The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-24 00:00:00

MIS DAY'S SHIPPING.

LONDON, March 24.—Wind this day at noon—South;
moderate breeze and cloudy weather ; it rained the whole
of yesterday.

(BY SUBMARINE AND MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.)
GRAVESEND, Monday Morning.
Arrived, March 23—Vibilia, Reliance, and Belinda,
from Guarnsey ; Clyde, from Philadelphia ; Norwegen,
from Oster Risoer ; Anna, from Groningen ; Susan, from
St. Michaels; Wolverine, from the Cape of Good Hope;
Augusta, from Krageroe.
Arrived, March 24—Swift, from Dunkirk; Familien,
from Dram.
Sailed—City of Norwich, for Hamburg; Harmina, for
Dantsic ; Margaretta Chri.tina, for Stettin; Ida, for Ko-
nigsberg; Exchange, for Ghent; John and Jane, for Rot-
terdam ; Fanny Fern, for Corfu ; Bamaleel, for Nivsau;
Aviok, for Rangoon.

Mondaong.
Passed—Esk, screw steamer,DEAL,
from Guernsey y;M Brni
rothers,
from Demerara—both for London; G. D. V. R. (Commer-
cial Code), from the west, for the north; Netherby (in Low),
from Geelong for London.

LAMB SEASON.—The lamb season this year ap-
pears to be unusually prolific. There are many cases in
which ewes have three and four lambs each, and in some
large flocks the entire number of ewes will average two
lambs each.

DURHAM UNIVERSITY COMMISSION.—A meeting
of the Durham University Commission was held at 7, Lan-
caster-place, Strand, on Friday. Present—the Bishop of
Durham, the Right Hon. R. Lowe, ALP., the Right Hon.
C. B. Adderley, M.P., the Hon. H. G. Liddell, M.P., the
Rev. C. J. Vaughan, D.D., and Mr. Robert Ingham, Q.C.,
M.P.

The Charivari publishes a caricature in which
Europe, represented by a female figure, is trying to amuse
a young girl crowned_ with flowers, and bearing the name
of Spring, with a polichinelle dressed like an inhabitant of
ancient Mexico, with a head-dress of feathers, bow and ar-
rows, &e. Underneath is written -.—" Endeavouring to
turn away her attention from other things."
THE FIRST " RED BOOR."—The ancient register
book belonging to the corporation of Lynn, known as the
" Bed Book," from the original binding having been of
that colour, has lately been rebound. This is thought to
be the oldest English paper book in existence, and the
leaves had from age become reduced to a loose cottony sub-
stance, which threatened to fall in pieces when handled.
Each leaf has been carefully resized, and the book will now
e
first entry is a transcript of the will of Peter
last for many years to come. It numbers 150 d
e T rnden,
burgess of Lynn, dated 1309 ; the latest entryon page
h the date of 15 Richard ll.—Stamford
Afereury;
leae:
is. T
vh
100, wit
MYSTERIOUS DEATH AT A COFFEE-HOUSE IN SEY-
moun -STREET, ST. PANCRAS.—Yesterday information of
e.th.
o Pancras,us
No.
a mysterious occurrence was received by Mr. Mackrey, one
officers
wofhtiliChe took place previousthe
10, Seymour-street, St. Pancras, near the Euston-square
railway station. It appears that at about half-past 6 o'clock
a gentleman, who was accompanied by a female, respectably
dressed, engaged a room, and that in about half an hour
after the female alarmed the proprietor by statingthatthie
a gentleman, who was a stranger to her, was in fit. 3r
Thompson, surgeon, of Stebbington-street, was
called in,
table Hall,
264 stated that life was extinct. Police constable
264 S, who does duty at the railway station,
was sent
for.
He, upon his arrival, searched the deceased
some documents were found in his possession, showing
that his name was Walter,
and
thad, Barnsbury-park. A
that he was residing in
,
Richmond -crescent, Barnsbury
Ow body will be made.
post-mortem examination of th
SUICIDE IN A CAB.—
Saturday,
determined act of suicide
was committed on G tt
urday, by John rave , a youth,
aged 19, son of an o t
official connected with the Post-office, at
Chislehurst, Sent. It appears that the deceased had left
home on Tuesday night last, for the purpose of seeking em-
ployment, and at three o'clock this morning he was at the
Crown and Anchor public-house, in the Old Kent-road,
where --
ha hired a cab, telling the cabman to drive him to
Chislehturs '
On arriving upon Chislehurst-common the
driver
was alarmed at hearing the report of fire-arms, arid
on jumping down and opening the cab door he found blood
issuing from the right ear of the deceased, a pistol, which
bad been recently discharged, lying near him. Medical
1 assistance was immediately sought, but the deceased ex-
-1
pired before its arrival. Inside the cab was found a letter
written by the deceased and addressed to his father, in which
be alluded to his intention of committing suicide, and,
alluding to family grievances as the cause, expressed a hope
of forgiveness. The body now awaits an inquest.
An extraordinary accident took place two days
ago, at Thourailles (Loire* As the vane at the summit
of the steeple was in need of repair, a workman was em-
ployed to get it down. Ho ascended without difficulty by
means of the knotted rope used on such occasions, and, after
getting astride OR the cross to which the vane was affixed,displaced the latter, and lowered it to his companions below.
Having ar
Having done so, he prepared to descend himself, and
r moss
OA
condition, the danger of his position became evident. The e
the
which he was sitting was in a very tottering
sorm-eaten
timber to which it was fastened having become
by age, and the moment he began to move it worm-eaten
by way
elf
with his weight. The man endeavoured to save himself
by clutching at the rope, but he missed it and came heavily
down on the roof of the church, several of the tiles of which
were broken.
Thence ho came 'm a largo apple tree, and
fell through the boughs to
thegound, which luckily for
such was the force with
him had been freshly dug up,
12e foruP,made an indentation to the
which be came down, that he
comrades, who were hor-
rorstruck at witnessw
depth of more than a....,s foot. ia fall, expected to find him a
corpse, but to their g .
rest surprise he got on his legs, and
soon after walked to his home, complaining only of a pain
in his hip, from on the branch of a tree.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

