The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-22 00:00:00

COURT-MARTIAL AT LEEDS.

A General Court-martial, consisting of fifteen mem-
bers, presided over by General Sir William Warre,
K C. 8., has been sitting at Leeds since the Ist instant,
by order of the Duke of Wellington, for the trial of
Lieutenant W. Augustine Hyder, 10th Royal Hussars,
on a charge preferred against him by Colonel Vande-
leer, the Colonel of that regiment. The Court did not
conclude its sittings till Thursday afternoon; but its deci-
sion will not be publicly known till after the finding shall
have have received the Queen's approbation. Mr. Warren
was specially retained to conduct the defence, and the
charge would appear at first sight to be of a very stale and
trivial character, consisting of an alleged attempt by
Lieutenant Hyder, when the regiment was stationed at
Ballincollig, in Ireland, in October, 1842, to trick his
Colonel out of two months' leave of absence, by proposing
to a Mr. Oliver that he should lend Lieutenant Hyder
a horse, which was to pass off as his own charger before
the Colonel, for the period above mentioned, tied then to
be returned to Mr. Oliver. The inquiry into this charge,
however, soon led to very important disclosures ; and an
incident occurred during the trial of a totally unprece-
dented kind in the annals of courts-martial, or, indeed,
of any other court. The prisoner's defence consisted
of a point blank denial of the charge, and an assertion
that it had been concocted between Mr. Oliver and
Colonel Vandeleur,—the roymer from spite, arising out
of a quarrel about the raymcnt for a horse sold by him
to Lieutenant Hyder, in October, 1842 ; and the latter,
in order to shield himself from a serious charge of sys-
tematic ill-treatment and oppression of Lieutenant
Ryder, preferred by that gentleman against Colonel
Vandeleur to the Duke of Wellington early in April last.
The prisoner succeeded clearly in showing that
Colonel Vandeleur did not
_prefer the pretest charge till
after he had been required to answer that against
himself Ey Lieutenant Hyder ; and in order to show
the connexion between Colonel Vandeleur and Mr. Oliver
is getting up the charge, required the production of a
letter written by Colonel Vandeleur to Mr. Oliver,
dated the 9th of May last, which it appeared, had
elicited Mr. Oliver's letter containing a statement of
the charge. An order from the Horse Guards
had been obtained for the production of the
letter in question, which the witness had accord-
ingly brought from Ireland to Leeds on the morning of
the first day's sitting of the court-martial. During a tem-
porary adjournment of the court, however, it appeared in
evidence, that Col. Vandeleur took Mr. Oliver into 'a
room adjoining that in which the Court held its sittings,
and he and Mr. Oliver then actually destroyed all the
letters which the former had written to Mr. Oliver, in-
cluding that of the 9th of May. The discovery of this
fact, which was elicited during a very severe cross-exa-
mination of Mr. Oliver, produced a prof •und sensation
in the Court, and excited great interact end astonistl-
ment in military circles. It is supposed thet very serious
notice of the transaction will be taken !iy the a.tzhorititis
at the Horse Guards, and that a second eeurt-martial
may be speedily looked for. Lieutenant Hyder's ac-
quittal is regarded as a matter of course, and the de-
struction of the document in question has excited great
public indignation at Leeds.— Times.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.
SHREWSBURY, WOLVERHAMPTON, AND SOUTH STAF-
FORDSHIRE JUNCTION.
WoLvxatiastrrox, FRU/Mr.—Pursuant to public notice, a meeting
of the inhabitants of this town and its *vicinity took place, at one
o'clock, in the public office, to take into consideration the proposed
independent line between this town and Shrewsbury. Amongst
those present were several of the influential ironmasters and other
manufacturers of the place.
r. MANNICKS was called to the chair, and said that the words of the
requisition convening the meeting had but very weakly expressed the
advantages that would be conferred upon the town by the proposed
line of rail. They had left out the fact that a central station for five
railways was to be established and centered in Wolverhampton ; they
had availed themselves of the advantages offered by making Wol-
verhampton the centre of rail for roads radiating to all points of the
compass.
Mr. HElfirr CRANE, in moving tho first resolution, said the time
had now arrived when Wolverhampton would take its position
amongst one of the first places for railway conveyance, and the feel-
ing that he knew existed gave him confidence to say that this pro-
ject would not fail to meet with proper support. He then read the
first resolution—" That the town of Wolverhampton being of great
importance as regards its manufacturing interests in connection with
the trade of the whole kingdom, it is highly essential for the conve-
nience and prosperity of its inhabitants that it should possess the
greatest facilities of communication with other towns and outports."
The resolution was put by the Chairman, and unanimously
carried. _ .

Mr. TROMAS 3f. GLADSTGNE read the second resolution—" That
the only means by which the proposed desirable object could be ob-
tained was a comprehensive system of railway connexion, and in
order to rvnder such system efficient for securing the inhabitants
of Wolverhampton and its neighbourh-od the benefit they so greatly
desired, and to witch they were so fairly entitled, a station located
In a central part of the town, to be approached with great facility by
all its inhabitants, and from which shall diverge line of railway
opening direct communication to every part and port of the United
Kingdom, is most essential for the proesperity of the town of Wol-
vrhampton."
Mr. SAMUEL WALLER seconded the resolution.
Mr. Tizonsinrcaorr, one of the Directors of the Oxford, Worcester,
and Wolverhampton line, said that he did not think the meeting
could give more importance to the resolution than it was entitled to.
Wolverhampton was then the most important town in the county
of Stafford, and he was glad Mr. Gladstone had spoken on the want
of a central station, and as one of the Directors of the Oxford and
Worcester line, he could tell them that they would be happy to come
to their station, and travel en their line, if the proposed Company
would make them a line; but, as they had now got their Bill, they
could not make any alteration. He did not stand there that day In
support of any particular line, for if he saw any other line that was
more likely to benefit the town of Wolverhampton, he would stand
forth In support of it. The Grand Junction had, with great fair-
ness, proposed to turn over their intended line, of which the shares
had gone up five per cent., and all they asked in return was, that
they should place three of their Directors on the list of the Directors
of the proposed line.
Mr. Joins BeaxosT, an ironmaster of the town, said that he thought
that the Grand Junction Company should come forward and say that
they would convey iron at the rate of ene penny a mile for a ton
weight.

