The Sun.
London, England, 1845-05-28 00:00:00

RAILWAY.

Mr. COCKBURN said that in consequence of what had fallen from
the Committee yesterday, as to the character of the evidence re.
garding the traffic, he would sacrifice his own feelings in the
matter, and he would now call a fresh class of evidence. He
would call Mr. Brunel, who would speak as so the difference of
gauge and the engineering evidence. He would, however, reserve
to himself the right of calling, at a future time, evidence on the
local traffic. The importance of such evidence would be seen, in-
asmuch as Parliamentary Committees generally decided upon the
merits of the lines before them.

The CHAIRMAN had only to say, that the number of witnesses
examined already amounted to eighty-four, counting on both sides.
The intimation of the Committee yesterday amounted to a sug-
gestion, and no more. The Committee were of opinion that the
importance of a line of railway was apparent to the Committee,
and they thought that the London and Birmingham had proved
the case, up to a certain point, for the Great Western Company.
Mr. HOPE hoped that if there was any more evidence to adduce
in support of the traffic on the line, it would be brought forward
at once. It would not do after breaking down in the engineer-
ing evidence to bolster up a case by ealling fresh traffic evidence.
It would disarrange the proceedings.
The CHAIRMAN could not see that anything like bolstering up
would succeed with the Committee.
Mr. COCKBURN could inform his Learned Friend that there was
nothing in his mind fearful of a breaking down of the engineering
evidence. On the contrary, he defied his Learned Friend to shake
that evidence.

Mr. Brunel examined by Mr. COCKBUAN—Is engineer to the Great
Western scheme for the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton
line of railway. In laying down the line he was guided by the ob-
ject of connecting South Staffordshire with Oxford, Berkshire, and
London. There is a cross line before Parliament from the Great
Western line to Basingstoke, which will form a continuation of
the line then before the Committee. The plan of the line from
Wolverhampton to Worcester and Oxford had been made for
some years. The project is of old standing. The line was first
projected in 1836, but from the difficulty of raising money at that
time, it was abandoned. There was also about that
period a branch line to Oxford. It was then proposed to carry the
line from Rugby by Banbury to Worcester. The branch to Ox-
ford vas thrown out of Parliament three times in consequence of
not introducing the academical clauses. The traffic of the South
Staffordshire districts was very important. The cost of the Ox-
ford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton line would be 1,500,0001.,
and the cost of the Oxford and Rugby would be 600,0001. The
gradients of the Great Western line ware more favourable than the
gradients on Mr. Stephenson's line. The population accommodated
on the Oxford and Rugby line was much greater than the popula.
tion on the Tring line. The report of the Beard of Trade stated
that the population on the Tring line was much greater ; but wit.
ness believes that the reverse was the fact. The line to Wolver.
hampton commences near the Grand Junction station between two
large and important towns. Mr. Stephenson's line at certain
points would be much higher, and would then descend considerably.
The Great Western line would come into the fire-brick
works, which was a most important consideration in the
traffic. From Stourbridge the Great Western line is carried to
Kidderminster, and passes within half a mile of the town. The
reason for not bringing the station into the town was, that the
tonnage did not exceed more than fifty tons rer week, and the
value of that to a railway amounted to a very small item. The
value of the manufactured goods was from 1501. to 3001. per ton,
and the cost of cartage from the town to the station would be very
trifling. Had no station at Stockport, the trade was not important,
and there is a canal accommodation

(LIFT SITTING.)

Group A.

THE LONDON, CHATHAM, AND ROCHESTER RAIL.

WAY.

The Committee met again to.day at twelve o'clock. Chairman,
Mr. Laccelles.

The Counsel in suppoit of the Bill called
Mr. Sedder, an estate agent at Rochester, who had been
mayor of the city. This gentleman stated that there was consider
able deficiency in the means of communication at present between
Chatham, Rochester, and London. The inhabitants were obliged
to come by the Rochester Railway to Gravesend, and thence
by the boats to London. There were many charges
and many delays. Many thousands of troops sent to
Chatham in the course of the year, and many thou.
sands of workmen employed in the dockyards, had to pass to and fro
from time to time between Chatham and the metropolis. He was
acquainted with the North Kent Railway projected by Mr. Vig.
notes. At a public meeting held at Rochester to consider the
merits of the various lines, the feeling was almost unanimous in
favour of Vignoles' line. The inconvenience at present felt for
want of complete communication was very great. The population
of Rochester, Chatham, and Stroud, without the troops, was
35,001). The country around was very fertile, and a great number
of cattle were sent to London.

