The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-29 00:00:00

WEST FLANDERS RAILWAYS.

_
The third half-yearly general meeting of the pro-
prietors in this undertaking was held on Saturday, at
one o'clock, at the London Tavern ,Bishopsgate-street,
to transact the ordinary business of the company.
W. P. Richards, Esq., occupied the chair.
The SICRETARY read the advertisement and the re-
port, from which we extract the following paragraphs:—
" In laying before the proprietors the statement of
the proceedings, of the company during the last half-
year, and of its position and prospects for the future, the
directors have to report that the portion of the line be-
tween Bruges and Thourout was completed on the 14th
September last, and opened on the 6th October.. The
line has since been opened a short distance further to
Lichterrelde, making in all a length of fourteen miles

now opened.
" The directors, whilst using every exertion to open
the first short section of the line, had reason to expect
that a further length would very speedily have followed;
in this, however, they were disappointed. The winter,
which set in in Fldnders with unusual severity on the
Bth December, and continued with no available inter-
mission until the first week of March, necessarily sus-
pended the works of the bridge over the Lys at Courtrai
as well as the brickwork on all other parts of the line.
Considerable progress, however, had been made pre-
viously, and the piers of the Lys bridge carried up above
the water level. The unfinished works suffered no in-
jury from the severe weather, and the whule are now
advancing rapidly towards completion. The frost also
materially interfered with all the earthworks, so as to
make it impossible to complete the line to Courtrai by
Christmas, as had been expected at the date of the last

balf-y early report.
" rroceeding onwards from Lichtervelde, great pro-
gress has been made in the direction of Roulers, distant
5} miles. This section, it is expected, will be com-
pleted within a week. The population of Roukrs is

about 11,000.
" Between Roulers and the towns of Iseghem and In.
gelmunster the works are nearly finished, and be
tween the latter town and Courtrai they are in a forward
state. The earthworks, with the exception of one cut-
ting in Lendelede, about 500 yards in length, and a
maximum depth of 18 feet, are almost entirely on the
surface, and the reports of the engineer and contractors
lead the directors confidently to expect, that this further
section, which will complete the communication between
the State lines, will be ready for traffic by the end of
June. The works on the Lys Bridge at Courtrai form
the measure in time for the whole
" With reference to the traffic to be obtained on these
lines, and the consequent success of the undertaking,
the opinion of the directors remains unaltered. The
calculations on which the prospects of returns were in
the first instance based, were made out in 1845
from data derived from the existing traffic aed other
statistical details. These calculations received material
corroboration from the work of M. Desart, published in
March, 1846. Reference efts made to this work in the
last report of the directors, and it was then shown, that,
assuming the principles of M. Desert to be applcable to
West Flanders, as he had shown them to be t 3 the dis-
tricts traversed by the State limes, the traffic case of
the West Flanders lines would be made out to the lull
extent of the anticipations.
" Without, therfore, drawing hasty conclusions from
the partial experience on the line opened, the directors
consider themselve borne out in stating, that the indica
Lions thus far lead to the conclusion that the ay., rage re-
ceipts obtained on the State lines (in 1846 they were
1,6131. per mile) will be reali,ed on those of West -Flan-
ders. During the year 1845 the receipts on the Govern-
ment lines produced a profit of 412 per cent. on an outlay
of 17,5001. per mile, and it appears tllat in 1846 the profit
amounted to 41 per cent. on that cos;;—it is clear that
the West Flanders lines wi:l not coat one half of the
above sum per mile, aed, if so, it necessarily follows
that on an equal receipt the divideed will be double that
of the State lines.
" The directors do not anticipate this result imme-
diately on the opening of the line—time will be required
for the development of the goods traffic especially; but
the directors entertain no doubt diet the amounts above
indicated will at no distant period be realised."
The balance-sheet, made up to Dec. 31, 1846, exhibits
a balance re the banker's and in investments of 73,998/.
17s. 11d., the receipts having been 288,5941. 175., and the
expenditure 204,5951. 19s. ld.
The CHAIRMAN said, that although less progress had
been made than was anticipated, yet enough had been
shown to give some idea of ;he cost of construction and
the expected traffic. They had not yet been enabled to
ascertain what the cost of management would be, and
on these three things did the success of a railway de-
pend. The opening of the line from Bruges to Thourout
gave them excellent data .on which to Sound an idea of
the cost of construction of the whole line. The distance
was 111 miles, which involved a total cost of 67,477/., or
an average amount of 5,7501. per mile. This was about
the cost of the Belgian lines; and the activity already
manifiested in that portion of the line which was opened
was quite equal to the activity upon the State lines. He
did not think they were too sanguine, the refure, in anti-
cipating a double profit to that which resulted from the
Belgian railways. At Thourout they met with the first
impediment; for, in the first place, a difference
arose between themseires and the Minister of Public
Works, which led to some correspondence, and of
course delayed in some degree the progress of the
works. Then they had to meet the increased demands
of the landlords, who supposed that time was of that
first importance to them, that they would submit to any-
thing in order to avoid delay. He was happy to say
that this impediment was got over, and that they were
now, if possible, in a better position than they were
before. They had had also a very severe winter to con-
tend against. The Chairman then paid a well-merited
compliment to Mr. Desart for his ingenious principle of
testing the expected traffic between towns. The prin-
ciple on which that gentleman founded his calculations
was, that the traffic between any two towns was in the
direct ratio of their populations, and varied inversely as
the distance between them. That gentleman had, by
analysis of the entire returns, been able to establish a
number to represent every distance from one mile and a
quarter to above 150 mites. The Chairman concluded
by calling on Mr. Cubitt to state the present position of
the works, Ste.:
Mr. CIIBITT recapitulated at great length the state-
ments adverted to in the report.
Mr. DISNEY moved that the report be received.
Mr. CAss seconded the motion.
In answer to several questions,
The CHAIRMAN stated the expense from Bruges to
Courtrai would be under 6,0001. per mile. The stations
were very modest things, and only adapted to single
lines. When the next call should be made the company
would have a surplus sum after finishing the line to
Courtrai.
A vote of thanks was given to the Chairman and
directors, and the meeting separated.

