The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-10-04 00:00:00

PARIS AND ROUEN RAILWAY. A numerous meeting of the English shareholders in the Paris and Rouen Railway was held in the Clarendon-rooms, South John -street, at one o'clock, on the 29th ult., for the Purpose of receiving a report of the directors and engineer, with respect to the state of the concern up to that time. On the motion of Mr. CHAS. LAWRENCE, Mr. Moss was called to the chair. The CHAIRMAN commenced by stating that the directors had convened the meeting for the purpose of answering any questions which the shareholders might desire to ask. The best course, in his opinion, would be in the first instance to read the report, in order to enable gentlemen to put more pointedly any questions either to the directors or to Mr. -Locke, or to Mr. Reed, who were also present. As far as the report went, he (Mr. Moss) thought it would be found satisfactory. In one respect certainly it must be so, for it gave an assurance that before they bad again the pleasure of meeting, the opening of the line for the purpose of working would have taken place. The only question for the consi deration of the shareholders now not connected directly with their own line, would be, how far they would think it desira ble to give support to the projected continuation line to Havre, by taking shares in that concern. Some explana tions would be given to them upon that subject, and with those explanations he would leave it in their hands. Mr. SWIFT then read the report of the directors, of which the following is a copy : " Paris, 30th August, 1842. REPORT OF THE CONSEIL D'ADMINISTRATION' TO THE GENERAL MEETING. " Gentlemen,—At the period of the General Meeting last year, we were in a manner but preparing for our labours. " The first year had been employed in arranging the final Plans, and accomplishing the formalities prescribed by the law, in letting a portion of the works, and in entering into contract for the engines, rails, and chairs. " Our plans and propotions have afforded general satis faction to the legitimate claims of the localities, and were subjected to very little alteration. "The purchase of the land, which one year ago was scarcely commenced, has been carried on with the greatest activity, and now draws to a close. For this purpose the line was divided into two sections —the one containing nine teen communes, and the other twenty-nine communes. The first section has all been purchased, excepting that part re quired for our Goods Station at the Batignolles, of which a few parcels remain to be expropriated* in order to complete this station. We are neverthless in possession of a sufficient portion of the land to be enabled to commence the works. In the second section all the land required for the railway and the intermediate stations, with one exception in the communes of Sotteville and Rouen, is already purchased. The contemplated construction of the Havre Line required. some alterations in our plans in these communes, or the land would also have been purchased by this time. The new plans have, however, passed the ordeal of the Committee of Inquest, and we shall now proceed without loss of time to obtain the land. " Notwithstanding that the property required for the rail way is divided into 7500 parcels, the value of the land and houses, together with the difficulties attendant on passing through towns and villages, such as Poissy, Mantes, and Vernon, the result has been satisfactory. The greatest por tion of the purchases have been made by private contract. We have only had recourse to expropriation in a few cases, where the properties were of great value, and these were set tled by the jury in the most equitable manner. " Great care has been taken in drawing up the different conveyances. As soon as •the few remaining purchases are completed, an exact account of this portion of our outlay will be made out. In the interim everything is so settled as to place the company in perfect security. " In the last accounts which we had the honour to lay before you, the expenditure for the works amounted but to 200 .000 f. (£8,000); on the 30th June last it reached the sum of 11 ,419,404 f. 36c. (£456,776 35.) ; and at the present mo ment it is 14,338,460 f. 41c. (Z 73,538 Bs.) This will show the activity which has prevailed in conducting the works. We now lay before you the report of the engineer in chief, which will give you a more complete account of the progress of our enterprise. [Then follows Mr. Locke's report-upon the state of the works.] " To this report we beg leave to add that the advanced state of the works leaves us under no apprehension as to their early completion, nor have we any fear that the expenditure will exceed the capital. Our hopes and calculations on these two points have not been disappointed. The whole line will be finished two years earlier, at least, than the time allowed us by the bill. We shall thus be enabled to diminish the charge for interest payable during the construction of the line, and anticipate the period when the dividends will be Paid from the profits of the railway. "The result will fully justify the manner of contracting for the works which we selected. We have taken advantage of the experience acquired in England in these matters. Every doubt which existed as to success on the application of this mode of proceeding, so new to France, has been com pletely removed by the energetic means which our contrac tors have employed—difficulties have been overcome, and new methods introduced with perfect sucess. " Upon this subject we feel called upon to contradict, in the most formal manner, the incorrect reports which have been circulated in respect to the want of harmony among the workmen of various nations employed on our works. We can safely affirm that, among the 8000 men now employed, nothing has ever occurred beyond slight disputes, which it is almost impossible to prevent among so vast a body of men. They have never been of such a nature as to compromise or even retard the execution of the works. " In respect to the nature and solidity of the works, every • Precaution has been taken in order that they may stand the ttst of the mos t scru ti n i z i ng exam i nat i on. Th ey h ave b een adjudged according to specifications, drawn up after the Most mature deliberation. An efficient staff of engineers has been placed on the different portions of the line to watch over the execution of the works in their most minute details. " We have never had occasion, in any matter of import ance, as far as regards the works, to differ with the contrac tors: they have at all times, with the utmost promptitude, complied with the order s o f the engineer-in -chief. The few accidents which have really occurred on the line have o hav n e been greatly exaggerated; they were perhaps inevi tablesuch a difficult and extensive line of works, requiring Bo much rapidity in their execution ; but they were most p ro mptly attended to, and always at te charge of the con tractors. " If these works have been adjudged on terms not hitherto obtained here, be assured, gentlemen, that their solidity has not been sacrificed to a false economy ; every means have been taken to secure their stability, and to afford, at the same time, perfect security in the working of the line. A railway is of itself a great monument. Its splendour is to be found in its utility. " During the period which has intervened since our last meeting, we have completed our contracts for the supply o rails and chairs. The distance of the iron works is very great; and the extraordinary dryness of the season, together with accidents on the canals, have hitherto retarded the de liveries; but we have taken every means to secure the strict execution of our contracts; and we have, besides, received the most positive assurances that the whole quantity will be delivered within the present year. "The construction of the engines, carriages, &c., for work ing the line has kept pace with the works, two months ago there was but one engine at work in the manufactory where our locomotives are in the course of construction, at this moment more than five hundred men are actively employed, together with the most complete machinery ever yet in ap plication here. " In fine, every part of our enterprise is in the most satis factory position, which we are greatly indebted to the powerful resources you have confided to our care. "The calls have been paid up with remarkable punctuality. " At the period of the last general meeting, the receipts amounted to 12,602,086 f. 23c. (£504,083. 95.) ; on the 30th June last they reached 28,320,991 f. 25c. (X 1,132,838) ; and at this present time they amount to 31,703,872 f. 35c. (X 1,286,154. 18s.) " We have not been obliged to have recourse to legal pro ceedings to get in any of the calls. Ninety-four shares only have been sold, and these sales have generally been caused by the death or absence of the party. "Your example will not fail to produce a beneficial influ ence in the execution of great public works. In France, complete justice was rendered to you in the chambers during the discussion of the law on railways. " Our monthly outlay has increased with the progress of our works; and in the last six months of the past year it has progressed from 1,200,000 f. (X 48,000) to 2,600,000 f. ( 4 94,000), and it now reaches 3,500,000 (£140,000) each month. " The total amount of the expenditure is 27,428,591f5. 31c. (£1,097,143 12s). Although our resources are not yet exhausted, we, nevertheless, thought it expedient at the commencement of the year to make application to the minis ters for public works, for the return of our caution money, and at the same time to pave the way by complying with the various forms required, for claiming the loan of fourteen Millions from the state. At this moment, even, we are Pressing the ministers for return of the 3,600,030f5. (£44,000) caution money, which must precede the loan of 14 millions (69,000) return of 4-sths of the same has just been granted, and it is perhaps owing to a greater respect for the letter ra • tiler than the spirit of the law, that the whole is returned, fur it is impossible for the government not to perceive that our money would be much better employed in carrying on the works than it is in the coffers of the state, that a secu rity is only of real use in guaranteeing the formation of an association ; but when a company has already executed Works to the amount of twenty-eight millions (£1,120,000), the guarantee of a few hundred thousand francs must be per fectly useless. " You may rest assured we do not lose sight of the period When the payment of the loan will commence, and we have too much reliance in the interest which the government takes in our enterprise to have any fear or respect to useless delays. " As our works proceed, we are better able to appreciate the future resources of this undertaking, and we have every reason to believe that our estimates of revenue will prove to be as correct as are those of the cost of the construction. " The Havre line is the necessary consequence of the Rouen line. It promises a vast addition to the number of passen gers, and its construction will remove every doubt as to the extent of the transport of merchandise. " We have taken a prominent part with the government and the chambers in obtaining the assistance of the state for this line, and we may say that to the example of the Rouen this Copy may be mainly ascribed the favourable terms of bill. The common interest which unites the two corn- Panics will continue to be the best guarantee for their mutual c o - operation. " In conclusion. permit us, gentlemen, to refer back to the origin of our undertaking. You will bear in mind that the Law of concession dates from 15th July, 1810, some days after w e met in general assembly to examine the modifications Made in the law and in the statutes, but a graver subject then o ccupied and kept public attention in suspense. In the pre race of great political embarrassment you did not hesitate ° maintain the association. You had confidence in a better futurity. " You did not, for a moment believe that one of the beat creations of a time of peace could