The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-27 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, AUG UST 27, 1857.

'SPORTING INTELLIGENCE•

EG HAM RACES-WEDNESDAY.

The Egham Stakes ofsiov; each, with 25 added, for
3-yr-olds and upwards. Optional selling weights, &o.
One mile. 7 subs.
Mr. T. Stevens's Salonica, 3 yrs (1001.), sst 111 b
(A. Edwards) 1
Mr. J. H. Wyndham's Dundas, 3 yrs (80/.), sst lllb
(Faulkner) 2
Mr. Angeli's Paula Monti, 3 yrs (80/.), sst 13Ib)
(Plumb) 3

Radulpbus and Inspiration also ran.
Betting-7 to 4 aget Salonica, 3to 1 each aget Dundas
and Paula Monti.
Won by two lengths, a neck between the second and
third, bad fourth.
The winner was sold by auction for 155 guineas, and
zees into H. May's stable.
The Baron's Stakes (Handicap) of 5 sova each, with 40
added, fcr 2-yr-olds. Winners after the declaration
of the weights 41b extra. The second to save his
stake. T.Y.C. 14 subs.
Mr. Mellish's Little Treasure, Tat 41b (in. 4'b extra)
(Fordham) 1
Lord Ailesbury's c. by Alarm—Bribery, 7st 41b (in.
41b extra) (Plumb) 2
Mr. W. G •odwin's Lady Nelson, 61t 12Ib (Musgrove) 3
The following also ran :—Schoolfellow, Redan Here,
Stapleton.

Betting-5 to 4on Bribery colt, 4to 1 sget Little
Tleagure, 7 to 1 agst any other.
Won by three-quarters of a length ; half a length be-
tween the second and third ; bad fourth.

The Queen's Plate of 100 guineas ; 3-yr-olds, Bst 21b ;
4-yr-olds, 9st 51b ; 5-yr-olds, 9st 111 b ; 6-yr-olds and
aged, 13st. Two miles and a distance.
Mr, T. Parr's Fisherman, 4 yrs (Wells) 1
Mr. Hart's Winkfield, 6 yrs.... (Clement) 2
Mr. Mellish's Tame Deer, 4 yrs (Poole) 3
Leamington and Weatherglass also ran.

Betting-6 to-4
on Fisherman ; 5 io 2 agst Leamington.
Fisherman jumped off N ith the lead,2made all the run-
ning, and won in a canter by two lengths ; bad third.
Leamington was last from start to finish. Weatherglass
bolt.-41 soon after starting.

Tne Magna Charta Stakes of 6 sovs each, with 30 added,
for 2-yr-chl.4 and 3-yr-olds. Allowances and penalties.
The winner to be sold for 200 goys, if demanded, &c.
If entered for 1501. allowed 31b. ; 1001., 51b. T.Y.C.

10 subs.
Mr. Grevills's Grand Duchess by Orlando, 2 yrs (1501.)

(Plumb') 1
Mr. Parker's filly by Joe Lovell—Terpsichore., 2 yrs
(100'.', Illb
Mr. J. H. Wyndham's Sister to Panpipe, 2 yrs (1501.)
6-t 31b (Faulkner) 3
Salonica and Waterer also ran.
Betting-7 to 4on Grand Duchess, 4to 1 aget Terp-
sichore filly, 6 to 1 agst Salonica.
Won by a head, two lengths between the second and
third, bad fourth.
The winner was claimed by Mr. Parker.
The Town Plate of 50 sous (Handicap). Straight half
mile.

Mr. Mellish's Jessie, by Slane, 3 yrs, 6st 121 b
(Fordham) 1
Mr. Payne's Mabel, 6 yrs, Bit 81b (Plumb) 2
Mr. Simpson's Inder, aged, 7st 1016 (Musgrove) 3
The following alio ran :—Coroner, Spinet, Sorceress,
Wad Honey, B .nnets o' Blue, Ou'•and-Outer, Weather-
glass, filly by Joe Lovell, Ocean Queen, The Bellman,
Yesa, The Orphan, and Ibex.
Betting-3 tol agst Jessie, 4to 1 aget Weatherglass,
5 to 1 agst Mabel, 10 to 1 agst any other.
Won by a length and a•half ; a neck between the se-
cond and third. Weatherglass was a moderate fourth,
S9rceress was filth, and Spinet sixth.

