The Sun. — London, England, 1853-02-17 00:00:00

Zbirb Vtittion. SUN OFFICE, Seven o'clock. TATTERSALL'S. (THLS EVENING•) LIVERPOOL STEEPLECHASE. 15 to 2 agst Oscar. 7to 1 agst Miss Mowbrayjtaken). 13 to 1 agst View Halloo. 13 to 1 agst Duc-an-Durras. 16 to 1 agst Half-and-half. 100 to 6 agst Victress. 25 to 1 agst Crabbs. 100 to 6 agst Bourton. LIVERPOOL SPRING CUP. sto 1 agst Doubt (taken). METROPOLITAN HANDICAP. 6to 1 agst Contentment. 20 to 1 agst Lampedo. 20 to 1 agst Redmond °Manion. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STAKES. 12 to 1 agst Maria. NEWMARKET HANDICAP. sto 1 agst Contentment. CHESTER CUP. 25 to 1 agst Trifle. 40 to 1 agst Truth. 40 to I agst Little Jack. 1000 to 15 agst Prime Minister. DERBY. • 9to 1 agst West Australian. 12 to 1 agst Cineas. 15 to 1 agst Orestes. 16 to 1 agst Sittingbourne. 20 to r Honeywoocl (takers). 22 to 1 agst The Reiver (taken). 33 to 1 agst Ninnyhammer. OAKS. 5 to 1 agst Catherine Hayes. Bto 1 agst The Queen (taken). IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS—(THIS EVENING.) The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at 5 o'clock. The Earl of CARLISLE presented a number of peti tions from places in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumberland, and- Essex, praying for the distribution of parliamentary papers; also a Taper from the Scottish Anti-State Church Association praying that some measure be passed with regard to clergy reserves in Canada. TRANSPORTATION TO AUSTRALIA. Lord MONTEAGLE asked the noble duke the Secre tary of State for the Colonies whether it was the inten tion of the Government to abolish transportation to Aus tralian colonies ? The Duke of NEWCASTLE said that when he had taken °face he found that his predecessor had announced to the; colonists of Van Diemen's J4and, that her Ma jesty's Government were pfepared to abolish transporta tion to that colony ; and having conferred with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, he was able to assure the noble lord that her Majesty's Government had come to the conclusion that it would be practicable and most desirable that transportation to Van Dieman's Land should cease, and that not another convict would be sent there. (Hear hear.) With re gard, however, tos Western Australia transportation would be continued to a limited extent. Lord CAMPBELL hoped that her Majesty's Govern ment would well consider before they took the step which had just been announced as their intention. He was of opinion that no secondary punishment could be substi tuted for it equally efficacious and equally beneficial to the criminal. Lord BROUGHAM expressed himself on the whole, unfavourable to transportation as a secondary punish ment, although he thought that the penitentiary system might be so improved and modified as in some degree to supply the place of it. Lord ST. LEONARDS thought that transportation was the best secondary punishment yet discovered, and he hoped that her Majesty's Government would not take steps to discontinue it beyond the necessities of the case. After a few words from the Duke of NEWCASTLE, the subject dropped. - THE WAR IN AVA. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH postponed the question of which he had given notice until Thursday next. THE IRISH VICEROYALTY. The Earl of CARDIGAN rose to ask her Majesty's Government whether it was their intention to bring in a measure to abolish the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland. After giving a somewhat facetious description of the ceremonies and pageantry surrounding the Lord Lieu tenant, which excited considerable merriment in the house, the noble lord said he believed that the office was or no use whatever, and produced great inconvenience. Its abolition would be of use at the present time. It was a measure of reform, economical and administrative, and xiould, perhaps, fill up a little of that vacancy which seemed likely to occur before the production of the Go vernment measure of reform which was promised. The Earl of ABERDEEN said that her Majesty's Government had no intention of bringing forward any measure for this purpose. The Earl of WICKLOW expressed himself as dissa tisfied with the answer of her Majesty's Government. The Earl of DESART expressed himself as adverse to the abolition of the vice-royalty., Lord BROUGHAM laid on the table of the house a bill to extend the Law of Evidence Amendment Act of 1851 to Scotland. The noble and learned lord then proceeded to express his regret that the Lord Chancel lor had not postponed his statement of Monday night until his (Lord Brougham's) return, and was (LEFT SPEAKING.) HOUSE OF COMMONS—(THIS EVENING.) The SREAKER took the chair shortly before 4 o'clock. ARREST OF A MEMBER. The Sergeant-at-Arms appeared at the bar and stated, that he had to acquaint the house, that in pur suance of the order which the house made yesterday, Mr. Frederick Dundas was now in custody. Sir H. WILLOUjHBY moved that the hon. mem ber be discharged. he hon. member had been detained in Paris by illness. Mr. R. PALMER, as chairman of the General Com mittee of Elections, thought, under the circumstances, the hon. gentleman ought to be discharged without pay ment of fees. Sir R. H. INGLIS would not take upon himself the invidious task of opposing the motion, but he would take that opportunity of reminding hon. members, that their first duty which they owed to the country was to be at the service of the house. Mr. BOUVERIE said, no doubt illness was a good excuse, but as the hon member knew that his name was on the pannel for this week, he ought to have taken care to inform the General Committee of Elections of his being unable to attend. Such an omission as this often caused the parties interested in the petition great and unnecessary expense. The motion that the hon. member be discharged was then agreed to, and the committee appointed to try the Bridgenorth Election Committee, was shortly afterwards called to the table and sworn. NEW WRIT. On the motion of Lord HOTHAM, a new writ was ordered for West Worcestershire, in the room of General Lygon, who had gone to the Upper House. PRIVATE BUSINESS. Leave was given to bring in a large number of Pri vate Bills, and they were brought in accordingly. The Great Extra-mural Cemetery Association Bill, and the Great Northern Railway (No. 1) Bill, were read a second time, and ordered to be committed. PETITIONS. Several petitions were presented from Postmen, pray ing for an i ncrease i n t h e i r sa l ar i es. Sir R. H. INGLIS presented a petition from the Pelican Life Assurance Society, on the subject of ter-. minable annuities. Mr. SMITH presented a petition against the admission o f Jews into Parliament ; and another against the open ing of the Crystal P alace on Sundays. Lord D. STUART Presented a petition from Maryle bone, praying the house to address her Majesty on the subject of the case of Edward Murray. Mr. SPOONER presented a Petition praying for the abolition of the arant to Mayn oot h . Mr; W. BROWN presented a p et i tion from a board of guardians, in Lancashire, praying for an amen d ment of the Law of Settlement, in so far as it related to illegi timate children. Mr. RICE presented a petition from Dover ag a i nst the opening of the Crystal Palace on Sundays. Lord R. GROSVENOR presented a petition from th e Law Society of Great Britain, praying for the rem ova l of the Courts of Law from their present site to a more con venient locality. Mr. EWA RT presented a petition from the hop growers of Kent, against the proposal for levying the hop duty by average. ► Mr. HUME presented a petition from the native in habitants of Madras, praying to be heard before the India Company, either by themselves or their agents, on the subject of the government of India. NOTICES OF MOTION. Mr. H. BERKELEY gave notice that shortly after Easter he should ask for leave to bring in a bill for the protection of the voters by ballot. Mr. HUME gave notice that this day fortnight he should call the attention of the house to the number of articles at present enjoying protection. Mr. OLIVEIRA gave notice that this day fortnight ,lie should call the attention of the house to the wine . 4uties. fir. MOORE gave notice that to-morrow he should ask 4he noble lord at the head of the Foreign-Office what were the intentio ns of Government with regard to the established church in Ireland. CO UNTY COURTS. CRAUFORD wished to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the new rules of gists in county courts, which have long been drawn up and settled by the committee appointed for that purpose, will be published. Lord PALMERSTON said the judges still had a scale of costs under their consideration, and when they approved of it it would be published. 