The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-29 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 29, 1853.

LAURENT'S GRAND CASINO.
A Rd-I'LL ROOMS, Great Winaill-street,
St. James's,
Lessee, Charles Emile Laurin:, Onslow Nouse, Brompton-road,
Licensed pursuant to Act of Parliament, of 25th George 11.
Open every evening with Laurent's Celebrated Band. Principal
cruet-a-I iston, M. Boulcour.

Admission---ONE SIiTLLING

Doors open at Half-past Eight o'clock, lianeing to commence al
Nine, ens to-rninate at Half-past Eleven precisely.

PLENDID PRIZE PIANOFORTE.—To be
L. 7 disposed of by Shares. Messrs. LAMBERT and Co., inventors
and Makers of the Patent Check Action netteater Pianoforte and
improved Iron acing, 21, Percy-street, Tottenham-court-road,
beg respectuilly to inform the nobility, gentry, and the that
they have still a ftw :hates so dispose of fur the Carved and Gi't
Panoforte, which attracted so much attention, and gained the only
prize awarded to an English Cottage Piano, at the Great Exhihitlun.
The tickets are a guinea each, (tor winch t ost-office orders may be
Fent as above,) and the drawing is expecttd to take place early in
the 3 car. An insection of this magnificent instrument is invited.
—2l, Percy-street, next deo to Tottenham-court-road.

IMPORTANT MEDICAL AND SURGICAL WORKS,
Just publfthed, by H. 13aillIere, 219, Regent-street, Londoi.
No I.

Bvo., in cloth, price 14. to post free, Ss. 6d.,

- -
ON TRUE & FALSE SPERMATORRIECEA,
with the View: o the Correction of wide-spread Errors
In relation to the Treatment and Cure of Sufferers from Debility of the
;eneratiye System, 1r Sexual Hypoehondriasis.
Translated from the German of Dr. PICKFORD

"Dr. Pickforcl ts known to English readers by his frequent practi-
cal contributions to German medical literature. This is the first
rime, he informs us, that he has addressed himself to the noe-medi-
cal reader. We trust this may not be the last, if he shall
detect any other equrlly flagrant evil which it may be in his
rower to correct."—London Medical Gazette, May 30, 1851.
"We promised in a former number that we should recur to this
work, in order to exhibit its aim more clearly. The author lashes
with great severity the impostors who make a livelihood by preying
on the credulity of the public. The tribe of Quiet Symathisers,'
and ' Medical Friends,' are mercilessly exposed; and if this book
could find its way into the hands of those who suffer from th com-
plaint of which it treats, wo are satisfied that many hundreds would
be saved much needless suffering of body and mind, and what is of
less importance, though it is that which the quacks most prize—
much money ......This volume is well qualified to put an end to the
empirical system of treating Spermatorrlieea, and to place the treat-
ment upon a more rational and physiological basis. It is, therefore,
likely to do much good."—Medical Circular, June 16, 1852.

MRS. CIIISHOLM ON FEMALE EMIGRATION.—Last
evening Mrs. Chisholm delivered a lecture on female
emigration at the Sussex Hall, Leadenhall-street, to a
great number of members of the Jewish persuasion, for
whom the lecture was especially intended. Mrs. Chis-
holm, on proceeding to address the meeting, was re-
ceeived with loud cheers. She stated that it was a fact
that rates of wages in Australia' were very high ; and
from letters she had received, nursemaids were getting
25/. a year, and housemaids were 20s. per week. Ladies
in the highest ranks of the colony were obliged to do
their own work.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

LONDON, BRIGHTON, D SOUTH COAST.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yes-
terday at the Bridge--house Hokl, London-bridge, Mr.
S. Laing, M.P., in the chair.
Mr. SLIGHT, the secretary, read the advertisement
convening the meeting, after which the report, an ab-
stract of which has appeared in the San, was taken as
read.

