The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-27 00:00:00

THE WEST MIDLAND, MANCHESTER
AND SOUTHAMPTON RAILWAY, AND BIRMINGHAM
SWINDON, DEVIZES, AND SALISBURY JUNCTION,

church, Poole, and Southampton. At its northern terminus, Mr-
Ingham, it communicates with a series of lines, projected. in pro-
gress, or completed, which will form the most direct line that can
ever probably be constructed between the southern ports of England
and the great manufacturing districts.
In the alliance of lines forming the West Midland, Manchester
and Southampton Railway project, a combination of advantages pre-
sents itself—the result of a design, to a great extent, but of contin-
gencies also. If it be desirable that the terminus of every railway
should be situated at some commercial or populous place, in this re-
spect the present project is peculiarly fortunate. If Government be
resolved on countenancing the shortest and most direct lines, It
will be seen, by laying a rule on the map of England from Salisbury
to Manchester, that a course due north and south between these
places will pass very nearly through the towns mentioned in this
prospectus, as being on the proposed line ; and actual measurement
has shown this line to be the shortest between Southampton aid
Manchester by 26 miles.
By the construction, therefbre, of little more than 60 miles of
rail, as here proposed, the shortest, most direct, and convenient
communication between Manchester and Southampton will be es-
tablished--a line, also, however superior in po.ition to others pro-
mising similar advantages, may yet be considered as competing
with none, but as an independent work, originating at Birmingham
and terminating in the seaports of Weymouth, Christchurch, Poole,
and Southampton.
In the allotment of shares in this Company the Directors propose
giving a prefereace to shareholders in the Smith and Midlands'
Junction Railway Company.

PROVISIONALLY REGISTERED.
GREAT LEEDS AND LONDON DIRECS
RAILWAY,
By a Junction Nrith.the Eastern Counties Railway at Bedfor'4
Distance, 120 miles.
Capital 2,500,0001., in 100,000 Shares of 251. each.
Deposit 21. 12s. 6d. per Share.

Being an extension of the South and Midlands' Junction Railway.
(Provisionally Registered.)
Capital, 1,200,0001., in 60,000 shares of 201. each.
Deposit 21. 2s. per share.
PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE.

The Right Hon. Lord Viscount Dillon, Halkin-street West, Belgrave-
square, and Loughlyn House, Loughlyn, Ireland, aud Ditchley, Oxon
Lord George. Paget, Uxbridge House
William Beresford, Esq., M.P., 77, fall-mall, Director of the Teen
and Dove Valley Railway
Wllllam Itulkeley Hughes, Esq., M.P., Chairman of the Welsh Mid-
. .

(Pursuant to the Standing Orden of the House of Commons.

211,QVISIONAL COMMITTEE.
The Right Hon. Lord Dunboyne
Sir William Twysden, Bart., Dorset-street, Portman-square, Directo.
of the Chepstow, Forest of Dean, and Gloucester Junction, and
Erewash Valley Extension Railways
Sir William Bacon Johnston, Bart, Parthenon Club, Director of the
Chepstow, Forest of Dean, and Gloucester Junction Railway, and
of the South and Midland Junction, and West Midland Railways
Major-General Sir Robert Barton, K.C.H., Director of the York and

_ , ---
land, and Director of the South and„ Midlands' Junction Railways
Richard Pries, Esq., M.P., Director of the Welsh Midland, and
Director of the South and Midlands' Junction Railways
David R. Roes, Esq., M.P., Chairman of the Belfast, Director of the
London and Manchester, and &oath and Midlands' Junction Rail-

ways
Will* John E. De Beauvoir, Bart., Chairman of the London and Bir-
mingham Extension, and Director of the South and- Midlands'
Junction Railways
Sir William Bacon Johnston, Bart., Hilton, Aberdeenshire, Director
of the South and Midlands' Junction Railway
Sir George William Prescott, Bart., Theobalds, Hertz, Director of
the Chester and Manchester Direct, and South and Midlands' Junc-
tion Railways
Sir William Wynn, Maesynewadd, Chairman of the North Wales,
and Director of the South and Midlands' Junction Railways
Brigadier-General Sir Henry Pynn, Director of the Direct Western
Railway
Sir John Key, Bart., Alderman of London, Director of the London

