The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-15 00:00:00

RAILWA

ITFEES. • RAIL WAYS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(YESTERDAY.); SIR,--Your Parliamentary report of Thursday last
GROUP VI. contains, in reply to a question by Mr. Gisborne, some
remarks by Mr. Strutt and Sir George Clerk, on the
EXETER GREAT WESTERN. evidence which I had given at the inquest, at :Chester,
The Committee met at the usual hour.
RS to the cause of the failure of the Dee bridge. In
Mr. Miller, C.E., was examined in support of the Great this morning's report also I find that Sir George Clerk
Western schemes, with a view of showing their superiority
again refers to the matter, with a view, I presume, of
over the rival line of the South-Western Railway.
showing that there was no sufficient justification fur the
Mr. Mills and Mr. Barlow, directors of the Great Western
Company, and Mr. Smith, director of the South-Western statement I had made on the occasion alluded to.
Company, were then called and examined with respect to an Although lam extremely unwilling to occwpy your
agreement entered into between the two companies, with the space or the public attention, by referring to what might
branch of which the South-Western Company had been have been stated by me either at Chester or elsewhere, I
charged. feel that on a subject of so much importance it becomes
The Committee then adjourned till twelve to-morrow. imperative on me not only to offer an explanation, but
to remove, as far as I can, the possibility of a misunder-
standing.
As nearly as I can recollect the words which I actet-
' ally used, the following may be considered substantially
accurate ;—" That in the public departments—viz.,
the Admiralty, Board of Trade, or Commissioners
of Railways, less consideration was given to the
security of the public travelling by railways
than was given to the navigation or space of tidal rivers
and roads which were crossed or intersected by railways,
and I referred to a letter which had been addressed by
myself, in conjunction with Messrs. B. Stephenson,
Brunel, and Cubitt, to Lord Dalhousie on the subject of
bridges, which had not been attended to."
Although this statement was made at the inquest et
Chester, it was distinctly admitted by Mr. Stephenson
that the Government department was in no way impli-
cated in fixing the dimensions of the I)ee Bridge, and
no attempt was made by any one, as Sir George Clerk
supposes, to lay upon them the consequences of that
accident.
If in the remarks which I thought it necessary to
make I had merely intended to complain of the want of
courtesy in neglecting to acknowledge the receipt of our
communication to Lord Dalhousie, Sir George Clerk's
reference to his Lordship's acknowledgment would be
conclusive. My statement, however, went further, it
complained that the subject-matter of the letter had not
been attended to, and that so far as we kuew it had never
been considered.
The letter itself, together with the reply, are below,
and I may add, that no alteration in the clause has yet
been made, nor any explanation given for adhering to it.
That the clause, as Sir George Clerk states, was ori-
ginally determined upon " after full consideration" I am
not disposed to doubt ; but I would venture to add, on
the other hand, that there is not a practical engineer in
England accustomed to railway works who would have
advised the adoption of such a clause.
Sir George Clerk also states that it is limited to
bridges of 35 feet span ; but this is only true when the
roads are crossed at right angles. When they are crossed
obliquely (which is by far the most common case), the
span is increased sometimes to 60 and 70 feet. It needs
no engineer surely to show that a rise of four feet for
such a span is not sufficient.
I have confined my remarks simply to the matter re-
ferred to in the Rouse of Commons, not feeling myself
called upon to enter into any further discussion.
Your insertion of this communication will oblige, Sir,
your obedint servant,

GROUP VIII.
This Committee met at the usual hour this morning.
SUTTON EARBOUR IMPROVEMENT COM—
PANY (POWER TO THE LONDON AND SOUTH-
WESTERN TO SUBSCRIBE THERETO).
The Committee were engaged the whole of the day with
general evidence in favour of this Bill.
The Committee then adjourned.

JOSEPH LOCKE.
11, Adam-street, Adelphi, June 12.

Co.)
London, 11, Adam-s(treetpy, Adelphi, May 2, 1846.
My Lord,---Having found great difficulty in carrying
out the provisions of clause 49 in the Railway Clauses
Consolidation Act, defining the dimensions of bridges for
carrying railways over public roads, we have thought it
prudent to address your Lordship in regard to it.
Although we have often found that the widths required
for such bridges by the Act are greater than the roads
for which such bridges are required, it is not our present
intention to do more than direct your Lordship's consi-
deration to the heights required from the surface of the
roads to the springing or the arches. That height is
specified to be twelve feet, thus leaving only four feet in
the case of turnpike roads, and three feet in the case of
other public roads, for the rise or curve of the arches.
We submit to your Lordship that, for arches so wide
as the Act requires, this rise is not sufficient, and our
object in addressing you is to obtain your Lordship's aid
in altering the springing height above the road from
twelve feet to eight feet, so as to give more curve, and
consequently more security to the arches.
We have already found, in many instances, that it is
impossible to comply with the requirements of the clause
in question without resorting to iron girders, and in those
parts of the country abounding in stone and brick (where
iron can only be obtained at a considerable distance),
this obligation is attended with great increased cost and
inconvenience.

We shall be happy to give any further explanation
which your Lordship may require on this matter.
We have the honour to be, my Lord,
Your Lordship's most obedient servants,
(Signed) JOSEPH LOCKE.
ROBERT STEI'HENSON.
I. K. BRUNEL.
W. CUBITT.

Railway Department, Board of Trade,
Whitehall, May 23, 1846.
Gentlemen,—With reference to your letter of the
30th ult., to Lord Dalhousie, drawing his Lordship's
attention to the difficulty of carrying out the provision
of the clause No. 49 of the Railway Clauses Consolida-
tion Act, in regard to the dimensions of bridges for
carrying railways over public roads, I am directed by
his Lordship to acquaint you that he will confer with
Lord Shaftesbury and others in respect to the practica-
bility of making the alterations which you propose.
I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) D. O'BRIEN.
Messrs. J. Locke, R. Stephenson, I. K. Brunel,
and W. Cubits.

