The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-20 00:00:00

RAILWAY.

Mr. BURKE proceeded with his allegations against the
plans of the promoters. There were a great number of
these allegations, which were purely of a technical cha-
racter. Many were abandoned, and few sustained.

DARTMOUTH ELECTION COM
MITTEE.

The Committee sat yesterday at Twelve, and imme-
diately after had the room cleared, and remained in con-
sultation until half-past two, when the public were re-
admitted, and
The CHAIRMAN said he had to announce th'at the Com-
mittee had, after having maturely considered all the facts of
this case, which was one of great difficulty and em-
barrassment, and given their best attention to all
the facts and the law, as well as the legal arguments used
on both sides—after having taken all those matters into
their most anxious consideration, the Committee had come
to the following resolution :—" That at the last election fur
the borough of Dartmouth, Joseph Somes, Esq., was not dis-
qualified as a candidate by reason of his having been engaged
in any contracts, within the meaning of the Act of Geo. 111.,
cap. 43; and that Mr. Somes had been duly elected."
Mr. Sergeant WRANGHAM then rose and said, that after
that announcement he begged to say that it was not the
intention of the petitioner to prosecute any of the other
allegations contained in the petition. Ile also begged
to say that in thus withdrawing all further opposition, his
client was under the impression that the whole of this in-
quiry had been conducted in a fair and temperate manner.
Mr. TALBOT begged to assure the petitioner, and those
who acted with him, that not the slightest particle of ill-
feeling existed towards them on the mind of Mr. Somes.
The Committee then broke up.

PROVIDENT CLERKS' ASSOCIATION.—The fourth
annual meeting of this excellent Institution was recently held
at the London Tavern, Mr. John Abel Smith, M.P., and
treasurer, in the chair. The report, which was read by Mr.
George Thomas, the chairman of the board of management,
after stating the result of the system of loans to several mem-
bers of both the benefit and benevolent departments, the pro-
priety of relief, and the continued connexion of the Society
with the sanatorium, recommended the establishment of a
pension of 251. per annum to a member, and 15/. per annum
to a widow, and that a meeting should be convened in May
to ballot for the same. The balance-sheet of the bene-
volent department was then submitted to the meeting, from
which it appeared that the receipts of the last year
amounted to 9171. 13s. 5d., the expenses to 562/. 18s. 3d.,
besides 84/. supplied to the benefit department,
leaving a surplus of 354!. 15s. 2d. It was also stated
that the number of members who had joined the Association
last year was 177, of which 110 were for effecting assurances,
and 67 by subscribing to the benevolent fund. The gross in-
come of the Association in 1844, from both departments,
was 2,630/. 16s. 3d. Resolutions were adopted confirming
the plan of granting loans, and also that in May next two
pensions to the amount above named should be balloted for,
and the meeting separated, after a vote of thanks to the
chairman and officers connected with the institution.
THE REPORTED DREADFUL FIRE AND. LOSS OF
LIFE AT BERMONDSEY.—The account, more or less am-
plified, which appeared in all the Morning Papers, as
far as the mere destruction of property, is perfectly
correct; but the dire conjecture of the broker and his
wife and five little innocents having been reduced to
ashes is happily without foundation, the family having,
as is believed, left the premises before the fire broke out.
IMPORTANT INVENTION.—An invention by Captain
Mercer, R.N., superintendent of the packets at Dover, for
disconnecting horses from four-wheel carriages, in case of
the horses running away and becoming unmanageable, was
tried in a field belonging to Mr. Dray, Charlton-road, a few
days since, in the presence of Sir Francis Cockburn, Capt.
Washington, R.N., the Rev. Mr. Glover, and several other
scientific gentlemen. A stage-coach, with a pair of horses,
and the apparatus attached as a splinter-bar, on the top of
which were several gentlemen, was driven round the field,
when the horses were disconnected from the coach in an in-
stant, at the will of the person on or within the coach. The
carriage was driven up and down hill, and the ease and
quickness with which the person on the box disconnected
the horses, leaving the coach quite clear with the passengers,
gave the greatest satisfaction to the numerous party as-
sembled, thereby proving the great utility of the invention,
and that its application to four-wheel carriages would be the
means of preventing accidents in the event of the horses run-
ning away with a carriage. At the conclusion of the experi-
ment Captain Mercer was much congratulated on the success
of his invention by the numerous party of ladies and gentle-
men who came to witness the experiment. _ . _

