The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-25 00:00:00

WATERFORD AND WEXFORD.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held
on Thursday at the offices, Gracechurch-street—Sir
C. P. Roney in the chair.

Mr. H. W. Wood, the secretary, read the notice
convening the meeting.

The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the re-
port, said arrangements were being made for the
early commencement of the works, and he hoped
that before their next meeting very considerable pro-
gress would be made in the construction of the line.

Mr. J. W. HOLL4ND seconded the motion, which
was unanimously agreed to, and the proceedings
terminated.

MIDLAND GREAT WESTERN.

The hall-yearly meeting of this company was held
on Thursday in Dublin ; Mr. Ennis, 3/1.P., in the
chair.

The report, an abstract of which has appeared in
The Sun, was submitted.

The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said with respect to the traffic receipts during
the past half-year, as compared with the correspond-
ing period of 1863, that, so far from there having
been a diminution of passenger receipts, there was
an excess of £1,573. The number of passengers
carried during that period had been 2,000 in excess
in the first class, 1,200 in the second, and 4,000 in
the third ; while in the fourth class there had been
a falling off of about :3,000. That falling off was
no doubt to be attributed to the departure of the
people from the country. It was vain to look for
any solution of that perplexing question in any
other motive. He found that the parcel traffic had
increased about £6OO, and in order to develope that
traffic they had increased the weights of parcels from
141 b. to 281 b. With regard to cattle there was no
falling off from 14,100 to 13,107 head. Referring
to the expenditure, he remarked that they had 48
clerks, who divided among them £l,OBB a year.
They had 27 guards, who received £691 a year, and
considering the arduous duties of a guard, he was
satisfied that these men were underpaid. They had
57 policemen, who received nearly 471 a year, and
272 porters, whose salaries averaged. 11s. a week.
Now, 272 porters appeared to be a large number.
His colleagues and himself had repeatedly endea-
voured to reduce the number, but in vain. They
could not effect any reduction, because the public
would complain.
A long discussion ensued on the question of ex-
penditure, in the course of which Lord Castlemaine
proposed the following amendment to the report :
" That in consequence of the unsatisfactory state-
ments in the report now prepared, no details being
given of the works on the line,• and the amount of
salary to each official not being given, we propose,
before passing said report, to appoint a committee

of shareholders to investigate the private aff Airs of
the company, and to report their opinion within a
month to a general meeting to be called for the pur-
pose."

The amendment was rejected by a large majority.
A dividend at the rate of 2 per cent. per annum
for the past half-year having been declared, and Mr
Parker re-elected auditor, a vote of thanks was
passed to the chairman and the proceedings termi-
nated.

Railway Traffic Returns for the Week,
miles Opened. Receipts.
Railways. ~........—A—Th,---.............._.
1865. 1864. 1865 1864.
Z £
Belfast and N. Counties 136 136 2,113 1,865
Belfast and Comity Down 49 49 798 (570
Blyth and Tyne 2B 28 2,064 1,963
Bristol and Exeter l2ll 1211 5,776 6,611
Caledonian
Cambrian
Cork and Bandon 2O 20 323 313
Cork, Blackrook, & Passage 6l 65 123 123
Cork and Youghal . 32/ 321 423 412
Cornwall 651 651 1,512 1.600
Deeside l7 17 291 204
Dublin & Belfast Junction 63 63 1,327 1.375
Dublin and Drogheda 75 75 1,480 1.377
Dublin and Meath
Dub. & Wicklow and Wextd 9ll 911 2,15) 2.060
Furness, &c 5O 5 ) 3,171 3,261
Glasgow & South-Western
Gt. Eastern,Nrfk.,&E.Union
Great Northern_
_

Great North of Scotland .,d
93 99 2,803 2,451
G t. Northn. & Weatn. (Irel.) n nt 430 649
rit.Southn. & Westn.(lrind.) BB7l 8738 7,609 7.112
Great Western 1225 118 61,568 59,525

