The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-24 00:00:00

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ralleled in the history of railway comp etit ion, the inhabiter its A vote of thanks to the Mayor was
of that town had, in the past conduct cf the men w ho -which the meeting broke up.
came before them on a former occasion, sufficient to just' i:v The parties afterwards sat down to an
them in relying with confidence neon them for the full:line at the Royal Hotel.
1
of any other reasonable project which they might bring f Ir—
' When the promoters of the Oxford, Worcest-er, rnd
Ww oh.-M 9, s yy lth
.crhampL,..2 Railway came before them, they dbl.
an expr as assuranes. !hat their only object was the rohe
~,
welfare. They showed to r demonstration that the, 1....
terests were those of the inhabita:ts ; and havingestabb. ,bed
the fact, they readily obtained their topport, and wi•li it the
most triumphant success. They had now come before the 'n
.
to recommend another project, which was one intimately ii.'
connexion- N. ith the former, and which might be said to be a
part of the natural consequences of the former undertaking.
The great consideration with the inhabitants of that town
was how they should best proceed frill Dudley to the east
and north-east part of the kingdom, and looking at the im-
mense amount of goods to he removed f. om Dudley, it was
quite evident that they 5t00.4 in need of the most direct line I
which theY could make from I;,7clley to the north-east point.
The lion. Gentleman then proceed.. 4 to point out the line of
route which it was intended to take l'," the company which
he had the honour of represen ing, and, li:Ting d6-'.e, so, oh
served that the line brought forward by their op:l°neril• s migle.,
be said to occupy the same ground, and, in fact, wa:'icl; b `el:tica;
so that in considering one line they might be sale tes A
c,onsidering both ; and if it was only a question of disirke '
the inhabitants of Dudley might say they Lid not cart' ,
which line they bad, provided they got a good line ;
but there were other circumstances connected with the ques-
tion at is me, which when properly considered could not fail
to weigh with the Meeting in favour of the project which he
that day brought before them. Mr. Mathews then adverted
to the ICrent Valley and Midland line, and referred to the al-
liance of Colonel Anson's line with the Birmingham Canal
Company. There had adlready been a meeting in Dudley to
obtain the sanction of the town to the proposed line of rail-
way running along the banks of the canal, which it was pro-
posed should be done, the Railway Company giving a gua-
rantee to the Canal Company. He would just remind
the meeting that where guarantees were given by one
public body to another, in the end the public
I themselves had' to pay for them. A guarantee could
not be given for any sum beyond fair profits without the public
being injured thereby.—(Hear, hear.) The South Stafford-
shire came before the public unfettered by any of these gua-
rantees; at the same time he was not surprised that the Bir-
mingham Canal Company should want this guarantee. He
did not deny but that the Canal Company had, in former
years, done much by opening the traffic to various parts, and
they were entitled to just consideration for that; but the
Canal Company had derived great advantages by so doing,
and the shares that cost 171. 10s. each were now worth 9-If. ;
so that whatever convenience the Canal Company had afforded
the public, the latter had paid handsomely for it.—(Hear,
hear.) The Canal Company, however, did not say, come and
guarantee us on the 17/. lOs., but they wanted it upon 1001.
each, just six times more than they originally cost. The
project was one which the public had no right to recognise.
