The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-06 00:00:00

MILITARY.

One officer, on• serjeant, and 60 men of the depot of
the 34th Regiment in Plymouth Citadel received orders
on Thursday to hold themselves in readiness to join the
head-quarters in the Crimea.
We regret to announce the death of Captain W. R.
Newport Campbell, of the sth Dragoon Guards, which
took place at Scutari on the 23d December. Captain
Campbell served with the 9th Lancers in the battle of
Punaiar during the Sutlej campaign of 1846, and the
campaign on the Sutlej under Lord Gough, including
the battles of Chillianwallah and Goozerat. Captain
Campbell had a medal for Sobraon, and one with clasps
for Chillianwallah and Goozerat.

The death of Lieutenant and Adjutant Warren, of the
55th, is reported to have taken place at Scutari on the
23d ult. ; he was five years in the service, and was pro-
moted to a company in last Friday's Gazette.

THE INTERIOR OF ST. GEORGES HALL,

LIVERPOOL.

The elaborate finishings of the interior have been de-
signed by Professor Cockerell, and very arduous and
responsible, no doubt, has it been felt to handle a frame-
work so nobly designed ; and great might well be the
apprehension that its grace and, nobility might suffer
under any hands short of that of the original master
himself, Mr. Elnies. The ceiling, according to the ap-
parent system of the Romans, is covered, like a firma-
ment, with a multitude of appropriate detail to give
space and magnitude to the whole. The provincial armo-
rial bearings, and the symbols appropriate to navigation,
the municipal and legal purposes of the structure have
been largely employed. These have been circumscribedto
the crowns of the side-groaning arches, and not carried
down to the springing of the arched vault, as is commonly
the case. The whole proportion is thereby heightened,
and the parallelogram of the ceiling materially elon-
gated. The six pendentives are adorned with symbolical
figures, taken from Raffaelle's composition in the Vati-
can, of Temperance, Prudence, Art, Science, Justice,
and Fortitude, and in the paving under these are in-
scriptions illustrative of each of these virtues. A rich
decoration of galleries, composed of Irish black marble,
Derbj-shire spar bullesters, and twenty-four Irish green
niches adorn the lower part of the hall, the walls being
decorated with slabs of various British marbles. Two
of those niches are already occupied by illustrious
tenan ts, Sir R. Peel and George Stephenson. The six
doors are very magnificent, and surpass anything of the
sort yet executed in England. The jambs are in solid'
grey granite, in single pieces, with cornices carved in
Portl and stone ; the gates themselves are of bronze and
brass,, highly elaborated. Among these are ten chan-
delier e, of great magnificence in size, materials, and
desk' ; they ara seven feet in diameter, with 140 lights
each, in the form of stars. The paving, executed by
Mint on, after designs by Mr. Cockerel], Mr. Gruner,
and . Ar. Stevens, unexampled in' tesselated workman.
ship. The drawings of the Tritons and Sea-nymphs
in red and yellow, is highly classical, spirited, and beau-
tiful. A regulation of some interest in the direction of
this structure has been vigorously observed in every de-
tail, iaamely, that none but British materials and British
work xnanship shouha enter into the work. The organ,
an in astrument of great compass and magnificence, has
long been a vexed question, as impairing the perspective
of the Hall and Nat Prius Court ; and its position in
this regard must ever be lamented ; but after extended
delib s ration, and the best advice on accoustics and mu-
sical 'convenience, it was finally decided to be placed at
the niorth end of the hall. Pains have been taken by its
form .and structure, to play into the lines and perspec-
tive nd uses of that part of the hall. The area in the
east f ront together with the niches in the hall, afford
spat. and position for all the illustrious of our land, and
willi!urnish, in the growth of time, a museum of art and
of re tiown of the utmost historical interest.

P.a RIS EXHIBITION.--The Senate of Hamburg bas
just ; appointed Herr Geffhen, a doctor of civil law, and
snr, )tary of legation for the free towns at Paris, to be
their• commissioner at the " Universal Exhibition."
P. A NMENT OF CHINESE CUSTOMS DUTIES AT SHANG-
HAI. - —Yesterday (Friday) deputations from the Man-
ches t er Commercial Association, and Manchester Cham-
ber oaf Commerce, had an interview with Lord Claren-
don,, at the Foreign office, relative to the question of en-
fore end security and payment of Chinese customs duties
at : Eilianghai. His lordship received the deputation
mo: rt graciously, and assured them that instructions
war e sent out to extinguish all securities given
for the payment of duties to February last, and that
the other portion of the question (payment between
Fel )ruary and July) was under the consideration of the
law • officers of the Crown, and would be settled as soon
as possible. The interview lasted an hour.
['HE ROYAL THAMES YACHT CLUB have unanimously
Yo' md the sum of 50/. to the Patriotic Fund.

It appears from the published traffic returns of rail-
ways in the United Kingdom for the year 1854 that
they amounted to 18,541,8551. on 7,300 miles of rail-
way, being at the rate of 2,604/. per mile. In addition
to the published returns, there were receipts upon 792
miles of railway amounting to about 1,458,6701.,
which, with the above sum of 18,541,8551., makes
a total of 20,000,5251., as the traffic receipts for
railways in the -United Kingdom in 1854- The
length of line open for traffic at the end of the
year was about 8,028 miles, the traffic receipts
on the whole being at the rate of 2,4911.
The cost of construction amounted to 273,760,0001.,
being at the rate of 32,0201. per mile. The total receipts
on 7,700 miles in 1853 amounted to 17,920,5301., show-
ing an increase in favour of 1854 of 2,079,9951., or above
11 per cent. This is a very satisfactory result, and
would have been attended with more beneficial conse-
quences to the shareholders had not the outlay of capi-
tal also increased, the increase of capital having been
about 10,000,0001. during the year. The working ex-
penses, rates; and taxes amount to about 47' per cent.
of the whole, or 9,400,000 f., leaving 10,600,000/. for
dividends on preference shares and loans and divi-
dends on the ordinary capital. The profit on the working
would yield a dividend on the outlay of about n. per
cent., which shows an improvement on the• average of
former years. The average for 1853 was a trifle more
than 3i per cent., and in 1852 about 31 per cent.
The increase of the traffic has been satisfactory
and progressive. In 1843 it amounted to 500,8741.
over the preceding year ; in 1844 to 768,3371. ; in
1845 to 1,058,8421. ; in 1846 to 1,020,6501.; in 1847
to 1,285,97/. ; in 1848 to 1,109,335/. ; in 1849 to
930,8081. ; in 1850 to 1,744,161/. ; inlBsl t 01,809,923/.; in
1852 to 620,402/. ; in 1853 to 2,040,220/. ; and in 1854
to 2,079,9951. over the preceding year. Should the
traffic continue to increase, and the expenditure on
capital account be restricted to providing the neces-
sary accommodation for the increasing traffic, the po-
sition of railway property must gradually improve.
The published traffic returns of railways in 1843
amounted to 4,843,0001., yielding an average receipt
of 3,0451. per mile ; and in 1854 to 18,541,0001., yield-
ing an average receipt of 2,6041. per mile. The capital
expended on those lines up to July, 1843, amounted to
57,635,1001., and in 1854 on the lines in question to
255,610,0001., showing an increase in the annual
traffic of 13,693,0001., and in the capital expended of
197,974,900/. The mileage has increased during that
period from 2,000 miles to 8,000 miles, and the average/
cost per Milo remained about the came, varying from
34,0001. to 35,000/. per mile.