The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-05 00:00:00

THE BOMBAY MAIL.

We have received journals and correspondence to
the 12th December. The Bombay Gazette, in its
summary for the fortnight, says :
The Governor of Bombay is at the Presidency,
and Lady Frere's health is greatly improved.
_ _

The Commander-in-Chief of Bombay, who arrived
from Aden on the 28th November, will proceed on
a tour of inspection to the North, and will embark
from Bombay on the 15th inst. . .

An order has just been issued, announcing the
abolition of the Commandantship of Artillery, and
of the Artillery Depot of Instruction. Kirkee will
consequently henceforth be included in the Poona
Brigade.

Two boats (cutter and whaler), belonging to her
Majesty's gunboat Penguin, were detached to search
for slave bungalows near the Juba river. At a
place called Baraida, off Cape Guardafai, both crews,
consisting of an officer, Sub-lieutenant Fountaine,
and fourteen men, got into a row with the Soma-
lies, and were all murdered. The Assistant Politi-
cal Superintendent at Aden was despatched in her
Majesty's Indian steamer Semiramis to the scene of
the massacre, sailed to Alloolab, the chief town on
the coast, summoned the Sultan to appear before him
and deliver up the murderers. Eight men were de-
capitated on the beach by their own countrymen
in presence of the armed boats of the Semiramis.
The nomination of Sir Charles Trevelyan as
Minister of India Finance has met with general ap-
proval in India.
The Government of India has recently ruled that
officers of the staff corps in civil employ are entitled
to the full staff corps pay of their rank, although
this should be in excess of their full or consolidated
civil salaries.

Captain Sinclair, of the Madras Establishment,
commanding a regiment of the Hyderabad contin-
gent, has been wounded whilst at the head of his
regiment at Sungum, within 60 miles of Hydera-
bad. The regiment was marching to garrison Jaul-
nab, when two Arabs posted themselves on the
road. They would not get out of the way, and
Captain Sinclair dismounted to insist on their re-
moval, when he was stabbed by one of them. Such
incidents aremore than straws that show which way
the tide is running at Hyderabad.
Lieut.-General Schinihill, Commander-in-Chief
of the Dutch Army in the East Indies, embarked
from Bombay on the 29th November, under a
salute of 15 guns, for Singapore.
An important measure has been introduced into
the Legislative Council of Bengal to regulate the
transport of native labourers to the districts of
Assam, Cachar, and Sylhet. This bill will put 'an
end to a system which almost amounted to kidnap-
ping.

Aboozuffer Serajoodeen Mahomed Bahadoor Shah
Badshah Ghazee, titular ex-Emperor of Delhi, and
the last of the Great Moguls, died in captivity at
Rangoon on the 7th November.
The Romish Archbishop of Agra is publicly offer.
ing up thanksgiving in his church for her most
gracious Majesty having embraced Romanism, and
being about to abdicate the throne.
Letters from Cabool to the 15th November states
that the Ameer has warned all the Khans and Sir-
dars to get their stables and houses built, as he was
going to spend the winter before Heerat.
Major General Smith C. 8., arrived in Bombay
from Kurrachee, under the usual salute, on the 2d
December, en route to Poona, to assume command of
that division of the army.

The Government of Bengal has in contemplation
the construction of several railway feeders, in con-
nection with the Eastern Bengal line. The ex-
penses to be defrayed from the One per Cent. In-
come Tax which has been reserved for public works.
The Rajah of Ulwar (Oudh) has given the
princely donation of 15,000 rupees to the Lanca-
shire Relief Fund.

A very general earthquake, which lasted about
15 seconds, occurred at Muudlesaia on the evening
of the 18th November.

Capt, J. A. Pym, 2d Regiment of Light Cavalry,
died on the morning of the sth December in the
railway train shortly before its arrival at Bombay.
Orders have been received from the Secretary of
State for India, that all covenanted civil officers are
to wear the diplomatic uniform of their rank on
dress occasion, and that all judicial officers are to
wear robes in court.

It is in contemplation to establish small cause
courts at Belgaum, at Surat, and at Ahmednuggur,
the judges to be taken from the civil service.
_ _ .

fhe weather hae become cool and pleasant.