He wished to be understood, that he did not object to the
scheme of having a line of railway from Dudley to Binning-
ham, and if that was all that was proposed, he should offer
no opposition to it. But looking at the circumstance, that
the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton line, which
Would cost so much money., would well accommodate the pub-
' lic between Dudley and Wolverhampton, the question then
was, whether the proposed railway on the banks of the canal
should go to Wolverhampton, or whether it should not stop
at Dudley, and there join the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolver-
hampton line, which would have a double line of rails laid
down to suit carriages for either gauge, so that there was no
excuse, nor could they say that they could not be /mom-
modated.—(Hear, rear.) The Oxford and Worcester Corn -
pany then would say, "We do not object to your line from
Birmingham coming to Dudley, but we do object to your
i taking it on to Wolverhampton, when we have been to Par-
liament and are in possession of the ground on which we
offer you accommodation.—(Applause.) He had, he hoped,
shown the meeting that the line on the canal was not ne-
cessary from Dudley to Wolverhampton, and the public
would have to pay for it. So far, then, dismissing the
guarantee, he would say that if the project came before
them, in a legitimate way, from Dudley to Birmingham, he
for one, connected with the Oxford and Worcester Com-
pany, would not oppose it.—(Hear, hear.) There was
another project afloat that would most materially affect Dud-
ley, and he thought, when he came to tell the meeting the
bearings of that project, that the parties present would say
that the gentlemen who, a short time ago, made a crusade
into that district must have drawn largely upon the credulity
of the parties they addressed. The project he alluded to was
this—that at Smethwick a line should pass through Old-
bury to Stourbridge, Stourport, end other places in the
Stour Valley district. The distance from Spon-lane to
Stourbridge, through Dudley, was eight and a half miles,
and by the line proposed by the Stour Valley it would be
eight, so that they could not claim the sanction of Parlia-
ment on the ground of a saving of the distance. They
would, instead of using the Oxford, Worcester, and Wol-
verhampton line, divert their line, and take a great deal
of traffic from Dudley which ought to pass through it.—
(Hear.) lie would say nothing of the propesed line cutting
through their great feeder for traffic - the coal-fields of the
district—but lie spoke on the eround that the scheme proposed
would take the traffic from Dudley a distance of three or four
miles. He thought he need not tell the meeting of the sort
of district the proposed line would pass through, west of
Stourbridge, and that at present it did not require a railway
through it. True, it was a district filled with pleasant asso-
ciations, full of green fields and murmuring brooks, but it
was very scant indeed of the necessary materials of traffic.—
(A Voice—" There is not enough for one omnibus.") There
' were a few works in the neighbourhood of Dudley,
which removed more goods along the line of railway
than the Stour Valley district lie had referred to did
altogether. If that district then went upon the ground of
the goods they removed he might as well apply for a separate
Act of Parliament because he moved the same number of
tons in a week. The question of a branch from Smethwick
to Stourbridge bad been mooted in the Committee of the
House of Commons, and he ( Mr. Mathews) had been ap-
plied to because of his local knowledge. He told them
that lie did not care who made that line, providing not
us, but that if no one else would make it, and subse-
quent improvements in the neighbourhood rendered it
necessary, we should be obliged by our Oxford, Worces-
ter, and Wolverhampton Act of Parliament to make it.
Be would again refer to the gentlemen who hail been in
Dudley in support of the Stour Valley line, and he would say
that they must make great allowances for them, as they
were using their energy to avoid suffering in their pockets,
for he did not think that any other motive could have in-
duced them to come to Dudley to ask support for a project
that would take away traffic from the town. He could assure
the meeting that he, with many men of experience, was of
opinion that no scheme was so likely to benefit the town of
Dudley as the South Staffordshire line, and would therefore
commend it to their consideration and support.—(Cheers.)
G. B. THORNETCROFT, Esq., next addressed the meeting
as one of the deputation from the South Staffordshire Junc-
tion line, and in doing so said he had the honour of ap •
peering before them twelve months ago in connexion with
the project then on head. The inhabitants told them ,
what their wants were, and he had the satisface 1
tion of saying that he and his colleagues had supplied
those wants.--(Hear, hear.) He stated then emphati-
cally that if the inhabitants of Dudley world give them
their unqualified support, they would obtain an Act of
Parliatnent which would supply them with good railway
accommodation. The inhabitants did give him their
support, and the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton 1
Company obtained the Act.—(Loud cheers.) He and his
colleagues had now come before them with another mes-
sage.—( Hear, hear.) He said to them, give us again your
unqualified support, and we will give you the benefit of
another good line.—(Applause.) The Oxford, Worcester,
and Wolverhampton line came before them twelve months
ago, when t' eir wants were many, and no one to supply them ;
but no sooner had they. made their appearance than other
gentlemen tendered their services. And who were those
gentlemen ? 'Were they gentlemen who solely and entirely
consulted the wants of the inhabitants, or were they gentle-
men who wished to increase their own monopoly, and drive
the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Company out of
the field? After that came another company, and, in fact,
they had many offers ; but the inhabitants well knew who
really ware their friends, and they had nobly supported them.
