MIDHURST.
The Committee recently appointed to promote Railway Communication between Petworth and Midhurst with the Metropolis have issued the following address to the Inhabitants of the district and the promoters of the line;
— Gentlemen,—Your Committee having now been in operation more than a month, think they shall but discharge portion of their duty by furnishing you with a brief statement of the steps they have taken in furtherance of the object entrusted to them, up to the present time. Your Committee having been anpointed at a large and influential meeting on the 1st of Nov. last for the purpose, expressed in your resolutions, of promoting Railway Communication between the towns and neighbourhood of Petworth and Midhurst with the Metropolis, immediately applied to the secretary of the Wey and Arun Canal Company to ascertain the views of the Proprietary as to the disposal of their interest in the Canal, for the purpose of converting it into a Railroad. The answer we received, though not unfavorable, was less encouraging than we had been led to anticipate, and other circumstances have induced us to suspend further negociation in that Quarter for the present. Subsequently to the reply of the Wey and Arun Canal Company we received a communication from the promoters of the Godalming, Petersfield, and Havant Railway Company which led to an interview in London between two of our number and the solicitor for that Company, at which we requested him to give us in writing a definate proposal stating the terms on which that Company were prepared so far as lay in their power to provide the Petworth and Midhurst districts with railway accommodation by way of Godalming, Guildford, and Shalford. In compliance with this request, a proposal has been submitted to us, whereby the Godalming, Petersfield, and Havant company express their willingness to construct a branch railway, from their main line at Haslemere, to some convenient point midway between Petworth and Midhurst at their own expence, provided they can rely on the general support of the district, and provided the inhabitants of Petworth and Midhurst will take shares in their line to an amount which appears to us moderate and reasonable. The attention of your committee has likewise been called to a resolution passed at a highly respectable meeting, held at Petworth, on the 15th ult. accompanied by numerously signed memorandum, in which it is suggested that a line from Horsham to Petworth, with a continuation to Midhurst would be desirable. A series of resolutions passed at a similar meeting at Midhurst on the 50th ult., has also been submitted to your committee, expressing strongly the requirements of the district, but suggesting no particular line. To these various communications your Committee have given, and will continue to give their anxious and deliberate consideration. With respect to the proposed branch from Haslemere we think it right to observe, that whilst other lines might provide more perfect accommodation of the necessary funds could be obtained, this would secure a large amount of accommodation at a very moderate cost. With respect to the proposed branch from Horsham to Petworth, we have no means of ascertaining the probable cost, but in conformity with the resolutions passed at the meeting at Petworth, and the expressed wish of some of our most influential supporters, we will at once communicate with the Directors of the London and South Coast Railway, requesting their assistance and co-operation. We cannot conclude this our first report without calling attention to the state of the share list, which is neither satisfactory in reference to the past, nor encouraging as regards the future; and we are compelled to appeal earnestly to our promoters for a large and liberal increase of that support which can alone enable us to take advantage of any favourable circumstances which may arise, or any available opportunity which may offer, in furtherance of the important object committed to our care.—HASLER HOLLIST, Chairman. December 4th, 1852.