The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-04 00:00:00

GROUP AA.

(IRELAND),

GROUP DD.
IMPORTANT DECISION.

GROUP FF.

EDINBURGH AND NORTHERN LINE,

On cross-examination the witness would not allow that the
steam-engine, watcr.works, quarries, or docks alluded to by the
last witness could be seen by the inmates, or were half so objeo-
tionable as the railway would be.
(LEFT BITTING.)

GROUP GG.
GLASGOW DISTRICT.

The Committee, consisting of the Chairman (Mr. Evans), Lord
Grimston, Mr. Muntz, Mr. Miles, and Mr. Newdegate, sat at
twelve o'clock in the Sessions House of Westmiuster, when the
consideration of the

GLASGOW JUATCTION RAILIATAY

was proceeded with.

Mr. Phillips, merchant, Leith, who had been before the Com-
mittee at the hour of adjournment yesterday, was recalled, and
cross-examined by Mr. Hope—The witness was asked if the trade
between Leith and the ports on the west coast of Scotland would
be likely to be increased or diminished by the proposed line 2 He
gave it as his opinion that it would be greatly increased, as the
railways gave such increased facilities to traffic by diminishing the
time required in transit, and lowering the rate of freight.
Mr. Stoddart. member of the Town Council of Edinburgh, gave
similar evidence. He thought that the travelling under the streets
of Glasgow would do no injury, for they had an example of the
same kind in the proposed extension of the Edinburgh Railway to
Leith, where the line went under the houses for a distance of nearly
a mile.

(LNIPT SITTING.)

GROUP K.
DIRECT NOZLWZCTZ R ILWAY.

The Committee on this lint met this morning, and resumed its
business by the examination of

Mr. Isaacson, who, in answer to Mr. LEE, deposed to being a
land valuator, and having surveyed had estimated the cost of land
necessary for the construction of the line ; it would require 150
acres, being at the rate of 12 acres per mile, and including seven
acres for stations. Some of the land he computed at the lowest
rate of 101., and some at 121. the highest price per acre.
Cross-examined by Mr. RODWELL—The land at 121. per acre is
that immediately contiguous to the town. The estimate does not in.
elude any allowance for spoiled land.

Mr. Charles Stooks, examined by Mr. LEE—Is assistant to Sir
John Rennie. Heard the evidence of that gentleman yesterday and
can vouch for its accuracy. Instead of II acres, the usual rate per
mile, 12 acres had been set down in the estimates for the pre-
sent line.

This having closed the case for the promoters of the Direct Nor•
with line,

Mr. AnonSS's, Q.C., proceeded to open the case of the Norwich
and Brandon line, and made a preliminary objection to the oppo-
sition of the Eastern Counties Extension Railway, the East Dere-
ham and Lynn branch, landowners on either line, and the inhabi-
tants of the town of King's Lynn. The Committee, however,
having admitted the right of the various parties to oppose, at the
same time recommending that the conaicting interests should
merge their claims into one specific case, the Learned Counsel
briefly detailed the main features of the Bill. Its first project was
to embrace the town of Thetford, the branch in that direction
requiring no additional expense above the sum originally estimated
for the independent line. The second scheme was the construction
of the line from Wyndham to East Dereham, going direct across to
London, and affording considerable undeniable facilities to the vast
tragic in those districts.

(LEST SITTING.)

,GROUP KK.
LIVERPOOL AND BURY LINE.

The Committee resumed at the usual hour.
Mr. John Turner was the first witness called. He is a native of
Haywood, 8 miles from Bury. Haywood contained a population
of 15,000 persons. The following was a statement of the amount
of goods annually brought into Haywood from Liverpool :—Cotton,
8,506 tons; coals for manufacturing purposes, 71,101 ; flour, 261;
iron and lead, 1,720; timber, 1,000; groceries, 80; potatoes, 936;
stone, 400 ; cannel, 15,000 ; coal for domestic purposes, 15,600.
The whole amount being 101,304 tons of commodities annually
imported from Liverpool into Haywood. The present price of
carriage was 11 s. Bd. from Liverpool ; by the projected line it
would be only 9s. 3d., as they would carry them at 3d. per ton per
mile, which would be the maximum price. This would afford an
annual saving to the people of Wigan or 7,850/. 15s. in respect to
coal, and in cotton of 1,027/. I6s. 2d., the coal for domestic pur-
poses 780/., in sundries 537/. 10s., in agricultural produce 2341.
and by carriage 6341., by the greater cheapness which they would ob-
tain produce through the new line. The whole saving to the people
of Wigan by the projected hr, would he 11,01241. Is. Vii. yearly,
Mi. William Pearce, superintending agent to the Earl of Bal.
carras at the %Vigan coal mines. stated that he had been thiriecn
years in his Lordship's employment. Lord Belcarras was the
largest coal-mine proprietor in that district. He raised a large
quantity of cannel coal. Lord Belcarras employed 1,000 colliers,
and had engines of 450 horse power. The quantity of tons
raised by his Lordship annually was 200,000. The cannel coal was
sent to Bolton, Bury, Haywood, Middleton, Rochdale, Ashton;
and Oldham. Coal was sent thence to all parts of South Lanca-
shire and North Cheshire. There was a large number of collieries
around Wigan at which there were annually raised 1,A00,006
tons of coal. Had seen the plans and sections of the Liverpool
and Bury Railway; knew the neighbourhood through which it
would pass. Was therefore enabled to say that the line would
pass through the most productive parts of the Wigan coalfields. A
large portion of these coal-fields was not worked at all in come.
quence of their remoteness from any mode of transit. There were
60 1.5 square miles of coal-fields through which no line passed,
or 38,528 acres, or 1,186,341 acres of one foot thick of coal.
(LEFT CITTLNG.)

GROUP LL.
THE LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN
RAILWAY EXTENSION.
This Committee sat at twelve o'clock this morning, and pro.
ceeded to hear the evidence of Mr. Bennett and Mr. Deacon, who
corroborated the statements made yesterday by the witnesses in
favour of the extension of this line to a point equally distant from
Westminster, Waterloo, and Hungerford.bridges.
The Omit:tux said it was the desire of the Committee to know
whether there were any witnesses to prove that the extension
would be advantageous to the inhabitants of the west end of the
town; there was no doubt that it would be beneficial to those
who resided near the bridges in question.
Mr. SMIRKS said that they had already shown that it would be
favourable to the city of London. He wished that the Committee
would adjourn till to-morrow, when he would be able to produce
the necessary evidence.

(LEFT EITTINS.)

GROUP N.
CORNWALL RAILWAY.

At the sitting of the Committee, the case of the petitioner was
proceeded with.

Mr. R. T. Hall, a surveyor in Cornwall, some time an
Assistant to Mr. Thomas, the petitioner. He said, in No.
vember last, he was occupied for some time, in conjunction with
Mr. Thomas, in surveying the central line, indicated on the map
by a red line. On that portion of the line, at Halgarven and west.
ward to Falmouth, there were no curves of less radius than
chains, and that there were only two of a radius of 30. The ge-
neral curves on this part of the line were about three quarters of a
mile. No roads from Halgarven to Falmouth were crossed on a
level

Mr. Rosa said it was with much pleasure that he had to inform
the Committee that, after a consultation with his client, and after
considering the great body of important evidence which he had
offered for the last two days, it was not his intention to call any
additional witnesses, and he was prepared then to address the Com-
mittee against the preamble of the Bill. The Learned Gentleman
then addressed the Committee on behalf of the petitioner. Mr,
Thomas was an honest man. He might not be an engineer of the
old school, but that was no argument against his consistency, and
his opinion was as much entitled to consideration as that of Captain
Moorsom, who, as a matter of course, was most desirous to get his
scheme adopted by the Committee. He (Mr. Rowe) did not re.
present Mr. Thomas only, although lie ostensibly appeared for that
gentleman, but he represented a great and important body of the
inhabitants of Cornwall, who considered that a central line would
offer far greater facilities than the coast line.
(LEFT SITTING.)

