The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-23 00:00:00

BARNSLEY JUNCTION RAILWAY.

Mr. WIIATELEY appeared for the promoters of the Bill, and
stated that it was intended to connect the North Midland

Railway with the Manchester and Ashton-under-
Lyne Railway and the town of Barnsley. The
object of this railway was to open up the Silkestone coal-
field to the town of Barnsley, which, with the villages ad-
jacent, contained upwards (34'40,000 inhabitants. The greater
part of the goods manufactured at Barnsley went
to Manchester. At present the distance between
these two towns was 63 miles, while by this railway the dis-
tance would only be 36 miles. The coal is now sent by the
circuitous route of canal and the river Dun. He would
produce persona who had been acquainted with this
coal-field all their lives. This coal-field, together with timber
and other products, carried in the Baltic trade, would con-
stitute the traffic on this line, and this he was
prepared to prove by witnesses. There was another
article, stone, from the celebrated Green Waur quarry,
and if this line were formed it would double the supply
of this material at Stockport, Staley-bridge, and all
the neighbouring towns. The length of the line was
nine miles and a half, and in compliance with the
suggestions of the Board of Trade the projectors had
decided upon making the line a double line. There was but
one petition against it, that of the Barnsley Canal Company;
but he could not see why there should not be both means of
transit. Until the last three months the charge of conveying
mineral to this canal by tramway had been excessive, as much,
he believed, as 6d. per ton, and by this railway the expense
would be materially reduced.
Mr. Newman proved that the shares subscribed for
amounted to 286,7101., and the deposit was 28,6711. The
number of shareholders locally interested in the line was
thirty-two, and the amount they subscribed was 21,6621. of
the whole amount, and that the whole number of share-
holders was one hundred and sixty-two; that there were
fiay owners of property on the line, of whom forty-four assent ;
that the length of the land of those who dissented was 48
chains, 20 links, and of all the occupiers only four dissented.
Mr. Taylor, a linen manufacturer, at Barnsley, who
had been in business nearly 40 years, said his returns were
about 100,000/. a year, and the wages paid were 8001. a week,
or about 41,600/. a year. The greater part of his yarns came
from Leek, and two-thirds of the goods he made went to
Manchester and Liverpool, and the remainder to London.
He was now obliged to keep a warehouse at Manchester,
and he was now obliged to send his goods by a
circuitous route by Normanton by the North Midland and
Leeds and Manchester, though occasionally he sent the
goods by Wakefield ; the distance was 63 miles, and the delay
occasioned the goods frequently to be too late for shipping at
Liverpool. The cost of carriage was about 20s. a tp. The
total cost of carriage to him to Manchester was 4401. ; to
Liverpool, 200/. ; and to London, 198/. ; and the construction
of this railway would, he conceived, largely increase the bu-
siness of Barnsley-, and save him a great expense.
On cross-examination by Mr. TALBOT, Mr. Taylor stated,
that the time occupied in carrying goods from Barnsley to Man-
chester was between one evening and the next morning.
The delay arose between Normanton and Manchester ; that
there was a good road between Barnsley and Wakefield, and it
was by that route that the goods were sent when too late for the
train at Normanton. To go from Barnsley to Manchester,
the time now occupied was four or five hours, while, when
this railway- was made, -the-time would be under two hours.
In reply to Mr. AUSTIN, Mr. Taylor stated that the dis-
tance now was 611,4 miles, and three miles of road, while,
by the new line, it would be less than 36 miles.
Mr. Henry Parkin stated the whole of the wages paid in
Barnsley was about 3,500/. a week, or about 182,000/. a year ;
one carrier takes 20 tons of goods a week, another 10 tons, and
Pickford's about 70 tons a week, of which one-half went to
Manchester, making the whole amount of goods conveyed
from Barnsley- to Manchester about seventy tons, and
the manufactures of Barnsley were now largely increasing.
In reply to Mr. TaLtioT, Mr. Parkin stated that there was
a delay at Normanten sometimes for half an hour at a time;
that a considerable quantity of the yarn used in the trade
was brought chiefly from Hull and Leeds.

In answer to the CHAIRMAN, he stated that the flax from
Hull came by railway; that the distance to Penistone was 8
miles, and that there was to be a station there on the Man-
chester and Sheffield Railway, which would shorten the time
and distance to Manchester.

