The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-28 00:00:00

RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS.

LIVERPOOL, JULY 27.
POCK EXCITXGE.--The share market was better to.
day in consequence of a scarcity of stock for the settle-J•
ment of the account which takes place to-morrow. Birken-
head, Chester, and Birkenhead, 20:4 ; East Lancashire, 184
Lancashire and Yorkshire, ; Lancaster and Carlisle,
103! ; London and. North Western 1114 17 17; Man-
chester, Hheffield, and Lincoln, 29f ; Midland, 72A ; South
Eastern and Dover 22i ; York and North Midland, 301.
111.A.NCIIET.tat, JULY 27.
STOCK EXCRANGE.—rnere was a moderate business,
and prices had an upward tend :meg. Dovers, 2/ 1546
Leeds Stock, 784 ; ditto. Fifths, d. ; Midland, 724 ;
Lon.lon Stock, 116;4. • •

BIRMINGHAM, JULY 27.
STOCK EXCZANGE.— The transactions were at the fol-
lowing prices :—Lon don and North-Western, 1164 ;X ss. and 6s. prem. The occurrences of yesterdarat,Virtilter-
hampton, and the Shrewsbury meeting of to-morrow with
reference thereto, were the subjects of much interest in the
share market to-day, but nothing was done in any of the
stocks of tAis compatiy.

The following is the fifth report of Mr, Cardwell's
committee appointed to consider the principle of amal-
gamation as applied to railway or railway and canal
bills, about to be brought under the consideration of
Parliament, and to consider the principles which ought
to guide the house in railivay legislation :
In a former report, your committee submitted to the
house their opinion, that in conceding amalgamation to
the companies who were seeking to obtain the bills then
pending for that object, Parliament would "part with
a power which it might exercise for the purpose of se-
curing to the public one of the greatest advantages that
a commercial country can enjoy—viz., freedom and
economy of transit for persons and merchandise from one
part of the kingdom to another ; and that so important
a step should not be taken unless these advantages be
fully secured."
In reviewing the whole of the evidence which has been
laid before them in the course of their inquiry, your
committee have directed their attentiona chiefly to the
following considerations—viz., how far the most free,
safe, convenient, and economical transit from place to
place, in respect of passengers and goods, may be secured
to the community by means of the existing railways and
canals ; what regulations may most advantageously be
made for the judicious development of the system by
the construction of new lines ; and, subordinately to
these considerations, whether the property invested in
these undertakings may not be protected from undue de-
preciation and from unnecessary risk. They have exa-
mined the principle of amalgamation, for the purpose of
determining how far the indefinite extension of that
principle may be consistent with these important
objects.
In favour of amalgamation, it is argued that unity of
management will tend to promote the public conve-
nience ; that the persons responsible will generally
direct their attention to the development of the
traffic upon the main line and upon the several branches,
without any regard to those considerations which induce
the managers of rival lines to divert it from the
channel in which the convenience of the public would
naturally have caused it to flow ; that arrangements
will more readily be made for booking throughout
without change of carriage, and for the more certain ar-
rival of trains to meet each other at the points of junc-
tion; that by the retrenchment of duplicate trains, and
by greater economy in the distribution of servants and
of working stock, a saving will be effected, and the com-
pany will, therefore, be enabled to expend money on the
improvement of their works, the development of their
traffic, and the construction of branches, or to reduce
their charges to the public. It may be admitted that all
these considerations are entitled to great weight, and
the witnesses by whom they have been urged will be
Found to be among the most experienced and the most
able of the gentlemen connected with the management
of the railways. It follows from general reasoning, and
appeqrs to your committee to have been established in
evidence, that competition fails to afford to the public
the same security in respect of railway accommodation
which it gives in the transactions of ordinary trade. The
amount of capital required for the construction of a rail-
way, the exclusive possession of the line of country best
calculated for the purposes of economy and traffic, and
the time required for bringing into active operation any
new competitor, with other considerations too numerous
to detail, tend to remove these great undertakings from
the sphere of ordinary commercial pursuits, and render
it necessary for Parliament to look to other remedies
than competion for any mischief which may arise from
the abuse of power by railway companies. It is true that
the power reserved to Parliament of introducing new and
competing schemes into districts inadequately served by
the established lines, is a weapon the existence of which
will be influential as a moral check; and Parliament may
actually resort to it when other measures fail ; but the
main consideration still remains, that for the abuse of
power by railway companies, competition, in the ordi-
nary application of the term, affords to the public no
sufficient remedy. In a report recently presented to the
American Congress by a committee, this subject is fully
considered, and the view of the committee is summed up
in the following words:—
" It would appear, therefore, that the principle of com-
petition cannot, as a general rule, apply to railroad cor-
porations, and that the interests of the community should
not be left to its operation, as in ordinary business en-
terprises ; that they must, from their peculiar elements,
he, in a greater or less degree, monopolies, and neces-
sarily liable to the evils of monopoly. These evils are
not probably, as great at this time as they may be here-
after, when the system becomes more perfectly deve-
loped, and placed under the management of persons less
disposed to show deference to public sentiment ; nor are
they as yet very perceptible to the public, from the fact
that they are not apparent in any direct loss to the com-
munity ; for railroads under any system must be a great
benefit, but consist rather in depriving it of the addi-
tional advantages it would otherwise obtain. It is never-
theless due to the community that the tendency to these
evils should be checked, and, if the above views are
correct, it is incumbent upon the State to place the
v: hole system under such control and supervision as may
be deemed necessary to secure the greatest amount of
public benefit compatible with a due regard to the pecu-
niary interests involved in the operations of railroads."
Against indefinite amalgamation, on the other side, it
is strongly urged by persons engaged in trade, and by
the representatives of the property invested in canals,
that the amalgamation of companies in an united inte-
rest naturally leads to an abuse of the power which is
thus conferred upon the directors, It is to be observed
that many of the advantages which are contended for a:
belonging to amalgamation, on a moderate scale, do not
apply to cases where the extent of the proposed union
is such as to exceed the compass of one 'management
properly to direct. On this subject your committee
would refer to the evidence given by Mr. Saunders, to
:be effect that in an erroneously large corporation the
variety of details and extent of business is too great to
be satisfactorily transacted.
When many of the lines in an extensive district
are united in one interest, it may become the object
of the managers to secure the traffic over the
greatest mileage, and, consequently, to divert it
from its natural course, if that natural course would
have caused it to flow in part only over their own sys-
tem, and in part over the line of some other railway, or of
some water communication in the same district. Such
an amalgamated company also is armed, by the extent
of its capital, with greater power of destroying competi-
tion in one part of its territory by the temporary lower-
ing of its rats to an unremunerative scale, the partial
loss being of comparative indifference ; while to the
smaller rival, which it is the object of the great incorpo-
ration to destroy, the traffic in immediate contest con-
stitutes the whole source of its revenue.
The desire of the railway conipanies for amalgamation
may be attributed to two causes perfectly distinct, and
requiring a separate consideration. Originally, amalga-
mation was sought for from Parliament principally on
the ground of economy in the conduct of the traffic.
Latterly, however, new reasons have influenced the com-
panies, and amalgamation has become not so much a
question of economy in the management of the line, as a
matter of offensive and defensive policy in regard to the
unsettled relations subsisting between different compa-
nies. As the practice of Parliamentary legislation stands
at present, it is in the power of one rival company ma-
terially to affect the interest of the other ; or a small
number of speculators, With or without the encourage-
ment of a rival, can injure the position of an established
company by laying out a line within their neighbour-
hood, and so compel them to bring forward, in self-
defence, and as pail of their own system, schemes
which, upon a wider review of the public advantage,
it is probable that Parliament would have refused to
sanction.