RADCLIFFE RACES.-WEDNESDAY.

Bury Plate.

fießperithnEa. .
Gimo Pullet
Jack Spring -
Three ran.
Two-year-old-Stakes.

Maritornes
Mufti.
Misi Hiiton

Four ran.
Manchester Cup.

Lord Jersey
Bracken
De Ginkel

Three ran.

~..,r 3

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

METROPOLITAN.
The half-yearly meeting of this company was held
yesterday at the offices, Great George-street, Westmin-
ster—Mr. L. Simpson in the chair.
The report stated that the negotiations with the Great
Western and Great Northern Railway Companies did
not lead to a satisfactory result. The bill for the eaten•

Si: n of ti ne htd received the royal assent. The
whole of the powers of the company are therefore intact
for another year, and the directors are consequently in

a position to enter into arrangements with any persona
who may desire to possess the powers enjoyed by the

c:inripiny- The reasons which induced the promotion of
the line, and obtained for it the sanction of the Legisla-

tqre and the ca-operation of the Great Western Railway
Company, have been not only genera ly recognised, but
hare grown in public estimation, from the repeated in
♦:stigations to which they have been since subjected, and

Erom—the additiGnal evidence which subsequent txpe-

rience lass furnished. The Poit-office having undertaken
carriage of book and email parcels has rendered the
'new line the more necessary for the accommodation of
that department. The opening of the cattle market at
Cvenbagen-fields has created a necessity for the railway

,o connect the cattle market with the -dead-meat mar-

kets in the city. The extensive use of the North Lon-
don Railway for goods has demonstrated the advantage

which a similar extension for the accommodation of the

goods traffic of the Great Western and Great Northern

hallways will prove to those companies. The large

accession to the street traffic which has since grown upon
the already overcrowded thoroughfares of the metropolis
has increated the urgency of the demand for the relief
which this line will in that respect afford ; and the in-
creased use of the cheap above-bridge river steamers,
csupled with the immense passenger traffic of
the North London Railway, Las confirmed the ex-
pectation of the great number of persons who will avail
them-elves of the lac:Ries of the Metropolitan Railway.
The dire ctore call the attention of the proprietors of the
Great Western Railway Company seriously to these mat-
ters, and urge upon them not to allow the opportunity to
he lost which this line affords of remedying what is very
general'y considered the patent defect in their system—
viz., the remoteness of the Paddington station from the
city and the busier parts of the met losers, and which is
alone, per Cape, suffic'ent to account for the depression of
their undertaking. The directors have settled the large
chines for professional services that had accrued during
the four years which have elapsed since the incorpora•
tion of t' company, the gentlemen c ncerned having, in
c insideration of the circumstances in which the company
is placed, consented to a large reduction in the amounts
respectively claimed by them. The accounts will out-
standing are but few and of small amount, and the direc-
tors see no reason to alter materially the opinion ex-
presses at the last meeting that the ultimate loss would
not exceed 6s. per share. Looking, however, at the large
amount borrowed from the bankers of the company, the
directors thought it necessary, for the safety and protec-
tion of all parties, to make a call of 10s. per share. In the
event of the favourable winding up, which they confi-
dently anticipate, such call would of C3lllBO be repaid, in
addition to the 14s. per share of the original deposit of 1/.
per share. The capital account showed that -147,483/.
had been received, and 66,248/ expended, leaving a
balance of 81,235/ , consisting of 71,250/. in the hands of
the Accountant-General, 3,1101. due by the Royal Bri-
tish Back, and 5,5941 at the bankers. The balance now
in the hands of the Accountant-General, atter payment of
the July dividends, amounts to 84,5551.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
reminded the proprietors that at the last half-yearly
meeting a distinct understanding was come to between
the directors and the shareholders that a final effort
should be made to induce the Great Western to do come-
thing to insure the carrying out of the undertaking,
either by way of additional subscriptions or by tak-
ing shares ; and it was also hoped that the Great
Northern Railway Company might he induced to
exercise the power they bad from Parliament to raise a
sum of money to make that part of the line between the
Great Western terminus and the city. The negotiations
entered into with those companies, though carefully con-
ducted, had entirely failed. The letter received from
Mr. Saunders, the secretary of the Great Western Board,
declining
company,
assistance. being conclusive as to
,h
affordth any
e d
directors feat that it would be idle to
incur further expense to do that wbich appeared indis-
pensable to the development of the Great Western eye-
eag to
tem. The opinion of the board as to the necessity of
the line was unaffected by anything that bad taken place;
on the contrary, every circumstance that had arisen had
only tended to confirm them in the conviction of the
absolute necessity of such an undertaking being carried
set at no very distant period. That opinion, too, was
shared by all men of experience in railway matters. The
Ive chairman of the Eastern Counties Railway, at the
meeting of that company on Friday last, urged the im-
portance of metropolitan connexion strongly upon
his late colleagues at the board and the shareholders, as
being a great advantage to that company, and, if to
the Eastern Counties, how much more so was it to the
Great Western, the London and North-Western and the
Great Northern Y He had no doubt that many gentlemen
present bad bad their attention drawn to the figures
showing the progressive condition of the capital and
earnings per mile ; and had observed the disagreeable
position occupied by the Great Western in the scale of
comparison— a position which he believed was mainly
attributable to the fact that they had no city terminus.
The necessity for such a terminus for the lines north of
the Thames seemed to be generally recognized. But
when the directors found themselves in a position in
which they etould not carry it out in a manner which
they considered consistent with the interest of the

