The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-12 00:00:00

RAILWAY IYTELLIGENCE.

LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN AND

GREAT 'WESTERN RAILWAYS.

It is with great pleat•ure we announce-that these
two 141 eat railway companies have at last settled the
differences which have for some_years past kept
them apart. • They have completed arrangements
by which the various traffics hitherto competed for
at a most unnecessary expense will be carried on to
their mutual advantage. The Penvenienoo and
safety of the public and the economy of Irorking
will bs much promoted
by the arrangement. The
papers in reference to this happy termination of the
almost ruinous contests between the twp goolpaniea
were sanctioned and signed by the respective boards
on Saturday last. Aud thus ends in., a friendly
alliance, competition will sooner or
l
contestyrya which has occasioned the
maisntle r, a
a ilalltiearn
tcaer,
unneceslary outlay of several millions sterling, and
led to guarantees from the burden of which years of
increasing traffic will not relieve the shareholders.
But for the insane desire so warmly fostered by the
late Sir Robert Peel for the construction of direct
lines, •the pet one of which with the right han.
baronet was the Trent Valley, which took him to
h's "own door," it is more than probable the
Great Western Company, who had subscribed
largely to the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolver-
hampton project, would never have ventured to
support the Birmingham and Oxford line, by the
construction of•which it was hoped the broad gauge
would be enabled successfully to compete with the
narrow gauge line from Euston-square for the
northern traffic. It was the legislative encourage-
ment given to competing lines that .led the Great •
Western into battle with the London and North-
Western for the traffic, alluded to, and which has
saddled on the back of the former the works from
Fenny Compton to Wolverhampton at a cost of
,more than 100,0001. per mile, and brought upon
them at the same time the guarantees to the
Shrewsbury lines, the goods traffic of which never
can, in consequence of the break of gauge at Read-
ing, be developed upon the broad gauge railway.
If an instance of the madness of railway competi-
tion were wanted it is to be found in the deviation

line at the Didcot station of the Great Western
Company. This deviation was effected for the
purpose of saving a few minutes' detention
at the station named, so as to enable the
Paddington authorities to perform their longer
route to Birmingham in the same time that the
Euston-square train took to run to that town.
But the running "through" the Didcot station
necessitated the employment and expense of an
additional engine from Paddington to Oxford,
and such was the increased working cost cf the
system, that some considerable time since the
" deviation" line, which cost 40,0001., was dis-
used, and the Birmingham carriages were taken
on by the ordinary through trains.
We refer to the frightfully expensive contest'
between the London and North-Western and
Great Western Companies—now so happily set-
tled—for the purpose of drawing attention to the
differences existing between the former company,
the Great Northern, the Midland, and the Man-
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Companies.
It is but a few months since that the London
and North-Western and Great .Northern Conl.
panies thought proper to run against each
other at something like the eighth of a penny per
mile, and in order to accommodate the public, the
Great Northern, and the Manchester, Sheffield, and
Lincolnshire Companies subsequently determined
to shorten the duration of the journey between Lon-
don and Manchester. We predicted at the time
that the proposed rates of speed ever the latter rail-
way were likely to result in serious accidents and
loss of life, and unfortunately our fears were
verified in a very few days after the prediction.
In this competition, which still exists,'it is not, we
are told, an unfrequent circumstance that the fast
through trains over the Manchester and Sheffield
line leave the former place with two or three
through passengers only ; but the fight is for the
traffic which the London and North-Western