Your committee referred in a former report to the
circumstance, that about 2,000 miles of railway, in-
volving an outlay of upwards of 40 millions, have been
sanctioned by Parliament, and afterwards abandoned by
the promoters without the leave of Parliament.
A most competent witness has estimated the loss of
money to the railway shareholders, unnecessarily in-
curred in obtaining Parliamentary authority for and in
constructing the railways now in existence, and in op-
posing rival schemes, at 70 millions ; and though it
may, perlia,ps, be considered that this is a high estimate,
when taken in regard to the lines actually made, it is
no sufficient measure of the loss which has been really
sustained; 4fince many lines have been constructed which
probably:at' ,ne>t laid out in the way best calculated
to promothhe general convenience, and so to develops
the greateSt amount oftraffic. On the other hand, it is
difficult to estimate the amount of benefit which is de-
rived to the public even from railways which are not re-
munerative to the shareholders, by the facilities which
are afforded for transit, and by the saving of capital
which arises from the shortening of time required for
r,he transmission of goods, and the diminished necessity
'or holding considerable sums locked up in the stocks of
tradesmen.

Amalgamation (that is to say, the consolidation of
greater capital and of greater power in the hands of an
united board of directors) is sought for as a protection
against the risks to which the property invested in the
existing railway is exposed ; and this amalgamation con-
templates, in the mind of Sir W. Cubitt, and other wit-
nesses, the eventual union of all railway property in a
common stock ; while in the mind of others it is limited
to what is called territorial division ; that is, to the
grouping of the several railways into a small number of
;rear incorporations, perhaps seven for Great Britain,
railway to each each of which should be assigned a regulated monopoly
°I the district in which it is situated.
With regard to the first of these plans, the union of
all the
property, present and future, in one
stock it seems
,
to your committee that the following considerations would require to be carefully weighed by
Parliame.st before
Therailway
important a change could be per-
mitted.
the end of 1851, the3laproperty held in great Britain at
r eturns are period to which the Parlia-
mentaryis from timepanlestime developed.
find complete,indefinitevas 248,240,8971., and
t additions as the
trafficwill re
oc ef i vt ; :oCcoonutinnturyal
7,9070,a.7c671unt of
6951, making I;!toatndl
The amount received by the companies
passenger ix rffic for the year 1851 was
on account I )f goods traffic 7,056,
gross revenu e of nearly 15,000,0001., which appears toa
be steadily it icreasitig. The number of persons directly
employed in I he service of the existing companies in June,
1852, was 67 ,601, while the number employed in con-
structing nea I railways at the same date was 35,945 ;
arid the nut abers whose living is indir ctly depen-
dent up-,n t hem in the various trades employed
for the .iervie e of the railways is probably greater.
There is no ppl:tical division of the kingdoNp which
they might Tt t be .expected, through the menuirr either
of their slim• reholders. or of their patronage; or of special
epvantages which they might render to particular indi;
viduals, to: exercise an influence, while, if they were all
milted in "6 ne -Cornmoir stock, it 'is 'no injustice to the
railway dir actors as a body to suppose that they would
wield their extensive powers rather for the promotion of
the
intereii is epecially entrusted to their charge than

As regards territorial division, in the high meaning
attached to thOse words by some of the witnesses,
amounting to an assumption that a concession of a cer-
tain territory should be made to a particular company,
and the faith of Parliament be pledged against the in-
trusion df any rival within the circle so prescribed, your
committee are satisfied that no such engagement can
in reason be asked for from Parliament ; nor would it
be of any enduring value if it were given. The only
security which any company can obtain for the undi-
vided possession of a particular district in the mainten-
ance of such relations with the inhabitants of that dis-
trict, and with Parliament, the guardian of the general
good, as may render the continuance of that exclusive
possession consistent with an enlightened regard to the
wants and interests of the public.
Your committee consider that the principle heretofore
established at law, that an oct of Parliament constitutes
an engagement between the promoters on the one side
and the public on the other, is a principle deserving of
more consideration than it has hitherto obtained as a
guide to future legislation. This principle, rightly
understood, conveys to the promoters no right that their
privileges shall be exclusively maintained when they
cease to be consistent with the general advantage ; but
it does imply, that having been authorised by the legis-
lature to construct expensive works for public use, the
resources from which their just remuneration was to
spring shall not be taken away upon any other than
