The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-21 00:00:00

THE SUN,_ LONDON. MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 2l, 1846.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

OPENING OF THE LANCASTER AND
CARLISLE.

The completion and opening to the pub''e of this great
national line, the last link in the chain of communica-
tion between London, Elinburgh, and Glasgow, calls
for an extended notice, more particular) as throughout
its progress it has been the scene of sore of the greatest
engineering exploits of the age.
From the records of the rise and progress of the line,
we gather that the subject of a communication with Scot-
land, along the western side of the island, began, many
years ago, to occupy the attention of railway specula-
tors, and of parties who were locally interested. Activity
and enterprise on the eastern side of the island were
early astir, and the proprietors of the Great North of
England Railway, feeling assured that two lines would
never be constructed, were anxious to secure the mono-
poly by priority of movement. However natural such a
desire might be, the disuse of the western route would
have greatly inconvenienced the manufacturers of Lan.
eashire, whose nearest and most direct course lay through
Lancaster and Kendal, and would have been an equal
disadvantage in the intercourse between London and
Glasgow. The Westerns could not be expected tamely to
surrender facilities they had long enjoyed, and not only
so, but to see their road become a highway shut up.
And, moreover, if railroad communication developed
new capabilities, it was reasonable that they should par-
take of these advantages, and march on with the progress
of improvement, as well as their neighbours.
The feeling of indignation against the attempted mo-
nopoly of the Easterns, was universal ; but the Westerns
had their own feuds, and when they came to fix in what
direction their line should proceed, the unanimity and
warmth of feeling which had characterised the former
proceedings, disappeared. The Caledonian, and the
Whitehaven, Workington, and Maryport Railway Com-
panies, commissioned in 1837 Mr. George Stephenson,
the " father" of the railway system, inasmuch as it was
he who first introduced the locomotive steam-engine, to
make surveys between Lancaster and Carlisle by the
coast across Morecambe Bay, and also by Kirkby Lons-
dale, up the Luue and Penrith. Mr. Stephenson deli-
vered in his report, which was strongly in favour of the
coast-line. He admitted that the coast line was 22
miles longer than the inland line, but he alleged that the
latter would be much more costly in construction. The
coast-line, from the fact of its being on a level through-
out, would also be passed over in an equally short time,
the gradients of the latter being very steep, to say no-
thing of the difficulties created by the accumulation of
snow on the Shap Fells.
Mr. Locke, an equally great and trustworthy authority
in railway matters, had surveyed the country in 1836,
and had pronounced in favour of the practicability of a
line up the Lune, past Sedbergh, and under Shap Fells,
oy a tunnel. The gradients on this line were thought at
the time to be too steep, being about 1 in 150, and engi-
neering skill being comparatively in its infancy, the tun-
nel was also deemed an objection, and he was directed by
the Penrith and Kendal branches of the provisional com-
mittee to see whether these objections could not be ob-
viated. He accordingly reported, in the year 1838, upon
two other lines, which he respectively called the Appleby
and the Kendal lines. Ihe Appleby line took the west
of Kirkby Lonsdale to Borrowbridge and Tebay—thence
by a detour to Sunbiggin Tarn—thence by Water
louses, King's Meehan), Morland, and Cliburn, to
Eamont-bridge, where it was to cross the Lowther and
Eamont, and proceed to Carlisle. The Kendal line was
to go through Longsleddale, by a tunnel through Gates-
earth, on the west side of Hawse Water, to Thornthwaite
and Bampton, following the valley of the Lowther to
Askham, and thence by Yanwath to Penrith. Mr. Locke
stated that the Kendal line would be twelve miles shorter
than the Appleby line, though the steepest gradient on
the latter would be only 1 in 130, and be strongly urged
the claims of our " thriving town," expressing, at the
same time, his conviction that the Kendal line might be
so modified as to avoid some of the great and difficult
works which occurred upon it. He also repeated his
preference for the line he had originally surveyed by
Shap, and declared his opinion that the tunnel of If
miles would present fewer difficulties than the route by
Askham.
The advocates of the inland line at this juncture put
forth 'their strength in an animated controversy on the
merits of their respective schemes, and it is amusing, in
recurring to the nature of the objections which were
started, to see how completely deceived in many in-
stances both parties were in their ideas of the capabili-
ties of engineering skill. The inhabitants of White-
haven, of Ulverston, and of the intervening towns, led
on by the late Sir H. F. Senhouse, ridiculed the formation
of a tunnel through Shap as the dream of a madman, and
were lifted into the fourth heavens when they talked of the
magnificent embankment of ten miles which was to span
the bay, and the thousands of acres of productive land
which would be reclaimed from the sea. The perils by
water were nothing in their account, when compared
with the difficulties which the snow storms would oppose
