The Express.
London, England, 1864-09-06 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL SHARI MARKETS.

Livaisoot, SaPT. 6.—Saks this day:—(Yeast East
•+lre and Yorkshire, Hai—London and Nod

1121 1! 1 mi.—Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 651 14—
Metropolitan. 107 x 4 and n —Midland. 1303 xi.: ditto. 181. shame,
Si p.—Nurth Eastern Berwick capital stork, 1061—South Fasters.
83) xd and a.—Spanish P.;ssives, 311—Confederate Loan. 751 i
61 lex all—Eastern Exchange Dank (Limited), 116.161 6.163p.
Mercantile and Exchange Bank (Limited), 4 31 4 116-Sic. I
11-16 3 a ad b and np. —National Bank of Liverpool ;limited)
7 6 11-16 I p —AlMon Marine (Limited', 1 d. British sad
Foreign Marine ;Limited, MI a p.—ignisire Marine (United), I p.
Maritime Insurance ;limited). per—Mercantile Marine (Uss-
Med), 4 p.—Thames and Mersey Marine (Limited:. al P. —Liver-
pool Exchange, 193—National Steam Navies/los Company,
6 1 1 d.
BiIUtINORAX, Sin. 6.-71/s sales to-day were Great Reston
Five per Cent. Preference, at 1001 ; Midland. Bristol, and Bir-
mingham Six per Cents. at 131; Stratford Canal rent charges at
391 ; Birmingham and Staffordshire Oast. 201 shares at 39/. 16* ;
and Birmingham Financial at 1) prem. ; London and North
Western stock was quoted at 112 to 1126 ; South Staffordshire
Railway shares at 101 to 101 ; Birmingham Canal at 881 to 874,
ex die. ; Birmingham Banking Company share at 32) to 33 ;
Midland Wagon at 996, sellers; South Staffordshire Waterworks.
miters, at 73; ditto four east., iSt ; preference et SOL ; Mentz
Metal at 2 to 14 die. ; Patent Axle shares at 3) prem., truism ;
and Haat Coal Company shares at 8 buyers.
!Waimea, Bart 5.—A talc baaluers was done, at rather
lower price. generally. United States. 6-10's. 391 dole. C.
Cammell and C 0.,/ si. 64 p. —Consolidated Bank (Limited), lik p.—
Great Eastern, 4al 6—Great Northern A, 141 401—Oreat
Western, 681 I I—Lancashire and Yorkahirs, 114 I 4 I—Lon-
don and North Western, 112—Manchester and Coring
I Bank. 6 p.—Manchester, RbeffieW. and linuolnahiM
i 5 Ditto Itedeernabie pref., Ip. Metropolitan, 07 !.iidr.
land, 13111—South Eastern, 4113 23—Lancashire Insurance, 4
p—lltames and Mersey Marine, 4 15-16 p. 5 p.-11e
New, / p.—Using Hank, 166—Mercantile Bank, SI p.tratiolL=
Mesas. 44 d.—General Credit, 21 ix—Alliance Bask, 114 p,—Con-
federate Loan, 761.

,
V '
•

NORTH GERMANY.

(mom oua owl colararozoiar.)

THE PROJECTED PARIS AND HANBELG
RAILROAD.

HAMBURG, San'. 3
For several months past great excitement has
mended amongst all classes of society in the
northern parts of Germany on the subject of a pro-
jected new liue of railway under theabove title, which
is nut only of the greatest commercial importance
In a local point of view, but also in an European
sense. it is, however, by no means unlikely that that
' magnificent undertaking is on the point of being
shelved, at least for the present, owing to the petty
jealousy and mistaken notions of the principles of
political economy entertaiued by the present official
advisers of the King of Hanover, through whose
dominions the railway must of neuessity pass, and
who, labouriug as he does personally under the
mistortune of being physically blind, is not able
to detect the political blindness of his ministers.
The present state of the case is as fullowa :—A
company with limited liability has been formed at
Pins with an adequate amount of capital, at the
head of which is an enterprising and wealthy French
gentleman, Mom. Mouton, for the purpose of cou-
structiug a railroad on the principle of "as the crow
flies" between the Hance Towns, East Prussia, and the
north ut Europe generally on the one side, and
France, Belgium, Idolised, and England ou the
other. In this manner the still tuisstug meshes in
the great network of European railways are pro-
posed to be filled up, and a direct line of com-
muuication opened from France and Belgium to
' Bremen and Hamburg, and from the latter im-
portant commercial emporiums to the no less
important mercantile cities of Amsterdam and
• Antwerp. A great part of the line, viz., from
Paris to 3laestricht, is already open for public
traffic, whilst the Dutch government 111 now engaged
in constructing the line from the latter place to
Veuloo, ou the right bank of the Maas or Meuse.
It is at the last named town that the works of the
new company are to commence. Just beyond the
frontiers of that town, belonging to Holland, begins
the territory of Prussia, and the projected line is to
peas Geldern, Wesel—near which fortress it would
cross the Rhine by a new railway bridge—and
thence across the country to Munster, from which
city it enters the Hanoverian territory, and goes up
through Osnabruck, Diepholtz, and Barium to
Bremen, being continued by an extension from
• Bremen to Hamburg in a pretty straight line
through a tract of flat country that otfers no engi-
neering difficulties.
The total length of the proposed line is 374 kilo-
metres or 232 English miles, of which 162 kilo-
metres are front Venloo to the frontiers of Hanover,
15 kilometres from thence to Osnabriick, anti 197
kilometres to Harburg. Besides this there are to
be side branches connecting the main line with the
valuable and extensive coal district in the valley of
the Ruhr. The distance mewl is so enormous as
compared to the present circuitous routes, that it
may be considered wonderful that the proposed line
was not originally made one of the leading ones
laid down in the maps a quarter of a century ago,
when railways were tint called into existence. Tun;
will be apparent to your readers by a glance at the
following table :
Between Paris and Berlin it will be 27 English miles shorter.
„ Amsterdam and Bremen BO „
„ Amsterdamand Hamburg „
„ Paria and Bremen
Antwerp and Bremen ll3 „
Antwerp and Hamburg 113 „ St
„ Bremen and Hamburg 124 „
Yana and Hamburg 142 „ St

