The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-27 00:00:00

GROUP LI.

The Committee to which this group of railways is re-
ferred met at twelve o'clock ; Sir John Yarde Buller in the
chair.

GLASGOW, DUNZIMIES, AND CARLISLE.
The CHAIRMAN announced, that as one of the Committee
was imperatively required to attend another Committee, it
would be either necessary to adjourn or to proceed with four
members on the Committee.
Mr. Sergeant WRANGRAM suggested that the preferable
course to be pursued would be to take a small branch
line from Gretna to Annan, which the Caledonian Company
were empowered to lease by a clause inserted in the Bill of
the Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle, of the last year.
His Learned Friend and the Glasgow and Dumfries Company
sought, by a clause in one of their present Rills, to repeal
that clause altogether. Now, it was apparent that, morally
as well as Parliamentarily, the Dumfries Company bad no
right to appear there as opponents; but if the Com-
mittee thought that the case should be opened, he trusted
that it would be considered as a separate question, and that
no other matter should be mixed with it.
Mr. AM:MEWS said that the application made by his
Learned Friend was an icgenious attempt to confuse the
case. His Bill could not be entered into without opening
up the whole case.
The Committee decided to hear the opening of Mr.
Andrews, with reference to the Glasgow, Dumfries, and Car-
lisle Railway Company.
Mr. ANDREWS said that he appeared on behalf of the Glas-
gow, Dumfries, and Carlis!e Company, and the Glasgow, Pais-
ley; Kilmarnock, andAyr Company, who had amalgamated
themselves, and were jointly the promoters of the Bill. which
was now on their table. The line was one of considerable length.
running through coal and mining fields of almost unlimited
extend. It was absolutely necessary that such a line should
be formed in order to accommodate the rapidly increasing
commerce and population. It afforded the easiest means of eom•
munication between Renfrew and the English border, and
would be also, if carried on to Port Patrick, formingthe;chain
of communication between the whole of the north of Eng-
land and the north of Ireland. When he spoke of Renfrew-
shire and Ayrshire, he spoke as the Committee well knew, of
a part of the kingdom which was most rapidly in-
creasing in commerce and population. Kilmar-
nock was the centre of the district to which he
referred, and the grand central depiit, in a great measure, of
all the extensive mineral field which surrounded it. In Kil-
marnock alone there were 40 houses engaged in silk mercery
and haberdashery, the goods sold in the district amounting
to 200,0001. annually. There was a large trade in leather,
and an import and export trade amounting to 500,0001. per
annum. The Committee was also aware that there was a
very large trade in cattle between these districts and York-
shire, Lincolnshire, and the London markets. The Com-
mittee would find from the evidence that the trade in these
animals was of such an extent as to be not
only of great importance to the district, but to
the country at large. There would be be a very
large trade carried on from the north of Ireland, by
way of Port Patrick, to Kircudbright, the harbour of which
was an admirable one, and freed from all the shifting sands
which so much impeded the navigation of the Solway. The
distance from the port of Kircudbright was no greater dis-
tance from Donaghadee than Holyhead was from Dublin.
There was an absolute necessity for an easy communication
from the north of Ireland and [lie north of England, and there
were only two obstacles to that communication, namely, the
want of a direct communicatior. from Springfield, and also a
clause to which his Learned Friend had referred, and which
was brought forward at the eleventh hour—that clause,
which took from the possession of this company a portion of
a line, and the operation of which would not only be very
injurious to the Glasgow and Dumfries Company, but to the
trade of the country at large. He would state to the Com-
mittee that their Bill had three objects—one of them to give
a branch to Canobie, the second to give a connexion be-
tween the Dumfries line to Newcastle and Langholm, and
the third to repeal a clause which was inserted in a
former Act, which • would seriously impede that direct
communication which was so much desired by every
one connected with the districts through which it was to pass.
There was also an intention to give the large trade which he
had described the advantage of a second line. Evidence
would be laid before the Committee to show that the Dam-
fries line should be an integral line, and not in any way
mixed up with the Caledonian Railway Company. The
Caledonian Railway had already several branches running
nearly parallel with the proposed course of this new line, and
he would take that opportunity of giving the Committee a
statement as to the way in which this obnoxious clause
was introduced. When this company was, after many re-
fusals, sanctioned, they were refused the line between
Canobie and Springfield, and the Caledonian by some
means contrived to get inserted into this Bill a clause which
in fact gave them the line. The House of Commons was
expected to rise almost every day, and there was, therefore,
no time for them to attempt to dispute the clause which had
been so ungraciously forced into their Bill. A feeling of
considerable alarm was created by the insertion of this clause,
not amongst the promoters of this measure, but amongst
all those who were most interested in the district being
benefited. They at once perceived the great importance
of the clause, as the portion of the line from which
they were excluded would receive the best part of
the traffic from the coast of England and Ireland.
The injury which would be created by this clause would be
of a moat pernicious character, • and very seriously extensive
in its effects. It was necessary for Renfrewshire that the
mode of communication should be an uninterrupted one, and
under the control of only one company. There was no
doubt, from the evidence, that the Caledonian Company and
the North- western Company were allies, offensive and de-
fensive, and their interests were very nearly the same. The
North-Western had assisted in every way the opposition to
the Caledonian Railway Company to this line, and they had
on every occasion a director at the board of the Caledonian
Railway to represent their interests. That director was the
late Mr. Patrick Stewart, and was now the Honourable
Member for Perth, the Hon. Mr. Fox Maule. The first
use that the Caledonian Railway would make of their power
over this portion of the line would be to send all the immense
traffic of Kilmarnock round to Glasgow. The Committee, he
thought, would see the points upon which the evidence
ought to be directed. He would briefly direct the attention
to the Canobie branch, which they would perceive was abso-
lutely essential to the speedy ccnveyance 01 the immense/ raffic
froniKilmarnock, Renfrewshire, and Ayrshire. He did not
think it necessary to make any further statement. He had
touched upon the principal points to which their attention
would be directed, and he would conclude by thanking them
for their kindness in hearing him then, and for adjourning
the Committee the other day on the occasion of Ins indis-
position.
The Committee then, after a little discussion, proceeded
with the evidence. The first witness called was—
The Duke of Buccleuch, who was examined by Mr.
BURKE—LES Grace stated that the line passed for more than
twenty miles through his property, and he considered that
the interests of the district required its formation. He was
so convinced of this that he had withdrawn his opposition.
He did not conceive that the Caledonian interests would be
affected by the formation of this railway, for in that part of
the country in which the lines ran parellel there was a ridge
of bills which completely divided the two companies. His
Grace gave general evidence in favour of the line.
The Committee adjourned till twelve o'clock to-morrow
(this day).