possibly be suspended by t he mere rumour of war. By our energy and resolution, - You gave us the first example how to overcome all difficulties. This confidence was nobly responded to by your associates ( In the other side of the water. If we allude to the circum stance of the shareholders being of two nations, it is only for t he Purpose of assuring you that only one feeling has always animated them, although the object to be attained was a great 1; 11 , 4 national work, the advantage of which would exclusively og to France. " On all occasions, under the critical circumstances which bgtened our commencement, and in the progress to those o t te . r times which have now arrived , the English co-opera hog Ibis never flagged, we have received all that we could ri e r for, the powerful assistance of its capital , and the be 1t of its great experience. Thus, nothing has been able to shake the first basis of ° , l-1r association : upon it we have been permitted to found ri of the most useful and beautiful monuments of human activity,or. and to consecrate the noble alliance of the industry mo great nations." The CHAIRMAN again rose, an d expressed his own I ?pi At op th a t t h e report was most satisfactory. It was an im portent fact, and therefore he would state it publicly, there wa s n ~ ._ not a single director who now had the smallest doubt as an d the line being completed within the first estimate of cost, n ..? within the stipulated time. He himself felt sure, not they that th e li ne would be completed, but that every p a r t of works, e ng i nes , stations, &c. would be furnished within y the word exroriation" ' 44 .e tßhe land required for the railway. is meant the power to n : ~, .r. istoS v oters 'ester before K holll ersone Doran ded to the re , Mos marl ,hed in back , umber ie case ), and eplace• I sal a fire- The ca lled ise tiree ; to big li•ougi , " ght w l relate d a c ollo' s as to and ge t ese Mr. titne ill ough is foment , hich be (though that be and w B ,l s cow' corra ,he time ;ines to t nee& 'on w ad him, 1 1 fence.' istaocet [led A )r, lif e " c heclv i for 81v mt, said ,ncurreo gar t ° Mondsr ence °P I in gr. s t o tbe should dress t° ng g r. ,g facto f felon o nted to .s a t the 'oo, o ° ° ' in avA• rods of c essar 9 rinciPle h e arts , to gi'f. cheste" l• b ut ie kind n o n icate l han ics r ace in Pr°,; 00 Pl e ic i n g the the original estimate ; and Mr. Locke, who Was present, would confirm him, and would state, th a t w h en th e li n e should be opened the company would have paid all their en gagements, and have some little capital still in hand. He trusted the meeting would not separate without returning their thanks to the directors in Paris for their very great exertions in forwarding the undertaking. They and the English directors had worked together for two years, and although the English directors had originally had reserved to them the power of voting by proxy on all points in which they differed from their French colleagues, they had never had occasion to put that power forth, so harmoniously had the two bodies worked together. He had to add, that owing to the rate of exchange between the two countries, a sum of money would stand to the credit of those English sharehold ers who had paid theiikcalls in this country. Sir JOHN EASTHOPE, Bart., said, the proper object of the meeting was, that the shareholders might be as well sa tisfied as they could be upon two questions : the one was the efficiency of the capital thoroughly and entirely to complete the works, and the other as to the time of their completion. Mr. Reed and Mr. Locke were both present, from whom the Chairman, Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Chaplin, and himself, had mainly derived their own information. They had examined the accounts, they had looked over the reports, and they had inspected the minutes very carefully; but, at the same time, they had derived all the other information they possessed from those gentlemen. In other words, he understood the object of the present meeting to be, that every gentleman present should, as far as he possibly could, have the same means of information as the English directors, in order to lead them to the same conclusions as they themselves had arrived at. The directors said that they had the utmost confidence that, by the month of May, the fine would be open. They calculated, from the reports of Mr. Reed and Mr. Locke, that the works would be substantially finished in March, but that it would not be expedient to open till May. With regard to the question of capital, inasmuch as they had no legislative power to raise further capital, it was a vital question to be ascertained, whether the capital already autho rised was itself amply sufficient for the purpose. - He under stood from Mr. Reed, Mr. Locke, and Mr. Lafitte, that they had no doubt upon that question ; but, at the same time, he wished the proprietors, by any question which they could put, to have just the same information as the directors them selves, because it was an agreeable thing for directors to be released from a certain portion of responsibility by their partners having the same means of judging as themselves. These were the two great practical questions upon which satisfaction should be given at the present meeting. The next question for the consideration of the proprietors was, how much might their concern he advantaged by an exten sion of the line to the sea; and whether or not, if that exten- sion was desirable per se, it would be for the interest of those interested in the promotion of this line to engage in that. Now as to that, both himself and his colleagues had been for some time under considerable hesitation, because they bad before them that which it well became every inquiring and thinking person to investigate, namely, the navigation of the Seine, which afforded a constant competition, and they had also the expense of executing the line. Tbat it would be an advantage to the Paris and Rouen line, no man could enter tain a moment's doubt ; it was impossible that it should not be so; it was impossible that a population like that of Paris would be content without the facility of getting to the sea with the same celerity they had got to Rouen. He was glad to say that the result of the enquiries which had been made as to the cost and the traffic, gave results which promised, satisfactorily to his mind, an ample reward for the capital to be employed ; but the English directors would afford all the information they possessed, so that an undue amount of re sponsibility might not attach to them or their opinions. They had all four embarked in it a considerable amount of capital as the result of their confidence in it. It was, how ever, upon these points that gentlemen should have informa tion. One of the first items was this, the French govern ment actually gave £320,000; the town of Havre 410,000; the Paris and Rouen £200,000, which made £560,000, besides which the French government lent £400,000 at 3 per cent., commencing eight years from the present time ; and the prin cipal repayable by equal instalments at the end of 15 years — in fortieths, he believed ; so that the whole sum probably required for the completion of the line, left £BOO,OOO to be furnished by the shareholders. He said probable, because it was possible, that £200,000 more might be required. One point on which he was disposed to think the meeting should be informed, was, what was the amount of that possibility. Mr. Locke had hopes that he should not require that £200,000. but not feeling confident that he should be able to perform the work without it, he had, with his usual caution, and very properly, deemed it right to be on the safe side. The hon. baronet then adverted to a great feature in the con cern, the payment of interest upon the capital during the construction of the works, and the establishment of a sinking fund ; and he said that when all these items were taken into account, he apprehended that they met the whole question which he had proposed. Mr. REED then came forward and said, that in offering the observations he had to make, it would be better to gO back to the consideration that the present was a meeting only of the Paris and Rouen Railway shareholders; and before they entered on the discussion of the question whether or not they would commence a new undertaking to obtain an assurance, that that which they were now engaged upon was proceeding to a successful issue. if he had felt any doubt on that subject, be would not have ventured to appear before them in connection with a new scheme; but the report just read, as well as the letter of Mr. Locke, conveyed to the shareholders all the assurances which he (Mr. Reed) thought were necessary ; the railway would be finished for the capital subscribed, and in less time than was predicted. For those advantages the shareholders were much indebted to the great exertions of Mr. Locke, who had applied all the energy and experience which he possessed to make this, his first work in France, remarkable for the speed of its execution, and the correctness of his estimates of cost. There would have been still less delay in the completion of the railway, but from the unfortunate political circumstances which prevailed when the shareholders met there two years ago to determine whe ther they would go on with the line or not. Just at that period, the treaty which created such bitterness of feeling between the two countries, had received the signature of the continental powers; and, although there had been no very great loss of time, the commencement of the work was in some degree retarded. Since then, however, their progress had been satisfactory ; every difficulty had disappeared ; and he believed they should finish this railway of SO miles long in less time than any line of equal length had ever been completed. There had been no less than 7,500 parcels of land purchased. This had certainly being very troublesome, but, like all other difficulties, had disappeared; and the company was now in the possession of the last portion of land—that which was necessary for building a station at Rouen. They had also had considerable anxiety on another point—they did not know how English contractors and English workmen w ould be received in France. They did not know whether the. French labourers would be able to go on at that railway pace which was observed in England. These anxieties, however, were at an end. Before closing this part of the subject, he would say a few words in reference to an article, or paragraph, contlined in a late number of the Railway Magazine, re ., ect'no. ‘ , ”e e 4" the bridges across the Seine. Mr. Re( d having stated the su . )stance of the paragraph, proceeded as : -- Now, what would have been the course in this country ? Why, instead of being told by an engineer of the government that we must remove our bridge, some gentleman of the law, equally acute, if possible, as my friend Mr. Swift, would have been instructed to move for an injunction, and, after having drawn out a case long enough to stretch from hence to the Court of Chancery, he would, in his turn, have instructed two or three gentlemen in black gowns and white wigs to make that move, and after stopping our works, and which way it might, we should have moved off, minus some hundreds, or perhaps £lOOO for law expenses. How was it settled in France — simply thus, a written report condemnatory of our bridge was made by the engineer of the navigation to the department of public works,—we were called upon to answer, not through the medium of the aforesaid gentlemen in black gowns and white wigs, but our own proper selves, through the medium of our engineer and our secretary ; the superior authorities having heard both sides, and inspected the plans originally proposed to them, and which they themselves had sanctioned —determined that we had executed the works according to the plan, and albeit that it was not, perhaps, the best plan for the interests of the navigation, we were authorised to complete it, and our works, which in fact, had never been suspended, were permitted to proceed. I therefore say, they do manage these things better i n France. Here the misun derstanding would perhaps have cost us £1000; there it did not cost us one shilling. It is, perhaps, unnecessary for me to say more in reference to the progress in constructing the Paris and Rouen line. In a few months the traffic will be in course of development, when I doubt not that our most san guine expectations will be realised. I now beg to draw your attention to the proposed line of railway from Rouen to Havre. The importance to the Paris and Rouen railway of such a line, is too apparent to render it necessary to detain you in describing it. Is the existence of the Grand Junction railway important to that from Birmingham to London ? No less so—but on account of particular local circumstances —more so, is that of the Havre line to the Paris and Rouen. The relative position of Paris, Rouen, and Havre, is in fact, without a parallel in this country. To form a just idea of of the thing, so as to compareit with anything here, itis neces sary that the mind should figure to itself the filling up, or the non-existence of the River Thames—that Liverpool is the Port of London—that from London to Liverpool runs the river Mersey, a beautiful stream, but circuitous and difficult of navigation, operated upon by the tide for about only one-third of its distance; and that the town of Man chester is placed somewhere about Birmingham, so as to represent Rouen, which is the Manchester of France. 