The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-07 00:00:00

THE SLAVE TRADE.

The following is the petition of the committee of
the British and Foreign Anti Slavery Society :
" That your petitioners has every reason to be-
lieve, from undoubted authority, that the foreign
African slave•trade has greatly increased, aryl will
continue still further to increase, in consequence of
the new demand for slaves which has sprung up in
connexion with the Sugar Duties Act of 1846, which
allows of the introduction of the slave-grown sugar
of Brazil, the Spanish colonies, and other slave-
holding countries, into the British market,
-for home
consumption.
" That the stimulus thus given to that infamous
and inhuman traffic is greatly to be deplored, inas-
much as not only is the number of its victims fear-
fully increased thereby, and its accumulated horrors
aggravated, but the system of slavery, which unhap-
pily prevails to an enormous extent, strengthened, the
freedom and happiness of the human race impeded,
and the African continent rendered more inaccessible
than ever to the lights of civilisation and religion.
" Your petitioners therefore earnestly pray that
your Hon. House will cause a striot inquiry to be
made into the operation of the said Act, in so far as
it bears on the foreign African slave-trade, and the
institution of slavery, with a view to its repeal, and
the substitution in its place of a measure which shall
wholly exclude sugars the produce of slave labour
from the British market, and allow of the introduction
of such foreign sugars only as are the produce of free
labour for home consumption, or export, on equal
duties with those from the British plantations and
possessions abroad.
And, &c."

BATTLE or WATERLOO.—It was late, it was mid-
night;-wherc the Duke of Wellington lay down. He had
not found time so much as to wash his face or his hands;
but, overcome with fatigue, threw himself, after finishing
his dispatches, on his bed. He had seen Dr. Hume, and
desired him to come punctually at seven in the morning
with his report ; and the latter, who took no rest, but
spent the night beside the wounded, came at the hour
appointed. lie knocked at the Duke's door, but received
no answer: he lifted the latch, and looked in, and seeing
him in a sound sleep could not find in his heart to
awaken him; by and bye, however, reflecting on the im-
portance of time to a man in the Duke's high situation,
aad being well aware that it formed no article in his
Grace's code to prefer personal indulgence, of any sort,
to public duty, he proceeded to the bedside and roused
the sleeper. The Duke sat up in his bed; his face un-
shaven, and covered with the dust and smoke of yester-
day's battle, presented a rather strange appearance; yet
his senses were collected, and in a moment he desired
Hume to make his statement. The latter produced his
list, and began to.read; hut when, as ho proceeded, name
after name came out—this as of one dead, the other as of
one dying—his voice failed him; and looking up he saw
that the Duke was in an agony of grief; the tears chased
one another from his Grace's eyes, making deep visible
furrows in the soldier's blackened cheeks, and at last he
threw himself back upon his pillow and groaned aloud.
" It has been my good fortune never to lose a battle; yet
all this glory can by no means compensate for so great a
loss of friends (ho cried): what victory is not too dearly
purchased at such a cost?"—Poynder's Literary Extracts
(New. S4ries).
WAKEFIELD CORN MARKET, FRIDAY.—This week
we have limited arrivals. There is a steady demand for
wheat at last week's prices. For the finest parcels of
barley a little advance is obtainable,—in general qualities
no change.
Oats and shelling remain without attention,
and meet a very limited sale. Beans are held firmly.

on Mr. Ifayvvard's Appeal has recently been
published, and we are glad it has ; for the course
pursued by the benchers is one which every right-
thinking man must unequivocally condemn ; and it
seems morally impossible that so palpable an abuse
can be maintained much longer, now that its
existence is established by documentary evidence of
the clearest kind.

