The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-29 00:00:00

THE SUN. LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 29, 1863

Disgraceful Proceedings near Guildford.

GIIILDFOR.I), Monday Evening.—A riotous disturbance
took place last night, resulting in serious injury to upwards
of 30 persons, at a small village a mile from Guildford,
known as St. Catherine's, being at the foot of a high hill on
the Guildford and Portsmouth road. on the summit of which
is situated the ruined church of St. Catherine. It appears
that on the 4th October will recur the annual fair of the vil-
lage, and that on that day (Sunday), by virtue of the old
charter, the landlords of the village "publics" are allowed
to draw beer even during prohibited hours. The Sunday
before the fair is known as" Tap-up Sunday," and a similar
privilege is recorded. The village usually turns out in great
numbers, and some little licence is taken by them in throw-
ing chestnuts at passers-by, which generally creates a good
deal of merriment among the rustics, and has been good-
naturedly borne by those who have been thus dealt with.
This year the larking has been carried on in a most inordi-
nate manner. Yesterday being Tap-up Sunday upwards of
400 young fellows, many of them being low characters from
Guildford, assembled in the village, lining the road on either
side in formidable phalanx; and when any peaceably in-
clined passenger approached they allowed him or her to get
into their midst; they then closed in and inflicted both insult
and injury. Mr. Piggott, dyer, and his wife, were driving
through the village and were seriously hurt, Mrs. Piggott
having her bonnet torn from her head. Mr. Bailey, of the
County Magistrates' Clerk's Office, and his daughter were
compelled to go through a very heavy shower of missiles,
and the young lady is still suffering from the effects of her
fright. Mr. Ellis, of Farncombe, near Godalming, and two
other gentlemen who were in company with him, were
roughly handled, one having received some bad wounds on
his leg from kicks, and the other having their hats cora-
pletelysmashed and their coats torn to shreds. Miss Chartres,
of Brighton, Miss Smythe, and several other ladies were
rudely assaulted, one of them having her eye nearly cut out
by a stone whilst turning round to appeal to her assailants
to desist, and the others either losing their shawls or other
articles of wearing apparel. Things got worse toward even-
ing. Several members of the county constabulary force
made their appearance on the scene; but this was only the
signal for a still more riotous demonstration than before;
and it was considered advisable, even for the public safety,
to leave the mob to their own course, and to prevent them
having further victims by placing the police at convenient
distances from the village and cautioning passengers against
going on the turnpike road, and inducing them to pursue,
for their own personal safety's sake, their journey by the
river bank instead, though more circuitous. Several fugi-
tives from the insults of the mob were pursued, however,
notwithstanding this precautionary measure ; and more
than one case occurred in which persons who were pursued
down the lane from St. Catherine's-hill were forcibly pushed
into the water. At nightfall nothing could restrain the fury
of the crowd. Mr. Shrubb, a resident on the Portsmouth-
road, was incautious enough to appeal to the better sense of
the roughs, if they had any; but he was at once hushed by
the loud groans they set up, and assailed with a shower of
stones. They next proceeded to his residence, pulled up
the whole of the palings of his property, and conveyed it
to the top of St. Catherine's, whence they went to the cut-
ting between the two tunnels on the London and South-
Western line of railway, where they carried off all the
wooden raiNgs they could get at, and afterwards lighted a
huge bonfire, hich was seen at a long distance on the sur-
rounding hi 115.461:; county. Much other injury was done
to both person a roperty, which has not as yet been
officially reported. .he county constabulary, under Mr.
Superintendent Parr, are diligently making every inquiry
so as to bring the ringleaders of the disturbance to justice,
and we have just heard that two or three men have been
taken into custody. Should not the chief promoters of these
disgraceful transactions be committed, it is feared that the
usual demonstrations in this town on the coming anniver-
sary of Gunpowder Plot will assume a still more riotous
aspect than they have hitherto been wont.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE,

LYNN AND SUTTON.

Yesterday the half-yearly meeting of the proprietors was
held at the offices, Bridge-street, Westminster; Mr. H.
Tootal in the chair.

Mr. BOND, the secretary, read the report, which stated
that the works of the railway were now in rapid progress
under contract with Messrs. Waring and Eckersley. Vari-
ous circumstances had contributed to the delay in giving effect
to the act of incorporation. Among others was the necessity
of obtaining a revision by act of Parliament of the obliga-
tion which imposed on the company of building a new and
costly bridge at Sutton, and of destroying the existing one ;
and, secondly, some modification of the terms also imposed
on the company in purchasing the rights of the existing
bridge owners for £22,500. By the amended act of last
session, the obligation as to the bridge was repealed, and
the company was authorised to use the existing structure,
and, with the concurrence of the Cross Keys was proprie-
tors, £lO,OOO of the purchase money to them to be satisfied
in paid up shares of the company. The act also extended
the time originally granted for the purchase of lands and
completion of the railway, but the directors anticipated that
under the arrangements made by the contractors the rail-
way would be completed and ready for opening before Mid-
summer next. Terms had been made with the Great
Northern Company for the sale, under the sanction of Par-
liament, of this company's undertaking to them, at a price
equivalent to a clear net return of 41 per cent. on the ex •
penditure of £117,000, which it was believed would suffice
to cover all the liabilities of the Lynn and Sutton Com-
pany up to the completion and opening of the railway.
Since the company was incorporated various circum-
stances had tended to augment the value of the line, as
filling up an essential link in the communication between
east and west, and by the completion of the Norwich
and Spalding and Lynn and Hunstanton lines, and still
more by the granting last session of the line from Peter-
borough via Wisbech to join this company's railway at
Sutton-bridge, thus bringing the whole system of the Mid-
land Company into communication with the east of England
and the Lynn and Sutton route. While, therefore, the
directors looked with satisfaction to the completion of the
arrangements with the Great Northern and this company,
they had confidence in the intrinsic capability of the Lynn
and Sutton line to realize a satisfactory return from the
traffic which must inevitably flow over it.

The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
commented on its principal points, and after some discus-
sion Mr. J. Hunt was elected a director in the room of Mr.
Borthwick, resigned.
The meeting was then made special, and resolutions were
passed empowering the directors to borrow £33,000 for the
general purposes of the undertaking, and the meeting sepa-
rated after a vote of thanks to the chairman and directors.

of construction, it was believed, would be fully covered by the
authorised capital, and the report was adopted,

GREAT WESTERN OF CANADA.

It appears that the directors of this company have been
informed by their financial agent in Canada that the loss on
through traffic, collected and converted, ascertained up to
Sept. 12, 1863, amounted to 19,889d0l 97c (L 4,086 19s 7d),
and that there remained a further sum of American funds
for conversion at that date of 14,163d0l 76c. In addition to
which there were balances in account with connecting rail-
ways still unadjusted.