The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-10 00:00:00

SOUTH AMER WAN SUBMARINE CABLES.

A scheme has been laid before the Chilian Congress for
the connectien of Valparaiso and Panama by a submarine
line of telegraphy, the line to touch at all the principal
ports in Chili, Bolivia, and Peru. Another project is for a
submarine line from Valparaiso to Buenos Ayres, and both
questions have been referred to a committee. As busineFs
is gradually reviving,and confidence is being restored, now
that the fear of the earthquakes threa`ened by Falb and
Saxby is relieved, it is likely that some action v ill be
taken.

At a Liberal dinner which took place at Lichfield
on Tuesday the Earl of Lichfield said he could not help taking
that opportunity of saying that if be did not join the National
Education League it was not from any diff,rence of opinion
upon the objects the rnewbers of the League had in
view. There were at the present moment three schemes
before the counry, and they would require most careful
consideration : the scheme of the League, the scheme of
the union, and a scheme which had received less considera-
tion than it deserved, and which Lid been brought before
the country by Mr. Bruce and Mr. Forster, who met a large
number of persons at Manchester to discuss the subject.
He had had nothing to say against the League, except that he
thought it bad too much overlooked the great benefits that
had been derived from the existing system. He doubted
whether the objects of the League would be achieved unless
the great benefit that had been conferred by the present
system were recognised.

RAILWAY AND OTHER COMPANIES:

GRAND TRUNK OF CANADA.

The report of the directors of this company states
that the gross receipts upon the whole undertaking,
including the Buffalo and Champlain lines, had
been, for the half-year ending the 30th of June last,
£674,621; from which was deducted the ordinary
working expenses (being at the rate of 67.59 per
cent., against 65.93 in the corresponding half last
year), amounting to £455,958, and for renewals,
&c., of permanent way and works, £77,039, mak-
ing together £532,997, leaving an available net
balance earned in the half-year of £141,624. From
this was deducted £24,841 loss on American, leav-
ing £116,783, against £129,925 in the bailie half of
1868. From this was deducted £17,206 for postal
and military revenue due to the postal bondholders,
leaving £99,577 ; out of this was deducted £18,277
for interest on certain loans and debentures,£sl,766
for rents of leased lines, and £10,779 for Equip-
ment Bond interest, leaving a balance of £18,755
(subject to the claims of the Buffalo Company).
Comparing the results of the half-year's working
with the corresponding period of 1868, there was
an increase in the gross revenue of £27,824. The
aggregate expenses for the half-year, apart from
renewals, amounted to £455,959, as against £426,477
for the corresponding half of 1868. The engineer's
report showed that£4o,ooo was spent in extra labour
alone in clearing the line from the vast accumula-
tion of snow which had fallen during the storms,
and the extra cost to which the locomotive an d
car departments were subjected in their battles
with the elements justified the statement that from
those various causes an additional sum of £20,000
was spent beyond the expenditure of ordinary win-
ters. The snow-storms of the last half-year were
estimated to have cost the company not only an ad-
ditional expenditure of £20,000, but an estimated
loss of traffic of £40,000, of which £16,000 would
have been profit, thus making an aggregate loss of
net profit of £36,000, which would otherwise have
been added to the results actually shown. The cost
of fuel was less by £l,BOO, although there had been
an increase of 132,868 train miles run. The aver-
age receipts from passengers in the half-year were
6s. 9d. per head, against 6s. Bd., and 16s. 6d. per
ton of freight, against the same amount in the cor-
responding half of last year. The charge for re-
newals amounted to £77,039, against a total charge
in the corresponding half of 1868 of £67,403. In-
cluded in the above charge for the half-year was
£14,519 for extra weight of rails. The weight of
rails was 751 b. to the yard, and the number of miles
actually relaid was 621. The loss on American
currency was £24,841, against £18,882 in the cor-
responding period of 1868. It appeared from a table
in the report that the expenditure out of revenue
on renewals from June, 1862, to June, 1869,
amounted to £984,848, and for the loss on Ameri-
can currency to £438,362. The experience of all
railways on the American continent had proved that
iron rails, as now manufactured, do not stand the
strain of a heavy traffic, and they were of course
more severely tried in the northern climate. All
the trunk lines wore now renewing the heaviest
worked portions of their roads in Bessemer steel
rails, having found that the best iron rails obtain-
able do
_not last more than five years, and in
most cost cases considerably less. The directors
had decided in future to relay those parts of the
main line where the traffic was heaviest, and the
climate most severe, with Bessemer steel, and they
would next year send to Canada 5,000 tons of those
rails. The other renewals would be continued for
the present with iron re-rolled in Canada and the
United States. The completion of ballasting of
line, which was urgently needed, would tend mate-
rially to lengthen the life of the rails. The rolling
stock was now worked in its full capacity, and
large quantities of traffic were every year refused
from the inability of the company to carry it. Until
the capital already authorised be provided for those
purposes the company could not be placed in the
successful position which existing circumstances
fully opened before it. The growing confidence
entertained towards the company in Canada had
been manifested by the capital subscribed at Mon-
treal to supply to a moderate extent the deficiencies
in the rolling stock. Five hundred box cars had
been already contracted for, and it was hoped that
this local capital would provide a further quantity
of 200 cars, at a total cost of about £115.000.
This would be valuable aid, both as regarded the
extra traffic it would produce and the evidence it
afforded of the interest taken in the railway in
Canada. There was no doubt of the fact that ample
traffic existed to give a large average increase to the
weekly receipts, and it was equally true that the
present rolling stock was not sufficient, at the cur-
rent rates of carriage, to "add materially to the
present gross returns. The local rates upon the
line were regulated by a tariff which varied with
the season, and they were raised at certain regular
dates, as the river and lake navigation became more
costly and difficult, until at its final close at the end
of November they attained their maximum. Dur-
ing the whole of the year 1869 the through rates
had ruled considerably lower than in 1868, and in
1868 they were below the rates current in 1867. Al-
though the rates were raised in the latter weeks of
October to something like the higher standard of
1868, they were still. 10 per cent. below that stan-
dard, and the higher tariff which was confidently
expected in the early part of November was, in all
probability, arrested by the breakdown of the prices
of produce at Cli.i.erigo and throughout the West.
In consequence c f the lo w rates of the current year,
as compared with t those of last year, an average in-
crease of above £2,000 per week had been lost to
the company. The directors were happy to report
that an agreement had now been concluded be-
tween the Buffalo and Grand Trunk Boards, sub-
ject, of course, to the approval of the proprietors
of both comp.? lies. It had been arranged that the
agreement should be approved by the shareholders
of the Burd'o Company before the Grand Trunk
proprietors -.were asked to ratify it. The directors
were further ,!)appy to announce that they saw every
prospect of being able to pay the interest for the
current li mi the first preference bonds.

