The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-19 00:00:00

RAILWAY.

The Bill for making the idethley, Askern, and
Oakeeham branches of the Wakefield, Pontefract, and
Oo,ole Railway, was read a third time, and passed.
On the motion of Sir C. DOUGLAS, the Lords'amend-
Inents to the Stafford New Gas Bill were agreed to.
Mr, DUNCONIBE Said that n case whatever had
been made out for haste. His opinio on was that none of
the Bills should pass at nil ; at any rate let them go be-
fore another Committee next year. He objected to the
Bill altogether, and the proceedings before the Com-
mittee, and he hoped the motion would be withdrawn.
Mr. PI.OTHEROE was willing to withdraw the
Motion.
The motion was accordingly withdrawn.
Several Bills were brought down from the Lords, the
titles of which were inaudible.
BROAD AND NARROW GAUGE.
On the order of the day being read,
Mr. HUME rose to present a petition from the Cor-
poration of Glasgow praying fur a uniform gauge
throughout the country.
RAILWAY GAUGE.
On the motion f r resuming the adjourned di bate on
the Broad and Narrow Gauge question,
Me EVELYN DENISON said that he wished to
Urge a few arguments against the resolutions in their
Present shape. So much had been said in that House
with regard to personal interest and partiality that he
hoped he might be allowed to say that he had no con-
nexion with either of the great parties who were con-
ending for this point. He had no concern with any
railway
speculation of any sort or kind ; and as to par-
tiality, when the broad gauge was last year befiee the
House he gave his vote in favour of the extension in the
broad gauge from Oxtord to Rugby
He was quite ready to admit, and Wolverhampton.
and no man cimld have any
luxurious
doubt on the point, that the:xurious eonvenience and
speed of the broad gauge had
had advantages. The
case was now altered. They
the report of the
,Irade had been Gauge Cieurnissioners, and that reportad
it must b
the consideravon of the Board of under
of the
conceded that the preference an f pred:,brnaletdiauird,
narrow gauge had now been admitted
goners and by the Board of Trade, besides the °me mil"'
voice of the country. The inconvenience and dieffineu"lral
he wished to point out as likely to result by confirming
these resolutions was tnis. They were celled upon ii;
the House to acknowledge the formation of the narrov,
gauge line both north and south—that it should
be formed from Rugby to Oaf ed ; and they were call' d
upon and desired to affirm that the broad gauge should
else be laid down in the same line of communication.
They were, therefore, called upon to assert, on the an
thority of Parliament, that the narrow gauge line at
communication, from nor h to south, should pass
through the very jaws of the broad gauge in
going from one district to the other. Now,
what authority had they for this ? He could fi
none bat the auth irity of the Commissioners. lie
thought it was unjust to call upon them to carry a lin.
of communication from the north to the south on the
narrow, passing through the very jaws of the broad
gunge ; and he confessed, if the Right Hon. Bar met
succeeded in carrying the restriction, he must give
noti .4 that the word " net" be omitted out of the third
resolution. which provided that it is not expedient to
alt,r the provisions of the Bill for making a railwae
from (Mord :o Rugby. It would be impossible to ex-
tend th- broad gauge on the Rugby line beyond Oxford.
121,3 report of the Gauge Commi,sioners certainly car-
-645'4 9% the oFiliise Qf the night lion, cientlenan ari

far as the first and second res,lutions went ; but the
third r• solut'on was of a very different nature, for it
sanctioned the continuation of the narrow gauge for
railways in the north of England. These resolutions
would really have no farce at all, for the House had
already affirmed the suirit of them by Acts of Parlia-
ment. The reso'utions appeared to him inconvenient,
and would produce had results, and he must beg of the
Right Hon. Gentleman not to persist in forcing them
up, n the House. It seemed to him, that if an experi-
ment were to be made, it should be made in accordance
with the decision of the Board of Trade and the com-
panies concerned. He should not call upon the House
of Commons to express an opinion upon a matter which
involved so mtv:h doubt as this. When the fifth was
propos,-d, he sle•uld propose to leave out the word "not."
The SPEAKER then put the resolution, which was
as follows:—" That in order to complete the general
chain of narrow gauge cotnnaunica,ion from the north
to the southern coat, and to the port of Bristol, any
suitable me ,sures should be prompted to form a narrow
gauge link from Gloucester to Bristol, and also from
Oxford to Basingstoke, or by any shorter route con-
necting the propos, d Rugby and Oxford line with the
South Western Railway, without prejudice however to
the formation of any other line, also connecting, upon
an uniform gauge and by a direct route, the north of
England with the southern coast."
The resolution was unanimously acrreed to.
Sir G. CLERK then moved the fourth resolution:—
" That it is thn opinion of this House, that it is expedient
that the South Wailes line, and its branches to Mon-
mouth and Hereford, should be formed on the broad
gauge." The Board of Trad, had given the best con-
sideration to the subject, and after much deliberation
they had arrived at the conclue-ion embodied in the re-
solution, tri,t the S .uth Wales Railway should be formed
on the broad vmp..
Sir G. GREY repeated his objection to the House
interfering to pronounce an opinion whether or not. it
was expedient to construct a line on the broad or the
narrow gauge. If it were necessary for a railway to be
laid down on the broad gauge, let provi ions for that
purpose be inserted in the Act itself. He protested
agirnst any alter”tions being made in the gauge except
by an Act of Parliament. He should. therefore. mov •

