The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-13 00:00:00

GROUP XL

The Committee met this morning at twelve o'clock; Mr.
F. Mackenzie in the chair.
iIIiAINTHEE AND HALSTEAD.
Mr. Waddington, deputy-chairman of the Eastern Coun-
ties Railway, was examined on behalf of the promoters.
After some farther evidence, the room was cleared.
On the re• admission of strangers,
The CHAIRMAN announced that the Committee found the
preamble not proved.

GROUP XV.
CAMBRIDGE AND nzpronn.

The Committee on this group met this morning at tweiv4
o'clock ; Mr. Bernal in the chair.

Mr. Nash underwent a longcross-examination respecting
the property of the several opponents of the line, whose case
Mr. Gurney opened yesterday. He believed that the traffic
on the line would not justify the outlay of so large a sum as
485,000/., and did not conceive that any outward traffic
would countervail the local deficiencies of the line.
A discussion here ensued as to whether the Committee
would take the Royston and Hitchin Railway as a com-
peting line, and after much discussion it was decided that
they would not view it in that light.
Mr. Nash was then asked by Captain PECRELL whether he
did not conceive that the frequent elections at the two
Universities would not render the formation of a line abso-
lutely necessary to make a direct communication between
the eastern and western counties ? and the witness re-
plied that be did not think the proposed line was necessary
for that purpose, as the route was but little circuitous
already.

Captain Lawes stated that he was the manager of the
London and York line, but that the expense of the land-
owners' opposition was not to be paid by the company for
which he was engaged, and he could point out a route which
might be followed without the slightest interference with
the property of those who appeared in opposition to the Bill.
To the Chairman Captain Lawes replied, that he was quite
willing, on behalf of the London and York Company, to
make the concessions that were necessary to meet the views
of the Eastern Counties Company, so that both might be
accommodated.

The room was then cleared, and the Committee decided
that the preamble of the Bill was proved so far as the line
went between Bedford and Shelford.

The Committee then took the consideration of the
branches.

These branches being unopposed, the Committee declared
the preambles of both to be proved.

GROUP XVIII.

LONDON, CHELTENHAM, AND OXFORD

The Committee on this group assembled this morning at
twelve o'clock; the Earl of Lincoln in the chair.
Mr. Llewellyn, an extensive coal agent, and agent also
for the Lord-Lieutenant of the county where he resides,
stated that there was an extensive coal-field in the neigh-
bourhood ofNew port, Abergavenny, and Pontypool. He should
think upon a fair calculation that it comprised 104,000 acres,
in which there were already a number of pits open and
actively at work. Leaving out all the seams less than 18
incl,es thick, he conceived that the bed of coal in the district
could not be less than fifty feet in thickness, while the bed
in the Forest of Dean was nut more than 55 feet thick, and
did not exceed 16,000 acres in extent, of which only
7,000 acres covered the best coal. The coal in the
Forest of Dean could not be sold for less than 7s. a ton
at the pit's mouth, while the coal about Pontypool
could be raised for 4s. 6d. a ton, and sent to Newport
and Abergavenny at 10s., and to London for 215., if there
was a continuous railway between London and that district.
At the present time the same coal is sold in London at 245.
wholesale, but by the Great Western line the cost could not
be less than 225. 534 d., besides the charge resulting from the
break of gauge, and the consequent transhipment of the
goods.

Mr. W. S. Carter, a coal-owner at Pontypool, generally
confirmed Mr. Llewellyn's evidence, and stated further, that
he was a contractor for the supply of Government, and had
lately shipped a considerable quantity of hand-picked coal
at .'Newport to New Zealand on public account, but he could
have made the contract on much better terms if he had had
the benefit of this railway accommodation.
Mr. R. Stephenson, the engineer in chief to the line, said
that the course which it was proposed to pursue was to leave
the Birmingham and Bristol line a little south of the Chel-
tenham station, and, running close to that town on the west,
proceeded northwards to Dowdeswell, at which place it
reached the summit of the Cotswold range, whence it de-
scends to Northleach, passed by Burford, Witney, and
Oxford, where it comes to the proposed station
of the Oxford and Bletchley line. It then
turned northward at Henley, and ultimately joined the
London and Birmingham Railway at Tring, a distance of
twenty-two miles and a half from the station at Euston-
square, the entire length being about sixty-nine miles and
a half. The cost of the main line would be 1,378,6001., and
with the branches would belabout 1,452,756/. The ruling
gradient would be one in a hundred, while that of the
opposing line was only one in two hundred. He pro-
posed to attain the summit of his elevation by
a gradient of short length of one in ninety,
while Mr. Brunel proposed to effect the same object
by a shorter and steeper gradient of lin 60. But, although
the general gradient was greater than that of the Great
Western project, he reached his stations at Cheltenham and
Oxford 30 feet below the site adopted by Mr. Brunel, and,
beside, had the advantage of avoiding the bed of water
by which Cheltenham was supplied. By both the
lines the distance would be 1014 miles; and
from Gloucester it would be by one line 109 miles,
and by the other a furlong further. By the present route
the distance from Gloucester is 114 miles, and thus five
miles of distance would be saved, and a continuous commu-
nication would be made on the narrow-gauge system from
the west, the south-east, and the north.