1 1 '4 t THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 17, 1853. LIGHTING THE HOUSE. Sir DE LACY EVANS wished to ask the Commis missioners of works, whether any steps were taking to. amend the present defective method of lighting the House of Commons, and to remove the present un seemly lights from the ceiling. Sir W. MOLESWORTH said the lighting of the house was capable of great improvement, and during the Easter Recess he should take steps to carry out such improvements as were necessary. MINISTERS' MONEY. Mr. FAGAN wished to ask the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether is his intention to bring in a Bill for the abolition of Bffnisters' Money before the Easter Re cess; and if so, whether he will do so before the Irish Assizes commence ; in order that members representing Ireland should be in attendance. Sir J. YOUNG said the question was still under the consideration of the Government, but he hoped to bring in a bill on the subject shortly after Easter. ARTERIAL DRAINAGE Sir T. BURKE wished to ask the Secretary to the Treasury if there is any objection to lay on the table of the house a copy of the instructions issued by the Treasury to Richard Griffith, Sir William Cubitt, and Mr. Rendel, civil engineers, who have been appointed as commissioners for inquiry into the arterial drainage of Ireland. Mr. WILSON said there would be no objection. SECONDARY PUNISHMENTS. In reply to Sir F. KELLY, Lord PALMERSTON said he was not prepared to say when Government would bring forward their mea sure on the subject of secondary punishments. OUR RELATIONS WITH FRANCE. Mr. DISRAELI gave notice that to-morrow he should make some inquiries of the Governme n t with re spect to our relations with France, and generally he should call the attention of the house to that important subject. HOP DUTIES. Mr. FREWEN presented a petition from the hop planters of the county of Sussex and Weald of Kent, and others interested in the cultivation of hops, assem bled at a public meeting held on the 14th day of Decem ber last, praying for a total repeal of the excise duty on hops. The hon. member then proceeded to move "that the excise duty on hops is impolitic and unjust, and ought to be repealed." A deputation which had waited upon the noble lord who was lately at the head of the Government had received no support, and, there fore, had urged him to bring the subject before the house. In the year 1849 the duty had been 145,6931., in 1850 424,7021., in 1851 and 1852 236,6231., so that the aver age was little •more than 200,0001. per annum. This tax was first imposed in 1711, and considerably increased in 1802. In 1505 it had been decreased 2d. in the pound, but even now it amounted to nearly 141. per acre. A large crop, in fact, which ought to be a blessing, is by the operation of this law actually made a curse. In some cases the amount of duty paid for the hops grown upon five or six acres out of a hundred, actually exceeds the rent of the whole farm. He could prove that within the last fortnight four-fifths of the hop planters of Sussex had signed a petition for the total repeal of this tax. He was aware that a meeting had been held at Maidstone, at which resolutions had been proposed hostile to the re peal of the hop duty, but this would only show that the gentlemen whopassed those resolution s, held in their hands an improper monopoly. He was aware that to-day a large deputation had waited upon the head of the Government and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, praying that the tax might not be repealed, and it was natural for planters of ample means to expect, by the operation of this large tax, to beat down opposition. The operation of the tax was to drive a large portion of the land out of cultivation, and this surely was impolitic, and with these views he had brought forward the present measure. Mr. FULLER was understood to agree with the 1 measure of the hon. member for Sussex. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER trusted that the house would not now be led into the discussion of the question. He would freely admit to the hon. gentleman that the case of the county of Sussex is un doubtedly a hard one, as compared with some more favoured districts. But he regretted not to be able to go any farther with the right hon. gentle man. The opinion of the hon. gentleman that the tax was of slight importance to the Exchequer was erroneous. Considerable importance was attached to the 300,0001. raised by this tax. It was, however, im politic to consider any single tax by itself. It was im politic to remove a tax before it was decided how to raise the necessary expenditure of the year. He was convinced that the house would not sanction this motion. It would soon now be seen what was the estimated expenditure for the year, and then, if the revenue of the year exceeded that expenditure, it would be time for the honourable member to bring forward his measure. He entertained no doubt that the house would refuse to adopt the motion of the right hon. gentleman. He had been called upon by an hon. member to give up the whole of the advertisement duty, and he had. heard that night of a motion to be brought forward for the repeal of the wine duties. It was his duty to give a negative to the motion before the house. Mr. BALL should vote against the continuance of the tax, and was confirmed in this intention by what had fallen from the Chancellor of the Exchequer with regard to its inequality. The removal of this tax was only carrying out that free-trade principle which had been confirmed by the house. Mr. DEEDES was sorry to say that it was not the first time ho had opposed the member for Sussex on mo tions of this ,sort. It seemed to him that it was the intention of the honourable member to play Sus sex against all England, but he hoped that the umpires would see to the fairness of the game. The attempt to repeal the hop duty by a planter, was a sui cidal act. (LEFT SPEAKING.) GIIEA T WESTERN RAILWAY-(THIS DA Y. ) The general half-yearly meeting of this company was held this afternoon, at the Paddington Station ; Charles Russell, Esq., the chairman, presiding. After the usual preliminaries had been gone through, The CHAIRMAN addressed the meeting as follows : Gentlemen, the accounts which we distributed among you on Saturday are quite as satisfactory as the directors expected they would be. We were always aware — and we often so stated to you—that the years 1852 arAl 1853, when we opened our northern lines, and befo:e the traffic on them and on the South Wales line ee:eld. be fully de veloped, must of necessity be years 2pressure to us. It was for this express reason that we reserved a larger balance than we were in the habit of maintaining ; and I think we have cause to oe satisfied that we have been enabled to pass over the first of those periods by drawing to so sriall an extent on the amount so reserved. The most prominent event of the last half-year has been the opening of the line to Birmingham. We were very much pressed by our Shrewsbury friends to hasten the completion of that portion of the line with the sincere object, I am satisfied, of accelerating and bringing into action the traffic arrangements which were entered into between the three companies ; but that object, I am sorry to say, has been defeated by the delays and obstructions which were in terposed to the opening of the Stour Valley line. There were other considerations, however, which made it im portant to us not to delay the opening of that line. By the terms of our purcl•a,se of the Oxford and Birming ham and Wolverhampton and Dudley lines, we are com pelled to pay to the proprietors of these lines 5 per cent. for a period of six months, after the opening of any por tion of them ; and while money is easily obtained in the market at the rate of 31 per cent., it becomes, of course, extremely desirable that we should accelerate as much as we can the completion of that portion of our contract. The general results of our half-yearly account may be thus broadly stated :—We have charged to our revenue account the interest on 1,347,0001. on account of the Birming ham and Oxford line, from the day that it was opened, and we have still maintained our dividend of 4 per cent. by drawing on our reserve to the extent only of 9,0001. ; and we are enabled to carry forward 64,000/. as a balance to meet the exigences of the present year. (Hear.) This, too, we ha 7e beau enabled to do, although we have been obliged, in conformity with the provisions of the Legislature, to reduce our charges not with reference to the Birmingham and Oxford only, but on our entire line, from one end of it to the other ; although we have as yet opened our Birmingham line for passenger traffic only, with very insufficient accommodation for that traffic, and during a season peculiarly unfavourable to travelling, although we have as yet had scarcely any mineral traffic from the South Wales, and although we have had no merchandise whatever brought by our northern friends. (Hear, hear.) I think, combining all those circumstances together, the directors are justi fied in expressing to you the great satisfaction which they feel at the financial position of our company. The question as to the Oxford, Wor cester, and Wolverhampton Company, and as to the Shrewsbury lines remains very much in the same state in which they were when we last met you. Indeed it could hardly be otherwise, for we every day feel more and more convinced that that question is of a magnitude and character which can only be settled by the interven tion of the L eg isl a tu r e—(hear, hear)—and since we me t you ther e h as b een a s h or t No v ember session o f Parlia ment, in which, of course, no railway business was transacted. From the bills introduced by the Oxford, NVorcester, and Wolverhampton, and by the London and North-Western Company, we infer that the policy of th e former c ompany is to be the same as that which so sig nally failed in the last session. It appears to be still resolved to endeavour to dissolve those relations with the Great WeEltern which are clearly enjoined by the act of incorporation, and to seek new powers to form alliances if they think fit with the London and North-Western and other narrow gauge lines, or to wake a new access themselves to the metr o p o li s b y means of the Mid-Western Railway, which was rejected by the House of Commons last session of Parliament. It is, gentlemen, no fault of the Great Western that we a re obliged to appeal again to Parliament. I mme di a t e l y after the close of last session by desire