The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-09 00:00:00

GROUP LL.

THE LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN
RAILWAY EXTENSION.

The Committee on this group sat at half.past twelve o'clock thls
morning. The evidence in favour of this extension was proceeded
with.

Mr. Cornelius Tobin was called and examined by Mr.
He stated that he was the principal manager of traffic on the South_
Western Railway. He was of opinion that the intended extension
of the passenger part of the railroad would be of great assistance to
the Nine Elms part. He saw Mr. Horne's traffic tables, and he
perfectly coincided in them. The goods traffic had increased 500 tons
per week within the last six months. The present station was ex-
tremely inconvenient, and the subject of general complaint. The
removal would do away with a great nuisance arising from cab
and coach stands in that part of the road. The alteration would
be of great advantage to the Company; and the interest of Mr.
Francis and that of the Company were the same.
The witness was then cross-examined by Mr. Francis's agent, but
his evidence was unshaken.

The case for the promoters of the extension having been closed,

Mr. MONT/GUE CHAMBER! addressed the Committee on the part
of the petitioners who opposed the extension. He said that he
appeared for Messrs. John Francis and Charles Francis Burnett, the
Bishop of Carlisle, and his leaseholder, Mr. Alleyne Williams, Mr.
Woodward, the Rev. H. Tower Streeton, Martha Carr, and certain
inhabitants of the parish of Lambeth. The Learned Counsel then
went Into details of the injury that would accrue to the petitioners
for whom he appeared. The Bishop of Carlisle and his lessee, Mr.
Alleyne Williams, would be irreparably injured. When tae
Committee were dealing with a question of this matter they ought
not to look to the persons, but ought to take into consideration
the protection which they ought to afford to church property, and
take care that it should not lose in value to the successors of the
prelate or to the Church, which would be benefited by that pro-
perty. The value of the property in question was 6001. a year,
which would be much lessened if Mr. Woodward could not receive
his rents. Mr. Woodward had within the last twenty years be-
come a rich and wealthy tradesman, and had erected m ,ny hundreds
of houses, the rents of which would be materially interfered
with, and he would become a man of comparative poverty, and such
compensation as was generally introduced into railway Bills could
net recompense him. His other clients would be similarly injured, as
their property was new property, in which large sums of money had
been invested. The traffic tables, he alleged, were grossly erroneous,
and the preamble was not proved, It was originally intended to
extend the present line to some place near Ilungerford-bridge
nom the terminus at Nine Elms. But it appeared now that
there wrs to be no extension from the present ter-
minus, but from the Wandsworth junction, which was
contrary to what was advertised. He argued that the Committee,
when dealing with this scheme, had to consider whether
the present line of railway could supply the demands
of the vicinity of London or the demands of dis-
tant passengers, which the traffic tables showed. It
would require four lines of railway to supply those
demands. According to the present ground plan it would
be impossible to do it. There should be an additional embank-
ment, for which there was no provision made in the estimate.
On the other hand, the Committee ought not to con-
sider the contributary branches which were contemplated—
they should look to the main trunk alone, and it was a case for post-
ponement of such a scheme until they knew whether the branch
projects were to be carried out. If an injury was to be done to a
vast number of individuals and was to be excused because a greater
number were to be benefited, they should not do that injury
until they saw that the greater number were about to be bene-
fited. He then alluded to the advantages which it was
alleged that the intended extension would bestow upon
pleasure passengers, and argued that the pleasure excur-
sion traffic was the most futile and most unsatisfactory
that they could rely upon, as was already found out on the Brighton
line. He would conclude by saying that the present scheme
would destroy the comfort and convenience of a vast number of in-
dividuals, and was to be carried out at the enormous expense of
800,0001., and he would ask whether it was not a case which
ought to be postponed until they saw more clearly with reference
to fhe advantages which the public would derive from it. If jus-
tice were done by granting proper compensation, twice the above
sum would not be sufficient. The result of the evidence which he
would produce would be that the Intended extension would not be
for the public benefit.
Mr. Wiltshire was the first witness called. On examination by
Mr. M. CHAMBERS, he statedthat he had been a surveyor and architect
at Lambeth for the last thirty years, and was well acquainted with
the property in that locality. He surveyed the pro.
jected line several months ago, He thought that it
was exceedingly objectionable, because it would cut property in a
diagonal direction, and passed all the great thoroughfares in a
diagonal line. It would be more injurious than if it went
directly across or by the side of property. lie discovered that
there could be made as good a line, and not at greater
expense, which would not destroy property by so cut.
tint; it in a diagonal direction. The property of the Messrs.
Burnett, Woodward, the Bishop of Carlisle, and Mr. Streeton, would
be injured in such a way as not to admit of compensation.
The witness was then cross-axamined by Mr. HILL—He adhered
to his statements on examination in chief.

Mr. Cottingham, architect, wa, next examined. His evidence
corroborated that of the former witness with respect to the impos-
sibility of affording full compensation to the proprietors of thepro_
perty which the intended extension would cross.

After a brief cross-examination of the witness, the Commit-
;ee rose.

GROUP N.
SOUTII DEVON AND TAVISTOCR,
RAILWAY, &c.
At the sitting of the Committee this morning,
_. .

Lord Morley, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce at Ply-
mouth, gave it as his opinion that the branch to Sutton Pool would
offer great facilities to Plymouth; that the inhabitants were in
fr.vour of it; and that the traffic which such a line would glary
would be considerable.

Mr. Brunel, the engineer to the Company, was then examined.
He stated that the line and branches would be worked by atmo.
spheric traction. The estimated cost of the branches, including
land and the laying down of the atmospheric system, would be
—Tavistock branch, 157,0001. ; the Launceston branch, 130,0001.;
Sutton Pool branch, 22,000/. ; New Passage, 35,1001. On the
Tavistock branch there would be three tunnels, and a curve of
eighteen chains, on a gradient of lin 42. On the Launceston and
Tavistock branch there was a gradient of 1 in 261, but that was at
the point of starting from Tavistock; at the Launceston end 1 in
27i for three-quarters of a mile. On the Sutton Pool branch the
smallest gradient was 1 in 40 for a distance of the chains, and 1 in
64 for about half a mile. On the Millbury branch the smallest
gradient was lin 43; in New Passage 1 in '25. The smallest
radius of a curve on that line was 22 chains.

By Mr. BRAMWELL—The Plymouth and Dartmoor line, worked
by horse power, could not be rendered available for the purposes of
the presumed Sutton Pool branch. They proposed crossing that
line. The atmospheric pipes might terminate on either side, or
he would carry the apparatus and the lines across 18 inches below
those laid down.

Mr. BRAMWELL then addressed the Court on behalf of Alder.
man Johnson, the proprietor of the Dartmoor line, and held that
the projectors of the lines before the Committee had violated cer-
tain promises entered into with them respecting the taking of that
line for the purpose of using it on a portion of their line. They
subsequently altered their plan and proposed to carry their line in
the same direction, and within 40 feet of it, by which great injury
would be caused to the property of Alderman Johnson.
'Die room was then cleared, and after a deliberation of three-
quarters of an hour the Committee adjourned until to-morrow.

GROUP P.

NEWPORT AND PONTYPOOL.

The Committee re-assembled at their usual hour this morning,
and were occupied, up to the time of our going to press, with
amending and pasting various clauses of an unimportant nature,
and affecting only the interests of parties locally concerned in the
construction of the proposed line.

It is expected that the South Wales Railway will be the next
scheme that the Committee will take under their consideration.
The Committee having passed the remaining clauses of the New.
port and Pontypool Railway, the Bill was ordered to be reported,
and as had been surmised, they proceeded with the consideration
of