The Sun. — London, England, 1847-07-01 00:00:00

MAGAZINE DA Y. BLACK WOOD. After a deservedly favourable review of the " Ills tory of the Conquest of Peru," by the most eminent of American historians, William H. Prescott, Black wood rejoices his readers with a sprightly description of " Crossing the Desert," suggested by the recent peregrinations or wanderings of " a young English gentleman of family and fortune named Sydney." These two contributions are followed by a glimpse— a brief, but earnest glimpse —at the career and cha racter of Jean Paul Frederick Richter. Like the writer of this biographic notice, we are disposed to congratulate the public upon the late appearance of the memoir of this extraordinary man, this man of whom it is justly remarked—" A perfect Titan as an author, in the common relations of social and domes tic life he is a god." As but few are acquainted in this our England with the estimation, and admiration, and even veneration which is due to Richter, we can not do better than give a few of the prefatory remarks contained in the Edinburgh Magazine. After ob serving that in reading the work already alluded to we are plunging at once with bold, fearless swoop into the very centre of the Fatherland, into the midst of the untrodden fir forests of the Fichtelgebirge, where many great hearts billow out sublime thoughts —hearts that never saw that which is most kindred to them in nature—the sea," the contributor con tinues thus— " A German in imagination—Oh, Heaven ! ho liter ally strikes you blind with skyrockets and sunbeams (almost as madly at times as our own Shelley), and cir curanaviga,tes your brain with a dance of nebulous Brocken phantoms, till you seriously doubt whether you are not a phantom yourself ; a German for kindliness and simplicity and true-heartedness—a man having his heart always in his hand, and his arms ready to be thrown round everybody's neck ; greeting every man with a blessing, and cursing only the devil, and—like Robert Burns—scarcely him heartily : a German for devoutness of heart, and purity of unadulterated evan gelic feeling, without the least notion, at the same time, of what in Scotland we call orthodoxy, much less of what in England they call Church ; a rare Christian ; a man whom you cannot read and relish thoroughly unless you are a Christian yourself, any more than you can the gospel of John. For Richter also is a preacher in his own way—a smiling, sporting, nay a jesting preacher at times, but with a deep background of earnest ness ; his jests being the jests not of rude men, but of innocent children ; his earnestness the earnestness not of a sour presbyterian theologian, but of a strong-sighted seraph that looks the sun in the face, and becomes in tensely bright. A German further is Richter, and better than a German, in the profoundness of his philosophy and the subtlety of his speculation : a speculation pro found, but not dark; a subtlety nice without being fini cal, and delicate without being meagre. A German further, and specially, is this man, in his vast and various erudition, and in that quality without which learning was never achieved, hard laboriousness and indefatigable perseverance. It is incredible what books he read : not merely literary books, but also and principally scientific books ; natural history especially in all its branches, from the star to the star-fish ; quarto upon quarto of piously-gathered extracts were the we l l-quarried mate rials out of which his most light and fantastic, as well as his most solid and architectural fabrics were raised : a merit of the highest order in our estimation : an offence and a scandal to many; for nothing offends cenceited and shallow readers so much as to find in an imaginative work allusions to grave scientific facts, of which their butterfly-spirits are incapable. Then, over and above all this, Richter possesses a virtue which only a few Ger mans possess : he is a man of infinite humour; humour, too, of the best kind; sportive, sunny, and genial, rather than cutting and sarcastic ; broad without being gross, refined without being affected. Then his faults, also— and their name is legion—how German are they ! His want of taste, his mingled homeliness and sublimity, his unpruned luxuriance, his sentimental wantonness ! But let these pass ; he who notices them seriously is not fit to read Richter. It requires a certain delicate tact of finger to pluck the rose on this rich bush without being pricked by the thorn ; John Bull especially, with his stone and lime church, his statutable religion and his direct railroad understanding, is very apt to be exas perated by the capricious jerking electric points of such a genuine German genius as Richter. On the pediment of this strange temple we would place in large letters the cry of the Cumasan Sibyl iu Virgil— " Procul, 0 procul este, profani !" Let no mere mathematician, no mere Benthamite, no more mechanist, no mere botanist,' no mere man of taste, and trim man of measured syllables, enter here. Procul, 0 procul este, profani! It is enchanted ground. We have no quarrel with you; we quarrel with nobody; only keep your own ground, in God's name, and don't quarrel with us and our German friend Paul." Then is transcribed the touching narrative of Jean Paul Richter's death. Listen ! " Noon had by this time arrived. Richter, thinking it was night. said—' It was time to go to rest!' and wished to retire. He was wheeled into his sleepinc , apartment, and all was arranged as if for repo se • a small table near his bed, with a glass of water , and his two watches, a common one and a repeater. His wife now brought him a wreath of flowers that a lady had sent him, for every one wished to add some charm to his last days. As he touched them carefully, for he could neither see nor aDlell them, he seemed to rejoice in the images of the flowers in his mind, for he said repeatedly to Caroline— `My beautiful flowers, my lovely flowers!' " Although his friends sat around the bed, as he imagined it was night, they conversed no longer ; he arranged his arms as if preparing for repose, which was to be to him the repose of death, and soon sank iato a tranquil sleep. " Deep silence pervaded the apartment. Caroline sat a f; the head of the bed, with her eyes immovably fixed on the face of her beloved husband. Otto had retired, and tb,r) nephew sat with Plato's Phaedon in his band, open at the death of Socrates. At that moment a tall and beautiful form entered the chamber ; and, at the foot of the bed, with his hands raised to heaven, and deeply moved, he repeated aloud the prayer of his Alosaic faith. It was Emanuel, and next to Otto, the most beloved of Richter's friends. " About six o'clock the physician entered. Richter yet appeared to sleep ; his features became every moment holier, his brow more heavenly, but it was cold as marble to the touch ; and as the tears of his wife fell upon it he remained immovable. At length his respira tion became less regular, but his features always calmer, snore heavenly. A slight convulsion passed over the race ; the physician cried out That is death !' and all ins quiet. The spirit had departed! " All sank, praying, upon their knees. This moment, that raised them above the earth with the departing sphit, admitted of no tears ! 6.: 6 Thus Richter went from earth, great and holy as a poet,. greater and holier as a man!" , Alas ! .for the deathbed even as beautiful as this, the quenching a the life of the loved and loving ! DOMBEY AND SON, No. X. By C. Dickens. Lucretia Tox discloses her secret aspirations to the hand of Dombey, to the sister of the said Dombey, when visited by Mrs. Chick in Princess's-place. The description of bliss Tox's sitting room and of the general aspect of Princess's-place (by which sketch this amusing interview is prtfaced), is one of those odd pieces of minute drawing for which Boz is un rivalled. The breakfast of the fair Lucretia, saith her faithful biographer, was composed of her cus tomary viands; " to wit, one French roll rasped, one egg new laid (or warranted to be), and one little pot of tea, wherein was infused one little silver scoop-full of that herb on behalf of Miss Tox, and one little scoop-full on behalf of the tea-pot—a flight of fancy in which good housekeepers delight." Clothing her hands in a pair of antique gloves like dead leaves, Lucretia proceeded to arrange her nick nacks as appeared to be her daily wont, among other things attending to the comforts of her bird—" a very high-shouldered canary, stricken in years, and much :rumpled, but a piercing singer, as Princess's-place well ki k uw." Not a few will recognise this likeness, the like ness Unhappily rather of a species than of an individual. But Balm Tox hath a paramount duty above all others in her domestic economy, namely, of snipping here and there among her plants with a pair of scis sors " for some botanical reason that was very power ful with Miss Tox." This particular morning, how ever, she was slow in coming to the plants. " The weather was warm, the wind southerly ; and there was a sigh of the summer time in Princess's-place, that turned Miss Tox's thoughts upon the country. The pot-boy at; cached to the Princess's Arms had come out with a can a;_ld trickled water, in a flowing p a tt ern , a ll over Princess's-place, and it gave the weedy ground a fresh scent— quite a growing scent, Miss Tox said. There was a tiny blink of sun peeping in from the great street round the corner, and the smoky sparrows hopped over it and back again, bright ening as they passed : or bathed in it like a stream, and became glorified sparrows, unconnected with chimneys. Legends in praise of Ginger Beer, with pie tonal representations of thirsty customers submerged in the effervescence, or stunned by the flying corks, were conspicuous in the window of the Princess's Arms. They were making late hay, somewhere out of town ; and though the fragrance had a long way to come, and many counter fragrances to contend with among the dwellings of the poor (may God reward the worthy gentlemen who stickle for the Plague as part and parcel of the wisdom of our ancestors, and do their little best to keep those dwellings miserable), yet it was wafted faintly into Princess's-place, whispering of Nature and her wholesome air, as such things will, even unto priso ners and captives, and those who are desolate and op pressed, in very spite of aldermen and knights to boot ; at whose sage nod—and how they nod !