The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-26 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION.

DIONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS

(TUESDAY EVENING.)
TIMES.—By advices f:om Hamburgh the price of
gold is 427 per mark, whic'i, at the English Mint price
of 31. 17s. 10id. the (ine: for standard gold, gives an
exchange of 13. 6, and the exchange at Hamhurgh on
London at short being 13. 5 it follows that gold is 0.47
per cent. dearer at Hamburgh than in London.
The premium on gold at Paris is 7 per mine, which,
at the English Mint price of 81. 17s. 10/d. the ounce for
standard gold, gives an exchange of 25. 32:;,, and the
exchange at Paris on Londoa being 25. 10, it follows
that gold is 0.90 per cent. dearer at Paris than in Lon-
don.
The course of exchange at New York on London is
107 per cant., and the par of exchange between Eng-
land and America being 109 23 40 per cent., it follows
that the exchange is 2.57 per cent. against England.
More business has taken place than usual at the
Stock Exchange in anticipation of the settlement of
the account, which stands for the 27th instant, and
this arises very much from the character of the account,
a great portion of which has been conducted by the
means of options. To-morrow, which is the day pre-
vious to the general settling-day, is the day especially
devoted to the settlement of options, and hence great
difficulty arises until the options are actually declared,
in ascertaining the real state of the account, and
whether the speculations for the rise or the fall predo-
minate. The more experienced jobbers anticipate no
scarcity of stock, but rather the contrary, as there have
been indications, within the last few days of sales by
the public. The amount of continuation would of itself
almost establish this fact in the present state of the
market. Nevertheless, it is necessary for the transac-
tions of tomorrow to be completed before the true
state of the account can be known.

Several holders of the certificates or " titulos" given
to the British Legions of Spain complain of the unjust
usage they have received at the hands of the Spanish
representative in this country. It is well known that
the sum of 50,000/. has been sent to London to pay
the first instalment (one-sixth) of the debt due to the
claimants. In the advertisement which declared that
payment of this first instalment would commence on the
28th of July certain regulations were announced, which
had nothing to do with the admission of claims, but
which were merely made for the purpose of facilitating
business. According to these, the original holders were
to be attended to first, and to be paid on the production
of their certificates, till the 19th inst. After that day,
the holders of the certificates by endorsement were to
send in their certificates for examination, and after the
expiration of six days, and on certain days in the week,
these certificates were to be paid likewise. All this
seemed perfectly just ; the only distinction made be-
tween the two classes of payments was, that one was
to be paid a few days before the other, and, as this did
not seem to compromise any claim, no one would have
suspected unfairness. However, on the 20th of August,
the day after the time particularly appropriated to the
original holders, had expired, another advertisement ap-
peared, in which General Alava stated, that in conse-
quence of an injunction issued by the Vice-Chancellor
to restrain the payment of " certain certificates" by
reason of legal questions of title arising between the
original holders and the endorsees, and also of various
notices signed by persons to whom certificates had been
delivered, requirinc, that the present holders should not
be paid, no further payments, except to the original
holders or their representatives, would be made " until
further notice." The consternation of the endorsees of
the certificates at such an announcement may easily be
imagined. Persons who had for a valuable considera-
tion purchased documents, declared on the face of them
to be negotiable, were told, when the very money to
which they were entitled was lying in store for them,
and they had been already invited to participate in it,
that they were not to touch a penny until " further no-
tice." Thus they at once saw their property reduced
to a mere cipher at the moment when they had every
reason to expect its realization.

