The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-24 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST.
The report and accounts of the directors have just
been issued. The accounts for the half-year
ending the 30th of June show the following
results :—The amount of capital raised to June
30, 1862, is £10,341,418, consisting of ordinary
stock, £4,620,000; preferential, stock and shares,
£3,329,418 ; mortgage debt, £1,598,275 ; deben-
ture stock, £793,725. Total, £10,341,418. The
amount of capital expended during the half-year is
£208,620. The redaction in the rate of interest on
the mortgage debt still goes on, and the amount of
debenture stock issued has reached £793,725. The
loans falling due at 41 and 5 per cent. have been
renewed at 4 per cent., and the average, including
debenture stock has been further reduced to £4ls 9d
per cent. The gross revenue for the half-year has
been £444,861, showing an increase 0fX23,482 over
that of the corresponding half-year of 1861. Of
this £12,006 arises in the passenger traffic, and
the remainder from goods, tolls, rents, &c. When
the continuous bad weather and the general
stagnation of trade are borne in mind, the state
of the revenue (says the report) will be con-
sidered satisfactory, particularly as the traffic
of the Victoria Station and of the lines recently
opened is far from being fully developed. The in-
crease in the ordinary expenditure arises chiefly
from heavy repairs to the carriage and waggon
stock. The traffic during the early part of the
year admits the placing of the entire plant in the
most perfect order, so as to meet the increased
demands during the summer for the ordinary
traffic, as well as for that in connection with the
International Exhibition. A further sum 0f£6,000
has been charged in respect of compensations aris-
ing from the accident of last August ; and a some-
what similar sum may be expected to the debit of
the current half-year, which will, it may be hoped,
close that account. A further increase appears in
the charge for dividends on preference capital,
arising from the fact that interest in respect of the
whole of the completed lines and works has now
become a debit charge against revenue. The per-
manent way improvement account has been credited
with the usual £3,000, and the relaying and fish-
jointing of portions of the coast lines and branches
has been further proceeded with. The contractor
for the Croy don and Balham line has not shown
the energy which had been anticipated. At last,
however, the works reached the state which
enabled the usual notice to be given to the Board
of Trade, and the opening may be expected with-
out further delay, when great facilities for both the
through and the local traffic will be obtained. The
completion of the West London Extension line has
also been delayed ; it is, however, nearly finished,
and will be opened as soon as certain
companies interested
shall have been concluded. The enlargement of
the Brighton terminus is completed. The works
on the Pulborough and Ford line and the Little-
hampton branch are proceeding rapidly. The
latter will, it is hoped, be ready for the traffic I
of the approaching autumn. The bill for the en-
largement of the London-bridge Terminus has
received the Royal assent. By another bill
promoted by the company, and which has also
received the Royal assent, powers are obtainedto
for the construction of a line from New Cross
1 the Barrington-road, Brixton, where it forms
a
junction with the line of the London, Chatham, and
Dover Railway Company, which runs from thence
to this company's line at Stewart's-lane, a short
distance from the Victoria station, The bill con-
tains clauses granting to this company running
powers over the above-named portion of the
Chatham Company's lina, in exchange for similar
powers granted to that company from the Barring-
ton-road to ,
of
IDA
laying downl ut the
providing for the
four lines of rail*
whole distance over nowers
Which such running r
nies.
have been granted to the respective eelnP4-
Thus means have been provided for carrying on the
traffic of the two companies without interference or
delay, white at the same time the more important
London line
objects are attained of forming a South
(in connection
from London-bridge to Victoria, and
with the West London 1-'' and the North
the railway circle round
London lines) completing
the metropolis. The bill also contains powers for
short h ow-
the construction of the .
nctionedbranc by the plineropfrri metorN e s
in
haven to Seaford, sa
January las-.
t• A special meeting has been convened,
to be held immediat y
one
after the termination of the
authorise the
ordinary meeting on the 29th inst., to
creation of the capital necessary for these
i
lines
works, and for the completion of the other works ino
t h
progress, including the contribution t and
e West

.N EWSPAPER
) F,,---f---rf:
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London Extension line and to ..: :,,,,.,: f. • ..,:..rl'atc:fr.4
Guildford Direct Railway ; '-'-',11,t•-94,,,,, 11;;.,*:4
which last-named matter the di 0:00.:_,- f1M:1=',1!;..4',.
