The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-06 00:00:00

INDIA.

By the last accounts Dost Mahommed was still on
his deathbed, and all was confusion throughout his do-
minions. The Hazarroes near Ghuznee, on learning
his state, had at once refused to pay revenue, and
shut themselves up in their fastnesses. The inhabi-
tants of the recently conquered province of Balk have
taken advantage of the opportunity and risen against
Acram Khan, who has only 3,000 men with him,
and will be unable to hold the country unless
speedily reinforced, which he is not likely to be in
the present posture of affairs. On Dost .Mahom-
mecl'a death the contest for the succession will be
between his brother, Sultan Mahommed, who is
supported by the Kohistanees and other tribes, and
his two eldest sons, Gholain Hyder Ali and :11ahom-
rued Alia), assisted by the Kuzzilbashes and Ghilzies.
Sultan Mohammed's party is thought to he the stronger
of the two. " The results to be expected," says the
Englishman, " are much anarchy and many mur-
derous assassinations ; and eventually the party
having the chiefest right earnestly demanding, and
probably obtaining British support, which must be
of necessity yielded, rather than permit Persian, or,
eventually perhaps even Russian interference, under
circumstances of such temptation."
Our former disasters in Affghanistan render the
idea of any new interference with the politics of that
country a most distasteful one ; but all grounds for
anxiety on the subject disappear on reflecting how
completely the possession of the Punjaub has altered
our position inregard to the valley of the Cabul river.
We now occupy the lower portion of that valley (the
Peshawur district) with a large force of picked men,
trained and habituated to mountain warfare. In the
Punjaub we have 50;000 regular troops, mostly massed
along the course of the Lahore and Peshawur road,
and, with the strong Sirhind division in their rear,
from such an array a force large enough to make the
conquest of Cabul a mere promenade would scarcely
be missed ; but we should not again attempt either
conquest or occupation, or interfere with the inde-
pendence of the country any more than we do with
that of Nepaul. It is unquestionable that a Resident
at Cabul, and the establishment of such relations with
its Government as would insure the safety of the Ca-
bul road for purposes of commerce would greatly ex-
tend the demand for British manufactures through a
very large tract of country, now principally supplied
by Russia with goods of a very inferior description.
This would be still more the case were the capabilities
of the Indus developed by placing on its waters
steamers on the American river model. The exten-
sion of our commerce in that direction is now the
great desideratum of the Bombay merchants.
Captain Coke's force has returned without fighting
to Kohat, after taking Possession of the annexed terri-
tory to the westward. A. strong fort is being built
near the Bahader Khaliamine,
command the Salt
range._

Sir Colin Campbell's force
has been employed in
blowing up Momund forts and burning
vil-
lages. No resistance has been atteinpted,3Tuhend main
part of the force is now encamped
near the junction
of the Cabul and Archukizie rivers, vi
is being built, capable of holding two rcompanies of
pa a never fort
infantry, two troops of irregular cavalry, and
a cou-
ple of guns. The point seems a very important one
to occupy ; it commands the trade of the Cahill river
and the irrigation of Michnee and other lerge villages '
The Momunds hover round the camp to take it'll'ong
shot at it occasionally.
