The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-17 00:00:00

COMPANY-MANDAMUS.

Sir F. POLLOCK applied for a rule, caring on the
Grand Junction Railway Company to show cause why
a writ of mandamus should not issue, commanding them
to obey the enactments of the 19th section of the Act
3 Victoria, cap. 49, which was as follows :—" And
be it further enacted, that the charges of the said re-
cited Acts, or either of them, authorised to be made
for the carriage of Any passengers, goods, animals, or
other matters or things to be conveyed by the said Com-
pany, or for the use of any steam-power or carriage to
be supplied by the said Company shall be at all times
charged equally and after the same rate per mile or Per
ton per mile, in respect of all passengers and of all
goods, animals, on carriages of a like description conveyed
or propelled by a like carriage or engine passing on
the same portion of the line only, and under the same
circumstances, and no reduction or advance in any
charge for conveyance by the said Company, or for the
use of any locomotive power to be supplied by them
shall be made either directly or indirectly in favour of

or against any particular Company or person travelling
upon or using the same portion of the said railway, un-
der the same circumstances, as aforesaid." He made
this application at the instance of Messrs. Pickford; the
carriers, who would, unless the Court interfered to pro-
tect them from the Company, be obliged either to give
up the carriage business altogether, or to carry it on
without deriving any profit from it. It appeared from
the affidavits, that the usual method of transmitting
goods from London to Liverpool and Manchester, was
by the London and Birmingham Railway.to Birming-
ham, thence by the Grand Junction Railway to New-
ton, and from Newton by the Liverpool and Manches-
ter Railway to those towns respectively. The Grand
Junction Company had, it appeared, granted to Messrs.
Chaplin and Horne the accommodation of permitting

the trucks on which their goods were placed to pass at
once from the London and Birmingham line to the
Grand Junction line at Birmingham, and from the
Grand Junction line at Newton to the Liverpool and
since Manchester line, without any charge of carriage or un-
loading, but ee
facilitiesSeptmbertn lastany had
trefunsnerd
to afford similar .
riers, and when applied to by Messrs. Pickford
on the subject had informed them that they could not
afford them the desired accommodation unless they paid
something additional for it, while it was afforded to
Chaplinand Rome gratuitously. The expense of loading.
and unloading the trucks would be about 51. a day ad-
ditional to Messrs. Pickford, besides the loss of time
which it would occasion them. It appeared also that
the Company at the Camden-town station charged 655.
a ton for the carriage of goods to Liverpool or Man-
chester, but they made Messrs. Chaplin and Horne an
allowance of 10s. a ton for collecting and distributing
the goods in London, which allowance they refused to
make to Messrs. Pickford. There was a clause in every
Railroad Act empowering other persons than the Com-
pany to start locomotives and trains on the railroad, but
this was a complete dead letter, inasmuch as the Com-
pany might refuse such persons the use of their pumps
or of their coal depots, and had also unlimited power in
regulating the times of starting, &c., of such engines.
The fact was the Company was aiming at a complete
monopoly of, the carrying trade, which they would cer-
, tainly acquire unless they were compelled to obey the
I enactments of the clause in question.