Inverness & Aberdeen June 1171 1171 1',102 "1825
Inverness & Perth Junction 1114 1194 1,266 910
Irish North-Western 145 145 1,661 1.378
Kent Coast 27 27 510 480
Lancashire & Yorkshire 403 402 36,302 35,493
Limerick and Ennis... 21.1 . ..„ Atl7-: _ in-
Limerick and` ognes -42 24' • - 64 OS:
Llanelly ,;•21- 464 - '677 635
Llynvi Valle
London & North-Western 1274 1244 99,178 95,220
London and Blackwall 54 54 1,742 3,732
London & South-Western
Lond. Brighton, &S. Coast 267i 2614 15,529 12,`403
London, Chatham, & Dover 724 724 4,613 4,458
Do. Metropolitan Extension 114 101 1,750 1.11,0
Lon., Tilbury, & Southend
ilan.,Shefffeld,&Lincolnsh
Manch. S.Jun.Si Altrincham 94 94 1,279 1,295
Ilaryport and Carlisle 2B 28 1,433 1.531
Metropolitan
Midland (incl. N.-Western) 8634 641 45,757 44,176
Midland G tWestn. of Irind 282 2591 4.484 4,731
Monkland 7ll 711 1,554 1.6 1
11onmouthsh. Rail. & Canal 44 44 2,770 2,741
North British, Edin., Perth
and Dundee
N-Eastern and Stock. & DarL 10E9 1095 55,916 51,971
North London 9 9 3,302 3,435
North Staffordshire 254 251 7,829 8.705
Rhymney l9l 191 1,039 975
Scottish Central
Scottish North-Eastern l3B 138 5,090 4.:48
Somerset and Dorset 65 66 , 79 534
South Devon . 791 751 3.593 3,340
South-Eastern 3OB 306 19,266 18.166
Taff Yale 57 57 6,126 5,913
Ulster

Vale of Clwyd .. l- 10 'IM )77
Vale of Neath 431 431 2,770 2,651
Waterford and Kilkenny 3l 31 320 314
Waterford and Limerick 77 77 1,209 974
West Cornwall 27i 27i 723 76)
W.Hartlepool IlarbrAßail s2} 52i 4,133 3.F85
W'haven,Cleator,& Eg,rnint lO 10 645 74 )
Whitehaven Junction l3 13 970 I,' 26
Whitehaven & Furness Jun 35 35 811 1,952
FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.

Austrian B2B 828 32,574 33,051
Bahia and San Francisco
Belgian Eastern Junction 266 261 330 303
Bombay, Baroda, & Cen. India 1851 1851
Central Italy lB3 167
Detroit and Milwaukie lB9 185 4,495 4,06 )
Dutch Rhenish lOBl 1( 81 5,253 4,6.8
Eastern of Prance .... 1176 1428 61,550 56,948
Eastern Bengal
East Indian
Grand Trunk of Canada 1377 133.5 24.115 2',025
Great Central of Belgium 295 272 6,077 4.886
Great Indian Peninsula s\ 3 553 21,935 12,699
Great Luxembourg 134 134 4,58: 4.2.17
Great Southern of fndia
Great Western of Canada 345 315 8,554 14,534
Madras
Madrid, Saragossa &Aiicant 6B) 650 19,409 21.272
Northern of Canada .... .....
Northern of France ......
Norwegian Trunk
Ottoman
Paris, Lyons, & Mediterrn 1907 1781 125,723 116,385
Paris and Orleans 1616 1611 6:1,889 63.541
"ernambuco 774 .77j 1. 461 1,263
...._

Sande. . 1t,5 103 2,:.46 2,145
Do. Punjab, eta . 3! 3! 2,7 3.3
South Austrian, Jac .. 1647 1527 51,116 48,2.9
Southern of France €23 770 '46,561 25,308
Victoria

West & N-Wn. of France .. 1011 0 1 4'2:75.a-

The Russian Position in Central Asia,

ST. PETERSBURG, March 19.

