The Sun.
London, England, 1834-03-10 00:00:00

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.

Lord MORPETH presented a petition from Witting-
stock against the Great Western Railway Bill.
Mr. C. RUSSELL presented a petition from the Mayor
and inhabitants of Reading, unanimously agreed to at a
public meeting of the inhabitants, in favonr of the bill.
Mr. TAYLEURE pr, sensed a petition from the town
of Bridgwatr in favour of the bill.
Mr. SHEPHERD presented a petition from the manu-
facturers, traders, and others, of the borough of Frome,
in favour of the 6.11.

Mr. R. PALMER brought in a bill for enclosing lands
in a parish in the county of Berke. The hon. member
then presented a petition, signed by several respectable
persons of the town of Reading, against the Great West-
ern Railway Bill. Also, a petition, signed by a large
number of the proprietors of land, in the county of Berk.,
against the bill. Also, a petition from an individual
named Alex. Hope, in the county of Middlesex, against
the hill.

Mr. RUSSELL begged to ask the hon. member the
number of signatures attached to the petition from Read-
ing? We understood Mr. Palmer to say about 200.
Sir F. BURDETT presented a petition from Sarah
Dowager Countess of Berkeley against the hill. The
bon. member holed that the rights of private property
would be respected, as he was quite sure that the general
good would be far more attended to when that principle
was maintained. The petitioner stated that her residence
would be quite uninhabitable if the line marked out by
the company was selected.
The Hon. CRAVEN BERKELEY presented a peti-
tion most numerothly and respectably signed by the in-
bahitants of Cheltenham in favour of the bill, which was
more numerously and respectably signed than any peti-
tion he had ever had the honour to present, but it gave
him great pain to say that he could not concur in the
prayer of the petition ; and moreover it was his intention
to give all the opposition he could to the measure.--
(Loud laughter.) He hoped this house would not
entertain such a monstrous proposition as that of
making a railway from London to Reading, and from
thence to Bristol, leaving the space between Reading and
Bath without the chance of gaining any benefit by it.
Mr. ROBERT GORDON presented a petition from a
lady having property on the road through which the rail-
way was to pas., against the bill.
Mr. VIVIAN presented a petition from the merchants,
bankers, and landowners of the town of Leith, South
Wales, in favour of the bill. _ _ _ .

Mr. HAWES brought up the report of the Committee
on the South Lambeth Water Works Bill.

SirRICHARD VYVYAN presented petitions from the
mayor, corporation, and burgesses of Bristol, from the
Chamber of Commerce in the same city, from the Bristol
Dock Company, and from the merchant adventurers of
Bristol, all in favour of the bill.

Mr. KENNEDY presented a Otition from the corpo.
ration and inhabitants of Tiverton, from the merchants of
the city of London, and from the bankers and merchants
of Bradford, all in favour of the bill.
Mr. LABOUCHERE preeented a peition from Taun-
ton, in favour of the bill.

