The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-01 00:00:00

COMIVIEB,CIAL PROSPECTS,

The new year dawns with favour upon the com-
mercial world. Merchants, it is true, must yet pay
vary high for monetary accommodation—nearly
double the amount this time twelvemonths. But
even so, a low rate for money does not necessarily
imply national prosperity. Last January the pros-
pect was bedimmed with the Lancashire distress
and uncertainty. The dogged perseverance
of Englishmen, however, carried their enter-
prise to other climes, and now the cotton
importations from other sources than the old
fields in America, are setting our mills at
work, and although that working be only
for three or four days a week, yet by this employ-
ment how much national poverty will be alleviated,
and if so much has been done in one year towards
relieving us from solely relying upon foreign depen-
dence, how much may we not reasonably expect to
be accomplished when 1865 shall have made its ap-
pearance. The commerce of the country has been
substantially enlarged despite the utter collapse of
the principal branch of our native industry; The
misfortune which the civil war in America en -
tailed upon us served only to quicken our
energies ; new paths of enterprise were im-
mediately sought after, and operations coma
meneed. There was no quailing in the hour of
need. The national spirit rose with the emergency,
and like the British pluck that saved India slipping
through our grasp, Englishmen relied upon their
own strong arm, and by their unflagging efforts
have with their enterprise even overtopped the most
prosperous years. Speculation has indeed been in-
dulged in to an almost unprecedented exteat, no
negotiable property have escaped the notice of ope-
rators at the Stock Exchange, nearly every foreign
loan, and the shares of nearly every joint stock
association were taken in turn and received due at-
tention, but for all that, prudence invariably guided
the transactions, and if certain stock were at one time
unduly inflated, no one has materially suffered. It
was, indeed, natural that with so large an unem-
ployed floating capital speculation should be every-
where active; in fact, it was the rock upon which
it was thought the good old ship might strike, and
it is marvellous, now that the danger has passed, to
learn how skilful:y she eluded the shoals.

RACING FIXTU:
JANUA

rIi,ES FOI 1864.
&M.

Manchester
FEB

1

,UARY.

H arrow
Chelmsford Spring

Lincoln
Ilungerford

Nottingham Spring 1
Derby Spring 3
Liverpool
Shrewsbury
Doncaster Spring

Warwick Spring l6
Durham 23
Northampton 29
Catterick 3O

Croxton-park 1
Edinburgh Spring 2
Abergavenny 5
Thirsk 5
_ _

RIL.

Chester
York Spring
Salisbury .. 12
Bath

Epsom Spring
Newmarket Craven
Newmarket First Spring 25

Ascot
Hatxpton l5
Newton
Odiham
Bibury .. 22

Manchester
If arpenden
Epsom .. 24

Newmarket July
Carlisle
Abingdon
Liverpool July
Pontefract

Stockbridge
I Chelmsford 2B
Newcastle-on-Tyne
Woreest,r (Summer)
Ipswich
'LY.

Brighton 2
Brighton Club
Lewes 5
Reading
Egham
Oxford lB
York August 23

- - -
Nottingham . l9
S tamfard
Winchester l9
Sout haw pion .. 2O
Goodwood ..
,UST.
--

SE FTE:

Weymouth 1
Warwick
,September 6
Leicester 8
Doncaster
Brecon 19
RAILWAY IN

Plymouth
Derby
Lichfield 3O
Stocktcn
Devon and Exeter
Lichfield 3O

Richmond
Monmouth 22
:Manchester Autumn
N:JwinarketFirbt October 27

TELLIGENCE.

TRAFFIC RECEIPTS FOR THE WEEK.
Miles Opened. Reeeipts.,,

twayi

1863. 1862.

1863.
X

Belfast and N. Counties 136 136
Belfast and County Down 49 49
Blyth and Tyne 2B 28
Bristol and Exeter l2ll 1211
Caledonian
Cockermouth & Workington SI 80
Cork and Bandon 2O 20
Cork, Illackrock, & Passage 6l 61
Cork and Youghal
Cornwall 56/ 53;
Deeside l7 17
Dublin & Belfast J unction.
Dublin and Drogheda 75 63
Dublin and Meath
Dub. & Wicklow and Wexid 9l/ 461
Edinburgh and Glasgow 169/ 169}
Furness, &c 5O 5 ,
Glasgow & South-Western
Gt. Eastern,Nrtk.,&E.Union
Great Northern 353 851
Great North of Scotland 5B 56
lit. Northn. & Wes tn. (Irel.) 7lt 71}
qt.Soutlin. & Westn.(lrln.d.) 3731 329
Great Western 10561 10321
Inverness & Aberdeen June 864 869
Inverness & Perth Junction 1191
Irish North-Western 145 145
Lancashire & Yorkshire 4u2 3951
Limerick and Ennis... 241 24/
Limerick and Foynes 264 26/
Linnet ly 461 46f
London & North-Western
London and Blackwall 5/ 5/
London & South-Western
Lond. Brighton, &S. Coast 26lf 2411
London, Chatham, & Dover 72} 72*
....

