The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-23 00:00:00

THE SUN,

Room E.

EXETER, YEOVIL, AND DORCHESTER.
LONDON', SALISBURY, AND YEOVIL.
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition.)
Mr. EIILDTARD said Sir E. Duckworth, Bart., M.P. for Exeter,
was in attendance, but they did not think, in consequence of the in-
timation of the Committee, that it was necessary to call him before
the Committee.

Mr. JulT, of Chard, was then called, who gave evidence as to the
benefits to be derived by the construction of the proposed railway to
the town of Chard.
Mr. Hayward, of Crewekerne, thought the present line better
adaptod for the interests of Crewekerne than the line proposed by
Great Western Company, notwithstanding the latter line had in-
tended to run nearer to the town than the former one. Similar opi-
nions were entertained by the majority of the inhabitants of Crewe-
kerne upon this subject.
Mr. J. Thytherleigh, residing at Axminster, said that he felt great
interest in the success of this line. His opinion as to the superior
merits of the line before the Committee was alSo shared by the inha-
bitants of Axminster.
Mr. T. Holloway, timber-merchant, of Salisbury, stated that there
were considerable quantities of timer grown in the districts between
Salisbury and Yeovil, which was at present unsaleable in conse-
quence of there being no means of transporting it to the water
without considerable expense. The proposed line, if constructed,
would open the dockyards of Southampton and Portsmouth as
Markets for timber—elm timber especially, large quantities of which
Were grown in those districts.
Mr. Dowding, meat salesman, of Newgate-market, was in the
habit of receiving from 8 to 10 tons a week of dead consignments
from his son, who resided at Gillingham. It occupied one day and
two nights to make the journey to London. He had often lost as
much as 501. in a day, in consequence of the delays that had fre-
quently taken plaee by sending meat, first to Andover, a dtstance of
28 miles, and then by the Great Western Railway, that being the
ieourse they were obliged to adopt. If the railway went through this
'district, they would, of course, be able to receive the meat quicker
and fresher. _ _ _

Cross-examined by Mr. SLAnsi—The Great Western Railway
Company had refused to compensate him for the losses he had sus-
tained by their delay.

Mr. AIERRISWETHIR then proposed to call Mr. Oliver, butcher, of
Southampton, bat
The CHAIRMAN stated that there was no necessity for calling any
further traffic evidence. The Committee were quite satisfied upon
the point, and were quite sure that no evidence which could be
brought forward by the opposing parties could shake the evidence
which had been given. The facts spoken to were incontrovertible
by this very nature.
Mr. MERREIVETHEIt then proposed to call the engineering evi-
dence.
Mr. Locke, engineer to the South-Western, was then called. The
line before the Committee had been laid out by him with a view of
affording the best mode of conneunlcatiOn between London and
Exeter. It was also proposed to carry :he line from Exeter west-
ward to Falmouth. The total length of the line between Exeter and
London, was 170 miles; the distance by the existing route was 193 N
miles. On that portion of the line between Salisbury and Basing-
stoke, a distance of 32 miles, there was no gradient steeper than 1 In
180. On the line between Salisbury and Yeovil, a distance of 41
miles, there was no gradient more severe than 1 in 106—that gradient
only occurred once. The lint between Exeter and Yeovil, which
was a very difficult country for the construction of a railway, was
47 miles in length. The steepest gradient was 1 in 81,
The steepest gradient upon the line between Exeter and Yeovil was
lin 78. There was no really substantial difference between the two
lines in an engineering point of view. There was no curve upon
the line of a Tess radius than 20 chains. The amount of tunnelling
on the line between Exeter and 'Yeovil was 2,950 yards. On Mr.
Brunnel's line, between Yeovil and Exeter, the quantity of tunnel-
ling was 4,565 yards. From Yeovil to Salisbury there were 1,830
'yards, and on the line between Salisbury end licisMgrtoke 1,160
yards. The three lines forming an integral and competing scheme
between London and Exeter affected also the means of eommunication
through districts entirely destitute of railways. The estimate for the
Basingstoke and Salisbury Line was • • •• Salisbury and Yeovil • £700,000
yeovil and Exeter .9
Making a total of

•

There was a surplus of nearly 300,0001. on the line between Exeter
and Yeovil, in consequence of one of the branches being thrown out
In the House of Commons. The actual estimate would therefore be
2,600,0001., which he considered amply sufficient for the purposes of
constructing the line.

Cross-examined by Mr. TALBOT.—Yewril was placed upon a branch
of almost two miles In length, proceeding from the main line. For a
distance of six miles betwcen Sherborne and Yeovil the proposed line
would run parallel to the existing line of the Wilts and Somerset Rail-
way. They did not propose to effect any junction with that line. He
thought there should be a narrow gauge line between Bridport. aud
Dorchester, in order to complete the chain of narrow gauge commu-
nication. He did not think that a line could be constructed north-
ward of Sherborse with a gradient of 1 in 9S, or if it could be, he
was sure that it would be attended with very great expense.
As there was no probability of the cross-examination being con-
cluded to-day, the. Committee adjourned till eleven to-morrow.

Room F.
1111,4491:33,01KAL1ME ."3_01131 Q3ILIFOXICI 3VNCTI
AlirZO 3#474IIXimILILZA sovrrarszoze.
Their Lordships met again at the usual hour this morning, Lord
Ripon in the cnair ; present, Lords Eldon, Montford, Wynford, and
Sondes.
31r. WAximixo stated, on the meeting of the Committee, that none
of the witnesses whom he was about to call had been sworn, and that
they could not be sworn in the House at present, as a legal discussion
was now going on, and would probably last for some time. He there..
fore requested their Lordships to hear the witnesses at once, and to
leave them to be sworn afterwards. •
Their Lordships, after some hesitation, gave their consent to the
eou rse - . . --- -

willTHaddon, a brewer, at Leamington, and Mr. Gladstone and
Mr. Nelson, merchants and manufacturers at Birmingham and Ban-
bury, gave evidence in favour of the line, chiefly in corroboration of
that of the wftness called yesterday.
Mr. J. K. Brunnel, the engineer to tne line, gave the engineering
evidenee,whlch was the same as his evidence before the Committee
on Group 33, in the Commons, at an earlier part of the session. It
was reported at sufficient length In The Sun at the time, and it is,
therefore, unnecessary to repeat it here. He referred to the offer
made to the petitioner, Mr. 'Wyse, to refer to any nobleman
or gentleman in the country, near his estate, to decide whether or
ns the company should buy the whole or any part, or, if so, what
part of that gentleman's property, and also to put a price on it. The
company were rea6y to fulfil that offer, and to allow Mr. Wyse to
choose the referee. lie also made reference to the offers made by
the company to the several other petitioners, which he said they
were still ready to stick to.
Mr. Brunel's evidence was not concluded at five o'clock, at which
hour the Committee adjourned till eleven o'clock to-morrow.