Mr. BENETT presented petitions from Westbrook
and Henley, in favour of the bill.
A great number of similar petitions were presented,
but owing to the great noise in the house, and the evident
impatience to get the whole of the petitions disposed of,
the names of several did not reach the reporters. Among
them, however, were the following ; from the Salthill
Road Trust, and the counties of Bucks and Berke, pre-
sented by the Marquis of Chandos, against the bill; from
the bankers and other inhabitants of Bristol, in favour of
it, by Mr. /Lillie; from the parish of St. George's Hano-
ver-square, and from a lady, by Mr. Baring, against it ;
from Trowbridge, by Sir J. Hanmer, in favour of it ; one
by Mr. P. Scrape, also in favour of it; from Dursley, by
Mr. Moreton, in favour of it; from Market Savender, by
Captain Copland, in Tavour of it ; from Colnbrook, Great
Marlow, and Edward Roberts, E.q., of Ealiog, by an
bon. member, nAttinst it.
Lord GRANVILLE SOMERSET then moved the
second reading of the bill.
The Earl of KERRY having been requested by the
Great Western Railway Company to second the motion
for the second reading, would take that opportunity of
stating the reason which induced him to do so. It was
well known that Bristol was the great "entrepot" of the
imports from Ireland, and in that respect the railway
would be one of great national importance, for by
it the best and most wholesome food would be ob-
tained by the labouring classes of this great metropolis more
cheaply. As to the objection which he had heard mans
times out of the house, and which had been adverted to
by the hon. member for Cheltenham (hon. C. Berkeley),
namely, that the advocates of the bill were supporting a
measure which bad no body, but merely a bead and a tail ;
it was one that had been argued a considerable time be-
fore the committee. He begged, therefore, to state how
the speculation was got up. It only commenced last
August, and every gentleman who was acquainted with
the proceedings must know that, before the end of
October, notices were served upon ail the persons
whose property was likely to be affected by it, and
it was also necessary that the company should order
a survey of the whole line of the proposed railway.
He considered this a great national undertaking, and he
was sure that the grounds of opposition to it which he
had heard frequently out of the house would have no
weight in it. He did not think that any weight could
attach to those objections. He regretted that some oppo-
sition was made to this bill by a learned body, the Provost
and Fellows of Gresham College; but he had learned that
the nearest point to the college at which the railway
touched was a mile and a half distant.—(Hear,
hear.) Now the governors of Harrow and Rugby,
within a quarter of a mile of the first of which
the Birmingham railroad would pass, had not
objected to it, nor did they think that the interests
of those establishments would be affected by
it...-( Hear,
hear.) If there were any objections to be made to this
bill he thought the proper time would be when it was in
committee. With respect to the general belief of the
land owners towards the bill, he need only state that out
of 1,368 land-owners on the line of road, only 135 bad
expressed their dissent to it. He did not think it was
necessary for him to add any more at that period, as he
hoped that the house would agree to the second reading,
and they would then have a full opportunity of discussing
it in committee.

Mr. R. PALMER said that he rose to oppose the
second reading, and in stating the grounds of his oppo-
sition, be would only occupy a short time. He thought
the present was a case of a peculiar nature, and be should
not stand forward to oppose it, unless he felt convinced
that he had the strongest parliamentary grounds for the
position he had taken. Much apprehension, he was
aware, existed in the tninds of hon. members upon the
sul,jeet of this railroad, and till within the last few
days, it was not in the knowl dge of Imo. members
generally, what was really the bill before the house.
It appeared in the votes of the house as the second reading
of the Great Western Railway Bill. He was not going
to contend thzt a line of communication from London to
Bristol would not be beneficial to the country. Bat this
was not the case; it was not the ease of a railway from
London to Bristo', but a hill of a very different nature.
Even if it were a railway to Bristol, be contended that no
advaltage would accrue from it unless it was completed
in the most effectual and least expensive mode.
The case he (M . Palmer) had to submit to the house,
was not that of the London and Bristol railroad, it was a
very different one. The original proposal was started last
summer, lie believed ; the prospectuses were issued and sub•
scriptions were set on foot for a railroad between London
and Bristol. The house was perhaps not aware that the
amount of capital necessary to be invested in the proposal
was three millions. By the subscription list which he
(Mr. P.) saw,lonly one million was made up; it might be
forthcoming, but, however, the original plan was aban-
doned, and a second advertisement appeared for a rail-
way between London and Reading, Bristol and
Bath ; so that a space of seventy miles intervened,
which was not to have the benefit of a railway at alb=—
(Hear, hear.) He did not think he was occupying the
time of the house unnecessarily on the subject, when be
mentioned the state of opinion on it among the landed
interests. The noble lord said that the number of those
who assented to the bill was very great ; this he (Mr.
p.) considered a very great error ; no doubt it arose from
misapprehension, but be was sure the statement could not
I?e verified by facts. It was that morning he saw in a
newspaper of the county which he had the honour to
represent, the project as put forward by the solicitors for
carrying un this railway; and taking the opinions of
those who assented and dissented from the bill, it would

