The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-05 00:00:00

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Na. 16,396. LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING SUN, MARCH 5, 1845.

PRIOR sd.

THE SUN is Pububishe d EVERY MORNING at FIVE 0 CLOCK, in Time for the EARLY TRAINS and TOWN DELIVERY; a SECOND EDITION (Eren:ng Sun) is Published in Time for the AFTERNOON TRAIN
and a THIRD EDITION at SEVEN O'CLOCK, for POST, Containing PARLIAMENTARY and all other NEWS in LONDON up to that Hour.
ADVERTISEMENTS INSERTED in ALL THE THREE PAPERS, Mornii.g, Noon, and Night, thereby insuring a TOWN and COUNTRY CIRCULATION at ONE CHARGE.

ARGUS LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY,
39, TIIROGMORTON-STREET, BANK.
EMPOWERED by SPECIAL ACT of PARLIAMENT,
h and 6 Will. IV., c. 76.
THOMAS, FARNCOMB, Esq., Aldennan, Chairman.
WILLIAM LEAF, Esq., Deputy Chairman.
Richard E. Arden, Esq. kfames CM, Esq.
William Banbury, Esq. Rupert lugleby, Esq.
Edward Bates, Esq. Thomas Kelly, Esq., Alderman.
Thomas Camplin, Esq. ,Jeremiah filcher, Esq.
John Humphery, Esq., Alderman,' Lewis Pocock, Esq.
M.P.
PwrslcrAN—Dr. Jeaffreson, 2, Finsbury-square.
SURGEON—W. Coulson, Esq., 2, Frederick's-place, Old Jewry.
CONSULTING AcTuAßY—Professor Ilall, of King's College.

MESMERISM AM) CLAIRVOYANCE.
SOrTIIWARK LITERARY INSTITUTION, BOROUGH-ROAD.
TWO LECTURES AND DEMONSTRA-
TIONS, by Mr. W. J. VERNON ; with the celebrated Solo-
lututhule Paris, and other cases, un FAIDIV, March 7th, and
FRIDAY, March 14th, at Eight o'Clock.

Sovern Navigation Commissioners to raise money for the purpose
of carrying out a great public improvement authorised by Parlia.
ment. Prom this difficulty, however, as well as from the appre-
hension of that great Improvement being impeded by the intro-
duction of railways into the district, we are relieved by the offer
made by the railway Company to whose scheme we recommend
that a preference should be given, to take upon themselves the
burden of the guarantee to the extent of any loss sustained in eon.
sequence of the construction of the railway, subject to any reason-
able conditions and arrangements.
With regard to the remaining point, that of safety, it is ad-
mitted that portions of the soil being undermined, subsidences
occasionally take place; but there appears no reason to apprehend
any peculiar degree of danger to a railway from this source, be-
yond what equally affects the canals, roads, tramroads, feunderics,
mills, and ether buildings of the district, and which has never
been considered an impediment to the introduction of railways in
other mining districts. Some of the most eminent engineers of
the day, among whom may be mentioned Sir J. Rennie, Mr. Bru-
nel, and Mr. R. Stephenson, have proposed the lines which pass
through the district in question, and are clearly of opinion that
they may be worked without any unusual degree of danger.
We are of opinion, therefore, that some one line of railway Is
required, and may be properly sanctioned, for the accommodation
of the district in question, between Wolverhampton and Worces-
ter. This being conceded, the sanction of a line in connexion
with it, to connect Worcester more directly with London, and to
give communication to the large intermediate district, appears to
fellow almost as a matter of course. The supply of coals to this
district, where a great reduction of price will be effected, is alone
an important object ; and, on the other hand, an outlet will be
afforded for agricultural produce. A population of about 12/3,000
between Worcester and Tring would be accommodated by the line in
that direction; and, on the whole, taken in connexion with the
Worcester and Wolverhampton Junction, the traffic seems suffi-
cient to justify a fair expectation of return on the capital to be
invested, as also on the Rugby and Oxford portion of the line,
which will complete a chain of direct railway communication from
the northern and midland to the southern and south.wostern
counties, and will afford to those counties a valuable supply of coal
from the Derbyshire collieries.
We proceed, therefore, to investigate the subject, on the assump-
tion that one or other of the compet:ng set, DI et 1 -orooted by the
London and Birmingham, and Great Weetexii Companies will be
sanctioned, and that the question is reduced to one of preference
between them.
In regard to distance, the two schemes are as nearly as possible
equal, the distance from Worcester to London being 122 miles by
the Tring line, and Ile by the Oxford line; the former, however,
terminating at the Euston.square station, and the latter at Pad-
dington. The number et miles of new railway to be constructed
in either case is also nearly the same; nor does there appear to be
anything in respect of gradients or engineering character calcu.
lated to give one scheme a decided preference over the other. The
course of the Tring line accommodates a larger population between
Worcester and London than the Oxford line ; but the importance
of the districts traversed by either line, and left out by its compe-
titor, is hardly sufficient to give a decided superiority on a question
of such magnitude.
A far more important feature of comparison Is derived from a
consideration of the question of gauge.
The Great Western scheme is proposed to be constructed on the
wide gauge of seven feet, used upon the different railways of the
Great Western system ; while the scheme of the London and Bir.
mingham Company is proposed to be constructed on the narrow
gauge of 4 feet inches, common to all the other railways of the
kingdom.
In order to estimate fully the importance of this question, It