clear grounds of public policy. The observance of such
a principle is valuable to the public as well as to share-
holders, since it is of importance to the whole commu-
nity to develop by every judicious means those commu-
nications on which the freedom and facility of trade, and
the safety and convenience of personal locomotion now
depend, and therefore to ensure, to a reasonable extent,
the stability of the property so invested.
It is also to be observed, that while actual amalga-
mation requires the consent of Parliament, combination
of interest, under private agreement, is a matter of
constant occurrence, and produces, to a certain extent,
the same results as regards the public convenience ;
establishing a community of purpose between two or
more companies, and enabling the managers of those
companies to exercise over the traffic a combined con-
trol. It has been contended by some of the witnesses
that since it is not possible wholly to prevent this kind
of combination, it is idle to refuse the formal sanction of
Parliament to the principle of amalgamation. But your
committee are of opinion that there is a wide difference
between arrangements of this nature and actual amalga-
mation by Parliamentary enactment. The latter once
conceded, no change can be made, if at any subsequent
time, either from a change of circumstances, or from a
change of management, it becomes desirable again to
divide the companies which have been thus united. But
if working arrangements, not now valid in law, shall be
sanctioned by Parliament, under definite conditions, and
for limited periods, capable of being renewed by the same
authority when approaching the term of their existence,
it will be in the power of the companies to contract alli-
ances useful for the conduct of traffic, while it will be
open to Parliament to interfere for the prevention of
permanent public mischief.
Your committee, in a former report, took occasion to
remind the house that the bills promoted in the present
session by one company (the London and North-West-
ern) have been stated to your committee to involve the
union, under one control, ofa raised capital of 60, 000,000/.,
between one-fourth and one-fifth of the railway property
of the kingdom, an annual revenue exceeding 4,000,0001.,
and an extent of railway communication of upwards of
1,200 miles, or more than one-sixth of the railways in
the United Kingdom, forming, from the importance of
the towns with which it is connected, a key to the prin-
cipal communications of the country. It was not sur-
prising that the chairman of the Great Northern Com-
pany should inform your committee that, if this amal-
gamation were permitted to proceed, it would be impos-
sible for the company over which he presides (though
possessing a raised capital of 500,0001., and an extent of
283 miles), to maintain an independent existence ; and
it is manifest that before legal validity is given to work-
ing arrangements, the effect which they will have upon
neighbouring companies, and upon that portion of the
public whose interests these neighbouring companies
subserve, should be duly and carefully considered, and
an opportunity afforded to all such parties to be heard.
In coming to a conclusion on this branch of the
subject, your committee have borne in mind that
the system of railway communication ought not
by any means to be considered as having attained
its full maturity, but that, on the contrary, much is
yet to be learnt, both as regards the legal effect of Par-
liamentary enactments and the practical consequences
of improved management. They attach great weight to
the following opinion expressed, in the course of his
evidence, by Mr. Baxter, the eminent railway solicitor :
" Is it your opinion that the power of the companies
is large enough already, and that that power would be
raised to a dangerous height if it were allowed to absorb
other great companies ?—Just so ; what may be called
the fighting powers of railways have been much de-
veloped, of late years, by the contests that have been
going on with great companies ; and those fighting
powers are of a most serious description.
"By fighting powers you mean the inclination of
a company, the source of whose revenue are gene-
rally diffused, to lose revenue in the particular place
where they desira to direct the edge of competition ?
—Yes ; where a company with an income of 70,0001.
a week is competing with another company whom
it desires to reduce into obedience, it will make
its mind up to lose 2,000/. or 3,0001. a week
for six months, knowing that it can afford to lose that
sum and the other company cannot afford to lose that
sum. The effect on the larger company may be a very
small fraction of a dividend ; the effect on the smaller
company will be a very serious reduction of the dividend,
and the consequence of that is, that in the feverish state
of all railway shareholders, the company whose income
is greatly reduced would immediately be revolutionised,
and the shareholders would in all probability quarrel
with the directors, and in the midst of the revolution
other arrangements would be proposed, and those, most
probably, would be some union or agreement with the
larger company.

