The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-09-06 00:00:00

DORSET CENTRAL RAILWAY.

The ordinary half-yearly meeting of the shareholders
in this outopany was held on Tuesday the :10th of
August, at the Townhall, Wineanton. Amongst those
present were :—li. D. Seymour, Esq., M.P. (chairman)
H. Ku &peer, Esq., M.P., Sir E. B. M.P.,
Bart.,
C. liltansel,4Ess., George Reed. F:isq., Director% :

Robert e. Reed. -- BestraarY ToogwoOd,
Esq., M. E. Welch, Esq., Solicitors ; J. C. Cotterell,
Fag. Alfred Dallia, Esq.. Resident Eueneer; J. H.
Doa;klson. Faq. H. Memiter, Fart., C. Barton, Esq.,
Charles Blandfo;d, Fem. Mr . Moody, Mr. Crewe, Mr.
Clarke, Mr. Hannan, 'Mr. Inge, Mr. Purchase, Mr.
Cainea, Mr. Bracher, Mr. Richards, ko.
The lilgoaxemte, Mr. Bead, read the following re.
ports
Since the last helf.yearly report considerable pro-
gress has been made in the works of the And section of
the line between Witnborne and Blandford. A length.
eased delay occurred in obtaining possession of mine of
the land at the Witoborne end, causing a corresponding
delay in the completion of the line. The whole of the
land required, with some trilling exceptions, has how.
ever now been for some time in the hands of the con.
tractors, and your directors believe that, should no un-
foreseen circumstance prevent it, the line may be opened
for
.ptiblie tree° in the course of the present year. Ne-
Cs"°n" Ire still pending with the Directors of the
WaMorn Company for working arrangements.
These your directors hope shortly to bring to • tatti-
factor). conclusion; and a resolution will be submitted
to you on the subject. For financial reasons it has been
determined to erect a station of a temporary character
at Blandford St. Mary, Postponing, until the extension
through Woodford is carried out, the erection of • per-
manent station at East Blandford. Notices have been
served upon all the landowners between Temple Coombe
and Bruton, for the land required for that motion of the
line ,• and your directors hope they will assist in the
completion of an undertaking so advantageous to them.
by accepting a reasonable price for their land, and tak-
ing shares of the eompany in payinent. Tho Bill intro-
duoed by the Somerset Central Railway Cowpony, in
the last session of Parliament, for enabling that coin-
pany to lay down the narrow imago has ba.„ss, taw
and your directors have reason to believe that they wilt
be prepared to exchange traffic with thia company at
Bruton without break of gauge, as soon as your line to
that place is completed."

ING Mai WORT.

" The continued difficulties in obtaining
.poseession of
the land have delayed, until a recent period, the °ow
menoeuient of the cuttings at the Wimbome end of the
hue, which, as stated in soy last half-yearly report, is
the measure of the completion of the work. This will
necessarily defer the opening of the line beyond the time
I antieipeted as necessary. The whole of the land is
tow in the hands of the contractors, with trilling en-
emotions. All the fencing is erected excepting a few
chains. The cuttings and embankinenta are formed
from foar miles to Biandford, and for the greater part of
that distance MO bottom ballast is on the ground and
Pertly spread. The remaining cuttings are being Mc'
rowdy pushed. AU the culverts are built. Three road
approaches remain to be camleted, two of which are
comineseed. Of the bridges (y • total number of which
is 93). 19 are completed, and two of the remaining four
areemeselited. The permanent surveys and sections
of the whale lifts tram Dliedford to Britton are mow
Pesi••
" of meld* and expenditure to the 39th
of Arne, 1889:—Whebeene and Bfandford Hoe. Amount
tensited for deposits on shares, =AMU tid. • dohs's-
tax* SIAM ; milis,. 981.115.4 1111. 61. apsiedi-
fin mu said line K 91.915 19s. 24., making a balance
of £9,990 le, ird ...Aim. &sitar. Extension.
Amount received foe deposits oft shares, bet. Parlia-
mentary and other expanses in obtaining the Act, &a.,
96,M1 19.. Id.; Wane* on mooed mow., at Azi
Id.; bankers' balsams, 16411
on first and seeood seetion of ele,l93bstattotaio. foe
•
D. annoys, M.P., the Mainsail of She
Bond of Direalora, then roes and said Yes hue ban )nat board the tied whieh the three.
toes hams to lay bakes the rislsoiders of the Darnel
Central 'Balmy, and I have now to move Ms* awn Ea.

