The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-16 00:00:00

Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway Act Amendment and
Branches.
Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton (No. 2).
The following is a list of the Committee :—Sir J. Graham,
Chairman; Earl of Arundel, Lord C. Hamilton, Mr.
M'Carthy, and Mr. Plumptre.
Immediately after the assembling of the members, the
Chairman ordered the room to be cleared.
On the admission of strangers,
The CHAIRMAN intimated that the Committee had come to
the following resolution : —That no counsel who shall not
have been present at the examination in chief of a witness
shall be allowed to cross-examine him, except under special
circumstances, and by the express permission of the Com-
mittee. The Right Hon. Baronet also intimated that the
SHREWSBURY AND BIRMINGHAM RAIL.
WAY ACT AMENDMENT AND BRANCH=
would be first taken by the Committee, that being the only
Bill on which the Standing Orders' Committee had reported
with respect to the capital of the company. The others
must, therefore, stand over until the reports with respect to
their capital had been received.
The appearances with respect to the other lines were then
entered.

Mr. RICHARDS said there bad been two petitions against
the preamble, and one against the clauses, and he believed
the opposition to the preamble had been withdrawn, and that
the Bill was unopposed.
The CHAIRMAN said, under these circumstances, they
would not trouble him to enter into a statement of the ob-
jects of the Bill. It would be sufficient, perhaps, if he were
to call one or two material witnesses.
Mr. Baker, the engineer, was then called and examined by
Mr. Rlctraans—fie stated that he was an assistant engineer
to the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Company, under Mr.
Robert Stephenson, and that he had laid out the proposed
branches frost the main line,—one to Madeley, four
miles and a half in length, to cost 90,001., and
the other to Colebrook Dale and Ironbridge, a mile
and a half in length, and to cost 65,000/. Both
branches traversed important manufacturing and mineral
districts, and would be of the greatest advantage to them, as
they would give commiinication in an easterly direction
with Wolverhampton and Birmingham, besides their other
advantages. The Shropshire iron was mixed with that of
South Staffordshire, and, by the aid of these branches, the
iron of Shropshire would be transmitted to South Stafford-
shire by a short route. In fact, they would furnish
the only cheap short route for the transmission of the pro-
duce of these districts to South Staffordshire and other parts
where there was a demand for them. One of the branches
would cross the Severn, on the south side of which a station,
at a convenient spot, would be erected.
No other witnesses were examined.

The CHAIRMAN then declared the preamble proved.
A clause was proposed on behalf of the Shropshire Canal
Company, but, after a short discussion, the whole of the
clauses were postponed until the next meeting of the Com-
mittee.
The Committee then adjourned till Tuesday, when it is
expected one of the North-Western Bills will be proceeded
with. _ _

The Committee sat in No. 22 Committee•room.

GROUP XL VII.

This Committee met to-day for the first time, in Boom 28,
New Houses of Parliament. Members present—The Hon.
E. T. Yorke, Chairman ; Mr. Packe, Mr. Gill, Mr. G. C.
Legh, and Mr. Trelawny.
The following are the Bills referred to this Committee :
Wishaw and Coltness (Branches to Auchinlaeath and Can-
denide).
Airdrie and Bathgate Junction (Amendment and Deviation).
Caledonian (Branches from the Clydesdale Junction to the
Douglas and Lesmagow Mineral Fields and to Strath.

aver r).
Caledonian (Extension of Motherwell Branch of Clydesdale
Junction Railway, &c., to the Wishaw and Coltness Rail-

way, &c.).
Wil6on town, Morningside, and Co!tam (Branches to Benhar
Coalworks, kc.).
Edinburgh and Bathgate (Deviation and Amendment).
Caledonian (Branches to Wilsontown to Fauldhouse, and to
Biggar and Broughton).
The u,ual preliminaries having been disposed of, the Com-
mittee proceeded with the

WILSONTOWN, MOUNTNGSIDE, and COLT-
NESS (BRANCITES TO DEMME) RAM.
Wain

After some preliminary conversation, the list of Bills was
read, with appearances, from which it appeared that the
Wishaw and Coltness Branches Bill and the three Caledonian
Bills were unopposed; the other three were opposed by
several road trustees and landed proprietors.
The CHAIIIMAX said that the only Bill they could proceed
with was the first in the list, as being the only one en which
the Railway Commissioners had as yet reported. The report
on the others would not be received till Wednesday.
It was then agreed to adjourn till Monday, on which day
the Wishaw and Coltness (Branches to Auchinheath and
Canderside) will be taken.

The Committee immediately afterwards adjourned.

SALE OF RAILWAY SHARES BY
AUCTION.--(THIS DAY.)
The sale of Railway Shares to-day, by Messrs. La-
mond and Co., was well atteaded, and a fair business
was done at about the same prices as last sale. The
following are a few of the principal sales:—
East Indian ...
Cork and Waterford
Leicester & Bedford, Exchange Certificate 0 11 0
Great Western of Bengal 0 4 0
Lond., Brighton, & South Coast, Fifteenths 3 8 8
Reading, Guildford, and Reigate 4 15 0
Great Northern
North British, Extension 1 2 6
Ambergate, Nottingham, &Boston, ex int 1 18 0
Liverp. Manch. and Newcastle-upon-Tyne 0 19 0
Buckinghamshire .
Boston, Stamford, and Birmingham . 6 10 0
Louvain it la Sambre 1 1 0
North Staffordshire
Calcutta sad st. Georges o• 2 4

BANK OF ENGLAND.
(From this night's Gazette.)
An Account, pursuant to the Act 7th and Bth of Victoria, cap. 32, for
the Week ending on Saturday, the 10th dayof April,lB47.
ISSUE DEPARTMENT.

Notes i55ued........ 23,236,340

Government debt .. 11,00,100
Other securities .... 2,984,900
Gold coin and bullion 7,795,644
Silver bullion ...... 1.410,(96

23,236,340

i X 23,236,340
M. 31ARSHALL, Chief Cashier.