Then do you lay down as your chief principle, that
amalgamations should not be allowed to go to so great
an extent as to to create single corporations, whose
power is able to overbear all the other corporations in
its neighbourhood ?—Clearly so ; and because the pre-
sent system of Parliamentary regulation, if we may sup-
pose that there is a regulation at all, is to allow compe-
tition generally between companies merely stepping in
upon certain occasions to interfere with that competition,
and such competition could not co-exist with the com-
pany beyond a certain scale of magnitude.
"Are you of opinion that the universal fusion to which
you have referred in,your formal answer could,be carried
into effect with a due regard to the interests if the com-
' munity?—l am clearly and strongly of opinion that such a
measure could not, at the present moment, be carried
into effect, because there is no public department suffi-
ciently educated to take the command which would be
necessary in such a state of things. The science of rail-
way government is one of a most intricate character.
Gentlemen of the greatest talent and general business,
when they come to apply those talents to railway man-
agement, ane perfectly at a loss. I have met the most
acute minded public men upon railway subjects, and
found that when we descended into the details of rail-
way management, the subject is too intricate to allow
them to exercise a safe judgment upon it; and I con-
ceive that no man, whatever be his powers, can take up
such a subject newly and understand it for two or three
years at least ; he must have two or three years' expe-
rience before he is competent safely to deal with it.
"You have spoken very justly of the want of experi-
ence and knowledge that a public department might be
expected to bring to the task of railway management ;
now, extending the nature of that observation, do you
think the general progress of science, with respect to
railway management, has been subh that we may sup.
pose it has already arrived at perfection, or, on the con-
trary, may we not reasonably expect that new improve.
ments will from time to time be made, and that the
progress of science in railway management in affording
facilities for railway communication will hereafter be
very great ?—No doubt, the science of railway manage-
ment is by no means perfected ; you can scarcely say it
has yet attained manhood, either if you regard the gene-
ral policy of railways, as to which most incredible mis-
takes are still made under railway management, or if
you regard the particular mode of transmitting your
traffic and your passengers ; improvements will be made
in both departments without a question as experience
goes on, and there are no means of educing these im-
provements so satisfactorily as leaving the matter to a
modified competition.
" So that if there were a universal fusion, and that
universal fusion was regulated by an executive depart-
ment, a great barrier would, in your judgment, be created
in the way of the natural progress and improvement of
railways ?—Not only that, but I believe railways would
go back again immediately."
With a view, therefore, of securing to the railway
companies and to the public, as far as may be possible,
all the advantages of amalgamation, and yet of retain-
ing in the hands of Parliament all the power which it
may be necessary to employ in future for better securing
from time to time the application of railway facilities to
the general good of the community, your committee
would advise that working arrangements, for a time to
be limited, confirminc, intimate relations between diffe-
rent companies on the subject of the regulation of their
traffic and the division of the proceeds, may with pro-
priety be sanctioned.
In immediate connection with this subject, your com-
mittee would advert to that of running clauses, or
powers conceded to one company of using, without per-
mission, the line of another. This whole subject of the
intercommunication of traffic between one railway sys-
tem and another, is a subject encircled with difficulty.