acting in accordance with the atql ,if,tll..ctr"
them by the resolution of the propuetklls patetT"
January last, they have comcluded anagreetn
with that company to contribute towards its cap;tal
the £75,000, authorised by Parliament, and to pur-
chase the line (151 miles in length), when cora-
ileted, for the further sum of £48,000, making in
all 1323,000, this company finding the materials for
the permanent way and building the stations. The
net amount at the credit of the revenue account is
£116,981, out of which the directors recommend the
payment of a dividend of 21 per cent. for the half-
year, payable on the 12th of August, amounting to
£115,500, leaving a balance to the credit of the
current half-year of £1,481.
.--„----...--.....
MR. SIMS BEEVES'S CONCETT.

This concert, which took place last night in
Eeeter-h all, before an enormous audience, was in-
teresting for several reasons. First, there was a
new cantata, by the most popular of our cmpesere,
the remainder. of the programme being all of cecel-
aglent
eql
rausat Il withy,
ta; 1 1 thenne uemxnerctohunet
sir
oea
lan\
dv
oahfs i
gae
hvfiel
yrrsy-te-
ffipr ai
eet
ieceenb,
ta chorusd,
whether
t to-
gether ;
-
vocal or instrumental, was admirable—the solo
singers, in addition to Mr. Sims Reeves, being
Madame Lemmens-Sherrington, Miss Palmer, and
Mr. Santley, the solo players Mr. Charles Hale
and Signor Piatti. An ordinary entertainment,
under so eminent a name as that of the concert-
giver, would have been out of the question ; but
Mr. Reeves provided even more than was expected
in variety of attraction, and delighted his numerous
patrons with a selection of music which occupied
upwards of three hours and a half in performance,
and yet did not include a single composition of in-
ferior or questionable merit. The baud, directed
with consummate ability by Mr. Balfe, gave
Weber's overture to "Der Freischutz," Profeesor
Sterndale Bennett's overture called " The Naiads "
(which figured gracefully at the concert of our most
distinguished nativesinger), and theWeddie gMarch
of Mendelsschn. Mr. Halle played the "Andante
and Rondo Brillante" in B minor (with orchestral
accompaniments) of the last-mentioned composer,
besides one of the " Wanderstunden" of M. Stephen
Heller and a Valse by Chopin. The Rondo of Men-
delssohn—one of the first things he wrote during his
early visits to this country—is, its beauty and
originality considered, too rarely heard, and was
therefore all the more welcome. Signor Piatti's
choice fell upon the Sarabande and Gavotte of
John Sebastian Bach, with which he has so fre-
quently charmed the very musical audiences that
flock to the Monday Popular Concerts at St.
James's-hall, and which, to judge from its recep-
tion, was no less suited to the vast " mixed
assembly" gathered together within the less in-
viting walls of the Temple of Harmony in the
Strand. To dismiss at once the miscellaneous
vocal pieces—Mr. Stanley introduced " The Bell-
ringer" (W. V. Wallace)
and "The Colleen Bawn"
(Benedict), in both of which he has earned laurels
repeatedly; Madame Lemmens Sherrington gave
Maid Marian's scene, " Hail happy morn," from
" Robin Hood" (Macfarren), and the variations on
" Ah ! vous diraije, mamen ?" inserted by the late
Adolphe Adam in his comic opera, " Le Taurador;"
Miss Palmer sang Mr. Chorley's ballad, " When I
was young," and Mr. Sims Reeves " My own, my
guiding star" (" Robin Hood"), both of which
were encored, the latter with an enthusiasm im-
possible to describe. Mr. Reeves—whose voice
was never in more splendid condition, and who
never seemed more determined to win distinction
for himself and afford pleasure to his hearers—
also gave " Gentle airs," one of the few familiar
numbers from Handel's " Athaliah " (Signor
Piatti playing the violoncello accompaniment),
and, with Mr. Santley, the duet "All's well,"
from Braham's opera of "The English Fleet"—the
promise of which once famous, now not altogether
undeservedly obsolete, piece of circumstantial decla-
mation kept the large majority of the audience in
their scats to the end of the concert, and, it is but
fair to add, satisfied them that they had waited to
good purpose.
