The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-28 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—The above company are wanting to enforce a
charge of 3s. per day for demurrage, which they can-
not charge unless by " agreement," and should any per-
sons so far forget themselves as to agree, this is the way
it would operate in my case. The company coaimence
their date on the arrival of the waggon at Normanton;
loaded, and again when arriving there empty. The
person using the waggon having no check against the
railway officers enterinc, false dates—take it at the
quickest possible despatch to and from, thus :
Normanton June. Wichnor June. Great Bridge.

for for -
N. E. Railway Midland Railway S. Staf. Railway
Arrd. here Nov. 1 .Arrd. here Nov. 2 Ar. hero Nov. 3.
Empty, Nov. G Empty, Nov. 5 Unloaded, Nov. 4.
Five days occupied under the quickest despatch, four
days allowed—thus securing 3e. for one day in every
trip over and above the illegal charge of ls. CI per ton
for waggon hire—and under the present system of ma-
nagement they will take good care the waggon earns hi'
every trip 9s. or 12s. demurrage, and tins when agreed
itloa iss naont atohceo ul
enat (t) vccornwt hbtelcaa,
ue os
el I ie:art3l,loo
uwgntel r
ioi
ertuniel
unloaded
the waggon immediately on arrival, he is made ruponsible
for detention in transit. The Railway Consolidation
Act, 1845, with clearin4-house regulations, makes this
demurrage a charge made by one railway company upon
the other for detaining the waggon ; the clearing-house
being a disinterested party, and having full particulars
of dates of arrival and departure of each waggon, to and
from each company, they can show in all cases which
railway company has detained the waggon. By their
regulation they debit the railway company detaining the
waggon 3s. per day. I think all reasonable persons will
say this is only fair, because, if not adopted, one railway
company, not being honest to its neighbour, might de-
tain the rolling stock and use it with their local traffic.
The North-Eastern Railway Company have unloaded 16
waggons of my coke, and refused to forward it unless
the owner of coke works will agree to the railway com-
pany charging him with demurrage. It is possible, and
very probable, that the waggon may be detained, as I
have pointed out, and in such cases, under " agree-
ment," the coke works owner or the merchant would be
debited with 3s. per day on this account, over which he
had no control, and to meet this charge it would take
more than the profit in the trade. I refuse to comply,
and my trade is stopped in consequence. I ask the
shareholders, the directors, and the public, is this a fair
and honourable way of managing the railway ? lam at
all times willing to pay any correct demand made against
me, but to be charged with an account over which I
have not the least control is what I will never sub-
mit to.

I have since the first opening of the railway brought
a large traffic upon it by every honest endeavour in my
power. I wish to continue to do so ; but the trickery,
and jobbing, and tortuous courses of sone of the ma-
nagers is doing everything to prevent me.
These officers aro well known to me, and I have no
desire to name them, or do them any injury, If the
shareholders examine the particulars of their railway
accounts I think they would discover that which would
place Mr. George Hudson's doings entirely in the shade.
I trust that your inserting this will cause the share-
holders to enforce fair dealing towards all who wish to
use the railway, and at once do away with all jobbing
officers who are oppressing the poor and corrupting the
rich. Illegal wealth, obtained by trickey management,
will d• no good to any one. I ask for fair usage and no
favour.—l aro, sir, yours obediently,
WILLIAM OXLADE.
York, Nor. 27, 1854.

UNFAIR MANAGEMENT OF THE NORTII-

EASTERN RAILWAY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

15in,—Some time ago I wished to purchase a few stacks
of hay, and under the system of managing the above
railway I was compelled to apply to the goods-office,
Newcastle, to be informed the charge that would be
made for the use of the railway conveying the hay to
my order, and the reply was-255. per ton. Under this
charge I would not purchase the hay.
A more favoured buyer applied for a rate for hay for
the same and a further distance, and one was granted
him at 20s. the railway waggon load—say 35 to 40 awts.
This person bought the hay. I ask, is there any jobbery
in this management for which the shareholders pay
5001. per year
If I can obtain some shares before the shareholders
next meeting I will attend to hear what the directors
report.
The raanagement of this railway is likely to prove that
two blacks can make one white, provided, in all cases,
that the first black is more honourable and much the
fairest. A great deal of uproar and misrepresentation
was made about the errors of the Railway King, who
has now become Poor Mr. George Hudson, by honour-
ably giving up his property to meet the claims made
against him, aid this much-abused man did more pub-
lic good in one year than his successors have done since
they dethroned him. 1 think if the merchants and the
public compel the shareholders to return all charges
made above what is allowed by the act there will he a
considerable amount to refund. Your inserting this
will much oblige.—Yours, obediently,

Thirsk, Nor., 1854. A HAY BUYER.
P.S.—lf an abstract of the company's act was posted
up at each station, showing the toll. authorised to he
taken for the use of the railway in large letters, white,
on a black beard, or black, on a white board, the unfair
charges would be more difficult to impose.

