The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-27 00:00:00

mated cost 70,0001., and I have no doubt it will be com-
pletedvit inthis within the
bill when I last had
estimate. The Ara ershambrhe nchwhich
was included pleasure
of meeting you, has not been granted by the" committee
of the House of Commons.
A PROPRIETOR.—What was the original estimate
under this bill ?
The CHAMMAN.--it was 152,0001; for the whole of
the project.
The bill was unanimously approved of.
The CHAIRMAN.—The next bill which I have to intro-
duce to your notice is to enable the London and North-
Western Railway Company to construct a railway from
Northampton to Market Harborough, with a branch
therefrom, and for other purposes. I dare say it may
be in the recollection of some of the proprietors of this
company, that there was in the year 1846 a scheme
called the South Midland earned through the House of
COmmons.. The project before you is a portion of that
line. The Midland Counties have the other portion of
the line, viz., the portion from Market Harborough to
Leicester. Therefore, if it was desirable in the year
1846 that this system of railways should be constructed
throughout the country, the thing is just in the same
position as it was then, except that we have the country
from Northampton to Harborough, and the Midland
Counties from Leicester to Harborough, OI have no
doubt as to the remuneration for the expenditure to be
incurred for the construction of the proposed works. It
is almost impossible for anybody to calculate what may
be the result of opening out the resources of a new dis-
trict by means of railway accommodation. We are told
there will be a large mineral traffic through the district,
and I think there will be enough to pay the interest of
the money to be expended for the construction of the
proposed works ; but it is also one of those lines very
much demanded by local parties ; and in our position I
do not think we should be justified, if there were even to
be a slight loss to the company, in refusing to give the
accommodation required by the local parties in these
districts. The line is 18 miles long, and the estimated
cost 250,0001.
Considerable opposition was offered to this bill, and
Mr. PUNCHER moved that it be not approved of.
The motion having been seconded, was put to the
vote, when there were for the approval of the bill, .46
hands held up, and against it 22.
A poll was demanded, and
Mr. PUNCHER asked if the board was unanimous in
recommending- this bill to the shareholders for adoption.
The CHAIRMAN answered in the affirmative, and Mr.
Puncher withdrew his opposition.
The bill was then unanimously approved of.
The CHAIRMAN—The next bill is to enable the London
and North-Western Company to construct branches to
Stourbridge, and to form a junction with the Oxford,
Worcester, and Wolverhampton Railway, in the town-
ship of Upper Swinford, in the county of Worcester, and
for other purposes. Now, gentlemen, I explained to
you at our last meeting that this is a short line, eight
miles and a half in length, and that it will be a very ex-
pensive one to make. The estimated cost is 300,0001.,
or 33,000/. per mile ; but we, have, already been in the
country, and know the difficulties we shall have to con-
tend with. We have had experience in the construction
of the Stour Valley Railway, running through the dis-
trict ; and I have not a doubt that the line will pay the
proprietors a handsome profit. This bill has passed the
House of Commons, not in the manner in which we
hoped and proposed that it should do. The committee
of the House of Commons have thought it right to give
what they call facility clauses to the Oxford, Worcester,
and Wolverhampton Company, which means that they
may have the power of carrying their traffic over this
line and the Stour Valley Railway ; that is, to force us
to carry their traffic on the Stour Valley line to Bir-
mingham, and make use of our station. We do not
think that we can agree to this, and I cannot think
• that the House of Lords will agree to the clauses.
There has been a very great discussion in the committees
of the House of Commons as to running powers, and
there have been various proposals of other descriptions to
meet, not the views of parties, but to give facilities for
carrying the traffic through upon the different lines of
the country. Now, I think these facility clauses are
more objectionable than the running powers asked for by
other companies. It would be a large business to dis-
cuss that question now, and, in point of fact, it would
require a person to have paid a great deal of attention
to the subject to enable him to explain it to you pro-
perly ; but you can perfectly understand that it would
be much against the interests of our company to carry
traffic at tolls to be fixed by other companies, and I am
not prepared to say we shall go on with this bill if the
House of Lords allow these claims to be retained in it.
If, on the contrary, they strike them out, we shall then
have the bill as presented to the House of Commons,
and the line will be, I believe, a very remunerative one
to our system of railways in that part of the country.
The bill was unanimously approved of. •
The CHAIRMAN—The next bill is to enable the London
and North-Western Railway Company to construct a
railway from near Wellington to Coalbrookdale and
Ironbridge, with a branch to the Hadley station of the
Shropshire Union Railway, and for other purposeS.
This was proposed to be, and it was thought very desir-
able that it should be, in connection with our Shropshire
line. We had a right to suppose that it would be a pro-
fitable line, as there were a great many parties in the
field contending for it, but the committee of the House
of Commons have rejected our bill, and have granted it
in, I believe a sort of mutilated state. Part of the new
line has been given to the Severn Valley Railway Com-
pany. I believe it has been given in such a shape that
neither company will be grateful to the committee
for what it has received ; and whether the line will
be made or not Ido not know. The estimated expense
was 160,0001. The next bill is for enabling the London
and North-Western Railway Company to construct a
railway from Crewe to Shrewsbury, and other works
in connection with their undertaking, and for other pur-
poses relating thereto. This is for a line from Crewe
to Shrewsbury, 33 miles long, and the estimated expense
of which is 350,0001. It will be made at a very cheap
rate-10,600/. per mile. It will be of easy construc-
tion, and be made, I think, within the estimated cost.
This would appear to be a competing line with the'
Cheshire and Lancashire. In projecting this line we
have not had any intention to interfere with that,com-
pany, or of loosening the ties of friendship that bind
us together. We are still on terms of friendship with
that company, and hope we shall remain so. The pro-
posed line is in the centre of our system, and it is'abso:
lutely for the purpose of carrying the Lancashire and
Yorkshire manufactures down into South Wales, and
vice versa bringing the-mineral products of South Vales
into Lancashire and Yorkshire. I think it will be a
useful line, and will pay the expense of making it.
The bill was unanimously approved of.