be found that 217 agreed and 106 disagreed. But what
was the amount of property amongst the assenting and
dissenting parties? Why, in 21 miles of a country
through which this road was to pass, the assenting
parties had a quantity of land, 1 mile 1 furlong and
105 yards; the dissenting 15 miles 5 furlongs 167 yards;
the neuters 3 miles 2 furlongs and 195 yards ; and adding
the neuters to the assents, and taking it in the most fa-
vourable light, the dissents would be three to one against
the bill. The petitions which he had presented were most
numerously, and, he would add, most respectably signed ;
and when his hon. friend opposite (Mr. Russell) asked
him the number of signatures attached to the petition from
Reading, he must in return ask that hon. member whe-
ther, among the seven or eight hundred signatures attached
to the petition which that hon. member had presented
frarn Reading in favour of the bill, there was any one
individual who possessed an acre of land upon the line
through which the railway would pass? He would be
very much surprised if they had so much land as he had
stated in their hands. tinier all the circumstances he
thought he had made out a very strong case—
(Hear)—and the petitioners, forming a very large portion
of the landed proprietors, would justify the house in reject-
ing that bill. It appeared that the measure was an in-
complete one ; and be feared that very considerable in-
Jury would be done to the places through which the rail-
waywould be carried, unless the line be completed. If
not in a few years some new line or some better line from
Reading to Bristol might be discovered, or perhaps in these
days of improvement some new means of locomotion might
he discovered, and then, after all the injury had been done,
the project would be thrown overboard.—(Hear, hear.)
He was not aide to state precisely what the numbers
of assents and dissents was in the county of Middlesex,
but he hail every reason to believe that the number of
dissents would be found to be much larger than those
who. assented to the measure. They were not nutru-
needy the largest, perhaps, but they possessed most pro-
perty on the line. He contended that the parties ought
to come down to that Louse prepared to show that they
were in a condition to carry the measure into effect. He
felt that he was trespassing upon the time of the house—
his arguments were comprised in a small compass of Pars
liamentary ground, that the measure was a half measure,
but he thought that was quite sufficient. Whatever
personal interest he might have in opposing the bill (and
he could assure the house that it was very small), and
whatever interest those persons who had confided their
him
psti,ions to
m for presentation might have, if the
parties had come down to that house, and shown that
they were prepared to execute the proposed work—or if
the subscription list was in that state to justify the house
in supposing that they would be able to carry the mea-
sure into effect, he would not have taken the step he now.
took in opposing the second reading of the bill—he would
have consented to the bill going into committee ; but as
such was not the case, he thought he had made out a case
fur negativing the second reading of the bill. It was only
a half measure, and could be of no advantage unless com-
pleted, either to the public or the persons concerned. He
regretted that the landed proprietors had not a person
better able to advocate this cause which had been confided
to him, but upon the grounds which he had stated, he
moved that the bill be read a second time that day six
months.

The Marquis of CHANDOS rose for the purpose of
seconding the motion, and said there was a very strong
feeling in that division of the county of Buckingham
which he had the honour to represent, against the hill.
The noble lord read some statements of the number of
assents and dissents in the county of Bucks, but from the
excessive noise which prevailed in the house, we were
unable to catch the details, the purport of which, how-
eve!, appeared to be, that those who assented to the bill
were persons who had very small lots of land. The noble 1,
lord referred to the opinion of the heads of Eton College
on the subject, and read a letter, in which their opposi-
tion to the Measure was very strongly expressed, as being
calculated to do great injury to the property in the neigh-
bourhood. He did not wonder that the merchants residing
in Bath, Bt istol, or London, having capital at command,
should feel disposed to enter into a speculation which they
anticipated would turn out to their own advantage, but at
the same time, he could not help remarking that there
were other individuals whose interests ought to be re-
spected, and who, if this measure were carried into effect,
would suffer such damage that no remuneration could
compensate them. In the county which he represented,
many farmers would be completely destroyed, as the effect
of the tunnels and other works would be, not only to
cut off the particular line of communication, but also to
injure the drainage, so that the low lands would become in-
undated with wa•er. Ile desired to express his opposition to
the whole of the bill, and to express his opinion that instead
of being beneficial, it would be replete with injuries to the
whole neighbourhood through which the railroad was in-
tended to pass.
On the question being put by the SPEAKER,

Mr. C. RUSSELL rose to reply to some observations
which had fallen from some hon. members who had op-
posed the bill. It was complained tha► the projectors had
not stated that tla y would in the first instance extend the
railroad the whole distance, but it did not follow on that
account that they would not, at some future period, carry
it further.—(Hear, hear.) He begged to say that the
project did not emanate from Reading or any other
town on the road, but from Bristol itself; and the
reason why the projectors had not gone so far as hinted
was because the house would not consent to their enter-
ing at once upon so great an extent of private property.
He could confidently state that it could be satisfActoriy
shown that the proposed railway would produce such
public advantages as would justify the project. The hen.
member, amidst great confusion, continued to urge tl.e
advantages of the bill upon the house, and said he was
sure if it went into committee, those advantages would
be clearly established.