If a company which has obtained its powers on public
grounds resolutely refuse to admit upon its line, with
facility and convenience to the travellers, the traffic of an
independent company, it appears to your committee es-
sential that some remedy should be found for such a re-
fusal. In the case of Salisbury, it has been stated to
your committee by the mayor, that the line from that
city to Warminster is left uncompleted, because the
Great Western, whose line it is, have a greater interest
in conveying passengers by a more circuitous route ; that
the line would of itself be remunerative, and that the
capital could be raised for its completion ; but that the
interest of the South-Western at Salisbury being adverse,
as that of the Great-Western at Warminster, the line,
when constructed, would be comparatively useless with-
out powers being secured to its promoters for the free
transmission of its traffic over the Great Western and
South-Western Railways respectively. As regards the
transmission of goods, it appears from the evidence of
Mr.
_Stephenson that salt raised from the mine in

Cheshire; and intended for alkali works at Newcastle, is
carried round to Hull, and thence by shipment to New-
castle ; and that cotton from Manchester for owners at
Newcastle is also sent to Hull, because it serves the in-
terest of an intermediate company to/divert the traffic in
both cases from the channel in which the convenience of
the owners would have directed it to flow.

To the concession of running powers of a limited cha-
racter in cases like these, there seems to be in justice no
ground of objeetion, and yet considerations of public
safety are decidedly opposed to the concession. It is
therefore most important to consider whether there be
any mode by which justice can be done to the public,
without the introduction or extension of a system, ob-
jectionable on the score of danger.

It has been much discussed in evidence, and seems to
be generally recommended by the witnesses, that the
railway department, as now constituted, or some other
department to le especially created for this purpose, in
short, that the Executive Government should be invested
with strong powers for compelling companies so situated
to give to each other and to the public every reasonable
facility.
The following is the carefully considered opinion of
Mr. Denison, the chairman of the Great Northern Rail-
way Company :
" Do you think that general amalgamation would be
desirable, or otherwise ?—Very undesirable as regards
the public, unless the greatest possible precautions were
taken by Parliament. Perhaps such amalgamations
might be advantageous to shareholders generally, but as
regards the public; in my opinion, they would be very
disadvantageous, unless very specially guarded.
" It may be taken for granted that such amalgama-
tions, if sanctioned by Parliament, would be specially
guarded. Can you state, in a general way, any guards
and precautions which might be effectual for the pur-
pose ?—Nothing short, in my opinion, of the establish-
ment of a distinct Railway Board of Control, being put
in possession of very ample powers, much larger than
they ever had, much larger than they have at present,
and to such an extent that they should, in point of fact,
have the complete control of the machinery of the rail-
ways. Without that, I should think, it would be ex-
ceedingly dangerous, as regards the public, to let such
amalgamations proceed.
" By a complete control of the machinery, do you
mean a complete control in the way of authority, or
do you mean that the servants actually employed in
carrying out the details of railway management
should be the servants of the Government ?—No ;
I think it so important a question that for fear I
should make any mistake, I have written down my
views upon this particular point. I think, That a
Railway Board of Control should be appointed, which
should have power to see carried into effect, according
to the best of their judgment, the intentions of Parlia-
ment, and the object of the promoters of every railway ;
and to decide, in case of any dispute, how the traffic be-
tween all places should be conducted, and upon what
terms, rates, and conditions. That all agreements be-
tween companies respecting traffic should be subjected
to the approval or disapproval of such board. That the
board should have power, and that it should be part of
their duty, to send inspectors over the railways for the
purpose of seeing and reporting the condition of the
railway, the carriages, &c. ; and that the board should
have power to make and enforce such orders for amend-
ment or alteration as they may think proper, That the
board should hear all complaints and answer in open
court. That the board should have the power to regu-
late the time of starting trains. That the board should
have power to advise Parliament, from time to time,
what legislative measures should be adopted, after
hearing all parties in the presence of each other.' That
is my opinion in respect to the board. The reason
why I have made some strong observations on the
parties being heard in open court is, because I am sorry
to say that I have a great deal of experience of the
greatest possible inconvenience arising from railway
board officers, with the best possible intentions, first
hearing one party with closed doors, and then hearing
the other, and deciding on the case without the parties
knowing why. They laid themselves open to the
greatest possible suspicion, and I have no difficulty in
stating that that system was the cause of the'Railway
Board of 1845 raising public indignation against it."

But in practice this plan would be attended by diffi-
culties of a very serious kind. If it were the interest of
one company that its trains should arrive at a station
at a time calculated to disappoint the train of another
company, or to refuse that interchange of carriages
which obviates the necessity for a removal of luggage,
or by the adoption of other expedients to render that
mode of travelling inconvenient and uneasy, it would
be very difficult even for an executive body to over-
come the obstacles which their power, guided by ex-
perienne, would enable them to interpose. Your
committee, however, think it would be possible in certain
cases where the general convenience of a district was in
question to raise the dispute between the public and the
companies in such a shape as that the interposition of the
railway department might be effectually exercised.
With the view of preventing this power from being ren-
dered nugatory by the introduction of small objections
of a practical kini, ingeniously created for the purpose
of embarrassing the decision, it would be necessary that
it should be•conveyed in the widest terms.