Cross.examined by Mr. WILNORE, for the London and Croydon
Railway—The feeling of the meeting to which he had referred was
decidedly in favour of Vignoles' plan. There was a great want of
railway communication between his part of the country and London.
Cross-examined by Mr. MEREWRTHEEL, for the South-Eastern
Company—Was not aware that nine-tenths of the owners of
property in the neighbourhood were unfavourable to it. He
admitted that the names read to him by the Learned Counsel
were owners of a very large portion of the agricultural property in
that part of Kent, but did not know they had petitioned against
the present project.

Re-examined by Mr. GOLDSMITH—The feeling was generally in
favour of Vignoles' plan. The delay of communication with
London, especially in winter, was very great.
Mr. J. Baiter, auctioneer and surveyor of Rochester, was also
one of the Rochester magistrates.
(LIFT SITTING.)

Group V.

MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, AND MIDLAND JUNC.

TION RAILWAY.

The Committee, consisting of the O'Conor. Don, chairman,
Sir John _Rae Reid, Sir Denham Norreys, Mr. Hope Johnstone,
sat at twelve o'clock in Room No. 9, and pro.
and Mr. Davies, -41erice on the part of the promoters of the
ceeded to hear further e,..

above railway.
Mr. BAINES, Q.C., called to the great
Mr. Appleby, of Sheffield, who spoke • nutning
advantages which would result to that town from the
up of the coal district between Chesterfield and Shelfielu,
including the Dronfield and Unston coal and coke, which was par-
ticularly esteemed by iron.founders for its valuable qualities in
the conversion of iron to steel. The railway would also com-
municate with the markets of Lancashire and Cheshire.

Mr. Blake, also of Sheffield, was examined by Mr. Ser.
geant WRANGUADI, and he quite coincided in the opinion given by
the previous wittness, as to the advantages which would be given to
the towns of Chesterfield, smd Sheffield, and the district between
these places.

Mr. Knowles, of Brampton Manor, was an earthenware manufac.
turer, and spoke to the quantity exported to Manchester, and the
districts to the south, which would be greatly increased by the line
being opened.

Mr. Birkett and Mr. Wright gave similar evidence.
(LEFT strriNG.)

Group K.
LONDON AND NORWICH DIRECT LINE.
The Committee on this line resumed its sitting this morning at
the usual hour, when

Mr. ALEXANDER, Q. C., on behalf of the promoters of the
stated that the total length of the line he advocated would be 45
miles 10 chains, offering no engineering difficulties what-
ever; no turnpike-road would be crossed upon a level;
either bridges would be thrown over the roads, or the
roads raised above the railway. No tunnelling would be required,
and the worst gradient was 1 in 100, and that but for two miles.
The cost of the entire line, including all contingencies, was estimated
at 760,0004, while the traffic tables presented a prospect of
fair remunerative returns. With respect to the accommodation
proffered by the competing lines by a connexion with the metro-
polis, the distance from London to Norwich by the Eastern Ex.
tension would be 113 miles 1 furlong ; by the Norwich Junction
118 miles 1 furlong ; and by the London and Norwich
Direct 110 miles 5 furlongs. The last.mentioned thus
affording a very material saving in time and distance. At Wick.
enbrook a favourable point presented itself for forming a junction
with Newmarket, reaching the latter town at the eastern side, so
that the ;;:ath would not be interfered with ; so impressed were
the Jockey Club With tote advantages that would be afforded by
such a project being complei;::, that they had actually
presented a petition in favour of the indepenaei. Pnel solely cu
those grounds. By the returns presented by the Board of Trade,
the population on the London and Norwich direct line was 31,800,
and on the Eastern extension only 21,000 ; the population within
three miles of the former 56,262 ; and within the same distance of
the Ipswich and Norwich 47,600 ; and between Thetford and Nor-
wich 20,294. On these and other concurrent superior advantages,
he therefore sought the favourable interposition of the Committee,
and urged the passing of the preamble of the Direct Norwich Bill.
Charles Beard, examined by Mr. GIRDEN—Is an ironmonger at
Bury, and well acquainted with that town. Has inquired into the
condition of the trades in the district, and found that 600 tons of
bar and pig iron, coming principally from Lynn, at a cost of 10s.
per ton, are brought to Bury annually, and 500 or 600
tons of hardware, at a cost of 15s. per ton. The groceries
imported annually into that town from London, a distance of 72
miles, at a cost of from 30s. to 415. per ton, amounted to 2,000
tons annually. Linen and woollen also coming from London is above
300 tons. The only accommodation, besides the expensive and ob-