1 ask you, gentlemen, whether you think that a railroad under such circumstances would pay its promoters? or whether, as men of business, you would not desire to participate in the profits which must inevitably arise, if such a railroad were constructed at a moderate cost ? Ido not mean to compare the magnitude of the mercantile transactions of France with those of this more commercial country ; but it must be borne in mind, that not only is Paris, a city of a million inhabi tants, at one end of this line, but that a very large quantity of goods are landed at Havre. and sent through Paris to the far west of France. There is not a Hull on one side the kingdom, and a Liverpool on the other. Cotton is actually carted from Havre to the foot of the Swiss mountains, in carts which move in fleets, as it were, along the road. In order, however, to form something like an estimate of quan tity, I have noted down those of several leading articles of commerce. In the year 1841, the total tonnage of the vessels entering the port of Havre was 682,000 tons, and the ton nage of those which sailed was 719,900 ; together, 1,401,000 tons. There were landed at Havre in the same year 357,327 bales of cotton, which, I believe, would weigh upwards of 70,000 tons ; of sugar, in hhds., sacks, and cases, upwards of 138,000, weighing perhaps nearly 70,000 tons more ; up wards of 150,000 tierces, sacks, and other packages of coffee • 11,700 tons of dye - woods ; upwards of 30,000 lo gs o f ma hogany ; upwards of 300,000 skins of various sorts ; 119,000 hides; 18,000 packages of tobacco; 265,000 plates of zinc; and an immense Quantity and variety of other articles, all or most part of which have to pass towards, to, or through Paris. I should deem it an impertinent waste of your time to detain you by entering into the proof that where such a port, with such an amount of business, e x i s t s, there must, necessarily, be a large traffic between that port and the point where consumption is made of these articles ; or, that where so many goods are constantly on the line of transit, there must, necessarily, be a larger passenger traffic also. The number of those passengers, or the revenue they will yield, you will find stated in the prospectus. I rely on a revenue from passengers of upwards of £132,000 per annum. But there are persons who, while they admit the existence of the traffic, yet profess to doubt whether the railway will ob tain that traffic—the Seine, they say, is a beautiful river-- passengers will prefer it to the railway — and , by the river, goods will be sent cheaper than you can carry them ; to which some add, that even if you do get the passengers, your tariff is so low that it will have only a very small profit. I believe that those who so think, are wrong. First, for the passen gers. One steam-boat per day each way runs between Havre and Rouen during the summer months only. In order, how ever, that these boats may pass in safety the sands of Quille beuf, it is necessary they - should leave Havre as soon as the water brought by the going flood tide into the harbour is suf ficiently deep to enable them to go out. These boats start frequently as early as three or four o'clock in the morning— they must not wa it f or an a ft er noon tide, forif they do, and they meet with any obstacle on the passage, the passengers are kept out all night. Again, Havre being a tidal harb our , sea-going vessel s arr i v i ng i n th e offing, must wait until the flood tide is considerably advanced before they can enter, and the consequence is, that steam-boats arriving from Eng land or other places beyond sea, cannot enter the harbour until the Rouen steam-boat has necessarily departed. Sup pose, therefore, a passenger to arrive at Havre from South hampton, or any other place at 9 o'clock in the morning, the Rouen boats will have started at 8, if he will go by the steam boat, he must remain until 9 the next morning, whereas, if he chooses to go by the rail roa d, h e may rema i n 2 hours in Havre to refresh himself, and be in Paris at 6 o'clock to dinner. Can any one doubt which mode of conveyance will be preferred? Then, as to the goods ;—if the Seine is really so good a me dium of transit, how happens it that upwards of 110,000 tons of goods per annum are transported between Paris and Havre by land, at an expense ranging from £2 Bs. to £5 per ton? It is clear, from this single circumstance, that the common road is a powerful competition with the river. The com monest goods sent by the river pay about per ton per mile, while the cotton pays an average of 20 francs per ton for transport from Havre to Rouen, which will be more than 3d. per ton per mile when taken by the more direct route of the railway. It will be seen that, in the prospectus, it is only assumed that we shall obtain from the river 100,000 tons per annum. lam thoroughly satisfied that we shall obtain that quantity, and that if we choose to adopt a scale of charge not greater than is charged on some railroads in this neighbour hood, we may take nearly all the goods which now go by the Seine. I suppose no one will doubt our getting those which now go by land. And now as to the profit on the passen gers :—our tariff allows us to charge 12 centimes per kilometre for Ist class passengers. 10 „ ft 2d 77 7+ 77 3d „ which, rendered into English denominations, is, as nearly as possible, rather less than 2d. per mile for Ist class passer-, gers ; rather more than IW. per mile for 2d class ; and 14d. for 3d class. It is quite certain that in France passengers are carried at a cost to the companies of one halfpenny per passenger per mile. If it is observed that this is cheaper than they are carried in England--I admit at once that it is so : but the reason why they are carried cheaper in France than in England, is that a greater number of passengers are carried in each train. The Paris and Orleans train have averaged 153 passengers by each train from the Ist January to the present time. The average, on thJ most favoured line in England, is not more than 70, while in most cases the average ranges between 50 and 60. Now, I apprehend that the cost to the company of carrying 150 passengers is very little more than that of carrying 50. Be that as it may, it is clear, from the accounts of the St. Germain, the Orleans, and other railways, that the total expense of carrying passengers is not exceeding one•halfpenny per mile; and,assuming that all the Paris and Rouen passengers are second class, and charged per mile, it follows that they will leave a profit of 66 per cent. I therefore differ in Coto with those who predict that we shall not have the traffic, or that, if we obtain it, it will not be profitable ; and I beg of those entertaining such opinions to look at the facts more closely, and I am sure they will alter those opinions. Now let us see what is to be done with this profit when it is obtained. It has to be divided over a :hare capital of £BOO,OOO only; for, as has already been explained to you by the hon. baronet, the extraneous aids which we receive reduce the share capital to that compa ratively trifling amount. £lO,OOO a-year will, therefore, pay 5 per cent. on the shares. Gentlemen, I will not detain you by attempting to prove what must be self-evident, namely, that nearly sixty miles of railway, through such an important line of country, must yield several times over such a sum. It was a saying of the Emperor Napoleon, that " the time would come when Paris, Rouen, and Havre would become one large town, of whiCh the Seine would be the principal street." The conception was worthy of the master-mind which conceived it. Had he lived, however, until this time, he would have had occasion to vary one part of his predic ,.. . tion, and for the Seine have substituted the railroad, which will now most certainly be made. (Applause.) Mr. LUCKE said, that after the eloquent address of his Mend nothing was wanting from him to assure the proprie tors of the prosperous condition of the Paris and Rouen line. It was two years since they met in that room, when some of them were not so sanguine as he was of the result ; but now they had obtained greater information, and he was not less sanguine now that he had got it. He was satisfied that the capital of the company would be sufficient. There were, however such things as administrative acts of govern ment, to which they were obliged to submit ; therefore, it behoved them to behave with becoming caution when they talked of capital; but judging from the past, he had not the slightest doubt that they_ would be able to execute this railway for the original estimate, and have some little money to spare. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Of the time he had no doubt whatever ; the line would be ready for _ _ opening on the first of May. Indeed he had considered that question fully before he had written his report, conse- quently he had nothing to do on that point but to refer the proprietors to that report. It had been made after great consideration of the state of the works; and he had, in short, no doubt that the line would he ready for opening on the first of May. (Hear.) With regard to the Havre line, he could not speak of it with so much confidence as he had now spoken of the Paris and Rouen line ; but he could speak of it with quite as much certainty as he could of the Paris and Rouen line two years ago. He thought the smaller capital was sufficient; but as they might have seen from his report, he had thought it right to guard himself, and in guarding himself he guarded the proprietors, by wishing to have £200,000 extra capital, to be employed in purchasing stock, in the event of the Paris and Rouen Railway Corn pany declining to find the stock, or to work the line; it was a simple question whether it would not be for the inte rest of the two companies to work together, and that the Paris and Rouen company should find the stock for both. In that event this £200,000 which he wished for would pro- bably not be wanted; and this was the contingency to which he had alluded in his report. In conclusion he felt thankful to the directors for the confidence placed in him : and the shareholders might rely that he would use all his energies for the success of the undertaking. _ . _ Sir J. EASTHOTE recollected th . at in the case of the Rouen line, it was to be only after the shareholders had contributed their funds that the government advanced their loan. He enquired how that was with regard to the Havre line? Mr. REED read the whole article of the law, which was to the effect, that when the company had expended £160,000, then the government was to begin to pay, by tenths, the sum they were to lend; and when the £160,000 were ex pended, then the government had to furnish £40,000, the company put to it £40,000; and having expended