Lancaster Railway
Thomas Alexander, Esq., Director of the Italian and Austrian, and
Trent Valley Continuation Railways
Henry Ambler, Esq., worsted spinner and manufacturer, Watkinson
Hall, near Halifax, Director of the West Yorkshire Railway, and
Liverpool and Leeds Direct Railway
C. H. Anderson, Esq., Upper Clapton, Director of the South Midland
Railway
John Alexander Bicknell, Esq., Brandon Cottage, Bristol, Director of
the Oxford and Worcester Extension Railway
William Bardgett, Esq., Winchester-street, Broad-street, Director of
the Italian and Austrian, and the Derby, Uttoxeter, and Stafford,
Railways
William Banks, Esq., Honey-lane Market
John Byng Banks, Esq., Stockwell, Surrey
William Fechney Black, Esq., Wilton-place, Belgrave-square, Di-
rector of the Italian and Austrian, and South and Midland Junction
Railways
Henry Weech Burgess, Esq., Temple's Park, Hampstead, Director of
the Sheffield, Buxton, Leek, Potteries, and Crewe Railway
Charles Salisbury Butler, Esq., the Lodge, Upper Clapton
Josiah Burrowes, Esq., Castle House, Gomersall, near Leeds •
Thomas Burnley, Esq., Gomersall, near Leeds, Director of the Leeds
and West Riding Junction Railway, and of the Liverpool and Leeds
Direct Railway
Samuel Bateman, Esq., Croft House, sear Bradford, Director of the
Liverpool and Leeds Direct Rallivay
Henry Smith Bright, Esq., Hull, Director of the Hull and Selby
Railway
Joseph Browne, Esq., Bedford
Dr. Brigstock, Derby, Director of the Rugby, Derby, and Manchester
Railway
James Brand, Esq., 9, New Broad-street, Director of the Cambedge
and Lincoln, and Great Luxembourg Railway
Job Bullinart, Esq., East Redford
William Baldwin Carrick, Esq., J.P., Hull, Director of the Rugby
Warwick, and Leamington, and of the Liverpool and Leeds Direct
Railways
John Carter, Esq., Knottingley
Thomas Carter, Esq., Tanshelf, J.P. for the Borough of Pontefract
Charles Charnock, Esq., Holmfield House, near Ferrybridge
-Millis Coventry, Esq., Director of the South and Midland Junction,
and Birmingham Extension Railways
B. Clements, Esq., Lowndes-square, Director of the Western Jamaica
Railway
J. Cottam, Esq., East Redford
Robert Cook, Esq., Gainsborough, Director of the Manchester, Mid-
land, and Great Grimsby, Gainsborough, Goole, and Isle of Axholme,
and the Wisbeach, Isle of Ely, and Lincolnshire Junction Railways
John Cutts, Esq., Little Barfield Hall, near Braintree, Essex
James Clift, Esq., Director of the Paris and Strasbourg, Southampton
Manchester, and Oxford, and the Manchester, Rugby, and Maccles-
field Railways
W. S. Cross, Esq., Director of the London and Birmingham Exten-
sion
Henry Sherard Coleman, Esq., Crown-court, Old Broad-street
Francis Deere, Esq., Stratford, Essex
J. Dawson, Esq., Pontefract
John Dennis, Esq., Director of the West Midland, and Thames Val-
ley Railways
Joseph Dent, Esq., Aibston Hall, near Leeds, Magistrate for the
North West Riding of Yorkshire
A. A. Davenport, Esq., Director of the Oxford and Worcester Exten-
sion, and Worcester Junction Railways
Joseph L. Davenport, Esq.,Derby, Director of the Rugby, Derby,
and Manchester hallway
John Aleock Dixon, Esq., Burnley, near Leeds, Director of the
Liverpool and Leeds Direct Railway
Richard Dransfield, Esq., Dalton, Huddersfield, Director of the
Rugby, Derby, and Manchester, of the Liverpool and Leeds Di-
rect, and of the Keighloy, Halifax, and Huddersfield Junction
Railways
Edward Doubleday, Esq , F.L.S., Director of the Rugby, Warwick,
and Worcester Railway
Francis Ewart, Esq., Director of the Exeter, Dorchester, and Wey-
mouth Railway
Lieut.-Col. Fitch, 36, York-terrace, Regent's-park, Managing Direc-
tor of the York and Lancaster Railway
Erasmus Forster, Esq., Director of the Oxford and Worcester Exten-
sion Railway
Solomon Foster, Esq., Mansfield, Director of the Nottingham, Mans-
field, and Midland Junction Railway
Martin Furniss, Esq., Mansfield, Director of the Erewash and Sher:
field Railway
John Griffiths Frith, Esq., Austin-friars, Chairman of the London.
derry and Coleraine, and Leeds and Carlisle Railways
George Green, Esq., Pontefract
Charles Gibson, Esq., Holland-place, Clapham
James Gilbertson, Esq., Hertford
William Gibson, Esq., Glasgow
H. P. Gipps, Esq., Director of the Coventry and Nuneaton Railway
Charles Goldsmith, Esq., Friday-street, Cheapside
William Gordon, Esq., M.D., F.L.S., Director of the Liverpool and
Leeds Direct Railway
Henry Swan Graves, Esq., Ely Bank Lodge, Halifax
Jolla Gully, Esq., Ackworth Park, Ackworth.
Richard Hall, Esq., Cantarvon Hall, Stratford, Director of the Strat-

Applications for prospectuses and plans may be made, and forms
of application for shares had, at the Office of W. B. James, Esq.,
Solicitor, 5, Basinghall-street ; and of the following gentlemen:—
London—Messrs. Peppercorne, 2, Old Broad-street; Mr. J. B. Har-
rison, 8, Bank Chambers ; Mr. Thomas Hanbury, 4, Angel-court.
Liverpool—Messrs. Mills and Co , and Messrs. Neilson.
Manchester—Messrs. Houghand and Leese, and Mr. William

and Manchester Direct, and South and Midlands' Junction
Railways
Sir William Twysden, Bart., Director of the Chepstow and Forest of
Dean Railway
William Hughes Hughes, Esq., F.S.A., F.L.S., &c., Alderman of Lon-
don, Chairman of the Manchester and Birkenhead Continuation,
and London and Greenwich Railways, &c. &c.
Thomas Famcomb, Esq., Alderman of London, Director of the Lon-
don and Westminster Bank, and Namur and Liege, and South and
Midlands' Junction Railways
john Kinnersley Hooper, Esq., Alderman of London, Director of the
London and Manchester Direct, and South and Midlands' Junction
Railways
Thomas Kelly, Esq., Alderman of London, Director of the South 'lO

Marshall.
Hull—Messrs Collinson and Flint.
Leeds—Messrs. Young and Son.

Stratford-on-Avon—Mr. William Bolton.
Exeter—Mr. Thomas Sanford.

Plymouth—Messrs. Hopwood and Palmer.

Birmingham— Mr. Collis, and Mr. John Wright.

Glasgow—Messrs Tassie and Co.
Edinburgh—Messrs. Robertson and Co., and Messrs. M'Callam

and Co.
Derby—Messrs. Eyre and Co.
FORM OF APPLICATION FOR SHARES.

Midlands' .ianctien Railways
Donald Maclean, Esq., Deputy-Chairman of the Trent Talley Con-
tinuation, and Director of the South and Midlands' Junction
Railways
Major Oliver Lindam, K.H., Chairman of the Gloucester, Aberyst-
with, and Central Wales, and Director of the South and Midlands*
Junction Railways
Major-General Parlby, C. 8., Rutland-gate, Director of the Worces-
ter and Crewe, and South and Midlands' Junction Railways
Captain James Patrick Macdougal, late Bengal Royal General Staff,
Fir-grove, North Brixton, Director of the Chester and Forest of
Dean, and South and Midlands' Junction Railways, Sec.
Captain Alexander Hamilton Carle, Royal Artillery, Reform Club
John James, Esq., Secondary of the City of London, Director of the
Legal and Commercial Insurance Company, the Great Western of
Bengal, and South and Midlands' Junction Railway
Robert Henry Lyndam, Esq., Director of the Exeter and Weymouth

To the Provisional Committee of the West Midland, Manchester,
and Southampton Railway.

Gentlemen,—l request that yo'u will allot to me
Shires of 201. each in this Company, and I undertake to accept the
same, and to pay the deposit thereon, or upon any less number that
may be allotted to me ; and I undertake also to execute the Parlia-
mentary Contract and Subscribers' Agreement when required.

Name (in fall) .. ...... .......... ....
Residence........
Trade or Profession ................
Reference . . • • • • ....................
Address of Referee....