\ ->4,

port he adopted. Sines the loot time that I had the
honour of asliareeeine the eharelioleers, very oonselerable
eneeress hat lean mete in the first section of the line ;
but fer some unforeeen eircumetances, the por-
tion from Witideurne to than.Hord would he now open.
We have, hewers r, had very greet ilidieelty indeed,
wela the landowners, from whom we might rether hew,
expeetee assietadice ; hut on the contrary, whilet mine
here let ue have their land at a reassemble rate, ethers,
for sortie reason that I comet explain, here seemed to
comider the line would be an injery rather than &bene-
fit to the confutes throng!' which it messes, and have
tlirauu everr, obstacle in our way. Tiiey have not suc-
ceeded in di teseilig tee line, but they have eumweiled
in very much ilelavilie its 01.011111 g. It i 0 only within
the 'see few months that a large portion of the lend
mull be handed over to the contraetors, the es insequetiee
of which is, that indeed rut having the first oection
opened, by which we ehenld have sustained our credit,
and given • etimulue to the whole underteking, we can-
not expect to hear from the contreeters that the first
sectiou will be opened as 10011 as we exp. Ord—
certainly not so loon as we desired. 'This is the reason
which will, I fear delay the opening of the find sectiou
until the end of the year ; indeed, if any uufonwen
difficulty arises in the delivery of the laud, it may
even delay it beyond the end of this year. 1 beg the
shareholders to understand this arises nut from any fault
of the contractors, who have exerted themselves to the
utmesit, or of the officers of the board, who have through-
out been meet zealous in their duties. It is due only
to those who threw impedimenta in the way of the de-
livery of the land to the company, and conermently pre-
vented the contractor' frobi fulfilling their part of the
engagement. However, I hope now all difficulties are
telllUtell 012 that section of the line • the land is de-
livered, and th: works will be completed as quickly as
the contractors can perform their contract. The next
point that has engaged the attention of the directors is
the working of thia line when ripened, ant we have en-
tered into negisciations with the directers of that great
company which is so near to no, the South Western—
into which we run, ant of which we are one of the
brenches, RO long as we are merely a line from Wine
borne to Blandforil. This line is the 'limit advantageous
to us to be worked by, because it might throw impedi-
ments in the way of our working the line ourxelves,
or in the way of others working it. We felt
that they eetild work us more cheaply than any other
line; we have entered into neeociations, therefore,
with them ; at the tame time we are not precluded from
any other eimpeny. You are aware that such negotia-
tions are Lot very quickly settled ,• they arc going on
rind I trust that 'sometime before the line is ready to he
11 eeentel they will arrive at a satistectary result. Yeur
directors of course leek only to the intrrest if the shaee•
, hidden' ; they are anxious to obtain for them the beet
possible tenni', but there is considerable difficulty in
, enowing the exact terms on which a branch railway can
be worked, particularly when it passes through a coun-
try through which a line has not gone before. We are
going into • wealthy agricultural district—a thickly
populated district--a faehioneble district, end it is quite
reasonable thet we, the directors, who know the cetne
try, should entertain a better opinion of it than the
South Western Directors, who do not know it so well;
consequently, we have not yet been able to induce them
to believe the line is so good as we believe it to be, but
we way say we find a disposition in thou to listen, and
we shall endeavour to make such terms with them for
working the line for a short period as shall be satisfac-
tory. As I have said, we do not depend entirely upon
the South Western, although they believe they can, if
they choose, work us cheaper than any other; but there
arc two other strings to our bow. We may work the
line ourselves by raising capital to purchase rolling stock,
or we may consider another course that remain,' open to
114. At preemit this is only a line from Wimborne to
Blandford. When it is continued to Temple Coombe
and Bruton, right through, things will then 101011110 a
different aspect. It will no longer be • branch line, but
• long through lino connecting the two channels, and in
estimating the profits of the line we must look to the
part already opened—part of the same undertaking—the
Somerset Central and the line to Flurnliem. The Seiner-
set Central (of which I am also a director) is leased by
the Bristol and Exeter for 4 per cent., and we have rea-
son to believe the Bristol and Exeter find their bargain
a very good one. Therefore, we judge that as the lino
to Winiborne and Blandford passes through • richer
country—through a niers thickly populated country—
where there is inure of the produce of the land to go out
from it —taking the corn and the coal traffic of that district
--it must be a very much more remunerative line than
the Somerset Central, and yet that is leased to the Bris-
tol and Exeter at 4 per cent. Of course, also, when the
I traffic through is developed, when the London and
I Southampton traffic is carried on that line, the profits
would be much larger than they would be on a mere
branch line. The next point on which I shall touch in
the station at Blandford, and this more particularly
affects thee. gentlemen at the other end of the country,
with whom you will be much better acquainted when
the line is opened through. We are obliged to atop about
half-s-mile from the town, at Blandford St. Mary, and
to inake a temporary 'station there, because of the nature
of the ground, which would require us to 'mike 2 mile
more of the hue right across the town of Moldier,'
where there is a great deal of houae property. We
therefore stop at Blandford St. Mary until we are able
to finish the next two miles, a large portion of which
comes into the second section of our line, and properly
might to he deferred until we have completed the third
section, that between Temple Cooinbe and Bruton, which
is that which we particularly desire to complete. And
this' if I may call it so—this Temple Coombe section--is
the key of the whole line between the two Channels. It
is the most important bit in the whole line—the bit
which every company has thought most important sinew
the ground was first surveyed. Every incipient com-
pany that designed to make a railway across the vale
wished to get this; but when the scheme was revieed by
Parliament, and the first section was allowed between
