The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-05 00:00:00

DIRECT NORTHERN RAILWAY
COMPANY.
The PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE of the DIRECT
NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY from LONDON to
YORK by LINCOLN, having before them an advertisement pub.
fished in the Morning Papers of this day, headed " LONDON
and YORK RAILWAY," and signed " J. R. Mowatt, Secre..
tary," and observing the very discourteous spirit which pervades
it, feel that they might have contented themselves by simply giving
a peremptory denial to the statements contained therein, so far as
they impugn• the prospectus and line put forth by this Committee,
of which they are prepared fully to establish the integrity at the
proper time and before the proper tribunal; yet the Committee,
thinking that it is due to the public to furnish a specific reply to
the aforesaid statements, now proceed to do so as follows :
ADVERTISEMENT. ANSWER. PROOF.
1. That the pro- 1. This was not a The Parliamentary
ject for"a new railway direct line from Lon- notices in the " Lon-
from andon to York don to York, but don Gazette" and the
was formed by Mr. went by Cambridge, Records of raffle-
Gibbs in 1836, and in with a London termi- meat.
that year carried into nus at Whitechapel.
Parliament.
2. That in 1840
Mr. Gibbs again
brought his scheme!
before the Parliamen-
tary Commissioners,
and it is detailed by
them in their Report
in 1841.
3. That such
scheme was never!
abandoned by him
(Mr. Gibbs).
4. That on the 16th•
of April, 1844, " thell
project" was announc.,
ed by advertisement
in the" Times," under.
the name of the Great!
Northern Railway,
before any advertise
ment of Sir John Ren.
nie had appeared.

3. Admitted that
Mr. Gibbs never aban.
doned his scheme by
Cambridge.
4. Denied that this The City article of
advertisement related the " Morning Post"
to the above project of of the 12th of April,
Mr. Gibbs. 1844, contains,
The promoters of amongst other re-
. the Direct Northern marks on the subject,
,Railway, on the 4th the following :
of April, 1844, pub- " The formation of
lished and extensively a direct railway from
circulated the prospec. London to York, by
tus and plan of their way of Lincoln, for
present line, having its the purpose of con.
London terminus at fleeting the North of
King's .cross,and going England and Scotland
direct to York; and with the metropolis,
as a subject of public has been decided on.
importance and inte. Prospectuses have
rest, it was noticed by been issued, together
the press. with maps explana.
tory of the mode of proceeding Intended. It appears that the pro.
posed line is to commence near King's.cross, in the New.road, and,
independently of any other line, to take its course through Hert-
ford, Bedford, Huntingdon, Peterborough, Stamford, Sleaford, and
the other important towns, to Lincoln and York; the distance by
the adoption of this line being less by nearly 40 miles than it can
be travelled by any existing railway. The capital required for the
execution of the work is estimated at or under 4,000,0001., the
length of line being 180 miles. The work will be placed under the
superintendence of Sir John Rennie and Mr. William Gravatt,
Civil Engineers"—

And the following is extracted from the "Times" city article,
April 15, 1844:

" A Direct Northern Railway from London to York by Lincoln,
having in view the connexion of the North of England and Scot.
land, by York and Lincoln, with the metropolis, is also another
project recently started. The line is to commence from King's-
cross, pass through Chipping Barnet, Biggleswade, St. Neots,
Huntingdon, and Peterborough, to Lincoln, and thence by Gains.
borough, Thorne, Snaith, and Selby to York. The capital required
is 4,000,0001., in 1001. shares. Among the advantages which it is
stated this route will possess, are—that the distance between Lon-
don and York will be 39 miles less than by the existing railways;
that it will reduce the distance between London and Edinburgh 39
miles; and that it will be the nearest way to Leeds, Selby, Hull, Hali.
fax, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Pontefract, and Sheffield,
5. The advertise- 5. There have been
ment gives " the most many schemes for con.
direct and unqualified necting London with
contradiction" to the York by railway; but
assertion "that the Sir John Rennie arid
scheme of a new rail- this Committee do cer.
way to connect Lon- taint), claim to have
don with York, mi. originated and first
ginated with, and was projected the connec.
first projected by, Sir Lion with these cities,
John Rennie and Co. as well as the North
of England and Scot.
land with London, by
a Direct Main Trunk
Railway.

Further, the Messrs.
Rennie, in 1827,
about the time they
were engaged in car-
rying the Liverpool
and Manchester Rail-
way Bill through Par.
liament, laid down a
plan of a direct line
from London to York
by Lincoln, and have
never abandoned that
project.

Maps in Messrs.
Rennie's office, pro.
duced to this Com-
mittee.

6. The advertise-
ment states " that the
difference in distance'
between the two pro.'
jeeted lines from Lon.
don to York, instead
of being 20 miles, is
not more than 5i
miles" (in favour of
Sir John Rennie's
line); and also that
the line of the London
and York Company is,
in reality upon the
line, as finally laid
down, 1851 miles.
" The trunk line was, in round numbers, 200 miles, and its
ramifications would be still more extensive." This report is sub-
sequent in date to an advertisement of the London and York Rail-
way Company, in the " Railway Times" of the 27th of July, 1844,
which contains these words :—" The precise line throughout has
been determined on in a manner satisfactory to the landed and
other interests, and in a few days the Proprietors will receive a
sketch of the line, with particulars, from the Engineer's (Mr.
Locke's) Report."
Apply to the above a common process in arithmetic :
Miles.
Length of line, as stated by Mr. Mowatt 2OO
Length of Sir John Rennie's line

6. This can only
have been accom-
plished, as this Coin.
mittee are advised, by
a further appropria-
tion of Sir John Ren.
Inie's line, and a fur-
ther abandonment of
Mr. Gibbs's line of
1836,1840, and 1841.

In the " Stamford
Mercury" of the 30th
of August, 1844, is a
report of a public
meeting held at Stam-
ford, containing the
following as part of a
speech by Mr. Francis
Mowatt, Tice-Chair-
man of the London
and York Railway :

The result in favour of the latter is 2O

The Committee wish to assert their confident belief, that from the
tone of the advertisement under comment, it cannot have received
the sanction of the noblemen and gentlemen whose names are so
ostentatiously paraded in connexion with it, and who, it is a matter
of notoriety, do not now form the Provisional Committee of the
London and York Railway Company. In conclusion, this Com-
mittee cannot but call attention to the announced fact, that the line
adopted is, with modifications, that of Mr. Gibbs, thus conveying
that the London and York Company are not indebted for their line,
as finally laid down, either to Mr. Walker, the distinguished Engi.
neer to the first line, viz., the Cambridge and York via Lincoln
Railway; or to Mr. Locke, who has just resigned his office; or to
Mr. Cnbitt, who is at present advertised as the Engineer.in-Chief to
the Company; but to Mr. Gibbs, whose name has not previously
appeared as professionally connected with the London and York
Railway Company.—By order of the Committee,
WILLIAM AMSINCK, Secretary.
Direct Northern Railway office, 64, Moorgate.
street, London, Oct. 3, 1844.