The essential facts lie within a small compass.
Each of the four inns of court is governed by a select
body (from twenty-five to fifty) called benchers, who
are precisely analogous to the fellows of a college,
except that they live less together and have more im-
portant duties to perform. They possess the exclusive
privilege of calling to the bar, and exercise judicial
authority in all cases of discipline or professional
honour. The office, therefore, is strictly of a
public character ; and the benchers of the two
Temples hold the whole of their large property
under a grant from the Crown (6 Jac. 1) in trust
for the profession. The elective power is vested in
the body itself; but the custom, time immemorial,
has been for every barrister receiving the rank of
Queen's counsel or a patent of prece.lence to be made
a bencher of his inn ; and this custom has been the
principal means of preserving what still remains of
the original character of the institution ; for the dis-
cretionary choice of the body (as shown in the last
number of the Low Magazine) has almost always
fallen on retired barristers of social habits, or on men
of rank and influence who are only nominally con-
nected with the bar. At Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn,
and the Middle Temple, the votes are given openly,
and the majority deckle. At the Inner Temple it
was the practice to subject the claimant to a ballot, in
which a single black ball excluded; but whatever the
origin of this practice, the impropriety of indulging
private animosities in the administration of a trust is
so obvious, that it had long come to be regarded as a
mere form ; and the professional understanding was
that it was never to be used arbitrarily.
In this state of things Mr. Hayward received his
silk gown, and claimed the customary appendage of
his rank. He was duly proposed at the Bench of
the Inner Temple by Sir George Rose and Sir F.
Thesiger, balloted for and black-balled. Mr. Roe-
buck told Sir George Rose, before the ballot, that he
meant to black-ball Mr. Hayward (a circumstance of
which Mr. H. was not informed till afterwards), and
avowed subsequently that he had black-balled him ;
alleging a quarrel in 1882 as the ground. As Mr.
Roebuck has not attempted to support or even au-
thenticate his version of this (as Sergeant Talfourd
justly characterises it) very trumpery affair, it need
not be discussed. It is sufficient to say that the
benchers refused to give up their ballot ; that Mr.
Hayward appealed to the judges as visitors of the
Inns ; and that they delivered a judgment, which
(after negativing the legal right of Queen's Counsel)
concludes thus :—"But they (the judges) all think
that the mode of election, by which a single black-
ball may exclude, is unreasonable ; and they strongly
recommend the benchers of the Inner Temple in
future to conduct their elections to the bench on some
more satisfactory principle."
The modified tone of this judgment, compared with
the strong remarks made by some of their Lordships
during the argument, may be in part accounted for
by the fact that five of the eleven judges who signed
it had been benchers of this very inn. Still the
practice (the cause of all the mischief) was con-
demned, and perhaps the judges thought that the
benchers would gladly avail themselves of the oppor-
tunity of getting rid of a dangerous and utterly in-
defensible anomaly. But the esprit de corps was
roused ; and under the influence of feelings which
should be uniformly suppressed, they enacted a new
by-law, " That in future no one shall be elected to
the bench of the Inner Temple unless he obtain the
votes of a majority of the existing benchers,' and that
four black-balls shall be sufficient to exclude." There
are twenty-eight existing benchers, so that fifteen
votes must be obtained ; and as fifteen or sixteen
is an average attendance, one might still exclude.
The majority of those present elect at the other inns,
and in all other collegiate or corporate bodies. It is
also a recognised principle of law, that when the trust
is of a public or general character, the majority of
the trustees decide ; and some of the judges intimated
a strong opinion that a body like the bench could
not legally adopt a different course. The decision,
therefore, is evaded in spirit as well as the letter, and
the recommendation is entirely disregarded, for no
one pretends to say that there is the slightest differ-
ence in principle between the new by-law and the
old.

The spirit by which the body are likely to be
actuated in their elections for some time to come may
be collected from the tone of their mouthpiece,
the late Sir Charles Wetherall, and his suc-
cessor, Sir Frederick Thesiger. The latter plainly
says (Rep. p. 140) that Lord Mansfield's injunction
to public trustees—" to be fair, candid, and unpre-
judiced, not arbitrary, capricious, or biassed ; much
less warped by resentment or personal dislike"—is
inapplicable to a body like the bench, who have only
their own pleasure to consult ; and as to considera-
tions of fitness, in the very letter to Mr. Hayward in
which he justifies the continued exclusion on the
ground that it is now necessary to promote the
"comfort and harmony" of his colleagues (who have
caused the whole mischief by upholding the had
by-law), he says : " When you obtained your silk
gown, and the period arrived for considering
your call to the bench, having known you for many
years, and believing you to be in every respect en-
titled to admission amongst us, I willingly undertook
(I believe unsolicited) the duty of seconding your
nomination." Sir F. Thesiger might have gone
still further ; for it is only bare justice to say that
Mr. Hay ward's familiarity with foreign systems and
general jurisprudence (shown by his juridical
writings) peculiarly qualify him to be a useful mem-
ber of a body who are (or ought to be) about to co-
operate in establishing an improved system of legal
education and remodelling the faulty constitution of
the bar. According to Sir F. Thesiger's doctrine, no
wrong of the kind should ever be remedied, and to
resist injustice is to justify it.
In the middle of one of Sergeant Talfourd's ad-
mirable speeches, Baron Alderson pointedly inquired
whether the same principle of exclusion was to be
extended to calls to the bar, or where it was to
stop ? Where, indeed ? Why should not asi
milar veto on the appointment of a new colleague
be claimed by the members of all public boards
(as the Treasury, the Admiralty, the Horse Guards,
&c.) ; or by the judges ; or by the bishops, who
might have been saved the discredit of an open re-
sponsible opposition to Dr. Hampden, had they been
allowed to black-ball him ? But further argument
would be wasted on so clear a question ; and the
benchers of the Inner Temple must know by this
time, that they are discrediting the judges, lowering
the profession, impairing the stability of all the inns,
trifling away their character as a body, and even
bringing their own individual conduct and motives
under suspicion, for no earthly purpose but to avoid
the acknowledgment of a notorious error, or main-
tain during a brief interval a system which, the mo-
ment any one thinks proper to mention it in either
House of Parliament, must be put down.—Examiner.

OPENING OF THE WATLINGTON LINE.—In accord-
ance with public notice, this line was formally opened for
passenger traffic, on Tuesday last. Several hundred
persons had assembled at the station, long before the
time announced for the arrival of the train from Lynn,
and, at ten o'clock, the powerful engine, `°Raven," arrived
with six carriages, containing a fair number of passen-
gers. The carriages excited great interest, both on
accoent of their beauty and their comfort, and all agreed
in giving them the preference to those on the Eastern
Counties Line, the third class being equal to the second
class in the latter company's service. A great many
people left Wisbech for Lynn, which distance is now
performed in three-quarters of an hour, and at one half
the expense, compared with the old system of travelling.
The gate-houses are neat buildings in the Elizabethan
style, but the station being only a temporary one, is built
of wood, and not yet finished. The line does not yet
run into the Eastern Counties, but workmen are em-
ployed in making the communication with that line.—
Norfolk News.
DESTRUCTION or CHAGRES BY FIRE.—By the
arrival of the Avon from the Spanish Main, we have the
melancholy tidings of the almost total destruction of the
town of Chagres by fire on the night of the Bth ult.;
inoluding, among the few other buildings of any note,
the (so-called) " Custom-house," which, at the time,
most unfortunately contained an entire cargo of mer-
chandise just landed from the schooner Desengano,
valued at 60,000 dolls., and which, it is reported, had
been purchased on credit by two Spanish gentlemen from
merchants in this city. It has been remarked, and cer-
tainly with great justice, that the Government of New
Grenada should have had a suitable fire-proof edifice as
a depot, similar to that which has been constructed
by the Royal Mail Steam-packet Company, with the
sole view of encouraging the transit of property by way
of the Isthmus. Yet this " Custom-house was nothing
more than a wooden hovel with a thatched roof,
wherein was deposited the valuable property which the
directors of the Customs received from the different
:merchants at the moment of their arrival in port. Had
the property in question, it is added, been destroyed by
an earthquake, no one could be considered responsible,
because as the edifice did not contain a single stone, the
property in this case might be preserved from such
danger; but having had the means of providing against
the imminent disaster which occurred in what was actu-
ally called a depot, the Government is unquestionably cul-
pable for not having evaded it. It is reported that the in-
terested proprietors who have suffered in this event are
preparing to present their claims before the Granadian
Government, and it is to be hoped that it will recognise
the justice of the case, and order payment without
.delay.
The origin of the fire is supposed to have been inten-
tional, with a view to robbery; and a black man has been
apprehended on suspicion of being the guilty person.—
Jamaica Times, Jau. 6.
Lord Monteagle had an interview on Friday with
the Right Hon. E. Strutt.

Bay for Tangiers at 10 A.m., on the 26th of January,
towing the ship Herefordshire, bound to Barbadoes,
with the 66th Regiment on board.
The Peninsular Company's steamer Hindostan ar-
lived at 8 110 A.M. of the same day, and sailed for
Malta and Alexandria with the Indian mails at 2 r.M.
The Magellan, 14 guns, five days from Toulon,
bound to the river Plate, arrived at Cadiz on the 27th
she was to sail in a few days with the new French
Ministers for Rio La Plata.

