The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-29 00:00:00

CO IVES, ISLE OF WIGHT.—Dec. 28,

[PROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

DISORDERLY SOLDIERS.—Some men belonging
to a detachment of the Limerick Militia, at the
Royal Barracks, East Cowes, have been causing
some trouble to the inhabitants during the past
week, by their unruly proceedings. They had a
quarrel with one of the mates and some of the men
of an American ship in the harbour, and some
fighting ensued. On Friday they became more
violent, and ill-treated the ferryman and others.
On Christmas evening 16 of thorn crossed to West
Cowes, provided with sticks and their belts, deter-
mined on a row. The men belonging to the
American ship were at the White Hart public
house ; but the landlord would not let them out,
nor the soldiers in. Finding they could not get at
the sailors, they determined on attacking every
person who was so unfortunate as to fall in their
way. The first was Mr. John Hollis, master o
the Marquis Conyngham's yacht, whom they struck
with their sticks ; but he ran away, having the
whole of the soldiers after him : favoured by the
darkness of the night, he escaped. They had a
number of stones with them, which they threw in
all directions; and, as they shouted and yelled as
they went, those who could got away, but many
were struck and injured by these madmen. They
knocked down and ill-used Mr. Slade, butcher—
his son also got some severe blows, as did many
others, and one young man's face was seriously cut
by a buckle. The town'speople now began to
muster strongly, and, fortunately for the soldiers,
the police arrived and got between the now retreat-
ing soldiers and enraged inhabitants, and kept the
latter back, enabling the militianien to effect their
escape to East Cowes. Sentinels have been placed
at the ferry to prevent the soldiers crossing to
West Cowes, and it is said they are to be removed
from East Cowes to Parkhurst Barracks.
FLOATING BRIDGE TO CONNECT EAST AND WEST
CowEs.—A better mode of communication between
the two towns has long been wanted, and a com-
pany has been formed who intended to run a
steam floating bridge across the Medina; but as
the river is very narrow at the ferry, the bridge
proposed with the engine in her, it was feared,
would draw too much water : and, as it was a
matter of great consequence that the bridge should
not at all obstruct the navigation, it is now pro-
posed to have a stationary engine fixed on the
East Cowes side, and to work the floating bridge
by it, by means of an -endless chain fixed round a
drum on the West Cowes side. The bridge is
expected to be ready by about the middle of
May.

EARLIER DESPATCH OF DAY MAIL TO THE
WEST OF ENGLAND, AND ESTABLISHMENT
OF A DAY MAIL TO PLYMOUTH, DEVONPORT,
TORQUAY, 4-e.

On the Ist of January, and thenceforward, the day mail
on the Great Western Railway will be despatched by the
express train leaving Paddington Station at 9.30 a.m., in-
stead of by the present train at 10 a.m.; and correspond-
ence for conveyance by day mail to the undermentioned

•
towns—
Abingdon - Hereford Swindon
Bath High Wycombe Taunton
Bradford on Avon Honiton Tetbury
Bridgewater Hungerford Tewkesbury
Bridport Ledbury Tiverton
Bristol Lyme Trowbridge
Charmouth Maidenhead Uxbridge
Cheltenham Marlborough Wallingford
Chippenham Melksham Wantage
Cirencester Monmouth Warminster
Crewkerne Newbury Wellingtori(Som.:
Cullompton Oxford Wells (Som.)
Devizes Reading Westbury
Exeter Ross Weston - super-
Faringdon Shepton Mallet Mare
Frome Sherborno Windsor
Gloucester Slough Witney
lienley on Thames Stroud Yeovil
must be posted as follows :
Receiving Offices—Letters, newspapers, and book packets,
9 p.m.
London Pillar Letter Boxes—Letters only, 5 a.m.
District Offices, viz. :—Western Central 126, High Hol-
born; Northern, Lower-street, Islington; Eastern, Nassau-
place, Commercial-road, East ; South-Eastern, 170, High-
street, Borough ; Southern, Westminster-road ; Western,
29, Old Cavendish-street ; North-Western, 28, Eversholt-
street, Camden-town ; and at the Branch Office, Charing-
cross—Letters, 7.15 a.m. Newspapers and book packets,
6.45 a.m.

