The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-05-07 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

On Wednesday morning, the brinch railway from the
Bricklayers' Arms statical to Folkestone and Dover was
opened, in due ceremony, to the public.
The entire line of the Bii,tol and Exeter Railway was
opened on Wednesday in the usual manner by the direc-
tors.

GREAT NORTH Or ENGLAND RAILWAY.—A special
meeting of this company was held on Tuesday, when it
was ao.eed to raise a further sum of £300,000 by the
issue of 7,500 new shares of £4O each.
RAILWAY BILLS.—In the House of Commons, on
Friday night, the Leeds and Selby Purchase, the Poutop
and Sown Shields, and the Newcastle and Darlington
Junction, and the Tyne Bridge Railway Biilr were read a
third time and passed.

MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL RAILWAY COMPANY.
—The junction of this railway with the Leeds and Man•
chests, which took place on Saturday, will form an im-
portant epoch in railway annals. It is notorious that
hitherto on this railway there have been no ►hird class
carriages, and even those known as the second class have
been the shabbiest and the least calculated for the public
comfort of any in the kingdom ; Loth these matters of just
complaint are about being redressed, thanks to the la-
bours of the House of Commons Railway Committee.
There are to be third class carriages, and the tare will, it
is reported, be moderate, and the present second class car-
riages will be converted into the low fared ones, whilst the
second will be constructed with some regard to the com-
fort of the passengers, a thing hitherto unknown on this
line.

RAILWAY STATISTICS.--T he extent of railways already
constructed and in opera+ion .n the united kingdom is
2,000 miles; the sum which has a'. eady been actually ex-
pended in their formation is less than £79,000,000
stet ; the projects now before p aliament will, if sanc-
tioned, add nearly anotl,er 1,000 miles to the existing
length of our railway s, and were the cost of their construc-
tion to be equal to the rate of executing the existing lines,
almost £4O 000,000 sterling would be added to railway in-
vestments; but, as the cost will not reach that rate, to
add another £30,000,000 sterling to railway stock will be
probably a more truthful calculation. Thus. in a few
years, the enormous sum of £109,000,000 of money will
have been invested by tke Engli.h capitalists in the con-
structio, of railways at home, besides a very considerable
sum which has been sent nut of the country to assist in
the formation of foreign railways.
THE CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAILWAY.—Tbis bill
was brought under a committee of the House of Commons
on Mondsy last, Mr. Marshall in the chair. The bill was
opposed by the Bishop of Bangor, Sir Chatles Smith, and
Mr. James Bateman. On Tuesday evening. Sir G. Clerk
was added to the committ e. and a considerable amount
of traffic at present existing on the line was proved by se-
veral witnesses—as much as would snow a clear income to
the proprietors of the line of at least six per cent. On.
Thursday the con mittee carve to the unanimous determi-
nation that the preamble of the hill was proved. Sir G.
Clerk then proposed to exam•ne Mr. Giles, the engineer,
as to the utility of adopting his line at Chester, which
would have the effect of leaving out the city. This was
opposed by the committee generally, and it was understood
that the sanction of the government would undoubtedly
be given to the bill. The clauses were considered on Fri-
day, when at the suggest, n of the government, a clause
was introduced susl:ending the works from the river be-
tween Ogwyn and the Menai Bridge, until next session.
when a bill will be introduced g ving power to the com-
pany to make an iron briCge over the Menai Straits at the
Britannia Rocks, and fixing the line which the railway
shall traverse between these two points. This arrange-
ment puts an end to the opposition, and there appears to
be no doubt of the bill now passing, and Mr. Stephenson's
line being finally adopted, according to his plans.

- -
SHREWSBURY AND GRAND JUNCTION RAILWAY.—
in another part of ourpaper we insert an extract from the
Railway Chronicle, of Saturday last, mentioning, as a
rumour, the proposed formation of the Trent valley line
from Stafford to Rugby, by the united influence and funds
of the three powerful companies most interested in the
project. We now have authority to state t hat the arrange-
ment there alluded to is decided upon, and that the Lon-
don and Birmingham, the Grand Junction, and the Man-
chester and Birmingham Companies, have agreed to unite
in going to parliament next session for this line, which, it
is understood, has also the decided sanction of govern-
ment. The carrying of the Shrewsbury line into the Trent
valley line, at its junction, at or near Stafford, will render
that the quickest and best route to London, and thus de-
prive the Wolverhampton project of the one solitary ar-
gument in its favour, nsmely, that it would save half-an-
hour's time in a London journey. From the union of the
London and Birmingham and Grand Jrincti,,n Companies
in the formation of it, the pro,pect of Shrewsbury remain-
ing permanently the terminus of the branch in this direc-
tion, has assumed a much n ore certain and definite as-
pect than was previously the case, notvkithstandin the
obvious interest and &Oared intention of the Grand
Junction Company tom ke it such. The surveyors o+
tl e Grat d Jute ion Cot p oV have been'in the nekl,bour-
hood of ShtewsLury dory. ee,eral ilAys last wtek, cafe-
ftnlv Ft:rye% ing aid lakt t t rr levels of lines in 'every di-
rection.— /stew atur y Au, real.