Date

Railway
Major Jelf Sharp, Deputy-Chairman of the Thames Embankment

Railway
Eichard William Johnson, Esq., Director of the London and Man-
chester, and Derbyshire and South Staffordshire Railways
William Fechney Black, Esq., Wilton-place, Belgrave-square, Direc-
tor of the Italian and Austrian, and South and Midlands' Junction

Railways
Peter Morrison, Esq., Managing Director ef the Britannia Life Insu-
rance Company, and Director of the South and Midlands' Junction
Railway

lames Cliy, Esq., Brompton, Director of the Furness and White-

haven, and South and ifidlinds' Junction Railways
Col. Robert Douglas, Royal Artillery, Director of the London and
Birmingham Extension, and South and Midlands' Junction Rail-
ways
William Shaw, Esq., Director of the Thames Embankment, Manag-
ing Director of the Farmers' Life Insurance Company, and Di-
rector of the South and Midlands' Junction Railway _ _

Richard FarP;nter, Esq , Magistrate of the County of Middlesex,
Deputy-Chairman of the London and Birmingham Extension, Di-
rector of the Leicester and Bedford, and South and Midlands'
Junction Railways
G. W. Killett Potter, Esq., Secondary of the City of London
Lieut.-General Sir Lewis Grant, K.C.8., 31, Harley-street
John Jennings, Esq. Elm-grove, Hammersmith
William S. Potter, Esq., Sussex-gardens, Hyde-park, Director of the
Oxford, Witney and Cheltenham, and South and Midlands' Junc-
tion Railways
Benjamin Oliveira, Esq., F.R.S., 11, Upper Hyde-park-street
William Singleton, Esq., Leeds, Director of the Liverpool and Leeds,
and South and Midlands' Junction Railways
Erasmus Forster, Esq., Director of the Britannia Life Insurance
Company, and Derby and Stafford, and South and Midlands' Junc-
tion Railways
George Parbury, Esq., Russell-square, Director of the Manchester
and Birmingham Railway
_ _

Daniel PentonJohnson, Esq., Director of Uie London- and Mulches-

ter Railway
Richard Parish, Esq., Bank House, Wordsley, Staffordshire
Samuel Parish, Esq., Wordsley, near Stourbrdge, Staffordshire
John Anderson, Esq., E.1.C.5., Director of the Church of England
Life Insurance, and South and Midlands' Junction Railway
Henry Lewis Smale, Esq., Willoughby House, Tottenham, Director
of the London and Dover, and South and Midlands' Junction

Railways
James Reeves, Esq., Director of the London and Manchester Direct,
and South and Midlands' Junction Railways
John Cash, Esq.
Henry Wright, Esq., Brunswick-square, Director of the Warwick
and Worcester, and South and Midlands' Junction Railways

John Castendick, Esq., Lewisham
Robert Richards, Esq., Inner Temple, London, Director of the South

ford and Thames Junction, and North Woolwich Railways
John Charles Hall, Esq., New Grove-street, East Redford
It. F. Hall, Esq., Wiseton, near Bawtry
S. C. Hall, Esq., F.S.A., Inner Temple, Director of the Zrewa,sh Val-
ley Extension and West Midland Railways
Samuel Hammond, Esq., Leeds
John George Hammack, Esq., Director of the Direct Western and
the Metropolitan Junction Railways
William Hepworth, Esq., Pontefract, a Deputy-Lieut. and J.P. for the
West Riding of Yorkshlie
John Mason Hepworth, Esq., Eden-place, Ackworth, J.P. for the
West Riding of Yorkshire
Joshua Hepworth, Esq., Rogerthorpe Hall, Bedsworth
Thomas Heelis, Esq., Skipton Castle, Skipton, Director of the Lan-
cashire and North Yorkshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire North-

and Midlands' Junction Railway
George R. Colman, Esq., Director of the South and Midlands' Junc-
tion, and Northampton and Banbury Railways
William Paxton, Esq., Langford, near Bicester, Director of the South

and Midlands' Junction Railway
William Bardgett, Esq., Winchester House, Broad-street, Director
of the Italian and Austrian, and South and Midlands' Junction
Railways
W. S. Cross, Esq., Director of tho Manchester and Birmingham Con-

tinuation Railway
John Blackburn, Esq., Leeds
Peter Fairbairne, Esq., Leeds, Vice-Chairman of the Lees aad York

