BRIGHTON RAILWAYS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR.
5th October 1837.
SIR—You were pleased in last week's Spectator to quote some observaticns from the Chronicle respecting the conduct of souse parties connected with the Brighton Railways; and, after so doing, you were likewise pleased to ask, " What is the matter now ? has not any other party, which was not one of the competing lines, a right to try to get a railway to Brighton? "—or words t3 that effect, for I quote from memory, not having your paper by me. Now, Sir, this is not exactly the question. No doubt any party, not being one of the competing lines, has a right to try to get another bill for a new line of railway to Brighton—with what chance of success, after one has hero already granted which promises to be sufficient, and granted too after so much labour of in- vestigation, I leave to you and that party to determine : but the question mooted by the Chronicle was this—What right had certain parties connected with one of the competing lines, after having agreed to abide by the choice of the Go- vernment engineer as to the selection of one of the four so competing lines, to turn round—because the choice did riot happen to fall upon them—nut only to secede from the line so chosen, of which it was part of the agreement that they should be Directors, (for this they were at liberty to do,) but to endeavour to dissuade their shareholders from subscribing to the new line ; to publish a report of their engineer, which made all manner of false inferences respecting it, and finished by stating as a probability that which cannot be probable at all, namely, that their own, or SasenENSON'S Line, would ultimately be carried into effect; and, in short, to do all they could to prejudice the public against the chosen line, in the hope, vain as I expect it will prove, that this prejudice will prevent the subscribers from paying up their shares, and so produce a failure of this line ; which failure alone can lead to any chance of Mr. S rEisli:NsON's Liue being again brought forward ? This, Sir, has been the conduct of the Directors, or rather the late Directors of Mr. SrEracoNSOS'S Line. They have, manifestly, no sympathy with the interests of their shareholders ; for these, in spite of their advice, have mostly subscribed to the new line ; but they arc interested in having the sole control of the Brighton Line, in its passing through. the land of certain proprietors, and in Mr. SEEM! ENNON being its engineer. Their conduct from the very beginniug has been inure than equivocal ; and, under provocation, shall receive further exposure from your constant scatter,
DETECTOR.
(It did not appear from the Chronicle that the persons taking up SrEritcs • sox's Line had been parties to the agreement; and we guarded ourselves suffi- ciently against any sanction of a breach of faith, when we said, " Why ShOUld not other parties, not be/onoioy to the five competing lines, try to get another railroad to Brighton? " acre added, and we repeat, that we kuow nothing of the merits of the new scheme: we know as little of the parties engaged in it. But we have reason to suspect statements of the kind commented on, which appear in the Morning
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