The local newspapers have, since the departure of
the last mail, been occupied, almost to the exclusion
of all other topics, with the description of the
Mussulman disturbance, which, it will be remem-
bered, commenced on the 17th of October, on
the occasion of the appearance, in a Parsee news-
paper, of a short biographical notice of the Prophet
Mahomet, illustrated by a lithographed portrait,
which the Mussulmans constrained into an intentional
insult to their religion. The mob of the 17th of Oc-
tober was immediately dispersed by the police autho-
rities, and the principal positions in the town were
occupied by troops the same evening. For some days
after this small parties of Mussulmans waged a sort of
guerilla warfare against order, pouncing upon any
solitary Parsee they saw passing, whether in carriages
or on foot, thrashing them with heavy clubs, and
through the dark narrow
escaping passages of the
native town on the appearance of the police. Such
cases of assault, at first very numerous, daily dimi-
nished in frequency, and by the day of'departure of
the last mail no cases of the sort had occurred for up
wards of a week. Public confidence was restored,
the disturbance was considered at an end, and the
troops were withdrawn from the town. On the 20th
of November, however, a rumour was rife in the Ba-
zaar that there was to be a Mussulman outbreak on
the following day (Friday). The police were on the
alert, strong parties being posted near the principal
mosques, and the Governor's escort of Lancers having
been placed at the disposal of the magistrates, pa_
trolled the streets, and the usual Friday crowd of
Mussulmans, after attending their weekly prayers,
dispersed quietly. About five o'clock in the evenin • g
a few drunken Mussulmans assaulted two or three
Parsee passengers in one of the streets of the Maho-
metan quarter. A. cry of e Deen, deen !" was raised;
a mob of two or three thousand Mussulmans instantly
collected, but finding the police on the alert and
assembling in force, they dispersedwithout doing
more damage than breaking-
or
threeParsee
liquor-shops in the neighbourhood
two .
and besting the
inmates. The police suceeed i❑of
n taking some the
most violent prisoners. On the folio • day f—a 1
wing (Satur-
day) day) nothing but insulated cases of assault occurred
till about four o'clock in the after
time four or five Mussulmans oon' About that
assaulted a Parsee
passenger in one of the main streets of
town. The cry of " Dean !" was again the native
a mob of Mussulmans instantly
assembled, raised, and
rushing into a street called Parsee-wads, site and
the Parsee quarter, attacked all they found
in
naitted in
tried (and in some oases with success) to break and
the houses, which had been closed on the first al:
. This has b?en the only occasion on which Parserae.
' attimitsted resistance, gathered at one end of the street,
assisted by missiles from the upper stories of
the
houses'. A. megistrate and a few mounted constables
were almost immediately on the spot, and char •
ging

-------
the mob, dispersed them. The foot police that fol-
lowed took several prisoners, and half a dozen Mussul -
mans and about double the number of Parsees (one
of whom is since dead) were taken to the hospital.
The troops were immediately ordered out, and occu-
pied their old positions.
On Sunday morning (the 23d), about half•past 8
o'clock, a Mussulman mob suddenly assembled on the
opposite side of the native town, and attacked a Parsee
fire temple, and the houses of the adjacent streets,
attempting to break into them. The police were on
the spot in time to prevent their penetrating i nto the
holy of holies of the temple, or getting inside any of
the houses. At half-past 2 ram. another mob assem-
bled in the centre of the native town, and advanced up
the street leading to the principal Parsee quarter.
Two magistrates, with some Lancers and mounted
police, were, however, on the spot, and dispersed the
mob, taking a few prisoners. The mob assembled
again, and were again dispersed, and several of the
rioters having been seen taking refuge in an adjacent
mosque, the building was cleared, all its inmates
marched off to gaol, and the doors locked.
Monday passed off quietly, and there has been no
disturbance since. Twenty-eight of the rioters have
been committed for trial to the Supreme Court, and
about double that number have been summarily dealt
with by the magistrates, who in every case inflicted
the highest penalty allowed by local regulation.
The results of this emeute have been out of all pro-
portion to its importance. It occasioned a
in complete
panic of considerable duration among the native popu-
lation, whole streets the Parsee quarters were de-
serted, shops closed, and business at a stand still.
