The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-08 00:00:00

LONDON AND WEST KENT.

A meeting of landowners and resident promoters of
this project was held at Maidstone on Saturday. The
chair was taken by Viscount Holmesdale.
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, observed
that they were met to consider and determine on the
propriety of proceeding with the undertaking, and also
to consider the expediency of making any deviations
from the original plan. The nature of these proposed
deviations would be explained hereafter in detail, but he
wished it to be understood that he was of opinion—an
opinion which was shared in by the Marquis Camden,
Sir John Lubbock, and other members of the provisional
committee—it was not desirable to sanction any depar-
ture from the settled plan of operation already agreed to
for securing the successful accomplishment of the main
line from London to Maidstone. The line would benefit
Maidstone more than any other town. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Cobb said the promoters had no intention whatever
to deviate in any respect from the plan of operations as
settled and agreed to at the landowners' first meeting,
on the 4th ult. (Hear, hear.) Under these circum-
stances it had been suggested that a recommendation
be conveyed to the provisional committee to sanction
an extention of the time for completing the local
share lists from the 15th of October last to the
15th of December, half only of the required
local capital having been subscribed. A sugges-
tion had also been made that the commitee should sanc-
tion an extension of the orginal plan for the main line
by two branches—the one from Otford to Tunbridge, and
the others from Maidstone to Ashford. The surreys for
the line for No. 3 Bill had been completed under the
direction of the engineer, from Newington-causeway to
the River Thames Terminus and Southwark, and the
application to Parliament for the bill for that line would
therefore include this extensions to that if the
scheme should be approved in the shape which
had been recommended, the project to be sub-
mitted to Parliament would, in fact, form an
integral line from an independent terminus at South-
wark, adjoining the selected site for the new
bridge, to Ashford, so as to place Maidstone and all the
to wnsbetween Maidstone and the metropolis, by way
of Bromley, Sevenoaks, Ightham, Wrotham, East and
West Mailing, on the main line, instead of being placed
on branches from the existing South-Eastern and North
Kent lines. From the return which had been received
from each district up to the present time, he felt confi-
dent that the required proportion of local shares would
be duly subscribed, upwards of 140 gentlemen, land-
owners, and residents, having sent in their names as
subscribers to the capital for the main line, indepen-
dently of the subscriptions for the other portions of the
undertaking. (Hear, hear.) He .hoped that the sug-
gested extension from Maidstone to Ashford would re-
ceive the sanction of the meeting, it being understood
that the capital for such extension would form a sub-
scription separate altogether from the capital subscribed
to the No. 1 Bill, being for the first portion of the main
trunk line from Sydenham to Maidstone, and thence to
Ashford, The plans, sections, and books of reference
were in a forward state, and the necessary measures
were in progress for securing the completion of the sub-
scription list in time for the deposit of the Parliamentary
contract, and that the bulk of the liability of preliminary
expenses had been provided for, so as to make the
charge on the local shares not exceed the sum of 2s. 6d.
per share if the Parliamentary contract were not com-
pleted in due time.
The district agents having brought up their reports,
showing the number of local subscriptions, stated that
they had received assurances of further subscriptions
from other persons as soon as the provisional committee
should finally determine to proceed with the undertaking:
Mr. DENT expressed his hope that the western divi-
sion of the county of Kent would no longer be behind
all the rest of England in the matter of railway accom-
modation. He was glad to perceive that Mr. Brassey
had given in his adhesion to the scheme by taking 200
shares as a local landowner, and he (Mr. Dent) had no
hesitation in saying that he would double his subscrip-
tion from 100 to 200 shares.

Several gentlemen having addressed the meeting, and
advocated the necessity of a combined action among the
landowners of the county, a series of resolutions was
passed in approval of the object for which it was held,
and thanks having been voted to the chairman, the
meeting separated.