The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-26 00:00:00

AN IRISH STEEPLECHASE.

LIMERICK RACES.
These sports commenced on Tuesday over the Newcastle
Course, and brought in an immense crowd of spectators,
every county in the province being largely represented.
Excursion trains from every district
communicating by
rail with the city poured in thousands at an early hour of
the day, while every other mode of conveyance was also
availed of. The number of vehicles on the ground, filled
with the aristocracy of the neighbourhood, was unusually
large. The course was admirably laid out, and a perma-
nent stand-house erected from which a perfect view was to
had. The first race was for
The Newcastle Plate (Handicap) of £7O, added to a
Sweepstakes of 5 sovs each. Two miles and a halt.
Flat Course.
The following ran :—Pitman, Nancy Hand, Castle-
hacket, Con Cregan, and Colleen Dhuv.
Nancy Hand led off beautifully, and maintained the lead
during the first half of the race. Castlehacket then closed
upon her, and Con Cregan began
to gain upon both.
Henceforth the race was between Nancy Hand and Castle-
hacket, who contested it closely. Castlehacket, who was
ridden by Archer, came in first, Nancy Hand being a good
second, Con Cregan third, Pitman fourth, and Colleen
Dhuv fifth. The fencing was excellent, and the race was
pronounced one of the most interesting and spiritedly con-
tested that have taken place for a long time.
The Limerick Tradesmen's Plate of £2OO, added to a
Sweepstakes of 6 sovs each. Four miles. Steeplechase
Comae. Weight for age; 4-yr-olds, list; 5-yr-olds,
list 131 b; 6-yr-olds, and aged, 12st 41b.
This was the great event of the day, and excited a large
amount of interest. The horses entered were as follows,
being, with a few exceptions, all prize winners :
Mr. Woolfe's Sir Edward, Mr. Noble's Vesta, Mr. S.
Mansergh's The Cook, Mr. Loughead's Roebuck, Mr. P.
Browne's Evergreen, Mr. 0' Neale's Maggie,Capt. Nugent's
Anonyma (late Maid of Gurteen), Mr. Furnell's Kenmare
Lass, Mr. Falkner's Bendemere, Mr. R. Kinsella's Stout-
heart, Mr. Lloyd's Kate Fisher, Mr. R. Ryan's Merrimac,
Mr. Ennis's Agnes, Mr. Inglis's Photograph, Mr. Dwyer's
Morning Star, Mr. O'Meara's Palermo, Mr. Reeves's Vo-
teer, Mr. D. O'Connell's Biddy Early, Mr. D. Canny's
Fisherman, Mr. P. Russell's Glendinane, Capt. Leslie's De
Reuter (late Wizard), Capt. Machell's Grisi, Mr. Keyes's
Mountain Fox, Mr. J.ll. Moore's Dove, Mr. Fraser's Ro-
maika.

The start, which took place exactly up to the time, was
the most correct and beautiful we have ever seen; the field
appeared covered with the varied hues of the riders, as
they dashed forward, each in high spirits, many elated with
hope, a few with the apparent certainty of winning, all
with good feeling and in the best humour. The first fence
was taken without a balk, Vesta leading, keeping the lead
up the hill, and sustaining her position to the satisfaction
of her backers, until the rider (Capt. M'Creight) got a tre-
mendous fall, which incapacitated him from riding during
the remainder of the day. At the fourth fence Glendinane
got a dreadful fall ; the rider (Mr. Russell) fell also, and
received, we regret to state, serious injuries, such as are be-
lieved to be dangerous. Glendinane's back was broken.
Bendemere fell, rolling over the rider (Mr. Falkner), who
sustained spinal injury to some extent; he was conveyed to
the weighing room in an exhausted state, and was attended
by Dr. Calahan, of Nenagh. Palermo fell, and the rider
(Mr. Long) received slight injuries in the leg, from which
it is expected he will soon recover. Merrimac fell, and re-
ceived mortal injuries ; the rider (Mr. Hearty) escaped
without serious damage. Romaika also fell ; Anonyma
fell, and the rider (Mr. Thompson) was rescued from a
dangerous position by Mr. Shannon. These were all put
hors de combat, and as the others were coming home, in
the second round of the course, the favourite were narrowed
to seven, and these again were narrowed to four—the
running being between Grisi, Kate Fisher, Kenmare Lass,
and Photograph. The excitement was never surpassed as
they cleared the water cut, when it was impossible to decide
which was most likely to win, the favourites being Grisi
and Kate Fisher. Grisi, it was thought, should have come
in winner, were it not for a slight balk she sustained in the
early part of the race. As it was the riders did their ut-
most; whip and spur were actively employed with desperate
effect between the last single fence and the winning post,
when Kate Fisher came in some 1 ngths before Grisi, Ken-
mare Lass being very near, the three running home in ad-
mirable style, Kate Fisher winning amid tremendous ap-
plause, the owner, Mr. Lloyd, being a favourite with all
classes, and the rider, Mr. Apjehn, having done his duty
well. The winner nets between £3OO and £4OO by this race.
The casualties by which the sport was marred are to be re-
gretted, but we trust that none of them will prove fatal to
the riders, though some of them have been very seriously
injured. To indicate the wonderful speed with which this
race was run, we may say that the entire time occupied by
the race was only 10 minutes and a quarter.
The third race, for the Garryowen Plate of 40 sovs, was
won by Mr. D. Meany's Miss May, beating Mr, Holmes's
Nun, second, Mr. Wynne's Lady Grey, third, and three
others.

