The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-26 00:00:00

An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of
this company was held yesterday, in the Salle Ste. Cecile,
Rue de la Chaussee-d'Antin—Baron James de Roths-
child, the President, in the chair. The meeting having
been declared duly constituted, M. Delbecque, onS
directors, proceeded to read the report :
This document commences by stating that the object
of the meeting was to obtain from the shareholders the
ratification of a provisional treaty entered into by the
board of directors for the working of the railway from
Namur to Liege. This line would form one of the sec-
tions of the railway communication from Paris to Co-
logne, as soon as the branch line from St. Quentin to
Erquelines was opened to the public. The advantages
to the Northern Company of having the Namur to
Liege Railway in its possession )-sas that it opened a
new communication to Germany, and shortened very
considerably the distance between Paris and Cologne.
That distance by Amiens, Valenciennes, and Brussels,
was 614 kilometres (384 English miles), which weregone
over in 14 hours 45 mil,. By the new direction, the
distance would be 510 kilom. (319 English miles), and
the time 11 hours 30 min. So that the diminution in
distance would be upwaid3 of 100 kilm. (63 English
and in time, 31 hours. The construction of the
hue from St. Denis to Crcil would still further shorten
the di--tames, so that eventually the line from Paris to
Cologne would be about the ssme length as that. from
Paris to Strasburg. Of the MO kilom. mentioned above,
thhetlie
belonged t) the Northern Company : adding
2t
oB7t rte lac% 9 kilom. of the Namur to Eie.;e
the whole distance in the possession of the Northern
e.nnpany would be 346 kilom. The remainder or 164
kil. belonged to the Belgian Government mid the Rhenish
Company. The Northern Company would, consequently,
be masters of upwards of two-thirds of the whole dis-
tance ; and the Board of Directors had received the
strongest assurances from official te
passengers quarrs
atandatevery
possible facility would be afforded
goods.
pbytiotnhoef Belgian Go-
vernmentenscri
the Namur
The
report for
th e tn, h
ee
nut, se ur
sa tinrtaoffiac
di
to Liege line, which is declared to be well constructed,
and to pass through a highly industrial country, likely
in the course of time to give a very considerable adiiitional
traffic. The line was also destined to relieve a large
transit-traffic from Germany to France, and rise versa.
In the cession of the line was not included the stock,
consisting of 20 locomotives, 49 passengers' carriages,
and 872 goods' waggons. The expenses of working
since 1851 had been about 50 per cent. oily, and the
leasereee whichipts theadg Nraduamalluyr
to andLisegteaedCiloympany improved.gran granted
to
the Northern Company would be the same, miens one
day, as the length of its concession, which was for DO
years, from the sth September, 1851, and the sum to be
paid by the Northern Company was 1,000,000 f. a year,
payable every six months. The Northern Company
was to enter on possession on Jan. 1, 1855. The sum
at which the stock was estimated by parties appointed
on each side was 3,300,000 f., and this was to be paid
at once by the Northers Company. The Namur to
Liege Company also possessed the branch line from
Mons. to Manage, but that portion of its line it
was to retain in its own hands, and work itself.
The reason of that company ceding its principal
line was that it had la debt of 12,500,000 f., which
had fallen due last July, and for which it had
been unable to provide. By means of the million
which it was to receive each year from the Northers
Company, it would provide for the interest of its debt,
and for the creation of a sinking fund to pay off the prin-
cipal. The shareholders of the Namur to Liege Company
had given their consent to the treaty now alluded to, at a
public meeting held on the 22d of November last at
Brussels ; and all that now remained to terminate the
arrangement was to obtain the consent of the shareholders
of the Northern Company. The report concludes by
declaring that the board seized on the opportunity of
seeing the Northern shareholders assembled to give them
some information respecting the working of their line
during the first ten months of the present year. Notwith-
standing that war was being waged, that an epidemic had
existed, and that food was unusually high, the portion of
the present year, named above, presented an augmen-
tation of receipts over the corresponding period of
1853 of 3,982,000 f., or 133/4 per cent. It was evi-
dent from this result that the prosperity of the Northern
line was steadily progressing, and the board felt confi-
dent that the ratification of the treaty with the Namur
to Liege Company would still more contribute to the
augmentation of the receipts.
The PRESIDENT then inquired if any shareholder de-
sired to make observations on thejreport ?
A SHAREHOLDER inquired how the sum of 3,300,000
francs to be given for the stock of the Namur to Liege
Company was to be paid
The PRESIDENT replied that if the meeting consented
to open a credit for that amount, the board would pay
the sum from the funds now in hand, and would in April,
at the ordinary general meeting, bring the matter for-
ward to have the questioa decided how the sum was to
be raised, whether by an emission of bonds or other-
wise.

The meeting unanimously ratified the treaty, and
opened the credit required.
The proceedings then terminated.

THE CZAR AND HIS MINISTER.

