The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-22 00:00:00

BELFAST AND COUNTY DOWN.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held at
Belfast on Thursday. Mr. Guy Stone, J.P., Comber,
occupied the chair.
The CHAIRMAN submitted the half-yearly report,
which set forth that during the last half-year 165 shares
had been declared forfeited, upon which calls had been
paid to the amount of 9701. The directors congratu-
lated the proprietors on the satisfactory state of the
company's affairs, and they had every reason to anti-
cipate a further improvement when the resources of the
line were more fully developed in connexion with the
proposed extension. It was the intention of the di-
rectors to submit to the consideration of the shareholders
a recommendation for the extension of the railway from
Comber to Downpatrick, by the towns of Saintfield,
Crossgar, and Ballynahinch.
The CHAIRMAN moved that the report and accounts
be received and adopted.
Mr. W. R. ANKETEL seconded the motion, which was
unanimously agreed to.
Mr. GREEN moved that the meeting approve of and
adopt the recommendation of the directors for the exten-
sion of the line from Comber to Downpatrick, by Saint-
field and Crossgar, with a branch to Ballynahinch, and
that the directors be authorised to take all such pro-
ceedings as they may think expedient to obtain from
Parliament the necessary powers.
Mr. BRISTOW seconded the motion, which passed nem.
con.

The business having been completed, the meeting
separated.

RAILWAY TRAFFIC.

It appears from a comparitive summary in a Parlia-
mentary return of traffic upon all the railways in the
United Kingdom during the half-year ended Dec. 31,
1852, that the total number of passengers conveyed was
49,886,1234, of which 5,859,214 were first class,
17,524,0514 second class, 26,484,866 third class and
Parliamentary, and 17,991 holders of periodical tickets.
The receipts for the first class passengers amounted to
1,308,9721.; for second class to 1,630,3481.; for third class
and Parliamentary to 1,30,902/. ; and 54,6121. from pe-
riodical ticket-holders ; making a total of 4,360,1681. for
passengers, and 4,490,1051. for goods, cattle, parcels,
and mails. Total, 8,850,2731.
The total receipts for the corresponding period of
1851 amounted to 4,580,827/. for passengers, and
3,667,1101. for goods, parcels, cattle, and mails —total,
8,247,9371., showing an increase co/602,336/. in favour
of 1852. The increase in the goods traffic amounted to
822,995/. ; but there ivas a decrease in the receipts for
passengers of 220,6591., in consequence of the increased
passenger traffic to and from the Great Exhibition. The
number of passengers conveyed in the half-year ending the
31st of December, 1851, amounted to 47,509,392, being
less for every class by 2,376,731 passengers than the num-
ber conveyed during the half-year ending the 31st of De-
cember, 1852. This shows that each passenger in 1851
must have travelled a greater number of miles. The
number of miles of railway open on the 31st of Decem-
ber, 1851, was 6,890, and on the 31st of December, 1852.
7,336, showing an increase of 446 miles. The total re-
ceipts for traffic on 5,650 miles of railway in England
and Wales during the half-year ending the 31st of
December, 1852, amounted to 7,624,4491., of which
3,746,6221. was for passengers, and 3,877,8261. for
goods. The total receipts on 978 miles of railway in
Scotland amounted to 854,8671., of which 371,068/.
was for passengers, and 483,7991. for goods. The total
receipts on 708 miles of railway in Ireland amounted to
370,3561., of which 242,4761. was for passengers, and
128,4801. for goods. The total increase in the receipts
on the English and Welsh lines for the half-year amount
to 452,898/. ; on the Scotch lines to 82,1901. ; and, on
the Irish railways, to 67,2471. Out of the 49,886,123
passengers conveyed on railways in the United King-
dom, 40,552,704 were conveyed on railways in England
and Wales; 5,828,758 on railways in Scotland, and
3,504,661 on railways in Ireland.
The aggregate mileage travelled by 453,610 passenger
trains in England and Wales was 14,269,365 miles, and
by 201,518 goods trains 10,997,133 miles, during the
half-year ending the 31st of December, 1852. The ag-
gregate mileage travelled by 82,617 passenger trains in
Scotland was 1,900,459, and by 50,107 goods trains
1,820,179 miles. The aggregate mileage travelled by
53,961 passenger trains in Ireland was 1,230,042 miles,
and by 6,844 goods trains 292,293 miles.
The return shows that eight railway companies in
England and Wales have not furnished complete re-
turns to the Board of Trade, upon whose railways
69,821 passengers trains had travelled 679,991 miles,
and 5,309 goods trains 129,444 miles. - Three railway
companies in Scotland have not furnished complete re-
turns, upon whose lines 11,038 passenger trains had
travelled 488,198 miles, and 8,301 goods trains 566,790
miles ; and on one Irish line a complete return has not
been made, although it appears the number of passenger
trains run, during the half-year, was 14,720, and the
mileage travelled 88,212 miles.

