The Sun. — London, England, 1864-09-30 00:00:00

The Great English and French Railways. THE PARIS AND MEDITERRANEAN, If " unrestricted competition" is the order of the day in regard to English railway's—if little heed is paid to vested interests, and the course of legislation generally keeps dividends i own to seven or eight per cent. at the most—if vague generalities are indulged in with reference to the accommodation of the public, LS:c.—it must be admitted that a com pletely contrary state of affairs prevails in France. There they run into the other extreme. Great State subventions are accorded, elaborate conven tions are concluded, and every care is taken to secure 10, 15, and even 20 per cent. to shareholders. The company to which we are now about to direct attention, and which has sprung int) existence under these fostering influences, is the mightiest railway enterprise which the world has yet wit nessed. It would seem that the French, although they borrowed most of their railway ideas from England in the first instance, are now determined to outdo us in the formation of great companies. The Paris and Mediterranean —or, as it ought more strictly to be termed, the Paris, Lyons, and Mediter ranean—dates from April 11, 1857, when it was formed by the amalgamation of the two companies owning the Paris to Lyons and Lyons to the Me diterranean lines, the latter having itself concluded a fusion with the Lyons and Geneva, by the terms of a treaty dating from January 1, 1857. The cahier des charges of the company was approved Jane 19, 1857 ; and the statutes, prepared Juno 30, 1857, were approved on the 3d of the following month. The arrangements made provided for the creation of 890,000 shares, forming the share capital of the amalgamated companies. The 90,000 shares of the Lyons and Mediterranean Company were exchanged at the rate of one old share for two new shares, making 180,000 ; and the 265,000 shares of the Paris and Lyons Company were exchanged at the rate of two old shares for three new shales, making 397,500. The number of new shares thus created was 577,500, and the new company further issued 115,500 (L2O) shares at the rate of £29 8s each. The total issue of shares was thus carried to 693,000; and in September, 1863, the administration further issued 100,000 more shares at £2B each. These latter shares were sub. scribed for exclusively by the holders of the pre. viously created stock of the company. The whole number of shares thus accounted for is 793,000, and the odd 7,000 still remain in the "portfolio" of the company,and will be negotiated when the necessity arises for bringing them upon the market. These shares represent in sums actually paid up-Ist. The capital of the Lyons and Mediterranean Company, £1,800,000 ; 21. The capital of the Paris and Lyons Company, £5,300,000 ; and 33. The amount of the subscription to the 115,500 shares, £3,395,700; or L 10,495,710 in all, To this amount must be added £13,377, a supplementary premium, realised for some of these latter shares ; £214,800, the premium realised on the old shares of the Lyons Company remitted to the old Dijon Company; and £2,890,000 for the 100,000 shares issued at £2B each ; or £3,028,177 in all, which added to the previously indicated total of £10,495,710 makes a definitive aggregate of £13,523,887. This would be a re spectable capital in itself, but it by no means represents the amount which the Paris and Mediterranean has raised, an immense sum hay. in; been obtained by almost endless issues of obligations. Thus the company itself has been authorised to create 2,400,000 of these securitiee, bearing an annual interest of 3 per cent., issued at about £l2 each, and redeemable at £2O each by annual drawings in the course of 99 years, from 1860 to 1958. These obligations were divided into four series of 600,000 each. The first three series are completely issued, and of the fourth series 514,342 had been issued to the close of 1863, leaving unissued 85,633, a number totally inade quate to meet the enormous responsibilities which the company has undertaken, and whch it can only meet by obtaining authority for fresh borrowing powers. Of the 1,830,240 obligations issued at the close of 1862, 1,516,240, representing a suna of £17,890,480, had been applied to the development of the new network of lines which the company has either completed or of which it is prosecuting the works; 122,900 obligations, representing a sum of £1,390,178, had been negotiated on account of the Lyons and Geneva Company, and were applicable to the repayment of advances made by the Paris and Mediterranean ; and 211,000 obligations, re presenting, a sum of 2,568,212, had been tegotiated on Recount of the old network of lines. Of the 464,002 obligations issued in 1863, 236,502 ' were devoted to the requirements of the new net- I work, 133,333 in redemption of the shares of the Lyons and Geneva, 58,333 in redempton of the shares of the Dauphine, and 45,833 in redemption of the shares of the Algerian ; for the company, not content with an immenee number of lines in France, has even obtained concessions of a network in Algeria, and assumed works undertaken in 1859 or 1860 by an English contractor (S:r M. Peto). As illustra tive of the improved credit of the company, wa may remark that of the 464,002 obligations, or small dee beetures, issued in 1863, 226,501 were negotiated on the Paris Bourse at an average of £l2 4s 4d each, while in 1862 the corresponding average was £l2 is 11d. By a recapitulation of the figures we have given it will be seen that the total raised by the company by shares and obligations at the close of 1862 was £35,314,756, and assuming that each obligation issued in 1863 produced an average of £l2 43. each, it follows that £5,660,824 was obtained from this source last year, carrying the total capital raised by the Paris and Mediterranean Company pro. per to the close of last year to X 40,975,580. Although our totals become vaster and vaster, we have not yet fully reached the definitive " resources" which had been made available at the close of 1863. Thus the expenditure incurred on the old network at the end of last year was £38,601,249, and on the new network £28,095,122, or, combining these two totals together, the aggregate outlay on the entire system, December 31, 1863, was £66,696,371. The resources realised to the same date on capital account were for the old network, £38,423,736; and for the new network, £27,666,136, or £66,089,872 in all. We have shown that the amount raised by the com pany proper to the close of 1863 was £40,975,580, and on deducting this sum from the previous total of £66,089,872, a balance of £25,114,292 remains to .be accounted for. An explanation is found in the number of loans contracted by com panies now fusioned in the general Paris and Medi terranean undertaking, and the annual charge of which it has, of course, accepted. The first of these loans was contracted in 1852 by the old Paris and Lyons Company, and consisted of 80,000 4 per cent. obligations, issued at about £42 each, and redeemable at £5O each in 50 years from the Ist of October, 1852. The second loan was con tracted in 1853, and 1856, and 1857 by the Paris and Lyons, and consisted of 250,000 at 3 per cent. obligations, issued at prices ranging from £lol6s. to £ll 10s. each, redeemable at £2O each by annual drawings from 1856 to 1905. The third loan was contracted in 1850 by the Marseilles and Avig non Company, and consisted of 30,000 4 per cent. obligations, issued at £4O each and redeem able at £5O each, in 33 years from January, 1862. Almost the whole of these obligations, it may be added, have been exchanged against a 5 per cent. obligations created in 1852 by the Lyons and Mediterranean Company. The fourth loan was contracted in 1852 by the Lyons and Avig non Company, and consisted of 8,000 obliga tions, similar to the preceding ; they have been also nearly entirely exchanged against 8 per cent. obligations of the Lyons and Mediterranean. The fifth loan consisted of 40,000 4 per cent. obliga tions, issued by the Lyons and Mediterranean Com pany at £25 each, redeemable at the same rate, and called Marseilles and Avignon shares, created in representation of the shares of the Marseilles and Avi g ncal C ompany. These obligations have been almost all exchanged