The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 13, 1865.

ardently to be desired, is not yet to be looked for.
Another section of the Embankment besides that
we have mentioned, and which Mr. Fu ness is
hurrying forward with the utmost possi'; e speed, is
that between Montague-house and ungerford,
where the steam piledrivers are busy ~vci y minute of
the day. This section is composed entirely of wood.
The cofferdam is formed of wood piles in two rows
seven feet apart, and driven through the shingle as
close as they can be got together. The interval be-
tween the first and second row is then " puddled"
in in the usual manner with stiff clay till it is water-
tight, when the river is pumped out, the cofferdam
strengthened with struts, as in the case of the iron
caissons, and the work of excavation, filling in with
concrete, and, finally, building will go on as behind
those we have already mentioned. Altogether, no
less than 1,300 feet out of the 2,000 feet of the first
section to Waterloo-bridge have been dammed in
with piles or caissons, and this length will be subdi-
vided by nine cross sections leading backwards, so as
to render the work of pumping and subsequently
building as easY:as possible. The length, however
already enclosed towards the river, and over which'
the water now flows behind the cofferdam only on
sufferance, is very great, and will, when the Thames
is entirely shut out, give a space of nearly 11 acres
reclaimed from an unsightly, muddy, foreshore into
one of the noblest, and, we may add, one of the most
needed, thoroughfares in Europe.
Nothing is, of course, yet being done either with the
low level sewer or the subway which is to pass along
the whole length of the Embankment. The former will
be a simple circular tunnel of nine feet in diameter,
and laid almost as low as the foundations of the Em-
bankment itself. The subway above it will be
nine feet wide by seven feet high for the gas and
water-pipes and telegraphic wires, so as to do away
with all that endless competition between gas and
water companies as to who shall oftenest pull up the
pavements and stop the greatest number of streets
in the course of the year. These works, how-
ever, are likely to be kept well in hand as the Em-
bankment progresses, and it is only to be hoped that
the railway which is to pass under it and behind it
may be in the same state of readiness. Certainly,
the works of the latter ought to proceed as the
granite face of the Embankment itself advances, or
else on such very new-made ground there might be
a movement caused by the railway works which
would be as injurious to the railway as to the Eni-
bankment itself. We believe, however, that in a
short time it is intended to commence this railway,
which will complete Mr. Fowler's celebrated metro-
politan inner circle.

The Corporation of London and the Utili-

sation of Sewage.

The Coal, Corn, and Finance Committee of the
Corporation of .London have just presented a re-
port on this subject to the Court of Common Coun-

They state that on the 12th of November last
they presented a report to the Common Council, on
the reference to them to consider the report of the
Select Committee of the House of Commons on
Sewage, in which attention was drawn to the facts
that town sewage, as proved by the evidence, is a
manure suitable for all crops ; that when poured
over land in enormous quantities, as at Edinburgh
and Rugby, the land was reduced to the condition of
a morass, the produce was inferior and the manure
wasted ; but that, when applied in moderation, like
any other fertilising agent now in use, the results
were most satisfactory. Keeping these facts in view,
and taking into account the enormous value of the
London sewage, the Corporation Committee were
of opinion that the area for its economic and profit-

able utilisation should not be less than from
500,000 to 600,000 acres. The committee, how-
ever, not .having had sufficient evidence before
them to enable them to say whether or not it
would be possible to distribute the sewage over such
an area, were of opinion that this point, upon which
the entire question of economic and profitable
sewage utilization depends, should be decided by a
Parliamentary inquiry. The committee, therefore,
concluded their report by recommending that be-
fore a concession of the sewage was made to any
party a further and more searching investigation
should be undertaken by Parliament into every
scheme for its utilization. This report was agreed

to by the Court, and it was referred back to the
committee to take such steps therein as might be
deemed expedient, with instructions to put them-

selves in communication with Her Majesty's Go-
vernment, with a view to the further investigation
of the question. Acting on these instructions a de-
putation of the committee had an interview with
Lord Palmerston, and afterwards, at his Lordship's
suggestion, with Sir George Grey. Sir George, of
the end of a long interview, said that without pledg-
ing himself to any particular course the inclination
of his opinion was that further inquiry was neces-
sary. The committee were the more anxious that
_ _

