The Express.
London, England, 1859-02-10 00:00:00

STIATIOLD-ON AVON .13.4.1LTVA 7.

The ceremony of raising the first sod of the line
ralway which is about to be conwroeted cat Stratford-upon-
Avon to..ir place on Teteeday.
Marty attempts have Leen made to provide railway accom-
modation for Stratford, but. from one cause or other, them
have Ihen unities, asful. When the Oxford, Worcester, and
Wolverhampton Railway was projected in 1844,1 it was in-
tended that the lino should peas by Stratford, but subsequently
the coarse of this railway was changed, and years pasted by
without soy very serious attempt bong m.de to supply what
so many towns inferior to Stratford enjoyed. At length, in
1866, the coep wetioa of the town took the initiative in the
matter; tt new line was projected; and in tha session of the fol-
lowing your (1867), the act was obtained; the bill having
encountered venoms ditticuliies in its parliannetwy pro-
greee—thre among chiefly out of local diaeresis' respecting
the route which the now railway should take. The monetary
panto of Set year, and the continuum cf local oppolltioa,
placing difficulties in the way of obt sluing the noteesaty
tends, the poen ss of the works was for a long time delayed.
After a time, however, all the obstacles having bent *tw-
eedy met, the prosperts el the railway bightened. The
local dirrYors exerted tiltennelvee Awes were talent up by
several of the lendowners In the diritrki, end theneceanry steps
wore taken tom:mews the railway, at wench, as we have
said, the first sod woe thread on 'foals, last, &Ward
Rice, Req., the ettairmaa of the board of directors, perform-
ing that carearcenal.
Stretford was piny " drone' ;" its entire population
torrid out far this interesting occasion; the streets were
thronged with visitors, mason wee tired, and Sags wore
63 lag is all direcicere. At one o'clock free or five a
*Mead front Birmingham, eitot.raing tome thirtylt=
MOO, whom Newry. Branson and Owyther (the contractors)
had Invited to take pert in the proceedings. Shot tly after-
wards • pow si.ion was font. d, headed by the mayor and
corporation, preeeded by their rutetheareis, trod orherwiro
es grand Owe, and the company followed to the grated,
where the formal ceremony of ' turning the sod " was some
through, in the presence of a large ecneour.e of roma., a
great number of whom were Wit.% who amidst hearty
them waisted Dr. Rice in his timpani w wk,

geettlatiun eat down to an excel.,
Peet dinner in the Bhak•pear► hall. The Mayor (J. B.
Freer, Eaq.) prend.d ; Mr. P. H. Mane occupied the vice-
chair.

TEE COALWIIIPPERS' ASSOCIATION.—Lot night
a mowdsd meeting of eialsthippes and the supporere of
their ethos wee held at the Beaumont Institution, Mile-tad,
foe the purpose of facilitating sad deeming the measures
now fa mopes*, and rhe adoption of such otters Oa might be
deemed necessary for the establishment cf a public office for
the employment of them= thawed of by the truck eystent
whit hat present prevailed. The Fight Hon. Lord litnneird
occupied the chair. Mr. Ooyland read lovers treat, mooned
Wails, the Bishop of London and the Bitbop of Orford,
en-
preesing their intention to pay the trmost atttstion to the
matter when it came before them. The ruble chairman, is
opening the proceeding", said that If they carried their object
it would not tidy be taking the men from tempts.
that, but also tteir waves mid Ltmili,a from
_pow%
sad even from the or:maim& cf crime. He
yaewsee/~
attobished that a bill which bed 'reeked well fur
eboeld have Wen allowed to drop, but he had nate
that there lees a great mature final without %Oa canal*
members at the time, and it with elated that it less aialast
political ee tawny, but there wee no doubt that political
'tummy newer meant that the many should be menlioed to
the pockets of the few. dohs Day, • coslwhiprer, mid that
ho was one of the many who bad suffered from the °eke
beteg abolish, d. The wee were not only driven into publio-
booths to et the middb men for employment, but into dens
called coth.e-shops, much w,r. e than the pahlic-botmee,
where the p sort wretches were hucHled together, sad their
money sooppei for the worst of provision.. &sad gentle-
man, coal totwchants and others, a'no addressed the mining,
and a resolution watt adopted to the effect teat a petition
should be preserved to both hostess of parlismett, praying for
the required relief.

THE BOARD OF MANUFACTURES AND TIIE DRAW.
Iwo BASTRU OP EDINBUIOII.—Tbe following is an ex-
tract from a minute of the &era cf blenufamuree dated
Jan. 16, 1869 :—" Read memorial from certain taw:here of
drawing to Edinburgh, whose names were atteehed, remo-
unting the injury done to them in their profession by the
Behead of Art, mid compledeing of tbe Wu. of the pees/actin
of the school and of the attention of the publics having bees
markedly drawn thereto. The board orderel a reply to be
sent to the memoriatiata, pointing out to them that they bad
not suggested anything which they either dealeed the board
to do, or considered it in their power to do, 5.3 that however
much the boon! might sympathise aith the statement, in
the memorial, Ilpy were not aware how they could promote
the views of the reemoriali-ts; « llatniag also tut the
board had not cniginatoi any of the pme,e.fin,ge, and had
done nothing further than what was taw ter of duty imposed
upon them by government."—Sestonan.
thMaiTlistirmvoExt;.—DEismisAh:thEbeeAco2BlA.stNeC.fEttelparnmdbee3.l,Roi.harsjdaZital:ptystleaNwyGranceS AT
of
Itt
addition to the 601. rewud offered by his teleWeee, the
fleeretary of State lute offered 601. more for the divovery
hie bodl, if foued murdered, and will dries the grant of
her Majesty's moat grades . pardon to any one giving the es-
puked thforma.ion and Dot being uhf fickle murderer.