The Express.
London, England, 1857-04-25 00:00:00

PORTUGUESE RAILWAYS.

(raOY OUR OWN CURIMPONDENT.)
Our Lisbon correspondent writc44:
LISBON, Amt. 10.
At the session of the Cortes on the leth inst., 8.
Carlos )lento presented to the Chambers u report on
the railway question, as well as the provisional con-
tract made with Sir Morton Veto, and a project of
law to be brought before the legislative bodies to
ratify the same. These were referred to the joint
consideration of the committees of finanor and

public works.
The above report gas on to speak of the general
benefits which a system of railways will confer upon
Portugal. It mentions that two modes of solvreg
the railway difficulty presented themselves; one, sf
opening the contract to public competition; and a1.,-
ether, of choosing a respectable party. The latter
plan had been adopted, and the choice bad fallen'
upon Sir Morton Peto. The report states that at
first Sir Morton Yet° asked the government to gee-
motes a minimum interest al 7 percent, an the
capital employed, bet the government bud induced
him to alter this fore subvention cf be mash per kilo-
metre, a plait which was deleted peefbrable,
biesmuch as it definitively fixed thcextent of their
responsibility. 'She gunnies' of the rompfetfitt por-
tion of the I.a.sterri Railway is then mentioned in •
the report, and the manse: of its cessisn to the eons-
puny. The report states thaeaes annual charge of A*
contoe of rem will de solve upon the "tax, whew this
railway is finished fmcireukcina ; but the amount
will augment gradually front: a low figure als the
different parts are completed, and the treasury. Wilt.
so be enabled to meet the demand. The provisional
contract, an given iu the Diaria, may be briefly'
summed up a, follows:
In compliance with the stipulations, Sir Morton
Peto obliges himeelf to embody a company for the
formation of the railway, awarding to the wormier-
dal code of Portugal, withinthe space of six menthe:.
and the government will grant a concession off tbo
line for 99 years, as soon as the contract maids xvith
the Central Peninsular Company is rescinded. When
this business is settled, the government delivers aver
the railway, as far as it is completed (this is reckoned
at 50 kilometres, and is calculated to the new core
pany at 11,000!. per kilometre), with all appur-
tenances and rolling stock. The company engages.
to complete the railway to Santarem and to Oporto,.
passing Coimbra, and the government pledges itself
to grant no concession to what may be called am
rival company. As a material guarantee, Sir
Morton l'eto will deposit 10,000/. of Portuguese-
Three per Cent. Bonds, in either the Bank of England I
or of Portugal, thirty days after the signature of the
contract, and make another deposit of like amount
one month after the commencement of the works ;
thin to be withdrawn in two reclamations, the first
half after the value of 100,000/. of railway is made,
and the second half in like manner. The construc-
tion of the line must commence three months after
the company is constituted, and the whole is to be
completed and ready for circulation in four years.
The company stipulates to duly make a line of rail-
way,with the parts and works which are technically
deseribed at length, and to furnish all the rolling
stock, and construct an electric telegraph along the
line. The government cedes to the company all the
state lands through which the railway may pass, and
facilitates the expropriations of private property. The
company offers to execute gratis the postal service,
and to carry troops, &c., at one-hall fare. The fiscal
engineers of the government are to have a right of
survey over the works, and in event of a dispute, ar-
biters are to be chosen on either side; should
they not come to an agreemeut, un appeal
is to be made to the President of the Corpo-
ration of the Civil Engineers of England, who
is to appoint an engineer of first rate reputation to
solve the difficulty. The provisional contract regu-
lates in a measure the tariff of the company, and
fixes more or less the form and construction of the
line, with its appurtenances, and the government
promises that the company shall have an exemption
from taxation for 20 years after its installation.
The company also has the right of working all
mines within half a kilometre of either side of the
railway. The company subjects itself to the lawa
and tribunals of Portugal, which, however, will give •
it every reasonable protection. The government;
concedes to the company a subvention of 5,5001. per-
kilometre, understanding that the total length of;
the railway will not exceed 3280500 metres. The.•
payment is to be made every three months during;
four years, and in 3 per cent. inscriptions, at a rani
to be arranged between the company and the govern-
ment; but in event of a disagreement the payment
must be made in money. The company agrees.to
expend in works and materials doable the amount
of the government subvention ; and the government
promises to seek from the Cortes the authoritv,-ro-
guisite for the ratification of the contract.
The project of law to be laid before the Carte/ids
as follows :
Art. 1. The government it authorised to contract vaithstbs
company ropreeented by Sir Morton Paso fur the emearration
of the railway from I.ittion to Oporto, according tcabettases
of the provinocal contrast (of whitti•eopy is anamad.),aans
eluded with the said Sir Morton Patina the Bth Matt
Art. 2. The government to also suthoneed to srachts4. the
contract nude with the Central Prninsular Itrabirayt Com-
pany of Portugal on ledt August, 1853, fur the fonastion of
a railway from Lisboa to Santarem. having poseur to laden-
Idly the shareholders of the said company, talnagtbiesheres
at par, and paying fir them enlist in bnd. at thefunded
debt, at the prise of 50 per cent., or is utonmy ittlkihistel-
nients of three in three mouths, busting haste*. at-84er cent.
per annum.
Art. 3. The government is also mithitrited to tkpidate the
debt due to the ssintractors Abner and Waling,. mad to pay
theta either in teat& of the extortion debt at .10 per cent., or:
is installuci its of money.
Art. 4. The Junta of Public ts.-.edit is aatlioriamd to metre
sad issue the Titve.try togn4l.
Art. 5. Tbogovernman it alto authorised taraise in Pat
way avenni moat advantage.* for ths public settle° Cat-
SUMP required for carrying out Me three first :Michas wl-sa
all or pot of the dispaatiens ode article tare ma in courssest
execution. - -

