The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-27 00:00:00

BANK OF AUSTRALASIA.-(THIS DAY).

The ordinary half-yearly meeting of shareholders
was held this afternoon, at the oboe of the corporation, 4,
Threadneedle-street ; Mr. E. HAMILTON, M.P., presiding.
The report was taken se read. It stated that at the
date of the latest advice, nothing had occurred in the
Australian colonies to affect the prosperity of the bank.
The I -continued drought referred to in the annual re-
port , which had prevailed formerly two season',
bad cased, copious rains having fallen in moat parts of the
Australian ecatinsaL This favourable changewould mach
alleviate the pressure which the pastoral and agricultural
Interests had lately experienced. The securities held
in Australia were of such a character as to justify a
feeling of confidence on the part of the direc-
tors, that the bank would not be affected by the
monetary embarrassment in this country. It was very
gratifying to them to he able to state that no loss had
been sustained by the bank in Loudon. They re-
gretted to have to announce that the retirement of
Mr. White and the lamented decease of their highly
esteemed colleague, fair W. Minto T. Farquhar, Hart., 'had
created two vacancies in the direction,which would be filled
up that day at an extraordinary general meeting, called
for that purpose. A dividend and bonus at the rate of 14
per cent. per annum, or 2/. 16s. per share for the half-year,
tree of income tax, would be declared at the usual time,
and would be payable on the 16th of October next.
The CHAIRMAN reminded the meeting that the accounts
presented in March showed that the profits of the bank for
the twelve months ending October, 186,5, amounted to
170,0001., of which 64,000/. was distributed among the
proprietors by way of bonus in April, and nothing
had occurred in the interval to make the d rec-
tlrs hesitate in distributing an equal amount in
October next. Coasidering the widespread embarrassment
which had made the last three or four months ever
memorable in the annals of the City of London, it would
hardly have been surprising if some portion of this bonus
had been arrested to meet possible contingencies. No such
necessity, however, existed, but on the contrary, at the
latest &tykes in June last, the failure of Messrs. Overend
and Gurney was known in the colonies, and nothing
had occurred to indicate any unusual pressure.
or corning disturbance. The colonists were never back-
ward in asking accommodation from the bank, and at that
time the demand was fully equal to the supply. It was
only fair to say that at that time the failure of the Agra
Bank was not known, but as that company did not carry
on strictly banking business, it was the opinion
of all mercantile men that its failure would not
affect any company that carried on legitimate banking
operations. The native war in New Zealand had come to
an end, and new gold fields of great richness had been
discovered, from both of which sources the bank antici-
pated a rapid extension and improvement of their busi-
ness. He had also to speak of the establishment, since the
last meeting, of a new postal steam service between Eng-
land and America rid Panama, for which a subsidy of
110,000/. had been provided exclusively from colonial
resources. He moved the adoption of the report.
The motion was seconded by Mr. ilmis and carried.
The meeting was then made extraordinary, and the
vacancies at the board were filled up by the election of Mr.
Childers, M.P., and Mr. Philpott.
The proceedings then terminated with a vote of thanks
to the Chairman.

CRYSTAL PALACE. —Her Royal Highness the
Duchess of Cambridge, attended by Lull, Somerset, Lord
George Poulet, and Colonel Home Purvis, witnessed the
display of the Great Fountains and the ascent of Signor
Ethardo on Saturday afternoon. The last great Ballad Con-
cert of the season takes place this afternoon at five o'clock.
The Palace will be brilliac.tly illuminated until nine at
night. The admissions (Half-a-crown Day) were :
On payment, 2,740 ; ditto by season tickets, 3,554. Total
visitors, 6,294.

