The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-23 00:00:00

SCINDE.

The directors state in their report that at the McLeod-
road station at Kurrachee, more than 100 waggons,convey-
hag 500 tons of merchandise, are unloaded daily, and addi-
tional sidings are being laid. The buildings at Joongshaie
the central station on the line, have been finished. At
Kotree, the upper terminus, the length of the river frontage
now available for boats, flats, and steamers is 2,000 feet.
The higher level lines have been laid for the convenience of
the Indus Steam Flotilla and the Commissariat Depart-
ment, and the station has been brought up to the level
of the rails, affording groat facilities to the through traffic.
The stock of locomotives is 20, and of passenger carriages
27. There are now 372 waggons of different sorts. Mr.
AP...Neill states. "Over 100 waggons laden with cotton, wool,
oil-seeds, indigo, &c., are now brought into Kurrachee sta-
tion every day," and adds, " It will be interesting to know
that we are now receiving machine-pressed bales of cotton
and hemp from up-river. Yesterday (sth of January last)
a consignment of 411 bales of cotton and 330 bales of hemp
were received here at Ferozepore for shipment to England.
This is the first consignment of pressed bales that has come
down the Indus. It will be a great matter for Indian rail-
way companies when the cotton and similar traffic they now
convey is all pressed. At present, with every care and at-
tention, we can only load from 12 to 17 loose bales on a
truck, averaging,—say, two and a half to three tons, or about
half the weight which the waggon is intended to carry;
besides, there is the great obstruction which waggons laden
with bales of loose cotton or wool present to the progress of
a train, the tear and wear of tarpaulins and ropes ; and,
above all, the great risk of fire, all of which, in the case of
waggons laden with pressed bales, must necessarily be very
much decreased. A statement of the quantity of cotton
conveyed during the year 1862 from Kotree to Kurrachee
by the Scinde Railway shows that 12,285 bales had been con-
veyed by steam flotilla and 48,425 bales by native boats,
making the total 60,710. These contained 17,138,9001 b. of
cotton, and it is estimated that 150,000 bales will be ex-
ported during the current year. Cotton is finding its way in
large quantities from places south of Delhi to Urnritsir, for
transport to Kurrachee. For the half-year ending Dec. 31,
1861, the receipts on the railway amounted to £12,299 ; for
the half year ending June 30, 1862, to £23,493, including
£17,383 for goods; and for the half-year ending Dec, 31,
1862, to £35,934, including £29,457 for goods. The directors
congratulate the proprietors on this steady increase of traffic
which is limited only by the supply of waggons. The re-
sults of the trade of Scinde since the commencement of the
currenteaci al year are most satisfactory, and prove how
expansive
are the resources of the provinces of the Indus,
the value of the trade of the first nine months being 31
millions sterling, and the remaining three months, the
busiest, are expected to raise the amount of the entire year
to 5 millions. len
tneisaezepnt et
ected that to complete the railway
p
and construct
stock
for
theations, as well as to provide the
necessary rolling
citazpdiduls., augmenting traffic,
additional capital will be required during current year.
The financial statement shows from trh,leanndmtmhaencement the
sum of £1,480,234 has been received
payments
oans the
est £1,574,80311
has been expended. The amount overdrawn,pa
current expenditure, has been met by the
ac-
count of the third issue of shares, and by an arrangement
with the Secretary of State for Indiain Council. The finan-
cial statement of the company's steam flotilla on the Indus
shows that £332,905 had been received, and £291,835 ex-
pended, leaving a balance of £41,070.

P UNJAUB.
The report of the directors states that the number of pas:
ungers carried_ on the section between Lahore and Ilmritsir
from the opening of the line to the public on April 10 to
Dec. 31, 1862, amounted to 284,806, and yielded a gross re-
turn of about £l,OOO per month, The goods traffic was
commenced in August last. The central station at Lahore,
which is on an extensive scale, is not yet finished. The
.supply of ballast by the contractors on the first 110 miles of
,he section from Lahore to Mooltan, and by the company's
eslgineers on the following 56 miles, has been satisfactory.
j:rho permanent way has bees laid for a considerable distance
at
bl,th the Mooltan and Lahore ends of the line. The por-
CAI of tL,O line below Mooltan to Sher Shah Ghat, on thf
Chen 41)) 11 miles in length, is now probably open for traffic e

From the impossibility of obtaining sufficient supplies of
sleepers and ballast, the completion of the section from La-
hore to Mooltan has bsen unavoidably delayed. But by
the use of Groove's patent iron sleepers the dir ,etors have
every expectation of the line being opened thr iughout be-
fore the end of 1864. The financial statement shows that
from the commencement £1,339,080 had been received and
£1,245,081 expended, leaving £64,150 in the t gent's hands,
and £31,669 available,