The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-10-16 00:00:00

SPORTING I N 7'ELL IGENCE.

• MANCHESTER, TUESDAY EVENING.
THE MOSTYN STAKES (THIS DAY).—The appearance of
-. the bettiugs on the above stakes is this day even more siogu•
gar than it was a week• ago. There was then, certainly, a
second fivourite in Albemarle, who was coupled with Hark-
/01,,awa.y, absolutely to figure second when the decision was
laxaken. . Now, any odds could be obtained against Albemarle,
and no doubt he is snugly stabled for another years cam-
um.paO.under his new master, Sir John Gerrard,-who pur-
, • ebasahim, we rather think, during the Heaton Park week,
for the pretty handsome sum of 1,500 gu►neas. Since he
laiiwled out in tote, nothing has made a spring into any thing;
like a second favourite. A few nights ago, the party sup-
porting Harkaway were so determined to have all the money
obtainable, that they laid 5 to 2 to a large stake, and would
ysb probably have not thought it buying money dear at half a
ow point more; at all events they accepted 100 to 1 a few timeS
" over, that their horse made a walk over. It is very probabte
r, that the field will be small, and consequently there will be
great honour to Harkaway in winning the event in a com-
mon canter. His Irish and English running justifies the
. conclusion There is, however, always hope for-the fields-
men in this race. Should Harkaway win, the party will gain
a large stake in bets, as well as the honour of gaining the
prize, which the gentlemen of the principality would gladly
see won by one of their own stables; at all events, not by
Mr. Ferguson. Rumours are afloat as to which of the club
gives him his nomination ; a little time will chew. A score
or so was laid out on Vertumnus (purchased from the stud of
the late Duke of Leeds, it is presumed for Mr. Alderman
Copeland), at the long figure of 20 to 1. The following will
chew that, in the business now doing, Harkaway has the
game to himself.
THE MOSTYN STAKES.—P.P.

ENTERED OR NOT.
2 to 1 on flarkaway, laid yesterday and to-day, with offers
afterwards to take 5 to 2.
12 to 1 against any other (offered).
THE DERBY.
13 to I against Lord Jersey's brother to Achmet. (take 11
freely.)
14 to 1 against Duke of Richmond's Gulnare. (take 15 )
THE ST. LEG ER.—Commodore was coupled with Barka.
way, and hacked a few evenings since to a good deal o',
money, at 15 to 1.

TATTERSALL'S.—THURSDAY.
Nothing was done here yesterday.—The Newmarket Se-
cond October Meeting takes place on Monday next, and four
following days: one of the most interesting events to be de-
cided in the course of the week is the question relative to the
Goodwood Stakes, which is claimed by Lord Suffield, as
owner of St. Luke, 00 the ground that the winner, Louther-
burg, was improperly described. The result is looked for
with anxiety by a great number of speculators.