The Military Stakes of 3 sous, with 30 added, was won
by Captain Treherne's Chateau Lafayette, beating Major
Bone's Pitman, second, Captain Machell's Isis, third, and
Captain Treherne's Father Batt, fourth.
The Scramble Plate of £25 was won by Mr. Bouchier's
The Rambler, beating Katty Darling, Medora, and Brace-
let.

SECOND DAY.
The weather continued most favourable, and the atten-
dance exceeded the immense number that thronged the
course on the previous day. There was a very large dis-
play of fashionable equipages occupied by the rank and
beauty of Clare and Limerick.

Stewards' Plato of 40 sovs, 1 sov entrance, with 16 sovs
additional in case of acceptance. Two miles. Flat
course.
Mr. D. Broderick's Nancy Hand, 5 yrs, Bst 121 b
(Broderick) 1
The following also ran :—Pontoland, Pitman, Colleen
Rhue, and Outsider.

Pitman bolted at the start, and Ponteland took the lead,
which place was alternately occupied by Colleen Rhue and
Nancy Hand. After a very spirited contest the latter
dashed to the front, and won cleverly.

Limerick Steeplechase Plate of 100 soya, added to a Sweep-
stakes of 5 soya each if forfeit be not declared on the 13th
of September. Second horse to save his stake and pay
S sous to the fund. About three miles and a half. Steeple-
chase Course.
Captain APCreight's Yeller Girl, aged, list 31b _

(Wheelan 1
Mr. Graney's Molly Asthoro, 5 yrs, 9st 71b (Graney) 2
Mr. Lanigan's National Petition, 5 yrs, list 21b (Meany) 3
The following also ran :—New Broom, Kate Fisher,
Mont Blanc, The Youth, Brunette, The Doe, and Alad-
din,

After a few mistakes the lot got off beautifully, Molly
Asthore leading, and the rest in a cluster, well up. The
fencing was beautiful for the first half mile, after which
Kate Fisher came to the advance, but was soon collared
by Tho Broom. Kate again led out in dashing style,
Noble following, managing the mare with his usual judg-
ment. Aladdin was the first at "grief," and after passing
the
stand for the second round the gallant little mare,
Kate Fisher, when leading splendidly, got a dreadful fall
and broke her back. Her jockey escaped without serious
Injury. Mont Blanc, The Broom, and The Youth went to
grass over the same fence, and Doe came down at the flesh.
The others were well up, Molly Asthore leading. Coming
to the finish, Yaller Girl made a spurt and dashed in a
winner ; Molly a good seosnd, and National Petition third.
The death of Kate Fisher was generally regretted. Her
owner had refused £4OO for her after winning the big race
on the previous day.
The Welter Steeplechase of 40 sovs, added to an optional
Sweepstakes of 4 sovs each. Subscription stakes to be
declared at the time of entering. About 31 miles. Gen-
tleman riders. To qualify as for Tradesman's Plate.
5-yrs-olds, 13st 71b ; 6-yr-olds and aged,l4st. The win-

