of the Noble Lord who had last spoken. With regard to the nature of this Bill, he thought that if it were to be applied as a permanent act of Legislation the difficulties in its administration would be in creased tenfold ; and their Lordships would have no oppor tunity of revising the decision they had given should the mea sure prove to be inoperative, or mischievous in its effects. He thought that the most serious consideration should be given by their Lordships to the whole matter, before they affirmed a principle which would saddle Ireland with a permanent Bill— of the operation of which, whether for good or evil they were at present utterly unable to form an opinion. Earl FORTESCUE said, he was of opinion that the diffi culties on the subject of this Bill would be considerably in creased if they adopted the proposal of the opponents to the Bill. One of the arguments in favour of this commission wis, that after a course of five years, it would be found whether it worked well or ill. (The Noble Earl was almost inaudible.) The Archbishop of DUBLIN—His opinions on this Bill were unchanged. The opponents to this Bill were still of opinion that there was too great a difference between Ireland and England to render the application of this Bill to the former country effective. This Bill teas a very hazardous experiment, though he did not blame those who brought forward the mea ,' sure, for they had but a choice of evils. He could most solemnly assure their Lordships, that he was only hostile to this measure from its being, as he had just said, a most hazard ous experiment. if they legislated on the principle of this Bill for Ireland, they would find it impossible to recede from . that principle afterwards. He would wish to see the Bill in operation for a short time, and then that their Lordships should be imperatively called upon to revise it if that were found to be necessary. There was another class who should be considered in le,lislating on this subject, namely, the clergy, and who, in the affl.ction that had visited Ireland, had been foremost in relieving the people of all religious deno minations.—( Hear, hear.) The clergy had made many sacrifices to relieve that distress, and except in the cases of a few fanatical persons, without any attempt at proselytism. And it was this class, he asserted without fear of contradiction, that would suffer from the burden that would be imposed by this Bill. The clergy were supposed to be rated to the poor-rates, but when the tithe commutation was made in England it was sup.. posed to be free of all rates and taxes. When, however, the commutation of the tithes in Ireland took place it was con sidered as the rental of the property minus the poor-rate, there being at that time no poor-rates in existence in Ireland. He considered'that the clergy would be placed under consider able hardship by the passing of this measure. He could not forbear bearing his humble testimony to the constant and uni • form attention which the Lord-Lieutenant had paid to the best and purest interests of the Charch of England in that country. That nobleman had rendered many great anti important services to the church, and he begged to tender both to him and to her Majesty's adviser, his most grateful thanks for the attention they had paid to that important sub ject.—( Hear, hear...) The sound judgment, and the firmness which he had invariably displayed in the performance of the difficult duties which devolved upon him, would render his government in that country worthy to be long remembered by the people of Ireland.—( Cheers.) The Marquis of CONYNGHAIII could not participate in the fears which had been expressed by many Noble Lords as to the result of the working of this measure. He believed that by establishing a principle of out-door relief. a great deal would be lone to ameliorate the condition of the people of Ireland This Bill would discourage that fearful amount of crime and misery which existed in Ireland, by telling the people of that country that 'Ole} , hail a right to relief from their mere waalthy neigh bours, and that they need not starve or perish through age or infirmity, or for want of the common necessaries of life. The Bill would also compel the landlords to lock more closely to their own interests, and to attend more to the cultivation of the soil than they had hitherto done. He did not entertain so Utopian a notion as to suppose that this measure would prove a panacea for all the evils which afflicted Ireland. He thought, however, that it was a step iu the right direction. He should most certainly support the Bill. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, When there appeared for the motion, Contents (present) Non-contents (present) Majority in favour of the resolution —l2 Had the proxies been called their numbers would (as we un derstood) have been Contents I , t 'Non-content s Majority of proxies in favour of the Wit Was triw i„ n rte 1004 'ltAlajority present in favour of the motion Total majority for Ministers The Earl of CLANCARTY then proposed the following amendment to the first clause And whereas, from the in sufficiency of room, or some other cause, the guardians of the poor may be sometimes unable to afford relief within the workhouse to all who are proper objects to be so relieved ; be it enacted that if at any time it should be shown to the satis faction of the Poor-law Commissioners, that by reason of the want of room in the workhouse for any more, adequate relief cannot be afforded therein, or by reason of fever or infectious disease, or are unfit for the reception of poor persons, or that by reason of the dilapidated state of the workhouse suitable accommodation cannot be afforded therein for the destitute poor, it shall be lawful for the Commissioners to empower the guardians for any time not exceeding six months from the dote cf such order, to administer relief out of the workhouse, to such destitute poor persons applying for relief, as cannot be received and maintained in it ; and they shall be empowered accordingly to make provision for their relief for the time specified in the order, provieled that all relief given out of the workhouse shall be given in food ; only save in any case of sudden or urgent necessity, with power to the Com missioners to revoke the order within the period for which it may have been issued, or to renew and extend the same from time to time, so as to extend the period of its operation, as the circumstances of the case may require." Earl GREY opposed the amendment, on the ground that the Bill, as it stood, effected the object which the Noble Earl seemed to hive in view, or the permanently disabled poor would only receive relief out of the workhouse when it was unable to receive them. The Bill had been carefully drawn up. The amendment was negatived without a division. The Earl of LUCAN then moved the following clauses— " That for the purpose of charging the expense of relief to every electoral division, no person shall after the passing of this Act be deemed to have been resident in such electoral division, unless during the three years before his admission to the workhouse, or his receiving any relief whatever, he had occupied some tenement within such division fur thirty calendar months, or if he have not occupied such tenement, have slept within such division for the space of thirty' calendar months." After a few words from several Noble Eolds, the clause was agreed to. Lord MONTEAGLE moved a clause that no sums of money granted for the relief of destitute persons, should be applied for the payment of rent. After a few words from Earl GREY, The clause was withdrawn, and the report was agreed to. Several Bills were then forwarded a st4;e, and Their Lordships adjourned shortly after Half-past Ten o'clock. 110 USE OF GUM &lONS, May The SPEAKER took the Chair shortly - befOre Four o'clock. The following Bills were read a second time, and ordered to be committed : British American Land Company. Van Diemen's Land Company. REPORT'S. The reports on the following Bills were brought up Braintree and Halstead Railway. Dublin and Drogheda Railway (Branch from Navan to Kel Is). Enfield and Edmonton Railway Extension. Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland (Extension from Athlone to Galway). Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland (Newcastle, Anniskinnan, and Baltrasna Deviations). South Staffordshire Railway (Cannock, Wyrley, and Norton Branches, &c.) Staffordshire Potteries Waterworks. Westminster Improvements. The reports on the following Bills were considered and agreed to :—Dublin Consumers Gas ; Edinburgh Mar kets and Customs ; Leith Harbour and Ducks Dues ; Runcorn Gas. THIRD READINGS. The following Bills were read a third time and passed : Boston, Stamford, and Birmingham Railway (Peterbo rough and Thorney line). Chard Canal and Railway (Extension and Amalgama tion). Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway (No. 4). Herne Bay and Canterbury Junction Railway. Liskeard and Caradon Railway. Southampton and Dorchester Railway (New Forest Deviation and Branches). South Wales Railway. Vale of Neath Railway. Wexford and Valencia Railway (Killarney to Val. ncia). Wilts, Somerset, and Weymouth Railway (No. 1— Bruton, Pitcombe, and Roddea and Bradford De viations). Wolverhampton Rates. DERBYSHIRE, STAFFORDSHIRE, AND WOR- CESTERSiIIRE JUNCTION RAILWAY. Mr. It BERKELEY moved, " That the Select Coln mitte3 on Group 26 have leave to proceed with the Der byshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire Junction Railway Bill on Monday next, notwithstanding the seven clear days' notice, required by Standing Order 14S, will not have expired until Thursday next." agreed to, Mr. BLACKSTONE wilhdrew the motion of which he had given notice—" That the Committee on Group 26 be allowed to proceed Kith the North Stafford hire Rail way (Alterations and Branches) Bill, and the North Western Railway (Binning!' int and Lich thid Line) Bill, i❑ the absence of tne report from the _Railway Commis stonricrs." WINDSOR RAILWAY BILL. Mr. C. RUSSELL moved, pursuant to notice, that the minutes of the proceechno.s of the Committee on the WN ituor Railway Bill, and the London and South- Western Railway (Richmond to Staines and Windsor &c.) Bill, and the evidence taken in suyport of the pre amble of th- Bills, be laid upon the table of the House. After a short discussion, _ . STRUTT stating that he had no objection, The motion was agreed to. HIGH PI:ICE OF FOOD.--ONE-POUND NOTES. Mr. SPOONER presented signed by landlords, merchants, manufacturers, and by a great number of the w.,rking class, s of Birmingham, stating that they felt great anxiety and alarm in consequence of the high price of food, and the rapidly diminishing demand for lab.mir; that symp toms of outrage had already appeared in con sequence, and praying that every facility might he given by the House fur the intr,duction of food into the country ; and expressing their opinion, that if the Bank of England were allowed to issue IL notes—(Laughter) —in order that the sovereigns might he set at liberty for the purpose of purchasing fo,d, that a great step would thus be made to mitigate the evil of which they complained, as in fact food could be more easily obtained with gold than by any other means. MEDICAL REGISTRATION BILL. Mr. KEMBLE presented live petitions in favour of the Medical Registration Bill. Sir BENJAMIN HALL presented four petitions in favour of the Medical Registration Bill. Petitions in favour of this Bill were also presented by Mr. MacAulay, Captain A'Court, Sir De Lacy Evans, and Mr. Parker. TRADING IN PROSTITUTION BILL. Mr. SPOONER gave notice that, on Monday, he should move the second reading of this Bill. CONSUMPTION' OF MALT. Sir J. lIEATHCOTE presented a petition from the members of a temperance society, complaining of the consumption of malt in distilleries during the existing distress. NAVIGATION LAWS. Sir J. HANDIER presented a petition from a number of shipowners against any alteration of these laws. COUNTY TOWNS BILL. Mr. DAVID BARCLAY presented several petitions in favour of the County Towns Bill. COUR 7 I I OF SESSION. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from the board of sessions iu Dundee complaining of the conduct of the authorities, and praying fur an inquiry. HEALTH OF TOWNS BILL. An lIoN. MEMBER presented petitions from the printers and compositors of various towns in favour of the Health of Towns Bill. PARLIAMENTARY FEES. Mr. HUME, in rising to move the following resolu tions—That the: table of fees which vras laid upon the table of the House upon the 6th day of May, be now read. That the several tables of fees and resolutions relating to fees of the 22d day of February 1731, the 19th day of June 1746, the 13th day of June 1751, the 2d day of July 1801. the 4th day of April 1803, the 18th day of May 1813, the 4th day of July 1822, the 16th day of February 1829, and the 22d day of July 1830, be repealed from the time the new table of fees shall commence. That the said table be agreed to, and shall commence from the end of the pre sent session of Parliament. That the said table of fees be made a standing order of this House— said that it would probably be in the recollection of the House that the Committee up stairs had recommended an alteration in the fees of the House. Agreeably to that report the House agreed to a resolution, by which the Speaker was requested to revise those fees, and to form theta into a table which would be intelli gible to all parties, which the exiting tables were not. The evidence stated that it was impossible, and the . Clerk of the House could not even explain why many of the fees were charged, nor was this to be wondered at, when he found that they had been instituted and agreed to by that House, in different periods, from the year 1731, The table of these fees was now in the possession of every Hon. Member, and in order that they Might pre pare for the next session of Parliament, timely notice ought to be-given to all perties c mc,rned. He