The Sun.
London, England, 1857-02-12 00:00:00

T UltSl) V ' N F FP) RU A_ y 2, 857.

r

1121.11 g, AY INT ALLIGENCE.

GREAT WESTERN. •
The report- of the direetors of this company has emit bleep-
issued. 1f states *that the aecauntif of railway revenue to
the 3lat Decernberlast (an Abstract of which appeared in
The Sun of Monday) comprise the receipts and- expen-
diture in reepeet of the foll Owing nevi, lines, being tifo
portions of the Wilts, Somerset, and ,Vireymbuth
and_ the Uxbridge It I:an cbe in addition: to those previonslY
completed, viz,, labtaieen Warminster andßalisbury,npeted
'on the 30th of .'fume last, 20 miles.; frima Yrotao to-Yeovil,
(?P6'led-',on the let of-.September', 2.5 i miles, and Wes/. F
Drayton and Uxbridge, opened ?lope, Bth of,Septembei,
2} miles—together, 48 miles; and 14 additional stations.
seleth ,that additional mileage, ;the _comparison of net eerie-
d tering the'correspten/ling perioctof 1e55 may be stated
as follows :—lncrease on the Great Western Railway—in ,
ppaarssecenlsg,ears;6,-ogs9;,oaln:cnie.oloheedres,omul.izsr:aolfe,,
rtireev:e,nlu9(,,,loBs,B/.4i;i:
together, 60,6001. ; from which is deducted 12,924/e for
additional'working charges, leaving the, total increase of
net earnings for.the half-Year, 47,676/. The increase in the
ShreWsbury RailvieYe in passengers, &c., was 3;05/1/. ; and
in goodte and minerals, 14,q83/. ; 'together, 17,841/. ; from
which is deducthd 6501. decrease in other sources 0_
traffic, leaving 17,1911., deducting proportion due according-'
to r. Mileage_ of goods for working them to and from
Birkenhead, &c., 5,275 L. leaving 11;916/. The additional
working cbarges amounted to 5,5661., leaving 6,3501. as the
total increase of net earnings on the Shrewsbuiy line's. The
tot allecrease in the receipts on the Great Western and
-Shrewshary lines' was 77,1791/., less 5,27 M,, and in addi-,
tiOnal Weicind_ charges 19e49 J., leaving-the total increase
of net earningd for the half-year 51,026/.: With respeCt to
the Kennet and Avon Canel account the auditors advis'e
the red actieneerf the capital aCensitireeseetrefiese cost of the
by placing the excess sum between certain items to
that account, and they recommend provision to be made
out of the Great Western revenue for the balance against
the canal, resulting from five years' working, of 9,3801., a
course to which the directors, under the circumstances of the
case, have given their assent. This deficiency does not pro-
perly become a cherge altogether to the revenue, for a con-
siderable portion of it is admitted to be due to the cost of
Construction of the Wilts, Somers-et, and Weymouth
the works of which have caused frequent stoPpages of
the canal itself, and consequent loss of freight. ' The
mode; approved by the auditors for meeting it is to charge
the Whole balance to the revenue account within 5 years,
•
by placing 1,380€. to the credit of the Kennet and Avon,
Canalin the last six months, and wilting off in each sub-'
sequeat year 2,000/. until the whole sum shall have been
After defraying all charges which have priority
out of the revenues of the Great Western Company, the
HUM of 140,822€. remaits available for a dividend on the
consolidated stock; and the directors have much satisfic-
tion in recommending, under the improved condition, of
this undertaking, that the dividend for the last half-year
be increased from 2i to 3 per cent. per annum, which will
allow a balance of 17,27 a. to be carried to the next account.
Added to this, the board advert to a claim for a consider-
able amount on the Postmaster-General in excess of the
sum credited for mail servicee, which is likely soon to be
decided by arbitration. From .the peculiar nature of these
services,, for which there are already two years of arrear to
be received from the Post-office, the directors entertain no