300 are sanctioned on the wide guage, a disproportion
which will be still more'largely increased by the new railways
now in contemplation, an inference might be drawn in favour of
confining the gauge which is in such a decided minority within
• the narrowest possible limits ; and this inference might be
strengthened by referring to the obvious fact that the wide gauge
has not realised those decided advantages over the narrow gauge
which were at one time anticipated. The actual speed of trains
upon the Great Western Railway, as shown by the published time-
tables, and by official returns, is not so high as upon some narrow-
gauge railways, and notwithstanding the excellence of its gm-
dients, very slightly higher than the average speed of other great
railways on the narrow gauge. In respect of safety, it is manifest
that both gauges are alike unobjectionable, with due precaution
and proper management; and in respect of convenience and of
economy, including the cost both of construction and working, the
opinion of a great majority of the most eminent authorities is un-
favourable to the wide gauge.
Without wishing to express any positive opinion ourselves upon
the point, it is enough for us to say that we think there is nothing
in the relative merits of the two gauges in themselves materially to
affect the question between them, which turns upon commercial
considerations.
In this point of view the question is, as we have already ob-
served, whether the points of junction between the wide and narrow
page should be at Rugby, Birmingham and Wolverhampton, or
at Oxford and Bristol. Ip support ofthe first view, it is contended
that the principle which should regulate the choice of the points of
junction ought to be to fix them at great foci of traffic, and centres
of converging railways, where delay must take place and large estab-
lishments be maintained at any rate ; while on the other hand it is
contended that such points arc the worse possible to select, and
that the opposite principle should be adopted, of confining an ine-
vitable inconvenience within the narrowest possible limits, by
fixing the points of junction where there is least through-traffic.
The correctness of the latter proposition seems perfectly obvious
upon general considerations; but the question is one of such great
commercial importance, that we have thought it right to inquire
fully and in detail into the practical effects that would result to the
principal interests concerned from an interruption of the gauge, on
the one hand, at Birmingham and Rugby, and en the other at
Bristol and Oxford.
By either combination the traffic of places intermediate between
Birmingham and Bristol with each other, and with London, would
not be affected; uniformity of guage being secured equally in the
one case by the wide, in the other by the narrow guage. By either
combination the traffic between places north and east of the line of
the London and Birmingham Railway and places south of the line
of the Great Western Railway would not be affected, interruption
of guage having equally to be encountered in the one case at Bristol
and Oxford, in the other at Birmingham and Rugby.
By the former or wide-guage combination, the traffic between
Devonshire, Cornwall, and all places south of the line of the
Great Western Railway, and Birmingham, and all places between
Birmingham and Bristol, would gain, i. e., would escape an in-
terruption of guage; also such of the traffic of South 'Wales, to
Birmingham, and places short of Birmingham, as in the event of
the bauth Wales Railway being sanctioned, would take the cir.
cuitous route by that railway to the north of Gloucester.
On the other hand, by the narrow-gauge combination, a break
is avoided in the whole of the traffic between Manchester, Liver-
pool, Hull,: and the northern, eastern, and midland portions of
the kingdom, and Bristol, Gloucester, Worcester, and the whole
district intermediate between the London and Birmingham and
Great Western Railways.
The paramount importance of this consideration has been
strongly urged upon us by parties practically acquainted with the
traffic, and by the principal interests affected by the question.
In the memorial already referred to, signed by the representa-
tives of 46 iron-works, 57 furnaces, and 98 collieries, in the Staf-
fordshire mineral district, in favour of the London and Birming-
ham line, and narrow-gauge system, it is stated that, of the total
expert of the district, only eight per cent. is sent in the direction of
Bristol, of which by far the greater quantity is shipped from that
port, and would therefore be unaffected by a break of gauge there;
while 37 per cent. is sent to Liverpool and the north and north-
west of the kingdom, and 13 per cent. to Hull and the east, all of
which would consequently suffer by a break at Birmingham.
The wool trade' between Bristol, where wool fairs are held
annually, and Leicester and the West Riding of Yorkshire, is
very considerable, all of which would escape a break of gauge by
the narrow-gauge combination.
The export •f salt from Droitwich, both to Gloucester and
Bristol, and to Hull and other parts of the kingdom, is already
large, and likely to recei►e ♦ery great increase, if an unbroken
railway communication is afforded, which can only be done by
the narrow-gauge combination.

.•
Admission—One Shiling.
Also, MORNING and EN-ENING SEANCES, at Two and Eight
o'Clock, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at the INSTI-
TUTE of MESMERISM and PHRENOLOGY, 27, Duke-street,
Manchester-square.
Nervous and other Diseases mesmerically treated. Phrenolo-
gical manipulations. Private SEANCES and Classes attended.
For Terms, &c., apply at the Institute.

LOW RATES OF PREMIUM.
In addition to the subscribed Capital of 300,0001., the Assured have
the security of the Company's income of nearly 60,000/. per annum,
yearly increasing, and an accumulating Assurance Fund invested is
Government end other available securities, of considerably larger
amount than the e stimated liabilities of the Company.
The rates of premium are reduced to the lowest scale compatible
with the security of this Assured, and the stability- of the Company,
thereby, in effect, giving to every Policy Holder An immediate and
certain Bonus without risk, in lieu of the deferred and frequently
delude-c prospect of a periodical division of Profits.

ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.
PHILLIPS'S PATENT FIRE ANNIHILATOR, illustrated
by Dr. Ryan in ilia daily Chemical lecturo on the Mornings and Eve-
nings of MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, and FRIDAY.—A Seri& of
LECTURES on ASTRONOMY by Professor Bachhoffner, on the
Mornings and Evettings of Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,
during Lent, accompanied by Dr. 'Wallis on BRABY'it CALOTONE.
Working Models of New Inventions, among which KITE'S PA-
TENT SMOKE-CURING and VENTILATING ROOF, COWLS,
&c. GOCGII'S WASHING MACHINE, ROBINSON'S DRYING
MACHINE, &c , are explained daily. beautiful Picture of the
SHRINE of the NATIVITY is added to the NEW DISSOLVING
VIEWS. CIIILDE'S CHROMATROPE. THE PEOTEOSCOIII.
The PIIYSIOSCOPE. EXPERIMENTS by means of tie DIVING
BELL and DIVER under water, &c. &c.
Admission, Is. ; Schools, Ralf-prim

ANNUAL PREMIUM TO ASSURE £lOO.

Age. ! For One Year. For Seven Years. I Whole Term

£0 17 8
1 I 8
1 5 0
1 14 1
3 2 4

£0 19 1
1 2 7
1 6 9
1 19 I()
3 17 0

XI 11 10
2 0 7
2 14 10
4 0 11
6 0 10

One-third of "Whole Term" Premium may remain unpaid at
5 per cent. compound interest, as a debt upon the policy for life, or
may be paid off at any time without notice.
In Assurances for Advances of Money, as security for or
as a provision for a family, when the least present outlay is desirable,
the varied and comprehensive tables of the Argus Office will be found
to be particularly favourable to the Assured.
The Medical Officers attend daily at a Quarter before Two &Clock.
EDWARD BATES, Resident Director.
A liberal Commission to Solicitors and Agents.

NATIONAL LOAN FUND LIFE ASSUR-
ANCX SOCIETY,
26, CORNMILL, LONDON.
Capital 2600,000.
Empowered by Act of Parliament.
DIVISION OF PROFITS.
The steady seceess and increasing prosperity of the Society has
enabled the Directors, at the last annual investigation to declare a
second Bonus, averaging 60 per cent. on the amounts invested on each
Policy erected on the Profit scale.

~i ~
c
o ~

Premium. E

£ s. d.

EXAMPLES.

4e
Bonus Bonus in g
added. Cash. E
•
£ s. d.
77 5 1
64 5 6
51 5 11

X s. d.

1837 170 9 3
74 3 4 1838 144 2 2
1839 116 16 0

X 8. d.
12 3 5
9 16 4
1711 91

.4.
E-Eg

X a. ds
346 2 3
2911 13 4
247 4 5

The division of profit is annual, and the Next will be made in De-
*ember of the present year.
This imtitution offers many important and substantial advan-
tages with respect both to Life Assurances and Deferred Annuities.
The assured has, on all occasions, the power to borr)w, without ex-
pense or forfeiture of the Policy, two-thirds of the premium paid,
(see table) ; also the option of selecting benefits, and the conversion
of his interests to meet other conveniences er necessity. Assurances
fbr terms of years are granted on the lowest possible rates.
F. FERGUSON CAMROUX. See.