le ggrl, therefore, to move that the table of fees, laid on the table of the House on the 6th of May, be then read. The table of fees was then read and agreed to. RAILWAY COMPANIES CAPITAL. Mr. HUME then moved the following resolution : " That no railway company which, by any Act or Acts of Parliament is now authorised to construct, purchase, or take on lease any line or lines of railway, shall by any future Act receive power to raise additional capital by shares, loan, or mortgage, for the completion or ex tension of sue:. line or hues, or for the purchase or taking on lease, or amalgamation with any other railway or canal, unless a clause be introduced into such A c t, pro s iding that the company shall not raise such capital until it has realised the whole of the capital which by existing Acts it is authorised to raise, or so much thereof as is sufficient for the completion of the works, or for other objects already sanctioned by Parliament. That no rail way company shall be allowed to lease or sell any other line of railway until the whole capital shall have been subscribed, and one-half paid up." He hoped that the House would allow him to state the reasons he had for bringing on this resolution. The evils arising out of the old system were still upon the increase, and it was quite necessary that. some steps should be taken to remedy them. From several of the most import-ant c, , mpanies no returns had yet been received. There were no returns from the London and North-Western, the Midland, the Manches ter and Leeds, the .Manchiester and Preston, and the North Wales. By the returns, a, far as he c mid ascer tain, Parliament had within the la , t two years sanctioned railway Bills authorising the raising of a capital in shares of 124,586,0001. The total amount of this which had beers paid up was 29,329,000/., leaving 96,262,000/. as yet unpaid. During the last two sessions the railway Bills passed also authorised the raising by loan a sum of 40,000,0001., of which 33,000 ; 0001. had yet to be raised. Such was the vast amount of capital which the Bills of the last two sessions were empowered to raise. It was impossible to say what amount would be laid out in this year or the next, but an estimate had been made by an intelligent man, who stated that under the Acts now passed all capital sanctioned would be out by the end of 1849, or the middle of 1850, and if such were the case, there would be a large annual ex penditure—an expenditure of at least one and a quarter millions a week. What was the amount of capital likely to be called for in the present year. He found, by a Parliamentary paper of the present session, No. 168, that the amount of capital for Bills sent to their office was 82,553,0001., with a power to borrow 41.300,0301., so that the total capital alone amounted to 123,567,000/., which, added to the 1,610,000/. left from the two last sessions, would make a large sum indeed. Looking to the reckless manner in which this money was raised and spent, he did not believe that any manufacturing establishment in this country would be able to borrow money to carry on their business. A larger portion of the manufactures of England were carried on upon credit, and by this means they would be unable to get further advances. They ought to put a further check upon this expenditure, or they would endanger the whole commerce of the country, and the Exchequer itself. The Right Honourable Gentleman would find that the returns of the October and December quarters would not equal the returns of the last two quarters. He made these observations, because he thought that the Ministry, especially the present, ought not to be dependent on the Bank, or on any body of men, for the supplies they needed, but ought to obtain that which they needed from some other means.—( Great talking and confusion.) lie did not like to trouble Hon Members with many figures.—( Cries of " Hear.") but it was only by figures that he could show the danger with which the country was threatened. He had shown that at the present time upwards of 161,000,00 N. were already em ployed in railway', and 33,000,000!. more had been allowed at a later date, which, with the capital likely to be sanc tioned in the present session, would make the demand upon the country reach to the sum of 300,0J0,000/. The difficulty might not have been so great if there had not been the call of large sums to satisfy the necessity, occasioned by the famine in Ireland, which had occasioned the abstraction of upwards of 10,000,000/. Then there was the money requisite for the corn that was daily sent into the country ; and considering the un - certainty that hung over railway affairs, and which actuated the conduct of railway directors and railway companies, he did think that House had an interest in knowing the amount of their rrsint:e. He held in his hand a Liverpool share list, fte_ found that many companies had from six . to nine d i ti m ere w n i t i kinds or classes of shares. At. present a railwa e y eceonmAianneyt borrow money to raise a capital of a million of rnon money W paid up, but money till a clear half of the capita n 1 this did not exclude them fromlieapplying for extensions wanteci was, that no or new lines, o th r e h w e li a o l l; company should havaen•da nr‘e.hwatlineticlotnheeeydheadritoratihdemnp, lowed to lease any new line up .ow, by the share list he of their original capital. N found that the South-Eastern held in his hand, Company, besides their nourrnigbit d capital, had fo N u o r s. dt ferent kinds of shares 2,3, and 4, and upon w hi c h various sums had been paid. He found that the upon which various sums had been paisl. lie found that the London and South-Western had eight dif ferent kinds of shares, th ß e London and North-Western ten kinds, and th e Midland ai lway twelve kinds of shares. In the case of the South-Western Railway, by twenty Acts pasted since the year 1836, they were empowered r to raise (1,000,000/. and to borrow 2,600,000 1. T his sum was divid e d i nto 252,000 shares , ranging in amount from 251. to 501., andthe sum of 32/. had been paid upon 93,090 of these shares. Of the whole amount of the capital authorised to be raised 3,656,0 CW. remained yet unpaid, and the company now came to the House for power to raise 3,000,0001. and to borrow 1,000,000/., making a total of 4,000,000/. Now, why did not the pay up the amount they were a l ready House compel the m authorised to raise, instead of giving them fresh powers to ob tain new capital to the enormous amount w hi c h t h ey now soug ht power to raise? Two of these bills, amounting to 1,037,0001., were proposed to be constructed out of the surplus profits, and of the other six bills, there were eight directors down on the subscription contract for 186,000/. each. Thi, w as an evasion of the rules of the House, which ou g ht not to be permitted. It was coming forward with an array of paper m en, instead of bullion men.—( Hear, h ear .) B ut this was not all. The deposit of ten per cent. was to be paid out of the funds of the Company. He would ask if it was possible that a greater perversion of the designs of the Legislature o cou take place ? He had a report also from the Railway Commissioners concerning the Glasgow, Dumfries, Carlisle, Paisley Com pany, and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock a and Ayr Com pany, the total capital of which was to be ) ,500,000/. They issued 80,00 shares to make up this, in shares varying from 50/. to 10/. each. This Ayrshire coin had tak en p owers t o lease the Kilmar noc k an d ITroon P a Y e for 999 years. Ile found that the same Company h a d, b y a recen t Act, obtained p ower to amalgamate with the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway Company ; an Act for the i ncor p orat i on of which was obtained in 1816. They had also agreed to amaleamation with another scheme called the Glas gow an d Belfast Union This Ayrshire Com pany had sub scr ib e d , i t would appear, 360,0001. o enahle the Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle Company - to go to Parliament and press for war d t h e i r B ill. This seas manifestly a vio'ation of the standing orders. The subscription contract for the Ayrshire company had been signed by ten directors and Ono ' officer for the large sum of 2,300,000/ , though the Act 0 incorporation originally authorised them only to raise 1,500,0001. The ten directors subscribed for 30,000/., one up to 260,0e0/. Now the Glasgow, Dumfries, and Cawasr lisle Railway Company, the other c om p an y in question, originally empowered to raise 1,300,00 W. in 52,0 00 sha res of 25/. each, and as yet they had only raised 51. a share, or 243,0001. in all. The Ayrshire company had raised this year for its extension schemes 153,0001. The subscription contract of the Glasgosv, Dumfries, and Carlisle Com p an y had been signed by eight directors and the secretar y for 1,908001, being 170,00 W. for each director, and 186,000/. for the secre tary. Such were the responsibilities of these two compa ct who had only in the one ease raised 243,0001. and 153,0 00 capital respectively towards the large amount of for which the directors had signed.