The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-17 00:00:00

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Money at New York is active, and an unusual supply
of capital for temporary loans. Stocks firm.
The cotton market, before the arrival of the Atlantic,
was buoyant, under anticipation of an:advance in Liver.
pool. Since the receipt the tone has been desponding
in the extreme, and sales heavy, the decline varyieg
from lc. to lc.
Flour fell off about lc. to le., 12:3c. per barrel for com-
mon medium. Wheat was inactive, without material
change in prices for good qualities. Corn easier.
Provisions. —Pork and beef heavy, and unchanged.
Lard active and ernited. Sugar active.
ri eights firm for Liverpool and London.
Exchange on London, 108-1 to 1081 ; Paris, 5.23 A to
5.20 ; Amsterdam, 401 to 41 ; Bremen, 771 to 77i ;
Hamburg, 351 ; Antwep, 5.23 to 5.20.

RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS.

TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE PAST WEEK.

Miles Receipts.
opened, NAME OF RAILWAY.
1855.- 1854.
----
1855.
-...-....•
BRITISH. £ £
115 Aberdeen .......... ...... .... . „... 2,724 3,133
37% Belfast and Ballymena •............. 754 759
17 Belfast and County D0wn...... •• • • .. - -
83 Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire 2,042 1,935
26% Bolton, Blackin trn, and West York •. • • - -
117 Bristol and Exeter .• .......... ••• • .. 4,866 5,472
191 4 Caledonian.... ......... ............ 11,255 10,540
9414 Chester and Holyhead••• .. • • .... •• • • 4,442 4,801
6 Cork, Bladltrock, and Passage ••• • •• 119 156
20 Cork and Bandon ................ - 255 29-,
56 Dublin and Belfast Junction •• .. •• • • 815 1,261
63 Dublin and Drogheda...... ......... 1,173 1,544
7N Dublin and Kingstown ........ -- • • 615 695
16.7 i Dundee and Arbroath •••••••• • • • • • • - -
31 Dundee, Perth, and Aberdeen Junction 830 963
257 40J
36 Dundalk and Enniskillen • • .. • • • • • • • •
67% East Anglian.... .• -•••••••• • • • • • • • • 773 90!
0
93 East Lancashire •• • • .... •••••• • • •• • • 4,900 ,195
417 Eastern Counties and Norfolk.. ••.. } 20,709 20,083
Eastern Union •. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
142 Edinburgh and Glasgow ............. 4,839 5,000
78 Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee- •• - 2,753 2,798
6 Exeter and Crediton.. • • ...• • • • • • • • • - -
22 Furness Railway •• • •••••• • • " • • " - -
183% Glasgow, and South-Western• • ...... 5,070 5,522
283 Great Northern and E. L.• • - ...... 23,777 25,864
2033! Great Southern and Western (Ireland) 6,042 6,614
3593% Groat Western .................... 21,508 22,649
25 IA Irish South Eastern --••••.. • • •• .. - _
90 Lancaster and Carlisle .• .• • • .. ..
27014 Lancashire and Yorkshire..• •--• • • • 13,607 120,051
- Leeds Northern .. • • .. • •
_
161 Liverpool, Crosby, and Southport _- -
553% London and North Western
5% London and P•laciws.ll 1,164 1,098
1811% 1 London, Brighton, and South Con.st 10,840 10,543
267 London and South Western 11,580 , 12,614
60 Londonderry and Enniskillen
- Manchester, Buxton, and Matlock, &c - -
1731,( Manchester, Sheffield,and Lincolnshire 8,965 9,535
9% Manchester and South Junction...-. 613 643
23 Maryport and Carlisle
498% Midland .•• • • ••••••••••• • •• •• • • • • 25,816 27,111
12634 Midland Great, Western (Irish)
37 Monklands ............... - - -
783% Newcastle and Carlisle-- --•• .. • • - -
149 North British
- North Staffordshire - -
47 North-Western 874 840
82% Scottish Central .............. • •
32 Scottish Midland •• ••••••• • • • •• - • • - -
29% Shrewsbury and Birmingham ••• • .• 8117 1,242
48 Shrewsbury and Chester
30 Shropshire Union Bl3
2,3843
573 South Devon.. • • .....• ....
289 South Eastern.... .... 14,030 15,305
1623{ South Wales ........ •..• .......... 4,398 5,426
97 South York., Doncaster, and Goole .. 1,594 2,170
39 Taff Yale •......................... 3,331 3,710
36 ITlster. . - •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• " " - - •" - -
77 Waterford and Limerick •........... 801 1,344
273,E West Cornwall ...... ..... ....... 450 462
12 Whitehaven Junction ............... 360 311
682 York and Newcastle, and Berwick &
York and North Midland & Leeds.. - -
FOREIGN.
89 Dutch Rhenish .. •• •• .............. 813 1,304
- Lyons and Mediterranean • ......... - _
- Montereau and Troyes •••••••••••• .. - -
- Namur and Liege .. • • .............. - -
- Northern of France ••••-•••• •• .. .. - _
- Orleans and Central .. _ -
- Paris and Lyons ...• •••••••••• •• •• - --
- Paris and Rouen. ....• ......
- Paris and Strasburgh •• .... •....... - _
- Rouen and Havre • • .... - -
- Western of France •• .• •• •• •• - _

A correspondent, whose semi-diplomatic avocations
take him often to the various telegraphic offices, says
that he had for some while observed a person of pecu-
liarly gentlemanly manners, but with an air of consider-
able reserve, waiting for despatches from the various
cities of the Continent. His curiosity as to the mission
of this individual became painfully exciting, and at every
risk,—now impelled by an anxiety for the safety of his
country, now by the more selfish one of curiosity, and
anon for no other reason than a desire to solve an appa-
rently impenetrable mystery,— he determined to know
the stranger's objects and purpose. The other night,
while peace negotiations were rife, he found his man
waiting as usual. He wa3 evidently anxious. This could
be seen, through all his highly-schooled imperturbabi-
lity. He had received and was hastening away with his
despatch, when, says our informant, I mentally ejacu-
lated, " Now or never, and England is saved !" Dash-
ing after him I snatched the document from his hand,
exclaiming, " Sir, you have taken lily answer by mis-
take." Another second, and I had held the document
to the light of the electric lamp and read. "Bonnets
are worn larger." It was a message from Paris to the
Maison de Nouveautta in Regent-street, followed by
advices that cases of chapeaux were en route per steamer.
I stammered out an apology to the courier of fashion,
and went back to my duties, not a much wiser no ra
better man, but a considerably smaller one in my no-
tions of my powers of penetrating individual purpose
and character.

The Berlin Waterworks, which have just been built,
with exclusively English capital, by Sir Charles Fox and
M. Crampton (the latter being the actual designer and
engineer), are in process of being opened.