Railway
J. D. Hopkins, Esq., Bedford-square, Director of the London and

Birmingham Extension Railway
Flenry Cornfoot, Esq., Old Palace, Richmond

Eastern, and of the Liverpool and Leeds Direct Railways --
Robert Herries, Esq., East-street, Leeds, Director of the Liverpool
and Leeds Direct ailway
Charles Holbrooke, Esq., Derby, Director of the Rugby, Derby, and
:Manchester
John Holmes, Esq., East Redford
John Illidge, Esq., late Sheriff of London and Middlesex, and Direc-
tor of the Derby and Stafford Railway
William Empson Jalland, Esq., Holderness House, near Hull, Di-
rector of the York and Hull Railway
Harwell Middleton Jalland, Esq., Holderness House, near Hull, Ma-
gistrate for the East Riding of York and Borough of Hull, and
Director of the Liverpool and Leeds, and Hull and Barnsley
Railways
John Jameson, Esq., Honey-lane Market
William Jameson, Esq., Shelton, Staffordshire, Director of the Staf-
fordshire Potteries, and Liverpool and Manchester Direct Railways
Joseph Jones, Esq., Mayor of Hull, and Director of the Liverpool and
Leeds Direct Railway
Thomas Reginald Kemp, Esq., Director of the Blythe and Churnet
Valleys, or Macclesfield and Lichfield Railways
George Lawton, Esq., Ditchleys, Essex, Director of the Chepstow,
Forest of Dean, and Gloucester Junction Railway
Leahy, Esq., St. James's-square
Moses Edward Legg, Esq., Watling-street, London
Captain Henry Leech, Bedford
William Ley, Esq., 40, Gloucester-place, Portman-square, Director of
the Reading and Reigate Railway
L. Stephens Lyne, Esq., Broad-street, Director of the Western Ja-
maica Railway
P. Bennett Lucas, Esq., Director of the Sligo and Shannon, the
Ipswich and Southampton, and the Cork Passage and Kinsale
Railways
John B. Mann, Esq., Leeds
Thomas Hackett Massey, Esq Newark-upon-Trent, and Bedford-
- square, Hyde Park
Thomas 31‘Turk, Esq., Hull
William Mee, Esq., East Redford
W. R. Mesham, Esq., M.D., Bedford
Robert 3lellington, Esq., Ordshall House, near East Redford, Director
of the Leeds and Carlisle Railway
William Moorhouse, Esq., Marine Villa, Knottingley, Provisional
Director of the Sheffield, Barnsley, *tad Wakefield Railway
Peter Morrison, Esq., Director of South and Midlands' Junction, and
London and Birmingham Extension Railways
James Muscroft, Esq., Pontefract, J. P. for the Borough, a Provi-
sional Director of the Oxford and Worcester Extension and Chester
Junction, Railway
Joseph Nadin, Esq., Manchester, Director of the Manchester and
Southampton, and the Leeds and Carlisle Railways
William Joseph Nash, Esq. Bedford
I,' ptire• George's-square, Westminster, and Moat
of the Great Western Direct Railway
Henry Esq., Director of the Trent Valley and
12, Finsbury-place North
JohnusNGeo,errtuoarnrde,
iiErshqoodr.i,y,
Esq., Monkhill, near Pontefract
Con-
tinuation aid Holyhead Junction, and West Midland and South
Midland and Oxtord Extension Railways
. Mayor of Pontefract
Robert Oxley, Esq., M.D., Pontefract
JlBiso,eil
William
:Pint th
eipsrYell, Esq.,cEst,
Thomas Ingham Raynor, Esq., Rireim, Leeds, Director of the Leeds
and West Riding Junction, and the Liverpool and Leeds Direct
Railways
John Thomas Raworth, Esq., Director of the Leicester and Birming-
ham Direct, Leicester, Iron, and Dove Valley Railways
Robert Richards, Esq., Director of the West Midland Railway
John Reginald Riddell, Esq., Bycullah House, Enfield, Managing
Director of the York and Lancaster Railway
Robert Andrew Riddell, Esq., Director of the Exeter, Dorchester,
and Weymouth Junction, the Tring, Reading, and Basingstoke,
and the Direct Western Railways
James Robson, Esq., Tanshelf, J. P. for the Borough of Pontefract
George Robinson, Esq., Hull, Director of the Hull and Barnsley Junc-
tion, and of the Rugby, Derby, and Manchester Railways
John Richardson, Esq., Director of the Wakefield and Harrogate,
the East and West Yorkshire, and the Midland and Think June-
tion
Thomas Rontlidge, Esq., Alderman, Pontefract
James Russell, Esq., Gloucester-place, Portman-square, Director o.
the Great Manchester, Rugby, and Southampton, of the Tring,
Reading, and Basingstoke Railways
Henry Savage, Esq., Director of the Irving, Reading, and Basing-
stoke Railway
Benjamin Shaw, Esq., Kilburn Priory, Director of the Churnet and
Blythe Valleys Railways
J. E. Sichel, Esq., Director of the Leeds and Liverpool Direct, and
of the Leeds and York, and Midland Railways
William Sloane, Esq., Wimpole-street, Cavendish-square, Director of
the South Midland Junction Railway, &c., &c.
George Walker Smith, Esq., Horbury Hall, Sheffield, Director of the
Liverpool and Leeds Direct Railway
Thomas Smith, Esq., M.D., 30, North-street, Leeds, Director of the
Leeds and York, and Liverpool and Leeds Railways
Joseph Smithson, Esq., Kirklees Mills, near Halifax
James Templer, Esq., Brixton-rise, Director of the Darby, Uttoxeter,
and Stafford Railway.
Thomas S. Trapp, Esq., Banker, Bedford
Samuel Tudor, Esq., Upper Thames-street, and Gorbals, Hull, Di-
rector of the Derby and Stafford Railway
William Tudor, Esq., Upper Thames-street, and Gorbals, Hull
Thomas Turney, Esq., Park Lodge, near Halifax
David Wheatcroft, Esq. Buckland Hollow, Derbyshire; Director of
the Rugby, Derby, and Manchester, and Direct Birmingham and
Leicester Railways
Major-General Wright, Royal Engineers, Gloucester-place, Poctman-
square
William Williams, Esq., Royal Foundery, Bedford
Charles Waite, Esq., Willesden House, Middlesex
John Wheelton, Esq., late Sheriff of London and Middlesex. as
Director of the Liverpool and Leeds Direct Railway
Thomas Willett, Esq., Bradford
George Yates, Esq., merchant, Halifax
(With power to add to their number.)
ENGINEEY-IN42IIIEF—SIr John M`Neil, L.L.D., and F.R.S.
ACTING Ezeotszaa—William Mullingar Higgins, Esq.
LONDON SOLICITOZI.
J. R. Gibson, Esq., 9, Copthall-court
Owen aa
Gray, Esq., --,
Great Tower-street,
J. ll:Midge, Esq.,
BANKERS.
Leeds—Messrs. Beckett and Co.
London—Messrs. Rogers, Olding, and Ce.

James Durness, Esq., Leytonstoke, Essex

Geurge Wines, Esq., Bungerford Park, Berks
G. N. Wright, M.A., Coed Celyn, Denbighshire, and Lonsdale-square,
Islington
S: Alen Lewis, Esq., Director of the South Wales Railway
141.4:tin Furness, Esq., Director of the Newark and Sheffield Railway
ir ',Ram Cadman, Esq., Leeds, Director of the Lincoln, York and
_ _

Leeds Railway
E,Lnund Phillips, Esq., Avon Rouse, Melksham, Wilts, Director of
the South and Midlands' Junction Railway
_ .

CltTriesihomas Ward, Esq., Luton Hoo, Beds, and Clopton House,
Stratford-on-Avon, Director of the South and Midlands' Junction

Railway
oseph Brook, Esq., Greenhead, Huddersfield, Director of the Leeds,
Dewsbury, and Manchester, and Huddersfield and Sheffield June-
t lon, and South and Midlands' Junction Railways
orge Henry Brook, Esq., Edgulin-lodge, Huddersfield, Previsional
Director of the Huddersfield, Halifax and Bradford Union Rail-
way, and Director of the South and Midlands' Junction Railway
C ptain Hitchins, Queen Anne-street, Cavendish-square,
Director of the Birmingham and Oxford, and South and Midlands'

Junction Railways
John Alleoek Dixon, Esq., Burnley, Lancashire, Director of the Li-
verpool and Leeds Direct, and Kelghly, Halifax, and Huddersfield
Railways
.Tames Beech, Esq., 15, Grosvenor-place, and Brandon Lodge, near
Coventry, and Director of tho South and Midlands' Junction Rail-
way
,Yilliam Watson Prole, Esq., Thurloe-sqnare, Brompton, Director of
the Jersey, and South and Midlands' Junction Railways
thomas Mortimer Cleobury, Esq., Askew Villa, Acton
Major Waller, K.H., Director of the London and Manchester Direct,
and South and Midlands' Junction Railways
Frederick James Hall, Esq., Torrington-square, and Alfreton, Derby,
Director of the Trent Valley Continuation, and South and Mid-
lands' Junction Railways
T. It. W. Atkinson, Esq., Director of the Leicester and Bedford, and
York and Lancaster Railways
Joseph Underwood, Esq., The Hall, Blackheath, Director of the Me-
tropolitan Life Insurance Company, and Director of the London
and Birmingham Extension Company, and Director of the South
and Midlands' Junction Railway
W. A. Hill, Esq., Director of the Gloucester and -Aberystwith and
Central Wales, and South and Midlands' Junction Railways
William Sloane, Esq., Wimpole-street, Cavendish-square, Chairman
of the Church of England Life Insurance Company, and Director
of the South and Midlands' Junction Railway
William Morley, Esq., Blackheath
Richard Dutton, Esq., Director of the Lincoln, York, and Leeds
Railway, Director of the Legal and Commercial Life Insurance
Company, and Director of the South and Midlands' Junction

