The Express.
London, England, 1851-04-23 00:00:00

IHREWSBURY AND BIRMLNGHAM
RAILWAY.

The particulars of the dispute respecting this line
of railway have been reported in the Express. The
shareholders have, by a large majority, pronounced
themselves to he in favour of the terms offered by the Lon-
don and North Western Company for a twenty-one years'
lea.c. A large number of the inhabitants of M. olverhacup-
ton arc, however, desirous that the line should be preserved
suit worked independently in connexion with the Great
Western, Shrewsbury mid Chester, and Birkenhead lines, in
order that they may possess two complete chains of railway
communication north and south. With the view to effect this

purpose a requisition, signed by a large majority of the princi-
pal factors, manufacturers, and merchants, was presented to
the Mayor, Joseph Walker, Esq., praying hem to call a
town's meeting, whereat the subject might be discussed and
a memorial to the Rail vray Comniissioners adopted. To adopt
the language of the requisition, it was "to consider the best
means of reAsting the contemplated monopoly of the Lon- T. 2.
don and North Western Company by the proposed lease of yo
the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway, as being op 10
posed to pubde principle and to the interests of this
trading community." 151
This meeting took place on Monday evening at the As- r.
suably Rooms, JOHN HARTLEY, Esq., an iromnaster and ye
county magistrate, presiding, the Mayor declining to take 30
60 chair on the ground (as he said) of the delicate position 26
▪ ve,iich he stood, that of a director of the Shrewsbury
add Birmingham Company ;it was his wish that the sub- ir
iset should be impartially discussed, and also that it should 23
▪ distinctly unite:stood the Shrewsbury and Biriniagtant
directors had had nothing to do with the getting up of this 0$

R. ALKEIt, Esq., a county magistrate, whomoved the
first resolution,said they had only to consider the ;
interests of he town of Wolverhampton awl the is
convenience of the public ; he wished that sonic gr,
of those who had been elevated by their fellow towns. tS
men to the highest municipal honours had come 111
forward on that occasion, and stated the grounds bo
121
on which they had acted and justified their conduct in the ,
endeavour to hand over this line of railway to the tender 17
mercies of the Londoa and North Western Company ; so
to some permits it seemed as if the welfare of this lin
great scut of industry and the convenience of the public sc ,
were as nothing compared wih the prospect of a three per p,
cent. ilividewl. The projection of the Shrewsbury
Railway originated with the idea which parliament se
had solemn:y ratified, of beenfang to this district 114:
two independent lines of railway to Liverpool and to I
the sister isle ; this public boon received at the hands of sts:
the legis.ature, it was now sought to render a nullity by ;!
handiug over the railway to tho London and North Wes- *
tern Company, to whom it would be in fact valueless thus to
far, that that company had already lines in whichever M.,
direction the Slue wsbury and Birmingham line communi- iu
cated, whereas by connecting it with the Great
Western lines it would be the means of opening up to this
town suit the distiict two complete lines W Loudon, and Ili
the ports of the south and west; to Liverpool and Ire- gt.
land on the west. That was the very principle which 20
parliament had recognised. Now, it was quite obvious that, a
in the hands of the London and North Western Company, r
the Shrewsbury line might not unlikely be shut up alto-
gether. Ile Cot justified in saying this by what that coin- a
puny had done iu respect of its other leased lines—for in-
Mance, the Kensington and West London line, respecting
which proceedings sad been taken in the Court of Chau- t
eery, there not being a single passenger train taken over it :
it was used fur goods traffic only, and that was what the Is
London and North Western Company called promoting la
the interests of the neighbourhood. They were seeking to pre- Mr
serve that amount of convenience of which, if the Shrews- ligsl
bury Railway passed into the hands of the London and ;
North Western Company, the inhabitants of Wolverhamp-
ton, the vastly populous and rich mineral district surround- ri;j;
in. it, and thew:tidy of Salop' would be for ever deprived. le ,
As for the lease offered by the London and North Western IC:,
Company, he dialed that its terms were such that it could i
ever be legally carried out without an act of parliament, 1,`34, •
awl to say that it could be was a delusion, a fraud, and a jg
snare upon the public. Mr. Walker concluded by 00
moving the following resolution :—" That this meeting So
learns there is a probability of the Shrewsbury ,3"
and Birmingham Railway being trattsferrol to the 25:
London and North Western Company, and that inasmuch a
as such a prom-:ding would place a monopoly of the railway
traffic of this town and neighbourhood rutin: hands of the 30
London and North Western Company, and would he a St
breach of public faith, it is the interest and duty of the in- rA
habitants of this town to resist the contemplated measure, 7,
soil this meeting pledges itself to give it every opposition in pc
parliament or otherwise." a
Mr. A. WALTON, merchant, seconded the resolution, 23
which was put to the meeting and unanimously curried.
illr. BAILEY, merchant, moved the second resolution,
"That this meeting cannot but express its conviction „,
that the permanent and true interest of the share-
holders in the Surewshury and Birmingham Company con- le
mists in complete traffic communication with the Great
%T stern Comany, because with the Rollie vi' that line
thrown on to the Shrewsbury line it would afford a direct 20
line to London and the North fully equal to that of the NI
North-Western itself, and because such traffic could not be