Mr. O'CONNELL, in rising to support the Bill, assur-
ed the house that he would occupy its time but for a few
minutes. He agreed most cordially with the principles of
the bill, and would not now enter into its details, as that
was a subject for the committee, who be was sure wou'd
take care that parties were properly compensated. The
question was, however, whether the commit'ee would sa-
crifice private interest to public good.—(Hear.) Was
the measure a public good ? Could anyone doubt it would
have the effect of conveying heavy substances from parts
greatly distant from each other in a very short time, and
would confer benefits both to this country and Ireland,
as the produce of the latter would be conveyed to the former?
The progress of civilization had advanced to that state
that the facility of transfer had become necessary, as the
prosperity of the country depended upon it.—(Hear.)
Years back the judges had decided that no man could
proceed against another for a bill due at Oxford on the
preceding day, as it was impossible to go from London to
that place in that time.—(Hear.) Since that, however,
a much greater distance had been accomplished, and he
hoped that in the course of a short period they would be
able to go from London to Edinburgh in one day by the
increase of rail-roads.—(Hear, hear.) The grave and
Reverend Seniors of Eton—(Hear, hear, and a Laugh)
—had taken a fancy to opposition in the present case,
why did they not oppose the Birmingham rail-road ?
Ir was enough to say they had not done so, but be could
tell them that they might repose in their saran precincts,
and rest satisfied that if the rail road carne within a mite
and a half of their co'lege, they would have ample corns
pensation.—(ll-ar. ) Bristol was a market for that great
great granary Ireland—(Hear)—and the speedy transfer of
the produce of that country would increase food for the
poorer classes. It might, it was true, take away some
monopolies—(Hear)—and interfere with some of the
landowners between London and Bristol.—(Hear.) They
Wright 8
eadt—ficrsllt
e,ian)_cobruisteqtuheencepooorferthacti,sr,nez opo!y
being d o who
getwould s
country, offer up their thanks and gratitude to the house
destroyed—(Hear)—but
r'
foodr cheaper, would, in every part of the
y
for giving its sanction to so great a measure. The chief
objections to the measure scanned to be not to its principles,
but its details, which he (Mr. O'C.) consider.d was more
a subject for the committee than the house.—(Hear.)
Mr. LABOUCHERE said that as his constituents felt
the deepest anxiety for the success of the bill—(Hear)—
lne begged to snake a few observanions upon it. It was a
bill which contemplated only the half of a measure, leaving
the whole measure to be filled up in a subsequent bill;
but if it were to stop by making a railroad communication
merely from London to Reading and then from Bath to
Bristol, very great advantages would accrue to the public,
for there was a good water communication between
the intervening places, whereas the water communi-
cation from London to Reading by the Thames it was
well known, was a very bad one. Although, therefore,
it would be of importance to snake a railway on the whole
line, yet if that could not be done at present, it would be
of considerable advantage to have it as proposed by the
present hill. He sincerely regretted the opposition which
had been manifested to the bill by the College of Eton.—
(Hear, hear.) He entertained the most unfeigned respect
towards that college, but anything more preposterous—
Lo hear'')—than the assertions made
in the c
petition o
tiof "Hear,
nfroemthat college, that it would be detri-
mental to the morals of the youths educated there if
such a railroad went within a mile and a half of them
he never heard, particularly when it was considered
where the Harrow and Westminster Schools were situwed,
the scholars of which were as moral as those of Eton.
Sir THOMAS FREMANTLE said that this corn.

pany bad come to Parliament under a false pretence,—
not that he wished to say any thing unfavourable towards
the proprietors, who were, be believed, highly respectable
men. The bill was stated to be to establish the great
western railway, and yet its provisions only went to esta•
!dish one from London to Reading, and from Bath to
Bristol ; therefore, the company might call themselves by
any other name as well as by that they now bore. In the
hill there was no guarantee that all the line of railroad would
be completed, as there were 70 miles of road left without any
previsions. There was nothing by which the company
bound themselves to form a communication on the whole
line, except the bare fact that they chose to call themselves
the Great Western Rtilroad Company. Therefore it was
that he objected to the second reading. Those who ad-
vocated the measure on the principle of the hon. and

