The Sun.
London, England, 1844-11-19 00:00:00

CORNWALL and D EVON CENTRAL
RAILWAY, AND BRISTOL AND EXE-
TER RAILWAY COMPANY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIR,—An advertisement appeared in the Times o f
the 16th inst., headed " Bristol and Exeter Railway
Company ;" which is authenticated by the signature of
the Secretary, Mr. Badham, and is in the following
words :

" In consequence of statements which have been made
at public meetings in the county of Cornwall, and else-
where, and in some of the newspapers, that the Chair-
man of the Bristol Railway Company, Frederick Ricketts,
Esq., has given his personal support to the Central Corn-
wall Railway, in opposition to the Cornwall Railway
from Plymouth to Falmouth (which latter line has the
undivided support of the Bristol and Exeter, the Great
Western, the Bristol and Gloucester, and the South De-
von Companies, of all of which he is a Director), and that
the banking firm in Cornwall, of which Mr. Ricketts is
the head, has engaged to make a large advance of money
to the central line, I am directed to publish the two fol-
lowing letters, by which it will be seen that those state-
ments were altogether unauthorised by Mr. Ricketts,
and that he continues to be Chairman of the Bristol and
Exeter Company.

" By order of the Directors,
" J. B. BADHAM, Secretary.
"Bristol Office, 30, Broad-street,
November 13, 1844."
Having been present at, and taken part in, most of
the public meetings held in Cornwall on the question
of the Central Railway, and having attended as a de-
putation the meetings held " elsewhere"—namely, at
Bideford and Exeter—l can give the most unqualified
contradiction to the assertion that at such meetings it
was stated that "Frederick Ricketts, Esq., had given
his personal support to the Central Cornwall Railway,
in opposition to the Cornwall Railway from Ply-
mouth to Falmouth ;" for on every such occasion it
was distinctly announced that Mr. Ricketts was in no
way connected with the Central Railway, although
his partners in the bank in Cornwall, Messrs. Turner,
Enthoven, Mason, and James, were all members of
the Provisional Committee. This I have repeatedly
affirmed, and the same statement has invariably been
made by the other gentlemen with whom I have
been associated in this undertaking ; so far,
therefore, from such representations having been
made as alleged, pains have been taken to
'prevent an erroneous impression to which the
connexion of the parties might otherwise have led.
At the great and influential meeting held at Exeter,
'on the 2d inst., which I had the honour of addressing,
there were present the representatives of three of the
associated companies—Mr. Saunders, the secretary of
the Great Western ; Mr. Badham, the secretary of
the Bristol arid Exeter ; and Mr. Princeps, the secve•
tary of the South Devon Railway—besides Directors
and Shareholders in some or all of these companies.
I ask these gentlemen whether, on that occasion, it
was asserted that " Mr. Ricketts had given his per-
sonal support to the Central Cornwall Railway," or
whether that gentleman was not expressly excepted
from all connexion with it ? I appeal to the re •
porters, and to every gentleman present at that
meeting, for confirmation to the contradiction which
I give to such a statement. I distinctly remember
saying at that meeting—" Gentlemen, if I mis-state
any fact, correct me." Did Mr. Saunders, Mr. Bad-
ham, or Mr. Princeps, venture to question any
representation of mine ? Had I made such a state-
ment as is insinuated in the advertisement signed by
Mr. Badham, could that gentleman have permitted
himself to become an acquiescing party by remain-
ing silent ? The publication of the advertisement in
question furnishes evidence of the peculiar means re•
sorted to to serve a temporary purpose, and to assail,
indirectly, the character of a most honourable man,
merely because his partners in a banking company
venture to act upon their own judgments, and to
identify themselves with an undertaking calculated to
benefit that county, in the prosperity of which they
had become deeply interested.
With respect to the offer by them of a sum of
money towards the construction of the Central
Railway, I apprehend Mr. Turner's statement at
Truro will be found sufficiently explicit, and that the
advertisement can hardly be expected to obliterate
a fact.

I would suggest to the Great Western Company
the propriety of consulting the county of Cornwall on
the subject of a Cornish Railway, instead of deluding
themselves into the belief that, against the expressed
determination of that county, united as it is in favour
of a central line, they can succeed in carrying out the
coast line, a project calculated to be beneficial only to
the private interests of associated companies, and
obviously detrimental to the public good.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
THOMAS lIARVEY,
Secretary of the Cornwall and Devon
Central Railway.
5, John-street, Adelphi, Nov. 18, 1844.