DORCHESTER AND SOUTHAMP

TON RAILWAY.
A special general meeting of the company was held on
Saturday, at tho Terminus, Nine Elms, for the purposeof
obtaining the sanction of the proprietors, according to
the late Act, for the several Bills which the company
now have before Parliament ; Lord de Mauley in the

chair.
The Bills comprised one for making an alteration of
the Southampton and Dorchester Railway, including a
Deviation and Branches to Lymington and Eling ;
another for a Branch to Blandford ; a third for a
Branch to Weymouth from Moreton, and a fourth to
enable the South-Western Company to subscribe to-
wards the capital of the Southampton and Dorchester
Company.
The advertisement convening the meeting having been
read,
Mr. CAMPBELL, the Secretary of the London and
Southampton Railway, read the preambles of the Bills,
and stated the substance of the several clauses, the effect
of which in all the Bills was nearly similar, giving the
usual powers to lease the line, take tolls, and to make
such other regulations as might render them conformable
to the general Act and in unison with the Acts pre-
viously obtained by the two companies chiefly interested.
All the Bills were unanimously approved.
The Bills having been passed,
The CHAIRMAW stated that he had been informed by
the engineer that the whole of the line would be open to
inspection on the Ist of May.
Thanks were voted to the Chairman, and the meeting
was dissolved.

LICENSING MEETING.
The adjourned general licensing meeting for the
parish of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields division, was held on
Saturday. The magistrates present were, Lord Mon-
ford (chairman), Mr. Graham, and Mr. Welsby.
In the ease of an application made by Mr. Ireland for
a license for a house situate in Northumberland-street,
to be called the Northumberland Tavern,
Mr. Ballantine appeared in favour of the application ;
Mr. D. W. Wire appeared in opposition.
Evidence was given of the due service of the notices
required by the Act.
The applicant in this csse, it appeared, carried on
business as a retailer of beer and a purveyor of ham and
beef sandwiches, and was also a clerk and collector at
Mitchell's Scotch ale stores, Hungerford-market. The
application was presented signed by nearly 100 persons.
Petitions were presented praying the Court not to
grant the license, from persons residing in Northumber-
land-street, from the agent of the Duko of Northumber-
land, from other persons in the neighbourhood, and
I.Tonl the body of licensed victuallers, on the ground that
the wants of the district were amply supplied by public-
houses already. Also a petition signed by a number of
persons who had previously signed a petition in favour
of the applicant, setting forth that their names had been
obtained by misrepresentation, and praying the Court
to refuse the license.

Mr. D. W. WIRE— then proceeded to argue that there
was no public necessityfloti
this additional
corner of a narrow
licensed house.
The house was
thoroughfare, of situated at
not more feet in width ; the
than
house was not more than 106 feet from house already
aShovel a
licensed, known as the Northumberland Arms, and at
hythe and
r,
about the same distance from the Ship
house which hail been well conducted
pro-
prietor for the last twenty-fiveyears, and which afforded
ample accommodation, by means of a commodious tap.
room and parlour, for the wants of the customers visiting
that house. lie felt quite satisfied that the Court
would not, in a quiet and retired neighbourhood of
this sort, grant a license to a house thas
not in the slightest degree called fur. It might
be said by his L',arned Friend that there was a
great traffic through this narrow thoroughfare, but he
apprehended that that was not sufficient to induce the
Court to grant a license to the applicant. From the ex-
perience which that Court had had in matters of this
kind, he felt assured that they would refuse the license
in the present case. It did not at all follow, that because
the applicant had obtained a good trade as a rf.tailer of
beer, and a purveyor of ham and beef sandwiches, that
therefore
it was a fit and proper house to be licensed as