by land. The landsmen, on the other hand, drew ter-
rific
_pictures of the sweeping floods with which
Old ather Neptune would avenge the presumptuous
encroachment on his domains ; and the greater length
of the coast line was alleged as in itself a fatal objection,
even though, in all other respects, it was equally eligible.
Each party, in addition, asserted priority of claim, so
far as amount of population was concerned, the only
point on which they were agreed being that passenger
traffic formed the most profitable item of a railway un-
dertaking.
No satisfactory progress was made in either direction
towards the formation of a company, and in November
of 1837, a public meeting was held at Penrith, in order
to promote a line between that town and Carlise. This
was brought out as an independent scheme ; but it was
intended, no doubt, as a step towards the formation of
a continuous line from Lancaster, and if it had been
carried out, the controversy between the mariners and
the leadsmen would have been brought to an end, and a
speedy decision would have been also come to as to the
route to be taken from Lancaster and Kendal to Penrith,
the only engineering difficulties occurring being at these
places. The Penrith line met with great favour. All
the leading gentry of the district came forward in its
behalf, with the Earl of Lansdale at their head. A
meeting was held at Carlisle in its favour, at which the
high sheriff, Mr. Dixon, presided, who promised the
support of the Carlisle and Newcastle Company. Ap-
pleby, also, and other towns, made demonstrations in
its behalf, and the share list made a very respectable
progress towards being filled up; but too large a number
of railway jobbers—a race even then in being, though
not so numerous as it has since become—got mixed up
with the project, and it was judiciously resolved by the
local committee to abandon it altogether.
About this times, Mr. Nicholson, the late Mayor of
Kendal, published a pamphlet " On the London and
Glasgow Railway, through Westmor:and and Cumber-
land." He pointed out, with great force, the injury
which Kendal would sustain if it did not secure to itself
the benefit of a railway communication, and a meeting
was held in the Town Hall in the month of December,
1837, at which resolutions were passed in favour of im-
mediate and active steps to protect the interests of the
town. Mr. Locke was accordingly commissioned to in-
stitute a fresh survey of the country by the Lune and
through Longsleddale; and he reported, in' favour of the
Kendal line, as being shorter than any other, the only
considerable objection to its adoption being the long tun-
nel through Gatescarth, at the head of the valley.
About the same period Mr. Larmer, employed by
other parties, pointed out a line by the Lune, through
Orton Scar, which, being of limestone, presented fewer
difficulties in the way of tunnelling, besides requiring a
shorter tunnel than the line through Shap, and the ad-
vocates of an inland line thought that every difficulty
was now smoothAl before them.
Bat the Gordian knot,rsays the Kendal Mercury, of
these conflicting claims could not be unravelled by the
parties who had assisted in weaving it, and it was left to
the Government Commissioners, Lieutenant-Colonel
Smith, R.E., and Professor Barlow, who had been ap-
pointed to inquire respecting railway communication
between London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, to pronounce
between the competing schemes. Their first report was
issued in 1840, and the lines which came under their con-
sideration were the Bay line, the sections of which were
furnished by Mr. Hague—the Lune line through Orton
Scar, just mentioned, surveyed by Mr. Larmer—and
the Kendal line by Longsleddale, the sections of which
were prepared by Mr. Job Bintly. The coast line was
at once set aside as impracticable, the length of its em-
bankment and its circuitousness putting it out of the
pale of further consideration. The Lune line was de-
clared to be most eligible, so far as engineering faciliti, s
were concerned; but the commissioners dwelt strongly
on the advantages of railway communication to the
population " of the lower part of the valley of the
Kent, and to the thriving town of Kendal in particular,"
and intimated, if a route could be found which could
bring Kendal upon the line without the long
and difficult tunnel through Gatescarth mountain,
they should feel bound to report in its
favour. Mr. Larmer was accordingly employed
on a fresh survey, and the result was the dis-
covery of the Grayrigg line, which united the Lune
and the Kendal schemes, the junction of the new line
from Kendal with the Lune line taking place at a point
about nine miles from Orton. Lieutenant Smith ex-
pressed his complete satisfaction with this line, and it
was warmly recommended to the Treasury, conditionally,
however, on the formation of a local company. The
commissioners had previously reported against a line on
the eastern coast, and given the preference to a western
line- The fear which they expressed that two lines
could not be supported affords another mark of the
rapid advance in public spirit and enterprise that has
been made within the last few years, as it clearly indi-
cates what undiscovered capabilities the country pos-
sesses. An eastern line and a western ere both in course
of completion, and there can be no doubt that they will
be equally remunerative to the shareholders, as they will
be convenient to the country.