shareholders they decided upon asking their consent to
an application to Parliament for a bill to authorise the
return of the large sums deposited with the Accountant•
General preparatory to winding up the concern, should
that step become necessary, and it was proposed to sub-
mit a resolution to the present meeting to that effect.
(Hear, hear.) When they arrived at this stage of the
proceedings the directors thongbt it right to wind up all
outstanding liabilities of the company, knowing that
that could be done much more advvotageously while the
company was alive than at the last stage of its existence,
when they would be pounced upon by any creditor and
made to pay to the last farthing. As it was, they had
been enabled to compromise many of the claims, and he
was bound to say that the compromises they had offered
evidenced great liberali'y on the part of thegentlemen with
whom they had been made. They had now no outstanding
liabilities, or rather he should say that every remaining
liability might be met by something short df 1,0001. He
would not d well on theldisturbing circa m-tances which bad
contributed so far to the failure of a pri ject which at one
time was so promising. The state of the money-market,
the Russian war, and, in fact, almost etery possible cir•
cumstance seemed to have intervened to prevent the
success of the undertaking. The petition, too, of the
two great companies, the Great Western and the Great
Northern, had had a depreciating affect on the prospects
of the Metropolitan Railway. As dividends went down
the directors of those companies were naturally averse
from submitting to their shareholders proposals for spend-
ing large sums of money in carrying out other under-
takings which, however valuable to them, were not
likely to be regarded favourably at such a time. (Hear.)
He regarded the lobs of this metropolitan line as a na-
tional one. H. did not believe that another opportunity
would occur o carrying it out upon equally favourable
terms. He did not believe, if their powers of this pre
sent Act were allowed to lessen, that they would ever
again obtain a bill which would be accompanied with so
small an amount of risk, or that they would be able to
secure so large an area of land as they bad now at their
disposal for a terminus in the heart of the city 31 Lon
don. (Hear.) It was, therefore, with deep regret that
he had to announce the conclusion at which the board
had arrived. (Hear.)
The resolution for the adoption of the report having
been seconded, _ _ _