ner to pay 4 sovs to the fund.
Mr. Reeves's Volunteer, 5 yrs (Mr. Canny) 1
Mr. Noble's Vesta, 5 yrs (Captain Wereight) 2
The following also ran ;--- Newark, Bhang, Loughgur,
Darrig Dhoul, Mountain Fox, and Roebuck.
After some beautiful running the contest home between
Volunteer and Vesta was one of the best runs of the year.
Both horses, admirably piloted, were neck and neck for the
last quarter of a mile, Volunteer, leading by a head, going
past the winning post. Mr. Canny, who is deaf anddumb,
is very popular, and a first-class horseman. He was most
enthusiastically applauded.
A Handicap Steeplechase of 2 sovs each, with 22 sovs
added ; 1 sov entrance. Open to all horses that ran at
the meeting. One and a half mile heats. To be handi-
capped by the stewards, or whomsoever they may appoint,
to declare within one hour after the weights be announced.
Four horses the property of different owners, to start, or
the money will not be added.
Mr. O'Neale's Maggie, aged, 9st llb 1
Mr. Holmes's The Nun, 9st 61b 2
—Molly Asthore, Palermo, The
The following also ran :
Rambler, Darrig Dhoul, Anonyma, and Miss May.
This concluded the sports of the meeting.

..________,
AND -UDEN VALLEYS RAIL-
WIIARFE, WENSLEY,
WAY.—Great efforts are being made by the local land-
owners,
and meetings have been held with a view of ob-
taining a railway through these districts, which are the
only important mineral localities now devoid of such ac-
commodation. The proposed line would form the quickest
and shortest route between Leeds and London on the south
and Carlisle and Scotland on the north. It would join the
Great Northern, Midland, and North-Eastern systems,
centering upon Leeds, with .th,outh-Western, and Cale-
f -Newcastle and Carlisle,
North British, Glasgow and 6
donian systems, centering upon Carlisle. The surveys and
sections have been completed under the direction of Mr.
Fulton, the engineer, and the coat i$ estimated by him at
the moderate rate of £lO,OOO a mile,

ANCIENT 2.7?ADES, 7 OOLS, MANUFAC-
TURES, AND MACHINERY,

Mr. Clarkson last Tuesday evening (in consequence of
the inadvertent absence of an announced lecturer) delivered
an extempore lecture on this subject at the Holloway
Literary Institute. He said the subject of the trades, tools,
and manufactures of ancient Egypt was embarrassed by no
problematical inference. The illustrations (of which he
produced enlarged copies) derived from the painted sculp-
tures of the tombs, temples, and palaces of Thebes, speak
for themselves with the unmistakeable logic of tangible
demonstration and ocular conviction. Noticing the pro-
ficiency of the ancient Egyptians in the arts of peace, he
remarked that some industrial occupations stood out in
pre-eminent relief from the rest. Thus their looms, pre-
cisely resembling in their primitive structure those in the
Indian and Chinese departments of the International
Exhibition, imperfect as they were, produced finer tissues
in weft and woof than the Dacca muslin, and won the
poetical designation of "woven air." So of their upholstery
it may be affirmed, that no sensible improvement in their
original tasteful designs have been effected. They decorate
the drawing-rooms of our gentry and the saloons of royalty
as they adorned those of the Pharoahs; nor is the improve-
ment msthetically exhibited even now at the International
Exhibition, although the materials may be more various
and costly, for the unexceeded forms of couches, chairs,
footstools, tables, and buffets, were by the same artists who
transmitted the unrivalled designs of pottery to Etruria,
Magna Grzecia, lonia, and Athens, a striking tribute to
pre-eminent Egyptian taste. A similar remark may be
made on the workmanship of their goldsmiths. The
ancient golden ornaments which attract thronged attention
in the Egyptian department of the International Exhibition
are less remarkable for their taste than curious as antiques.
Their date is anterior to the golden age of art—that of the
18th dynasty. Those copied and displayed by Rosellini,
constituting the splendid banquet service of. the Pharoahs
of that dynasty—epergnes, plateaus, jewelled goblets,
hunting cups, golden vases supported by caryatides, in
honour of victors and victories—will not shrink in chastity
of design (though inferior in wealth of material) from com-
parison with those exhibited by Elkington, Hunt and Ros-
kell, or others, in the precious metal department of the
International Exhibition—some of whose contributions
have, indeed, been subjected, on account of the incongruity
of their purposes, to severe zesthetical criticism.. " Why,"
it has been asked, "should a dish for macaroons be planted
in the topmost branches of a silver palm tree ? Why should
the fiery war-horse become the bearer of panthers for salt ?
The Graces support a trifle dish; heroes tipsy cake; and
the brawny shoulders of Hercules are employed in bearing
aloft a few pounds of grapes." There is no such incon-
gruity chargeable on the Egyptian goldsmiths. The Lec-
turer having quoted the description by Homer (who from
his gorgeous account of it had evidently visited Thebes) of
golden clockwork automata ; for instance— -
" Two female forms the monarch's steps uphold,
Who breathe and move in animated gold ;"
and golden clockwork tables, conveying their dainties, at a
wish to the guests of the banquet chamber, as at present
beyond modern rivalry—adverted briefly to the question of
" Lost Arts." The ancient Egyptians were able to.impart
a cutting edge to copper which we are unable to accomplish.
Had they the knowledge of the artesian well ? Ancient
artesian wells have been found, and recently reopened in
the singularly level road from Cosseir to Kenneh. That
road, so apparently artificial, suggests the next re-
mark. This ancient people had, at all events,
a knowledge of the principles of the railroad,
although not carried out to its modern maturity. They
had level causeways extending for many miles, on which
they conveyed enormous colossi and monolithic temples on
trucks in oil-lubricated grooves. Lastly, a more startling
query presents itself in pursuing the subject of "lost," and
"lost and recovered arts," Was steam-power known to the
ancient Egyptians ? This had been partially suspected ere
it was asserted and, indeed, demonstrated, by M. Arago—
a great name and trustworthy authority. Hero, the Egyp-
tian engineer, to whom the first invention is ascribed, con-
structed, it seems, a gigantic ship capable of holding about
3,000 persons—about the size of the Great Eastern—to be
worked by thirty banks of oars. All naval architects were
aware that all the upper banks of indefinitely protracted
oars would be powerless to move the ponderous mass ; and
thence an internal motive mechanism like steam was sus