POST.—A letter, in the form of a pamphlet, has
been addressed by Mr. Henry Fairbairn to the Share-
holders of the Southampton Railway, on " The prac-
ticability and expediency of carrying merchandise by
horse-power, without impeding the present arrange-
ments of the steam locomotive passenger trains." Mr.
Fairbairn considers that the charge adopted by the
Company for the conveyance of goods might be re-
duced, by the proposed application of horse-power,
about five hundred per cent., the rate of one half-
penny per ton per mile being sufficient to cover ex-
penses, and to ensure the proprietors a much more con-
siderable revenue than they can hope to derive at the
exorbitant charge of threepence per ton per mile. It
appears to have been assumed, in one of the reports
of the Directors, that goods carried by sea from South-
ampton to London by the railroad shall be at the
charge of 19s. 311. per ton for the 77 miles, whereas the
freight by sea is only 7s. 6d. per ton ; whence it is clear.
as Mr. Fairbairn observes, that no heavy commodities,
such as coal, lime, slate, stone, and numberless other
articles, can be conveyed to the metropolis through the
former medium. Mr. Fairbairn has a variety of plans
for the introduction of his new principle, in connection
with the railway. One of these, for instance, is, that
horses should be placed upon the line for the conveyance
of merchandise during the night, " turn-outs," or side
railways, being constructed at various points by means
of which they nny make their temporary exit before the
commencement of the ordinary steam traffic in the morn-
ing. \Ve have not time to go in into the numerous &tails
which he brings to bear upon the subject. He, how-
ever, makes the necessary reference to the coal mines
in different parts of England Wales, to the purposes of
which he conceives the Southampton Railway is espe-
cially adapted, in the event of horsepower being em-
ployed in conjunction with steam, inasmuch as the ready
supply of chalk or chalkstooo that might always be
provided at the Southampton terminus of the line would
afford Welsh and other vessels frequenting Southamp-
ton a return cargo of a most valuable description not
now to be obtained. Chalk is, it seems. It very desirable
material in the irou foundries, being equally useful with
limestone in the smelting, in which process 15 cwt. of
lime is required for every ton of iron made. Its utility
in agriculture needs no pointing out, and it is as-
sumed that in Northumherland and elsewhere an ex-
tensive demand for it might be created. The convey-
ance of stone, slate, timber, agricultural produce, and
cattle will, it is taken for granted, give unlimited
occupation to the line under the new system. The
effect upon the works of the railway seems to be the
great matter to be considered. Upon this point Mr.
Fairbairn finds that there would be an advantage in the
substitution of horses for the ste,:m-engine, since the
whole weight of the motive power, ny which derange-
ment to the rails and sleepers is produced, will be re-
moved, the horse touching only the centre of the road.
He thinks, and so do we, that the public would wil-
lingly dispense with some portion of the velocity by
which steam travelling is distinguished—that a reduc-
tion, of fares would !.)e deemed a satisfactory compensa•
tion for a certain sacrifice of time—and that, if the
rate of passage be made 33. 6d. from Southampton to
London, as he could afford to make it upon the new
plan, the number of p ;ssengers will be increased
co twenty times the present number. The perpetual
trampling of horses in one track might cause so much
destruction to the centre of the line as to diminish the
security of the rails, and produce an accumulation of
mud and sand, but this, it is thought, would be obviated
by placing within it planks, brickwork, asphaltum, and
other durable materials.
Whether Mr. Fuirbairn's scheme be or be not re-
ducible to practice we shall not undertake to say ; but
he has at all events, c:;pounded it with great clearness
and cleverly as, his opinions on that head being fortified
by an amazing col:ection of details touching the eco-
nomy of the change as well to the Company as to the
public ; and the shareholders of the Southampton Rail-
way, whether they avail themselves of them or not, aro
deeply indebted to him for his suggestions.

BERAI.D.—The papers received from Mexico by
tht, packet Tyrian do not cot a favourable impres-
sion of the state of parties atvedyaffairs in that country.
The success of the federalist n would seem to be
a'l but conzummated so fapri:acias.rtrlt.e subjugation of the
state of Yucatan and its
rsgeepnitraa
badi on fromove r
rt
uh
ne
Mexican Union. For the '
Campeche, forming its sea-board gulf of Mexico,
and the far most important and richest department of
the province, from the richness and abundance of its
prizeable woods and other prodoutfeheel.e‘susniollnil, Choonwqeuveesrt
.
or secession of Yucatan from
maomdent, on
would perhaps be a matter
account of the scantiness ofitsp.otpsuglraetaiotn
distance n
toPaatiffrrnoi paucity
of its means of annoyance, with ;
the capital, but for the evidence it would seem
of the weakness of the central Government in its ord
ina-
bility to despatch some trifling reinforcements fortheseliel of the places besieged or districts invaded,
although it was sufficiently evident that an additional
force of one or two thousand men would have been
amply sufficient to put down the insurrection and dis-
-IKrse the miserable band of insurgents. Thus the most
important place of all Campeche was beleaguered by the
federal insurgents, and although assaulted with superior
forces was defended with great spirit by a feeble garris-
son, which however for want of succour was compelled to
agree on a capitulation it appears, by which unless relieved
within a certain time the place was to be given up to
the besiegers. After all, Yucatan is not Mexico, and
its entire separation and independence would inflict no
great damage perhaps now, whatever might be the
else hereafter, tor, as before observed, it is a poor and
thinly Populated country, and adds neither to the
strength nor resources of the republic at tho present
time, however susceptible of development and extension
hereafter. Besides, these
thehese little rebellions and temporary
spas among partsaaliy of
and union have been so frequent,
e nod arc so suddenly patched up again by
some sort of compromise understanding with the dis-
a:dents for valuable considerations,nr
cular score little peril to that on that parti-
dteintegrity of the republic
need perhaps be apprehen

SUN.—We have still to notice considerable hen.
viness, and even a downward tendency in the rates