THE LATE FIRE AND Loss OF LIFE AT PORTS-
MOUTH.—An inquest was held at Portsea on Satur-
day before Mr. Cooper, the borough coroner, on the body of
Emma Keene and her six children, who were burned to
death on Friday morning is College-street, Portsea. The
facts of the disaster have already been fully reported in our
columns. Keene stated that he did all he could to save his
family, but had he remained longer in the house his life
would also have been sacrificed. The inquiry lasted nine
hours. The jury returned a verdict of " Accidental Death,"
coupled with recommendations as to the neccessity of pro-
curing fire-escapes and a more efficient system in the sup-
ply of water in case of water.
The announcement from New York that the
Secretary of the Treasury recommends a loan for a
sum equal to £180,000,000 sterling, at a rate of interest, If
necessary, of about 71 per cent. per annum, confirms the
belief entertained as to the extent of the Government wants.
Assuming that amount to be raised, the public debt will
then stand at a point between £250,000,000 and
£300,000,000, without any adequate provision for prolonged
action, since it seems certain that the whole will he required
to discharge liabilities already incurred. Supposing the
average rate of interest to be 6 per cent., the annual burden
of this debt will be equal to three-fourths of that of the entir
national debt of Great Britain, while, if the liabilities of thee
South are added—which must be an indispensable condition
of reunion—the burden will be at least 25 per cent. greater
than that borne by this country. As every American has
been taught to believe that the public obligations of
Great Britain must, notwithstanding all our accumu-
lated wealth, our system of free trade, our extraordinary
manufacturing skill, and our pacific inclinations, render us
powerless to cope, either in commerce or in war, with the
untrammelled energies of the New World, it is difficult to
conceive the feelings with which any logical persons in that
country can now contemplate the future, especially when it
is borne in mind that the task for which all this expenditure
has been incurred is not a step nearer to its accomplishment,
and that if all that has been done is to be done over again
it must, from the state of the currency and of public credit,
be at double cost, Supposing that the dream which some
of our platform orators entertain of seeing the Washington
Government ultimately extended from Hudson's Bay to
Cape Horn should ever present itself to the lightly taxed
people of Canada, Brazil, Chili, and the River Plate as
capable of realisation, they will see that there is an amount
of debt already prepared for them fully sufficient for the
dignity of an entire hemisphere.
THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON AND THE FRENCH
CLERGY.— La France says :—" When receiving the
clergy on New Year's-day, the Emperor expressed his
sorrow at the death of the Archbishop of Paris, adding that
the deceased prelate had left behind him an example of
moderation and wisdom which the whole French clergy
would follow."—The ltoniteur of yesterday publishes the
remarks addressed to the Emperor on New Year's-day by
the Archbishop of Notre Dame. Alluding to the late arch
bishop, the speaker said :—" Guided by his counsels and
his example, we shall faithfully follow the path ho traced
out for us, and in the exercise of our holy functions we shall
seek, like him, without regard to ahy other consideration,
how to do the largest amount of good around us, without
ever separating in our hearts the love of the Church from
the love of France, and acting on all occasions according
to the Saviour's precept, Render under God the things
which are God's, and under Csosar the things which are
Caesar's." The archdeacon concluded by thanking his
Majesty for the visit he had paid to the dying prelate, and
by stating that the clergy would always pray for the Em-
peror, the Empress, and the Prince Imperial."
The National Chorus Society will give a perform-
ance of Ilandel's oratorio " Judas Maccabutus," at
Exeter Hall, on 'Wednesday next, under the direction of
Mr. G. W. Martin. Mr. Sims Reeves will sing the great
songs, "Sound an Alarm," and "Call forth Thy Powers."
In addition to Mr. Sims Reeves, Madame Ruderadorff, Miss
Palmer, and Mr. Lewis Thomas aro engaged. The band
and chorus will number nearly 700 performers.
TELEGRAPHIC EXTENSION.—FREE TRADE IN
TELEGRAPHS.—it is proposed to extend consider-
ably the present system of local and private telegraphic
communication throughout the country, especially in con-
nexion with public institutions, offices, and counting-
houses, railway, police, and fire stations banks, docks,
manufactories, private houses, and newspaper establish-
ments, at a further outlay of £lOO,OOO. Parliamentary
powers are to be taken to enter into agreements with all
existing telegraph companies and for the purpose of laying
down wires for the exclusive use of the Government in
England, Scotland, and Ireland, the charges and facilities
to be on a scale calculated to ensure free trade in telegra-
' pb.ic communicatior,

Completion of the Metropolitan Railway.