pected and inferred, Again, Homer describes a vessel o 1

Phoenicians—an undoubted Egyptian colony (as Lord
Nugent, when Lord Commissioner at Corfu, proved)—
which conveyed Ulysses to Ithaca, in terms which would
accurately apply to a modern steam-vessel,- ann, indeed,
nothing else. These are the terms of the description :
" So shall thou swiftly reach thy realm assigned
In wondrous ships, self-moved, instinct with mind.
No oars have they to urge, no sails to guide,
Like man intelligent, they plough the tide.
Though tempests and tho' clouds obscure the sky,
Heedless thro' tempests and thro' clouds they fly;
Far as Eubma tho' thy kingdom lay,
These ships with ease convey you in a day.
Thither of old earth's giant son to view
On wings of wind with Rhadamanth we flew.
This isle, which saw our morning course begun,
Saw us returning with the setting sun."
That is to say, a regular course of twenty miles an hour, in
spite of wind and weather, by self-motive action. So much
for presumptive inference. But M. Arago proceeds from
suspicion to assertion. This is his allegation :—That
Simon de Caus, imprisoned by Richelieu as a mad-
man for his importunity, gave the first suggestion
of a steam engine, which he himself derived from the
Egyptian engineer Hero's mathematical diagram, termed
the Elopole, preserved by Euclid, to the Marquis of Wor-
cester, who, adopting it in his " Century of Inventions,"
and receiving a grant for employing it in waterworks by
Charles 1., transmitted it, through Captain Savary's inter-
vention, to Watts, of Bolton. It must, however, be admitted
that the construction of steam engines in ancient Egypt, or
rather the application of steam power, was principally de-
voted to the cause of superstition and idolatry ; for the
steam-engine, which is now in alliance with the paddle-
wheel, the railroad, and the printing press—one of the
most powerful agents for the diffusion of civilisation—was
employed in ancient Egypt to work sham miracles—to pour
spontaneously from hydraulic vases wine and oil on their
sacrificial altar tables—to open wide the clanging gates of
Amente during the severe trials of initiation—and to ex-

hibit, by means of self-motive machinery in the dramatic
mysteries of that originating Freemasonry, the pains of
Tartarus or the joys of Elysium. These ancient Egyptian
steam-engines were not, however, endowed with great
power. If they gave out articulate sounds from the mouth
of an oracle or brazen dragon, or whirled round the ghostly
figures of a choral dance in the Great Mysteries of

Amente, they pretended or aspired to little more. One
additional fact adduced by M. Arago is exceptionally note-
worthy, since he avers that the simple machine of Hero,
the ancient Egyptian engineer, on the rotary principle, is
at this time in practically efficient and economical opera-
tion in America.

At the doss of the lecture, a vote of thanks to Mr. Clark.
son having been proposed, carried and responded to, an in.

teresting evening terminated with mutual gratification.

