The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-12-11 00:00:00

SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY,

A special meeting of the Liverpool shareholders in this
undertaking was held at the Clarendon-rooms, South John-
street, on Tuesday, for the purpose of hearing from Mr.
Yeats, the secretary, an explanation of the present state of
the works, and the progress making in them.. The meeting
was numerously attended by the shareholders. Mr. Yeats,
in commencing, said, he would state to them the reason why
he called them together. All these kind of meetings were
• only meetings of conversation, and not for the transaction of
any business connected with the composition or affairs of the
company ; this remained alone with the directors in London,
but he felt it a duty to present himself at least once a year
to the northern proprietors, in order to make them a report
of the state of things at the present time. A report had been
put into the hands of every proprietor of the general meeting
held on the 26th ult. Accompanying that report was also a
report of the engineer, upon the state of the works. In con-
nexion with those documents, he had to submit to the pre-
sent meeting a section of those parts of the line where the
works were proceeding. . The.line at the -uppermost part of
the sections on the table commenced in Godstone district,
near that portion of it where it fell in from the Brighton
Railway to the Redstone-hill. The Godstone district was 13
miles 8- -furlongs long, the whole of which was in course of
operation in 8 distinct contracts. The time within which
these contracts must be executed is the same period as on
the Western side of the Bletchingley Tunnel. These circum-
stances, which the legislature had not thought proper to con-
cede, the length of time in the execution of that contract
could not be reduced ; but inasmuch as the standing orders
of both houses of parliament required that there should be
no deviation ou any occasion whatever exceeding five feet, it
was isseless to attempt it. The heaviest portion of the works
below are in the neighbourhood of Leigh, within one mile and
a half of Tudly. The excavation consists of 480,000 yards,
of which 378,000 lards had been removed on the Ist Novem-
ber. There was also another below that, a large portion of
which had been excavated, but it did not involve any ques-
tion of the opening of the line to Tunbridge. It might be a
question whether these works should be pushed on, inasmuch
as it would involve the question of opening the line to Staple-
hurst, which might be done at the same time as the opening
to Tunbridge, provided the directors had, at their call, a
much larger sum than they had at present. The shareholders
would remember that the directors were limited by the act to
calls of £5, which could not be made at less intervals than
three' onths betveen each call. The work between God-
stone and Natfield has been performed for something less than
£40,000. The works which are heaviest, and by which the
merits of the line were to be tested, were between Dover and
Folkstone. Upon this district, a sum not exceeding £BO,OOO
had been the whole sum expended, and he might venture to
say, that any person, possessing no knowledge whatever of
the works, viewing that district could not be otherwise than
satisfied that the proprietors had got their shilling's worth for
their shilling, in the execution of them. The heaviest and
most important of them was the Warren cutting ; it com-
prised one-fourth of the whole of the wood work of the line,
and contained one million and a quarter yards of cutting,
with the exception of one embankment. The nature of this
work was such that the execution of the contract had been
carried on without the assistance of a single horse, rail, or
waggon. The opening into the sea, by cutting gullets at
certain intervals, had afforded the means of throwing off the
whole of the excavations into a soil where the company had the
right of depositing them down at low water mark, and the
consequence had been that the contract had been taken lower
than the engineer's estimate for its completion of the 1,250,000
yards which had to be removed at an expense of 25 per cent.
less than Mr. Cubit's estimate, while the works, which, as
he had said before, between Dover and Folkstone, were the
test of the line, were beyond the reach of impracticability. He
had no doubt, that within twelve months after the opening
of the line to Tunbridge, the whole of the line to Dover
might be completed. It was, however, impracticable whilst
the directors were prosecuting, as they were, with the utmost
vigour, the opening of the works to Tunbridge, for the rea-
.

son he had mentioned before, namely, that they were re-
stricted in their callinr, for some money, if they applied the
whole means which their act gave them to all the parts, they
might risk the completion of the whole within the required
time. Mr. Cubitt had told them that to open it from the
Brighton Railway to Ashford would cost X 600,000 ; this was
more than the directors could raise in twelve months from
this time if they made calls after their act of parliament. Mr.
Cubitt also showed, that to complete it from the Brighton
Railway to Tunbridge would require £369,000, and to open
it to Stapleford, twelve miles beyond Tunbridge, would cost
£500,000, or altogether £140,000 more than would be neces-
sary to open it to Tunbridge. In deduction, however, of
these. costs, he admitted that the land down to Tunbridge was
paid for ; but there would be a very large expenditure re-
quired for plans. It was obviously_ impossible to open the
line unless the plans werp. pravidad_ror, therefore the -cost of
it must be added to the cost of the works. He mentioned
this to show that if the directors were slow in prosecuting the
works from Tunbridge, it was from the conviction pressing
on their minds that they must not risk the completion of the
other portion of the line. He was now ready to answer any
questions which might be put to him, as, in his judgment,
might be answered fairly, and consistently with his duty to
the proprietors at large. Before sitting down, however, Mr.
Yeats entered, into an explanation, of no public interest,
respecting cartain araangements made with the Greenwich
and the Croydon companies, relative to the use of a portion
of their line.

