The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-31 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN RAILWAY.

The half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of this pro.
posed railway was held yesterday at the Company's
Office, 27, Great George-street, Parliament-street.
W. MALINS, Esq., Chairman of the directors presided,
The SECRETARY having read the report,
The CHAIRMAN, in moving its adoption, availed himself
of the opportunity of explaining the present position of
the company. They had obtained two acts of Parlia-
ment, one authorising their line to begin at the Edgware-
road, and terminate at King's-cross, where it was thought
that the City Railway plan would begin. When, how-
ever, the city plan was withdrawn, the Metropolitan
Company altered their original plan ; and their second
Act of Parliament authorised extensions of their line,
beginning, on the one part, at the Great Western
Terminus, at Paddington, and traversing to the Edg-
ware-road Station, and on the other at King's-cross
Station, and passing through Clerkenwell and Smith-
field to the General Post-office. The company's first
Act of Parliament authorised them to appoint six
directors, but by their second Act they were em-
powered to appoint twelve, one-third of whom the Great
Western Railway Company would have the right to
appoint until the line be completed, after which they-
would relinquish their right to appoint any. The
meeting would now appoint two directors, one of whom
was a director of the Great Northern Railway Company,
and the other a director of the Eastern Counties Com-
pany, and thus the company would be connecting its inter-
ests with those great companies. The accounts were not
at present in a shape to be laid before the meeting ;
but 10 per cent., or three-fourths of the capital were
already in the hands of the Accountant-General, and was
invested in Consols and Exchequer bills, and now bearing
interest at a source of profit. With regard to the pay-
ment of interest upon calls, he might state that the direc-
tors would not make any demand until they saw that
they cleared their way for going to work, when they
would make a call of 10 per cent. for three months, and
they would subsequently stipulate to make 5 per cent.
interest from the time of their railway being made.
Mr. ACTOR ATRTON, deputy-chairman, seconded the
resolution.
The motion was carried unanimously.
Thanks having been awarded to the chairman and d
rectors, the meeting separated.

I?EPORTED LOSS OF NEARLY EIGHT
HUNDRED LIVES.