diverted from the Shrewsbury line."
Mr. Councillor COLEMAN seconded the resolution.—lf 90
(lie said) the arrangement with the monopolising London and
North-Western Company were carried out there was no 171
telling what the tonnage charge would be next year. SS
The: resolution was also unanimously carried ; after
which
E. 13. DIMMOCK, Esq., moved the adoption of
the following memorial to the ltailway Commisgioners. 311
The transfer of the Shrewsbury hue to the London and 55,.
North West:rn would (he said) inHiet irreparable injury 1,1
lon this town and the district; this leviathan Company al- a
ready controlled almost with iron hind the traffic of this
district ; it had two of the canals ; virtually the South Staf-
fonLthire and Oxliod, Worcester and Wolverhampton 50
lines; the Shropshire Union Canals and Railway; the SD
Stour Valley line ; and was in close alliance with the Mid- 24
land Company ; and us a proof of the use they made of
monopoly where they possessed it—they charged 'Lis. per 12;
ton ler iron from Willenhall to London, the distance being 10
126 miles' ant only Fs. 4d. from the same town to Livers
pool, the distance being 90 miles—the last was the result of 'l,
competition. The Staffordshire and Shropshire iromniisters 61,
had hitherto possessed almost exclusively the Liverpool it
market fur the best de.eriptions of iron. Once hand over
the Shrewsbury lines to the London and North Western 73
Company, and they would inevitatily be driven out of the
market by the inniumsters of South Wales. Mr. Dina-
mock then read the following memorial to the " railway

hat the London and North Western Railway pro-
(reds from Birmingham to u most inconvenieut station for 10
thin large and important town at more than a mile distant 1
from it, though it has a line called the Stour Valley with a Cl" 4
station close to the town ready for immediate Use, but which 3'
the London and North Western Company has for upwards r
of a year refused to open.
" That the Great Western line from London through
Oxford to Birmiugham has also, by means ut the Birming-
ham, Wolverhampton, and Dudley branch, the facility of
cumin to this turn; and by giving over the Shrewsbury
and Birmingham line to the Shrewsbury and Chester and
Birkenhead lines, will give to this great district and to the
important country through which they pass au additional
and independent line to the metropolis and to the porta of the
Mersey.
" But that the London and North Western Company, in at
ender to procure a monopoly of the whole traffic of this
pantion of the empire, and to prevent any junction ut 81.
Wats erhamptun between the lines in cootie:jou with the ly
Great Western and the Shrewsbury and Birmingham line, to
is now offering a guarantee to the shareholders of the latter 6
line fur a lease of it for 21 years. at.
" Your memorialists are assured that the proceeding on 7111
the part of the London and North Western Company, is as 2
contrary to law a, they know it to be opposed to all public ry
principle, and to their own interests.
" Your memorialists therefore humbly pray you to racy- a
aim all powers vested in you, fur the purpose of discoutte-
mincing and preventing the monopoly and wrong sought by 10
the London and North Western Railway Company froui zi
being carried into effect." 17
Mr. Alderman BRADSHAW seconded the memorial.
wilds was adopted, and a deputation was appointed to pre- 17
25
soak to the railway commioioners.
Subsequently the MAYOR entered into some explana-
tirmahr the purpose of showing that the deputation, nego-
tiating with the -London and North Western Railway Com-
pany last December, had not been guilty of a breach of
good faith by concealing the fart that negotiations were
going on simultaaconsly with the Great Western Company.
In the first place (lie said) Mr. Knox avowed the fact to
Captain Rauh; and in the second, the negotiations wore for
dissimilar purposes—that with the London being to arrange
matters for equal rates; that with the Great Western fur a
tragic arrangement; and as a proof that the London and
North Western did not in the first in-lance regard this as
an hostile act, Captain Bairn wrote to Mr. Saunders after
the trade agreement with the Great Western was con-
cluded, and asked him whether there would be any objec-
tion to cuter into an agreement for equal rates and fares.
The meeting was afterward: made special, and a resolution
was pained signifying the approbation of the meeting of the
general policy of the directors of Lie Shrewsbury and Bir-
mingham Company, and urging than to persevere in it.

Yesterday three of the newly-elected directors pre-
sented themselves at the board-room, Wolverhampton, for
admission. Only one of them (Alderman Andrews) was
admitted; and, upon being told that counsel advised that
his election was invalid and illegal, that gentleman was
ejected. It was understood that the directors had laid be-
fore
them en offer from the Great Western Company renal
the North-Western to the following effect:—To take the
line fur three years upon a guarantee of 3 per cent. per an-
num, and for the fourth year at 4 per cent.; at the end of
that period the Birmingham, Wolwrhampten, and Du.ll,y,
the s;ir. wibury and Birmingham, th,• rheltkr and Shrew--
h.r)..t.1tl the ehe•rer cold Birkenhead Hallways to he amal-
wimatcd upon herealt,r to re A.' r,ld tleoll.