WHAT IS A CONTRACT?-NOVEL POINT

At the Secondaries' Court yesterday the case of Keiler
v. Hillier occupied a considerable time, the question for the
jury being " What is a contract?"

Mr. Shaw, as counsel for the Plaintiff, said his client was
a manufacturer of cattle food, of Holloway, and defendant
kept the Market Inn at Gloucester, the action being
brought to recover £9 for 5 cwt. of cattle food sold and
delivered to defendant. In the course of the present year
a traveller in the employ of the plaintiff called upon the
defendant and persuaded him to become agent for the sale
of plaintiff's cattle food in Gloucester. After some demur
defendant consented, and a contract was given to him.
Now this contract was in the form of a cheque, having a
body and what is termed a counterfoil—the body being re-
tained by the agent and the counterfoil by the principal.
In the present instance defendant having signed the
counterfoil, retained the other portion and then gave an
order for 5 cwt. of the food. That food was sent to him,
but he wished to return it to plaintiff, who considered that
he was not justified in taking goods back. The counterfoil
had been read to defendant, who signed it with his eyes
open, and it was now too late to draw back. Mr. Shaw
called the traveller alluded to, and the plaintiff, who gene-
rally fully bore out the statement of the learned counsel.
Mr. Henry James, for the defendant, said it was very true
that if a man signed a document,having the full knowledge
that its contents tended towards a certain end, there could
be no doubt but that he must be held bound by it, for it was
a contract. On the other hand, if a man was inducnefdt.9
representations to sign a document, being ignorant of
contents, and believing them to be to a different endt.l
they really were, there was no contract. Tehde learnedefendant,
counsel would be in a position to show that theounterfoil,
was entirely ignorant of the contents of the
had simply
which was not read to hint, and he thought
that he had
been appointed agent, whereas it now appeared
become an out-and-out buyer.
were called, but though
Defendant and two witnesses e
,w
they directly contradicted the plaintiff's traveller, the ex-
planation as to signing the counterfoil
was not very clear.
The learned Secondary said t h
signed the counterfoil
having a knowledge of it o only questions for the
jury wore whether the defendantnientst
and if the defendant
some deliberation, found for the plaintiff
on both points.
Verdict for ',bill"
gave an order for scwt. of cattle o
ale food.
after The jury, iboration,

A THREATENING LETTER.

We lately noticed the performances of an orato-
rical boiler-maker, who, with much more zeal than
sense, employs his Sundays in violently denouncing
the Pope to a motley audience who crowd about
him at the place where he has pitched his stand on
the Green. We have not heard that the extrava-
gant tirades of this misguided and headstrong
zealot have been productive of any effect in the
way of either silencing or convincing those to '
whom he is opposed, but they have succeeded in in-
flaming the angry passions of gainsayers. It has
already been reported that they had gone so far
towards provoking a breach of the peace as to call
for the intervention of the authorities. We now
learn that, as if dissatisfied with the slackness of
the powers that be, measures have been taken by
private persons to scare the poor man into quiet-
ness. A threatening notice has been sent him,
drawn up after the approved model of those san-
guinary missives by which an obnoxious landlord
in Tipperary is apt to be surprised upon occasion.
The following is a literal copy of this atrocious
production :

" Glasgow, Sept. 21, 1862.
" William tomson—Sur i hereby inform you that if you
do not stop praching aginst our Holy Church that you will
be stabed to deth some night Boone for 12 of us have drawen
cuts and sore to kill you and i drow the short cut and must
kill you or be killt myself now you must hold your bad twig
or it will be done so help nie Go'd and our holy virgin your
a bad man wurs than gait or M'coll and as bad a man as
henry the 8 or bloody queen bess your the greatest liar in
Glasgow, and that is a bigg word, for you never tell the
truth, your a thiff for you stoll the dead mans watch your
a hipocrate for you have no religion Your a heretick to and
will go to hell soon. Now i dent want to kill if you will
hold your bad twig so if you want to live and be a father to
your childer you will prech no more on Sundays but stay
at home and mind your boiler making if not i will stab you
so help me Christ and our holy religion—Your enemy
D 0 N." This epistle, which came through the Post
Office, is written in a schoolboyish but obviously not a
feigned hand, and is garnished at the bottom with a brace
of illustrations—the one a drawn knife, marked cold steel;
the other a coffin, with a skull and cross bones, and the in-
scription " William tomson, died 1862." Of course, it may
be a wicked hoax ; but it looks " awfully real."—North
British. Daily Mail.