BRITANNIA LIFE OFFICE, 1, Princes•street,
Bank, and 448, West Strand, London, January 1, 1845.
Notice is hereby given, that the BUSINESS of the LONDON and
WESTMINSTER MUTUAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY has
been TRANSFERRED to this Company ; and all persons holding
policies issued by the said Society are informed that, as soon as the
renewal premiums thereon shall become payable, new policies will
he granted to them by the Directors of this Company, at the lams
rates of premium which they How pay, and without any charge for
stamp-duty; and all claimants on policies issued by the said London
and Westminstor Mutual Life Assurance Society are informed that
such claims will be discharged by the Diree tors of this Company, a
soon as the the same shall have been substantiated.
PETER MORRISON, Resident Director.

VAUXHALL COMPOSITE CANDLES,
Ss. 6d. per doz.
PRICE'S PATENT CANDLES, 109. 6d. per doe.
GENUINE WAX CANDLES, 28s. per doz.
These three sorts of Candles are all precisely alike in their burn-
ing qualities, but the Vauxhall Composites are rather softer than
the Price's Patent, and thence the difference in price. Even those
who are compelled to study economy alone, should burn them in pre-
ference to Tallow Dips.
patent Cocoa Nut Lamp Oil, warranted equal in every respect t•
the finest Sperm, 49. per gallon.
WM. MARCHANT, 253, Itegeut-Brous, Oxford-street.

RAILWAY DEPARTMENT OF THE
BOARD uF TRADE.

IMPORT •P Tit RAILWAY DIPARTNIIINT OP TR@ ROAR) OP TakOß
IN TRS LONDON, WORCIITIR, AND WOLVIIRRAMPTOM, AND IN
TIER ■IRYINOIAMI AND mitaawsatna DISTRICTS.
Railway Department, Board of Trade, Whitehall, Feb. 28.

BRITANNIA LIFE ASSURANCE COM-
PANY, 1, Princes•street, Bank, London, empowered by spe.
dal Act of Parliament, 4 Vic. c. 9.
HALF CREDIT RATES OF PREMIUM.

Persons assured according to these rates are allowed credit (with-
out security) for half the amount of the first seven annual premiams,
paying interest thereon at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum, with the
option of paying off the principal at any time, or having the amount
deducted from the sum assured when the policy becomes a claim.
Polici, s may thus be effected at lower rates than are generally re-
quired for the term of seven years only ; whilst the holders have the
same security for the payment of their claims, whenever death may
happen, as if they paid double the amount of premium, which would
be charged for assurances effected in the us !al way.
Extract from the Half Credit Rates of Premium.
Annual Premium required for an Assurance of 1001. for the Whole

Term of Life

Half Premium for Whole Premium.
ge. seven years. after seven years.
X s. d. s. d.
30 1 1 9 1 3 6
35 1 4 11 2 9 10
40 1 9 2 2 18 4
45 1 14 10 3 9 8
80 2 2 6 4 5 0
55 2 12 9 b 5 6
60 3 6 8 6 13 4

PETER 310ERISOX, Rea Went Director.

The Board constituted by Minute of the Lords of the Committee
of Privy Council for Trade, for the transaction of railway business,
Is,iving had under consideration the different schemes deposited
with the Railway Department for extending railway communica-
tion between London, Worcester, and Wolverhampton, and in the
district Intermediate between the London and Birmingham and
Great Western Railways, and also, in connexion with the above,
the schemes for extending railway communication between Bir-
mingham and Shrewsbury, have determined on submitting the fol.
lowing report thereon for the consideration of Parliament.
1 he object of the first class of schemes in question is to supply
railway communisation to the great mining district of Staffordshire,
lying south of Wolverhampton, to the towns of Kidderminster,
Stourbridge, Stourport, Worcester, Scc., and to the district north
of Oxford, intermediate between the Great Western and London
and Birmingham Railways.
For this purpose two competing schemes are proposed ; one,
which is pronaeted by the London and Birmingham Company,
comprises a line from Rugby to Oxford, and another from Wolver.
hampton, through Worcester and Banbury, to join the London
and Birmingham line at Tring ; the other scheme consists of a line
from Oxford to Rugby, which is proposed to be made by the Great
Western Company ; and of another line from Oxford to Worcester
and Wolverhampton, which is undertaken by an independent Com.
pany, but in connexion with the Great Western Company, and
which must be considered as fotming, with the Oxtord and Rugby
line, one scheme, competing with the former.

PUBLICATIONS

Just published, in demy Bvo., price 25., sewed,
JORD AUCKLAND and LORD ELLEN-
BOROUGH.
By A BENGAL CIVILIAN.
London : ;Smith, Elder, and Co., Cornhill.

For the sake of brevity we shall distinguish these as the " Lon-
don and Birmingham or Tring Scheme," and the " Great Wevern
or Oxford Scheme." Their general direction will be easily under-
stood by reference to the accompanying map.
In their general features and objects the two schemes are so
nearly indentical that the two manifestly cannot stand together. A
further scheme for the accommodation of the country between
Worcester and Wolverhampton, was proposed by the Birmingham
and Gloucester Company, but it is understood that arrangements
have been made by which this scheme is withdrawn in favour of
the London and Birmingham scheme, to which it was moreover
inferior in several important respects, so that we may consider the
question as reduced to one of competition between the schemes of
the two great companies.

The first point ie, whether a sufficient public case can be estab.

lished to justify the construction of any railway at all throughout
the districts in question. As regards the So,ith Staffordshire dii.
trict, this point has been disputed by various canal interests, who
urge that the district is already sufficiently w,ll aupp ied by water
communication, and that the Introduction of railwa)s, by destroy.

jig the resources and crippling the efficiency of such water com-
munications will be productive of injury rather than of benefit to
the public. Various special reasons have been urged in support of
this view, more especially with reference to the mineral district of
which Dudley may be considered as the centre. It is said that
the Birmingham Cat.al Company have, at a great expense, created
a very complete and efficient system of water communication
throughout this district; that a right is reserved of ranking
branch canals to all mines and works within certain ►imits,
which right would he to a certain extent defeated by running a
railway parallel to the existing canal, to the injury boils of the
Canal Company, and of the owners of the mine■ and works so
cut off; that the management and charges of the Canal Company
have always been of the most liberal description ; and finally, that
owing to the peculiar nature of the district, in which great exca-
♦ations have been made for mining purposes, rail Nays cannot be
carried through it without danger.
It will be readily conceded that the importance of the district in
question is such as t• entitle it to require the best means of com-
munication, whether by canal or railway. Between Wolverhamp-
ton and Stourbridge there are at present about one hundred blast
furnaces in work, producing about 468,000 tons of pig iron annu-
ally. In order to produce this quantity, nearly 4,000,010 tons of
coals, lime, ironstone, and other raw materials are consumed,
which are raised from the mines of the district, and transported to

Just published, price 2s. 6d.,
JOURNAL of the STATISTICAL SOCIETY.
vol. VIII. fart I. Contents:-
1. Norfolk Island and its Population of Criminals.
2. Population and Mortality of Calcutta.
3. Insanity in the East Indies : Bengal Asylums.
4. Statistics of Mahon.
5. Vitality among• Peers and Baronets.
6. Army and Navy Mortality and Sickness compared.
7. Miscellaneous, Mortality of the Metropolis and the Country,
Prices of Provisions, Revenue, Corn, Currency, Bank-
ruptcy, &r.
John William Parker, 445, West Strand.

