The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-03 00:00:00

THE GREAT SHIP COMPANY.

At the meeting held yesterday to determine what steps
should be taken to rescue the company from its present
difficulties,

Mr. I-lA.wzs moved the appointment of a committee to
investigate, and then report on the best steps to be taken.
In opposition to that proposition.
_ .

BLAIR, of Manchester, moved as an amendment
" That a new company be formed for the purpose of pur-
chasing the ship, and that the old shareholders be invited
to join in such a scheme."

Mr. NlcHoLsoic did not see what use a committee
would be. Supposing the ship was got out of her present
difficulties, she would have to earn £50,000 per annum to
pay preference claims before the original shareholders got
a penny.

Mr. HAwEs thought if the meeting agreed to his propo-
sition; there was some chance of good arising ; if not, they
would then only be in the same position they were at
present. The directors had been at fault all through
the piece. The ship had never had a fair trial ;
it had, in fact, been an elephant doing the work
of a donkey—(hear, hear, and laughter)—and now
when there was a chance of putting the elephant to
work in its proper sphere, the East—(hear, hear)—he hoped
a last great effort would be made to bring about such a
consummation. He felt certain one trip to the East would
demonstrate the commercial success of the ship.

A long discussion followed, on the termination of which
the Chairman put the amendment of Mr. Blair to
the meeting, when about four or five hands were held
up for it. The motion of Mr. Hawes was then agreed to
almost unanimously, and the following gentlemen appointed
to act on the committee :—Mr. Frsebody, Mr. Thomas
Brassy, Mr. W. Hawes, Mr. Prows°, Mr. J. Robinson,
and Mr. Richardson, kith power to add to their number.
A SHAREHOLDER said there was not a representative of
the Lancashire shareholders on the committee.
Mr. HawEs replied that he would be glad of the assist•
ance of as many gentlemen from Manchester and Lamca.
shire as could make it convenient to attend.
The meeting then adjourned until Monday, the 12th.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.—An ordinary
general meeting of this society, for the election of Fellows,
was held yesterda.,, in. the Council-room at South Kensington.
—his grace the Dul:7B of Buccleuch, K.G., vice-president,
in the chair. The !minutes of the last meeting having
been read, and the ,candidates for ordinary fellowship
having been proposed and duly elected, the chairman
announced that his Impel'ial Highness the Grand Duke
Nicholas of Russia had been recommended by the council
for election as a member of urte society. This announce-
ment was received with applause;. and his Imperial High.
nests was unanimously elected an honorary member.
ROMAN RUINS NEAR CHELTEN*LiAm.—A discovery
made in a field named Wickham, near Andoversford,
has recently been the source of considerable interest and
speculation to antiquarians and such of We public as have
been made acquainted with the particulars cmanected with.
the remarkable Roman site now in the course mf excavation
a short distance beyond the Andoversford Inn; For many
years coins and various other relics of bygone ages have
been discovered, which, submitted to accomplished numis-
matists and others skilled in a knowledge of the manners
and customs of the Romans during their stay in this coun-
try, tended to confirm the belief that a station or village
had existed in the locality. With a view to test the truth.
of. the belief so generally entertained, works have been.
going on during the past fortnight, the excavations being
under the personal superintendence of Mr. Laurence, the
owner of the field, and a few gentlemen interested in the
matter. Several acres have been found to be covered over
with the substantial foundations of houses, some of which
must have been of great size. The ground already opened
has furnished abundantly the usual refue of Roman sites,
the so-called Samian ware, with black, red, or brown pot-
tery, bones, teeth, and horns of oxen and deer, teeth of
sheep and horses, the large oyster shells, ornaments, and
implements in bronze and iron, querns, window glass, &c.
Tesselated pavements such as were found on the Sudely
estate are also no doubt to be found here. Among the most
curious and instructive of the discoveries yet made in this
field is a piece of sculpture cut in the oolitic stone of oar
hills, showing three full length figures in high relief, the
style of whose array may assist in the precise determination.
of the age. This, however, is a point hardly doubtful, for
during the past week coins have been found and carefully
described which range over the period between Domitian
and Arcadius inclusive. These latter would imply that the
remains belong to the very close of the Roman period in.
Britain.--Cheltenham Times.
TRANSMISSION OF PATTERNS BY POST.—Pattersis
of merchandise similar to these already transrais:
sible by post between England and France at reduced
_
rates, may now be transmitted by post between any Oa
in the United Kingdom at the following rates of pos f
etsurv:
which must in all cases be prepaid by means of llora
stamps, viz. :—For a packet of patterns weighing v° than.
than 4oz, 3d; more than 4oz, but not ,776
00z, 1s . ;
et that;
Boz, 6d; more than Buz, but not more than
ci. speciai
nle
more than IGoz, but not more than 240 z, is 609 d eegula-
attention is directed to the following rul°Bl. No packet
tions, which will be strictly enforced,
of patterns must exceed 240 z icnitwareg.igev::4od:uien.
weight it will be treated and
deTedh,is
A from alacietes d
mere
n letter.
egr
The patterns must not be of intrinsic.
what-
excludes all articles of a saleable nitr;
ever may have a value of its 0511.1.05., material, sent oaten_
as a pattern ; and the quantity oi
..., „rest that it can fairly
sibly as a pattern, must not Nigro"' ''
and, an intrinsic
value.
be considered as having, °n ti:igni intrinsic value will be
Packets containing psis;ers. 3. There must be no
treated and charged as than the address of the person for
writing or printing otheurded,
the address of the sender, a
whom the packet is in,...,..te and theprices of the articles,
trade mark and naincv—
will be treated
otherwise the paokst .
as a letter. 4. The
ust Co opt In covers Open at the ends, so as to be
patterns in • Samples 1,
• aeon. Jos ...,w •
easy of eXauliO
bagswhich cannot b ' evei, of seeds, drugs,
and so fort , linen,
e sent in open covers, may be
inclosed °, or other material, tied at the neck ;
closed that they ca
bags so nnot be readily opened, even.
ii easy be trans
altbong parent, must not be used for this
PurY"e. be treated Non-compliance to this rule will alto subject the
packet to eated as a letter. 5. In all other respects the
regulations of the inland book inland
pattern will apply to the inland
pattern post. 'Under these ee-puolatio in order to prevent
any interruption to the regularr
transmissionns of letters, a pac-
ket of
f patterns may, when it is necessary, be kept bock for
24 I.lll's beyond the time when, in the ordinary course, it
would
be
forwarded. N.B. The rule which forbids the
tran
smission through the post of any article likely to injure
the contents of the mail bags or the persons of any officer of
the Post-office is, of course, applicable to the pattern post;
and a packet containing anything of the kind will he stopped
and not sent to its destination. Articles such as the fol-
lowing have been occasionally posted as patterns, and have
been detained as unfit for the post—viz., metal boxes, por-
celain and china, fruit, vegetables, bunches of flowers, cut-
tings of plants, spurs, knives, scissors, needles, pins, Pieces
of machinery, watch machinery, sharp-pointed instruments,
samples of metals, samples of ore, samples in glass bottles,
pieces of glass, acids of various kinds, currycombs, copper
of various
and steel engraving plates, and confectionery
kinds. By command of the Postmaster-General, Row-
LAND HILL, Secretary. General Pest-oftiee, Oct 1.
kip,
THE CHOIR is the name of a now apical ee