jectionable land route, Is a circuitous water navigatio.l from Lynn ;
anticipates a reduction in the carriage of goods of 35 per cent. by"
the establishment of a direct railway communication. Ras attended
meetings at Bury in favour of the Direct Norwich Line. Six.
sevenths of the Parliamentary electors and seven-eighths of the in-
habitants of the town prefer this to any other project.
Cross ,examined by Mr. RAwLsNsoN—ln anticipating a reduction
of 35 per cent. by the establishment of a direct railway communi-
cation, he presumed hardwares and general groceries would be car-
ried then at the rate of 4d. per ton per mile, nails and sugar, how-
ever, at I id. per ton per mile. The line from Lynn to Cambridge
and from Cambridge to Bury, would not afford a good means of
transit for the Yorkshire and North coal.

(LEFT SITTING.)

SECONDARIES.-(THIS DAY.)
(Before Mr. Secondary Porraa.)
BEGBIE V. BAWLINGS.

This was an action brought to recover the balance of an attor-
ney's Bill. The defendant i. a broker in Bethnal.green.

Mr. BEGBIE stated the case. In 1939 he was sent for to the
office of Messrs. Smith, of Furnival's Inn, and introduced to the
defendant, and requested to defend an action brought against him
by a Mr. Babbington, Messrs. Smith's business being principally
confined to Chancery suits. The action was settled, and
defendant paid 21. to him on account of costs, and frequently,
both before and after the commencement of the present
action, promised to pay. The action was commenced in
1843, and judgment obtained against the defendant, which, how-
ever, was set aside, on an affidvit that there was a bona fide defence.
Defendant, however, was to pay costs, and he (Mr. Begbie)
accepted 4/. on account, the then attorney for defendant
urging him not to proceed with the action, as dc.
fendant was very poor. The proceedings were then stopped, but
a short time since, after the passing of the Act for the:abolition of
imprisonmect for debts under 20/., the defendant's attorney
called, and said that if the 4/. was returned the proceedings
should drop—if not, they would force him to go on with the
action. This course had been adopted, and plaintiff therefore
came before the jury contrary to his own desire, and whichever
way the verdict went he must be the loser, as defendant had no
property which could be taken in execution.

The defence was that the retainer of plaintiff was by Mr. Smith,
and that it was a common practice for one attorney to employ
another as his agent, and also that plaintiff had consented to take
costs out of pocket, and which mounted only to 13s. 6d.
The jury then gave a verdict for the plaintiff for the balance as
taxed by the Master.

DR. WM. SNELL.
(pßo)i ♦ CORRESPONDENT.)

Dr. Wm. Snell, the Professor of Law in Berne, who was
summarily dismissed from his chair, on account of his supposed
participation in urging, counselling, or abetting the Free Corps in
their expedition against Lucerne, for the purpose of opposing
vi et armis, the introduction of the Jesuits, is one of the most in-
tellectual, consistent, and energetic political leaders, of the Liberal
party on the Continent. As far as twenty-five years ago, when he was
engaged as barrister in Nassau, he was persecuted for having dared
to publish an address on behalf of the citizens of his
country against some arbitrary proceedings of the
Minister of the reigning Duke. He was obliged to leave
his country, and to accept a professorship in the Russian Univer-
sity of Dorpat. But not long was he there established with his
family, when, by a special command of the Emperor, he was dis-
missed from his chair, and obliged to return to Germany.
He crossed that land under a disguised name, and went to
Coire, the capital of the Swiss Canton of the Grison. There he
met Dr. Charles Follnius and Dr. de l'rats, and formed with
them the plan to establish a German society of Liberals, the
Mannerbund. After having established this society, and
organised other societies depending on them, which embrace, in
different groups, the military, the students, and the working
people, Professor Snell, in conjunction with Follnius and Dr. de
Prats, effected a junction between the Committee of Paris and the
Carbonari of Italy. Betrayed by a false friend, the well.known De
Witte, a Danish adventurer, the three gentlemen were obliged to
quit Coire. William Snell and Follnius were elected professors
at Bale, whilst De Prats was obliged to fly to England. A year
aft€ r, however, De Witte, having given more positive information
against Follnius, this gentleman was also obliged to leave Switzer-
land, which he quitted for the United States, where he met with
friendly reception, and was elected Professor of Philosophy at
Boston.