that, they would go to the government for another £40,000, and so on. This was as regarded the loan ; as respected the gift, (8 mil lions of francs,) it was to be given to the company in propor tion to the advance of the works. The gift and the works would go on pari passe. Mr. JOSEPH HORNBY made an inquiry, to the effect, whether the £200,000 was given to the Havre Company by the Paris and Rouen Company ? Mr. REED said, the Paris and Rouen Company had only, in fact, to find £40,000, the government lending the other £160,000, at 3 per cent. ; and the simple question was, whe ther, for the sake of saving £4,800 a-year interest, and £40,000 cash, they would lose the Havre line. He thought there could not be a question about it. Mr. LocKE added, that it was not, in fact, a gift of mo ney ; but they were to contribute towards making the line through the town of Rouen, which would cost £400,000. The CHAIRMAN explained, that every one was aware of the difficulty there was in all railways in England as to mak ing junctions in towns between railways from opposite direc tions, the one coming in upon one side and another upon the other. The French government very properly said, to the Paris and Rouen Company, in the first instance, " we must insist, if you make a line to Rouen, and if there is a line made from thence to Havre, that you bear a portion of the expense of making it through Rouen." Their portion of the expense was £200,000 , and towards this sum the French government lent them (as had been before explained) £160,000, at 3 per cent., and he was quite sure it would have been better for the English railways if the English govern ment had done the same. Sir JOHN EASTHOPE asked, whether that was contem plated in the Paris and Rouen expenditure • and whether, in stating his confidence in the sufficiency of the capital, Mr. Reed had taken into his account this £40,000 ? Mr. REED said, his hope was, that the estimate would cover it ; but he could not positively say it would. Mr. PARSONS begged to ask, whether the amount put down for stock for the Paris and Rouen line would be suf ficient also to work the Havre line ? _ _ Mr. Locicz thought a few more engines and a few more carriages might be required, but nothing for the wotking, es tablishment ; and he thought mutual advantages would be derived from the Paris and Rouen Company working the Rouen and Havre line. Mr. PARSONS said he had seen no particulars of the cost of the railway ; but he trusted it was the intention of the di rectors that the shareholders should have an opportunity of contrasting the actual cost with the estimate. Mr. REED replied, that by law the accounts were obliged to be furnished at the end of the work. Mr. LOCKE added that all the works were being done by contract ; all the accounts were kept distinct, and it only re quired an order of the directors to make them out in a de tailed form. _ . _ Mr. PARSONS.—To a half-yearly meeting? Mr. REED.—Yes, after the opening of the line. Mr. PARSONS meant, before the opening? Mr. RFED said that was not contemplated. There must be two half-yearly meetings held in France. Those held in England were not official meetings, but rather meetings of a section of the proprietors; and it was a matter of convenience as well as policy that these explanations should be periodi cally given. There was no express regulation, but it arose out of the nature of things. Mr. PARSONS said that as half the capital for this foreign railway would be held in England, the English shareholders should have an opportunity of asking the directors any questions. Mr. REED was sure the English shareholders had only to express a wish, and it would be attended to. The CHAIRMAN said, in poitit of fact, this was a French railway, and, therefore, the meetings must be held in France. Although the English had taken one half the capital, that did not make it an English railway, and he could not imagine that any influence of theirs would be sufficient to procure the holding of the official meetings in England. Mr. PARSONS was speaking not of the official meetings of the company, but of those meetings which were held merely for the convenience of the shareholders resident in England. The same, in fact, as the present meeting. The CHAIRMAN thought it would be extremely important, whenever the railway was opened, that there should be meet ings held in England previous to the half-yearly meetings in Paris. With regard to the accounts, they were kept as regularly as (perhaps more regularly than) any English company's accounts. They were kept with the greatest possible minuteness. The directors in France, indeed, con sidered it their duty to act almost as scretaries rather than as directors ; they went through the whole detail of business themselves, and every order for money required the signa tures of three directors before it was paid. Mr. REED stated, that with regard to the Havre line, £2 would be required as a deposit ; and the next call would not be made till June, before which time the Paris and Rouen line would be opened. They had been enabled to extend the interval between calls from three to four months, in conse quence of the aid of government going on pari passu with the works. . . Mr. PARSONS asked whether it was intended to consoli date the two companies ? The CHAIRMAN said that it was a question he could not answer. He was quite of opinion that where companies could be advantageously consolidated it ought to be done ; but in this case there were upwards of 2,000 proprietors resident in France, and it would require the sanction of every individual, or a new law, to effect an amalgamation with the Havre line ; he, however, could not but hope that the two companies would be consolidated hereafter. It was of importance that they should be with regard to the saving of working expenses; and as far as his influence went, he would assist in doing it. Mr. PARSONS asked how the account for exchanges was kept? The CHAIRMAN replied that the account was not kept with each individual, but with each share. Troublesome as it was, each share bad a separate account kept of what was due to it. With those who held shares from the first, and paid all their calls in England, it was very simple. Mr. REED said it was a troubleseme business, but it was only proper that the parties to whom the share belonged should have their money. Mr. PARSONS enquired whether the £2 paid with with re gard to the Havre line limited the responsibility ? The CHAIRMAN replied that first of all the French go vernment had not done in the present case as in the Paris and Rouen. In this latter they required £2 to be paid to them for caution money : in the present case they had re quired only £1 If the Havre company did not go on with the line that £1 was liable to forfeiture ; and according to the law of France the shareholders would be compellable to pay up the three first calls. Whether or not the law would be enforced he did not know ; but he himself could not conceive of the probability of anything occurring to make it desirable not to go on. After a few words on this subject, Mr. Chaplin was called upon for his opinion on the subject of the Havre line, Mr. CHAPLIN said he thought there was no doubt of success. The inhabitants of Havre, whose interests were identified with the river Seine, thought so much of it that they consented to give £40,000 toward it. They were, therefore, movers in it; and the other movers were the French govern_ went, who saw at once the inefficiency of the Seine for the traffic between the places. This line, therefore, was not a speculative line of the proprietors of the Paris and Rouen Railway Company, but it had arisen from the necessities of the people of Havre and the French government. He was aware of the effects of the rivers running parallel with the railways, but this was not to be feared between Havre and Rouen. As to the Paris and Rouen he was so confident in its results that he had not only retained but increased his interTst in the company • and he had the strongest faith in it. There could not be the shadow of a doubt of its drawing the passengers to it •, neither could there be, he thought, the shadow of a doubt of its drawing the goods and traffic from the river. (Cheers.) Sir JOHN EASTHOPE stated, that the people of Havre had exhibited the same confidence in the undertaking as Mr. Chaplin. They were under engagement to Mr. Lafitte to procure the subscription of one-half the whole capital to be subscribed in Prance for the undertaking, in addition to what they gave (namely, £40,000) out of their corporate funds. Now, if they had not imagined that the concern would yield an ample return they would not have under taken to do all this. This, indeed, was the strongest evi dence of their conviction of the utility and the propriety of the undertaking. Besides this, Messrs. Mackenzie and Brassey, the contractors, had sent in an application for no less than 700 shares. (Cheers.) A short discussion followed upon some minor points, at the end of which a resolution was moved by Mr. THEODORE W. RATHBONE, and seconded by Mr. GEORGE GRANT, of Liverpool, "That this meeting, having heard the statements just made as to the projected extension line from Rouen to Havre, (both as to its intrinsic merits and its bearing on the Paris and Rouen Railway,) unanimously and strongly re commend all the proprietors of shares in the latter line to take shares also in the. former ; and, that copies of the pro ceedings of this day be forwarded to each proprietor." Moved by Mr. J. WINDSOR, and seconded by Mr. W. HILL, of Manchester, "That the thanks of the proprietors are justly due, and are now accordingly tendered to the di rectors generally, and to the chairman for his conduct in the chair to-day." The meeting then separated. PLAN FOR SUPPLYING WATER. Mr. Ashlin, treasurer to the Highway Board and secretary to the Watch Committee, develops, in the following letter, a plan for supplying the town with water, which could be ap plied to a variety of useful and important purposes. The plan will, no doubt, receive the consideration of the proper authorities. Liverpool, September 26, 1842. Dear Sir,—As you have long taken a very great interest in the important subject of providing a better supply of water, to be used for the purpose of watering the streets, and the suppression of fires in this town, perhaps you will permit me to avail myself of the opportunity, now that the public mind seems at length properly aroused to the subject, to recall to your recollection, that I stated to you, as Chairman of the " Water Committee," some months since that I had formed a plan, which I fully believed would, if carried into effect, be the means of remedying the admitted defect i❑ both these departments. _ _ _ At present the water available for watering the streets and extinguishing fires is derived from the inadequate mains of the Water Companies or from the docks. The latter is available only to a very limited extent, and the former is neither prompt nor sufficient in cases of emergency. The overflow of water from the Canal has frequently been brought under the consideration of the authorities of the town, and has been regarded by some as all that is required for purposes of this sort; but even this is only available to a limited extent, and that not constantly. At the upper parts of Liverpool there are high grounds, from which, however, a sufficient supply of water cannot be derived without a most alarming outlay ; and it appears to me, therefore, that if Liveipool is to have an abundant sup ply for the purpose named, it must be taken from the docks or river. The means for effecting this are practicable, and might be obtained at a comparatively trifling expense. I therefore respectfully suggest that the trust, of which you have been a very active member for a number of years, should, in conjunction with the Fire-police Committee of the Council, erect a steam-engine, say of 50 horse power, at the Waterloo Dock basin, to force water from the river, into pipes of nine inch diameter, along Waterloo-road, Bath street, Chapel-street, Covent-garden, Fenivick-street, Lord street, Church-street, Ranelagh-street, Mount Pleasant, and Oxford-street to Crown-street, there