The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-22 00:00:00

EAST LANCASHIRE.

A special general meeting of this company was held
at Bury, near Manchester, on Monday afternoon, to con-
sider the draft of two bills now before Parliament, one
of which is a bill to extend the East Lancashire Railway
from Clifton (where it now joins the Lancashire) to
Manchester, a distance of four miles ; and the other bill
is one to extend their railway to Southport and Rainford,
and to make arrangements with the St. Helen's Canal
and Railway Company.
Mr. THOMAS DUGDALE, chairman of the board, pre-
sided, and in opening the proceedings, briefly referred to
his spfrech at the last half-yearly meeting of the company
in explanation of the bills now brought before the share-
holders, under the standing orders of the House of
Lords. To construct the Clifton Extension, the bill
took power to raise 150,0001. (of which 130,0001. would
be required for the line and stations), leaving 20,0001. to
cover contingencies, with the usual borrowing powers,
when half the capital was paid, and power to issue
bonds. He contended that, independent of the commer-
cial advantages to be derived from constructing the new
line, the toll they at present paid the Lancashire and
Yorkshire Company would pay 10 per cent. upon the
outlay; but it was shown by one witness before the par-
liamentary committee, that a house with which he was
connected would be able to send traffic equal to 1,5001.
a-year over the new line, and one of his neighbours
would do the same. These parties sent their traffic at
present by cart to Manchester, for want of present
means to do it with sufficient dispatch. Another
reason for this extension was that a coroner's jury had
declared the trains to be so numerous over the Lan-
cashire and Yorkshire line at present as to be danger-
ous, whilst it was known that a feeling of insecu-
rity prevailed amongst all passengers by this company's
line over the part of the journey from Salford to Clifton.
(Hear, hear.) The second bill was to make a branch
from Ormskirk station to Southport, and an extension
from Skelmersdale to Rainforth, extensions which would
be made at 84,0501., and the advantage of which to this
company could not be over estimated. A gross receipt
of 101. per week per mile would give a profit of 5 per
cent. on the capital, after paying working expenses, and
the worst portion of the present line had a gross receipt
of double that amount. This portion of new works
would be 14 miles in length, of which three were already
made. It had been ascertained from the printed lists of
visitors to Southport that 40,000 persons visited that
place from East Lancashire district last year, who would
have passed over portions of these branches had they
been formed.
Mr. DAVID PRICE wished to know if it was true they
were to pay 15,000/. for the madhouse at Clifton !
Mr. GRUNDY, solicitor, said they had agreed to pay
nothing yet, and the payment was to be settled by arbi-
tration of the Mayor of Manchester.
The marginal references in the bills were then read
over.

Resolutions approving of the bills were moved by the
chairman, and after a short address from Mr. D.
Price, who ridiculed the notion of the Clifton and
Manchester Extension being constructed for anything
like the money contemplated, they were passel by a
large meeting with only one dissentient.

THE GENERAL SCREW COMPANY.—We hear that the
d
Queen of the South is on her way to England from Cal-
cutta, with 50 passengers ; and that the Hydaspes is
do
aagil yo
.e prre
be tee dl
latter
mr
ship Mw
aasuoribtliiugse to refuse numerous, full of passengers and
applications for a passage.