The line by Shap, as originally pointed out byMr. Locke,
does not appear to have come under the cognisance of
the commissioners. It was, no doubt, the shortest route
that could be devised, but it had a higher summit than
the Gatescarth and the Orton tunnels, and consequently
a steeper gradient to attain that summit, the rise being 1
in 75, while the rise on the other was only 1 in 150.
If 1 in 75 had been proposed, the commissioners
would in all probability have been startled,
and another line might perhaps have been adopted.
That gradient has, however, been found to work
exceedingly well, and here we see again the progress of
skill and enterprise within the last few years.
The recommendation of the Commissioners did not
commit either the Legislature or the company to the
adoption of any one route, and progress being so far
made, Mr. Lecke proceeded with increased zeal in fur-
thering the line by Shap, and ultimately the line as now
modified and laid out was adopted.
Everything was now favourable for the accomplish-
ment of this much-desired object but the filling up of the
share list. The railway mania had not at that time
broken out, and the demons of the north, sure but slow
and cautious in their movements, were unwilling to em-
bark W the necessary extent in au untried project, and

:;:;

e matter was once more at a stand still. But strangers
stepped in at this juncture to their assistance, strangers,
however, who had a natural and legitimate interest in
the undertaking, and whose co-operation the inhabitants
of Kendal, Penrith, and Carlisle were entitled to claim.
In August, 1841, there was a meeting held of the share-
holders of various companies, whose lines formed a con-
tinuous route to London, and it was determined at once
to help it through. The London and Birmingham sub-
scribed 100,0001., the Grand Junction 250,0001., the
North Union 85,0001., and the Preston and Lancaster
65,0001. The total proposed capital was 1,200,0001.,
with power to borrow not more than one-third of that
amount in addition, and this was soon raised, and the
company went to Parliament. We believe we are
strictly correct in saying that there is not another in-
stance of a line where there has been so little of mere
speculative investment, nor where the shares have so
little changed hands. The slowness and hesitation
manifested in the first instance by those who were so
deeply interested in its formation, may be thought at
variance with the usual enterprise and forethought of
men of business ; but it has redounded to the solid and
lasting benefit of the company.
The Act was obtained in the month of May, 1844.
The engineers of the line are Messrs. Locke and Er-
rington. The contractors are Messrs. Stephenson,
Mackenzie, and Brassey. The prospectus. in the first
instance, contemplated only a single line of rails ; but
the directors, looking forward to the growing demands
of the country, wisely determined to enlarge their plan,
and having borrowed the additional amount that was
requisite, proceeded at once to lay down a double line.
The works were begun in September of 1844, as soon as
practicable after the passing of the Act, and the con-
tractors undertook to have the line ready for opening
within eighteen months after their commencement ; but
circumstances beyond control and foresight prevented
the accomplishment of their intentions before the pre-
sent period, and it is no small proof of their energy and
determination that the 3 have so speedily and so effectu-
ally vanquished the difficulties which presented them-
selves.
At Carlisle there is a communication with the New-
castle and Carlisle, and the Maryport and Carlisle lines,
and when the Caledonian is completed, an uninterrupted
route will be opened to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and
thence by other lines to the north of Scotland. It is
proposed to have a general station at Carlisle, and if the
scheme is carried out, of which there cannot be any
doubt, the county town of Cumberland will possess