of my colleagues, I addressed a letter to the chairman of the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Company, expressing o friendly arrangemen t with r desirethat company,for the andrenewalof suggestin g modes by which we thought it might be carried into effect, and I am sure when I mention them to you ypu t will_ not consider they were at all unieasonable. We offered tllem, ffra, if they still desired to lease that line, that we would take it on terms the same in principle, and better in amount, than those which were actually ac2epted from the North-Western Company, but to which the law would not permit them to give effect. We offered them, secondly, if they were prepared to dispose of the line, that we would become purchasers of it, but on its actually ascertained value, when it should have been opened and the traffic fully .de veloped, and that we would work it for them in the meantime under such an arrangement that every shilling of profit should go into their own pocket. (Hear, hear.) We offered, thirdly, if they should prefer it, to enter into an arrangement with them similar to that which they had made with the South Wales Company, and which I believe practically succeeds to the satisfaction of both companies. We offered, lastly, if they were not inclined to adopt any one of those arrangements, that we would save their capital —an object of great importance to them—by providing stock for working their line, and under such an arrangement as might be determined to be equitable between the parties. My letter to the chairman was dated the 23d of August last, but we re ceived no answer to our proposal until the beginning of November, and then they intimated to us in express terms that they preferred renewing the same struggle in the present session of Parliament which they had to en counter in the last. There was then no alternative left to us but to defend our rights in the best manner we were able, and we feel perfectly convinced that the Le gislature will give the same verdict upon the Mid- Western Railway this year that it did last, and we will still persevere and endeavour to enforce the provisions of the act of incorporation, by which they were bound to work their line continuously with the Great Western Company. (Cheers.) In the course of our opposition to the Mid-Western Railway last session of Parliament, we contended, as we had done successfully in 1847, that the districts between Birmingham and London could be better supplied with railway communication by means of the " dropped" lines of the Great Western than the lines passing through the midst of them. It is neces sary that we should take every precaution in our power to give effect to the system which was approved of on both of those occasions, and it is necessary there fore that we should go to Parliament in order to obtain an extension of time for making the short line to 'Uxbridge and Henley. Nearly in the same category may be included a short line from Melksham to Devizes. All those lines do not exceed a few miles in length. We have already entered into a contract for the purchase of the land over which they will run, which must be carried out, whatever other arrangements may be made, as we have incurred various expenses. We always contem plated the completion of those lines. With us their com pletion was but a question of time ; and we really believed, putting aside every other consideration, that, in an eco nomical point of view, the best thing to do was to com plete them at once, and get them out of hand. The confidence of the directors in the ultimate success of our Shrewsbury line has in no degree been shaken by the proceedings which took place at the meeting on the 31st of last month. It has been our purpose from the beginning, and it is now our purpose to give effect to that alliance, and I sincerely hope we shall be able to accomplish it in the ensuing session. lam sure the directors of that com pany will admit that we made large modifications on our original engagement, with the view of propitiating the support of their proprietors. We had consented to waive all technical obstacles to their proceeding with their bill, provided only that the London and North-Western Com pany would enter into an engagement in no way to im pair our legal rights. We went even further : we de parted from the principles we had prescribed for our selves,,and assented to give a qu'llified guarantee in the interval if the proprietors would support the alliance with the Great Western. 1 said it was argued at that meeting that it was extremely unjust and unreasonable not to give the same guarantee to the proprietors who opposed us as to those who supported us—that is, that we should waive the entire consideration for which alone the guarantee was to be given. But it is not my inten tion to enter into a controversy which some of the speeches delivered on that occasion might provoke. The letter we sent after that meeting contains the arguments on our part fully and fairly stated, and I do not think it would be possible for me to add to the force of it. The Shrewsbury proprietors thought fit to decline the terms, and for myself I avow frankly that I am not sorry they did. I have myself individually the greatest objection to guarantees. (Cheers.) They often act most injuri ously and unjustly to the companies who give them, and particularly in the present case, where, though th e guarantee was to be gi ven b y us, thel line was to remain in the hands of their directors. Now, far be it from me to impute to those gentlemen anything dishonour able or unfair ; but I am sure it must be obvious to them, as well as to every one who hears me, that there cannot be the same security for careful manage ment, for just and fair rates of charges, on a line where the proprietors happen to be sure of obtaining a dividend from another company, as on a line where the proprietors depended entirely upon their own resources. (Hear.) I, therefore, think we were right in declining those pro positions. The Shrewsbury Company having refused our terms, we now fall back on the original agreements —first the traffic arrangement made with them in Jan., 1851 ; and, secondly, the amalgamation agreement, which we entered into in May in the same year. lam happy to announce to the proprietors that we have this year introduced very few bills into Parliament. (Hear, hear.) Almost all, at least all the most important ones, are with reference to the Northern lines, and for the purpose of giving effect to the Shrewsbury Act. We have a bill confirming the traffic arrangement, a second confirming the amalgamation agreement, another seek ing running powers, and for laying down the broad gauge over the lines, and a fourth for making some trifling deviations about Wolverhampton and that part of the country. These are the most important bills which it will be our duty to carry forward by every means in our power. Our earnest endeavours shall be devoted to settle those long-pending questions in the ensuing session. In those efforts we feel satisfied we will be supported by the good faith which has invariably actu ated the proprietors of the Shrewsbury Company. I do not, however, overlook the difficulties that are to be encountered, but the Shrewsbury proprietors cannot re proach us if, yielding to extraneous influence or seeking for other arrangements which in the end they will find impracticable, they draw themselves into a protracted struggle through successive years—they cannot complain of us if we feel bound, under those circumstances, to seek for Parliamentary approval and confirmation of the agreement entered into by them with us. I do not believe the Legislature ever can or will permit the control of the Shrewsbury line to fall into the hands of the London and North-Western Company. It is ut terly at variance with the policy which up to the very last session they have consistently pursued ; and I am liappy to find that Mr. Clive—than whom there is no man whose Parliamentary experience enables him to form a sounder and more practical judgment on such a samewith theopin ion. full trusteenfi confidence h e a l t l h g a o t: of our bills, the question—was te the will with Legislatureto one ll or su o s t t h a e in r allo t r he policy which' regardParliamentof the lines, and confirm the engagement themselves w volun tarily has invariably pursued in r i e e f t e e ren h ce ieh t t o he t p ho re se . pro prietors of the Shrewsbury Company themselves oppressed they considered I have thus referred as and North- Western Company. t tarily and deliberately entered with by y t a th t e im L e e w nd h e e e n im portantly the interests of I have intimated pretty clearly the policy which period. were always, and are briefly as I can to the q f ue e s u i r on e s em w p h a ic n h y a a ff t ec t t he mo p s r t e sentstill, prepared to friends or to disarm agree ment either to satisfy our cannot consent to endanger it is our intention to pu t r e s r ue i . nte W a e ny our opposition, but we reasonable Western Company by undue of us we mus ' t, though such concessions be demanded that course, stand on our the interests, or damage d th ue e e cr e e n d e i e t esi o e f u t . h e a nd Great if we shall reluctantly p T ur h s e u c e hairman concluded by calling rights. (Cheers.) lows:— on the secretary to read the ,report, which was as fol- "During the last half-year of 1852, for which the accounts have been recently transmitted to the proprietors, the line of railway between Banbury and the town of Birmingham has been brought into partial use, having been opened on the Ist October, but exclusively. or the conveyance of pas sengers. The