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The recent overland mail has brought intelligence
which has led to a general belief that two very appalling
shipwrecks have taken place in the Indian seas,
both of which it is feared were attended by a dreadful
sacrifice of life. One of the unfortuiiate vessels is
known to have been a large sized brig called 'the
Hygea, of above 450 tons, which had been bought
up by some speculators for the purpose of using her as
a Chinese passenger or emigrant ship to California. It
appears that she was formerly under the Danish flag.
and bore a different name. She hail been lying at
Whampoa, the last two or three years, and on her
purchase she was sent to Hong Kong in order to be
fitted as a passenger ship, and to be surveyed for the En-
glish flag. She was rejected by the emigration agent, and
she then left as was understood, for Margo. Whether
she went there has not been clearly ascertained; but on
the 31st of May she received on board 508 souls, some
where near the Green Island, and proceeded on her
voyage to San Francisco, her crew consisting of eleven
hands, under the command of Mr. Dribble, the captain.
Nothing more was heard of the movements of the brig.
Last mail brought news of a Chinese emigrant ship,
called the Topaz, having been wrecked upon a reef
known as Pratas sandbank, midway between Formesa
and Hong Kong, and, although many of the pas-
sengers were saved, yet they were cast upon a wild, bar-
ren, and uninhabited island. Tidings were received
at the same time of another vessel having been
seat up.n the island, but no description or account.
of her could be given. On the loss of the Topaz being
made known, and the position of her passengers and
crew, a small schooner called the Victoria, belonging
to Mr. Roberts, shipwright, of Hong Kong, was
despatched to the island on the 15th of June. She
returned to Hong Kong on the 23d, and reported that
the second vessel which had been seen on the rocks was
the brig Hygeia, and that no fewer than 390 had been
left to perish on the wreck. It seemed that the Hy-
geia, after beating about the coast for some days, encoun-
tered a heavy gale from the eastward, and on the night
of Saturday, the lath, she struck upon a reef and be-
came a wreck. Capt. Dribble, with some of the crew and
passengers then left the brig, and having reached the
island, found upon it a number of those who had escaped
from the wreck of the Topaz. Some others on board the
Hygeia succeeded after great difficulty in gaining the
land, but twenty-nine poor creatures, who had taken to a
raft, were carried out to sea, and no doubt perished. On
the schooner reaching the island she took on board all
she could, 147 persons. She had only half a dozen casks
of water to supply such a large number of famished
creatures, her provisions were almost as scanty.
However, she did the best under the circumstances
to save the greatest amount of life, but the melancholy
fact is to be told that when the Victoria left 390
of the emigrants were to be seen on the broadside of the
hull of the wreck under a burning sun, without a particle
of food or a drop of water to sustain life. On the autho-
rities atHongKong being informed of the catastrophe ap.
plication was made to the agent of one of the large steam
navigation companies for the despatch of, a steamer to the
island, and although several were in the harbour none
were forwarded. It is said that the moderate sum of
1,0001, was demanded before a vessel would be allowed
to leave. By the last accounts, the poor creatures were
still left on the wreck ; but little had been done to save
them, and it is feared that the next mail will bring tidings
of their having been starved to death.
The second melancholy loss is supposed to be that
of the British ship Lady Nugent, Captain Banner-
man, chartered by the Governor of Madras, for the
conveyance of the staff and head-quarters of the
25th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry for
Rangoon. The ship sailed from Madras on the
10th of May, having on board tide following officers
and men :—Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson, Lieutenant and
Adjutant Daley, Lieutenant and Quartermaster King,
Lieutenant Rumford, Assistant-Surgeon Simpson, 1 war-
rant officer, 6 native commanding staff officers, 247 rank
and file, 33 public officers, and 56 followers. The Bri-
gadier-General Sir S. W. Steel, K.C.8., was to
have accompanied the troops out, but be sailed in the
Oriental steamer, and has since arrived at Rangoon.
The Lady Nugent has been overdue for a considerable
time, and it is known that she must have encountered
a terrific monsoon three weeks after her depar-
ture. Other ships which have since sailed from
Madras with troops for Rangoon have reached
that port, and it is feared that the Lady Nugent
has foundered with all on board. Later dates from
Rangoon mention that the Government authorities
had despatched steamers from that port, as also from
Calcutta, in quest of the missing ship, but nothing had
been seen or heard of her.

VICEREGAL COURT.—His Excellency the Lord Lieu-
tenant and the Countess St. Germans entertained the
following party at dinner on Saturday, at the Viceregal
Lodge, Phoenix-park :—Colonel Ferrars Loftus, West
York Militia, and Mrs. and Miss Ferrars Loftus ; Lieut.-
Colonel Barnett, West York Militia ; Captain Prothero,
West York Militia, and Mrs. Prothero ; Dean of Leigh-
lin, Mr. Everard, 54th Regiment ; Major Ponsonhy,
Mr. Bagot, Mr. Everard, R. Coate Hutchinson, Capt.
Fraser, A D.C. The Countess St. Germans and suite left
the Vicereval Lodge, Phoenix park, on Monday, at half-
past 12 o'clock, proceeded by railway to Kingstown,
and embarked in the Royal Mail packet for Holyhead,
en mute for Port Elliot, St. Germans.
DISCOVERY OF A HUMAN BODY AT THE ST. ALBAN'S

11ozEr. —Yesterday morning, as the workmen were en-
gaged in pulling down the St. Alban's Hotel, St.Alban's
place, Charles-street, St. James's, they di-covered the
dead body of a child in an old closet of the back-room on
the second floor. It must have been secreted there for
a very long time, as all appearances of flesh were oblite-
rated, and it crumbled beneath the touch. Mr. Fraser,
of 41, Great Marlborough-street, surgeon, was sent for,
but after examining the body, he was unable to discover
anything at all likely to elucidate the cause of death, as
the remains were in the last stage of decay. The late
proprietor of the hotel was in equal ignorance. Informa-
tion had been sent to Mr. Bedford, the coroner for
Westminster. The hotel, along with six of the adjoin.
ing houses in St. Alban's-place, are being removed to
snake way for the new club-house of the United Service
Club. The conjectures are that the body was deposited
there probably 20 years ago.