The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-03 00:00:00

"z ,3 LIN
41 41 AU C
UST
q-21 3, 1852.

RasELWAY INTELLIGENCE•
LoNDbOaNlf:yte!rilyG-HmTeetatihnl"
of
this
Cw°3l
4,lhSeTfa:
The
yesterday at the Bridge-house Hotel, London ea.i46;
Mr. S. Laing, iN.I.P., in the chair.
The report, an abstract of which has already rat
peered in The. Sun, was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the re-
port, said that the Matter- which was of the greatest
importance tothem at present was the reconstruction
of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, and as the -whole
matter had been fully 'discussed and explained to the
proprietors on two former occasions, it was unneces-
sary to occupy the time of the meeting with any
trafficfurtherbtobibsee pastrvtiobaif
nsu4er,oanthe -subject. As .to the
he thoughtit showed a
satisfactory result; and -being e the first half cf. the
year, it would be -unnecessary to. enter into any
detailed statistics with'regard to it. - It vas only the
result of the twelve months' traffic that could be
compared withlateeedieg years therefore it could
n
not be possible to enter into details eis to the probable
result of the year. The traffic for the 'nit half-year
was about the same amount Alba of the corres-
ponding period of 1851, and mien it was considered
that this company gained about ,0001. by the Exhie
bition traffic, and that there was no diminution shown
in the traffic of the pretentyear in consequence of that
increase, the result was satisfactory ; particularly as
the opening of the Tunbridge-wells and Hasings
line in the early part of the year bad effected the
of the weather during EpFimrt .
.E 1468. by which latter 1
traffic to some extent, and also,the unfavourable state
' event The company 'lest 2 ,000thnitetivetving less this., I
usual traffic to that rano-Ont. - The general electioh
"arse had affected the receipts, having the tendency of
keeping people at home instead of going about as
usual. The directors considered that under these
circumstances it was satisfactory that the receipts of
the past half-year had kept on a level with those of
the corresponding period of 1851. With regard to
the expenses under the head of repairs and renewals,
it would be found that they were about the same as
in 1850, those of the corresponding period Of 1851
being unusually light in consequence of the fire at
New Cross, which destroyed a quantity of the work-
ing stock which was fully insured, and lied to, be re-
built at the expense of the insurance company. As
regards compensation for accidents, they had to pay
3,5001. in respect to an accident which happened some
time ago; and of which they knew nothing at the
time. It may not be right of the directors to com-
plain OF the laws of the country, but they
thought it a great hardship that • railivay,
corapanies should be called upon to pay
large suns for accidents over which they Arad
no control, and which did not result from any false
economy on the pert of the company, but purely from
aecidemal causes over which they could• have no more
control thin theY could over the tyre of a wheel,
fIN vies- off, ore flish of lightning striking the train. It
appeared that railway companies were•nvade insurers
r all eauelties that may happen on their railways.
Toere'were no StI,AI penalties on any pther company
for what they could not control ; for instolee, steam-.
peeket companies. There was the case of the Atria',
zeta which belonged to the Royal Mail,Steam,Paeliet
Company, that . company, was not held liable for the
consequences of that . catastrophe, which probably
arose troll! the negligenct• or want of Caution of some
One on 10.-nad the ship. The directors bad done their
hest to provide the ship with everything, bus, owing
so the negligence of some one, the ship took fire, and
serious corssquences to numerous individuals was the
result. In r•epect to the accident on their line, for'
which they had to pay damages 3,500/., it so happened,
that a man was sent down the line in a fog to show,s,
red ' flag, but, instead of that, he showed a
green flag, both of which he carried with him..
The consequence was that a slight collision took
place, and it was so slight that it did not appear
at the time that any one was hurt ; however
they found that proceedings had*heen taken against'
the company nearly twelve months afterwards to
compensate persons whose nerves it was 'stated had
received a shock. From the length of time that had
elapsed since the accident happened there was diffi'
culty on the part Of the company in bringing evi-
dence of a contrary nature to that adduced at the
trial. The matter, however, was very different with
the Royal West India Mail Company, for they got
great credit for having subscribed 100 or 200 guineas
towards a fund far the survivors, while, ha believed,
the railway company got no credit'aValt for having-
paid 3,5001. damages. There was no help for the
matter at present; it way tile existing state of til
law. There was no doubt that the reserve funb
might be available for such contingencies, but
thate
