The Sun.
London, England, 1834-08-22 00:00:00

LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY.

The following statement was circulated amongst the pro-
prietors yesterday; it will be found to furnish some curious
details connected with this stupendous undertaking ;--

" LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY.
Length
Breadth of way on embankments and viaducts
Viz., For double line of railway, width of
each 5 feet 10
Space between the two lines 6

Ditto outside ditto 6 feet each ...12-28 feet.
In the cuttings (1 foot additional being allowed
on each side for a drain)
Cuttings : greatest depth
Embankments and viaducts : greatest height
Tunnels : Space outside the line of rails, 3 feet,
making a total width of 22 feet.
Height to the crown of the arch
Levels of the line above the sea :
Miles.

London Station
2 Brent Valley ll2
13 Oxhey Ridge, near Watford
mi. Colne Valley
30 Tring Ridge 420
53 Ouse Valley 259
59 Blisworth Ridge, near Northampton
64 Nen Valley
76 Kilsby Ridge, near Daventry 395
90 Avon Valley
___ _ 263

cii .
97} Reaves Green Ridge, near Coventry 377
101 Blythe Valley
4 1111 Birmingham Station 368
Planes. Great Inclination, 1 in 330, or 16 feet in a mile.
Total length of planes; with an inclination exceed-
ing 14 feet in a mile.
Ascending from London 25- miles.
Descending ditto

Total
Sum of level planes
Estimates---( Parliamentary).
COST:--
For making the railway (at full prices for the X.
labour and materials) 1,882,553
For land (1,250 acres) 250,000
For engines, carriages, stations, and contingencies 367,447

TRAFFIC : -

£2,500,000

_
Annual passengers (persons now travelling),
488,342, at 2d. per head per mile
Van,-waggon, fly-boat goods (average now con-
veyed 143,342 tons, at from 6d. to sd. per ton
per mile)

447,646

345,761

X 793,407

IRELAND.

DINNER TO MR. O'CONNELL AT WATERFORD.

Mr. O'Connell, with Mrs. O'Connell and his family, ar-
rived at Waterford on Thursday last, and were received by a
vast concourse of people with deafening cheers. After the
cheers subsided he addressed them at some length. " It is a
fine thing," he said, " to toil and labour for so brave and honest
a people as the Irish. They beat us, however, on the tithe
question this time, but, with the blessing of God, we will beat
them next session.—( Cries of You will, .you will.') We
will also have a rap at the rotten corporations, and grind some
of the fat ones belonging to them."
A great dinner followed on the succeeding day. On Mr.
O'Connell's health being given, he made an eloquent reply, of
which we have only room for the following extracts :
" He saw the dawn of justice in Ireland in the conduct of
the present Administration. The Coercion Bill had been
abrogated—the old Ministry thought to renew it, but they were
now out, and the Coercion Bill was annihilated.—( Cheers.)
In that event he saw a dawn of hope for his country—lie saw
the first movement of conciliation on the part of Ministers,
whose duty and interest it was to do justice to the people of
Ireland.—( Cheers.) They had changed the law of reversion,
which he, as a lawyer, knew would be of infinite advantage to
Ireland. It made property more secure, and increased its value
very much.—( Loud cheers.) Those and other enlivening rays
of hope had burst upon him, and in the fullness of his heart he
could not help feeling that Ireland—the land of his love—was
about to receive that justice which tyranny had withheld from
her for centuries.—( Cheers.) He could not help alluding to
the efforts of the expiring faction. They held a meeting,
the day before in Dublin, and what would they think when they
were told that they had to send to England for that prime buf-
foon, Lord Winchilsea, to conduct their proceedings. He was
what was called at the Italian Opera prim buffo--and he made a
most wonderful discovery—a discovery that must have asto-
nished the world; he found out, after deep research, of course,
that the property of the Established Church never belonged
to the Papists.—( Hear, hear, and laughter.) Now he would
ask the Noble Lord to read some of the original endowments,
and he would there find that such endowments were given to
the clergy that they might pray for the souls of the giver and
his family.—( Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord would, no doubt,
give back all that did not belong to the Papists—which would
be nothing—but would he give back all that could be proved
to have been the property of the Papists? Oh no—it was a
little more than he would wish to part with.—( Cheers.)
There was one topic they introduced at that meeting—it was
agitation—and they agitated most furiously themselves—and,
as they had set the example, he, with the blessing of God,
would follow it up.—(Cheers.) But the agitation of the
people for their rights should not resemble the agitation
of their oppressors—the people knew the course by
which they won former victories, and their future struggle
would be marked by peace and perseverance.—( Cheers.)
By these means they would have a total extinction
of tithes.—( Cheers.) The legislative independence of
Ireland would follow, and no man felt more deeply on
the subject than he did. When the question of Re-
peal was brought forward, he, Heaven help him 1 made a
speech of five hours, but he had to introduce topics to prove
the right of Ireland to independenFe, which it would not be
necessary for him to do the next time he should bring it for-
ward.—( Cheers.) Ireland never forfeited her rights—the
union was not a compact between two nations, for be could
well prove the union was brought about by fraud and blood.—
( Hear, and cheers.) The people were goaded to violence
and rebellion—and, when weakened by their divisions, their
rights were wrested from thew, and their country enslaved.—

( Hear, and cheers.) Next year be would. forgive them two-
fifths of his specch—(Laughter)—and in the mean time he.
would advise his countrymen to be cup and stirring—for he
would look upon the man as guilty of a crime who did not do
something for his country.—( Cheers.) Every man in his
sphere could be useful. There he was, a practical example of
what an bumble mart might do ; there. he was, the son of a
gentleman farmer—called to a profession of emolument—a
man with poor talent—no poetic feelings, for no visions of
glory flitted through his day dreams ; but Ireland was his first
love—his maiden vows had been plighted for her happiness, and
thank heaven, he lead never broken them:—( Cheers,) Let.the
people rouse from their lethargy. Ireland's prospects were
brightening—be saw the dawn of happier days, and his
heart was glad.—( Cheers.) He- would take the part of the
present Administration—he was, in fact, a ministerial man,
but only so long .as he saw the Ministry disposed to serve
Ireland.--( Cries of " Hear, hear, hear.") When he saw
them making the beneficial changes here which they were
making in England—when the Castle hacks and hangers-on
were discarded—when the magistracy were purged of the
paltry village politicians, whose trade was to traduce the people
of Ireland—who lived on her sorrows, and grew rich on her
misfortunes—when he saw a. Ministry prepared to do that, he
was happy and joyful, and such a Ministry should have his
support. That Ministry would become the friends of the
people ; the concession of justice would cost them nothing,
whilst the warm and enthusiastic shouts of gratitude from
m'llions of Irish hearts would be a reward well worth earning.
The people should make arrangements to give him three mil-
lions of signatures to petitions for next Session—( Cheers)—
he would not take less.—( Cheers.) He was one of the best
friends the Clergy of the Established Church had--he
used every exertion to maintain vested rights—his motion se-
cured them 80 per cent. to be had at the Treasury, or in Ex-
chequer Bills, payable at every Custom-house in the country,
and where was the landed proprietor who would Lot feel proud
to have his rents so well secured ?—( Hear, hear.) And when
it was proposed that the Clergy should pay back to them the
million advanced to them last year, he opposed it. All this he
had done as a Catholic, and he was sincerely one—but all
that would not conciliate the Protestant clergy, therefore, as
they could not buy them, they should fight them. They should
attack corruption in every shape."