THE' CATTLE PLACCE.—The usual return of the
statistical office of the cattle plague department of the
Privy Council was issued on Saturday, and its satisfactory
feature is that it manifests a further decrease of cattle
plague attacks. During the week ended 18th August, the
number officially reported in Great Britain was 127 ' • viz.,
1211 in England, and lin Wales. This shows a total de-
crease of 34 on the previous return. The number of
" back cases" of attacks, referring to recent weeks, being
now hioonsiderable, no estimate in anticipation f such
cases is made in the present return. Fresh outbreaks took
place in 20 farms, or places where cattle are kept, the
number of such outbreaks ih the previous week being
33. The number of healthy cattle slaughtered, to prevent
the disease extending to them, was 22 during the week.
No attacks have been reported from Scotland during
the week The following 22 counties from the com-
mencement have remained free from the disease,
viz., Westmoreland, Monmouth, the six counties of
South Wales, Montgomery, Merioneth, Carnarvon,
Anglesey, Wigto' wn Bute, Argyll, Banff, Elgin, Nairn,
Ross and Cromarty, Sutherland, Caithness, and
Orkney and Shetland. In 73 counties and "the Metropolis"
no 012011 have been reported as occurring during the week.
4 counties and the 3 ridings of Yorkshire show an increase
of 18 cases ; and 13 counties show a decrease of 52 cases.
One animal in every 19 of the ordinary stock of
cattle in Great Britain has been attacked, and to every
1,000 attacks whose results have been reported, 882 ani-
mals perished. 130 sheep are reported during the week
to have been attacked, making the total to the date of this
return 6,323. The mean temperature of the week at
the Royal Ohservatory was 58.0 deg., or 3.5 deg. below
the average of the came period daring 50 years. Rain
fell to the amount of 0.62 inch, and the blue mist, re-
marked by Mr. Welsher as first discernible on 38th July,
continued throughout the week, but it diminished daily
in denaity. The mean degree of humidity of the air was
77, complete saturation being represented by 100.
RAILWAY ACCIDENT IN THE NORTH.—On Satur-
day morning a railway accident occurred on the Lancaster
and Carlisle Railway, between Penrith and Clifton, result-
ing in considerable destruction to property. About five
o clock, as a goods train from Carlisle for the south ap-
proached Clifton Station some of the couplings broke, when
the train was near to the top of an incline of one in 123,
and four ersggons and the break-van thus liberated re-
turned towards Penrith at a rabid speed. These waggons
had not proceededfar down the incline, gaining momentum
as their velocity became grea;.er, when they came into
violent collision with a second goods train, also going south.
The consequence was that the van containing the breaks-
man, being first' to meet the second train, was Numbed
almost to atoms by the approaching engine, and the escape
of the breakaman with either life or limb seems to he a
miracle. The engineman and fireman leaped from their
engine and escaped unhurt, when about fifty or sixty
yards from the place where the collision took place.
The engine of the second train was thrown broadside
on to the road, blocking both lines of rails, and the
tender, though maintaining its position on the wheels,
being run off the line into the embankment. The collision
was terrific. The only person injured, however, was the
bre:Tilsit:eon, a man named Robinson, residing at Tebay.
Trains from Carlisle and from the south were detained
for some time, but arrangement; were made for the carry-
ing on of the passengers' traffic : the passengers having to
walk from one train to another, and exchange carriages on
each side of the bridge. A large staff of men were speedily
on the spot to clear the lines, but the broken engine lying
on the rails defied for several hours all the efforts of
physical strength and mechanics/ appliance to restore
it to its upright position.

A BAD EMINENCE. —The Liverpool Albion has
the following:—" Liverpool has been pronounced the
most drunken, the most criminal, the most pauper-op-
premed and most death-stricken town in England. And
it is true. Its extreme drunkenness, and the excessive
number of prisoners whose crimes are traceable to the in-
dulgence in strong drink, arrest the attention of her Ma-
jesty's judges; its pauperism weighs heavily upon the rate-
payers ; its annual rate of mortality—which was last week
at the rate of 56 per thousand—is so high that those
whose business familiarises them with the statistics of
disease and death are appalled by it. The drunken
cases dealt summarily with by the magistrates are
set down at the annual rate of 1 in 33 of the popula-
tion, • much larger proportion than is shown by
any other town in the kingdom. These statistics
do not mean that one in every thirty-three of the
inhabitants of Liverpool is fined for drunkenness
every year, but that the fines inflicted for drunken-
ness have averaged that proportion. The habitual drun-
kards, in their periodic appearances before the bench,
form an endless chain of besotted creatures. The same
sinners come before their worships frequently ; and each
conviction is treated by the statistics as a separate case.
According to the recently published judicial statistics
there are 3,100 habitual drunkards in Liverpool, and they
are about equally divided as to sexes. This wretched
army of victims, who immolate themselves at the altar
of Alcohol, are never very long out of the hands of the
Pla‘ice.` Amelia," Brigham Young's latest wife, says
the Chicago Tribune, is a model woman for the
" Saints. She is- notlonable, Imperious and coquettish,
and Young pets her like • child. One evening a friend
took tea with her and the Mormon prophet. After tea
they remained at the table eating nuts, and Amelia
threw her shells through an open window on the
opposite side of the room. Her husband said, "
don't do that ; put your shells by your plate." " I shan't
do it," replied the fair one ; "111 throw them where I
please, and I'll do as I please, and you may help yourself."
And pulling her guest by the dress, she mid, 'Come, let's
go upstairs and let him grant it out."