—( Hear, hear.) Now these two C o mmissioners came forward with Bills before this House, and they proposed to raise by the six Bills before the House a capital of 6,:389 OCW. These Commissioners earne before thi s Hou s e, and declared themselves ready and able to raise thi s amount of 6 398,)001., and the only guarantee they offered for this large amount was the subscription of the direc tors to the contract deed of the company. Now he would read the contract deed, for he had furnished himself with all of th . se documents. The report of the Commissioners hil l f original capital of the Greenock Company was 1.`2:2 2,° ", ; t and they s ought to increase that capital by loans to, in the or instance, 3,532.000 h and in the other to 2,866,0 , 0 a , Ina lung d a total of 6,398,0001., which was to be guaran tee , by the subscription of the directors to the contract deed ( The Hon. Member then read extracts from directors, showing that in compliance with the standing orders they had, through the instrnmentality of the National Banko, of Scotla n d, paid in to the Accountant of the Court t. " Chancery the ten per cent. on their capital required by the the report of h standing orders.) That was done in order to secure the . ~.. pany, an d he etated the facts in order that the whole of tn r ! matter might be brought out. He deeply regretted tha . a; 1 1 .. Scotch Be / Abed been found to act in such a way, and es ' Pfecaotl any chartered bank; but above all that the National Bank n ‘ ,. 1 len land should consent to place themselves in such a posive n • ~i , there was the company for forming aline to Bury St. dlller% d i the repot tof which he held in his hand. That company to",. last session sought to obtain six Bills, the united capital 57 raised being 2,000,0001. with power to get 700,0001. on 10: ra By the Acts which they obtained in 1845 and 1846 they e , .., entitled to raise still further capital, anal for this they ha( l , ". sued 16,000 shares of 25!. each. On these they bad mane .." call of 224,0001., and the whole amount that same in e s P ° o "_ these calls was 204/. They had issued about 22,00 share ~titt: which they had raised 90,0001., and the whole of the caple__' which they had obtained was 334,0001. Now, this cereal:. came before Parliament in the present sesaion for The subscription contract was signed by twelve additionaldirectsfor 1,612,0001., and they asked for powers to raise an that capital of 2,700,000 i. Did not such a state of things railway require amendment? He was sorry , indeed, that honest _o companies should suffer for these ets, but his resolution to D. effective must be general. He could increase the sember he companies who had been guilty of these thought he had mentioned sufficient to induce the House . accede to his resolution. He really thought that Parliani.en..! ought to stop the progress of every railway gill brough.ol.nr.. ward this session, but such a course as that might inflict( tie not nee malpractices, but h to tics upon many deserving companies, and he was that paella' prepared to propose it. He thought it necessary that 1 vers. ment should interfere in some way in this subject uPenesedeal grounds, he thought the public ought to know what th ings and conduct of every railway board was; House ought to interfere in consequence of the pressurenehl ..inf the country felt from the present state of Ireland en theni tui provisions in this country, and upon the ground of ln t h e ir which manufacturers experienced in obtaining discount Oen Bills. He anticipated nothing but distress and confusie 0 cow the Commiksioners not interfering in the subject. a ._ a bi d he though:. t.h! not have believed it possible for such transactions n 1, referred to to have taken place in open day. to say anythiu ; against any individual direclitoerlidhs;°;:ihtibegj'e only to call attention to the whole system, ands o Oats.; interference of Parliament. If they allowed thingto go i ' il " . the same way they would be alone responsible for themem chiefs that might ensue. He did not know any Mel!" rt,bo6, effectual for checking the evil than by the House affirmlnt resolution he had moved. He did not contemplate 1 7 %foe sition to the resolution from any free and independe t bad ber. He begged, therefore, to move the resolution he " read to the House. Mr. GREEN begged to suggest to the Hon. Gent.letos, tt; the propriety of making a slight alteration in the resolet:3ooo, the effect, " that in every Bill to enable, ate--, be introduced," &c., so as to remove all technical °Were Mr. HUME having assented to the suggestion, 110 ... h Mr. JOHN ABEL SMITH seeonded the elution, te..trb he did -Member que aree with him in all the particulars tor which a clause .h n. ." the Hon. had adverted. He thought, howeve _. t vo °_.. the. House was under a great obligation to the Hon. Gentleed 5; for having called its attention to this