The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-12 00:00:00

r, di S 71
- NO VEMBER I', 1846.
LON DON T. RSDAN
N G _ .
y-*)

No. 15,895.

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APOPULAR DIGEST of all the RAILWAY
CASES THAT HAVE BEEN TRIED IN ENGLAND
since the' GREAT RAILWAY MOVEMENT of 1845 to the PRE-
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By a Barrister-at-Law,

The object of this Digest is to clear off the obscurity in which Rail-
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from these contradictory awards.
The Digest will present a clear and cdmplete classification of all
the verdicts, with a popular commentary upon the results thus
arrived at. Written with a view to show the present state of the
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RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. .
THE COMMISSION.
OnMo
of nad anyo
ttihfiecnew
ion Railway i lteh,
the
y GC
aozme
tmt
ei s soi
ro n
Fridayers , in
Ipur-
suancelast,
opened their office in Great George-street, Westminster,
and began to act in execution of the statute of last ses-
sion (9th and 10th Vic., c. 106), where specifications, &c.,
for intended Bills in the next session must be delivered
by the close of the present month. The Commissioners
are the Hon. E. Stratt (president), Earl Granville, Sir
E. Ryan, and Capta'n H. R. Brandreth. It was con-
sidered expedient to constitute a separate department
for the railway business, and likewise the superintend-
ence thereof, from the Board of Trade. Her Majesty
was empowered to appoint five Commissioners, but only
four have been gazetted. Any two of the Commissioners
are competent to act in execution of the power vested in
them. The second section provides that from and after
the day which shall be so specified in the Gazette (Mon-
day last) as the day on which the said Camtnissioners
shall begin to act in execution of the statute, all the
powers, rights, and authority vested in, or exercised by
the Board of Trade, under any Ace with respect to any
railway or intended railway, shall be transferred to and
vested in and exercised by the Commissioners of Rail-
ways as fully as if they had been named in the said se-
veral Acts of Parliament, and all the provisions of the said
Act shall be deemed.to apply to the said Commissioners
instead of the Board of Trade, and all proceedings
pending shall be continued and carried on by and before
the said Commissioners, who shall have and receive the
same powers, rights, and authority in respect of all such
proceedings, as if they'had been originally commenced--
before the said Commissioners. By another provision an
office is to be opened to which all notices and other do-
cuments must be given or sent. All documents sealed
with a seal, and signed by two or more of the Commis-
sioners, are to be received in evidence in all courts and
before all parties and others, without any further proof
thereof. After providing for the appointment of officers,
the payment of their salaries, &e., the Act goes on to
state that the Commissioners are to exercise the powers
vested in the Board of Trade, to prevent companies act-
ing contrary to the Acts constituting them railways.
The Commissioners are to report to her Majesty and
both Houses of Parliament upon any case specifically
referred to them. - An important part of the Act has
reference to " local inspection and survey " by the Com-
missioners or their officers, and the expense incurred
thereon is to be paid by the promoters of the intended
line. On a matter being referred to them, the Commis-
sioners may inquire and report, on local inspection or
otherwise, whether there are any lines or schemes com-
peting with the proposed railway; whether it is proposed
to unite with any other railway, &c.; whether it is pro-
posed to constitute a branch, and whether the plans,
maps, and sections deposited are correct. The Act is
now in force, and much good is expected to result, espe•
cially from " local inspection and survey," in respect to
railways and proposed lines.
'RIM BILLS FOR NEXT SESSION. _ _

What a contrast between the bustle and activity of last
November and the total absence of railway speculation at
present ! Twelve months ago the Dublin Gazette, owing
to the great mass of notices on the part of promoters of
railway Bills, was increased to six or eight times the
ordinary dimensions. Now there is scarcely a railway
scheme to be heard of, and the Gazette is filled instead
with proclamations from the Lord-Lieutenant fur pre-
sentment sessions to adopt measures for the relief of the
destitute.

The Irish Railway Gazette of this day thus notices
the few railway projects that appear to be in con-
templation :
"The Dublin and Drogheda Company will promote
several Bills, seeking powers to amalgamate and pur-
chase, and also to extend their branch from Navan, via
Dells and Virginia, to Cavan.
" The Dundalk and Enniskillen Company propose to
obtain an Act to construct a branch line from Carrick-
macross to join their main line at Inniskeen.
" The Croat Southern and Western Company will
again apply for an Act to construct a branch from For-
tarlington to Tullamore, and we do not know that they
will be unopposed. Mr. Pim's letter to Mr. Carr, which
we noticed in our last, detailed a plan by which the
traffic of the western districts could be secured to this
company on very cheap and favourable terms ; but the
notice of an intention to apply for the branch to Tulla-
more would seem to indicate a disapproval of Mr. Pim's
proposal. Should no arrangement be come to, we may
anticipate a revival of the unpleasant opposition between
the Grand Canal and this company. There is another
- • -

line to Galway, which is proposed by parties in con-
nexion with the Mountmellick Junction, and which is
influentially locally supported ; and the Great Southern
and Western may conceive that it is better designed to
secure and develop the traffic of the western districts
than the Grand Canal line advocated by Mr. Pim.
" The Dublin and Dundrum Company have given no-
tice of a Bill to amend their present Act, and also to
extend their line so as to have the city terminus in Ste-
pen's-green. They are bound under their prekst Act
to make this application to Parliament, and they will
also apply for powers to sell or lease the line to the
Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow, and Dublin Company.
" The Cork and Bandon Company intend to apply for
a Bill to amend in some particulars their present Act,
but the notice has not yet appeared.
" The Newry and Enniskillen Company also intend
to make a similar application, but we cannot conceive
how they possibly can succeed to the full extent con-
templated."

EASTERN COUNTIES.— ERECTION OF DOCKS AND
WAREHOUSES, AND A BRANCH LlNE.—Application is
intended to be made 'to Parliament in the next session
for an Act to construct wharfs, docks, and piers, and
other buildings at or near Gallows Reach, in the River
Thames; and also a branch to connect the Eastern
Counties with the docks. The line will commence at
the docks, near the boundary line of the parishes of
Barking and Woolwich, and pass through Woolwich,
Barking, East Ham, and West Ham, and terminating at
West Ham by a junction with the Eastern Counties, at
Caernarvon-hall Bridge.
THE RUGBY STATION OF THE LONDON AND NORTH-
WESTERN.—The London and North Western have pur-
chased thirteen acres of land whereon to erect a new
station at Rugby—the one now in use being inefficient
to the present and the anticipated traffic—when the pro-
posed junctions at Rugby with the Oxford and Rugby,
Rugby and Stamford, Rugby, Leamington, and War-
wick, and the Trent Valley lines will be completed. The
number of trains running into this station amount now to
fifty a day.
The South-Eastern are expending 100,0001 in the
erection of an extensive factory adjacent to the line at
Ashford, covering several acres of ground. It is in-
tended for the manufacturing and repair of locomotives,
their present premises at New Cross being inconvenient,
es well as being the depot of the Croydon and Brighton
Companies. There are also erecting at Ashford cot-
tages for four hundred workmen, with a railway church.
The London and North-Western are building locomotive
factories at Wolverton, which, when completed, will cost
nearly about the same sum.

8ir1a.2.47 2.111 1.62 1.00
Dian. & Leeds
Alli. iadnl.a. nB6 d
....... 3.22.58 2.00 1.00
2.19 1.00
South .Eastern 2.45 2.04. 1.36 0.82
Here is a very varied class of accommodation, and
with fares varying according to the traffic of the several
districts. Those districts which have the Icrgest traffic
have generally the lowest fares, and those which have
the smallest traffic have the highest fares. There can be
no uniformity of fares between a populous level district
and a thinly peopled mountain country, while in the
latter the cost of construction will also be higher. The
truth is,.a great deal of the Belgian traffic, under the
present system, is paying 121 per cent. profit, and the
passenger between Antwerp and Brussels, for instance,
is made to pay for the passenger between Louvain and
Verviers.

The English passenger is made to pay rates and taxes
amounting to about 8 or 9 per cent., from which the Bel-
gian passenger is free. To make a comparison between
an English and Belgian fare this allowance must be taken
into the account. The comparison is, however, com-
pletely futile, because the English trains travel at a
higher rate of speed, and run more frequently, and the
increase of expense on this account is enormous.
In the calculation of English fares the extreme fares
are shown, whereas the actual fares paid by the majority
of passengers are on day-tickets, so that the fare paid
by the majority of passengers is much below the rates
given above..

- The English traffic differs in every respect from that
of Belgium, because it is to a great extent a through
traffic, while in the Utter country there,haavitatillataly,
been no through traffic. It is, however, recognised by
the Minister of Public Works, that the tendency in the
through traffic is to increase the first and second class,
and not the third class. As the railway system deve-
lopes itself, this is the natural result that first and second
clips accommodation should extend as the value of time
is better appreciated. While we have the Belgian pro-
portions of passengers quoted'to us as a model, the Bel-
gian proportions every year alter in the way we have
mentioned.

NUMBER OF PASSENGERS.*
Ist Class. 2d Class. 3d Class. Total.
1843 ... 310,306 ... 854,391 ... 1,906,389 ... 3,071,093
1844 ... 362,234 ... 228,606 ... 2,070.022 ... 3,360,869
1845 ... 397,608 ... 970,552 ... 2,074,796 ... 3,443,066
PER CENTAGE.

1843 ... 10.10 ... 27.80 ... 62.10 ... 100
1844 ... 10.75 ... 27.66 61.58 ... 100
1845 ... 11.54 ... 28.19 ... 60.23 „. 100
As we cannot show in detail the expenses of each Eng-
lish line, we shall refer to a very sufficient proof of what
is the real profit on an English fare and on a Belgian
fare. That is to take the whole traffic on the English
railways and the whole traffic on the Belgian railways
and compare the whole profit.
NUMBER OF PASSENGERS CARRIED.
Beig'utn. England.
1844 ... ... 3,360,862 27,763,002
1845 ... ... 3,443,066 33,791,253
RECEIPTS FOR PASSENGERS.
.1844 ... ... £246,662 £3,439,294
1845 ... ... 255,732 3,976,341
RECEIPTS FOR GOODS.
1544 ... ... 202,558 1,035,380
1845 ... ... 240,396 2,233,373
TOTAL RECEIPTS.
1844 ... ... 449,220 5,074,674
1845 ... ... 496,128 6,209,714
TOTAL PROFITS.
1844 ... ... 218.602 2,943,310
1845 ... ... 258,064 3,361,634
Proportion of English traffic in 1845, Belgium being
taken as one:— _

------- -- -
Number of passengers .. 10
Receipts for passengers l5
Receipts for goods
Total receipts
Total profits l3
It appears from these figures that whereas the number
of passengers in England is tenfold, and the receipts fif-
teenfold, the total profits are only thirteenfold ; so that
the difference between the English and Belgian charges
is not caused by the profits, but chiefly by the extra ex-
pense caused by the higher rate of speed, and the heavy
rates and taxes.

As the income-tax is chargeable on the net profit and
returns to the Government, this must be deducted from
the English ptcfit.
The comparison of a Belgian fare per mile, and an
English fare will, therefore, stand thus:—
Belgian fare. English fare.
100 150

Profit 5O
Less income-tax

65
2k

Net profit _ 63
Working charges
Excess of profit on English fare 50:63 = 13
„ working charges „

.50
Assuming the English profits to be as stated by Dr.
Lardner, and the rate of speed the same as the Belgian,
and the lines exempt from taxation, the English fares
would be to the Belgian as 113 to 100, or thus:—
English. Belgian.
Ist class
2d class
3d class
The difference between the English charges and the
Belgian is, therefore, caused chiefly by the greater ac •
commodation and heavier taxation; and the true average
of charge is not, as stated by the Edinburgh Review, and
the Morrisonians, but as follows:—
Error on
English. Belgian. English.
Ist class ...... 2.22
2d class ...... 1.20
3d class
Instead of the difference between the English and Bel-
gian second. class fares being, as stated by Dr. Lardner,
1.06 d., it is not more than 04, S 3 that the doctor, on
that head, is 66-100ths of a penny wrong; and it is upon
figures such as these that railway companies and railway
directors are run down.
The comparison of the proportion of the several classes
of fares is also more favourable to English lines than is
supposed, allowance being made for the influence of
through traffic.

England. Belgium.
First class ...... 16.50
Second class ... 43.50
Third c1a55....., 40.00 • 60.23
The reason why English lines, notwithstanding their
heavy cost of construction as compared with the Belgian
line, pay as well, is not on account of the higher rate of
profit, but on account of there being three times as much
traffic on a mile of English railway, as on a mile of Bel-
gian railway.
In comparing English lines and Belgian lines it must
be remembered that a great deal of the cheap and slow
traffic in England is carried by steamers, so that if this
is taken into account, the extent of real third-class
travelling in England is much larger than in Belgium.
The greatest amount of third-class traffic in England is
on those lines where there is no other accommodation
by steam-boat or slow conveyance.
What is most remarkable in England is the vast ex-
tent of second-class travelling, showing
the great ac
commodation afforded to the commercial community, and
the vast means possessed by that important class to
whom time is of such peculiar value.
On investigation, nothing can be' more unsati:factory
tt
hh ea
being n
English
tnthgoel
it sshthea tfgearreeoasf:
greater
Belgiane
oftraffic
or :n3
wsmohuiflnaeir t
yft rh, ocemh
east he
perc eo
mft amhraoe
than
dation is much less. In fact, so far from the Belgian
system trenching upon the profits of English companies,
it would give them larger profits, provided they were
allowed to do as the Belgian Government has done, pick
out the best parts of the country. "
If Mr. Morrison or Cato, or Dr. Lardner wishes to
have Belgian fares on the Great Western or London and
Birmingham lines, he can do so, but we fear the English
public will never consent to any such scheme, as it must
be accompanied with Belgian accommodation. 1
We cannot, however, have Belgian fares and English
it. will be found, on adding to, the
speed. We cannot charge Belgian fares and travel on
the difference of w •
the Great Western. So far from its being the case that
the English first class fares. are really higher than the
fare is, in. fact,
fares working and
the diEnglishstricts of sre aTlrebelow
Bel-
gian rates, except in
tickets is taken, h traffic
; while if
the charge on the day
The Belgian t ey are much
below the Belgian rates
latter Belgian
taxation)37 fiptrehsrat cent enanl
all
is class,
bee i n g
si; fare of 2d. per
mile.
figures
above, so that every one
himself ; and we think we have shown
may judge for
te English companies from the sufficient to exculpate equvirivealehnatveto
profits
accu-
sation of making exorbitant or charging exces-
sive fares. gainveEnngthlie

project, PACIFIC
fromLtlhNe EP
ac i 6 c
tobfitshe Great Lakes. Discussing it
greatA N D
drdffeerfrsent heads, the Committee say --
The United States Senate Committee has reported c.n
u‘Ct:lnoTedahesert practicability
propositionttowtehlevebo -
THE ATLANTIC
seeming in the opinion of the Committee, to c la im
ance to our country, and to
_the world: a deliberate co n-
sideration of which naturally resolves itself into se ye: -al
attention Points in the following order:-1. The power of 0 ;:km-
gress over the entire subject in all its bearings. 2. ll'he
3. The adeq trt, cy
ofpracticability the means proposed for its accomplishment, and tthe
expediency of applying such
.?leans to its object. 4.
The effect of its construction in bringing into den- ,and
of the propo.sed work.
the public lands in any part of the country. 5. Its of recta
in extending and promoting the interests of •
agriculture.
,
6. Its effect in the support and as a means of enlat ging
country and diversifying the manufactures of the
. 7.
Its effect in the development of the mineral resourc ;es of
the country. 8. Its
effect as one of the great arteries of
intercourse in extendingthe internal trade and corm Vence
of the whole country. 9. Its effect in exttndim g o; it
commerce with China and other countries of Asia, tl tie
eastern archipelago, and other islands of the Pacific t, as ld
with the counties on the western coast of North
South America. 10. Its censcquelces in fostering ti to
. ru id

* The 'figures for 1843-4 are taken from the Report a.e
Minister of Public Works, the last published. The f time
for 1845 have been obtained from Mr. Brackstone apist3l
secretary of the Dendre Valley Railway.

whale and other fisheries in the Pacific, the bays and
rivers thereof ; in extending and protecting the mercan-
tile marine in those seas; and thus forming the most ex-
tensive nursery of seamen, and strengthening the mari-
time power of the United states. 11. Its use as a great
highway of nations, serving for purposes of travel and
transportation at rates of charge and transient duties, to
be regulated by ourselves, being in all respects subject to
our power and control, encouraging constant intercourse,
and imparting to the citizens of other countries the libe-
ral principles of our own Government. 12. And lastly,
the effect that would be produced in a moral, political,
at:d military point of view to the American Union by the
construction of a railroad across the continent to the
shores of the Pacific."

All these points are argued in favour of the project,
and of the feasibility, practicability, and vast importance
of the work to America as a nation, and to the whole
world. The report exhibits the statistics of the entire
commerce, and the tonnage employed therein with Asia,
China, &c., which would pass over the road, an aggre-
gate of imports and exports now annually of nearly
250,000,000 dolls., employing 2,197 ships of 898,583 tons,
and 50,000 men. The Committee estimate that the rail.
road would save the use of one-half the above tonnage,
a saving in capital of 30,493,613 dolls., and a yearly
saving of interest and expenses of 18,766,736, which
would force this vast commerce over the proposed road.
It also appears that with this road, and with steamers
from England hither, and from Oregon to China, the
voyage from England to Chang-hae, in China, the mouth
of the river Yang- tse-keang, which crosses the great
canal to Pekin, where all the commerce of that vast em-
pire [of 500,000,000 of seub] centres, can be performed
in 31 days, and thus it appears that this great work
would, at the rate of 30 miles per hour for railroad,
bring our vast country together at the centre in
two days and the entire world in a little
more than 25 days. The calculations are founded on
fact, without experiment or speculation, and on the
known performances of railroads and steamers. The
report shows au intiinate knowledge of the position of
China, of Japan, and all Asia, its proximity to America,
its geographical and commercial position, advantages,
and resources, all sloping to America, and all the great
rivers, particularly of China, emptying into the ocean
directly opposite Oregon, and but little more distant
than London from New York. The most tranquil ocean,
with fair winds either way across.

The report says:—" The Committee are of opinion
that, no matter in what aspect this great subject is
viewed, it commends itself to favour. Its influence upon
Oregon itself, upon the commerce of the Pacific, our
trade with China. India, and the distant and rich islands
of the sea, and upon our export trade—the product of
that vast calcareous basin of the Mississipi of 1,200,000
square miles, to be carried on this road to and through
that ocean, from which we are now cut off by an expanse
of sea, by the capes equal to half the circumference of
the globe—cannot be estimated. The Committee believe
that the present is an auspicious moment at which to
commence this work ; and upon the announcement of
the fact, that, the project has received the favourable no-
tice of Congress, the energies of our people will be roused
to new life. It is not a party measure, but one on which
the politician of every hue and creed can cordially unite;
one which will strengthen the bonds of our union, allay
sectional jealousies, and arouse a proud national feeling.
We have within ourselves all the materials and all the
means necessary for its accomplishment, and it rests with
Congress to say whether or net these materials and
these means sh 11 be employed whether the enterprise
is one of sufficient importance to justify setting apart
one-tenth of the public lands now valueless, to its accom-
plishment. The Committee will not anticipate, but can-
not doubt the decision. When it is considered the
United States claims to own more than 1,000,000,000
acres of unsettled lands, the amount proposed to be ap-
priated, for the road is not one-tenth of the whole quan-
tity ; the nine-tenths to be enhanced in value by the
road to an amount certainly equal to the value of the
quantity proposed to be appropriated. In fact, the great
residuum will derive nearly all its value ifrom the road,
for, situated as they are, without the road they will not
sell for a century to come, if ever. The question of the
policy of making it is far different from what it would
be if the lands through which it passed were individual
property. They are the property of the nation, and if
their value be enhanced by any artificial channels of
trade, the advantages accrues to the nation—to the Go-
vernment first, and then to every citizen. Its effects,
however, upon the property of individuals, and on the
western States particularly, will be vastly beneficial.
The lands within them would be enhanced at least
25 cents, an acre, which, applied to the whole mass of
acres within them, would amount to more millions than
the road will cost. -Besides this, it will give to these
States the same advantages, by means of the trans-
Pacific trade, which will flow this channel, that
the trans-Atlantic trade gives to the Eastern
portion of our union. It is this which makes the poor
lands of the Atlantic slope sell for fifty dollars or more
per acre, inferior as they are in every respect to those of
the western states. The means proposed to be devoted
to it are vast it is true, but the Committee think not in
disproportion to the grand and magnificent object to be
accomplished by their proper application. In view, then,
of all the premises and of all the anticipated results to
flow from the undertaking, if accomplished, the Commit-
tee cannot refrain from recommending it to the attentive
consideration of the national Legislature, and of the
country at large. By the aid of a small portion of the
public lands the Committee believe the United States can
possess a channel of speedy and safe communication,
through which will pour in a continued, rich, and fertilis-
ing stream, a large portion of the commerce of the orien •
tal world."—Thus it will be seen that this vast and mag-
nificent project, laughed at by many as visionary mad-
ness, has received the sanction of a Committee of the
United States.