BOM RAY, BARODA, AND CENTRAL INDIA.
The re
POrt of the directors of this company states
that the ' ce.tal receipts on stock, shares, and deben-
tures an Jo anted to £7,453,489, of which £19,488
was re'zeil :ed in the past half-year. The total ex-
Pemlitu.r e on capital account passed and brought to
account waa £6,618,831, and the amount in stores
and math :dale on hand was £618,314. The railway

was opened to the Marine Lines Temporary Station
in Back Bay on the 19th of June last, a further dis-
tance of about / of a mile, thus making the
open line 308 Miles in length, with 46 stations.
The principal works on the open line had been those
connected with deepening the pier foundations and
strengthening the piers of the Nerbudda and other
large bridges. The 2/ miles of line from Ahmeda-
bad to the north side of the Saburmutte river would
shortly be opened. Some of the pier foundations of
the bridge proved exceedingly difficult, and the
screwing for four piers had to be carried to a depth
of 63 feet. The total gross receipts for the half
year ending June last amounted to £277,733, over
308 miles, as compared with £276,410 in the cor-
responding period last year, over 306 miles, show-
ing a slight increase of £1,323. The receipts per
train mile were 12s. ld. in 1869, against lls.
in 1868. The total number of passengers carried
was 923,516, against 820,580 in the corresponding
half of 1868, showing an increase of 102,936. The
whole increase in receipts under the general head of
coaching traffic amounted to £5,215. This was
partly due to thi great Towra Fair, hell near
Broach, in the spring, and which only happened
once in every 20 years. The tonnage of public
goods carried in the half year was £97,186, as
compared with £98,831 in 1868. The tonnage
of railway materials conveyed was 17,733, against
16,424 in the same half of 1868. The merchan-
dise receipts amounted to £155,981, as compared
with £157,113 in 1868, showing a decrease of
£1,132. In the miscellaneous items of the ac-
count there was a diminution of £2,789. The
total working expenses amounted to £185,948, or
66.96 per cent., as compared with £177,571, or
64.24 per cent. in the corresponding period of 1868.
The train-mile rate of expense was Bs. ld. in 1869,
against 7s. 7id. in 1868. If the carriage charged
for the collection and delivery of goods had been
deducted from the gross merchandise receipts as
heretofore, the working expenses would have been
£165,775 in 1869, as compared with £153,217 in
1868. If further special charges not applicable to
the half-year be eliminated in both cases, the figures
of ordinary working cost would stand in 1869 at
£143,956, or 55.88 per cent. of the receipts, and in
1868 at £147,174, or 58.38 per cent. of the re-
ceipts, the train-mile rate being 6s. 31d. in 1869,
and 6s. 3/d. in 1868. The principal item in the
special charges in the present account was £18,333,
on account of the works of repair and strengthen-
ing rendered necessary by the damages of the mon-
soon of 1868, amounting to £53,921 placed to a
suspense account. The net revenue for the half-
year amounted to £91,785. The total advances by
Government to the company for guaranteed inte-
rest to the 30th of June last amounted to
£2,382,473 ; while the repayments of net profits to
the same period reached £721.616, thus leaving the
debt due to Government out of half-surplus profits
over 5 per cent £1,660,857. By the recent arrange-
ment with the Secretary of State for India in Coun-
cil, Government would henceforth have an equal
share with the company in all surplus profits above
5 per cent. during the currency of the contract,
Government agreeing to cancel the existing debt
for guaranteed interest, and taking no account
against the company of future advances. The
directors fully shared with the proprietors in
the disappointment that had been expressed, that
the larger part of the original scheme to supply
Central India with railway communication by
the most direct route between Bombay, DAhi,
and Agra bad not been intrusted for execution to
this company. Steps had already been taken to
have the works of the Veerumgaum-Wudwan Ex-
tension commenced without delay, and the Board
had full confidence that this extension would be
constructed with expedition, economy, and effi-
ciency, and that when completed it would bring a
considerable contribution to the traffic of the exist-
ing line. The directors were not without hope
that other fruitful and economical extensions
would be made before long into the cotton districts
of Guzerat.