The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-18 00:00:00

were succeeded by flights of rockets ascending to
an enormous height, and bursting in a shower of
stars of every colour in the rainbow. The grand
piece of the display was an extensive facade re-
presenting a Mexican palace. It was surmounted
by the cipher of the Emperor Napoleon. When on
fire it produced a most brilliant Effect, and termi-
nated with an explosion of splendid grenades. The
next piece was a most striking pyrotechnic exhibi-
tion, as the Pont d'lena was all at once in a blaze
from end to end, and poured a cascade of fire into

the Seine below. The effect was perfectly magi.
cal, and called forth loud cheers from the assembled
thousands. This was followed by further flights of
rockets, which continued without intermission to
the final bouquet, which was received with renewed
applause. A similar display took place at the same
time on the Place do Trone.

The great mass of the spectators then turned
homewards, but thousands continued promenading
about until near the morning hours, Others, the
younger class of pleasure-seekers, went off to the
Bal Hardy, on the Esplanade des Invalides, where
the style of dance was not altogether in accordance
with the stricter rules of ball etiquette. Towards
four in the morning, the streets became quiet, and
only a few occasional stragglers were seen to wend
their weary way along. The day of pleasure had
at length terminated—terminated without accident

—in good humour and tranquillity. Upwards of two
millions of people must have taken part in the
amusements on the vai ions points of the capital,
and yet the arrangements were so good that no in•
terference of the authorities was perceptible any-
where.— Galignani.

The Great English and French Railways,

THE LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN.
The continued growth of the railway systems of
England and France, the immense capitals embarked
in them, and the different policies adopted with
respect to them in the two countries, induce us to
" consecrate," as our neighbours would say, a series
of articles to what is, in all sober earnestness, a
topic of very considerable importance. In dealing
with the question we shall have to bring under
notice six great English and six great French net-
works—viz,, English—The London and North•
Western, the Great Western, the North-Eastern,
the Midland, the 9reat Eastern, and the Lancashire
and Yorkshire. French—The Paris, Lyons, and
Mediterranean, the Orleans, the Eastern, the Wes-
tern, the Northern, and the Southern. Our review
of each undertaking will be brought down to the
close of 1863, and will be as minute as it can be
consistently with a due regard to space and to a
desire not to " bore" the reader. At the outset it
be observed that the Governments of England and
France have pursued a radically different course
with regard to :he development of railways. The
English Government has encouraged the " unre-
stricted competition" system, and has in no case
suffored a company to divide more than 10 per cent.
In France the Imperial regime has massed the
whole of the railway undertakings of the empire
(virtually into the bands of six great companies,
and in hardly any case has a line been made
without a more or less considerable subvention from
the coffers of the State. Aided by this administra-
tive patronage, and benefited, in the first instance,
by cheap labour and low-priced land, it is not sur-
prising that the dividends paid by several cf the
French companies upon their comparatively small
amounts of ordinary share capital have been very
large, the Paris, Lyons, and Mediterranean having
last year distributed 15 per cent, upon an old share
capital of £14,000,000, while the London and North
Western only yielded 5i per cent. upon its
£25,755,350 of ordinary stock. At first sight, per-
haps, the French system appears to be infinitely
superior from a shareholder's point of view, and so,
perhaps, it is; but, as we shall have occasion to
show in the course of these articles, Government
patronage and aid is attended with some disadvan-
tages and re3ponsibilitiee, which cloud the future
with uncertainties and bear injuriously upon the
public welfare.

Without, however, unduly anticipating matters;

et us commence at once to deal with the great
English enterprise known as the London and North
Western Railway, in which, probably, all sections
of the British public, whether shareholders, deben-
tureholdere, or otherwise, feel a certain legitimate
pride. The London and North Western is a proof
of the continual change to which railway property
is subject, and affords an illustration also of the
gradual tendency towards amalgamations of jute.
rests. Thus the great concern was originally known
as the London and Birmingham, and comprised only
112 miles; now it embraces in its giant arms Car.
lisle in the north, Holyhead in the west, and Cam.
bridge in the east, and at the close of 1863 it had
brought 1,209 miles of railway under one single
administration. In this present month (August,
1864) the extent of way in operation has risen
to 1,253 miles ; and there seems little reason to
doubt that as the process of fusion and exten-
sion continues 1874 will witness at least 2,000
miles of iron road under the control of the
magnates of Euston•square, who now dispose of a
revenue in excess of that enjoyed by more than one
Continental State. By the London and North-
Western Railway should also be understood the
Bedford and Cambridge, the Birkenhead (partly
vested also in the Great Western), the Birmingham,
Wolverhampton and Stour Valley, the Bucking-
hamshire, the Cannock Mineral, the Conway and
Llanrwst, the Kendal and Windermere, the
Knighton, the L3ocaster and Carlisle, the Merthyr,
Tredegar, and Abergavenny, part of the North
Union, the St. George's, part of the Shrewsbury
and Hereford, the Shrewsbury and Welchpeen the
Shropshire Union, the South Leicestershire, the
South Staffordshire, the Stockport, Disley, and
Whaley.bridge, part of the Tenbury, the Warring■
ton and Stockport, the Watford and Rickmans-
worth, and the West London lines. During the
past session of Parliament an Act was also passed
vesting the undertaking Of the St. Helen's Railway
and canal in the company. The result of the ex-
tensions and amalgamations which are continually
proceeding, may ba summed up briefly in the fol-
lowing statement :—Miles worked December 31,
1861, 1,054 (918 double and 136 single) ; December
31, 1862, 1,162 (912 double and 220 single) ; and
December 31, 1863, 1,209 (934 double and 225

single). The traffic acquired, the working expenses
incurred, and the profits realised upon this mileage
in 1861, 1862, and 1863 were as follows

Year. Revenue. Expenses. Profits,
1861 .. £4,754,985 .. £2,357,212 .. £2,397,773
1862 .. 4,966,838 .. 2,382,440 .. 2,584,393
1863 .. 5,280,259 2,413,410 .. 2,866,849
These figures are highly encouraging, inasmuch
as, comparing 1863 with 1861, we arrive at an in-
crease of 11.16 per cent. in the rough revenue ac-
quired, while the working expenses when sub-
jected to the same comparison only show an increase
of 2.97 per cent. In other words, while the ratio
of working expenses to receipts was in 1861 50 per
cent. in 1863 it had been reduced to 46 per cent.
In the presence of this gratifying result it is not
surprising that the dividends distributed upon the

and de Messine, and the lake in the neighbourhood
of Vincennes.
At last the long day's amusements came to a
close, and at six in the evening another salvo of
carmen announced that the day portion of the fete
was over. The streets then remained comparatively
tranquil until nearly dusk, when again about eight
o'clock the multitude streamed forth towards the
garden of the Tuileries and the Champs E'ysees.
About eight o'clock the Emperor, the Empress,
and the Prince Imperial appeared on the balcony of
the central pavilion, and were loudly cheered by the
crowd below. His Majesty was attired in plain
evening dress, with a single decoration. The Im-
perial group remained there about five minutes.
About a quarter to nine the Emperor and Empress
drove along the Rue de Rivoli in an open carriage
to the Elysee, where they alighted to witness the
fireworks from the terrace above. Their Majesties
afterwards left for St. Cloud.
Towards nine o'clock the crowd turned in the
direction cf the Pont d'lena, where the fireworks
were to be let off. Precisely at the hour appointed
a fllght of rockets announced the commencement of
the exhibition, and those were quickly followed by
what might be called a volcanic eruption of Roman
candles filling the air with varied hues. These