The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-11 00:00:00

The Abyssinian Captives.

The France has received the following letter from
Count du Bisson, relative to the partial liberation of
Mr. Cameron, English consul in Abyssinia :

" PARIS, Sept. 6.
I have just received from my intendant of sports
in Abyssinia a report, from which I extract some
lines which may interest your readers. ' Mr. Came-
ron, the English consul,' he says, ' will be at liberty
and probably on his way home when this letter shall
be in your hands. The Emperor Theodorus was still
undecided and vacillating between clemency and
severity (death). You said to his Majesty before your
departure, " 0 powerful monarch, of what do you
complain? Are you not victorious on every point of
the question ? England menaced you and you have
laughed at her. She landed troops at Massowah ;
the war steamers were to bring an invincible army ;
you left :the field open to them ; you went to
triumph among the Yallas, saying to the British
envoys, Come on, lam waiting for you; at
my return, I hope to encounter your valiant batta-
lions.' And they do not dare come on. A woman,
their Queen, has written to you with her royal
hand ; she has asked pardon for her minister.' "
(This is exact : I have seen and read the Queen's
letter.) " ' When persons implore your mercy and
invoke your magnanimity, 0 Emperor of the Abys-
sinians, how should the lion have any fear of the
antelope ?' The Prince appeared to be in one of
those critical moments when the life of a man, who-
ever he might be, would be of small account in the
balance. We repeated to him your words in the
interest of humanity. Well then,' said Theodorus,
let him depart—the serpent, but before he goes he
shall make every amend ; he shall swear by the
Virgin Mary never again to re-enter my states." (A
very useless oath, methinks.) "' On that condi-
tion my mercy shall be extended to him, and to all
the other Europeans of his cursed religion. The
order was immediately despatched to Magdala to set
Mr. Cameron at liberty." For ourselves we took
our departure for our sporting expedition, and were
unable to be present, to our great regret, at the ex-
piatory scene—the famous anti-protestant oath.
But the dejar A— has written to tell us that this
long and incredible history has at length come to a
pacific denouement, and that the words of a French-
man had a more powerful influence over the terrible
Ernpe,ror than the threats, the military demonstra-
trations, the royal letter, the ships of war, and lastly,
the prayers of the first nation in the world.
COUNT R. DU BISSON.

Mr. Stern, one of King Theodore's prisoners,
writing from Amba Magdala on the 30th of May,
says :

" Our position has, since my last, undergone no
change. Day after day comes to its close in the
usual painful or reckless monotony of savage prison
life. Sometimes tidings reach us which afford a
thrill of joy, and perhaps for a week we ruminate
on freedom and the blessings of civilised life ; and
then, again, the vision of hope becomes damped,
and the soul either seeks comfort and consolation in
God and His Word, or sinks into the wonted state of
apathy and indiffererice. As lam reminded of the
approach of winter, I will give you a hasty sketch of
the locality where we and upwards of 200 unhappy
natives of all ranks and conditions may have to pass
that inclement season. Just picture to your imagi-
nation an isolated locality, rising out of the midst
of a jumble of conical hills, deep ravines, and ele-
vated ridges, and you have Amba Magdala. On the
summit there are clusters of thatched huts occupied
by about 1,000 troops. Not far from the church,
which you recognise by an apex surmounted by a
glittering brass cross, you gaze on a mass of
wretched hovels that stand in mocking contrast
around, close to which lie basking in the sun bands
of unfortunates, loaded with galling fetters ; this is
the royal prison. Those wretched huts outside the
inclosure are occupied by the elite of the prisoners
during the day, but towards evening all must re-
pair within the fence, where, after being counted,
they are driven like wild beasts within the reeking
walls of those conically shaped structures. Insects
and all that is repulsive of whatever name or colour
swarm in these gaols, and really, if Providence had
not tempered human nature so as to render
it capable of enduring every hardship, I believe
even few Abyssinians would long resist the fatal
influence of this poisonous atmosphere. It is as a
special favour, which we have to thank our guards
(into whose good graces we have wormed ourselves
by the distribution of some simple medicines), that
we are allowed to make our abode close to the walls
of one of the houses ; and there under a black
woollen awning, Captain Cameron, Rosenthal,
Makerer, and myself pass the day and night ; and
the rest, who have huts outside, only the night."