against 3 and 5 per cent, obli gations of the Lyons and Mediterranean. The sixth loan was contracted in 1852 and 1853 by the Lyons and Mediterranean Company, 3 ind consisted of 264.939 each, and percent. obliga tions, negotiated at £ll 4 3 . redeemable at £2O each by annual drawings from suly 1856 to July, 1955. The seventh loan we 8 1852 by the Lyons and Mediterranean Company, and consisted of 120,000 4 per cent. obligations, redeemable at £25 each in 99 years, from 1856 to 1995 ; 60,000 of these obligations were iss r d in ex change for 30,000 obligations of £5O each issued by the Marseilles and Avignon, and 8,000 obligations of £5O each issued by the Lyons and A v'gnon. The eighth loan was contracted by the St. Etienno and Lyons Company in 1841, and consisted of 7,2194 per cent. obligations, issued at £4O each, and redeem• able at £5O each in 30 years, from 1842 to 1871 ; these obligations have been almost wholly converted or redeemed. The ninth loan was contracted by the St. Etienne and Lyons Company in 1856, and con sisted of 10,000 4 per cent. obligations, issued at £4oeacb, and redeemable at £5O by annual drawings from 1853 to 1926 ; these obligations have been to a great extent converted or redeemed. The tenth loan was contracted by the St. Etienne and Lyons, and consisted of 2,946 4 per cent. obligations, issued at £54 each, and redeemable at the same rate by annual drawings from 1872 to 1891; the drawings have not yet commenced, but the obligations have been to a great extent converted into similar securi ties issued by the Rhone and Loire Company. The eleventh loan was contracted in 1843 by the St. Etienno and Loire Company, and consisted of 300 obligations, issued at £4O each, and redeemable at the same rate by annual drawings from 1846 to 1875; these obligations have been almost wholly converted or redeemed. Tie twelfth loan was contracted in 1847 by the St. Etienne and Loire Company, and consisted of 660 obligations similar to the preceding and redeemable between 1851 and 1880; these ob ligations have been redeemed to a consider able extent. The thirteenth loan was con tracted by the Andrezieux and Roanne Company, and consisted of, 4,000 5 per cent. obligations, issued at £2O each, and redeemable at the same rate be tween 1854 and 1903; these obligations have been nearly wholly converted or redeemed. The fourteenth loan was contracted by the Andiezieux and Roanne Company, and consisted of 1,980 4 per cent. obliga tions issued in a similar manner, and to a great ex tent redeemed or converted. The fifteenth loan was contracted by the Rhone and Loire Company, and consisted of 102,614 4 per cent, obligations issued at £2O each, and redeemable at £25 each between 1854 and 1952. The sixteenth loan cone slated of 63,643 3 per cent. obligations, issued at £l2 each and redeemable at £2O each between 1854 and 1952 ; it should be stated that only 29,201 of these obligations were issued at £l2 each; the remainder enabled the company to provide for the cone versions previously indicated. The seventeenth loan was contracted by the Great Central between 1853 and 1857, and consisted of 137,912 3 per cent. obligations redeemable at £2O each between 1855 and 1954. It should be added that 131,007 of these obligations proceed from the 'usion of 1857, and were issued by the Great Cen tral at about £9 3s, each ; the remainder, or 26,936 were issued by the general Paris and Medi terranean Company on its own account at the rate of £l2 each. They change, obligation for obliga tion, and number for number, into the eighteenth and last lean, contracted by the Bourbonnais Com pany in 3 per cent. obligations, repayable at the same price as the obligations of the Great Central. The number of obligations issued by the Bourbon nais was 211,000, which, with the 157,943 obliga tions raised by the Great Central, make a total of 368,943, so that the 18th and last loan is of very respectable dimensions. It will not escape obserd vation that an immense pyramid of obligations hes been reared upon the share capital, £13,523,887 having been raised by shares and £52,565,985 by obligations at the close of 1863. Further, the issue of obligations is still proceeding, and is expected to proceed unchecked until 1872, when the immense number of lines of which the company has under taken the construction are expected to be completed, and when the company will appear before the world with a capital of somewhere about £90,000,000,an d 3,000 miles of railway under the control of its ad ministration ! The vast schemes which the directors and the Go vernrnent have matured between them could not be carried out without the aid of a State guarantee, and it is not surprising, then, that the greater part of the obligations issued to an almost interminable ex tent by the company are assured by the Trea. , Aii y 4.65 per cent. per annum. The annual charge yvhicta they involve to the company, interest and re placement combined, is estimated at 5 . 75 per cent., ao that the company will still have to sustain about HO per cent. Further, the State guarantee only applies to obligations to the extent of £50,200,000, and vast as this emount iq, it falls far short of the estimated expenditure which the company will have incurred by 1872 for 1873, and which is set down at £90,800,00. Treating the matter en chiffres ronds —for when you are dealing with millions it is not worth while to trouble yourself with a few thousands—it will be seen that the amount raised by shares (L 13,500,000) leaves the enormous sum of £77,300,000 to be provided by obligations, of which £50,200,000 will be guaranteed by the State to the extent of 4,65 per cent., while £27,100,000 is not guaranteed at all. The guarantee of 4 65 per cent., leaving a deficit of 1.10 per cent. to be made good by the company, it follows that the annual charge of the guaranteed obligati ons w ill b e £552,200, and of the unguaranteed obligations £1,558,250, making an aggregate of £2,110,450, while £1,350,000 would be required to pay the 10 per cent. upon the shares which the French capita lists seem to expect as a matter of course. These totals, when combined together, m eke £3,460,450 in all. The State guarantee of 4.65 per cent. on £50,200,000 of obligations will absorb £2,334,300, but the State does not of course expect or intend that this guarantee is to apply to its fall extent, but relies upon its being, if not wholly covered, at any rate attenuated by the earnings of the new lines conceded. To relieve the State of its guarantee, to cover the fixed charges which the company has to support out of its own resources, and to pay ten per cent. upon the share capital, it would appear that the total profits realiz_d in 1873 must be somewhere about £5,794,750 ; and as at least forty per cent. must be allowed for working ex penses, the rouge revenue for the year must be about £10,000,030. In the current year the earnings of the system will exceed £6,000,000, so that to place the company in a thoroughly satisfac tory position the receipts ought to expand at the rate of £400,000 per annum during the next 10 years. In 1862 and 1863 the shareholders received dividends at the rate of 15 per Gent. per annum ; and it is clear that the company is Assured a large rate of dividend on its stock for many years to come, although like everything else in France, the distri bution is " organised" and regulated by minute ar rangements, which we must describe more in detail, together with the position of the lines on the old and new networks, the revenue required, the work mg expenses incurred, &e., in a future article. Meanwhile, it must be a source of pride to every Frenchman that amid the revolutions and distrac tions to which France has been subjected since 1830, this mighty company —the first concession of w hi c h, that from St. Etienne to A n d riz i euz, dates from Feb. 26, 1823—has been gradually expanding until the wide extent of territory over which Napoleon 111, exercises his Imperial functions has positively become too small for it, and crossing the Mediter ranean it has planted its foot in Algeria. The French mind, in the matter of this vast enterprise, has shown itself, as usual, bold and fertile; at the same time, there is a complexity and a dependency on Govern.. mental aid in the arrangements made for the de. velopment :of the undertaking which we cannot regard with much favour. A GOOD EXAMPLE.