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Mini Aux otrublh, 'Works, Commerw, and industry,
ANTONIA) Joss
April 11, 1857. CAKIMI. Basle DA 811.,
I anderstand that Messrs. Shaw mad Warin4 tb c
former eontracurs for the Central Peninsular Va'
way, have faranitkd the accounts of their %mute ed
clams against the Portuguese government Cum tgh
the Formgasoffice. These, 1 believe, arname .to
between 17n000/. sad 180,000/. Both the ea? of
Clarendon and Mr. 'toward. the Rnglish tualta ,odor,
have takes some interest is the ndjustmenlost these
claims, sad I understand that a special dempso ,eh on
the subject is sent by thy; packet. The I ,nuis do
Lou* and Seahor Avila have appointni Mr. T.
ltunitell to adjudicate on behalf of the Po rtuguese
government; and I am told that the courts eters will
be offered about tive•sinths of the amean'• they ask.
'They will be ;said at par the 1133,14101. more or
less of shares they hold, and of the erre:finites they
show for work and materials. thew Ir eve received
some 43,0001., and smm• deductions isi'd have to be
made from the total amount.
In foreign exchanges for this packet there was a
fair demand for bills on London at 631 for 90 days.
Continental paper was scarce, and in some demand.
The quotations arc as follows :—London, 30 days, 63;
90 days, 63!. Paris, 533. Genoa, 531. Hamburg,
47". Amsterdam, 411 at 3 months.
The price of government stock has got up a little,
, u there has been some demand for it, with few sellers.
• The following are the quotations:--Three per Cent.
t Coupons, 46 to 471 ; Bank of Portugal %hares from
s 4to 5 per cent. prem.; Bank of Oporto, from 20 to
21 per cent. prem.

The Pensiero of Oneglin, in Piedmont, relates the
following anecdote —" A few days ago one of the prisoners
in oar penitentiary died. One of hie companions being par•
ticularly deoirous of eschaintims the confined air of the cell
for tho purer atmosphere of 'lie fields, resolved to purchase
liberty by substituting hinvelf fur the deceased. Ho accor-
dingly secreted the body under the straw, and occupied its
pace. His stratagem was very near succeeding, for ho was
canted out of the cell in duo form, and had a fair chance of
effecting his escape, when be was seized with a violent fit of
emgbisg at which the men who were carrying him ran away
fn a Eight; but the turnkeys who witnessed the scene were
leas supsiretitioue, and took him back to his prison." The
above account neembles exceedingly thet narrated in the
int nausea " Monte Cher" with We. difteroxa et the
Oise.