Her Majesty's ships at Lisbon on the 30th of
January were—St. Vincent, Queen, Howe, and
Canopus; Amphion (screw frigate) ; steamers—Ter-
rible, Dragon, Scourge, and Jackal! ; French frigate
Psyche, and a steamer; Spanish corvette Venus, and
the usual Portuguese squadron.
PORTSMOUTH, FEB. 6.—The Excellent gunnery
ship, Captain Chad 3, C. 8., at present bearing the flag
of Rear-Admiral Henry Prescott, C. 8., Superin-
tendent of the Dockyard, completed her complement
(700) last week, a circumstance never accomplished
before since the Excellent was established, and at no
other period have there been so many officers of all
ranks, and seaman, on board. When it is considered
that most of the Excellent's hands are petty officers,
and all must be at least " A.B.'s," the fact of her
complement being completed speaks very much for
the increasing popularity of the establishment, as she
might at any time have made up the requisite number
of men by taking any sort of volunteers, and by not
being particular in the selection. It will be very
much against the interest of the service if the comple-
ment of the gunnery establishment is limited, as there
is no doubt that the efficiency of every ship commis-
sioned would be very much increased by a larger num-
ber of seamen gunners being sent to them from the Ex-
cellent than at present, which would not only give them
more men fit for captains of guns, but al4o aid them
very much in fitting the ship out. The Excellent,
of course, could not accommodate many more, nor
would there be room enough for them to exercise,
but there is no reason why there should not be
branch establishments at the ports to the eastward
and westward which could receive men belonging to
those ports. By increasing the gunnery establish-
ments the Admiralty would be providing the best
foundation for the " national defence."

SIR CHARLES NAPIER'S SQUADRON.
The arrival of the Jupiter packet at Southampton
yesterday puts us in possession of letters from the
above squadron. Our last were to the 19th ultimo ;
the present are to the 31st :
" Jan. 20th.—The Marines were landed from all
the ships of the squadron on the south shore for ex-
ercise, under the command of Major IL'Adarn of the
Queen, 110. After performing numerous evolutions
highly to the satisfaction of the commanding officer,
and the gratification of an immense concourse of spec-
tators, the force returned to their respective ships in
the afternoon. Th?, Jackal steam-sloop, Lieutenant
Commander George Western, arrived to-day from
Oporto, with Mr. Biddlecombe, Master of the St.
Vincent, on board, who had been there some days
surveying.
"22nd.—The Terrible, steam-frigate, Captain Ram-
say, arrived from Gibraltar with dispatches for the
Admiral, but no more tidings of the lost Avenger
and her lamented crew.
" This morning a court-martial, comprising Cap-
tains Moresby, of the Canopus (President), Sir
James Stirling, of the Howe ; Dacres of the St.
Vincent ; Hall, of the Dragon ; and Williams, of the
Amphion ; assembled on board the Canopus to try
Mr. Charles Pyne, Second Lieutenant of Royal
Marines serving on board the Queen, on two charges,
—first, for disobedience of orders in not landing with
the Marines on the 20th as ordered; secondly, for
disobedience of orders in refusing to go on shore in
charge of the patrole. The Court, having heard the
whole of the case in support of the prosecution,
founded on the report of Captain Bruce of the Queen,
and what the prisoner had to allege in defence, de-
clared, after a sitting of eight hours, the charges
fully proved, and adjudged the prisoner to be repri-
manded and placed at the bottom of the list of lieu-
tenants for two years,
" The weather is intensely cold, and a great deal
of influenza prevails in the squadron. The Canopus
has upwards of 80 cases, and the St. Vincent about
120, besides small-pox patients; for I regret to in-
form you this plague has also broken out amongst us.
"26th.—At sunset the squadron unbent sails.
" 27th and 28th.—The weather is increasing in
severity, raining occasionally. Influenza has ex-
tended itself to nearly every ship of the squadron.
I am happy to say, however, the small-pox is de-
r creasing in the flag-ship.
" 29th.—The packet has arrived from Gibraltar.
"30th.—The packet sails to-day for England. The
weather is something milder, which we expect will
reduce the ravages of the influenza. Its mischief
has been confined to the men, no fatal cases having
occurred among the officers as yet. I hope in my
next to give you better accounts. Of course all evo-
lutionizirg is temporarily suspended, we shall take
a cruise though as soon as possible to refresh the
men, Sze."
The Firefly steam-sloop, Lieutenant-Commander
Ponson by, which left the port on the Ist for the
coast of Africa, put into Falmouth from stress of
weather on Friday.
The Bramble surveying-vessel, Lieutenant Yule,
commanding, arrived at Sydney, New South Wales,
from Twofold Bay, on the 30th of September.
Tl e Carysfort, 26, Captain Seymour, is expected
at Spithead about the latter end of March next.
Letters have been received at this port, stating she
had sailed from Valparaiso on the 2d of December,
with a freight on merchant's account of 2,000,000
dollars, consigned to Captain Sayer, freight agent
and wine merchant of Portsmouth, for lodgment in
the Bank of England.
The ordinary at this port is reduced two lieutenants
—one in the harbour duty, and one on board this
ordinary guard ship.
The Actaeon, 26, Capt. Mansel, came into harbour
yesterday morning, to be dismantled and paid off.
The Sealark, 10, Commander Monypenny, having
been docked for five hours, was removed on Friday
evening, and went to Spithead; she will sail for
Plymouth to be paid advance.
I'he Rolla, 10, is docked to be fitted as an exercise
and instruction ship.
The Champion, 14, Commander Hayes, was brought
from her moorings yesterday, and into the basin, to be
commissioned and fitted for sea.

