The Sun.
London, England, 1851-12-17 00:00:00

THE WESTMINSTER PLAY.

On Monday the great event of the year in West-
minster School came off by the performance of the
Eunuchus of Terence. To it the students look for-
ward with the greatest interest and anxiety, and
no inconsiderable amount of training has to be
hone through in order that " the actors" may acquit
themselves creditably of the parts assigned to them.
There are not wanting many persons—rationalists
in education—who object that too much of the
student's time is lost in the endeavour to master a
single author; but, oa the other hand, there have
been most successful teachers, who maintain that the
very best means of acquiring a precise and ready
knowledge of a language is to become perfectly fa-
miliar with some one of its best authors. A more
serious objection is, perhaps, the selection of Terence
for such a purpose, who, though acknowledged on all
hands to be a writer of the purest Latin, abounds in
'ituations and passages of which modern taste does
not approve. However, if in obedience to a time-
honoured custom the Westminster alumni must wear
the sock wed buskin for a few nights previous to
the Christmas holidays, the limited range of the
Greco-Roman drama leaves the authorities very
little choice in the matter. The language of Plautus
is too antiquated and impure, and his raillery is too
coarse, to be made the object of modern representa-
tion, although his rough, rude, Roman style is
unquestionably more true to the character of the
people before whom his plays were to be acted than
than that of his successor. Terence, on the other
hand, lived on terms of easy familiarity with some of
the first patrician families of Rome, and his pieces are
adapted from the period of the new comedy, in which
the domestic life of the Athenians was represented with
less exaggeration and less personality than in that
of the middle comedy, which Plautus for the most
past imitated. It should always be remembered, in
witnessing a play of Terence, that, althouga we hear
the Roman tongue, we are never brought face to face
with Roman ideas, Roman manners, or Roman cha-
racter. Everything—the inner spirit and the out-
ward form, even to costume and locality—is
Grecian, and for the most part Athenian ; and it is
undeniable that not a single new character was
added by the Roman playwrights to those
they found already existing. The Eunuchus
for instance, is a mere copy of Monander's
play of the same name, the two principal characters,
Guatho and Thraso, being dovetailed in from the
R.olax of the same author. The characters were dis-
tributed last night as follows :—Phoadria, Mr. G. de
L. Lacy ; Parmeno, Mr. G. B. Macilwain ; Thais,
Mr. F. H. Dodgson ; Guatho, Mr. S. Joyce ; Chorea,
Mr. W. G. Armitatead (captain of the school);
Pythias, Mr. Q. W. F. Twiss ; Chremes, Mr. V. T.
Green ; Dories' Mr. 11. Linscomb ; Dorus, Mr. C.
W. Pendell ; Sanga, Mr. A. F. A. Slade ; Sophrona,
Me. F H.
R. Hewett ; Laches, Mr. E. Somerville.
MuteePersj9nte Pamphila, Mr. E. Wodehouse ;
lio,
Syrisous., G. Edwards ; Dorox, Mr. H. Salwey ;
R. T. `'Paters; ..AA..
auLtei.nOet,nmslorw.
1-1
; Ancilla 2Ethiops,. Mr.
nce
the pay does
of I
.W. Harrison. 'We
can only add that
manifestedthe acting
bywtahse usual,i,nlvtelestemiester
low:n affordsso many
style
Boys,"of
althoughecelle
salient points as the Andria, whichn the
play of the
preceding year. The Guatho
r Joyce
"Clem wasre oaf
rich and unctuous personation, and
h
the
Dar. Armistead had all the order and vehemenceare-
quired in the delineation of thatcharai cudteri.t The
much Pythias of Mr. Twiss excited laughter,
and
hich
whole performancethe
play
amply
merited the pa e with
w
concludes.

CASE OF DETERMINED SUICIDE AT DOVER.-0,
Thursday night, about ten o'clock, a London gentleman,
whose name, as far as can be at present ascertained, is H.
Lepine, committed suicide at Rogers' Terminus Inn, Beach-
street, opposite the railway terminus, by hanging himself.
The unfortunate gentleman had been staying at the above
inn on that day. lie is supposed to have attempted to
destroy himself by drowning, having been found in the har-
bour the same afternoon, where it was then supposed he had
accidentally fallen. Some person on the spot succeeded in
saving him.
THE SUNDERLAND BANK.—It is understood that
the affairs of this bank, which failed a short time ago, will
be
committee
h of investigation have just repotted that its losses
brought under the operation of the Winding-up Act. The
requiredn to
ht to 73,0001., and that a call of 61. per share will be
amount
overdrewmeet the m. s
It
accountappearsto h
thatte
onecustomer's of t
extentohr 30,0t2 bank's
01.
U"ni3g Vatl railway mania, aua another to the eztot of 7,0904

LONDON,

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.
LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN.

