The Sun.
London, England, 1845-02-07 00:00:00

Breadth for tonnage . • . • • .. • • •
Breadth moulded •

Dopth in hold ...

....... ....... ...... •• 27 4
Burthen in ;tons, 1,847 7-94. -

NEW RAIL WAYS.
(From the Time' City Article.)

Among the parties interested in new railways what occurred Ingle
debate of last night on the subject has engaged very general atten-
tion. Previously to any decisions by the Board of Trade, a word of
caution was thrown out tinder this head, that they should be made
public in such a manner as to leave no suspicion that disclosures had
been made, by which one set of speculators might take advantage of
another set, and the bona jfde holders, or those intending to become
so, sustain a positive ihjury. The mode adopted by the. Board of
Trade, in publishing their decisions in the Gazelle, would appear to
have been perfectly suited to that purpose; but as' the fact has be-
come known to the dealers in railway shares, which may be verified
• also by a reference to the current quotations of the market, that
bargainS to 'it large extent-have- been made in the .pew rail-
wityd shortly previous to the decisions upon- Ahem.
and in a manner to reap the benefit of those deeN!
sions, it is assumed at the Stock-Exchange, as we have already
hinted, that the secret must have transpired. The reproach of these
transactions does not, however, necessarily fall on those members of
the Board of Trade who have taken a part in the decisions in ques-
tion. The ingenuity of speculators, where such large profits are in-
volved, might prove an over-match for the utmost circumspection
they could use. Hence it has become necessary that the caution
hitherto exercised should be increased, and that no person whatever,
except the members of the Board, should know until the hours of
business at the Stock-Exchange are over, what the announcement is
to be in the Gazette of that evening. Another question, not
of less interest than that Just described, connected with
the Board of Trade, is, the degree in which their deci-
sions arely likely to influence those of Parliament itself, when the re-
spective Bills are introduced. From the well-known character of
some of the members of the Board, for judgment as well as for in-
tegrity, it is to be inferred that their decisions, especially when .they
proceed to give the reasons which have guided them, must have eon•
siderable weight ; but it is not deemed the less essential that more
time should be obtained, agreeably to the suggestions thrown out by
Lord Howick, for bringing in railway. Bills, placed under these pecu-
liar circumstances. Such is the excitement at present among the
speculators in railway shares, that bargains are made in them at the
coffee-houses and other places of resort in the City, long after the
conclusion of business ac.the Stock• Exchange. The appearance of
the Gazette is impatiently looked for, and its contents
eagerly perused. This form of the prevailing mania is beyond
the reach, of course, of all caution or control, and as all
.concerned have access to the important information sought
exactly at the same time, this is a matter of secondary wnseq,.:ence.
It is only those who are upon the spot, and witness its violezce and
the general excitement springing out of it, both within and ul:.hout
the walls of the Stock-Exchange, who can form an idea of the perilolal
task undertaken by the Board of Trade in putting forth these decision 4
and which are the Mel for this fire. Not only London, but Bristol
Liverpool, Manchester, and other large provincial towns are establish-
ing places of resort for dealing in railway shares ; and the whole
country is thus in danger of becoming one scene of gambling and
speculation ;In these undertakings, to the injury of all regular busi-
ness, and[ the probable derangement of the Money Market, which
has maintained for several months past such remarkable a eaciiness.

- -
RAIL WAY DECISIONS OF THE
BOARD OF TRADE.
It is impossible not to feel the importance of the subjects alluded to '
by Lord Howick in the debate on the railway decisions of the Board
of Trade ; for, whatever may be the nominal duties or the nominal •
powers of the Board, the practical effect of their decisions has been
to throw into the scale so great a weight, that the rejected schemes
appear thenceforth unable to continue the contest, and languish until
they disappear from the Money Market; while the favoured projects '
are regarded as if they had already received the sanction of Perna-
ment. Practically, therefore, and perhaps necessarily, the Board has
become a judicial tribunal, thOUgh utterly unfitted by its constitution
for the exercise of judicial functions. An anomaly has suddenly
sprung up—a tribunal, composed of persons neither by, age,
station, experience, nor acquirements commanding the re- •
spect or justifying the confidence of the public—of ueces-
sity condenuiing unheard—of necessity proceeeding in secrecy
—irresponsible—yet deciding on. amounts as comphred with
which the subjects of dispute in Westminster -hall are alto-
gether trivial ; making or ruining fortunes by a single Insertion in the
Gazette. Surely it is obvious that all this w•as neither foreseen nor
intended in its origin. Parliament could never have Intended to de-
legate its power to such an extent. And it is obvious that the
public generally, to say nothing of the rejected parties, cannot be
fully satisfied with a tribunal which is the very reverse of every
judicial institution to which they haVe been accustomed. The im-
mense amount of business which has been suddenly brought before
this new tribunal in its very infancy, and before any of its effects
could have been observed, is a inisibrtune, yet one which could
scarcely have been anticipated ; but it might undoubtedly, we think,
have been foreseen that a formal notification in the Gazette, issued
from a Government department, would carry with it greater weight
than would have been due to the mere preliniinary inquiry of certain
disinterested individuals. It is this connexion with the flovernmeut
which appears to constitute a grave objection to the tribunal. Already,
as Lord Howick observes, some of the inconveniences arising from the
Executive Government taking too much upon themselves in respect
to private interests alre beginning to work. Whispers begin to cir-
culate that secrecy has not always been observed; that certain par-
ties•have been always right in their speculations. We agree with
Sir Robert Peel that it would be better if tangible accusations were
substituted for these vague insinuations ; but we agree also in the
answer of Lord •Howick, that it is an objectionable system which
enables parties to set such-Statements abroad; nor do• we desire to
see a Minister compelled to get up to contradict them. It is remark-
able that on the same evening Sir J. Graham should have been called
upon to declare, with reference to the report on the harbours of re-
fuge, that he knew not by what means the press could have gained
access• to the report, and that he had not the slightest idea-
what manner ithad got before the public. Secrecy, therefore, is not
always possible; and yet whatever may be divulged, where the
amount of the stake Is so considerable, will nndoubtedly provoke in-
sinuations, and cast discredit upon those who should be above suspi-
cion. The only remedy for these mischiefs would Annear to be that
suggested by Lord Howick—that the weight of Government autho-
rity, notwithstanding the report of the Board of Trade', should be
used neither on the one side nor on the other; that the Boarli should
be as an important witness produced for the assistance of the.Com-
inittee, and no more. But that parties should abandon their proJeCts
before the reasons of the decisions have been made known, above all.
before it cau be known whether the Board were unanimous or divided
—whether the decision may not, after all, have been the decision of
one single individual—is a result which could never have been in-
tended, and which the House of Commons has done well to discou-
rage, by giving reasonable facility for the rejected lines to state their
claims.—Times.