Company have so long almost exclusively en-
joyed, and the question is to what extent
such traffic can be abstracted, and next
what compromise can be enforced. The
opening of the Leicester and Hitchin line, which
gives the Midland. Company the advantage of carry..
ing its through traffic over the Great Northern line
to King's-cross, and therefore rendering the Mid-
land independent of the London and North-Wes..
tern Railway at Rugby, has greatly com'plioated
the differences between the London and North-
Western and Great Northern. A traffic agreement
which had long existed between the London and
North-Western and Midland was some time since
put an end to by an application to Chancery by one
of the Great Northern directors, andfrom that day
to this the Midland Company, whose traffic cannot
be very seriously interfered with by the London
and North-Western, have been, and very naturally,
carefully feeling their way to make the best terms
for themselves—either with their old allies of
Euston-square or their new friends at King's-cross.
From what we team the latter appear to bid the
highest, and it is not at all unlikely that the
London and North-Western will shortly be relieved
from a great portion of the Midland traffic, and at
the same time—no slight convenience to the public
—from the interminable delays caused by the non•
arrival at Rugby of the Midland trains. To what
amount of competition these differences and com-
plications may lead, it is, of course, impossible to
surmise ; but certain we are, that whatever injuri-
ous rivalry may take place, the result must eventu-
ally be—compromise. The contending parties may
delight our country cousins by running trains to
Peterborough and back for five farthings, or to
Manchester and Leeds for 3id.; but to a compro-
mise they will and must come at last, and to such a
compromise as we believe any three practical and
impartial railway men would arrive at in 48 hours.
—Morning Herald.

WAITING FOR THE AMERICAN MAILS

AT SOUTHAMPTON.

On Friday evening the American packet North
Star, from New York, was telegraphed to South-
ampton as having passed Hurst Castle at about
half-past 4. It was understood that she was to
come up Southampton Water to land her English
and French mails and passengers, which she could
have done at about half-past 6. She dropped
anchor, however, off Cowes, and a telegraph was
sent from thence to Southampton ordering down a
tug steamer for the English and French passengers
and mails, as the North Star was to proceed on
from Cowes to Bremen. The tug steamer did not
hstt.re
alnti itso nboota
ruas ual
the f
tour
gasli. y
Aone os utthienrteo.
return to the Southampton Docks until after mid-
the
pthergsoo
fore who have business with the
American
passen-
gers, cargoes, mails or news, generally wait their
arrival at night in the Customs Dock Watch-house,
a trail structure built on piles out on the water, to
command a view from the Isle of Wight to the
government powder magazines at Marchwood. On
Friday night the watch-house was filled for hours
with persons waiting for the arrival of the tug from
the North Star. The night was not cold, but very
dark. The dock is rather a dismal place at such a
time ; it is dimly lighted, and nothing is seen stir-
ring there but the gliding form of the revenue offi-
cer or the dark watchman. By means of a night
telescope in the watch-house, Southampton Water
was seen to be dotted about with brilliant specks,
there were lights in the boats of fishermen plying
their art by line or trawl. The gun of the fowler was
occasionally keard on the south shore making havco
among the wading wild fowl. The peculiar cry of the
plover sounded repeatedlyhigh above the soughing of
the wind. Occasional scintillations on the
e water would
reveal a dark object skimming noiselessly along.
This was the Customs' boat,• h filled with watchers,
on the look-nut fur smuggler. They peer into
every bay and creek. Their
power of distinguish-
ing sounds on the waterat • night •
is, from long prac-
tice, remarkable. They can hear at an immense
distance,
and can tell from the peculiar sound of
the breaker what object it is washing against,
whether it be a buoy, a boat, or a large vessel, and,
what is most singular, whether the latter is
" clinker" or " carvar built. The sound of the
wave, as it rushes up the side of the vessel and is
snapped off short by the edges of the overlapping
boards of the clinker-built ship is, it appears, very
different from the noise of the wash against the
smooth surface of the carval-built craft. The
prettiest sight seen on Friday night, on South-
ampton Water, was the departure of the Jersey and
Havre steamers. As they steamed down the river
nothing was seen of them but the three brilliant
lights which they carry, one at the masthead and
one on each paddle-box, thus forming the figure of
a huge triangle. The twistings of the Channel
make the fiery triangle appear to dance to and fro
from one shore to the other. Just after the town
clocks struck the hour of midnight, a most welcome
sound, about two miles off, washeard in the watch-
house, viz., the measured beat of the paddle-
wheels of the tug steamer, laden with passengers,
cargo, baggage, and mails from the North Star.
By one o'clock on Saturday morning the clicking
of the handles of electric telegraph instrumefntiwn
Southampton was incessant, and telegrams 9_ll`l_.
York news were flashing to London: :14 anwircy
o'clock in the morning many busy
Ilwer,, bad
to Loner
'l3
wagging tongues, belonging s
co _oped up I the
been five mottal weary hot;
in profound TO-
, Customs Dock watch-houso,
pone.