Railway
Captain C. W. Tyndale, Director of the South-Eastern and South
and Midlands' Junction Railways
Frederick Jones, Esq., Lincoln's Inn, Director of the Warwick and
Worcester, and South and Midlands' Junction Railways
Tohn Inglis Jerdein, Esq., Directer of the Great Manchester,
Rugby and Southampton Railway
Colonel Fitch, York-terrace, Regent's-park, Director of the South
and Midlands' Junction Railway
William Lee, Esq , Director of the Gravesend and Rochester, and

Essex and Suffolk Railways
Thomas Gooch, Esq., Director of the South and Midlands'
Junction Railway
J. Harvey, Esq., Rush-hill, Surrey _ . _

John Wheelton, Esq., Director of the Leicester and Bedford Railway
Thomas Collingridge, Esq., Highgate, Middlesex
W. A. Wilkinson, Esq., Director of the South and Midlands' Junction
Railway
C . Waite, Esq., Willesden, Middlesex
R. W. Wood, Esq., Lodge-place, St. John's-wood, Director of the
North Metropolitan Railway
William Slark, Esq., Direct(); of the Guarantee Society
Frederick Collingridge, Esq., Tharlow-square, Bromptoa
Warren Stormes lisle, Esq. Gresham-street, Director of the Oxford

and Worcester Extension
Kingsmill Grove Key, Bag., Wandsworth
rhomas Yates Hunt, Esq., Brades, near Birmingham

Josepk Gill, Esq., Leeds, Director of the West Riding Jaaction, and
South and Midlands' Junction Railways
W. Lee, Esq., Gloucester-place, Portman-square
Robert Power, Esq., Queen-street, May-fair, Director of the Great
Britain Life Assurance Society
Admiral J. Ayscough, Prospect-place House, Southampton, Director
of the South and Midlands' Junction Railway
Joseph Thompson, Esq., Director of the London and Brighton and
South and Midlands' Junction Railways
Major Grubbe, Eastwell House, Potterne, Wilts, Magistrate of the
County, and Director of the South and Midlands' Junction Railway
Captain Seth N. Fisher, Director of the Warwick and Worcester, and
South and Midlands' Junction Railways
T. G. Norbnry, Esq., Director of the Leicester and Bedford Railway
Henry Gerard Ohrly, Esq., Director of the Trent Valley Continua-
tion, and South and Midlands Junction Railways, and of the Legal
and Commercial Life Insurance Company
William Hallett, Esq., Kemp Town, Brighten, Director of the South
and Midlands' Junction Railway
rector of the South and Midlands'
John Brocke Walbancke, Esq.,
Junction Railway
Henry Savage,
William4Captain
n Lee,HamiltonE q.,EA Directorg' Royoalf the Artillery
Reading Railway
Berkeley-street, Portman-square
,DEosqrse,t-Bpelace, Dorset-square
JWohnilliaDrnennT. rniiT,hEsq°E7,6D.n'irector of the Erewash Valley Extension Railway
Joseph Crockett, Esq Alderman of Derizes, and Director of the
North Wilts Banking Company, and South and Midlands' Junction
Railway
John Holbert Gloucester-place, Loudon, Director of
the Leicester and Birmingham Railway
Rev. Thomas Price, Rector of Llanrothel, Herefordshire
Thomas Chitty, Esq., Gower-street, London, Director of the. Rigby

aoll Worcester Railway
William Peppercorne, Esq., London, and Bexhill, Sussex
Captain T. Hodges, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park, Director of the

Leeds and Carlisle Railwa-y
P. Duffield, Esq., Bolton House, near Bradford
Rev. F. IL Hall, D.D., Rector of Fulbourne, Cambridge
John Barnett, Esq.. Coroner for the County of Gloucester, Director
of the Oxford and Cheltenham Railway
Spooner, Esq., Chapel-street, Belgrave-square, Director of
the Newcastle and Liverpool Railway
Alexander Prince, Esq., 14, Lincoln's Inn-fields, Director of the Bar-
net North Junction Railway
James Lees, Esq., Delph, Saddieworth, near Manchester, Director of
the Saddleworth Banking Company
(With power to add to their number).
BANIZES—The Commercial Bank of London.
COWETLTItio ENGINEER—Sir John Mame', LL.D., F.R.S.
ACTIN* Ertomis—William MuMager Higgins, Esq., C.E.
Souctroa—W. B. James, Esq., 5, Basinghall-street.
It appears that England will be divided longitudinally by four great
lines of railway, which will become so many main trunks, intersec-
lug and intersected by numerous lines, both transverse and oblique,
opening rapid and ready communication with the intermediate dis-
tricts, with packet stations, and with seaport towns. Tha more
easterly of these, which is also the longest, originating at Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, and passing through York, Peterborough, and Gambridge,
may be said to terminate in London, whence all places are accessible.
The second line, counting westward, is more tortuous, and has also
a common northern terminus with the preceding, by which its ad-
vantages are materially restricted. This line, descending the Ere-
wash Vale, and passing through Rugby and Oxford, becomes a South-
ampton line by falling into the South-Western Railway at Basing-
stoke,

The object of this railway is to connect, in the most direct coarse,
the important and increasing manufacturing town of Leeds with the
Metropolis, the want of which has long been felt, and is too univer-
sally acknowledged to need any comment, and it Is under this con-
viction that this important undertaking, after several minute exa-
minations of the country through which it will pass, has bee* brought
forward.
The proposed line will commence at the junction of the Manches-
ter and Leeds, and York and North Midland Railways, near Wake-
field, and will terminate by means of a junction with the Easters
Counties Railway at Bedford (to which place it is the intention of
that Company to extend their line in the ensuing session of Parlia-
ment), and by thus availing itself as far as possible of the existing
railways, will complete the most direct and least expensive trunk
Elite, from London to Leeds, York, and Hull. It will pass in its route
wi hin an available distance of Wakefield, Pontefract, Doncaster,
Rotherham, East Redford, Nottingham, Newark, Grauthsm, Melton
Mowbray, Oakham, and Stamford.
The importance of such a line is obvious, both from the nature of
its course (embracing, as it does, a most extensive population within
its limits) as also from the absence of any direct communication for
the conveyance of passengers and merchandise.
By the construction of this railway, railway communication to
London will be given to Peterborough and Leicester (by means of
the Syston and Peterborough Railway), to Newark and Nottingham
(by the Nottingham and Lincoln line), and to Sheffield and Gainsbo-
rough (by the Sheffield and Gainsborough line), by a much shorter
route than by any existing Railways.
Independently of the advantages offered to the towns in the several
counties through which this Line will pass, the Line in itself consi-
dered as a direct trunk line between London and Leeds, is sufficient
to justify its formation, it being well known that the existing traffic
between these two places would produce such a return on the capital
required, as to admit of a dividend, equal to that of any railway in
operation : but when It is borne in mind, that a Company is being
formed for the purpose of connecting Glasgow with Leeds by means of
a junction with the York and Carlisle Railway, no better line can be
presented to the public, as it will not only effect a direct communica-
tion from Glasgow and the Western parts of Scotland to London, but
would also connect Edinburgh and the Eastern parts et' Scotland as
well as Durham and Newcastle (by the York and North Midland, And
Great North of England Railways), with the Metropolis, which would
be considerably shorter than the accommodation offered by any
other Company, and when cost of construction Is considered there