2,140 1,821

'64: 190
1,255 1,800
6,324 6,202
17,646 15,605
241 :i0
352 209

12.1 152
374 29)
1,350 1.223

-218 217
1,441 1,461
1,604 1,7:,0

195 104
2,079 1,405
7,284 6.987
2,826 2,689
7,537 7,800
30.261 2;017
33.262 29.2.1
1,495 1.818

-.550 425
72;4 8 542
59,330 56 457
1,026' 876
1,098
1,692 1,647
35,624 31,614
154 148
1 174

485 517
09,198 92,023
1,602 1,5831
21,298 18.063
15,854 17,071
4,479 3 1.16

'875 179
1,0.4 3,033
16,553 14 910
1,233 1,057
1,455 1,330
1,936
42,428 40,340
4,652 4,616
1,667 1,5
2,675 2,465

.5
Do. Metropolitan Extension 10 55
Lond., Tilbury, & Southend 42 425
Man.,Shetlleld,& Lincolnsh 2391 2391
blanch. S.Jun.& Altrincham 91 91
Slaryport and Carlisle
Metropolitan
Midland (incL N.-Western) 641 6145
Midland Gt. Westn. of Irind..• 2595 192
Slonkland 715 711
Monmouthsh. Rail. & Canal 4.4 it
North British, Edin., Perth
and Dundee .
N-Eastern and stock. & DarL 1095 1077/ 54,938 64,250
North London 9 9 3,354 3,059
North Staffordshire 251 252 8,833 7.961
Oswestry and Newton 5O 42 1,112 958
Rhymney l9 19 950 854
St. Helen's Canal & Railway 62 62 2,134 2,043
Scottish Central
Scottish North-Eastern . . 138 1321 4,910 4.668
Somerset and Dorset 66 395 6`,8 351
South Devon
South-Eastern 306 306 19,388 18,070
Tail Vale 57 55 6,005 5.170
Ulster
Vale of Clwyd.
Vale of Neath 321 251 2,320 2.0i0
Waterford and Kilkenny 3l 31 302 355
1.033
Waterford and Limerick 77 77 1,341
West Cornwall 275 275 738 716
W.Hartlepool Harbr.&RaiL
W'haven,Cleator,& Egrmnt 7 7 652 967
Whitchaven Junction l3 13 945 636
93
Whitchaven & Furness Jun 35 35 2. 76,)
FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.
Antwerp and Rotterdam 52 52 1,167 976
Austrian 82.8 828 32,219 3 :,134
Belgian Eastern J unction
1275 332
2204
Bombay, Baroda, & 1 en. India 1851 64 2,467 ,04
Buffalo and Lake Huron ld 1611 2,996 1,1-0 S
Detroit and Milwaukie lB9 169 5,360 4,172
Dutch Rhenish loBi 106/ 3,940 3,659

MR. COXWELL'S BALLOON AT WOOLWICH.—
Every preparation was made at Woolwich Arsenal
yesterday morning for the ascent of Mr. Coxwell's large
balloon, but as Mr. Coxwell and other gentlemen were about
to enter the car, it was observed that a thick, hazy atmo-
sphere was gathering overhead which would render the
taking of observations practically nugatory, and the ascent
was therefore deferred until this day (Friday) when it will
take place at eleven o'clock, from the Royal Arsenal,
should the state of the weather prove favourable. The
balloon is now inflated with 75,000 ft. of gas, and it is in-
!ended to make a high ascent, the object being not tor
purely military purposes, as on a former ascent at Woo 1
wich, but to enable Mr. J. Glaisher to make a report to the
lkitish Association as to the state of the atmosphere at
various altitudes about the period of the shortest day, it
being a matter of doubt with scientific nien whether the
higher regions are much colder in winter than in summer.
Mr. Glisher has presented Mr. Coxwell with. a barometer
In admiration of the
bearing the following inscrirtion
judgment, skill, and great Fresence of mind displayed in
the several balloon ascents made front IV, lverhampton and
other places in 1862 for the British Association, this baro-
meter is .presented to 11. Coxwell, by his fellow-
traveller, James F. 11.5."