The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-22 00:00:00

GRjUP 1-XXI,

SOUTH WALES (AMENDMENTS AND DE—
VIATIONS).
The Committee met this morning at the usual hour ; Mr. Round in
the chair.

The opponents of the Margem deviation proceeded to call evidence
against the project.

Mr. Whateley and Mr. Venables appeared for Mr. Talbot, a large
landowner in the vicinity of the line.
Several witnesses were examined, who agreed in opinion that the
proposed deviation from the line as passed last session would injure
the trade of Bridgend, Cowbrldge, &c., as it would create a new line
at the commencement of the deviation, which would withdraw the
trade from Bridgend, which now supplied the inhabitants of the val-
ley of Glamorganshire with tha materials used in their avocations,
and also the necessaries of life. One stated that at the point ofjanc-
lion there were a number of old pit-3, now unworked, and that there
had been two sinkings on the Perth Canal Railway in consequence of
some of these pits being below it, but they were not of a serious
nature.

Mr. Marsh, C.E., stated that the line as passed last session would
go through more than eight miles of inferior land belonging to Mr.
Talbot, the petitioner against the Margem deviation, and that the
proposed deviation would run through about nine miles of valuable
farming land. _ . .

Mr. Talbot's agent, Mr. Llewellyn, considered that that gentle-
man's property would be materially injured by the deviation ; many
farms would be removed, and the tenants subjected to considerable
annoyance.
Mr. WHATELEY, Q.C., then addressed the Committee against th
i(argem deviation, and held that after Mr. Talbot had consented to
the line as passed last session, and agreed to give up a certain quan-
tity of his property, that it was extremely hard now to propose a
deviation which would injure his property to a greater extent, as the
promoters a the line would require more land and that of a more
valuable quality than in the first instance. Besides, the line could
not fail to materially injure the towns of Bridgend and Cowbridge by
taking the traffic in another direction, and consequently leading to the
establishment of a new town at the junction in question. Then it
had been shown by farmers and others that the original line would
answer their purpose, and that the deviation would not. He
deprecated the conduct of the South Wales Company coming forward
this session, after having obtained their Bill, with several important
deviations which materially affected the whole plan of railway. lie
held that the preamble of the Bill, so far as this portion of the line
was concerned, had not been proved, and called upon the Committee
so to decide.

Mr. CROWDER then addressed the Committee on behalf of the
Severn and IVye Canal and Railway, into the history of the rise and
progress of which he entered at length, and held that as they
had constructed their canal and railway at a period when such
projects were looked upon with little favour, and at considerable
expense, and they had from time to time expended large sums of
money in fitting them for the wants of the district, and as the project
before the Committee would be most destructive to its proprietors,
he called upon the Committee to reject it, namely the filling up of the
"gap," as not required by the wants of the district. He did not ask
this on behalf of a company possessing a lucrative monopoly,
because the proprietors did not receive more than 5 per cent.
on the capital which they had invested in its construction?
The Forest of Dean Company and the South Wales Company said
they, had full powgrs in their Bill to purchase the Wye Railway, but
if the prorietors of that Railway did not consent, why then they
would let them alone. In what a pretty condition his clients would
be if the South Wales were constructed and the Fo est of Dean allied
to them. The property of his clients would be utterly destroyed.
The Learned Gentleman had not concluded his address at the.
rising of the Committee.

An arrangeinent has been made with the Berkeley Canal Company
which has led to the withdrawal of their opposition.

GROUP XXXII.

The Committee met this morning at twelve o'clock, present Mr.
.T. E. Denison (in the chair), Sir E. Hayes, Sir R. R. Vyvian, and
Mr. Talbot Clifton.

CHELTENHAM," AND OXFORD.

Evidence was continued this morning to show that the private
wells. in the town of Cheltenham would sustain little or no injury
from the cuttings of the railway whore it passes through the sand.
Mr. Andrew Paul, surveyor, stated that where the Bir-
mingham and Gloucester Railway passes the High-street,
Cheltenham, by a cutting through the private wells ht the
vicinity, they contained from four to eleven feet of water above the
bottom of the railway ; and that in the wells along the proposed line
from Duke-street to the intended station the water stands now about
the same level as the bottom of the projected cuttings, so that there
was no probability of their being at all affected. He believed that
the cuttings near New-street, where the clay was nearer the surface,
could be so managed, by puddling and by underground construction,
as to prevent the escape or the cutting off the water from the town.
These facts were affirmed, and the evidence corroborated by other
witnesses —by Messrs. Onley, Wright, Millar, and Simpson.
At this point Mr. Brunel, the engineer of the line, should'have
been produced for examination, but he was under examination in
another room, and Mr. Austin applied to have an adjournment till
to-morrow, at twelve.
The Committee adjourned accordingly.