this inquiry should be made in order to protect not
only the rate-payers of the metropolis, but the
country at large from being misled as to the agricul-
tural and commercial value of sewage and the most
profitable method for its utilisation, by the bad re-
sults obtained from the numerous experiments car-
ried on at Rugby by Mr. John Bennet Lawes for
the Royal Sewage Commission. These results
themselves prove that the system of large dressings
upon which they were carried out is a mistake, and
yet, strangely enough, they are cited by the advo-
cates of this wasteful system to prove that it will
not pay commercially to utilise sewage on the eco-
nomic principle, than which nothing can be more
illogical. The committee find that Baron Liebig,
commenting on the evidence given by Mr. Lawes be-
fore Lord Robert Montagu's Select Committee in
support of these experiments, has lately written as
follows :—" The experiments made at Rugby are
excellent specimens to show which' way ought not
to be followed to get a fair estimation of the, value
of sewage. The experiments succeeded in this, that
they transformed very good land into a swamp.
There was a very large amount of sewage matter
that ran away ; but they would use a greal deal
more if sewage could be got for nothing." The re-
port of the committee was unanimously adopted by
the Court, and a copy was forthwith sent to the
Metropolitan Board of Works. That Board, how-
ever, on the 15th of the same month, made a con-
cession of the sewage of the north side of the me-
tropolis toMessrs. Hope and Napier; the committee
have, therefore, considered the scheme of those gen-
tlemen, on which they report as follows :
" The committee find that Messrs. Hope and
Napier propose to take the sewage from a point near
Abbey Mills and conduct it by means of a brick cul-
vert to the seacoast of Essex, where it is to be dis-
charged over a portion of the Foulness Sands and
Dingie Flats, which are to be reclaimed from the
ocean by means of a great embankment, but the
precise area to be inclosed the committee have
been unable to ascertain. In their original tender,
bearing date the 30th of October, 1861, they spoke
of an area of 30,000 to 40,000 acres which were to
be inclosed, but in their letter to the Chairman of
the Metropolitan Board of Works, dated the 25th
of November, 1861, theymenttologneedthe2roCliw,Otoh acrestheir
only. When these gentlemen,
Select Committee,
Mr.
engineer, Mr. Hemans, were under examination be-
fore Lord Robert Montagu'
ohoeoseaweargeeos
f the north side of the m thPutt,
Hemans was asked, 6 Youpetrroopoposieis
on 2O
of the Dingie Flats and Maplin Sands, do you not ?
—yes: Mr. Hope, however, was asked, You
smaller area, do you not .9—Yes • That we have done
give up the Dingie Flats and confine yourself to a
on both practical and scientific advice.' The
reduce the area
com-
mittee find that this alteration would
to be reclaimed from the ocean to
12,000 acres.
From Mr. Hope's answer to question 575 the com-
mitteed find that these gentlemen originally di
not contemplate the possibility of inducing the
farmers
it app
rs to take
theythe haveoverareacom-
mittee changed their opinion
on this point also, and that they propose to distri-
bute it over as large an
area as can be commanded
by gravitation from the culvert. In answer to ques-
tion 605 Mr. Ho
said,
Mr. Hemans estjmates
that the area comm
but Mr. Hemans in nd
to
commanded would be 20,000 acres ;'
answer
question 618, states,
that an area of 30,000 acres is commanded, and

could be watered by this culvert.' The committee

find that since the tender of Messrs. Hope and
Napier was accepted by the Metropolitan Board of
Works, Mr. Hemans, in a letter which appeared in
the newspapers of Thursday, Nov. 47, gave a de-
. _ _ _

scription of their present plan, which largely modi-
fies that one approved by the Roar& From Mr.
Hemans' letter the committee gather that, in addi-

ion to theAlaplin Sands, the Dingie Flats, which

➢Tr. Hope informed the Select Committee had been
abandoned ' on both practical and scientific advice,'

are to be reclaimed from the ocean ; that the em-

bankment wall was not to be constructed, as origi-

nally intended, along the edge of the deep water, in
order to inclose the 12,000 acres, but nearer the

shore ; ' the remaining portion,' as Mr. Hemans

observes, ' will then, by the ordinary process of na-
ture, warp up, and ultimately the whole 25,000

acres will be reclaimed ; perhaps a good deal more.'
From the answers, however, of Mr. Hopkins, C.E.,
before Lord Robert Montagu's Select Committee, to