TRIAL OF THE RIVAL REAPING MACHINES.

The following is the official award of the judges ap-
pointed to inquire into the merits of the various reaping
machines exhibited at the last meeting of the Agricultural
Society at Gloucester.

ADJOURNED TRIAL OF' REAPING MACHINES SELECTED AT
THE GLOUCESTER MEETING, ON THE FARM OF MR.

PHILIP PIISEY, PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY.

In making their award, the judges regret that, after
having tested the reaping machines at Gloucester upon
rye unripe, and consequently unfit for harvesting, they
have now again been compelled (at this adjourned trial),
from two days' extremely wet weather, to test the ma-
chines selected upon corn in such a state as, under ordi-
nary circumstances, would not have been cut ; they,
however, have given the different reapers as full a trial
as possible upon wheat, barley, oats, and beans ; and,
after carefully testing their merits, have unanimously
awarded the society's prize of 201. to Messrs. Crosskill's
"Bell's Reaper."

They also- "highly commend" Messrs. Burgess and
Key's reaper, upon M'Cormick's principle ; and they
" commend" Messrs. Dray and Co.'s reaper, upon Hus-
sey's principle.
The judges have the satisfaction of reporting that a de-
cided improvement has taken place in the working of the
reaping machines brought under their notice; they are,
nevertheless, of opinion that by a combination of certain
elements which exist in the various machines exhibited,
there might be produced one surpassing anything hitherto
brought before the public. Such an implement might be
made to unite the advantages of simplicity in construction,
greater durability, lightness of draught, and reduction in
price, with the thorough capability of being more easily
managed by the agricultural labourer.
WM. FISHER HOBBS, Steward of Field
Implements.
C. E. Amos, Consulting Engineer.
HENRY J. HANNAN,
WM. WOODWABD, Judges.
.1-MPH DRUCE,
Pusey, Berke, Aug. 17, 1853.

ROYAL ARTILLERY.—WOOLWICH, Aug. 19.—The
following comparies have been placed under orders for
foreign service or the stations in the West Indies, viz.,
Captain Murray D. Nixon's Company, 2d battalion, to
proceed to Bermnda, to relieve Capt. H. W. Montresor's
Company, 6th battalion, at that station since August 2,
1845 ; Capt. A. H. Graham's Company, 4th battalion,
to proceed to Earbadoes, to relieve Capt. H. Austin
Turner's Company, Ist battalion, at that station since
October 11, 184 E ; Capt. Powrie Ellis's Company, Bth
battalion, to proceed to Jamaica, to relieve Captain
George R. Barkor's Company, 6th battalion, at that
station since October 11, 1848. The companies were to
have left Woolwich and proceeded by railway to Ports-
mouth on the 25th inst., and embarked on board the
"Vulcan steam troop-ship at that port, but their departure
from the garrison here is postponed until the first week
in September, as the Vulcan has some repairs to be ef-
fected, which will require that extension of time before
she 19 ready for sea. The Vuloan will bring home the
relieved companies from the West India Islands.
FOREIGN CATTLE.—The returns of the importation of
live stock during the past week from the continenta,l
states of Europe, show so great an increase on even the
largest previous supplies of the kind as to be quite re-
markable. Upwards of 17,000 head of live cattle of
various kinds were imported in the week into the port
of London from foreign states, comprising nearly 12,000
sheep, which alone equal the number of what have
usually been the largest supplies of the whole quantity
of stock of every kind, in the time, from abroad on pre-
vious occasions. Several hundred head of oxen and
cows, and a large number of calves and lambs, com-
pleted the whole quantity brought on this occasion,
which, we believe, exceeds by several hundreds any for-
mer supply of the kind from abroad. As usual, the
principal portion of these importations was from Holland,
the remainder being from the Hanseatic States, and, to
a small extent, from Belgium ; and they must have
formed an important portion of the supplies to the me-
tropolitan market.