The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-29 00:00:00

Several other manifestations having taken place in con•

chair.

nection with the cabinet, Dr. Ferguson explained that it
would be desirable that the company should clasp hands,
and that the lights should be altogether extinguished. A
small writing table had been previously placed in the centre
of the room, with a chair at either side. The musical in-
struments, bells, &0,, were placed on the table. The Bro-
thers Devenport were then manacled by the hands and
feet, and securely bound to the chairs by ropes. A chain
of communication (though not a circular one) was formed,
and the instant the tights were extinguish ed the musical
instruments appeared to be carried all about the room. The
current of air which they occasioned in their rapid transit
was felt upon the faces of all present. The bells were loudly
rung ; the trumpet made knocks on the floor ; and the tam-
bourine appeared running round the room, jingling with all
its might. At the same time tiny sparks were observed as
if passing from south to west. Several persons exclaimed
that they were touched by the instruments, which on one
occasion became so demonstrative that one gentleman re-
ceived a knock on the nasal organ, which broke the skin
and caused a few drops of blood to flow,
These manifestations having been repeated two or three
times with;nearly similar results, the Brothers Devenport
joined the chain of communication, and Mr Fay was bound
in the chair. Ills hands were bound tightly behind his back,
and his feet were firmly secured, as in the cabinet. A gen.
tleman present was then asked to desire him to take off his
coat the instant the light was extinguished. This was done
—a whizzing noise was heard : "It's off," exclaimed Mr
Fay; the candle was lighted and the coat was found lying
in the middle of the room. Astonishing though this appeared
to be, what followed was more extraordinary still. Dr For.
guson requested a gentleman present to take off his coat and
place it on tho table. This was done, the light was extin-
guished—repetition of the whizzing noise was heard and the
strange coat was found upon Mr Fay, whose hands and
feet were still securely bound, and his body tied almost im-
movably to the chair. A gentleman present then inquired
whether, if he were to place two finger rings on the table,
they could be transferred to the hands of Mr Fay. Dr Fer-
guson said he could not undertake that this feat would be
accomplished, but that an essay would be made. The rings
were deposited on the table, the candle extinguished, and Mr
Fay immediately exclaimed "They are on my finger," and
surely enough there they were. The owner of the ring then
expressed a wish that they might be restored to his fingers.
As soon as the room was farkened the musical instruments
commenced their mysterious concert, and, aster an interval
of about 20 seconds, a gentleman (not the owner) exclaimed
that the rings had been placed on his fingers. This
was found to be the case, A lady next expressed a desire

It may be asserted that all the illustrations above enu-
merated can be tracel to clever conjuring. Possibly they
may, or it is possible that some new physical force can be
engendered at will to account for what appears on the face
of it absolutely unaccountable. All that can be asserted is
that the displays to which we have referred took place on
the present occasion under conditions and circumstances
that preclude the presumption of fraud. It is true that
darkness is in some cases an essential condition, but dark-
ness does not necessarily imply deceptim. But, putting
aside the cabinet manifestations, there is abundance left to
excite curiosity and challenge attention of the scientific.
Learning, we know, is not a limited quantity; it is inex-
haustible for all mankind, and here is a field for the inves-
tigation of the scientific world. In the present state of know-
ledge upon the subject of occult forces, dependent more or
less upon the will, all that can be said is, that the manifes-
tations of Messrs Davenport and Mr Fay appear to be alto-
gether inexplicable.
In a little time we believe it is their intention to give
seances at the Egyptian Hall or soma other suitable place,
when the public will be afforded an opportunity of witness-
ing some of the astonishing feats of which we have given
an outline, For the present it is sufficient to say that they
invite the strictest scrutiny on the part of men of science,
and that, whatever be the theory involved, they repudiate
any active agency in the production of the extraordinary
manifestations which take place in their presence. It is per-
haps well for them that they were not in the flesh a century
and a half ago, as, in the then state of human knowledge
and social enlightenment, they wou'd unquestionably have
been conducted to Smithfield, and burnt as necromancers
of the most dangerous type.--Illorning Posi.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE,

SCINDE.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yes-

terday at the London Tavern, Mr W. P. Andrew in the

The report of the Scinde, Punjab, and Delhi ',undertak-
ings of the company were taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving their adoption, said it was
gratifying to inform the shareholders that the staff in India
had performed their duty to the entire satisfaction of the
Board; they had escaped from the ravages of sickness
better than the servants of the Government, and their

sanitary state was satisfactory. The contract for the
construction of the Delhi Railway had, after great anxiety
on the part of the directors fur years past, been let, and
the plans and sections were prepared. Upon the conaplc-
_

tion'of the Delhi line the 'Success of their other undertak-

ings depended. The directors had been pressing the Go-

vernment from time to time to allow the works to proceed,
and they had at length consented to give the execu,ien
of th 3 Virotlie to tlin omiu.mt firm of Wssre. Brassey and
Co. lie believed it was the largest contract ever let to one
contractor, as it amounted to something like £5,000,000.