REAL PROPERTY.—A return has been obtained by
order of Parliament, on the motion of Mr. Villiers, showing
the total annual value of real property in each county -of
England and Wales assessed to the property and income-tax
for the year ending April, 1843, distinguishing that on land,
houses, tithes, manors, fines, quarries, mines, ironworks,
fisheries, canals, railways, &c. It hence appears that in
England and Wales alone the grand total annual value of
real assessed property amounts to the enormous sum of
85,802,735/., thus sub-divided, viz.:—Lands, 40,167,088/.
(or nearly one-half); houses, 35,556,399/. ; tithes, 1,960,330/. ;
manors, 152,216/. ; fines, 319,140/. ; quarries, 207,009/. ;
mines, 1,903,7941. ; iron works, 412,022/. ; fisheries, 11,104/. ;
canals, 1,229,2021.; and railways, 2,417,609/. ' • other property,
not comprised in the foregoing, 1,466,815/. A similar return
as to Scotland gives a grand total of 9,481,7621., viz.:—
Lands, 5,586,527/. ; houses, 2,919,338/. ; fines, 901/. ; quarries,
33,474/. ; mines, 177,5921. ; iron works, 147,412/. ; fisheries,
47,809/. ; canals, 77,891/. ; and railways, 181,3331. The other
property not included in the foregoing details amounts to
309,4801.
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.—The ordinary meeting
was held on Tuesday afternoon, R. W. Barchard, Esq., in the
chair, when, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather,
there was a good collection of plants. Silver Knightian
medals were awarded to Mr. Lawrence for a fine specimen
of azalia indica smithie and collection of orchidaceous plants,
and Mr. Rollison, of Tooting, for a deudrolicum and other
specimens ; a silver Banksian medal to Mr. Dodson, and cer-
tificate of merit to Mr. Henderson, of Pine-apple-place, and
Mr. Veitch, of Exeter, for specimen plants. There were
exhibited some fine grown strawberries and cucumbers, and
some pears still remaining in excellent preservation, from
Mr. Moorman, of Clapham. It was stated by Dr. Lindley,
that in the kitchen garden at Chiswick, the frost had pene-
trated to a depth of five, and, in new-turned ground, to six
or seven inches.