The third longitUdinal line, er the most westerly, is still more de-
fective in design than the preceding ; employing the steep and narrow
Tway called the Birmingham and Gloucester as its first link, it
travesties nearly in a right line the least populous and molt undulating
no dependent
Berke, Wilts, and Banta; and, properly speaking
Catriet—a district inviting . i!. dependent terminus.
lignicaultrated local advantages, still remains un
A large longitudinal section of the k'ngdora—the West Midland
a similar species of accommodation ftorn
auk
line i ancl it is contetnplated provided with a chief
present undertakig, to 4 %Arm longitudinal
this de
Ilciency by the
rn trrits of the West Mid.
Zell'. tw;lnte'lidon, where it will
Adopting Birmingham as a until*
lend, Manchester, and Southiunpton al line. •
Dbel'Gradweentrceatrrony,
, and the
atoll liwne, twhorortllwghescor47FaitrirtfoorSdtr, actfriorctioadne-1:
merge in, the South and hpcilarnhe Junction Railway.
The length of the proposed iiii• Will be abOnt sixty mile.
district tra♦ersed by it Ii gently undulating arid densely penmed. At
its southern terminus, Swindon, It becomes Identical with tits Routh
and Midlands, by means of which it opens a most direct coramunica-
gip hlthirte suggested with the harbours of Weymouth, Christ-

rHE SUN, LONDON, SATUTiIbA MO4NING, SEPTEMBER 27, 1645.

cannot be a doubt but that preference would be given to the Great
Leeds and London Direct Railway.

The fact of the Eastern Counties Railway being connected by a
branch line with the East and West India Docks on the river
Thames, and the Railway Company having recently leased for 999
years the extensive pepper warehouses belonging to those docks,
which are capable of receiving 12,000 tons of goods, together with
wharfs adjoining, where the shipment and trans-shipment of goods
from all parts of the world can take place, is a most important fea-
ture In favour of the direct communication from the manufacturing
towns of Glasgow and Leeds offered by the Great Leeds and London
Direct Railway, and by branch railways to the main trunk line,
through which all goods from the whole of the manufacturing dis-
tricts could be conveyed at once to these warehouses for shipment,
thereby avoiding the present delay and expense of cartage, and in
reality establishing an almost direct and an invaluable connexion
between the rivers Clyde and Thames.
It has been ascertained that there are no engineering difficulties,
that the works will be easy, and the gradients remarkably good, and
that it will not materially Interfere with any ornamental property.
The Subscribers will be held liable only to the extent of their first
deposits until an Act of Parliament is obtained, and afterwards only
to the amount of their subscriptions.
It is proposed to take power in the Bill to allow interest at 4 per
cent. per annum on all calls until the opening of the line, and also to
extend the line to Hertford on the Eastern Counties line, in the event
of that Company not prosecuting their line to Bedford.
Applications for Shares (in the form annexed) may be made to J.
R. Gibson, Esq., 9, Copthall-court, and Messrs. Owen Gray and
Illidge, 25, Great Tower-street, the joint solicitors to the Company,
at the Company's temporary offices, 9, Copthall-court, London ; or
to the following sharebrokers :
London—Messrs. Marten and Heseltine, 9, Flneh-lane
Leeds—Messrs. Ilopps and Co.
Liverpool—Messrs. Joseph King and Son
Hull—Messrs. Flint and Tootal
Manchester—Messrs. Cardwell and Sons
Bradford—Mr. Josiah Scholefield
Edinburgh—Mr. Charles Couper, 30, St. Andrew's-square
No application will be attended to unless accompanied by a satis-
factory reference.
FORM OF APPLICATION FOR SHARES.

To tho Pro;isi•nal Committee of the Great Leeds and London Direct

Railway.
Gentlemen,—l request you will allot me Shares, of 251.
each, in the above undertaking, and I undertake to pay the deposit
thereon, or upon any less number that may be allotted to me, and
also to execute the Parliamentary Contract and Subscribers' Agree-
ment when required. Name in full .. • • •
Address in full ....• ..........
Occupation ....
Reference.. • • • • .... • • • • •