(the chairman) and the directors were of opinionb
..__
the whole amount of compensation mentioned should
be charged to revenue, and they bad done so,
purposebeing
alanTcheenyPerliefi!omanrhealfe-eymesPrantiens equalize.. he,
the other, but on consulting
anxious to preserve the reserve fund for,. the
was to
w
Brighton shareholders on the subject, the
the wis,_
okit intended. taeettp:
eodafe db.
becausell e
,
didi
an not fimnpdtht o
favour
mejority had expressed themselves in let
ofwi
ththethaptresent sysarrangement,tem
equalize the dividend of the two half-years,
a certain
ear
Amount would have to be reserved from one hal Yana
to increase that of the least productive half-year, and
the result would be that people would expect a rn3elP:.
lar dividend of 4 cr.4i per cent., and in order tom meet
that expectation, efforts might be made
fte' fe
d thus
which would lead to "enekitig the'accoan-si"an war
" making things pleasant." The present plan
simple, and after deducting the necessary amount
he
for
expenses, &e., the balance was divided anieeg t
Aharebolders every half-year.' With regard tobe
be
dividend of the second, half of the
preSentt
year,
thought the proprietors could estimate that iarirto,o6o/,
for themselves., They would have to reserve
on'ba-
out of the traffic towards the extra expenditure
_qng
pital account for accommodating the inere.i
,d
servt
traffice which am reble o
amount was the same as that t ,
be a
in 1850 and 1851. They would thus me He
ascertain the dividend by watching the tr. In
,
thought it probable that they would sustain a i,on. b 3
3i g Peried
the ti•;f110, as comPared:vvith 'the corresPo"-nraid not
of 1851 from the causes mentioned, but. be
sore on
think it would exceed 15,000l; The faille
g
their line would be cemparatively ligllt as compared'lino, in
with the falling-off On the other metietptilitarespooing
consequence of the Exhibition at the hnr the acinl3
period of 1851. He conoluded by moving . -
tion of the report.
Mr. Scousteat seconded the motion• the Reel-
Mr. HERAPATH W 1.811041 to knoW Where FOOL ?
3,4
denttappened far which they
had
to
' D 2-y
ee,stiott hap-
The CHAIRMAN said the accident in of a South-
pened at New-cross, .in consequence. liton trains
Eastern train 13
running into one of the -g
during a fog..
With regard *
Mr. HERAPATH asked, some CleeStiODSed;
r End how
to the recounts, and which were acsvien-aeceatly bor-
it was that a sum of 5,000/. had
beeterest being in
rowed at 5 per cent., that rate of in
these days most extravagant ? hf,,,a been bor-
. The CHAIRMAN explained that t
len te the lender,
rowed four years age, with the oPw's,viag it for three
at the expiration of that time, of rhaned- g
il) it for the
years at 5 per cent., instead of lion'e he had eau.-
whole term of seven years, which l'°alley fora term of
°hied, having refused to lend the
imthe money was bor-
seven years. These terms, when but they were now
rowed, were considered gent" s they could borroW
decidedly had for the companlo 27,ae j 95,000/. which
money at 31s per cent. The "Tub the 75,000/. for
they proposer! to raise would
intehe balance of 26,0001.
the Crystal Palace traffic, and
oer and above the
which had, been expended
tai account was to be
7,200,0001., at which the caPl
closed. - • ,an explanation of the
Mr. HERAPATH wanted
la relating to the pur-
statement of the auditor's
re of thehtaherley property,
o .
chase of the residue of a lease. „
and what the latter consistedthoe"
property referred to
The CHAIRMAN said that
The property be=.
was the t6a:•gardens at Ane an:ariey. h and,, at a former
lenged to the Croydon Comlti.
Baclamaster, at 1001.
periodathey leased it to
sighar, years of this, lease to run,
a-year. There were :ye
an .known that the Crystal
nod, before .it was. genesti to sydenhain, the company
Palace would be rerccvea residue of eight years for
purchased the unexpire
, end r,8001., the valuation of
2,500/. as compensation, e'
„ne now could get 3,500/. for
fixtures, Sze. The cnrnPh-trae Director said, there
500 n _ L
what they paid 2, '
, d that the property would
were 12 notes of land, a-Yeer.] ' They *anted
l'3ool.
now let fer more than s of the Exhibition, and there
the land for the purposes he worth a great deal
could be no' doubt it
than
they gave for it.
more to the company
said he, thought they had paid
ample compeasat
Mr. lithiqaT4
es/. the residue of the term. He
ei°n the chairman
that the preseut atate
quite agreed with tht
compam
of the law worked out asagainst railway -
r It•
sad oppressive esu th !here I most extraordinary a
a .- the public interests should he
could be no doubt Lraet
„, extent, and it was evidently'
protected to the "atm.:- companies to do everythingin
l)
the interest of railvrihY t `because• idea 91When they
accidents, ,
their power to avoidna ies were not only mulcted of
occurred the "nit- nmpensation, bet they were se_
enermons mins for, co
quent l of . ,he
verely injured by; the conse
u be in eveross y cas.etraffic to fine or
proper remedy would
through whose cirelessness the
punish the servants
accidents look place as heavily as possible.—(llear.)