[ADVERTISEMENT.]--A POOR MAN'S LIFE SAVED
BY HOLLOWAY'S PlLLS.—Jeremiah Laughlin, a porter
about the quays of Dublin, was afflicted for years with
shortness of breath, spitting of phlegm, night persptra-
tions, and general weakness of body, a want of appetite,
sick head-aches, besides suffering much from tie liver.
This man was in the second stage of consumitien, and
not expected to live three months, when he commenced
the use of Holloway's wonderful Pills, and, by their
means alone, he is now as strong, as hale, and as well as
ever he was•in his life.—Sold (also Holloway s Oint-
ment) at 'the Establishment of Professor Holloway,
244, Strand (where advice may be had gratis), and by
almost all respectable vendors of medicine throughout
the civilised world.

SEAMEN'S HOSPITAL SOClETT.—Wednesday, the
twenty-fourth annual meeting of the subscribers to this ex-
cellent institution, was held at the Office, King William-
street, City. J. Labouchere, Esq., in the chair, supported
by several naval officers and other gentlemen. The report
stated that the appeal made at the last annual meeting had
not altogether been unattended to. The report next stated
that the Committee had received from the Spanish Govern-
ment the sum of 20/., as an annual testimony of the Queen's
high opinion of the great utility of the hospital to foreign
seamen ; also a donation of 25/. from the King of Saxony,
&c. The Committee reported five liberal bequests, one
being to the amount of 1,909/., by W. Waters, Esq. ; and
another, 9001., by J. Clegg, Esq. The total receipts for
the past year amounted to 4,229/. 9s. 2d. The expenses
amounted to 5,7051. Ils. Id., showing a deficiency of
1,479/. Is. 11d. Such were the calls on the benefits of the
hospital, that, but for the bequests, the funds would be in
a very depressed state indeed. The number of patients ad-
mitted daring the year was 2,415; out-patients, 1,724;
making a total of 4,209. The number of sailors, of all na-
tions, who have received the benefits of the institution
since the commencement, now amounts to 71,628. The
officers for the ensuing year having been elected, the meet-
ing separated.
DREADFUL DEATil.—On Tuesday afternoon the
inmates of the house No. 13, Duke-street,
.Stamford-street,
ere
Lambeth, were suddenly alarmed by hearing a loud and
piercing scream proceeding from some part of the premises.
The parties immediately instituted a search to ascertain the
tileeniae front room ingover different parts of
on the second flber s
filled with smoke. Whilst h
supeprbeesdses(tleagdr.oanf7pwhichlookingappeared to
wtchaheui sceht of
house,h theey tthey
noise, s ene , 'Ne.rdh
found
t they
choemaredfraonkl kind of half-suppressed
th
quarter they discovered a fine young
itself,
Eliza-
beth Beard, with nearly the whole of h an, named
burnt off her back. The bedstead ha • her wearing apparel
\
a most frightful spectacle presented hayingbeen drawn away,
creature being burnt in such the unfortunate
a shocking.
looked like a piece of partia manner that her face
partially consumed leather. A mes-
senger was instantly sent for
medical attendance, and Mr.
Menzies promptly attended, but not in time to be of any as-
sistance to the poor creature,for
There is no doubt but that the unfortunate young woman's
wearing apparel by some accident caught fire, and that in
her anxiety to subdue the flames she had crawled to the spot
where she was found. Strange as it may appear, the furni-
ture in the room was not injured.
STATE OF TRADE.—The market continues in the
same state as for some weeks past ; Tarn, being exceedingly
scarce and in good demand, both for shipping and for the
home trade, continues to advance in price ; and some
descriptions, particularly No. 30 warps, were sold yester-
day about one-eighth higher than on the preceding Tues-
day. For cloth the demand was not quite so good as last
week ; and some qualities of 27-inch printing cloth were a shade
lower. With that exception, however, prices are firm.—
RocitDALE FLANNEL MARKET.—MoNDAY, FEB. 3.—There
has been something like an average market to-day. The
manufacturers re obtaining rather more for their prices, but
not enough to cover the advance in the raw material. There
has been a considerable failure announced in the market to-
day: the liabilities are stated at 20,0001. TThisislikelyt
o
affect both wool dealer and manufacturer. Wool mill
con-
tinues firm in krice.-21fanclicsterquardn.
is fixed for
hearing aPPe.I ea*"
APPEAL UAUSES.--Next Thursday
rd
bd
It the Rout,e ords, their 1,0 ps
begin
Milne.* Ott IMOD.
thin OatlY wita IOCUJ