It was of considerable importance that the company should
gei; free accesstellelhi,which was a great centre of commerce,
and before the mutiny the trade amounted to ,t 4,000,000 a

year. This railway would enter MAU at one side, forming
a continuous line from Kurrachee, while the _East Indian

line would enter Delhi on the other side, forming a confirm
ous line of railway front Calcutta,
and by means of a junc
tion of the two lines near Delhi a main liue of railway would
be formed from Kurrach( e, through the Punjab, vie Delhi,
to Calcutta. Tho Delhi line would proceed from the latter
place to Meerut, which was the centre of country rich in
agricultural produce ; thence to Umballah, a large military
station and a great depot for trade and commerce ; thence
to Loouhiana, a great place for manufacturers ; thence t
Jullundur and across the Bess river to a junction with the
Punjab Railway at Umritsur, nearly 320 miles in length.
The Delhi lino would form the centre of a great arch of
railway communication from Kurrachee to Calcutta, and
from which all other lines must radiate on both sides of it
to supply any further communication that might be deemed
requisite. He drew special attention to the discovery of
coal near Pind Dadun Khan, connected with the salt range
between the Jelum and the Indus. The salt was very pure
and only requirod,washing, and the coal was found tc be
0 v e n
tahhdee
eir
beetsws a:
sa 0
admirably ac apted to locomotive purposes ; it had very little
sulphur in it, and did not clog the bars. The coal was at
present brought on camels' backs, and was broken into small
fragments in the carriage. The quality of the coal war( ex-
cellent, and the only question was to its being in sufficient
quantity, but he thought there was no doubt of that. If the
Punjab line were extended to Peshawar and the Khyber
Pass, a branch line of between 20 or 30 miles would reach
the colliery, which would then be available for fuel over the
whole of their lines. The Punjab was the first province in
India that had had an exhibition of its produce and manu-
factures, also those of neighbouring countries ; and it had
had been gradually augmenting, and it enabled the been successful. The receipts from Umritsur to Lahore
enter-
prising merchants of those places to comprehend what could
communication, although the portion of
accident had occurred on the line since it had been opened,
was only 32 miles in length. No
bliendeebneetwbeyenratihlwosaeyplaces
and nothing had been lost in carriage from one place to the
other. A person could travel from Lahore to Umritsur,
transact his business there, and return to Lahore on the
same day, whereas before the railway was opened three days
doing what could now be done easier and
The advantages would be much more
sowunraheeedndatyihn.e line was opened throughout to Mooltan.
wabjeehtprteeaerrwceoihilnnotle of the Punjab line was nearly ready for opening
with the exception of about 40 miles, but this would be
completed in February next, and the whole line from Um.
ritsur to Mooltan, 252 miles in length, would be opened for
traffic. This would give an immense stimulus to the trade
of the Punjab, particularly when it was found that goods
and produce could be conveyed with certainty, safety and
but they had sinee been informed the
rapidity to and from Kurrachee. The company's flotilla
had exceeded his expectations. The earnings had been
double those of the previous half year. They had stated in
the report that the gross earnings had been about £57,000
more—(hear, hear)—so that if
they had all the steamers available an am active operation
the receipts would have been much er. They were
for
actual the pastam o uhnatl fwyaesar
£2,000 l
yielding boats usefula
profit and
greatly indebted to the indefatigable exertions of Captain
Wood in adapting the boats to the difficult navigation of the
1 profitable: He was in hopes, when they got all the boats in
their hands, the result would bo a larger profit. The Scinde
Indus, and in making
red for a long time
were on their way to the railway. Owing to the expenditure
of revenue on works of drainage and in forming additional
bridges and culverts,
by Railwaythel a
sftr om
advisesli o t rge
goods
ot
do
siithUartrahe
which fairly belonged to capital, it was
impossible to tell what the profits of the railway were until
that question was adjusted. The Secretary of State for
India had taken a just view as to what belonged to capital
and revenue, and had given orders that the items should
be properly adjusted and charged accordingly. When that
was done the net earnings of the railway would be very dif-
ferent from what they appeared at present. The whole
commerce of Kurrachee for the year 1863-61 amounted to
£6,750,000, and for 1662-63 to £5,500,000, showing an in-
crease of 20 per cent ; but the increase in 1862-3 over 1861-
2 was 87 per cent. Ile considered the trade of Kurrachee in
its infancy, and that it would be necessary to steam along
the Persian Gulf au i make a line along the Euphrates val-
ley. England had now au immense stake in India, there
was therefore both a political and commercial necessity for
shortening the distance, and he was convinced that the
more attention they gave to Eastern affairs the more impor-
tant they would become.
Sir T. H. MAnnocs., deputy chairman, seconded the mo-
tion for the adoption of the report.
Mr GOEZ said he thought it would be desirable to have
full and detailed accounts of their expenditure so that the
shareholders might be better able to judge of their progress.
No doubt the actual working expenses on revenue account
were less than had been indicated, and would be found so
when the items belonging to capital were ascertained and
deducted from working expenses on revenue account. He
did not complain of anything, as he had obtained answers
at the office on certain points which he considered satisfac-