The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 6, 1864.

OVERLAND INDIA MAIL.

We have received, via Marseilles, papers to the
Bth of August. The following is from the summary
of the Bombay Gazette :

It has been ordered by the Secretary for India
that when persons are recommended beyond the re
gular rules of the service for pensions, or increased
amount of pensions, no hopes shall be held out to
the expectants until the Secretary of State has
written on the subject.

Sir C. Trevelyan's minute on the introduction of
a gold currency into India has been published in
the official Gazette, and the recommendation made
by the Financial Minister for the introduction of
the English sovereign into India as a legal tender
for Rs.lo, has been adopted by the Governor-Ge-
neral in Council, subject to the approval of the
Secretary of State.

The Bhootanese are now quaralling among them-
selves, in consequence of Toungsoo Penlow having
sent a spy into Sikkam to seek out Cheboo Lama,
and to learn where he was, without the knowledge
of the Durbar. The quarrel, which occurred in
open Durbar, and which it is difficult to make plain
to even a German's meaning, ended in a regular
battle. The Durbar broke up in great confusion,
and two new parties have been formed. The in-
ternal state of Bootan is wretched, and there is
every prospect of a serious civil war, or rather a
series of wars, for each chief will fight for his own
aggrandisement. The internal troubles are increas-
ing daily, and it is rumoured that Toungsoo Pen-
low has even gone so far 28 to usurp the authority
of the Dhurnm and Deb Rajahs.
The latest intelligence from Affghanistan has
caused considerable surprise, as it is announced,
upon what appears to be trustworthy authority,
that the Ameer and his rebellious brother, the
Sirdar Mahomed Ufzal Khan, have made friends,
and it was expected that the latter would accom-
pany the Ameer on his return to Cabool. Each,
however, appears to have a wholesome dread of the
other, and would probably be glad to sacrifice some-
thing for amity and peace. Sir Uslum Khan would
seem to be now the only bar to a complete under-
standing between the brothers, There had been a
rumour current that the Ameer had fallen into an
ambuscade and been treacherously made a prisoner
by his brother Ufzal Khan ; but this has proved to
have had no foundation in fact.

The Khelat difficulty has been solved by the
Chiefs having chosen their old ruler, Khodabad
Khan, to fill the place of Dil Khan, their late
ruler, who was recently assassinated ; and by way
of sealing the compact of amity between Khodabad
Khan and his chiefs he has married one of the
daughters of Taj Mahomed, the most influential
chief in all Baloochistan.

The Murrees have recently come down into the
plains, in the vicinity of Kusmore, within British
territory, and butchered four persons whose only
crime was their relationship to the head of the
Ressaldar polioe there. The marauders were pur.
sued by the police and S:inde horse, but only one
of the band was killed.

Besides the Morrees, the Bhoogties, of whose
pacification great hopes have from time to time been
held out, are also growing restless.

Mr Latham, a civil engineer at Bombay, has
entered into negociations with the Government of
Goa and the Portuguese Government at Lisbon, for
permission to be allowed to construct a line of light
railway from Pangim to the interior, for about forty
miles to the foot of the Ghauts.

The Indian Peninsula, the Bombay Presidency,
and the Bombay City Banks have all commenced
operations in Bombay since the departure of the
last Overland Mail.

The Government gun foundry at Cossipore is
about to be closed, it having been determined that
in future no more guns shall be manufactured in
India, but that the supply shall be drawn from
Woolwich.

The services of the Hon. Mr Ruatomjee Jamsetjee
Jeejeebboy rendered to the Portuguese settlements
of Diu and Damaun, in the Bombay Presidency,
b.grs bcon rowardod with tho diotincinicahod Pnrtu-
gueso Order called " Torre and Espada," or the
Order of " Valour, Loyalty, and Merit."
The telegraph line is completed between Deesa
and Erinpoora, and in a forward state between
Ajmere and Sojut. This portion will be completed
in a few weeks.

Two spans of the railway bridge over the Ner.
budda and Broach have been carried away by heavy
floods, and another bridge on the same line near
Unglesur has been destroyed. All traffic between
Surat and Broach had in consequence been stopped.
The Alahi river had risen 47 feet.