In one vol. foolscap fivo., neatly sewed, 55.,
THE MANUAL of FREEMASONRY. Part
1., 11., and 111., originally published by Carlile for 155., and
now extremely scarce. This volume contains the whole of the cele-
brated Introduction to the three Parts, being a complete Key to the
Science and history of Freemasonry. (Postage, 2011.)
The MYSTERIES of PARIS, the only complete translation that
has appeared in the English language, 960 pages, 50 engravings, and
handsomely bound in red. A liberal allowance to the trade.
PAUL DE KOCK'S WORKS—The Barber of Paris, 25.; Gustavus,
or tho Young Rake, 2s. ; Georgette, or the Scrivener's Niece, Is. ;
Brother James, As.; The Man with the Three Pair of Smalls, As. ;
Moustache, or the Three Students of Paris, 2s. ; My Wife's Child,
Is. 6d. ; My Neighbour Raymond, Is. ; Tourlourou, or the Conscript,
3s.—klso Indiana, by George Sand, Is., &c.—A Catalogue may NI had.
George Croke', 199, Strand, St. Clement's.

rocket Edition (300 pages), lu an envelope, price 2e., by pest 35.
N M A R R I A GE-
its Hindrances and Obligations.
"Of grle eoncealed, and disappointments keen,
Which young and gentle—the matured and sage,
The lonely and the mated—all sustain."
By R. J. CULVERIVELL, M.D.,
Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Licentiate of
the llall, and twenty-three years Resideet Practitioner in Lends!).
Also, companion to the same (72 Engravings), price Is., by poet ls.
ON CIIASTITY—its Abuses and Diseases.
" Whereon cloth hinge the dignity of man,
The health of offspring, and domestle love l"
These publications are free from empyricism and mawkish senti-
mentality—they abound in stern truths, and are addressed to the in-
telligence of the times.
Sherwood, 23, Paternoster-row ; Carmine, 147, Fleet-street ;
Hannay, 63, Oxford-street ; Mann, 3h, Cornhill ; and the Author, 21,
Arundel-street, Strand.—At home daily till Two : Evenings, seven
till Nine.

the various furnaces, forges, and founderies.
The export of iron from the district is about 940,000 tons
annually, in addition to large quantities of heavy hardwares, tin platett,
glass, and other goods. The export of coal Pi also very large, and
might be greatly augmented by increased facilities of communica-
tion.

The population, depending for support on the iron-works, mince,
and manufactories of the district, is estimated at not less than
230,000; and the total population of the respective towns and
places between Wolverhampton and Worcester, which would be
benefited by the proposed railway communication, is believed t•
exceed 300,000.
Among these towns may be mentioned Kidderminster, a piece
of considerable manufacturing importance, and great Intercourse
with different parts of the kingdom ; Droitwich, with its extensive
salt works; Stourbridge, Stourport and Worcester.
The construction of a railway in this direction will also lead, in
all probability, to extensions i►rto the fertile agricultural district
on the west of the Severn, towards Leominster and Ludlow.
The claim of the district, therefore, to the most improved mode
of communication can hardly be disputed; and whatever claims
canal Companies may have from benefits preciously conferred,
or from past liberality of management, such claims cannot be con-
sidered by us in any ether light than those of other private inte-
rests, unless in so far as they may be based upon public considera-
tions.

Our report will not, in any way, prejudice or affect the right of
those canal Companies t') have their vested interests, if any, care-
fully considered by the Legislature.
Upon public grounds, therefore, we have mere'y had to consider
the allegation that the interests of the district will not be promoted
by the introduction of railways, and that railways cannot be con-
structed through it without danger.

must be borne in mind that the Bristol and Gloucester Railway is
on the wide, while the Birmingham and Gloucester is on the narrow
gauge, and that the inconvenience resulting from the break of the
two gauges at Gloucester ha., been so great as to lead to an amalga-
mation of the two Companies, with a view to obviate it, by intro-
ducing uniformity of gauge throughout between Bristol and Bir.
mingham. From the arrangements which have been made with
this view, it is perfectly evident that upon the question of the
Worcester lines depends whether this uniiormity will be proposed
to be attained, by the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway adopt-
ing the wide gauge, or the Bristol and Gloucester adopting the
narrow.

The question, therefore, upon which we have had to form an
opinion is, whether it is better far public interests that the wide
guage should come up to Birmingham and Rugby, or that the nar-
row gauge should go down to Bristol and Oxford ?
It would be difficult to overrate the importance of this question
in a national and commercial point of view. If there is one paint
more fully established than another in the practice of railways, it
is that the inconvenience occasioned by a break upon a line lo f
through.traffic, occasioned by want of uniformity of gauge is of
such a serious description as to detract most materially from the
advantages of railway communication.

FOUR.TEENTII EDITION of the SILENT FRIEND on ri in ai
Frailty, with Coloured Engravings.
Jest published, price 2s. Gd., free by post (in a sealed envelope) 3s. 6d.,
THE SILENT FRIEND; a Medical Work on
the Infirmities of the fienerative System iu both sexes ; and
on the loss of the reproductive powers, with means of restoration.
The baneful effects of solitary indulgence, neglected syphilis symp-
toms, &c., are fully pointed out. Illustrated by Engravings; followed
by observations on Marriage, with plain directions for the removal of
certain disqualifications. By it. and L. PERRY and Co., Consulting
Surgeons, London. Published by the Authors, and may be ad at
their residence, 19, BERNERS-STREET, OXFORD-STREET.
Sold by Strange, 21, Paternoster-row ; llatntay mud Co., 63, Ox-
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Upon the first point it seems sufficient to refer to the unanimous
opinion of the parties principally interested, and who have the best
opportunities of judging of the effects likely to fellow from the in-
troduction of iailways. The only difference of opinion has arisen
from the anxiety of the parties to obtain a railway of some descrip-
tion or other, which has led them to support different competing
schemes; but all parties have united in the strongest representa-
tions of the vital importance to the district of obtaining a good
railway communication, in addition to those afforded by the
canals. A memorial signed by the representatives of 46 iron-
works, 57 furnaces, and 98 collieries, in the Staffordshire mineral
district, including the trusteesof Lord War I,frem whose estate alone
upwards of 1,000,000 tons of coal and iron are raised annually, in
favour of the London aid Birmingham scheme; and another
memorial, representing thirty-seven iron-works, and nine col-
Het ies, in favour of the Great Western scheme, were pre-
sented to us; the memorialists in each case urging in the
strongest manner the advantages of railway communication to the
district.

