The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-19 00:00:00

Now, All you Children,

Born to-day,
I here invite with me to play,
As soon as you " bonjour" can say,
And toddle out our Paris way.

I'll have a palace full of toys,
Tops, marbles, whips, and guns for boys;
Of mimic war we'll taste the joys,
The drum makes such a charming noise.

Or, if a little lass you be,
Of dolls you'll find variety,
With eyes that move—and almost see,
An.d say, " Mamma, come quick ! dress me."

We'll have a play-ground and a hall,
Where boys may play at bat and' ball;
And girls may feign a morning call,
Or drape their doll hi evening shawl.

And, should a doll behave ill-bred,
Tears in a corner shall be shed,
As you have wept, by Jeannette led
Upstairs—when whipt and put to bed.
We'll play a play as Kings and Queens,
Or shepherds dance in milli scenes,
And money count with shells and beans,
And keep shop with our little means.
We'll dine—and, all set round, partake
Of wine, and fruit, and jam, and cake,
And jelly—in a natural quake!
Where children their appearance make.
And when gay daylight has expired—
(As all our friends have long desired !)
Within our cots we'll slumber tired,
By all our dear Mammas admired

So will we imitate of right
All that our ELDERS doth delight,
Who laugh and cry—and kiss and fight
Their little day—and, then—" Good Night."
For NAP•EuctEN-Loms-JEAN-JOSErli (File de France).
Given at our Cradle at the Tuileries,
Signed{ THE
gu°sToNvEEEißszoss }Childoofftle France.

INDIAN RITBR NAVIGATION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

9, Billiter-street, London, 13th September, 1856.

Snt,—The rapid manner in which the shares in all un-
dertakings lately projected for developing the resources of
India have been taken up by the public shows the interest
which India is beginn tug to '.excite in this country, and
the perception of the enormous resources and the remune-
rative character of public works in that great dependency.
This more general appreciation of the vast capabilities of
India has been very much promoted by the lectures and
publications of Colonel Cotton, late Chief Engineer of
Madras, on the subject of Indian improvements, and,
with your permission, I will recapitulate, for the informa-
tion of your reader, the conclusions arrived at by this emi-
nent authority.

C.lonel Cotton states that the primary wants of India
are cheap means of internal communication, and a large
distribution of water for the purposes of irrigation. From
the want of cheap means of internal communication, the
productions of the interior of the country cannot be brought
to a port of shipment in any considerable quantities, nor
can British manufactures, especially of the cheaper kinds,
be carried into the interior to that extent which would
otherwise be possible. Great losses, not merely to the In-
dian Government and the native population, but also to
the producing population of this country, consequently
ensue. If the resources of India were properly developed
she would be. able to purchase nearly all the manufactures
we produce, and would be able to supply us in return with
most of 'che commodities which we at present require to
import; from foreign countries. The first step in this
covxse of development must be to cheapen the internal
communications. The proportion of produce paid to the
Government as rent has often to be left to rot upon the
ground. The energies of the country, indeed, are para-
lysed by the existing difficulties of locomotion, since there
is no inducement to raise produce for which, from the ex-
pense of transport, a remunerative market cannot be ob-
tained.

To alleviate the difficulties of internal transport in
India several railways have of late years been constructed
in that country. Colonel Cotton, however, maintains that
although railways are in many situations important aids
to internal communication, that the bulk of the traffic in
Indian produce must be carried on by means of the great
rivers, as in America and other extensive tracts of country,
inasmuch as it is only by water communication that the
necessary cheapness of transport for rough and bulky
articles—such as agricultural produce for the most part is
—can be obtained. Railways in India will be useful for
the transmission of passengers and of light, expensive, and
perishable articles, for which rapidity of transmission is
important. But water conveyance can alone insure suffi-
cient cheapness of locomotion to bring the wheat, sugar,
cotton, and other agricultural produce from the heart of a
great country like India to our shores, and by establishing
steam navigation of a suitable character upon the rivers
this object would be at once attained. At present the
boats navigating the rivers of India have to be dragged by
manual labour upwards against the stream ; but by the
use of steam this heavy expense and feeble process will be
exchanged for the cheapness and efficiency due to the use
of that power, and the whole heart of the country will be
effectually opened up.
Such, then, are the main conclusions of Colonel Cotton
upon this subject, and their soundness has been manifested
by adequate experiment. Already has steam navigation
been established upon several of the rivers of India with
very advantageous results. The last dividend of the Ganges
Steam Navigation Company was at the rate of 48 per cent.
per annum, and the last return of a navigation company
on the Godavery was at the rate of 55 per cent. per an-
num. These companies, however, are totally unable to
fill the immense field which India presents for river navi-
gation of a profitable character ; and some of the support-
ers of those undertakings, and other persons practically
acquainted with the subject, have associated themselves to
establish an English company, which, by the use of an
adequate capital, and by calling in the.aid of European
science to aid Indian experience in the wide introduction
of steam navigation of the moat suitable character, will, it
may fairly be hoped, succeed in opening up the communi-
cations of India in an efficient manner, to the great advan-
tage of that country, at the same time that it insures for
its shareholders returns of a still more remunerative cha-
racter than any which have been already obtained. I have
long given to the subject my carefal attention ; and from
my personal examinations in India, and my cognisance of
the capabilities of steam navigation in other parts of the
world, I foresaw and predicted that it would prove largely
remunerative to persons embarking in it. The experiment
has now been tried ; the result has been successful--not, I
must say, beyond what I expected, but beyond what I con-
fessed; and now the problem is to occupy the field in an
effectual manner, as the merits of the undertaking and the
magnitude of the field equally justify and demand.
I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient ser-
vant, JOHN BOURNE.