The Press.
London, England, 1855-06-09 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

At that tittle the Stock of the South-WeStern
Railway stood at 00. In November, when the
money was to be raised, it had fallen to 74.
The shareholders were out of temper ; a few
noisy members of the body persuaded a majo-
rity of the rest that their atl'airs were not so
well managed as they ought to be ; the pledge
formerly given under the direction of the
Company was repudiated ; the unfortunate
district left without accommodation of any
sort; and the House of Commons—not to use
too strong a word—bamboozled.
Happily, or unhappily, the necessities of
railway companies render this sort of morality
peculiarly hazardous in their case. The
South-Western have come to Parliament with
a bill this year—expect to come, before long,
with another and a most vital one—and the
House, for once, has a memory. After much
opposition the House consented to the second
reading of the bill, hut (significantly enough)
referred it to the same Committee which had
been deluded by the pledge of 1858. The
Committee met on the 24th of March, and
came to some resolutions which can hardly
fail to have a most beneficial effect on railway
companies in general. They " conceive that
" the reference of the bill to the same Com-
" mittee had special regard to the non-fulfil
" ment of a pledge given to that Committee,
" &c. ;" " regret to find that no provision is
" made in the bill now submitted to them for
" the redemption of that pledge ;" further,
" desire to intimate that, in the absence of any
" satisfactory proposal being made on this
" point, they will insert a clause binding the
" Company to carry out fully the terms of
" that pledge on pain of the Company's divi-
" dends being stopped ;" and, further, " that if
" from any cause the present bill should be
" abandoned, they will bring the subject be-
" fore the House to be dealt with, &c. &e."
" Made nova virtute" Railway Committee I
If some such resolutions had been passed ten
years ago the dishonesty, misery, and ruin of
1847.48 might perhaps have been averted.

On April 28 the South-Western share-
holders held a meeting on the subject. Those
of their number who are M.P.'s, and feel
the unpleasant position they involuntarily
occupy, spoke as men of sense and honour
naturally would speak. A good deal was
said by the miscellaneous orators of the
assembly, about the tyranny of the House of
Commons—" War to the knife," "No surren-
der," &c. But eventually, it is unnecessary to
say, dividends carried it against indignation,
and the Directors are to " make terms."

Wa should scarcely have devoted so much
time to this not over-reputable affair, but that
we are anxious to submit to the House of
Commons and to the Government a consi-
deration which perhaps may be overlooked.
Far beyond all other means of defence, we
believe the late Duke of WELLINGTON placed
" the coast line," with its facilities for con-
veying troops, and its attendant " telegraph."
If any one will look over the map of England,
he will perhaps find no other portion of the
English coast so unprovided in this respect,
as that which lies between Portland Bill, and
the mouth of the Exe. And (which is more to
the purpose) it contains at least one of the most
assailable points in England. At the mouth
of the Exe is a fine, broad, almost level beach,
a full mile in length; the roadstead is very
sufficient ; there are no cliffs, not even a hill,
to delay an invading force ; it might penetrate
into the heart of Soinersetshire without en-
countering the slightest natural impediment ;
finally, the place is utterly undefended, and is
at this moment fully two days' march from
any railway terminus whatever. It will
scarcely be believed, that if the Government
wish to convey troops from Dorchester to
Exeter, by far their readiest route is by South-
ampton, Basingstoke, Reading, and Bristol ;
and for concentrating troops upon any point
between the two places in question they have
simply no facilities at all. What we wish to
impress upon the Committee, is,—First, that
the coast line, in it; integrity, should be
insisted on, instead of (what the Company
propose) a divergence to Yeovil ; and, next,
that the evident preparations making by the
Company for dandling over the work until
"the war is finished, or money is cheaper," or
the chapter of accidents interferes to help

SATURDAY,

people who will not help themselves, must be
frustrated promptly mid at once. There is no
necessity to delay the formation of the line
to Exeter, whether from Yeovil or Dorchester,
(as the South. Western Company would have
us believe) until the line from Salisbury to
Yeovil is completed. The whole work ought
to be set about at once ; if any part may be
safely defbrred, it is that east of Yeovil, which
has already railway communication of its own.
Whether, as the shareholders seem to suppose,
any assistance can be afforded by Government
to the Company in the way of facilitating
their raising funds for the purpose, we know
not. Mr. DISRAELI'S reply to the same request
when he was in office .foes not seem pro-
mising; and, in any case, both the Govern-
ment and the House of Commons will do well
to secure entire bond fides on the part of the
Company, both as to the performance of its
pledge, and the time to be allowed for perform-
ing it, before they grant unusual accommo-
dation to a Company, even while furthering
a national object.