It is stated, that without such communication, they have to
compete at a great disadvantage with the iron d stricts of South
Wales and Scotland, which, from their readier access to the sea,
can convey their products to market at a cheaper rate. The canals
are stated to be not only more tedious and expensive, but subject
to serious interruptions, often for weeks together, from frost in
winter and drought in summer. In short, it is urged that the
apprehensions of the canal Companies are the best test of the
further advantage of a railway; si..ce unless the latter obtained
a large proportion of the heavy traffic, which it cculd only do by
affording the public a better and cheaper means of transport, the
interests of the canals could not be Prejudiced.
With so strongly expressed a wish on the part of such an im-
portant district for railway communication, and with two great
Companies competing with one another to afford it, we do not
think that, upon public grounds, we should be justified in report.
ing that it ought to be withheld on account of any apprehended
interference with existing water communications. In the ate of
one Banal Cowpony, special reasons existed which might hare
weighed more strongly than those derived solely from private con.
siderations ; viz., that a guarantee had been given to assist the

110. and 335. per bottle.
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The following description of what has actually occurred at Glou-
ceater during the last few months, furnished to us by a gentleman
who has been practilly engaged in the management of the traffic,
will give some idea of the working of the system :
" We experience the greatest possible inconvenience from the
change, both as regards passengers and goods ; coals we have not
attempted to tranship.

" In the first place, as regards passengers and passenger trains:—
"The passengers and their luggage have to be hurried across
from one train to the other, when there is a chance of the luggage
being misplaced. Gentlemen's carriages and horses have to be
changed, a process uniting time and risk. Valuable parcels Lave
to be handed out in the confusion, and handed in.
" The result is a delay, with the mail-trains, for instance, of
half an hour sometimes, just sufficient, if the coming.ita train is
after time, to miss the Manchester or other train from Birmingham,
or the Exeter or Bath train from Bristol; annoyance to the pas-
sengers, whe are anxious about their parcels and luggage; risk,
and expense, as a large body of ;.enters have to be maintained,
whoa are aot fully; employed, in order that no more time than
is necessary should be lost in the change of trains.
With regard to goods, the inconvenience attending the change
is far more serious.
" Up to this day a great number of waggons, laden with goods
of all descriptions, have been lying at Gleucester, which we have
been unable to remove, in spite of every exertion. We keep an
establishment of clerks and porters to superintend and effect the
transhipment, but, in the hurry of business, mistakes occur; goods
destined far Hull are perhaps put into the Manchester truck; boxes
are bruised, packing tern, furniture and brittle articles damaged.
There is the chance of mistake in the re-invoicing of goods; the
other day, for instance, a bale for Bristol was laid hold of by a
carrier at Gloucester and taken to Brecon, a claim for some 30/.
being instantly made upon us.
"In short, all the inconvenience, delay, and expense attending
an unloading and reloading of goods have to be encountered, and
there is nothing the senders of goods so much dread as this. The
expense invelved is very considerable ; there is the expense of
porterage, which varies from 3d. to 6d. per ton ; the expense of
clerks employed in inspecting and invoicing the goods, the expense
of shunting the waggons, the waste of premises, the additional
carrying stock it obliges the companies on each gauge to maintain,
and, above all, the loss of trade which is sure to result from the
delay and risk attending the change, and the advantage which un-
interrupted communications, whether by water or railway, are sure
to have over you in competition.
" Much of this expense and delay, it may be said, can be obvi-
ated by better arrangements and more care; by ample station ac-
commodation, by abundant carrying stock. No doubt some of it
may be prevented, but this is only another name for expanse. The
care, too, which is required must not be confined to the railways
immediately affected, but must commence en a railway a long way
off. The goods from Leeds far Bristol, for instance, must be duly
placed together at Leeds, packed in such a manner as will enable
you at Gloucester to get at them in the best manner. They must
be forwarded from Leeds, and again from Birmingham, in such
quantities as will be convenient at Gloucester. The arrangements,
in short, by which our interests at Gloucester will be best con-
sulted, will have to be made by another Company, often not inte-
rested in the matter, and whose convenience =ay suggest another
course. You cannot, therefore, hook forward to remedying many
of the difficulties attending on change of guage, which are of this
nature."

To the above summary of the practical inconveniences men.
boned, we have only to aid, that the numerous representations
a e been
Gloucester, concerned addressei to us by the principal carrying and commercial interests
which
with referencee
nce
have rned in the traffic affectedaffectedby the change
of gauge
have
at
and misdirection of goods. The principal railway companies
north of Birmingham have also made strong representations as to
fully or n out thestatementt o
theo f
delay, the
evils experienced, moreespecially
the obstacle thrown in the way of a proper development of the
traffic by the break of gauge; an obstacle which, as regards coal,
iron, salt, corn, and every description of heavy goods, they can.
sitter as amounting to a virtual prohibition.
The question may be raised how far it is possible to obviate the
inconvenience of two different gauges by mechanical arrange-
ments? These arrangements may consist either-
1. Of contrivances for transferring the bodies of waggons from
the wheels and axles adapted for one gauge to those adapted for
the other t or—

The same combination affords the important advantage of en
unbroken communication to the traffic of Manchester and Liver.
pool with Bristol, and indeed with the whole of the west of Eng.
land, as a ♦ery inconsiderable proportion of the goods actually
dispatched require to be carried is transit through Bristol. The
same remark applies to the trade of the Potteries with the west
of England ; of Bristol and Gloucester with the midland counties,
where the imparts of these ports now meet those of Hull and
Liverpool ; of Worcester, Kidderminster, &c., with Liverpool,
Lancashire, and Yorkshire, and of various other brooches of
traffic that might be specified.

As a proof of the importance of some of the branches of traffic
that would be thus inconvenienced by a change of guage at Bir-
mingham, it may be mentioned that single carriers already send as
much as 20,00 W tons a year in transit through Birmingham, by the
Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, and that the total quantity
thus sent is estimated at from 50,000 to 100,000 tons per annum,
and is considered to be capable of great increase, the line of corn.
munication having been only very recently completed by the open-
ing of the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, and the development of
tho traffic having since been greatly impeded by the interruption of
the guage at Gloucester, and other circumstances.
With the low rates which it is now proposed to establish on
coals, salt, agricultural produce, and other heavy good; the
amount of traffic that may be expected to pass from the west in
transit through Birmingham, and vies versa, if the advantage of an
unbroken commnnication can be secured, will be exceedingly great.
It has been represented to us that Droitwich alone would send
upwards of 250,000 tons of salt annually.
The same observation applies as to the coal traffic from the mid.

land counties through Rugby to Oxford. The whole of the ex-
tensive district between Rugby and Oxford, where coal is now
usually at a ♦ery high price, may be cheaply supplied by railway ;
an object of great importance, which could be only partially at-
tained if the impediment of an interruption of gauge were allowed
to exist at Rugby.

Another important consideration which seems to point to Bristol
rather than Birmingham, as a proper point for the interruption of
the gauge, and which has been strongly urged upon us by carriers,
merchants, and practical men acquaiuted with the course of traffic,
is, that Bristol, like London, is a great emporium and shipping
port, through which a comparatively small portion of the goods
which enter by railway require to be forwarded in transit without
re-packing and assortment. The facilities for water communica-
tion with Bristol also give the public a better alternative than they
would enjoy elsewhere of avoiding the inconvenience of the change
of gauge, and thus afford the best possible security, that if the in.
terruption be fixed there, the railway Companies interested will
use every possible effort to reduce the inconvenience to a tninirntnn.
For all these considerations, we can have no hesitation in express.
ing our preference, on public grounds, to the alternative that
thepro-
aptosnesirtmoinfigxham and
breakßuogfbgya.uges at Bristol and Oxford, rather than

Another important advantage offered by the London and Bir-
mingham scheme, and intimately connected wins the question of the
gauge, is the arrangement by which it is proposed to lay down an
additional double line of rails throughout the mineral district, to
be devoted entirely to the accommodation of the mineral traffic.

guage railway, to place them In direct and unbroken communica-
tion, through Birmingham, with the manufacturing districts and
the great railway system of the rest of the kingdom.
The extension of such a railway would be greatly facilitated by
the establishment of the narrow guag•, and •f an interest inde-
pendent of the Great Western, in the Worcester district, and, on
the other hand, would be greatly impeded If that district were as.
signed to the Great Western interest and to the wide guage.
In respect therefore of the general question of monopoly, it ap-
pears to us that nothing would be gained by substituting that of
the Great Western for that of the London and Birmingham, which
is the only alternative; at the same time, if the latter Company
had shown no disposition to meet the fair demands of the public
by a reduction of rates, and to obviate the objections of monopoly
by the offer of reasonable guarantees, it might, perhaps, have be.
come necessary, notwithstanding the disadvantages of the Groat
Western scheme, in respect of the guage and other points, t• adopt
this alternative.
This is, however, by no means the case; but, on the contrary,
the London and Birmingham Company have come forward volun-
tarily to offer guarantees and conditions of a very advantageous
character.
1 hey offer, on condition of their Worcester scheme being sane.
tinned, at once to meet the objections of monopoly, by inserting in
their Act the following provisions :-
1. The whole of the railways under their control, including the
existing London and Birmingham Railway, to become subject to
the options of revision and purchase contained in the Act of last
year; the option of revision, however, at 10 per cent. to accrue
at an earlier period than that of 20 years, specified in the Act.
2. A revised tariff to be framed for the whole of the said rail
ways, including the London and Birmingham Railway, upon the
principle of fixing maeinaurn rates for passengers and goods lower
than those at present charged, and at as low a level as those charged
upon any of the principal northern railways.
3. One article of such tariff to be, that coals and iron are to be
carried at rates not exceeding Id. per ton per mile, Including toll
and locomotive power.
4. All differences with other Railway Companies, by which the
public/ safety or convenience are affected, to be referred to the
Board of Trade, or other •ompetent authority for that purpose es.
tablished by Parliament.
6. The London and Birmingham Company to pledge the whole
revenue of their existing line for the completion of the proposed
undertaking within a reasonable time.
It appears to us that these guarantees hold out far the public a
prospect of permanent and certain advantage greatly beyond any. I
thing that could be expected from the competition of two great
Companies, who would be urged by every motive of interest to
combine,
We attach the greatest importance to the security obtained for
the cheap transit of coals and minerals. Not only will a great be-
nefit be thereby, as we believe, secured for the important mineral
districts of Staffordshire and the midland counties, but also a still
more important benefit for the poorer and industrious classes, and
for the consumers of coals generally throughout the southern and
western counties, and in the metropolis.
The charge of eenveyanc• •f coals by railway from South Staf-
fordshire or Derbyshire to London will net exceed lle. or 12s. per
ton, and it has been stated to us, that, after payment of all charges,
good house coals could be sold here, with a profit, at prices not ex.
ceeding 20s. per ton.
During the recent frost and easterly winds the price of coals in
London has been as high as 40s. per ton; and during the
winter the price frequently exceeds 30s. for coals of ordinary
quality. When we consider how materially the comfort •f all
classes, more especially of those in humble circumstances,
depends on a regular supply of cheap coal, and also hew much
the employment of industry is affected by the same circum-
stances, and when we bear in mind that a saving of every shil-
ling per ton on the average consumption of the metropolis is cqui.
valent to an annual saving to its inhabitants of 150,0001.,
it is Impossible not to appreciate the importance of insuring low
rates of charge upon the principal railways, which are in connexion .
with the great inland coal fields.

We have already seen that the production of iron of the district
requires a continued interchange of coals, lime, ironstone, and
other raw materials among the different mines and works, to the
extent of about 4,000,000 tons annually.
It is only by obtaining ready access to the railway by means of
short branches or tramroads from those mines and works, that the
benefits contemplated from the introduction of railway cemmuni.
cation can be fully realised. But if this is to be the case, and if
any considerable portion of this immense local traffic is to pass by
railway, it is manifest that the rails so used could not be rendered
available without extreme danger and inconvenience for the general
traffic. Even the export trade alone in coals and iron could not be
conducted with convenience upon the same line of rails as the
passenger traffic, and would require a separate line of rails in order
to allow the waggons passing and repassing from the different
works within the district to reach without interruption some prin.
cipal station at its extremity, where trains of th• proper size could
be formed and dispatched to distant points. This object would be
♦ery imperfectly fulfilled by the plan proposed by the wide-gauge
railway, of laying down an extra rail, or pair of rails, on the
narrow gauge, inside the principal rails, which would, In fact,
obviate none of the objections to the accumulation of slow mineral
trains upon the main passenger line, and would allow of no access
by lateral tramroads, without cutting up the main line by crossings.
It is represented also that the waggons ef the wide gauge are, from
their greater weight and size, ill adapted for the purposes of the
mineral traffic.