The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
said, he thought it was very satisfactory to them all to
see that the diminution of traffic had been so trifling as
compared with the Great Exhibition year of 1851. The
falling off of traffic had only be 6 about 3,4001_ which
was less than the loss that had been occasioned at Hast-
ings in consequence of the opening of the line from Tun-
bridge-wells to that place. Irrospecave - of. the loss at
Hastings, the elasticity of the traffic op the line had
been maintained in 1852, and th6re was every prospect
at present of the increase being.-not only maintained
but extended ; for the traffic at present was going on
in the most satisfactory manner in every department.
On the other hand, no doubt it had been a source of
disappointment to many that, with the traffic nearly
equal to that of 1851, they had not been able to recom-
mend the same rate of dividend. ' The reasons of that
lay in the increased expenditure, of renewals in keeping
up the stock and road, and the large amount which they
had been unluckily compelled to pay for compensations
during the year. The miscellaneous expense in the
coaching department was made up principally of com-
pensations ; they had to pay in the last half-year no less
than 8,0601. and in the previous half-year 4,4001.,
making a charge of 12,4601. for the year 1852. Now,
with regard to these compensatiens.j he used the term
"unluckily'? advisedly, because he-thought they were eno,

titled to say in these cases, that it had been in a great
measure a piece of bad luck. Those compensations ori-
ginated entirely from two accidents—the one at Ford
Bridge, and the other to the express train near Reigate.
Now, seeing that the public press were such rigid cen-
sors of their proceedings, and very properly so he
thought, and seeing that, as far as he was aware, neither
by the press, nor at the investigations which had taken
place before the magistrates, arising out of those acci-
dents, had any imputation of blame been cast on the
general management, or on any of the superior officers
of the company, he thought they were entitled to con-
sider it a piece of bad luck that they should have been
amerced so heavily in compensations as to those accidents.
Both lof those accident arose from the same cause—
namely, criminal neglect on the part of servants in trans-
gressing distinct and positive regulation with regard to
signals. In the accident at Ford Bridge, the engine-
driver ran past a signal that was exhibited to him, and
came into collision with a goods train ; and the
man felt so strongly the consequences of his own
misconduct, that he made two desperate attempts
to commit suicide. He considered that if any one
was to blame for that accident beyond the engine-
driver, it was the Board of Admiralty, who, when the
line was being constructed, compelled the construction
of a bridge with a single line of rails, instead of a double.
With regard to the Redhill accident, the cause of the
accident was the same. They had gone to the expense
of providing proper signals to guard against that contin-
gency, and there were distinct and positive regulations
as to those signals. When the accident occurred, and
the enginedriver was brought into the box, the first
thing met with was a circular notice, which had been
issued a fortnight before by- the superintendent, calling
especial notice to the signals, and instructing the men to
look on the main line as somethingsacred, and on no ac-
count to be invaded without a proper signal ; and yet,
in the face of that, the man who had been selected with
great care came out from the siding in defiance of the
signal, ran against the express-train, and caused that
serious collision which had so heavily trenched upon the
present dividend. He was anxious to correct some mis-

apprehension with regard to the view which-he qOokOf
these accidents, and of compensation for them, at the
last half-yearly meeting. He had no doubt it was his
fault for not expressing himself as clearly as he should
done, for he had always found de gentlemen of the
press exceedingly painstaking and accurate on these oc-
casions ; but, somehow he was represented to have said
precisely the reverse of that which he did intend to state.
He was reported to have stated it as if he considered the

