The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-08 00:00:00

RAILWAY MEETINGS.

The railway meetings of the week have been
principally of a secondary character, but they have
presented some facts of interest. The report of the
Midland Great Western Company states that the
directors propose to declare a dividend at the rate
of 5 per cent., leaving a surplus of 3,960/. to be
carried forward. The branch line to Cavan has
been opened, but it is too early to judge of the pro-
bable development of traffic. The shareholders of
the Dundee, Perth, and Aberdeen Junction Com-
pany have adopted the report, and approved the
dividend of per cent. per annum. The under-
taking shows a gradual improvement, mainly attri-
buted to the result cf cordial co-operation with the
other lines in the district. It is stated that the
Alyth Railway, when carrried out, will become an
important feeder. The directors of the East Anglian
Railway anticipate an important improvement in
the traffic receipts from the completion by the cor-
poration of Lynn of the quarrying of the Boal
Point, which will afford increased accommodation
for steamers or other vessels using the port. The
dividend of the Melbourne and Hobaon's Bay Com-
pany has been declared at the rate of 8 per cent.,
leaving a balance of 8,9231. The report of the
Cornwall Railway has been adopted, and the for-
feiture of shares confirmed. The works are repre-
sented thus far to have proceeded satisfactorily, and
to be in an advanced state ; but their further active
prosecution will depend upon the speedy posses-
sion of sufficient funds. At the meeting of the Lan-
cashire and Yorkshire Company the dividend of
21. ss. for the half-year was agreed to, and the
directors wore authorised to oppose all bills in Par-
liament considered prjudicial. The report of the
Edinburgh and Glasgow CJinpany hai been agreed
to, and the dividends declared at the rate of 2 per
cent. on the consolidated stock, and 5 per cent. on
the preference shares. Owing to increased expen-
diture and the effects of competition, the results of
the half-year have not proved satisfactory. At the
meeting of the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway
the dividend of 6s. per share was agreed to. It is
stated that the traffic is increasing, and that it will
exhibit further improvement on the completion of
the line to Enniskillen. The report of the North
British Railway is considered more favourable, and
prudence and economy will, it is hoped, place the
undertaking on a sound basis. The dividend on the
ordinary stock is proposed to be at the rate of 2i
per cent., while that on the guaranteed stock will
be at the rate of 5 per cent. Attention is to be
directed to a further reduction in working expenses,
if it can be judiciously effected. The Railway Pas-
sengers' Assurance Company have declared a divi-
dend at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum, and the
report has been received. The principal discussion
was with respect to the general outlay, which it was
explainedis incurred to obtain an increased business.
The report of the Staines, Wokingham, and Woking
Railway details the progress of the undertaking, and
states that the directors have not considered it de-
sirable to commence the works on the branch line
from Long Cross to Woking. The promoters of the
Buntingford and Ware Railway have held a meet-
ing at Buntingford, and resolutions have been
passed approving the project. The works on the
Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway are steadily pro-
ceeding, and when they shall have been completed
a remunerative return is expected. The directors
have called the remaining 5/. per share. The divi-
dend of the Glasgow and South-Western Company
will be at the rate of 4 per cent., leaving a small
balance to be carried forward. At the meeting of
the Great Southern and Western the dividend de-
clared was at the rate of G per cent., the revenue
showing a progressive increase. The traffic of th
Whitehaven and Furness line exhibits an improve-
ment, but the working expenses continue heavy.
The dividend of the Whitehaven, Cleator, and
Egremont Company is at the rate of 4 per cent.,
and the mineral traffic is being fully developed.
The report of the South Devon Company is re-
garded as satisfactory, and a dividend of 7s. per
share has been agreed to. Arrangements for leasing
the South Devon and Tavistock Railway and the
Lee Moor branch were carried, the directors being
alaoauthorised to raise additional capital. The direc-
tors of the Exeter and Exmouth Company state
that additional subscriptions having been made to
the share capital, they propose to take the neces-
sary steps for purchasing land and entering into
contracts for the construction of the line. Accord-
ing to the report of the Fleetwood, Preston, and
West Riding Junction Company, tho working of
the united line will be at once proceeded with.
The traffic of the Furness line has been consider-
able, and the dividend declared has been at the
rate of 8 per cent. per annum. At the meeting of
the Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction the
dividend declared was at the rate of 4 per cent., and
the report was adopted. The Forth anal Clyde
Junction having been opened, passengers are taken
through from Glasgow to Stirling, passing over the
line to Balloch. It has been agreed to wind up
the Liverpool, Manchester, and Newcastle Junc-
tion Company, the Chancery proceedings having
been finally concluded. A small balance is re-
tained to meet contingencies. The works on the
Portsmouth line are advancing, but the section
from Godalming to Witney has received the greatest
attention. The pressure in the money-market has
prevented full activity, although on the whole
prospects are not considered discouraging. The
progress of the East Kent Company is regarded
as satisfactory ; and it is stated that the portion
from Strood to Faversham will be completed in
about 12 months. The bridge over the Medway
at Rochester has been finished within the time
specified, at a cost considerably within the estimate.
The dividend of the Norfolk Company is at the
rate of 2/. 10s. per cent., and the trade at all the
ports and agricultural stations has improved.
The directors have been authorised to raise
a sum of 30,0001. by the creation of new
shares at a rate of interest not exceeding 5
per cent. The report of the Birkenhead, Lanca-
shire, and Cheshire Junction Railway has been
adopted, and the dividend declared is at the rate
of 21; per cent. At the North-Western meeting it
was explained that the balance of reveLue is in-
sufficient to allow the payment of a dividend. The
traffic has been affected by the strike in the iron
districts of Ayrshire, which has exercised a very
prejudicial influence throughout the neighbourhood.
The dividends of the South Yorkshire Company
have been declared at the rate of 1 per cent. on
the guaranteed stock, and the report, after some
discussion with regard to the accounts, was carried.
The available balance of the Hereford, Ross, and
Glocester Company will be applied to reduce the
existing debt. An increase of traffic is expected,
and if the remaining shares can be issued, they
will realise a sum sufficient to relieve the under-
taking from all liability. The dividend of the
Vale of Neath Company has been declared at the
rate of 4 per cent., but, owing to the limited at-
tendance, a meeting could not be legally consti-
tuted. At the Sheffield, Rotherham, Wakefield,
and Goole meeting the dividend declared was at
the rate of 5 per cent., and the advantage of an
arrangement with the Lancashire and Yorkshire
Company is still under consideration. The report
of the Cannock Mineral Company has been adopted,
and the directors have been authorised to carry
out the proposed agreement with the North Staf- •
fordshire Company.—Times City Article.