accommodati on in buildings, sidings, and approaches to the goods sheds, requisite for carrying on a merchandise traf f ic, could not be proN:ded at that time, and it was therefore impracticable to undertake any busi ness in conveying goods or minerals, even for local pur poses, over the Birmingham line. The income of the coin-. pany has been, consequently, but slightly increased by tho limited use made of that railway ; and when the general reduction of fares and rates ,on all the Groat Western lines, as well as the long continuance of wet weather, (di minishing everywhere the usual traffic of passengers, but increasing the expenditure for maintenance), are taken into account, the result of the half-year may be considered favour able to the future prospects of the company. For it must be remembered that the effect of the compulsory reduction con sequent upon opening the Birmingham and Oxford Rail way, was necessarily most disadvantageous at the very commencement, before any increase in the number of tra vellers or quantity of goods, ordinarily anticipated from a lower scale of charges, could be obtained to countervail the loss. The accounts of revenue and e xpenditure of h t av he e been made up in the usual form, for the informaon proprietors. The peculiar circumstances of the last half-year of 1851, when the receipts had been so greatly increased by the Exhibition, forbid any attempt, .by means of the usual comparison between corresponding periods, to show the progress of railway traffic, or to explain the nature and causes of any difference which may appear either in the income or charges upon it. It may be mentioned, however, that the two principal items of increased expen diture in the present accounts, consist of maintenance of way and locomotive power ;—the former is to be accounted for by an unexampled season of weather, affecting the works and drainage of the railway, and the latter arises principally from the greater number of miles run but is augmented by increased cost of materials and labour, and heavier repairs occa sioned by the effects of the g wet weather and partial floo ds on the line. After chargi interest on an expenditure of 1,347,115 k for the Birmingham and Oxford Railway fr om the day of its opening, and defray ing all charges on the loans and fixed ca it the disposal al of the Com pany, there will re main 228,50 X• o f the. ss. 7d usual dividend at of the company, which will admit . being paid at the rate of four per cent. per annum, leaving s balance of 63,7771. 15s. 3d. to the next account. Under the terms of agreement for the purchase of the Birming ham and Oxford and Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Railways unitedly, those railways will be trans- Dudl ey this company, on the Ist April next, from which date of urther portion of the capital expended on the former line will become a charge on the revenue. The accounts of the Kennet and Avon Canal have sari made up, and the directors have the pleasure to report that there will be a surelus,. after defraying every charge and paying the guaranteed dividend to the Kennet and Avon shareholders out of the separate receipts from the canal traffic. The lease of a portion of the South vir a l ©o Railway between Grange Court and Swansea came and some ques into operation on the 19th July last, subject to specific conditions in the agreement between the two companies. The covenants in that deed have rendered it necessary t o refer to Sir.Waliain Cubitt.certailapoints .for decision, r . p.. Latin g to the charges for working foie South Wales line with locomotive engines and other plant ; tions remain for amicable adjustment between the boards, before the proceeds of their traffic can be eorrectly agcdf , - tained. The auditors have Werlin:tended a permanent system of introdneing the actual result of the half-year's revenue of the South Wales Railway, after being duly certified ) into the Great Western accounts of the following sit months, in preference to stating in each current half year probable or estimated results, —always liable to be inaccurate, and requiring correction by subsequent entries, —and the directors entirely concur in the propriety of that system. The accounts received for parliamentary expenses in promoting bills before parliament and in opposing hos tile measures during the session of I'sl-52 are now under examination; a portion of which expens3s will be defrayed by other companies, under arrange —or : - ,s made with them. The actual charge on this company can only be ascertained after all the bills shall he re been received and examined, [tad the amount will be brought into account probably' during the present half ye-r. The position of agreements with the two Shrewsbury Companies for the interchange of traffic and future amal gamation, again form subjects for the consideration of Parliament durinc , the present sess i on. A n e ff or t h as b een made to persuade this company to guar-ntee a fixel divi dend to all the shareholders of th- le two companic-, whe ther opposing or assisting the alliance with this company, and irrespective of the earnings of those lines. Under the agreement framed and submitted to 7arliairent for a different object, those undertPkingP will remain uneer the separete control and management of parties representing exclusively the interests of the Shrewsbury shareholders, who claim to have not only the guaranteed dividend, but also the right to postpone the future amalgam-tion of the three companies ; and your directors have acenainted the two Shrewsbury boards, that they canr ot recoir-reld for the app .oral of this company conditions so inequitable and inconsistent with the principles of the te-bsisting agreements already confirmed by the three companies. Tho proprietors are aware that writs of mandamus have been applied for and granted by the Court of Queer's Bench, requiring this company to proceed with the construction of certain lines of railway not yet commenced ; and it is refrain from expressing any op i nion upon them. But your c d li e r e e m e o e d r s advisable,hav have bee been pending for an app ea l upon th ose cases , t o sm e past in communication of a more friendly character as to the completion of the branch of the Wilts and Somerset line between Melksham and Devizes (about eight miles and-a-half), for which the land has been bought and principally paid for, and upon which the works were l ong s i nce contracted for and com menced, although srbsequently discontinued in the times of monetary pressure. It is the opinion of the board that there should be no further delay in proceeding with that line. The estimated sum for its completion is 60,0001. ; and coasideraVons of traffic, as well as other advantages to be derived from it, induce your directors to recommend it to the proprietors, with a view to their passing a resolution to authorise that measure. The engineer's report, which is appended, explains the principal railway works in progress, and the present condition o: the new station buildings at Paddington. Since the last vote was taken in February 1852, the directors have caused plans and estimates to be submitted to them of a further portion of the new buildings and works, consisting principally of accommodation for the locomotive establishment and the passenger arrival shed and platforms, whi c h are, of course, indispensable for the business of the company. Those works have been arranged in the most economical manner, consistently with perma nence, and adapted to the conveni ence o f th e t ra ffi c. A resolution will b e proposed to the meeting for voting an additional sum of 75,0001., to be applied generally to pur poses in connection with the new Paddington Station. The eat Western Hotel, at the London Terminus, is in a very forward state, and can be finished for occupation, as soo n as the passengerbusiness shall be transferredinto the adjoining buildings. An association has been proposed for taking a lease of the hotel, and the proprietors are invited to join individu ally in subscribing for thatpurpose. It is thought advisable to submit that proposal for the consideration of this meet ing, as some of the ciirec:ors and others officially connected with the tornlany; who are willing personally to unite in aiding It, decline to do so, unless with a distinct ap proval of the plan, and recognition of the principle by a vote of the p ropr i etors. The terms of the lease are re corded in a circular, which will be read to the meeting ; and the main object being to secure a well-conducted establishment at moderate rates of charge to the public, which seems most likely to be effected by such an associa tion, it is intended to limit the liability of subscribers to the capital they may embark in it, by providing that any person who may have paid up the amount invested, shall be at liberty to relinquish his interest in the association ' to this company, as owners of the hotel, discharged of all further liability beyond the actual sum subscribed. As the bills before Parliament, to which the company are parties, will be brought under consideration at a special meeting, in compliance with the Wharncliffe stand ing order of the House of Lords, the directors think it unnecessary upon this occasion to do more than report that powers are sought for extension of time in the con struction of the Uxbridge and Henley branches (together about 7 miles), under arrangements with parties interested in them. Your directors have the satisfaction of reporting that some very important appeals against the assessments of the railway have been recently decided in favour of the company, upon principles for which they had been long, but unsuccessfully, contending. The effect has been to reduce materially the mileage amount assessable for rates on some ' of the branch lines, and a considerable sum paid since 1849 under protest, but made subject to those appeals, will become applicable in relief of future rates. A reso lution, duly moved and seconded at the last meeting, to increase the allowance to each auditor from 501. to 100/. per annum, was withdrawn at the request of one or two proprietors, in order that it might be treated as a notice then given for the subject to be reconsidered .f at the Feb ruary meeting, upon the understanding that a resolution to that effect be adopted, it shall be considered as retro active during the last half-year. It is only due to th e auditors and their accountant, to represent that their duties are both arduous and responsible, in the minute audit of every portion of the accounts, as well as the ex amination of each warrant and voucher for the payment and receipt of monies. The retirement of three directors by rotation at this meeting, viz.