The Rev. W. Hobson, late curate of Portsmouth
Church, who is appointed one of the chaplain,: to the
forces in the East, has net gone out in the Royal Albert,
but awaits a passne in the Charity, hired transport.
SOUTHAMPTON, Nov. 27.--Amongst the passengers to
the Peninsula by the Iberia were Mr. Oliveira, M.P.,
and Mrs. Oliveira. It ie understood that the hon. mem-
ber is about to visit the various wine districts in the
Mediterranean, as he has recently done those of France,
to ascertain the effect of the vine disease, the stocks of
wines, capability of increased produce, and reciprocal re.
duction of duties, as bearing upon the proposition Mr.
0 iveira is to bring forward on the meeting of Parliament
for a reduction of the wine duties.

THE RECENT ATTEMPTS AT INCENDIARISM IN MAN-
CHESTER.—Yesterday a man named Benjamin Sellers
was brought before the magistrates at Manchester,
charged with attempting to set fire to some warehouses.
About three o'clock on Sunday afternoon a police-officer
saw the prisoner issue from behind a block of warehouses
with a ball of burning cotton waste in his hands. As
soon as he saw the officer, the prisoner attempted to
extinguish the fire, but he was at once taken into cus-
tody, and the waste found in a burning state. The
magistrates remanded the prisoner until a further inves-
tigation is made.

DESTRUCTIVR FIRE AT MANCHESTER.—At a late hour
on Saturday evening a very destructive fire broke out at
the railway station, London-road, Manchester, which is
occupied jointly by the London and North-Western,
and the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Rail-
ways. It originated in the cashier's office of the Man-
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire line, and before it
could be subdued, bad extended to the various offices
of the Loridon and North-Western. The rooms occu-
pied by the Sheffield Company, which were burnt, con-
sisted of the engineer and clerks' offices, and the draw-
ing office, the accountants' and clerks' offices. • The
offices of the manager and the secretary were saved. The
cashier's, goods manager's, and stationery offices, be-
longing to the London and North-Western, were all
burnt. The damage, which is very considerable, has
not been ascertained.

FIRE AT READING.—On Saturday a fire took place at
Reading, which caused the destruction of property, to a
large amount. The fire commenced at the warehouses
of Mr. Al'Ties, a coal merchant, in Queen's-road, and
communicated to the warehouse of Mr. Samuel '
Biggs,
i jun., a builder. The leadworks of Messrs. Clark, which
contained property to the value of 3,0001. also caught
fire. The principal workshops of Mr. Biggs were con-
sumed, aid the damage dons altogether is estimated at
several thousand pounds. All Mr. Bigsss's premises
were insured, but there is only a partial insurance on
the works of Messrs. Clark.
There are now no less than eight seats in the House of
Commons vacant; seven of them by the deaths of their
former occupants. Abingdon was vacated by Lord
Norrey's succession to the peerage ; Marylebone, by
Lord Dudley Stuart's death ; Bedford, by the decease of
Mr. H. Stuart ; Coventry, by that of Mr. Geach ; East
Gloucestershire, by Sir Michael Hicks Beach's death ;
Fermanagh, by that of Sir Arthur Brooke ; Antrim, by
Colonel Pakenham's death at Inkerman ; and Ayr, by
that of Col. Hunter Blair, also killed at Inkerman.
THE CHAIR OF AGRICULTURE.—Professor Wilson has
accepted the appointment to this chair, but on his repre-
sentation that it would be unadvisable to commence the
course of lectures this session, the delegates, at a meeting
held on Thursday, agreed to acquiesce in his views, and
to rescind the resolution formerly come to by them upon
that point. Mr. Wilson will, however, be formally in-
stalled as professor in the beginning of the year, and
will, during the Highland Society's meetings here about
that period, deliver a few lectures ii his class-room gra-
tuitously.—Seotsman.
APOTHECARIES TO THE FORCES.—In consequence of
the large number of applications for these appointments
at the office of the Army Medical Department, we have
been requested to publish the following official memo-
randum :—" It is understood that apothecaries to the
forces will be selected from the dispensers of medicines
who are already employed with the army in the East."
We may add, that dispensers of medicines have the same
pay and iutions as assistant-surgeons, and wear a plain
uniform. They undergo an examination at the offi'.:le of
the department, and are yenerally selected from those
who have testimonials of ability as diTensers from re-
spectable druggists.—Medical Times.
THE RUSSIAN PRISONERS AT LEWES.- —Three of the
Russian officers who were on parole in this town and
three of the privates who were in the war prison to ,k
their departure on Friday afternoon for Londe'', en route
for Russia, in exchange for English prisoners captured
by the enemy. The officers who have taken their de-
parture are Captain -Von Essen, Captain Snellman, and
Lieutenant Piechuliii, of the Imperial Horse Artillery,
who were taken at Bomarsund. A few days since one
of the officers on parole purchased one of Colt's revolvers
of a gunsmith in the town, and lie subsequently received
an order for about a dozen more, but before executing
it ho consulted a legal gentleman, and declined to supply
them. These circumstances became noised abroad in
the town, and eventually reached the e
ears of
f tho
which
local
representatives of the Government ; th resuof
was that inquiries were instituted as to the purchaser,
and that having been ascertained, the weapon was de.
manded from him and taken.