An amusing contemporary, the Charivari, has the
following jeu d'esprit on the voluntary donations for the
allied armies in the Crimea :

•
".Nesselrode I
•
"Sire ?
" You are aware of what is taking place in England!
"There are a great many things going on there.
"No doubt ; but you cannot'fail to have heard of the
plum-puddings which are making there by subscription
for the army in tile Crimea ?

" I have, Sre ; and it appears that all the women
and young girls of Great Britain have set themselves to
work on this occasion,

" th,?, French subscription, do you know any-
;hing about that?

"A sithcription for sending cigars and tobacco to
the expeditionary army. Nothing else is talked about.
" And are you aware of the object of these subscrip-
tions ? They are got up in order to make Europe be-
lieve that the war carried on against us is popular iu
England and France, and to annoy Russia.
" Yes, sire, but we must not allow ourselves to be
annoyed at it.

"Certainly not, and I intend to immediately open a
subscription throughout the whole of my empire for
the troops of Menschikoff.

" That is an excellent idea, Sire. Ey so doing w•
shall not allow ourselves to be distanced by the allies.
" Yes, but what can the subscribers send them I
" Ah ! that is the question.
" Reflect, Nesselrede, reflect—

" I have, Sire, but I cannot think of anything.
" We cannot send them puddings, those articles being
unknown in Russia.
"Tobacco and cigars would not come amiss to them.
" Certainly not, but it would he said that we copied
the French.

"./h ! Sire—an idea has just struck me—send therm
caviar.

"The idea, Nesselrode, is n weak one, very weak.
What the devil would you have our soldiers do with
caviar when they do not even know what it is I Besides
that, pretended national delicacy in only a prejudice
accredited by Russian diplomacy. All the caviar which
is eaten at St. Petersburg is manufactured by Chevet at
Paris, and since the declaration of war not a single bar-
rel has reached us.

---‘Thenlkriow not what to imagine. Suppose, Sire,
our ladies were to embroider braces for the army of
Menschikoff? .

—;;lNlesselrode, that would be immoral ; embroidered
braces are only presented by ladies as love tokens.
" What say you then, Sire, to embroidered purses
"Rococo, my dear Nesselrode, nothing could be MOTO
rococo. Think again.
" Sire, I am at my wit's end ; take my head.
" What ! do you then take me for a Shaliabaham I
But let us think a little. Ali? I have hit on it. Listen
to me, Nesselrode.

" Sire, I am all attention.
"What is it that replaces the plum-pudding in the
enjoyments of the Russian people !
" Sire, I cannot tell you—that is precisely what we
have been endeavouring to find out.
"It is candles, my friend, candles. Do you compre-
hend now ?

" Perfectly, Sire.
"Nesselrode, you will proceed immediately to the
Mini4er (311. Police. and you will tell him from m• that
a subscription must be instantly opened throughout the
whole of Russia, in order to regale with packets of
candles the soldiers who fight in the Crimea in defence
of the orthodox faith.
Ah ! Sire, the idea is an excellent one—it would
never have occurred to me.

"Oh ± do not fear, I will find many others. But re-
member the subscription must have the same character
of enthusiasm, and the same eagerness as those in Eng-
land and France, otherwise I will send you all to Siberia.
The Invalids Rvsse will publish the list of subscribers,
and it is in this way that I will reply to the cigars of
the French and the puddings of the English ladies. Go,
Nesselrode ; candles and orthodoxy. Lot that be the
motto of the subscribers."

MEDICAL 111 lIT TOR THE .I.llLY.—The
.Royal College
of Surgeons of Edinburgh have issued a notice to medical
students, intimating that thosa whose course of study
would be completed at the end of the present session,
and who intend to apply admission to the army
medical service, may be admitted to examination for the
diploma on or after the 10th of January, provided they
produce a certificate from the Director-General, stating
that it is his intention so to employ
them if found compe-
tent. The !xaminations, however will be as strict and
comprehensive as if the candidates had finished their
course of study.— Glavola Commonwealth.
GENERAL SIR DE LACY EVANS AND HIS ATTEND.
ANTS IN THE CRIMEA. A fact has been mentioned to
us as creditable to the kindness of heart of General
Evans as the bravery he has displayed throughout the
campaign has been to his military character. Previously
to leaving the Crimea he expressed to the men who had
been in immediate attendance upon him as servants tho
great ebligaticns he felt he owed to them—as indeed
all the general officers owed to the same class, for he
felt satisfied that without their constant care and atten-
tion lie should not have been able to bear up against the
severity of the campaign. In testimony, therefore, of
this feeling presented them with 301. each ; and find-
ingtlia h
toneoef them, a native of Roswell, in this county,
had died of dysentry, he has just remitted, through T.
W. Bramston, Esq., the same sum to his mother, with
kind expressions of sympathy—a boon soothing and
peculiarly acceptable at this wiatry 6034011.—Chelmsforci
Chronicle,