The Sun.
London, England, 1845-08-30 00:00:00

ing for 70,000 shares of the North Deron Uompany, by
which to secure a complete railway communication for
the north of Devon. 15,000 of their shares would re-
quire a sum of 375,000/., and the remainder to be allotted
to the public ; that the North Devon line would join the
Bristol and Exeter at Taunton, Tiverton, and Crediton,
and would form a very convenient mode of communication
with Cornwall ; that Mr. Brunel was now engaged in
surveying the most eligible line for a communication be-
tween the city of Wells and the Bristol and Exeter line;
all of which the Directors presumed would meet the reason-
able requirement of the districts connected with the
Bristol and Exeter Railway, and therefore recommended
the Proprietors to pass resolutions empowering them to
carry them out. The report them referred to the state
of the Company's expenditure, by which it appeared
that the interest on a portion of the borrowed capital
had been reduced, and still there remained in the it
banker's hands, up to June last, a balance of 39,3011. ss.
10d , exclusive of 2,500/. deposited with the treasurer if
the county of Somerset, the 60,000/. then paid for calls
on 4,000 shares in the South Devon, and the 4,500/. f
1,500 hi lil in the Cornwall Company. The Directors
recommend also the payment of 1/. Bs. per share divi-
dend for the half-year ending next October. Tile re-
port then went into a detail of the income and expendi-
ture of the Company for the half-year ending June 30,
1845, and also of the goods and passenger traffic of the
same perkel. When the Secretary had concluded read-
ing the chive report,
The CHAIRMAN made a few remarks upon it, rind con-
gratuleted the Company upon the prosperous state of
their property, which it would be remembered was at
one time at 30 diecount.

The report having been approved and adopted, the
meeting next agreed to resolutions founded on the re-
commendation contained in it, after which

The CHAIRMAN proposed that 200 of their reserved
shares should be presented to their secretary, Mr. J. B.
Badham, at par, as a testimony of the Proprietors' ap-
preciation of the valuable services he had rendered.
The resolution was put and carried unanimously.

MANCHESTER, SOUTHAMPTON, Arm OXFORD.
Ou lir-dn.!sday, a meeting of the promoters of this
project was held at the Hall of Commerce, Mr. B. Oli-
veira presiding.
Mr. PARSONS explained the object of the line, and
stated that it would complete the midland direct com-
munication between the northern and southern coun-
ties of England. The present line was proposed to
effect that object, by uniting a line from Rugby
to Oxford with the South-Western line at the An-
dov.r•road station on the one hand, and by a branch
line, the Western Union from the Swindon Sta
tion, with a station on the proposed line, at or near
Ilighclere. The whole of the northern lines would thus
be connected with the Great Southern outport of South-
ampton. It unfortunately happened that a formidable
rival had forestalled him in the market—he meant Mr.
Bethell's line. But on a comparison being instituted, he
felt satisfied that the one proposed by him must inevita-
bly be preferred. By the direction which Mr. Bethell
proposed to take, it would be necessary to make about
150 miles of railway, and to incur an outlay of two mil-
lions, whilst that proposed by him would require but
59 miles, or say 60, of new railway, and the outlay
would be only (taking the ordinary rate of average of
15,000 L to the mile) 900,000/. He was, besides, fortified
in the opinion that his line would be more generally
preferred by the fact that it went over nearly the
same ground as that which had been recommended some
time back by the surveyors of the South-Western Rail-
way, to effect a junction with the Great Western. And
although he could not positively state as yet that the
South-Western Company would support him, he was
in a condition to say that they approved strongly
of the plan. There was to be a meeting at Newbury of
the supporters of Mr.Bethell's line, and he submitted to
the meeting the propriety of sending down a deputation
to confer and try if any arrangement could be effected
with the promoters of the other line.
A deputation, consisting of Major Croft, the Rev. Mr.
Fowler, Mr Bigge, and some other gentlemen, was ap-
pointed to proceed to Newbury.