—the rolling world stands still ! " Miss Tox sat down upon the window seat, and thought of her good papa deceased—Mr. Tox, of the Customs Department of the public service ; and of her childhood, passed at a seaport, among a considerable quantity of cold tar, and some rusticity. She fell into a softened remembrance of meadows, in old time, gleam ing with buttercups, like so many inverted firmaments of golden stars ; and how she bad made chains of dande lion-stalks for youthful vowers of eternal constancy, dressed chiefly in nankeen ; and how soon those fetters had withered and broken. " Sitting in the window-seat, and looking out upon the sparrows and the blink of sun, Miss Tox thought likewise of her good mamma deceased—sister to the owner of the powdered head and pigtail—of her virtues and her rheumatism. And when a man with bulgy legs, and a rough voice, and a heavy basket on his head that crushed his hat into a mere black muffin, came cry ing flowers . down Princes's-place, making his timid little XOOO 9g dusteg shudder in the vibration of every yell he - gave, as though he had been an ogre, hawking little children, summer recollections were so strong upon Miss Tox, that she shook her head, and murmured she would be comparatively old before she knew it—which seemed likely.' Enter, nevertheless, Mrs. Chick, suffering from a peculiar kind of monosyllabic cough; "a sort of pri ; - , mer, or easy introduction to the art of coughing. The dialogue that ensues is ludicrously true to nature. Mrs. Chick announces Dombey's approach ing nuptails with Edith Granger, and Miss Tox swoons in the arms of the wretched native who has just entered the room with a polite message from the Major over the way. Mrs. Chick's eyes are opened, a pair of scales—in her estimation some thing like those used in grocer's shops—falling from them, and she parts in wrath from poor Lucretia Tox. The next chapter is a most touching and powerful fragment of pathetic narrative ; it depicts the growing love of Florence for her second mother, and the anguish of that second mother the night before the marriage. " Slowly and thoughtfully did Edith wander alone through the mansion of which she was so soon to be the lady : and little heed took she of ull the elegance and splendour it began to display. The same indomitable haughtiness of soul, the same proud scorn, expressed in eye and lip, the same fierce beauty, only . tamed by a sense of its own little worth, and of the little worth of everything around it, went through the grand saloons and halls, and had got loose among the shady trees, and raged and rent themselves. The mimic roses on the walls and floors were set round with sharp thorns, that tore her breast ; in every scrap of gold so dazzling to the eye, she saw some hateful atom of her purchase-mo ney ; the broad high mirrors showed her, at full length, a woman with a noble quality yet dwelling in her nature, who was too false to her better self, and too debased and lost to save herself. She believed that all this was so plain more or less, to all eyes, that she had no resource or power of self-assertion but in pride ; and with this pride, which tortured her own heart night and day, she fought her fate out, braved it, and defied it. " Was this the woman whom Florenc e — an i nnocent girl, strong onlyin her earnestness and simple truth— could so impress and quell, that by her side she was another creature, with her tempest of passion hushed, and her very pride itself subdued ? Was this the wo man who now sat beside her in a carriage, with their arms entwined, and who, when she courted and entreated her to love and trust her, drew her fair head to nestle on her breast, and would have laid down her life to shield it from wrong or harm? " Oh, Edith ! It were well to die, indeed, at such a time ! Better and happier far, perhaps, to die so, Edith, than to live on to the end !" Yet she is calm, and proud, and self-possessed in the presence of every one. The abysses of her agony and remorse at her own degradation are unseen. She taunts her mother, and objects to Florence remaining under the protection of Mrs. Skew ton. That decoyed Cleopatra, robed in her greasy flannel gown, with her ashes lying round her on the table and sofa, asks, is she not fit company for a girl ! " What are you, pray ? What are you ?" " I have put the question to myself," says Edith, ashy pale, and pointing to the window, "more than once, when I have been sitting there, and some thing in the faded likeness of my sex has wandered past outside; and God knows I have met with my reply." In the privacy of her own chamber she is yet more affected by her situation. " To and fro, and to and fro, and to and fro again, five hundred times, among the splendid preparations for her adornment on the morrow ; with her dark hair shaken down, her dark eyes flashing with a raging light, her broad white bosom red with the cruel grasp of the relentless hand with which she spurned it from her, pacing up and down with an averted head, as if she would avoid the sight of her own fair person, and di vorce herself from its companionship. Thus, in the dead time of the night before her bridal, Edith Granger wrestled with her unquiet spirit, tearless, friendless, silent, proud, and uncomplaining." Peeping in at the door of Florence's room, she finds the young girl sleeping soundly, and feels herself irresistibly drawn on towards the couch. "Drawn nearer, nearer, nearer yet ; at last, drawn so near, that stooping down, she pressed her lips to the gentle hand that lay outside the bed, and put it softly to her neck. Its touch was like the prophet's rod of old, upon the rock. Her tears sprung forth beneath it, as she sunk upon her knees, and laid her aching head and streaming hair upon the pillow by its side. " Thus Edith Granger passed the night before her bridal. Thus the sun found her on her bridal morning." Then comes the wedding, preceded by the following beautiful passages : " Dawn, with its passionless blank face, steals shiver ing to the church beneath which lies the dust of little Paul and his mother, and looks in at the windows. It is cold and dark. Night crouches yet, upon the pave ment, and broods, sombre and heavy, in nooks and cor ners of the building. The steeple-clock, perched up above the houses, emerging from beneath another of the countless ripples in the tide of time that regularly roll and break on the eternal shore, is greyly visible, like a stone beacon, recording how the sea flows on ; but within doors, dawn, at first, can only peep at night, and see that it is there. " Hovering feebly round the church, and looking in, dawn moans and weeps for its short reign, and its tears trickle on the window-glass, and the trees against the church wall, bow their heads, and wring their many hands in sympathy. Night, growing pale before it, gra- dually fades out of the church, but lingers in the vaults below, and sits upon the coffins. And now comes bright day, burnishing the steeple clock, and reddening the spire, and drying up the tears of dawn, and stifling its complaining ; and the scared dawn, following the night, and chasing it from its last refuge, shrinks into the vaults itself and hides, with a frightened face, among the dead, until night returns, refreshed, to drive it out. " And now, the mice, who have been busier with the prayer-books than their proper owners, and with the hassocks, more worn by their little teeth than by human knees, hide their bright eyes in their holes, and gather close together in affright at the resounding clashing of the church door. For the beadle, that man of power, comes early this morning with the sexton ; and Mrs. Miff, the wheezy little pew opener—a .might; dry old lady, sparely dressed, with not an inch of fulness any where about her—is also here, and has been waiting at the church gate half.an•hour, as her place is, for the beadle." Miss Miff comes out wonderfully; so does Mr. Sownds the beadle, who looks upon the bride as " a spanker ;" so does Mr. Toots ; so does his familiar, the Game Chicken, who has been dipping his beak into a tankard of strong beer, and picking up two pounds of beefsteak ; so does Captain Cuttle ; so does Mrs. Perch, who appears " (but that she always is)" in an interesting situation ; so does Towlinson ; so does Major Bagstock, of whose hand his Royal Highness the late Duke of York did him the honour to observe, Sir, to his Royal Highness the late Duke of Kent, that it was the hand of Josh, a rough and tough, and possibly an up to-muff old vagabond; so does Cousin Feenix—Lord Feenix. The speech of the Noble Lord at the wedding breakfast is a capital bit of social reporting. Indeed the entire chapter about the festivities is an elaborate piece of " drawing from the life" which Charles Dickens could alone have written. NEWS FOR THE GEOLOGISTS.—The Journal des Debats publishes the following letter, dated Odessa, the 4th instant:—" The Counsellor of State, Erdmann, Pro fessor of Geology at the Imperial University o f D or p a t, who at this moment is travelling in the south of Russia, has discovered in a property situated to the nort h o f Odessa several skeletons of fossil animals of enormous dimensions. The skeletons are 83 in number, viz., 6 elephants, 1 rhinoceros, 2 oxen, 4 stags, 1 antelope, 61 bears, 2 hyenas, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and a ruminating animal, species unknown. Those skeletons, together with the bones, were found under a thick layer of cal careous earth. The discovery made by M. Erdmann is the more remarkable, as hitherto there never has been any remains of the antediluvian animal reign discovered in Russia." SOUTH-EASTERN RAlLWAY.