FATAL CAB ACCIDENT.—Tuesday Mr. W. Payne
held an inquest at St. Thomas's Hospital, on the body of
Mary Atkinson, aged 79, a widow. Deceased resided in
Harriet-street, New-cut, Lambeth, and on the morning of
the 31st of January last she was crossing the road in the
Lower-marsh, and in passing from behind a cart, she was
knocked down by a street cab before the driver had time to
pull up, and the hind wheel passed over both her legs. She
was conveyed to the above hospital, where it was found she
had fractured the bones of both her legs. Being in a very in-
firm state of health, she sank under the injuries, and expired
on Sunday last. Verdict—Accidental Death.
THE GENERAL POST-OFFICE.-011 Saturday,
command of the Postmaster-General, the following instrue
tions were issued to all postmasters, sub-postmasters, and
letter-receivers :—" It having been represented to the Post-
master-General that the opportunities of forwarding mails
between Madeira and the Azore Islands are of very unfrequent
occurrence, whilst there is a constant communication between
those islands and Lisbon ; letters, &c., addressed to the Azore
Islands, will be forwarded to Lisbon by each dispatch of the
Peninsular packet, unless specially marked to be sent by any
other channel." The postage at present charged on letters to
Lisbon, viz., Is. 9d. when not exceeding half an ounce, and
so on, must be paid on letters addressed to the Azore Islands
forwarded by the route of Lisbon.
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.—On Friday a poor
man, named John Jonathan, a wireworker by trade, proceeded
from Bristol to Bath by the third-class (or cheap) train of
the Great Western Railway, where he expired almost imme- •
diaely upon his arrival. The carriages employed in this
train, although covered, are exposed at the sides, and in the
present inclement state of the weather are, if possible, more
inconvenient than the notorious second-class vehicles of this
line. A coroner's inquest was held on the body of the unfor-
tunate man at the Full Moon Inn, Bath, on Saturday, when
it appeared in evidence that, although the deceased had been
for some time labouring under ill health, he left Bristol on
Friday morning not worse than usual ; that he was
well clad, having double his usual quantity of clothes
on ; and that the cough from which he had previously
been suffering had been eased by some medicine prescribed
for him in Bristol. On his arrival at Bath, however, he
was unable to get out of the carriage in which he had
been conveyed ; he was removed by one of the porters, and
assisted out of the station, thence transferred to the care of
one of the boys who wait about the place, and after stag-
gering a few steps he fell down and expired. He was con-
veyed to the shop of Mr. Bright, a chemist, in the imme-
diate neighbourhood; two medical gentlemen were imine-
diately sent for, both of whom attended, but their efforts to
restore animation were unavailing. The above facts having
been deposed to by various witnesses, the jury returned a
verdict that, " The deceased died by the visitation of God;
and that his death had been accelerated by his exposure to
the inclemency of the weather in one of the third-claaa oa
riages of the Treat Western Railway." The jury also up-
paraded to their verdict a strong recommendation to the
Great Western Railway Company to carry into effect Uhe
promised alteration of the second and third-class earnataeo
made by the Chairman at the last half-yearly meeting, at ao
early a palm' as possible.
RAILWAY BETWEEN KILMARNOCK AND IRVINE.—
We have seen a printed circular from the town-clerk of
Irvine, calling a meeting in the George Inn here, on Satur-
day last, for the purpose of promoting a more direct railway
communication between Kilmarnock and Irvine, by forming
a branch from the Irvine station past the village of Dreg-
horn, to join the Kilmarnock and Dairy branch near Busbie.
The magistrates of the two burghs are said to be favourable
to the project; and there is reason to believe that parties
may be found who would be induced to proceed forthwith to
execute the branch, should the Proprietors along the line
give their consent. Some years ago a somewhat similar
project was set on foot, but afterwards abandoned, in conse-
quence of a compromise between its promoters and the Glas-
gow and Ayr Company. Were this connexion now formed,
and the lines by Barrhead to Glasgow—from Kilmarnock to
Cumnock—Cusinock to Monkton—and Kilmarnock to Ayr
direct '(the last at one time strongly urged by our town
council, and Messrs. Scott, Stephen, and Gale)—we should
then, with the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, have Kil-
marnock the very focus of a most excellent set of railways,
in a most flourishing district of country. More useful lines
could not be made in the length and breadth of Scotland.—
Kilmarnock Journal.
TUE PAISLEY DESECRATORS.—It seems we were
within the mark last Saturday in stating the number of the
Paisley Agnew desecrators on the previous Sunday at.
one hundred and fifty. There were three hundred of
them trotting and galloping to Glasgow on the Sabbath-day,
in carts, gigs, omnibuses, and waggons, to hear the free oracle.
We would have said nothing about this, but for the pre-emi-
nent professing sanctity of these " free ': people, or rather
their hypocritical jargon against the railway; and if Mr.
John M'Naughtan does not forthwith excommunicate his
own adherents—these " desecrators," as he calls others, how
can he hold up his own face at the next meeting of the rail-
way Directors, which he has promised to attend, in company
with the good Sir Andrew?—Scotch Refurnicr'4; Gazette.