doubt that the balance in aid of the accounts of the cur-
rent half-year will be much increased upon the award being.
mrde.. The fiind tor "accidents," established in 1849, has
now reached the agreed balance of 20,C00/. in reserve, over.
and above ill payments for compensation under that heal .
The capital accounts embrace the further expenditure dur-
ing the half year for all the lines then under construction,
of which about 37 miles have been since .opened. for past.)
:Ringer traffic—viz., between Yeovil and Weymouth, and
between Bradford and Bath. The only portions of railway
which are still in course of construction consist of the De-
vizes and Henley branches (about -13 miles), both of
which lines will be completed in the spring. All
the Parliamentary obligations for new rail Ways belong-
ing to this company will thus be fulfilled, and the
directors have steadily adhered to the principle of not
'entering into farther engagements of the same descrip
tion. Tic. branch railways connected with the Great
Western system have been undertaken exclusively by
local subscriptions, viz., the Abingdon Railway and the
Bridport Railway ; and a third branch from Hatton, near
Warwick, to Stratford-upon-Avon, is promoted under simi-
lar circumstances without any pecuniary assistance froin
this company, and is now before Parliament for the sanc-
tion of the Legislature. The directors have thought it
right in all those cases to enter into agreements for finding
the plant and working those lines in connection with the
traffic of the main line, during a limited period, without
undertaking any guarantee or liability for their capital,
but without exacting any profit over and above the ex-
penses actually incurred in working them. Application
has also been made to the directors by local subscribers
projecting a line between Hungerford and Devizes for a
permanent working arrangement of such line, when con-
structed, on conditions similar to that of the lease of the
Hereford, Ross, and Gloucester Railway, and they recom-
mend authority to be given to enter into an agreement for
that purpose. The directors must report 'that some modi-,
fications in the subsisting agreements between the Corn-

wall Railway Compny and the Great Western, Bristo,
and Exeter, and South Devon Associated Companies have
become indispensable, in order to secure out of the re-
sources of the Cornwall Company the completion of that
portion of their line which is leased to the three companies,
due regard being had to the interests of all the parties to
those agreements. Application has therefore been made to
Parliament for the requisite powers. The main purposes in
view are to enable the Cornwall Railway Company to raise
the additional capital necessary for completing the line be-
tween Plymouth and Truro by disposal of their preference
shares, with the assistance of the credit of the associated
companies, but such preference charge to be provided out
of the revenues of the Cornwall Railway, who are also to
defray every expense incidental to it. The increased lia-
bility of this company is limited to two ninth parts of the
amount, and under the modified arrangements will not
exceed 2,0001. per annum. The directors consider it e.
desirable arrangement, which ought to be completed with
as little delay as possible. The question of rates for
the conveyance of coals over the Great Western lines
having been raised by an advertisement and circular
letters which tend to mislead the proprietors and to impute
to the board preferential dealing, the directors think the
best answer to such misrepresentations, industriously pro-
pagated to serve a particular object at this moment, will
be to publish an authorised scale of the rates, as well as the
particulars of the system which is in operation, equally and
impartially with every freighter who may be willing to
transmit coals over this railway. It is perfectly true that
a retail dealer who may send single trucks of coals, or coals
in small quantities, whenever he pleases, without engage-
ment or obligation of any description to the company, pays
more for the single truck than the freighter who engages
to provide full train-loads, adapted to the power of the en-
gine, sent at all seasons of the year, and for a stipulated
annual amount of freight payable to the company. The
question really is whether such rates are really dispropor-
tionate or otherwise, and the publication of the scale will
be the best mode of testing it. The directors can say with
confidence that their sole object has been to secure to the
lines the utmost amount of freight from coals, carried in
the manner most economical and remunerative to the pro-
prietors, and upon one uniform principle, applicable alike
to all, and recognised as just. It was sanctioned by the
highest opinion of counsel immediately after the last Fe-
bruary meeting, and the system hassince been confirmed as
legal by a recent decision in the Court of Common Pleas.
To this principle the directors feel it their duty to adhere,
and they will rejoice to find that it is extensively adopted
by the Somersetshire, Forest of Dean, and all other col-
lieries, whether large or small, under arrangements with
this company, similar to that which is now in force with
the Ruabon Coal Company. It will probably be a satis-
faction to the proprietors to learn that immediate' mea-
sures were taken 'by the directors at the instant of the dis-
covery of frauds which had been committed in certain
other companies& the transfer of stock or shares; to have
all the registers of this company carefully examined; and
a most elaborate report was drawn up and delivered by the
accountant, after such investigation, to the directors
and audithrs, verifying the accuracy of the registers
and the correctness of tie system upon which they have
been kept. It is due to the principal registrar of the com-
pany to say that he was the first person to suggest this
Course, and that the result reflects great credit upon him
and all who have been engaged in that department. It is
intended for the future to transmit notice, by letter, to
every proprietor transferring stock to acquaint him that
the deed has been presented for entry, in order that he may
warn the directors, without delay, of irregularity or fraud,
if any should exist. Every proprietor wishing, by way of
precaution, to ascertain at any time the amount of stock
registered in his name shall, upon inquiry, receive imme-
diate information thereof from this office. Appended to
the report is a statement of the total charge per ton for
coals over the Great Western lines referred to in the fore-
going report. From the tabular statement it appears the
contract charge, in full train loads for distances exceeding
100 miles, the total freight being 5,0001. and upwards per
annum fora term is 7-16ths of a penny, and for use of
waggons 1-10th of a penny per ton. Retail charge, in
engagementit
ni o n aI charge,
contract for
aisneqseu
each
enhht
wherer penny,s
y eot
hrf eot time,
annum, 3J. per ton ; 30,0001. per annum,
20,0001. per annum, 9d. per ton ; 15,00011,. per annum, is.