—Yesterday a branch of this railway, about nine miles in length, and extend ing from Minster to Deal, was opened by the Chairman and Directors of the company with the usual ceremo nies. The stations along the new line were handsomely decorated. The whole population of the neighbourhood assembled to celebrate the event ; huge flags were seen fluttering in every direction ; shops were shut and busi ness suspended ; and, in fact, it was a complete holiday. At half-past four o'clock a public dinner took place in the Town-hall of Deal, every corner of which was occu pied. In the absence of the Mayor, who was prevented by illness from being present, his deputy filled the chair, and was supported by Mr. M'Gregor, chairman of the company, Lord Clinton, Mr. B. Harding, Captain Tyn dal, Mr. Maclise, R.A., Mr. C. Dickens, Mr. J. Stuart, Mr. Herbert, secretary to the company, Mr. C. Emer son, the Honourable S. Lushington, Mr. Browne, and Mr. Walter, superintendent of the company. An ex cellent dinner was provided on the occasion by the landlord of the Royal Hotel, and the company having done ample justice thereto, proceeded by a suc cession of appropriate toasts to celebrate the event of the day. Many Ilk ly spee ches were . made in the course of the evening upon the benefits toreaccrue to Deal from railway communication, and all p sent appe are d sanguine in their expectation tha t thei▪ r ancient port was awakening to a new existence. Mr. M'Gregor, in ac knowledging the kind manner in which he and his col leagues had been received, shortly revi▪ ewed the positi on in which the company now stands with respect to its projects befoie Parliament and the question of direct communication in Kent. His observations drew forth the warmest approbation. It was past eight o'clock before the directors and their friends left Deal by special train on their way back to London, but their de parture did not close the festivities of the evening. The rapidity and ease with which the new line was passed over, both going and coming, furnished satisfactory evidences of the solidity with which it has been con structed. _ _ CAMBRIDGE.—The Vice-Chancellor has appointed the Rev. Edward Thompson, Incepting Doctor in Divinity and incumbent of All Saints, St. John's Wood, to preach the University sermon next Sunday morning, and the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Melbourne in the after noon. R. COBDEN, ESQ., M.P.—We understand, from authority on which we can rely, that the Danford pro perty near Midhurst, where the Honournble Member for Stockport was born, and indeed which may be con sidered as his patrimonial estate, has been purchased either by, or for th;t gentleman.—Sussex Advertiser. E a T eiN L Wri 0 I‘ls THURSDAY expenditure, will in a few years be almost entirely super seded by railways constructed in their immediate vicinity. Now railways are in completion in every part of the country, and a few years will suffice to complete many of the lines now in an un finished state. The capital stocks of most have been filled up by subscriptions from the middle classes. New York capitalists are very shy, and touch all works of internal improvement cautiously; and rich men are unwilling to part with their money, unless immediate returns in the shape of dividends are guaranteed. In consequence of . this principle pr eva ili ng so genera ll y, th e system of paying interest upon all instalments paid in upon subscriptions to railroads has been adopted. The journals condemn this system, as it is n o t more or l ess than paying back to subscribers, in the sh a p e o f i n t erest , part of the principal, the deficiency produced by these payments having to he made up by an increase of capital stock. On the Boston line there has been a general increa:e of trade. In fact, the increase of business on the railroads already in operation has put all previous calculations far in the back-ground. Estimates, originally deemed to be highly exaggerated, have proved to be far below the actual results. The annexed table exhibits the gross receipts of the following- railroads leading from Boston, iii four years ending Deeember 1, 1846: 1843. 1846. Boston and Worcester $383,367 $554,712 Western Boston and Lowell Fitchburg Boston and Maine Eastern Boston and Providence 233,388 360,375 Total 81,918,734 53,260,725 Aggregate increase on all the roads is 57 per cent. Fares were generally reduced in 1845. POPULATION PER MILE ON THE MASSACHUSETTS LINES.—From calculations recently made, it has been ascertained that the population of the towns immediately adjoining some of the railroads of Massachusetts was as follows :—viz., of the Old Colony Railroad, not including Dorchester, 25,976, giving an average of 702 per mile, that of the Providence road, not including Roxbury, 39,977, or 978 per mile ; of the Worcester road, 27,159, or 603 per mile ; of the Fitchbury road, 27,353, or 547 per mile ; of the Lowel road, 28,664, or 1,102 per mile ; of the Boston and Maine road, terminating at the line of the state of New Hampshire, 19,865, or 567 per mile ; and on the Eastern road, terminating also at the border of the state, 51,967, or 1,310 per mile. The Boston Traveller states a remarkable fact, if it be one, or rather makes Mr. Gilmore, president of the Western Railroad, state a remarkable fact, in his testi mony before the railroad committee of the Massachusetts Legislature, viz., " That the present through travel be tween Albany and Boston on the Western Railroad, only averages 120 to 150 per month." This would be only five or six for each working day. MAMMOTH ENGINE.—A monster engine on Stephen son's principle has just been completed by Messrs. Foster and Co., of Liverpool. It is intended for passenger trains. It has four driving wheels (each six feet in diameter) connected, boiler sixteen feet long, and its im mense weight may be estimated by the fact that thirteen horses were employed to draw it through the metro polis. Its destination is said to be the South-Eastern Railway. THE Two RAILWAY MISCARRIAGES THROUGH FRIGHT.—The following is from a correspondent:— " Hope disappointed maketh the heart sick of the railway commissionership. The Government ought better to have calculated its own strength, and either not have created such a mere fiction of commis sionership for any public good, or, having created it, ought to have given it vigorous and decided support. As the matter, however, now stands, Mr. Strutt's office is null, and the power of the Whigs against the railways nugatory. The public are, therefore, anx iously inquiring when this expensive, and, as it has proved, perfectly useless commissionship is to be broken up? Mr. Strutt having said good bye to his fundamental Bill, the country (pitying his weakened condition under two such awful miscarriages from fright), are now equally desirous of saying good bye to Mr. Strutt and his whole staff. The puffed-up railway men have, it appears (like Mr. Borthwick) triumphed over the Whigs; but let them beware that the now universally spreading murmurs do not speedily break into a storm of public in dignation, which will lead, if not to the total abolition of the companies, to measures infinitely more restrictive upon them than those contemplated in Mr. Strutt's Bill." THE LATE COLLISION ON THE SHEFFIELD RAILWAY. —Since this occurrence the passing of goods across the two lines of rails (which was the occasion of the acci dent) has been discontinued ; a proper signal post has been erected, and an additional porter has been placed at the Gorton station. We understand these changes are what were required, and they will no doubt be ac cepted by the public as an earnest of the directors' care and watchfulness.—Blanchester Examiner. TOURNAY AND JURBISE, AND LANDEN AND HASSELT. —An experimental trip on the Landers and Hasselt line took place on the 24th instant, when the work of every portion of the line underwent a strict examination by the Government engineers, and the official opening is fixed for the I2th of July next. EAST LANCASHIRE.—There was a grand ceremony on. Thursday at He/mshore, near Haslingden, on the occa sion of laying the foundation stone of the viaduct there on the main line of this railway. This important work is a continuous double viaduct, separated by retaining walls in the middle, skirting the side of the hills, near lielmshore. There are 15 arches in the whole, of about 30 feet span each, and the total length of the viaduct is 400 yards. The height of the principal arches is about 50 feet, and they are erected on a curve of about three quarters of a mile radius. The works on a considerable portion of this part of the line (for some length of which the Act was only obtained in the present session of Par liament), and of this viaduct, notwithstanding the fact of the foundation stone having been postponed till the pre sent time, are in a very forward state, one of the arches of the viaduct, and many of those on other parts of the line, being already up to the springing point.