as an amendment, that the word " not." be inserted after
"is," so that the resolution would real, as That it is not
expedient, &e.," and if that was carried, he would follow
it up by another amendment to carry out his views.
After a few words from Mr. OBMSBY GORE and
another 1-IoN. MEMBER.

Mr. HAWES would test the technicality of the ob-
jection of his Rig' t Hon. FriPrd by a few observations.
He had only to trove that in the opinion of the House,
it vva.• the technical objection that could be got over by
adopti!'g the resolution of the Board of Trade. Lit it
be recollected what the House had already done. They
had confined the narrow gauge system to a particular
locality, and south of Bristol the broad gauge was to be
laid down. He trusted that both parties—both those
who advocated the narrow gauge, and those who
were in favour of the broad gauge—had been heard.
It was merely a t chnical objection, and therefore, he

did think that the House ought to sanction the resolution.
Under thy circumstances in which the House was placed,
they wou.d be fully justified in the course that was
proposed.
After a few word.; from Sir G. GREY in explanation,
Mr. HUNIE said it appeared to him that it would be
better to strike out tlle resolution altogether.
Lord SANDON did not think the House was called
upon to express any opinion as to the broad gauge, but
only to recommend the adoption of a certain course pro-
pos d by the Board or Trade.
Sir T %VILDE observed that the adoption by the
Gauge Commissioners of the narrow gauge had raturally
caused much alarm amongst the broad gauge companies.
The only ob,ect of the resolution was to allay any un-
necessary attirm that might be created ”mong the pro-
pri,tors of the south Wales Companies, that they would
not be allowed to construct their line on the gauge that
had been originally intended.
After a few words from Mr. CHRISTIE and Sir G.
GREY,

Sir T. DYKE ACLAND said that the promoters of
the broad gauge were not satisfied with the decision of
the Commissioners, but had consented to the Commission
on public principles.

The House then divided, when there appeared—
For the resolution
Against it l4
- Majority
On the sth resolution being proposed, " That it is the
opinion ot, this House that it is not expedient to alter the
provisions of the Acts for forming a line of railway from
Rugby to Oxford, and ''or forming a line of railway
from Oxford to Worcester and Wolverhampton, with
respect to the gauge on which they may be formed. nor
with re-peet to the powers therein conferred on the Board
of Trade."

Mr. LABOUCHERE rose to make a few observations.
He thought that the House, by adopting a series of reso
like those proposed, did not take upon itself any
responsibility whatever. He could not help thinking, that
consistently with the interests of the public, there might
be some mode of extending the broad gauge to the
manufacturing districts. It it had any advan-
ragas, as had been admitted, there was no
means as yet, owing to its restricted use, of testing them
effieiently. For his own part, he was of opinion that it
would he wrong to &Tide the question entirely in fa-
vour of one side, as that system of competition which
would be excited by the use of both gauges would be
thereby put. an end to. He should, therefore. say, let
them have huh the narrow and the broad gauge, as far
as th.-1, could be laid down consistently with the inte-
rests of the public. If Parliament were to establish the
best system of railways what, he would ask was, that
they would not, by resolution or otherwise, preclude them-
selves from again considering thequestion, if it should be
round that a di mble line could he laid down with safety
He would also object to allow the question of gauge to
be decided by Railway Committees of that House. It
was a question which required the consideration of emi-
nent engineers, and be would therefore have a re-
sponsible body appointed by the Government, to whose
decision in all cases the question should be left. These
were all the observations he thought himself called upon
to make. If it was the opinion of the Right Honourable
Gentleman opposite, that they were not by this reso-
lution precluded from again considering the matter, he
had no wish to trouble the House with any resolution on
the subject, hut if' not. then he would move as an
amendment, a resolution embodying his views—the
draft of which he would read. It would afford him
much pleasure. however, if the Right Hon. Gentleman
would state that both gauges were practicable on the same
line.

Mr. HUDSON concurred most fully in the observa-
tions which had fallen from the Right Honourable
Gentleman who had just sat down. If it were con-
sidered that it would tend to the public advantage to
have two gauges on the same line, he saw no reason
why the double gauge should not be laid down. He
must bear his testimony to the fairness and impartiality
which had been evinced by Honourable Members
who had spoken on both sides of the ques-
tion ; and he trusted that the liberality
thus exhibited would stimulate all the companies to in-
cre'sed exertion for the public advantage. He would
not enter into any discussion with the Hon. Gentleman
(Mr. Russell), as to the comparative merits of their
respective lines. They were met there to settle resolu-
tions as to what tended to the public advantage, and for
that reason he would confine his observations to the re-
solution. He felt the strongest objection to having the
two systems on one line. Several of the most eminent
engineers had said so, and to him it appeared, that if it
were attempte I to be carried out, it would be attended
with the most imminent danger to the public. It might
oe found to work well for the distance of four or five
miles, but if extended to a long distance, there would be
such a complication of difficulties as would make it
impracticable. The confusien created could not be
described. Let there be an independent line for both if
it was considered beneficial to the public advantage, but
he hoped the Board of Trade would be slow in giving
an opinion on laying down both gauges on the same line,
as he had the authority of several engineers that it was
utterly impracticable. lie felt the strongest objection to
anything that would cause complication or confusion in
the present railway system, and, if the &utile gauge
system were carried out, he would not be responsible for
the working ',tit. He hoped the suggestion of the Board of
Trade as to the uniformity of gauge would be carried out.
Mr. C. RUSSELL made a few observations, but they
were not audible in the gallery.
After a few words from Sir G. GREY,
Sir G. CLERK said that they were not now adopting
any one gauge over another. There had been a Bill
passed last year, called the Oxford, Worcester, and
Welverhampton Railway Bill, and there was a clause in-
troduced i ,to that Bill, pledging the promoters to lay
down double sets of rails should the Board of Trade re-

quire it.
those rails.

They were now called upon to lay down

After a few words from Mr. EVELYN DENISON and
Mr. COLLETT,
The resolution was then put by the SPEAKER, and
agreed to
Sir ROBERT PEEL rose and said, Sir, I wish to
give notice that I will, by the permission of the House,
to-morrow, on the motion for reading the orders of the
day for the Prev.,ntion of Murders in Ireland, make
some statement with respect to those charges pref. rred
ag inst me for transactions alleced to have taken place
in the
years 1825. 1827. and 1829.
Upon the R ght Elm. Baronet having sat down, Mr.
Disraeli hurriedly left the House, but returned imme-
diately afterwards, accompanied by Lord George Ben-
tinek.
Mr. PHILIP MILES moved for a copy of the origins.l
advertisement for tenders for c irrying her Majasty s
mails by stecm to and from I lalifax, and for a copy of
the printed form of instructions sent to collectors of
Cuitoms of the orts, authorised to tender, for the
,s or kt,ers of tender handed in at the proper time
ttautunis,dlea:ers'e'ft partiesti,c!.. tendering ; also, for copies of the
11) 015 w, re s.-ttle;e'terms of said
in,tructions.
Halifax
in compliance with the
~.
th)pies of tenders made after the time, it.
any- Copy of '
Halifax, and 1 original contact under which the
adnactl 13,)st•m. Copies of
inents made after the he carried between Liverpool and
e
,et,supren'reigfinal cm.tract'
increase of the term of said said contract, upon any
all agree-
.o.y_the sums paid to the
grant for the service.
contracting p:.rty to ,late, or of the
permanent increase of term,,
and the
whetherd grants or
Copy of the new c ntract entered into or about to be
entered into for carrying mails between Liverpool and
New York.
Th • motion was agreerl to.
PRO rEci PEON TO LIFE ',IRELAND) BILL.
Oa the motion that the adjourned debate on this Bill
b, resumed.
Sir ANDREW ARMSTRONG, who was quite in-
audible in the gallery, addressed the House, as we
understood. in opposition to the Bill.
Mr. BENNE P said that he had taken a great deal
of pains to ascertain, according to his own judgment,
WllO4 thQ effect 0' ibis mime wild be, He hast.beeli