In other respects also we think that the introduction of a system
of moderate charges upon the London and Birmingham and its
tributary railways, will be calculated to afford great advantage t•
important commercial interests, and to the community at large,
while we see every reason to hope that it will not be unproductive
of benefit to the Company itself. We must remember, however,
that this latter point is, to a certain extent, experimental, and
that it is highly Important to obtain voluntarily from the Company
guarantees of a permanent character.

It must not be forgotten that, without some arrangement of this
sort, the Company, if so disposed, has a perfect legal right to resort
to charges so high as greatly to inconvenience the public, and that
under an altered state of things, with a depressed money-market,
and all fear of immediate competition removed, it Is by no means
certain that it might not find it for its interest to do so.
We have also the authority of the Select Committee of last
session for attaching great Importance to the prospective
guarrantee, for the future, in the shape of options of revision or
purchase, which are now voluntarily offered by one of the first
railway Companies in the kingdom, whose line could not be, other-
wise than by their own consent, subjected to the operation of any
conditions not contained in their original Act.
On the whole, therefore, when we consider on the one hand the
superior advantages afforded by the Loudon and Birmingham
scheme in itself, and by the adoption of the narrow gauge, and on
the other the great advantages offered by the London and Birming-
ham Company, in connexion with it, over their whole system, and
the ample guarantees given against airy possible abuses of monopoly,
we can arrive at no other conclusion than that the scheme pro.
moted by that Company is preferable on public grounds to the com-
peting scheme, which is inferior in itself, and which bolds out no
such collateral advantages.
Having already referred to the Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton,
Dudley, and Birmingham scheme, as connected, In a great mea-
sure, with those between Worcester and Wolverhampton, it will be
convenient to include this scheme in the present report.
We have stated that the general question involved in the corn.
parison of this scheme with the co npeting line proposed by the
Grand Junction Company is, that the latter joins the Grand
Junction line at Wolverhampton, and thus affords no accommoda-
tion to the mineral district between Wolverhampton and Birming-
ham.

2. The laying down of additional rails, se as to permit trains of
either gauge to run on without interruption.
With regard to the first, it is stated that the experiment has
repeatedly tried on the Liverpool and Manchester, the Newcastle
and Darlington, the Leicester and Swannington, and other railways,
where crossed by local coal railways of a narrower gauge, and has
never succeeded. The practical difficulties also are obvious, of
securing with waggons constructed with moveable bodies, the
rigidity and solidity requisite for safety, and to prevent excessive
wear and tear, and damage to the articles conveyed. Even if we
were to suppose, however, all mechanical difficulties overcome, the
serious objection would still remain, that in addition to the expenses
of transfer, a large additional stock would require to be kept by all
railway Companies, owners of mines, and other parties who had
occasion to send traffic sometimes in the direction where the gauge
was uninterrupted, and sometimes in thedirection where waggons
of a special construction were required. This consideration is the
more Important as, under the system of the clearing-house, the
whole stock of the narrow-gauge railways of the country may be
considered a. becoming more and more common property, available
wherever there may be a press of business, and for as great distances
as may be required, in order to avoid the inconvenience of un.
loading.
The second arrangement, of laying down additional rails, may
single rail only
be nsthe
in
abe practicable under peculiar circumstances, and to a limited ex-
tent, but it is open to great objections.
It
would is
s
gra-
vity of the carriages of different gauge in the same train would
not be In the same straight line. If a complete double set of rails
y ecroy doubtfulconsistent with
how
owsafety, far
as
addition
this of
case the centre of
were laid down the expense would be very considerable.
The complication of switches and crossings that would be ne-
cessary would involve considerable additional risk and great ex.
pence. The difficulty and expense of maintaining the permanent
way, and of keeping the doable set of rails in proper adjust-
ment, would be greatly increased; and on the whole, the ex.
pence, inconvenience, and risk, would probably be so great as to
prevent the experiment from being tried to any extent.
We cannot therefore consider the plan of layi—
ss* down addi.
tioual rails as applicaole, unless perhaps to a limited extent and
under special circumstances, such as enabling, for instance,
mineral waggons constructed for the narrow d nage to pass for
a short distance and at a slow speed over a wide_guage railway;
with which view alone it is proposed to lay down extra rails upon
the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton line, for a few miles
south of Wolverhampton.

seidd "'fora" of the
(n mecha-
nical)
obviating the in-
h
convenience of a meeting of different guages atrhraenwghemoleen,
t%h
werheifeor
h,
awyee
ic.azioptrocpoons
(even if we could
assume their practicability, which in the present state of experience
we should not be warranted in doing) as anything
better than par-
tial and imperfect palliatives ofa great evil.
Assuming this to be the case, and assuming also, as we are cam.
pelled to do, that an interruption of guage must exist somewhere,
the question is reduced to this i to ascertain at what points suck
interruption should be fixed in order to occasion the least inconve-
nience to the traffic and commerce of the country. grew the fact
that nearly 2,000 miles of railway are already made or
sanctioned on the narrow guage, while not mere than

If the views which we have stated In regard to the importance of
opening up this district by railway communication are correct, this
consideration alone is sufficient to give a decided preference to the
more extended scheme. It also appears to us, that to entrust the
branch to Shrewsbury to the Grand Junction Company would be
open to the objection which we have stated in our previous report
upon the South. Eastern schemes, when discuusing the general
policy of giving a preference to lines proposed by existing Com-
paniesf or the accommodation of adjoining districts, viz., that there
may be.danger In giving such preference where the schonae proposed
by the existing Company, although insufficient for the complete
accommodation of the district to be provided for, may yet be sutE-
eient to throw impediments in the way of other parties coming for.
ward with more extensive schemes.

The arrangement its question, of an additional double line of
rails, is equally proposed by the line from Birmingham to Shrews.
bury, oia Dudley and Wolverhampton, which traverses the same
mineral district, and must be considered as, to a great extent,
identified with the Tring or Londo■ and Birmingham scheme.
The case of the Shrewsbury line, as compared with the com-
peting scheme of the Grand Junction Company, which stops at
Wolverhampton, depends •ery much on the same arguments, of
the importance of opening up the Staffordshire mineral field by
railway communication, which have been already adduced in
favour of the Tring line; and the objections to it on the part of
the canal and other interests are of the same description. The
arrangements proposed for supplying the local wants of the dis-
trict are also of the same nature, and the plans and sections of the
two lines correspond, so that the portion between Dudley and
Wolverhampton is common to the two; the understanding being
that, if both are sanctioned by Parliament, this portion is to be
made by the Shrewsbury Company, and used on equitable condi.
tions by the other Company.