Mr. W. A. WILKINSON confessed he was surpris
that even in these times there was not sufficient confi-
dence on the part of the public in a scheme which ;.p.
peared to him to be fraught with advantage t) all pat ties
concerned. (Hear, htar.) All railway companies had
made mistakes, but what he would point out was that,

if not the directors, at all everts the shareholders of the
Great Western were deeply interested in the proceedings
of this company, and that their present position was
owing in a great measure to that want which the Metro-
politan Railway would have supplied. He then
entered into an elaborate statement with a view to show
that it was not the new branches of the Great
Western Company that had reduced its dividend so
low as 1 per cent., but Vie want of a city terminus
such as the Metropolitan RAilway, if cJnstructed, could
afford them.

A very long and animated discussion ensue 1, in which
Mr. Jones, Mr. C. Pearson, Mr. Ayrtan, and other
shareholders took part. The utility of the undertaking
in developing the property e,f the Corporation of London
and the traffic of the Great Western and Great Northern
Rsil way Companies was strongly urged ; but it was held
that without the assistance and hearty co-operation of
those bodies it would be a folly for the existing share-
hollers to proceed with the undertaking. It was proposed
by Mr. Pearson that the scheme should be divided into
two undertakings, leaving to the Great Western, if they
pleased, to make the extension from Paddington to
King's-cross, there to join the City terminus line.
The report and statement of acc,iunts were adopted.
Mr. W. A. Wilkinson and Dr. Glottis were requested
by the meeting to join the board, and on a show of
hands were unanimously elected directors of the com-
pany, with the understanding that they should be at
resolution pleased.
was
liberty to retire from the bard
RwhoeNn,eva
er they
On the motion of Mr. AzT
passed authorising the directors to take the necessary
steps for making application to Parliament in the next
session for power to dissolve and wind up the company,
unless in the meantime they should make arrangements
for the disposal of the company's property.
A vote of thanks to the chairman and directors con-
cluded the meeting.

PROPOSED GREAT CENTRAL wEsr-
END Ti RMINUS.

Every one knows the difficulties experienced in get-
ting to or from the West-end, whether by road or rail.
These difficulties the proposed West-end Terminus about
to be established;will do away entirely. It will purge and
cleanse the dirty parts of Pimlico,, relieve the monstrous
aggravation of traffic which for years has made London•
bridge a nuisance, make the lonely neighbourhood t
Victoria-street one of the most important sub-centres in
the metropolis, and gi,e such facilities to metropolitan
communication as have long been wished for, though
until now without a prospect of being realised. The plan
by which all this id to be effected is so eimple, so inex-
pensive, and so thoroughly practicable io all its details,
that the marvel is how it has escaped the vision of rail-
way projectors for so long a time. It is nothing more
nor less than the formation of a short line from Bat-
tersea, running tl.rough Brixton, Clapham, Dulwich,
Camberwell, and the suburban districts on the Surrey
side of the water and communicating with all the lines
of railway going south. Fr on Battersea it crosses the
river on au iron bridge, to be built for the purpose, and
at once enters the bed of the present Grosvenor canal,
along the course of which it continues to the central ter-
minus to be erected on the site of the Grosvenor basin—
an immense area at the end of Victoria•street, West-
minster, within a stone's throw of Buckingham Palace
and Grosvenor-place, a quarter of a mile of the Houses
of Perliamtnt, and less than 1,000 yards from Charing-