to flow into a reservoir, capable of containing from 15,000 to 20,000 tuns ; from this main should branch others, of equal capacity, into Robert street North, Queen-street, Lancelot's-hey, Oldhall-street, Water-street, Paradise-street, and Mersey-street, thus co vering all the streets where warehouses containing the great est amount of property, and most exposed to extensive loss, are situated ; and on the sufficiency of such mains I have consulted the Head constable, who has been kind enough to point out to me the locality where they are most wanted. .For the purpose of watering the streets, the principal mains should be crossed by smaller ones at two intervals ; the first at the bottom of Lord-street, extending in the northerly di rection to the top of Scotland-road, and terminating at the end of Burlington-street ; and the other at Mount Pleasant, at the corner of Clarence-street, extending northwards to St. Ann's Church, and southward to Parliament -street, and from thence descending to the corner of St. James's-road, down Parliament-street, St. James's-street, and Park-lane, to the Custom-house, sending out a lateral branch from Great George-plaae, along Great George-street, Berry-street, and Bold-street. I also propose another branch along Tithebarn street and Vauxhall-road. The streets through which the mains would pass could be watered by merely opening a fire-plug, properly constructed ; and the adjoining streets by carts filled at different convenient points by similar means, and without the labour of pumping. The superiority of salt water for watering streets is well known, and admitted by all who have paid the slightest at tention to the subject. The Reservoir, above Crown-street, would always enable the carts to be filled, and the streets to be watered, whether the engine might be at work or not. For the same reason, water would always be available at fires • and when the steam engine was at work, the use of the fire engines would be frequently superseded, as, in the vicinity of the steam engine, the water would be projected with a power beyond the capacity of any fire engine worked by hand labour. I will not trouble one so conversant with the subject as yourself with more minute details, but proceed to show that what I have stated can be accomplished , and at a compara tively trifling outlay, considering the great , eekirity it would afford for the protection of property and the comfort of the inhabitants. Ths following is a summary of the first cost, and in the estimate I take it for granted that the land occupied for the construction of the reservoir would be leased, and not purchased ; but, in the event of not being able to procure land in the situation alluded to, I would respectfully point out the land in Arrad-street, opposite the Alms-house, al ready belonging to the town, and used as a manure and stone deptit, as an eligible site ; it contains an area of 4,000 super ficial yards, and might be found sufficient for the purpose, the difference between the level of Arrad-street and Crown street being only 4 feet. COST OF PIPES. AND THE EXPENSE OF LAYING DOWN. Yards. £ s. d. 4017 at ICs. 3213 12 0 Dock to Crown -street .... Pipes of 9 in chntr. from Waterloo „ 9 ditto Paradise-street to Mersey-street „ 9 ditto collateral bran ches in Robert - street North, Lancelot's-hey, Water-st., and Oldhall-street 430 at 16s. 344 0 0 „ 4 ditto Mile -end to Lord-street .... 1750 at 6s. 525 0 0 If 4 dittoSt.A nn ' s c h urc h to Parliament -street „ 4 ditto St. James'-road to Custom-house.. „ 4 ditto St. James's place to bottom of Bold-st 1406 at 6s. „ 4 ditto Tithebarn-st and Vauxhall-road 557 at 16s. 445 12 0 2400 at 6s. 720 0 0 420 0 0 421 16 0 1396 at 6s. 418 16 0 £6508 16 0 X s. d. - Steam•engine, 50 horse power 1500 0 0 House for engine, &c... Fire plugs Making a total of without the expense of constructing the reservoir ; which, if made merely for the purpose of holding water, would only be for excavating the ground to a sufficient depth, so that the total cost of the outlay for all practical purposes would be about £lO,OOO ; but if the reservoir is to be made use of for public baths, the expense, of course, may be increased to any amount. This sum cannot be considered too great to prevent a town like Liverpool, the second seaport in the kingdom, from giving due consideration to the subject : in addition to this, the fact should not be lost sight of that the annual expense at present incurred by the Highway Board, for water and pumpers' wages, (which would then cease,) would very nearly pay the interest upon the outlay. whilst the comfort of the inhabitants would be greatly increased, as the streets could then be supplied with abundance of water, contrasting greatly with the present inadequate means used for that purpose. In addition to the subjects already named, there are others m ay be classed among the useful and ornamental The reservoir, at a very trifling additional expense, could be rendered of infinite advantage to the health, recreation, and comfort of the inhabitants of the upper parts of the town, by being converted into a Public Salt-water Bath, or Baths, the admission to which could be so regulated as to provide for order and management, and might also contribute a con siderable sum towards the expense of maintaining it. And in addition to this, Public Fountains at the mere cost of con struction, could be erected at any point along the line of the several mains, and kept constantly to play; and I have no doubt that numbers of gentlemen would avail themselves, by this made, of providing a supply of salt water for baths in their private residence s , paying no doubt, a liberal sum an nually for such accommodation. In submitting these observations to you, I am perfectly aware that persons practically acquainted with the details, or working, of such a plan as I have described, may be able to find many defects and omissions which have not presented themselves to my mind, owing to my limited knowledge of the mechanical operations required in such an undertaking ; but if what I have stated, or any part of it, can be turned to good account, so as to give greater security to life and pro perty, and add to the comfort of the inhabitants of the town, I shall have great satisfaction in knowing that my humble suggestions may have been the means of causing others more competent than myself to turn their attention to this very mportant and interesting subject. I am, dear sir, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, CAPES ASH LIN. To Thomas Kaye, Esq., Chairman of the " Water Committee" o f the Hi ghway Board. The remains of the Marquis of Wellesley are to be in terred in Westminster Abbey. The funeral will be a public one. DEATH OF Slit M. O'LouGni.lN.—We regre t t o an nounce the death of Sir Michael O'Loughlin, Master of the Rolls for Ireland, Sir Michael, who came to town for me dical advice, died on Wednesday evening, in George-street, Hanover-square. EFFECTS OF ROYAL PATRONAGE.---M. Jullien and lady, of the Queen's Opera, London, passed through Perth on Sunday, for the purpose of engaging eight Highland pipers and twenty-four dancers, of the first order, to perform at the opera, and from thence they are to be taken along with M. Jullien on a projected tour through France and Ger many.—Caledonian Mercury. ARREST OF FEARGUS O'CONNOR.—On Friday morning Mr. Feargns O'Connor and Mr. Campbell were arrested in London. They were brought before Mr. Hall, the chief magistrate of Bow-street. Mr. Waddington's appearance as counsel for the Crown gave solemnity to the occasion : a solicitor assisted Mr. O'Connor. Mr. O'Connor repelled the charge of sedition, and said that he had even been ac cused of being in the pay of the tories, because he prevented the people from committing outrages, on account of the corn law. Mr. Hall declined being the depository of Mr. O'Con nOr's confessions, but consented to hold him to bail, to ap pear in due course before the Manchester magistrates. Mr. O'Connor entered into his own recognisances to that end for £1000; and Mr. Cleave, of Shoe-lane, and Mr. Oldfield, of 80lt -court, became bound for him, under penalties of £5OO each. Somewhat lower bail was exacted for Mr. Campbell ; but it does not appear whether he availed himself of the arrangement. THE EXHIBITION.-(CONTINUED.) 103. Vesuvius, from a Window in a Neapolitan Villa. W. Havell.—A very charming little picture, representing a view of the celebrated volcano, as seen through a window, round which " the loving vine" entwines in great luxuriance. The vineyards in the middle ground have the light sweetly thrown upon them. 104. Scene in Castlegate, York. W. G. Herdman, Lans downe -terrace, Everton.—An excellent view of this portion of the ancient city. 109. Falstaff thrown into the Thames. F. Goodall.—The fat knight we here see being tumbled out of the buck basket into the Thames; Windsor Castle in the distance. A hu morous picture, and well painted. 116. Hymen burning the Arrows of Cupid. Geo. Patten, A.R.A.—A picture full of fancy, poetry, and feeling, with a dash of refined humour. The figures are admirably painted. This is one of the very good pictures in the rooms. 8. The Favourite. J. T. EglingtOn, Islington, Liver- This is a well-painted portrait of a lead-coloured Italian greyhound. • Such an oild-" favouiecl"dog deserves being put on canvas. 123. A Visit of Rich Relations ; and 130. A Visit of Poor Relations. F. P. Stephanoff.—Two capital little pic tures, conveying a moral too plain to be misunderstood. In one a hearty welcome is given to some newly-arrived visitors, while in the other the poor widow and her children are seen lingering at the rich min's door'in a state of doubt and un certitude. The pretended deafness of the old gentleman, and the prim stiffness of the-old lady nursing her quadru pedal pets, are very well managed. 124. Scene near Beddgelert. Coply Fielding.—A charm ing landscape, sweetly painted. 140. The Effects of Poaching. S. Eglington, Islington. —This picture reminds us of Repingille, not only in the moral of the scene, but in the management of the actors in it. A wounded man is seen stretched on a bed in a garret, attended by women. One of them is bandaging his hurts ; another is administering a potion. At the casement is a ruf fianly fellow on the look-out :on the floor are hares, phea sants, &c. A broken gun, and other details, make up the subject. The idea is excellent, but the colouring throughout too vivid. The window-curtains are rich enough in tint for a palatial ball ; the valance of the low bed is more like the lace of a state couch ; while the hangings seem as if made of shot silk. Time will no doubt subdue all this brightness, but at present the fittings of the room appear too costly : there is too comfortable an appearance to be real : poachers' dwellings are generally desolate places. The composition of the picture is good. 144. Banks of the Medina, Isle of Wight. A. Vickers.— An exquisite river scene, faithfully put on the canvas. 155. Aspiration. S. Gamberdella.—A lovely half-length female, sweetly painted. 162. Juliet and the County Paris, at the Friar's Cell. J. Hollins.—County Paris is depicted by the artist as an inani mate coxcomb, while the divine Juliet is a complete piece of milk-and-waterism. 177. Portrait of a Red Deer in Knowsley Park, 21 y ears of age. R. Ansdell.—Mr. Ansdell has been very successful in this picture. The subject of his pencil is a fine animal, and stands in all the pride of years, before the spectator, " waving his antlers high." 196. Antique Interior at West Bill House, Hastings. W. Collingwood, Russell-street.—A. picture of an antique chamber. A lady is seen sitting at a window. It is a very cleverly-painted picture : the shadows deep, the lights bril liant in the extreme, the colours all of a most vivid hue. 198. Kirkstall Abbey; and 200. Cattle on the Moor. J. T. Eglington.—Mr. James Eglington is making rapid strides in his profession : a manifest improvement is perceptible since last year. 199. Greenwich Pensioner. H. Pidding.—A good head of an old veteran. 214. Nature. R, Rothwell.