—Thom as Bros dwooci, owner of the yacht Galatea, and George Fielder, E sq ., owner of the yacht Julia, have forwarded to the National Lifeboat Institution a donation of £25, being the result of a half forfeit, in a match for £5O, between the yachts Julia and Galatea. [ADvEunsE3rENT.J.—Holloway's Ointment and Pills.— All persons afflicted with bad legs, sores, ulcers, and skin diseases, who from want of means or other reasons, cannot avail themvlves of surgical treatment, may release them. selves of their complaint s by using Holloway's purifying. soothing, and healing remedies. In every outward ailment this wonderful ointment brings about the most beneficial results by checking inflammation, cleansing ulcerations, and restoring soundness. Internal pains, rheumatic and gouty tortures, enlarged joints, scrofulous swellings and contracted sinews may be overcome by diligently rubbing this cooling unguent into the shin. In all maladies of un usual severity for excessive duration the pills should be taken interndly to root out the last seeds of the disorder and to haste in the desired cure. A New Step in Photography. Few of the arts show such signs of vitality as the infant one of photography. It would be strange, indeed, if an art which has so much novelty and marvel about it, which gives to idlers the most graceful amusement, and to workers the most splendid results, which interests equally the man of science and the lover of art, which yield not merely a livelihood, but immense gains to many who prat. tise it, and which is, nevertheless, in its infancy, should not display great vigour and make continual progress. One more step of a mighty progress we chronicle to-day—a step that, though small in itself, is of immense importance and amounts to a revolu_ tion in photography. It is the step by which now at last we can produce a permanent print. English men and Frenchmen have hitherto carried off the chief honours of discovery in photographic science ; but this last discovery is the work of a German. To explain more clearly what he has accomplished, we propose to state as rapidly as possible what has been already done in the science. It is not very long since Wedgwood and Davy failed to fix the image which sunlight impresses, and had long been known to impress upon any surface impregnated with nitrate of silver. Documents exist which prove that though pictures on silvered paper were obtained about the commencement of the pre• sent century, no means could be found to fix the fleeting image. Disheartened by continual failure, our men of science let photography go to sleep, and nothing effectual was done in it until, excited by the discoveries and speculations of Niepce de St. Victor and others, Daguerre obtained pictures on metal plates that promised permanence. The ap plication of vapour of iodine to the silvered plate gave the daguerrotype image, and this process was the pioneer of all the so-called " negative " pro. cesses now used in photography. Scarcely had the beautiful process of Daguerre been made public when our own countryman, Mr Fox Talbot, made a further step in advance—one which at once gave a great practical value to the photographic art ; he discovered the means of producing upon paper so called positive images of the objects to be pictured. Independently of Daguerre, he had succeeded in producing negative images on paper—that is, images in which the conditions of light and shade are the reverse of those existing in nature, the shadows being represented by lights, and the lights by shadows. He now succeeded in printing from this negative any number of positive images in which the lights were lights and the shadows shadows. It was a vast stride, and that which fol lowed was also vast. It was recommended by Le Grey that collodon should be used as the vehicle for the sensitive salts which, spread out in a film, re. ceive the sun picture. The practical mind of Archer seized the idea, and, spreading the collodion on a glass plate, discovered the means of obtaining very much increased delicacy of detail—a negative pie. ture of far greater value than paper could possibly produce. Thenceforward to the present time vari ous improvements have been made in the process of taking the original negatives. Greater sensitive ness and, as a consequence, greater rapidity of action have been imparted to the collodion film ; and this negative process now leaves little to be desired, save and except one thing—the means of impressing the sensitive surface instantaneously with any kind of picture. Instantaneous pictures of great beauty have been obtained, and chiefly by Colonel Stuart Wortley, but they are for the most part ex:feed to the representations of objects brilliantly lighted. Save for this defect of instantaneousness, the method of taking negatives on a film of collodion spread over glass is well nigh perfect. It is in the process of transferring the negative image into a positi✓e one many times repeated that the chief difficulty of photography now arises. A perfect negative having been obtained, it is necessary to print off hundreds and thousands of copies on paper. The paper itself, and the materials with which it is prepared, as the albumen and the nitrate of silver, vary not a little in their action — vary, indeed, so much it is rare to get 20 copies of any individual photograph that shall be all alike. Worst of all, the materials used in the pre. piratiou of the prints contain within themselves the elements of destruction. The most important materials used in the preparation of paper for print. ing positives are albumen and nitrite of silver. A fi:m of albumen lies upon the paper, and the surface of it is prepared with silver to receive the print, wh:ch is then submitted to various washing pro cesses in order to render it as permanent as possi ble. All questions of permanence, however, it is difficult to establish, and when we come to consider them we are reminded of the wise youth mentioned in every Greek Delectus, who, hearing that ravens live a hundred years, kept one to see if it were true. Unfortunately it is not necessary to wait so long in order to discover that the great majority of photo graphic prints are certainly doomed, and that the chances are against all in which silver and albumen are used. Nitrate of silver is so difficult to work, and so uncertain in its effects, besides being expens sive, that men of science have long been on the lookeont for some other metallic salt that would take its place. The nitrate of uranium has been tried, the ammonio•citrate of iron, the chloride of gold, and so on, but hitherto with little success. The nitrate of uranium seemed to promise permanence in the re sells which it gave, but these results were attained with great difficulty, and were only in rare in stances of a fine quality. The new process which has been discovered in Germany by Herr Wothly, and from him has been named" wothlytype," discards nitrate of silver, and discards albumen. For the former it uses a double salt of uranium, the name of which is at present kept secret; for the letter it uses collodion. We have explained that by the ordinary method the paper to be printed is sized with albumen, and the surface of the albumen receives the silver prepara tion, which is sensitive to the light, and shows the printed image. The paper thus does not receive the image, but is, as it were, a mere bed on which lies the material that does receive it. By the subs stitution of collodion for albumen a different result is reached. In the first place, the film of collodion on the paper yields a beautiful smooth surface on which to receive the image, and the result is that pictures are printed on it with wonderful delicacy. In the second place, the collodion b e f ore it i s washed upon the paper is rendered sensitive by being combined with the salt of uranium. The sensitiveness, therefore, is not on the surface alone of the collodion film ; it is in the film itself, and so completely passes through it that even if it be peeled away from the paper the image which it received will be found on the paper beneath. The vehicle thus employed is not less superior to all others yet known for printing the positive image on paper than it is to all others yet