The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-08 00:00:00

, IXE.I V EATENsiux rELEI:n !PH
r'rrIIPAN Y ( LIMITED).- (THIS DAY.)

~• half-yearly meeting of the shareholders was
• ,rt. noon ~t the London Taven,, Sir JAME...
•
report was presented ---" The directors•, ~ ..,11i,• in lymo tin • that, notwithstanding
• .! I-I'lll,oll 04 7,1,11 a and Aleyarolria lin,•.
• • ,r mr,_:•.• of tit.• company during the half-year just
• been about espial tot hose of the prevtous half-
s rloo•froi resent mewl the payment of the ...Lille
• • ~1 at the rate, ii., eight and three per
,•t is r•ly on the preference and original shares,
• ..• .1 owo, I,l#. Gs. tips, he carried to the
The id, W.lrralit4 sill not 1.1114
, Iriit I I .11:11 have been made by the
~.,,trnyot. 11'0111 .1 nothing has been received
0..u.,-, over sine, March, 1:4111, while for the
- to tbot !Loy I,ayment has 'wen made al
ol b•. where•hv aconsiderible
.• , .nro•reney has man suffered by the' coints,ny.
1,.1 • rmse remormtnite,l against this
tiros are mov "tiling to recover the
• • ••• %111 continue to exert themselves to
• ..113's relation, .itlt the Italian government
ISLICT,I v footing. The sum taken from the
-dat,•.l t7st report lias laen replaced,
I' k /Ids :wt. Eu i tr.; on the remainder of that fund in
:. 1 nth,. presort month have base lweitinvested.
• . w,tl, the submarine Telegr iph Vont-
, • , i, reed to in the .11111. report, have not been carried
,•. •!. ,•,orsoillitict. of the Fryneh government having at
-t :unman wit 1,1“.1,1 ;I eNpc•Ctlll COMMIt. but thedi-
^lsoseth,,t the oblert they had in view will still
.1. Ali interruption occurred oni the l'orfu and
• • Imo on the lift 11 of 1,4 month, lint the directors
it exµdaast to atttliipt its repair during the

ti ‘N. in wuvin tar adoption of the report,
a•t he thmight that, under all the circumstances, the divi-
. i,•I of the last half-year must be considered satisfactory.
hoped that by laying down a strong cable to Alexandria
they would lie enabled to avoid future interruptions. The
French wernrnent haul settled with the Italian government
op t., .1 one, I •;14... :ma he hoped that the remainder would
c, recd in time to :ohnit of the 'ailment uf the dividend
within a month or six weeks. The improvements in
Italy, financially and politically, warranted the company
io looking forward to the future with confidence. Their
p..ition with the Italian government was such that he
I. id no doubt as to their receiving what they were en-
t:tld to.
After a short discussion, the report was adopted, and
the meeting terminated in the usual manner.