—A half-naked child, with flaxen locks, sitting on the ground, looking the spectator full in the face. The bead is very clever : the legs, hands, and arms appear unfinished. The head reminds us of Sir Thomas Lawrence. 232. Boys dressing Guy Fawkes. T. Clater.—A lot of lads in a barn are actively employed dressing up a Guy Fawkes, the face of which, and that of the quadruped near, strongly resemble a local dramatist. This picture has con siderable merit. 239. Portraits of the Children of S. Jackson, Esq., S. Bishop ;-288. Flowers, Miss Hunt ;-255. Portrait of Miss Mocatta, E. Warren ;-256. Portrait of a Lady, P. Westcott ;-261. Portrait of a Gentleman, P. Westcott,— are all by Liverpool artists. 268.—The Man and his Two Wives. E. Prentis.—An excellent little picture. The unhappy bigamist appears greatly to suffer from the infliction he is destined to undergo. Youth and age are happily contrasted. 275. Sally Paddock. P. Corbett.—A cleverly-painted bead of an old woman, a resident in Lord Tanterville's almshouses, Shrewsbury. 276. Taylor's Mill, North Shore, as it appeared on the night of the 2d November, 1816. Turmeau, Liverpool.— The representation of this fire must have an additional in terest at the present time, from the fact that the building is now the Rotunda Tavern, situated immediately in the vici nity of the late disastrous conflagration. The spectator will observe that great changes have taken place in that locality since the circumstance depicted took place. 279. Nero. R. Ansdell, Liverpool.—A portrait of a fine animal, the property of C. Buchanan, Esq. 284. Dudley Castle: Sunset. A. Hunt, Bold-street. — Mr. Hunt's pictures may be known by his constantly intro ducing great glares of yellow in the sky. His picture of Sephton Church, exhibited last year, was remarkable for the jaundiced hue of the sky. The present little picture exhibits it ; and the large picture-372. Moel Gwdion, near Fesliniog . . is noticeable for this strange love of an unsightly colour. 294. A Portrait. T. Hyland, Liverpool.—This young artist, we see, has but one work this year. 307. The Cottar's Saturday Night. T. F. Marshall.—A very pleasing and interesting picture, illustrating Burns's exquisite poem. 312. Action of the St. Fiore;zzo and Piedmontaise. S. Walters, Nelson. street, Liverpool.—A. very spirited repre sentation of a gallant naval action. for particular , : of which see catalogue. 328. Broadstairs Pier: Morning. C. R. Stanley.—A very sweetly-painted and correct view. Although wanting in interesting objects, it is still a pleasing picture. Round the rocks at the furthermost point stands the North Fore land Lighthouse. Many a Ramsgate voyageur has felt heavy qualms on weathering this headland. 329. Androcles and the Lion. W. Huggins.—Another of Mr. Huggins's lion pictures. In this work the animal is admirably painted. The king of the forest is seen exhibiting Ins thorn-pierced foot to Androcles, who lies on the ground half raised by his left arm. The scene of this encounter is a den, and at the mouth of it is the open country. The Arms of Androcles are placed on a ledge, to be out of the way, we suppose, in case of necessity. Would Androcles, as a sensi ble man, have so stowed away his means of defence in such a locality ? The figure of Androcles is but a repetitio❑ of Daniel in the picture exhibited last year by the same artist, only placed in a different attitude. "What a fine subject would be the meeting of Androcles in the arena with his royal patient! What a masterpiece of art might not such a picture prove !—one well worthy of a prize, if worked out with ability. What a lesson does not the story convey—of gratitude for a past favour ! Mr. Huggins has another picture in this room -342. An Old House in Chester, the Birthplace of a Sculp !or.—lt has but little merit. 331. The Barefooted Friar. J. P. Phillips.—This is an Illustration of " Ivanhoe." The Friar Tuck is seen in all his glory, before 7 gOOd - wine and fat venison," as the old Roman hath it. 335. Christ and Nicodemus, A. Reping:lle ;-339. Fish erman and Children, T. F. Marshall ;-340. Portraits of Mrs. Black and Children, J. Bishop, —are all by Liverpool artists ;—as well as 345. Sty Head and Summit of Scaufell Pikes, by Collingwood. ARRIVAL OF THE CALEDONIA. The British and North American Royal mail steamer the Caledonia, Captain Lott, arrived on Sunday morning at five o'clock. She was, including the stoppage at Halifax, above fourteen days on the passage, not having had more than twenty-four hours fair wind during the whole time. We sub join a list of her passengers and her log. PASSENGERS. From Boston to Halfax.—J. Gutram, lady and son, Mr. Hall and lady, Mr. J. Bennett, Mrs. Hauston, William Fales, J. D. Fraser, R. D. Fraser, E. A. Crawley, Mrs. Clark, J. Batchelder, Edward A. Souder, Capt. Owen, Cha. de Crespigny, Reuben Small. From Boston to Liverpool.—George Alexander, Mr. Max well, Miss M. Duncan, Jacob Pirri, Milliam M. Richards, Mr. Bradbury and servant, J. C. Allispach and friend, Chas. Keof, W. Munroe, jun., George 0. Hovey, S. M'Clarty, D. R. Burbank, Charles M'lver, William H. Wardell, Henry Sebor, James L. Little, J. S. Lovering, Thomas Fowler. From Halifax to Liverpool.—Lieut. Orlebar and lady three children and one servant, Mrs. Milward, Miss Oridge. Mrs. Morris, Mr. Algrubb, Rev. W. Cogswell and lady, Mr Wilson, Mr. George Black, (ship builder, Quebec ; ) Mr James Barry. LOG. Sept. 17.—Sailed from Boston, 2 p.m. 18.—Running for Halifax. 11.—Arrived at Halifax, 830 a.m. Sailed again for L verpool, 5 10 p.m. 20.—Wind variable, course N. 80 E., distance 166 miles, lat. 45 5, long. 59 32. Strong breezes and squally, with a heavy cross sea. 21.—Wind N. by W., N.N.W. and N.W., course N. S 1 E., distance 170 miles, lat. 45 13,10ng. 55 29. Strong breezes and cloudy, with a heavy cross sea. 22.—Wind variable, course N. 78 45 E., distance 225 miles, lat. 45 57, long. 50 22. Fresh breezes and clear. 23.—Wind variable, course N. 73 7 E., distance 225 miles, lat. 47 1, long. 45 21. Strong breezes and hazy. 24.—Wind variable, course N. 75 E., distance 224 miles, lat. 48, long. 40 5. Fresh breezes and hazy, with a heavy cross sea. 25.—Wind south and variable, course N. 75 E., distance 187 miles, lat. 48 48, long. 35 34. Strong breezes and hard squalls, with a heavy head sea. 26.—Wind south, course 78 45, distance 195 miles, lat. •19 30, long. 30 46. Strong breezes and a heavy sea on. 27.—Wind S. and S.S.W., course N. 78 E. distance 163 miles, lat. 50115, long. 2i 41. Strong breezes and a very heavy cross sea. 28.—Wind variable, course N. 71 E., distance 163 miles, lat. 51 05, long. 22 35. Strong breezes and a very heavy cross sea. 29.—Wind S.S.E., course N. 89 E., distance 210 miles, lat. 51 11, long. 87 5. Strong breezes and a heavy bead sea. 30.—Wind easterly, course N. 88 E., distance 184 miles, lat. 51 11, long. 11 48. Strong breezes and a heavy head sea. At 11 p.m. Cape Clear bore North 21 miles. Oct. I.—Running up the channel took pilot on board off Point Lynas, at 10 30 p.m. 2.—Arrived in Liverpool, 5 a.m. Alderman Humphrey was elected Lord Mayor of London on Thursday. Alderman Thomas Wood, against whom there are certain charges alleged, was rejected, although in point of seniority he had the first claim to the chair. THE GROCERS V. THE EXClSE.—Notices of action have been served upon Mr. Pape, collector of excise, at the suit of Mr. Fox Dixon, for overcharge in the cost of licens es. Mr. Dixon contends that the present system of licensing grocers in this country is a breach of the prov isions . of the act of union, and he has now placed the question in such a train as will enable him to try it during the ensuing session. Should he succeed, of course the back duties levied by the excise would be, of right, returned, and , they amount to very nearly hatf a million.—Dublin Freeman s Journal. PROPAGATION OF POPERY,—The SIHI:1S extracted by foreign priests from the wretchedly impoverished inhabitant s of Ireland, for the R o mishpro . paganda, are quite marvell ous . There really ought to be a re- enactment of some of the old statutes against th es e cormoran t frauds and ex t or ti ons. W e find the following su m tottle for I one month, and that th e dead month of th e y ear, published n the papers :—" To tot a l received from Ist August to sth September, £670 17s. 10.!. This, well. The truth is, that Rome gathers he r This, t o gether with the repeal extortions and other sm . h . t"alre:?heirse now much more boldly than England.—London. r derry Sentinel. SHIPMASTERS' ASSOCIATION LECTURES ON PRACTICAL NAVIGATION, BY LIEUTENANT TRACEY, On Monday se'night, the first of a series of lectures upon this important subject, was delivered by Lieutenant Tracey, R.N., in the room of the Shipmasters' Association, in Old Hall-street. Amongst the members present, we noticed Wm. Rowett, Esq., president, in the chair, Capts. Hamil ton, Vero, Parker, Hill, Prompt, Lewis, Dalrymple, Messrs. . . Rowlands, Smith, &c., &c. Tile lecturer commenced by addressing a few introduc tory remarks, explaining the circumstances which had placed him before that meeting, and proceeded to read the invita tion which had been addressed to him by Mr. Moss, on be half of the association, and his reply F,cceding, to their wish, that he should deliver a course of lectures.on the subject of practical navigation. lie had considered it.his dutv.thus to accede ;—not that he could lay claim to greater ability than others of his nautical brethren,—but that when a combina tion of circumstances called forth their united exertions, it was not the character of a seaman to shrink from the occu pation of any post to which he was summoned. Having given his consent to the delivery of these lectures the question presented itself, which was the most desira ble course to pursue in treating so large a subject. It seemed to him that it would be necessary to indulge in some preface ; and he had, therefore, arrived at the determination to make the present entirely an introductory lecture. The speaker then proceeded to direct the attention of the meeting to the meaning of the terms " practical navigation," and " a prac tical navigator," and pointed out the progress which had been made of late years in the science of navigation, the im portance of the invention of the chronometer, and other in struments unknown to our fathers, who steered merely by the compass and the stars. To be a good practical navigator required, he contended, considerable astronomical attain ments, and a high degree of proficiency in those nautical ac quirements, which come under the denomination of " seainan ship." Formerly (by which term he meant previously to the invention of the chronometer), three important things were diligently attended to by the navigator. lie referred to " the lead, the log, and the look out." Of late, he regretted to say, that these had been much neglected. Chronometers, in stead of being regarded in their proper light as valuable ad juncts, have been exalted from simple regulators into infallible guides : so much so, that some of our very experienced na vigators, while they have doubted their compasses, their lu oars, and dead reckoning, have, from a fatuity quite asto nishing, never been led to doubt the accuracy of their chro nometers. He scarcely ever met a captain yet but what he considered his chronometer as one of the very best. But what if it was? It is, after all, a mere machine (a most va luable one doubtless, but still a mere machine), whose rate may be affected not only by temperature, magnetic influence, motion, concussion, &c., &c., but even by being wound up in an improper manner. Is this then, he asked, an instru ment to which we should almost solely commit ourselves, without using every endeavour, by deaA.reckoning, lunars, and astral observations, to check even the slightest inaccu racy that might arise ? Surely not. He could fancy a ship owner calculating upon the safe return of his vessel, en trusted to the charge of a cautious seaman, who pays as careful attention to his dead reckoning, and checks it as often as possible by a lunar observation ;and he could imagine him justified in so doing ; but he could not fancy, nor would the utmost stretch of • his imagination justify the shipowner who would knowingly commit his property to the charge of one who would trust