The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-30 00:00:00

RAILWAY 11VTELLIGENCE.

GREAT INDIA PENINSULA RAILWAY.
Yesterday the sixth half-yearly general meeting of
proprietors of this railway was hold at their offices,
- -

Now Broad-street; Lord WHARNCLIFFE, the chairman

of the directors, in the chair.

The report, which has already appeared, having been
read,

The CHAIRXAN, in moving that the report be adopted,
expressed his satisfaction at once morn finding himself

presiding at their meetings. He would call their atten-
tion to the statement of the accounts. They would find

hat they had up to the time at which the accounts were

made up a sum of 485,1851. capital paid into the East

tdomeanv's treasury, and for which they were re-
ceiving interest, anu bum °Mance

herefore at that time left botween the actual stun paid

in and the total amount of capital, which was 500,0001.

That small difference, however, arose entirely from tho
absence of specific reports of the last payments in India

which had been received, he believed, at a subsequent

date. Ho might therefore now announce to them, as
mentioned in the report, that tho entire capital:of 500,0001.
required for the execution of the first portion of the

line had been paid into the East India Company's trea-
sury, and was now available for their purposes, and
this company was now receiving the interest which had

been guaranteed upon it. But he thought there were
more satisfactory features in these accounts than oven
that which he had particularized. They would observe
that up to the time the accounts wore made out, the
expenses amounted to only 193,521/., leaving no loss
than 291,0001. in hand for the prosecution of the works
of the company. Ile thought that might be taken as a
very favourable state of affairs, considering how long they
had been engaged in their undertaking. But even this
was not as satisfactory as the statement which ho had
yet to make to them, for it was now satisfactorily ascer-
tained that although 500,000/. was the capital required
originally for the completion of this lino, the contracts
proved that they would be able, without any doubt, not
merely to construct the line, but to provide the neces-
sary plant for working it for a sum loss by one-fifth
below the capital. lie believed Mr. Nicholson (the
secretary) would confirm him when he stated that they
had now a certain prospect, arising from the actual com-
pletion of contracts and a perfect knowledge of the ex-
penses to which they should bo put, that they should
put the railway in a working state for 400,0001., leaving
100,0001. of their capital applicable for any other pur-
pose, though this included a branch and a double line,
which ho believed was four or five miles in length, which
was of course an additional expense. He would now
proceed to the other main feature of the report and of
their undertaking iu general, namely, the great question
as to the prolongation of the line, because although they
were all aware that they were greatly interested in the
limited portion on which they were now employed,
which was in tho first instance to solve the great pro•
blom as to the introduction of railway enterprise into
the Indian territories ; nevertheless the undertaking
would be a very incomplete and insufficient one if they
could not look with some confidence to its extension to
other districts. In the first place, then, they had not
only the prospect of having the line opened soon within
the island of Bombay, but the additional contracts to
carry it on had been actually made and the work con-1
siderably advanced. He had, moreover, to state that
he believed there was little doubt, from the information
received from the engineer, that the portion up to
Canna would be actually open and in operation—that
was to say, in the main island, iu February next.
With regard to the Malsejghaut, Mr. Barclay satisfied
himself that it was liable to very serious objections.
First of all it would be very expensive. There would
be four or five miles of tunnelling, and gradients of 1 in
40 for, he believed, 13 miles, and, in consequence, Mr.
Barclay stated that the works could not bo executed
under 10 years, and the total expense would be alarm-
ing. Mr. Barclay then proceeded to examine the others,
and he found that of the three passes the most favour-
able was the Tulghaut, and it was also the most favour-
chic in a commercial point of view, as it would bring
them into the heart of the country. lie found that the
gradients and the nature of the work were unexpectedly
favourable. Ho ascertained that the line could be made
with no more tunnelling than about 900 yards, and that
the worst gradient in the whole line was 1 in 37 for
only six miles and a half. Now, when it was recollected
that in this country they run trains daily on the Bristol
and Birmingham line on an incline of precisely that
gradient, though not for such a distance, it appeared to
him that that was no insuperable obstacle. The other
gradients were more easy. Then there wore very few
viaducts of any consequence, only 176 yards, and the
result of his calculations were, founding them upon con-
tracts already entered into, and upon the experience ho
had gained during his residence in India as superinten-
dent of the company's works, that this line might be
made for a sum not exceeding 10,0001. a mi1e.107411,
then, he said, if they were able to surmount this chain
of mountains, and attain a summit level of not loss than
,
2,000 feet, to execute these works with gradients of not
pmornonseo f than
to 1
oiono. a
317fomrilseo,
tsbheoyrta shoulddistance,
accomplishand
a a tan w
work
which had no parallel, ho believed, in any other part of
the world. But M
r. Barclay did not stop et this point.
Ho proceeded also
which ran the to investigate the pass of Bhoorgant
direction of Poonah. Now although
that was not the best direction in a commercial point of
view, there was n
Bombay to Poona?' doubt that a railway passing from
government and to the would be of groat importance to the
was that although not
so
orcisidency generally. The result
as the Tulghaut, it
tvourable for engineering pur-
posespractic3ble. In the Bhoor was one that was perfectly
a veey' heavy one, 1 in 20, but that
the worst gradient was
The other gradients varietd was only for two miles.
The tunnelling would amount fromto 1 in 35 to 1 in 67.
Barclay estimated that this line mightl,4B7 yards, and Mr.
11,000/. a mile. It appeared
to
oa he completed for
remembered the very serious difficulties they'en had
dlenl they
anticipated of plain& over these mountains that always
earyes-