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

and de Messina, 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
cannon 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 Elysees.
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 of the Pont d'lena, where the fireworks
were to be let off. Precisely at the hour appointed
a flight 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
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 load 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 du Tone.

The great mass of the spectators then turned
homewards, but thousands continued promenading
about until near the morning hours, Others, the
younger class of pleasare•seckers, 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 various points of the capital,
and yet the arrangements were so good that no in-
terference of the authorities was perceptible any-
where.—Galignam;

The Great English and French Railways.

THE LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN.

The continued growth of the railway systems of
EnglaLd and France, the immense capitals embarked
in them, and the different poiicies 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 great 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 the development of railways. The
English Government has encouraged the " unre-
stricted competition" system, and has in no case
suffered 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 hands 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 lend, iL is not sur-
prising that the dividends paid by several of 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 54- 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 responsibilities, which cloud the future
with uncertainties and bear injuriously upon the
public welfare.

Without, hotvever, unduly anticipating matters,
let 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-
tnreholdere, or otherwise, feel a certain legitimate
pride, The London and North Western is a Front
of the continual change to which railway property
is subject, and affurds an illustration also of the
gradual tendency towards amalgamations of intea
rests. Thus the great concern wall originally known
as the London and Birmingham, and comprised only
112 miles; now it embraces in its giant arms Cara
lisle in the north, Holyhead in the west, and Came
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 1,255 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-
harashire, the Cannock Mineral, the Conway and
Llanrwst, the Kendal and Windermere, the
Knighton, the Lancaster 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 Welchpool, the
Shropshire Union, the South Leicestershire, the
South Staffordshire, the atockport, 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 iu the company. The result of the ex-
tensions and amalgamations which aro continually
proceeding, may be summed up briefly in the fol-
lowing statement tildes 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 (954 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. Ilkvenuo Exprmses. Prc,fitß,
1861 .. £4,7.54,985 .. X 2,357,212 .. £2,397,773
1862 4,966,838 2,382,410 .. 2,581,395
1863 5,280,259 .. 2,413,410 .. 2,866,819

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 allow 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 1563 it had been reduced to 46 per cent.
In the presence of this gratifying result ft is not
surprising that the di7idends distributed upon the

ordinary stock of the London and North-Western
I proper have been steadily advancing. Thus while
in 1861 the distribution was 41 per cent. upon
£25,224,349, in 1862 it was 4;1 per cent, upon
£25,296,921, and in 1863, as previously indicated,
51 per cent, upon £25,755,350. In the current
year, as must have been abundantly evident to every
reader, the receipts of the system have been making
extraordinary progress, having amounted in the six
months ending June 30, 1864, to £2,596,156,
against £2,310,046 in the corresponding six months
of 1863 ; and there appears every probability of a
6 per cent. dividend being secured for the year upon
the company's very large amount of ordinary stock.
Including the leased lines and the lines partly
vested in the company, the capital represented by
the London and North-Western is close upon
£56,000,000; but confining ourselves to the London
and North-Western properly so called, we find that
the total capital raised by shares and loans to De-
cember 31 1861, was £37,603,249,whi1e at the close
of last year it had risen to £38,864,064. It is a
special characteristic of London and NortheWestern
finance that the directors have always manfully in•
sisted upon the maintenance of a very large pro-
port ion of ordinary stock. Thus, of the £38,864,064
raised December 31, 1863, no less than £25,755,350
was represented by ordinary stock. The amount of
preference stock was only £653,018, the remaining
£12,455,696 being represented by£2,185,966 of de-
benture stock and £10,269,730 of debenture loans.
As we have already shown, the ordinary stock
received 51 per cent. in 1863, while 5 per cent. was
paid on the preference stock and 4 per cent. upon
a portion of the debenture stock (£1,875,136)
and 31 per cent. upon the remainder. The de-
benture debt of the company was floating, Dec. 31,
1863, at the following rates ;—£1,618,591 at 41 per
cent., £1,030,388 at 41 per cent., £7,527,857 at 4
per cent., £91,954 at 31 per cent., £240 at 31 per
cent., and £7OO at 3 per cent. The improving credit
of the company is shown in the faot that at the core
responding date of 1862 £10,112,775 of deben-
ture debt then outstanding bore the following rates
of interest :--£480,550, 41 per cent. ; £2,122,691, 4-1
per cent.; £1,103,163, 41 per cent.; £6,291,517, 4
per cent. ; £113,154, 31, per cent. ; £l,OOO, 31 per
cent.; and £7OO, 3 per cent. The 41 per cent. de-
bentures were thus wholly extinguished last year,
while the 41 per cent. and 41 per cent. debentures
were reduced, and a great addition was made to
those floating at 4 per cent.