A line to Shrewsbury, in the hands of the Grand Junction
Company, would manifestly be not unlikely to be used for the
purposes of protection against competition, rather than of en-
couragement to extensions beyond Shrewsbury, and to the legi-
timate development of the traffic. It appears to us, therefore,
that, auder the peculiar circumstances of the case, the fact of the
Shrewsbury and Birmingham line being promoted by a substantial
and independent local party, is a legitimate ground of preference,
in addition to that already pointed out, of the superior advantages
afforded by the independent line to the pc,pulous mining district be.
tween Wolverhampton and Birmingham
As regards the line between Ehrewsbury and Stafford, of which
plans and sections have likewise been deposited by the Grand
Junction Company, it appears sufficient to say, that although as a
mere line for the town of Shrewsbury, it might afford consider-
able advantages, it accomplishes none of the more important ad_
vantages for the district at large which are held out by the line to
Birmingham.

The Great Western scheme, on the other hand, introduces a
different gauge and different arrangements, and adopts a different
line between Dudley and Wolverhampton, so that its existence is
hardly compatible with that of the Shrewsbury scheme.
For the reasons stated we are therefore of opinion that, for the
purpose of accommodating the grea' mineral district of Stafford-
shire, the combined scheme of the Tring and Shrewsbury lines is
preferable to any other that has been proposed.
The Tring scheme is equally superior for the local accommoda.
tion of Kidderminster, Stourbridge, and Stourport, to which it
gives better station+, by pursuing a lower level along the bottom of
the ♦alleys, and i t admits of more easy extension towards Lecroin.
liter, Ludlow, and the west. Between Worcester and London it
accommodates, as we have already seen, a larger population ; and
therefore, on the whole, both in these respects and in the im-
portant particular of the gauge, it seems to us to be in itself de-
cidedly preferable to the competing Great Western scheme.
It remains to be seen whether there are any other considerations
which might modify this conclusion.

We are of opinion, therefore, that the latter line Is preferable to
all the competing schemes proposed, upon general grounds of public
policy ; and we are aware of no public reasons why it should not
receive the sanction of Parliament.

At the same time, there are points of detail connected with it,
snore especially as regards the mode of passing through the town of
Birmingham, and of effecting a junction with the London and
Birmingham Railway, to which we think that the attention of Par-
liament should be especially directed. With regard to the first
point, it depends to a great extent upon considerations of private
property, which we are precluded from entertaining ; but with re-
gard to the seconl point, it appears to us of the greatest importance
that provision should be made for an uninterrupted and convenient
junction in Birmingham between the projected line and that of the
London and Birmingham Railway.
In conclusion, we beg to draw attention to the passage of the
fifth report of the Select Committee of last year, in which it is
stated, in recommending that reports should be made to Parliament
by this department upon railway schemes, " That no such report
should be held to prejudice the claims of private persons, the
examination of which should be altogether reserved to the Houses
of the Legislature."
I■ submitting to Parliament, in conformity with the recom-
mendations of that Committee, the results at which we have
arrived, with a view to the information and assistance of Parlia-
ment, in forming a judgment upon the schemes i■ question, in so
far as our report may be available for that purpose, we are anxious
that it should be distinctly understood that we have arrived at these
results solely upon public grounds, and to the exclusion of all con.
siderations how far such results might require to he modified by a
due regard for private rights and interests.
DALHOUSIE.
C. W. PASLEY. G. ?L. PORTER.
D. O'BRIEN. S. LAING.

It is urged, that the concession of this line to a Company pro-
moted by the London and Birmingham Company, will constitute a
great monopoly, extending over a vast txtent of country, while,
by giving it to the Great Western Company, a competition would
be introduced, from which the public might derive benefit. On
the other hand, it may be said that, to allow the Great Western
Corripany to embrace, by their influence, not only the whole
western communications of the island, but also the whole of South
Wales, and the whole district up to Worcester and Birniingliam,
would be to establish a monopoly much more gigantic than that of
the London and Birminglr.m. This latter monopoly would
also be more obviously objectionable, inasmuch as an interest
adverse to the public would at once be established if the line
from Londo,i to Worcester and Wolverhampton, and that from
Bristol to Birmingham, were to be in the same hands, and
upon the same wide gauge, as the line now proposes' through South
Wales. The accommodation of Herefordshire, Worcestershire,
along the southern mast, to
London,e
but also a narrow.
South Wales, and the important districts lying to the west of the
present lines of railway, will evidently, at no distant period, re.
place them
tnhoetm in
only seornwitugnui
aegatsion with
railwa

BERKS, HANTS, WILTS, DORSET, AND
SOMERSET DISTRICTS.
IMPORT OF THE RAILWAY DRPARTHRNT OP THE BOARD OF TRADE ON
THE SCIIEMEII IVOR EXTENDING RAILWAY COMMUNICATION IN THE
DISTRICTS OF BERXEIIIRII, HAMFBHIRE, WILTBMIRR, DORBETsIIIRE,
AND IoMERSETSIII RR.
Railway Department, Board of Trade, Whitehall, Feb, 28.
The Board constituted by minute of the Lords of the Committee
of Privy Council for Trade, for the transaction of railway business,
having had under consideration the fallowing schemes for extend-
ing railway communication in the districts of Berkshire, Hampshire,
Wiitshire, Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire, intermediate between
the Great Western and South-Western Railways, viz., the Basing-
stoke and Didcot Junction ; Bristol and Exeter—Yeovil Branch :
London and South.Western—Hook Pit Deviation; London and
South. Western—Salisbury to Yeovil ; Reading, Basingstoke, and
Hungerford ; Southampton and Dorchester; Salisbury, Dorches.
de-
termined on submitting the following report thereon for the eons'.
deration of Parliament.
ter and Weymouth ; Wilts, Somerset,
The different railways in the above list are combined so as to
for supplying the extensive district situated
form two great schemes
between the Great Western and South-Western Railways; the first
promoted by the Great Western Company, consisting of the Read-
ing,Wilts, Somerset, and ing, Hungerford, and Basingstoke ; and Weymouth ; haverepobertr.eferred
Wey-
mouth; Bristol and Exeter—Yeovil branch; Southampton and
Dorchester; the other, promoted by the London and South-Wes-
tern Company, consisting of the Basingstoke and Didcot Junction ;
London and South-Western—Hook PitesDchheael,.n:icaetflohoraede Lopanbdltiovioclythaaen:dr.
South-Western—Salisbury to Yeovil; Salisbury, Dorchester, and
to
h linesxe lyheame
rapoerrurdoti
emh:l,i.iritgeeFarastotedrottrhohteneh
nest aphskienoen
iiiotanfhp.wl vh accompanyingiec te distinctionr:l et
this
s may
shortly as the Great Western and South. Western schemes. The
o
notinced their intention of abandoning the whole of their lines,
and
eresuatbseWqueestnetrin:
tion
scheme ; but as the two schemes were fully investigated by us
circumstances t thoe
which i cthhehaGy
comparative merits, we shall proceed to state our grounds for this
o
occurred.
An inspection of the map will show that the two schemes are
based nn opposite principles. The leading idea cf the South.
Western scheme is to supply the district between the Great
Western Railway and the coast by a central trttnk line running