A glance at the map will show at once the im-
mense importance of the undertaking, connecting as
it will the direct traffic in passengers and goods be-
tween the Baltic provinces and the north of Germany
to the east of Hamburg with the whole of the west of
Europe, and reducing the mail time from London
and Paris to Hamburg from 38 hours to 20 or 22.
As far as France, Belgium, and the Netherlands
are concerned, everything goes smooth and easy. It
is only on crossing the frontiers of Germany that
the difficulties arise.; for here the company has to
obtain —concessions" ' or permisaive privileges from
the respective governments of Prussia and Hano-
ver, through whose territories the line must nacos-
eerily pass. As far back am July, 1862, the projec-
tor, M. Mouton, received permission from the
Prussian government to survey the country and
mark out the line ; on the 24th of January, 1863,
the surveys were completed, and the company were
enabled to prove to the satisfaction of that govern-
ment that the needful funds were fully subscribed
and avulable for the immediate execution of the
works. In the month of March of that year a pro-
visional concession was granted by Prussia for the
ens ruction of the line through her territory, but
made dependent on thecoodition that the consent of
Hanover should be obtained for the continuation of
the line to Bremen and Hamburg. This the Hano-
verian government has hitherto persistently
refused to do, on the ground that as the railroads
in that kingdom are exclusively constructed and
worked by the State, it would be a suicidal policy to
grant a concession to a private company, or, as
Baron von Hammerstein, the present Minister of
the Interior' neatly expressed it when the subject
was diticussed in the Second Chamber, "it would
be taking the bread out of their own mouths" In
this Dilemma M. Mouton has lately published a
pamphlet containing an expose of the state of the
negotiations, appended to which is that gentleman's
letter to the above-named minister, denying the in-
sinuation of its being ruinous to the existing
government railroads, urging the importance of the
undertaking iu the general interests of the king-
dom, and proving with most masterly arguments
that there would not be even any competition, as
the new line passing through districts hitherto
comparatively placed beyond the pale of civilization
by being altogether deprived of railroad communi-
cation, would in a short time create a traffic of its
own, and thus tend to benefit the kingdom in
general, and the inhabitants and landed proprie-
tors of the hitherto precluded districts in par-
ticular.
On the 21st of July this year, the Minister von
Hammerstein communicated his reply to the above
objections of M. Mouton in the Second Chamber,
and stated his opinions on the subject with frank-
ness verging on nairete. " The proposed line of
railroad," he said, " was of too much importance
for the kingdom of Hanover, especially as it faci-
litated the direct traffic between Bremen and Ham-
burg, to allow it to pass into the hands of a coin-
petaug private company. It would be taking the
bread out of their own mouths. In the long run
Hanover could not resist the construction of this
important line, which sooner or later must be car-
tied out. The government felt it to be their bounden
duty to facilitate and improve the communication
between the Hanseatic cities, which was no doubt
now kept up by a very circuitous route. For the
successful completion of the project, it would even-
tually become absolutely necessary to bridge over
the Elbe between Hambnre and Herburg. but Ha-
nover could never consent to allow the bridge to be
built till Hamburg withdrew her objections to the
deepening and general improvement of the navi-
gable channel of the Elbe, so needful for the
further development of the infant port of Harburg."
Here, then, the minister let the at out of the
beg, stating publicly his real objections to the pro-
jected undertaking, at all events as regards the
ultimate extension of the line to Hamburg and
bridging over the Elbe. Although several mem-
bers expressed tlinniselves decidedly in favour of
granting a concession to the French company, yet
es the whole the Chamber appeared to side with
the minister in his views of maintaining the princi-
ple of a government monopoly of all the railroads
in the kingdom, for it was not brought to a division,
and the subject dropped.
Such was the position of affairs, when about ten
days ago, one of those peripatetic annual congresses
for divers purposes held every year in a different
place, which have now become quite a stand-
wsg institution in Germany—happened to
meet at Hanover in accordance with the resolution
passed at the last annual gathering. This was the
congress of German political economiats, and it was
but natural that the very unsatisfactory turn of
the negotiations with If. Mouton for the construc-
tion of the Paris and Hamburg direct railroad
should occupy the serious athtention of the congress,