From all parts of the Presidency accounts of
heavy rains continue to be received, and the pros-
pects of the season are considered favourable. in
Guzerat the fall of rain had been unusually heavy,
and in some parts this had interfered with agricul•
tural operations. The cotton sowings were late,
and it was expected that, owing to the inundations,
a large breadth of this cultivation would have to be
resown.

A very tragical event has occurred at Broach by
the upsetting of a boat containing 40 persons of
both sexes in the River Nerbudda, when all except
six were drowned. A number of similar accidents
are reported to have pccurred during the past fort.
night in the Nerbudda, Taptee, and Mahee rivers,
which have in many places overflowed their banks
in consequence of the recent very heavy rains, and
by which numerous lives have been lost.

The Tang-Nyo, a screw steamer of 527 tons bur.
then, commanded by Capt. Griadle, has made the
passage from England to Bombay in 51 days and
four hours, being the quickest passage on record.
The vessel belongs to an English firm at China.

Mr W. Hart, Revenue and Police Commissioner,
Southern Division, has been appointed a member of
the Bombay Legislative Council.
Owing to a break in the submarine telegraph
cable of the Persian Gulf line, it has been an-
nounced that no more messages will be sent by that
line beyond Gwadur until further notice. The Am-.
berwitch has been despatched from Bombay to pick
up the cable and repair it.

A mysterious Taboot, or model mausoleum of a
Mahomedan saint, carried by Muasulmens, has
recently made its appearance in the Chindwarrah
districts of the Central Provinces, which came from
the direction of Oomrawutty in Berar, and is passed
on from village to village, causing much excitement
among the people. The local authorities ere engaged
in inquiring into this strange affair, which is attri.
hated to the intrigues of the Mahomedans of the
Hydrabad State.
The Viceroy will leave Simla for Lahore early in
October, and returns to Calcutta in November.
The Maharajah of Cashmere has applied to Go-
vernment to grant him some land in lieu of the
money he lent them during the mutinies, and in
consideration of his services on that occasion.
A corps of Muzbee Sikhs is to be raised and
officered for service at Singapore in guarding the
convicts there.

A Mahomedan, who represented himself as the
agent of the Akhoond of Swat, and the Rajah of
Jummoo, has been arrested at Benares, through the
instrumentality of the Marajah of that place, to
whom he brought treasonable letters purporting to
have been written by those persons. It is suspected
the man is an impostor.

The blasting operations of the Elphinstone Land
Company at Mazagon Hill, Bombay, have resulted
in a fatal accident and the destruction of a large
amount of private property.
The river Chenab has been obstructed in its course
either by a glacier or a landslip, and the river
Ravee, both of which rivers are in the Punjab, 11E4,
given indications of changing its course.
Sir Hugh Rose, accompanied by his Personal and
the General Staffs, will return to Calcutta early in
November, where the headquarters of the Army
will, as recently ordered by the Secretary for India,
be hereafter permanently stationed.
The British barque Meggie, bound from Kur.
rachee to Havre, has gone ashore in Sonmeanee Bay,
close to Kurrachoe ; and will probably become a
total loss.

The British ship Longwood, belonging to the
Western India Shipping Company, has itnade the
voyage between Bombay to Calcutta in nine dap

from Light to Light; being the fastest passage on
record.

The Bombay Share Market has not recovered
from its depression, and there is at present an
entire absence of speculation, although money re-
mains easy. Prices of stocks generally are cu.
changed; but Bombay Reclamation Company's
shares have gone down to £l,BOO premium. The
Bank of Bombay has raised its rate of discount two
per cent. The Cotton market is active, and freights
have considerably improved. There are also cone
siderable activity in our market for imports.
A sanguinary affray between a number of
Chinese Coolees, imported into Bombay by W.
Nicol and Company, and a number of towns-
people, took place in Bombay on the sth August,
where two men were killed and a number of per-
sons seriously injured,

A GREAT ENGINEERING FEAT.

(From the Times' Corresponient.)
SANTOS, BRAZIL, July 30.