Wiinborne and Blandford, this little portion, so much
coveted, fell to the lot of the Dorset Central, which will
ultimately merge into one great line of railway between
the two Channels. Now it is this portion that, having
completed the Blandford and Wimborne section, we are
most anxious to make. We have, if I may say so, on
this great line four sections. The line from Glaetonbury
to Highbridge was the first; from Highbridge to Burn-
ham was the second; the 'section from Wimborne to
Blandford will be the third; and this from Bruton to
Temple Coombe and Blandford will be the fourth. This
little bit which will connect us with the harbour of
Poole at the one end and Burnham at the other, is the
only piece required to connect the two Channels. We
are more than half way on this great national under-
taking; we are now at the turning point, and anxious
to complete one of the most important sintiona on the
whole line. And we are anxious to do be because first
of all it would be profitable for us to do so. The Somer-
set Central have opened their hue, and they have 500 or
000 men working on the extension from Glastonbury to
Bruton, and they will complete that section within 12
months. The whole line will be opened from Bruton to
the Bristol channel, and what they will want then it this
next section, which will carry their traffic to London
and Southampton—this Bruton and Temple t'omnbe
piece, which is only nine miles long. You are aware
that the Somerset Central has taken powers this year
to law down the narrow guago ; there will be therefore
no break of guage at all between Temple Coombe and
Ifighbridge. In fact, it is possible that the Bristol and
Exeter may we their advantage in laying down ultimately
the narrow gauge along their line all the way to Bristol.
They will not thereby be declaring for either Great
Western or South Western, but will be giving equal
facilities on their line for both gauges, and thin is this
best neutral ground they can take. It is possible that
in that way a communication may be opened all the
way from Bristol to Poole. At any rate this bit of line
is of importance, and to none more so than the gentle-
men of Wincanton, a number of whom I have the plea-
sure to see before me. You are seven miles from Gil•
linghain, you are five from Bruton; thus you are at all
inconvenient distance to compete with other towns.
You have now the benefit offered you of communication
literally passing through your town, and no railway
has over passed through a town without improving its
trade, its house property, and the value of land around
it. You may now, with a very slight effort on your
part have the benefit of this line. It will not be a
branch railway with all third clue stations, but • trunk
railway of national importance. We ask you, then, to
assist us—to eise your influence with your friends
through whose land we pees, and whose intercede we are
endeavouring to promote. On the one side We bit of
line is assisted by the Dorset Central, and the land-
owners of the distract ; on the other I believe there are
good grounds for saying we shall receive material aesist-
mioe (non the Somerset Central, who looking upon this
line as most important to their interests, will use the
credit of their company to assist us in carrying out this
part of our undertaking. All we want is that you, the
landowners and residents in the district, should assist ns,
as the farmers of Dorset have done by completing the
line from Wimborne to Blandford. Nothing can be more
creditable than their subeeription contract. A large
number of small shareholders shows the feeling of the
district, enables a line to be completed with very great
ease, and gives a etrencth, an impetus, and a public
footing in the county, which brings to us all those who*:
fortunes are the largest. The wish of the directors is to
consult the convenience of the landowners, and
to treat them in the fairest prosible manner ; they
have given such orders to their engineers and all their
officers, and they hope that the landowners will deter-
mine to assist them as far as posaible, and look
upon them, not as enemies to be fought, but as friends
to be supported. All the permanent surveys of the line
dfod nothingrdtoßro toinn.a.retinco engineers
wanting but
the enginee
afromanm Blaniy.
an
but W
on, nothing but the capital, whichwillenpaubt h
le tuse mn
to en-
ter on the land at once, and complete the whole lino
through from coast to coast. Our arrangements are
such that if you will do your quota, we may promise
you that the line will be opened from one end to the
other within four years at the very tamed. Besides the
reasons I have urged for completing this section there is
this—that the Act compels us to finish this before any
other part of the line. We are obliged at once to came-
uience the Bruton and Temple Coombe section. We
have no choice, and having shown you that we have
done our best, and that all we want is • little meistanoe
to carry us through, I do not think I shall appeal to
you in vain. You will have the conl of Somerset pass•
ang along this line. I remember Lord Rivers, whose
absence, and the smote of it, must be • matter of deep
regret to us all, telling me that the 004 ill his neigh-
bourhood was purchased by the poor at 425, a ton. You
will bedew • very great boon on the poorer classes by
rendering coal cheaper, and you will be wedding the
rich agricultural districts of Dorset and Somerset to the
rich mineral districts of Wales, where they are coining
money underground, and are only waiting to be able to
expend it in your productions. In going down to Yeo-
vil. I can remember having seen the carriers' wagons
marked" Pooeg," and that town no doubt used them
to supply the agricultural districts with a vast number
of foreign products--imeh as the timber newsier, to
erect the farm bonding'. Of course when railways are
opened now to other parts, the South Coast loses that
traffic, and if timber comes front only one or two parts
the agricultural interest has to pay dearer for it than if
there was a competition. You will restore that com-
petition by making this line, and you will be increasing
the wealth of the nation by diminishing the coat of
raising agricultural produce. Besides this, in a national
point of view, you will be facilitating intercourse be-
tween the northern and southern ports, and between
these rich counties and the opposite coast of France. It
Is necessary for France that the should have several out-
lets. She cai.not depend entirely upon Dunkirk and
Boulogne and other ports eastward; she wants some
other entrance, snob as she has at Cherbourg. for tier
rich agricailturel districts, and our system being complete,
a very large coatmeros with you and your oPPoIiW