subject, as it al'll ea d r t heir him that the state of the railway legislation demoni c ~ the most serious consideration. He was also of opinion. ; eat n , statements which he had made were correct, his resolution.ei7i o n wf o h t tihe g eh o Hh f a aa r du e sh n ee o —e u t g ih h es o; meant and el y w ta i t in t o h d o ms u o t o jn i ti i r e , s t tt e al n ryy d o i n e g e o to y i rates n g the a"e li n t " n ° one could deny but the influence sYosften;a—ilieh•eaytgh°Ucgn tt.b:t capital of the country formed a most import-hat element in its consideration. lie therefore Lolle d nien t resolution might elicit from the House and the GecT , e e n ii - a it. some opinion as to the propriety of proceeding wit h t " as way Bills, at present in progress, before Parliament. It vr enough for them to remember that during the last tw o Y . 1 1 (; they had sanctioned Bills to raise a capital exceeding - millions, while the Bills before the House of the present year, t embraced ' a capital of 87 millions. Consideri n g the presen s tate of the country , t he vast call made for provisions, a nd th e uncertainty of the future harvest, it behoved the House and the Government to pause ere they sanctioned any other scheme a t present. He had no wish to depreciate railway enterprise, or the advantages they conferred, but he did hope something would be done with the Bills at present before Parliament. He would not be justified in saying more at present, as he did it in order to draw forth the opinions of the House, and to learn what the intentions of the Government were' Cal snel SIBTHORP thought it was too late to close the stable door when the steed was stolen. Some twenty-ri ce yearsagnoeyheerhtaakdefn a foreseen this share, isstate norof tldriindghse n ;and,end t h to He asked the Hon. Member for Montrose where he was when these Bills were before the House, and nine or ten Hon. Mem bers used to meet at twelve or four o'clock, and settle ;II these i t T i f o oe , r , o he had . important measures. As it was too late for the Hon. Member to oppose the progress of the measures with effect now, still, as he d ith the motion it should have his support. l le hoped agree that w this motion of , the Hon. Member lor Montrose would be followed bv others of a similar c haracter, and thug h this was late in the day, it would have his earne st and cordial support. Mr. HUDSON was not at all surprised that this queati en had been brought before the House on the presen t occ ision! but he wished to say a few words on the motion whiek hi t been submitted to the H ouse. He was exceedingly g lad that in all companies to w hich the Hon. Member had referred, the large amount of cap ital which had been entrusted to thern, and the large amount of mileage for which that capital was raised had not been included. He had expected that some thing would ha ve been brought to light concerning them, but he had not said a word relative to the companies with which he , was connected. The Hon. Member's motion sought to stop the outlay on railways, or at least to prevent the outlay for the formation of mew lines ; or, at an rate to put a limitation Hear, bear," and - No, no.") He hadon that s tro o n u g t l feelingsay. ( C o r r i ie the Cries of Mr. SMITH explained ‘st‘uhbajtelicet. had not raid a what about limiting the t d h e b c outlayimposed for railways, wae•s, b restrictingut h t e h e thought formation of gnome st railways. Mr. HUDSON—In other words, the lion. Member would restrict the outlay for the promotion of new lines in order to retain the monopoly which was in the possession of the com panies who had the old ones. If they restrained the outlay or. rail,vays—if the House interfered f or that purpose --why go t l restrict the outlay for ironworks , for cotton factoriee, and 3 o ther manufactories in the country , in w hich large numbers o able-bodied lab aurora were employed, for in no b us iness W . ' there a greater number of labourers deriving comfortable walee,!: and in which capital was inure usefully expended, than in tu: promotion of railways. The people of this country had deter. mined the way in which their capital should go, and he thought that the House ought to be very cautious of interfering with any business on which so large a number of I ' . bourerselepended. He had himself been very anxious to obtain the number of able-bodied labourers who were occupie under those with whom he had to do, and he found that t he e r ! were not less than 50,000 people receiving wages frotrnilite'i directors over whom he had the hoeour to preside. e e"e" - Il instituted this principle, they would directly say that the l'?