learned member for Dublin (Sir. O'Connell), asserted
that the company would be sure to complete the line in
order to forward their ow❑ object, but it might happen
that no other persons would chose to join them ; fun's
for that purpose might not be forthcoming to enable the
company to make the communication, and then in what a
situatio❑ would they be placed?—(Hear, hear, hear.)
A new company might come to parliament next
year prepared with the means of making that line,
and they would be stopped, because the Great Western
Railroad Company had received the power to make it,
although they had only made the two extremes of the line,
and therefore the intervening space might never be com-
pleted. Indeed they seemed to have contemplated some
such an event, for be the latter part of the bill it was pro-
vided, that if the line was not completed within three
years, the lands were to go back to the original owners.
He had next to complain of the immense extent of the
schedule to the bill ; the lists of the lands, tenements,
houses, &c., that were to belorcibly taken from their owners,
in order to carry into effect this half measure, extended
over not less than forty-two pages, and then bat about
fiity miles of road would be completed. Upon reference
to the London and Birmingham Railroad Bill, he found
that although the line extended 110 or 120 miles, the
schedule comprised only nineteen pages. In the present
bill he found of gardens, tenements, and other parcels of
property, in the highest degree valuable, that were to be
forcibly taken possession of, there were not less than 1,271.
He, therefore, pressed upon the house the uncertainty of
tee whole line ever being completed. The honourable
and learned member for Dublin recommended that all
the details should be left to the committee.—(Hear.)
Unless, therefore, they could raise a large subscription to
defend their claims, it was impossible they could appear
with any advantage before a committee. He recollected
that many thousand pounds had been spent in this way in
the Birmingham railway. He was prepared to show that,
if only the two ends of the railway were constructed, it
would not be of any great advantage.—(Hear, bear.)
It was said that there was a good water communica-
tion between Reading and Bath for the conveyance
of heavy goods, he was prepared to contend that railways
were net calculated for the conveyance of heavy goods;
be would not say that they did not occasionally carry
such, but the expense was so great for heavy articles where
time was no object, that it was found they could be better
conveyed by canals and rivers than by rail-roads. The
hon. and learned member for Dublin had condemned the
college of Eton for their opposition to this bill, but if
they considered that it would be injurious to the interests
, of the college surely they had a right to come forward
and state their objection to it.—(Hear, hear.)
Colonel CONNOLLY said that the house bad been
hitherto occupied with the detail- of the bill, whereas he
thought that, at flirt stage, they ought to take the prin-
ciples of it into consideration. It was an object of great
consideration, not only to the western counties of Eng-
land, but to the whole of the south of Ireland. There
bad been strong efforts made to induce the people
of Ireland to think that their interests were
amt attended to in that house.—(Hear, hear.)
Now they had an opportunity of proving the reverse, anti
at the same time of conciliating the people of that coun-
try by allowing the construction of this railroad, by
which the produce of Ireland would be brought to the
best market. He was convinced that it would be of the
greatest use to the agriculture, the moral habits, and the
population of that country, that its interests would be
essentially served, and its prejudices retnoved.—( Hear,
hear.) It was apparent that a strong hostility was
calculated upon from the counties contiguous to
the metropolis ; and this convinced him that
they apprehended that the competition of apiculture]
produce from Ireland, and frotn the distant parts of the
country, would interfere with their interests, and they
were therefore most anxi .us to prevent a general and open
competition. He addresse•: them more as an Irish mem-
ber, as he knew there were hon. members in that house
better able than he was to support the interest of Wilt-
shire. He could, however, state that the expression
of feeling upon this subject in that county was as
strong as in any part of Ireland.—(Hear, hear, heir.)
As to the Irish part of the question, he would say that
three counties of Antrim, Louth, and Down were very supe-
rior to any part of Ireland ; and why was it so ? Because the
constant and quick communication between those three coun-
ties and England had advanced them in morals and civilization.
He therefore hoped most earnestly that feelings would be
brought to the question, with a view to the benefit os Ireland,
by according to it the great advantages of communication with
England. He was not connected with the South of Ireland,
but he was most anxious that the benefits arising from the
western railroad should be afforded it; it would be a satis-
factory answer to the complaints made on the score of neglect
respecting Irish business. It was often thrown out as a
taunt, that Irish questions were not entertained with that de-
gree of attention they deserved. He (Col. C.) denied that ; they
were, in his opinion, too much and too strongly advocated. It
was unreasonable to trespass so much on the attention of the
house on Irish business, as was done. He considered that the
great outcry, which was made for the separation of the coun-
tries would he stopped, by evincing the desire to give every
benefit to Ireland that could be reasonably afforded her. That
was one, and he hoped the house would grant it. He would
not trespass on the time of the house longer—(Hear)—but if
they desired to retain as an integral part of the empire, they
could not take a more effectual way than by opening the com-
munication a railroad would give.—(Cries of " Question," upon
which the lion. member sat down,