question of human life as a simple question of money,—
as if it was a question whether we should pay so much
money in making provision against accidents. God
forbid that he, or anybody 'who had anything to do with
railway management, should take that view of the case.
On the contrary, the very thing that he objected to in
the present law was, that it measured the amount of
compensation to be paid by the railway company not by
the degree of moral culpability attaching to the parties,
but simply and solely by the pecuniary circumstances or
the person who suffered by the accident. It might hap-
pen that on one line of railway a third-class passenger
might be killed, under circumstances involving great
blame to the superior-offieers of tho- company, and that
they might all escape scot-free, with some trivial com-
pensation to the extent of 1001. or 2001. On the next
day an accident might take place like that at Redhill,
where the directors and officers had all done their best,
and where, from some cause altogether beyond their con-
trol, an accident happened by which wealthy people
suffered, by which solicitors, stockbrokers, and others,
to whom time was very precious, met with accidents
which laid them up for a time, and by which they
suffered heavy loss, and the company might be called
upon to pay an enormous amount of compensation.
What seemed to • him to be a reasonable principle was,
that in cases of compensation they should distinguish
two portions,—one, which was the punishment for neg-
ligence or misconduct ; the other, which was insurance
against inevitable accident. He thought the law was
deficient, that, as regards the punishment for negligence,
it did not brinc, it home sufficiently to the proper
persons. In the case of the individual engineman
or signalman who occasioned these accidents, they
often escaped with what seemed to him a very
trifling punishment, and if they came to the superior
officers and directors, they escaped altogether in
many cases where there
might be a considerable
amount of blame. He would be perfectly willing, for
one, to take that fair responsibility which he thought
ought to rest upon a director. If it could be shown
that he, from favouritism or jobbing, had put improper
persons in certain situations, or, having put proper
persons, had neglected to take their advice from motives
of false economy, or, from an unworthy desire of popu-
larity with the shareholders, to keep down the expenses,
he had neglected to make provisions to keep up the
stock and the road in the highest state of efficiency, he
thought he ought to be personally responsible if acci-
dents occurred from want of care on his part. But then
he must have a fair trial. He would not be sent before
a jury composed of those gentlemen who favoured them
with their columns in the Sun, or of military en-
gineers, who knew about as much about railways as
he knew about the establishments at Chatham and other
places. But, if there were a proper tribunal composed
of such men as Robert Stephenson, Captain Huish, and
men of that class, placed in a position to administer
justice, he thought there was no railway man who would
object to go before a tribunal like that, and under-
take the fair responsibility of his misconduct ; and
that misconduct ought to weigh upon him equally
whether the person injured by his misconduct was a
poor third class passenger or the Lord Chancellor of
the realm. But, if they went beyond that to the ques-
tion of insurance against accidents,. which were beyond
their control, such, as an accident resulting from an
iron breaking, though selected with the utmost care, or
against the risk of men, though selected with the
ut-
most care, neglecting or forgetting their duties, it
ap-
peared to him somewhat anomalous to apply practically
a different law to railways from that which was applied
to steamboats or other modes of conveyance. With re-
gard to the destruction of the Amazon by fire, there
could be no doubt that that arose from an act of negli-
gence or improper conduct on the part of some servant
of the steamboat company. This was analogous to the
act of one of their servants, when they had laid down
proper regulations, neglecting those regulations and
occasioning an accident ; and yet, who ever heard of a
company, under those circumstances having to pay a
large amount for insurance against the loss incurred on
those risks. If 10s. 6d. to Brighton were a reason-
able and sufficient fare for them to charge a widow
lady of small property, with no relations, involving, in
the case of an occident, an insurance only of 500 i.,
it could not be a proper sum to charge the Lord
Chancellor or the Archbishop of Canterbury, if they
were taking him down in the same train, under the
same circumstances, with an insurance, practically, of
100,0001. against all casualties by the way. He thought
the law was deficient in both those respects. He thought
it was equally deficient in the one direction as in the
other ; both in letting certain offences escape with im-
punity, and in visiting another class of cases, where the
accident had arisen without blame, with an undue seve-
rity. They must see that they were subject to these
extraordinary charges in deduction of their divided ;
they must face the thing manfully, and the only way he
could hope for escape was to strain every nerve for the
prevention of accidents. They had done their best
hitherto, and for the future they must try and do more
than their best. Those accidents to which he had re-
ferred had reduced their dividend between 4s. and 55. per
cent. during the year. The other additional source of
expenditure was the extra amount of renewals. In 1849
he had estimated the probable amount of renewals then
at about 35,000/. for the year, and that upon a less
amount of work done. It was certainly no surprise to
usali ;
as w
and, begihim to find that in 1852 their renewals should cost
36,6001. a-year. As their stock and line got older, a
larger amount of renewals would from time to time be
required. Prices of materials of every description con-
nected with railway workings had risen very materially
late,
of
must look forward to additional expendi-
ture. On referring to the estimate which he made in
1849, he found that on the present amount of traffic
the estimated
on beginning
whole, they to
expenditure would have amounted to
230,0001. a-year, whereas the actual expenditure
affect and
the therate emigration
o f wages v to
ery A
seriously
had been 239,0001. a-year. Considering the altera-
tion of circumstances and prices, he was astonished at
finding his estimate was so near the mark. He believed
that a great many of those scandals in the railway
world which had been imputed to dishonesty had arisen

