The Express.
London, England, 1849-12-05 00:00:00

THE
MANUFACTURING DISTRICTS.

(From the Dolly News.)
pUNCHMITER, Die. 4.
A meeting of the Manchester Land Society, or
association for purchasing freehold qualifications, took
place at News/Pmbuildtlegs lest evening, when Mr. George
Wilson, Mr. Milner Gibson, bl.l'.' and Mr. Bright, M.P.,
were nominated president., Sir Elkanah Armitage, Mr.
Kershaw, M. P., and other leading gentlemen in the move-
ment were nomiaatel trustees. Mr. Ricken was made ream
tary, Mr. William Shuttlewortb, treasurer, and Musts.
Duffield and Co., solicitors, and a meeting is to take place
in a short time to give authority for active
Cons. There is a determination *.tit the society to .parr
its claims before the inhabitants of every district in the coun-
try, and to spare ne effort to work out the prineiple.
The railway appeal, named in yesterday's Daily News.
came on for hearing this morning at the New Bailey, before
a special sessions—the magistrates present being Mr. 11. L.
Trafford, stipendiary msgistrate, and Mr. John Kay. The
appellants were the London and North Western Company,
and the respondents were the overseers of Barton-on-Irwel
(not of Manchester)—the ground of appeal being unfair-
ness, inequality, and excess of riving to the poor.
The line watch pavers through Barton-upon-Irwell is the
old Manchester and Lirerpoel railway. The counsel employed
wereMestrs. Monk and Pollock for the appellants, and Messrs.
Cobbett and Ovens for the respondents. The case occupied
the attention of the court but for a shaft time, the magus
trates deciding on a legal point against the railway company,
that they had not brought their appeal within a reasonable
time, having allowed several sessions to pats since the rats
was laid, previous to the present. " I suppose," said Mr.
Trafford, in giving this decision, "you will apply for
a mandamus I" That we most scertainly shall," re-
sponded Mr. Pollock. As 1 stated yesterday, the enormous
charges which many of the country, es well as town, parishes
arc Hein upon the railways are exciting a strohg feeling, and
it is most likely parliament will be applied to ultimately
for relief. The total area of Barton-upen-Irwell is 10053 b
acres, and the total assessment upon it, including the rail-
way, is 43,8271. The auestment of the railway, which cecu-
pies only 42 acres of bog land, is 8,90 W. ; so that though the
company occupy only one two hundred and fiftieth part of the
land they are charged with a rate of 1,4501., or one-fifth of
the entire rate levied upsi the whole township. Thy land
on which the railway has been constructed was bought at
401. per acre, so that the rate fly charged upon the
company for it is nearly equal to the whole original pur-
chase money.
1 turn to-day that B. W. Wickham, El., of Kirklees
Dill, near Bradford, Yorkshire, has resigned his sect as
chairman of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Com-
ptny, in consequence of the indisposition of some member
of his family.
Our trade market has been exceedingly dull and din
couraging. The Germans are no longer in a position to
operate in consequence of the frost, and as will be seen by
the notice to another column, both in cloth and yarns, with
a slight exception, prices were in favour of the buyer.
The results of the depression which has now con-
tinued so long are more generally begun to be spoken of as
exhibiting themselves in a diminished production, and unless
some change takes place it is expected that short time will be
adopted by many of the millowners.