A special meeting of this company was held yester-
day at the Nine Elms station, Vauxhall, for the pur-
pose of considering proposals, submitted to the direc-
tors, respecting the making by other companies of
railways to Exeter, in extension of the company's
existing line, and the arrangements with the com-
pany, proposed by the promoters of the respective un-
dertakings ; and also of considering the expediency
of completing the Basingstoke and Salisbury exten-
sion line ; the Earl of Morley in the chair.
The CHAIRMAN stated that Mr. Chaplin, the chair-
man of the company, was detained at Brighton, in
consequence of serious illness, and that he had been
requested to take the chair on that occasion. In 1849
and 1850 the directors had agreed not to enter into
any undertaking of a speculative character without
first calling the shareholders together, and receiving
their authority for so doing. In accordance with
that pledge the directors came that day to seek the
sanction of the proprietors to the recommendations
contained in the report which had been circulated
among them. The promoters of the two schemes to
be submitted to their consideration were in attend-
ance, and would explain the merits of the respec-
tive plans, and the proprietors could judge for
themselves as to which they would adopt. The di-
rectors had well considered the arguments urged in
favour of both those plans. One was a coast line
from Dorchester to Exeter, and the other was called
the central line, and extended in nearly a straight
line from the Bishopstoke and Salisbury line at Salis-
bury to Exeter. The directors recommend the cen-
tral line in preference to the coast line. The reason
they recommended the central line was, because
they had already expended a large sum on the line
between Basingstoke and Salisbury, which was now
unproductive, and because the central line would be
more useful to the company, and as they had not
capital sufficient for the purposes of both the lines.
They had therefore to consider which was the best
scheme of the two for the South-Western Company.
He begged to say that neither of the proposed lines
were promoted by the South-Western Company, nor
were they countenanced with any view of aggressive
policy, for they did not intend anything of the sort.
The schemes were promoted by the landowners in the
districts through which they were intended to pass,
with a view to benefit the neighbourhood intended
to be served by the lines. In conclusion, he dis-
claimed any wish to compete with the Great Western
Company for the traffic, and stated that he would leave
the matter to those gentlemen who were then present
to explain the nature of the proposed undertakings.

The SECRETARY then read the advertisement con-
vening the meeting, and afterwards the report of the
directors, an abstract of which appeared in The Snn
of Monday. He also read a letter dated the 15th of
December, from Captain Moorsom, relative to the
proposed coast line, stating that a railway from Dor-
chester to Exeter would be advantageous to the com-
pany, and containing a request that the South-
Western directors should pass a minute of the board
to the effect that any member of the South-Western
Company so disposed might join the coast line with a
view to assist in carrying out the undertaking.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the reception of the re-
port, stated that the distance by the coast line from
London to Exeter would be 197 miles, of which 141
miles would be over the existing line from London to
Dorchester, and 56 miles over the proposed coast line,
and by the central line from London to Exeter 171
miles, of which 48 would be over the existing line
from London to Basingstoke, 33 from Basingstoke to
Salisbury, and 90 miles over the proposed central line
from Salisbury to Exeter, showing a difference in fa-
vour of the central line of 26 miles between London
and Exeter.

On the suggestion of Mr. KAY the resolution was
carried, to the effect that the report be received and
entered upon the minutes.
The CHAIRMAN then moved a resolution, to the
effect that the meeting approved of the decision of the
directors in supporting the project from Salisbury to
Exeter, and authorising them to co-operate with the
promoters in carrying out the undertaking. The other
resolution he had to propose was to the effect that the
meeting approved of the arrangement proposed to be
made with the promoters of the line from Salisbury
to Exeter, and authorising the directors to concur in
all such arrangements, with such modifications as
they might think proper.
Mr. CASTLEMAN moved an amendment, to the
effect that a committee be appointed to consider and
examine the two schemes, and to report the result to
an adjourned meeting. This he conceived to be ne-
cessary, as the meeting had no data to guide them in
the matter.