'Wind west; moderate breezes, and thick hazy
Nseather, with rain at intervals.
WooLwicu, FEB. s.—The Monkey steam-vessel,
William Bryant master, went up the river to Black-
wall to-day, to tow the Caradoc iron steam-vessel to
Woolwich, to be made ready for sea.
The Triton steam-vessel, recently brought round
from Chatham to Woolwich, being a sister vessel to
the Oberon and Antelope steam-vessels, both of which
took fire at sea, is to be tried for four or five days in
the North Sea before anything further is done to her,
to ascertain if she is safe from danger of fire.

synops.
the locomotive facilities enjoyed by our neighlnurs. The
summary has been compiled with care, and way bo useful

for reference:—

The Saint Etienne Ia Loire is of the length of 22
kilometres. Capital, 1,000,000 E, in 200 shares of
5,000 E each. Date of the concession (direct, in per. '
petuity), February, 1823. Returns no dividend.
St. Etienne and Lyons, 58 kilometres in length.
Original capital, 10,000,0001., with a loan of 7,219,000 E,
making a total cost of 17,219,0001., in 2,200 shares of
5,000 f. each. An ordonnance, of the 19th of April,
1826, authorised a fresh issue of shares for the increased
capital. Date of the concession, in perpetuity, by ad-
judication, March, 1827. Dividend 61 per cent.
Andres:sum and Roanne, 68 kilometres in length.
Original capital 6,000,0001., with 4.000,000 E advanced by
the State, and a loan of 2,ooo,oooE—making a total of
12,000,0001. The original capital was divided into
12,000 shares of 500 f. each. Date of the concession, in
perpetuity, by adjudication, Aug., 1828. (No dividend.)
Montbriaon and 51ontbrond, 16 kilometres in length.
Capital 175,0001., in 175 shares of I,ooof, each, with a
" subversion" by the State of 75,000 E—making the
total cost of the line 250,000 f. Date of the concession,
by adjudication (99 years), April, 1833. (No dividend.)
Grand, Combe.—Length, 87 kilometeres. Original
capital 16,000,0001., in 16,000 shares of I,ooof. each.
An advance by the State of 6,000,0001., and a further
loan of 6,000,0001.; bringing the total cost of this line to
28,000,0001., which, :nevertheless, declare a dividend of
71 per cent. Date of the concession, in perpetuity, by
adjudication, June, 1833.
Parisand Saint Germain.—Length, 20 kilometres.
Original capital 9,000,000 f., in 18,000 shares of 5001.
each, This company has a loan of 10,000,0001., and
received a subvention in money of k,800,000f. from the
Mire for the atmospheric principle. Total outlay,
21,000,0001. Divides 10 per cent. Concession, direct
(99 years), granted July, 1835.
Versailles (Right Bank).—Length, 19 kilometres.
Original capital 11,000,000 E, with a loan of 6,000,000 f.
Total cost, 17,000,0001. Original capital divided into
22,000 shares of 500 f. Divides 2 per cent. Date of the
concession, by adjudication, June, 1836, for 99 years.
'Versailles (Left Bank).—Length, 17 kilometres. Ori-
ginal capital 10,000,000 E, with an advance by the State
of 5,000,000 E, and a loan of 1,000,0001. Total cost,
16,000,000 f. Original capital divided into 20,000 shares
of 500 f. No dividend. Date of concession, by adjudi-
cation (99 years), June, 1836.
Montpellier and Cette.— Length, 27 kilometres. Ori-
ginal capital 3,000,000 f., in 6,000 shares of 500 f. A
loan of 1,300,0001. brings up the total cost of this line
to 4,300,0001. Date of the concession, direct, July, 1836
99 years. No dividend.
Bordeaux and Ia Teste.—Length, 52 kilometres.
Original capital 5,000,0001., in 10,000 shares of 500 f. A
loan of 1,000,0001. Total cost, 6,000,0001. Date of
concession, by adjudication (70 years), July, 1837.
No dividend.