from directors and shareholders taking a too sanguine
view of things, and not having the moral courage to
look them fairly in the face. (Hear, hear.) The addi-
tional traffic in the year 1852, excluding cartage, was,
compared with that of 1848, in round numbers, 120,0001.
But since 1848 several competing lines had been opened,
which, if they had simply stood still, would have mate-
rially reduced their traffic. The South-Eastern line to
Hastings had taken away 20,0001. or 30,0001. a-year
from the receipts which they enjoyed in 1848. The
South-Western Company had opened a line into Ports-
mouth, which had affected their receipts. The opening
of the Reading, Guildford, and Reigate line had affected
their receipts, and in the whole certainly 30,0001. or
40,0001. a-year had been taken away from them since
1843 by the opening of competing lines. Notwithstand-
ing this they had a positive increase of 120;0001.
a-year ; so that the virtual increase in that period had
been upwards of 150,0001. a-year, or 33 per cent. on the
amount of the traffic in 1848. This increase in the
traffic had arisen from a vast amount of additional work.
The. work done, measured by tho number of miles
run, had increased in round numbers from 1,100,000 to
1,600,000 miles per annum, an increase of about 50
per cent. The number of passengers had increased
from 2,500,000 to 3,500,000. The amount of periodical
tickets had increased from 10,000 to 24,000. The ex-
pence incurred by that process of cultivating the traffic
had increased from 187,000/. to 239,0001., or 52,000/.
This was an increase of 35 per cent. upon the expenses,
and their outlay in the capital account for permanent
expenditure of one sort or other had been 200,0001. more
than it would have been if they had stood still tt
the point at which they were in 1848. In 1848
and 1849, when they found the property in a state of
great depression, it became absolutely necessary for the
directors to decide between the course of policy they

they must ma
Le expenditure,

[own

ins no more accommodation, and taking the natural in-
crease of traffic as it came, or they must adopt the oppo-
site policy of pushing and encouraging the traffic on the
line to the utmost extent, and make the develpment
of the traffic their principal object. They adopted the
latter policy, and increased their expenditure 60,0001..
and gained an increase of 120,0001., and made up a loss
of 30,0001. taken away by competing lines, so that on
the whole they bad gained 150,0001. in revenue by an
increase of 60,0001. in the annual expediture, of which
8,0001. consisted of interest on additional outlay on
capital account. The increase came from three sources
—the London and Brighton proper, the Croydon traffic,
and the goods traffic. They bad spared no expense to
accommodate this traffic, and the result had been that
the Brighton traffic had increased from 119,1021. to
157,1961., being a gain of 38,0001.; the Croydon traffic
from 51,471/. to 71,217/. being an increase of 20,746.;
while the goods traffic had increased from 70,0331. to
127, 463 i., or an increase of 57,000/.; making a total in-
crease of 122,2631., which was more than the total in-
crease of the whole traffic. Nothwithstanding their
increased expenditure, they had increased their dividend,
and raised the value of their shares from a heavy discount
to considerably above par. The Croydon traffic had
now reached to a point which made it difficult to acco-
modate the traffic with safety and convenience on the
present line of rails. They could not continue to develope
that traffic without a fourth line of rails from London-
bridge to the Croydon junction. He then adverted to
the increase in the estimate for the works from 200,000/.
to 250,0001., and stated that there was a prospect of
very considerable increase of traffic during the present
year, and if the increase should amount to 40,0001., he
expected that 20,000/. of it would be profit. After some
observations with regard to the probable reduction of
interest on some of their loans from 5 to 3i per cent.,
the purchase of land at the London-bridge station for
20,0001., and other matters, he concluded by stating
that he would retire from his position of managing di-
rector, and resign the salary of 1,5001. a-year, in conse-
quence of the state of his health and other matters lately
rendering it imposstble for him to devote so much time
to their affairs as he had promised on taking office, but,
at the same time, he would do his utmost to promote
their interests while he retained his seat at the board.
He then moved the adoption of the report and state
ment of accounts.

Mr. SCHUSTER seconded the motion.
In reply to a question,
The CHAIRMAN stated, that the company would not
have to pay more for the branch lines to East Grinstead

and Bognor than 2,0001. and 1,2001. per annum. —.An;
excess of cost above the estimates would be at the risk

of the persons making the lines; the Brighton Company
would have only to pay the stipulated rent.
A PROPRIETOR did not believe that the passenger
traffic on the East GrinstCad branch would exceed 6571.
per annum, which would be all they would have towards
the 2,000/, a year.
Mr. HERAPATH said, it appeared from the census that
East Grinstead contained 3,600 inhabitants, and that the
whole male population was about 700. The proposed
rent would be 2,0001. a year, and the working expenses
of the line would not be less than 3,5001.; they would
have to receive on that branch 5,500/, per annum on the
seven miles before they would get one penny by the
transaction. That sum would amount to 81. per man in
East Grinstead, and he thought it very unlikely that the
inhabitants could afford to pay that sum for traffic on
the line. It was all very well for the contractors to get
a guarantee on the outlay, but the bargain could not be
profitable for the Brighton shareholders. With regard
to the Bognor line, the rent and working expenses would
amount to 4,2001. per annum, or at the rate of 421. per
man. If they went on making branch lines in that way
the effect would be to reduce the dividend.

Mr. SCHUSTER said it was quite a mistake to suppose
the traffic was so limited, because a great many persons
visited Bognor as a watering-place.
Mr. HERAPATH complained of the increase in the ex-
penditure, and that it did not accord with the estimate
made by the chairman in 1849. At that time he esti-
mated that for every addition to the gross traffic receipts
the additional working expenses would amount to only
25 per cent. of the increased traffic. The increase in the
receipts had been 81,0001., and, instead of the additional
expenses being 20,0001., as estimated, they were 53,0001.
He also perceived that the receipts for the past year were
4,0001. less than those of the preceeding year, and the
expenses were 10,0001. more. He understood that this
had been caused by laying aside old engines and using a
number of new engines two or three years ago, and they
now required heavy repairs. This made the expenses
appear light at first, but they were now becoming
heavier. -

Mr. SCHUSTER believed they had now as many engines
at work on the line as ever they had, and they were
always being renewed.
Mr. HERAPATH said, if that were the case, the Brighton
company had a larger number of engines at work on
their line than any other company, for .they averaged
three to every two miles. He wished to know how
many engines they had now at work on the line ?
The CHAIRMAN said they had about 10 engines not
in use, and that they also had a reserve, and on an ave-
rage for every engine in steam they had one in the shop
undergoing repairs. _

Mr. MA—unisLAY said he was told that the outlay for
the accommodation of the Crystal Palace Company
would amount to 150,0001., instead of 75,0001., as for-
merly estimated. He thought the directors ought to
have taken every precaution to obtain a correct estimate
of the outlay before coming to the shareholders for any
specific sum. He thought the Brighton Company should
be entitled to 4 per cent. on the whole of their outlay for
the Crystal Palace Company before that company paid
any of their expenses.
. Mr. J. WILSON moved an amendment, to the effect
that the report be received and approved, except so much
of it as referred to leasing the East Grinstead and Bognor
lines, which the shareholders believed to be undesirable.
Mr. WOOD seconded the motion.
Admiral KELLY said, all they had heard with respect
to the population and produce of the branches was totally
erroneous. He was well acquainted with the district
through which the line was intended to pass, and there
were several populous places in the vicinity that required
accommodation. The line could be extended to Tun-
bridge-Wells and other places, and there could be no
doubt a large traffic would come on the line, and he
hoped the proprietors would pause before they supported
the amendment.