known for receiving the negative image on glass. The metallic salt which combines with it has also rare merits. In the first place, the manipulations are very simple and easy—far more so than in the silver-printing process, and thus the labour saved is considerable. Next, the paper, when rendered sensitive for printing, or " sensitized," as the phos tographers say, keeps perfectly for two or even three weeks—an immense boon to amateurs, who can thus have their stock of printing paper "sen sitized" for them, whereas at present, when the paper receives the sensitive preparation, it has to be used almost immediately, and will s ot keep more than a day or two. Thirdly, the colour and tone obtained' are very various, including every shade that can be got by the ordinary silver plan; but, in addition, it has the advantage of being able to print any number of impressions of exactly the same colour, and of doing away with all such difficulties as show themselves in meatiness and irre gular toning. The precision of result is a great point. By the silver process the results are never certain, and even when a print comes out perfect from the frame the subsequent process of washing and fixing go seriously to alter it. Lastly, the per manent character of the new method is very remark able. Nobody seems to know exactly why the old silver process gives way—whether it be on account of the albumen, or the nitrate of silver, or the hypo sulphite of soda. We only know that so many of the prints prepared by the old method fall away, that no reliance can be placed on those which seem to stand firm. We know how apt silver is to tarnish, and especially in atmospheres that abound in the compounds of sulphur, Some photographers stem to think that it is this sulphur which does havoc to their labours. Whatever it be, ordinary photo graphs fade or darken, or in some way alter, and give us little hope of the fixity of those which still hold good. If it is the sulphur of the atmosphere or the albumen that does the mischief, then this which tells so mush upon silver has no effect on uranium, and the images pictured on paper prepared with uranium and collodion give every prospect of last ing as long as the material holds togethe. These pictures have been exposed to sun and rain for weeks together, and give no sign of alteration. Water seems to have no effect upon them, We have seen them spit upon, as a schoolboy spits upon his slate and rubs it dry, and after this rough process they showed no signs of difference. The " wothlytype presents some other advan tages on which we need not now dwell. Its chief excellencies are those we have mentioned—that it works with exceeding ease; that it is certain in its results, the impressions being all alike ; that the sensitive paper will keep for weeks ready for use ; and that when it has received the printed image it will stand an amount of tear and wear, and wind and weather, which no other photographs Rill bear. The process has been purchased from its German inventor by a photographic company of which Colonel Stuart Wortley is the chairman. Colonel Stuart Wortley has long been known as one of our foremost amateur photographers. Some of his instantaneous pictures, especially his pictures of clouds, are among the finest things yet achieved in photography. As the chairman of a company which calls itself the United Association of Photography (limited), he advised the purchase of the " wothly type," and has secured the patent rights of it as far as this country is con cerned. How the company will use their patent it, is for themselves to determine ; but hitherto patent rights in connexion with photography have been so difficult to maintain, and the progress of the art so swiftly renders them null, that it is to be hoped they will see the wisdom of liberality, and give licenses to use their patent on easy terms.—Times. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE, EAST SOMERSET. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Wednesday at Shepton I‘l allet, Captain Strode in the chair. The report stated that the directors wore again able to congratu!ate the company on the continued increase in the traffic returns. The six months ending the 30th of June last showed an increase over the corresponding period of 1863 of about 28 per cant. The gross earnings amounted to £3,142, which, after deducting the fixed sum of £1,032, applicable for interest on debenture debt and rent charges for the same period, left £2,100 to be divided between the two companies, viz.: —£1,265, or 60 per cent, to the Great Western, and £844, or 40 per cent., to the East Somerset. These figures did not include the stone traffic, which had not been credited in the account by the Great Western Company. There would, however, be an additional receipt in respect of this in the next half-year's account, which would probably amount to about £6O. In consequence of the balance due to the bankers, the directors proposed to apply a part only of the earnings to dividend on the preference shares, at the rate of 31 per cent. per annum, free of income tax. Mr AGLEN moved the adoption of the report, which was unanimously cars ied. A v,te of thanks to the chairman and directors termi nated the proceedings. LYNN AND SUTTON, Yesterday the halt-yearly meeting of the proprietors was held at the ()ales in Midge•street, Westminster. Mr Greenfield presided, and said there was no report, but he had the pleasure of informing the proprietors that the line was nearly completed and would be opened for public traffic in November nest. WELLINGTON AND MARKET DRAYTON. Yeste-day the half yearly mewing was convened at the Great Western Station, Paddington, but there not being a sufficient number of proprietors present the meeting was ad journed sine die. NEATII AND BRECON. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yes terday at the office, Duke-street, 'Westminster—Mr W. L Banks in the chair. The Secretary read the report, which stated that 101 miles of the line were now opened for goods and mineral traffic, and that such progress had been mado with the works that 11 miles more Was almost ready for laying the perma nent way. The C'Hxruma.rr, in moving the adoption of the report, said he did so with much pleasure, as the works had been carried on with the most extraordinary vigour throughout the whole line. The distance from the company's terminus near Neath into the town of Brecon was about 33 miles, of which nearly 11 miles were completed and at work for mineral traffic, The works had only been commenced in May, 1863 ; they would be completed within two years from that time. He believed the whole line would be opened for traffic in May next. The company etood on amicable re lations with neighbouring lines. Captain C. LAYTON seconded the motion, which was agreed to. A vote of thanks to the chairman closed tho proceedings, INVERNESS AND ABERDEEN JUNCTION. The report of the directors states that the accounts for the six months ending the 31st of July last showed that £58,960 had been received, including a balance of £lO3 from the preceding half-year, and that £40,915 had been expended, including £5,675 for interest on debentures, leaving an available balance of £18,016, out of which £8,733 was deducted for dividends on the A, B, C, and D preference stocks ; £2,353 for divi dend on the Ross-shire stock, at the rate of 3i per cent per annum; and £6,807 for the proposed dividend on the ordinary stock of the company at the rate of 4 per cent per annum, leaving a balance of £122. The working ex penses amduntcd to 44 per cent. of the receipts, The traffic of the whole system, more especially on the Inverness and Perth section, continued to improve, and the directors be lieved the improvement would continue. The extension from Incergordon to Meikle Ferry was opened on the Ist of June, and the further extension to amar• bridge would • be opened on the Ist of October, thus completing the company's system. The double line between Inverness and Dalcross would also be opened on the Ist of October. A scheme for constructing a line from Dingwall to the West Coast had been brought forward under favourable auspices, and as the line, if made, would throw a large traffic on their line, the directors view the prospect favourably. The capital account showed that £1,393,772 had been expended. INVERNESS AND PERTH JUNCTION. The report of the directors state that the revenue for the half-year ending July 31 amounted to £15,535, and the ex penditure to £31,769, including £4,923 paid for interest on debentures, leaving a balance of £10,756. Out of this was deducted £1,900 fur dividend on the Perth and Dunkeld stock, £1,747 on the 41 per cent preference stock, and £7,000 for the proposed dividend, at the rate of 31 per cent. per annum, on the ordinary atonic, leaving a balance of £lO9. The traffic during the half-year had steadily increased. The works of the Aberfeldy branch were making satisfac tory progress, and there was reason to expect the line would be reody for opening early next year. The capital account showed that £062,767 had been expended. HAMILTON AND STRATHAVEN. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Friday, at Hamilton ; Mr T. Tennent in the chair. The report stated that the Act for the amalgamation of the company with the Caledonian Railway Company re ceived the Royal assent on the 25th of July last, and the Caledonian Company, in terms of the Act, had taken pos session of the railway and works on the Ist of August last. The receipts for the half-year ending the 30th of Juno last. showed a slight increase on the corresponding half of 1863; but in consequenc e of the high rate of int e rest o n b orrowed money, the directors regretted that the p rofits wo uld not pay a full divide n d to tha preference stockhol d e rs. The total receipts for the passenge r goods and mineral traffic amounted to £3,148. Deducting from this £2,903 for work ing expenses and interest on borrowed money, a balance re mained of £245 for division among the shareholders. The directors recommended that a dividend for the six months at the rate of 21 per cent. per annum be paid to the pro • prietors of preference stock on the 7th October next, leav ing a balance of £35. After some observations by the Rev. Mr RAE on matters of account, the report was adopted; the dividend, at the rate of 2f per cent. per annum on the 5 per cent. preference shares, was declared payable on the 7th proximo, and the proceedings terminated. .......•••'......•••• AYIt AND DOUGLAS. - - At a meeting of the provisional committee for carrying out this projected line, recently hold, it was announced that the Caledonian Railway Company had agreed to take stock in the undertaking to the amount of £lOO,OOO, and to work the lino, when completed, on moderate terms. DUTCH-RHENISH. The "receipts for the fortnight.en mg the 15th of Sept., amounted to £12,017, and for the corresponding period of last year to £10,578, showing an increase of £1,430. The receipts since the commencement of the present book year, on the Ist of M a y, i nc luding the above, amounted to £109,259, ehowing ail increase as compared with the cor responding period of last year of £12,116. The working ex penses for the fortnight amounted to £1,280, or 35.61 per cent, of the receipts, and for the corresponding period of last year to £3,770, or 35.63 per cent., showing an increase uf £5lO. The working expenses from the lit of May, 1863, to the 15th inst. amounted to £38,495, or 35 . 23 per cent. of the receipts. Tho working expenses for the year 1862-1863 were 3908 per cent. of the receipts. GRAND TRUNK OF CANADA. The traffic receipts on this company's lines for the week ending the 10th inst., amounted, on 1,335 miles, for local passengers, to £7,357, for foreign passengers to £1,913, for emigrants to £5Bl, for mails, &c.. to £612, for local freight and live stock to £12,534, and for foreign freight and live stock to £!,419; total, £25,506, against £20,192 for the corresponding week of last year, showing an increase of £5,314, of which £1,455 was for local passengers, and £3,667 for local freight and live stock, together £5,122. The total receipts from the Ist of July to the above date amounted to £222,632, and for the same period last year to £186,781, showing an increase of £35,851. CRYSTAL PALACE DISTRICT GAS. Yesterday the half yearly meeting was held at the Albion Hotel, Aldersgate-street; Mr E. Wilson in the uhair, The report stated that the works and plant were in good order, and that the new gasholder was progressing satisfac torily. A further reduction would be made in the price of gas from the Ist of January next. The balance-sheet for the half y-,r to the 30th of June last showed the profits for the half year to be £3,710, which with £216, balance from preceding half year, made £3,926, out of which the direc tors recommended a dividend of 6 per cent, per annum on the preference capital, and of 10 per cent. per annual on the ordinary shares. The total paid-up capital was L 126,714, leaving, after expenditure, £6,261. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, congratulated the proprietors on the progress and prospects of the undertaking. After alluding to the perfection of the company's apparatus, the superior quality of the gas manu factured, and the constantly-increasing supplies required, he said that from the Ist January the price of gas would be 4s 91. per 1,000 cubic feet. Mr HOWELL seconded the adoption of the report, which was unanimously carried. The dividend was declared payable for hwith, and the thanks of the meeting were given to the chairman and direc tors for their able management. SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TlMES.—There is no country in Europe that can boast of a higher literary culture than Prussia. Her thinkers have asserted an influence over modern literature with which no other country of Europe can compare ; she is in fact emphatically the land of order and method, of a people drilled and docile, of a soldiery so well disciplined that they are accused of looking as if they had swalltwed the cudgel with which they have been beaten. It has been the hap piness of Prussia to emancipate herself from the chains of Romish superstition, and in no country in the world has more attention been given to the general education of the people. It was natural to expect that such a nation would embark in war with the very greatest reluctance and only under the most clearly demonstrated necessity, and that if unhappily she found herself engaged in unavoid able hostilities she would conduct them with a mildness and respect for the feelings of others, and a deference to the principles of equity and justice which would set a brilliant example to all future belligerents, and found a brilliant epoch in the gloomy history of human misfortune. Apparently the Prime Minister of Prussia is of opinion that his country has entirely come up to this imaginary standard, for he has challenged the appro bation of the English Cabinet, and received an answer which he is not likely very speedily to forget. But he is perpetually improving upon himself, and has, during the last week or two, shown that he is capable not only of adding fresh horrors to war and imparting a hitherto unknown bitterness to defeat, but of giving to an armistice a turn and a signi ficance never dreamt of before. The nature of an armistice is, as the Germans exprees it, a standing still, a suspending all acts of hostility in. order to give time for the negotiation of peace. The very essence of the agreement is that the position of both parties shall remain, as far as possible, ex actly the same as at the time when it was con cluded; that as the armistice was agreed on for the purpose of making peace, it shall be abused for no other purpose, and that neither open nor covert hostilities shall be allowed to go on during the period for which it is in force. Any such proceeding as we have mentioned would as between equals operate at once as a determination of the armistice ; but Prussia knows well that she is not dealing with an equal, and as she measures her acts n eve entirely with reference to her own power and the weakness of her adversary, she has no objection whatever to converting the armistice itself into a fresh instrument of torture. Prussia, through tier semi-effi3ial organ, openly avows that the delays in the peace negociations, which has been entirely the fault of the Dsnes, has compelled the Allies to adopt every means to cause Denmark to hasten the work of pacification, especially by substituting more severe action for the forbearing manner in which