The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-01 00:00:00

SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY.

HALF-YEARLY ME T ING—(T HIS DAY.)
The ordinary half-yearly meeting of the proprietors was
held this day at the Bridge-house Hotel.

The chair was occupied by J. Byng, Esq.
The report of the directors, which has already appeared
in The Sun, having been taken as read,
The CHAIRMAN rose for the purpose of moving its adop-
tion. He congratulated the proprietors on the increasing
prosperity of the line, and said the accounts which had
been placed in their hands would render it unneces-
sary for him to detain the meeting at any great
length. It would be seen that after paying and providing
for all expenses there would remain a balance available for
dividend on the ordinary stock of the company of £149,788
16s. ld. A dividend of 12s. per £3O stock, or at the rate of
4 per cent., would absorb a sum of £148,674, leaving a
balance to be carried forward of £1,114 16s. ld., and this
dividend the directors recommended the proprietors to
adopt. If that recommendation was agreed to, it would
show an increase of one per cent. as compared with the
corresponding half-year of 1858. (Hear.) The directors
assured the proprietors that there had been no relaxation
on their part in developing the traffic on the South-Eastern
Railway. The engineer's report showed a large expendi-
ture, but the favourable results that must ensue would
fully justify the outlay. The increase of their traffic
was another source of congratulation, the more so as
it arose from the steady growth of the local traffic
to and from the whole of the stations on the main,
North Kent, and branch lines. The great increase
of continental business at Folkestone had rendered

it necessary to enlarge the customs' cxamining warehouse,
while the new works at Dover would enable the company,
in accordance with the arrangements entered into with the
authorities, to run their engines, trains, and passengers
directly on to the Admiralty pier, which would greatly
facilitate the mails now carried by the company:

(Hear, hear.) The next subject to which he would
allude was the Charing-cross Railway. (Hear, hear.)
The directors, seeing the great benefit that was to be derived
from the completion of such a project, recommended the
proprietors to authorise tlem to exercise the powers conferred
upon the company by the Charing-cross Railway Act, and
to sanction the issue of £300,000 in 4i per cent. preference
shares, in order that, so far as their line was concerned,
no time might be lost in proceeding vigorously with
the execution of so important an undertaking. The
completion of the Charing-cross Railway would bring the
South-Eastern Railway to the very heart of the metropolis ;
and a more desirable station for a terminus than Charing-
cross could not be fixed upon, as it was agreed upon all
hands that it offered facilities of the best descrip-
tion. ' The want of a West-end terminus for the
various lines of the South-Eastern Railway had
long been felt ; and the directors thought that the
proper accommodation of the public, as well as the
more effective development of the traffic ought not to be
postponed for a day longer than was necessary for provid-
ing and completing such an undertaking. (Hear,
hear.) The honourable gentleman having alluded to
the other minor subjects mentioned in the direc-
tors' half-yearly statement, concluded by moving that the
report be adopted.
_ _ _

Mr. GORDON seconded the motion.
A short discussion ensued, at the termination of which
the report was unanimously agreed to.
A resolution authorising the payment of the dividend,
mentioned in the report, on Thursday, the Bth of Septem-
ber, was also agreed to unanimously.
After the business cf the ordinary meeting bad been
transacted, a special general meeting was held for the pur-
pose of authorising the directors to take the necessary steps
to exercise the powers conferred by the Charing-cross Rail-
way Act, by contributing £300,000 towards the funds of
that undertaking.
The proceedings terminated with the usual vote of thanks
to the Chairman.

CIVIL SERVICE OF IND lA.

EXAMINATION OF 1859-SELECTED CANDIDATES,
_ .

Name

Order

Tota
University, College, &c. No. of
Merit. Marks.
1 Hime, Robert Douglas Trinity C., Dublin.. 2,553
2 Mulligan, Wm. John Queen's C., Belfast. 2,522
3 Wedderburn, Wm. Edinburgh Uni.... 2,462
4 Boxwell, John
5 Twigg, Conolly Ditto ditto.. 2,388
6 Sells, Arthur Merton, C., Oxford. 2,369
7 Smith, Win. Henry St. John's C., Oxf.. 2,295
8 Tweedie, John
9 Tremlet, James Dyer
10 Little, Edgar H. Brasenose, C , Oxf.. 2,236
11 Mackgill, George Edwd. Trinity C., Carob.. 2,191
12 Larminie, Wm. Rea Trinity C., Dublin.. 2,115
13 Ward, George Ernest Wadham C., Oxford 2,101
14 Kough, Edward
15 King, Lucas 8.8 .. Ditto
16 Growse, Frederick 5.... Oriel& Queen's, Oz 2,041
17 Wilson, John Queen's C., Belfast. 2,015
18 Griffin, Lepel Henry
Dickens, Perceval D. New C., Oxford.... 1,960
19 Tidy, Wm. Meymott
21 Montagu Ernest
22 Field, C. Dickinson Trinity C., Dublin.. 1,943
23 Allen, Thos. Taylor Queen's C., Cork .. 1,942
24 Reid, James Robert Edinburgh Univers. 1,931
25 King, Joshua Trinity Hall, Camb. 1,929
26 Raban, H. C. B. C Trinity C., Camb... 1,913
27 Harrison, H. Leland
28 Graham, George
29 { Foster, Wm. Shrubsole.. St. John's C., Cam. 1,891
Macpherson, G. M..... U. & King's, Aber. 1,891
31 Walker, Charles G..... Queen's Coll., Ox.. 1,890
32 Brett, Alfred C
33 Armstrong, Joseph E St. John's C., Cam. 1,878
34 Izon, Clarence Bovill King's C., London . 1,862
35 Richards, George John Brasenose C., 0x... 1,837
36 Baron, Edward Wm.
37 Grose, James St. John's C., Cam. 1,765
38 Wilson
39 Ward, Wm. Erskine
40 Burnell, Arthur Coke

At Hamburg the rate of discount is only 1 to
11 per cent. At Amsterdam the general quotation is 21,
although the Bank rate is maintained at three per cent.
STOCK AND SHARE MARKET,—The fluctuations
in the stock and share market during the past month, which
in July were to the extent of 3i per cent., have on this oc-
casion been only 11 per cent., and the general operations of
the month have resulted in establishing a rise of exactly
one per cent., although there has been no material change
in foreign politics, the advance on the Paris Bourse having
been only fractional, and the Bank in the interval have ex-
perienced a further reduction of about £600,000 in their
stock of bullion. It may therefore be assumed that the
confidence of the country in the probable avoidance of diffi-
culties has increased in proportion to the vigour displayed
with regard to the national defences. In railway securities
many kinds show a further improvement of about 3 per
cent., but in some cases the quotations have been stationary
or flat. Throughout the month the rate of discount has
generally been about a quarter per cent. below the Bank
minimum of 21 per cent.
SIX PRIESTS DROWNED.--The Nantes journals
record a melancholy affair :—" A party of seven priests, and
a young man, pupil of an ecclesiastical college, being on a
holiday visit to some friends at Nantes, hired three days
ao.o a boat to amuse themselves by fishin g in the neighbour-
hood of St. Nizaire, and after they had been so engaged
some time, a sudden gust of wind threw the boat on one
side. Without reflection, all the party collectedon the other
side, and this caused the boat to upset. The seven eccle -
siastics and their companion, together with two men and a
boy who were with them, were precipitated into the water.
Some of them clung to the boat for some time, but eventu-
ally, of the eleven persons, all were drowned except one of
the priests and the boy, who swam ashore. Four of the
clergymen were professors of the ecclesiastical college at
Angers, the other three of Les Couets at Nantes."
MURDER BY A PIIYSICIAN.—A shocking tragedy,
by which Louisa Cooke, a servant girl, only 15 years of age,
lost her life, occurred yesterday at Lydnev, a small town
between Gloucester and Chepstow. It appears from
the evidence given on the coroner's inquest that at G o'clock
on Tuesday morning Dr. Pownall, who has been staying
for the last three weeks at the house of Mr. Leete, a surgeon
at Lydney, knocked at the bedroom door of the servants,
and called them up. The poor girl, Louisa Cooke, in answer
to his summons, dressed herself quickly and went out. In
a minute or two a faint cry of " murder" was heard, and
immediately afterwards she rushed into Mr. Leete's bed-
room with her throat cut, exclaiming " Master, he has mur-
dered me ; I must die," having repeated which two or three
times she fell down dead. Dr. Pownall, who did not at-
tempt to deny the charge, said, when brought before the
coroner, " I can tell you ; I unfortunately did it. I can
hardly assign any motive. I felt I was bound to do some •
thing, and I could not resist it." Evidence was given to
show that Dr. Pownall had ben an inmate for some time
of Northwood's asylum, near Bristol, but had been recently
discharged as cured, with a certificate to that effect from
Dr. Davey, the medical superintendent ; and until this oc-
currence had afforded by his conduct no grounds to doubt
that his reason had been restored. The jury returned a
verdict of " wilful murder " against Dr. Pownall, and he
was yesterday removed to Gloucester county prison to await
his trial at the next assizes.
ATTEMPT TO MURDER A COLOUR-SERGEANT.-11.
general court-martial assembled on Monday afternoon,
and again yesterday, at the Infantry Barracks, Can-
terbury, for the purpose of trying Private Patrick
Tierney, for stabbing Colour-Sergeant William Brady, of
the 64th Regiment, in the right breast with his bayonet
on the 4th of August inst. It appeared from the evi-
dence of Sergeant Brady that the prisoner when on staff
parade on the night of the 4th inst. rushed through the
ranks and said to him, " You villain, I will end you," or
words to that effect, and then stabbed him with his bayonet
in the right breast with all his force. The prisoner, who is
much given to drinking, appears to have committed the
crime when under the influence of liquor, as it was shown
by Staff Assistant-Surgeon Page that he was, after being
arrested, in a state bordering upon delirium tremens, al-
though at the same time he was sufficiently conscious of
what he had done to express his intention of "doing it
again," because he considered he had been aggrieved by the
colour sergeant. The prisoner, in defence, stated that he
had been drinking too freely, and that he was in a state of
delirium (to which he was subject, after drinking) from
about an hour before the offence was committed until one
o'clock the next morning. He also urged that the injury
inflicted and the place chosen for the purpose were not
such as a man would have done or selected who intended
to commit murder, that no malice had been proved against
him, and that the statements attributed to him were made
when he was drunk. He concluded by throwing himself
on the mercy of the Court. The result of the inquiry will
not be known until it has been submitted to the Horse
Guards.