The Sun.
London, England, 1845-10-18 00:00:00

RAILWAY IN TELLIGENCE.

TONBRIDGE WELLS. BRIGHTON, AND HASTINGS
JUNCTION.

Thursday a public meeting of the inhabitants of Hastings,
convened by the Mayor, was held in the Town-hall, for the
purpose of receiving a deputation from the Directors of the
above Company, and also from the Directors of the projected
Hastings Harbour Company.
Sonn,
iwu
(Cutlh, Lieorge Scrivens, Esq., Mayor of
the borough, took the chair, at which time the Town-hall
was crowded to excess, and among those assembled were
some of the most influential citizens of Hastings.
The CHAIRMAN said that be had taken upon himself the
responsibility of calling the present meeting, and when he
saw the numbers, the weight, and the influence of those who
attended it, he felt quite at ease as to the consequences of the
step he had taken. If they were able by means of railways
to bring back that prosperity and wealth which they enjoyed
during the war, without its evils, they would have much
cause to congratulate themselves. He begged to state that
in calling this meeting he had done it from a feeling of jus-
tice to any company who would come among them, and
give them their time and their trouble, in order to make for
them a railway and a harbour. Though he was a member of
the Provisional Committee of this Company, yet it was not
on that account he had called the present meeting, but be-
cause he thought that they were bound in justice to hear
all parties, and to have a fair discussion as to the merits of
the project.
S. A. Fur, Esq., barrister-at-law, one of the members of
the deputation, then addressed the meeting. He appeared
before them as representing an influential company, and he
would shortly explain their intentions with respect t 6 the
railway which they had been called together to consider.
The question now before them was, whether there should be
a line direct from Hastings to Tunbridge Wells. He was
happy to find they were all agreed that there should be a
railway; and he took it the only subject of contention was,
who was to have the making of the railway, and how the
railway was to go. Now, on behalf of the company for which
hewas addressing them, he begged to remind them that they
were first registered, and that their directors consisted of
gentlemen who occupied a most respectable commercial posi-
tion in the city of London, and of others possessed of great
local influence in this town. It was proposed to start from Ton-
bridge Wells; but they did not mean to use the station of the
South-Eastern Company, because that would involve them in

the cutting of a tremendous tunnel, which by adopting another
terminus they might avoid. They meant to follow the
course of the valleys, and come by Wodehouse and Watling-
ton to Hastings. There would be two tunnels in their course.
They did not mean to bring their line as the crow flew, for
that would be absurd ; but they wouldovail themselves of
the natural course of the valleys, and they would take up
those railways which were scattered through the district as
feeders to the main trunk line. At the same time it would
not be concealed that they were not the only company in the
field. He would put it to them, whether their interests
would be better secured by an independent company, or by
one whose lines led in an entirely different direction, and
who would make Hastings a mere branch for their trunk line.
—(Hear, hear.) If they were satisfied with the gentlemen
on the committee of this company—men who held a high
commercial standing in London, and who were of great local
influence in this town, then he would put it to them whether
' they would not prefer an independent company to one which
had an interest altogether difll.rent. He did not know what
the South-Eastern Company intended to do with regard to
the pier and harbour' but he thought they had enough of
such matters on their bands already. He must say that the
South-Eastern Company had taken no notice whatever of
Hastings, until after the announcement of this company in the
newspapers, and then it occurred to them to take
the subject into their consideration, and they agreed
that it would be expedient to make a railway.
He emphatically called upon them, as men of sense, if they
wanted a line between Tonbridge Wells and Hastings, to
take it into their own hands, and not to be made the victims
of a mere vote of expediency, and turned into a branch line;
or perhaps by another vote the Directors might eerwards
discover that it was not expedient to make the line at all.
R. RANKING, Esq., moved the first resolution, to the effect
that it was the opinion of this meeting that a direct and in,
dependent line from Tonbridge Wells to Hastings would be
ofgreat importance to the town of Hastings and St. Leonard's,
and that the Tonbridge Wells, Hastings, and Brighton
Junction Railway Company was deserving of their support.
Mr. COOPER, in seconding the motion said, there was but
one opinion in the town that a railway to Hastings was
necessary, and an additional subject on which there was no
difference of opinion was, that they should have a harbour.
On the question being put,
Mr. SHORTER, town-clerk of the borough, said the meet-

ing had only been convened yesterday, at twenty-four hours'
notice, to receive a deputation from this company. This no-
tice was very short; but still that was no reason why the
public should not receive information. He gave the deputa-
tion credit for the way in which their information had been
communicated ; but it should be remembered that other com-
panies were also in the field. He ad—,ltted that he was there
to speak for the South-Eastern Company, and after hearing
the gentleman who preceded him affirm that that Company
had no moral claim to come to Hastings, he would ask
whether they had not an equal, if not a paramount, claim
to the present coznpanv ? They were already making a line
from Ashford to litzsiings, and they had a station here ;
why then should they_Th.'t be allowed to go from Hastings to
Tonbridge Wells? He wa.s authorised to state that they did
intend to make the line; that the survey was in the course
of being made; that money was nz their hands to do it; and
if they obtained the consent of the ;ondlords along the line,
it would be made without the intervention of an Act of Par-
liament ; therefore, he would contend that they had an equal,
if not a superior, claim to this company to wake the line.
He then moved, as an amendment, that the thtoks of the
meeting be given to the gentlemen of the deputation for their
explanations, and that this meeting declines to pledge itself
at present to any particular line of railroad.
Mr. ALMOORE seconded the amendment. _ _ _