Mulhouse and Thann.—Length, 19 kilometres. Ori-
ginal capital 2,600,0001., in 5,200 shares of 5001. A
loan of 400,000 f. Total cost, 3,000,0001. Date of con-
cession, direct, July, 1837 (99 years). Dividend of 31
per cent.
Strasburg and Basle.—Length, 140 kilometres. Origi-
nal capital, 29,400,000 f., in 84,000 shares of 3501. An
advance by the State of 12,600,000 f., and a loan of
3,000,0001,, increase the total cost of the line to
45,000,000 f. Date of concession, direct (99 years) May,
1838. Divides 31 per cent.
Paris and Orleans.—Length, 133 kilometres. Ori-
ginal capital 40,000,0001., in 80,000 shares of 5001.
A loan of 10,000,000 f. raises the total cost of this line
to 50,000,000 f. Date of the concession, direct (99 years),
July, 1838. Divides 12 per cent.
Paris and Rouen.—Length, 137 kilometres. Original
capital 36,000,000 f., in 72,000 shares of 5001, An ad-
vance by the State of 18,000,000 f.---which amount
includes the sum of 4 000,000 f. for going through the
city of Rouen—and a loan of 11,000,000 f., make the
total cost of this line amount to 65,000,000 f. The con-
cession, direct (99 years), is dated July, 1840. The
company declares a dividend of 91 per cent.
Montpellier and Nismes.—Length, 52 kilometres.
Originalh
com pany's capital 2,000,0001., in 4,000
sThe works executed by the State
amounted
to 14,500,0001., and the company raised a
ar e
5001.
loan of 900,0001.; so that the total cost of the line
was 17,400,000 f. The concession is of the date of
July, 4840, for twelve years. This is a Government
line, worked by the lessees, and divides five per cent.
Rouen and Havre.—Length, 95 kilometres. Original
capital 20,000,0001., in 40,000 shares of 500 f. This
company received an advance in money from the State
to the amount of 9,000,0001., including 1,000,0001. for
the city of Rouen, and raised money to the
amount of 30,000,0001. ; so that the total cost
of the line was 59,000,0001. The concession,
direct, is dated June, 1842 (ninety-nine years).
Paris and Sceaux.—Length, 11 kilometres. Original
capital 3,000,0001., in 6,000 shares of 500 f. A loan of
1,500,0001. brings the total cost of the line to 4,500,0001.
Date of concession, direct, September 1844.
The above list comprehends the whole of the lines
which are open in their entire length. They are in
number 17, and comprise 973 kilometres, or about 608
English miles. These have been completed and opened
for traffic, at a cost in round numbers of 363 millions of
francs, or about 14,760,0001., being at an average cost of
about 24,2761. per mile. Of the total amount of
369,000,000 f., the State has contributed 81,000 0001.; of
which 25,000,000 f. has been as " subvention," and
56,000,0001. as money advanced. The seventeen com-
panies furnished original capital to the amount of
202,000,000 f., and raised by loan 80,000,000 f, From an
examination of the share lists, it appears that the shares
of five of these companies stand at a gross premium of
100,000,0001., and that the shares of eight of the corn-
pan'es may be computed at a gross di,count of
35,000,000 f: The shares of one of the companies are
at par, and those of three others are nut in the share
lists.