Tie

BELL differed from
Mr.
p the report with respect to the
the Pa'Egra h in Mr. Herapat'n and from
of the 'law. Ha
law, for it
it. The state
considered that paragraph a libel on
was companies
only
were sufficiently protected by the
when the judge and
satisfied that nefewleigrYence was the cause of thjeuraycciwdeenret
that damag ea
anxious to see Lord Campbell's
caamwpabrdelell; He was not over
law on that subject
repealed, although
northern railway he
was
a large shareholder in .a
had recently company on which a serious acci-
dentpay his share of
thetaken place, and would cheerfully
whether there were damages, He wished to know
pending, because if any
other cases of litigation
into account by the therer vyere 'they should be taken
for the next dividend. proprietors in their calculation
The CHAIRMAN said there
was only one, and with
respect to that it was the
Companyopinion of one of the judges
of the land that the
(the chairman) believed there were not liable. He
claims against, the company were now no latent
With regard to com-
pensation for accidents, adverted to in the report, if it
was a question as between Inene
and life there could
be no doubt that money should by sacrificed ;but that
eras not the case. By compelling
compensation for accidents ovr acompany to pay
the recurrence
which the directors
had really no control did not prevent
of those accidents
Though no
were paid the company always compensation-moneysuffe
Mr. Herapath had justly said,
by the lossredgreatly, as
M
of
passenger-
traffic. ,It. was, therefore, their ;
aiterest
well, and spare no expense to insure to
the
pay men
e safety
of the pasaergars. What .: he --e
, omplained of was
that—thelriOplo of thELcuriers_
Act was not car-
ried. out with regard to passengers. In that Act
it was provided that a carrier was not held responsible
for damage to or loss of valuable goods, gold, silver,
silk, So., unless paid for accordingly. For instance,'
if an accident were to occur to one of their express
trains conveying half-a-dozen bishops and the Lord
Chancellor, through one of their men making a mis-
take, it seemed inconsistent that the company should
have to pay 20,000/. for the Lord Chancellor, although
he should pay no more than any other passenger
(about 211. per mile). In cases where heavy damages
would be incurred proportionately high fares should
be paid.
then
The report was unanimously adopted, and a
dividend at the rate of 1/. 12s. per cent. for the half-
year was declared.
The then moved a resolution to the
effect that the directors be authorised to borrow any
sum or sum; not exceeding in the whole 195,0001.
Mr. ScHUSTER seconded the motion.
Mr. Heeaparn said he was opposed to mixing up
the 75,000/ for the Crystal Palace expenditure with
that of the railway company. He recorded his dis-
sent to the measure.
The resolution Was nut and carried.
Oa the motion of Mr. HERAP XTLI, a vote of thanks
wag pas.ed to the Chairman and directors.
tneeang then separated.