The Inhabitants of Dudley well knew that the promoters of
the South Staffordshire Junction line were like those of the
Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton line, identified with
their interests. They had no objects in view not identical
with the great commercial interests of that district. They
came there untramelletl, and they were not pledged to any
guarantees. The company which he represented were the
first in the field. It was projected, advertised, and registered
before the new line made its appearance, and they were en-
titled to public support.—(Applause.) He, therefore, claimed
their support, and boldly asked them would they give it?
T. BALOER, Esq., moved the first resolution. In doing
so, the speaker remarked Upon the great injury that Dudley
had sustained by a want of direct railway communication
with London and other places, and that Dudley had remained
like a devoted town, so high in the clouds that nothing could
reach it. Some twelve years ago an attempt was made to
have a railway from Wolverhampton to Dudley. Unfor-
tunately that was not made, and nothing more was done tiil
last year, when he (Mr. Badger) was called upon to support
a line from Shrewsbury to Birmingham, which was to pass
through Dudley. He wished here to be understood that he
did not think a more honourable man existed than the gen-
tleman at the head of that line, the Hon. Mr. Clive ; but
afterwards he (Mr. Badger) was told that Dudley must be
left out. And who was it that caused that told e done but
the London and Birmingham Company ?—(ar, hear.)
When he found that Dudley was to be left out, he (Mr.
Badger) immediately withdrew his name from the list of
supporters, finding that, though railways were passing
through all other towns, they could not come to Dudley.
After expressing hie opinion that the proposed South Stafford-
shire line would be of the greatest 'benefit to the town of
Dudley, Mr. Badger concluded by moving the first resolution,
which was seconded by Mr. Thomas Wood, and passed
unanimously.
After a few observations from Mr. W. FELLOWES, in sup-
port of the proposed South Staffordshire line,
Jemes FISHER, Esq., proposed the second resolution, which
was seconded by Mr. England, who contended that the people
of Dudley were bound in common gratitude to support a
measure emanating from the Oxford, Worcester, and 'Wol-
verhampton Company, who had already offered so much to
the town of Dudley.
Tile reeolation was then putt to the meeting, and carried
unanimoan ..
b ISAAC BADGER, Esq.,
... - next resolution Was moved_ y Ns
'ew
;Av. bonded by Mr. DTEPRE •
anittir w-daB br—' '''' for the northern division of
eir ...uttEtt, formerly 31-r hdreset; :he meeting in favour_
the fount), of Stafford, t e
n hihcbnlaie contended ban l'ee" shownloy
°tilt the various benefit
the interest he felt in Any
es;elAlkligi: "rfrlg stated that he came longer., .11 the
present occasion on sewn.
object which ten. del to benefit the county in which
he had spent his life. They must recollect that the
South Staffordshire line was supported by the Grand Junc-
tion and Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Com-
eanies, while the other was supported by the London and
Birmingham, together with "the Railway King," and the
Midland Company ; and, looking at the various allies, he
thought they could not do better than unite themselves with
the South Staffordshire Junction. The Hon. Gentleman re-
sumed his seat amidst loud applause.
A vote of thanks was then unanimously carried conveying
the thanks of the meeting to the Chairman, Vice-Chairman,
and the Provisional Committee of the South Staffordshire
Junction.
C. S. FOSTER, Esq., Chairman, and Mr. CHAWNER, Deputy-
Chairman of the Committee, acknowledged the compliment.
A vote of thanks to the deputation of the South Stafford-
shire Company who had attended that meeting was then
Carried unanimously.
Capt. Dyorr returned thanks in a very excellent speech, in
which he compared the merits of the rival companies, and said
if there was any point upon which information was required,
. he: shoug b 9 hippy to afford- it..
..

