The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-10 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 10, 1858.

LATEST NEWS.

The following_ telegram was received at' Al
Renter's Office, -Dec. 10 :--

PARIS, FRIDAY.

The Moniteur of this morning contains the
balance-sheet of the Bank of France, made up till
Thursday last, which shows the following results
as compared with the previous return :

INCREASED.

Cash in hand
Advances
Treasury balance
Current account

Francs.
.. • . 28 millions.
.. . . 11 „
.. . . 261 „
.. .. 141 „

" We understand that British magistrates are to
be appointed to reside in Basutoland."

THE NIGER EXPEDITION.

By the African mail advices have been received
from the steamship Sunbeam, attached to the Niger
expedition, dated off Rabba, 0ct..6. The Sunbeam
entered the Niger on the 30th of June, reached
Ebo on the 15th of July, where she remained a
month, and arrived at Rabba on the 2d of October,
with the loss of only one European—the cabin
steward. After embarking the collections of Dr.
Baikie, R.N., and his assistants, she was
to leave on her descent of the river, and
may be expected to arrive at Fernando Po
in December. A great portion of her native
crew had deserted the steamer on the second day
of her entering the river, carrying off some of
her boats ; but notwithstanding this untoward cir-
cumstance, no opposition or difficulty was ex-
perienced from the natives, either in the Delta or
the upper parts of the river, and the different
trading factories established last year were in full
operation. Dr. Baikie and the government mem-
bers of the expedition were in good health after
their twelve months' encampment on the banks or
the Niger, during which period there had not oc-
curred the slightest disagreement with the natives.
The comparative impunity from' African diseases,
whether among the crew of the Sunbeam or the
party of the encampment, is to be ascribed to the
free use of quinine, with which they were abun-
dantly supplied. The Rainbow was daily expected
at Rabba, having been heard of above the Brass,
and the river having abundance of water.

THE NEW GALWAY LINE OF
STEAMERS,

BELFAST, THURSDAY NIGHT.
An important special meeting of the Belfast
Chamber of Commerce was held this day, at which
Mr. J. 0. Lever was present, accompanied by Mr.
Pliny Miles, of New York, and Mr. Alfred B.
Richards, of London. Mr. Lever made a statement
concerning the operation of the undertaking so far,
its present position and future prospects, urging
the Belfast Chamber of Commerce to use its in-
fluence with Government for the grant of an ade-
quate postal subsidy to the line. After some
inquiries had been made by the President, a series
of resolutions, strongly- advocating the project were
unanimously carried.

The Atlantic Telegraph was next discussed by
the meeting, and a resolution Was passed empower-
ing the council of the Chamber of Commerce to
memorialise the Government to give a guarantee for
a moderate per tentage on new capital required,
irrespective of risk.

ARREST OF _RIBBON:3IEN IN IREL.IND,

CORK, THURSDAY.
The second edition of the .Daily Reporter of this
day contains the following :
"At half-past 11 this day 15 prisoners charged
with being members of an illegal society arrived
by the Bandon train, under the escort of a large
party of police. They are all young men and of
respectable position in society—twelve of them are
from Skibbereen, and three from Bantry. The
captures were effected last night, while most of the
parties were in bed. They aro members of the
Phoenix Society, and the informations have been
sworn against them by one of their body named.
Sullivan. The object of the society is said to have
been for the purpose of obtaining an invasion of
our country by American filibusters."