Mr. FRY trusted they would excuse his making a few ob-
servations before that amendment was put to the vote. It
was of no use to conceal the fact, that the effect of this amend-
ment would be, and was, probably, intended, to substitute one
company for another. It was all very well to compliment the
deputation, and to say that Hastings should not pledge itself,
but the practical effect of this amendment would be to
pledge the meeting for the one company against the other.
Mr. 11..thmAN would advise the meeting to support this
line at once. He supported it because it proposed to give
them that which they all wanted—a railway and a harbour;
and all their interests would be looked after. He was satis-
fied of its merits; but he left the matter to them, they were
the jurymen to decide upon it.
F. SMITH, Esq., banker, wished to explain in a very few
words the position he had taken up with respect to this rail-
way. They had wanted a railroad for many years, and hopes
had been held out to them of obtaining one, but as yet they
had got none, and he believed they never would have one, if
the matter was to depend upon the South-Eastern Company.
He had taken up his present position because be saw there
was an intention to carry the scheme out.—(Applause.) He
never had been connected with railways, and he would have
had nothing to do with this, unless he saw that there was a
disposition to do good to the borough of Hastings. On that
account he did hope that the orginal resolution would be
carried unanimously.—( Applause. )
Mr. H. TwarrEs said that Hastings was now in the po-
sition of a blooming virgin.—(Laughter.) All parties, from
the north to the south, from the frigid to the torrid zone,
were ready to pay their devoirs to her, and to bring her a
railroad. _ _ _

Mr. Wimums wished to know where the Hastings ter-
minus was intended to be.

Mr. LLOYD stated that it would be situated near the
Priory-marsh.
The vote was then taken, when eight or ten voted for
Mr. Shorter's amendment, and the great body of the meet-
ing for the original motion. This result was hailed with
loud cheering.
Mr. LLOYD then rose to explain the project regarding the
pier and harbour, whieh he said had been provisionally re-
gistered for the last three weeks, and he had come down to
ascertain what was really the feeling of the inhabitants of
Hastings on the subject.—( A voice—" There's no doubt about
it.") He did not think there would be any difference of
opinion; but still he wanted some formal and authoritative
declaration from the inhabitants themselves, with which he
might return to London; and then be would come down
again with Mr. Page, the engineer, and immediately set to
work on the subject. The first thing that it was natural for
them to ask was, where was it proposed to place the har-
bour? Now, he would say to them that the impression en-
tertained by the gentlemen in London was, that the fish-
market would be a proper place; but on this subject he
would not pledge himself. He had only further to say to
them, that if they would allow him to go to London to-
morrow morning with an authoritative declaration of their
opinion in favour of the project, he would pledge his word of
honour that he would return with the engineer on that day
week.—(Great applause.)
Mr. BREEDS, after a few observations, strongly urging
the importance of the scheme to Hastings, moved that a
harbour and pier to Hastings would be of great benefit to all
classes in the town, by securing ship and steam communica-
tion with Paris, through Dieppe, and that this meeting ap-
proved of the project of establishing a harbour and pier, and
would promote the object to the utmost of their power.
Mr. TnEnunsT seconded the motion.
Mr. Wir.liAms would like to know on what principle it was
to be brought to the town, before giving the scheme his sup-
port. Former projects had proposed to levy a rate on the
town ; and others proposed a duty on coals and fishing-boats.
Mr. LLOYD explained that the -Company. would charge
certain dues, sufficient to afford a fair interest for their money,
on all vessels using the accommodation they afforded. The
idea of levying a rate on the town was certainly absurd.
Mr. SIIADWELL was afraid that the making of a harbour
would bring a malaria to Hastings, as it had done in other
places, which would certainly drive fashionable-visitors from
the town of St. Leonard's, and thus the harbour would in-

jure, rather than benefit Hastings.
Mr. STRICKLAND suggested that the mni and malaria
complained of by Mr. S i nimell was only incident to harbours
upon rivers, and not to those that were cnnstruetcd upon the
sea; and Mr. Cooper expressed his opiniOn that the harbour,
far from diminishing the rents of houses in Hastings, would
increase them N per cent., ashacl been the case in Boulogne.