Many shareholders then proceeded to question, and, from
Mr. Yeats's answers, it appeared that contracts for chains,
rails, and sleepers, had been entered into, on very favourable
terms ; that the company had lost by the sale of shares at a
discount, and by the issue of forfeited shares in June and
July last £181,394 ; that the forfeited shares had been dis-
tributed among the proprietors at reduced rates ; and that
the prospect of a railway to Lisle and Calais would greatly
promote the interest of this.
In answer to one question, Mr. Yeats stated a branch to
Canterbury would very likely be made, as the directors had
deposited their notices. _

The shareholders then expressed their satisfaction at the
explanations of Mr. Yeats, by a vote of thanks, and the
meeting separated.

THE LAUREL-STREET GANG OF ROBBERS.
FURTHER IDENTIFICATION OF VALUABLE PROPERTY

On Wednesday last, at the Police-office, several articles of
plate and a watch being produced, the following additional
informations were taken before Mr. Rushton, identifying a
considerable portion of the property found.
Mary Thompson said—l ant servant to Mr. Maples,
Falkner-terrace. I am employed as nurse. About five
weeks ago I missed a gold watch, between 11 and 12 o'clock
at night. I had seen it safe at 6 o'clock when I went down
to the kitchen to my tea. I was not in the kitchen between
that time and half-past eleven or thereabouts. A child two
years old was sleeping in the nursery. I mentioned the loss
to my fellow-servant the same night. I did not tell my
mistress, as I thought she might have taken it. Nothing
was missed that I know of except the watch. The watch
now produced is the same. _ _ _

Mr. George Maples said—l live at No. 12, Falkner-
terrace. The six plated candlesticks, snuffers and stand,
the silver coffee-pot, silver gravy spoon, ten table spoons,
four sauce ladles, eight dessert spoons, eighteen tea spoons,
two egg spoons, two salt spoons, now produced, and the
three cases containing a silver knife and fork, each now pro-
duced—are all my property. I missed it on Saturday last
from a wardrobe in my bed-room, which adjoins the nursery
on the same floor. On the 27th of October, some part of
the property was in use, and the rest was then safe. We
have not had occasion to use the plate since that time. I
know the watch produced by Mr. Dowling. It is the same
which was used in the nursery.

Such was the evidence given on this occasion, and we
learn that it is probable the prisoner will be indicted mainly
on this case. We are informed that no suspicion of any loss
arose in Mr. Maple's mind until last Saturday, when one
of the young children inquired what had become of the
watch that used to be iu the nursery. On its being searched
for in vain, and the nurse being questioned, and having
stated as above, the wardrobe was looked to, when the ap-
prehensions naturally excited were realized. The property
was part of that found at the prisoner Evans's lodgings.
It may be remarked, as creditable to the police, that had a
week longer elapsed before the discovery of the gang, they
would, no doubt, have all e,eripeil (it i, probable) to A merira
—most of the articles having been packed up preparatory to
removal. The more valuable portions of the plate, &c, have
now been identified. Some small articles of jewellery yet
remain to be claimed, but it is very questionable whether any
of them can be sworn to, as the stones have been taken from
the gold seals and brooches, and they have been otherwise
disfigured by the depredators. We do not remember to have
heard of the detection of a gang apparently so well and so
artfully organized, so abundantly " found " with ingenious
house-breaking implements, or so cunning and calculating in
their proceedings. They seem to have defied locks, bolts,
and bars, and to have arrived at such caution and even silence
in their operations, that they could penetrate to the inner-
most chambers of. the dwellings of private, and naturally
easily alarmed individuals, even when they were all awake,
and carry off their valuables from secret recesses without
being either seen or heard. The value of the property found
is, we learn, estimated at little short of £2OOO. Flow much
more had been otherwise disposed of, or for how long, is, of
course, a matter of speculation. The detection of such a
eang is a happy circumstance, not only as regards the ar-
restment of future robberies, but as respecting the character
of innocent and faithful servants, many of whom, had the
thieves gone on in their• secret career, might have been
wrongfully suspected, and discharged under suspicion of con-
nivance or actual delinquency.

RAILWAY SPEED.-It is confidently expected that the
time of travelling from Devonport to London will be short-
ened several hours before Midsummer next. The directors
of the Great Western are making liberal offers to some of
the contractors to finish their work before the time specified
in their contracts, in order to get the whole line completed
by the Ist of June. The Bristol and Exeter will be opened,
as far as Bridgewater, about the month of April or May, so
that there will be only eighty-six miles by horse conveyance
from London to Devonport.—Plymouth paper.

SEVERE CRITICISM DEFENDED BY A FRASERIAN.—It is
Seldom useful or wise for the critic to inflict a violent death
on productions which, left to themselves, would soon perish
and be forgotten, owing to their own internal seeds of decay.
It is attracting crowds to witness the public execution of an
Offender against the rules of grammar and literary propriety,
Who, unnoticed, would have probably not even met with con-
tempt.. Yet at times it becomes a matter of principle, a
species' of duty, from the discharge of which we would not
feel justified in shrinking. Thus, in the present case, know-
ing that we have already conferred on the author of Sandron
Mall sufficient notoriety to ensure him a few readers, we
think ourselves answerable to the public for the nature of the
stuff he may hereafter perpetrate, when trading on the noto-
riety so conferred. At the same time, viewing his efforts as
the result of a young idea, which we have ourselves in a great
measure " taught how to shoot," we are disposed to treat
them paternally, according to the Scripture moral, and not
_spare the rod," lest we may spoil the child.--From Fraser's
42agazine for December.