Lombard-street Branch Office—Letters, 7.45 a.m. News
papers and book packets, 7 a.m.
General Post-office—Letters, 7.45 a.m.
and book packets, 7 a.m.
On the same date, day mails will be established to the
following towns, viz. :-
- Dawlish, Plymouth, Teignmouth,
Devonport, Plymp ton, Torquay,
Ivybridge, Sidmouth, Totnes,
Newton Abbot, Tavistock,
and correspondence for conveyance by day mail to these
places must be posted at the above hours.
By command of the
,Postmaster-General,
ROWLAND HILL, Secy.

Newspapers

General Post-office, Dec. 28

SOUTH-WESTERN AND BRIGHTON
AND SOUTH COAST COMPANIES.

We regret to learn a very serious dispute has
arisen between two of our leading railway com-
panies, which, unless checked in the outset, will in
all probability lead to great public inconvenience.
The belligerents are none other than the South-
Western and the Brighton and South Coast Com•
panies, universally admitted to be two of the best
managed lines in the kingdom, and until now work-
ing with a degree of amicable forbearance towards
each other which has afforded a favourable contrast
to that of almost all other competing railways.
It will be remembered that both these lines run
into the important garrison of Portsmouth ; the
South-Western hitherto possessing running powers
over the last seven miles of the Brighton and South
Coast Railway, from Havant to Portsmouth. It
appears that owing to the South-Western Company
having formed an arrangement with the direct
Portsmouth line, now in process of construction,
the Brighton and South Coast Company are un-
willing to continue these powers to their neigh-
bours, and notice given to the South Western n few
days since that their trains would be prevented tra-
versing the railway from Havant to Portsmouth after
the 27th inst. The notice was understood by the South
Western Company as merely formal, and intended
to raise the legal question of right ; and accordingly
Mr. Scott, the general manager of this line, went
.down to Fareham yesterday morning, and endea-
voured to take a pilot engine, with a few carriages,
over the disputed part of the railway. On arriving
at the Havant junction, just below Corsham, Mr.
Scott found a locomotive engine belonging to the
Brighton and South Coast Company standing upon
the crossing, with the evident intention of prevent-
ing him proceeding any further in the direction of
Portsmouth. Each company had several of its con-
federates present. The Brighton and South Coast
party, with a view further to obstruct• their oppo-
nents, had torn up a small portion of their rails
on the main Portsmouth down line, which the
South-Western adherents, who were very early on
the ground, carefully relaid. The contest was a
drawn battle for some time, and until one of the
South-Western officers observing. the Brighton loco-
motive to be unguarded, suddenly jumped upon it,
and putting on the steam, ran a few yards forward,
thus allowing the South-Western train to get on to
the main Portsmouth line. The Brighton and
South Coast party were,however, too quick for their
opponents, and before the South-Western train
could get her speed on they had succeeded in again
displacing several of the down rails, rendering it
impossible for any train to go forward. It was now
11 o'clock, and the South-Western train stood
directly upon the crossing, blocking up both roads,
and obstructing the whole of the Brighton and
South Coast traffic. Mr. Scott held this position
for nearly a couple of hours, but at length finding
that he could not get forward to Portsmouth with-
out using more violence than would be justified, he
retreated in good order, and left his opponents in
undisturbed possession of the road, which was
speedily relaid, and the trains of the Brighton and
South Coast Company passed on without further
interruption to Portsmouth.
For the present the South-Western Company are
thus prevented booking passengers to what has
hitherto been considered one of their termini, but
it is hoped•that in a few days the existing difficul-
ties will be satisfactorily arranged. If both parties
continue obstinate the probability is that the Board
of Trade will be called upon to interfere, in which
case the public will probably be the gainers.

PRICE OF GOLD.—The quotation of gold at
Paris is about atpar, and the short exchange on London is
25'121 per Ll sterling. On comparing these rates with the
English Mint price of £3 17s. 100. per ounce for standard
gold, it appears that gold is nearly 2-10ths per cent. dearer
in Paris than in London.—By advices from Hamburg the
price of gold is 4241 per mark, and the short exchange on
London js 13.44 per -.CI sterling. Standard gold at the
English Mint price is therefore at about the same price
in Hamburg as in London.—The course of ex-
change at New York on London for bills at 60 days' sight
is 1091 to 109 a per cent., which, when compared with the
Mint par between the two countries, shows that the ex-
change is about at par. After making allowance for
charges of transport and difference of interest, the present
rate leaves little or no profit on the importation of gold
from the United States,