—Manches ter Times. OPENING OF THE BOROUGHDRIDGE BRANCH OF THE YORK AND NEWCASTLE. This branch was opened on Thursday. Its length is 54 miles, and it forms a junction with the Great North of England Railway on Pill Moor, south of the Sessay station. Leaving the parent line it takes a westerly direction across Pill Moor, an extensive waste, the junction being on a curve of forty chains radius, the line runs nearly on a level, and then proceeds on a straight line on towards Brafferton, where there is an ample station in course of erection. Passing this station a cutting is entered, in length about one-third of a mile, through a loose sand and gravel strata, the extreme depth being 36 feet. The high road from Brafferton to Thornton Bridge is carried over the railway in the cutting by a handsome viaduct of three arches. On emerging from the cutting a very beautiful country opens out to the view, the line immedately approaching and crossing the river Swale, over which it is carried is a noble stone bridge of three arches, each of fifty feet span. This is a skew bridge at an angle of 20i degrees. The village and beautiful church of Brafferton present, from this point, a beautiful view in the rear of the traveller. After the Swale has been passed, the line again takes the level, and proceed ing perfectly straight, it traverses a beautiful and lux uriant country. After crossing the highway from Kirby Hill to Myton, the line then takes a curve, of three quar ters of a mile radius to the south, and then proceeds straight for about 400 yards, passing Milby on the right, with the truly historical town of Aldborough on the left, then taking a curve of three .fourths of a mile radius to the north. it terminates in a straight run of about 300 yards to Boroughbridge station. Excepting the Braf ferton cutting and the works at and in connexion with the Swale bridge, the entire line is nearly on the level, and has been of most easy construction. It opens outs a connexion with a very important agri cultural district, of which the • ancient town of Boroughbridge, the residence of Andrew Lawson, Esq., M.P., is in the centre. The station is situate within 200 yards of the magnificent bridge, being on the north side of the town, in the township of Langthrope, on Earl de Grey's estate. It is 159 feet long, and designed by G. T. Andrews, Esq., of York. It is in the Grecian style of architecture, with an elegant arcade in front. The fabric, is of brickwork, with stone dressings, and it comprises first and second class waiting rooms, booking offices, station-master's apartments, and other conve niences. There are also immediately adjacent an engine house, merchandise warehouse, cattle dock, carriage landings, &c., the whole establishment comprising an area of about seven acres. The works at the stations have been executed by Messrs. Burton, of London. The contractor of the line was Mr. Richard Cail, of New castle. The resident engineer was Mr. Joseph Stephen son. The opening day was one of great moment to the inhabitants of Boroughbride, and the town band attended each train to the junction. THE HARVEST—POTATO CROP.—AII the reports of the grain crops are most favourable, and nine out of ten of the accounts of the potato are of the same gratify ing character, especially those which have reached us just now. In the county of Carlow, for instance, we are assured that potato fields that had been considered affected, three weeks ago, appear quite flourishing, and a notion begins to prevail that there had been no real ground for alarm—in fact, that the blight of the two past years has not yet made its appearance at all. We must, however, mention, that a communication has been re ceived from one of the most experienced farmers, and certainly the most extensive potato cultivator in the midland counties, expressing fears for the safety of the general crop, and stating that signs of disease have appeared in the roots and stalks in his fields.—Dublin Evening Post. THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION.-Mr. C. R. Wold, a connexion of Sir J. Franklin, states that all the alarm which has been created respecting the Arctic adventurers is groundless. " Sir John," he says," was provisioned for the summer of 1848, and when he sailed no one con templated hearing from him earlier than October or No vember, 1847, unless some unforeseen accident should compel his earlier return. If he succeeds in passing Behring's Straits at the end of August, or in Septem b er or October, 1847, we shall not learn his su cce ss e a rlier than January or February, 1848 . There is, therefore, the second Ills es present no cause as yet for flying to his res cue. absence has not yet equalled that of SairfaEc.t,Teaxrira3t, a on t voyage; and there does not, i moment more reason for apprehension than there was when the expedition sailed. The not having heard from Sir John is to be looked upon as more an earnest of (MOMS than of failure." R ED UCTION IN THE PRICE OF BRElD.—Tuesday there was a general reduction of one halfpenny in the price of the 41b. loaf throughout the different metropo litan districts, the high-priced bakers charging lid., sec ond quality 91d., household 9d. a n d Sid. th e 4 1b . l oa f ; rye bread is 7d. the loaf, and Indian corn 2d. the lb. To be sold, without reserve, the Protectionists at the approaching election.—Punch. BIRMINGHAM AND OXFORD JUNCTION RAILWAY. The second adjourned special general meeting of the shareholders of this company, for the purpose of tilting into consideration the conduct and proceedings of the directors with regard to the proposed sale of the line to the Great Western Company, was held yesterday after noon at Dee's Royal Hotel, Birmingham. It is needless to say that the refusal of the House of Lords on Friday night to suspend the standing orders in favour of the promoters of the Amalgamation Bill has very consider ably altered the respective position of the contending parties. Mr. P. H. Muntz occupied the chair, and, as usual, Mr. Russell, M.P. (chairman), Mr. Saunders (secretary), and other officials of the Great Western, were in attendance. The first question propounded by Mr. Mozley, the leader of the dissentient shareholders, was as to whether or not the directors were prepared to submit any terms of arrangement to the proprietary. As far as he (Mr. Mozley) was concerned, he would state that he had thrown no obstacle in the way of an amicable settlement of all differences. He believed that the contention, if continued, would he injurious and disris trolls, not only to the directo r s, b u t t o a ll o th ers inte rested in the property of which they (the directors) were the trustees. He (Mr. Mozley) had to complain that, although an appointed director,he had no means of be coming acquainted excepting almost by force, with the business of the board of directors. Against the chairman, however, he had no personal complaint to make. On the other hand, he believed that if all the members of that body had taken the stun, course as their Hon. Chairman had done, the present position of the company would have been very different. He (Mr. Mozley), as director, was ignorant of the stated time of the meetings of that board, and he was ate loss to km )vy how it was that a mere section of the directors could legally carry on the affairs of the company. Every member was assuredly entitled to be made acquainted with every particular of the business transacted. The CHAIRMAN observed that no meetings of the board of directors had been held. Mr. MOZLEY—A vast amount of business had been transacted. He should like to know how it had been done, and by whom? The CHAIRMAN—The directors were called together when a meeting was necessary, and in the mean time a committee—the appointed executive—transacted the business. Mr. Momxv . —There had been a large outlay of money. Who gave the cheques? THE CHAIRMAN—The finance committee. Mr. MozLEy—Was he to understand that the finance committee, without the supervision of the board of directors, transacted the money affairs of the company ? The CHAIRMAN—The finance committee was appoint. ed by the board of directors. Mr. MOZLEY—He had been informed that recently a gentleman occupying a high position in society had proposed certain terms of arrangement between parties. He wished to ask the chairman whether he was aware of that fact ? The CHAIRMAN replied, that he had not the slightest knowledge of the circumstance to which the Hon. Pro prietor alluded. Mr. MOZLEY—AII he could say was that he believed their chairman ; but he (Mr. Mozley) had heard such a statement from authority. Before proceeding to the immediate business of the day he wished to remark, that he had heard that before the time at which the sale to the Great Western was proposed, other agreements, although not laid before the shareholders, existed t • and he and those with whom he act e d th oug ht t h a t all such agreements, being bond fido, should be maintained and acted upon in good faith. He, therefore, with the hope and the expressed intention of assisting the directors in the accomplishment of such objects, begged leave, preparatory to other business, to propose the following resolution : That this meeting, considering the main objects of the Bill now before Parliament to enable the Birming ham and Oxford Junction Railway Company to make certain alterations in the line of the Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway, and to purchase the Stratford on-Avon canal navigation, and for other purposes, to be consistent with the interests of the shareholders, de.. sires to express its concurrence in the provisions of such Bill, excepting those which confer power on the Great Western Company to subscribe for, or to purchase and hold shares in this company under the alleged agree ment, to the terms of which the shareholders in this company object, and which enable the Great Western Railway Company to raise capital for that purpose, and to vote in respect thereof; of which provisions in the present state of the matter this meeting cannot approve; and this meeting, understanding that certain share holders have petitioned the House of Lords against such Bill on standing orders, respectfully request those share holders not to proceed further with such petition pro vided the objectionable provisions before referred to are withdrawn ; and doth hereby express the desire of the shareholders that, subject to the withdrawal of such provisions, the said Bill should be allowed to proceed without further opposition in Parliament." Mr. C. EL JONES seconded the resolution. The CHAIRMAN said he did not see any objection to the resolution, but Mr. Mosley must be aware that no no tice had appeared of any resolution to that effect being brought forward at that meeting. He believed, too, that such a resolution was altogether unnecessary, even for the purposes contemplated by its proposers. The Rouse of Lords would require the standing orders to