It is now finally decided that the Metropolitan
Railway will be opened on Saturday next. Every.
thing that care and caution could suggest for the
safe and efficient working of the line has been adopted,
and tried and tested repeatedly, and the result is
that the Board of Trade is fully satisfied with the
report of their officer. The directors, though much
avnoyed at the repeated postponements of the open-
ing, are still glad that the preliminary examina-
tions have been so complete and searching in their
character, and the public at large will have addi-
tional
confidence in the merits and safety of the
railway. On Saturday, Mr. Wilkinson, the chair-
man of the company, several of the directors; Mr.
Fenton, the manager of the line ; the Great Western
directors, and Mr. Tanner, their superintendent,
met at the Farringdon-street station to make the
final arrangements for conducting the traffic of the
line, and for the banquet which is to be held to cele-
brate the completion of this great metropolitan im-
provement. The directors of the Great Western
Railway Company travelled over the line from Pad-
dington, and the working of all the signals and
points was minutely explained to them. The delay
which has occurred in the opening of the line is due
entirely to the mechanical arrangements provided
for working these signals, and the Great Western
Company, who have undertaken to work the line,
natually felt some anxiety on this subject. Their
engineer is perfectly satisfied with the arrangements,
and every practical engineer who has examined the
signals has stated that they are well adapted for
the work which they have to perform. Mr. D. W.
Harvey, the Commissioner of the City Police, has
given his consent to the attendance of the police
band at the dinner on Friday next as instrumen-
talists. About 600 persons will be invited to din-
ner, and the chair will be occupied by Mr. A. W.
Wilkinson, chairman of the company. A number
of trial trains will run upon thA line to-morrow, at
intervals of a quarter of an hour, stopping at each
of the stations in the same manner as though the
line were in actual operation.