the carried. cf

ex celvriutiondarup

GREAT CANAL CONFEDERATION.—OR Thursday a rm-eting
of the proprietors of the Ellesmere and Chester Canal, who
have formed a confederacy with the Birmingham and l.ivir-
pool, the Shrewsbury and Mentgomeryshirc, and other c eel
interests in the orth, f r the conversion of their canal p s
sessions into railways, in conjunct len with the pr,moters et the
Worcester, Shrewsbury,and Crewe, and Shrewsburyand Tre. t
Valley union lines, so as to furnish a compkte system of rail-.
ways to the district west of the Grand Junction, between ('I: c,! er
n the north and Worcester on the south, met at Ches. cr on
T, lirsday, when the proprietors confirmed the arrangye,en:s
ma, le by the Committee for carrying out the proposed co ver-
sions of the several water-ways into railways, by means of a
Comp& ny to be called the Shropshire Union and Canal. The
Earl of Powis heads the movement, and surveys kayo
already been made by the Company's engineers, A, r.
Cubitt arril Mr. Robert Stephenson, for five miles, namely :
J. From the proposed Birmingham, Wolverhampton, raid
Stour Valley, at Wolverhampton, by Autherley, Brew od,
Gnos3P, Norburv, Market Drayton, Audlem, and Nall,-
-wieb, to the Chester and Irolyhead and Chester awl
llirkenhead lines at Chester. 2. Prom the M nchester end
Birmingham at Crewe, by Nantwich, Wrenburv, Whitelitireh,
Ellequere, Oswestry, and Wcichpoo', to Newtown. 3. V ona
`,e Trent Valley at Stafford, by Gno.all, Newport, and Wel-
t, 'on, to Shrewsbury. 4. From the main line near Were
link -vsbury. 5. From the Birmingham and Glouce.t
to Dhrt. v the Avon, passing the Severn at Worce.::;
in the vat, - through Bewdley and Brikeno‘rdi over the
and prOtetain, •'nert to Wellington. A general conversion
Severnt bete Co,- entire canal interest of the kingdom is
into RallWills' &11b0 remain unmetamorphosed must
inevitable. Tl'keo. a that a canal, in time, will be as
speedily become batAfffiliti ,twilete stage coach.
grße.aitet cluorNiDosAriitypaswthECsTr4.74 notice required li
Vs .44.
it,crs
Roficlhanmdonoidi new
34
Act of Parliament to be given klo_
lines having expired, with reterTia 63' , `he works
West-end, and there being but slight dt:tokion to.
corn.
being proceeded with, 1,000 labourers have tV,11., hired
,Alnuithis,yt
ftnome
wr Directorsand iw
Wandsworth
et
oa nun
cubnm.l,
willmeebe ocepenrittlieotnesd.
the same time, half of the, men are to. be emplo) between
Richmond next. In order odo this, both ends will be commen,. at
Richmond and Put.nev, f
ah-
em the latter
place and Wandswortl,amiterie*'t
estern. The most difficult firtelltilneciewrilblejto7in t
portiA. or the work .1 • 'sr
Wandsworth, where it will have to crt.ss. an immense oar,
.l, t
bed, full of deep ditches, and very swampri and
said the workmen will have to dig a depth of Vatairds-ef
feet before they obtain a suitable foundation; and !iv some
places a great quantity of bricks will have to be sunk, ic mil_3r
to make the foundation solid.

The surveyors of Mr. Lock's line, the Salisbury and Yeovil
Junction, are engaged In the necessary examinations.
A meeting of the engineers, solicitors, and others connected
with the lines to Yeovil was held on Saturday last.
The Directors of the Northumberland Atmospheric line
promoted by Lord llowick in last session, have announced
that they are prepared to return 2/. 3s. 4d. per share to the
shareholders, having deducted 16s. Bd. for Parliamentary
expenses.
KENDAL AND WINDERMERE.—A survey has been made
of the projected deviation. It is now supposed that the
junction between this line and the Lancaster and Carlisle will
pass through Kendal, and afford that town the benefit of a
station.
The works on the Tynemouth Extension have been cow.
menced.
It is stated that the Welsh Midland have brought up, or
are about to do so, the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal.
The works on the Furness Railway, equally with those
on the South Devon, have suffered much from the r(ceut
storms.

YORK AND NORTH MIDLAND.—This company prop a
the followirg extensions in next session:-1. A new lino
from York to Leeds, aid Tadcaster, adopting a portion of
the existing lineS of the,York and North Midland and the
Leeds and Selby Railways, and connecting the latter line
with the North Midland and other stations at Leeds. 2.
