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

LONDON AND CHELTENHAM.

Mr. Thomas Early, of the firm of John Early, large
anaanufacturers at Witney, and who is himself the London
!partner of the concern, stated that their firm used to consume
110,000 tons of coal in a year, but, in consequence of the
decline of the trade—it was in 1839, ten thousand tons—
it was his impression that it would be better if they had an
unbroken railway communication with the places from which
it was drawn. There would also be a great advantage to
the trade of Witney. If the Euston-square station were
aciopted the Jocks 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 NN,itney,
etated the general advantages that would be derived from the
establishment of an uniform gauge.
11r. Clinch, who is a woolstapler, in partnership with his
gather at Witney, testified to the benefit of the North-
'W
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 Witnev, 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.
VT. J. Faulkner Milli 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 31,000 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-
cultural Society, stated that he farmed upwards of 1,600
acres of land in Norfolk. They bred neither sheep nor cattle,
.but got most of their stock from the north and west, but
preferred the Hereford beasts if there was not such a great
difficulty in obtaining them. In 1844 he bought seventy
beasts, and driving them the distance of two hundred miles
xequired a period of seventeen days, with four attendants,
the expense of whose service was 10/. 45., the
keep of the cattle 59/. 10s.; the turnpikes c, st
y. .1 .-.^h- and the whole amount paid for them al e
as, gs. ds., wbieu ‘... ~ e},qt ~..,..=,on between 2:3. fn) s. '
43ach animal. A gentleman of the name ot Thomas h a
Turchased two hundred beasts, the loss on which was up-
wards of 2001. from the driving, whereas he expected
to make a gain of 2001. To show the difference
of the expense in having the cattle brought by railway, he
bad a drove brought by railway by a special train, at a
cost of 201. 10s.. and which was only two hours on the way.
In order to get them by road it would have required three
men at four shillings a day each. The turnpikes were
-very heavy in that part of the country, so that one
shilling and sixpence a score would have to be paid
for the drove. The keep would be 81., and the whole cost
would have been 191. Ba., which with the loss in the condi-
tion and other expenses would not have been less than 901.
He himself did not breed more than about 300 beasts, but he
fed from 2,500 to 3,000, and he might further add that
lately he had received a large number of bullocks from
Carlisle, a distance of about 340 miles, at an
s:xpease of 20s. each, and they came to hand in a
period of twenty-five hours, in as fine a condition as they
left Carlisle. One of the greatest evils which was suffered by
the break of gauge arose from the necessity of transferring sheep
and cattle from the truck on one railway to the truck on the
ether, especially sheep, and he believed that it would be ad-
visable rather to drive them twenty. five miles, that was two
days' journey, at a considerable expense than endure that
evil.

Mr. lIILDYARD here made an application to the Committee
for an authority to compel the attendance of Mr. Brown, an
important witness, who had refused to attend without such
com pu Ision.

Mr. Williams, of Cheltenham, stated that the supply of
col to Cheltenham was about 70,000 tons, of which about
39.0011 were Forest of Dean coal, while the rest were, he
believed, Derbyshire coal, all of which might be obtained
by the North-Western Railway.
Several other witties,en from Cheltenham deposed to the
advantage which the railway would be to the town and its
neighbourhood.

Mr. Bishop, a butcher, at Tewkesbury, stated that he sent
a great number of carcases of lambs and sheep to the several
meat markets of London, upwards he believed of 500 a
month, and was assured that the meat loAt from a halfpenny
to a penny per pound on being transferred from the carriages
Qf one gauge to the other.
Mr. Woodlands, an extensive land and estate agent, and
also a large farmer, also testified to the inconvenience which
arose from the break of gauge to the great traffic which
already passed, and which would be developed on the route
daf the proposed line.
The Committee then adjourned.