Since, however, this control, when actually applied,
must be arbitrary in its nature, and free from all tech-
nical fetters, and since the exercise of it will always
effect the pecuniary interest of the company against
which it is directed, your committee feel that the occa-
sion on which !t should be executed must be carefully
defined. The constitution of the Executive Government,
affording no means of inquiry in presence of the bar and
the public, is unfavourable for the determination of such
questions, and your committee recommend that the fact
of wronghaving been done by the company should first
be substantiated before a public tribunal, and the aid of
the executive department be afforded to that tribunal
in framing its decisions with a view to their practical
effect. This course of proceeding will be the more con-
venient, inasmuch as the process of the court will in any
case be requisite to enforce any decision at which a de-
partment of the Goverment might arrive.
The difficulty, just adverted to, of arranging the in-
tercommunication of different systems at their points of
junction, is much increased-where it relates to the sub-
ject of loca branches constructed for the purpose of
uniting small towns or rural villages with the leading
lines of railway. In these cases the branch cannot af-
ford to maintain engines and carriages for itself; its
traffic, counted over its own mileage only, may be unre-
munerative, although as a feeder to a larger line over
the greater mileage of which its traffic will pass, it may
not be unproductive ; and in such cases, unless assisted
by the trunk line, or empowered by Parliament to in-
crease its mileage, and thereby maintain its own plant
by running powers over the trunk line, the branch could
not be made. It is more difficult for your committee to
furnish in words any rule for the decision of cases, each
of which would present some degree of specialty arising
from local circumstances, than it would be to maintain
in practice as uniform current of decision in like cases.
It seems, however, reasonable to assert, as a principle
of railway legislation, that no trunk line should be re-
garded as fulfilling the conditions of its relation to the
district in which it was situate, unless it afforded every
equitable facility for the working of local branches when
ever the residents came forward to aid in their construc-
tion.

(To be continued.)

BAIL WAY TRAFFIC RETURNS.

THE GREAT NORTHERN RAlL*AY.—Traffic return for
the week ending July 17, 1853 (283 miles) £15,549 0 6
Corresponding week last year (2234 miles) 10,524 19 3

LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE RAlLWAY.—Traffie re-
turn for the week ending July 24, 1853 .. 5 0
Corresponding week last Seas 18,024 10 10

CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for
tho week ending July 24, 1853 £5,976 19 2
Corresponding week last year 4,168 3 5

Increase in 1853

£l,BOB 15 9

SCOTTISH CENTRAL ItAlLWAY.—Traffic return for the
week ending July 24, 1853 1:2,489 10 31
Corresponding week last year 2,145 2 0i
CORK AND BANDON RAlLWAY.—Tra.ffie return for the
week ending July 23, 1853
Corresponding week last year 224 15 3

WATERFORD AND KILKENNY RAlLWAY.—Traffic return
for the week ending July 24 (29 miles) £176 16 10
Corresponding week last year (13 miles) 9B 13 0

price.
The Goodwood Stakes, to which, next to the Good-
wood Cup, the greatest interest atraches, was the most
important of the day. A large amount of money had
been invested on it, and, contrary to expectation, Adine,
an outsider, cut down the favourites, and bore away the
prize, to the great delight of the fielders,. who thereby
netted a considerable stake.
The attendance on the course and on the grand stand
and enclosures was very numerous, and the extreme
fineness of the day enabled the ladies—of whom there
was a brilliant assemblage—to display their elegant
summer costumes in the reserved portion of the enclo-
sure at the extremity of the grand stand.
The following are the names of the distinguished guests
who have accepted invitation to Goodwood House during
the race week :—His Royal Highness the Duke of
Cambridge, his Serene Highness the Duke of Saxe
Leiningen, Prince and Princess Edward of Saxe Weimar,
the Due and Duchess of Beaufort and Lady Henrietta
Somerset, the Marquis of Exeter, the Earl and Countess
of Derby, Lady Emma Stanley, and Hon. F. Stanley,
the Earl and Countess of Jersey and Lady Clementina
Villiers, Earl and Countess of Chesterfield, Earl and
Countess of Bessborougb, Earl of Glasgow, Earl of Ux-
bridge' Lord and Lady Maidstone, Lord Canterbury,
Lord Enfield, Lord George Manners, Lord Villiers,
Lord Chfclen, Lord Arthur Lennox, Lord William Len-
nox, Lord H. G. Lennox, Lord Alexander G. Lennox,
Lord George Gordon Lennox, the Hon. General and
Mrs. Anson, Admiral Rous, Hon. Major Macdonald,
Hon. F. Villiers, Mr. Des Vceux and Lady Sophia Des
Vceux, Mr. and Mrs. J. Stanley, Colonel Peel, Captain
Pettat, Captain Williams, Mr. Payne, Mr. Greville, Mr.
Somerset, Mr. Sturt, Mr. Curzon.
At Molecomb House (Lord March's) were Col. New-
ton, Mr. Milner, &c. Besides the above distinguished
personages and patrons of the turf there were present
the Earl of March, Captain Thelluson, Earl and Coun-
tess of Strathmore, Lord Exmouth, Marquis of Water-
ford, Earl of Wilton, Hon. C. A. Ellis, Mr. Drinkald,
Sir Joseph Hawley, Capt. Higgins, Count Batthyany,
Sir F. Smith, Sir R. Pigot, Col. Wyndham, Mr. Etrall,
Mr. Batson, jnn., Capt. Little, Sir G..Armitage, Lord
Anson, Capt. Archdall, Mr. J. Stanley, Lord Drum-
lanrig, Mr. Heathcote, Mr. King, Lord Bateman, Capt.
Bastard, and a host of others, wom the demands made
upon our attention by the number of races prevented
us from " taking a note of."
SWEEPSTAKES of 300 sous. each, h ft ; for fillies, Bst 71b
each. Craven Course. (4 subs.)

