The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-17 00:00:00

RAILWAY CO.II3.IITTZES,

Yesterday the case of the Mid-Devon and Corn-
wall Railway was opened by Mr. Phinn, Q.C., in
opposition to the competing case of the Devon
Central, which was closed. The evidence of Mr.
Fowler, C.E., on the gauge question occupied the
day. He deposed that both the broad and narrow
gauge were extending, and that the latter was
only a little less economical than the former. En-
gineering and general evidence was proceeded with
in the committee on the Eastern Counties and on
the Cork Railways. The Bishop's Castle Railway
Bill still occupies Lord Monteagle's committee, and,.
the bill of the Haddersfield Gas Company was
passed in another committee. Lord Redesdale, in
his committee, disposed of the Whitehaven, Cleator,
and Egremont Railway, Brighton, Rick&ld, and
Tonbridge Railway, and other bills.

THE HOLYHEAD AND GREAT NORTH ROAD.-A
committee of the House of Commons has just com-
menced its sittings on this subject, its object
being to "relieve" certain trusts on the for-
merly well-known Great North or Holyhead
Road of old "coach" times reminiscence. This
road, it will be remembered, just as the railway
came in to supersede it, had attained the highest
pitch of macadamised perfectibility, but has of
late years become a comparatively deserted high-
way and in debt, the legislature, while granting
compensation for interference with vested interests
in other cases, having apparently conceded no
compensation in this. The consequence is that
the total debt now due on account of loans to the
various districts of the Holyhead Railway from the
Consolidated Fund and Exchequer Loan Commis-
sioners amounts to about £65,000 ; the sum due
from the Highgate Archway-road being about
£13,000; St. Albans and Barnet, £13,000 ; Hock-
liffe and Stratford, £10,000; Stratford and Dun-
church, £16,000, the monies being granted under
acts of Geo. IV. and Wm. IV. The bill provides
for the repayment of the loans by instalments, and
proposes, should the trustees of any road fail in
making them, that the commissioners shall enter
on possession of all the toll-gates and repay them-
selves.

FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE LEA BRIDGE STATION
OF THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAILwAv.--Yestarday Mr.
Serjeant Payne held an inquest at St. Bartholomew's Hos-
pital, on the body of Jacobus Everett, who came to his
death from an accident sustained at the Lea-bridge station
of the Eastern Counties Railway. It appeared from the
evidence that on the night of Sunday last the deceased and
a friend, named George Hinkdon, were at the above sta-
tion, and while in the aet of descending the steps leading
to the platform, when about nine steps from the bottom,
the deceased was seized with dizziness and fell headfore-
most on to the platform below. He was immediatelypicked
up, and after being washed was put into a train corning to
London, and on its arrival he was at once ponveyed to the
hospital. He was quite insensible when he was received
there, and on being attended and examined by Mr. Smith,
the house surgeon, it was found that he had a fracture of
the skull at the back part, with a rupture of a blood-vessel
and some minor injuries. Ho lingered till Monday morn-
ing at half-past seven, when ho expired, the injuries he
received being the cause of death. Verdict-44 Accidental
death."

IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN GRAIN, &c.—The
following quantities were imported into Hull last week :
Whet' t, 5,047 qrs.; barley, 5,804 qrs.; oats, 520 qrs.; beans,
1,611 qrs.; peas, 2,080 qrs. ; linseed, 1,130 qrs. During
the same week £5l 10s. 6d. was paid at Hull on 2,748 cwt,
of fereigu wheat flour imported into that pert.