No railway of the same length yet constructed in
this country has had so many difficulties to en-
counter as this Metropolitan line. For years the
scheme languished, its Act of Parliament had all
hut expired, and by common consent the whole pro-
ject appeared to have been abandoned as imprac-
ticable. It was to Mr. Charles Pearson, the late
City Solicitor, that the public owe the revival of
the scheme. With an energy and perseverance
which no difficulties could subdue, he set himself
to the task of creating a public feeling in its
favour. He even succeeded in inducing the im-
movable Corporation of London to become share-
holders in the undertaking to the extent of some
£200,000. Almost every resident in the City was
canvassed and asked to take a small number of
shares; the Great Western Railway, seeing that
the directors were really in earnest, subscribed
£160,000, and contractors were found in Messrs.
Jay and Messrs. Smith to undertake the responsibi-
lity of making the line, taking a large part of the
payment in shares, and being debited regularly with
the amount of calls upon them as they became due.
Finally, all the capital was subscribed. Then came
no end of troubles of a legal and parochial charac-
ter. Vestries very properly looked with suspicion
on a scheme which for months would obstruct the
thoroughfares and inflict serious injury upon the
householders and ratepayers ; commissioners of
sewers saw long vistas of trouble which would arise
from the disturbance of the sewers; and gas com-
panies and water companies were apprehensive of
the damage which would be done to their mains and
service pipes during the progress of the works.
When at length all these obstacles were duly con-
sidered, objections removed, and security given
against damage, then came the mechanical and en-
gineering difficulties. These were of no inconside-
rable character. As a general rule, great sewers
existed in the exact line proposed to be taken by
the railway. These had to be removed, and new ones
built on one or other side of the railway tunnel, and
in some cases so limited was the space that a por-
tion of the sewer had actually to be built in the
brickwork of the tunnel: In another case, the sewer
lay at right angles across, and just at the level of,
the railway; here the sewer had to dip under the
tunnel. Sewers ran above, below, and around the
great tunnel. The same re-arrangement, though not
attended with the same difficulty, existed in the
cases of the gas and water mains. The most formi-
dable works was, however, near that famous Fleet
Ditch, now the sewer which drains the high
ground of Hampstead and Highgate, and pours its
tributary stream into the Thames, at Blackfriars.
Twice in its short course from King's-cross to
Farringdon-street does the railway pass under this
stream. In one part this sewer, carried across the
railway in an iron aqueduct, forms part of the tun-
nel. The work of diverting this body of water,
swollen in wet weather to a rapid stream, was,
however, accomplished with success. Many novel-
ties were required in the construction of the under-
ground railway ; of theca not the least important
were the formation of junctions with two branch
lines leading up to the Midland Railway at
King's-cross, and the formation of a box for the
men to work the points at the junctions. At last
when the great work seemed to have approached
its completion, the Fleet sewer broke in upon the
line in the open cutting tit Farringdon-street,
as though vindictive at having been successfully
mastered at other parts in its course, It was, how-
ever, to the wretched character of the decaying
brickwork of the Fleet sewer at this point that the
rushing stream owed its temporary advantage over
the railway, The scene of desolation which for a
few weeks prevailed has all been changed, the Fleet
Ditch passes on by a new and substantially built
cloaca to the Thames. At least half of its water will
be cut off by the high-level sewer, and another large
portion will be intercepted by the middle-level
sewer of the great main-drainage scheme, and the
Metropolitan Railway will in future occupy, in
perfect security, the watercourse which for centu-•
ries has poured its polluting waters into the river.
The construction of the stations involved many
points which required very careful consideration,
for there was no experience of working stations in
a railway tunnel w hich could assist those responsible
for the work. The signals, again, have proved, as
our readers are aware, an unfailing source of trouble.
Actuated by a desire to make these essentials of a
railway as efficient as possible, the engineers made
their mechanism tou complex and too difficult to
work with the required ease. A very important
alteration in the engines and carriages was also con-
sidered necessary. It was obvious that passengers
for short distances would not, and could not, travel
in a tunnel which was continually filled with the
sulphurous smoke and steam from the engines
which would run so frequently. The engines were
required, therefore, to consume their own smoke,
and to condense their steam. Engines may be
made to do this for short distances as between
the termini of this railway. The water carried
in the tender of an engine is necessarily
limited, and the steam discharged into the condenser
quickly raises it to a high temperature, when
of course it ceases to be available for condensing
purposes. On the arrival of a train at either
terminus the heated water has to be discharged,
and cold applied in its place. This arrangement
involved a considerable amount of detail for con-
veying the water to suitable reservoirs. But we
might greatly extend the long catalogue of
difficulties with which the undertaking has suc-
cessfully struggled, and from which it has now
finally extricated itself.
The scale of fares which have been fixed by the
directors are not so low as the public might have
expected ; but in settling them the board was
actuated by a desire to test the working of the
line fully before they sought to attract crowds of
passengers by very low rates. For the whole dis
tance, via., Paddington to Farringdon-street, the
fare will be:—First-class, 6d.; second, 4d.; third,
3d.—return tickets, 9d., 6d., and 5d., according to
class. For intermediate stations, or to or from
Portland-road station to Farringdon-street 0
Paddington, 4d., 3d., and 2d.—return tickets beir g
respectively 6d., 4d., and 3d. Parliamentary traits
will run at the stipulated rate of ld. per mile; but
the fare by them will, in reality, be no lower for

the third-class than by ordinary trains, as the dis-
tance is 31 miles, and the ordinary aird.chss tare
3d. The company are not bound by lie act to run
what are called " working-men's train," and which
are required by all acts passed during the last two
years, in cases where the railway ht. 9 destroyed any
dwellings of the poorer classes. The Metropolitan
Railway has not touched any property of this de-
scription. It will do so, however, is the course of its
extension to Finsbury, and by tie act authorising
that portion the company are bcund to run a train
night and morning at Ne ry reduced rates. It was a
part of the project of the late Mr. Pearson to have a
number of workmen's dwellings erected at Worm-
wood Scrubs, to which the working classes would
be conveyed cheaply by the railway; but as no
colony of this sort has yet been founded, no neces-
sity has arisen for running the cheap artisan trains.