Mr. W. Ridsdale, a carrier at Barnsley, stated that he
conveyed about 70 tons, and others about the same quantity.
He confirmed the evidence of Mr. I'arkin as to the quantity
conveyed to Manchester, and stated his opinion that the
manufactures of the town would increase if the town pos-
sessed the same facilities as other towns in railway con-
veyance. In reply to Mr. Austin, he stated that in conse-
quence of the delay occasioned by the bad roads to Leeds the
goods often missed the morning markets, and that the roads
on both sides of Barnsley were very bad.
Mr. Henry Rolling, a miller at Oxspring, near Penistone,
stated that his mills were about 200 yar,ls from the Sheffield
and Manchester Railway ; that he purchased his corn at
Doncaster, Barnsley, and Wakefield, and that the cost of
carriage by canal was 4s. 6d. a ton ; that the whole ex-
pense of the carriage was Ifs. 6d. a ton, and the quantity
carted daily was ten tons, hut that if this railway was made,
his corn would conic all the way from Wakefield by railway
and effect a considerable saving ; that the tolls from
Barnsley amounted to 9d. a horse ; that there were three or
four horses to each waggon, and the journey occupied the
whole day. His whole grind was about 3,800 tons a year,
and this railway would save him great expense.
Mr. 11. Jackson, a linen manufacturer at Barnsley, who
pays wages to the extent of 250/. to 3001. a week, or 15,000/.
a year. He stated that he sent three-fourths of his goods to
Manchester, and the rest to London, and testified that the
railway would be a great convenience.
The Rev. William Thorpe, in reply to Mr. ST. JOHN,
stated his knowledge of the geology of the district, that it
was bounded on the east by the maguesian limestone, and on
the west by millstone grit, and that the Mid-
land Railway ran to the east of the most productive part
of the Silkestone coal-field, and the Manchester and Sheffield
ran to the west of it, but no railway passed over it at present.
The Barnsley Junction Railway would pass over the whole
of the beds of this coal-field, except two, and that there were
six or eight pits now in work near to the line ; that
line
passed
were easilyassedb richestytligeotat. part of the coal-field, and that the
beds
In reply to Mr. TALwyr, Mr. Thorpe stated that the same
observations applied to the Barnsley canal as to the line of
railway.
Mr. Andrews, a mineral agent and coal viewer, chief mine-
ral agent to Mr. Lane Fox, and surveyor to Lord Cardigan,
testified to his knowledge of the coal-field, and that the
Entwibel, and Mr. Thorpe's, Mr. Charlesworth's, and Messrs.
Clarke's pits would be easily accessible to the railway, and
that it passed over some of them. Pits, therefore, could be
sunk close by the railway, and would require only an engine
to lift the coals perpendicularly, and pour them into the
trucks.

The Counsel having intimated that the examination of
this witness would occupy a considerable time, the Com-
mittee adjourned till to-morrow (this day).

Sub-Committee (No. 6.)
SHREWSBURY AND GRAND JUNCTION RAILWAY.
This Committee re-assembled yesterday morning, and pro-
ceeded with the Shrewsbury and Grand Junction Railway Bill.
Several other allegations were proved, and ultimately the
Committee decided that the standing orders had not been com-
plied

DISS, BECCLES, AND YARMOUTH RAILWAY.
The Committee then proceeded with this Bill. Mr. Vena-
bles appeared on a petition from a number of landowners
through whose property the line passes, and preferred several
allegations, which he eventually established. They were,
however, of small importance.
FARRINGDON-STREET EXTENSION RAILWAY.
This line is five miles in length, and the estimated cost
800,000/.
Mr. Parkes appeared for the promoters, and Mr. Cop-
pock in support of a petition presented by Mr. Thomas
Innis, complaining of non-compliance with the standing
orders.

Mr. Innis was in possession of property at Islington,
through which the proposed railway would pass, and he
alleged that he had received no notice of the intention of
the Company to take his property.
It was, however, proved that notice had been left at the
house, consequently the allegation failed.
It was then alleged that the plans with respect to this pro-
perty were inaccurate, and this allegation was sustained.
The Committee adjourned at four o'clock.

THE PETERBOROUGH AND SYSTON RAILWAY,

(Continued from our Afternoon Edition.)
Witnesses were then called in support of the Bill, with the
object ofshowiug the great deficiency of the existing commu-
nication for the conveyance of passengers, agricultural pro-
duce, and coals, and the advantages which the proposed line
would confer on the whole district. The examination in
behalf of the Company was conducted by Messrs. Hildyard
and Dennison. The witnesses were cross-examined by Counsel,
on behalf of Lord Harborough, the Earl of Exeter, and a
portion of the inhabitants of Stamford, with the object of
eliciting facts in favour of the diversion of the line out of
the track proposed by the Bill. Lord Harborough's objec
tion was that the line would approach too near his residence,
and damage his grounds and those of the Earl of Exeter ;
and the inhabitants of Stamford were directed against the

plan proposed for the Stamford station, and also the direction
in which the line was proposed to be taken through the town.
The witnesses, however, generally concurred in the opinion
that, all circumstances considered, the route proposed by the
Company was the one best calculated to serve the public, and
that any alteration of the station would inconvenience the
inhabitants of Stamford

Before the list of witnesses waS gone through, the Chair-
man on behalf of the Committee intimated that they were
satisfied with the evidence already produced regarding the
question of traffic, and requested the tables to be put in. It
was stated in reply to this request that they would
not be ready till next day. The decision of
the Committee on this point was therefore adjourned
till to-morrow, and the examination of the witnesses was re-
sumed in regard to the contested points set forth in the:peti-
tions.

Nothing of moment was further elicited up to the close of
the sitting, and the consideration of the Bill was adjourned
till the next sitting of the Committee, at twelve o'clock to-
morrow (this day.). ~