The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-27 00:00:00

Commercial
Ratcliffe

6,843
3,421

Independent
Poplar • •• • 6,215
From this it appears that the duty thus yiolded by
the metropolitan companies would 1, nearly 123,000/.,
and still leave the companies in possession of a surplus
profit of 457,5001. It may be interesting to show,
from one of the companies (take the Imperial, for
instance), how these large profi's are produced. The
yearly consumption of coals by the Imperial Company
is 51,100 tons, which produce 63,875 chaldrons of
coke, less 31,938 chaldrons, which produce 14s.
per chaldron, or 22,356/. 12,.; 51,100 tons of coal
t;roduce 485,450,000 cubic feet of gas, from which
must be deducted one-fourth as entire loss, there not
being more than three- fourths sold to consumers,
making the residue 364,088,500 cubic feet of gas, at
64. per 1,000 feet, making 109,226/. 10s. The same
quantity of coal also produces 613,200 gallons of tar.
at lid. per gallon, 3,8321. 10s.; and 562,100 gallons
of ammonia, at ld. per gallon, 2,342/. Is. 8,1., making
the total produce of 51,100 tons of coal amount to
137,7571. 14s. Bd., from which must be deducted
40,880/. for the coals, at 16s. per ton, and 6,887/. 18s.
63. for a dividend, at i per cent., from the profits,
which is about 15 per cent. on the oaid-up capital,
after which there is a surplus profit of 76,213/. 9s 2d.
The proposed duty of Is. per 1,000 cubic feet would
product. from this company alone 18,204/., after pay-
ing which, they would still have a surplus of 58,099/.
19s. 2d. for a dividend among the shareholders.

FRESHET IN JAMES RIVER.
IMMENSE DESTRUCTION OF PROPEtiTY.
We have to record the greatest freshet in James River
that has occurred since 1795. On Thursday morning
the water in the river near the city was discovered to
be rising quite rapidly. The water continued to rise
during the whole of Thursday night and Friday
morning reached to an alarming height, overflowing
the numerous islands, and threatening destruction to
property bordering on the banks of the river for miles.
At an early hour yesterday morning the bridge
which connected Vauxhall's Island with Mayo's long
bridge was carried off, leaving several inhabitants of
the island entirely without the means of getting from
their perilous situation. Nor did the main bridge
itself escape, for we have also to record the fact that
Mayo's bridge has been entirely carried away. A
portion of the bridge on the south side of the toll-
house was swept off about twelve o'clock, and in an
hour afterwards the entire span, reaching from the
Richmond side to the island, on which the toll-house
stands, was also taken down the rushing tide, carry-
ing on it seven persons, none of whom, however, were
harmed.

No one can possibly form an idea of the vast
amount of damage done to property by this unex-
pected overflowing, and we have the strongest appre-
hensions that the freshet has not occurred without the
loss of life. Up to this time, however, we have heard
of n• one who has perished.
We understand that during the night of Thursday,
or early yesterday morning, the steamer Alice,
undergoing repairs at Rocketts, was torn from her
moorings, and carried down the river with several
hands on board. The boilers, we learn too, had been
taken out, and therefore those on the steamer were
unable to get up steam or to guide the vessel. The
other James River boat, the Curtis Peck, went in
pursuit of the Alice, aad ere this, we hope, has over-
hauled her.

At the time of writing, we learn the river is still on
the rise, and the water has backed up so as to sub-
merge a portion of Cary and Franklin states, and fill
to overflowing a large nun.ber of cellars in the vicinity
(f the Old-market.—Richmond (U. S.) Republican,
Nov. 27.