nei.it bourn may be expected. I will only in conclusion
azatit urge you to kelp in carrying out this pruject ;
utity Ivn.l us a little kind asebitenee, and we bare no
doubt of arriving at a eatidacLay result. (Loud
abet-rt.)
Tile 'notion for the adoption of the report wan
ee.ol l.t by Ur. Moody, and agreed to, as w.s eke
the second re:10111foot authorizing the direct.ra to
arrange with the Seuth-Weaterit for the working of time
line.

Mr. J. li. Correnet.l,, of Bath, in a onlinthn recs.
hit. , observed that the amount alresdy raised .41 this
Temple Coombe section was not sufficient to make it
without some extraneous aid. He had been exceedingly
struck with the speech of their friend the Chairman. It
MILM mite worth a Ion,: journey to bear it —(clieers)—and
he liopLal by the assistance of their friend from Sher-
burne that many who had not heard it might be able to
read it. Flu reineuibred Sum Slick drew a comparison
between Canada and the United States. One was a pool
only occasionally refreshed by showers from leaven; the
other was &large lakejuto and through which rivers ran.
He might refer them to two towns in Dorset and
Somerset as samples of the pool—where railways stopped
and could not proceed further. The lake was their uwn
district. (Cheers.) He should hope that the tradesmen
and others in that neighbourhood would before to-mor-
row morning double their interest in the undertaking.
Thui Wan the sort of enthusiasm that the Chairman's
speech hail kindled in hio, and lie was quite prepared
to double his shares. (Loud cheers.)
A vote of thanks to the directors was then moved by
Mr. MOODY, and seconded by Mr. H. MKnellT7.B. Mr.
SETIMUR briefly acknowledged it, and the proceeding"
terminated.

11.twiccncm.x.-7he Railway. —llm Yeovil and
Exeter railway is now nearly finished in this
locality, the pernument rails are laid down for many
miles, and the putts of the iron horse are heard at
last in the valley of the Axe. The engine is taking
ballast up and down the hue from Wadbrook Fenn,
most of the bridges are finished, and the work is
done in a masterly style. We have several level
crussini,s in this neighbourhood at Bmadhridge,
Tytherleigh Bridge, and at Axe Farm. At Croat-
don the turnpike road will be carried over the line,
as are also the road leading from Weyeroft to Small-
ridge, the road to Cloakham House, and the road
leading from Axminster to Kilmington. Every in-
habitant in this and our neighbouring parishes is
Imaging for the time for the lute to I.e opened.