Gen. Anson's Mayfair by Bay Middleton (F.Butler) 1
Mr. Greville's Exhibition (Flatman) 2
Lord Exeter's Mrs. Nutting (Marlow) 3
Mr. Powney's Amazon (Mason) 4
Betting-5 to 2on Mayfair. Mrs. Nutting otarted
with the lead ; Exhibition, Mayfair, and Amazon follow.
ing in the order named. When just below the distance
the lot closed. At the stand Exhibition obtained the
lead, but in the last three or four strides lost it to May-
fair, who rushed in and won by half a length. • A length
between second and third. Amazon was tailed off.
HANDICAP PLATE of 50/., fortwo-yr-olds and upwards.

Half-a-mile.
Lord Clifden's Cheddar by Cotherstone, 3 yrs, Bst 31b
(Sly)
Mr. Jordan's Jessamine, 5 yrs, sst 71b (Quinton 2
Mr. Y. King's Narcissus, 6 yrs, Bst 101 b 3
The following also ran :—Leybourne, Gold Dust,
Home-brewed, Anteverta, Prevention, Janina, Evening
Star, Mayfly, Anne Page, John o'Brnges.
Betting-3 to 1 sgst Janina, 4to 1 agst Leybourne,
sto 1 each agst Anteverta and Cheddar, 8 to 1 agst
Anne Page, 10 to 1 agst Homebrewed. Won cleverly
by half a length. A head only between second and third.
Leybourne and Janina, well up, were fourth and fifth.
GOODWOOD STAKES of 25 sovs. each, 15 ft, and only 5 if
declared, &c. ; certain winners extra ; the second horse
to receive 100 sovs. Two miles and a half. (105 subs,
65 of whom pay 5 sovs. each).
Mr. Greville's Adine, by Slane, 4 yrs, 7st Sib

(Fla.tman) 1
Mr. T. Parr's Trifle (h b), 4 yrs, 7st 41b ..(Aldcroft) 2
Duke of Richmond's Antigone, 5 yrs, 6st 121 b

(Ashmall) 3
Mr. I'Anson's Haricot, 6 yrs, 7st 21b (Charlton) 4
The following also ran :—Kingston, Buckthorn, Gas-
Ramer, Joe Miller, Retail, Waterfall, Abdallah, Vindex,
Lambton, Hobbyhorse, Ireland's Eyo, The Kaffir, na b c
by The Emperor—Coral.
Betting at starting-7 to 4 agst Hobbyhorse, 3to 1
agst Joe Miller, 12 to 1 each agst Haricot, Vindex, and
Kingston, 13 to 1 agst Trifle, 14 to 1 agst Retail, 15 to
1 agst Adine (taken to some money), 28 to 1 each agst
Ireland's Eye and Abdallah.
Muscovite was scratched at 12.20 p.m., Little Harry
at 12.30, and Father Thames at 1 p.m.
After a brief delay, occasioned by the restiveness of
Adine, a good start was effected. Vindex, Trifle, and
Gossamer were the first to show in advance, but they
had scarcely proceeded a hundred yards when Lambton
rushed to the front, and in going out of the straight
he increased his lead several lengths, Joe Miller,
Vindex, Trifle, Adine, Hobbyhorse, and Haricot being
,
the nearest. portion of the ruck. On rounding the
further turn, near the clump, Lambton began t 3
drop off, and by the end of the next hundred yards
Joe Miller had passed him, followed by Adine, Trifle,
Hobbyhorse, Antigone, and Haricot. As they ap-
proached the turn into the T. Y. C. Hobbyhorse appeared
to be gaining ground,. but be gradually fell back in de-
scending the hill, and when just below the distance Joe
Miller's chance was quite extinguished. The race was
now evidently left to Trifle, Adine, Antigone, and Hari•
cot. At the Stand Adine took possession of the lead,
which she maintained without difficulty the remainder
of the distance, and won by two lengths, the second
beating the third by a length ; two lengths between the
third and fourth ; Joe Miller was fifth, Vindex and
Hobbyhorse sixth and seventh, Abdallah and Ireland's
Eye the next two, followed by Waterfall, Gossamer, and
Kingston. These, however, pulled up before they reached
the post. Coral colt and Retail were in the extreme
rear.