The results indicated were attained, of course, by
sheer hard work, the only real means, after all, by
which human undertakings can be placed in a satis-
factory position. Thus in 1863 the company ran
392,662 passengers and 266,768 goods trains, which
accomplished between them an aggregate distance of
17,304,138 miles (in 1862 the corresponding total
was 15,745,908 miles). The number of passengers
conveyed—or rather of tickets issued—last year was
19,185,751 (against 17,453,527 in 1862). This vast
movement of human life was divided as follows :
First class, 2,308,727 passengers,yielding £632,516;
second class, £6;952,775, yielding /708,247; and
third class, £9,924,249, yielding £626,227. A sum
of £31,416 was also derived from holders of season
tickets, making the total passenger receipts of last
year £1,999,405. The accessory receipts of the pas.
senger trains from parcels, carriages, horses, dogs,
&c. amounted last year to/223,850,and £142,067 was
derived from the conveyance of mails, making the
total quick train receipts of 1863 £2,365,322 against
A:2,307,021 in 1862. In the other departments of
the traffic service, live stock produced last year
£160,814. coal, coke, and minerals, £659,601, and
general merchandise, £2,094,522, making the total
slow train receipts for the year £2,914,937, against
£2,611,138, in 1862. It results from these figures
that the greater portion of the additional revenue
acquired last year, as compared with 1862, pro.
ceeded from goods, indicating the gradual revival
of the productive districts traversed by the system
from the depressing stagnation which characterised
the latter months of 1862. Of course, the large
traffic cultivated by the company was not effected
without a very large outlay for working expenses.
Thus, the amount expended for maintenance and
renewal of way and wcrks last year was £421,8G2 ;
for locomotive power, £672,294; for repairs and
renewals of carriages arid waggons, £180,656; for
traffic charges (coaching,* and merchandise),
£750,752; for rates and taxes, £88,531; for Go-
vernment duty, £71,224 ; for compensation for per-
sonal injuries to passengers, £20,000; for compen-
sation fur the damage and loss of goods, £21,118;
for legal and Parliamentary charges, £52,905 ; and
fur miscellaneous outgoings, £131,064. On corn-
paring these figures with those for 1862 we find en
increase in the amount expended for maintenance
and renewal of way, locomotive power, repairs of
carriages and waggons, traffic charges, rates and
taxes, Government duty, compensation for damage
and loss of goods, and legal and Parliamentary
charges. The divisions of compensation for personal
injury and miscellaneous outgoings showed a dilni-
nution last year. It is also worthy of remark that,
notwithstanding the very large addition made to
the number of train miles run last year, the charge
for locomotive power was only £3,345 in excess of
the corresponding total for 1862. The rolling stock
possessed by the company at the close of 1863
comprised 1,095 locomotives, 2,058 carriages used
for the conveyance of passengers only, 1,083 other
vehicles attached to passenger trains, 17,543 waggons
of all kinds used for the conveyance of live stock,
minerals, and general mcrehandiz,e, and 1,619 other
vehicles : the additions made to the roiling stock in
1863 amounted to 61 locomotives, 3 carriages used
for the conveyance of passengers only, and 910
trucks and other vehicles.

Such are a few general details with regard to the
position of the London and North-Western Rail-
way Company in 1863. We ought also, perhaps, to
add a few particulars with respect to the minor
undertakiegs, which although not directly amalga-
mated with the company, have yet linked their for-
tunes with it by leases or other arrangements, and
the earnings which are included in the general
revenue tabulate 4 above. The Bedford and Cam-
bridge had raised at the close of 1863 £319,008, and
after providing for fixed charges, £239,008 of ordi-
nary stock received last year per cent. ; the
Birkenhead (vested jointly in the London and
North-lVestern and Great Western) had raised
£2,672,919, and after providing for fixed charges,
£2,075,821 of ordinary stock received 31 per cent. ;
the Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Stour Val-
ley had raised £760,350 (the whole of this amount
was ordinary stock, which received 3.416 per cent.)
the Buckinghamshire had raised £1,245,000 (the
whole of this amount was ordinary stock, which
received 4 per cent.); the Cannock Mineral had
raised £145,582, and after providing for fixed
charges,'£loB,ls2 of ordinary stock received 31 per
Cent. ; the Chester and Holyhead had raised
£4,670,257, and after providing for fixed charges,
£2,100,000 of ordinary capital received 2i per
cent. ; the Knighton had raised £73,255, and after
providing for fixed charges, £51,255 of ordinary
stock received 5 per cent. ; the Lancaster and Car-
lisle had raised £3,004,066, and after providing for
fixed charges £2,420,300 of ordinary stock, re-
ceived 91 per cent. (lucky dogs these Lan-
caster and Carlisle shareholders !); the Mer-
thyr, Tredegur, and Abergavenuy had raised
£220,974, and after providing for fixed charges
£170,874 received 5 per cent.; the North Union
(on lease to the London and North-Western atad
Lancashire and Yorkshire jointly) had raised
£1,143,242, and after providing for fixed charges
£739,201 received 8.80 per cent.; the Shrewsbury
and Hereford, on lease to the London and North-
Western, Great Western, and West Midland jointly,
had raised 1832,128, and after providing for fixed
charges £553,195 of ordinary stock received 6 per
cent., and £6,753 41 per cent.; the Shrewsbury and
Welshpool had raised £245,050, and after provid-
ing for fixed charges £160,451, received 4: per
cent.; the Shropshire Union had raised £2,025,251
and after providing for fixed charges, £1,304,953
of ordinary stock received 25625 per cent. ; the
South Leicestershire had raised £205,226, and after
providing for fixed charges, £42,100 of ordinary
stock received 4 per cent.; the South Staffordshire
had raised £1,412,439, and after providing for fixed
charges, £944,935 of ord:nary stock received 44
per cent.; the Stockport, Disley, and Whaleybridge
had raised £376 465, and after providing for fixed
clorecs, £135,620 of ordinsxy stock received 3 60