Wm. B. Newbery, Esq., Manchester, Director of the Dudley and I
Iron Bridge Railway C01111):1!ly
C. Appleby, Esq., Broomiiill, Sheffield, Director of the Sheffield and
Minchester Railway Company
Edwin Cadman, Esq., Sheffield, Director of the Isle of Ely, Wisbeach,
and Lincolnshire Railway, and Salisbury and Swindon Railways
John Ward, Esq., Machin Bank, Sheffield, Director of the Sheffield,
Rotherham, and Chesterfield Life Assurance-office
Wm. Thompson, Esq., Upperthorpe, near Sheffield, Director of the
Huddersfield and Sheffield Railway
Adderley Howard, Esq., Sutton Wisbech, Director of the East Coast
Railway Company
Captain Bowker, R.N., Devonport
H. S. Bright, Esq., Hull, Director of the Liverpool and Leeds Di-
rect Railway
Samuel Swann Brittain, Esq., Sheffield Director of the East and West
of England Railway Company
John Fawcett, Esq., Sheffield, Director of the Wakefield and Hat-
rowgate Railway Company
William Marriott, Esq., Attereliff-terrace, Sheffield, Director of the
Isle of Ely, Wisbeach, and Lincolnshire Junction Railway.
Thomas Wetherell, Esq., Lineoln, Director of the London and York
and East Lincolnshire Railways
John Johnstone Hamilton, Esq., Liverpool
David Price, Esq., Manchester
William Hunter, Esq., Clarendon-square, Leamington
Rev. H. W. Cottle, Vicar of Watford, Northamptonshire
Major Wornum, Clarence-square, Cheltenham
Edward Hall, Esq., Westbank House, Macclesfield, Director of the
South Midland and the Northampton and Cheltenham Railways
Henry Hubbersty, Esq., Hull
John Ostler, Esq., Hull, Director of the Hull and Barnsley Junction
Heary Shaw, Esq., Fetter-lane
Henry Sayer, Esq., Commercial-road, Limehouse, merchant
John Mee Mathew, Esq., Gray's Inn-square
John Norton, Esq., Moat House, Brentwood, Essex
William John 31`Guire. Esq., Hampton Court
John Gray Wilson, Esq., Oxord-terrace
Capt. J. P. Macdougall, Grove, North Brixton, Surrey
W. J. Lefeuvre, Esq., Alderman and if agistrate of Southampton
Thomas Chas. Harrison, Esq., F R.S., York-terrace, Regent's Park
G. B. Banbury, Esq., Leamington, Warwickshire, Director of the
Coventry and Leicester Railway
Captain Tringham, Solyhull, Warwickshire
William Jonson Neale, Esq., King's Bench-walk, Temple
James Whitney, Esq., Shrewsbury
Henry Paul Harwood, Esq., M.D., Sheffield
The Hon. F. Byron, 21, Eaton-place
William Higgins, Esq., Turvey, High Sheriff of Bedfordshire
Sir Raymond Jarvis, Fair Oak-park, near Winchester, Deputy-Lieu-
tenant, and magistrate for the county of Hants
William Jackson, Esq , Birkenhead, Chairman of the Chester and
Birkenhead Railway
E. H. Langworthy, Esq., Manchester
Thomas Sidney, Esq., Alderman,, and Sheriff of London and Mid-
dlesex
Nathaniel Gould, Esq., Barge-yard, Bucklersbury, and Tavistock-
square
Edmund Lionel Welles, Esq., Cadogan-place, and West Koulsey,
Sarrey
Duncan Dunbar, Esq., East India-road, and Limehouse, Director of
the London Dock Company, the Marine Assurance Company, and
the General Shipowner's Society
William Jackson, Esq., Sheffield, Director of the Goole and Doncaster
Railway
George F. Earle, Esq., Hull
Stephen Knowles, Esq., Exeter
W. Lawrence, Esq., Brixton
John Leannonth, Esq., Edinburgh, Chairman of the Edinburgh and
Glasgow, and North British Railway Companies
Wellington Ross Seymour, Esq., Montague-place, Russell-square,
Director of the Rugby, Derby, and Manchester Railway
William Tanner, Esq., Great Surrey-street, Blackfriars
John Booth, Esq., Sherburn Grange, Durham
Matthew Benjamin Robson, Esq., Whitwell Grange, Durham
John Holmes, Esq., St. James's-street, Director of the Dorchester and
Weymouth Railway, and York and Lancaster Railway
William G. Bernard, Esq.,-Clifton, Bristol
Thomas Smallwood Richards, Esq., 59, Baker-street, Portman-square
James Shaw, Esq., Salford, Manchester
N. M'Cann, Esq., Parliament-street
Henry Wenman Newman, Esq., Bristol, Magistrate for that City, and
Deputy-Lieutenant and Magistrate for the county of Gloucester
William Horatio Harrison, Esq., Sunbury
William Empson Jalland, Esq., Holdemess House, near Hull
Thomas Becket Massy, Esq., Newark-upon-Trent
Robert Cook, Esq., Gainsborough, Director of the Gainsborough,
Goole, and Isle of Axholme, and of the Wisbeach, Ely, and Lin-
colnshire Railways
William Ruston, Esq., Catherine-court, Trinity-square
G. Wingrove Cooke, Esq., Temple, London
C. I. Selwyn, Esq., Exeter
Joseph Hopwood, Esq., Exeter, Director of the Exeter and Falmouth
Railway
Richard Compton, Esq., Eddington House, Hungerford, Berks, a
Magistrate for the counties of Wilts and Berke
Henry Coa Coape, Esq., Goldhanger, Malden, Essex
The Constable of Hungerfoid
Richard Davis, Esq., St. Helen's-place, Director of the South Midland
Railway
Edward Hyde Clarke, Esq., Leamington, Warwickshire, Director of
the Warwickshire and London Railway
Captain William Lionel Lampert, The Highlands, Oxfordshire, and
Leamington, Warwickshire
Francis Burton, Esq., Milverton House, Warwickshire
Captain Stewart, R.N., Leamington, Warwickshire
Samuel Haines, Esq.. Chad-house, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Director
of the South Staffordshit e Railway
William Northage, Esq., Upper Gower-street, Bedford-square
John Wodley Hughes, Esq., Gloucester, Director of the Birmingham
and Bristol Railway
Lewis Bruce Knight Bruce, Esq., The Priory, Roehampton, Surrey
Francis Cole Humbert, Esq., Oxford-street, Hyde-park
Algernon Greville, Esq., Cambridge-terrace, Hyde-park
John Parkinson, Esq., F.R.S., Cambridge-terrace, Hyde-park
James Lamb, Esq., Hyde-park-square
Richard Groucock, Esq.,; Bow-churchyard, and Dulwich, Director
of the Direct Manchester Railway
J. 15'. Simpson, Esq., Rutland-lodge, Brixton
Henry Bellerby, Esq., Sheriff of York
Henry Ledgard, Esq., 39, Wood-street, Cheapside, Director of the
Rugby and Macclesfield Direct Railway
John Williams, Esq., Eaton-square.
Thomas Grimsditch, Esq , M.P., Macclesfield, Cheshire
Samuel Griffiths, Esq., Penn-fields, Wolverhampton, Director of the
Liverpool and Leeds Railway
William Miller, jun., Esq., Leicester
Edward Westlake, Esq., Southampton
Erasmus R. Foster, Esq., Birchin-lane
William Bargett, Esq., Broad-street
Peter R. Morrison, Esq., Princes-street, Bank
Thomas Miller, jun., Esq., Leicester
John Reginald Riddell, Esq., Enfield, Director of the York and Lan-
caster Railway
Thomas Kidley, Esq., M.D., Sheffield
James Sheppard, Esq., jun.
Valentine Knight, Esq., Cornwall-terrace, Regent's Park, Magistrate
for Middlesex
Seorge Sercombe, Esq., Exeter
John Clan3pit.Sercombe, Esq., Exeter
William Pearce, Esq., Liverpool
W. Holliday, Esq., Chad Valley, Edgbaston, Birmingham
Robert Henry Hurst, Esq., jun., Temple
William Nash, Esq., Capham Common
Grey Ilazlerigg, Esq., West Carlton Hall, Leicester
Captain Twisleton Graves, Duke-street, St. James's, Director of the
Leicester and Tean and Dove Valley Railway
(With power to add to their number).
BANKERS—Messrs. Curries and Co., Coruhili, London.
JOINT SOLICITORS.
Messrs. Bell, Brodrick, and Bell, Bow Churchyard. London
Messrs. Rickards and Walker. 29, Lincoln's Inn-fields, London
Messrs. Haynes and Moore, Warwick and London
Messrs. J. V. and J. T. Harting, 24, Lincoln's Inn-fields, London.
SECRETARY—Thomas Hosier Saunders, Esq.
ASSISTANT-SECRETARY—CharIes J. Whalley, ESQ.
LOCAL SOLICITORS.
At Newbury—Messrs. Godwin and Gray, and B. Pinniger, Esq.
At Ramsbury—William Rowland, Esq.
At Devizes, Henry Gilbert, Esq., and John Edwards Hayward, Esq.
At Troubridge and Bradford, Messrs. Stone and Rodway
At Bath, Messrs. Batehellor, Harford, and Staunton
At Shepton Mallett—Francis Isaac Nalder, Esq.
At Bridgewater, Messrs. G. S. and J. R. Poole
At Exeter—William Denis Moore, Esq.
At Tiverton, T. L. T. Rendell, Esq., and J. A. Toms, Esq.
At Launceston—Messrs. Lawrence and Pattison