TELEGRAPH BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND HOLY-
HEAD.-At the meeting of the Mersey Dock and Harbour
Board, yesterday, it was decided that a telegraph cable
should be laid between Liverpool and Holyhead, the Liver-
pool end of the cable crossing the Mersey at Woodside, in
order to avoid the danger of being subject to injury by the
numerous anchorages of flats and other small'eraft south of
that point.
Loss OF A LIVERPOOL SHIP.—The ship Science,
Capt. Gibson, from Buenos Ayres to Liverpool, was aban-
doned on the sth Dec. in lat. 50 N., long. 10 W.,. having
experienced tremendous weather for the last month. The
crew were picked up by the ship St. Patrick, which arrived
yesterday from New Orleans at Liverpool.
DEFENCE OF THE COAST.—A special meeting of
the Town Council of Hartlepool was convened on Tuesday
evening, to consider a communication received from the
War-office relative to the leasing of two portions of corpo-
ration ground on which to erect powerful batteries Por the
defence of this part of the coast. This communication was
supplementary to one received some months ago on the samo
subject, when such information relative to the ownership of
the ground in question, &c., as was required by the
authorities, was duly supplied, and upon this the pre-
sent application was made for the sites pointed out
on plans forwarded with the application. One of
the sites proposed is a little to the northward of the
Hough Lighthouse, being a portion of the Town-moor,
and comprising an area of about 7,493 square yards ; the
other site is in the Farwell-field, about three-quarters of a
mile further north, and containing 2,383 square yards.
Both sites are on ground belonging to the corporation,
having been purchased by them from the freemen of the
town for annuities terminating with the lives of the annuit-
ants. Aunanimous desire was expressed on the part of the
council to aid the project as far as possible, and a resolu-
tion was agreed to granting a lease of the sites at a merely
nominal rent for the term of 31 years, that being tho
longest period for which, by virtue of the Freemen's Lands
Act, the corporation can grant a lease, except by the special
consent of the Treasury, which in this case will doubtless
be immediately granted, if it be required.

28s to 305., according to mark. Meal from the
western province, the usual source of supply to this,
has been to a large extent superseded by success-
ful attempts to grow wheat throughout the frontier
districts, and since the removal of so many troops,
these districts are found equal to the local supply ;
and the quality known ar.' "golden ball meal" is
plentiful at 30s. to 335. the 1961b5. , ,
in-
eluding bag. The exports from the colony for the
year ending 30th of June last are returned at
£1,835,509, and the imports daring that period
£2,929,097, showing a balance of £1,093,588
against the colony, made up of course from sources
not shown in the Government returns. The influx of
immigrants, of whom we have received 1,749 to date,
will, we trust, force the colony to a greater develop-
ment of its resources, by reclaiming its wastes and
by enlarging the breadth of agriculture. A go-
vernment system of irrigation is much needed ;
some comprehensive scheme, under which, by a
union of talent and capital, the waters of our several
rivers may be retained for the purposes of irriga-
tion, instead of running to waste as now. By Go-
vernment debentures of £1,000,000 sterling, a mil-
lion of acres of land, now profitless, might be made
to yield at least one pound's value of produce per
annum, clear of all expenses.
" The state of the frontier is not so settled as it
was a few months ago, and this is attributable to
the removal of troops. A strong front, and
the means of coercion to employ when needed, is
indispensable. Several thefts of stock have
been committed throughoutithe frontier districts
during the month, and small bands of plunderers
still harass the farmers from their bushy lairs. The
mounted police are still energetic in the pursuit of
these marauders, but the strength of th'e force is
quite unequal to the immense and incessant duty
required of it, and ought to be augmented and better
paid. The Kaffirs are known to be conciliating
the Fingoes within the colony, it is feared with
some sinister motive. A few years ago the latter
were considered by the liaffirs as ' dogs but
now, the barrier is so far removed that intermar-
riages take place. The colonists dread any com-
bination of the coloured races, and look upon any-
thing tending thereto with well-founded apprehen-
sion. To watch these movements and to prevent
their ripening into mischief and disaster a local
government is needed.

" The trial of the chief Umhala has, by the
mouths of witnesses frorct his own people, estab-
lished the complicity of that chief in warlike
attempts against the colony. The witnesses de-
' scribe how men were sent to wade into ponds up
to the neck, and to hold the heads and horns of
oxen over their heads, and to low, in imitation of
kine, whilst a prophetess, duly instructed thereto,
was made to explain to the poor Kaffir dupes that
these cattle were rising from the dead, and that their
chiefs and deceased relatives would so rise, provided
the people killed all their stock and destroyed all their
corn. The evidence then went most conclusively to
show that this slaughtering of cattle was for, the
purpose of reducing the Kaffir tribes to starvation,
and thus to incite them to a bloody war upon the
colony ; and that further, having no flocks to tend,
the whole force of Kaffirland would be available
for a general descent on the colonial farmers. The
plot, although at the outset disbelieved by many,
especially of the western colonists, is now fully
proved to have existed, and the able administra-
tion of Sir George Grey, under the blessing of God,
has alone saved us from a Kaffir war of the most
fierce and bloody character. To this day, these
tribes are so unsettled and uneasy, both those
within and without the colony, that the utmost
caution is needed to preserve peace, and the with-
drawal of troops under these aspects imperils the
colony. The ready and rapid combination of
these people renders them a formidable army.
" The .sister colony of Natal is producing sugar
to some extent. Many Germans, it is said, intend
to remove from British Kaffraria thither. The
cotton interest of Manchester has made some defi-
nite proposals for lands to cultivate that staple.
An association, with a capital of £2,000, has
been formed for the importation of improved breeds
of sheep, to be sold to farmers at cost price, and
upon credit, paying interest.
" Sir George Grey is said to have handed to
President Boshof the draft of a feasible federative
system. _

