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

sure. The Commons have passed it by an over.
whelming majority. Without one exception, every
man of weight and long-tried publiC service, on both
sides of the Lower House, swelled the majority. The
Lords have already affirmed the principle by a
considerable majority; and setting Lords STANLEY
and ASEIBITRTON on one side, every Peer of known
public influence has voted in favour of the second read-
ing. The Crown too, we know; is likewise favour-
able to the measure. Under such circumstances the
Protectionists plead for a dissolution !
One word with Lord STANLEY. He observed,
upon the division of thirty-three, that it was
" small by degrees and beautifully less." This
was not honest, and it will not serve to
mislead the country. We shall, therefore, repeat
what we have before stated. The division on the
main question was 47. This number included the
"proxies." Deducting the "proxies," it was tauntingly
remarked, that Ministers had only a majority of 12
upon the second reading. The division of 33 in
Committee was independent of " proxies ;" so that, in
point of fact, as far as the Peers present were con-
cerned, Ministers increased their majority by 21.
This must not be lost sight of.. The vessel of free
trade is sailing gallantly towards us, and will soon be
safely moored.

The three remaining resolutions, founded on the
recommendations of the Board of Trade, were last
night agreed to, after some discussion, in the Howse
of Commons. The third resolution appears to be in
the nature of an instruction to future Committees of
the House in the next sess ion, and an encouragement
to persons to undertake the construction of new lines.
It is, that in order to complete the general chain
of narrow gauge communication from the north of
England to the southern coast, and to the port of
Bristol, any suitable measures should be promoted to
form a narrow gauge link from Gloucester to Bristol,
and also from Oxford to Basingstoke, or by any
other shorter route connecting the proposed
Rugby and Oxford line with the South-Western
Railway. This, as we bay'. '-:'' .... .. suggestion
_ ........ legislation, and, if adopted here-
after, it will go far to remove a considerable
part of the inconvenience attendant on the break of
gauge. It is founded on the recoMmendation of the
Gauge Commissioners. There is little doubt that
much public benefit would be derived therefrom, and
the only question will be for the speculators to say
whether the undertakings are likely to be remunerative,
and to afford a fair return for the expenditure to be
incurred. It is probable that the great narrow gauge
companies will assist and become parties to the projects
which will doubtless be formed for the purpose of
giving effect to the resolution. We have already
stated our opinion as to the vast importance of a
second continuous line of railway to Ireland, which
will be the medium of communication to the entire
of the south of Ireland, and, in all probability, to
the western hemisphere. This is conclusive as to
the point of the construction of the South Wales
Railway on the broad gauge, as originally sanctioned
by Parliament. Indeed, the House practically
adopted it on Tuesday night, in adding to the first
resolution the words—" and South Wales
Railway," in order that short lines emanating
from the South Wales line might be constructed on
the broad gauge. This, however, was the only one
of the resolutions on which a division was taken,
when it was carried by a majority of 53. The last
resolution applied to the formation of a double line
of rails, thus having the broad and the narrow
gauge existing on the same railway. The companies
which are called on to effect these double lines have no
fair cause of complaint against the additional expense
thus entailed upon them. They are purchasers with
notice, having undertaken, at the time of obtaining
the Acts by which they were incorporated, to lay
down such additional lines with all convenient speed,
if required so to do by the Board of Trade, in con-
formity with the report of the Gauge Commissioners.
But the question of vast importance in the pre-
sent instance is —Can the twofold gauge
exist with perfect safety on the same line ?
Some doubts have existed on this subject,
, and it has been said that there would be great diffi-

culty and confusion in the working, but we canno

conceive it possible that the Board of Trade should
have overlooked so obvious a consideration, should
have neglected so important an element in the calcu-
lation. Wa therefore must assume that before they
acted on the authority conferred on them, and im-
posed the additional expense of a second line
of rails on the two companies, they must
have fully satisfied themselves that there would
be no additional danger attendant on such a course,
and that the difficulties could not be of an insuperable
nature. The question then must be answered in the
affirmative, that the broad and narrow gauge may be
united without danger. The broad gauge being still
retained, there is nothing to prevent the Legislature
to compel any future companies which may be
formed for the construction of new railways
in the neighbourhood of existing broad gauge
lines, to lay down a double line of rails. By this
means, any further break of gauge may be avoided,
and the companies can have no cause of complaint at
the increased expense to be occasioned thereby, be-
cause they will have been acquainted with the ;addi-
tional outlay rendered necessary before they had ob-
tained the sanction of Parliament to their projects. A
fair opportunity will now be afforded of testing the sys-
tem; and should it be found to act well, and to be advan •
tageous to the public that it should be further extended,
a similar power should be reserved to the Board of
Trade, in all new projects, of compelling the laying
down double rails, should it appear advisable, the
Board making a special report to Parliament in every
case when about to exercise that power. Of course it
will be necessary to have a Bill brought in to give
effect to the second resolution, but, from the state..
merit of Sir GEORGE CLERK, it appears that it has
not yet been decided whether it shall be a separate
Bill, or part of one for the general regulation of
rail way a.

We yesterday directed the reader's attention to
the prevalence of an anxiety amongst the populace
to testify their gratitude to such individuals as have
ameliorated the condition of the empire, or promoted
its prosperity. Our satisfaction upon this particular
might have been appropriately coupled with our dis-
satisfaction upon another—our joy at the spontaneous
and graceful tributes offered by the public to
its most meritorious members, with our disgust at
the deliberate ingratitude or the niggardly recom-
pense with which these persons are usually rewardel
by Government. And here, be it observed, we em-
ploy the word Government in its most diffuse and
generalised signification, as the failing in this
respect is attributable alike to a Whig Admi-
nistration and a Tory Administration, a Con-
servative as well as a Liberal. There is
scarcely in the register of bygone genius an instance
to be adduced in which a national benefactor has not
in some measure been officially neglected ; in which
he has not encountered on the part of those in autho-
rity the most discouraging indifference ; or, if at
length any acknowledgment of his services has been
extorted, that acknowledgment has arrived so tardily as
to afford him neither solace nor compensation—being
expended either in the alleviation of his decrepitude
or of his premature prostration, or yet worse, in the
err eacut
iif
teen. oi
esnoeme ew
ee mh
ep
ht yn l
dm aa us l
Sir mu G
Ho f
memblazoned
ox,
beggaring himself to gratify the palates and to
strengthen the constitutions of all future Londoners;
hence we find a eguloosTrmielaTox, in a garret near
andH ol born , i spurred. by contumely,"
personallyperishing
ishsliingghted by thaty
fribbling statesman,
WALPOLE ; hence, also, in our days we discover such
daonwinntuenllnencttieaeds
utnhdaetr ofthe Tenurorn
sive influence of over-
MAS HOOD dwindling
work and disease combined, rewarded by the
State only by (that mockery of a re-
compense !) a pension to his widow !
could continue this mournful catalogue through
many
chapters, but the
modest worth (when
factofoffieialnegleet to genius, or
ingenuity, orunaccompanied
by then gYl'ory ofprowess in arms), is so far from
requiring any
demonstration, that it is become
ge
one of the proverbial vices of legislation. Our
intention, however, at present is, neither to deal
disre-
gard tohfe
thep philanthropist,
Pist or the ce of the poet, the utter
unsympa-
thised struggles of the philosopher—it
is simply to
commemorate another instance of gratitude in the
people, and of ingratitude in the Government, towards
pne of the foremost of those who are de-