The Sun.
London, England, 1850-10-26 00:00:00

THE GREAT WESTERN.

There has I;e7;tteOitrovet4Y;ith regard to excur-
sion trains, and some memorials, &e., have been pre-
sented to the Great Western Company on the subject.
A short letter was published some days since from the
secretary to the Bishop of Oxford, acknewlodging the
receipt of a memorial from Oxford. The subject has
now undergone consideration, and the result has been
communicated to a clergyman at Bristol who was the
medium of communication from the Bishop and clergy
there. The following letter has been written for the
purpose of making known the sentiments of the board
after reconsidering the subject:—
" Rev. Sir,—ln reply to your letter of the 3d inst., I
am desired to inform you that since the receipt of the
memorial from the Lord Bishop of the diocese, and other
clergymen residing in and near Bristol, as well as similar
memorials and letters from others, the directors have felt
it their dnty to reconsider the whole subject of Sunday
excursion trains.

"It may be here mentioned that the consent of this
company to provide occasional trains of that description
was only given after experience had shown that there
was, on the part of persons employed incessantly in shops
or factories during every other day in the week, a grow-
ing requirement for relaxation during the Sunday, by
passing it either at the seaside or in the country, instead
of remaining to spend both their time and their money at
some suburban tavern.

" With one or two exceptions every metropolitan railway
ap
ni s
on their
sees ' whosefrom facility
subsistence
o thef c
Monday morning
untiletradingpaSa company
cunord haddnat Saturday oureaffordeded
night, r
labourc
t sho
tillable them to quit London
early'
nu ndy
ascertained
rmo t
sirizidn g
tahnadreturn t
pe rs a
ahso
resorting
es
aartarni night.
ht to.
those trains conducted themselves for the most part dur-
ing the Sabbath with exemplary decorum and propriety.
Many who while in London never quitted their rooms to
attend Divine service were known to go to church in
the•country; attracted to it, there can be little doubt,
in numerous instances, by relations or friends, whom
they were enabled to visit by menus of those cheap fares.
A decided improvement, not only in the character and
habits, but also in the health of the industrial classes
of the metropolis, has been remarked as mainly to be
ascribed to the opportunity of change and relaxation af-
forded by that system.
"The directors having satisfied them-selves that such
cheap trains were alike beneficial to the company and
conduciveas to the
be
awanecife',Airvee,otfatheovseeryclsausaseas (peculiarly en-
,
It it obligatory upon them to accord the same fa-
cility to the public as other companies did, the only
means of travelling into the west of England being ex-
clusively under their control.
After a very careful deliberation of the matter,
weighing well the various objections urged against such
excursion trains, as adverted to in the memorials, I am
desired to acquaint you that the directors cannot per-
ceive in them sufficient grounds to justify the reversal
of their former determination. Entertaining very high
respect for the motives and feelings of all who have
signed those representations, they regret that it is not
consistent with their sense of duty to withhold from the
trading and working population of this country such so-
cial and moral benefits and relaxation from their daily
labour as railways can alone confer by a system of
cheap trains—calculated as they believe such excursions
ate to promote a better observance rather than a dese-
cration of the Sabbath by those who do not wilfully
misuse them.

" I have the honour to he. Rev. Sir, your faithful obe-
dient servant, " C. A. SAuNDEus, See.
London Terminus, Paddingden Oct. 25. " Rev. R. A. Taylor, M.A., St. Wer' burgh's, Bristol.

HEREFORDSHIRE IiAILwAYs.--There is a proposal
before the Hereford people for a line of railway from the
Grange, on the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway, .1
Hoes, along the eastern bank of the Wye to Hereford, there
to form a junction with the Shrewsbury and Hereford, and
completing the line through from Liverpool to South Wales
—23 miles. Estimate, 2.50,0001. for a single line; the con-
tractor taking 100,000/.—and debentures raisable,
leaving only 100,0001. to be raised byhares.—North Wales
Chronicle.Lo,ooo/. ;
s

ANOTHER FIRE IN D s Scareely had
hWaodrkbsnwkleinenoautroenpotrlithVOßPOßT. --
the engines finished their labours at the fire at the Soap
ene cpetashr-etsyyt r
oeef t,
directedt Dh ee v4o ntt
ohp otrht
e. The West of
back part of
e was
premises spread
d Oak conflagrationbeershop
and
artillerymenthloi euisre hose;adjoining, tal
nie jiane tl
aPprrigpi
Major-General
England Brigade opened the first waterplug, and attached
Regiment. The
the beershop. In the front were three engines, worked by
soldiers were distributed over different parts of the buildings,
houses, and directing the waterpipe.s.
and were busily engaged in removing furniture from the ad-
joiningthe Honourable Henry Murray, accompanied by his aide-de-
camp, Captain Protheroe, and Brigade-Maier Nelson, was
early on the ground. The back part of the building was en-
tirely consumed, the roof and floorings all gave way shortly
after a number of soldiers had been ordered away from the
spot, and there was scarcely a vestige, save the walls, of any-
thing left. The house adjoining the beershop was entirely
gutted, and it was feared that the next house would have
taken fire. The fire was first discovered by a boy, who saw
smoke issuing from the shutters, and he immediately alarmed
the inmates. This was about five o'clock. All the family of
the occupier escaped without injury. At the time we left
there were six engines in full play, namely, the 'West of Eng-
land, the Military, the Dockyard, the Davonport Town En-
gine, and two others. The fire was still burning with great
energy.—Second edition of the .Plymouth Journal.
THE LAST PARISIAN BALLOON ASCENT.. M.
Poitevin gives the following account of his balloon ascent on
Sunday :—" We left the Hippodrome at half-past five o'clock,
and soon found ourselves above the Champ-de-Mars about
2,000 yards in height. The cold became very sharp, and our
three intrepid 'Filles de l'Air,' whose courage did not fail a
single instant, began to discover that their costumes, very
pretty, but rather two aerial, were not precisely travelling-
dresses for such high regions, and they felt a strong desire
to abdicate their divine role, and return to the car to chane
their dresses of lace and muslin for clothing much warmer;
although ' Fines de l'Air,' their teeth began to chatter. we
put the mechanism, which is as simple as it is solid, in move-
ment, and the travellers returned to the car, where they
quickly exchanged their clothes. Our balloon had twice
been in cold clouds, and we lost sight of the earth ; but
the
wind brought us over Paris, and we passed over the Pan-
theon, the Jardin-des-Plants, and the Fort of Villejuif. By
this time the ladies had completed their toilette—a strange
operation at such a height. The night having begun to ap-
proach, I effected my descent without the slightest shock."---
French Paper.

[arivErrisEmENT.]
Messrs. HARDING and Co., 81, Pall-mall, beg to
intimate to the public that, in consequence of the rebuilding
of their premises, it has become imperative on them to
dispose of the whole of their valuable Stock, which they
have determined to (tier for immediate Sale, at a very cos-
siderable reduction of pricec.o:isetsisurgs.ollf .sai
Silks,
,CRoi.boffer s
at
chee,
fide. Their
the assurance
triariel ce
Stock,that the Sale thus announced is bona
Embroidery, Shawls, Scarves, Cloaks, Mantles, Gloves, and
the recherche Selection of Millinery, for all of which their
establishment is so eminently distinguished, will be unre-
servedly subjected to the reduction. The Sale will be eon-
tinned fora limited period.