th© con ditions of the armistice have hitherto bLen carried out. The commander in Jutland has already taken some measures to arouse Danmark to the conscious mess of the country being cecupied by an enemy. We certainly should have thought that considering the unheard-of exactions, the wholesale plunder of which Jutlaed has been the victim, Denmark, how esnr lethargic sl.e may be, did not require &ny new outrage to convince her that Jutland is not cniy in the occupation of an enemy, but of one of the meanest and most merciless tyrants that ever discharged the duty, easy and delightful to certain natures and certain characters, of making a harmless and in cffensive people drink to the very dregs the bitter cup of military insolence and brutal oppression. The Prussian Government, however, think diffe rently. They attribute to their previous leniency, to their delicacy, to their squeamishness, to their unwillingness to press too h ars hly on a fallen enemy the present reluctance of Denmark to subscribe the conditions of a treaty which, beginning with her dismemberment, may perhaps end in her destruction, Denmark requires to be reminded that she has still some territory which has not been conficated, still some wealth which hes not been seized upon by the victors. To remind her of this, first of all communication between the Danish authorities in Copenhagen and in Jutland is forbidden. The attempt of the Danish Government to issue directions to the Governor of its own pro vince of Jutland is denounced by M. von Falkenstein as an arrogant pretension. The only Government existing in Jutland is a military Go vernment, and from that alone the Danish officials must receive their orders. Again, the same M. von Falkenstein refuses to pay out of the revenues of - Jutland anything more than what is necessary to meet the expenses of Government, and especially refuses to pay the pensions which have been charged upon the taxes of Jutland. The surplus, if any, of the revenue of Jutland belongs by agreement to Denmark, and the refusal therefore to pay the pensions which are charged upon it seems to be an act of the most wanton injustice. The object pro bably is to distress and excite the Jutlanders, and, by this threatening action, to gain their assistance in impressing upon the Danish Government the necessity of putting an end to the war. We may add to these measures the prohibition of inter course between Jutland and Copenhagen, the em bargo laid on the exportation of cattle and provi sions from Jutland, and the quartering of 50,000 soldiers upon a province sflcted with a poor soil and a tempestuous climate, and already reduced to the last extremity of misery by ill treatment. Mo dern history has no blacker page than that which describes these transactions; they are a complete anachronism, an importation into an age of civilisa tion and enlightenment of maxims and proceedings worthy of the days of Tilly and Wallenstein, but which even the least sanguine believer in the pro gress of the human race never expected to see repeated. It is reported from Vienna that Lord Clarendon has explained to Count Rechberg the necessity of speedily closing the negotiations for peace ; he is said also to advocate the speedy inaugu ration of the Duke of Augustenburg. It is said that to these remonstrances Austria has reserved her re ply. We most sincerely hope that the statements to which we have alluded are not true. There is probably not a man in this country who does not think that England has given a great deal too much advice already. The country has borne with won derful patience the spectacle which has been pre sented to it of England perpetually offering advice which has not been taken or asked for, and perpe tually uttering menaces which have beendisregerded until she was obliged to retire from any further in terference with a cause for which she was not pre pared to use the only arguments likely to influence Austria and Prussia. It would be exceedingly dan gerous to begin the same game over again. We did not think fit to interfere while Denmark had anything to lose ; it would be simple insanity to have recourse to measures of coercion now when she has been despoiled of almost everything that is worth the trouble of preserving; and if it would be insane of us to go to war for a cause which is obvi ously lost, is it not even more f oo li s h to off er advice which we are not prepared to support by arms, and expose ourselves to fresh mortificatio❑ and humilie• tier ? We have taken our course and must abide by it, One of the evils of that eourse undoubtedly was what we have felt so bitterly for the last three mon..hs, that we must stand by and observe the out rages which are accumulated by the Allies without making the slightest attempt to redress them. The evils of this position had been foreseen, and were accepted after careful consideration, and we m ust not shrink from them now. We are also perfectly confident that, as surely as the infraction of the organic laws of health draws after it its appointed penalty, so this ostentatious trampling under foot of honour and justice will not be allowed, according to the ordinary government of the world, to remain long unpunished. There seems a very decided indi. cation that Eastern and Western Europe are strengthening themselves by new alliances, and that the time is not very distant when the rival ambition and covetousness of sovereigns will execute upon their people evils quite as great as those which they are now inflicting upon Denmark. PosT.—lt is a fortunate circumstance for the tra velling public that the explosion of locomotive boilers seldom occurs e ceps when engines are standing still. There is no mechanical law which positively insures passengers by railway trains against such catastrophes ; but, as a matter of fact, explosions do not commonly happen when an engine is actually in motion. In the case of locomotives as of men, idleness appears to be the mother of miss , chief. When the driver has his eye upon the steam guage he is able to regulate the pressure by the amount of work to be done; but in the interval be tween getting up steam and starting on a journey, when stoker and driver are applying the polishing rag or the oil can, a few brief seconds may raise the pressure beyond the limit of safety, and a fearful sacrifice of life and property may ensue. The ex perience of past years justifies the expectation that, under the present system, from three to four en gines per annum will be destroyed by boiler explo sions. During a period of seven and a half years Colonel Yolland, the Government Inspector of Rail ways, records that while there are five hundred and ninety-nine accidents of all kinds, the number of boiler explosions was twenty-five, and that the companies' servants suffered by these casualties in the proportion of 4.6 per cent. of the total num ber killed and injured during that period. Boiler explosions, although they appear at first sight to be scarcely of a preventibte character, may in reality be reduced to a very low minimum, pro vided only proper precautionary measures be taken. It was found in the manufacturing districts that when boilers were left to the individual inspection of foremen and mechanics employed about them fatal accidents were of very frequent occurrence. Men whose lives were in instant danger. from every defect in the boilers which it was their duty to superintend frequently failed to discover and remedy those defects until it was too late. At last it became evident that some means must be adopted for providing inspection more intelligent trustworthy, and an association was formed for the purpose of accomplishing this end. The results have been most satisfactory. Boiler accidents are now of rare occurrence, and indeed have practically ceased in the establishments embraced within the sphere of operations of the society. It is very evi dent that results no less satisfactory might be at tained in the case of locomotive boilers were similar means applied. Capt. Tyler has recently presented to the Board of Trade some reports upon the circum stances convected with the explosion of three loco motive boilers, and the facts which he records de serve more than ordinary attention. All the engines had been a considerable time in use. One of them was built in 1850, and