or RAMA AY:, acv (ioVERNMENT.—MY.
Dar an estimated the present value of the Irish railways
'_'),unease e. sterling. If government created a :IA per
cent. railway clock, it might he issued at par. The annual
interest upon it world be • i'o,ooof. The net receipts of
the Irish riilways, after payment of working expenses in
le:. were tec.filei/. This would leave government a
of 14,1efie. per minute. The amalgamation of
the Irish railways into one concern would cause a liege
j corking expenses, and goveneuent might calcu-
late on b..c ing 3111.01.101. per annum et its dispmed for the
ttensioe ..f the railway system and the reduction of
- North, nn Whig.
TIIE OuTilltEAK OF C.tTTLE PLAGUE IN ISLINO-
T..y. The fresh outbreak of settle plague in Layeock's
dais. farm, Islington, the property of Mrs. Nicholls,
must b 5 taken as a proof that, although the plague
sr, ms to have been brought effectually under control
in the country, the .m 1,411 mnrl,i still abounds, and
may heroine active anywhere. The cow first attacked in
this instance was one of a number of English cows
fought by Nicholls upwards of two months since, on
Nov.:solar I:.. They were kept in the quarantine shed until
.I.n. :".!, when they were removed into the regular shed.
(in January •27 they were attacked with the disease and
were manifestly ill. The next day other cows, showing
signs of illness, were destroyed. The whole heal, as
a matter of safety, has since been killed. There can be no
doubt that this umbreak has had its origin on the premises
%dialler in the quariuitine shad or the regular shed Las
not yet been quite satisfactorily made out. We have been
informed by Mr. Nichols, jun.. that effective disinfecting
iora.ures loot been taken, but this may well be doubteL
Chloride of lime was chiefly relied on. We would
sugge-t that thorough and scientific trial should
be made of carbonic acid or sulphurous acid gas under the
authority of the Privy Council. Mrs. Nicholls is supply-
ing her cit,tomers now with milk from the country, and ia
not likely to bring another herd into the sheds at present.
Rut they afford an admirable locality for an experiment
of ,disinfection, which we trust will be tried at the
national expense, as the question of disinfection is one of
great national impurtiuice.— blued.
TEA CULTIVATIoN IN INDIA.—The questions re-
kiting to the tea districts are engaging much attention.
Several merchant.; and capitalists interested in ten in
As am and Cacher had held a meeting in Calcutta, at
which a committee was nppointed to consider what steps
should be taken to save the tea interests from utter ruin,
an.l the government have apiminted a commission to in-
quire into the mortality amongst labourers proceeding to
the tea districts. The commission will consist of Messrs,
H. Cockrell, civil service, J. R. Mullen Smith, of Jardine
Skinner and Co., and Dr. D. It. Smith. The first object of
the conimieeion will be to ascertain the causes of the mor-
tality amongst the emigrants to Sylhet, Amain. and
Cachar. Inquiry will also be netde into the causes of nice-
Way amongst the coolie., after their arrival in the tea
districts. In the conduct of the investigation entrusted
to them, the commission has been instructed to
place themselves in communication with the Land-
holders' and Commerchil Association, the several protectors
of coolie', and superintendent of labour transport. They
may also invite au expression of opinion from all persons
interested in tea cultivation, or who may be well ac-
quainted with the system of labour transport in the tea
districts. In order, also, to assist the commission, the
deputy commissioner of Nowgong, in conjunction with the
civil surgeon of that station, and Dr. J. Meredith have
been directed to gather what information they can on the
subject, and to place it at the disposal of the commission.
Mr. Maim, • coffee-planter, has been sent to Northern
India by the Ceylon government, with a view of report-
ing on the introduction of the tea plant into that colony.
Ile. Notice has been occupied in obtaining all available
information in Calcutta, and will immediately leave for
Cachet and Assam. After inspecting the tea plantations
there, he proposes to visit Kaman, Debra Dam, and
Kangra, before returning to Ceylon. His report will settle
the much disputed question whether tea can be grown at
a commercial profit in the tropics. —Honinearil Mail. Feb. 7.
THE STUDY or Cam: levity. —There is, however,
a vague idea, not only among the ignorant, but among
people fairly acquainted with what passes in the world,
that this once famous science of casuistry is rather to be
accounted among the things that have passed by, and that,
whether for goal or evil, a freer, less formal, and technical
style of thought has now introduced itself into devotional
Practice and literature. There cannot be a greater mis-
take. One half the world never knows what the other
half is about. The old confessorial system, and the
manuals which teach it, are quite as much in vogue with
those for whom they are intended as ever they were. The
great mass of ordinary readers—in catholic as well as
protestant countries—learn no more about them than
they .to about the narratives of miracles and religious
prodigies or works of necromancy and conjuring which cir-
culate so extensively in France and other countries m
the great body of the people. While Victor lingao:ini
Michelet, and the author of " Le Maudit," count their
cimuLation by tens of thousands, the " Homo Apostolicus."
or " Epitome of Moral Theology" of St. Alfonso Liguori,
and his voluminous "Manual for Confessors," are probably
multiplied far more numerously. The readers respectively
of the two classes of books form separate nations, though
speaking the aline language and living under the same
laws. - Preis r's Afagazi He for Febniarb
Tows Boys AND COUNTRY Boys.—As far as
me experience goes, town girls and country boys love
nature most. I have known town girls love her as pas-
sionately as country boys. Town boys have too many
books and pictures. They see nature in mirrors—invalu-
able privilege after they know herself, not before. They
have greater opportunity of observing of human nature ;
but here also the books are too many and various. They
are cleverer than country boys, but they are less pro-
found ; their observation may be quicker ; their percep-
tion icings. They know better what to do on an emer-
gency ; they know worse how to order theirwaye. Of course,
n this, as in a thousand other matters. Nature will burst
out laughing in the face of the would-be philosopher, and
bringing forward her town boy, will say, " Look here' "
For the town boys are Natures boys after all, at least so
Ion.; a, doctrines of self-preservation and ambition have
not turned them from children of the kingdom into dirt-
worms. Rut I must atop, for lam getting op to the neck
in a bog of discrimination. As if I lid not know the
t,A.ility of some townspeople, compered with the
of some countryfolk I give it up. We are all good
ba.l. Cod mend all.--7%' Aefeiev for February.
Tt P. Ku AND (i REEKS. —lf a speculatively-inclined
diplomat, curious to see what political monstrosity could
P'"'ihlv be produced by artificial means, should have taken
4 of the highest nervous organisation and keenest
pAiticsl activity, full of the instincts of democracy, and
limb a force of religious sentiment verging on the fanatical ;
if h., ,!,Dull have inserted into the midst of this people •
r.vernnent drawn from another people, or class of a
oide. in every quality and instinct despotic and arro.
iof organisation ponderous and brutal, and in religious
flier :sore fanatical and intolerant than their subjects
the creeds of the two being at the same time anta,,an''tic; .
and if then he should have left the ruling element
.' hum all exterial control, and irresponsible to any
a‘t oc law of right and wrong: in such a case the
wmild have been exactly what the island of
sad to • certain extent all Christian Tur-
rY. haveshown for the last hundred years, although,
exceptional circumstances, more strikingly in that
mei for the past few years. And yet precisely to
‘!c,fi absurd political fabric did the joint diplomacy of
f:lristendom lend itself in IMO, when, after a breath of
Treeloin won by nine years' incessant fighting against
devastation, slavery, brutalities to Christendom
proselytism of the sword and pistol, Crete
*'`rvdelivered to the Mussulman 'rents whom she had
at1e!!...1 m •
tar as her gates.—Meessillan's Ma9arine for