be com plied with; but if unopposed, or if the opposition was withdrawn, it was possible the Bill in question, having for its object the purchase of the Stratford canal, might be allowed to go forward. Mr. Mozi.Ev observed, that the Chairman must exer cise his own discretion. If the resolution was wrong it would be ineffective; if it was right it would assist, as it was intended, the directors. The CHAIRMAN was sure Mr. Mozley would see that the resolution did not come within the objects contem plated or named in the advertisement calling the present meeting. Mr. MOZLEY, after some further conversation, with drew the resolution, stating that he should bring it for ward at the close of the meeting, when Mr. Muntz had left the chair. The Chairman then, at the request of Mr. Mozley, handed back his resolution. The CHAIRMAN intimated that Mr. Mozley could adopt any course he chose. Mr. MOZLEY again expressed his deep regret that the dissensions which prevailed between the directors and the shareholders had not been brought to a close. A fearful responsibility rested upon those by whom it was continued. He believed that as regarded the con struction of this line and its management, an expenditure had been incurred unparalleled in railway history. He had again to complain that as a director he had been re fused the inspection of certain deeds in the possession of the board of directors, as trustees of the company— deeds for which he, as a director, was responsible. He was bound in justice to state that the Hon. Proprietor whom he saw opposite (Mr. Russell, the chairman of the Great Western) had fully admitted the principle for which he contended, and said that he was fully entitled to the inspection of the deeds in question. The only way to keep directors under control was to be able to subject them continuously to the power of general meet ings. After some further observations, the Hon. Gen tleman concluded by stating that he should move another adjournment; they had now a meeting, and he was anxious that it should not be concluded without giving the directors an opportunity of submitting the proposi tion of some arrangement to the shareholders. He begged leave to move the following resolution : " That this meeting be and the same is hereby ad journed until Monday, the 12th day of July next, at one o'clock in the afternoon, at Dee s Royal Hotel, in Birmingham, when the consideration of all and singular the matters mentioned and referred to in the requisition of the 29th day of April last, under which this meeting is held, will be resumed, if necessary." Mr. TURNER seconded the motion. Mr. STEVENS and the CHAIRMAN mutually explained respecting the refusal to allow Mr. Mozley the inspection of some deeds executed before that gentleman became a director. The existence of these " subsidiary agree ments," it appeared, came out before the Standing Orders Committee of the House of Lords, and Mr. Mozley, as a director, demanding an inspection of them, he was refused, unless upon a motion he obtained an order from the Board of Directors. Mr. MOZLEY declared this proceeding to be monstrous, and contrary to all precedent; he had conversed with many railway directors and they declared that they had never before heard such a dictum laid down. The Hon. Proprietor next complained of the directors making a call upon the shareholders. All other companies, when 101. per share was paid up, had the power, as they had, to borrow, and that power they exercised; but, in this company, a further call was made for the purpose of oppressing the shareholders. The CHAIRMAN distinctly repudiated any wish to oppress the shareholders. Mr. W. MATHEWS then, at considerable length, de fended the conduct of the directors, and said, that no gentleman would rejoice more than himself if an ar rangement, consistently with the honour and inteitY a nd t he the of the present directors, could be effected, and all boiders differ ences between that body and the present won there for ever put an end to. Brushing away all w onw:sever, to have was no question that the contest:va h s London and North-Western Company ", Great He thought the pro positionWestern.—(Cries of " No, no.") p ° r u e g: se - n - ce of lawyers would his friends. of an arrangement come from Mr. Mozley and Mr. MozLEY thought that four gentlemen thrown into All the shareholders t t ahr : r r ua i nt e ge e t ba.itheelly.tcould get for their w s a o a r o n o n t o e m d c o w t m o wa g e es e r t e t t h o h d e e r e a sb ‘ n i se: best that other companies beside the pro perty; they had no ir s ish to injure the Great Western, they yVestern should have the right to run upon the Great t ea th t line. Mr. p u o n i t n z t e t d h etno v sn a n c n a e te e d d nthirne c,htnaierfi;rsaturdesnMiurt.i,Tmuprnrner.r p b o ei s n e g d by Mr. Mozley was again proposed by that gen tleman, seconded, and carried unanimously. The meeting then adjourned to the 12th of July. THE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY.—We are grati fied to learn that the Noble and Gallant ➢Marquis is re covering from the effects of his serious accident on Sunday last. THE BRITISH LADIES' CLOTHING ASSOCIATION FOR SCOTLAND AND IRELAND.—HER MAJESTY'S BENEVO LENCE.—The committee of the above association, which numbers among its members many ladies connected with the higher circles of society, in consequence of the low state of their funds, have recently received a m unificent donation of 5001. from her Majesty, which greatly assisted in forwarding the objects of the association. Lord and Lady Stanley leave town on Saturday next for Knowsley-park, the Earl of Derby ' s seat in Lancashire, where the Noble Lord and Lady are to re ceive a visit from his Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia on Tuesday next. COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prince Albert, accompanied by their Majesties the King and Queen of the Belgians, took an airing yesterday in an open barouche and four. The Equerries in Waiting, Lord Alfred Paget and Colmel Bouverie, attended on horseback. Their Imperial Highnesses Prince Peter and the Princess of Oldenburgh visited their Majesties the King and Queen of the Belgians yesterday at Buckingham Palace. His Majesty the King of the Belgians visited his Itn perial , Highness Prince Peter of Oldenburgh yesterday at the Clarendon Hotel. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, the Princess Alice, and the Princess Helena walked and rode on ponies yesterday in the garden of the Palace. The Queen had a dinner party yesterday at Buck ingham Palace. The company included their Majesties the King and Queen of the Belgians, her Royal High ness the Duchess of Gloucester, their Imperial High nesses Prince Peter and the Princess of Older.burgli, his Royal Highness Prince George, his Excellency M. Van de Weyer, the Lord Chancellor, the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, the Countess Vander• strafe!), Lady Georgiana Bathurst, the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne, the Marquis and Mar chioness of Douro, Viscount and Viscountess Palmer. ston, le Comte de Lalaing, M. de Koudriuffsky, Major de Moerkerke, and Dr. Carswell. The band of the Coldstream Guards was in attendan, during dinner, and performed the following pieces:— Selection from Mose in Egitto Rossini. Waltz—Olga, or the Princess Jullien. Glee—" Mynheer Van Dunck" Sir H. H. Bishop. Grand March, composed by her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent. Polka Labitzky. Her Majesty had afterwards an evening party. The following had the honour of receiving invitations :—The Portuguese Minister and the Baroness de Moncorvo, the Baroness de Brunnow, the Duchess of Sutherland and Lady Caroline Leveson Gower, the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, the Marquis and Marchioness of Abercorn, the Marquis and Marchioness of Ailesbury, the Marquis and Marchioness of Clanricarrle and Lady Emily de Burgh, the Earl and Countess Spencer, the Countess of Westmoreland, the Earl and Countess of Shelburne, the Earl and Countess of Lincoln, the Earl of Liverpool, Viscount and Viscountess Canning, the Bishop of Oxford, Lady Alfred Paget, the Dowager Lady and the Hon. Miss Lyttelton, the Right Hon. Sir George and Lady Grey, the Right Hon. Sir James and Lady Graham, the Right Hon. Sir Charles and Lady Mary Wood, the Right Hon. Sidney and Mrs. Herbert, Mr. George Edward and the Hon. Mrs. Anson, General the Hon. Arthur Upton, Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. C. B. Phipps, Colonel the Hon. Sir Edward Cust, Sir Robert and Lady Gardiner and two Misses Gardiner, and Colonel Charles and Mrs. Bentinck. A concert was performed during the evening. Tie following was the programme:— PARTE PRIMA. Overture (Prometheus) Aria—" Dove sono," Mdlle. Lind (Le} .Nozze di Figaro) Mozart. Air—" Non pill andrai," Sig. Lablache Mozart. Tema con Variazioni—Pianoforte and 1 Beethoven. violin, Mrs. Anderson & M. Sainton Canzonette—" La Festa,lMdlle. Lind Geraldy. PARTE SECONDA. Kruges Marsch—(Athalie) . Mendelssohn. Aria Napolitana—Signor Lablache. Fantasia, violin—M. Sainton Sainton. )." Der Neugierige," Lieder " Der Muller and der Bach," Schubert. Mademoiselle Lind........ Mrs. Anderson presided at the pianoforte. Her Majesty's private band attended under the direc tion of Mr. Anderson. Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George, and their Imperial Highnesses Prince Peter and the Princess of Oldenburgb, visited her Ma jesty the Queen Dowager yesterday at Marlborough House. A deputation from the parochial schoolmasters of Scotland had an interview yesterday with the Lord Pre sident of the Council and the Earl of Minto, at the Privy Council-office, with reference to the recent minutes of the Committee of Council on Education. Mr. W. Sandom and a deputation from Deptford, re specting the Health of Towns Bill, had an interview with Lord Morpeth yesterday, at the office of the Commis sioners of Woods and Forests, in Whitehall-place. Captain Denham, RN., had an interview with the Earl of Clarendon on Tuesday. Dispatches were sent off last evening from the Colo nial-office for the Governors of New South Wales and South Australia. Lord John Russell had a Parliamentary dinner-party last evening, at his residence in Chesham -place. The Astronomer Royal and Mr. Airy had an inter view with the Right Hon. E. Strutt on Tuesday, at the office of the Commissioners of Railways in Great George street. The Chevalier Bunsen, Prime Minister, had an inter view with Viscount Palmerston yesterday, at the Foreign-office. Colonel Brereton, C. 8., has arrived in town from Canton, and had yesterday an interview with Earl Grey at the Colonial-office. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Cornmon,.) WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30. HOLYHEAD HARBOUR BILL. Order for Committee read; Motion made, and Question proposed, " That Mr. Speaker do now leave the Chair :" Amendment proposed, to leave out from the word " That" to the end of the Question, in order to add the words " this House will, upon this day three months, resolve itself into thq said Committee," instead thereof :—Question put, " ThaLthe words proposed to be left out stand part of the Question." The House divided:— MAJORITY—AYES, 83. Adderley, C. B. Duncombe, A. Paget, Colonel Aldam, W. Fitzroy, Henry Palmerston, Vis. Anson, Colonel Frewen, C. 11. Parker, John Archdall, Captain Fuller, A. E• Perfect, Robert Baine, Walter Gibson, T. M. Plumridge, Captain Barrington, Viscount Gore, Robert Powlett, Lord W. Bellew, R. M. Greene, Thomas Rashleigh, W. Bennet, Philip Hamilton, G. A. Rolleston, Colonel Bentinck, Lord G. nestle, Archibald Romilly, John Berkeley, Captain Hawes, B. Round, J. Bodkin, W. H. Howard, P. 11, Russell, Lord J. Boldero, H. G. Hudson, George Rutherford, A. Borthwick, Peter Butt, William Shell, R. L. Bowring, Dr. Jolliffe, sir W. H. Somerville, Sir W. Bramston, T. W Lawless, Cecil Sotheron, T. H. S. Bretherton, J. Layard, Captain Spooner, H. Brown, W. Lennox, Lord G. H. Stanley, 0. Burke, T. J. Lindsay, Colonel Stansfleld, W. R. Byng, G. S. Marshall, W. Strutt, Edward Callaghan, D. Maule, Fox ! Taylor, E. Carew, W. 11. Pole Mitchell, T. A. Tovrnely, John Corry, Henry Moffatt, George Ward, H. G. Courtenay, Lord Monahan, J. 11. Wcdehouse, E. Craig, W. G. Mostyn, E. M. Wood. Sir Charles Cripps, W. Neeld, Joseph Yorke, Henry R. Dalrymple, Captain Norreys, Lord D'Eyncourt, C. T. O'Brien, A. Stafford Dodd, George O'Brien, Joha Duckworth, Sir J. Ogle, S. C. TELLERS. Tufnell. H. liilL Lord M. MINORITY-NOES, 2. Collett, John TELLERS. Wakley, Thomas Hume, Joseph Williams, W. THE PRESIDENT STEAM• NEAR ST. COLUNB, CORNWALL, JUNE 29.—A bottle was picked up by one of the coast guard officers at Mawgan Porth, North Cornwall, with a small bit of paper in it, with the folio sing inscription on it:—" The ship Pre sident is just lost, Nov. 10." It appears to have been in the water a long time. It was found on Friday last, about eight in the evening.—From. a Correspondent. THE SCOTTISH HOSPlTAL.—Yesterday, at On e o'clock, a quarterly Court of the Governors of the Scot tish Hospital was held at the hall of the corporation, Crane-court, Fleet-street, Dr. Webster in the chair, to receive a report of the distribution of the funds of the institution for the quarter, and on other business. Major Adair, the Secretary, read the report, from which it ap peared that the sum of 6591. ss. had been given to desti tute Scottish persons, and that after paying the necessary expenses there was a balance in hand of 4701. I ls. The receipts, which amounted to 1,3281. 19s. 7d., included 615/. 3s. interest on stock, 3111. 4s. donations, 901. legacies, 80/. 17s. annual subscriptions, and 2301. 15s. 7d. last year's balance. The report was received, when thanks were voted to the secretary for the presentation of the portrait of the Duke of Sutherland, which was hung up in the court. The other business was gone through and the court separated. Wanted, a few party cries for the approaching general election. Persons possessing any of the above articles, either new ones or old, if in good condition, and not too much used, will meet with an immediate sale for them by applying at Westminster, to the door-keepers, of the H. of C. N.B. Separate entrances for parties with Whig and Tory cries. A quantity of old cries to be disposed of.—Puncit. DEATH OF SIR HENRY ASKEW.—This gallant offi cer, who was in action at Waterloo, died a few days ago at Cologne. He entered the service in the Ist Foot Guards in June, 1793; he was appointed Colonel in the army in June, 1814, and second Major in the Ist Guards in July the same year. He served in the campaigns in Holland and Flanders from July, 1794, to May, 1795; in Sicily and the Mediterranean from September, 1806, to July, 1807; in the Walcheren expedition in 1809; in Spain and Portugal and the south of France from Sep tember, 1812, to July, 1814; in Flanders and Fraud, from September, 1814, to the close of the war, and was wounded at Quatre Bras on the 16th June. General Askew had the Order of the Bath, and were a medal for the battle of the Nive, where he commanded the Ist bat talion of his regiment. The date of his last commission that of Lieutenant-General, was January, 1837. DEATH OF THE ELEPHANT AT THE SURREY GAR DENS.—On Tuesday morning, at seven o'clock, the female elephant, so long a favourite with the visitors of the Surrey Gardens, expired, after a comparatively short illness. Yesterday the body was opened and carefully inflammationt l a last long examined in th e presence of several medical and scientific entl y thata n the gentlem en, b y Mr. Spooner, and the cause of death was e anda and severe diseasewinter of th h e a s se rlungs.seriously u s l l y t appearsvid affected the constitution of these animals as it has those of human beings, and the consequence to Mr. Tyler has been very serious. Within the last ten days he lost a lion, for which he had been offered 300 guineas, and a short time ago he could have got 700 guineas for the elephant whose death is above recorded. Yesterday a ballot was taken at the East India House for the election of a director, in the room of Major. General Arehibald Robertson, deceased. At x o'clock the glasses were closed and delivered to the scru tineers, who reported that the election bad fallen on Mr. William Joseph Eastwick. JEnsuy.—Sir Charles Ogle, Commander-in-Chief of the Portsmouth station, arrived here on Sunday after noon, and on Monday proceeded on a general inspection of the island. He left about nine o'clock this day for Guernsey, proceeding thence to England.—Jersey Times of Tuesday, RAIL WAY INTELLIGENCE. ` GREAT SOUTHERN AND WESTERN (IRE LAND) OPENING To M ARYBOROUGH. On Saturday the Great Southern and Western Rail way was opened for public traffic to Maryborough, a distance of 53-f miles. After the dispatch of the regular traffic train at nine A.M , the engineer-in -chief; Sir John Macneil; the vice-chairman of the board of direc tors, Edward M`Donnell, Esq.; William Haughton, Esq., W. Goold, Esq., two of the directors, with a number of friends, proceeded by an express train at half past ten to Maryborough, where they arrived at a quarter before twelve, and proceeded to examine some of the works connected with the line—the new road leading into the town under the railway—the site of the new station at the Golden Croft, &c. The party next proceeded to make trial of the portion of the line thence to Mountrath, which is nearly completed. Leaving Maryborough the line crosses the road leading to Mount mellick, and also that to Mountrath, over both of which it is carried on high embankments, by means of lattice bridges, the former being 52 feet span, the latter 50 feet. These bridges are quite of a novel character, being the first of the kind yet built, and after a design of Sir John Macneil's, for combining the greatest strength of frame with the least sacrifice of headway, on the lattice prin ciple. After returning to Maryborough, the party adjourned to M'Evoy's Hotel, where a splendid dejeuner was pre pared. The Deputy Chairman of the Board presided, and at his left sat the Rev. T. Ilarpur, Rector of Maryborough, and the Rev. Dr. O'Connor, P.P. There were also present—George Hoyte, Esq., Vice -Chairman of the Drogheda Railway Company ; Mr. Newton and Mr. Alexander, of the Irish South-Eastern Railway : Mr. Prior, of the London and North- Western Railway of England ; James Fagan, P. V. Fitzpatrick, Esqrs., &c. TheCnairima.N proposed the usual loyal toasts, after which he gave the healths of the Rev. Mr. Harpur and the Rev. Rev. Dr. Mr. il __O'Connor.AßPll The ß and the Rev. Dr. O'CONNOR severally expressed their acknowledgments, and the latter gentleman took the opportunity of proposing the heath of " The great engineer, Sir John Macneil, to whose talent and ability the company and the country were so deeply indebted." Sir J. MACNEIL, in returning thanks, took occasion to state how warmly all his exertions had been seconded by the board of directors. It was only fair for him to say that he could only design, while the execution was left to the contractors ; and it had been his good fortune to have his works entrusted to contractors who had given him and the company the utmost satisfaction. There were two of those gentlemen, present, and it gave him i much pleasure to propose " The healths of Messrs. Dargan and Moore." Mr. DARGAN briefly acknowledged the high compli ment paid him. He had always received the utmost kindness and support at the hands of the board of direc tors ; and holding as he then did contracts for the com pletion of nearly the entire line to Cork, and having that day upwards of fifty thousand men employed in various parts of Ireland, it was a source of much satis faction to him to feel that he might rely upon the same consideration from the directors, and to feel that they had confidence in him.