GROUP X.
LONDON AND YORE LXNE.

The Committee, to whose investigation the merits of the seve.
ral lines comprehended in what is called " Group X," and which
enumerates no fewer than seven distinct lines of railway, assem.
bled this day, in Committee-room No. 8, at about half-past twelve
o'clock. and resumed the hearing of evidence as to the merits of
the London and York projection; but although this is now the
middle of the fifth week that the Committee have been sitting, for
six days in each week, and four hours and a half each
day, the case appears to be about as distant from its close as it
was four weeks ago. The position in which it now stands is
shortly this :—The traffic evidence was put a atop to on Friday
last, at the request of the various counsel for the competing lines,
upon the ground that the traffic tables were so numerous, so long,
so minute, and so difficult to he understood, that the time allowed
the Learned Gentlemen for the study of them was so short
as to render it impossible that they could make them-
selves sufficiently familiar with their contents as to proceed
pith the erose.examination of them to their own ratiffaction or
with justice to their clients.

(T.SZT PITTING.)

The Committee met at twelve o'clock,lMr. Henley in the chair.
3he postponed clause of
THE GREAT BOUT/ILAN AND WESTERN

from yesterday, after a long discussion, was again postponed until
Friday.
The unopposed clauses of the
WATERFORD AND LIMERICK RAILWAY
were then agreed to, and the Committee adjourned until. Friday.

THE CALEDOi lAN, THE GLASGOW,
DUMFRIES, ANL CAZIAISLE, AND THE
CZYDLSDAL= XITIV CTION.

The Committee met this morning at twelve o'clock, and, after
deliberating some time on the points which they bad not derini-
lively decided on their adjournmmt yesterday afternoon,
The CHAIRMAN said that the Committee, having proceeded to the
consideration of the subjects before them, had come to the delibe-
rate and unanimous decision, that the preamble of the Bill called the
Glasgow,Durntries, and Carlisle Railway Bill, had not been proved.
Mr. HILDTARD then said he appeared on behalf of the Glasgow
and Garnkirk Railway, to oppose the Motherwell branch of the
Clydesdale Junction Railway, and called Mr. King to give evi-
dence, who was examined by Mr. CRANFORD.
Mr. King deposed that the authorised original capital of the
Garnkirk line was 140,0001., and the rate of dividends on that
capital had averaged, for some years past, about 2i per cent. The
directors of the Garnkirk Railway applied to Parliament last year
for a new Act, which they obtained, for the purpose of making
two different extensions of their line. One of these extensions
was intended to carry the line further into the city of Glasgow, and
was now in course of construction, The extension would
doubtless be a very considerable improvement, as it would bring the
terminus of the Garnkirk line to a convenient terminus, and both

passengers and goods be carried nearer to the centre of the city and
to the harbour. The expense of the extension would be 50,0004
(LaFT SITTINe.)

The Committee on this group re-assembled at the usual hour
this morning, and proceeded with the negative evidence against the

The Rev. Mr. Muir, one of the officiating ministers of Dysart
Kirk, was called to prove that the line would pass so near that es-
tablishment as to interrupt the performance of Divine service, as
well as pass through the burial ground attached to the kirk. The
witness added that the railway would prove an eyesore and a nui-
sance to the inhabitants of Dysart House, at present in the pos-
session of the Earl of Rosslyn.

On cross-examination the witness admitted that the mansion of
Lord Roselyn was at all points surrounded by steam-engines, docks,
quarries, and other objectionable works ; but, nevertheless, he
thought it was a romantic and retired retreat.

Mr. Bailie, who had been factor to Lord Rosslyn for upwards of
twenty years, and who had been in the service of the Rosalyn fa-
mily forty-eight years, corroborated the testimony of the last wit.
'less, so far as it related to Dysart House.