solely to his chronometer. In this view of the case he was confirmed by the opinion of the ablest writers in the Nautical Magazine, who hesitate not to imply the assertion, that more ships have been lost by chronometers than ever were lost for the want of them ; and yet, no one will venture to assert that they are not, without any exception, the most valuable invention that has pertained to nautical science since the invention of the compass. The lecturer then proceeded to notice another essential which has been latterly comparatively unattended to—atleast generally speaking—and that is the compass. There is scarcely a month passes over our heads that we do not bear of complaints of the compasses being at fault. Formerly, from having to rely greatly on the dead reckoning, the varia tion was strictly attended to whenever the weather permitted. Is it so strictly attended to now ? From what he read and heard he should say not ; and yet, how much more reason is there for doing so, since so much iron has been intro duced, both in the rigging as well as the material of a ship, and that, too, close to the compass, in the shape of iron tillers and chain tiller ropes ? The variation of the compass on board. a ship, is also materially effected by the direction of the ships' head and stern, owing to the iron, which is in every vessel' becoming mag neticby induction. This subject he also purposed bringing under their consideration in its proper place; and, it was only incidently mentioned here to show, that all blame is not to be attached to the captain of a ship, who often only joins a few days or hours before ship sails, and has no opportunity of ascertaining the correctness of his compasses ere he sails. No such excuse, however, was available for his reputation, if the lead,log, astrological, and lunar observations have been unattended to. From these few observations then, he drew the following conclusion, viz., that to be an efficient practical navigator does not consist in being a thorough seaman solely, nor does it consist in being possessed of adeouate attainments in both, unless combined with the physical properties of a firm nerve, and a sharp eye. For what would avail knowing where you were situated, if you had not sufficient knowledge of seamanship to manage your ship in the various situations of dancer in which she may be placed ?—or, what would it avail your knowing how to do so, if you had not sufficient knowledge to direct your vessel towards her intended port? —or, lastly, what would either avail if you were physically unable to attend to the duties required ? The lecturer proceeded to comment upon, and to depre cate, the jealousy existing between the navigators of the old and the new school. Such jealousy is especially detrimetital to the nautical interests, at the present moment, when corn. plete unanimity amongst shipmasters ought to prevail. In 'deed if the present opportunity, when the legislature, merchants, and shipowners, together with the first and best in our land, are striving for their improvement and welfare, is snowed to slip without some united demonstration of the shipmasters' wishes and opinions, they may write themselves, in all that constitutes a claim on the consideration of the coun try, as " nil" for the next 20 years. Mr. Tracey then brought before the meeting the subject of nautical education as it is effected by the proposed act of parliament, one of the clauses of which prescribing the nature of the examination required to Lc pdozca Ly am; uppli,auta co, c..aptaialo' VII ti G lac. read. From this he argued that the legislature contemplated the progressive improvement in qualifications of the candidates ; and it was therefore the duty of every parent, training up a boy to the sea, to take care tha:. in the education given him, he kept pace with the march of science; that he was well grounded in geometry and spherical trigonometry, a descrip tion of knowledge which he must acquire to fit him for his profession, and of which the foundation, at least, should be laid in his early years. Mr. Tracey concluded his lecture, which was well received throughout, by a few general remhrks, urging the advantage which would accrue were the masters of the merchant service to endeavour to raise their standing in society. None ought to be more fitted than men conducting important commercial operations in every quarter of the globe to have a voice in political matters, and especially in pointing out the commer cial policy of the country. At present, however, they were not united; and, to aid in establishinc , the union required, he strongly advised the formation - of a club-house,' upon the principle of the Junior United Service Club-house in Lon don, which might easily be done by 300 shipmasters taking up debentures of £2O each. Mr. Tracey having sat down, amidst hearty approbation from the meeting, The CHAIRMAN then rose and spoke as follows : Gentlemen, before we separate I would just observe, that as my name has been mentioned by the worthy lecturer as one of the committee, who, through Mr. Moss, invited him to lecture on practical navigation, 1 may be allowed to say the committee met a few days ago for the purpose of consi dering what course should be adopted for rendering the asso ciation still more useful to shipmasters, and it was deter mined- that Lieutenant Tracey should be invited to deliver a course of lectures on practical navigation, and Mr. Living ston, on currents generally. Both of these gentlemen gave ready and cheerful compliance to the invitation of the com mittee ; and after the mental treat we have had to. night, you will agree with me that a good step was taken to render the institution instrumentally beneficial to those for whom it was in its formation designed to benefit. If we are to judge from this introductory lecture, which has so admirably shown in what practical navigation consists, we may fairly anticipate a lucid and useful exposition of the several branches of prac.; tical navigation in the succeeding lectures. lam sure you will, with me, regret the small attendance of shipmasters this evening ; those who have only an indirect interest in mari time matters, seem to take delight in promoting this branch of the association, if I may judge from those present. But I-would suggest, that each of us who have nautical friends, should bring one with us to the next lecture, so that the rooms may be crowded to hear the succeeding lectures. I feel perfectly satisfied that it is only to make known to these gentlemen that a real and lasting benefit is to be derived from these lectures by the younger branches of the profession ; and I am equally sure that those whose experience is matured, would feel deep interest in them. As to their becoming members of the association I am perfectly at ease, assured as I am that for their own interests sake, they will e obliged to avail themselves of its aid. The day will soon arrive when they will discover the necessity of banding themselves to gether (if for no other purpose) to meet the various questions that are from time to time agitated in parliament and else where ; and which way can shipmasters protect themselves from legislative enactments, damaging their interests and prospects, but by combination of themselves. It is the only way that they can be fairly represented as a body, and whose suggestions would, on matters of maritime cha racter, especially as to the mercantile marine, be of infinite service to our legislature; and should not a body of men so numerous and so respectable be represented, as well as other professions ? We may fairly estimate the number of ship masters in port at one time to be about two thousand ; and have such a body of men (I repeat so respectable) no inter ests to protect? My wonder and astonishment is, that they have so long neglected a matter so vastly important to them. There are, I believe, nearly a thousand shipmasters attached to this association, nearly all of whom are at sea. But these are few compared with the aggregate number trading to and belonging this port, who will, doubtless, become members as they become acquainted with the nature of the association. Now, on Monday next a meeting of the shipmasters will be held here, to consider and discuss the merits and demerits of the bill which Capt. Fitzroy has brought before parliament as to shipmasters passing an examination. You must agree with me, that any individual, as an individual, could do but little in protecting the interests of the whole body of shipmasters. But it may be admitted that suggestions respectfully made to parliament by an association whose interests are the sub ject of consideration, would carry weight with them at least, and by this means the interest of the whole body would be protected. I feel I need say no more to show you the necessity of shipmasters combining and forming an asso ciation •, and I may add, neither its respectability nor utility could by any other association be expelled. Those nume rous kind friends who take an interest with us in the cause of shipmasters I most cordially thank, and I would venture to thank them also in the name of the association. In con clusion, I must tell you that a few days ago I had some con versation with the mayor, on th e sub j ect of this association, and I am glad to inform you that, in addition to his kind donation to the association, be will at all times render it all the service in his power. Mr. Tracey has suggested, in my humble opinion, an excellent plan for erecting a building fo r the purposes of this association, and as he has referred us to the "Junior United Service Club as an example, I would suggest that Mr. Moss obtain the original prospectus and rules of the club, and submit them to the consideration of the committee of this association. With these remarks, I beg leave to move a vote of thanks to Lieut. Tracey, for so kindle favouring the association with his aid in promoting it by a lecture calculated to do so much good. • THE SPECIAL CommissioN.---The special commission, for the trial of the rioters in custody and admitted to bail in this county, is advertised to be opened in Liverpool, on Mon day next. Custom-house frauds are not of course confined to this country, nor, as it seems, is the discovery of them. Accord ing to the Dutch papers a system of extensive frauds has just been found out at Rotterdam, the explanatory d e t a ils of which, however, are not given, further than th a tth e e l yh a a a l; 4 ta i :: .pe en yr place in regard to su g a r , and that the Hanrim the great Netherlands T r adi ng Company, will be the sufferer, and not the government. The following distinguished families ar e put in rnburning,i by the death of the Marquis of Ve Westmoreland, Tilmi f , \ f" llesley Beau for,t o • Fitzroy Somerset, Bagot, Clarendon , Long, Anglesea, Winchelsea, Cowley , Cado g an, Ely, Totten-'l, ham, Fitzwygram, Loftus, Beshorough, Salisbury, and Cullen Smith. L (YE R POOL WAN DA RD CORRESPONDENCE. AN EXCELLENT SUGGESTION. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SlR,—While reading the account of the lamentable fire in Liverpool, and having witnessed the one a fortnight ago, and seeing the great peril to which the firemen, policemen, and others are exposed, and having now to deplore the serious loss of life and accident occasioned by the late fire, another sad calamity recurred to my remembrance, namely, the coal pit accident a few years ago, near Newcastle, when I think 47 lives w ere l ost; now, a ir, I think that one of the most proper and useful societies that could he established, would be one to raise a fund for the whole kingdom, whereby the widows and children of all men who lose their lives from fires, coal-pits, in fact, all casualties, may have some provision made for them, somet hi ng to coin fort and alleviate the severe suffering and anguish they must endure. I have not time to say anything to call forth sympathy in this case, in fact, the calamity pleads most powerfully, and 1 hope and trust it will be taken up, as I think the case deserves ; and, if the gentle men wont attend to the distres s o f t h e w id ows an d orp h ans , I hope the ladies will, and the re su lt wou ld b e t h e more suc cessful. As conmusseratimi without assistance is of little worth, I would give a donation of £5, and a subscription of £1 Is. per annum to the establishment of a fund, for what I think a laudable purpose; and, I i hope yo u w ill use your in terest and influence—if you use t proper. —I am, Sir, Your most obedient servant, Edinbro',27th Sept., 1842. J. S. H. WIGAN. WIGAN INSTITUTION.