GREAT NORTH OF SCOTLAND.

'The report of the directors stated that the revenue
account for the half•yeAr ending the 31st January
showed that £47,700, or 6s 4d per train mile, had
been received, and £17,456, or 2s 51d per train mile,
had been expended in working, £325 rent of the
Old Meldrum Junction Railway, and £4,932 for in-
terest and commission on loans, leaving a balance of
£24,988, to which was added £3,015, the surplus
from the preceding account, making £28,003. From
this was deducted £5,532 for dividend on new
shares, at the fixed rate of 41 per cent. per annum ;
£10,916, the proposed dividend on the preference
stock, at the rate of 71 per cent. per annum ; and
£10,382, theproposed dividend on the original stock,
at the rate of 71 per cent. per annum ; together
£26,630, leaving a balance of £1,373. The results
of the working afforded a dividend on the preference
and original stocks of the company at the rate of
72 per cent. per annum, with a balance of £1,373,
as compared with, a dividend at the rate of 61 per
cent. per annum and a balance of £1,536 in the
corresponding half-year. The working and other
expenses amounted to 38 per cent. of the receipts,
against 36 per cent. at the corresponding period.
A long-pending arbitration between the company
and certain traders on the Aberdeenshire Canal had
just been concluded. The compensation claimed by
tb ose traders, in respect of the closing of the canal
during the construction of the railway, amounted
to £16,898. The award, including interest and ex-
penses, amounted to £8,230, which had accordingly
been pied. This payment, together with a balance
of £1,300 still due by the company to the contrac-
tors, exhausted the company's liabilities on the ori-
ginal construction account. The report complained of
the hostile course adopted by the Scottish North-
Eastern Company in promoting a, bill in the present
session of Parliament for authorising a line, about 22
miles in length, from Limpet-mill toKintore, instead
of jointly promoting a bill next session for a junction
line at Aberdeen to connect the Scottish North-
Eastern and the Great North of Scotland railways
for the mutual interchange of traffic between the
two companies. With a view to protect the interest
of the company, the directors had assumed the re-
sponsibility leasing the Deeside Railway at a rent
in perpetuity equal to 6 per cent. per annum, and
they also acquired an interest in the Deeside Ex-
tension Railway to the extent of £30,000. The
capital account showed that £995,918 had been ex-
pended on the company's line and stations, and
.£225,622 in the stocks of other railway companies,
making £1,221,540, and leaving a balance of
£88,077.

NORTH BRITISH.
The half 'yearly meeting was held at Edinburgh
on Friday, Mr. Hodgson in the chair.
The CHAIRMAN said that the Border Counties
section of the North British was now all but com-
pleted. In the course of a few days the railway
extending from Hexham to Bellingham, a distance
of 40 milesi would be ready for the inspection of
the officer of the Board of Trade; In regard to the
Borger Union Railway, a few weeks only were re-
quired for its completion. It would, he hoped, be
ready for opening throughout before the let of May.
On the completion of the Border Union the three- ,
tors would devote their attention to the construc-
tion of the Langholm branch, the Galashiels and
Peebles Railway, and the Wansbeck Railway from
Morpeth to Bellingham. He regretted that the
bill for a railway to Dunfermline, and thence to
Perth, had been thrown out on standing orders.
A petition would be presented to the House of
Gammons on Monday to allow the bill to be re-
vived, which he hoped would be successful, as
this scheme had the support of the public and
would be a bona fide through line. The bill for
amalgamation with the Edinburgh, Perth, and
Dundee the directors confidently expected.
to carry against the opposition of the Scottish
Central and other companies, seeing that it was
exactly in accordance with those principles of
amalgamation which Parliament had sanctioned in
other cases. The directors had withdrawn their
opposition to the amalgamation of the Newcastle
and Carlisle with the North Eastern, having satis-
factorily secured over the Carlisle line open routes
and through fares. He anticipated from the nego-
tiations now in progress more harmonious working
with the North Eastern. He concluded by moving
the approval of the report.
Mr. SPROT, deputy chairman, seconded the mo-
tion, which was agreed to.
tr Resolutions were then adopted, declaring a divi-
dend at the rate of 6 per cent. on guaranteed stock,
4 per cent. on Jedburgh stock, 3 per cent. on the
consolidated stock, and 51 per cent. on the Border
Union guaranteed shares ; approving the bills for
leasing the Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway and
Port Carlisle Dock and Railway to the North Bri-
tish; and re-electing the retiring directors and
auditor.