The Sun.
London, England, 1845-07-03 00:00:00

LINE.

Mr. ALEXANDER said that this was a Bill to enable the South-
Eastern Company to make a line from their works at Tunbridge to
Tunbridge Wells. The land was already purchased, and the greater
part of the line was already made, the only purpose of the Bill being
to legalise what had been done.

Mr. Barlow, the engineer of the line, was then called, and proved
he above statements.

Mr. CLEASB Er was about to cross-examine the witness, when

Mr. ALEXANDER objected, on the ground that he, Mr. Cleasbey,
had no locus standi.
Mr. CLEASBEY abandoned his cross.examination.
The CHAIRMAN said the preamble of this Bill was also proved.
A discussion ensued as to Mr. Cleasbey's right to appear on the
part of the Commissioners of the Navigation of the river Medway,
and the Committee decided that he had no lotus standi, as the land
of the Commissioners was not interfered with.
GREENWICH RAILWAY WIDENING AND
EXTENSION BILL.

Mr. ALEXANDER said that the South. Eastern Company sought by
.his Bill to obtain power to widen a portion of the Greenwich line
n order to allow the Croydon line to cross it the more conveniently.

➢ir. George Stephenson, civil engineer, spoke to the nature of the
proposed widening.

Mr. ALEXANDER stated that the extension proposed had been
abandoned, being opposed by the Government, on account of its
interfering with Greenwich Park.

The CHAIRMAN declared the preamble of the Bill, as amended, to
be proved.
After a long discussion as to what course the Committee should
now pursue, it was decided to adjourn until to.morrow, that in the
mean time the Chairman might apply to have another Hen. Mem-
ber appointed in the place of Mr Roche (whose ill health would
prevent him from attending tomorrow) before any new part of the
subject should be entered into.
The Committee accordingly adjourned.

GROUP L.
LONDON AND PORTSMOUTH DIRECT,

AND GUILDFORD AND CHICHESTER
LINES.
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.)
•

Subsequently the Committee proceeded to the consideration of
the clauses of the Brighton and Chichester (Portsmouth) Bill, but,
as in the other instance, not a single decision was made of the
slightest interest to the public.
At four o'clock the Committee adjourned till to-morrow.

GROUP X.
CAISTDRIDGE AND LINCOLN LINE.

Mr. HILDYARD (in continuation from our Afternoon Edition of
yesterday) said—He had touched upon the landowner's opposition to
this line, for there was but one; he would now pass that by with
a single observation. The opposition was that of Mr. Pemberton,
who was not a landowner, but a trustee to two ladies; and it ap
peered that the only injury that would be done in that instance was
such an encroachment upon a farm as was unavoidable in all such
undertakings, and therefore he would say not one word
more on that objection, except this, that it was the
only such objection offered, and that this line there-
fore, came before this Committee recommended by the re.
markable circumstance that there was not a single objection to the

line in the shape of a residential injury. He had now to complain
of not having been fairly dealt Kith by the London and York Com-
pany, inasmuch as they now come forward, at this late period of the
proceedings, with a parcel of clauses by which it was pro-
posed to obviate the difficulties that originally existed to that
line, in reference to the Witham navigation. He would
contend for it that those clauses had evinced a total dis.
regard to the public convenience, and had in view only the pro-
motion of the interests of the London and York Company, The
Learned Counsel then proceeded to comment upon Mr. Cubitt's
evidence, and said that that gentleman went so far as to tell the
Committee that there was no moral difficulty on the line.
Mr. Sergeant KINGLAILE said that Mr. Cubitt did not use any
such expression,

Mr. HiLnysan hoped he would not be interrupted in this way.
His Learned Friends would have the reply, which was an enor.
mous advantage over him ; and his Learned Friends ought to
be content with that, and not endeavour now by those in-
terruptions to prolong a case which had now occupied the time of
the public and the Committee for over sixty days.
The CHAIRMAN begged that the Learned Counsel would not be
again interrupted. It was not necessary, for the Committee had
their notes of the evidence before them, and if Counsel should
make any mistake as to the evidence, the correction should be left
to the Committee.

Mr. HILDYARD then proceeded with his commentary on the evi-
dence of Mr. Cubitt, and referred to the notes of it. He eon-
tended, that Mr. Cubitt proposed to place a fixed bridge over
the Witham, which would have the effect of obstructing the
navigation of the Witham, and to which the trustees of the
public, namely, the Witham Navigation Company, had no power
to consent, because they had been appointed by an Act of Parlia-
ment to take charge of a public trust, which they had no power
to transfer to the London and York, or any other company, with-
out at least taking care that, to whatever hands they should
transfer that trust, the public convenience should be guarded
and preserved. But Mr. Cubitt was prepared to meet every diffi-
culty and obstruction, and was ready to propose clauses to any
effect, almost, in order to grasp at the preamble of this
Bill, as a drowning man caught at a straw.—(Laughter.)
But the Committee would know how to deal with that evidence
when they came to consider it, and to say whether those clauses
had come in too late or not ; but let the Committee not forget this
tact, that a phrase was used in evidence to this effect, that if the
London and York Company got their Bill, this Witham
navigation would have become theirs, and that they could
do whatsoever they pleased with it, notwithstanding any
clauses that might be introduced into the Bill. The
Committee had it in evidence that the towing.path of the
Witham would inevitably be under water in flood times by the
works of the London and York line, and therefore chat fact should
not be forgotten by the Committee. The Committee would also
ob,erve that the London and York had originally a clause in
their Bill giving a power to sell the navigation for 999 years to
the Cambridge and Lincoln ; but seeing the peril that such a clause
would place them in, the clause had been withdrawn. The
Learned Counsel having made some further observations, wound up
his long address at three o'clock.