The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-08 00:00:00

RAIL WA

PORTSMOUTH.

The half yearly meeting of this company was
held on Thursday, at the offices, Great George-
street, Westminster—Mr. W. Jackson, M.P., in
the chair. The repot stated, with respect to the
works, considerable progress had been made duringthe last half-year with the excavations at all the
important point-, and in ballasting and laying the
permanent way, while the masonry of the bridges
and culverts was well forward. The directorS were
confident that the line would be completed and
ready for opening tl the public in the spring of next
year, provided the cintractor was placed in posses-
sion of the land throughout its entire length, the
lighter Works requiring close attention. More than
1,000 men and 160 horses were employed; and in the
excavations 1,090,000 cubic yards hadbeen removed
in the last six months, making about two-thirds of
the total quantity now completed. To secure the
opening of the line by the period above-mentioned,
and also to provide, in case of need, sufficient
plant to work the traffic, the directors had made
arrangements for the .issue of so much of the
133,0001. rlebenture capital of the company as
would be necessary. In addition to the above,
as the company had power under its act of this year
to rai.e 50,0001. upon 5 per cent. preference shares
the directors had made arrangements fur the
imme-
diate issue of these shares, with the condition an-
nexed, that the company shall have the option of
redeeming them at par at any time within two
years from the 3d day of July, 1857. A further
source of supply of capital at the command
of the company was the issue of the shares
the forfeiture of which was confirmed at the last
half-yearly meeting. The directors and their
friends were prepared to take up the remainder of
those shares as ordinary shares, without loss to the
company, but had deemed it right, before doing s:),
to offer the shares pro rata to the proprietors.
The result of the above-mentioned arrangements
would be that the directors would be able to
postpone calling up the 21. per share remaining
unpaid upon the company's shares. The following
were the main features of the agreem-nt between
the company and the London and South-Western
Company with reference to the Godalming and Shal-
ford line-Ist. The company is to abandon its
Shalford line, excepting the half-mile curve neces-
sary to connect the South-Western Godahning
branch with the South-Eastern line at Shalford.
2d. The South-Western Company is to allow the
company's traffic to be worked over their God timing
branch to and from the South-Eastern line at Shal-
ford, as well as to and from the Guildford.
station. 3. The company is to pay the South-
Western Company 50 per cent. of its mileage rates
for the above us-, and may commute at 1,0001. a-
year the rate. payable in • respect of its traffic to
and from Shalford. 4'h. The company and the
South-Western Company are to have the right, of
ming each other's G-odalming stations, and the in-
tervening portions of each other's lines, free of
charge, except the pr ,portion of the station ex-
penses due to the traffic of each. By the above
arrangements the South-Western Company will he
relieved from having a line made side to side with
their Goddming branch, while the company will be
saved from raising the considerable amount of capi-
tal which it Shalford line would have cost, and
secured its independent connection wi h the South-
Esstern line, which has always been an object of
essential importance. The statement of receipts
and expenditure, made up to the 30th of June last,
since the formation of tho company, sh )wed total
receipts to the amount of 269,9781. 9s. 7d., and
total expenditure 262,3411. 6.?. 10d., leaving the
balance of 7,6371. 2s. 9cl. in favour of the company.
The report was adopted, and the meeting having
been made special, resolutions were passed for
carrying out the financial arrangements, and re-
electing the re' irng
,directors.

CROMFORD AND HIGH PEAK. •
The half-yearly meeting of this company was
hell on Thursday, at Derby—Mr. F. Wright in
th 3 chair.
The report stated that the increase in the revenue
during the last half-year amoun!ed to 1401., arising
pr'ncipally from minerals. The interest on the
debenture stock, class A, and nn the 6 per cent.
preference shir's will be payable on the let Sep-
tember next. The works between Buxtoa and
,Whaley have made steady progress,
,and will be
completed• by the time the junction with the
St,,ckpore and Whaley-bridge line is reedy for
traffic. By the construction of this junction a direct
thromzh communication will be obtained between
the Midland Railway and the Londo❑ and North-
Western Railway, near Stockport, and a consider-
able increase in the traffic is expected.
Resolutions were passed adopting the report,
and approving the accounts.

CORK AND BANDON.
The direciors of this company, in their report,
slate that the receipts of the last six tnonths show an
increase of 5831. as compared with the corresponding
period of the previous year. The increase of traffic
has principally ar:sen from the transit of merchan-
dise and agriculturalproduce. The working expenses
show a decrease of 2331., notwithstanding the extra
expenditure for rails for the permanent way and
for repairs and renewals of the rolling stock. The
accounts for the half-year show a profit of 1,8131.
applic:►ble for dividends, which the directors recom-
mend to be paid on No. 1 preference shares at the
rate of 4 per cent, per annum for the half-year end-
ing the 30th June last, and on the No. 2 prefet eLce
shares at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum on the
paid-up portion of that stock, leaving a balance of
1431. fot the next account. A contract has been
concluded with the post-office authorities for the
Conveyance of the mails from Cork to Sk•bbereen
and BAntry. The mails have been carried over the
line under the contract since the 11th May last.

TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE WEEK.

2,942

953
7,590
13.810
6.522

261
1,163
1,781
2,5t2

6,855

26,252

6 180
3,742

7,332
22,758
7,322
31657
251
7105
25,906

70,893
1,892
23,208
20,948
792

9,756
921
1,032
31,667
3,492

5,974
7,417
1,148
3,147

1,947
3,3G7
814
3,183
25,871
6,9'18
2,491
4,180
1,514
1,337
622
418

3,721

THE I.

'TINY.

The following letter wal addressed to a near
relatiVe in England by an officer of the 9th Light
Cavalry. The date is not very recent, and several of
the details containe.d in it have been already men-
tioned :

"My dear —, I sent you a letter by the last
mail, but from the unsettled state that the country
is in I cannot think there is the least probability of
its ever having reached you. I will therefore re-
peat a groat deal of what I then told you. We have,
indeed, had a very anxious time of it here lately in
consequence of a great portion of the native army
having mutinied. The disaffection was first shown
in the 19th N. I. at Berampore. The reason they
ave for their conduct was, that they objected to the
new cartridges that were served out to them, which
they had been told were greased with pier's fat,
which they said was prejudicial to their caste and
also against their religion ; but this reason for their
mutiny is of course absurd, for they were assured by
Government that they were not made up of any-
thing they could object to. Ilowevei, this mutinous
spirit continued to spread, and next appeared in
the 34th Native Infantry at Barackpore. On
parade one of the men attempted to cut down the
adjutant and the sergeant-major (who is European).
Tney were both wounded, and were carried off the
parade ground. The man has since been hung,
alto one of the men who was ordered to arrest him,
and who disobeyed. That part of the regiment that
was present at this parade, consisting of seven com-
panie:, has been disbanded. I should have told
you that the whole of the 19th Regiment has been
punished in the same manner. This occurred two
or three months since, but about three weeks ago
three native regiments at Meerut have mutinied ;
.also two at Umballah, one at Allghur, two at Fero-
zepore ; also the native regiments at Lahore, Pesha-
wur, Nowshera, Delhi, and two regiments in Oude.
If the brutes had been more successful at the plac -s
I have mentioned I believe the whole Indian army
p a man would have rebelled and murdered all the
Europeans in the country, who, I am sorry to say,
are but few for this large presidency. We have
only about 20 European regiments besides the
European artillery, therefore if the niggers had
planed their designs better they would not have
had much treu'ale in getting rid of us. As it is,
they have murdered a great many people. Part of
the 3d Light Cavalry rode over from Meerut to
Delhi, and on their arrival the regiment there
joined them, and murdered every European they
could find, ladies and children inclusive. I hear the
Missts Fraser, daughters of Mr. Fraser, of the Com-
pany's Service, fell into the hands of the infuriated
savages, and, after having murdered the father, and
committed crimes of the most diabolical description
upon the girls, they then beheaded them and pa-
raded their bodies about the city the remainder of
the day. I believe the men of one regiment at
Delhi (I think the 74th) marched their officers a
short distance out of their cantonmeets, and then
allowed them to escape. Indeed, several officers
esc I ped from the scene of buteherythrough the kind-
ness, it is said, of their men. There were 15 women
and children who took refuge in the Palace of Delhi
—all murdered. We hear that it was the inhabitants
of the city who were the perpetrators of the
horrid deeds I have told you of ; but, sup-
posing that to be true, they ( he soldiers) are just as
culpable as if they committed the deeds themselves.
From Meerut also we have some sad accounts. For
instance, the wife of the adjutant of the 20th Native
Infantry fell into the hands of these inhuman
brute, and was afterwards brunt to death. 'Tis
dreadful the reports that come to us. I have been
told that Mrs. M Donald, after having been treated
in the same brutal manner, was besmeared all over
with oil and burnt to death, but I cannot believe
this is true. We bear so many thing.; that one does
not know what to believe. Inu wilt be sorry to hear
that among the list of killed 1 see Mr. and Mrs.
Dawson' of the 3d Light Cavalry, Meerut (this is
Mr. K. Dawson's son), but I have not heard that
eny act cf violence was offered to either of them
before they were murdered. Well, now I come to
our part of the country. It was discovered by the
Commissioner at Lahore that the native regiments

(tour) agreed on night of the 15th inst: to rise
at a given signal, and murder all the Europeans
in the station; therefore the Brigade was pa-
raded, and the native portion were then disarmed.
The 16th N.I. hesitated a little, but in front of her
Majesty's 81st Foot and two troops of horse artil-
lery they wise!y gave up their arms, or they woul
most certainly have been fitel into. The officers in
Lahore now live together in three houses, and the
ladies are all in two buildings, and are ordered by
the brigadier not to come out eitherby night or day.
The men for several nights slept at their gun 4, and
no one thought of taking off his clothes, and. the
814 Queen's Regiment was under arms for nights.
T. heard from a brother otlicec at Lahore the other