Mr. Swirr, tke solicitor of the Grand Junction line, said that al-
though he had not had any communication with them on the subject,
and could make no positive promise, still he thought he might say
that they would do so ; but MU he could say, they were carrying at
a cheaper rate than any of the other competing lines, and want of
space had prevented them from entering so fully into that trade as
they could have wished ; but now they had got the power to enlarge
their stations, they intended to do so. The Grand Junction Com-
pany were ready to fall in with the views of the proposed line. The
Grand Junction Compiny did not feel inclined to retire altogether
from the field as they were the first in it, but they were willing to
leave it in the hands of a local Committee.

The CIIAIIIMAN then read the third resolution, that had been
moved by Mr. Thorneycroft, " That as the town of Wolverhampton
is proposed to contain a terminus of several existing projected lines
of railway in this neighbourhood, namely, the Grand Junction of
Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton, and South Stafford Junction,
and Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, and South Staffordshire Junction
Ita,lways, it is of the utmost impot tance to its inhabitants that there
should be one united station for the joint use of these four companies
within the town of Wolverhampton."
Seconded by Mr. HENRY Rom., and unanimously carried.
Mr. H. WALKER rose to move the following resolution :—" That
the Shrewsbury and South Staffordshire Junction Railway Company
demand the cordial support of this meeting to assist, all that lies in
Its power, to carry the Bill through Parliament when application is
made for it."

The whole of the resolutions having been carried, a vote of thanks
was passed to the chairman.

SHREWSBURY, OWESTRY, AND CIIESTER JUNCTION.
CHESTER, FRIDAY AFTERNOON.—The first general meeting of the
Shareholders in this undertakin t was held this afternoon at the offices
of the Company, in Foregate street, Chester, Mr. W. Ormsby Gore,
11. P., Chairman of the Board of Directors, in the chair.
The report was as follows :
" The Directors being impressed with the importance of con-
structing the line as rapidly as possible, entered into a contract at
their first meeting after their Act was obtained, with Mr. Thomas
Brassy, on terms which may be considered favourable to the Com-
pany, and which ensure the completion of the works, for a sum
not exceeding the Parliamentary estimate. Mr. Brassy has
already cammenced his operations at the viaduct over the Dee,
thl most extensive work on the line ; he is preparing to proceed on
other points ; and from his well-known energy and activity, the
shareholders may rest satisfied that the line will be opened for traffic
at the earliest possible period. Under these circumstances, the Di-
rectors thought it right to make a call of 2/. per share, payable on
the 26th inst., and the periods for making future calls will be regu-
lated by the progress of the works, until half the capital has been
paid up, when the powers of the Company to borrow will come into
operation. The result of the investigation which the Directors have
been led to make, during the progress of the Bill through Parliament,
has strengthened their confidence in the undertaking. The line is
imperatively called for by the wants of the country through which
it passes ; in addition to the important traffic of the neighbouring
mineral districts, it will always be the best outlet to the counties
of Montgomery and Merioneth ; and they have no doubt that the
local traffic alone will afford ample remuneration for the capital
embarked. In conformity with the views of the projectors of the
railway, the Directors have advertised their intention of mak-
ing a branch line from a point near Oswestry to Welahpooi. A
survey for this purpose is nearly completed, and it is proposed, with
the approbation of the shareholders, to apply to Parliament in the
ensu ng session for powers to carry it into effect. Feeling convinced
of the Importance of making a direct communication through Shrop-
shire and Herefordshire with the West of England, and the mining
districts of South Wales, the Directors entered into an arrangement
with the promoters of the Shrewsbury and Herefordshire Railway,
by which they agreed to support that company, and secured a por-
tion of the capital for their shareholders. This railway will form a
valuable adjunct to the line. Various other schemes connected with
the district have been projected, on which it might be considered
premature to pronounce an opinion in this report. They
have engaged the earnest attention of the Directors, and their
best exertions will be used to protect the interests of the Company."
The CHAIRMAN, in addressing the meeting on the contents of the
report, which he did at some length, congratulated the shareholders
upon the success that had attended their efforts to procure the Act,
and upon the very small expense that attended its progress through
Parliament ; and that their detailed statement of accounts would now
be before them, but for a domestic calamity which had befallen one
of their officers. The report having been duly proposed and seconded
was unanimously adopted.

It was also agreed io pay their secretary 2751. per annum, and the
two auditors 251. per annum each, and the Directors 5001. per annum.
One or two resolutions having been adopted, the business of the
meeting terminated ; after which a vote of thanks was proposed for
the Chairman by Mr. Wardle, which was seconded and carried by
acclamation, the shareholders concurring in the prefatory remarks of
11f r. Wardle, who eulogised the Chairman as one to whom the com-
pany was deeply indebted.
The CHAIRMAN having returned thanks, the meeting separated.