per ton ; 10,0001. per annum, ls. 3d. per ton ; and 5,000/f
per inintiin, Ig.-'6(l, per ton; and the retail charge, including
freight; waggon hit* 'terminal, aid other expenses', is for
Somersetshire coal, 124 miles frong Radstoek to Paddington,
ss. sd. per ton, the freight exceeding. 40,0001. per annum ; ,
Foreit'of Dealicoal; 128 milOS from Balls Pill to Paddington,
&ad., per tam. freight'exeeeding 40,0001.- per annum ; and
for North Wales coal, 198 miles from Ruabon to Paddington,
Bs. 'qd. per ton,' the :freight exceeding 40,0001. per annum,
and in the above proportion for smaller amounts of freight,
per annum,the retail chase, •as before mentioned, for •
Ithose distances, being respectively 'SOL,'
2d,, and lls.
'1044.' per, ton. t
• ' - '
' ' The ritric;rt Of Mr. Brunel;) the engineer, .states that aur-
Os.
ing the last half-year ~nearly all'. the principal works in'
"tich_ the:sornPapy was engaged hair() been brought to a;
state of completion. the Wilts and Somerset Railway wa%
coinPlatldaudoPened fiona Frome to Yeovil, a distance of
Wiatiles, on the let Sept., and from Yeovil to the terminus'
at WoyMouth, a further distance, of,aboat 28 miles, on the
20th of last month. The Batbampton Branch from near
`TrOwbiddge by Bradford to the main line near Bath, a dis-
' tance of about nine-milee;, was comPleteld and opened for
traffic orr the 2d inst., there remaining: only the Devites
branch, upon which the works, with few. exceptions, are
Completed; and` the rails are now being delivered for the
verthanent wajr, sen•tibai in a few weeks this branch of the
Wilts-and Somerset Railway may aleo be opened. The Ux-
bridge branch was completed and op need en Sept. last ; and
the Henley branch, the only . work of extension now in
`hand; connected -with:-the main line of the Great Western
Railway, is fast approaching to cOMPletion. The 'Mixed
gauge from BirrainghaM to Basingstoke, together with, the
avoiding line at Dideot, and the junction curve near Read-
ing, commonly called the Reading Fork, have been coin -
pleted, and the entim line open Al. for public traffic on the
narrow gauge in Dec. last. 'll5 whole of the new arrange:
mente at Paddington station are now approaching comple.
tion. The. goodi shed and warehouse; constituting the se
coed portion Of the-merchandise arrangements, completing
the whole of the original design, are' now Anished ; the
rails are being laid into the platforms, .ant-the roadways
tieing' paved ; the cranes and other hYdrafilic power ar-
rangementa in the shed and warehotises are fixed. Several
important additions and improvements have been made at
the several.stations on the lines northward and also at Swin-
don and Biiitol, for affording increased accommodation to
the goods traffic. With feW exceikon9, every part-of the
permanent way and works has been thoroughly main-
tained, and M in an improved condition.

PA RLIA 14 EN T ARY DIVISIONS.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—FEB. 11.
JUDGMENTS EXECUTION, Edre., BILL.

Order for Second Reading read;• Motion made, and Question
priiposedj, " That the Bill be now read a second time :"
Amendment proposed, to leaVe out the word " now," and
at the end of the question to add the words " upon this
day six mont4.:"i—Queetton,put,if That.the word ' now'
stand part of the Question :—The ,hoes© divided ; Ayes,
56 ; Noes, 46.

TLIE PERSIAN WA*

The Teheran Ga,:ette of die '26th Raby-el-thany
(24th of December), ; publishils ail ekplanatoryireply
to the English declaration .of war
.issued frfun. Cal-
cutta on the Ist of Nov4mber. It says : .
"In hii'declation of war the Goveriaor-Gene-
ral of the Indies accuses ns of ba faith and .Of the
inflaction of the treaties,. while he blockades our
ports with 30 vessels of war. , The Engli'h Consul
at. Bender-Busliire, in coinmunieatit* that declara-
tionto the Peal authorities; adde J, that the arrival
of the naval forces is simply the explanatim of the
contents of that d,sclaration.

"Thus we are-oblige to unveil the truth and to
Make all men • understand that our ,accusare :are
themselves guilty,of want of faith, breach of treaties,
of injustice, and have create' difficulties with a
view to invade our territory.
"In explaining -our rights and the r al facts' we
wish that the justice of our cause may be 'appre-
ciated by. every one.. It will he seen that the Ag-
gression' was itht on Our side ; that never did 'our
.Government endeavour lo!infringe- a treaty:`eirie-
ing between the f two .Governmerrts ; men wilk,be-
convinced that, not' satisfied. with fulfilling the'
terms of the treaties, we did More thanwe were called
upon to, do. The proof will bs'given that the Eng-
lish agents have repeatedly violated the treaties,.
created embarras,ments, and infrinee I. upon the
authority of the Persian G-overnment.
"-Thus it was that the rupturdWith Mr. Murray
was caused by his own conduct and hy the, viola-
tion of our rights. As if it was not enough to have
attacked the authority of the Government, the
Minister of England -wished: to claim as a British
subject a paid servant and real subject of his Ma-
jesty the Shah, Marza Hashem-Khan, who has
'given up English protection and returned -to the
service of his Sovereign. Moreover, Mr. Murray
mixed himself up with the intrigues rela.ing., to
Affghanistan'in general, and to Herat in particular.
And yet, according to all -the treaties concluded
between the two Cabinets :-Ist, in 1809, with Sir
Harford Jones ; 2d, inlBl2, with Mr. Crosley ;
and '3d, in 1814, with Mr: Ellis. In all those
existing treaties it was stipulated that the English
Government should not interfere in Persian and
Affghan affairs except as a mediator with the con-
, sent of both parties.
" The first infraction of treaties by British agents
took place in...the, reign of the late King Moharn.-
med. - Shah, at the siege of Herat. The English
Government ' sent vessels of war into' the Persian
Gulf, which act compelled the King to raise the
'siege. His Majesty, not wishing to break off
friendly intercourse with England, renounced at
;that; time the capture .of Herat. At a later period
Mt. Sbeil assumed a cold and threatening manner ;
but the Court of Teheran, always appreciating the
friendship 'of England,- Contracted, relative to
Herat, a new' arrangement, based upon the inter-
nal relations of the country, such as they'existed
in the days of Kamrau and-. of Yar-Mohammed
Khan. It was said then that the English should
not interfere in any case, or in any manner, in the
affairs of Herat, and that they.,shenld not have
any relations with the &lie& of the said town. It
is to be observed that that treaty must be null and
void according to all international law, which sti-
pulates that a treaty between two Powers shall be
ratified, and the ratifications exchanged—these
',conditions were not fulfilled.
"Moreover, .Mr., Sheil hinaself annulled that
arrangement, arid his successors have imitated his
'example ; this is proved by official documents that
have been communiciated to us. It was by acts
that Mr. Sheil infringed' the arrangem nt agreed
upon ; he sent one of his confidants, Sultan-Khan,
to Herat, and he commenced relatifms that he had
no business to enter into, for it had been. expressly
stipulated that a copy f the arrangement agreed
upon should be sent to the Government of Herat.
To the observations • made then -by the Teheran
Cabinet to Mr. Sheil that his conduct was contrary
to stipulatiens, he replied officially that he did n.et
regard himself bound not
,to hold communication
with Herat, and that he should' communicate with
that town Whenever and as often as he pleased
without informing the Persian Government. In
fact, these communications' were entertained
without interruption. After Mr. Shea, the
Charge d'Affaires, Mr. Thompson;- even took ad-
vantage ,of the departure of Molla-Akram, the
Secretary of the Governor of Herat, to enter-
tain him outside the town, and`to eive him money
and a letter for Seid-Mohammed-Khan.
"In that letter it is said, that aeon-ding to con-
ventions agreed upon with the sa'd secretary, Slid
Mohammed Khan, whose intelligence and capacities
are appreciated, will receive from the agent of Eng-
land, at Herat, the necessary arms and ammuni-
tion and two kourours 'of money (43./,000/.), on
condition that the English agents shall not be ex-
cluded from the affairs of AffOlanistan, and that all
who speak the Affgh.an tongue shall be subject to
it ; that advice is given to Seld Moharnmed-Khan
to send one of his sons'to the Governor' General of
India, and that he will-thus obtain all that he de-
sires.' That letter is actually in the archives of the-
Persian Government.
"Although we are informed of all the stalls of
the English aeenta we tolerated them out of respect
to the English alliance. But the agents of England
put no limits,to their compromising conduct. After
the death: of Kohendil Khan, Post Mohammed
Khan seized upon the town of Candabar, in defi-
ance of the prohibition for, any Gevet nment in these
partito invade a neighbouring state. Post Mo-
hammed was even resolved to seize upon Herat.
" While these events were taking place in Aff-
ghanistan the representatives of England maintained
a Strict silence on these questions, awl caused us
embarrassments on other matters. But as soon as
Dost Mohammed Khan had [seized Candahar (ma
the 4th of Reby-el-aouel) Mr. Murray, on the 9th
of the same month, broke-off his intercourse with
the Persian Government. On the other hand, the
chief personages of Herat, as Shalizadeh-Moham-
med-Youssouf, General Ica-Khan, the Sirdar Ah-
med-Khan the Governor Mohammed-Hussein-
Khan,ned-Hussein-
Khan, Hadji-Koulmoun-Khan, Abbas-Khan, and
all the chief persons of that town, addressed a peti-
tion to 'the Persian Government concluded in the.
following terms :
" CWe, the most devoted servants and faithful
subjects of your Majesty, feel it our duty to inform
you that Post Mohammed-Khan has just seized
Candahar by order Of the EngliSh' Government,
-and that he has resolved to capture our town also.
But as he was not aware'of the changes that have
taken place here* and only heard of them at Ghuz
nee he did not wish to remain at Candahar, but he
at Once gave orders for the preparations of the ex-
pedition against us ; his sojourn at, Candahar will
not exceed seven days.
' " According to letters which we have received
from merchants and other persons he Openly de-
clared his projects against our city.
" But, doubtless, you are not acquainted with
the follies and treachery of Seid-Mohammed-Lhan,
neither-with ,the state of disorder and want in
which he has left the army and the population. It
is quite impossible for us to hold out without your
pport. Althoiigh'we have never been honoured
with your kindness or,yoUr gifts (khar al), we have
always been your faithful and devoted servants.
We, therefore, beg of you to give us succour and
to take 'us under fyour -protection note that Post
Mohammed declares himself the:aggressor and the
enemy of your Government, by placing himself in
open rebellion against you.
• You have but to signify your orders to him
by prescribing to. him his duttei, and by telling
him that you have taken us under your protection.
If he persists in his designs, tell'hitn you will send
us the money and the troops requisite to defeat
him. But, at the same time, succour must be sent
to us with Sam Khan-el-Khani. For, should our
town be captured and destroyed, great evils would
ensue and reprisals would lead-to nothing.'
" The Persian Government' simply sent Sam-
Khan, without troops, to the succour of Herat ;
Prince Hissan-ul-Mulk was at Djam, with some
troops. But we were nrie aware that Dost Mo-
hammed had already gained and corrupted by
bribery various personages inside Herat, such as
the General Ica-Khan, and that he had induced
them to revolt against Shahzadeh-Mohamined-
Youssouf, to drive out Sam Khan, sent to their
aid, and. Mohammed-Youssouf Khan himself,'
should he oppose the expulson of Sam Khan. After
a sanguinary struggle, Sam Khan was compelled to
take flight to Bagschah without troops ; he was
compelled to go on to Malak, where his death had
been resolved upon. Informed of the conspiracy,
-Sam Khan sent a courier to the Prince Sultan
Murad Mirza, and through a thousand dangers he
escaped to Fort Chibika, whe're he found refuge.
On receiving the.news Prince Sultan Murad-Mirza
sent Pasha Khan to the aid of the fugitive. What
is still worse . is, that while -Sam Khan and Pasha
Khan were ,returning from Fort Qhibika to Kou-