The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-26 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE,

RAILWAY BILLS.

Yesterday the committee of the House of Lords
concluded their labours by passing the bills for the
metropolitan district railways, the Manchester,
Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Steamboat Traffic Bill,
the Dublin Trunk Connecting Railway, and the
London and North Western and Charing cross
Railway.

LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST.
The auditors of this company (Mr. J. Pilcher and
Mr. S. C. Fitzmaurice) report that after checking
the bankers' balances by personal inquiry, and the
stores accounts by being present at the half-yearly
stocktaking of the several depots, also comparing
the dividend warrants issued with the capital on
which they are payable, and after a careful exami•
nation of the sums charged off to capital at the end
of the half-year, they have certified the accounts
appended to the report as being in accordance with
the books and documents of the company, and a
true abstract of their monthly audit of the past six
months. They also state the Parliamentary charges
for the session of 1863 charged to capital account
amounted to £28,724, of which the sum of £28,803
was incurred in opposing the Beckenham, Lewes,
and Brighton Bill, and £4,921 in opposing the Tun-
bridge Wells and Eastbourne Bills and other
schemes. They repeat their former opinion that all
checks should be drawn payable to order, and every
one of them crossed. The locomotive superintendent
and resident engineer have certified to the auditors
the efficient state of the rolling stock and of the
permanent way, and that the latter is being
strengthened by the introduction of additional
sleepers.

MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, AND LINCOLN.

SHIRE.

It appears that during the past half-year the
locomotive engines of this company were in the
aggregate 203,628 hours in steam, of which 100,672
hours were spent in running with the trains,
60,230 hours in shunting at stations, and 42,726
hours in standing. The quantity of coke consumed
was 3,483 cwts., and the coal consumed 501,859
cwts.; against 20,248 cwts. of coke and 416,808
cwts. of coal consumed in the corresponding half
of 1863. The cost per hour working, in conse-
quence of the increased price of coals, was 15.36 d.
against 12.38 d. for the corresponding period of last
year. The total mileage run by the engines during
the half year was 1,478,288 miles against 1,400,241
miles for the corresponding half of 1863, showing
an increase of 78,047 miles ran, the cost per mile
being 1.674, caused by the strike in the South
Yorkshire coal district, against 1.41 d. in the corre-
sponding half of 1863. The working of the trains
during the half-year showed that 34,087 passenger
trains were run, of which 26,829 trains arrived in
time, and 7,174 above five minutes after time. The
number of goods trains was 10.055, of which 6,373
arrived in time, and 3,143 above five minutes after
time. The number of coal trains was 6,849, of
which 4,916 arrived in time, and 1,774 above five
minutes after time. The average number of car-
riages in the passenger trains was 61, the average
number of waggons, &c., in the goods trains was
39i, and in the coal trains 28i.
PNEUMATIC DESPATCH (LIMITED).
The report of the directors states that they fully
expected to have been able to announce to the
shareholders that the first portion of the line from
Easton to Holborn was completed, and the system
in operation upon a large scale with the full-sized
tube. The necessary works will, however, yet ie-
quire from a month to six weeks to complete; and
under these circumstances the general meeting,
w hien must, according to the resolution of the Ist
of August last, take place in the month of July, will
be held on the 30th inst. pro forma, and adjourned
until a day to be then named, when the first portion
of the line will be finished, and the directors will
be able to submit to the shareholders complete state-
ments of the costs, and the result of the working of
the first section of the large tube.