cross.
It is always ratber difficult to describe intended build-
ing plans en a large scale, but such of our readers as are
unable to appreciate the advantages of the scheme from
this verbal report will be enabled to do so fully by an in-
stant's reference to the map of London. The short subur-
ban line which we have mentioned is intended to run round
the tooth of the metropolis,
will communicate wish the
lines to Brighton, Dover, the Crystal Palace, the maneliEllo
of the S nitn-Western, the Croydon, Epsom, Mid-Kent,
and North Kent—in fact, with all the London railways on
the Surrey side of the Thames. The amount of subur-
ban passer gar traffio by this line is estimated as being
of itself sufficient to justify its immediate formation, and
the peculiar advantages which it must derive from being
withciniencotinynecatpiopeareut.T
ailothaeccootmhemrodmaatien
the
eutee are suffi
four
-
in-
crease the whole of this line will be down
pairs of rails. From Brixton the line will approach the
river along the eastern boundary of the new park at
expensed
for
Battersea, passing above the Crystal Palace Sloane-
street station. The bridge portion of the undertaking
will be the only one presenting any feature of engineer-
ing interest or difficulty along the entire route. It will
run parallel with the handsome new suapension bridge
at Battersea, but only about a quarter of a mile distant
from it on the London side. In consequence of this
rather near proximity to what will undoubtedly be one
of the handsomest bridges about the metropolis objec•
tions may be offered on the part of the Government,
who may stipulate that the span of the centre of the
railway bridge shall equal that of the suspension. This
would repuire an iron arch of nearly 400 feet span—a
rather important engineering work, though nothing
when compared with the colossal tubular bridge which
crosses an arm of the sea at more than 200 feet above
its surface. The promoters of the scheme are, however,
quite prepared if necessary to make the centre arch of
any breadth of span which the Government may fa
The bridge will run direct to the entrance of the Gros-
venor-canal. As even among the best informed of our
readers there may be some not thoroughly acquainted with
the topography of this stagnant channel, we may men-
tion tbat its entrance from the Thames is on the Mid•
dlesex side, aieout a quarter of a mile or so from the new
bridge, and thence it rune in an almost straight line
through the shabby parts of Pimlico, terminating in the
Grosvenor-basin, a deep and extensive dock near the
end of new Victoria-street. It was made by the
Marquis of Westminster, whose consent it wag, of
course, necessary to obtain before the canal could be
converted into a route for a railway. As, however,
the canal has been by no means a lucrative
investment, his lordship at once consented to the pro-
posal, merely requiring to be assured that neither he nor
his property would be injured by the change. This wag,
of course, satisfactorily demonstrated, and his lordship
gave a lease of the property for 999 years, stipulating for
nothing more than the present rental of the canal—a by
no means heavy sum. This great liberality on the part of
the marquis removed the only bar which could have been
placed on the success of the plan, and since that time
the whole undertaking has been carefully matured, and
has advanced the necessary stages towards obtaining a
bill next session.
The canal presents almost unequalled facilities for
carrying out the plans in the most effective and cheap
manner. The operation will be brought about by opening
the lock-gates, lotting out the water, and filling in the
bed and basin with dry rubbish, till the whole is raised to
the "low levtl" on which it is intended that the line shall
be laid. No vaulting is required; no expensive property
has to be purchased, or engineering difficulties to be
overcome. Toe line thus made will terminate at the Cen-
tral station, on the site of the basin of the canal. If this
station is finished as intended, it will undoubtedly be
one of the finest and mootcapacious buildings of its kind
greater
itnhaenxitetshart'eoef.the Thes retataionsatofLtohnedboan-lbiuridge, greater
5
times larger than-the whole extent of the Great Western
terminus at Paddington. In addition to this large space
the promoters have already secured no less than 40 acres
of ground round the basin, so as to admit, if necessary,
of the terminus being extended to more than twice its at
present proposed size. There will be more than suffi-
cient space in all for every line south of the Thames. For
the accommodation of these there will be 16 departure
and 6 arrival platforms. Only a small number of the
latter is requisite, for an arriving train is empty in a
few minutes, while those starting have generally to oc-
cupy the platform nearly half an hour. Each platform
as belonging to a distinct line, will have its own book-
ing and luggage ace in the general buildings of the

1 terminus. The roofing of the space set apart for the
actual arrival and departure of trains will of c Atm be
glass and iron, and upwards of 1,400 feet long by 500
feet wide—another Crystal Palace in its way. The gene-
ral plan of the whole terminus will be that of a huge
quadrangle. The ex`erior thus forms a noble range of
buil tinge, and which, judging from the designs already
prepared, will prove a valuable addition to our not very
large stock of ornamental architecture in Lrindon. The
style will be Gothic, and the front elevation in its gene-
ral features is not unlike the terrace front of the new
Houses of Parliament, though, of course, less fi nil and
expensive in detail. This portion will be expressly built
for an extensive hotel—an hotel sufficlenf, if need be, to
shelter all the multitudinous visitors who clan-, fi )ck np
to London from the south of England. The courtyard
in the interior of the quadrangle will be 350 teet long by
150 wide, and all rooted in with glass and iron. Into
the centre of this passengers will drive on coming to
start per train, and all the various entrances into the
terminus beyond will be marked with the names of the
lines to the platforms of which they dead. Thus the in-
tending traveler drives at once to his point of depar-
ture—Gosport or Windsor, Brighton or Gravesend,
Salisbury or Devonport, as the case may be.
In these few remarks we have, of course, merely given
the "heads" of the scheme, but enough, we think, to
show both its importance and great utility. The extent
of the latter, in fact, can scarcely be overrated, for, in
addition to the West-end and the south side, nearly one-
half of the northern division of London will also be ac-
commodated. A glance at the map will show our readers
a few of the routes which the weary passengers from
Bayswater, Paddington, or Camden-bill must traverse
ere the Brighton, Waterloo, or Crystal Palace stations
can be reached ; and none can doubt the improvement
of the change, which may be said to make Charing-cross
the common centre. It is, in short, the first step
towards making our unwieldy, overgrown tne.ropolis
manageable with regard to distances, and diminishing
the inordinate traffic through some of our most crowded
routes. The idea itself is a grand and comprehensive
one, and, as far as it has gone, it has be-n well
and carefully planned. For the rest, we can only hope
that such success may attend it ae a scheme so c itidncive
to the public benefit acd accommodatim miry deserves.
—Times.

THE INDIAN TELEGR IPII.

What is the subject upon which at this moment
the greatest interest is felt by the population of
these islands ? What wish with reference to public
affairs has been most universally expressed during
the last two months? These questions can be an-
(layered without a minute's hesitation. If there is
one ardent and absorbing desire pervading the
whole nation just now it is the desire to know what
is passing in India—to know it from day to day,
without uncertainty in the intelligence sr suspense
in the communication—to feel that we are omitting
no exertions through ignorance and losing no op-
portunities through delay. Nor does the occasion,
momentous as it is, appeal to public spirit only.
Private affections are extensively involved in the
matt r, and the fate of our countrymen, for whose
safety prayers are put up in our churches, furnishes
a subject of unceasing anxiety to thousands of
households throughout the kingdom.
If by these observations we have quickened the
emotions of our readers we have something in
reserve for their satisfaction. To be as brief as pos-
sible on such a point, we simply state th It there are
persons now prepared at a very small expense, in a
very short time, and by methods which seem pal-
pably practicable, to bring India lute such con-
nection with England that whatever is known one
day in Calcutfa may be known that day week in
London. Of course, the agency is that of the Tele-
graph ; there is nothing knew in the principle, but
there is something very striking in the csinsidence
by which the facilities in question have been created.
At the south-eastern corner of the Mediterranean
basin lies the port of Alexandria. From Suez, at
theopposite s:de of the narrow isthmus which con-
nects Africa with Asia, to Aden, our own settle-
ment, at the outlet of the Red Sea, the d wanes,
is less than 1,500 miles ; from Aden to Kur-
rachee—the most convenient port of India—
the mileage is about the same ; so that the
space to be traversed between Alexandria, a point
almost at our door, and Knrrachee, a town stand-
ing on the Indus itself, assumes no very consid. r-
able pr poitions, and is besides divided adm'rably
for the purposes in view. But ttousands of miles
of cable are not to bo had at a in iment's notice.
As it happens, they are. The Atlantic Telegraph
Company, in the exercise of their discretion, have
decided on not immediately renewing the attempt
to connect England with the United States, and
their cable is disposable for a similar en erprise in
another direction. We said the cod would be
small. The fact will be admitted when we state
that 300,0001.—little more thin the amount of
which a single railway company was robbed by a
single servant—will link Alexandria with Aden.
The c nnexion of Aden with Kurraches will be
more costly by 100,000/. ; but 700,0001. would
complete the business ; and so plain are the pros-
pects, and so confident the projectors, that London,
it is distinctly averred, could be brought within a
week's distance of Calcutta almost as soon as the
troops now leaving these shores will arrive before
Delhi. To speak more precisely to the point, we
are assured that this most desirable communication
can be actually established before the end of the
present year.
What hinder', then ? Not money, when 400
times the amount has been spent upon British
railways only. Not money, when a million could
be raised f )1. atmo *any scheme imaginable. Season
the morsel properly to commercial pal :t s, IV d men
are found rolling in riches up to their chins. But,
though your true British merchant w,ll give, spend,
or even squander without scruple at appeals arise
to his sympathies or his tastes, he will not make
an unpromising investment or hazard a single
shilling against the maxims of trade. Basin-ss
is business. Ask him for a gift tf a thousand
pounds, and you may get it ; but recommend him
to stake 101. in a bad speculation, and he flatly
refuses. Now, the Indian Telegraph as a mere
commercial project has not a suffic'ency of attrac-
tion. India itself is unsettle.), and the great'r the
necessity for the communication the less would be
the inclination to the investment ; besides which,
our greatest telegraphic enterprise has just this
moment been suspended. So on 'Change it might
reasonably enough be questioned whether the
Indian telegraph in itself promised that am' unt and
certainty of remuneration which would command
the capital required,—in other word-, notwith-
standing the extraordinary popularity and eminent
utility of the design, it might not as a commercial
undertaking find the necessary support. Announce
it as an impending fact, and no words can be strong
enough to paint the universal satisfaction ; intro-
duce it as a business speculation, and the question
is, what will it pay per cent. ?
The old method of meeting these exceptional cases
is, of course, a guarantee,—a proceeding by which
certain governing authorities supply through their
own sureties that certainty which the enterprise
itself does not seem to carry. Is it woeth while to
give this guarantee under present circumstances ?
Let the reader recall a few facts to his mind, and
consider. The outbreak which disclosed the true
character of the Indian mut:nies occurred on the
10th of May, and the gravity and extant of the
emergency were developed by the two successive
snails. Not till the end of July did we fully learn
that the apparent insubordination of half-a-dozen
regiments meant the desperate mutiny of an entire
army, and that in the struggle before was really
represented, not the correction of a refract try bat-
talion or two, but the grapple of an enormous,
though disorganised, host with the few but cou-
rageous supporters of Government atad order.
Now, if an Indian telegraph had been in operation
we should have been saved all, or nearly all, our
successive stages of mi,sconception, and should have
done at first what we did at last. We began
with despatching four or five regiments to India,
whereas the demand has already absorbed between
20 and 30. To compress the whole case into half-a-
dozen words, these mutinies have been estimated as
threatening a cost of some 20,000,0001. ; and could
any investment be more promising than the appli-
cation of less than a twentieth part of this sum
to the establishment of such a communication as
might most materially modify the expenditure of
the whole ? As we have made up our minds to
vindicate our position in India by the absolute re-
assertion of our supremacy, the whole question is
plainly a question of time ; and time saved is money
saved, here as everywhere. The restoration of order
in a single province of Bengal. through the agency
of this telegraph a month sooner than would other-
wise have been the case would go far towards title-
imbursement of the whole outlay ; indeed, once
money might possibly have been saved at ;ci
had
in
a single lump if these means of de
enabled us to protect the Indian treasuries from
plunder. Even then we have hardly stated the
matter with sufficient force, for after the arrival of
reinforcements has secured the communications be-
tween Delhi and Calcutta, and after Alexandria
has been connected, as it might re tdily be, with
Constantinople or Malta, there is no reason why 24
hours should not suffice to put us in possession of
every event on the banks of the Ganges. If we ask
our readers to contrast such a position with the in-
cidents of delay and suspense now experienced we