`", A should not employ the men in that wa, and would deg. large class of that subsistence which the y y had hitherto en.l°Y!' h With respect to the creation of somanyicinds of shares, 'c hic-- were called into existence under various circumstances' ther• e was no difficulty whatever in the accounts to which the 1 1 ° 4 Member had referred. He quite agreed with wdiatho,ogeti of companies undertaking to raise large sum" that any . capital paid up. It was not the fault of the s ystem til .. various railway companies had been placed in an unfair p0,_ 51 ,, Lion. He always considered it more safe for the public of tr . : country to invest their money in railways than in foreign teat cities. He thought the resolution one which required greee consideration, and he did not think it would be vrise for i i.r_ Hon. Member to press his motion. He thought that he_ Committees of the House were too willing to give facilities_ to companies to raise large sums of money who had themselves. no capital. It had been said that 88,000,000/. had been !pen! in the construction of railways, but the country derived a re de venue from that soure of upwards of 9,000,000!., and conferr also innumerable benefits upon the merchants, the maraufae turers, and the eottagers. Had there been a good harvest this year there would not have been the slightest difficulty felt as to a pressure upon the money market. He thought that the House, had power in their hands already to put a check to the evil complained of by the Hon. Member, by not too readily granting powers to new companies which had no amount of capital paid up. L or d HARRY VANE said that the Hon. Member sell° spoke last entertained some doubts whether the resolution would accomplish the object intended. He himself concurred in those doubts, but he thought something ought to be done in the present uncertainty of railway affairs. The capital pro posed to be raised by the railway companies at present befor Parliament was most enormous, and he thought it absolutely essential that the question of capital should form a special con sideration with the Select Committee, as the attention of Committees sitting on groups was confined , an d very propeul l too, to the merits of each case referred to them. Nor co, he leave out the Great Western Company from the scope his observations; and he considered that Parliaments hoe 0 interfere anal prevent the directors of these companies from signing contracts for the sole purpose of purchasing great do' tricts. Looking at the great difficulties of the railway tom' panics themselves, he considered that it would be a who lesonly check to prevent interest being paid upon calls. Mr. E. ELLICE said that he was glad that this subject hal been brought under the notice of the House, for he considerSoe that Parliament should have interfered a long time ago. tw o had been selected to preside over a Committee in whic h companies were suing for powers to raise additional car t, and he reported to the House at that time, when the lYt r, Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth was prime Min"',er that it was requisite that some steps should be taken in oro,e to check the progress of unmatured railway s chemes, but ~ili was sorry to say that they did not receive any attention urn• the late Vice-President of the Board of Trade, or fro "' see . deed, until lately, even the present Government. He hal lo y seeded, however, in passing a resolution requiring allorr:lier to Bills to be referred to the Railway Commissioners in ,__„., to inquire as to their financial account, land to enable tnen report to the House. The standing orders of the Hou.se..tcreee° openly evaded, and he hoped that the House would pa , - I _" cer . solution that the standing order of the House, requiring;., be tarn number of shareholders to sign a contract, which sh ".Tula binding on themselves, their heirs, anal executors,dane, hereafter be strictly adhered to. If this '11: ho ped there would no longer be a door open for fraud. " a N oire that his Hon. Friend would postpone the discussion to 0 _ the day, in order to give time for further consideration " subject. Mr. lIODGSON said that it would be better for th,eistll:n: Member to withdraw his resolution. It would be n'_ ,, ,, reso heard of injustice if at this period of the session the t ' 1 e .-rt'es received lution putting a wholesale stop to all railway. co nspee. . _ attack the sanction of the House. He denied the justice ef e r was on e which had been made on the Ayrshire company, oh' : eum eries , of the most substantial in Scotland. '1 he GlasgoW, line , and Carlisle Company was also a most respectable nClOl‘. and did uot deiervo tho asponiQui cot uP Qa ift „ Al • G ' - O . 54. ,', ~.~~~: