The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-11 00:00:00

MANCHESTER AND SOUTHAMP-
TON RAILWAY.
A special general meeting of the shareholders in this
important railway was held on Saturday, at two o'clock,
at the Company's Offices, 19, Great George-street, West
minster, in compliance with the sessional orders of the
Houses of Parliament with respect to new projects, and
to consider whether they should proceed with or aban-
don the undertaking.
Sir John Barker Mill, Bart., occupied the chair. A
considerable number of shareholders were present,
among whom we noticed Lord Duncannon, the Earl of
Wilton ; R. Etwall, Esq., M.P. ; Thomas Gisborne,
Esq., M.P. ; Sir J. Tancred ; George Stephenson, Esq. ;
William Jackson, Esq. (chairman of the Chester and
Birkenhead) ; J. P. Westhead, Esq. (chairman of the
Manchester and Birmingham) ; David Waddington,
Esq. (deputy chairman of the Eastern Counties) ; and
A. Pryton, Esq. (director of the Midlands).
Josest WHEELER, Esq., the secretary, read the advers
Cement convening the meeting. A report, of which the
follodving is an abstract, was circulated amongst the, pro-
prietors present :
" The directors had availed themselves of the earliest day
permitted by the arrangements required under tine new ses-
sional orders to meet their shareholders, and to invite their
opinion upon the propriety of prosecuting this undertaking.
They admitted the general necessity which. had arisen for the
adoption of measures to test the feeling of the parties in-
terested in the multifarious projects tra which the last year
gave birth; and though the task or, ascertaining those feel-
ings was in many instances a T.nost arduous one, it had
resulted, in the case of the Manchester and Southampton
Railway, in the gratifying an'a almost unparalleled fact that,
up to the date of this report, not one expression of dissent to
the progress of the measure had been conveyed to the corn •
pany. The directors recognise in this fact a pleasing evi-
dence of the estimati'.en in which this line is held, and of the
confidence reposed. in them by their subscribers. Its
permanent abcr Adonment was, of course, impossible.
The necessity for such a line had been demonstrated, and an
abandonmen:',, of it, therefore, by its present promoters, would
merely result in its immediate adoption by other parties,
who would thus step in to reap all the advantages which
this C,ompany has secured by the expenditure of much
"'mor,ey and anxious toil. Its postponement to a future ses-
sir,ee might result in a revival of some or one of the com-
peting schemes to which the successful prosecution of this
undertaking had given the death-blow, and in a conse-
quent costly contest for ground, of which this Com-
pany
might be said now to have exclusive possession.
It is well known that for a considerable proportion of the
entire length the works are exceedingly light, and that
arrangements made by the directors with the proprietors of
the Andover Canal must materially facilitate the construc-
tion of the railway. These and other circumstances would
enable the directors to refrain from calling more than 2/. per
share prior to the year 1848; and the directors propose, if so
permitted by Parliament, further to restrict the future board
of direction from calling more than 4/. yearly, except with the
sanction of their shareholders ; and they also contemplate
the taking of power to allow interest upon the calls, if the
body of shareholders shall deem it advisable. At the same
time, although it is deemed prudent to ask these provisions
from Parliament, such is the confidence of the directors in
the soundness and remunerative character of their under-
taking, that they do not anticipate the occur-
rence of any necessity for their practical appli•
cation. The shareholders were aware, that powers
were sought in the Company's Bill for the Midlands
Company to subscribe 400,0001. to this undertaking. The
Bill was approved at a special meeting of Midland proprietors,
on Saturday last. The directors had only to add, that the
committee appointed to investigate the merits of the group
of lines, of which this was the principal, would meet in the
week commencing with the 25th, and that it would be a
source of added strength to them in passing that ordeal, if
the meeting should be pleased to express unequivocally its
continued confidence in, and its determination (unanimous,
as the directors hoped) to prosecute the undertaking."
The CHAIRMAN said, as the advertisement so fully
specified the object for which the meeting had been
called, he should not then offer any remarks, but should
call on his friend Mr. Walkinshaw to enter into detail
with respect to the railway.
JAMES WALILINGSHAW, Esq., of Old Park, Isle
of Wight, deputy chairman of the Com-
pany, then proceeded to address the meet-
ing. He said, after referring to the object for
which the meeting had been called, that it gave him great
gratification to state, as he was sure it would to every
one present, that the question had been actually
settled, because the immense number of 44,000
shares had been registered in favour of proceeding with
the line, and that there were only twenty shares dissen-
tient.—(Cheers.) This was the more gratifying, be-
cause by their Bill they were only required
to produce 26,000 shares, the assent of 15,000
of which would have been sufficient to
have empowered their proceeding with the Bill. But,
as he had stated, they had on their books 44,000 assents,
independent of others, who were in favour of proceeding
with the line, but who had not yet handed in their re-
turns. Such a result was almost unparalleled in
the meetings which had taken place, and were
daily taking place, in consequence of the or-
ders of Parliament.—(Cheers.) Besides, out of the
thirteen or fourteen projects started in opposition to their
line, not one had survived to be brought against them in
Parliam nt.—(}l?ar, hear.) He was happy to state
that the last of these projects, the Oxford, Southampton,
and Gosport, or Mr. Bethel's line, received its quietus
last night, by being thrown out of the Standing Orders'
Committee, ninety-five serious and ably-sustained
allegations having been proved. He then re-
ferred to the mode in which they had
allotted their shares, through the hands of parties re-
siding in the districts through which the line was pro-
posed to traverse, and which he was happy to state had
met with the greatest success; as, on examining the re-
turns, they found that the applications made for shares
were considerably in excess of the number which could
be allotted.—(Hear.) Young railways were, perhaps,
too sanguine with respect to their traffic, but they
would pardon him if he merely stated the fact, that
the local traffic of the line, as exhibited in the

returns, showed its capability of returning 5 per
cent. on the whole outlay, and independent
of that traffic from the north, which the
line was principally projected to accommodate.—
(Cheers.) He then read extracts from official returns,
which set forth that Southampton was one of the most
important ports in the world, and that it was yearly in
creasing in prosperity, as in 1845 the exports amounted
to 2,750,000, being one-sixteenth of the whole exports
of the United Kingdom— (Cheers)—and if the railway
were made it could not fail to be the point from which
three-fourths of those leaving England would embark.
In addition to the traffic formerly mentioned, they would
carry sand from the Isle of Wight to Birmingham,
where it would be manufactured into glass, but it had
now to go by a very circuitous route by the South
Western and the London and Birmingham before it
reached its destination. After referring to the no-
lalemen who were in favour of the line, some of
whose property it would intersect for several miles,
Earl Bathurst, Earl Bruce, Lord Palmerston, the Chair-
man, and others, and having read letters from Earl
Bruce, Lord Ernest Bruce, and Edward Tootal, Esq.,
expressing their inability to attend, but expressing
themselves highly of the undertaking and of its certainty
of success, he proceeded to enumerate the towns which
it would accommodate, the inhabitants of which had
sent representatives to the meeting, to give in their as-
sent to the line ; then they had two of the most eminent
engineers, George Stephenson and Mr. Bidder, who
asserted that the line could be constructed at less than
18,000/. a mile. He concluded by saying that it could
not fail to obtain the sanction of Parliament, as it
would accommodate districts now without direct com-
munication to the manufacturing districts, and was not
adopted with the view of opposing any established lines.
The line was not intended to form a junction with Swin-
don on the Great Western, but with a town of the same
name in Gloucestershire, on the Bristol and Gloucester
Railway. There could not be a doubt that the line
would receive the sanction of the Legislature, as many
Hon. Members and Noble Lords were in favour of it.
and, besides, the Government entertained a favourable
opinion with respect to it.
The Earl of WILTON then proposed a resolution em-
powering the directors to proceed with the Bill.—
(Cheers.) After the able and lucid statement of Mr.
Walkinshaw, it would not be right for him to detain
them with any observations of his own. He assured
them that he should feel most happy to co-operate with
the directors in promoting the success of the project,
which he considered would confer great benefits on the
country which it would traverse.—(Cheers.)
The MAYOR of SOUTHAMPTON seconded the motion,
and in doing so, stated that he represented there
the
of 5,000 or
townsmen and scripholders to the um)
6,000, who were unanimous in favounrole
of
(Hear.) If Southampton had prospered freorfa
year by a circuitous communication, it could nj;aail r t
to
be enhanced by a direct communication with the manu-
facturing parties of the north of England.
Lord DUNGANNON then proposed that the chairman,
deputy-chairman, and officers of the railway be em-
o wered to fix their seal to the Bill, and in doing so
highly eulogised the pre jest.
Deputy Chairman of the
WADDINGTON, Esq.,
Eastern Counties, seconded the motion.
M.P., said ho uttered the gen-
ii. ETwALL, Esq.,
timents of the inhabitants of Andover, whom he had the
honour to represent, and who wereunanimouslyin favou
of the railway, as they considered that it would confer
great advantages upon them. He concluded by stating,
that in the whole course of his experience he had never
met with a body of men more competent to be entrusted
with the management of a great company than the
Chairman and directors, and, in short, the whole of the
officers of the Company.—(Cheers.)
The resolutions were then put to the meeting, and
carried unanimously. Great applause followed the an-

nouncement of the fact.
J. P. VirESTHEAD, Esq., Chairman of the Manchester
and Birmingham Railway, also highly eulogised the
business-Eke management of the Chairman and direc-
tors, and concluded by proposing that the thanks of the
meeting be given to them for their services.
W. M. TWITT, Esq., of Cheltenham, seconded the
motion, which was carried unanimously.
F. GISBORNE, Esq., M.P., returned thanks in a hu-
morous speech.
Mr. J‘scxsos, of Birkenhead, proposed that the spe-
cial thanks of the meeting should be given to Mr. Walk-
inshaw, the deputy chairman of the Company, which was
seconded by Mr. GEORGE, and carried.
Mr. WALKlNsits.w briefly expressed his acknowledg-
ments.

A vote of thanks was then passed to the Chairman,
who returned thanks, and the meeting, the most nume-
rous one we ever attended, broke up.

MALDON, MAT 2.—WRECKED GOODS.—Three barrels
and a kilderkin of porter, with an empty barrel and kilder-
kin, and a windlass and anchor, which were clandestinely
landed and concealed at the basin, by some Colchester fisher-
men, have this day (Saturday) been recovered and secured
by ;he Comptroller of Customs. It is presumed they came
*om a vessel belonging to Southwold, lately wrecked on the
Sucksea, a portion of whose cargo, consisting of a 'hogshead
cuf brandy and some casks of porter, has been taken into
Burnham, and delivered to the officer of customs. Five of
the casks landed here are branded Freeman, and the other
Reid and Co., London.—Chdlasford Chronicle: