The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-09 00:00:00

RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS.

LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST RAILWAY.—
Traffic return for the week ending May 6,
1854 £11,946 17 6
Corresponding week last year 11,280 15 7
Total of the half-year to this date, 1854 192,976 15 2
Total of the half-year to this date, 1853 163,280 16 0
LONDON AND SOUTH-EASTERN RAlLWAY.—Traffic re-
turn for the week ending May 6, 1854 £15,425 5 8
Corresponding week last year 13,575 11 3

Increase. in 1854..

£1,H40 14 5

PUBLIC STATUES IN THE METROPOLIS.—Sir W. Moles-
worth's bill for placing the public statues in the metro-
polis under the care and charge of the Commissioners of
Public Works has just been printed. The bill gives the
commissioners powers to repair and protect the statues
by railings, &c., whenever it may be necessary, and
also provides that after the passing of the act no public
statue shall be erected on any public place without the
written assent of the commissioners. The following are
the public statues referred to :—The statues of James
11., in Whitehall-gardens ' • of George Canning, New
Palace-yard ; Charles 1., at Charing-cross ; George 111.,
Pall-mall East ; George IV. and the Nelson Column,
Trafalgar-square ; the statue of the Duke of Wellington
on the arch at Hyde-park-corner ; the Achilles, in Hyde-
park ; the statues of George 11., in Golden-square ; the
Duke of Wellington, on Tower-green ; George 111. at
Somerset-house ; Queen Anne, in Queen-square; the
Duke of Kent, Park-crescent ; George 11., at Greenwich
Hospital • and Charles IL, at Chelsea Hospital.
THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS.-The predictions of
those who prognosticated bad hay and corn harvests in
the west of England are not likely to be realized. The
weather during the past week has been most propitious,
genial showers having fallen almost daily. The wheat
crop in various parts is looking remarkably well, and a
much larger extent has been grown this year than for-
merly. Potatoes have in some instances been injured
by the frost, but, on the whole, they are looking strong
and healthy. There has been a great quantity of apple
blossom, and the general opinion prevails that it has
been little injured by the frost, the weather having been
for some time past very dry ; an abundant supply of
cider is therefore expected. Much anxiety prevailed
some days since as to the hay crop, but in consequence
of the rain which has fallen there seems little doubt that
there will be a plentiful supply. Since the change in
the weather there has been a slight fall in the price of
various articles in many of the markets in Devonshire.
NICARAGITA.—Late advises from Nicaragua give a
striking account of the extent to which the anticipations
expressed four years back regarding the probable pro-
gress of that State have been realised. In 1849, when
attention was recalled to this route from the Atlantic to
the Pacific, via the River San Juan and the Lake of
Nicaragua, the idea of its being found to offer facilities
for the regular transit of passengers was treated by
a large number of those who had professed to give'
attention to the subject as unworthy of considera-
tion. The navigation of the river even in canoes
was alleged to be out of the question, and the
dangers from reptiles, fevers, and earthquakes were
declared to be such as to preclude all attempts to
establish permanet settlements on its banks. In
the face of these assertions, however, as well as of
the fact that a steam company already existed, with
an enormous subsidy from the United States' Go-
vernment for the conveyance of the mails to Cali-
fornia over the old route of the Isthmus of Panama,
a company at New York have contrived to open up
the entire passage, until it has now become not only
the most rapid and regular channel of communica-
tion between San Francisco and the Atlantic ports
of New Orleans and New York, but is also preferred
for the transmission of gold. The result of the tide of
traffic thus introduced is described as having converted
the country from a wilderness into a region which pro-
mises, in point of activity, to present at an early period
a counterpart of some of the thriving districts of the
American Union. "In 1850," it is observed, " there was
not a house between the oceans, except one or two at San
Carlos, a military station. Now there are three flourish-
ing villages, containing more than 1,500 inhabitants,
and the river banks are covered at almost every
eligible spot with haciendas." Of course, one con-
seqnence of this position of affairs has been to put a stop
to the constant revolutions by which the State had been
previously depopulated ; and for the last two or three
years the government appears to have been carried on in
a satisfactory manner. The example seems likewise to
be spreading in the adjoining States, where Americans
are also actively at work in obtaining grants of new
tracts of country, on condition of opening up fresh
means of communication by railways, roads, and other
analagous undertakings.
THE LATE JEWELLERY ROBBERY AT BIRMINGHAM._
Yesterday Thomas Koope, " the Australian merchant,"
remanded from Wednesday last, was again brought
before the borough magistrates at the public-office,
charged with robbing Messrs. Stockton of jewellery to
the amount of between three and four hundred pounds,
No additional evidence was offered on the part of the
prosecution, but it transpired that the surplus articles of
jewellery found in the prisoner's possession when appre-
hended in Manchester, and not identified by Mr.
Stockton, were the products of similar robberies effected
by the prisoner in Liverpool and London. Messrs.
Foxall, of Thavies'-inn, Holborn, were favoured with his
custom the Thursday previous to his visit to Birming-
ham, and Hansbergs, the extensive jewellers of Church-
street, Liverpool, were honoured in a like manner. In
both instances the prisoner gave extensive orders, and
during his dealings adroitly managed to carry off a
valuable booty. Aathese last-mentioned robberies were
however, committed beyond the jurisdiction of the Bir-
mingham magistrates, the evidence was not gone into,
and the prisoner was committed to take his trial for the
robbery committed at the establishment of the Messrs.
Stockton. Mr. Harding, the prisoner's solicitor, re-
served his defence for the dial.
THE DISTRESSED AGRICULTURIST.—" DEEPER AND 1
DEEPER STILL."—We learn from the best authority that
a lot of grass at liintore, which for several years back,
at the annual sale, brought on an average 571., was this
week disposed of for no less than 11)8/. odd !—Aberdeen
Herald, I