The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-11 00:00:00

GROUP VII.

THE LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN (AN-
DOVER TO THE BISHOPSTOICE AND SA-
LISBURY BRANCH).

The Committee met to-day at two o'clock ; Lord Claud
Hamilton in the chair; but at once adjourned until Monday
next, at the same hour, in order to give the promoters time
to get a necessary agreement completed.
The line, we understand, is unopposed.

GROUP XP.
The Committee on this group met this morning for the
first time in Room 12. The Select Committee consisted of
the following Members :—Mr. Bernal (Weymouth), chair-
man; Mr. Sharman Crawford (Rochdale); Captain Boldero
(Chippenham ; Marquis of Worcester (Gloucestershire);
Captain Pechell (Brighton).
The following lines are comprised in this group :
Eastern Counties (Cambridge to Bedford, &c.).
Eastern Counties (Cambridge, Royston, and Ware, &c.).
Royston and Hitchin Railway Act Amendment (Extension
from Royston to Cambridge, Be.)
Royston and Hitchin Railway Act Amendment (sale of lease
of line).
Eastern Counties (Somersham to Ramsay).

- -
EASTERN COUNTIES (CAMBRIDGE TO
BEDFORD, &c.)
This was the first line taken. A lengthened discussion
took place as to whether the Royston and Hitchin Railway
Act Amendment Bill (Extension from Royston to Cambridge,
&c.), should be considered a competing line with the proposed
scheme from Cambridge to Bedtord, 4c.)
The room having been cleared,
The CHAIRMAN announced (on our re-admission) that the
former line could not be considered as a competing line with
the latter.

Mr. HILL, on behalf the promoters, then opened the case
of the Cambridge to Bedford, Sec.. line.
Mr. Headley, of Cambridge, Mr. Upton, of Bedford, and
other witnesses were examined as to the great traffic which
might be anticipated along the line, and the present want of
accommodation for it.
The Committee adjourned till twelve o'clock to-morrow.

GROUP XVI.
IMPORTAN T DECISION.
At the meeting of the Committee this morning,
Mr. KE31131.E, the chairman, intimated that the Com-
mittee were of opinion that the preamble of the
GREAT NORTHERN (HERTFORD, HATFIELD, AND
ST. ALBAN'S BRANCH)
had been proved ; and that the preambles of the
EASTERN COUNTIES (HERTFORD TO HITCHEN, &c.),
and

ENFIELD AND EDMONTON EXTENSION
had not been proved.
The clauses of the first-mentioned Bill were then agreed
to with various amendments, and
The CHAIRMAN intimated that he should report the deci-
sion of the Committee to the House.
THE LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN (ST. ALBAN'S,
LUTON. AND DUNSTABLE)
cannot be proceeded with until the Railway Commissioners
have made their report on the capital of the company.
The Commi,tee then adjourned until to• morrow (Tuesday)
week, at half-past three o'clock.

GROUP XVII.
The following Bills are oomprised in this group
London and North-Western (Newport Pagnel, Olney, and
Wellingborough).
Midland (Extension from sear Leicester to Hitchin, &c.)
Midland (Leicester and Slvannington Railway Widening,
&c.)
Midland (Syston and Peterl'..orough Deviation).
Great Northern (Deviation between London and Grantham).
Ambergate, Nottingham, aced Boston, and Eastern Junction.
The Committee to whom they have been referred consists
of the following Members:— Sir J. B. East (chairman), Lord
Frederick Hallyburton, the Hon. G. Rice Trevor, G. Dupre,
Esq , and R. H. Hurst, Esq., who assembled shortly before
one o'clock.
The first, fourth, and sixth Bills, being unopposed, were re-
ferred to Mr. Greene.
The first Bill proceeded with was the
MIDLAND (LEWES TED AND SWANNING.
_ TON 111Crinzmrreiro).
_

