The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-19 00:00:00

RAILWAY C M3l ITT E

Bi

YESTEP.DAY.)

-~~-

HOUSE OF LORDS.
X,,VNT,T AN "a ra4v. RAIL W AY.
came before a ::>elect Committee of the -House of Lords

to-a.), the Ear
M. AUS'iri ;

Luca

for the promoter

Mr. IALBOT appeared for the Eau ion Commis-
sioners, and also for the South Level Drainage Commissioners, who
claimed compensation for the injury they would sustain by the con-
struction of the line of railway.

The preamble was declared proved, and the clauses were then
gone into.
On a clause being proposed by the opponents for compensation,
the room was cleared, and, after a few minutes' deliberation, the
parties were called in and informed by the Chairman that the clause
had been rejected.

The other clauses were then gone through, and the Committee
then adjourned to Friday.
HELL AND SELBY LINE (BRIDLINGTON

BRANCH).

This Bill camobefore a Committee at twelve o'clock today, Earl
St. Germans in the Chair.
Mr. HILDY A RD opened for the promoters.
Mr. H. HILL appeared for the Commissioners of the Bridington
Pier, and proposed a clause of indemnity.
The preamble was declared proved, and the clause for indemnity
refused. _

The other clauses were then gone through, and the Bill is to be
reported.
MIDLAND RAILWAY (NOTTINGHAM TO

-LINCOLN) .

The Committee on this Bill met again this day at one o'clock,
Lord Hatherton, Chairman.
The opposition of Lord Chesterfield was withdrawn, a satisfac.
tory arrangement having been come to between his Lordship and
the parties.
The Flood.road Trustees opposed the Bill, on the ground that
the railway proposed to croA one of their roads on a level.
The Committee were engaged in hearing evidence up to four
o'clock, when the inquiry was adjourned till eleven o'clock to-
morrow.

WILTS, SOMERSET, AND WEYMOUTH
RAILWAY.

The Committee on this Bill reassembled to-day at 12 o'clock,
Lord Kenyon in the chair.
The landowners having closed their cross-examination, Mr.
SLADE summed up, and the room was cleared for the consideration
of the preamble.
After a short absence, the parties were called in and informed
by the Chairman that the preamble was proved.
The clauses were then proceeded with, and the Committee ad-
journed at four o'clock till 12 tomorrow.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
GROUP A.
SOUTH-EASTERN LINE.

The consideration of the above line was resumed by the Coin
mittee at the usual honr, when

Mr. COCKBURN proceeded with the examination of Mr. Stephenson,
who was about to speak to an error in the plans of the North Kent
line, which would render it impossible for them to keep within the
limits of deviation, when it was objected, on the part of the North
Kent line, that this error h.id been pointed out by the Standing
Orders Committee, and had been corrected. This, however, was
found to be an error, and Mr. Stephenson proceeded to state the
nature of the error.

Mr. Stephenson now proceeded to describe the proposed London
and Croydon (Atmospheric) Railway. The gradients on this line
were very steep. In his opinion, the Croydon Company had chosen
a very bad line of country, and treated it without any judgment,
as even there they might have shown much better gradients. The
country they passed through was not only bad in an engineering
point of view, but was very little populated. This line did not pass
through Rochester, but approached it on the south side. The wit-
ness then pointed out the difference of distance from London to
Gravesend, Sheerness, Feversham, &c., from which it appeared
that the distance, by tie South-Eastern line, from London to Graves-
end, was 61/2 miles less than by the London and Croydon lire.!;
and from London to Chilham, 2 miles less. If the atmos-
pheric principle should fail, the London and Croydon could not be
used as a locomotive line ; but, on the °the, 11. ind if the principle
should succeed, there would be no reason why the South-Eastern
should not be made an atmospheric line. Bad gradients might not
be so objectionable on atmospheric lines as on locomotive, but they
were still a very gr, at objection. The greater the length of the
atmospheric line the less the speed. The atmospheric engine
could not carry large weights. The London and
Croydon Company proposed to compensate for this by
the frequency of their trains, but he thought that this would be
impracticable, as there are certain hours at which the
public always travel, and, as no railway company
can govern the traffic in this respect, they must
have a large number of passengers each time. The total
expense per mile of the atmospheric line would be 9,220/. The
working expense of the stationary engine on the London and Bir-
mingham Railway (at Euston-square), and which had been
used for working one mile, was 1,4191. per annum,
but the expense would be much greater on the Croydon line, as
their engine must work three miles of railway, the engine on the
Birmingham line having been only used for one mile; and it was
admitted that the stationary engine of an atmospheric line must
have a greater power than was required on the Birmingham line.
Sir WALTER RIDDEL, on the part of the North Kent line, then
proceeded to the cross-examamination of Mr. Stephenson on pceksle
of no public interest.
Mr. MELLOR, on the part of the London and Croydon line, then
cross-examined Mr. Stephenson at great length.
After a short re-examination of Mr. Stephenson, by Mr.
ALEXANDER,
The Committee adjourned at four o'clock.

GROUP CC.
CORE AND DANDON RAILWAY.

This Committee met at three o'clock, Mr. Vernon Smith in the
chair.

The object of the present meeting was the recommittal of this
Bill, and for the introduction of a clause, with some amendments,
to protect the interests of the Corporation of Cork to certain tolls.
Mr. Sergeant Murphy, M.P., was examined in support of the
rights of the Corporation. The Hon. Gentleman stated the tolls
in question had existed upwards of a hundred years. The facts
were that the city of Cork is surrounded by a belt for three miles,
and all tollable articles coming from that part of the city known as
the liberties were exempt from toll, but all articles coming from the
rural districts, under several charters and time immemorial,
were subject to it, and to enable the corporation to collect such tolls,
toll-bars were erected. By the proposed railway the corporation
would be unable to collect those tolls unless they had the power of
inspecting the bills of lading at.d books of the railway company, to
ascertain what goods came from the rura► districts. Should that be re.
fused the corporation would be obliged to erect bars upon the railway,
which would greatly embarrass the traffic, and would be a source
of endless litigation. The rights of the corporation were con-
firmed by a verdict of a jury in 1821. All the corporation re-
quired was that their rights to these tolls should be protected ;
they did not seek any further rights than those which at present
existed.

