The Sun.
London, England, 1836-07-08 00:00:00

RAILWAYS IN IRELAND•

Yesterday, a meeting was held at the Thatched-house
Tavern, St. James's street, of noblemen and gentlemen
having large landed properties in Ireland. The object of
the meeting was to obtain the sanction of the Government
for the purpose of a general system being adopted, with
respect to the great lines of railroads to be laid down in
Ireland, and thus, if possible, prevent a competition amongst
private individuals, likely to be ruinous to the speculators,

- .
I and injurious to the country.
Amongst those in attendance were the Duke of Lein-
ster, the Marquis of Downshire, the Marquis of West-
meath, the Marquis of Headfort, the Earl of Charlemont,
Lord Carbery, the Earl of Clonmel, Lord Clonbrock,
Daniel O'Connell, M.P. ; the Right Hon. the Knight of
Kerry ; Sir R. Nagle, M.P. ; G. A. Hamilton, M.P. ;
M. L. Chapman, M.P. ; Sir William Somerville, Bart. ;
N. Ball, M.P. ; Dr. Lefroy, M.P. ; A. H. Lynch, M.P. ;
R. Plunkett, M.P. ; H. Bridgeman, M.P. ; A. Lefroy,
M.P. ; G. Dunbar, M.P. ; Hon. Mr. Plunkett ; George
Evans, M.P. ; Captain Jones, M.P. ; Colonel Perceval,
M.P. ; Sir C. Morgan ; W. S. O'Brien, M.P ; Hon. T.
Vescy, M. P. ; Fitzstephen French, M. P. ; Hon. N.
Fellowes, M.P. ; Pierce Mahony, Esq. ; C. J. S. Walker,
Esq., of Manchester ; Captain Bridgeman ; Captain Stubbs,
&c. &c.
Upon the motion of the Marquis of DOWNSIIIRE, the
Chair was taken by the Duke of LEINSTER.
Mr. G. A. Hamilton, M.P., and Mr. M. L. Chapman,
M.P., were appointed Honorary Secretaries to the meeting.
The resolutions prepared by Mr. Hamilton, and intended
to be submitted to the meeting, were then read.
_ Mr. HAMILTON observed that these resolutions were

left for their consideration. The object of them was two-
fold ; first, that a Board should be established—that there
should be some test, to which all surveys of intended rail-
roads were to be submitted previous to their coming before
Parliament ; this was to be done to prevent ruinous litiga-
tion between contending parties. Next the Board was to
examine the south and western coasts of Ireland, with a
view of establishing the best lines •of communication
across the country. The resolutions were devised without
the least reference to any matter of a local character, or to
any particular project.
The Marquis of WESTMEATH had a conversation upon
this subject with the Marquis of Lansdowne. The Noble
Marquis told him he was only waiting for the decision of
the Committee of the House of Lords upon Railways to
be able to give him a satisfactory answer. The Noble
Marquis, he was certain, was quite disposed to go along
with the present meeting.
The Duke of LEINSTER had an assurance to the same
effect from the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Mr. O'CONNELL remarked, that before the Session com-
menced he understood from Lord Morpcth that he was
strongly of the same opinion.
The Duke of LEINSTER read a letter from the Marquis
of Clanricarde, in which he expressed a hope that no plans
would be adopted by the meeting likely to check the spirit
of enterprise. The Noble Duke observed, that they had no
intention to check that enterprise.
The KNIGHT of KERRY had listened attentively to the
resolutions read by Mr. Hamilton, and he felt hound to say
that he was inclined to go farther than they did. In those
resolutions there certainly was no check imposed upon what
Lord Clanricarde called private speculations. These reso-
lutions left all such measures to private speculations. Now,
he thought from the Report of the Committee of the House
of Commons upon Railways, and which was subsequently
adopted by the Marquis of Lansdowne, that from the prin-
ciples laid down in that Report, the Government
was bound to interfere with respect to Railroads, which
were of infinite importance to Ireland. The Select
Committee regretted that a check was not placed upon
private enterprise in England—that time ought to
be given to examine the grounds upon which each parti-
cular Railway is sought, and that they ought all to be con-
formable to the general interests. They then say that so
much capital has been expended upon railways already, that
it is too late to remedy the evil. Now, in Ireland there was
a clear stage—there railways could be established upon the
best principles, upon those the most advantageous to the
public and the parties themselves. He thought it was ex-
tremely desirable, that before any resolution was enter-
tained by Parliament or the Government, that an engineer
should be selected—that he should be nominated by some
competent, authority, and unconnected with the country,
to lay down what Lord Pitzwilliam called a system of rail-
ways ; that in this way a general system of main lines
might be laid down, to which all the subordinate lines
should be conformable. In an accidental conversation
that he had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he
found it to be that Right Hon. Gentleman's opinion, that
such a course as he stated would tend to a general eco-
nomy upon the subject—to a more extensive use of
railways, and at a cheaper rate. Assuming that the East,
or Dublin, were to be the general point of departure, then
there were the cases of the three other provinces to be
considered—as to what places in Ulster, Munster, and Con-
naught were the main tracks are to be laid down ? Every
engineer could tell them that the general interests of the
country would be promoted by doing this. He had no

doubt, from his conversation with the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, that every facility would be given to such a
mode of proceeding as he had stated.' He should wish

them to go beyond the Resolutions submitted ; by leaving
the matter over until the next Session, every-separate case
in which a railway was projected, would seek to make out
that it would be serviceable to a main line from Dublin.
They ought, then, to have the inierposition of some Board ;
for instance, the Board of Works, and at any Board they
could not have a more honest and able man than Colonel
Burgoyne.—(Hear, hear.) By such a Board the main
trunks to the north, south, and west of Ireland could be
laid down.—(Hear.)
Lord CARBERY proposed the first Resolution, which was
seconded by the Earl of Charlemont, and unanimously
adopted.
The Marquis of DOWNSHIRE, in proposing the next reso-
lution, said that he attended that meeting with very great
pleasure. He was gratified in seeing so large a body of the
landowners and proprietors in Ireland directing their atten-
tion to this very important question. He must premise
what he had to say by stating that he had no very san-
guine expectations as to the fortunate results of the
many railroads which were now carried on to so great
an extent in England.—(Hear, hear.) He did not think
that which was proposed for England could well be applied
to Ireland. With respect to the latter country, it was
plain that, there must be lines to the four provinces of
Ireland ; that was a principle which must be equally
manifest to them and the public, and must be acted upon.
—(Hear.) He considered the objects of this meeting ex-
ceedingly important—important for the purposes of the
public, equally important for the interests of private indi-
viduals. In all countries persons could be found ready ra-
pidly to enter into all such projects as they were then con-
sidering ; for the protection of such persons, of their pro-
perty, and their families, they were bound to be cir-
cumspect, where so much was at stake. The Duke of
Wellington had most properly proposed a resolution
referable to these railroads that had been adoptcd by the
House of Lords ; approved, but not wholly so, in the
House of Commons ; and it had received the sanction of
the Government. He was happy to hear from his Noble
Friend and relation in the Chair, that his Majesty's Go-
vernment approved of the objects for which they met that
day.—(Hear, hear.) They commenced their proceed-
ings auspiciously--they had. the sanction of such a meet-
ing--one equally respectable and numerous ; they had the