At Bodmin
At Truro
At Penzance
At Falmouth—Messrs. Tresidder and Son
The object of this line is to effect a direct communication between
London and the Land's End.
In a national point of view such a line is indispensable. With
the advantage of a direct railroad, Falmouth, from it, situatiox at the
western extremity of the kingdom, would undoubtedly long since
have been the principal port on that coast. With the advantage of
at least 280 miles of heavy road, that place has attained its high po-
sition as a Packet Station. Southampton, with far less natural ad-
vantages, has, since the opening of the South-Western Railway, in-
creased its imports from 200,0001. to 3,000,0001. per annum. At Bris-
tol, before the opening of the Great Western Railway, the imports
were declining ; since then they have very considerably increased.
The merits of a line to the Land's End as an investment for ca-
pital, it was not left to the present Company to discover. The Great
Western and Bristol and Exeter Railway having already reached
Exeter, it has been in contemplation to extend that line to Fal-
mouth by way of Plymouth ; and various other projects have been
set on foot on the conviction that Falmouth must be reached by
railway.
The object of this prospectus is to show that no other line than the
resent can ultimately satisfy the exigencies of the country in regard
to this, its most important outport—" the natural Packet Station of
the empire."
The present project is distinguished by this—that it is direct. It is
as nearly as possible a straight line from London to the Land's End.
The London, Bath, and Bridgewater Company having amalga-
mated with this Company, the immense local influence commanded
by them will now contribute to the great national object of a direct
line ; while means have been taken for securing the traffic and afford-
ing all the accommodation contemplated by that Company.
The Direct Western availing itself of the Great Western Railway
so far as Reading, pursues its course by or near Newbury, Hunger-
ford, Great Bedwin, Marlborough, Devizes, the manufacturing dis-
trict of Trowbridge (from which a diverging line will be carried by
Bradford direct to Bath), Westbury, Frotne, Shepton Mallet, Wells
(from which another diverging line will be taken to Bridgewater),
Glastonbury to Milton, being shorter by about thirty-two
'miles than any existing railways between these points, and without
a tunnel. From Taunton the Bristol and Exeter Railway (now
leased to the Great Western) is traversed to Tiverton, whence it is
proposed to carry this line direct to the Land's End, Falmouth, St.
Ives, and Penzance, being shorter by about sixty miles than the
lately proposed line by way of Plymouth, and effecting, in the whole
iistance from London to Falmouth, a saving of about ninety miles.
With 'erect to the traffic on the upper portion of the line it is
needless to saylmore than that there is already thorough traffic suffi-
Cent to justify the construction of this portion of the Direct Wes-
tern : that it will shorten the distance from London to Tiverton
about 32 miles, that it will traverse rich and populous agricultural
and manufacturing districts, and receive a large amount of traffic as
well from railways now in course of construction as from ethers pro-
jected, with every chance of success.
As to the traffic on the lower portion of the line, it is evident that
the vast number of merchant vessels continually detained In the
Channel by adverse winds, would effect an immense saving both in
insurance and time, by discharging their cargoes at Falmouth, and at
once transmitting them to their destination by means of this railway;
and therefore—without speculating on the extent to which the ports
on either side of the great promontory of the Land's End may, by
means of this railroad, attract the commerce respectively of Bristol
and Southampton ; t o what extent the inexhaustible mineral wealth
of Cornwall, and the unrivalled agricultural resources of Devonshire
may be further developed, or the genial climate of Penzance and
Mount's Bay, " the Montpellier of England," attract a larger propor-
tion of winter visitants—it is obvious that this line will command a
traffic both in goods and passengers, from its western terminus, the
amount of which may be said to be without limit. A glance at the
map will make It manifest that no competing trunk line can ever be
established between Tiverton and the Land's End. As between
Taunton and Reading, an inspection of the map will show a vast ex-
tent of midland district, comprising rich and populous parts of So-
mersetshire, Dorsetshire, and Wiltshire, now altogether destitute of
railroad accommodation.
Recurring to the features of this project as a national work, one of
the greatest in point of magnitude, of vital importance in the event of
war, and of almost incalculable advantage to the general and packet
commerce of the kingdom; it may not be out of place to quote here
the following expressions of Sir Robert Peel. Speaking of the project
of a direct line from London to Liverpool through the Trent Valley,
which bore much the same relation to the Birmingham and Grand
Junction that this bears to the Great Western and Bristol and Exeter
Railways, he is reported to have said :—" I consider that the com-
munication between the metropolis and the groat outperts to be not
a question of hours, but a question of iniuntee," Of the necessity of this
particular line, Parliament has already expressed an opinion ; for in the
report of the Committee on the Wilts, Somerset, and Weymouth
line, which was promoted by the Groat Western Railway Company,
it was stated that that Company had been required to pledge itself
not hereafter to oppose a direct line to Falmouth; and it may be
further observed, that a proposed line from Plymouth to Falmouth
was last session rejected, on the grotind that it might be supposed
to interfere with that great national abject.
The survey of the line has been to a great extent completed, and
correct estimates of the expenditure and returns are in a state of for-
wa,ness, and the whole will be ready for the next session of Par-
liament.
It is sufficient, as to these points, here to state that there are no
engineering difficulties in any part of the line which have not been
repeatedly surmounted in other cases ; that the first portion will be
constructed at an unusually small expense; that the undertaking
will meet with the cordial support, concurrence, and co-operation of
the landowners, and that the Directors are justified in asserting that
this will prove to be one of the most remunerative railways in the
kingdom.
Powers will be taken in the Act of Parllameat to allow interest at
four pounds per centum per annum on the deposits, and preference
in the allotment of shares will be given to the proprietors of the land
through which the line will pass, and to the shareholders in the
Great Western, the Bristol and Exeter, and other railways connected
with the Direct Western district.
Applications for shares, in the form subjoined, to be addressed to
the solicitors to the Company, or to the Secretary, or to any respect-
able broker in town or country
20, Poultry, London, September 11, 1645.
FORM OF APPLICATION.
To the Provisional Committee of the Direct Western Railway
Company.
•
Gentlemen,—l request you will allot me shares of 25(, each in
the above Company, and I undertake to pay the deposit of 21.125. 6d.
per share thereon, or on any less number you may appropriate to me,
and to execute the Subscribers' Agreement and Parliamentary Con-
tract when required.
Dated 1845.
Residence.. ....... ...... ........ .....
Trade or Profession ..................
Place of Business (if any)
Signature ••• • •