The five faowing are open for traffic only in part:—
Avignon and Marseilles.—Length, 120 kilometres.
The company's capital is 20,000,000 f. in 40,000 shares
of 500 f. The State furnishes 42,000,000 f., and the com-
pany have borrowed 15,000,000.; so that the total cost
of the line will be 77,000,0001. The concession, direct,
was granted in July, 1843 (:33 years).
Orleans and Bordeaux.—Length, 500 kilometres.
Company's capital 65,000,0001.., in 130,000 shares of
500 f. The State constructs the line subvention en tra •
vaux) to the extent of 71,000,000 f.• which amount
there cars be no doubt. will be exceeded—making the
total estimated cost of the line 136,000,000 f. The con-
cession, by adjvdicatioa (28 years), was granted in Oc-
tober, 1844. On the portion of line opened a dividend
is declared of 5 per cent.
Central of France, Vierzon, &c.—Length, 252 kilo-
metres. Company's capital, 33,000,000 f., in 66,000
shares of 500 f. Works by the Government, 40,000,000 f.;
making total cost of line 73,000,000 E Date of cones.
sion, by adjudication (40 years), October, 1844.
Boulogne and Amiens.—Length, 125 kilometres.
Capital, 37,000,0001., in 75,000 shares of 500 f. Date
of concession, by adjudication (99 years), October, 1844.
The Northern of France.—Length, 582 kilometres,
Capital, 180,000,0001., in 400,000 shares of 500 f. Date
of concession, by adjudication (38 years), September,
1845.
These five lines comprehend an extent of 1,557 kilo-
metres, or about 923 miles English. More than half of
this length of line is open for traffic, and the remainder,
with the exception of about 350 kilometres, or 273 miles,
of the Bordeaux line, will be open in 1848. The total
cost will ;be about 500,000,000 f.; of which the compa-
nies furnish 335,000,00014 the State 111,000,000 f. in
works, and 42,000,000 E in money; and the surplus has
been raised by loan. The shares of three of the com-
panies represent, in premium, a profit of 35,000,0001.;
the shares of two are at a discount of 9,000,000 E, and the
shares of a fifth are at par.
Five remaining lines are in course of construction, and
no part of them is open for traffic. These are:—
Montereau to Troyes.—Length, 102, kilometres.
Capital, 20,000,000 E, in 40,000 shares of 500 f. Date of
concession, by adjudication (75 years), January, 1845.
Tours and Nantes.—Length, 192 kilometres. Com-
pany's capital 40,000,000 E, in 80,000 shares of 5001
The State furnishes, in works, 28,000,0001.; so that the
total cost of the line will be 68,000,0001. Date of the
concession, by adjudication (34 years), Nov., 1845.
Paris and Strasburg.—Length, 660 kilometres. ;Com-
pany's capital 125,000,000 E Works by the State,
100,200,000 f. This sum will not prove sufficient. Date
of the concession, by adjudication (44 years), Novem-
ber, 1845.
Dieppe and Feeamp.—Length, 73 kilometres. Capi-
tal 20,000,0001., in 40,000 shares of 500 f. Date of con-
cession, direct (97 year)s, November, 1845.
Paris and Lyons—Length, 515 kilometres. Capital
200,000,0001., in 400,000 shares of 500 f. Date of con-
cession, by adjudication (99 years), December, 1845.
[ln all probability this company will require a loan of
60,000,000 f. to 80,000,000E]
'These five companies undertake the construction of
1,542 kilometres, or nearly 914 miles of railway, at :a
cost, including the possible loan for the Lyons line, and
the additional credit for the Strasburg line, of at least
600 millions of francs, or 24 millions of money. Of
this the companies !supply about two thirds, and the
State. one-third in works. The shares of all these com-
panies are at a discount, which, in round numbers, re-
-1 presents a depreciation of 84 millions of francs, or
3,360,0001. sterling.
It is probable that the concessions of 1848 will be but
few. There will be the line from St.:quentin'to'Sfaubeuge
the section of the western line from Versailles to Chartres,
and the important section of the Southern Railway from
Lyons to Avignon.

FUDGIL—The word " Fud washardly "
5.p grave
enough for our great lexicographer to notice. It was
known, however, to our language long before his friend,
Goldsmith, made such ample use of it in his " Vicar of
Wakefield;" for Disraeli says that in "Remarks upon
the Navy," published in 1700, is the following anecdote:
—" There was, in our time, one Fudge, captain of a
merchantman, who upon his return from a voyage, how
ill so ever his ship was fraught, always brought home
his owners a good cargo of falsehoods; so that now,
aboard ship, the sailors, when they hear a great false-
hood told, cry out, ' You fudge it.' "—Poyader's Literary
Extracts (New Series).
AN ECONOMICAL EPITAPIL—Thomas Thorp having
died, the poet of the parish was applied to for an epitaph,
and vk rite—
" This corpse
Is Tommy Thorp's."
But the s'onecutter, charging for the inscription at so
much per letter, the rustic genius was asked if he could
not shorten the tribute to Tommy's memory. Snatching
up his pen, he dashed off a distich thus—
" Thorp's
Corpse!"