A line or two about "Mazeppa"—Mr. Balfe's
new cantata—must at present suffice. The inci-
dents of the romantic story are well put together
by Miss Jessica Rankin, whose verse, moreover,
has the advantage of being unaffected and sensible.
Mr. Balfe lies happily caught the spirit of the sub-
ject, and unquestionably added one more to his
many artistic successes. The dramatis persons are
four—the Count (Mr. Stanley), Theresa, his wife
(Madame Lemmens Sherrington), Nita, Theresa's
confident (Miss Palmer), and Mazeppa (Mr. Sims
Reeves). Choruses of pages and attendants, in the
first part, and of Cossacks,whenMazeppa's involun-
tary ride approaches its termination, make up the
sum-total of the musical elements at the composer's
disposition. The choral portions of the work, if not
precisely the strongest, have the merit of being un-
exceptionally spirited and appropriate ; melodious
they always are (or they would not be Mr. Balfe's);
and in one or two instances—which, seeing that
the cantata is tolerably sure of a wide popularity,
we shall have opportunities enough of pointing out
—attain that point of characteristic beauty best de-
scribed as " the picturesque." With this, of course,
the orchestral accompaniments—in which Mr. Balfe
exhibits more than his usual ingenuity—have a good
deal to do. The solo airs are, for the greater part,
in the composer's most agreeable and engaging
style. Those allotted to the Count—" Oh, she was
fair," and " 0 thou dear one, in whom I trusted"—
are both good, the last, indeed, extremely beautiful.
Theresa's one song, "I dream'd I had a bower so
fair," in a more ornate and elaborate style, is
marked by a grace and fluency peculiar to Mr.
Balfe when he allows his pleasant muse to speak
without restraint. Nita takes part in a duet with
Theresa, and in a trio with Theresa and the Count
—the latter a pretty trifle, beginning in the man-
ner of a " round." The best music, however, natu-
rally enough, falls to the most conspicuous and by
far most interesting character. Mazeppa's first air
She walks in queenlike grace"—is founded on
one of the most charming melodies that ever came
from its author's untiring
p
" Theresa, we no more shall meet"—is the
a simple second--
c ond—
a nd
expressive ballad, conceived and accomplished in
that style which, from the opening bars, unmis-
takeably reveals itself as " Balfian ;"
third—" Once • again to life awaking," illustrative
of an incident " i the •
n Ride"—preceded by a very
impressive recitative,while the
and mixed up at intervals with
chorus (the materials of which have already been
used in the orchestral prelude at the beginning of
the cantata), is perhaps the most genuine of all. In
addition to these, Mazeppa has a duet with Theresa
----" Ah ! why that face so full of care ?"—a favour-
able example of the composer's lightest and most
ad captandum way of writing. The execution of
the cantata, under the direction of Mr. Balfe him-
self—by orchestra, chorus, and principal singers—
was, for the first performance of a new and not over
easyie e e
wawork,s app in every sense remarkable. Piece after
p
lauded with warmth and unanimity,
and so loud was the uproar after Mazeppa's first air
(a She walks in queenlike grace") that, while forced
to applaud Mr. Reeves for not wishing to interrupt
the continuous interest of the music by repeating
an isolated portion to the detriment of the context,
we think he might have yielded to the wishes of
the audience and sung it again. Mr. Santley, too,
was pressed with no less vehemence for a repetition
of the Count's second air (" 0 thou dear one"), but,
like Mr. Reeves, turned a deaf ear to the appeal.
(amore,
Sherringtonore,
ar llee(ite i f andl‘i
Miss r.
All the solo music, indeed—including, of course,
that of 'failerec,sl_a and .
assung con
Nitre
(Madame
Balte Isa'-aalso
anit content he must be very difficult to
please. At the . ,
end the composer was greeted
dwith
applause from every slue.
On the whole the audience had every reason to
be well satisfied with the sumptuous musical treat
prepared for them by Mr. Reeves, who, on first ap-
pearing in the orchestra, was honoured with such
an enthusiastic recognition as is only awarded to
the most eminent public favourites. We ahauld
have stated that Mr. J. ',Hatton played the piano-
forte part in Bach's Sarabande and Gavotte, besides
accompanying two or three of the miscellaneous
vocal pieces.