SIR JOHN FRANKLIN'S POLAR
EXPEDITION.
We understand that Dr. King, the medical officer, and
for a considerable period the commanding officer, of the
overland expedition in search of Sir John Ross, in
1833-4-5, has addressed a letter to Earl Grey, as the
principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, volunteer-
ing his services in search of Sir John Franklin, who
sailed, in the spring of 1845, in search of a north-west
passage, and has not since been heard of. The plan
proposed by Sir John Richardson, and accepted by the
Admiralty, does not meet with his approbation, and he
has therefore sought of Earl Grey an appointment in
search of Sir John Franklin, under the hoard of which
his Lordship is the head—the board under which Dr.
King acted in search of Sir John Ross. Dr. King main-
tains that to save Sir John Franklin's party, comprising
126 men, it would be futile to attempt to convey pro-
vision overland to him; and he adduces, in support of
his opinion that the expedition upon which he was en-
gaged for the relief of Sir John Ross failed in their at-
tempt from the poverty of the country over which they
travelled, although in that case it was only contem-
plated to relieve 23 men. Over that same provisionless
country an overland party in search of Sir John
Franklin must necessarily pass. Dr. King proposes to
the Government to send out one or more vessels laden
with provisions next spring to the western land of North
Somerset, where he maintains, for several reasons, Sir
John Franklin will be found ; and at the same time to
call upon the Hudson's Bay Fur Company to store up
provisions in their trading houses on the Great Slave
Lake and the Mackenzie River. He then proposes, in
company with any officer the Government may appoint,
to be the messenger of such news to Sir John Franklin,
and at the same time to take with him Indian guides f..r'
the conveyance of that veteran officer and his party,
either to the provision stores on the Mackenzie River
or the Great Slave Lake, or to the provision vessels, as
may appear most desirable. lie maintains that he is the
only person who has all the requisites for such a journey
—youth, health, great physical strength, and an intimate
acquaintance with the country and the Indians. Ile has
placed a heavy responsibility on Earl Grey, for lie does
not hesitate to state that it is the only plan which can
afford that relief to Sir J. Franklin which he has a right
to expect Iron the Government. Sir John Franklin, he
asserts, should not have sailed in the face of the facts he
laid before the late Government ; for, to use his own
words, it was altogether " impracticable, as the expe-
dition would have to take the ice '—as the pushing
through an ice-blocked sea is termed—in utter igno-
rance of the extent of its labours, and certainly with no
better prospect before it than that which befel Sir J.
Ross's party, whose escape from a perilous position of
four years' duration was admitted by all to have been
almost miraculous." (Letter to Lord Stanley, February
20, 1845.) As it now stands, therefore, it is imperative
on the Government to use every means to save the lost
party from the death of starvation, or, what is dreadful
to contemplate, the necessity of feeding upon each
other. Dr. King proclaims aloud against the Govern-
ment for using secresy in their scientific pursuits ; for
it is a fact, that beyond the walls of the Admiralty, not
only the route that Sir John Franklin has taken is un-
known, but also the means that board are adopting to
relieve him. Such a course, he observes, is scarely
worthy the honourable service in which the explorers
are engaged.

POPE Plus IX. AND THE IRISH.—A notice appeared
lately in our columns of a rosary and an autograph letter
from Pope Pius IX., which were on their way to England to
be disposed of for the benefit of the suffering Irish. We are
now requested to state, that this valuable gift has arrived,
and is at present in possession of the lady by whose friends
it was sent from Italy. The rosary consists of eleven agate
beads, set in gold, with a head of the Saviour engraved on
cornelian, pendant from a small gold tassel at oneend ; to the
other is attached a ring to suspend it from the finger when
used in prayer. (in the letter (of which we subjoin a copy,
with the translation) we need make no comment—it speaks
for itself. The managers of the London Joint-Stock Bank,
69, Pall-Mall, have kindly undertaken to exhibit the rosary,
and to receive subscriptions; and the noble names of Shrews-
bury, Arundel, and Surrey, Stourton, M'Farline, Throck-
morton, Sir James Kempt, and many others, which are
already on the list, leave little doubt that the hope of realiz-
ing 1001., in fulfilment of the intentions of the benevolent
and liberal-minded Pontiff will be easily accomplished. We
ought to add, that his Holiness's letter is addressed to his i
sister-in-law, the Contessa Masts' :—" Amata Co ata
del flagello dells fame, mn e,
Alla (lama Sienese che si ha commujnicata sa lodevolegn inten -
zione di racco 'lre un sussidio per poveri Irlandesi colpiti
che si occupano e c potiete, mandare l'unita coronas, ac-
ostra benedizione estensiva a tutti quelli
cornpagnata
pacei,. iapa:Licrrnantoli e. con tu,t,anetalmf
del
Signore
.sconctoribuiscienso a questa pia opera. La
wh3oaha°s"..)communicated to you her
—To the Sienese lad/ aedraSigislitair- inPliw:,.
some relief to the poor
7,yeu may send the
praiseworthy intention of aff
Irish suffering from the sco4rdelnof fa
e and general bless-
I
enclosed rosary, accompanied by ournlui
in g to all who are occupied in, or who
pious labour. The peace of the Lord be with yoa. and all
contribute to, this
r family. Pius P. P. IX., ;.., pope.
"—Times.
you
Sir Henry Dukinfield, Bart., and a D,putati:m had
an interview with Sir George Grey
s.
yesterday, at the
Home-office.