ig y
taking the chair for the first time since his election,
tke president addressed the members at considerable
length, dwelling chiefly on the intimate connexion
between the civil and the mechanical engineers, their
dependence upon each other, and the importance of
maintaining that union between the two branches
of the profession that had ever been one of the main
objects of the institution. He showed that originally
engineering was confined to the constructive or
mechanical branches ; raising heavy weights, building
mills, draining mines, and all the primitive wants of
mankind; by degrees, as civilisation extended, the
exigencies of the world became greater, luxuries were
required that could only be supplied by greater ex-
ercise of talent and skill ; manufactories were multi-
plied, manual labour could no longer suffice, the
steam-engine was generally employed, and the con-
sequence of this increase of production was, that the
roads required to be amended, rivers and canals to
be cut for carrying this abundance of merchandise and
passengers,whilst docks and harbours required extend-
ing for the reception of the shipping for the
increasing export trade. These wants called into
being another class of men, who, with great me-
chanical skill, combined more than ordinary theo-
retical know!edge and business habits to enable them
to combine and use the power of all other classes.
These men were termed civil engineers, in contra-
distinction to military engineers, whose education
and experience fitted them solely for the art of war ;
and by these men Great Britain had been placed first
in the list of the civilisers of mankind.
Mr. Field, as the first president elected from among
the mechanical engineers, dilated, at length, upon
the immense strides made within the last ceutury
in the production of the mechanic arts and in pub-
lic works under the combined efforts of the two
classes alluded to. He then entered more minutely
upon the subject of steam navigation, to which he
had principally devoted his personal attention, and
gave most interesting details of the subject, ending
by apologising for occupying so much of the time of
the meeting by saying that he must be permitted to
feel more than ordinary pride in being elected the
president, when he looked around him and saw that
the association of six young engineers, who, in 1818,
met occasionally to chat over mechanical subjects, had
extended, in the course of twentv-nine years, into a
society consisting of upwards of six hundred mem-
bers, and comprising within it almost all the engineers
of eminence in Great Britain. The address was
vehemently applauded, and the president was re-
quested to allow it to be printed in the minutes of
proceedings..
The discussion was then renewed upon Mr. Ran-
som's paper on the manufacture of artificial stone.
The Rev. Dean of Westminster, Sir Henry De la
Beche, Mr. John Phillips, Dr. Garrod, Mr. Barry,
and other visitors taking part in it with the
principal members of the institution. The re-
marks turned chiefly upon the chemical and
physical properties of the material, and the cost
of its production in the moulded form as com-
pared to that of carved stone. In its chemical
properties it was shown to be at least equal in purity
to the production of nature ; for, on the statements
of the eminent chemists who had subjected it to
severe tests, it was proved to be totally insoluble in
boiling water, however long immersed, and also
to be capable of resisting the action of mineral
acids. In this respect it differed from glass, which
alway s yielded a portion of its alkali to the action
of water. It was further stated that it had per-
fectly resisted the action of frost, vases filled with
water having been repeatedly frozen without their
sustaining any injury. The opinion of the meeting
appeared to be unanimous as to the useful che-
mical properties of the artificial stone. Satis-
factory statements were adduced as to its strength
and other physical properties, and some very in-
teresting remarks were made on the subject, com-
paring the substance produced artificially with cer-
tain sandstones found in this country, which, by the
action of compression and heat, had attained a degree
of hardness equal to quartz. The experiments of
hall and Watt on the production of artificial stones
were also alluded to as bearing upon the question.
Experiments made on the strength of the artificial
stone proved it to be superior to those natural stones
with which it had been tested—viz., Caen, Bath,
York, or Portland stone.
N urnerous specimens were exhibited to the meeting,
showing its universal applicability to constructive and
decorative purposes ; fractured pieces were shown of
every variety of texture, from the porous sandstone
to the most compact granite. The price of the mate-
rial was stated to be such as to render it available for
all useful and ornamental purposes.
The monthly ballot then took place, when the
following gentlemen were duly elected :—M. Scott,
P. M. Crane, T. Cundy, G. Harrison, and C. H.
Wild, as associates.
The paper announced to be read at the meeting of
Tuesday, Feb. 8, was " On the Drainage and Sewage
of Bristol," by James Green, Member Inst. C.E.

RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS.
LIVERPOOL,FEn. . 5

STOCK EXCHANGE.—The Share market has been firmer
to-day than yesterday. and a much smaller amount of stock
offered for sale. The following are the sales--Bolton, Block-
burn, &c., 10 dis.—Lancashire and Yorkshire, Fifths (West
Rifling Union), 2/. Bs. 9d. dis.—Leeds and Thirsk, 1434 die.
—London and North-Western, 148—Ditto, Quarters (L.
and B.), 12 p.—Ditto, Quarters, New, 514 p.—Blanchester,
Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 74%—Midland, 401. Shares, 45
—Ditto, New Halves, c. dis.—North Staffordshire
c. p.—South-Eastern aad Dover, No. 4,1% dis..—York,
Newcastle, and Berwick, (N. and B. Extensions), No. 2,
314 p.—Dublin and Belfast Junction, 204 dis.

4,-vv

• 7

•
vlO NI) A Y EVENING, 11E1311,1E7AR ir 7, 1848.
~........-_...
___-_...... _
THE BENCHERS OF THE INNER NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. THE RAILWAYS OF FRANCE. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENQIII-
TEMPLE. —......... (From the Monthly Railway Record for January.) NEERS.—FEn. 1.
The "Report of the Proceedings before the Judges" Her Majesty's steamer Polyphemus left Gibraltar The following statistics of the railways at present open ( Toctin t FIELD, Esq., President,in the Chair.)
-- XI. T-Ta,”,arri'a A rmaat h.. ...",,n+l a hPon Pan fnr Tanrriara at to Als on the 2gth of .Tpintary for traffic in France, afford an interesting synopsis of rifle. Meeting ;as
numerously attended, and in
. .