—Viscount Barrington, M.P., James Gibbs, Esq., of Bristol, and Richard Potter, Esq., of Gloucester—places their seats at the disposal of the proprietors, under the provisions of the act ; which, however, renders those gentlemen eligible for re-election." The engineer, in his report, stated : "In reporting upon the proceedings and events of the last six months, the prominent subject was naturally the extrordinary season which they had passed through, from the effects of which they were still suffering. Since the completion of the principal railways of England, they had not experienced a season of such long continued wet, and there never had been so much difficulty in maintaining the lines in working order. Upon the Great Western Railway and its several branches, the principal causes of inter ruption had arisen from the washing down rather than slipping of the slopes of the clay cuttings, which required censtant watching, and the actual fl oo di ng o f th e li ne a t one or two points." The report, on the motion of the Chairman, was re ceived and adopted. After a short discussion a dividend was declared as stated in the report. The retiring directors were re-elected, and, after the. transaction of some other business, the meeting separated after a vote of thanks to the chairman. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. BOW-STREET.—Mary Ann Evans, the keeper of a coffee-house and brothel in Wych-street, Strand, and Matthew Moore, her paramour, were placed at the bar before Mr. Henry, charged upon a warrant with vio lently assaulting and beating Jane Power, a servant-girl in their employ. Mr. Isaacson, the vestry-clerk of St. Clement Danes, with the churchwardens and overseers of the parish, at tended to watch the case, with the view of founding an indictment against the defendants, upon the evidence elicited, for keeping a brothel. The prosecutrix, a young Irish girl, under 20, stated that she went to Mrs. Evans' service, at 42, Wych street, about a week ago. Sh e was t o be paid acco r di ng to her " chances," receiving what might be given her by the gentlemen who visited the house, some of whom came to see the ladies living there, while others brought ladies with them. She was in the habit of supplying coffee to the arties, and sh ow i ng th em i n t o rooms . At about two o'clock yesterday morning two gentlemen came to the house, and they got drinking with the defend ants. Witness saw Mrs. Evans take up one of the half sovereigns which the gentlemen put down for gin, and no change was given back at any time. Mrs. Evans desired her to go to bed, but she and another servant both stopped up. They all went out, and came in again at about six o'clock, when her master (Moore), finding that she had not gone to bed, commenced beating her in a shameful manner—knocking rher about the face and head, and preventing her from going out of the room. At that time her mistress tried to prevent his beating her. They were both drunk. At length she got into the street, where a mob had assembled. She told the police what had happened, and was advised to apply for a warrant, but after going back to the house her mistress (Evans) laid hold of her by the hair of her head and dragged . her about the room, beating and kicking her all the while, until her cries of murder brought people to her assistance. It was evident that the witness (who was taken to the hospital) had been severely bruised and beaten ; and a little girl, who ran into the house on hearing the screams, confirmed her statement as to the assaults committed by Evans.,_• Mr. Henry fined each of the defendants 51., or two months' imprisonment in default. Evans, producing a box full of sovereigns, paid the fine immediately, upon which, Mr. Isaacson, on behalf of the parish, applied to have the woman held to bail to answer an indictment at the sessions. There was every desire on the part of the pa rochial authorities to stippress these horrible dens of infamy, but it was usually a matter of difficulty to get the requisite evidence to enable them to do so. Mr. Henry, considering the statement of the witness Power to be conclusive on this point, ordered the woman to find two sureties of 201. each, and enter into her own recognisance in 401. to appear at the sessions. A tradesman, residing at the back of the house occu pied by the defendants, and who, with his neighbours, were kept in a constant state of alarm by the disturb ances going on in their place, stated that the male de fendant had threatened "to do for him, at any cost, within six months," for interfering with the affray ; and as he was a dangerous person, witness wished to have him bound over to keep the peace towards him. Moose was then ordered to find sureties in the same amount to keep the peace for six months. The defendants were both committed to prison in de fault. A coal dealer, named Hubert, living in the Adelphi, was summoned for having sent out a quantity of coals without a weighing machine. The defendant was convicted and fined 51., his wor ship having mitigated the penalty to one half. Mr. Henry has received an intimation from Mr. Sheriff Croll that 25 chaldrons of coke would be placed at his disposal (for the use of the deserving poor), at the works of the Central Gas Company, on Bow-common. We, believe it is the intention of his worship to have the coke (about 300 sacks) carted to some convenient spot in the neighbourhood of the court. MARYLEBONE. Thomas Mackett was again brought up, charged with having murdered Eliza Lee by drowning her in the Regent's canal. The prisoner was remanded for the production of :I bargeman, who, it was reported to the police, could throw some further light upon the case. LOSS OF THE QUEEN VICTORIA AND 1 V EARLY M FRS. DUBLIN. FEB. 16. It is with feelings of the deepest regret that we have to announce one of the most disastrous shipwrecks that has for many years occurred on the coast of Ireland— the intelligence of which produced a deep and painful sensation amongst all classes of our fellow-citizens yes terday—and which, from the number of lives lost, and the melancholy circumstances attendant on the catas trophe, occurring as it did almost at our own doors, is only exceeded by the burning of the Amazon, and the more recent destruction of the Birkenhead. The particulars, as far as we have been able to ascer tain them, of this deplorable catastrophe, are as follow— The Queen Victoria started from Liverpool for Dublin at half-past 3 o'clock on Monday afternoon, having a general cargo and about 120 human beings on board—about 12 cabin and the rest steerage passengers ; the latter in cluded a number of cattle-dealers who were returning from England after having disposed of their stock. The Queen Victoria was a first-class vessel, and some years ago had been employed in carrying the mails between Kingstown and Liverpool. She was commanded by Capt. Church, an officer of great experience, high in the confidence of his employers, and upwards of 20 years in the service. From the moment the vessel left the dock at Liver pool up to half-past one o'clock yesterday morning all went well ; the wind was N.E., the weather favourable, and she was making a rapid and easy passage, but about that hour some heavy falls of snow took place, which retarded her progress a little. No material abatement, however, took place in her speed, and about two o'clock the first mate and some of the passengers perceived the Kish Light. An anxious look-out was kept for the Bailey Light, and, we understand, that for a few minutes they did see it, but the snow coming down in a heavy, dense, impenetrable cloud, completely shut out the view. Under these circumstances the coursewas to have slackened speed, and whether this was effected to any extent or not we are at present without any distinct or satisfactory in formation, some asserting that the vessel continued to go at full speed, and others that her "way" had been considerably retarded. However this may be, it is un fortunately but too clear that the land was hugged too closely, and the first intimation those who happened to be on deck had of their impending danger was a hurried and agitated cry from the first mate to stop the vessel. The mate, who was on the look-out at the starboard bow, was horrified to perceive looming dimly through the snow cloud, at a distance of not more than twenty yards, the dark and rugged cliffs of Howth, a little to the north 'of the Bailey Light. He immediately gave the order to stop, but it was too late, and the next instant the doomed vessel went headlong upon the rock with a fearful and appalling crash. The captain was instantly