The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-30 00:00:00

GROUP IX.

This Committee met In the room /4071 (House of Commons) at
12 o'clock, having adjourned till to-day before Easter. Lord Worslcy
took the chair.
CAILEDONSAINT (GLASGOW TERMINI AND

BRANCHES).
This Bill was caned on, but the parties were not prepared with
their case, and it was therefore adjourned till Friday.
The Committee then rose, and adjourned till that day.

GROUP XI.
This Committee met to-day at twelve o'clock, Mr. Henley in the
chair. Members present, in addition to the chairman—Hon. W. 0.
Stanley, and Viscount Alford. Mr. W. Smith O'Brien was absent.
A ter some conversation, it was arranged to take the unopposed
Bills first.

SLAIVIALTNAN AND DORROWSTOUNESS.
This was the first Bill taken, for which Mr. Graham appeared.
Mr. M`George was shortly examined on the points required by Mr.
Duncombe's resolutions. He stated that the number of shares issued
was 4,200, at 251. each. Powers were sought in the Bill to raise
105,0001. The list of provisional directors was next put in, the
number of shares taken up by each being 100. The Parliamentary
deposit, the witness stated, had been paid out of the money raised
from the depositors.

The various points required by the resolutions having been gone into,
Mr. GRAHAM explained the objects of the Bill. It was to construct
a branch railway from the existing Slammanan Railway, which ran
from the town ofAirdrie to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, near
to Linlithgow. The branch commenced at the latter point and was
proposed to be constructed to the portof Borrowstouness, on the river
Forth, the end sought being to connect the mineral fields east of
Glasgow with the port in question. It would be a single line of rail-
way and was mainly intended for mineral traffic.
Mr. Eadie, civil engineer, gave evidence as to the engineering
features of the line. The gradients for a mineral line were very
good. They descended towards Borrowstouness. There was at the
one end an inclined plane of lin 58. The severest after this was 1
in 100. The estimate of the expense was 105,0001. Parties along
the route of this line were generally in its favour, and especially the
inhabitants of Borrowstouness ; two roads were crossed at a level.
Mr. (]eddies, mining engineer, deposed as to the increased traffic
that would be accommodated by the proposed branch. It would be
of the greatest service in giving the iron and coal of Lanarkshire an
outlet by the port of Borrowstouness. There was al-o a great amount
of mineral veins along the line that could be brought into profitable
working if such a line was constructed. At the Kinnell Iron Works,
which this railway would serve, the coal used per annum was 60,000
tons, and of iron-stone 50,000 tons. These were four furnaces in
blast here. At Airdrie, one of the terminb,of the main line, there
were sixty furnaces, which consumed about 15,000 tons each yearly,
or a total of 930,000 tons. From 300,000 to 400,000 tons of pig-iron
was made per annum by these furnaces. A considerable portion of
this would go by Borrowstouness.

Mr. Hardy ofßorrowstonness, generallly deposed as to the benefits
the line would confer on the district through which it passed.
Mr. Sanderson of Glasgow, who had been engaged to take the
traffic on the line, put in the tables he had prepared. According to
those tables the traffic, after paying working expenses, would pay
7 per cent.
This closed the case on behalf of the Bill.
The Committee immediately declared the preamble proved.

ortoup XIX.
This Committee met at twelve o'clock, in Room 14 ; Lord Harry
Vane, in the chair. There were also present the Earl of March, Mr.
Scott, and two other Hon, Members.