facilities for traffic and locomotion second to few places
in the kingdom.
The total number of bridges on the line, exclusive of
culverts and cattle• arches, is 180. As may be supposed,
an undertaking of this magnitude has required a great
force of men, and the number of labourers employed has
ranged as high as 10,000 men, together with 1,000 horses.
The navvies from their want of educational opportunities,
and, indeed, partly from the very nature of their occu-
pation, are a rough, uncultivated set, and the peaceful
natives of some of our secluded localities expressed ex-
treme dread at the prospect of their introduction into the
neighbourhoods ; but, with the exception of an occasional
strike, they have shown themselves tolerably quiet and
peaceably disposed. A riot, however, took place at Pen-
rith in February in the present year, which threatened
at one time serious consequences. It originated in a
dispute between an English " ganger" and an Irish ex-
cavator, near Clifton Moor, and the Irishman, indignant
at being compelled to obey his superior, roused his coun-
trymen, who mustered to between seven hundred
and eight hundred ; and proceeded in a body
to drive the English off the line. The spirit
of nationality between each party was roused, just as the
faction-fights kindle the most savage frays between the
clans in the Emerald Isle, and if it had not been for the
promptitude of Mr. Hasell, one of the resident magis-
trates, who is also the chairman of the company, it is
impossible to say what might have been the result. The
Yeomanry Cavalry were called up, and continued on duty
above a week. A composition was afterwards entered
into, by virtue of which certain boundaries were pre-
scribed for the natives of each country respectively, and
a proclamation having been issued by the magistrates,
expressive of their determination to uphold the supre-
macy of the law, and, at the same time, to afford protec-
tion to all, without distinction, against outrage, the Pen-
rith riots were speedily numbered among the things that
have been.
Every possible precaution has been adopted by the
contractors to prevent accidents upon the line, but in a
work of such a nature as the formation of a railway, they
are inevitable, and all that can be done, is to insist upon
the observance of every possible care by the labourers.
Fewer casualties have occurred upon the Lancaster and
Carlisle, we believe, than upon any other line of the
same length, yet there is too long a catalogue to record.
Since the opening of the works there have been 72 acci-
dents resulting in death, but no small portion of that
amount has resulted through the carelessness of the suf-
fering parties. The greatest number seems to have oc-
curred between Grayrigg and Shap.
The directors have called for the full amount of the
shares of 50/., and they have also had to increase their
capital by the creation of new third shares, but the line
stands at a premium of from 17 to 19, a plain proof 'of
the confidence which is felt in its ultimate prosperity.
On Wednesday, at eleven o'clock, a train, consisting
of nine carriages, left the Lancaster station, and pro-
ceeded at the rate of between twenty-five and thirty
miles an hour, on its way to Carlisle. The sharp incline
of one in seventy-five was ascended with a single engine
at the rate of 22} miles an hour. At Penrith there was
a large concourse of spectators, who hailed the arrival of
the train with cheers. In Carlisle there was a general
holiday. The whole journey was performel in less than
four hours, including stoppages.
At the grand banquet in the evening, the directors
entertained upwards of two hundred guests at dinner in
the Athenmum. Mr. E. W. Hasell, Chairman of the
Company, presided; and near him sat Mr. Greene, M.P.
for Lancaster; the High Sheriff of the county, Colonel
Irton, Rifle Brigade; Messrs. Rotheram, of Liverpool,
W. Marshall, M.P.. David Hodgson, of Liverpool ;
Joseph Locke, J. G. Evrington, John Dixon, E. Ralph,
May or of Carlisle ; J. Steel, G. E. Mounsey, W. Car
rick, &c.

