The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-28 00:00:00

RAILWAYS.

Lord G. SOMERSET presented a petition from the
carriers of goods between London and Birmingham,
'complaining that some of the parties wlio had been en-
gaged for sixty and others for forty years in the
carriage of goods between London and Birmingham had
been refused by the Railway Company to have their
f.;.(

s carried by its means. They had made several
applications, but the Directors said they had no means
of carrying their goods, while at the same time they were
carrying the goods of another firm engaged in
the carrying trade. The petitioners had not come to
that House without having tried all legal means of en-
forcing what they conceived to be their rights—they
had applied to the Court of Queen's Bench for a man-
damus, but it was refused, because there was nothing in
the Act constituting the Company which made it com-
pulsory upon them to carry the goods of any one. The
petitioners prayed the House to take into conside-
ration the monopoly created by these Railway Bills.—
(Lond cheers from
Lboth sides of the House.) They
prayed the House to pass some Bill to carry into effect
the preamble of the Company's Act, and destroy such
a monopoly: The petition was signed by the ware-
housemen of London and Manchester, by fifteen car-
riers of goods between the two places, by the Aldermen
and Common Council of Chester ; it was signed by
3,500 persons, and was fully deserving of th atten-
tion of the House.—(Gheers.) He would take that
opportunity of asking the Right Hon. the President of
the Board of Trade whether he intended to introduce
any measure in the present Session to regulate the
proceedings of these raikVays.

- Mr. P.-THOMSON said it was his intention to take
the very first opportunity of bringing the subject under
the consideration of Parliament ; and on Thursday, the
llth April, he should move the appointment of a Com-
mittee on the subject.—( Hear, hear.) He would do
so without any hostile intention towards the Railway
Companies, but because it appeared to him to be
the feeling both in that House and among the public
generally, that some inquiry on the subject was
necessary.—(Loud cheers.) The Railway Companies
exercised, perhaps, beneficially for the public, a very
great power, but which,, if not checked, might be con-
verted into a very injurious monopoly.—(Hear.)
Lord GRANVILL'E. SOMERSET moved for a
return of the monies raised under the sanction of any
Railway Acts, all that had passed that House from
the Ist Jan., 1826, to the Ist Jan. 1839, distinguishing
in a tabular form the sums raised as principal, and by
loan or mortgage, under diese several Acts ; also a return
of the sums to be raised by the various Railroad Com-
panies, for which Bills ire now in progress through
Parliament, distinguilthing the names of the several Com-
panies, and whether th e sum was raised as principal or by
loan.
Mr. HUME suggest ed to the Noble Lord to amend
his return for the pur pose of showing how much had
been actually raised by ach Company.
Lord G. SOMERSE T wished merely to know what
the several Companies ir aught raise—he did not want to
ask what they had raised G. That return might be very
right at a future pei iiod ; at present he merely
wished to know what sill 113 bad had been already sanc-
tioned, and what further a mount Parliament was called
upon to sanction in the p r asent session.
After a few words fro m the ATTORNEY-GENERAL
and the SPEAKER,
'4Mr. P. THOMSON :sa id he did not know bow the
return of the Hon. Memb et for Kilkenny was to be pro-
duced.

The return was then agra ?cl to.
The ATTORNEY-GED lERAL presented a peti-
tion from Edinburgh, iae favoi ar of Rowland Hill's system
of a Penny Postage.
, Mr. GILLON pr, rsentei a petition from some
ITire, the name of which we could not hear, praying
for remission of tho p 4 st-horat '
duty, and also a peti-
t' praying for the re mission 'O,
augur.f the duty on foreign

POOR-LAW AmEisirn, 'ENT ACT.
On the motion of Lord JoHN O.USSELL for the
adjourrnent of the Ron Se to theBth -of April,
Lord GRANVILLE se ,I`lERsx7T asked the
Nobly Lord if he had made 7 ip his mind with respect
to the renewal of the P N Amendment Act ; whe-
ther it was his intention. to I nove for its renewal, and
also whether it was his inter tion to make any ahem-

ion in the Bastardy clauses of the Bill and in other oh-
'actionable clauses ? _ _

Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he intended, in the I
course of the Session, to bring in a Bill for the renewal
of the Poor-law Amendment Act, in which he intended
to renew the power of the Commissioners, and to adopt
some of the recommendations of the Committee of last
Session, which sat on this subject ; he intended to give
additional powers to the Commissioners with respect to
Unions under Gilbert's Act, but not to give them any
additional powers with respect to the parishes forming
other unions. He should also propose some other
clauses, but he did not mean to propose to make any
alteration in the bastardy clauses. If he should
propose any alteration in that respect he should make
such alteration the subject of a separate Bill.
Mr. DUNCOMBE inquired whether the Noble
Lord intended to touch other parochial Acts, or only
Gilbert's Incorporation ?
Lord J. RUSSELL—OnIy Gilbert's Incorporation.