REDUCTION IX THE BANK RATE OF
DIS'COUATT.

-4--

(F,•oliz the Daig Stews city .41, tide.)
flie City was yesterday taken completely by
surprise in consequence of a notification that the
directors of the Bank of. England, at their weekly
court to-day, have reduced their minimum rate of
discount from 3 per cent., at which it was fixed on
the 11th of February last, to 21 per cent. Al-
though the terms current in the open market have
long been a to a per cent. below those of the Bank,
people had quite given up the idea of any altera-
tion being made during the present year. Merely
from its being unexpected at the present juncture,
the announcement created quite a sensation. In
the Stock Exchange, as is well known, a rise in
the prices of securities, and a fall in the value of
money by a fall in securities, simply because
changes of this description are almost invariably
anticipated by the speculators. Upon the present
occasion, however, the alteration has been imme-
diately followed by a rise of no less than a half per
cent. in the funds. During the earlier part of the
day the market was flat; and at twenty minutes
past one o'clock, when the Bank broker first made
the news public in the Stook Exchange—for
nobody thought of making inquiry at the Bank
itself—prices were quoted at a reduction of about
1, per cent. Renewed firmness was the immediate
consequence ; and, after a general but brief pause,
which was attributable solely to the unexpected
character of the intelligence, a steady upward
movement set in. Consols left off a per cent.
higher than yesterday. English railway stocks
exhibit a sensible advance, and French and
Indian were likewise decidedly firmer. The four
o'clock quotations were in every instance the high-
est of the day ; and after the close of the Stock
Exchange a fresh improvement was established.
During the morning the discount market re-
mained easy, the minimum rate for the best bills
being about 2i per cent. ; and at the Bank the
applications were rather more numerous than of
late. Upon the alteration at the Bank, the entire
market became, for the time, unsettled. The pro-
bability is that the terms for the best paper will
range, for the present, from 2 to 21 per cent. That
the Bank of England will be still underbid by the
other monied establishments is certain.. Mean-
while, the latter have not yet adopted any uniform
resolution with regard to the rates of allowance for
deposits. Of the joint-stock banks, four have
altered their terms, viz., the London and West-
minster, Union, Commercial, and Bank of London.
These establishments will henceforth allow only 11
per cent. per annum for deposits, instead of 2 per
cent. ; but in the case of the London and West-
minster Bank, sums below £5OO are exceptionally
treated, and will be allowed only 1 per cent. The
London Joint-Stock, London and County, and City.
Banks have as yet made no change, but will prob-
ably follow the example of those already mentioned.
No notice has yet been put forward by the Lom-_
bard-street discount houses, who, however, are ex-
pected to-morrow to lower their terms to 1 per
cent. for money "at call," and 11 per cent., subject
to seven days' notice of withdrawal. The same
remark will apply to the two discount companies.
The rate now fixed I.y the Bank applies likewise
to loans on Government stock, but the terms in the
Stock Exchange are still lower.
The motives which have actuated the Bank Di-
rectors in taking the step at the present period of
the year have already given rise to lively discus-
sions. Probably it is felt that the Bank's regular
customers claim consideration. The firmer appear-
ance assumed by the continental exchanges during
the last fortnight, the fact that gold is flowing into
the Bank, and the subsidence of the demand for
money in the German markets have also doubtless
had an influence. It has already transpired, how-
ever, that in to-day's decision the Bank board were
far from unanimous, a minority attaching import-
ance to the generally low level of the foreign ex-
changes, which causes the diversion to the Conti-
nent of the bulk of the gold imported. Remittances
on account of the Turkish and Chilian Loans have
likewise to be met; and the prospect that numerous
other foreign projects will soon be brought forward
is not undeserving of attention.
The present is the third occasion since the year
1844 on which the Bank rate of discount has been
reduced from 3 to 21- per cent. The annexed
comparison shows that, so far as can be gathered
from the figures quoted, the step is justified by
precedent :

Coin. Reierve of
• Bullion. Notes.
Nov. 17, 1849 ' £16,037,690 .. £11,027,655
Dec. 27, 1851
Dec. 9, 1858 (last return) 18,776,314 .. 12,324,040

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

NORTH-WESTERN.