TIIE KING OF THE FRENCH.—WINDSOR, MON-
DAY.—On Saturday afternoon Baron Talleyrand, the
Count do Noailles, and M. Rabandy, arrived at Windsor,
from the French embassy, for the purpose of having an
interview with Mr. T. Clark, the newly-elected Mayor,
having been commanded by his Majesty Louis Philippe
to present the worthy chief magistrate with the sum of
5,000 f. (2000 to be distributed amongst the poor and
necessitous of the town during the ensuing winter. Two
beautifully executed gold snuff-boxes have been pre-
sented from the King of the French to Messrs. Russell
and Stead, the inspectors of police who were on duty at
the Castle during the visit of his Majesty to the Queen.
The female domestics also, connected with the suite of
apartments occupied by his Majesty, were likewise pre-
sented with valuable rings set with diamonds and other
precious stones.
THE POLISH BALL.— Yesterday a numerous
meeting of the Committee for conducting the Polish
ball took place at the Guildhall, Deputy Peacock in the
chair. Lord Dudley Stuart stated that the applications
for tickets were very great, and the strongest hopes
were entertained that the ball would be more than
usually productive. No trouble or expense would be
spared to make the whole of the entertainments worthy
of the occasion, and a larger number of people of high
rank would attend than had been ever known to assemble
at their annual meeting for the assistance of the un-
fortunate Poles. The inconvenience arising from the
dust produced by the chalking of the floor will be com-
pletely obviated by the new system introduced for this
occasion. While the Committee was sitting, many
applications were made for tickets, amongst which were
applications from the French Ambassador and his lady,
the Earl and Couhtess of Errol, the Ladies Fitzcla-
rence, &c., &c.

TIM WELSH MARTYRS.—A public meeting to
memorialise her Majesty to grant a free pardon to those
unfortunate men, Frost, Williams, and Jones, is con-
vened for this evening, at the Hall, Turnagain-lane,
Skinner-street, Snow-hill. T. S. Duncombe, Esq., M.P.,
who has recently placed a vast number of memorials in Sir
J. Graham's hands for the same merciful purpose, has
been invited to take the chair on the occasion.

Numerous burglaries, and burglarious attempts,
have taken place lately in this neighbourhood, and there
is no doubt as to the existence of an organised band
of burglars, who have hitherto escaped detection.
Buckingham, the residence of Mr. Bridger at Shoreham,
was broken into a short time ago and some plate stolen;
and this has been followed by several other attempts
in the adjoining parishes. A night or two ago Red
House, occupied by Mr. H. Fuller's bailiff, at Portslade,
was broken into, and also Mr. Hardwicke's, at South-
wick. On Tuesday night the house of Mr. Tompsett,
farmer, at Telscombe, was attacked ; but, hearing a
noise, Mr. Tompsett got up, took his gun, and fired
at the robbers, who then made off. In addition to these,
the house of Mrs. Hurley, at Iford ; of Mr. Goldsmith,
of Bevendean ; of Mr. Blaker, at Patcham •, of the
Rev. Mr. Staveley, at Patcham ; and of the Rev. Mr.
Hutchins, at Telscombe, have been either attempted
or actually broken into, and considerable alarm is felt in
consequence by the occupants of detached dwellings. A
special policeman was yesterday sworn in for Portslade,
and we understand the farmers are about to enter into a
subscription for the purpose of offering a reward for the
apprehension of the daring offenders.—Brighton Herald.
MIRACULOUS ESCAPE.—A remarkable instance of
providential escape from untimely death occurred to
three young gentlemen, at Marsden Rock, near South
Shields, on Tuesday last. It appears that a holiday
g havinbeen given at the school which they attended, a
number of youths went to Marsden Rock for a little. ex-
cursion, and to enjoy the beauties of that romantic spot.
Three of the party descended to the beach and wandered
about for some time; these were sons of Mr. Wealands
Robson, Mr. Wm. Dixon, and Mr. Lonie, of Bishop-
wearmeuth. The sea was very rough, and the tide was
setting in very strong, when they discovered that the
tide had flowed round them and cut off their retreat.
The little fellows got upon the highest point of the rock,
and the water by this time had reached above their
knees, and was flowing so rapidly that they must soon
have been swept into the surge. Young Dixon was three
times washed off his standing place, but gained it again.
In this juncture a brother of Robson looked over the
precipice, and saw the imminent danger of his young
friends, and instantly ran to the house of Peter Allan,
close by, and gave the alarm. Allan with promptitude
took a rope, and hastened to the rock, and having
lowered down the rope, desired one of the boys to fasten
it round his waist; this was done, and he was dragged
up a height of 70 feet with safety. The other two boys
were rescued in the same way, young Robson cou-
rageously waiting to the last to assist his more frightened
companions. Dixon was in a very exhausted state, and
had to be put to bed at Peter Allan's, where ho soon re-
covered so as to walk home; the other two were much
bruised against the rock in being drawn up, but all are
now in a fair way of recovery from injury and fright.
About five minutes after their escape the spot on which

they stood was covered with the fonaming surge, so that
their escape was truly providential.—Durham Advertiser.
A GOOD MISTRESS.—At an inquest held yesterday
before Mr. Higgs on the body of a woman who died
suddenly in a fit, one of the jurors said that deceased
was a woman of a most exciteable temper. Durinc, his
acquaintance with her he could not count the number of
servants she had ; they were, in fact, innumerable.
Another juror said he knew that dozens of them bad not
stayed with her a week. And a third cried, "Pooh,
pooh I've known them go to her in the morning, give
notice in the afternoon, and quit in the evening." None
of them could stand her temper, bat she was nevertheless
a kind-hearted woman, and would lend or give them
money if they wanted it.