The Russian Cabinet has forwarded a circular to
its diplomatic agents abroad, of which the following
summary presents the principal features :
" The position of Russia in Central Asia is
analogous to that of all civilised States who, find-
ing themselves in contact with half-savage and
nomadic tribes, are compelled--as much in the
interest of their.4043144:404-thCof their...07147_
mercial relatione-z-to take measures for imposing,
respect upon inconvenient and turbulent neigh-
bours. Such has been the task of the United States
in America, of Holland in her colonies, of England
in India. All have been forced to follow this course,
in which ambition has very little part, and wherein
the great difficulty consists in knowing where to
stop. Such also, according to the Russian circular,
is the reason which has actuated Russia in establish-
ing herself upon the one side at Syr-Daria, and
upon the other at Lake Issyk-Soul, and in conso-
lidating these two lines by advanced posts, which
have gradually been pushed forward into the heart
of those distant regions, without, however, securing
the permanent tranquillity of the frontiers of the
empire. For, first, between the extreme points of
this double line there is an immense unoccupied
space, in which the frays of Paging tribes continue
to paralyse colonisation and hamper trades through
caravans. Further, the constant fluctuations of
politics in those countries must be considered.
Turkestan and Kokhand, now united,now separated,
always at war, either with each other or with Bok-
hara, render fixed relations and regular intercourse
utterly impossible.

" The circular next points out that the Cabinet
of St. Petersburg is nevertheless unwilling to adopt
the line of policy England has followed in India by
subjugating in detail, by force of arms, the small
adjoining States which have rendered themselves
obnoxious to their neighbours. Russia desires not
to aggrandise herself beyond measure in Central
Asia, but to consolidate the organisation of the pro-
vinces she possesses. Taking up this point of view,
the Russian Government has determined upon three
principal measures. First, it has ordered that the
two fortified lines, the one reaching from the Chinese
frontier to Lake Issyk-Koul, the other extending
from the Sea of Aral to Syr-Dari, should be united
by fortified points, so as to place all the points in a
position mutually to support each other, and not
to leave any gap through which the invasions of the
nomadic tribes can be carried out with impunity.
It has been further decided that, when the line is
thus completed, advanced forts shall be established
in sufficiently fertile places, not only to secure their
provisionment, but also to facilitate regular coloni-
sation, an essential condition of the future prosperity
of the country and of the civilisation of the neigh-
bouring tribes. Lastly, this fortified line must be
fixed in a definitive manner, in order that the Rus-
sian Government may escape dangerous encroach-
ments, which, from reprisal to reprisal, , would
culminate in a policy of unlimited extension.
" The Russian circular concludes by alluding to
the mission often attributed to Russia—viz., to
carry civilisation into the Asiatic countries adjoin-
ing the empire. Civilisation possesses no more,
efficacious agent than commercial relations ; and
these, which everywhere require order and stability,
render a radical transformation of manners in Asia
essential. Above all, it is important to make
Asiatics understand that it will be more to their
advantage to favour and protect trade through
caravans than to plunder the traders.
"In allusion to this subject, the official Journal
de St. Petersburg replies to an article of the Moscow
Gazette. The latter paper had observed that before
pursuing civilising missions in Central Asia, Russia
had vital interests to protect and develop in her
western and southern provinces. The official
journal says :—' The object of the military and ad-
ministrative measures carried out in those distant
regions has in no way been to extend the limits of
the empire, and to fix and settle those limits by a
safe and solid boundary. To realise those conditions,
that frontier must present a line without solution
of continuity, offer facilities for defence, provision-
ment, and colonisation, unite as much as possible
the nomadic populations whose vicinity-is always
inconvenient ; and, lastly, stop at the point where
it would encounter populations attached to the soil,

offering a compacter medium and elc tnents of social ,Z
organisation which facilitate the esi tblishment of
regular and stable relations. Such are-. the conside-
rations which have caused the establis] iment of the
new frontier. It follows that the ob !ject is not to
extend our limits, but to close them ; not to create
distant complications with savage peoples, but to
place ourselves in contact with populations capable
of understanding the advantages of peace and corn-
merce, and of preferring them to war and pillage.”

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