Called by my duties the other day to this small
but active seaport, I was fortunate in having the
opportunity of seeing the fret experiments in Mr.
Brunlees' daring scheme to lift a railway over the
great Serra de Mar, which at this part of Brazil
separates the seaboard from the interior of the
country. The San Paulo Railway, a line in the
hands of English capitalists and English direc-
tors, runs from the port of Santos into the country
to the village of Jundiahy, a distance of eighty-
eight miles, touching oa its course the capital city
of San Paulo. Eight miles from Santos commences
the vast mountain chain which runs along the coast
for hundreds of miles, and is known as the Serra do
Mar. It seems to assume its grandest proportions
at the only point where the province of San Paulo
can be:entered from the see, and it is at this point that
science has been called upon to grapple with the tre-
mendous difficulty of crossing the dividing ride by a
railway which attains in the course of five miles of
mountain steep an elevation of 2,600 ft. The conquest
of this enormous difficulty by the skill of the engi-
neer opens up the most important province in Brazil
to easy access from without, and will give a rapid
and cheap means of exit to the boundless products
of a coffee-growing country, fertile beyond example,
These facts give a special importance to the railway
and its wonderful passage over the Cordelheira. In
the province, the undertaking is a much engrossing
topic, and the Imperial Government of Brazil.
pledged to a guarantee of 7 per cent. on the capital
outlay, watches with interest these important works
as they approach completion, an event now happily
not far distant.

It was notified in Santos that his Excellency
the President of the province had received imperial
commands to visit the works on the incline over
the Serra, about which scientific speculation had
been so active, in order to observe and report to
the Government as to the experiments about
to be made for ascending the first "lift" by motive
power. The town became very animated, and on
the morning when the ascent was to be made the
President and his staff were joined by about 300
inhabitants of the place, and were received at the
station by the chief resident engineer and the corn•
pany'a agent, and conveyed by train to the foot of
the Cordelheira. From Santos to the commence-
ment of the ascent the railway runs over a swampy
country, wretchedly rotten, and reeking with mi-
asma, till, crossing the Cutatao River, eight miles
from the sea, it approaches, by a woody defile
in the rocks, the gorge up which it has to climb,
till, 2,600 ft. above, it passes cut through an open•
ing in the heights on to the " campos" over which
it runs on into the interior of the province. It is
this enormous ascent which gives to the undertak-
ing its emphatic character. Passing the Mugy
river, and at each step becoming more and more
confined, the black defiant ravine is suggestive of
anything rather than an outlet for a railway course,
which goes winding• and ascending, crossing menu.
tain torrents, leaping gloomy chasms, cutting
through solid rocks, still working upwards, till at
length after five miles of such Titanic effort it passes
out on to the " open."

Your readers will vather from this some idea of
this] daring scheme,—so daring indeed, and
so hopeless has it to be laughed and voted a thing
among engineering impossibilities. The Brazilian
could not realise the constancy of human effort tear-
ing a railway from the sides of the rocks and car-
rying it away up into the clouds. The thing has,
however, been done, and hence the interest shown
by the good folks of Santos, who were naturally
enough curious to accompany the President to the
slopes of the Serra that they might see the process
by which henceforth they are to be carried over the
Cordelheira into the smiling beyond. Permit me
to explain briefly how this transit is to be accom-
plished.
The entire ascent is divided into four "lifts," or
inclines, of a mile and a quarter each, running at
a gradient of lin 10. A levelplatform, or "bank-
head," marks the summit of each incline, and at the
upper end of the platform is s stationary engine.
This engine has double cylinders of 26in. diameter,
with a Bft. stroke, and has been calculated to haul
up 50 tone at the rate of 10 miles per hour. Five
boilers of the Cornish description are placed
with each engine. Oa the upper half of
rails,
single
of
each incline there is a
with arrangemrailsentss
odouble line of
forn
from the centre to passing places
on the middle ot each of these " lifts." A
line
the foot of each of the four divisions into which the
ascent is divided. A steel wire rope, lkin. diameter,
is made for pulling up the ascending trains. This
rope, tested to a weight far exceeding the require..
ments that will be made upon it, passes over friction
wheels, and is attached to the fly wheel shaft. The
inclines are therefore partially self•acting, at the
same time passing one train down to the foot of
the Serra, and drawing up another to the higher
levels on its way out to the province beyond.
The above description of one of these inclines
will serve for the whole. The mechanical contriv-
ance is in each case substantially the same, and the
nature of the steep over which the line passes varies
very little. Everywhere, a wild, defiant, frowning
majesty marks the scenery through which these
wonderful inclines wind their serpentine way. On
the third division, however, there is a ravine, more
gloomy than any other. This " Bocce de Inferno,"
for so it is called, is 900 feet in span on the level of
and is crossed by a
the railway, viaduct, resting
upon clu3ters of iron colsmus, which spring up
from enormous stone piers 200 ft below the centre
of the line which passes over them. The Bocca
do Inferno is now alive with human activity,
which loads the air with music -
; men are swarm•
ing in the clefts of the rocks at every available
point, and great efforts are
being made to connect
the two sides of the ravine, Bo that trains may pass
over it, and the whole ascent may be made ready
for the public. The completion of the four divi-
sions of the incline is therefore not very far dis-
tant. The first division is in operation, and it
was to witness the inaugural experiments that the
Brazilian Government had commanded the presence
of the President and his official staff on the day
when I passed by permission over the inclines with
the rest of the conapanY.