A line from York to Pocklington, Market Weigh on,
Beverley, Driffield, and Hull, with a branch to Selby, and
extension lines to Horses and Patrington. 3. A line frodf
the Whitby and Pickering, commencing near the Tunnel Inn
to Lealholm Bridge, Stokelev, and Yarm. Other minor ex-
tensions are, we understand, in contemplation.
WHITBY AND PICKERING —Workmen arc now engaged
in driving piles for the widening of the railway bridges in
this town, preparatory to the laying down another line of
rails on the Pickering branch of the York and Scarborough.
THIRSK AND MALTON.—Mr. Hudson has given three-
tions for the survey of a line from the Great North of Eng-
land at Thirak to Melton, with branches to Helmsley And
Kirbymoorside, being intended to apply to Parliamnit
for power to construct a line through that large agricultural
district.

The Midland Company have, it is said, made arrange-
ments for laying down the narrow gauge betwecn Glonc.•a-
ter and Bristol, so as to produce uniformity in the northern

DIRECT NORTHERN COUNTIES OF SCOTLAND RAILWAY
A line under this title has been proposed, between Inverwss
and Wick, to complete the line of railway communication
from Land's-end to John o'Groat's. It is to proceed from In-
verness by Bennlv, Dingwall, and Novar, through the coon-
ties of Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness, containing many im-
portant pastoral districts. It has already, we are inform«l,
received the report of a great many landowners and others
along the line, and the plans and surveys are to be imme-
diately executed. From the main line there will be bransiies
to Tido, Thurso, and other towns in the north.
TELEGRAPHIC PROGRESSION.—The electric telegraph id
rapidly advancing over the country. It is already establislea
or in the course of formation, to an extent exceeding 504
miles. upon the South-Eastern, South- Western, Great Western.,
London and Birmingham, London and Croydon, London and
Blackwall, Liverpool and Manchester, Grand Junction, South
Devon, Yarmouth and Norwich, Maidstone and Tunbridge,
Northampton and Peterborough, North Midland, Sheffield
and Manchester. Preston and Wyre, Leeds and Manche.ter,
Edinburgh and Glasgow; and Che ter and Holyhead.
The surveyors f.r the Great Western Railway Company
have been engaged in the neighbourhood of bolgelly for
the last fortnight, in levelling and surveying for the line
from Worcester to Porthdynllaen. It is generally believed
that 'Wales does not present so many natural difficulties as
was at first supposed.
Turi) CLAss.— On Friday last the Manchester and Bir-
mingham Company commenced lighting up their third-class
carriages, leaving other companies to follow their example.
LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM, AND MANCHESTER ANT) IHR-
MINGITAM.—The terms between these companies were, it
is said, Fettled last week. The terms are an amalgama-
tion of the latter with the former in perpetuity, at eight per
cent. for the first year, nine for the second, and ten for the
time to come after. Of the new stock to be created on,-
third is to be given to the Manchester and Birmingham
proprietors alone. A new line from Macclesfield to Lich-
field is to be made by the two c,mpsnies jointly, and whoa
completed, the Manchester and Birmingham proprietors to
come in rateably for that and all new stock afterwards to be
created by the Tring Railway. Since then it has transpired
that it is a simple amalgamation at eight for the first ycar,
nine for the second, and London and Birmingham dividnd
afterwards. The Manchester and Birmingham debentures
are to be funded and reckoned as capital stock as they fall
due. The next Manchester and Birmingham dividend rests
on its own basis. The amalgamation comes into operaffiu
when ratified by Parliament.
MANCHESTER AND LEEDS AND MIDLAND.--We are in-
formed of a private meeting having taken place between Mr.
Hudson and the stirring spirits in the Manchester and Leeds
Company, on Thursday last, with the view of an amicable
arrangement of all differences. We are not aware that the
!emit was anywise final of an agreement, but we trust that
it is an earnest of so desirable a termination to a fl'eling of
profitless rivalry that has long subsisted between the powerful
Midland and Manchester and Leeds.—lierapath.