CANAL AND RAILWAY.
TSThe.
111,erf-L N
yearly meeting meeting of this company was held
conveyed report stated, that 145,247 passen-
era sera
at st. ffelen's, Mr. G. Greenull, my., in
the chair. The
yesterday
during the half-year, being
title same period of lust year,
weight of coa,..s and merchandise conveyed
21,082 more than in
while the
has been 231,916 tons on the canal and 244,050 on
together 476,266 tons, which is 91,497
the weight carried in the correspond-
the railway,
tons more than
ing period of 1851.
complettd as a
Tne portion of the line between
Widnes and Garaton, having been
double line, was opened for traffic on the Ist of" July ;
the necessary ballasting bas still to be done on the re-
maining portion, from Widnes to Warrington, before
it tan be opened for- traffic. The directors have cow-
sidered it advisable to
,secure ample station room at
the G-arston Dock Terrainus, and to increase the dock
and railway accommodation. A large proportion of
the company's debentares having fallen due, they
have made arrangements for renewing them at 4 per
cent. in lieu of the previous rate of 5 per cent.
From the accounts it appeared that the receipt
amount to 648,1831., End the outlay to 669,5641.,
leaving a balance against capital of 21,3801. The
revenue account showed that the receipts during the
half-year amounted to 1.9,631/., and the expenditure
to 6,9871., leaving a balwice of 12,6421., out of which
the directors proposed that a dividend should he de-
clared for the past half—year of 1/. per share on the
old shares, 103. on the half shares, 3/. 104. on the
1001. preference shares, and 103. 6d. on the 251. pre-
ference shares.

The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the re-
port, congratulated the shareholders on the steady
increase in traffic which was taking place on the

line. Whilst the traffic both in goods and passengers
had materially increased.,,' the working charges had
diminished from 35 to 37 per cent. Their working
stock last year was estimated at 19,0001, whereas at
the present,time it was valued at 31,0501: He had
every confidence that the dock, which would give
them an independent outlet from the Mersey for coals
and other merchandise,: would be a most valuable
property. He concluded by moving the adoption of
the report, which having been seconded, was carried
unanimously.
The dividends upon the .respective shares were
then declared, and the retiring directors having been
re-elected, i.
The meeting resolved. Itself into a special meeting,
.for the purpose of authorising the issue of new shares
to the extent of 120,0001. in 4,800 shares of 25/. each.
Mr. HOLLAND said th,e area of the new dock at
Garston was six acres, and the cost of construction
was only 100,0001.
After some discussion the motion was adopted,
and the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks
to the chairman and directors.

EXCURSION TO THE NEW WATER-
SOURCES PROPOSED FOR THE SUPPLY OF
THE METROPOLIS.

On Saturday a party, of noblemen and gentlemen
were Conducted over the ?roposed gathering grounds, in
Surrey, by Mr. F. 0. Weld, who explained on the spot
the netv mode of collecting the " hill-top" water recom-
mended by the Sanitary party instead of the "
valley-
bottom" water.