upon deck, and gave orders to reverse the engines ; this was done, and the vessel, being released from the rocks, backed out into deep water, when, finding that she was rapidly sinking, the captain attempted to run her ashore. In the meantime, a scene of the most melancholy and heartrending description ensued. The cabin passengers were, of course, in bed, and being awakened by the shock of the collision, rushed I half dressed, and some almost in a state of nudity upon the deck, when, to their horror, they found the ship fast going down. The steerage passengers, affrighted and dismayed, were running in wild confusion about the deck, vainly - seeking for some mode of escape—husbands were looking for their wives, wives were clinging to their husbands, and mothers, clasping their helpless children to their breasts, were uttering impassioned prayers to heaven for succour and for mercy. The dark waves dash ing round the vessel, the snow falling in thick masses, " making darkness visible," the supplications for help,the frenzied shrieks of despair, and the fearful confusion that prevailed on board the unfortunate ship, all combined to constitute a scene of the most agonising and appalling cha racter—enough to unnerve the stoutest heart—and which will ever remain engraven upon the memories of those who were fortunate enough to survive it. The captain,the first mate, and the other officers, preserved their presence of mind, and endeavoured to keep order, so that the passengers and crew might have a better opportunity of effecting their escape ; but such was the alarm and excitement, and so short the period that elapsed between the collision and the final destruction of the vessel, that their efforts proved quite unavailing. The confusion increased every moment, the cries for assistance became louder and louder, and a general rush was made to the ship's boats. The starboard quarter boat was immediately filled by a number of the wretched passengers, but in the hurry and confusion of the moment proper care was not taken to secure the ropes, and the great weight caused the boat to slip from her davits into the sea, when she instantly swamped, and all in her perished. The larboard quar ter boat was then lowered, fortunately with more suc cess. It contained seventeen persons, including Mr. Duffy, Queen's-squre, Mr. Walsh, of Athy, Kildare, and Mr. Charles Ralph, shipowner, of Wicklow, of whose humane and courageous conduct we cannot speak too highly. On reaching the water, however, it was found the boat was leaking ,fast, and must have gone down in a short time, were it not for the coolness and presence of mind of a young lad, who, having searched with his hand, found that the plug-hole was open, and immediately thrust his fingers into it. 'At this time the boat was almost immediately under the side of the sink ing ship, the bulwarks of which were crowded with the passengers, whom the captain was seen endeavouring to quiet and pacify. Some of them, however, leaped into the sea, and were instantly drowned. Mr. Walsh, whom we have mentioned as being in the boat, saw his wife clinging to some of the woodwork of the vessel, and called upon her to leap down, but Mr. Ralph cried out, " For God's sake don't jump down, or you will surely be drowned—hold on, and we will return for you in a few minutes." They had no idea at that moment that the vessel was so near her final destruction, but in a few minutes afterwards she went down bodily, bow foremost, and the unfortunate lady, and nearly all who remained on board were lost. Up to the very latest moment the captain was seen upon the deck, endeavouring to calm the agitation of the passengers, and to direct their exertions into the proper channel for the preservation of their lives ; and it is sup posed that when the vessel took her final plunge he went down with her, together with the first and second mates, who clung to their ship to the last. In the meantime the boat, which could not hold another person, shoved off ; the water was baled out with a hat, and Mr. Ralph and a young man-of-war's-man, named Kegg, being the only persons that could row, seized the oars, and after severe exertion, ultimately succeeded in landing 14 per sons on the rock about half-a-mile below the wreck. Un deterred by the danger of the enterprise, and intent only on saving as many lives as possible, Ralph, Kegg, and the young lad who still continued to stop the plug-hole with his finger rowed back to the scene of the disaster, when they found the Queen Victoria had gone down, her masts alone being visible above the water. 12 or 14 per sons were clinging to those with all the tenacity of despair. Ralph and his companions took five off the foremast, and were proceeding to relieve those upon the mainmast from their perilous position, when the steward of the Queen Victoria, who was one of them, cried out, " Don't mind us, my dear fellow—the boats of the Ros common will pick us up." On turning round, Ralph perceived at a short distance the Roscommon steamer, the boats of which had already picked up several persons, and were proceeding as fast as possible to render further assistance. It appears that the Roscommon, chartered by the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company, was proceeding from Dublin to Holyhead with a general cargo, when the Commander, Captain Brown, observed four red lights in the direction of the Bailey Lighthouse. This being rather unusual, he conferred, with his mate, Mr. Davis, on the subject, and at length re solved to make for the light. They soon arrived at the wreck, and the snow having by this time ceased, they at once perceived what had happened. The boats of the Roscommon were lowered without delay, and proceeded to the wreck, where they took off the men who were clinging to the mainmast, and rescued others who were then struggling in the water. A little child was picked up, its body yet warm, and the signs of life faintly visible, but all efforts to restore animation failed. Mr. Ralph, and those whom he had saved and landed on the rocks, were also picked up by the Roscommon's boats, and the greatest attention was shown to the suf ferers on board that vessel. All of them had suffered intensely from the wet, cold, and fatigue which - they endured, and many were reduced to the lowest state of mental and physical prostration. About 45 persons were rescued in this manner, of whom seven were fe males, and they were safely landed at Kingstown yes. terday morning by the captain of the Roscommon. They were at once placed under the care of the police, who did everything in their power to minister to their necessities, in which they were most kindly and humanely assisted by many of the inhabitants of Kingstown. It will be seen that the entire number saved amounts to fifty-three, of whom we are informed twenty belonged to the crew. When the Queen Victoria first struck, about ten or twelve of the passengers and crew scrambled over the bows upon the rocks, and eight of them succeeded in obtaining a footing. They were afterwards brought by the police into the town of Howth, and from thence for warded by railway to Dublin, where they arrived in a most deplorable condition from exhaustion and exposure. The Iron Duke (Captain Griffiths) arrived at Kings town from Liverpool about half-past ten, and was.imme diately ordered off by Mr. Howell to the scene of the catastrophe. When - , the Iron Duke had reached the spot where the ill-fated vessel had gone down, nothing was to be seen. but her funnel, ten feet of which was then above water, part of the mainmast and foremast, a quantity of floating, spars, and some trifling articles of clothing which had belonged to the passengers or crew. The number of people who were on board the Queen Victoria, or the names of those who perished, cannot be ascertained until the arrival of a vessel from Liverpool, which shall leave that port after the intelligence of this deplorable calamity shall have reached there. 'A similar accictent happened in the year 1841 to the Thames, a splendid steamer belonging 0 the same nom- pany, and then on the line between Dublin and London. It will be remembered that the Thames was lost on the Scilly Rocks during a heavy gale of snow, and the cap tain and all on beard, with the exception, we believe, of the stewardess and a cabin boy, were drowned. The following are the names of the eight persons who escaped by getting upon the rocks at How th :—John Williams, second engineer ; Patrick Dunne, fireman ; Charles Mangan, seaman ; P. O'Brien, passenger ; John Bendon, passenger ; Matthew M‘Guire, passenger, 3, Shelbourne-place ; Joseph Salmon, passenger, Bth com pany first battalion Royal Artillery ; James Berming ham, passenger, Glenmore, King's County. It is probable that this tragic event would not have taken place if there were a fog-bell at the Bailey light- house. Mr. Charles Ralph, shipowner, gives the following account :—" We left Liverpool at half-past three o'clock on Monday afternoon. The wind was N.N.E., and the weather was remarkably fine. We had a very prosper ous voyage, and every one thought we would have arrived speedily at our destination, until half-past two o'clock, when the snow, which had been falling for some time before, came down very heavily. Before that I distinctly saw the Kish light, and also the Bailey, which was broad on our . bow at two. At half-past two or thereabouts, the vessel struck right on to nor'ard of the lighthouse. The first mate had charge of the ship, and a minute before she struck he cried out 'Stop her, stop her.' I suppose he had just seen the land. There was not time to stop the ship, and she came on at full speed and dashed