At the-conclusion of the trial the Resistancg- again an-
chored at Spithead to await further orders... • It is reported
she is to accompany the Edgar, Warrior, and Black Prince
to Lisbon, in honour of the coming marriage of the King
of Portugal to the Princess Pia of Italy.

THE SCIN:b E INJ) US STEAM FLO7ILLA,
___PUIVJAUE-A-ND DEL 111 RAILTV4 Y COM-
: PANY_

The thirteenth ordinary general meeting of this
company was held yesterday at the London Tavern,
BishoPsgate-street, over which W. P. Andrew, Esq.,
chairman of the board of directors, presided.
The advertisement calling the sharehelders toge-
ther having been read,
The CHAIRMAN said that on the last occasion of
their meeting ho had to state to them the numerous
difficulties by which they were surrounded, but now
he was happy to say that they had almost entirely
subsided. The funds in the hands of the Secretary
of State in Council for India amounted to £600,000
paid up, so that it would not be necessary to issue
any more new shares, or make any further calls on
the proprietors. As to the Scinde Railway it had
now been open little more than a year, and yet it had
nearly doubled its receipts, which amounted in the
aggregate to as much as the East Indian line, the
Great Indian Peninsula, or any of the leading lines
of India. (Hear, hear.) The result of its working
was not only most creditable to the officers of the
company, but was in the end sure to yield a profitable
return to the shareholders of the company. (Hear.)
The letter of Sir H.Pottinger on the scheme, and the
advantages which must be conferred on India by the
harbour of Kurrachee, had been already pointed
out; and the late Sir Charles Napier, conqueror of
Scinde, added his willing testimony to the vast im-
portance of such a line of communication. To these
opinions was added that of the present Governor of
Bombay, Sir Bartle Frere, and they would see that
in the course of the last eight months they had nearly
doubled the amount of their traffic, and were still
steadily and surely increasing it. In the present cir-
cumstances there was one object most interesting not
only to the company but to the Government and the
people of this country, and that was the supply of
cotton. By a report which he had seen from the
Governor of the Punjaub, forty-four millions of
pounds of cotton were produced in that locality
within the last year, and yet, owing to a want of
communication, only eight thousand pounds' worth
reached England. But that state of things was
greatly improved, for he found that from Scinde
alone cotton to the value of £112,000 had been sent
to this country from Scinde alone, and he knew that
cotton grown in the neighbourhood of Kotree was
equal to any ever sent from America. (Hear, hear.)
All they wanted to extend trade was agency, and.
not only would the line be benefited by the transit
of cotton, but indigo, silk, flax, and even tea and
sugar, would increase the profits of the railway.
There would also be in course of time a regular ex-
port of salt and saltpetre; so that all the principal
articles produced in great quantities in Scinde,
would find their way to England in the shortest
time possible. He eulogised the services and abili-
ties of their resident chief engineer, Mr. John Brun-
ton, who was present on the occasion, and would
give every explanation which the shareholders
might require, either with respect to the line itself,
or the Indus steam flotilla, with which it was con-
nected. So great were the improvements lately
effected, that they had now a bi-monthly communi-
cation between Karrachee and the Punjaub ; and
the steamer Stanley, though not so speedy in her
sailing as they should wish, yet yielded the com-
pany very excellent profits in her trips from Mortree
to Moultan. There were many advantages which
this railway conferred on the particular portion of
India through which it traversed, but he did not
intend to detain the meeting by entering into de-
tail, and should therefore conclude by moving the
adoption of the report.
Sir T. HERBERT MADDOCK, Deputy-Chairman,
seconded the motion.