—(Applause,) Mr. MOORE also returned thanks. The CHAIRMAN then gave " The health of the Deputy Chairman of the Dublin and Drogheda Railway, George Iloyte, Esq." Mr. HorrE returned thanks, and said the manner in which the works had been executed reflected the highest credit upon all concerned, and he hoped the day was not far distant when they would be assembled at Cork to celebrate the completion of this great line.—(Hear, hear.) He had no doubt but that in a very short time Cork and Belfast would be brought within a dis tance of eight hours.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. Hoyte gave " The health of Mr. M`Donnell, deputy-chairman, and the rest of the directors of the Great Southern and Western Railway." Mr. M`DoNNELL briefly thanked the company for the honour paid him and the 'board. Mr. HAUGHTON, one of the directors, also expressed his obligation, and gave—" The health of the Chairman of the Company, George Carr, Esq.," who was absent in London on important business connected with the railway. Mr. GOOLD proposed—" Success to to the Irish South- Eastern Railway," which would be one of their most im portant feeders. Mr. ALEXANDER expressed his obligations. The next toast was that of " Mr. Prior, connected 1 with the London and North-Western Railway of Eng land." Mr. PRIOR, in returning thanks, observed that it was kis first visit to Ireland. He had seen nothing in the country which precluded it from rising in industrial eminence to equal England.—(Hear, hear.) Most cer tainly, so far as railways were concerned, he had seen nothing in England superior to the noble line he had traversed on that day.—(Hear, hear.) " The Health of James Fagan, Esq.," was proposed and warmly toasted. After some other toasts, The CHAIRMAN gave " To the next merry meeting, he hoped at Thurles.' This sentiment was loudly cheered, and the company repaired to the train, which shortly afterwards started, and arrived in Dublin at half-past eight P.m , accom plishing part of the trip at the rate of sixty miles an hour. RAILWAY ECONOMY. Next to our race of energetic and ingenious men (says Mr. Sydney, in his Railway System)—next to our trea sures of coal and of iron—nothing has contributed more to the successful rivalry in commerce, and all the arts of peace and war, which this small island has maintained with great European states, blessed with a more favour able climate and more fertile soil, than our excellent means, natural and artificial, of internal communication —what Baron Charles Dupin has so happily called our pouvoir viable,—while the sea around us forms an easy highway from north to south, from east to west. Roads, rivers rendered navigable, canals, and railroads (the last discovered and most perfect means of reducing time and space), not only give increased value to our fields and our mines, but actually create wealth as much as if they struck on veins of gold and diamonds ; for means of easy conveyance open the long-neglected coal-mine, give fuel to the shivering peasantry, employ ment to the miner, and unlooked-for revenue to the landed proprietor—easy me an s of conveyance bring lime and manure to be laid down on the reclaimed heath, which, in return, gives back hay and corn, turnips, milk, cream, butter, cheese, and fat cattle to be also conveyed to the markets the new roads have opened. The amount of this interchange must depend on the price of transport. A hard turnpike road made that point near which was out of all reach when p ac k-h orse s on bridle - roads were the only means of tr ans p or t. Th e c anal still more re ducedrail r railroad, a the h edistanc e most all and anedxpbeesnt of sefoarllc, was open to ertainevery articles ; th e thing which it would be useful to transport, from an ox to a load of manure. Cheap as railroads are, they would be more useful if.they were cheaper. At first sight, this would seem a truism so obvious, that to prove it, no l ong array of facts and ar guments drawn from the store s o f par li amen tary reports was re quired ; and yet in thi s year o f 1847, in the seventeenth experience, at this mome nt great and session of ra ilway constantly increasing off or t s a re being made to saddle the country with an addi t i ona l, or rather excrescence, on our present railway system, which will not only swallow up all the economies of construction which ex perience has effected up to the present time, but also render railway communication expensive, inefficient, and unsafe. a railroad h n erw i ll fall There can be no doubt that capital unnecessarily ex pended on a canal or railro a d must become l ! taxu P e o th n e m p m u o b d li a c ti e n i i t t h . er T u ll ). us o a r an d se ina , inished a c • costs 1,000,000 i, which m i g ht havemba eidnvestmen i investment constructedy will prove highqu n u i r t e e emr a u s anh w ear e ra l gt l iev f s c o , , r oarsnOdo the,Ot hs O pe o e l c . r , no l e aa i dt t h i va e e r n travellers again, that railway s into decay and disorder, o r the company will be pre vented from extending to other and perhaps less wealthy n p di e s r t i r e i n c e ts e th h e as be p n r e n fi v t e s d o , f a lo g c a o i m n oatinvde co mmunication Ex. which are not remunerative will not long be either efficient or safe. In this country the great streams of commerce are already secured by our principal t run k lines ; the districts which remain open for railway pro jects are agricultural, rich rather in latent than in existing traffic ; which, if they are to be well served, must be cheaply served. Therefore the compl e ti on of an effective railway system—that is to say, a system which shall base its success on the many— whi c h s h a ll fill the place, not only of the ship and stage-coach, b u t of the carrier's cart—must depend on economical con struction and economical management. RAILWAY PROGRESS ON THE AMERICAN CONTINENT. The surplus products o f Amer ican harvests, and its transportation to meet t he exi gencies of the mother American lines diff icu l t that the N ew J ersey trains both ni g ht an d quantity" of flour which h as b een rece i ved at country, tadonaydbe other thTe hr render e obtained, lines nd e r freightslrnotwithstanding.o n a many o y n the extra Boston by the Western Ral,lway between Sept. 1 an d April 10 was 182,542 barrels, against 143,647 barrels for the corresponding period last year. The q uan ti ty o f corn received from all points during th e same per i od was 1,353,560 bushels. VIEW COMMERCIAL ON AM ERICAN LINZS.—The im pressions that at present p rev ail in America relative to the ultimate remunera tiven ess of their multiplying lines may be taken as a to lerable criterion of the eventual advantage that wil l accrue upon prudent enterprise in connexion wit h almost all our British'rail ways. It is predicted in the best informed quarters that location, must eventually pay in the country earn e d more money in 1846 than in 184 5, and so far this y ear they have done a very . large business compar e d w ith th e corresponding period in former every line in America, no matter how unfavourable at ;cod present dividends. may appear their Nearly every rail Years. The activity in the grain markets has given all any quantity of freight, and they have been reaping a very rich harvest. Every road in the country, in good hands, must improve in value and productiveness. They are so intimately con nected with the trade and commerce of the country, that they must improve as resources become developed, and connexions are made between different sections of the country. The business of the New England lines is almost entirely of a local character and they pay better dividends than any other roads in this country. Railways running in any direction from New Yo 7 k, or one in any way connected with it, are more favourably located than any others in the country. The New Yorkers have ex pended nearly three hundred millions of dollars in works of internal improvement; some are unproductive, some in an unfinished state, and some at present perfectly useless. At the time the immens e debts of some of the States were contracted, the public mind was almost entirely absorbed by the construction of canals. The canals built at that timo, at such an extravagant rate of JLECTION MOVEMTS. J - - - BEDFORDSHIRE.—We learn that Lord Charles Russell/ the sitting Whig member for the county, has determined to retire, and that Mr. Thomas Charles Higgins, of Turvey, will offer himself as a candidate. We have DO information relative to the intentions of the sitting Con servative member, Lord Alford, but in all probability he will come forward again. —Bedford Times. BUCHINGHAMSHIRE. — Mr. Tower has announced his refusal to be a candidate to represent the county of Bucks in the next Parliament; consequently we at pre sent have but three candidates for the three seats in Parliament which are allotted to Buckinghamshire ; but we have the fact announced that a candidate from the dissenters will solicit the votes on the principles of anti- , church and state union, peace, anti-slavery, and tem perance.—Bucks Gazette. CUMBERLAND EAST.—Mr. Marshall has accepted the requisition to offer himself as a candidate fear East Cumberland in the room of Mr. James. Carlisle Journal. HALIFAX.—Mr. Edward Miall, the well-known editor ~1 the Nonconprmist, is in the field as a candidate for the v.-presentation of this borough.—Bradford Obscrrur. HAMPSHIRE, SOUTH.— e much regret to have to announce that Lord Palmerston declines accednig . to the numerously and respectably signed requisition that has been presented to hits, soliciting his Lerd -hip to allow himself to be put in nomination as it candidate for the representation of this invision of !he county at the ensuing general eh ctiou, so. will be seen by the following letter received from his Lordship by the gentlemen of these towns, who forw,-ded the requi sition. We trust, however, that alth , mg,h the '!