questions from 1,010 to 1,014 inclusive, the com-
mittee are induced to think that the remaining por-
tion of these sands would not warp up for several

hundred years. Mr. Hemans also stated in his let-
ter, that 80,000 acres could be commanded from the
culvert, but he did not say how much of this land
lies beneath the level of high water in the Thames,
and which from excessive moisture and defective

drainage would be unfit for the profitable reception
of a liquid manure during the greater portion of the
year. The committee find, from Mr. Bazalgette's
replies to certain questions, that the sewage of the
north side of the metropolis is estimated at 168,033,115
tons per annum, which, according to the analysis of
Hofmann and Witt, would contain an amount of
fertilising matter equal to 134,424 tons of Peruvian

guano, and taking guano sold at the present retail

price of £l3 12s.fid. per ton as the standard of value,

this would be worth £1,831,557. The committee
also find that the volume, and consequently the
value of the sewage, must increase year by year
with the population ; while Baron Liebig has given
it as his opinion that the value of the manure may
at once be doubled by the introduction of, compara-

tively speaking, a very small portion of superphos-
phate of lime. It is evident that Messrs. Hope and
Napier could not possibly recover in crop off their
Maximum area anything like the present value of
their Inianure, without making any allowance for
landlords or farmers' profits, taxes, interest on capi-
tal, working expenses, or other charges ; much less
could they recover the value of the increased volume
of the sewage in future years. Indeed the committee
find, from the evidence of those gentlemen, that bas-
ing their idea of the value of the sewage upon the re-
sults obtained by Mr. Lawes, whose system they
follow, they do not calculate on a larger income to
divide with the ratepayers than £390,445 a year, as
appears from Mr. Hope's answer to question 679,
out of which is to be deducted a preference dividend
of 7i per cent. on the capital before the ratepayers
are to receive any payment for their property. The
committee have examined Baron Liebig's most valu-

able report, and desire briefly to draw the attention
of the Court to the opinion arrived at by this great
authority asto the value of the sewage and the proper
method for its utilisation. The committee find that
Baron Liebig's analysis of the various fertilisingmat-
ters found in sewage and inPeruvian gilano have led
him to the conclusion that in 828 tons of the London
sewage, taking its total annual amount at 226,000,000
tons, there is asmuch ammonia as in one ton of Peru-
vian guano ; and estimating the value of the ammonia,
phosphoric acid, and potash found in a ton: of guana
to be worth £7 145., he is of opinion that the fertilis-
ing matter contained in one ton of sewage is worth
1.84 d., and the annual amount of; the metropolitan
sewage is worth £2,040,715. He, however, further
states—'lf the ammonia be reckoned at the price
farmer pays at present for it in Peruvian guano, the
ton of sewage water would be worth something
more than the double of that price.' This would
give £4,081,430 as the annual value of the metro-
politan sewage—a sum somewhat larger than that
arrived at by the committee, basing this estimate on
the analysis of Messrs. Hofmann and Witt and the
present retail price of Peruvian guano, which price
must necessarily rule that of every other manure.
The committee further find that Baron Liebig points
attention to the power of soil to abstract from sewage
the fertilising matters therein contained, but that of
all soils pure sand possesses this power in the
smallest degree ; and with reference to the dilution
of the sewage he states A series of experiments
with artificial sewage water proved that a dilution