Mr. BRUNTON, chief engineer of the company,
explained the manner in which the lines were con-
structed, and assured the proprietors that the in-
crease of the traffic since their opening was really
astonishing, and he had no doubt that before very
long the line would have to be doubled. It was
wonderful to see the enthusiasm with which the
natives hailed the opening of this line. (Hear.)
The report was then put, and carried unanimously.
Colonel HILL complained that the original esti-
mate for the line was £500,000,; whereas it amounted
to £700,000, and the original capital extended to
£1,500,000. In the report dated Dee., 1861, it was
held oat that the traffic would be greatly increased,
but it since appeared, by a petition to the Indian
Government, that goods conveyed by railway were
so much injured by theft and carelessness that the
traffic was greatly damage He wished to have some explanations on this subject, especially as the
traffic had greatly increased, and these irregulari-
ties, if not checked;must deteriorate their property.
(Hear, hear.) Altogether, he though the proprietors
ought to be furnished with a more detailed account
of the receipts and expenditure of the company,
especially of the latter ; and he wished also to know
whether, if the line did not pay, the deficiency
would have to be made up out of the guarantee fund
of 5 per cent. payable by the Government.
The CHAIRMAN reminded the gallant officer that
the estimates originally proposed were made by
Lieut. Chapman on behalf of the Government, and
the company were not responsible for the errors
which had been committed by him. If they were
from official data, and not by any one
misled it was
connected with the company. Their officers had
shown a great anxiety to do the best they
acolwulady,sand d
certainly in their management the resulht
ad prove they were entirely correct. The railway
d pay its working expenses, so that the 5 per cent.
would not be touched at all, and an account had
been already opened with the Government on the
subject with the best results to the proprietors.
With respect to charges made in the alleged petition
of the natives alluded to by the gallant officer, they
were entirely unfounded, because so great was the
traffic that people had to be kept out of the trains,
N\ain,ass,
in many instances absolutely by force, so
great
the anxiety to travel by the trains.
Mr. BRUNTON explained with regard to the
works that they suffered very little by the mon-
soons, and in no case had the
masonry employed in
the construction of the line
been at all injured.
Th© present year was the wettest that had occurred
since Scinde became a British province ; but in
nr
o case
estr had any water interfered with their traffic
o doyed a single bridge on the line.
The CHAIRMAN next proposed to convert or con-
solidate Delhi railway shares upon which the full
amount of £2O had been already paid, into Delhi
Railway Capital Stock, and to authorise the direr.
tors to pursue a similar course in future.
Colonel HILL having made an explanation with
regard to his former observations, and expressed his
utmost confidence in the chairman and directors,
the resolution was put and unanimously adopted.
Thanks were then returned to the chairman and
directors, and the proceedings closed.

Did our readers last night notice the Imperial
Riddle, presented them by his MAJESTY of Paris—
and, we were going to say, of Rome—through the
Moniteur ? It came to us rather late. We did
not understand it before we went to press. We do
not understand it now. When we say so, we, of
course, mean that we cannot make separate sen-
tences intelligible, or the several sentences square
with each other. But as to understanding its
object--there can be no difficulty in that. To the
serious, practical question—will you leave the Romans
to tho exercise of their just rights, and cease to im-
pose a master on them—the guilty despot is ashamed
to say " no;" bat he is determined not to say
"yes." We wonder he is so nice about it. Why not
say "yes," and go on telling a lie ? The man who
cared not a straw for the most solemn legal oaths,
and spontaneous oaths, and the obligations of guest-
ship, and the pledged right hand, prior to the 2d of
December, and who made nothing of certain nega-
tive east:al:ions about Nice and Savoy prior to his
seizure of them—why should he mince matters—
why not say, " I will leave Rome before Christmas,'
an.d.thsn keep his solders there till he died, and
fall the suppressed ability of France united to hand
his little boy out of the Empire ? It would be but
the addition of one more deception to the list.
What is the use of this Imperial riddle•setting ? It
can deceive no one. Why not say boldly—" In 1849
I bagged Rome, and put the POPE into it, and no laws
against international night-poaching shall make me
give up my rk)Oil." It would be at least merely
Imperial to. say, " I am a political highwayman,
and I me Art to keep what I have got."
Inst'aad of that what have we ? Why, first a
letter from his MAJESTY to M. THOUTENEL—on a
"'.reconciliation between the Holy See and Italy."
'Which compels one to wish the See were holy
enough to give Italy and the Romans no trouble
about such a secular and profane thing as temporal
power. However, to the first fishermPat it was pro-
mised that he should be 4 " fisher of men." The
inheritor of the fishern:an'il seal may therefore think
that his net shoul:a catch men's bodies as well as
their souls ; and, that, as his net broke in 1848, i
was very kind, of the French to come and mend i
for him.

Ent 'the Romans, and all the intelligence and
llberratism of Europe, do not like this everlasting
Ine*Ading. Indeed, the net after a dozen years French
rAtn}aing, has become a BONAPARTE not a Papal
net. The poor fisherman, therefore, is actually har-
rassed by the BONILPARTE reminding him that he
is really the rtet holder, and demanding of him
some little adaptation of his behaviour to this
notr.trious fact. Outside the net, the Romans see
al 'h their fellows of the same name, disporting
themselves at liberty, while
they in vain try to
burst the Franco-Papal meshes. They think
this hard. Why should they thus be netted
np P What good does it do anyone p
They are told that it is for the go,*
of
the Catholic fish of Italy and all others

countries. They deny this. The Catholics of all
Italy, they truly say, wish them to be as much at
liberty as they are. And as to all the rest of the
Catholics in the world, they can't comprehend what
good on earth it should be to them to keep their
fellow Catholics thus in bondage. They are not
sharks; they will not swallow up " the Fisherman."
Oh dear, no; they only wish to be at large them-
selves, and then they will not even, on any future
day, make a grand unanimous push at his French
net, and drag "Fisherman," net and all, into the
Water.