Mr. KAY seconded the motion, and said that if any,
gentleman would come forward with the requisite in-
formation it would enable them to decide on the
question.
Mr. Sergeant GAZELEE wished to know whether
the proposition was the unanimous decision of the
board? The directors had thought proper to tcll the
shareholders upon what grounds they had adopted it.

The CHAIRICLiN said that when the resolution was
passed by the hoard there were two directors absent,
and that one of them had since approved of it, but the
other had objected to it ; there was only one dissen-
tient.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to the scheme
itself, it had been before the proprietors on former
occasions, and was then approved of by them. Mr.
Locke was present, and would give any explanation
that might be required. The directors had had re-
peatvi offers with regard to the scheme since May
la 4, but they had not been in such a form as to enable
them to be submitted to the shareholders. The direc-
tors had thought the proposals with respect to the
central line were such as the proprietors ought to
accept.
Mr. Locxe, M.P., then entered into a full state-
ment of the circumstances connected with the central
line, and of its advantages to the South. Western
Company. It now came before the proprietors in a
very different form to that originally intended. The
original capital was 2,500,0001., upon which the
South-Western Company had engaged to guarantee
the shareholders 140,0001. a year. This sum was
to b 3 a fixed charge on the revenue of the South-
Western Company. That heavy liability very
properly induced the proprietors to pause before
they entered into it, and he felt they were right in
pausing, and not proceeding with the original
scheme. But the case was now very different ; the
powers of the Act had been allowed to expire, and the
promoters of the central line asked them whether
they would accept the advantages of the line without
incurring any liability, or thrust it from them and
let other have it. It was three or four years ago since
the landowners along the proposed line had asked
him about proceeding with the undertaking, but he
well knew the objection of the company to raise any
further capital. He had since consulted the land.
owners in the district as to how far they would assist
the undertaking by taking shares in the company.
Ho had also submitted plans to Messrs. Brassey,
Yet°, and Betts, and the result was that they would
undertake to complete the railway at a cost of
1,100,0001. as a single line. Nine-tenths of the
noblemen and gentlemen who are landowners along
the line had offered their land at its agricultural
price. They proposed that if the South-Western
Company would find half the capital, viz,, 550,0001.,
they would find the other half. He thought that
was a fair offer, and if it could be accepted by the
board it would be much better, but the board would
not engage to raise any further capital, and the pro-
position now resulted in an offer that the landed pro-
prietors and the public would find the funds, the
South-Western Company finding the working stock,
and engaging to work the line at the cost price. The
traffic brought on the South-Western line at Salis-
bury to be divided between the companies; that was
giving them half the good the new line would bring
them. As a landowner he would go still further, and
could say that the railway could be made for the sum
specified, and that if the company did not assist them
to carry out the undertaking it would be made by
others. This line was far better than the coast line,
for even the distance would be shorter from South-
ampton to Exeter by the central line than by the coast
line. Their best course would be to adopt the straight-
forward line to Exeter, as it was the shortest line.
He believed it would be the last time they would
have the offer, and they had better accept it when they
could.—(Hear.)
Mr. CASTLEMAN said that Mr. Locke had given
them no figures as to the details of the coat of the
line or relating to the traffic. He thought they had
better let some one vise make the line, for it was of
no consequence for landowners to be in favour of s
line passing through their property, as they were
always anxious to get what they could out of the
companies. If they were to excite the jealousy of
the Great Western by making the line they would
find themselves opposed by that company, in con-
junction with the Bristol and Exeter Company, which
might seriously affect their traffic. He contended that
the central line was a competing one to their South-
ampton and Dorchester line, and that, if they pro-
moted the coast line, they would have a better traffic,
and avoid competition. On comparing the traffic of
the Dorchester line during 1850 with that of the
other lines of the South-Western Company he found
thate:statements
p toi
opfrothdeucd
whole
0001.
eoft more
roe than the
therline
s.averageThegrroes:
ea anrdn in gtshoenpalolrethheeaitre lrinleisneatnoiousn2t,eodoolt,o
ii,r3o%oC
tOhl.o,
at former meetings he thought it was the
intention of the directors to close the capital account,
but now they proposed to expend more money.
Mr. BAKER seconded the motion,and in doing so
remarked that, by means of various extensions their
dividend had been reduced from 8 to 3i- or 4 per cent.
They were now beginning
to get better dividends,
wouldwh e n
have
i t was t proposedh e
e fc t
ot
fo expend
te reducingne morew t h
e g
line exceeding the
money,eneralwdhiiveih.
dend. There was a probability, from competition, of
the working expenses of the