The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-06-09 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

The scripholders of the Great Munster Railway, by a
large majority, have determined to wind up the concern.
Of the 531 bills before Parliament at the beginning of
the session, 370 have, up to Whitsuntide, been finally
disposed of, leaving 160 still before the committees.
A BUSY STATION.—There are no less than eighty arri-
vals and departures of trains, daily, at the North Union
station, in Preston. _ _ _

The.shareholders of the Direct Northern Railway have
confirmed the amalgamation with the London and York,
and the united company will be called the Great Northern
Railway Company. _ _

On Monday week, 52,000 passengers travelled by the
Greenwich Railway ; on Tuesday, 30,000; and on Wed-
nesday, 19,000; altogether 101,000 persons, the greatest
number that has ever travelled on that line at Whitsun-
tide.

At the meeting of the St. Helen's Canal and railway
shareholders on Wednesday, the bill now pending in Par-
liament, to empower the company to make a railway
from the township of Eccleston to Garston, with branches
therefrom, and docks at Garston, was unanimously ap-
proved of. _ _

NORTHUMBERLAND AND LANCASHIRE JUNCTION
RAILWA Y.—On Thursday a general meeting of share-
holders in this concern was held in London, to consider
of proceeding or not with the project, when the matter
was decided as follows :—For the winding up, 26,396
shares ; for the further progress, 14,960 shares ; majority,
12,239.

On Monday the Blackburn and Preston Railway was
openel to the public. The line leaves the station at
Stoney Butts, Blackburn, and runs to the North Union
Railway, at the Farrington station—a length of 9 miles.
From this point to Preston the company use 21 miles of
the North Union Railway, making the whole distance
from Blackburn to Preston 12+ miles.

FATAL ACCIDENT FROM THE SPARK OF A RAILWAY
ENGlNE.—During the progress of one of the trains on
the York and North Midland line, a few days ago, a very
distressing event occurred at the Milford Junction sta-
tion, owing to the ejection of a burning piece of coal from
the chimney of the engine, which alighted upon an inte-
resting girl, about eight years of age, one of the waiters
in the refreshment rooms, and her clothes being set on
fire, she was so dreadfully burnt that death terminated
her sufferings that evening.
VIBRATION CAUSED BY RAILWAYS.—Mr. Hind, of
the Regent's Park Observatory, has reported to Mr. Ste-
phenson the results of his experiments with mercury at
Kensal-green, from which it appears, that at a distance
of 644 feet, a down train, 20 seconds in the tunnel, pro-
duced not the slightest vibration, and that the distance
where the vibration becomes sensible, and beyond which
the trains will have no perceptible effect in this lo-
cality, is 609 feet. The amount of vibration at this
distance being 1, that at 60 feet is as 100.—The Builder.
PROPOSED LINES OF RAILWAY FOR BARBADOES.—
We have been favoured with an inspection of the plans
of these lines, which appear to afford to the island all that
can be required of railway accommodation. In the pre-
sent crisis of colonial interests, they ought to be pushed
forward with spirit and energy, as the most important of
the means forlenabling the planters to cheapen production,
and to bear up:under the competition to which they are
inevitably doomed to submit. The construction is
throughout of an inexpensive character, and the margin
of profit promises to be very ample. _ _ _

SUNDAY TRAVELLING ON RAILWAYS.—On Friday
night, in the House of Lords, the Bishop of London pre-
sented a numerously signed petition, complaining of the
desecration of the Sabbath by the present system of rail-
way travelling on that day. Earl Fitzwilliam said he was
decidedly opposed to all commercial traffic passing on
railways on Sundays, and he thought it was the duty of
Parliament to prevent the present Sabbath desecration on
railways. Lord Campbell addressed a few words to the
house in favour of some restriction being made between
commercial and passenger traffic on the Lord's day. The
subject was then dropped.
IMPORTANT TO RAILWAY INTERESTS.—A. point of
considerable importance to persons concerned in railways,
although of no great difficulty as a question of law, was
decided on Wednesday, by the. Court of Exchequer. The
case was " Henry v. Goldney." A tradesman, who had
supplied goods for the use of a railway company, brought
thirty separate actions against as many members of the
provisional committee, to recover the value of his goods.
All the writs seem to have been sued out at the same
time, and no judgment to have been recovered against
any of the defendants. The present defendant, therefore,
pleaded the pendency of another action for the same
cause against another person, urging that the liability of
provisional committeemen is "joint," and not " joint
and several," and that by such proceedings as the present
a plaintiff might recover his debt thirty times over. The
court considered neither of these positions to have any
foundation. In the course of this case it was decided
that the liability of a provisional committeeman dates
from the moment of his giving a consent to act as such,
without reference to attendance at meetings, or any other
actual interference in the affa rs of the company.
RAILWAY Br LLs.—The Government resolutions have
done nothing to thin the multitude. Well, then, thus
far, it appears, we have some two hundred bills passed,
requiring an expenditure of at least £86,000,000 sterling,
without making any allowance for increased prices of la-
bour and materials, or any mis-estimates. Let us put all
these chances of increase at only 15 per cent., and we are
about to be pledged to an outlay of £100,000,000! The
thinning process, either by committees on merits or cam.
inittees on Standing Orders, has not extended itself to
much above. one hunched bills,—a fifth part of the origi-
nal number. About fifty bills have been withdrawn s'nce
they were presented, but not half a dozen withdrawn in
consequence of the Government resolutions. Ten bills
promoted by the broad guage advocates, being lOt► miles
in length, and requiring £1,810,000 capital, have been
passed by the Commons. It is a small proportion out of
the 3.000 miles, and requiring £65,000,000, which shows
in what light that guage is viewed commercially. Pour
broad guage lines, being 97 miles, havebeenthro.

wn out,
and no"fes;er than seven, being 291 miles, dismissed for
failure unckr the Staling Orders.—RailAcay Chronicle.