A spacial meeting of the shareholders in the
North-Western Railway Company was held in the
Philosophical Hall,. Leeds, yesterday, for the pur-
pose of considering, and, if approved, of confirming
the lease of the North-Western line to the Midland
Company, for a term of 999 years, to commence on
the Ist of January, 1859.
Mr. HENRY ALCOCK, the chairman of the direc-
tors, presided.
WHELAN, the secretary read the minutes of
the company, explaining the various steps which
had been taken with reference to the contem-
plated lease, and the terms upon which it is pro-
posed to be made. The terms of the lease, it ap-
peared are—That the Midland Company shall pay
every expense connected with the North-Western
undertaking, including debenture interest and divi-
dends on preference stock, and a half-yearly sum
equal to a net dividend, without deduction, except
for income tax upon the ordinary shares of the
company, after the following scale :—For the year
1859, £1 10s: per cent, per annum ; for the year
1860, £2 do. ; for the year 1861, £2 10s. do. ' • for
the year 1862, £3 do. ; for the year 1863, £3 do. ;
for the year 1864, £3 10s. do., with such addi-
tional dividend (if any) as one•half of the excess
net earnings of the North-Western undertaking
will pay beyond the rates aforesaid. The amount
of ordinary stock upon which the guarantee is to
take effect is £BOO,OOO ; the preference stock (5
per .ent.) is £126,285 ; the debenture stock is
ab £260,000, and is not to be increased, or the
ex i A ;ug debentures renewed, without the consent
of the Midland Company.
The CHAIRMAN expressed his belief that the
terms of the lease were fair to both companies, and
moved the following resolution :—" That the terms
and conditions of the lease, as now explained to
meeting by the reading of the aforesaid documents,
be, and the same are, hereby confirmed, and that
the directors be authorised to affix the common
seal of the company to the lease, and to do all such
acts as may be necessary for carrying the same
into effect."

Mr. R. HINDE (Lancaster) seconded the resolu

After a little conversation, in which Mr. William
Douglas (Bradford), Dr. Cowan (Brentford), Mr.
James Kitson (Leeds), and Mr. J. Sharp (Lancaster)
took part, the resolution was adopted unanimously.
The general effect of the remarks was that the
directors of the North-Western Company were
deserving of great credit for the manner in which
they had conducted the negotiations respecting
the lease, but that it would prove very advantageous
to the Midland Company.
A vote of thanks was awarded to the directors,
on the motion .of Dr. Cowan, seconded by Mr. Kit-
son. and was acknowledged by Mr. Alcock.
The proceedings then terminated.

THE GREAT SOUTHERN AND THE WATER-
FORD AND LIMERICK.
A circular has been issued by the directors of
the Waterford and Limerick line to their share-
holders, setting forth the terms of the offer for
amalgamation made by the Great Southern Com-
pany. The proposal is substantially to give at the
end of three years 10s. in the pound of the Great
Southern and Western stock, and in the meantime
a dividend equal to 3 per cent. on that half. As-
suming. as we may, that the Southern and
Western dividend is 5 per cent., it is equal
to guaranteeing 21 per cent. on the Water-
ford and Limerick stock. Upon the whole,
therefore, it seems a proposition which the Water-
ford and Limerick shareholders should hesitate
to refuse, notwithstanding they may not relish the
style displayed in the last letter from the intending,
purchasers, and which, if it pervades all their nego-
tiations, partly accounts for the continuance of the
war. The Waterford and Limerick proprietors
would receive, under the proposed terms, an ave-
rage dividend of 11- per cent. on their present stock
for three years, while, under present circumstances,
they have no reasonable, prospect of any at all, and
at the expiration of three years they would have a
pretty secure dividend of 24 per cent.