with water as great as that of the sewage of the
metropolis in no wise diminishes the absorbing
effect of the soil. I found, moreover, last summer,
by experiments regarding the growth of plants, that
a soil completely saturated with manuring matter
did not, asmight be supposed, further the develop-
ment of the plants' growth, for to many, on the
contrary, it was prejudicial.' The committee also
find that Baron Liebig conclusively proves the fitness
of sewage as a manure suitable for arable land and
general farming purposes, and emphatically points
attention to the error of continually applying one
description of manure to land. He states No
one will ever think of supplying the full effect of
farmyard dung by the employment of phosphates or
guano, nor is it to be done either by the use of sew-
age. The chief value of sewage lies in this, that by its
application the effects of phosphates, guano and stable
dung are made sure and lasting, and the crops raised
to that maximum which the soil can produce, be-
cause, by means of sewer water these elements are
given which are wanting in those other manures, or
are present in them in but small quantities.' Baron
Liebig, however, shows by a comparison between the
constituencies of sewage and those required for the
proper nourishment of grass that although it will un-
doubtedly benefit that crop, yet that it is less suit-
able for it than for any other to which it could be
applied, and will yield a much less profitaleb return,
and that whereas the fertilising matter contained in
a ton of the London sewage, if applied 'to arable
land' would be worth 1.84 d., taking guano sold at
£7 14s. per ton as ,the standard, it would only be
worth 2.8 farthinks if used for grass, that being, as
Baron Leibig states, three-eighths of that which I
have computed its absolute value to be. The reason
of this difference is, that sewage water contains an
excess of ammonia and phosphoric acid which is
without effect on the growth of grass, and for this
reason is not paid for.' And further on, speaking of
the application of sewage to thesame crop he states,
' In all localities which by nature are adapted for the
employment of sewage, its use is unquestionably an
advantage. But if a large capitalbe required in order
first to adapt the ground for this purpose, the specu-
lation would hardly profit anything, even though he
obtained the sewage for id. a ton.' But with refe-
rence to its peculiar fitness for general farming pur-
poses, he observes, ' The full value of sewage, and
of its separate constituents, can only be got out of it
when it is employed on arable land. While, in the
case of a meadow, the whole of that which has been
taken from it the harvest must be replaced in order
to make the yield constant, it is sufficient in the sys-
tem of farmyard manuring to give the farmyard
manure those ingredients in addition which were
taken from the ground in the preceding harvest in
the seeds and meat sold. The component parts of
tghiatnsitoo d
straw
of wnremain on the farm, and, therefore, need
nothing to replace them. By means of Peruvian
hese cphosphatesonstitutehnets. farmerßßy
m means
replaces only
sewage,a
on the contrary, he is fully enabled, with the proper
addition of phosphates, to restore all of them to his
field, and to increase those particular ones which the
field most wants, for giving higher and more con-
stant crops. Sewage, as a never failing source of am-
monia, will prove to him of the greatest value when
the supply of Peruvian guano is at an end,' Turn-
ing from the examination of the report of Baron
Liebig to the scheme of Messrs. Hope and Napier,
the committee find that they not only propose to
apply the sewage in enormous and wasteful quan-
tities to grass exclusively, for which crop, in their
opinion, it is alone suitable, but that, as their plan
is one of gravitation from first to last, the manure
beingapplied by flooding the land from open gutters,
it would be impossible by their plan to use it on
hose arable land and for general farming purposes, as for
t
such it must of necheosssietygebnetalepmp
henedenbtyirethly e
repudiate and
jet, which system
and hold up to ridicule.
The committee haying maturely considered the

report of Baron Liebig, the greatest known autho-
rity upon agricultural chemistry, are of opinion
that the scheme of the Messrs. Hope and Napier, if
it could be carried out, would be a glaring violation
of the laws of agricultural science, from which the
least possible increase to our home supplies of food
would be obtained, as well as the smallest return to
the ratepayers of the metropolis for their property.
The committee express their extreme surprise that
the Metropolitan Board of Works, who are trustees
of the ratepayers, should have disposed of this large
property to Messrs. Hope and Napier (who base
their scheme upon the assumption of the compara-
tive worthlessness of sewage), until after those who
ground their plan on its great value had had an op-
portunity afforded them of fairly testing the cor-
rectness of their opinions before Parliament, and
had failed. And more especially are the committee
surprised at the course adopted by the board, when
they consider the enormous benefit that would have
been conferred not alone upon the ratepayers of the
metropolis, but upon other cities and towns and the
agriculture of the kingdom, were those who advocate
the system of moderate dressings, and a wide dis-
tribution of sewage, able to demonstrate that that
system could be made commercially successful. In
conclusion, the committee are of.; opinion that it is
for the interest of the nation that a searching inves-
tigation into the system of economic sewage utilisa-
tion should be instituted by Parliament before any
steps are taken for the utilisation of the sewage of
London or of any other town, and that the interest
of the ratepayers of the metropolis demands that
the plan of Messrs. Hope and Napier should be
strenuously opposed. And, having considered the re-
port of Mr. Hopkins, C.E., upon the scheme of
Messrs. Hope and Napier, together with the answer
thereto of Mr. Hemans, C.E., and Mr. Hopkins's
reply, as well as Mr. Hopkins's evidence before the
Select Committee, the committee think it is an en-
gineering impossibility to recover from the ocean
the sands proposed to be reclaimed by the great
embankment except by the expenditure of so enor-
mous a sum of money as to render the entire scheme
perfectly hopeless as a commercial speculation. The
committee recommend that the Court should peti-
tion the House of Commons for the appointment of
a Select Committee to take into consideration the
best mode of utilizing the sewage of the metropolis
and other towns of the kingdom, and to inquire into
all the plans for dealing with the sewage, and spe-
cially to report upon each of such plans, for the in-
formation of the country, with a view to secure for
the ratepayers of the metropolis the greatest amount
of profit from the utilization of this property, and
also that they should be authorized to take the ne-
cessary measures for opposing the Metropolis Sew-
age and East Kent Reclamation Bill in Parliament,
which has for its object the obtaining of the sanction
of Parliament to the carrying out of the arrange-
ment entered into by Messrs. Napier and Hope and
the Metropolitan Board of Works.
The report is signed by Messrs. William Lawley,
Samuel Green, Deputy Perkins, William Lister,
James Waterlow, Thomas Lintott, Henry Gibson,
J.
G.
A. Isaacs, John Stewart,
George
Arnold,Webb,
JohnHnry e
Richardson, W. C. Fowler,
William Brass, W. Jones, and Deputy Lott, mem-
bers of the Coal, Corn, and Finance Committee,
and has since been adopted by the whole Corpora-
tion.

