PETERSFIELD, March 2.
PETERSFIELD RAILWAY COMPANY.
The second ordinary half-yearly meeting of this company was held at the Red Lion Hotel, Petersfield, on Saturday, Mr. Cary in the chair. The report, by the directors, after describing the character of the line, proceeded to state that it is intended that the ceremony of cutting the first sod of the railway shall take place at an early period. Under the arrangements made with the contractor, Mr. Dierden, of Petworth, the directors anticipate the uninterrupted progress of the works, and the completion of the line may be expected in about eighteen months from the commencement, provided that proper facilities are afforded to the company in obtaining possession of the land. The report further stated that, by agreement with the South-Western Company, the directors have introduced a bill in the present session for power to deviate a portion of the line at Petersfield, and to authorise certain arrangements with respect to the Petersfield station. Application has also been made to Parliament for power to extend the line from Petersfield, by Droxford and Bishop’s Waltham, to Southampton; and the bill has been read a first and second time in the House of Commons. The support of nearly every landowner in the district has been obtained, and the directors anticipate with confidence the success of the bill. The capital of the extension will be kept separate for the present, though it may hereafter be found necessary to incorporate it with the general capital of the company.
It appears from a document circulated at the meeting that the main object of the projected extension is to place Southampton in direct communication with the Brighton and South-Eastern systems. Southampton, by means of this railway will give direct access to London Bridge and Bricklayers’ Arms stations, and the Brighton Company’s wharf on the Thames, at Rotherhithe, for its business traffic, and to the new Victoria station, near Buckingham Palace, for its pleasure traffic. It will also obtain, by means of the South-Eastern line at Redhill, facility of communication with Folkestone, Dover, and the continental; the watering places on the Kentish seaboard; and with the military arsenals at Woolwich, and the naval yards of that place, Chatham, and Sheerness. The markets of Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent will likewise be placed in connection with each other; while, from the districts served by the Brighton and Mid Sussex systems, a new means of access to the West of England will be opened up. The extension will be 23½ miles in length, with but two tunnels. The additional capital proposed to be raised for the undertaking is £260,000, which will be fully sufficient for a single line, with land and works for a double line. It is proposed to arrange with the Andover and Redbridge Company for the construction of the Southampton terminus as a joint station.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, regretted that the unfavourable state of the weather had prevented many of the shareholders from attending the meeting. He was glad to state that since the report had been issued all the preliminary arrangements had been completed, and that the contractor was now in a position to commence operations at once. The directors hoped to see the first sod cut in a very short time from that date. They had every reason to believe that the bill for extending the line from Petersfield, by way of Droxford and Bishop’s Waltham, to Southampton would pass safely through both houses of Parliamenr, inasmuch as all the landowners in the vicinity were anxious to see the proposed extension carried out. A line had long been promised in that direction by the South-Western Company, but hitherto nothing had been done to accomplish the object in view. Now, however, there was every prospect of the wishes of the community being gratified. The original line from Midhurst to Petersfield was very important in itself, but there could be no doubt that its importance and usefulness would be much improved by the proposed extension to Southampton. He concluded by moving the adoption of the report.
The motion was agreed unanimously, and the meeting then separated.