The Express.
London, England, 1867-11-23 00:00:00

0 9
109_ 104

Telegrams yesterday from Glasgow announce
that, in connection with the labours of the committee
of investigation into the affairs of the Caledonian
Railway Company, arrangements have been nails
for affording to the committee the assistance of Mr.
Allott, of Sheffield, and Mr. Fletcher, of London,
as accountants, as well as of Mr. Ilawkahaw and
Mr. Clark, as engineers. It is added that the
committee's report is not expected to be issued foe
about a month. These appointments are calm-
hued to give satisfa:tion. as they evince a disposi-
' tion to widen the basis of the inquiry, and to give
it a more aearchin; character than was previously
believed.
The Caledonian Railway traffic return shows this
week an increase of 3iirif. over last year.
. .

The traffic receipt.' on the Atlantic and Great
Western Railway for the last week in October
were 123,681 dOls., against 135,326 dols. in the
corresponding period last year, showing a decrease
of 11,745 dole. The receipts for the month of
October were 477.528 dols., against 541,491 doh-
in the same month of 1866, exhibiting a decrease
of 63,963 dols.

The directors of the London Chartered Bank of
Australis have issued the following profit and los
account to the anti June, in anticipation of the
meeting of the shareholders called for the 3rd o
December :
To dividend proposed to be paid, viz.., 4 per oent. om
paid-up capital, fur half-year ending 30th June, 1867 (free
of income tax), 40,00)1.: to amount to be earned
to the reserve fund this half-year, 5,0001 to proposed to amount pro-
posed to he carried to the colonial building fund this half.
year, 2,0001. •, to balance to next half-year, 10,SW. 68.1 d.;
total, 57,:3i8/. 6s. Id. By balance earrid over, as pee
last report, 10,570/. 15s. 10d. ; by balance of profit sad
loss in London and in the colonies for half-year eading
30th June, 1867, after deducting current expenses, income
tax, and making provision for bad and doubtful debts,
46,767/. 10s. 3d. ; total, :,733.81. te. Id.
Mons. Pinaril, the new French Minister of the
Interior, has si•zned a letter granting to Messrs. E.
Delessert, Frederick C. G. Ritso, and others, pro-
moters of the Franco-American Telegraph Com-
pany, the exclusive right for a term of years to do
all telegraph business between France and the
United States of America. No other concession
exists.

Subjoined are the quotations of insurance, pa,
dock, and waterworks shares, as given in the
Stock Exchange list of last evening :
et
Insurance—Alliance British and Foreign, 131 • Di
M..rine, 214 ; Atlas, '., ; Commercial Union, 4 ; I'm
Fire, 329; Ocean: larine, 211, ; Phusaix, 105 • Taiga
Ma, um Liverpool (Limited), b, 71) ; Universal Marina
(Limited), 4,4, 4.
Gaslight and Coke—Bombay (Limited), 4g ; City of
Moscow Gas, 13, 12, ; Great Central, 121 ; Imperial, 64.
3i : Imperial Continental, 97 ; Western, C, 7.
Locks—London and Si. Katharine, 52j, g, 2, b 1g;
Surrey Commercial, 1191.
Waterworks—Berlie. 12; ; Ditto New, 5;0 i ; East Lon.
Jon, New, 23 ; Graml Junction, 78.
The following remarks are from the circular of
31e.oirs. Seymour and Elwyn :
INDIAN SECURITIIN.—The government Five per Cents.
have now riser. to a point that purchases are checked,
and public attention is diverted to the guaranteed rail-
way stocks. The latter, although at a much relatively
lower price, enjoy au equal security, pay the same rate
of interest, subject, bnwever, to increase as the profits of
the line may increase—an advantage which has been
already gained by at least two companies. Again, if in
other matters government supervision is often intrusive
and sometimes hurtful. the shareholder of an Indian
railway knows that he is as perfectly sure of receiving his
five per cent. minimum interest to the day for the next
twenty years as he has regularly received it for twenty
years back, no matter whether times were good or bad.
Toe present chaotic state of our railway system must
likewise tend to bring into favour a similar security,
which possemes wore than all the advantages, and pram
timidly none of the risks, attending on our home stocks.
ENGLISH RAILWAY ST,ICKM.—This market has expo-
rienced some violent fluctuations, especially as regards
Caledonian. The changes in this description have been se
considerable as any witnessed in the memorable Stock
Exchange panic of 1:539. As a consequeuce, other rail-
ways have fallen in sympathy. It is undoubtedly hard
for permanent stockholders to find their property daily
depreciated by general distraint, or perhaps only marks*
rumours. Nevertheless, the good will be done that di-
rectors will be deprived of the power of borrowing ad lib-
Nom. Perpetual loans are sure to foster perpetual extrava-
gance. AS a may also anticipate that shareholders will be
particularly jealous of further additions of capital, and in-
sist that all currtut charges, including full maintenance of
way and the like, shall be paid out of revenue. Dividends
will be lowered ; in the too many instances where they saw
dotitinus, will be extinguished altogether; but railway
proprietors, if they peneaere to the end, will find honesty
sad openness to their advantage in the long run.