Mr. BELL thought when they found the landlords of
the district coming forward to have the line made, and
willing not only to sell their land at its agricultural
value, but to provide the money to construct the line,
they ought to give them every assistance in their power.
Mr. Alderman WILSON believed there was scarcely a
branch line anywhere that paid, and it was well known
that branch lines had been the ruin of railway companies.
He thought it would be better for the company to put
up to auction all the branch lines they had than to con-
tinuo to work them. If they had kept to the main line
they would have dividends of 20 per cent. at the present
period. He then alluded to the purchase of the shares
in the Chichester branch line, by which the former direc-
tors made a large sum of money by amalgamating with
the Brighton Company. He regretted that the chair-
man was about to retire and leave them the legacy of an
unclosed capital account. It appeared now, instead of
closing the capital account at 7,200,000/. they were to
add some 400,0001: to it, in order to develope the traffic
of the district. This was the time for the proprietors to
say "No" to the proposition. and thus save endless ex-
pense. (Hear, hear.) It was a serious matter, after 17
years' experience and the outlay of 7,300,000/., that they
could only obtain a dividend of 41. 4s. per cent.
The CHAIRMAN then replied to the several observations
made by the proprietors, in the course of which he de-
fended the policy pursued by the directors, which was to
go on extending accommodation to the public and the
district through which their line passed, and the result
would be, in every case, increased traffic. With regard
to his estimate of the increased traffic and expenditure,
they would find that the expenses amounted, for 1852,
to 230,0001., but the actual amount of expenses were
239,0001., which included 12,0001. paid for compensa-
tion for accidents on the line, which he did not antici-
pate at the time of making the estimate.
The amendment proposed by Mr. J. Wilson was then
put to the meeting, when there appeared 47 in favour of
it and 50 against it. The amendment was consequently
lost. _ _

The report was then adopted, and a dividend ;,t the
rate of 2/. 12s. per cent. for the half-year was declared.
The retiring directors, Messrs, Lushington, Nix, and

[ PRICE SD.

Schuster, were re-elected, and also Mr. J. Reeves, the
retiring auditor.
On the motion of Mr. STERRY, 1,800/. was voted to
the directors, leaving it to them to pay such portion of
it to the chairman as they might determine.

A PROPRIETOR gave notice of a motion at the next
meeting for the discontinuance of Sunday traffic on the
railway. (Laughter.)
The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the
chairman and directors.

RAILWAY• BILLS ON STANDING ORDERS.
The standing orders have been declared to be com-
. _

plied with in the following cases:—
. CITY TERIfINUS RAILWAY.—We are happy to state
that Mr. Pearson's sche:ne yesterday passed the Stand-
ing Orders COMlliittee.
MANCHESTER AND SOUTHPORT—For enabling the corn
pany th alter their line, to construct branches, abandon
portions of the undertaking, and extend the period for
the purchase of lands and completion of works.
CALEDONIAN—For a connecting branch with the
Edinburgh and Glasgow, near Glasgow ; branches to
Greenock and Port Glasgow Harbours ; for extension
of the Glasgow, Earrhea,d, and Neilston to Crofthead ;
erection of hotel, warehouses, and offices at Glasgow ;
and funding of debenture debt.

THE PEACE CONFERENCE AT MANCHESTER.

Od Thursday evening a meeting of the Peace Confer-
erence was held in the Corn Exchange, Hanging-ditch,
Manchester—Mr. George Wilson occupying the chair.
Mr. COBDEN, who was heartily cheered on rising to
speak, said—The outcry that we hear in this country
about an. won from France. is kvelled avainst the