Sir KRIKIIEN r. • - War !0.,. —Mr. Earnest Bateman
Falwasaer has pausal his examination fur a tempo-
rary clerkship.
The inhabitants of Castleton awl others have sub-
scribed, and purchased of Mr. Mania, silversmith, a
very handsome silver salver, on which is the follow-
ing inscription :—" Presented to the llev. William
Hector Lyon, M. A., Perpetual Curate of Castleton,
Dorset, on his marriage, by his parishioners and eon-
gree,;., thin in token of their respect awl esteem.-
25th July, 1859."
APOTHECAMFA' HALL—Among the gentlemen
who received certificates to practise on 'Thursday,
August 25, we read the name of Mr. Francis Fel-
wasser, Sherborne, Dorset.
The anniversary services connected with the Wes-
leyan Sunday School in this town were held on Sun-
day the ;Nth ult., and on the Tuesday following.
Sermons were preached on the occasion by J. G.
Avery, Esq., and the Rev. William Henley. The
interest which has characterised this institution for
many years is still sustained, the congregation being
very largo, especially on the Sabbath evening, when
the chapel was crowded to excess as usual. The
obituary of those children who have died during the
year was read after the service, which gives addi-
tional interest and solemnity to the occasion.
Although the weather on the Tuesday was not so
favourable as could be desired, yet it did not ap-
pear to have lessened the attendance either of the
children or visitors. About 320 children walked in
procession to the fields in Horscastles, where they
were entertained by various and interesting amuse-
menta, and such were the admirable arrangenoents
made, that the whole school could well be accommo-
dated by tents, itc., even if the rain had been con-
tinuous. At five o'clock tea and cake was provided
for the children in the large school-room underneath
the chapel, and by a relay of the tables, not less than
, 250 visitors, who had favoured the school with their
' presence, also took tea. At seven o'clock a public
meeting was held in the chapel, Andrew Hingston,
Esq., of Liskeard, Oirnwall, presided; after several
very interesting oAlitreshes, the meeting ended, and
thus closed a very agreeable and interesting miniver-
airy.

Tux Reliway.—On Friday week, Mr. W.
Hooks, the Chairman of the Local Hard of Health,
accompanied by Mr. Avery and Mr. Parsons, and by
Mr. Nlehnotli, the clerk of the board Intl an inter-
view with Captain Mangles and Mr. Sergeant ase.
lee, as they passed through Sherburne, with several
other South Western directors, on their way to Yen.
vii, as it was stated, to meet the chairman and direc-
tors of the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company, to
make arrangements for the junction of the two
and to decide on the site to be selected for the Von.
vii goods station. Mr. Ffooks stated that he and the
gentlemen who accompanied him had been desired to
press upon the consideration of the South Western
Company the importance, in any arrangements they
might make, of providing an easy mode of commu-
nication with the Great Western Railway near Brad-
ford Abbas, so that the inhabitants of Sherburne and
its neighbourhood more especially, and the inhabi-
tants of the entire district to the east of Sherbonie,
as far as Gillingham and Shaftesbury, might be en.
abled to travel without delay or inconvenience, as
often as occasion may require, to the county town of
Dorchester, as well as to Weymouth. They were,
however, informed that it was too late to discuss the
advantages of a station at Bradford Abbas, as it hail
been already settled that the junction station should
be at Stiford, anti that all that remained to be con•
sidered was where the Yeovil goods station should
be placed; either near the passenger station at Sto-
ford, or near the Yeovil gas works. The deputation
represented that if arrangements such as these indi-
cated were carried out, all persons going from Shaf-
tesbury, Gillingham, Stalbridge, Temple Coouibe,
31ilborne Port, and Sherborne, to Weymouth if they
went by the narrow guage, would have to go first to
Stoford, then change, and go back by the Bristol
and Exeter Railway to Pen Mill, and there wait for
a Great Western down train. Mr. Sergeant Gase-
lee said he feared it must be so ; and suggested as the
only remedy he could recommend, that the Great
Western Company should be invited tojoin the other
two companies at Stoford. This the deputation con-
sidered would be very unsatisfactory. It was then
suggested, that instead making an extension of the
line to Stoford, the Great Western Company might
think it more to their advantage to make the short
line they had originally proposed to Sherborne. The
South Western directors promised, most coarteously,
that what bad been mentioned should not be forgot-
ten ; and they strongly advised that the people of
Sherhonie should not try to get two lines of railway
to their town. The deputation then withdrew.