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

-_¢_

SCOTTISH SOUTH-EASTERN.

The report of the directors states that the receipts
on revenue account amounted, for the six months
ending the 31st July last, to £142,430, including
£80,580 for goods, minerals, &c. The expenditure
amounted to £62,697, leaving a balance of £79,733,
of which £47,441, or 59.5 per cent., was divisible
among the Aberdeen portion ; £20,332, or 25.5 per
cent., among the Scottish Midland; and £11,960, or
15 per cent., among the Dundee and Arbroath por-
tion of the undertaking. 'The available balance on
Aberdeen account, including £1,095 from the pre-
ceding half-year, amounted to £25,962, out of which
was deducted the dividends on the preference stocks,
and £8,819 for dividend on the ordinary stock, at
the rate of 2 per cent, per annum, leaving a ba-
lance of £1,199. The available balance on the
Scottish Midland account, including £704 from the
preceding half-year, amounted to £17,283, out of
which it was recommended that a dividend be paid
on the 30th inst. at the rate of 53- per cent. per an-
num on the ordinary shares, leaving a balance of
£783. The available balance on Dundee and Ar-
broath account, including £1,447 at credit of re-
serve account, amounted to £11,295, out of which
was deducted £9,918 for 5 per cent. dividend on
preference stock, and 8+ per cent. per annum on
the original stock, leaving at credit of reserve fund
£1,378, all payable on the 30th inst. The gross ex-
penses of the amalgamated company were 44.02 per
cent. as compared with 45.64 per cent. in 1864. The
permanent way and works were being kept up in a
full state of efficiency. The average rate of interest
on the company's debenture debt was £4 Is. 3d.
per cent. Contracts had been entered into for the
construction of theDenburnValley Railway at Aber-
deen, and the works were being vigorously pushed
forward. The capital account to the 31st of July
showed that £2,602,646 had been received on shares
and stock, and £820,128 on debentures and deben-
ture stock ; together, £3,422,774. The expendi-
ture on Aberdeen account amounted to £2,087,995,
on Scottish Midland account •to £753,353, on
Dundee and Arbroath account to £348,319, and
on joint account to £203,396 rtotal, £3,393,063,
leaving a balance of £29,711.

The report ofMt(1:e:d110(i)rue reitiio:l4
lisUes that the canal
tolls amounted to
The revenue account for
the half-year ending
June 30 showed that £71,068 had been received, against £69,570 in the co
sponding half of 1864, showing an i ' rre-
increase of £.l 498,
and the expenditure amounted to £35 ' ,021, or 50 per
cent., against £32,474, or 47 per cent., in the Eame
half of 1861, showing an increase of £3,047. The
net earnings in the past half-year amounted to
£35,516, against £37,095 in the corresponding half
of last year, decrease of £1 519 The
showing a , .
amount of 4'1,000 had been transferred from revenue
to the reserve fund. The balance of general revenue
account amounted to £19,706, out of which the di-
rectors recommended a dividend, less income-tax, at
the rate of 61 per cent. per annum on the ordinary
shares for the past half-year, leaving a balance of
£294. The bill for completing a line of railway be-
tween Pontypool-rcad station and Newport, by
which the narrow-gauge traffic of the Great Western
Railway Company might be diverted from the
MonmouthshireCompany'sEasternValleyline,which
was its legitimate channel, was unsuccessfully op-
posed by this company in both Houses of Parliament.

The Act of Parliament having been obtained for
constructing the Alexandria Dock, it would be ne-
cessary to subscribe £20,000 in aid of that work. The
total expenditure on capital account amounted to
£1,260,767,-leaving a balance of £7,063 against the
account.-