The clause in question, after some slight alteration, passed the
Committee.

The Speaker being announced at prayers, the: Committee ad.
journed. -

GROUP GG.

The Committee met at the usual hour, and proceeded with the
consideration of the

GLASGOW JUNCTION RAILWAY.

The CIAIRMAN commenced the proceedings, by asking whether
any intimation of the wishes of the Admiralty had been made to
the Learned Counsel.

Mr. Sergeant ANDREWS answered in the affirmative, but objected
to bring it forward at the moment.

Mr. Sergeant TALFOVRD would insist on its being immediately
produced.

Mr. MILES said, that whatever course might be pursued, he, as
a member of the Committee, should not come to any conclusion
until he was made acquainted with the wishes of the Admiralty on
the subject.

Mr. Sergeant ANDREWS then read the letter, which expressed a
positive objection to the formation of a bridge by the Railway Corn.
pany further down the river than any of the present bridges. The
Learned Counsel then went on to say, that the Admiralty had not,
as the Committee, heard both sides of the question, and he did not
doubt that their opinion would be eventually modified to a consi-
derable extent.

The room was then cleared, and on our return
The CHAIRMAN said that the Committee were of opinion that
so much of the preamble as applied to the bridge over the Clyde
had not been proved.
Mr. Sergeant ANDREWS, who evidently laboured under some
embarrassment in consequence of this decision, then proceeded to
address the Committee on the other parts of tile plan.
At the conclusion of his address the room was again cleared,
and on our being, after the lapse of half an hour, admitted.
The CHAIRMAN said, the Committee had come to the resolution
that so much of the preamble as refers to the junction of the Garn-
kirk and Edinburgh Railway is proved ; as also the branch line to
the lower part of the harbour ; but the main branch, from the
tunnel down to the Glasgow Bridge, the Committee find not proved.
A desultory conversation then ensued between the Committee
and the Learned Counsel as to the course to be pursued by them
to-morrow, and it was ultimately decided that the clauses of the
Bill should be taken to-morrow.
The Committee adjourned till twelve next day.

GROUP K.
DISS, BECCLES, AND YARMOUTH
RAILWAY.

The Committee on this and other lines for accommodating the
districts of Norwich and Yarmouth continued their inquiry this
morning, by the resumption of evidence on behalf of the promoters.
Mr. Pare, under examination by Mr. James, handed in the
traffic tables, from which it appeared that the total number of pas-
sengers travelling annually on the line, was estimated at 189,7221.,
travelling over a distance of 2,046,942, and an amount of mer-
chandise yielding annually a return of upwards of 3,0001. The
corn exported at Yarmouth annually is averaged at 15,687 tons,
and at Ipswich 16,000 tons, while in 1844, 339,844 quarters were
sold at the former market. The average cost of conveyance be.
tween Yarmouth and London by steam is 15s. per ton.
Mr. Childe examined by Mr. JAMES-Is a printer, residing at
Bungay, the population of which, including adjacent parishes,
amounts to about 6,000. There are several factories sending a
large quantity of goods annually to London, and the intervening
towns. To all of these the proposed line would afford great and
invaluable accommodation. There is a considerable provision
market at the town, supplying the neighbouring districts, and the
sale in corn is now particularly extensive.
Mr. Lettridge, a land-agent examined by Mr. WILDE, handed
in population-tables, stating the number of inhabitants between
Diss and Yarmouth, within a range of three miles of the
line, to be 80,978, the population of Beccles 4,086, and of
Bungay, 4,109.
Formal evidence was given confirmatory of these tables, and
The Committee adjourned at four o'clock.

GROUP L.
PORTSMOUTH ATMOSPEERIC LINE.

On the resumption of the Committee this morning, Mr. GUNNING,
who appeared for Lcrd firantley, addressed the Committee on the
evidence which had been adduced mi behalf of his Lordship, and
called upon the Committee to declare that the preamble of the Bill
hisi not been proved. He called fur this decision of the Committee
on the ground that the line was not the best line that could be laid
out, and that the lire laid down by Mr. Denton was a better one.
The inhabitants of Wonerah desired no station, and would if this
railway were made still continue to use Guildford as their point of
starting. After a few oliservstions on the evidence of Mr. Keene,
and stating that he considered that Lord Grantley was the best
judge of the injury he was likely to sustain, the Learned Counsel
said he trusted that the Committee would take private interests
into consideration when they had to provide for the public conve-
nience.
Muskett, and opposed both lines on
account of some Mr. O'MALLEY then addressed the Committee
gf olfadMieisr,
en ruai
for whom he was trustee, and whose property would he entirely
destroyed if this line were suffered to
pass.
ings of the public were very much
changed He felt
felt that the feel.
estimate of the
sacredness of private property, in consequence of
extensivethe ra-
mification of railroad interests; and the little room
which he
cupied being grasped, showed how great was the contempt
which
was felt for private rights. It was, therefore, difficult to lay a case
which so entirely depended on th s claim of private interacts fairly
stirs advantageously before the Committee. When before a Corn-
mittee such as that which be addressed, railway Companies were
liberal enough, but when they c.me to abide the decision of the jury
appointed to value the property they were not so.
Mr, Sergeant WRANGRAII stated that the Company which he