But to our riddle—if, indeed, it be of any use to
have a try at it. Ist. The POPE is to lower the
barriers which separate the Pontifical territory
from Italy. What barriers ? For the port is
to
be ``muter in his own clomain"—" This sway is to
be freely accepted by hia subjects'--and "'tall is

The Philosophic Humorist, who by a singular
:reek of fortune occupies the courtly post of Clerk
to the Privy Council, has somewhere among
his charming Essays a day dream thus
articulated :—" I have often fancied," he says,
" that a man might play the part of BRUTUS
in the law. He might simulate madness in
order to ensure freedom. He might make him-
self a great lawyer, rise to eminence in his pro-
fession, and then turn round and say, I am not
going to enjoy this high seat and dignity; but
intend henceforward to be an advocate for the
people of this country against the myriad oppres-
sions and vexations of the law. No Chancellorships
or Chief Justiceships for me. I have only pre-
tended to be this slave in order that you should not
say that I am an untried and unpractical man—
that I do not understand your mysteries.' " All
which is, however, as we have already termed it, the
merest day dreaming. And it is a day dream only to
be thought of, even by the most sanguine and ima-
ginative, in connection with ideal regions like those
sacred to the fancied footsteps of Arcadians and
Utopians. While Mr. HELPS is pleasantly con-
ceiving to himself the possible advent of a wholly
impossible Lord Chief Justice and Lord High Chan-
cellor—bit by bit the anomalies of the law are
being lopped off by the trenchant blows dealt
at them by one after another of our great Law Re-
formers. How many of those cruel anomalies have
there not been cleared away, as so much obstructive
rubbish and pernicious lumber, by the bold hand of
the greatest of all living law Reformers, the vener-
able ex. Chancellor Lord BROTIGHAM ! Beside
him, upon that same removed bench, encouraging
the development and continuance of those whole-
some and beneficent innovations and improvements
are there not those two other NESTORS in the Coun-
cils ofJurisprudence—invested like LordßnouGHAm
himself with the honourable dignity appertaining
to them as ex-Chancellors—Lord LYNDHURST and
Lord ST. LEONARDS ? Conspicuous among the
leading champions of Law Reform in this
later generation, being men as gifted, as
eminent, as pre-eminent, it may be said,
each of them in his own peculiar capacity,
as the late Solicitor-General of the political party
now in Opposition, and the present learned occupant
f
woolsack, a man so profound in the depth and
scope
is legal erudition, that he enjoys the repu-
o th e
of h
repu-
tation in his profession of being the greatest Lawyer
who has held the seals as Chancellor since the days
of ELDON. And it like notable circumstance surely,
in its way, that the last great law reform upon
known to have
which the Imperial Legislature is
to the acceptance and the reali-
adventured,
zation of which the Lords and Commons of Eng-
land have been guided, at the instance successively
of Sir HUGH CAIRNS, ill the Commons, and of
Lord WESTBURY, in the Lords.

The Land Transfer Bill, which was happily
passed through the legislature last session, being
enrolled upon the statute book as a complete enact-
ment, but very shortly before the prorogation of
Parliament, may be said to owe its existance, in the
first place, of course, to the exigency of the times,
the pear being ripe for this particular Law Reform
.11 rOevenee to any other; but in a secondary way
quite as
undeniably to the joint labours, to the
frank and earnest co-operation of the genius and
skill unmistakably appertaining, as law reformers,
to Sir HUGH CAIRlis and Lord WESTBURY. If Sir
H. CAIRNS may be said, of the two, to have led the
ray by his earlier scheme of an enactment, Lord
WESTBURY has the honour
and good fortune
to have developed his later schemeinto
an enactment.
The passing of this measure wasnoticed at the time
as almost the one solitary and consolatory fruit of
an otherwise barren and disappointing session of
the Legislature. Perfect as a reform, the Act now
upon the eve of coming into actual operation, does
not, of course, even pretend to be. Its principal
Merit is that it is, at any rate, a commencement,