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY MEETING

On Thursday at Bristol, in pursuance of the Resolution
come to at the half-yearly meeting, held the 15th August, to
the effect that the report of the directors should be printed
and circulated and its adoption deferred till the second week
in October, the adjourned meeting was held. The large
room was crowded before one o'clock, and amongst the com-
pany were Mr. L. Heyworth, Mr. Noyes, Mr. Crossthwaite,
Mr. Swift, and other gentlemen, who represented the north-
ern shareholders.
he chair was taken by W. U. Sims, Esq., who after some
introdUctory remarks, observed that a glance at the report
would show that the Directors, if any faults or defects were
proved to exist in the present mode of laying the rails, were
willing to consider and adopt a better mode. The t raffic had
realised every hope which had been formed. The receipts
for the last 18 weeks amounted to £29,694 ss. 11d., yielding
an average income of £1,694 16s. per week. At their last
meeting the average was £1,596 tier week. The receipts for
the month of June were £6,459165.; for.Julv, £6,913 2s. 5d ;
for August, £7,154105, Ild.; and forSeptember,£7,ss9 19s Id.
(Applause.) A lull account of the expenditure had
been taken for the same period, and it, was found that
£10,925 12s. Id. covered all the expenditure, with the excep-
tion of that which had been required for the repacking of that
portion of the permanent way which bad been found to re-
quire it. Instead of an expenditure of £3OO per day, and
an income of £2OO, as had been stated, the proportion of an
expense was smaller than on other lines. With respect to
the cost of laying the rails on timber, the directors bad been
anxious to obtain the most certain information, and they
found that with a heavier rail of 60ibs. to the yard, and a
larger scantling of timber, without piles, the cost would not
exceed £7,000 permile. The opening of the line to Rus-
combe and from thence to Reading, the directors felt to be
mast important, and the fact of its not yet baying taken
place must be ascribed in some measure to the position in
which the directors had been placed by the unmerited dis-
trust exhibited towards them, and the unusual and long delay
in confirming their report. Mr. Wood had not yet submitted
his report on the line to Maidenhead; but was about to un-
dertake a course of inquiry and experiments before doing so.
At present his experiments had not,,been sufficiently exten-
sive to justify him in forming that sound and practical con-
clusion at which be was desirous of arriving. The Chair-
man proceeded to mention a conference which the directors
had had with.the engineer of the Bolton and Bury Railway,
Mr. Hawkshaw, who recommended a total change of plan,
beginning de were, taking up the rails and laying them down
at the 4 feet 12 inch guage. He (the chairman) thought
they were bound to wait for the report of Mr. Wood, for
which they had themselves called, before listening to such a
suggestion. ,
A- discussion here took place respecting the reading of Mr.
Hawkshaw's report, Mr. Smith, Mr. Crossthwaite, and Mr.
Hoyes wishing to have it laid before the meeting, which was
opposed by Mr. Mortimer, Dr. Carpenter, Mr. Gibbs, and
Mr. Fribb, who maintained that the report of Mr. Wood
ought to be submitted to the meeting with that of Mr. Hawk-
shaw. In the course of this discussion the Chairman stated
that Mr. Wood's report would be ready in about six weeks
from the present time.'
Dr. CARPENTER, after eulogising the conduct of the Di-
rectors, and stating that he regarded this as one of the most
important lines in the kingdom, not only as respected the
communication between Bristol and London, but as, in con-
nection with steam vessels, forming the most direct, rapid,
and certain communication with the United States, concluded
with moving the adoption of the report of the Directors,
which had stood over from the last meeting.
R. CASTLE, Esq., seconded the motion, and in doing so,
contended that the travelling on the Great Western Railway
was easier than on the London and Birmingham or the Grand
Junction line. The former, which was so much cried up by
the northern gentlemen, was so rough, he was informed by
a.
friend, that a person could hardly keep his seat on it. With
regard to the outlay exceeding the estimate, experience had
shown that no great undertaking had ever yet been completed
within the original estimate ;—why, therefore, should such
complaints be made in the present instance.
LAWRENCE HEYwORTH, Esq., contended that the letter
of Mr. Wood, and the report of Mr. Hawkshaw, ought to
have been read to the meeting. He was bound to say, that
he knew so much of those reports as to be able to aver that
if one of them had been read, the meeting would not have
hesitated in agreeing to an adjournment to take them into
consideration. Mr. Heywood proceeded to analyse the two
reports of Mr. Brunel; his report of the expenditure; and
his report in which he declares and defends his own, particu-
lar views. With regard to the first report, he would call the
attention of the meeting to the expenses of the engineering
and -surveying department. It might then have been ex-
pected that at least they would not have been burdened with
a greater expense than on other lines; but what was the fact ?
In the London and Birmingham line, the charge for engin-
eering and surveying was £Bl,OOO, on the Grand Junction,
£21,000, while on the Great Western, which had not ex-
pended more than half its capital, and not completed more
than one-fifth part of the works, the charge was £61,000,
which being multiplied by 2, as it ought to be, would give
£122,000 against £Bl,OOO for the Birmingham, and £21,000
for the Grand Junction.—(Hear, bear.) The next item he
would take was the office expenses. In the London and
Birmingham they amounted to £34,000, in the Grand Junc-
tion to £76,000, in the Great Western, up to June last, to
£19,000, which was equal to £38,000. He called on the
shareholders to look on these things, and to consider if such
was the expenditure in these items, which must. come under
the eye of each Director, what an enormous outlay there
must have been in the greater works. Mi. Heyworth next
alhided to the cost of kyanizing the timber, to the expense
which had been incurred in fixing the gradients and other
items; and said that it was not sufficient for an engineer to
he able to boast that he had completed the best railway, but
that he ought also to have some regard for the persons who
bad entrusted him with their money to carry on the work. He
moved an amendment, that the present meeting be further
adjourned till the'special meeting for taking the reports of
Mr. Wood and Mr. Hawkshaw into consideration should
have been held,' and that such reports be printed and cir-
culated amongst the shareholders ten days before the special
meeting-is held.
A SHAREHOLDER seconded the motion, and in reference
to the increased expenditure observed that the original esti-
mate, which-was two millions and a half, was now raised to
£4,568,tXX1--an advance uf nearly 100 per cent.
-Mr,. Hoses enter into various calculations with respect to
kyanizing the timber, in which he conteudedthat Mr. Brunel
had misled the shareholders in his estimate of the compara-
tive expense of laying the rails, &c. He was perfectly satis-
fied with the Directors, but he was not satisfied with their
engineer. It was impossible to place confidence in the engi-
neer, after the experience of the last three years.
Mr. Biturnit. said he, did not feel surprised the gentleman
who had last spoken did not feel confidence in hint, for no
professional man -could expect confidence if an impression
were taken up on incorrect calculations, and on deductions
founded on those calculations. (Mr. B. then followed in
detail Ali-, Hoyes's figures, and was repeatedly cheered by
the meeting its his explanation.)
• Mr. Beeead.E. entered into a long account of his observa-
tions and experience on different railways. In the course of
a tour whice he had recently made he was every where met
with some remarks on the shaking and vibration of the Great
Western line: he had made up his mind to judge for himself,
in order to disabuse the public mind : he had conversed with
scientific men concerned with twelve railways- he had tra-
velled on seven ; and the result of his experience was, that in
those seven, the Great Western stood as No. 2, for comfort
and ease in travelling.
After a good deal of discussion, in the course of Which Mr.
Heyworth withdrew his- motion, it was finally agreed that
after Mr. Wood presented his report, a special meeting should
be called which was fixed to take place in London on Decem-
ber 20. Thanks were voted to the chairman, and the meet-
ing separated.