FRIDAY EVEMG.

Consols, which closed yesterday at 921 to 93,
ex div., for the sth December, opened this morn-
ing at the same quotation, and closed at exactly
93. For money the last price was 941 with div.
The Three per Cents. Reduced and New Three per
Cents. were quoted at 3 o'clock 922 to 2. The official
business report is as follows :—Three per Cent-
C•cosols, for money, 94g, ; ditto, for account,
93, /, ex div. ; Three per Cents. Reduced, 92i, *;
New Three per Cents., 922, • Bank Stock, 244,
6, 51 ; India Five per Cent. Stock, 1152, 16, 15a ;
ditto Four per Cent., 1001, 2, 100 ; ditto Five per
Cent. " enlaced - rupee paper, 1032, 4 ; ditto Five
and a Half per Cent , 1091, N.
The India Five per Cent. Stock was rather more
offered, and was last marked 1152.
Exchequer Bills remain at 28s. to 31s. prem.
There was less inquiry for foreign stocks, but
the tune of the market generally was rather firm.
Spanish securities were in request : the Three per
Cents. and Deferred rose 1 per cent. ; Passive, 1 ;
mid the New Three per Cents. and Certificates, 1.
Turkish of 1865 (I ive per Cents.) advanced 1;
Portuguese, 1 • Brazilian of 1865 and Russian of
1859, and Moorish, 1 per cent. On the other
hand, Danubian and some of the Egyptian declined
1 per cent. ; the Viceroy's Loan, 1 ; Russian of
, ; Turkish of 1865 (Six per Cents.), 1; and
Mexican, I.
The variations in bank shares were evenly ba-
lanced. London and River Plate, London and
County, and London Joint Stock improved 10s.,
while Oriental, Union of Australia, and Union of
London declined 10s. to
In the market for financial shares, General Credit
declined 2s. 6d., but the other companies were
quoted the same ai yesterday. Prices closed as
follows :—lnternational Financial, 2k to 2 dis. ;
General Credit, 24 to 22 dis. ; London Financial,
241 to 231 dis.; and Credit Fonder, ti to 6!.! die.

We (.4 thrivr., in ) understand that the Rev. Stop-
ford A. Brooke, the author of " The Life and Letters al
the late Rev. W. Robertson, 31. A ," and henorary
chaplain in ordinary to the Queen, has been appointed
editor of the .Ibiya:ine, published by the society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
SfIOcKINC BoILER EXPLOSION. —Ttirst
Lose NEAR CNIPTENHAN.—A dreadful accident has taken
ace at Long Dean Paper Mills, five miles from Chippen-
ham. It appears that some potatoes had been placed to
roast in the ashes beneath the fire-hole of the boiler of the
engine used fur driving the machinery, and as one of the
u.en employed at the mills and one of the women
servants were taking these out, the boiler suddenly
burst. The man and woman were killed on the spot,
and two other men employed on the premises had
their legs brolsen. besides receiving injuries about the
head and face. The youngest child of Mrs. Watts,
the proprietor, a little boy, about ten years old, was
thrown by the force of the explosion through a tree,
co:uing into contact with which his scalp and brains
were left hanging to a bough. To make matters worse ne
medical man could be procured, either at Long Dean. Ford,
or Castle Combe. The windows of the house adjoining the
mill were broken. awl other damage done. It would wpm,
that on Wednesday the gauge was removed from the
boiler and not replaced, and care wasnot taken to ascertain
how much water it contained ; and to the wart of a suM-
ciency of water in the boiler the disaster is no doubt owing.
Iht injured men were removed as soon as possible to thew
own honies,awsiths,g medteal attendance.— Witt, Standard.
GUN Corrirx. -- On Wednesday the Gun Cotton
Committee assemble at Shoeburyness to resume their
experiments with gun cotton as • violently explosive
agent, as • bursting charge for shells instead of gunpowder.
Some eighteen months ago the last es perinieut took
place with this object. It was then found, by the
premature explosion of the shell in the gun. that no
safe method of manipulating the gun cotton hail berm
devised, and the whole attention of the committee hes
been since devoted to this object. The son esed on
Wednesday was a wrought-iron shunt ri:*.ed
made by Sir William Armstrong and Cu., I.l.intila
calibre, and 7 tons in weight. The shell in which the
gun cotton was tightly packed was of steel, weighs
rifts., the bursting charge of gun cotton within the
shell being estimated equal to. 01ba. of gunpowder. The
gun charge was 30Ibs. of gunpowder. Bvtry care being
taken by the Shoeburyaeu Experimental hoard to eider
all under cover, the gun was fired, and burst explosively.
with great violence. into sevensl bandied fragments. asses
f the pieces being found at 400 yards distamo frotu tb
battery.—Arety amid Nary Gaulle.