In the meanwhile, the republic of Bale had become the scene of
civil discord ; the rural districts, dissatisfied with the oligarchical
despotism of the town, declared to demand a government of their
own. William Snell could not help to side with the Liberal party;
hence he was obliged to give up his situation to accept one of a similar
nature in Berne. How a man of such talents, experience, and
penetration could have, for a moment, favoured the insane plan of
the free corps is a matter of surprise to those who know him and
know the circumstances of Switzerland.

Without materialmeans, without discipline, without unity of pur-
pose, few had to attack enemies in their own houses, commanded
by able officers, supported by men, arms, ammunition from Aug.
tria, Naples, Piedmont, and Prussia. Yea, even if the first at-
tempt of the invaders had been successful, their success would
only have served as a pretext for Austria, France, and all the ultra-
montane enemies of Swiss freedom, to let loose their arms against
the Helvetic Republic. But, as far as the decree of dismissal of
the said professor, it is an act of pusillanimity, injustice, and
cowardice. If Snell was favourable to the expedition, indeed, even
If he urged it on, he did nothing to deserve the blame of a Govern-
ment, who did not interfere actively against the dismemberment of
the free corps, and rather encouraged than disapproved it.
From all we hear from that quarter, the rude dismissal of one of
the most esteemed and influential Professors of the Univers;ty of
Berne, may prove the signal for a rising of the liberal party against
the actual Government.

CURRENCY AND SOLAR SPOTS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Six,—lt being admitted by all the great authorities on the
subject of money that the circulation of this country should be
regulated by the foreign exchanges, or, in other words, by the
supply of gold in the Bank of England coffers, and not by the in-
ternal requirements of the country in respect of its population and
productive power, as was the case in what Mr. Samuel Jones Loyd
terms "The dark ages of the Currency," prior to 1819, it is de-
sireable that the lights of modern science should be brought to
bear on this all-important subject, to that a still more expeditious
and comprehensive plan may be devised for " regulating tile issues"
of the Bank of England.

And, further, as it is well understood that the removal, or
order for removal, of a few millions of gold from the Bank coffers
is sufficient to plunge the whole mercantile community into con.
fusion, panie, and bankruptcy, it becomes a most important point
to ascertain the causes which chiefly operate in creating a drain of
bullion from the Bank. Now, passing over, as unworthy
of philosophic attention, the paltry jobbing of two or
three bullionists, the possibility of foreign wars, or foreign
loans, which must always act as disturbing causes, we
arrive at a great natural cause fur a drain of
bullion which no wisdom or foresight has hitherto
been supposed capable of anticipating, that is, the drain
arising from deficient harvests. As it is well known that deficient
harvests arise from unfavourable seasons, and that unfavourable
seasons depend on the number and magnitude of the spots on the
sun's disc, it must be apparent that accurate observations as to the
solar health (so to speak) would be a far more correct and scien-
tific way of " regulating the issues " of the Bank of England
than the present vulgar and contracted method of ascertaining the
comparative relative value of gold in Paris, London, and Amster.
dam. It is therefore submitted, with due deference to Sir Robert
Peel, Lord Monteagle, and " his friend " Mr. Samuel Jones Loyd,
and all the other writers on political economy, that in future the
Astronomer Royal, at the Observatory, be required to furnish peri-
odically an account of the number, size, and appearance of the
solar spots, to be published concomitantly with the returns of
bullion in the Bank of England. By means of the electric tele-
graph on the Greenwich Railway, the Bank Directors will be able,
on an emergency, to apply the screw with the greatest expedition,
if not ease, to the mercantile community.
Hoping these speculations may be of some use to my fellow-
countrymen, I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant,
Laputa, May 20. PROJECTOR.

EPSOM RACES.
(THIS DAY.-BN EXPRESS.)