The North Staffordshire, Company had-petitioned against
the Bill, but Mr. Kennedy intimated that that company did
not object to the proposed -widening of the line, but simply to
some of the clauses.
Mr. BURKE, who appesirt: for the promoters, stated that the
object of the Bill was s iraply to widen the line between
Leicester and Swaniagh re, in order to accommodate it to the
increased traffic of the ex-Aensive coal district which it inter-
sected. lie objected to the locus standi of the North Staf-
fordshire on the ground th.at none of the property of that line
was interfered with, and because the petition did not specify
any definite objections to the line for which he appeared.
Ur. KENNEDY contended, in reply, that the North Staf-
fonishire must get ace es,s south by means of the proposed
branch, and that it was necessary that they should have
clauses inserted in the B id to give them that right, and to
regulate the tolls which they would have to pay. The line
represented by his Leicriied Friend was a most important
line. It was absoluttily• necessary that the North Staf-
fordshire should have the use of it; and unless they had
the reasonable use of it, it would be utterly useless.
The North Staffordshire consisted of several small
branches, which inter s ected the Pottery district, and the
Midland Company possessed a nutnLer of lines
in the same part of t.l.e country, and it was a matter of the
utmost importance ths‘t the rate of tolls to be charged by the
two companies shoules be regulated by Parliament. Unless
this was done the passengers of the North Stafford-
shire line would 433 put to much inconvenience, and
the company materia ii y injured, us the Midland Company by
charging enormous tolls, so as to preclude the carrying of
passengers at such a rate, might shut the North Stafford-
shire out from cam tag passengers beyond their lines in their
own railway carria,p .s. He did not say that they would do
so, but, unless profier clauses were inserted, they could do so.
Mr. BURKE a Aid the North Staffordshire, or any
other line, migiat run carriages over his line at
the rates whi(lit Parliament bad laid down. But
if the principle his Learned Friend sought to be
introduced was admitted by the Committee, be might inter-
fere in the same way with any of the other lines in other
Parts of the country, and completely upset all the
regulations w nich Parliament had laid down with respect
to tolls, whic. a could not be altered without due notice.
Companies • .vere empowered to enter into private arrange-
ments with respect to tolls, and if the arrangement sought to
be brought about by his Learned Friend was equitable, the
two comp, vies would carry it out.
The Co mmittee considered that the North Staffordshire
had no /a :us standi.

The .11 thus became unopposed, and it was referred to Mr.
Greene, with the other Bills above mentioned.
The n eat Bill proceeded with was the
so trtel 3 MIDLAND (EXTENSION PROW
1 EAR LEICESTER TO =WWII'S).
Mr. TALI3O7 said the line was promoted by the South Mid-
land C ampany, and that the Leicester and Bedford, which
had pa: tsed into the hands of the Midland Company, formed
a porti on of it. It would afford the eastern part of the
county direct communication with the mineral and mann-
facturin g districts of which Leicester formed the centre, and
would,' aesides, traverse a district now suffering from the want
of rail% ay communication. It would be 103 miles in length,
and wo old cost 2,500,000/.

Mr.! itxTER, on behalf of the Great Northern, opposed that
part of 'the preamble of the Bill which set forth that it was
desiro.b ie that the line should be carried on from Hitchin to
Hert lo,:d by means of a line called the Hertford and Hitchin,

pronto ted by the Eastern Counties ( thrown out this morning),
on 'Lb e ground that such a proposal was entirely at variance
wit.b an agreement which had been entered into between Mr.
H uilson, on the part of the South-Midland, and the directors
of the Great Northern, to the effect that the line should
terminate by a junction with the Great Northern at Hitchin.
After considerable discus-ion, the preamble was amended
a: i suggested by Mr. Baxter, and atter some local evidence
b ad been adduced in favour of the line, the Committee ad-
,ourned until to-morrow.
The Committee cannot pass the preamble of the Bill, (and
we may state that there is no reason to believe that they
-will not pass it,) until the Commissioners have made their
report, which will take place in the course of a few days.

•
GROUP XVIII.
The Committee on this group met this morning at twelve
o'clock ; the Earl of Lincoln in the chair, with Mr. G.
Smythe, Captain Jones, Mr. M. J. O'Connell, and Sir W.
James.

ofim thep restsrieadae-- thatit
LONDON AND CHELTENHAM.
Mr. Thomas Early, of the firm of John Early, large
de
was cline
his manufacturers at Witney, and who is himself the London
partner of the concern, stated that their firm used to consume
110,000 tone of coal in a year, but, in consequence of the
witaNsvouinldlbB3e9,
unbroken railway communication with the places from which
better t e n
if thousandthey had
tons—
it
an
it was drawn. There would also be a great advantage to
the trade of Witney. If the Euston-square station were
adopted the docks in London would be much more useful.
There would also be a further benefit from the reduction of
the price of carriage, for by the North-Western line it is
thirty per cent, less than by the Great Western line.
Mr. Marryatt, a blanket manufacturer also at Witney,
stated the general advantages that would be derived from the
establishment of an uniform gauge.
Mr. Clinch, who is a woolstapler, in partnership with his
father at Witney, testified to the benefit of the North-
Western line. The carriage of wool from the docks in Lon-
don was 3s. 6d. a pack, while to the country there was a
further charge of thirty shillings. Most of the short wool is
used at Witney, but the long wool is sent to Dewsbury,
Halifax, and Huddersfield, all of which would be transferred
by the railway with the greatest facility. Witness was a
director of the North-Western Company, and brother-in-law
to the last witness. . _

Mills said that large numbers of sheep
were annually sent out of the neighbourhood of Burford to
the eastern counties. He estimated the sheep in the district
about Burford at a sheep per acre. There were 64,000 acres,
and one-half of the sheep were annually sent away from the
place, so that there were upwards of 32,000 sheep driven into
the counties of Buckingham and Bedford, and these were
Only the worst and lightest sheep, for the finer sheep were
too heavy to travel far, so that the purchasers eastward of
those counties could net obtain them at all.
Mr. Hudson, a member of the council of the Royal Agri-