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 Ras 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 Mil, Bart., occupied the chair. A
considerable number of shareho ders were present,
among whom we noticed Lord Duncannon, the Earl of
Wilton ; R. Etwall, &q., M.P. ; Thomas Gisborne,
Esq., M.P. ; Sir J. Tancred ; George Stephenson, Esq. ;
Jackson, Esq. (chairman of the Chester and
Birkenhead) ; J. I'. Westhead, Esq. (chairman of the
Manchester and Bit mirghtou) ; David Waddington,
Esq. (depiity chairman of the Eastern Counties) ; and
A. Pryton, Esq. (director of the Midlands).
JOHN WIIEF.LER, EE(I., the secretary, read the adver-
tirenn nt convening the meeting. A report, of which the
following is an ah,tract, was circulated amongst the pro-
prietors present :
" The directors had availed themselves of the earliest day
permitted by the arrangements required under the new ses-
sional orders to meet their shareholder; and to invite their
opinion upon the propriety of prosecuting this undertaking.
Tl.ey 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 to which the last year
gave birth; and though the task of ascertaining those feel-
ings was in many instances a most arduous one, it had
resulted, in the case of the Manchester and Southampton
Railway, in the gratifying and almost unparalleled tact teat,
up to the date of this report, not one expression of dissent to
the progress of the measure had been conveyed to the cont•
pany The directors recognise in this fact a pleasing evi-
dence of tl.e estimation in which this line is held, and of the
confidence reposed in them by their subscribers. Its
permanent abandonment was, of course, impossible.
the necessity for such a line had been demonstrated, and an
abandonment 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 Company has secured by the expenditure of much
money and anxious toil. Its postponement to a future ses-
sion might result in a revival of soms 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 ars 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 ;Ise 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-
reece 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 400,000/. 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
spreified 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 WALKINGSHAW, Esq., of Old Park, Isle
of Wight, deputy chairman of the Core' •
pany, then proceeded to address the meet-
in,s. Ile said, after referring to the object for
which the meeting had been called, that it gavehim great
gratificath n to state, as he was sure it would to every
one present, that the question had been actually
settled, because the immense number cf 44,000
shares had been registered in favour of proceeding n ith
the lineeend 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 bad on their books 44,000 assents,
independent of others, who were in favour of procseding
with the line, but who had not yet handed in their re-
turns. Such a result was almost unparalleled le
the meetings which had taken place, and were
daily taking place, in consequenee 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
Parliament.—(Hear, hear.) He was happy to state
that the last of these projects, the Oxford, Southampton,
and Gosport, or Mr, Bethel's line, received its quiettll
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; ns, 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 railwa,s 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 bias principally projected to accommodate.
(Cheers.) He then read extracts from official returns,
which set forth that Southampton was ono of the most
important ports in the world, and that it was yearly in-
creasing in prosperity-, as in 1815 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 couln 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 E'irminghams
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
reaclird its destination. After referring to the no;
lelomen 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 expressit g
themselves highly of the undertaking and of its certainty
of succ• ss, he proceeded to enumerate the towns uhich
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, ssh°
asserted that the line could be constructed at less than
18,000/. a mile. Ile concluded by saying that it could
cot fail to obtain the sanction of Parliament, as it
would accommodate districts new without direct com-
munication to the manufacturing districts, and was not
Theadop
linete d w!
wast h
nott he viewdo
of opposingdt( )
formaany
t neost
itoanb I shit ehd lines
Swin-
don on the Great Western, but with a town of the same
name in Gloucestershire, on the Bristol and Gloucester
Red way. There could not be a doubt that the line
would receive the sanction of the Legislature, as many
lion. :Members and Noble Lord.) were in favour of it-
and, besides, the Government entertained a favourable
opinion with resin ct to it.
The Earl of WILTON thCn proposed a resolution e'
powering the directors to proceed with the
(Cheers.) Arner the able and lucid statement of nir.
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 MANOR of SOUTHAMPTON seconded the motion,
and in doing so, stated that he represented there
pietredf couldro from
o feaui
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mousers russ
into
ftat
unru mo etrh
eo
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rt,iooe
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or
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6t Owonos, chno awnedr eseUr
r
3(hellerarby) a Icfi
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or on s.
be enhanced by a direct communication with the manu-
facturing parties of the north of England.
Lord )UNCANNON then proposed that the chairman,
deputy-chairman, and officers of the railway be era-
the Bill, and in doing so
powered to fix their seal to
highly eulogised the project.
WADDINGTON, Esq., Deputy
Chairman of the
Eastern Counties, seconded the motion.
R. ETWALL, Esq., M.P., said he uttered the sen-
timents of the inhabitants of Andover, whom he had the
honour to represent, and who were unanimously in favour
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 tnen put to the meeting, to
carried unanimously. Great applause foll.rwed the an"
nonecemeet of the fact.
J. WESTHEAD, Esq., Chairman of the Manchester
and Birmingham Railway, also highly eulogised the
business-like management of the Chairman and direr_
tors, and concluded by proposing that the thanks of Ow
meeting he given to them for their services.
W. M. TWITT, Esq., of Cheltenham, seconded tbe
motion, which was carried unanimously.
•
F. GISBORNE, Esq., &LP., returned thanks in * htl"
morons speech.
Mr. JACKSON, of Birkenhead, proposed that the Ie-
cial thanks of the meeting should be given to Mr. .VVet.
_l_as
inshaw, the deputy chairman of the Company,whieh w
seconded by Mr. GEORGE, and carried.
Mr. WALKINSHAW briefly expressed his acknowledg-
ments.

A vote of thanks was then passel to the Chairraavo
who returned thanks, and the meeting, the moet nunie"
rous one we ever attended, broke up.

xrels

MALDON. MAY 2.-11'ItECKED GCODS.—Three ba'
and a kilderkin. of porter, with an empty barrel and ki!der-
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 the Comptroller of Customs. It is presumed they earn°
from a vessel belonging to Southwold, lately wrecked on the
Bueksea, a portion of whose cargo, consisting of a hogshead
of brandy and some casks of porter, h:,s 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.--Chelmsford Chronicle.