The Parsees and Mussulmans are about equal in
number, and there being above 105,000 of each per-
suasion, both sects together form about half, and that
by far the most important half as far as commerce is
concerned, of our population. As usual in such cases,
the magistrates have been blamed by the local papers
for the long continuance of these disturbances, and for
not having at first ordered the troops placed at their
disposal to fire into the mob. The sessions, however,
commenced this morning, and the presiding judge,
in his charge to the grand jury, strongly approved the
conduct and the forbearance of the magistrates, and
attributed the long continuance of the riots to the in-
sufficiency of the police force as regards number and
material with a population of near 600,000. We have
hitherto had only 600 policemen, ill- paid,,undersized,
and unrespected by the lower orders. In consequence of
the late riot, the numerical strength of .the police is
to be doubled permanently and its material improved.
The number of the police has been temporarily raised
to nearly 1,900, and 50 of the Poona Irregular
Horse have been placed at the disposal of the civil
authorities, and are expected at Bombay to-morrow.
The suddenness with which the Mussulman mob
collects on the cry of " Deen !" being raised—as in-
stantaneously as Roderick Dhu's clansmen at the
sound of his whistle—has been a source of much em-
barrassment to the civil authorities. The cowardice
of the mob, and the superstitious dread of horsemen,
and the rapidity with which it disperses on being
attacked by them, together with the facilities which
the intricacies of the native town afford for its escape
before the foot police have time to come to the spot
(to take prisoners), have much increased the difficulty
of dealing with them properly.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.
RAILWAY TRAFFIC IN 1851.
It appears that the gross traffic receipts of railways
in the united kingdom for the year 1851 have been
very little short of 15,000,0001. on 6,928 miles of
railway, being at the rate of 2,1631. per mile per an-
num. The returns published weekly show that
14,567,9101. was received on the railways during the
including about 200 miles
pest year on 6,537 miles,
of canal, being an' increase of 1,809,9251. in the re-
ceipts over the preceding year, on 6,257 miles of rail-
way, and also an increase of 280 miles in operation.
Independent of these railways, there are about twelve
new lines in operation of an aggregate length of 203
miles, the traffic returns on which are not published
weekly, but may be estimated at 169,4001. In addi-
tion to these there are ten other lines of an aggregate
length of 188 miles belonging to old railway com-
panies who do not publish their traffic returns ; but
it appears from the; half-yearly reports that the
gross receipts on these lines are about 250,0001.,
making together 419,400/. This sum, added to
the published weekly receipts, shows that the
gross traffic receipts on the above railways
during the past year amounted to 14,987,3101.
With regard to the traffic returns published weekly,
they show a progressive increase during the pest ten
years. In the year 1842 they amounted to 4,341,7811. ;
in 1843, to 4,842,6501.; in 1844, to 5,610,9801.; in
1845, to 6,669.230/. ; in 1846, to 7,689,870/. ; in
1847, to 8.975,6711. ; in 1848, to 10,059,0001. ; in
1849, to 11,013 820/. ; in 1850, to 12,757,985/ ; and
in 1851, to 14,567,910/.. It will be observed that the
annual increase in the traffic has been very consider-
able during the past ten years, being on the average
above a million a year, or 10,226,1401. This increase
partly arises from the continual development of the
traffic on the trunk lines, and partly from the addi-
tional receipts derived from the opening of new lines
and branches. The increase of traffic in the year
1843 over that of the preceding year amounted to
500,870/. ; in the year 1844, to 768,337/. ; in 1845,
to 1,058,340/. ; in 1846, to 1,020,650/. ; in 1847, to
1,285.780 Z.; in 1848, to 1,083,335/. ; in 1849, to
954,810/.; in 1850, to 1,744, 1681.; and in 1851 the
increase over the preceding year amounted to
1,809,9251. At the end of the year 1842 1,510 miles of