Railway and other Companies.

TAFF VALE.

The directors have determined to recommend a dividend
at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum for the half-year end-
ing the 31st of December last.

LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN.

The report of the directors Of This company states that
the balance of the revenue accounts for the half-year ending
the 31st of December last, including £8,641 from the preced-
ing half-year, and after deducting all preferential charges,
amounted to £235,938 ; but against this amount there was
the large sum of £lO,
793, principally on account of the late
lamentable accident at Egham. Of this the directors had
debited the half-year's accounts with £25,000, leaving avail-
able for dividend £210,938, out of which it was proposed to
pay a dividend at the rate of 51- per cent. per annum,
amounting on £7,562,229 of paid-up capital to £207,961,
leaving a balance of £2,976. The gross revenue showed an
increase of £46,825 as compared with the corresponding
half of 1863. This amount had been carried on an increased
mileage of 151 miles, the Midhurst line 91 miles having
been opened on the Ist of September last, and the Thames
-Valley Railway, 61 miles, on the Ist of November. The in-
terest on the company's mortgage debt averaged only 4.21
per cent. per annum in the past half-year, notwithstanding
the adverse state of the money market. The total traffic
receipts for the half-year ending the 31st of December
amounted on 4704 miles to £749,905, the working ex-
penses to £335,064, the taxation to £33,507, and the net
revenue to £381,334, against £703,080, total receipts for
the corresponding half of 1863 on 45.11 miles, £322,179
working expenses, £31,971 taxation, and £348,930 net
revenue, showing an increase of £46,825 in the total re-
ceipts, £12,885 in the working expenses, £1,536 in the
taxation, and £32,404 in the net revenue. The rate
per train mile for locomotive and carriage expenses
was reduced from 10.43 d. in the corresponding pried to.
10-23 d. in the past half-year. Various additions to the
stations and sidings had been rendered necessary owing to
the increasing traffic, and were being carried out. Tho
Salisbury and Yeovil Company had up to the present date
made but little progress since the last report in the doubling
of their line. The Andover and Redbridge Railway was
finished, and would be shortly opened. The works on the
Netley Railway were making satisfactory progress, and the
directors hoped that the contractor would enable the line
to be opened in the coure of the. coming summer. The
works on the Chertsey Extension line, as well as those on
the Wimbledon, Tooting, and Merton line and at the Clap-
ham Junction, had been let to responsible contractors on
satisfactory terms, and would be immediately proceeded
with. The delay which had arisen in the opening of the
Weymouth and Portland line had been a source of regret
to the directors, but they were satisfied that the course
they adopted was the right one, as the points at issue be-
tween the Weymouth and Portland Company and this
Board, having been referred to Capt. Galton, he had decided
that the line was not completed according to the terms of
• the agreement. It now remained for the Weymouth and
Portland company to complete their undertaking by pro-
viding suitable station accommodation at Weymouth. On
the Ist of January in this year the amalgamation of the
North Devon and Bideford Companies with this company
took place. In regard to the liabilities incurred in respect of
compensation arising out of the Egham accident, only a
few cases remain unsettled. Arrangements had been con-
cluded with the Brighton Company for the running of goods
and mineral trains by agreement over their lines to the river
at Deptford. The terms made in respect of the London,
Chatham, and Dover'Company's lines and stations would
be immediately submitted to Parliament for confirmation.
In the district of North Devon the directors had deposited
a bill for authorising the construction of a new railway
from their Bidefoid station to Torrington, about five and
a half miles in length, at an estimated cost of £BO,OOO and
borrowing powers
_of £26,660. At Torrington it was in-
tended that it should be connected with a branch line to
Hatherleigh, which, tha Okehampton Company had been
induced to add to the contemplated extension of their autho-
rised railway through Ifolsworthy to the Cornish coast at
Budo. Provisional arrangements for the working of the
Okehampton Company's lines, which were on the narrow
guage, had been made. The ex 638,940. penditure on capital account
amounted to £l3,