had run a distance equal to mote than ten times the circumference of the globe. Indeed, if we suppose a belt of railroad to encompass the planet Jupiter, the engine, if atarted upon it when built, would have just returned to the point from which it set out when it came to its untimely end. This, however, is by no means an unusual mileage for an engine to accomplish; and of the 7,000 locomotives at present in use as passenger engines, many might be picked out which have accomplished even a larger amount of work. Of course it must not be supposed that the engines re ported on by Capt. Tyler had never been under the hands of the doctor. Admirably as such machines are manufactured in England, constant friction and the action of fire and water will tell upon particular parts of them, and these must be patched or renewed from time to time. The wonder is that all three boilers should have exploded from the same cause cause, remembering that the engines belonged to diffsreet companies, and must have been under ex amination more or less close when undergoing re pairs, Yet the Board of Trade Inspector reports that the accidents were caused by what he describes as " channelling along the upper edge of longitu dinal points." And the channelling appears to be due to a combination of mechanical end chemical action. Differences of pressure and of temperature cause alternate contraction and expansion ; and, when the barrels are not perfectly cylindrical, they are necessarily altered in shape uncles different pressures, " causing new surfaces to be exposed to the oxygen, and perhaps also to the acids in the water near the joints and stays, and at all those parts at which there is extra stiffness," Galvanic action, due to the materials commonly employed in boilers, is frequently developed, and assists the pro cess of corrosion. The shell is of iron, the tubs s brass, the fire box copper. Mechanical, galvanic, and chemical forces simultaneously at work, doom the boiler to destruction ; and the period for send ing the engine to hospital depends on the quality of the water, the mileage duty performed, the tenacity of the material, the manner of construction, and the average pressure maintained. It is not by any meats a cheerful consideration that any one of the 7,01)0 engines used for passenger trains may, for aught the traveller knows to the contrary, have arrived at an extra hszirdeus period of its exist ence. The grand rice of almost every railway is want of punctuality. If we supp Ai° an engine in which the. treacherous work of corrosion has been silently progressing for three or four years to be attached to a heavy passenger train, what guaran tee is there against an explosion even while the engine is in motion ? Time has been lost in the early stages of the journey, and the driver finds that he must put on greater speed, The pressure is increased and in a moment the boiler is rent and shattered, and stoker and driver are either killed or lie writh ing in agony among the debris of the engine. The consequences may readily be conceived. 'The fore most carriages plunge and rush against the tender, and are thrown off the line, and those in the after part of the train experience a shock only inferior to that of a collision. The killed and scalded and bruised are numbered by the score, and the district surgeons will have a busy time of it for a week or ten days. This at least is a danger from which the public may insist that railway directors shall save them, It is perhaps too much to expect that trains, especially upon cross lines, where junctions are of frequent occurrence,should arrive at allotted stations within an hour of the time specified. The traveller need not hope to catch the train at the junctionwhich is advertised to leave 50 minutes after ho is adver tised to arrive; but he may,without being termed un reasonable, call upon locomotive superintendents to see that engines are not sent out which are at any moment liable to explosion. Tete condition of the boilers of locomotives cannot be satisfactorily ascer tained without removing the tubes; and Captain Tyler asserts that this is not done more than once in seven years. His recommendation is that a tho rough internal examination should be made at intervals of not more than three years; and as it appears that defective plates are not always promptly renewed he insists that "no plate should be allowed to remain in a boiler to wear out another set of tubes on which distinct indications of chan nelling are observable." In addition to these pre cautions the hydraulic test which is used on the Continent should be habitually employed. In the present state of our knowledge it is impossible not to agree with the Beard of Trade Inspector that some improvement is needed in a system which allows of three explosions in a month on passenger railways. The question occurs, in view of what has been done in Manchester, whether the railway companies might not adopt a modification of the system which manufacturers have so successfully employed. It is quite true that very competent engineers are attached to most lines, but it is no less true that preventible explosions have occurred. A small staff of inspectors specially selected might with advantage he engaged, and paid by contribu tions from the companies in proportion to the engine power used and the mileage accomplished by each. The saving of a single engine would more than repay a company for its outlay, on careful inspec tion, extending over many years. 'Whatever method the companies may adopt, it is clear that a thorough periodical examination ought to be made in the case of every passenger engine, and that the hydraulic test ought to be more frequently, as it can be more conveniently, applied. Of the seven thou sand engines in constant work many have travelled from 250,000 to 300,000 miles each, and are ready to explode on the slightest provocation. It is con sequently the duty and the interest of boards of directors to take immediate steps to discoger and remedy the defects which, on inspection, many of the locomotive boilers would probably be found to exhibit. STORM BAROMETERS.—The people who have lately been at the seaside must have noticed the storm barometers ; old salts stared at them when first set up, but now they aro highly valued. Eight fishery barometers, specially lent under duo control and care, are now set up round our coasts. It is scarcely possible to arrive at any statistical results of the service they have rendered, but the fishermen, wo aro told, are much influenced by them and very thankful for the boon. Even if only one fishing boat, deterred from putting oat in doubtful weather by consulting an instrument, were to escape the violence of an impending storm, few of us would grudge the expense that it cost the country to warn the owner. Apart from all considerations of profit and loss, over and above the interest of science, or the future of the indictive philosophy itself, this one most important question predominates, as we weigh the utility of the meteorological proceedings of the Board of Trade, "Do these warnings and these instruments save the lives of our brave soldiers and fishermen ?" If they do, then nice calcu• lotions of expense and expediency aro unworthy of the country. It is clearly the duty of a:gcod Government to provide for the safety of all classes of its subjects ; that money is well spent which in the remotest degree contri butes to this object. Let the advocates of the Meteorological Department tat) this high ground, and few will be inclined to attack their position.