Mr. JOHN DOUGLAS proposed the health of the chair•
man and directors.

Colonel HASELL responded, and said the line will be,
of very material benefit not only to the country through
which it passes, but to the nation at large, inasmuch as
it will open out a great chain of communication along
the western side of the land—between the populous
districts of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Lancashire
—and it will finally connect these important districts
with the mass of industry in the busy part of Scotland.—
(Cheers.) There is no line of railway calculated to
produce greater benefits, either national or local, than
the Lancaster and Carlisle. Not individuals, but masses
will derive advantage; the manufacturing, trading,
and commercial communities of England will re-
ceive the blessings of speedy communication to all the
chief towns of England and Scotland. The directors
have spared no pains to accomplish the gigantic work.
Our next great business is to see that the line is safely
worked—to see that we do not go too fast at first, and so
endanger the lives of our fellow creatures.—(Cheers.) The
management of it, I am happy to say, has been entrusted
to the engineers who made it, and I have no doubt that
they will take such precautions as will effectually obviate
all danger. It is only the Almighty himself who can
preserve us from accident, and I hope we may have His
blessing in all we are doing ; but it is well to take every
precaution we can to prevent risk to life or limb.—
(Cheers.) That we shall do. We shall gradually in-
troduce the traffic on the line, and by the middle of
February I hope we shall be able to run our trains by
iiight as well as day.—(Cheers.) In the meantime we
shall have every man at his post, and let him know
thoroughly what he is about. We shall, however, get
all things in perfect working order before we encounter
the difficulties of night travelling ; and by running safely
and not too fast, we hope to deserve and win the good
opinion of the public.—(Hear, hear.) The portion of our
line between Lancaster and Kendal has been open for
three months, during which time we have been running
eight trains in twenty-four hours, and completing the line
in the intervals between them. In consequence of the
excellent arrangements of Mr. Worthington, not a single
accident has occurred since the opening. The result of
our opening proves that the scheme was not imprac-
ticable, as it was represented to be, and it must be sa-
tisfactory to those who wish success to our line that
whilst other parts of the country are enjoying the bene-
fits of railway communication, our own land of lake
and mountain has not been denied similar privileges.
For the means of laying down a line in so difficult a
region we are, I repeat, indebted to Mr. Locke—(Loud
cheers)—and I trust the line will prove speedy, and
fitted for every purpose.
Mr. S. Imam M.P. for West Cumberland, acknow-
ledged his health, and it was a matter of great satisfac-
tion to him that he was enabled to be present at the
completion of an undertaking fraught with so much
benefit to the country at large. He remembered, when
in Parliament, it was thought impracticable t pass over
Shap Fells by railway, to say nothing of difficulties on
other parts of the line.
Mr. DAVID HODGSON, late Mayor of Liverpool, pro-
posed " The Members for Lancaster."
Mr. W. MARSHALL M.P., returned thanks. He could
not help casting his eyes back a few years, when it was
thought in,uperable difficulties stood in the way of a
line over Shap Fells. There was scarcely an engineer
except Mr. Locke—(Cheers)—who would have dared to
go on, or could have done what he has accomplished for
us.—(lncreased cheering.) He felt assured that the
Caledonian, when completed, would add to the prosperity
of the company.
Mr. THOMAS GREENE, M.P., for Lancaster, fol-
lowed. Lancaster might for a while feel that it had
sustained a loss in ceasing to be the terminus of a rail-
way, as it had been for a considerable period; but the
inhabitants, he was sure, would look upon the matter
in its true light, and would see that no town could
expect a state of increasing and permanent prosperity
which did not possess the the means of railway inter-
course with all other parts of the kingdom.—(Applause.)
He confessed that he was in the number of those who
regarded with jealousy and suspicion the progress of
those who belonged to the eastern part of the island, and
he thought that great thanks were due to the gentlemen
who had promoted, and brought to a happy issue, the
construction of a line on the western side of the island,
and it was with feelings of no small gratification that he
attended the commemoration of that interesting event on
the present occasion.—(Loud applause.) He was not
one of those who weredisposed to detract from the praise
of those who had engaged in this great work, frem the
circumstance that they had embarked in it for the pur-
pose of private gain, and he hoped that they would re-
ceive the most ample compensation for the risks which
they had run. He thought, on the other hand,
that the country at large owed them the deepest

debt of gratitude, and th-at they were entitled to be
looked upon as public benefactors. There were many
who were strongly in favour of the continental plan,
where the contracts were all adopted by government;
but hestrongly felt that it was most desirable that they