. -
day. Ile says 15 of them sleep in one house. They
remain dressed all night—pistols under pillow and
sword by bed-side. Horses saddled all night ready
to jump on to in a moment. fie says four of them
keep watch while the others lie down. The Com-
m'ssioner ascertained by means of a brib3 that the
niggers had endeavoured to get up a conspiracy to
murder us at a large dinner party given at our
mess. They thought it would be a favourable oppor-
tunity, as we should then be unarmed and perf ctly
helples2, but some of our men would not consent to
it, and we therefore providentially escaped. Our
Brigadier took every precaution, and had the Eu-
ropeans ready night and day in case the fellows
should break out. The guns, which before were
under a native guard, were drawn up in front of
the European barracks, horses harnessed all night ;
officers and men not on duty lay down with ►heir
clothes on. We slept soundly in a house, and
adopted the same means as I have told you they
did at Lahore. But, much to our regret, an order
arrived from the Commander-in-Chief in the Pun-
jAtib, from her Majesty's 52d Regiment, all the
artillery, the 35th Native Infantry, and a wing of
my regiment, to march to Ferzt•rabad, and join
General Chamberlain's army there, but our Briga-
dier kept back two guns and 200 cf her Majesty's
52d, but they have since bean ordered to join the
others, and will leave the station to-night. Tnis
will leave U 3 with no Europeans in the station
(except officers), and we shall have the other
wing of my regiment here and the 46th Regi-
ment of Native Infantry, but I see no fear
now. The niggers have signally failed at the
other station., and are in a precious funk now, and
evidently wished they had never mutinied. I hope
the General will punish ti:em severely at Lihore.
Nothing less thin blowing them away from the
guns will be of any use. T'ne Lahore Chronicle
yesterday stated that the Commander-in-Chief had
hung 170 men at Umballah, I only hope it is true (I
doubt if it is). There is an army on its way to
Delhi, with a siege train. The niggers hold pos-
session of the place. I only hope they wilt remain
there until our troops come up, and, by Jove, they
will catch it. I believe the whole place is to be
levelled with the ground. I should have told you
that the same paper that brought us the above in-
telligence also stated that the Commander-in-Chief
had been attacked with cholera, and died on his
way to Delhi. The editor of a native paper at
Peshawur had written a seditious article in it, and
was immediately seized, tried, and bung in less
than 12 hours after he was taken. This is the way
to serve them. The people in the Punjaub take
no part in•the rebellion. On the contrary, they
do all they can to assist the Government—
bring in deserters, bound baud and foot, fur which
they get 20r. a head. Well, I must say Good-
bye,' but will keep this open until the last moment
in case any news should arrive.
" Since I wrote this I hear it is a false report
that the COmmander-in-Chief had hung 170 men at
Umballah. 1 have been told by good authority
that the China fOrce lately sent out from England
has been sent f. r, also a regiment from the Mauri-
tius, one from Ceylon, and two are coming up the
Indus—Europeans I mean ; any other sort are no
use. The Brigadier has remonstrated with the
people at army head-quarters for taking away the
few Europeans, and'asks, in the event of a rebel-
lion, what is to become of the 100 sick men left
behind by the 52d Queen's and the Artillery ?
" Sealkote, May 29."

The following are extracts from a letter written
by the Rev. James Kennedy, of Benares :--
" The morning of the sth was fixed by the mili-
tary authorities for the disarming. Dur:ng the
4th news arrived that a Naat tive Infantry regiment
Azim gliur, some GO miles from this, had mutinied
and seized some 170,0001. of treasure. The news
somehow reached the Sepoys as soon as it
did the authorities, and greatly excited them.
The new Brigadier resolved to disarm the
37th at once. A parade was hastily ordered.
The bells of arms, as they are called the
little houses in which the arms are kept_
were suddenly locked. No sooner did the Sepoys
see this, and also that the Euro •eaulisoldierSsew-le
under arms, than they rushed tol
burst open the doors,the ells of arms,
and seized their weapons.
Besides this regiment there was here a Sikh me-
' ment, which was much trusted,land like:vise an
irregular cavalry regiment, so well thought of that
at the beginning of these troubles it was called in
from Sultanpore, 12 miles distant, to defend us.
Many spoke highly of the loyalty of these regi
ments, and among others their own officers,
but others doubted them, and the doubters
have turned out correct. All the troops were near
at the time. No sooner did the 37th seize their arms
than the Sikhs fired at their own officers, who
had been speaking in such high terms of tI ern.
Before the engagement was regularly begun the
Commander o the Irregular Cavalry fell. Captain