The Express.
London, England, 1867-08-06 00:00:00

THE BOMBAY MAIL

By the arrival of the above mail we have adwioes
I from Bombay to July 9, and from Calcutta to
July 2.
The limas of India thus refers to the terrible
1 accident on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway :
On the morning of the 26th of June there occurred, on
the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, one of the moat
serious railway accidents which lave yet taken place in
India. The mew of the accident is between Bliosawnl
and Klioadwals, some ten iniles beyond the former station.
At this point the line crosses a tributary of the river
Taptee, caßed the "Sookee Nuddee," which, as the name
implies is a "dry river" except during the 1:110111110012
fed by the streams from the Sautpoora Rills, it swells to the
Proportions &Lomat some 230 feet in width,
respectablea of itwas en the night of the accident, fifteen feet
deep. A sharp bend in the river incressie the probability
of the water overflowing its banks in the event Si a flood
and this it occasionally does, notwithstanding that • flood
stream of WI feet wide detaches a large body of water from
the main channel, conveying it under the railway by two
arches of 30 feet span each. The principal channel is
I crowed by a bridge of seven arches also of 30 feet man.
Between the two bridges is a large embankment of loose
shingle, sad this the force of the torrent lad torn away
I from under the rails behind the abutment of the
smaller bridge, leaving the sleepers and rails suspended
over the pp, which was about 50 feet long, 10 feet wide,
and 20 feet deep. The darkness of the night and the
height of the water prevented this chasm from being seen,
and it was not until the train plunged into it, that
the driver was aware of any danger. The engine and
tender happened to shoot amass to the bridge before the
railapve way; the rest of the train, with the exception at
the gear vanowas precipitated into the gulf and washed away
by MI river. The train consisted in all of maven carriages
besides the engine and tender, and is variestaly computed
to have carried from 57 to 112 passengers. The railway
officials report 13 killed and missing and 20 injured, but it
is generally believed that the killed amount to at least five
times that number ; and • thorough investigation by go-
, vernment officials has been ordered by his Excellency Mr.
Fitzgerald. No official investigation was made by any ma-
, gistrete at the scene of the accident, as is done in almost
every case, and this lends colour to the suspicion that
the extent of the catastrophe is but partially known,
except perhaps by the railway officials themselves. With
the exception of three Europeans in charge of the train, all
the passengers were natives. It is not yet known whether
any blame attaches to the company in respect to the
occurrence of this accident ; the bridges are said to he
sound enough now, though one of them is reported to have
I been very unsound lately. Several other of the bridges on
the G. I. P. Railway are said to be in an unsafe state.
The bridges acmes the Taptee viaduct on the Nagpore line
are mom especially commented on ; and on two separate
occasions the government consulting engineer reported
several arches to be giving way.
. _

The Calcutta Eng fisitinai; says that the monsoon
set in unusuallyearly. "The reports of the crops in
the Burdwan division are favourable" (it adds),
" and it is hoped that the out-turn will remove all
apprehensions of future distress. From Orissa the
accounts are again growing more and more painful
every week. The distress is increasing, as is proved
by the larger numbers flocking to the centres of
relief."

The heavy rains along the line of the Himalayas
resulted about the middle of June in a flood, which
was very heavy even so low down as Cawnpore,
and caused a rise of from nine to ten feet at }firm,-
pore.
The Commissioner of Cuttack reports that in
consequence of last year's floods a district of no
less than sixteen square miles in extent has been
rendered almost totally desolate.
The government of India has issued new rules
with a view to encourage the study of Oriental lan-
guages among newly-appointed members of the
Bengal civil service.
The use of the knapsack by the native army has
been abolished, and a waterproof canvas bag substi-
tuted.

The complete opening of the Jubbulpore branch
of the East India Railway had been postponed until
the Ist of August. Mail trains were, however, to
run in the meantime.

The erection of a new European General Hospital
is to be commenced in Bombay after the monsoon.
Captain Cunningham, who was recently sen-
tenced by court martial to five years' penal servi-
tude, is reported to have made his escape.

FRANCE.

(raw( cooa OWN

PARIS, Suinur Eyler's°.
The only thing clear about the Salzburg inter-
view is that it will not take place so soon as was
announced. There are singular discrepancies in
the details given by the journals. While the
Patric says there has been a " postponement"
(which is probably true), the France pretends that
the meeting was never intended to take place till
after the 15th, and that no date is yet fixed. The
Mlntorial Diyglinatique, however, says the 17th
" seems to he' the day agreed upon. The Patrie
insists that it is to be a non-political visit—exclu-
sively one of condolence, prompted by delicate
feelings which heartless newamongors are incapable
of understanding. But then the Memorial Diplo-
matique, which lives and breathes in the atmo-
sphere of courts, says that M. de Beust, Prince de
Metternich, and the Count de Grammont,
are to " assist " at the interview ; and,
moreover, that although the Vienna court
mourning will not be over till August
21st the Emperor of Austria's company of come-
dians is ordered to Salzburg for the entertainment
of the august visitors. How are ordinary mortals
to get at the truth t If the three diplomatists
above named are to meet the Emperors it is scarcely
doubtful that M. Itouher, who started for Carlsbad
yesterday, will be of the party. The Empress of
Austria, according to all accounts, will not be there,
and I look upon the telegraphic assertion that the
Empress Eugenie will go by herself to Ischl to
pay her a private visit as exceedingly problem-
atical.

It is confirmed that M. Nigro, will only
return to Paris to present his letters of
recall. Tho Marquis Carracciolo di Bella, now
Italian Minister at Lisbon, will probably be
his successor. The assertion of the Patric that
politics have nothing to do with this change is
simply ridiculous. Signor Nigrs Cavour s old
pupil, has doubtless no personal affection for the
temporal power ; but he negotiated and signed the
Convention of Sept. 15, and has been the instru-
ment of too many promises to the French court to
be a sympathetic representative of M. Rattaimi,
now that the latter has formed an alliance with M.
Crispi and the extreme Left. His withdrawal from
Paris is an unmistakeable symptom of teudues
relations between the two powers.

The Moniteitr has an article which amidst some
playful exaggeration contains a great deal of truth
about the non-fulfilment of the prophecies that
the universal exhibition would starve and stifle
the ordinary inhabitants of Paris. Those who
ran away to the country expecting to live cheaper
have found out by this time that the only way to
get fresh fish and vegetables is to continuo to
live in tho Boulevard Haussmaim or the Rue
Lafayette. There never was a finer show of fruit
in the markets. Cherries and plums have been
particularly abundant and much cheaper,
than they were some years ago. There
is too much bread in Paris, and ahuost too
much meat, for many oxen are waiting an
unusual time in the r.:Dattoirs for the honour
of being converted .nto Chateaubriand steaks.
So far from the c;xhibition having raised the
price of food, it 1.4. s slightly lowered it, in conse-
quence of the great competition to provide the
Hemmer?, s'apply. Neither has space been con-
fiscated Dy the hundreds cf thousands of visitors
from a parts of the globe. To those who know
the .9'.crand and the City, the Paris Boulevards
nltrst seem almost solitude. People who thought to
Fiske money by competing with the »miaow
meublees by letting their own apartments at
fabulous prices have been in every way dis-
appointed. In the first place the demand for such
private lodgings has been next to nothing. Few

LSTAMPED.

visitors, indeed, either bring their own servants,
or know how tooook forthemsalves, and consequently
mere lodging without attendancu is of no use to
them. Some few who have lived in garrets or a
country village while giving up their rosewood and
satin furniture to a foreign family will find the
rent a poor compensation for "barrack damages."