should depend on private enterprise and on their own
exertions, and he thought that one of the great sources
of our national strength and prosperity was this reliance
unon.their own private efforts.—(Loud applause.) At
the same time he was not prepared to deny that there
should be some gev?rnment supervision over railways,
though such supervision was one rather to public opinion
than required by any real necessity of the case.—(Ap-
plause.) There was one benefit which he must be allowed
to mention as the result of this dependence on private
speculation. If some of the existing lines had not been
laid down to the best advantage possible, there had been
many lines constructed where there would not have been
anything of the kind had the control been in the hands of
government, which looked only to the best termini. If it
was found requisite that any of those lines should be
shortened, individual and private enterprise would not
be wanting, and at the same time other places would re-
tain the benefits of railway communication, which would
not have been conferred upon them had the arrange-
ments been altogether in the hands of the Government.
—(Loud applause.) He could not quit this part of his
subject without adding a word of testimony in favour of
his friend who had been placed at the head of the Go-
vernment Board. He (Mr. Greene) remembered that he
had had a conversation on the subject, when the arrange-
ments were in contemplation, with a gentleman who was
opposed in polities to the lion. Member who had been
selected to preside over the Railway Board, and that
gentleman, among other remarks, had said, " Give us
five Strutts, and we shall have nothing to regret." And
when he (Mr. Greene) heard the appointment announced,
he could not help exclaiming, " what an admirable ap-
pointment !"—(Applause.) Ile mentioned this fact to
show that this appointment was not to be regarded
merely as a political appointment, but the appointment
of an individual who was in every way fitted for the
office, and in whom the public might place the utmost
confidence and trust.—(Applause.)
Colonel lIACLEAN proposed the " Directors of the
London and North-Western," and Mr. WIGHTMAN re-
turned thanks for those of the Caledonian.
The CHAIRMAN said people at first laughed at the pro-
ject for a line over Shap Fells ; but the Directors of that
line took good advice, and relied on it, because they
were sure good. What had become of
theassertioitnswaasgas;ntd and
egradients ? It had been said
they were impracticable for travelling ; well, that morn-
ing many present had travelled up an incline of 1 in 75
at the rate of 221 miles an hour.—(Loud cheers.)
The time was when the assertion that a locomotive and
train could run ten miles an hour, even on a plane,
was laughed at and considered dangerous to life and
lirab.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) The objection to
heavy gradients occurring occasionally had ceased,
and in the case of the Lancaster and Carlisle
Railway, where an extreme gradient occurred, it had
entirely vanished, and been disproved by their experi-
mental trip that day.—(Cheers.) The directors were told
that it was practicable, and the man on whose opinion
they relied was Mr. Locke, who would no doubt allude
to the subject himself.—(Hear, hear.) Of course those
in the east did not wish those in the west of the island
to have any traffic. He did not go so far as to wish
those in the east to have none : he would rather say, let
each side have the traffic that belongs to it, and both
will have plenty to do.—(Cheers.) At all events com-
petition would do not harm. It remained to be seen
whose fares were the lowest.—(Cheers.) There would
be no harm to the public if the fares in the east were
reduced ; in his opinion it would be beneficial to the
public if they were reduced.—(Continued cheering.)
His belief was that the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway
would be worked successfully and well ; and he founded
his belief on the opinion of Mr. Locke—one of the
ablest engineers this country ever saw.—(Loud cheers.)
Mr. LOCKE, the engineer, in reply to his health, ob-
served the Lancaster and Carlise is but a link in the
chain which we first set out to form. We began by set-
ting out a railway from Preston to Glasgow, and I trust
you will not forget that our scheme must be viewed as a
whole.—(Hear, hear.) Circumstances have led to its
construction in detached parts, but I trust the whole
length between this town and Edinburgh and Glasgow
will be carried out quite as satisfactorily as the portion
which we have so successfully opened out this day.—
(Hear, hear.) It may be that lam a little premature,
but I look forward to the time when the London and
North-Western Company will extend their lines to the
very northern extremity of the country.—(Cheers.) The
working of the Lancaster and Carlisle line is but an
earnest of that, and I believe the interests of the public
will be furthered by the extension of their railway realms
—of their experience and intelligence—as far as
railways can be extended in the north of Scot-
land.—(Cheers.) I should like them to be car-
ried forward till you could scarcely tell where one
railway begins and another ends—till the whole net work
was so perfect that you should do away with the incon-
venience arising from interruption in the modes of tra-
velling from one part of the kingdom to the other.—
(Hear.) I beg to assure you that there has not been a
prouder day in my life than this, on which we have cele-
brated the opening of the Lancaster and Carlisle Rail-
way.—(Cheers.) So much for myself. I will not allude
to my friend Mr. Errington, for he is able to speak for
himself ; but I must be allowed to say that, in addition
to experienced practical engineers, we have had the ser-
vices of experienced contractors (:Jessrs. John Stephen-
son and Co.)—contractors such as few railways can boast
of, and who have executed the works in the most credit-
able manner possible. I can quote the words of Captain
Coddington, who said he had never seen handsomer or
more substantial masonry: on any line in the kingdom.
But, though I admire these works, my satisfactian iz in-
creased by the knowledge that they are to be placed
under the management of the London and North-Western
Company, who are in every way qualified for that re-
sponsibility.—(Hear, hear.) We have opened the Lan-
caster and Carlisle Railway at an inclement season of
the year; but there are great advantages in opening now.
The poor want fuel, which they cannot get except at a
great cost, and the roads over Shap are almost impass-
able. The line, therefore, is opened no soonee than it is
required. I hope you will make allowances for the first
month or so, and I pledge myself that before the spring
is over it will be as perfect a railway as any in the king-
dom.—(Loud applause.)
Mr. ERRINGTON also acknowledged the compliment in
a very appropriate address.
" The health of Messrs. Stephenson, the contractors,"
of " Mr. Swift, the solicitor," and of " Mr. Bolden, the
secretary," were subsequently given. The latter, in ac-
knowledging the compliment, announced the gratifying,
and as regards previous experience in railway enterprise,
the unusual fact, that from the state of the finances it
appeared that the lines would be made " within" the es-
timate."