The CHAIRMAN—These are all the bills that involve
any expenditure of capital, or any outlay of money, on
our parts ; and the whole amount required to complete
the projected lines is 1,417,0001. The next upon the
list is a bill for conferring additional powers on the
London and North-Western Railway Company, with
reference to the construction of their Oldham branch,
and for making an alteration in such branch, and for
other purposes. The matter was explained to you at
the last meeting as an old project which we are obliged
to make.

The bill was unanimously approved of.
The CHAIRMAN—The next bill is for making a railway
from the London and North-Western Railway at Wil-
lesden to the East and West India Docks and Birming-
ham Junction Railway, with a branch to the North and
South-Western Junction Railway, to be called the
North and South-Western Hampstead and City Junc-
tion Railway, and for other purposes. This is a bill
promoted by independent parties, the capital is 250,0001.,
and we apply fOr power to subscribe 150,0001. to it—
permissive power.
This bill was also unanimously approved of.
The CHAIRMAN said, the next for making a rail-
way from Worcester to Hereford, with certain branches
therefrom ; for making arrangements with the Midland
and London and North-Western Railways, and for other
purposes. This is a very important line. We do not
subscribe any capital to it, but still have permissive
power to do so. I repeat that this is a very important
line for the completion of the narrow gauge system in
that part of the country. There have been discussions,
of great length, before the House of Commons, on the
question of the mixed gauge. The committee rejected
.the project of the Great Western, and Oxford, Worces-
ter, and Wolverhampton Companies, and unanimously
objected to the extension of the mixed gauge: I think
the question one of the most important of those that
have been discussed before thncommittees, in reference
to the railway system of the country, and that we should
congratulate ourselves on the result of the inquiry. I
think the mixed gauge impracticable, and if you remem-
ber I told you at the last meeting I hoped and trusted
that the broad gauge would never be intermixed with
the narrow gauge to Liverpool. We have to congratu-
late ourselves also on the rejection of the Great Western
bills in reference to the Shrewsbury line, and I trust
that Parliament will have the good sense not to allow
the broad gauge to be extended, notwithstanding the
expectation of the Chairman of the Great Western, who
speaks of its extension to Liverpool. I feel that the
more the broad gauge is permitted to be extended the
more difficult will it be to reconcile those conflicting
railway differences with which it is connected ; and I
cannot indeed hope, so long as the broad gauge is
allowed to intrude itself into the districts served by our
system of railways, to see an end to conflicts that have
been so embarrassing to us.
The clause affecting the London and North-Western
Railway Company was then read, and the bill unani-
mously approved of.
The CHAIRMAN—The next bill is for making a railway
from the London and North-Western Railway, in the
parish of Milverton, in the county of Warwick, to Strat-
ford-upon-Avon, in the same county, with branches, to
be called the Leamington, Warwick, and Stratford-upon-
Avon Railway. We do not subscribe any of the capital
required for this project, but it is in connection with our
system, and we are therefore obliged to ask the consent
of the proprietors to do it.
The bill was unanimously approved of.

The CHAIRMAN—There is One more resolution which
I shall have to submit to you. He then proposed a re-
solution approving of a bill to enable the London and
North-Western Company to hold certain lands and
buildings near the Haydon-square Station on the Black-
wall Railway.
The resolution was carried nem, con.

A cordial vote of thanks was given to the chairman
and directors of the company, for the zeal. and ability
with which they have promoted the interests of the un-
dertaking.
The CHAIRMAN, in returning thanks,' expressed the
regret he felt at his approaching disconnection with the
company. In a short time he would be far away in
another country; but wherever he might be, he should
always feel the greatest interest in the prosperity of the
company. He paid a warm tribute of praise to the able
services rendered to the undertaking by the general
wager, the secretary, and Solicitors of the company,