Passing the Mugy river and reaching the foot of
the Serra, there was
a little
delay while the
uncoupled,loco-
hicahndwn were to be hauled
the train was c at-
tachedomoti vtee wasthe rope
hy
up into the cloudy levels above 113. Yon can well
imagine the restless curiosity of the company,
and the desire manifest on all hands to know about
the process going on around us, When informa-
tion can be had by asking for, the Brazilian com-
mences the pursuit of knowledge with a very be-
comingcompany's agents, the
contractors,
the officials, showed a ready
zest,
and and
all the
h
willingness to meet their friends half way.
Soon, however, the train was got into motion,
and by slow hesitating paces we commenced
heret
our Recent. Presently the speed improved and
the motion became smoother, and in eight
minutes we were on the level platform which
forms the " bankhead" of the first lift of the in-
clines, having passed at the centre point the down-
train, which was running on to the level below.

Once or twice on our ascent the train came to a
standstill, and the ascending and descending car•

riages were suspended and held fast midway on
their courses, by way of demonstrating the
absolute safety and control in which all the
operations were held by those who had charge of
the machinery on the levels above us.
Arriving at the summit the President proceeded
to examine in a very minute manner the machinery
and all the details by which the inclines will have
to be worked, taking note of the accommodation for
receiving and despatching asecending and descend-
ing trains, and making searching inquiries into the
bearings of all he saw passing before him. The entire
party seemed to participate in this desire to know as
much as possible, and officials every where were fully
employed in meeting the demands made upon them.
The ascent had been in the highest degree satisfac-
factory, and at the conclusion of the trials and ex-
aminations made by the President, his Excellency
expressed his sincere pleasure at what he had seen,
and his conviction that an immense, almost an ineu-
perabte difficulty, had been completely vanquished
by the ;letting skill and persistent efforts of engineer-
ing science., In the evening the party returned to
Santos, and seemed in a very emphatic spirit to in-
dorse the opinion of the President as to the results
of the experiments they had witnessed on the
Cordelheira. Some eighteen months will yet be
required, however, to complete the line on its en-
tire length of 88 miles to Jundiahy. In the mean-
time, its immediate extension to the city of Cam•
pines is occupying the attention of the province,
and ie, I am told, under the consideration of the
Imperial Government, Mr. Brunlees, the chief en-
gineer, having already submitted plans for the in-
spection of competent authority. Campine is the
legitimate terminus of this line. Jundiahy is but a
small and unimportant village, while Campinas is
the centre of the finest coffee-producing district in
Brazil. The importance, therefore, of this city as Lt
terminus is evident, and indeed till it has been
reached shareholders will not know the value of
their investments, and managers will not have
sounded the resources of the country into which the
line runs. Meanwhile in Europe the success of the
engineer in his attempt to cross the Serra do Mar,
will be read with satisfaction, as a conquest won by
science in a district yet new to commercial enter.'
prise.