THE CORPORATION CONFLICT.
The members of the Court of Common Couneil,
formed themselves, on Thursday, into a committee, after
the departure of the Lord Mayor, without putting the
question as to the passing of the Members' Qualification
Bill, assembled on Saturday to receive the report of the
subcommittee, Walter AnClerson Peacock, Esq., in the
chair. The following resolutions were then, after some
discussion as to slight verbal alterations, agreed to amidst
cheers : _

Resolved,--That the Court of Common Council, con-
sisting of the Lord Mayor, the Aldermen, and a:number
of commoners annually chosen by the freemen inhabitant
householders of this city, have for ages possessed and
exercised the right to originate and pass such acts and
ordinances as have become necessary, from time to time,
for advancing the welfare of the citizens, and improving
its municipal institutions in unison with the spirit of
the age.
" Resolved—That in furtherance of a design to defeat
the exercise of this right, the Court of Aldermen, on
Thursday, the 17th instant, presented a protest against
the passing of an Act for regulating the qualification of
members of the Common Council ; and, although the
Lord Mayor and Aldermen had at former courts con-
curred in the orders for the preparation of the Bill, and,
in its being read a first and second time, when the third
reading of the Bill was moved and seconded, the Lord
Mayor refused to put the question to the court, and the
Aldermen, after a long discussion, with one exception,
quitted the court, which was thereby dissolved.
" Resolved—That we the members of the Court of
Common Council, have reason to believe that it is the
determination of the Mayor and Aldermen to dispute
the right of the corporation in Court of Common Coun-
cil assembled to pass the Bill now before the Court,
mainly because they are aware that a Committee of the
Common Council have, since the introduction of the
present Bill, prepared another, to limit the Court of
Aldermen in the expenditure of the public money.
" Resolved—That we, the members of the Common
Council, then protested, and now protest, against
the proceedings of the said Mayor and Aldermen ;
and, on behalf of the citizens of London, resolve to in-
sist upon their right, through their representatives, to
control the outlay of their funds, that w•e may insure
their application to public and useful purposes ; and we
resolve, and hereby pledge ourselves, to adopt and en-
force all such lawful, just, and reasonable measures as
shall preserve to the citizens of London the right to alter
their municipal institutions, to meet the increasing com-
merce of the city, and in conformity with the intelli-
gence and Wants of the times."
The thanks were unanimously voted to the chairman,
and the committee separated.
POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

Edmund Web6Mer,l
per Oo
allo f Iv
e 0 r
yUgS
eEn
t.
appear-
ance, who has been some years in the employment of
Messrs. Giles and Co,,manly o
corn-factors, of Fowkes's-court,
Tower-street, was charged before the Lord Mayor with
having embezzled the sum of 7001. and the sum of 2001.,
the property of the firm.
Mr. Kirton, corn-chandler, of Charles-street, Mid-
dlesex, IT
--°4Pital, stated that he dealt with Mews. Giles
and Co., and that on the 11th of December he paid to
the prisoner, on account of the firm, the sum of
561. 6s. 3d.
Mr. P. M. Shepher,l, cashier at Messrs. Calvert's, the
brewers, stated that he handed 991. 18s. 9d., which was
etre to Messrs. Giles, to a person named Robinson, porter
to the latter, on account of the firm.
Robinson proved that he paid that sum into the hands
of the prisoner.
Mr. Henry Aste, corn dealer, proved that he paid, on
the 7th of December, into the hands of the prisoner, on
account of Messrs. Giles, the sum of 7001. in a cheque.
It was proved that not one of these sums had been
entered on the books, or received by the firm.
Mr. Hobler, who appeared for the prosecutor, sub-
mitted that there was no answer to any one of these
cases.

Mr. Ballantine (for the prisoner) admitted that there
were undeniable grounds for committing the prisoner.
The LORD AlAvon directed that the prisoner should
be brought up on a future day to be committed for trial.
The prisoner, whose connexions are very respectable,
WU3 deeply involved in railway speculations.

SC ILLY.—About eighty logs of mahogany have been
picked. up
, among the Islands within the last week, the
Principal pert ne4r the Seveuetenes.— West Briton.

SNOW STORM.

