The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-01-23 00:00:00

RAILWAY AFFAIRS.

SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE RAILWAY.—The section of
the above railway extending from Lichfield to Walsall is
now ready for opening.
A dinner was given on Friday at the London Tavern
on the occasion of the presentation of an elegant service
of plate, of the value of £5OO, to W. Chadwick, Esq.,
Chairman of the Richmond Railway, &c., &c.
On Saturday three workmen were proceeding along the
Eastern Counties line, near to Edmonton Station, when a
train came up, and passed over the body of one, named
Lynch, killing him on the spot.
It is stated that Mr. Robert Stephenson is now in
Egypt, at the instance of the British government, to sur-
vey and report upon the practicability of making a railway
across the isthmus of Suez.

A novel species of robbery has been tried on the Great
Southern and Western Railway, in the abstraction of
cushions, window-blinds, hat-straps, and linings of the
carriages, to the value of about £6O or £7O. The thieves
are in custody.

The traffic'for the week ended 16th January, 1849, on
the Chester and Holyhead Railway amounted to—Coach-
ing traffic, £757 Bs. 2d. • parcels, £29 159.3 goods and
cattle, £162 is. ld. ; steam-boats, £lOl lls. : total,
£lO5O 15s. 3d.

In ,Ttick's Tide Table is given a list of the average
speeds, including stoppages, on twelve of the principal
railways. The express trains of the Great Western are
put down highest (43 miles); those of the Eastern Coun-
ties lowest (26 miles). The parliamentary trains are, the
highest (22 miles) the North-Western, and Brighton
lowest (15 miles).
The amount of traffic for the last week, on 4,280 miles
of railway, was £166,980, thus accounted for :—£72,339
for the conveyance of passengers only, £44,502 for the
carriage of goods, and a remainder of £50,139 for passen-
gers and goods together, not respectively apportioned ;
being an increase of £20,968 over the crresponding week
of last year, when the mileage was 3,342. The average
earnings per mile were £3O, whilst last year they were
£44.

NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE RAILWAY.—At a meeting of
manufacturers held the other day at Hanley, to consider
the best method to be adopted for obtaining a reduction
in the rate of tonnage charged on raw material and manu-
factured goods in their transit along the Trent and Mersey
Canal. now vested in the Railway Company, it was re-
solved to apply to parliament in the ensuing session to
have a clause inserted in the Company's Act for that
purpose. _ _ _

FALL OF RAILWAY BRIDGES.-011 Sunday morning
week, about three o'clock. the " wall-wing" of an arch
on the Liverpool and Bury Railway, erected across the
Douglas, in the fields behind the Sovereign Mills, fell
down with a fearful crash. Scores of tons of earth, form-
ing the embankment, slipped into the bed of the river and
field below. The level of the rails on which the trains
travel from Liverpool to Bury was entirely destroyed, and
the trains travelling in that direction were compelled to
run a considerable distance on the other line, which was
unimpaired. Extraordinary vigilance was used to pre-
vent accidents. On Tuesday the way was restored, and
the traffic was conducted as before. The restoration of
the arch, and reconstruction of the embankment, are pro-
ceeding as rapidly as the state of the weather will permit.
The next bridge nearer to ince, which extends over the
canal, is being fortified against a similar disaster. On
Saturday night week .a like misfortune to the one we have
described, happened to a bridge on the same line, at
Westhoughton.
A RAILWAY LIBRARY.-A very important addition to
the comfort of the travelling public has been suggested by
the general manager of the London and Northwestern
Railway Company, Captain Huish, and is likely to be
brought into early operation. Our readers may have ob-
served that at the principal stations there are bookstalls,
where popular literature as well as newspapers can be
purchased. The supply of books is about to be largely
increased and improved in character ; and the whole of
the stations on the line being now undertaken by one
party (Messrs. Smith and Son, of the Strand,) Captain
Huish proposes to establish a gigantic circulating library,
on the plan that the passenger may select a book at a
stall, paying the price thereof, and after travelling any
distance on the railway (where his journey terminates)
deliver it at the station, receiving back the value, less a
trifle for a perusal. When it is considered that the Lon-
don and Northwestern Railway extends over nearly 500
miles, and that more than six millions of passengers
travel upon it annually, we cannot conceive any plan more
likely than the above to improve the time spent in jour-
neying.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF CHANCERY.
(Before Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce.)

THE ROYAL ETCHINGS-PRINCE ALBERT V. STRANGE

His Honour gave judgment on Tuesday, refusing io
dissolve the injunction restraining the defendant from
publishing the Royal etchings, and condemning the con-
duct of several of the parties concerned in attempting to
take advantage of an unbecoming intrusion, an intrusion
offensive to every well-thinking mind, namely, that of a
sordid spy into private and domestic life, and an intrusion,
too, into the private and domestic life of individuals who
not only deserved, but had obtained the respect of the
country. He reserved the question as to costs, his Royal
Highness Prince Albert and his solicitor undertaking to
speed the cause. He did not see why both suits should
not be heard before Trinity Term or sooner, and he had
no doubt, from their peculiar nature, that the Court
would hear them as soon as they were ready. The de-
fendant immediately gave notice of appeal to the Lord
Chancellor.