—There is no institution which has so great a claim on the public for support as the one which is founded for public instruction and public amusement. We therefore sincerely trust that our townsmen will come forward and lend their aid towards liquidating the debt which has been incurred by the committee in their endeavours to render the Institution for the Diffusion of Knowledge at once an ornament to the town, and a valued source of in struction to that class of society whose pecuniary means are so limited as to debar them from obtaining a school educa tion. EMBEZZLING WEFT.—Two women, named Betsy Barn ber and Mary Connor, were brought before the bench yesterday (Monday) charged with embeszling a quantity of weft given out by Mr. John Litler, agent to Mr. James Buckley, manufacturer. It appeared the defendants had been on " the spree" during the greater part of last week, and in order to raise a continued supply of funds to " accom plish their great design," sold as much of the weft as would work a cut, to some dealer in " old iron" in the Scholes. They were remanded to Wednesday'for further examination. DEATH OF J. H. KEARSLEP, Es Q ,--ft i s w ith a melan choly feeling of regret, that we announce the demise of our highly honoured and valued townsman, John H. Kearsley, Esq., formerly one of the representatives in parliament of this borough. His death took place on Sunday morning last, at Higher Hall, near Leigh, in the 59th year of his age. Mr. Kearsley had been for three years residing at this splendid mansion, and had been suffering from severe indisposition for a considerable time past. SABBATH OBSERVANCE.—The borough magistrates have signified their fixed determination to inflict a fine on every individual brought before them for drinking on the Sabbath, with a view of enforcing a more strict observance of the Lord's day. A young man, named Thomas Lea, a weaver, was brought before the beneh yesterday, for lying in the street drunk, during divine service, on Sunday forenoon. The customary fine of s s . was inflicted. It is a fact, that al though the weavers are in such a destitute condition, more of this class are fined in Wigan for being drunk than any other. THE POOR RATES.—The assistant overseer of this town is totally unable to collect a great portion of the amount due from the borough, on account of the prevailing distress. Numbers are forgiven every week by the magistrrtes, who investigate the circumstances connected with the cases ; and there are many who even refuse to come forward and state the reasons why they are unable to pay the rates. Of this class, 28 persons were summoned before the magistrates yesterday, and 32 for non-payment of the gas rates. RAIL WAY INTELLIGENCE. CONTRACTS LET ON THE SHEFFIELD AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY. We understand that the directors of the Sheffield and Manchester Line have just succeeded in letting two more of their contracts upon very advantageous terms. One of these is the Etherow Viaduct, which has been taken considerably under the estimate of the engineer; and the other the Wood head Contract, a length of seven miles, which has also been let under the estimate. The contractors are Mr. Joel Bux ton, and Messrs. Miller and Blackie, of this town, both of whom have before executed contracts for this company, and given the highest satisfaction. EMPLOYMENT OF PAUPERS UPON A CONTRAOT BY THE SHEFFIELD AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY.—We under stand that in consequence of some delay in getting possession of the land, Messrs. Buxton and Clark have not yet been able to set to work an additional number of hands. It is sa tisfactory to learn that the men who are employed work very heartily, and have already made surprising progress. It is moreover stated that they are able to earn from Is. 6d. to 2s. per day, but as they become more accustomed to the la bour, we trust they will be able to improve upon this. The Board of Guardians, with a view to the employment of a greater number of men, have requested the directors to let another contract, and we understand that the question is to be considered at the meet 4 ng of the directors on Monday next.—Sheffield Independent. A correspondent of the Railway Times remarks of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway,— " You are aware, that under the new agreement the Grand Junction Company work and provide all things requisite for all the traffic or the Manchester and Birmingham Company between Crewe and Birmingham. The Manchester line is therefore a mere branch. 31 miles lope. instead of hping (oa originally designed) a main trunk of something like a 100 miles (inclusive of its branches.) " And yet, for this- mere shadow of its former self, the directors (of whom, by-the-bye, there are about a dozen, who divide £BOO amongst them) baye already appointed a manager at a salary of a thoufatid per atirturn;_a treasurer, with six hundred; a goods traffic manager, with £4OO ; a storekeeper, with £200; a book-keeper, with, I think, £300; a resident (besides a " consulting") engineer, with £3OO ; making an outlay among these higher functionaries of about £3OOO per annum, in addition to the directors' allowance on the one hand, an d to the salaries of the subordinate (and, perhaps, really working) members of the establishment, such as superintendents of engines, of police, &c., on the other " Surely this monstrous evil ought not to be allowed to continue even for one half-year." [The above, we must say, is a pretty fair staff for the ma nagement of such a concern as the Birmingham and Man chester Railway, shorn as it is of its' once magnificent pretensions. But all connected with the , direction of this undertaking are large gentlemen ; and we can wonder little at any extravagance they may be guilty of.—Ed. L. S.] TIME BARGAINS IN SHARES.—The publication of a clause in the new bankrupt act, which will shortly come into operation, has caused some uneasiness among the dealers in shares. This act will reach most of the parties usually en gaged in time bargains, and the clause particularly alluded to provides that all certificates shall be void if the bankrupt, " in any gaining, or wagering, loses £2O, or within one year next preceding his bankruptcy has lost £2OO by any con tract for the purchase or sale of. any government or other stock, where such contract was not performed within one week after the contract, or where the stock bought or sold was not actually transferred or delivered in pursuance of such conduct." . A more d ec i s i ve d eat h - bl ow to ti me bar gains can scarcely be conceived.—Railway Tines. EFFECT OF. HIGH FARES.—The Blackwall Railway Com pany have this week lost upwards of £l2O by the raising of the fares, as compared with the corresponding . week of last yesr, while the number of passengers has diminished from 46,034 to 27,551. • THE LEEDS AND MANCHESTER JUNCTION WITH THE MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL. RAILWAY.—The utmost exertions are making by the former company to complete their part of this important work. By the end of this week the centres of eight arches will be fixed in the immediate vi cinity of thz intended station, Hunt's Bank, whilst in nearly every part of the Junction line equal exertions appear to be making. The Liverpool company, however, appear to be much more sluggish in their operations, as an immense num ber of houses have yet even to be pulled down, It would seem to be impossible that the Liverpool and Manchester company will be able to complete their part of the under taking in anythipg like the time that the Leeds and Man chester appear certain to do.—Leeds Mercury. Respecting railway affairs there is little to notice this week. The Eastern Counties meeting was to have taken place to day, but as the late wet weather has interrupted the hoped for completion of the line to Colchester, it stands adjourned to the 28th of October, it being thought desirable to have the line opened to that point before the shareholders go into a discussion of the prospect of their investment. The West London Railway Company have not yet conclud ed the arrangement to carry on the works, the Manchester shareholders requiring time to consider the proposition made relative to the issue of new shares. Another meeting is to be held to hear the determination they come to, when it is pro posed, should the acceptance of the terms be declined, to give the public the option of coming in to the assistance of the directors. —City Article—Times of y es t erday. Ths following,are the receipts of railways for the past week —that is to say, up to the d ate to which the respective returns are made Birmingham, £ 1 7,262 Western, £14,632.;. ; Great £14,632 Brighton, ; and Selby, nu lll, 2 o62'; E as t er n Counties, £ 1,077 ; Birmingham an d Derby, 2'14 South-Western. ; Manche s t er and Leeds £5,018; Edinburgh and Glasgow, £1,995; North Midland, £1,822; Greenwich , 735 Great North of England, Mid land Counties. £ 2,841 ; and South-__ £1,323 • , Mid- Eastern £1,559. RAILWAY IMPR OVEMENTS. I s pectable authority, th a t " —We are told, upon high Y".• an entirely new desctiption o f railway carriage has been invented, by a professional gentle man at Hamnierstnith, wh ic h may be prope , lied without tne . aid of steam, at an extraordinary euee dang silty miles per hour, with coscil l ation, or the possibilit •of omparative safet, withont _ turning over by the loss of sysvheel or an axletree breakin g ,pleprinciple, and worked upon a mostsidt and which will, no doubt, dinar eventually become them y mode of railway travelling for short distances; Trom the cir cumstance that the railroad and carriages maybe constructed and kept in repair at less than a fourth - of the usual expense." EXTRAORDINARY ATTEMPT AT MURDER. — An extraor dinary and most inhuman attempt was made on Sunday last, by a man named James Mailers, or Mallard, to murder his wife, at llemingford, Cambridgeshire. Mailers and his father-in-law lived next door to one another, and on Sunday afternoon, during divine service, whilst all the persons resid ing in the house adjoining his own were at church ; he enticed his wife, who is Pregna nt, to the brink of a well in the back part of the premises, and, watching his opportunity, when the unfortunate woman's attention was engaged, be seized her suddenly and threw her headforemost into the well, which is about 10 or 12 feet deep. In the fall the poor creature's head came upwards, and, as there was not more than five feet of water in the well, she was enabled to keep her . _ mouth above the surfac e . Seein g that his ob j ect wa s not likely to he effected, the murderous wretch jumped down upon her s h o ulders and endeavoured to trample her under the water. During this attempt the struggles of the woman for life were dreadful ; and each time that her head rose above the surface s he made use of the brief breathing space t o b eseech him in the most agonizing tones to spare her, n she would. ge replied that promising that if he him if he spared not mention a word g hat somebody would owfouwlilladtebsaisdt b fr a o p m pen h e is d. des n i w h e ou h lh adedrgon eii arrive.fe. A t o ioo o r v f eb a dy r fo to I s a to st p : e a i n t d he s r h b e y w t o h u e ld fe h ar an t pity for his victim, he relented, got a ladder, and help e d her she eW as inside her bedroom, she had the o tt presencet. fm momentind to his escape. door, es H ea etr . wiedthn the m o e getinto e th h e . 4troeorm,s, father -in lock . ng the made returned from church the circumstances abecame know ,made and e :Itoatie acquainted with the. magisterial , authorities having be; was taken down, and a w arran t i ssue d f or th e appre h ens i on of the prisone r them, .the, poor woman's d e p os ition , who is supposed to have come to London.- 1 Times.