railway were open to the public ; during the next year
an additional length of 56 miles of new railway was
opened for traffic ; in 1844 a further length of 194
miles was opened ; in 1845, 263 miles ; in 1846, 593
miles; in 1847, 839 miles; in 1848, 975 miles; in
1849, 834 miles; in 1850, 1,096 miles; and in 1851,
the published returns show an additional mile of 280
miles ; but this is not an actual increase in the mile-
age opened during the year, for it includes the aggre-
gate length of some lines which were open for traffic
prior to 1851. The same observation will apply to
the increased mileage of 1849 and 1850 respectively
The aggregate length of new railway opened during
1850 in the United Kingdom was about 590 miles,
and in 1851 about 240 miles. This shows a falling
cff in respect of the annual increase of mileage of new
lines, but the effect has been to increase the amount
of the average receipts per mile per annum; and this
would be the case generally with all the large railway
companies, provided their capital accounts were closed,
the development of their traffic attended to, Parlia-
mentary warfare discontinued, and the making of new
branches and extensions avoided. So far as the traffic
is concerned, it does not appear that there can be
much to complain of in respect of the aggregate
amount of it on railways since they have been esta-
blished; and, were it not for the adverse interests
operating at railway boards, the blunders of engi-
neers as to the cost of work, and laying out the lines
the letting of large contracts at exorbitant prices by
private agreement, excessive payments for land, the
continual litigation both in and out of Parliament,
and the unwarrantable expenditure on capital account
the traffic receipts would have been ample, after pay-
ing all necessary expenses, to pay a very fair divi-
dend on the outlay. The average traffic receipts per
mile show the effect of opening within a period of
four or five years so many miles of branch and com-
peting lines of railway. During the year 1842 the
gr"l traffic receipts averaged 3,113/. per mile ; in
1843, n
1845, 3,465/. perlB46, 3,305/. per mile ;
• in
in 1847
3,-83/. mile; in 1844, 3,278/. per mile; in
,2,870 per mile.l
in 1849, 2
off in the Mi.
.302/ mile -in 1850, 2,2271. per mile ;
and in 1851;2 2. Per mi 9 .
1. per mile ; in. 1848, 2,5561. per mile ;
This shows a falling
two years the receipts traffic per ra. during thepast five years of
about 30 per cent., b Ile
per mile. T
those of 1849, ~t fortunately during the past
and at
mile were not much under
at Present the traffic per mile
shows an upward
in the receipts per inle'4elacY• The reduction
f
no great consequence
constructing the railways waili the average cost of
re-
duced, say in the same ratio
proviletmki be a matter o
from 34,0001. to 23,0001. per
this is not the
mile,
ielle traffic per mile,
manner with every additional mile added
altzl so on in like
of Proportionately
.tem. Unfortunately
1843,
fol-
lowing will show :-In 1842 the cost 'led to the sys-
coats,e,, as the
in 1848, eat; in
then in operation averaged 34,6901. per nail: ,ruilways
36,3601. ; in 1844, 35,670/. ; in 1845, 35:0141
that
1846, 31,860/. ; in 1847, 31,700/. ;
in 1849, 35,214/. ; in 1850, 35,229/. ; and in' i.V;
35,058/. A comparison of the average cost per mile
of 35,070/. when there were only 2,040 miles of these
railways open, with the average cost in 1851 of
35,058/., when there were 6,537 miles, shows
scarcely any decrease in the cost per mile has taken
place, notwithstanding that 4,500 miles of additional
railways and branch railways have been constructed
at professedly less cost than the old railways. The
stationary position of the average cost per mile
shows clearly that the continued additions to the
capital accounts of old and completed lines of
railway far outweigh all the professed advan-
tages of constructing thousands of new railways and
branches at considerably less cost than the average
expenditure per mile on the old trunk lines. Under
these circumstances it is not surprising that such
lines as the Liverpool and Manchester, which paid its
10 per cent. for 15 years, the Grand Junction, which
formerly paid from 10 to 12
and the London and Birmingham about 9 per cent..