FIRE AND Loss OF LIFE IN DRURY-LANE.—Last
evening, about seven o'clock, a fire broke out at No. 2,
Drury-lane, in the occupation of Mr. smith, by which
one child Was burned to ch ath, and another had a very
narrow escape. It appears that the first floor was let to
a carpenter named Chalcroft, who was engaged at the
Mary lehone Theatr• in getting the pant.anitne com-
plete i. Mrs. Chalcroft, having occasion to go out lot a
few minutes, left her two children, one three years old
and the other four or five months, in the room. The
latter was in bed asleep, but the latter was running
about the apartment. Shortly after the mother had gone
out, the inmates of the house were alarmed by violent
screams, proceeding from the first floor front. They
attempted to open the dual., but it being locked they
were unable ; an alarm of fire was therefore given, and
almost immediately Sergeant Corr and several constables
of the F division came up and broke open the door, when
a most distressing scene presented itself : the furniture
in the room was burning fiercely, and in one corner was
the eldest child, completely enveloped in flames, life
being quite extinct. Whilst the parties were attempting
to extinguish the fire about the bed, not being aware that
another child was therein, the mother entered and rushed
through the smoke and pulled the infant out ; it was
found to be uninjured.
" MURDERING" A MONKEY.—(From the Wor-
cester Herald.)—A large monkey, which for eight years
had lived in the possession of Mr. Badgery, skinner, St.
John's, about a fortnight ago took it into his head to view
the world on a larger scale than that within the narrow
circle of the skin-yard. Since then, up to last Wednes-
day, he led a free and roving life among the gardens and
back yards of St. John's, where he contrived almost
hourly to frighten some male or female liege subject of
our Sovereign lady nearly into fits, by his intense like-
ness, in their excited imaginations, to a certain person
who shall be nameless. Only a night or two before poor
Jocko's death, be was disporting as monkeys only can
sport, among the branches of an old ivy bush that covered
the rear of a house, belonging to a respectable parish-
ioner. He swung himself about in many an eccentric
gyration, holding on the while by the tendrils of the
plant, his body swinging to and fro in the darkness like
some uncouth demon in Hades, exercising a new pair
of bat-winged contrivances previous to es-sying a murky
flight to upper air. While engaged in this pastime an
old lady appeared on the scene, and no sooner had she
come within his reach than Jocko dropped on her
shoulder, saluting her with many an uncouth grin and
mow. The affrighted matron escaped with the infliction
of a fit of intense terror, and Jocko betook himself, by
way of variety, to a scamper over the tiles and
chimney-pots of the adjacent buildings. It appears that
it having been found impossible to take the creature
alive, it was determined to rid the neighbourhood of a
pest by destroying it. In the first place a largo and
howling.mo ey
spooownerhfaudl
tbhuoll bestt e r r
oi
fe r t hwe asd
Another terrier, weighing 241b5., was let at him, and it
osge,twohnichhirmeireaTtehde
is probable would have shared the same fate had the
men engaged in the combat given the monkey a chance.
As it happened, however, they shot it with a gun, and
while the dog was worrying it, dispatched it by repeated
blows of a cudgel. The poor animal was thus rather bar-
barously done to death, in place of being slaughtered in
a merciful and sportsmanlike manner.
PROPOSED SUB-MARINE EXPLOSION ON THE
THAMES.—A petition from the Treasurer of the Temple
has been under the consideration of the Navigation
Committee of the City of London, as to the injury that
is likely to befal this locality by the great explosion
about to be made in removing a large shoal in the middle
of the river, immediately opposite the Temple .gardens,
It is understood that one or two of the City surveyors
have inspected the buildings, and the result of their ex-
amination may be gleaned from the circumstance that
the corporation have decided that the " blowing-up
i 01
hast
3wf Captain
pi
tarabr
nnot
ewmle,oeiesxnyhpeelßarilsaitochi
nmletstp,rhei adaa rrler
already
harbour-
master, must take its course, and it is expected that it will come
Off in the early :part of the week. The shoal extends
someni aavlitge
navigation
2:
Waterlooiooohn
has, by
dt3bhcOeeos
mr,fieveseeantrnd.ms
succeeded in removing several shoals below bridge, and
he fully anticipates effecting his object in this present
instance without injuring the buildings on the banks.
OPENING OF THE CALEDONIAN RAILWAY.—The
opening of this important railway, as a through line ):
communication between London and Edinburgh, may
now be announced •as an event on the very eve of con-
summation: and as the best evidence of our authority
for this intimation, we have only to state the fact, that
engineer of the company at Carlisle, accompaniaon Friday, the 17th curt., Mr. Addison, the resident
their friends, performed
the contractors, and a party o
Mr. Mold, chief agent of Messrs. Stephenson and Co.,
the journey between Carlisle and Edinburgh in one of
carriages, which had arrived from Euston square, the
only interruption experienced having proceeded from the
the Lordon and North-Western Company's first-class
workmen on the line, who had assembled at some points
h • " which they accordingly
did in good style. The line to Glasgow has been
_to "cheer them on their way,
•
com-
pleted for some time, so that n-.thing now remains but
min
or arrangements to enable the directors to open to
the public this great line, so long and so anxiously
looked for.—Scotch Reformers' Gazette.
WHAT NEXT!—The Exeter Gazette states that on
Thursday a " soirée de Feargus O'Connor" was given at
the Barnstaple Theatre.

- ..
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PR to OSED DUTY ON G .
-,unications have taken place the last
feiv'weeks between the (3overnmen . persons en-
-1 gaged in the nonufacture cf , relative to a pro-
I posed duty of ls. per 1,000 cubic feet of, that article,
which would roduce mort,than two millions sterling
ann-ually to Rt. Majesty's Government. It appears
from the correspondence which has taken place that
while all other companies are taxed, gas companies
are entirely free from taxation, and that they have a
most enormous surplus profit, owing to the excessive
price of their commodity, at present charged, in many
parts of the metropolis and its suburbs, at Bs. per
1,000 cubic feet, whilst in large provincial towns it iS
charged at 3s. or 3s. 3d. per 1,000 feet. The follow-
ing is a sketch of fourteen metropolitan companies,
shoe ing their surplus profits and the amount of duty
it is proposed to levy :
Name of Company. Surplus Pri.fits Prop( sed Duty.
Imperial Gas Nonipany £58,009 .. .. £18,204
Chartered
London
City 60,985.14;303 15,603
Brick-lane• 36,741 ....••• 9,102
Pt cenix
Equitable
British - 6,843
South Metropo!itan . 23,619 .. 5,851
Curtain-road ...... ... 23,619 _ 5,851

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