OPEN-AIR PBEACIfING AT BETHNAL-

GREEN.

Sir Benjamin Hall's prohibition against preaching in
Victoria-park on Sundays bad the effect yesterday of
keeping out the clergymen and dissenting ministers who
bad made arrangements for a series of sermons there ;
but as the right hon. baronet's authority did not extend
to Bishop Bonner's-fields, which adjoin the park, the
clergyman whose turn it was to take the duty had his
pulpit erected without the boundaries of the park, and
about a hundred yards from its principal entrance. The
service, according to announcement, commenced at half-
pa three o'clock, at which time the Rev. W. D. Long,
M.A , the incumbent of St. Paul's Church, Bermondsey,
took his place. After some appropriate prayers selected
from the Liturgy of the Church of England. the rev.
gentleman addressed the vast mass of persons who sur-
rounded him. He stated that be was anxious to im-
press upon them that he was not there in defiance of
legal authority, which he wished at all times to respect,
for the prohibition issued by the Commissioner of Works
only applied to the park, and he had ascertained that
there were no impediments to a service being conducted
in Bishop &neer', -fields. As a clergyman of the Church
hadßethbneael-ngrereena—ditoly
of England he had asked the permission of the locum.
bentof
preac the
re sdiastnrdictzaStt.
c:l:noshenn'ts,
h the
granted. After these pre:itninary remarks the rev. gen-
tleman
selected for his text the 21st verse of the Ist chap-
ter of
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."
Upon this passage of Scripture.Mr.nLong preached in a
very fervid manner, to upwards of two thousand per-
sons, all of whom appeared to listen to Lim with re•
spectful attention. Very decorous conduct was ob-
served throughout the whole of the proceedings. At
st. John's Church, the incumbent of which had given
his consent to the out-of.door preaching, there was a
very poor congregation. It is one of the largest
churches in the metropolis, but while Mr. Long was
preaching in the fields, there were in the church only
two men and fifteen women. The open air preachings
in Bishop Bonner'; fields are to he continued, several
of the most eminent clergymen and dissenting ministers
in London having volunteered their services.

It is currently rumoured, but we du net vouch for the
corr.ctuetir, of the report, that the Right Hoy. Charles
F. Villiers, the present Judge Advocate-General, and
brother of Lord Clarendon, will probably be the successor
of the late Sir William Temple as minister at the Court
of Naples. Mr. Villiers' political views would seem to
qualify him for this particular post at the present mo•
meet,—Mancicuter Guardian.

THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE'S MILI-
TARY ADMINISTRATION.

A picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy
this y ear which excited considerable attention. The
scapegoat which was supposed to bear upon its de-
vot,d head the sins of the Israelitish people was
therein represented as sinking with fatigue in the
midst of a desolate salt-marsh in the wilderness.
The skeletons of preceding scapegoats and of camels
lay strewn around. Desolation encompassed the
wretched creature on every side, while the real
transgressors, their peace made and their sins for-
given, were, no doubt, enjoying themselves in
their cities and tents. Now, it was said at the
time, with no great propriety, by a jocular states-
man, that this scapegoat might be taken as emble-
matic of Lsrd Stratford de Redcliffe sacrificed for
the faults of the Ministry. There is really no
analogy bztween the two cases, for the Embassy at
Constantinople, in which that haughty diplomatist
still reigns supreme in sulky majesty, is not a salt-
marsh in the wilderness, nor is there any one sacri-
ficial incident at all about his position. The scape-
goat is a much more apposite emblem of the Duke
of Newcastle, who was cast out by his colleagues,
and offered as a victim to the public indignation
that they might go free. So far from being the
prime offender, he was among the most zealous and
industrious Ministers of the time, and, indeed, he
is fairly entitled to the modified praise of having
laboured more earnestly than any of his colleagues
to avert the disasters which fell upon our devoted
army before Sebastopol. The truth of this case is
far better understood at the present moment than
it was at that season of calamity and apprehension.
It is now understood on all sides that the Duke of
Newcastle did his best ; that he spared neither his
strength nor his time, and that be devoted himself
assiduously to the duties of his office. To say that
he was an efficient War Minister would be un-
true. He was not equal to the post. Men far
more fitted by their peculiar capacity and by their
previoul training for so responsible an office might
have failed at the commencement of the war in the
management of the British army. What had been
was swept away—that which was to replace it had
not yet been called into existence ; it certainly had
not been brought into working order. The admi-
nistration of the army was still suffering from the
dull routine into which it had fallen. It was a
grievous mistake, and grievously have we paid for
it. The Duke of Newcastle may be forgiven if he
failed at once to evoke life out of a body apparently
dead, and that at a season of unparalleled difficulty
and perplexity. He was called upon to work with
worn-out tools, with the use of which his hand had
never been familiar. Although, as Minister of War,
he was nominally supreme over that department,
he was in point of fact dependent upon the old
military clique at the Horse Guards in many most
important matters. The principal of these, and the
one in which the most fearful mistakes were made,
was the appointment of the Commander-in-Chief
and of the general officers at the seat of war. These
appointments, with some brilliant exceptions, led
to the most lamentable results, and for these the
Duke of Newcastle cannot in fairness be called to
account. It was Horse Guards' work throughout.
It is scarcely to be wondered at that the ex-
Minister of War should feel mortified and sore at
the treatment he met with from his colleagues.
This feeling of mortification he expressed on Friday
evening last at the annual feast of the catlers at
Sheffield, although he failed to refer his discomfiture
to the right source. He was ousted by a Cabinet in-
trigue—he was cast, like another Jonah, byhis ship-
mates into the angry sea, that the labouring ship
might escape the fury of the tempest. It was not the
British public, it was not the Sebastopol Committee,
nor Mr. Roebuck, its chairman, who were the prime
movers in the disaster which overtook him, but
his own colleagues, and more especially Lord John
Russell. The voice of public indignation was, no
doubt, loud against all the statesmen who presided
over the fortunes of the nation, but not more loud
against the Duke of Newcastle than any one of his
fellow-Ministers. We know that if there was in-
competence at home there was still greater incom-
petence at the seat of war. We do not say that
there were not grievous mistakes at home, but the
Commander-in-Chief in the Crimea and his princi-
pal officers made confusion thrice confounded. All
this is now well understood, and for these unfortu-
nate appointments the Duke of Newcastle is no
more held responsible than a statesman who occu-
pied the post of Minister of War must necessarily
be. The public are not unjust in the long run,
and the Duke of Newcastle may be quite sure that
he is only held responsible for his own share of the
burden. We remember well at the time that he
remained in town assiduously engaged in the dis-
charge of his duties at the time that most of his
colleagues were taking their pleasure about the
country. His zeal and industry even at the time
were favourably contrasted with the negligence
and indifference of his fellows. There is not the
slightest reason for saying that he was treated with