against the rock. I was on deck when I heard the mate sing out to stop her, and I immediately ran forward to see what was the matter ; there was no time to stop her, for, as I ran forward, she struck bow on to the rock, and I was thrown on my face by the force of the concussion. The next thing I saw was the captain, apparently much excited ; he ordered the action of her engines to be re versed. The engineer did as he was ordered, and the vessel immediately went out into deep water. Her head was then turned towards the Bailey, and all speed put on. I think the captain wanted to make the mouth of the river, but finding the vessel fast sinking he again turned her round, and endeavoured to rill her ashore. The passengers were crowding on the deck, screaming, praying, crying for help ; there were a great number of women, some of whom had babies. The distress of the poor creatures was dreadful. I never saw anything to equal the horrors of that scene, and I trust in God I may never be doomed to witness another like it. Having some kr owledge of seamanship, I looked about me to see if I could be of any service ; the snow was falling fast ; the greatest confusion pre vailed ; the captain called out to the people to be quiet—that there was no danger—and that all would be saved.' There was little attention paid to him, as the vessel was sinking fast, bow foremost, and the passengers were crying out, 'For God's sake get out the boats.' The starboard boat was lowered down full of people, but cap sized the moment it touched the water, and all in it were drowned. A boat on the larboard quarter was then lowered, and I jumped into it. Sixteen others also got in. She immediately began to fill with water, and we all expected death. A boy who was with us felt in the bottom of the boat, and found that the plug was out ; he put his fingers into the hole, and this partially checked the leak. I then baled out the water with my hat. Then we looked about us for oars, and found that they were firmly lashed to the boat, but none of us had a knife to cut the cords. By main force we broke the lashings and got out two oars. I took one of them, and a man-of war's boy, named Kegg, another, and we pulled under the lighthouse, and landed 14 people on the rocks. I and Kegg, and the boy still keeping his finger in the plug hole, again pulled out towards the sinking ship, and in doing so we saw the Roscommon steamer, and rowed to her ; we got a cork from the Roscommon with which we plugged the hole in the bottom of the boat, and we then proceeded to the wreck. We found that she had disap peared, and that nothing but her masts were to be seen above water."—Freeman's Journal. RAIL WA Y INTELLIGENCE. LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN. (Continued from our Third Edition of last Evening.) SPECIAL MEETING. The meeting was then made special, to consider the propriety of resuming the works on the Basingstoke and Salisbury line between Andover and Salisbury, and of applying to Parliament in the present session for an act to sanction the completion by this company of the entire line as authorised by the act of 1846. The CHAIRMAN moved that the directors be authorised to complete the line between Andover and Salisbury, and to make such arrangements relative thereto, and to prosecute such applications in Parliament for the neces sary powers for its completion, as they should see fit. (Cheers.) Mr. WOOD opposed the motion. Upon the question being put, Mr. LOCKE suggested that the' further consideration of the question should be adjourned until Saturday, maintaining that unless the line was further extended into the west of England it would never pay one shilling to the company. After some discussion on the subject, in which it was contended that if they did not make the line some other party would, and most probably in opposition to them, the resolution was carried with two dissentients. A vote of thanks to the chairman dosed the proceed ings, which lasted nearly e hours and a half, and were only hastened to a conclusion by one or two messages that a party of 400 gentlemen were to dine in the room at half-past five o'clock, and that a large portion of the company had arrived. The poll takei place this day and to-morrow, at the York-road station. EAST LANCASHIRE. The eighteenth half-yearly meeting of the East Lan cashire Company was held at Bury, yesterday afternoon; Mr. John Dugdale, of Blackburn, chai rman o f th e di rectors, presided. The report, of which we have before given an abstract, was taken as read. The Chairman said, when he last had the honour of addressing the shareholders, he stated that the property of this com pany was in a sound and improving condition, he trusted that they would now consider that that estimate was verified by the reports and accounts which had been placed in their hands. During the past half-year, all the arrears of calls upon shares had been received, and the account for all calls made up to that time had been closed. The mortgage-debt of the company had been increased during the past half-year by 13,9741. at 31 per cent. During the same peried they had paid off loans of 57,8901., at 5 per cent. ; 2,0501., at 41 per cent. ; and 24,8251., at 4 per cent. ; making a total of 24,7651,, which had been replaced at 31 per cent. ; thus reducing he average rate of int ere st on th e w h o l e of their mortgage debt by about one-eighth per cent. since June last. The directors were now refusing to take money at 31 per cent. for any period less than five to seven years. The chairman, after some further remarks in elucidation of the report, concluded by moving the adoption of the report and accounts. Mr. Riley (di rector) seconded the motion, which was carried with one dissentient. The chairman then moved the divi dend of 3 per cent. per annum on the ordinary capital stock to be payable, less dividend, on the 25th instant. Mr. Blacklock, a director, in seconding the motion, said when it was recollected that three years ago the com pany could hardly pay one per cent.—at least, he be lieved they did not honestly earn so much at the time— and that now they were able to divide 3 per cent., which was honestly earned, there was sufficient evidence of the improving condition of their property. A shareholder said this company had a reserve of 64,0001., whilst the London and North-Western had but 90,000/. ; and he proposed they should divide 4 per cent. The original motion was carried unanimously. This concluded the business of the meeting, and a vote of thanks was given to the chairman. TAFF VALE. The half-yearly meeting of proprietors in this under taking was held yesterday (Wednesday) at the White Lion Hotel, Bristol ; W. Coffin, Esq., chairman of the company, presided. There was a numeroas attendance. The report stated—" The balance of accounts enables your directors to declare a dividend of 41. 10s. on each original share of 1261., payable on the 7th of March next, and a dividend in the same proportion on the quarter and 101. shares. They have also applied the usual half yearly sum of 7501. to the depreciation fund." The report was adopted ; and the meeting having been made special for the purpose, a series of resolutions was then passed for converting the shares into capital stock. A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the pro ceedings. RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS. THE GREAT.NORTHERN RAILWAY. —Traffic return for the week ending Feb. 6, 185 3 (285 1 miles) £14,212 15 0 Corresponding week last year (241} miles) 11,491 10 0 LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE RAILWAY. --'Traffic re turn for the week ending Feb. 13, 18.53 ..... , £17,038 10 9 Corresponding week last year .................. 16,056 2 5 CHESTER AND HOLY HEAD R AILWAY. , —T.. rafficreturn for railway and s t eam- b oats :or he week ending Feb. 13, 1853 ......... £3,147 15 8 Corresponding wee k l as t year .................... 2,514 12 3 Increase in ....... 2147 . 19 1853 ...................... ..... £633 3 5 CORK AND BAN DON RAILWAY. — Traffic ret urn f or th e .... week endin g Fed. 12, 1853 ................ 9 Correspondin g wee k last year ........................ 124 8 6 DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT BRISTOL —BRISTOL, FEB. 15. —Last night, about half-past 10 o'clock, -a very alarming and_ destructive broke out on the premises occupied by Messrs. King and Coombs, opticians, and Mr. Ham mond, solicitor, in Clare -street. The flames spread with fearful rapidity, and, notwithstanding an alarm was im mediately given at the different stations of the insurance companies, and a large body of police was also promptly on the spot, the entire building Was speedily one mass of fire. An observatory at taehed to the premises, and which was chiefly com posed of wood, was rapidly destroyed; and it was not till the whole place was completed gutted that the con flagration could be got under, and nothing but the bare walls werq left standing. The inhabitants of the adjoin ing premises, Mr. Morgan, stationer, and Mr. Dyer, chemist, were greatly alarmed, and the former had a large amount of property removed from his house, as at one time it was thought impossible to save it ; but, by the efforts of the firemen and police, beyond slight in juries, the destruction of property was confined to the premises in which the fire first originated. The cause of the fire has not been ascertained, nor the precise amount of the damage done. We are informed both the stock and premises were insured. MORTALITY IN THE METROPOLIS. NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES REGISTER). IN THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, FEB. 12. Zymotic Diseases Diseases of Uncertain Seat Tubercular Dise6.ses Diseases of the Brain. Nerves, and Senses... Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels ............... Diseases of the Lung,s and other Organs of Respiration ................................................ 312 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs ofDigeston ................................................ G 8 18 Diseases of the Kidneys, &c. Childbirth, Diseases of th e Ut erus & c . Diseases of the Joints, B ones , an d M usc l e s Diseases of the Skin, &c. Malformations ............................. . Premature Birth and Debility 27 Atr0phy........................ . Old Ag e Sudden 7 4 Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance ' Causes not specified DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES ------ .. 19 4 .... 147 .... __. 46 Population Deaths in corre- Deat h Enumerated. sponding week In till Week. WI. of IBS2. . 376,427 .. 490,396 . 393,256 . 485,522 .. 616,635 West Districts North Districts Central Districts East Districts South Districts Totals Males Females 1,23 5 622 613 BIRTHS IN THE WEEK. Males... Females Total 1,653 COUNTRY MARKETS. EDINBURGH MEAL MARKET—FM). 15. There were in the market to-day, 5 sacks oatmeal, eac h weighing 2801bs imperial, which sold at 30s. EDINBURGH HAY AND STRAW MARKET' FEB. 15. Supplies of all kinds these last six days again large. Oat straw, from 6s Od to 7s 6d pe_ kemple of 16 ift , ol7, *ron ; wheat do., 6s Od to 7s Od ; barley do., 4s Od to to Hay from 8d to 10d per stone. ;I DALKEITH MEAL MARKET—FEB. 14. There were in the market to-day 18 bags oatmeal' 1 bag of barleymeal, and 2 bags pot-barley ; sales ren l ;4 The top of oatmeal 6d per bag up, second quality 2 ° 4 per bag up, and the lowest 2s 2d per bag up ; barb:l l3 ' 4 Z the same as last week on the top, and pot-barley also "- same as last week. Oatmeal, per sack of 2801bs First. Second. mit imperial Barley - meal, per ditto Peasemeal, per ditto Flour, per ditto —s Od —a Od --5 0 4 Pot-barley, per ditto KIRKCALDY—FEB. 12. The following are the cirotatimas for grain : Wheat. Barley. Oats. l‘e3gt,l First I Second Third 463 Od 293 Od 19s Od I Os ," Oatmeal, per bag o f 2801b s i m p er i a l, 29s Od t o 00s Ou• COAL MARKET—An. 16. Prices of Coal per ton at tho close of the market : -- s. d. Ho'ywell .17 6 North Percy Hartley ...17 3 Tanfield Moor l6 0 Wylam 16 3 Wall's End, &c. Gosforth 17 9 Harton l7 9 Riddell Eden Main 18 0 Lambton Primrose 18 0 Bell 18 0 Belmont 18 0 Ships at market 0. "' Hetton 1 919 3 Haswell Lambton lB 17 9 6 Pensher l6 9 Russell's Hetton Stewart's 19 8 0 Heugh Hall.. 1 0 South Kenos lB Whitworth 17 16 Clavering Tees Tees l9 ;4 I Sold 39. RAILWAY' SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL, FEB. 16. mad STOCK EXCHANGB.—The share market was stron g good at the opening, but the transactions duriig the day were dull, and generally at prices slightly abort. quotations of yesterday. The closing sales werei cashire and Yorkshire, 79i ; Lancaster and Carlisle Ta:„, shares, 13 i i p. ; Lancaster and Preston, 51; ditto 4 :2_,. 111 ' 2 A.'" shares, issued at 41 14s d., 26i ; London and North vv,vci. ern, 1201 ; Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln, 30i; land, 78A • North British, 9 ; South Eastern and Dort, 24h ; York and North Midland; 30i ; Dutch Ithen ls/4 2 die. MANCHESTER, FEB. 16. ,„ n t of bud . STOCK ExcHANGE.—There was a fair atr0",...- - , 14 were ness, but prices, though they opened rather 64 6 r 4 di . . 0 4 ; not so firm at the close. Cheshire Jun Caledonian, 32i ; Eastern Counties, 13i East Lanc as ,,,t tl i 19 5-16 ; Leeds stock, ' 79h ;Shed London atocfc, 120 i ; 31 ; Midland, 79} ; Davers, 211 ; Whiteha and Fu r ' yen • ness, 74. LEEDS, FEB. 16. STOCK EXCHANGL—There was a still further imps ment in shares thi s m orn i ng , an d th e mar k e t dosed IF' at the following quotations :—Lancashire and Yorkshlt ; Caledonians, 33 ; Northern Counties - Unions, 211 61 ' (Us. ; Midland stock, 7913; Leeds Northerns, 164. 13IRMINGILAX, FEB. 16. t o -dsl , STOCK EXCHANGE.—This market was firmer and prices advanced a shade. Birmingham and Oxf,;;; Junction (calls duly paid) were done at 3og ex d. W e l d bury and Birmingham` Preference shares at 114 ; South Stafforda at dis. The "report" of the Manche ' Sheffield, and Lincolnshire has not yet reached the sh,_,..*"" holders, but particulars o f it became known here to-ni and caused some disapp o i n t men t ; sufficient, it wasthollgu to further depress the old stock. SEABORNE MAILS. t . o nice (N signifies that the mails are sent frora the General roil by the night—and Mby the morning —dispatch.] ...........- -•••- • Day when m ade up From what Wh en hi COUNTRIES, in G enera l Post - Port •1 0 " ( I. Office, London. Dispatched. Enil l a° America(byltrit.pack)N E very F r i day .... Li verpool ... Va c- 1011. America (by United Sts. packet) ....... ..N Feb. 24 .......... Liverpool ... Feb. 16 America (by U S tates packet) ..........N F e b . 16 .......... Southampton Fe b. 2 6 Australia (via South ampton) ..........M 4th of March .... Southampton Feb. 4 1 Alexandria........ lr i he t r io aapn ( e( v d) v v i r a i. a M s.. t. a . r .c. s ..o e .a s i . 11 .t. e s .) .).. ... NNN N :2 8 ,32 t h rd9d,o o f March pitto (via Cape of Good 0 Alexandria .... .. .... M 4th & 2f° 2 4fF o , .. DoverPl Plymouth ymou . t . h . . .. .. •• _ ; Mar c h ' ee,b.. 901 6 e t &t h b :e 3o m o a f ry o l r f l ora t o h • .. so Bahamas ...........M 2nd of the month Sou u t th ha am m B B r e a lg z i i um i .. :: :: :: :: ....M N 9 1) t ail h o Y it • l;e • month .. —•".. D So i u v t e h r aWaPio • u • Ce si b il • l i: Buenos Ayres .. .. ....M 9th of the month.. Southampton. eb ie Cape Cape d o of Good yer d Verde o . o . N 2 1 n 4t . l h o o f f A th P e ril m — on — th ... P P l l y YT o o u u th th ppWto . n . n .. r i: , e a r . i: sl. Cceeyylloonn.(.se.!.l.n.d.l.a.) e .. ....: 14th of the month Plymouth .. Feb. , se Cape of Good Hope .. Channel 151e5.... :•. : b 2 6 , : N 14th of the month Plymouth .. e h ' 989 M N lion ~Wed.,&Fed. Southampton Ttl.'ig lli ad & 17th of month Southampton Feb• Chin Chili a (see India) Constantinople..... ..N 7,8,17,24,&27 ofm. Dover ...... ` Feb. 16 Constantinople .....M 4th & 20th of moat. Southampton Felt 10 e dai 1 l Cont. of Europe M & N Twice daily ...... Dover ...... Tic" Egypt (see India) eill 1:11 Fiance ........ M & N Twice dai1y...... Dover .....• Ti fic 4 Gibraltar .... • ...M 4,7, 17, 20, 27 ofm. Southampton Feb. • Greece (see India) I 16 Greytown .... •• • • ..31 2nd & 17th of mon. SouthamptortFeb' Pt' Hamburgh ..........N T ues d ay & F r id ay L on d on ..... ITO' ' , 1 Heyannah ..... • .... M 2 n d o f t h e mon th S ou th am pton 3far, rb al• Holland ............ M Wednesday & Sat. London ... .. Il42 oo ':it Honduras ..........M 17th of the month. Southampton Feb. ;5 India (ylaSouthampt.)M 4th & 20th of mon. Southampton eb. harc 1 India (via Marseilles)M Bth& 24th of month Dover .....• lonian Isles (see India) ile ea°ll Ireland .. ....M & N Twice daily ...... Holyhead •• • , .. 16 Lisbon.. Madeira ••••••.. .. .. M 9th of the month Soutliempton,Fef r . o 1 2 Madeira ............ N 23rd of the month Plymouth . • 1 • 21 " Malta (see India) ~. b, 1 0 Malta ..............N 7,17,19,27, 30 of m. Dover ...... a Mauritius (see India) F eb' 16 di• Mauritius ..........N 14th of the month Plymouth •• , t 0 0 1 - lid exico ............31 Ted of the month.. Southampton p i. al Naples ..... ........N sthlso2sthormon. Dover ...• • • _.,%, 1 6 ,„ Yew Granada .. ....M 2d & 17th of month Southampton L'e: er to• New Zea1and.......... By private ship .. Various portt i!,f n. al Papal States .......,N sthlsth2sthottnon. Dover ..... • !,: t , 11 1 1 Peninsula, ..........M 7th l 7th27thofmon. Southampton f.,; 1 ,,, 1 Peru ..............M 2d & 17th of mon. Southampton ro , 2 6 Port Natal ..........N 14th or the month Plymouth .. f r o, 2 2 2 Sicily Tuscany .. ..........N sth 15th25thofmon. Dover .... • • ; 0 , 1" Venezuela ..........M 2d & 17th of month Southampton Van Diemen's Land (see 16 Australia) . - West Indies M 2d & 17th of month Southampton _______.roo- W att t i n3 E l 2 4 , l t • h , aged 76a.t MED. On the 14th inst., at Puckpool, Isle of Wigh t ' aged 76 6811 Sir Charles Imhoff.' Daylesford-housisognii4c;:isgosai On the 15th hist , at Stocks, near Manchester, 114 Gilbert Winter, Esq. ge a a On the 13th inst , at Woodlands, Altrinchate, J ohn Haslam, Esq: TerP °4 ' On the 14th inst at Little Woolton, near „ v ial aged 51, John Stuart, Esq On the 12th inst , at 'Teignmouth, vr r ice's °l c a 0' eldest daughter of the late Sir H. H. Hoare, On the 10th inst , in Gloucester-terrace! __ oc i 6 • Child, Esq., formerly' a distiller in SouthwarK, LONDoN : Printed and Published by lirunDo 14 4 , 9 0 . of No., 112; Strand,-Printer, at The Sun Office , o u Strand, is the Precinct of the Savoy, in the fl u jl/411(141""s nittrailay, February 17, 1803• BIRTHS. OF A SON. On the 14th inst., at Wimbledon, the wife Of Oliphant. On the 31st ult., at Corfu, the wife of Capt-' in Hamilton. A ndy On A DAUGHTER. AndyOn the 14th inst., at Southsea, the wife of C° 132133.- A. Boyle.. MARRIED. los' ton, ,f- On the 10th inst., at St. M ary ' s - c h urc h, Isling, ac kety Smart, the youngest so n o f M r . S mar t, of the -r, r of , u road, to ' Caroline M ar th a F renc h, e ld e st daugh" French, Esq., surge on , o f Cambridge-heath. 00 I lev. 111 ova On the 13th inst., at St. James's, Exeter, sec M. Stracey, of Ilatherleigh, to Charlotte Augils,4.taxiace' daughter of Charl es W oo dl e i g h, Esq., Devono" 5 Exeter. _..------- \` 1~~