Mr. GISBORNE arose, and produced a card which he said
he had received that morning. To it were annexed the signa-
tures of those who wished to oppose the bill. Among
them we could catch the names of the Duke of Buck-
ingham, Countesses of Berkeley, Harrington, and Mon-
tague, Mr. Sloane, Mr. Stanley, &c. &c., requesting his
(Mr. Gisborne's) attendance on Monday the 10th, at twelve
o'clock at the House of Commons for the purpose of opposing
the western railroad. He certainly complied with that earnest
entreaty, but whether in favour or disfavour of that request,
his vote on the question would soon tell.—(Loud laughter.)
It was well known that Parliamentary canvassing prevailed to a
great degree, but he considered this the most impertinent piece
of interference that ever came under his knowledge. He con-
sidered it was a very proper question for the house to enter-
tain, whether a railroad should be carried from London
to Bristol, and whether Reading and Bath were the
fixed points through which the engineers should direct that
road. He was convinced of the benefits of the railroad. A
gentleman in the coal trade informed him that since the rail_
road between Manchester and Liverpool had been established,
coals could be purchased at Is. 6d. per ton in the latter place.
He did not consider that any case was male out against the
second reading of the bill : it was one which could with pro-
priety be submitted to a committee.
Sir R. VYVYAN having had the honour to attend several
meetings on the subject of the bill before the house, thought
it necessary to say a few words. He thought the hon. member
for Buckinghamshire had been rather severe upon the pro-
moters of the measure, for, after alluding to the title of the
shown
tformera beingaonf answered
sinceritye ther e su
,c title
a hd of
had R.
ao se V
went,a )
h hadn a
bill, he had said that it was not the great Western Rail.
way Bill, but a bill for making a rail-way from
London to Reading, and from Bath to Bristol. He
(Sir
e
objectedn
notetsht o tn h
conceivee h
any want that
it d h
second
not
member.r end
reading.r e dHT
hteheeymh
agreedsa
de l themselves obnoxious
been told
nwoxhtiaioltaut the
s had fallen from the
to the attack of the
hon.s
designation, and, therefore, so far as the promoters of the
m
and learned member for Dublin, that they ought to confine
themselves to the principle of the measure in discussing the
hon.
they were engaged in a
measure they would be unable to complete; that they had taken
two points, and left an intermediate line unsubscribed for. The
principal objectors to the measure were the Calder and Hebber
Navigation Company, who would be its friends instead of its
opposers, if they thought that the intermediate line would not
be filled up.—(Cries of foQuestion ") He would only add,
that he was convinced the measure would be of the greatest
service to South Wales, to the West of England, to all Ireland,
to Bristol, and the metropolis itself, to which it would be the
t he
they had dld
means of affording a speedy communication.
Mr. CHRISTMAS rose amidst loud cries of question. It had
been said that the measure was a head and tail without a body,
but he was disposed to go into the merits of the question
and would vote for the committee.—(Question.) It would
tend to promote the importation of Irish produce into Eng-
land. Hon. members should recollect that Ireland was an
agricultural country, and took all the manufactures of this
country in return. They should look upon Ireland as the
granary of England, as Sicily was of old to Rome.—(Loud cries
of " Question.")
Mr. TOWER rose, and was assailed with loud criet of
" Question" on all sides. The hon. member said he would
detain the house but a few minutes—(Question)—he would tell
the house how he had acted when spoken to on the bill.—(The
hon. member proceeded to address the house, but was com.
pletely inaudible from the noise that prevailed.)
theec bill,
because
v