peculiar harshness by the public. On the contrary,
it was universally allowed that he did his best, al-
though his efforts were not attended with success.
The Duke of Newcastle seemed to be aware of this

when he eaid the other night at the Cutler's

Feast :—" Abuse me as much as you like, but for
Heaven's sake do not pass me over in silence ;
and, if I am not to depart from this axiom, all
I can say is that I feel I have deep reason to
be grateful for much that has been said, and
still more for that which has been written of
me within a recent period." We are not, of
course, aware of the particular writings to which
the Duke may refer; but if anybody has written
with repect to his military administration that it
was successful, the writer must have very peculiar
notions of what constitutes success. If, on the con-
trary, it has been stated that the Duke of Newcastle
very honestly and faithfully endeavoured to dis-
charge his duty to the best of his ability—that he
threw more heart into his work than any one of his
colleagues—that for many of the disasters which
occurred during his administration he was not re •
sponsible, but that they partly resulted from the
evil system which he found existing, partly from
the incompetence of the military commanders in
the Crimea, partly from accidents over which he
had no control, and partly from the Duke's own
unfitness for the post winch he occupied—that is
the truth as it is at present understood by his fel-
low-countrymen.
It may be an additional consolation to the Duke
as an ex-Minister, if not as a patriot, to feel that
had he remained in power he would at least have
" succeeded" as well as his successor. Lird Pan-
mere has, indeed, been able to profit by the errors
of his predecessor, but we know not of any single
measure of his administration which the Dike of
Newcastle, wiser by previous calamity, would not
have carried out in his place. His misfortune was
that as soon as be had learned his lesson in the
stern school of misfortune he was cast adrift, and
sacrificed by the intrigues of his colleagues. Time
was not given him, nor opportunity, to
repair his blunders, and the consequence was
that a certain slur was left upon him in
his character of administrator of a principal de-
partment of State. This slur, however, is
rather imaginary than real. If the real opinion
of the- country upon the point could be tested at
the present moment the Duke of Newcastle would

find. that the prevailing idea is that he was vic-
timised by his colleagues. His previous character
as a statesman stands just as it did before the Rtl3-
aim war. He has, no doubt, missed the glory of
having administered the War Department with
success at a most critical time, and of having earned
a great name in history. He was not equal to the
occasion, and few men would have been. ,The best
thing for his own reputation's sake the Duke of
Newcastle can now do is to give his aid in the re-
formation of our military enormities. Ho must
have learnt much from the past—let him forget his
personal grievances, and turn the experience which
he so painfully acquired to some useful account.—
Times.

HOLLOWAY'S PILLS INFALLIBLE FOR THE CURE OF
INDIGESTION AND DISORDEEED STOMACHS.—Mr. Charles
Watch, of Castlewellen, states, in a letter to Professor
Holloway, that a person with whom be is acquainted
suffered from indigestion and liver complaint. Some of
the most eminent medical men in the neighbourhood bad
tried their skill upon him without any good effect, and
for some time he was in the county infirmary. There he
was pronounced incurable. However, notwithstanding
all this, Holloway's Pills have been the sole means of
perfectly curing him.—Sold by all medicine vendors
throughout the world ; at Professor Holloway's esta-
blishments, 244, Strand, London, and 80, Maiden-lane,
New York ; by A. Stamp, Constantinople ; A. Guidici,
Smyrna ; and E. Muir, Malta.
COMMITTAL OF A SOLICITOR FOR PERTURY.—G GILD-
FORtes D, Saturday.—A. special borough bench of magis-
trates assembled for the purpose of investigating a
charge perjury brought against George Smith, Esq.,
solicitor,o residing in Southampton-buildings, Chancery-
lane. Mr. Rutcb inson, in opening the case for the pro-
secution, stated the alleged perjury took place at the
recent assizes heldinieh a
this town in the cause of " Smith
which v. Winder," in verdictlr was recorded for the
action defendant. In that Mr. Smith swore distinctly
was exectite
that before the bond by the defendant, his
son, and Mr. Wakeling, he read it over to them, and
told them distinctly that it was given ae_ I, collateral se-
curity. Mr. Matthew 'Winder and Mr. William Winder,
his eon, swore distinctly that Mr. Smith did no such
thing, and that they did not know the nature of the
bond before they signed it, and signed it without having
it read over to them, as they had entire confidence .
Mr. Smith, who was their solicitor. After the evidence,
Mr. Lewis addressed the jury on behalf of the prisoner'
but the Bench fully committed him for trial;' Bail, in
the sum of 2,000 e,, was taken for his appearante.