SWEEPSTAKES of 300 sovs. each, h ft for colts, Bst 71b
each. Certain winners extra. Craven course. (4 subs.)
Mr. Howard's Eulogist by Birdcatcher (A. Day) 1
Lord Eglington's Vanderdecken (Marlow) 2
Lord Exeter's Cobnut (Flatman) 3
Betting-3 to lon Cobnut. On coming down the hill
the latter was passed by Vanderdecken, who obtained a
slight lead at the distance. Eulogist, however, quickly
regained his position in front, and won rather cleverly
by half a length. Cobnut beaten off several lengths.
STEWARD'S CUP of 300 sovs., added to a handicap sweep-
stakes of 5 sovs. each. T.Y.C. (55 subs )
Lord Derby's:Longbow by Ithuriel, 4 yrs, 9st 41b

(F. Butler) 1
Mr. Drinkald's Nabob, 4yrs, 7st 131 b (Aldcroft) 2
General Anson's Nerva, 3yrs, 6st 71b .........(Wells) 3
The following also ran :—Knight of the Shire, Pelion,
Redmond O'Hanlon, Exact, Pharold, the Deformed,
Claverhouse, Snowdon Dunhill, Michaelmas Maid, Mr.
Sykes, Octavia, The Black Swan, Old Rowley, Puritan,
Beverlac, St. Faith, Jullien, Surprise, Flycatcher, Young
Norval, Hybla, Allington, Anne Page, Apostate, Er-
nestine, and Cyrus.
Betting-4 to 1 agst Pelion, sto 1 agst Longbow, 6
to 1 agst St. Faith, 8 to 1 each agst the Deformed and
Nabob, 10 to 1 each agst Octavia and Nerva. Beverlac
jumped off with the lead, but after running about 300
yards, Jullien, The Deformed, and Surprise took up
their positions in front ; Longbow lying about fourth or
fifth until close at the stand, when he came out followed
by Nabob, the latter made a good effort but failed, and
was eventually beaten two lengths. Same distance be-
tween second and third; the others widely scattered.
Soon after starting Pelion blundered and fell, and
slipped up several yards before he could recover him
sell. He trotted in last and did not pass the post.
FIRST YEAR of the GREAT NORTH and SOUTH of ENG-
LAND BIENNIAL STAKES of 10 sovs each h ft, with 200
added, for foals of 1851; colts, Bst 71b ; fillies, Bst
41b ; certain winners extra ; horses having started in
1853 and not won allowed 31b. The owner of the
second horse to receive a sum equal to 10 per cent. on
the whole stake, and the third a sum equal to 5 per
cent. on the whole stake. (174 subs.)
Mr. Knowles's Marsyas by Orlando, Bst 101 b (Basham) 1
General Anson's Scythian, Bst 71b ..............(Butler) 2
Field
de mfaorllsohwali:i following
also
rindn
Mr. Thellusson's King
ran
a : 3; Pr.
Tom Bst 71b (W. Day) 3
incc
by Van Tromp out of Reel, Trump Queen, and f by
a
Robert de Gorham out of Bourra Tomacha.
uauno,cThboooxle ~
Vignette,
gone e , b

Marsyas jumped off with-thelead, but was quickly
headed by Trump Queen, who carried on the running to
half-way up the distance, when Marsyas went in ad-
vance, followed by Scythian and King Tom ; an inte-
resting race in with the three ended in favour of Marsyas
by three-quarters of a length, a head only between the
second and third ; Trump Queen was a pretty pod
fourth.
DRAWING-ROOM STAKES of 25 SOW., with a bonus, &c.,
for 3-yr-olds ; colts, Bst 71b, fillies Bst 31b. Once
round. (12 subs. to the stakes, and Bto the bonus.)
Lord Exeter's Nutpecker by Nutwith, Bst 71b (Norman)
walked over.
SWEEPSTAKES Of 10 sous. each, for 2/r-olds and up-
wards ; two, Gst ; three, Bst ; four, Bst 81b ; five, Bst
121 b ; six and aged, 9st • mares and geldings allowed
31b ; the winner to be sold for 300 sovs. if demanded,
&c. Half a mile. (10 subs.)
Mr. Howard's Vaultress by Birdcatcher, 3 yrs (Wells) 1
Mr. Mogenis's Maidstone 4 yrs ............ (J. Marson) 2
Lord Exeter's Hazlenut, 3 yrs (Norman) 3
The following also ran :----Leybourne, Dear Me, Old
Rowley, Dagobert, and John o' Bruges.
Vaultress made all the running, and won easily by a
length and a-half ; two lengths between second and
third. Leybourne was fourth. Flatman weighed for
Young Norval, who, however, did not go to the post.

LATEST BETTING ON THE CUP.
3to 1 agst Mascovite.
4to 1 agst Peggy.
6to 1 Jonvence.
Pelion waa friendless.