Lord G. SOMERSET said the termination of the lion, mem-
ber's speech had astonished him, he began by stating that he
was anxious for public improvement, and when spoken to in
private he said he would be neuter, and now he had concluded
by stating that he would give it al the opposition hr his power,

osition in
not be more injurious to the measure than his oPP a ,wi
public would be advantageous to it. He would offer
se '.`ed
observations on the number of landed proprietors who
ite tit
state'
to, and dissented from the bill. If he went into o
° a°
emaelenutlsahtieehs, wouldhut itnheicst
he h on.
conceivedme nlberws,abs yalcio ufanitrerm
committee up-stairs'; but he would give them
ssents. He
t(lrerndusni)bmerigohft ahsese,nrtrsehwge,re greater than thtehi:i
first to ask
could not establish that fact he would not be the
great ob-
that house to give the bill a third reading•
The
it was an
jection that had been urged against the bill was that .
incomplete measure.measure were
He assured the house that the proposers of the but they
sorry they could not bring forward a whole measure,
intended
took in the two extremities as the best proof that they
mated
to complete the whole design. In the terms of the coni
was specially stated that the money raised should be ult
._isf
applied to the purpose of carrying the railway the Whol'h of
rap
dis-
tance from London to Bristol, and the the first Parag
the bill was confirmatory of such a design, and he would add,
the in the
moreover, that the projectors were ready to agree to
the
duction of a clause to ensure the complete extension of
g.
railroad. It was not his intention to travel through
all the details, but to leave them for the committee up s i....
answer, that
to whirls he hoped the housebuwtolueltdtshueffmergoth7uePhsitlalirts°, agnod. if
a numbersatPt e r fo r the
was aware that the hon. member for Bucking
private.
that that hon. gentleman did not oppose it on
3"
ition
grounds, but simply on public principles. As to the oppoass
the
of Eton College he thought it was hardly serious, but
time of the house was wasting he would not at
into that or any other point..
be personally inconvenienced by the projection, but he trusted
such he felt himself bound to state shortly
Sir CHARLES BURRELL rose amid loud cries of " Ques- `,l
tion," " Oh, 0h,,, and ~ Withdraw, withdraw!, He had a I
public duty to perform, and was not to be cried down by all :i
man, or set of men. He stood there, not as a member only, bil
as the trustee of a great and important public charity, and as
duty projection
te
tsk
eo of
care publice f t
he works,
interestsbute
of
thelso charity stated thatthey
rite
to the house. The parties to this project came before the an.• .•
nual meeting•of the trustees of " Smith's Charity," of which he .'
was a trustee ; that meeting expressed itself favourablel'alinrsehseirnet wtoetutheledr .:..
Cert ain propositions were made to the projectors, to which the}' .
seemed to accede, and the trustees expected that provisions
consistent with those propositions would be introduced in I
the bill ; that, however, had not been done, and he felt it his
duty to oppose its second reading. He conceived that unless
'2.s. 3d. of the value was collected for the purposes of the act, -I
it was quite inconsistent with the practice of parliament that
the Bill should pass the upper house.
Captain DUNDAS opposed the second reading, believing
that if the bill passed, thousands of seamen would be thrown
out of employ by the loss of the coasting trade.
The house then divided, when there appeared,
For the second reading 182 1
For the amendment 9'2 ,
Majority for the second reading.----9° ~, 4
how the matter stood
Mr. WARBURTON was understood to ask whepwthraeessre
the members of the counties were to be on the Committee ? 1
The SPEAKER said that the list was to include not merely'
the
mcro.ußntuyTmHemvbEeNrs,pbreulanitseodtha the
ietmiobnerfsroofmth e various towns
themDr.uobl,icnoCNemNeEterly
through which the railroad was to run.
Mr. OLIVER brought up the Dunbar Road Bill.--Re3d a
first time.
'nit
Dublin agal
Bmiollv.ed the second reading Thiblill '1
Mr. TAYLEURE moved the second reading of the Bridge'
water Gas Bill.
wouIdREVISION
nmvethat OF t
iTi
eAX houseA TAXATION—CALL
bI Oe N
called CAoLv LerOo n
Cemetery Bill.
Mr. ROBINSON gave notice that on the 25th Marc' :
motion of which he had given notice for the revision of taxes• I,i,
also that he would move for an address to his Majesty resP,~'
ing the right of British subjects to prosecute the fisheries
°°
the coasts of Newfoundland, &c.
The SPEAKER left the chair at three o'clock. r'l,
I:lpc,l7a
on ot e de:
1 ;1