— Once a If eek, Wills an d Bequests. The w;1.1 of the Ho , I. Robert Lethbridge , R.N. d3ey, N:vw South 'rVales, afterwards of Southses, outhampto,l, and. la to of West Thurrock, Ronifordi 'ssex, was p..roved in the London Court by the BO' EL ord: l C.lLettbricige. of Buckland Munachorua he son ; and John P. Stilwell, Esq., of Arundel' treet, Strand; the executors as to the testators personal estate in Great Britain, Ireland, and else*. where in Europe ; power being reserved to Philip G. King, Esq., of Goono.Goono, near Tamworthi New South Wales ; and the Rev. R. Lethbridge King, of Paramatta, the general executors. r i lle testator died on the 3d of June, 1864, having e lel euted his will in 1859, wherein he states that he bad conveyed to his sons, John and George, several pa r ' eels of land in the colony of New South Wa le° together with all the live and dead stock thereon upon condition of their paying to the testator fol his life an annuity of £ BOO , and after h is decens' to pay to his vo sons, Thomas and Elford, and bi daughter, Halo Lethbridge, each an annuilY ° £lOO a year, whom he has appointed residulll legatees. His married daughter, Mrs King, i$ _ _ receive an imme diet© sum of £2,500. The will of th• 9 Countess Antoinette Sobanskl MoszEzenska, of Djo. 4, Rue Castellane, Paris, lei administered to hei in her Majesty's Court of Pr ° ' bate, London, by her husband, the unive rs i a legatee, there being n" executor appinted. The 111„ was first registered in Paris, and is transla ted fee the French, and contained in the t ltlowing words' " This is my will. I. bequeath all my entire forturie, absolutely, without any exception, to my hush i 1 Count Moszezensk a. I revoke all former Wlllse Done and written elltirely with mine own hand Paris, fifth August, 1854. Antoinette Sobanel Countess Moez€zenska." The personalty in E" land was sworn under £6,000. The will of Lieutenatit-Colonel Peter Dunba r ' ° Westboutne-terrace, Hyde Park, was proved is L an . don under £12,000 personalty-, the executors noml 'lilted being Captain James Barber, 136, LeadenbsliTh street, and John Cater, Et , q., of Rood-lane. ~ will bears date 1855, and there are two codicil dated 1860-1. The galhint colonel had retired fr° s the lion. East India Company's service, and di e on the 18th of July last. To his daughter, i-S!1 garet St. Clair Dunbar, he leaves his residence, W it the furniture, plate, linen, china, pictureF, book' wines, and household effLcts ; and also bequeaths t her two-thirds of his estate, real an d personal, be queathing the remaining third to his son, Freder ic , William Dunbar, Bengal Native Infantry.--Ilili' Crated London News. COUNTRY MARKETS. MANCIIESTER—TIIIIRSDAY. apt' There was a larger attendance than for some time P our market this morning, bat no material improvernel'ot the trade was observable. English wheat sold slowillek further decline of is per qr., and foreign at last Weal' prices. Fiou dull, and we quote prices 6d lower• vi e and oatmeal were steady. Indian corn and beans fully as dear. BURTON. ON.-TRENT—ThunsDAT. There was a very full show of wheat at our markeL,". day, which met a fair demand, at a slight decline on I't; week's prices. Barley was in good supply, and road% values, but with rath e r a flat trade. Oats unchal 3 g` price. Beans a heavy sale. to 4 ,r / Old white wheat..4ls to 46s I Old red wheat, ~•'t'B New do. .. 38s to 42s I New do. ..40s Malting barley....34s to 37s Oats 2os "4. Grinding d0.....26s to 30s Beans 389 to BIRMINGHAM—THURSDAY. There was a moderate supply of English wheat at Let to-day, which sold at rather under last week's cr 1 ;; Foreign sorts at fully previous rates. Barley is Peo lower in price. Oats rather cheaper. Beans le ss d s —English wheat was sold at 43s to 47s for white, 0 3 , ?4 to 44s per 36 stone for red. Barley, new malting, ""3 35s per qr ; grinding, 25s to 28s. Oats, old, 2 4 5 to r c per 30 stone ; Irish, 20s to 245. Beans, 44a to 46s p er peas, 38s to 40s per 36 stone. EDINBURGH GRAIN—WEDNESDAY. Sal To-day there was a small supply of country whea t. slow, and 6i down. gri doic Wheat on the top is 6d up Barley on the top Us 6d down ...average 2s 4d d° c Oats on the top Us 6d down, . . ..average is Od do' ' Beans on the top Is Od up .. average is ld up Total Supply and Sales. Wheat ... 801 qrs Sold 4SO qrs Barley... 2200 qrs Sold 1448 qrs Oats Beans 63 qrs Sold 53 qrs Ave' age Prices. Wheat.. ! 403 3d I Oats. ! Barley 2Bs 5d I Beans ....... 44s , i t Town- made 11 Jur sells as follows :—White, 3is ; - supettine. 35a; superfine, 335; fine, 31s. GLASGO W—WEDNESDAY. tee A thin attendance at our market to-day, and when ipl to a limited extent at a decline of Gd per qr upon Aw e 'l O qualities. Barley dull, and receded Gd per bull. Oats in favour of buyers. Beans steady. Maize rathe r 101 Flour 3d per barrel cheaper. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILb DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton. ...... O ct l3 Y'a Marseilles ......... 4. Jrazil and Cape Verde , by B r iti s h pac k e t.... .... ,`" °t . ,29 Cape of Good Hope, Ascensi on , an d St. H e lena.. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. Oct• _ _ _ via Marseilles ...Oct' Falkland Islands --- ------- .•••, 0 0 . ,, Gibraltar, via Southampt o n .. u n , t ' India (Calcutta), and C e ylon, via Southampton.. ---c' t . l3 via Marseilles.... °c " a India (Bombay), via Southampton pct . • Oct ( I . ' via Marseilles Oct. '' Portugal.... Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton ...... via Marseilles ........ p c t . 1 2 Newfoundland .. oct. • Oporto and Vigo'.. U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.... by U.S. packet...• ,7, by Canadian packet.oc. MI parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, I pet. 1 California, and Britimh Columbia.. A SENSIBLE MADMAN.—In the discussion a! lunacy and criminal responsibility in the s° : l Science Congress on Tuesday, Lord Brougham rel ate ' i anecdote to show that it was a mistake to suppose tloo r sane persons were not amenable to deterrent motives . ll° Tooke was sitting in a room by himself one day, vib b eli e rushed a lunatic flourishing a large-bladed knife in hlB The lunatic said, " You are Mr Horne Tooke, are yo u rj ,. ° o "Yes," was the reply. " Then," said the lunatic , : ` soon put an end to you." Herne Tooke answered, ' l4 do you will suffer for it." "Oh I" said the madman' came out of Dr Shipton's asylum t'other day, and theY 8 4 , punish me." Horne To o ke r e j o in e d, with great 161 " Then, I suppose you don't know th a t a law was F 5:;;; only t'other day sayi n g that all lunatics should be hang - n " No, I didn't know that," responded the madman, lusts throwing down the knife in a tremor, and slinking °ll the room.—(Laughter.) t HEALTH OF TOWNS ACT.—At a meeting - Portsmouth Town Council, acting as the local f 3° B of Health ander the provisions of the Local Governor, Act, recently adopted in that borough, a report wl s t r i from the Drainage Committee, recommending tli a " plan for the complete drainage of the whole boroug h,, o posed by Mr Lewis Angell, C.E., the en g ineer t ci Board, and approved by Mr Hawksbaw, C.E., sh oo 1 ,, 1 carried out without delay. Mr Alderman GarringtCarringtonposed, and Mr Councillor Hannam seconded, the a d( 1 0 - , of the report, and the resolution was carried svit l '„ three dissentients. The estimated co s t i s £loo,o oo t the actual cost will in all probability con s iderably esc that amount. Births. d BARRETT.— On the 28th inst., at St. Augustine-roa den-square, Mrs. Henry Barrett, of a d aug hter. y e CONGREVE.—On the 26th inst., at Chatham, the _ Captain W. Congreve, of a son. f Co MIST.—On the 28th inst., at Chatham, the wife ° of wander H. W. Mist, R N,, 1 - I.M,S, Achilleof daughter. Marriages. , ro th TIDMAN—KERSHAW.— On the 28th inst., at ' c '` L ' o t' Church, Paul Frederick Tidman, of Singapore, p ces Amelia, daughter of the late James lierati tyll ' M.P., of Uplands, Streatham. WEBB SEARE.—On the 28th inst., E.eigat°,, Edward Henry, eldest son of Henry Webb, r) B lJali stone Manor House, to Jessie, eldest daughter °- Searle, Esq., of Furze-hill, Reign. e. Deaths. rig Bnoomo.—On. the 26th inst., at Higher Broughtotli cheater, Wm. Broome, Esq., aged 67. c u d CUTLER.— On the 27th inst., at Exeter, Geo. IlenrY Esq., of Upton L o d ge , Lear L r i x h am , Devonshire'.o FAULKNER.—On the 26th inst., at his chambers, Albany, George Faulkner, Esq., aged 66. , RICHARDSON.—On the 24th inst., at Bootharet ;°-1‘ Richardson, Esq , M.A., aged 63. ' , the D' SMITII.—On House, Sheffield, and of Gray's-inn, barrister — aged 68. 110 WOOD.—On the 24th inst., at Harrogate, au ddeni kip oi Henry Wood, DI., of 8, Pembroke Villas, Surrey, aged 76. ~. -------. ji;;, London : Priwed and I'Tb:billed by WILLIAM ANIl s ~ of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at 'lnn SUN ()Inc e o t ty Strand, la the Precinct of the 'tt toy, 32 ale 0- klid4es".—Friday. September 30, 1861. THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, .S :R 30, 1864. ,w...'