NORTH-EAS TERN.
Tho report of the directors of this company states that
the total traffic receipts. on 1,095 miles of railway for the
half-year ending Dec. 31 last amounted to £1,682,756, and
for the corresponding half of 1863 on the same mileage to
£1,510,085, showing an increase of £172,671. The working
expenses amounted to £801,617, against £711,110, showing
an increase of £90,507. The net receipts for the past half-
year amounted to £881,139, and for the corresponding half
of 1863 to £798,975, showing an increase of £82,164. The
directors attributed the steady increase in the prosperity of
the company to the various amalgamations which had from
time to time been authorised, and which had enabled them
more effectually to develops the resources of the district
served by the railways of the company. As the passenger
traffic had increased, the directors had greatly augmented
the number of trains and improved the train service, and
also effected a considerable diminution in the charges made
to the public by abolishing express fares, extending the
system of return and cheap tickets, and reducing the first-
class fares ; and the directors intended, in the course of the
next three years, to make such further reductions as would
bring the charges for
Passengers to a maximum of 2d. per
mile for first-class, lid,
Per mile for second class, and ld.
per mile for third class, clear of Government duty. The
balance available for ordinary dividend on Berwick account
was £245,428, out of which it was proposed to declare a
dividend at the rate of 61 per cent. per annum, leaving
£4,944 ; on York account, £100,366 ; and a dividend at
the rate of St per cent. per annum, leaving £3,983 on tire
Leeds account, £28,282, and a dividend at the rate of
£3 17s. 6d. per cent. per annum, leaving £1,265 ; on Thirsk
and Xalton account £1,581, and a dividend at tho rate of 4i
per cent. per annum, leaving £456 ; on Carlisle account
£51,156§, and a dividend at the rate of 8 per cent. per an-
num, leaving £2,358; and on Darlington account £75,442,
and a dividend at the rate of 9 per cent. per annum, leaving
a balance of £3,561. All those dividends were on the ordi-
nary dodo. Negotiating Detwcoh the directors and those

of the West Hartlepool Harbour and Railway Company
had resulted in a provisional arrangement for an amalga-
mation of the two companies. The terms of amalgamation
were that this company should, in addition to the preference
charges, pay on the unguaranteed stock (consolidated) di-
vidends at the rate of 31 per cent. for the year commencing
on the Ist of July, 1865, increasing a quarter per cent. in
each succeeding year until the Ist of July, 1868, when the
holders of that stock would become entitled to a preferen-
tial dividend of 4 per cent. per annum, and the directors re-
commended that this arrangement be confirmed. The di-
rectors were about to let the construction of the Team
Valley line. With regard to the bill introduced into Par-
liament for the formation of a new line from Leeds to Stock-
ton, with a branch to Scarborough, the directors considered
that this scheme was wholly uncalled for by any public ne-
cessity, and would give it their utmost determined opposi-
tioja. The new line to Otley was opened for public traffic
on the Ist inst. The Market Weighton and Beverley
branch was nearly completed. The contractors had com-
menced operations on the Blaydon and Conside line, and
the branch to the Quayside at Newcastle. The capital
ac-
count showed that £31,816,081 had been expended.