Among the party we noticed Lord Ebringten, Pro.
lessor Wheatstone, Mr. Babbage, Mr. Farr, Mr. Ford,
Professor Way, Mr. Chadwick, Mr. Hans Busk,. and
several other gentlemen eminent in science, or distin-
guished. as supporters of sanitary Inform.
The first place visited was the. 'town of Farnham,
which has a population of 7,000 persons, inhabiting
about 800 houses; and which is already supplied with
hill-top water of exceeding softness and purity, collected
on the new principle front a neighbouring common, and
delivered at constant pressure in- unlimited abundance.
Some water drawn. from a tap in ono of
the houses was tested by Professor Way, in com-
.parison with the water from a -well belonging to the same
house, and the difference was most striking. The well
water,.svhen the hardening lime was precipitated by the
test, looked like thin whitewash; whereas the pure hill-
top water, after the application of the test, ireinained
sparkling as before with unclouded transparency. It
wee extremely striking and instructive to see the two
glasses of water, one moment of apparently] equal
quality, the rime presenting so strongly marked a dif-
ference. The experiment showed how loaded with dele-
terious earthy matter the brightest looking water may
be, and how much dissolved chalk we are thus betrayed
into drinking, which we should shrink from eating in the
solid form. •
Mr.. Payne, an influential inhabitant of Farnham, and
the originator of its bill-top water-works, having joined
the party. it proceeded to Farnham Castle, the residence
of the Bishop of Winchester, who afforded a moat
courteous reception, and bore veluable testimony to the
delicious quality and perennial flow of the hill-top water,
of which a . small . spring, conducted from the common
through a pipe a mile long, has served the supply of the
castle from time immemorial.
From the castle the party proceeded to Hungry-hill,
a heathy upland common, from tho southern slope of
which the supply of Farnham is derived. Incredible as
it may seem, the whole supply of the town is derived
from the drainage of only two acres of the hill side; in-
cluding two small hollows, formerly moist and bogey,
but sincrethe drainage perfectly dry. This little tract is
traversed by one main pipe, of ordinary burnt clay,
about six inches in diameter, into.which run twenty or
thirty ramifying feeders, of about three inches capacity.
The water. with which the sandy bill 'is saturated (of
course by the rainfall on its surface) oez?s through these
subterranean feeders in an unfailing; flow, sufficient for
the eoustant replenishment of the reservoir that supplies
the town. The pipes themselves are of course buried
out of sight, but the- tracks of the trenches made for
their their reception are still visible; and they ilhistrhalcsg
very clearly the plan of, the capillary system by w
the pure sun-distilled rain water is collected, itnm,jous
ately after natural filtration through a layer of iiisuch
sand washed clean by the rainfall of t).gril'o purest
water, es Mr. F. 0. Ward explained, "
jure. is,
state in which it is furnished us
riat
naturai pro-
in fact, strained, oxydised, and cooled by
rse_nation,
im-
cess; it is freed from ObjeCtionable..itutePd.giu excbange,
gibed from tho air, and not as yet ibis *mode of
by impurities acquired from the e7trary prty, but op-
`-dollection, advocated by the Sanmot companies, was
posed as visionary by the monopolist
step in that series of
described by Mr.'Ward its:._°!draulic engineer has pro.
improvements by which
tbcyst water--removing-it,
gre'sivelY extended control,more and more from
at each successivs, adva
Theth ilcltatsuuracli inintefluhludeaxs.
boo
Iwntwial
lieht
.tacre,
"'iron
Operation of chancet;e:,
Pell.: replaced by at- ifi
rural or artificial
1 r
streams were long or brick ;next
courses lived with stone