For several years past we have net experienced such
a snow storm as has prevailed since Thursday last. The
thaw of Tuesday rued Wednesday inerning cleared the
roads in the vicinity of the town, and though the snow
still lay on the hills, it was in:agin, d that cemrnunica-
tion with the south and north would not be interrupted.
On Wednesday afternoon, however, the wind set into
the north, the streets became crusted with ice, and at
lengh snow began to fall. By Thursday morning every-
thing was covered, and with little intermission the snow
has since continued. Near midnight on Thursday one
or two flashes of. lightning were seen during a tempo-
rary cessation of the fall The roads i❑ the neighbour-
hood are covered to a depth of from ten to eighteen
inches ; but on the high grounds of the Perth road, on
the east road and in Ross-shire the depth is great.
On some parts of •the Perth road, particularly
about Kingussie, the wreaths are in solid banks,
perhaps twenty feet in depth. What is somewhat
remarkable, about Dalnacardoch, where in general the
worst weather is experienced, the fall of snow has been
comparatively trifling ; but to the north of Dalwhinnie
the coach is unable to travel. From Dalwhinnie, the
mail, during the latter part of the week, has been carried
on horseback, frequently as far as Moy, where it has been
met by a carriage from Inverness. To keep the road is
impossible, and of course regularity is not to be expected.
Indeed, but for considerable during, and the endurance of
great hardships by coachmen and guards, we would not
have the mails at all. To show the state of the road, we
may mention that the mail of Sunday night, for the south,
left Aviemore about nine p.m., and did not reach Kin-
gussie—a twelve mile station—until four o'clock on the
following morning. The distance was performed on
horseback, and in crossing the drifts not a little danger
was encountered. The road to Aberdeen is in much the
same state. Betwixt Forres and Elgin communication
was difficult on Friday. The coach from Elgin on
Friday morning returned ; and the Elgin, Star,
and Defiance remained in Forres on Thursday right.
The north road is also deeply covered. On Thurkiay,
the Thurso mail was upwards of two hours behind ; on
Friday, eleven hours ; on Saturday, twenty ; and the
mail which should have arrived at 20 minutes past one
on Sunday morning, did not reach the post office until
7 A.M. on Monday. The Aberdeen mail of Thursday
was an hour behind ; on Friday, six hours ; and the
mail which should have arrived at 7 P.M. on Saturday,
came in about nine on Sunday morning. There has
been no mail from Aberdeen since, and three are now
due. The Perth mail was also, of course, behind. The
detentions of the Aberdeen mail of Saturday arose
chiefly from the heavy fall to the south of Aberdeen. It
is worthy of remark, as favouring the idea of a railway
to Perth (which was thought by sonic persons so wild a
project) that the Highland road, on this as on former oc-
casions, is less blocked up with snow than the line by
Aberdeen. The Perth mail arrived about six o'clock
last night, but brought nothing from places to the south
of Edinburgh, so that the snow-storm has in all likeli-
hood been general.
Our ancient friend, John Maclean, the Centenarian,
says, " this is just the old weather back again. In the
first of my day, the snow-storms were mostly in Decem-
ber, and were heavier than even this, besides being ac-
companied with extraordirary keen frosts, and it would
generally be at the end of January before the ground
was stript of its white covering. During these times,
we had had to put our very water-stoups near the fire
all night, and after all they would sometimes be frozen,
and we had to break the ice in the morning with the red-
hot tongs. The after-seasons, however, were grand.
Early in February, the ploughman was at work ; we
could hear him whistling at the furrow, but it was not
easy to see him, for the fine warm smoke rose up from
the ploughed land. And with regard to the summers,
the heat was so great that men at field-work gave up for
two or three hours at mid-day, and the foot-travellers
on the roads took their coats off. Near the town here,
some fields of barley were cut in the beginning of July,
and by the end of July shearing was general. If the
poor folks were but decently off, I would never like to
see December wing out black, as the old saying is true,
that ' a black Yule, or Christmas, makes a fat kirkyard."'
Poor John is but ill off himself in this inclement season,
and we should be glad to see our Clachnacuddin friends
remember the claims of their ancient townsman and
chronicler, who has now nearly roundel his hundredth
year, and led an irreproachable life.—lnverness Courier.

DROVE ROAD-THE INVEROU

RAN STANCE.

An important point in the case now pending between
the Marquis of Breadalbane and the sheep-farmers of
the north, relative to the drove road in Argyleshire, has
been decided by the First Division of the Court of Ses-
sion in favour of the farmers. After a full hearing on
the 3d instant it was decit'ed that the defenders have a
relevant case, a right to the drove stance if they prove
possession. As this is the point on which Lord Breadal-
bane rested his case, it is very likely that he will not
insist further, but if he does, the defenders must go
before a jury and prove possession. a matter on which
there can be no doubt. The Black Mount road, through
the Breadalbane estates, from King's House, by Inverou-
ran and Tyndruna, to Falkirk, has been used for:cen-
turies for cattle and sheep, and the Inverouran stance,
or station, has always been a resting-place on the jour.
ney.—lnverness Courier.