Mr. TALBOT cross-examined on behalf of the Great
Western Company, and
Mr. Stephenson replied to him, that there was a number
of roads to be passed on the level, but that would be spoken
to by another witness. The present extent of the lines
comprised under the influence of the North Western
Company might be described by Perth as the northern
extremity, Holyhead as the western, and Gloucester as the
southern, and upon the lines now worked a dividend of 10
per cent. ;had been generally paid. He had laid down the
line generally with a view to avoid residential property.
Since the reduction of the fares on the North-Western line
there bad been a difference in the returns made to the share-
holders, but there had not been an opportunity of ascertaining
it precisely.
To Mr. CALVERT'S re-examination, Mr. Stephenson replied
that the district occupied by the Great Western Company
was nearly as extensive as that influenced by the North
Western Company, although not so good for the pur-
poses of traffic. The paid-up capital of the latter company
is upwards of 15,000,0001., while that of the Great Western
Company is upwards of 5,457,0001. paid up, 4,316,0001
debt., and power to borrow 3,958,0001. They were farther
seeking for powers in the present session to raise additional
capital of 11,000,000/. The North-Western Company had a
portion of what was called Punch's line, and had arranged
to make wharfs and establish works at Battersea, so as to
bring the narrow gauge lines to the north of the river in
communication with the South-Western lines on the other
side of the Thames. They were also about to lay down foar
lines of railway from London to Tring in order to accommo-
date the increased traffic that was anticipated.
To Mr. Taumr's cross-examination on this latter point,
Mr. Stephenson replied that it would require new powers to
enable the company to lay down the additional lines be-
tween Tring and Watford, but not between the latter place
and London. The tunnels and the roadway were to be
doubled.

It being arranged that the landowners' opposition and the
further evidence of the promoters should be got through
to-morrow, and that Mr. Talbot should reply the first thing
on Friday morning,
The Committee adjourned at half-past four.

GROUP XXIV.
MOLD.

The Committee met this morning at twelve o'clock ; Mr.
Beckett in the chair.
Mr. Timmy' opened on behalf of the promoters, and stated
that he had in the first place to object to the petitions of the
inhabitants of Chester and Wrexham, as the counsel
for them had no locus standi in the Committee, in
consequence of the almost but universal practice in Parlia-
ment of not allowing any parties to appear where they
or their property were not affected by the proposed line. It
was shown that' the line would not come within three miles
of Chester, but that it would run into a line that was already
sanctioned by Parliament, and which was intended to run
directly through the city.
After hearing the reply of Mr. HILL, who appeared for the
petitioners, the Committee decided that he was not entitled
to take any objection to the preamble of the Bill.
An argument then arose on the petition of the promoters
of the Chester and Shrewsbury Railway, who also objected to
the project of the Meld Railway, but Mr. O'Malley also here
stated, that, according to the practice of Parliament, these
petitioners could not be heard. There was not a single prece-
dent throughout the whole of the decisions of the several
Committees in which the promoters of a railway not yet
formed were allowed to appear as opponents to any project
which did not directly and immediately affect their interests.
Where two companies were competing for the supply
of a certain district, they were the natural rivals of
each other, and of course entitled to appear. Where the
works of a projected line interfered with the works or with
the land scheduled to any other company, that company was
certainly entitled to appear; but even then its directors were
only to be heard as landowners, as had been decided espe-
cially in the case of the Syston and Peterborough Railway.
After some consideration the Committee decided that the
Chester and Shrewsbury Company could not be heard, but
that the landowners on the line were legitimate opponents.
Mr. Oakley gave evidence generally upon the quantity of
coal contained in the district, and stated that he hitrself
held 1,500 acres on lease, which, according to the calculation
of his agent, held more than 232,000,000 tons of coal, and
upwards of 140,000,000 tons of ironstone.
The Committee adjourned at four o'clock.