covered in, or replaeill by earthen or metallic tubes;
and then came Peter Morryss, who prolonged these
tub's by ramifying
ducts into our very houses. Evi-
dently a similar extension remains to he acumplishcd at
the opposite end of the aqueduct; and ramifying feeders
for gathering water come next in the order of se-
quence to ramifying ducts for its delivery. As aque•
ducts are artificial rivers, so, by the strictest purity, 1
these feeders are artificial springs. Constructed, at
small cost, of ordinary clay
drain
usual manner, three or font. feet deepp, they catch the '
ipes laid in the
,
filtered rain water at its point of maximum purity, and
convey it to its destination in channels equivalent for
cleanness to the fissures of the granite rock. Thus, the
only remaining element of uucertainty—the random
flowthrough the soil—is eliminated,
and
e ground on which it falls,
o o
itsf
wwnaotleer
eo overnrs c
,or fromt
h
to the tap at which it is consumed, is brought under our
direct controul. Lands hitherto regarded as profitless
wastes, when considered in thin new light, spring
into sudden value and significance as veaterfarms, adapted
to afford us drink, by those very conditiOns of sterility
which unfit them to prodnce us food. And as the richest
soil in Europe hss for centuries been devoted to the pro-
duction of beer and wine, so now our barren commons
are found available for the supply of that still more
inestimable benefit, ptire, soft and wholesome water.
Having tasted and tested the water thus gathered,
which was found delicious, and almost as pure as dis-
tilled water, the party proceeded to Tilford-bridge, under
.which a stream of beautifully bright, soft, and sparkling
water, analagous in quality to that of Farnham-common,
is seen running swiftly over pure gravelly sand, in quan-
tity sufficient for the present net supply of the metro•
polis (as contradistinguished from the gross supply
pumped in by the companies, who waste more than Lye-
thirds of the whole brtheir intermittent and stand-cock
mode of delivery),
explained, would not be taken' in bulk, but would be
traced to its .•,:ettEsisna however, Mr. Ward
minute sources, end there collected by
haratraifi.eisTl 0 springs,
inquiries liakse
ttohost
capillary feeders run into the hills, to form
jest p visitedenso
of attn i
sFrialrann-,
ehej
Air. Ward replied that the Farnham artificial springs
were found cheaply available for the supply of 300
houses, and that those little works a thousand times re•
pasted would obviously suffice for the supply of the
300,000 houses composing
being comparatively lessi i the metropolis; the cost
first, owing to the reductionntthe
second
ca '°than in the
of establishment charges
by the larger scale
of operation. The saving
and soda, attainable by the substitution of soap
water, and amounting (according of soft for hard
on the experience of Bolton and oGls calculations based
than 250,000/. a year for the metropolis,sgow) to no less
monstrated .ley Professor Way, who a
applied
das here
the soap
soap
test of Dr. Clarke to the soft Tilfordpsptream
parivn with the hard Alton stream (which joinnscottnhe
other a bow-shot below the bridge) and who showed
that more than double the soap was. required to produce
1 a lather with the hard wit'er than with the soft.

After witnasting these experiments the party pro-
ceeded• towards the barren upland district known as the
Hindhead, froui which the Tilford stream arises by in-
numerable slender rills. Having inspected the water in
bulk, it appeared desirable to ascertain, by a survey of
its sources, that the capillary mode of collection prac-
tised ret Farnham was equally in this district,
which lies sheet ten miles more to the south, en the
4outercp of the lower green saed. For this purpose one
of the little rills, called Silver-thread. was selected, and
traced to its origin at the Jumps, a series of
three conical hills, from the top of which was ob-
tained a good view of the Gathering ground ccun-
try—a range of high, barren moorlands, receiving
annually. on each acre about 3,000 tens of water,
and so tending, hill beyond hill, over mote than a
hundred square miles. Hare, ascending the highest
of the Devil's Jump, the party dined on the Bras-,
shkered by a curious rook, which juts up, pictu-
resquely enough, from the very summit of the hill;
and thought the 1.,,,p•:; at was not deficient of more cordial
beverages, the bright water-jug," filled from -the
Silver-thread rill (which was flowing with a most melo-
dious sound below), went round from hand to hand, and
was resorted to with avidity►. So pure and fresh a
draught, it was agreed, mitht be envied by our Gracious
Queen, whose palace, amidst all its splendour, cannot
yet furnish those, highest luxuries of all untainted air
and water. Nor was it less strongly felt that the sub-
stitution of such a supply for the filthy and undrinkable
water at present furnished to the metropolis would do
more than any repressive measures, or mere teetotalist.
exhortations, to wean tho poorer class from habits of
intemperance. The learned professors present expressed
themselves convinced by what they had seen of the
soundue;s of the views advocated by Mr. F. O. Ward
and the sanitary reformers as to the substhution of hill-
top for valley-bottom water supplies; and the whole
party returned to town impressed with a lively prefer-
ence of " Silver-thread" water to the sewage-tained
water of the Thames.