ALARMING DISTURBANCE AMONGST THE
WORKMEN ON THE NORTH MIDLAND
RAILWAY, NEAR ROTHERHAM.

(From the Doncaster Gazette.)

Between eleven and twelve o'clock on the forenoon o
Wednesday last, the peaceable inhabitants of Rotherham
were suddenly alarmed by the report that a serious distur•
bance had taken place between two parties of men who were
working on the North Midland Railway, and that a large
party were assembled on Masbro' Common, preparing for a
desperate attack upon the town. In the course of a few
minutes every shop in the High-street was closed, and, with
the exception of perhaps one or two in some of the back
streets, not a single shop was left without the shutters being
put up and the door as securely fastened. The town at this
time presented a -very singular appearance, all the shops
being closed, and groups of people standing at every corner
of the streets, of course magnifying the rumours into events
of the most dire description. The following, as far as we
can learn, are the facts of the case :—On the line of the
railway in the neighbourhood from Darfield to Swinton, a
number of Irishmen are employed, against whom a jealousy
had arisen on the part of the Englishmen, on account of the
former working for a less rate of wages. On Wednesday
morning a dispute having arisen between one of each party,
the Englishmen made common cause with their countrymen,
and suddenly commenced an attack in a body at Darfield,
by driving every Irishman away whom they found at work
on the line. This they did from that place to Swinton, at
the same time pulling down and destroying the mud hovels
which the poor fellows had erected for the temporary resi-
'derice of themselves and their families. This course was
proceeded in until they came near Rotherham; when the
Irish beginning to gather courage as their forces increased,
made their way over a number of fields, and broke down all,
the fences, with the materials of which they armed them-
selves. in the best way they could, several of them being
already possessed of spades and other weaitons. They then
made a shew of resistance, and stood their ground, deter.
mined not to be driven away any further. Fortunately, at
this time, Mr. Stephenson, the contractor, with some of the"
directors, who• happened that morning to be engaged in
taking a survey of some parts of the line, came between the
parties. Mr. Stephenson placed himself before the Irish-
men, and promised to protect them if they would put them-
selves under his care, and otherwise there is little doubt
but a. great number of lives would._ hase been- lost. The
poor fellows at once agreed to follow him, and Mr. Stephen-
son then led them peaceably into Rotherham, where he placed
them in the yard of the Rotherham Station in Westgate.
Here he supplied them with a quantity of ale, and exhorted
them to be peaceable, and they should be protected. Here
the men, to the number of nearly 300, remained, apparently
peaceably disposed, but loudly complaining of the injury
which had been done by their enemies, and stating that two
or three of their party had been killed already, and that they
were obliged to act in self-defence. They were here visited
by Henry Walker, Esq., of Clifton,' who had been called
from the Bible Society, where he had been presiding ' and
also by I;bomas Walker, Esq., off Raven field. These two.
gentlemen (magistrates of the West Riding) addressed them,
and begged them to be quiet, assuring them that, in case of
riot, they would assuredly find the law too strong for them.
The magistrates then proceeded on horseback to speak to the
other party, whom they found assembled in groups on differ-
ent parts of the line, to the number of about six hundred.
They cvioced a worse feeling than did the Irishmen, to whom
they openly manifested a very bad spirit. In the meantime
the' Rotherham troop of Yeomanry Cavalry had assembled
on horseback in front of the Court-house, where they re-
mained in readiness until the return of the magistrates, when
they were 'dismissed. A detachment of about forty of the
artillery arrived from Sheffield, with a field-piece, a little be-
fore four o'clock, but returned without entering the town.
A number of special constables were sworn in during the
day, a party of whom, accompanied by some of the railway
agents, under the superintendence of Mr. Bland, proceeded
td Wath : the remainder were placed under the command of
Womack, the police officer, anti paraded the streets during
the night. The Irishmen remained at their quarters at the
railway station, and were properly provided for through the
kindness of Mr. Stephenson. No further disturbance, how-
ever, of any moment took place ; and the town, after a scene
of great commotion during the day, assumed its customary-
appearance, with the exception of being disturbed by the
drunken brawls of some straggling parties of the railway men.
It is but justice to add, that every precaution was taken by
the inhabitants of the town, as well as by the authorities,
throughout the whole proceedings.