`t ob . e Lcrd declines, some gentleman of liberal principles be found willing to come forward for South Hampshire : —" Carlton Garden:, June 21, 1847. Sir,--I hive to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th inst,, transmitting to me a requisition signed by a large number of the electors for the southern division of the county of Hants, inviting me to become a candidate for the represen tation of South Hampshire at the ensuing general election, and I beg through you to assure the numerous and re spectable body of electors by whom that requisition has been signed, that I most sensibly feel the great honour which they have done me by an invitation which affords so manifest a proof of their confidence in me, and of their approval of my public conduct. I need not, I trust, assure you that if I was unconnected with any other constituency, there is no body of electors whom I should have felt such pride in representing as those of the county in which I live ; but having now for twelve years enjoyed the oonfidence of the electors of Tiverton, I should be unwilling to solicit the suffrages of any other body as long as my present constituents shall think fit to return me to Parliament.—l have the honour to be, Sir, yours, very faithfully, PALNERsTox."—Hampshire Independent. HASTINGS.—We have authority to state that it is the intention of Mr. W. Downing Bruce to offer himself as a candidate for the representation of this borough, and that his address will appear in due course. It is strongly reported that Mr. Sergeant Byles is to be the second Conservative candidate at the ensuing election.—Surrey Standard. HEREFORD .-Our readers will learn with surprise that Mr. Pulsford, through ill-health, retires from Parliament. Sir Robert Price offers a renewal of those parlia mentary services which during a quarter of a century have reflected honour on the city and county, and a son of the late faithful and ever-to-be-lamented member, E. B. Clive, Esq., offers himself as Mr. Pulsford's successor. —Hereford Times. LINCOLN.—A very large meeting of the electors took place on Wednesday night, called to afford Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton an opportunity of addressing them. Mr. Williams, solicitor, presided. Sir E. B. Lytton, who had been canvassing on Tuesday and Wednesday, but who had issued no address or declaration of his intention to become a candidate, delivered a magnificent address, in thecourse of which he called upon the electors to consider whether he was worthy to hold the place of their representative in Parliament. He said that, if change there was, it was not in him, and he challenged any one to point out a single political principle from which he had deviated, or a pledge that he had violated. Sir Edward pro ceeded to expound his principle, declaring himself for the shortening of Parliament, for affording the electors an opportunity of enjoying his franchise un influenced by any one who could exercise power over him, for an extension of the suffrage to persons who have received a good moral and Christian education, and against the endowment of the Irish Catholics. He also expressed his opinion that the Corn Bill of last year was a rash and hazardous measure, the consequences of which could not be tested by the experience of a single year; and he observed that never was a great measure purchased b such gross tergiversation and ap os t ac y ; b u t h e d ec l are d that it ought to have a fair trial. Sir Edward Lytton then proceeded to express the belief that next Parlia ment would have to devote its serious attention to our financial position, and he gave some details with respect to a mode of taxing property and removing the assessed taxes. With respect to edu cation Sir Edward Lytton expressed his opinion to be favourable to a parochial mode, which the people would manage for themselves. Sir Edward Lytton then combatted the idea that he should compromise himself by any coalition with Tories ; and he proceeded to show that coalitions had always been fatal, as a reason for de. tuning to coalesce with Mr. Seely. He concluded with a brilliant appeal to the electors. A long discussion fol lowed, after which Sir Edward Lytton declared his in tention to go to the poll, and the meeting broke up at midnight.—Stamford Mercury. LEEDS.—The features of the week are the issuing of a preliminary statement of his views by Mr. James G. Marshall, the meeting of Mr. Beckett's supporters, and the coalition openly proclaimed at Out meeting to return Messrs. Beckett and Marshall.—Leeds Mercury. OXFORD UNIVERSITY.—The retirement of Mr. Card well from the contest for the University of Oxford leaves it open for a measure of strength between the Pueeyite and the Protestant candidates, the latter supported by the forces of bygone Protectionism, the former by the gratitude of the Tractarians for past, and the hope of future colonial church patronage. The Liberals of the University naturally look on the struggle with much un concern, as both candidates stand pledged to the con tinued exclusion of dissenters and professing Catholics from the privilege of the University. linannto.—W e believe there is no foundation what. ever in the report which has been circulated that Mr. Apsley Pellatt will stand for this borough at the ensuing election. The requisition to Mr. Sergeant Talfourd has been must numerously signed.—Berks Gazette. ROCHDALE.—A requisition, numerously signed by the electors, has this week been forwarded to Mr. Sharman Crawford, the present member for Rochdale, requesting him to allow himself to be nominated as a candidate for the representation of the borough at the next election, There is not likely to be any opposition.—Manchester Guardian. SALISBURY.—Mr. Chaplin, M.P., has issued his ad dress, stating it to be his intention of again offering himself as a candidate for Salisbury.—Sherborne Journal, WHLTEnAvEsr.—There is very little or no doubt al the final retirement of the present Member, Mr. M. W. Att. wood. The ill health of the Hon. Gentleman, indepen• dently of his advanced age, has reduced him to a state of Parliamentary incapacity for some time past.-- Carlisle Journal. WOODSTOCR.—Lord A. S. Churchill and the Marquis of Blandford issued addresses to the electors of the 21st inst. The former intimated that his professional duties will probably shortly call him from his native land, and that it is his intention to resign his pretensions to the future representation of the borough. The Marquis of Blandford again offers himself for the honour of their s u ffrage s. —Bedford Chronicle. WORCESTERSHIRE, EASTERN DIVISION. Captain Rushout, whose health we are pleased to hear is in a fair way of being re-established, will not retire, as he had originally contemplated. Mr. J. A. Taylor, the other Member for the division, has now publicly ex pressed his intention to resign his trust at the close of the present Parliament. There is no doubt, therefore, that Mr. J. H. 11. Foley and Captain Rushout will walk over the course at the ensuing election.—Worcester Chronicle. WYCOMBE.—Mr. Palph Osborne has issued an address to the electors of Wycombe, and announced his intentioe of resigning all claims to their suffrages at the appreaeh‘ ing election. YoRK.—In our last, we stated that it wt.s the inten tion of Sir John Lowther, the Conservat i ve represents;. tive of this city, not again to offer himself as a candidate, but that his place on the hustings would be supplied by J. G. Smyth, Esq., of Heath - hall , Wak efield, al so a C on . servative. Our statements pr oved to b e correct, a n d t h e address of Sir J. 11. Lowther on retiring, and a l so t h at of Mr. Smyth on offering himself as a candidata, have clilty.Rof York, will also 'De R. Yorke, Esq., our Member, her on • spected Liberal _ . again offering himself for. appeared. no contest • found in our columns. At present, repre.s representation hateic:ldorrestshoef 1.9. antici pated. — Fork Courant. ELGIN BURGHS • We have just heard that Mr. Ban nerman, younger of Crimmonmoga+e has been induced to come interest, representation forward i n t h e Conservative candidate for the of the Elgin district burghs.—N ort h of Scotland Gazette. of HADDINGTON BURGIIB.—We understand that Mr. Balfour, the Tory and Protectionist M.P. for these burghs, after completing his canvass, has resolved to proceed no farther with the contest.—Scotsman. CITY OF DuBLIN.—Mr. John O'Connell is the only repeal candidate yet announced. The present menalelers, Messrs. Gregory and Grogan, again stand on the Tory interest, although the former, in his address, declares the necessity for " the re.noval of all harrassing and oppressive restrictions upon trade a,nd commerce." DUBLIN UNIVERSITY.—Mr. Y.ooullough, one of the Fellows of the College, and a . mem b er o f t h e Irish bar, positively comes forward to dispute one of the seats with the present member. Mr. F. Shaw is far from popular amongst the clergy. Mr. M'Cullough is moderate in politics, and is highly respected in the University. CITY OF KILKENNY.—The repealers of Kilkenny, who form a preponderating majority, are determined to re elect Mr. John O'Connell, in order, as the Kilk enny Journal says, " that he may sit for this city, in case of a defeat to repeal principles in the metropolis." BOROUGH OF CARLOW.—Major Layard, the present ' Member, has addressed the electors as a candidate. There is, as yet, no opponent in the field. BOROUGH OF DUNGARVON.—The Waterford Chronicle, a repeal paper, says—" It is the prevailing opinion here that there will be no contest iu this borough at the general election. All the landlords are in favour of the present Member, and our leading' and influential re pealers adverse to oppose Mr. Shell." QUEEN'S COUNTY.—The Leinster Express says:-- " The Honourable Thomas Vesey, one of the present representatives, and J. W. Fitzpatrick, Esq., are the only candidates named as likely to come forward at the e nsu ing election; Sir Charles Coote having declared his in tention of retiring, upon the dissolution of the present Parliament." COUNTY OF CARLOW.—The Carlow Sentinel says:— " Colonel Bruen and his colleague, Captain M'Cy.ntowk Buubury, will be returned without opposition," 1 ) ---