51.1
should now be reduced to per cent. per annum,
per cent. per annum,
the Lancashire and Yorkshire from 8 per cent. to 2
per cent. per annum, the South-Western from 8 per
cent. to 31 per cent., the Great Western from 8 per
cent. to 4 per cent. per annum, and other lines in pro-
portion. This state of things has chiefly arisen from
an enormous increase in the capitals of the companies,
for the alleged purpose of improving the position of
the several undertakings by the construction of nu-
merous branches and extensions to feed the parent
lines with traffic, to increase the income, and, conse-
quently, the dividend ; but it is needless to say that
in every instance.of this kind the reverse has been the

case. The capital expended on the railways, of which
the traffic is published weekly, amounted in July,
1842, to 52,380,100/. ; in 1843, to 57,635,000/. ; in
1844, to 63,489,1001. ; in 1845, to 11,647,0001. ; in
1846, to 83,165,100/. ' - in 1847, to 109,528,0001. ; in
1848, to 148,200,0001. ; in 1849, to 181,000,000/ ; in
1850, to 219,762,700/.• and in 1851, to 229,175,2301.
The expenditure on the new and old lines, the traffic
returns of which are not published weekly, amounts
to about 7,666,1901., making with the 229,175,2301.,
a total of 236,841, 4201., expended on 6,928 miles of
railway; being at the rate of 34,1861. per mile. The
gross traffic returns per cent. on the capital
expended amounted in 1842 to 8.29 per cent.;
in 1843, to 8.42 per cent.; in 1844, to 8.84
per cent.; in 1845, to 9.30 per cent.; in
1846, to 9.25 per cent.; in 1847, to 8 20 per cent.;
in 1848, to 6.78 per cent. ; in 1849, to 6.13 per cent.;
in 1850, to 5.80 per cent.; and in 1851, to 6•35 per
cent. Deducting from this amount 45 per cent. for
working expenses, would leave for the past year a
dividend of 31 per cent. on the whole of the capital
expended.

GREAT WESTERN.—At a meeting of the officers
and servants of this company, held last week at the
Swindon station (Mr. Gooch, locomotive superin-
tendent, in the chair), it was stated that 1,900 officers,
clerks, and servants in the employment of the com-
pany, had united in subscribing 4201., for the purpose
of obtaining a full-length portrait of Mr. C. Russell,
the chairman of the company, to be placed in the
board-room of the Paddington station, as a testimonial
of their grateful esteem for the high principles of
honour, impartiality, and undeviating kindness he
had ever displayed towards them , and also to record
their sense of the of the eminent services rendered by
him to the company over which he has so long and
efficiently presided. Resolutions were passed ap-
pointing a committee to carry out the object of the
meeting, and nominating Mr. T. M. Ward as hon.
secretary to the subscribers.
PARIS AND ROUEN.—At the half-yearly meeting of
this company, to be held at Paris on the 27th instant,
the proprietors will have to consider the propriety of
contributing towards the construction of the Junction
Circular Railway round Paris, to join the Western,
the Paris and Rouen, the Rouen and Havre, the
Northern, the Paris and Strasburg, the Paris and
Lyons, and the :Paris and Orleans Railways. Also,
to authorise an agreement with the Western Railway
Company, relating to the working of that line, and
of consenting to a supplemental guarantee of interest
on the money to be expended by the Western Com-
pany, provided the undertaking be approved of by the
Government.
NORTH-WESTERN.—It is stated that the directors
of this company, generally known as the Little North-
Western, have made a working agreement with the
Midland Company for 21 years—the latter company
to pay the North-Western Company 50 per cent. of
the gross receipts up to 52,0001. a year, and 66 per
cent. of all the traffic above that amount, and guran-
teeing the payment of the interest on the debenture
debt and preferential stock. This, it appears, has
been done without consulting the shareholders, among
whom it has produced great dissitisfaction. The
capital expended on the line amounts to 964,0001., and
the receipts for the past year to 34,200/. The work-
ing expenses, &c., during the first half of the year
1851 amounted to 75 per cent. of the receipts, and it
is probable the working expenses for the latter half
have not been much less, so that on that agreement
the Midland Company would lose above 8,0001. a year,
to say nothing of the interest on loans and preference
shares being likely to exceed the surplus.
ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH ON THE GREAT WESTERN
RAILWAY.—A 3 public attention has lately been di-
rected to the absence of this indispensable medium of
communication on the West of England districts, it
may be mentioned that in a month or two there will
be an unbroken range of telegraphic communication
completed from London to Land's-end. The wires
have this week been completed on the Great Western
Railway from Paddington to Slough, and are being
carried to the palace at Windsor. In another week
they will be finished up to Reading, and some hun-
dreds of men are now employed in running them on
between Reading and Bristol and Exeter, where they
will unite with those already in existence between
Exeter and Plymouth. It is also intended to esta-
blish the telegraph in connexion with this line over
the whole of South Wales.
GREAT NORTHERN AND EASTERN COUNTIES.
We understand some negotiations are afoot between
the managers of these companies for a division of the
Cambridge traffic, and amicable settlement of their
differences in that quarter.—Herapath's Journal.
DUBLIN AND BELFAST JUNCTION.—The works of
this railway, from Portadown to Newry, are progres-
sing very rapidly, and the first engine was put on
the line on Thursday last, by T. French, Esq., C.E.,
accompanied by other officials. The turning-table is
completed ; sixty tons of iron were used in the manu-
facture of it. The Junction Company have taken the
old station on the Ulster line for a luggage store and
engine-shed. We may state that the railway from
Portadown to the Newry station will be open for pas-
sengers and traffic on the Gth inst., when a train will
leave the latter place every morning at half-past eight
o'clock for Belfast.—Louth Advertiser.
SWEDEN.—A letter from Christiana of the 20th
ult. says—" A small portion of our railway is already
terminated, and a trial journey has taken place, at
which Mr. Stanz, the Minister of the Interior, Mr.
Crowe, English Consul-General, and several members
of the Council of State, were present. The trial was
perfectly successful. The locomotive used on the
occasion was christened by Mr. Stanz, who gave it the
name of the illustrious engineer directing the works,
Robert Stephenson.'
RAILWAY DIVIDENDS.—BRIGHTON.--There is'good
deal of speculation abroad as to what the dividend
will be. They paid 265. per share for the current
half of last year. Their receipts appear to be about
27,3951. more than then, which ought to produce,
with the same expenses, ss. to 6s. per share more.
But their expenses have been greatly increased. It
is therefore supposed that shareholders will have to
be satisfied with 28e. or 295. Newmarket—lt is said
this line will pay 23. 6d. Eastern Counties—Early
in the half-year 2s. 6d was talked of as the probable
dividend, but we hear the expenses have been reduced,
and that an effort will be made to add another 6d.—
Berapath's Journal.
deinpenEdnegnitalnidnesa,nadndScthoetlarnemd,aisn7inagre2swbaraet
INDEPENDENT AND LEASED RAILWAYS.—Of the
iBs2terramilwedaYins
leased to the others at fixed rentals.
TELEGRAPH TARIFF IN FEANCE.—The tariff as
fixed by the Government for a dispatch of 20 words,
including the name of the party sending and sent to,
is at the rate of 4f. 800. for the distance between
Paris and Amiens, and in proportion for a greater
distance.
RAILWAY FROM PETERSBURGH TO WARSAW.—

Correspondence from Lowicz, of the 24th December,
states that the survey of this gigantic line is completed,
and that the works will be commenced early this
spring. The line will be 440 French leagues in
length, and it is expected, at about 37 leagues every
year, the entire construction will occupy about 11 or
12 years. The line will pass by Lowicz in the
province of Alarovia, Poland, whence a branch is de-
signed to be carried to the frontier of Prussia, but the
Prussian terminus is not yet, it appears, determined
upon. The Augsburg Gazette fixes a shorter period
for the completion of the entire line—namely five
years.