The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-02-24 00:00:00

The marriage of Lord Brooke, M P., son and heir to
the Earl of Warwick, to the Hon. Miss Ann Charteris,
eldest daughter of Lord Elcho, and grand-daughter of the
seventh Earl of Wemvss and March, was solemnised at St.
George's. Hanover-square, on the 18:h. The bride, whose
tall and graceful appearance attracted universal admiration,
was attired in a rich white glace silk dress, with Brussels
lace flounces. On her head was a wreath of orange blos-
soms, from which hung a beautiful Brussels lace veil, al-
most completely enveloping her -figure. She was attended
by six bridesmaids, dressed alike in white tarletan dresses,
trimmed with white silk ribbon, and white tarletan bon-
nets, trimmed with light blue.
On Wednesday evening the Earl of Derby gave his
sixth and last Parliamentary banquet this season, at his
Lorship's mansion, St. James's-square. The guests were,
the Marquis of Blandford, Viscount Lewisham, Viscount
Seaham, Sir William Codrineton, Sir Charles Knigt.tley,
Sir Archibald Campbell, Sir William Verner, Sir Arthur
Brooke, &c.

Tuesday's Gazette announced the appointment of Sir
Alexander Malet, Bart., now her Majesty's Envoy Extra-
ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the King of War-
temberg, to be her Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary to the Germanic Confederation.
THE FRENCH EMBASSY.—Lord Cowley, the new Bri-
tish Ambassador t,) the French Republic, arrived in Paris
on Tuesday night. He alighted at the Intel Bristol,
Place Vendome. Lard Normandy left Paris on Wednes-
day morning on his return to England.
REPRESENTATION OF ABERDEEN.—Capt in A. D.
Fordyce, the member for the city of Aberdeen, has inti-
mated his intention to retire from parliament at the first
dissolution. Sir Andrew Leith Hay is already in the
field as a candidate for the honour of representing this
city. Colonel Sykes. who contested the election with
Captain Fordyce in 1817. is also spoken of as likely to be
brought forward. _ .

REPRESENTATION OF EAST KENT.—The nomination
of c onlidates to supply the vacancy in the representation
of East Kent, occasioned by the retirement of Mr.
Plumptre, took place yesterday week, when Sir Brook
W. Bridges and Sir Edward Dering were proposed. The
polling occurred on Thursday and Friday last. At the
close of the first day, the numbers were—for Sir Edward
Dering. 1,846, and for Sir B. W. Bridges. 2 037. At the
final close on Friday they wer•—Dering, 2,286 ; Bridges.
2,484 ; majority for Bridles, 198.
REPRESENTATION OF LIMERICK.—Lqrd Arundel and
Surrey has written to Mr. F. J. O'N, ill, of Limerick,
stating that in consequence of his enfeebled health, he will
not he able to attend parliament this session ; and that,
though unwilling of his own motion to vacate the repre-
sentation, he will act in that particular as " his consti-
tuents shall decide." The managing committee of the
late banquet in his honour hote passed a resolution
requesting of him to retain his seat. Limerick is thus
virtually unrepresented.

RAILWAY

INTELLIGENCE.

MIDLAND RAILWAY.—The directors of the Midland
2 Company recommend a dividend ofper cent. for the
half-year on the consolidated stock ; a balance of £31,000
being carried over.

YORK AND NORTH MIDLAND.—The York and North
Midland proprietors share a dividend of two per cent. per
annum upon the convnlidated stock of the company,
leaving a broance of £2665 to he carried forward.

LONDON AND SOUTH WESTERN.—A dividend of 5.1
per cent. per annum for the halt-year on the capital stock
of the London and South-western Company has been
approved. The coast line and central scheme are still
under consideration.
CHESTER AND 110LYHEAD.—The nett revenue for the
half-year will he £46,000. The boats show a gain and
not a loss. They have received about £lO,OOO, the ex-
penses being about £6,639. More boat traffic is anti, i-
pated from the conveyance of second-class passengers to

Dublin by the London and North-Western express trains.
EASTERN UNION.—A meeting of the Eastern Union
shareholders was held on Tuesday, at which it was re-
solved that the best means of extricating the company
from its embarrassments would be to promote the amal-
gamation of all the railways east of the Great Northern.
A committee has been appointed to negotiate for a lease
with the Eastern Counties.

THE BICESTER RAILWAY CATASTROPHE.—It is calcu-
lated that this dreadful affair has entailed an expense of
about £30.000 on the London and North-western Rail-
way Company. We understand that Mr. Nevill, one of
the injured passengers, has, as a compensation, been
offered £1,500, which he refuses, and that he requires
£3,000. The following have been given as the sums
presented to the undermentioned persons in consideration
of the injuries received :—Mr. Bolton, £220; Mr. J.
Smith, £7OO ; Life Guardsman Davis, £7OO ; Mrs. Terry,
£100; Mrs. Collis, £200; and Mrs. Luckett, in conse-
quence of her husband's death, £7OO. As there were
about thirty persons killed or injured, and all have led to
claims on the company, £30,000 is probably within the
mark.

TRAFFIC RETURNS.—The traffic returns for the week
ending the 16th instant, on the undermentioned English
lines of railway, are as follows : 1852. 1851.

London and North Western £40,683 .. £40.335
Midland..
Lancashire and Yorkshire 16,056 .. 13.545
London and South Western.
London and Brighton..
Great Western:.
South Eastern 9.819 .. 8.612
York and North Midland
Manches., Sheffield, & Lincolnshire 6,542 .. 5,821
Bristol and Exeter
York, Newcastle, and Berwick 13,548 .. 12.905
Shrewsbury and Chester .. 1,454 .. 1,344
Shrewsbury and Birmingham - - 599 ..
Eastern Counties and Norfolk „

13,233
11,491
2,515
4,487
966

12,360
7,799
2.288

Great Northern ..
Chester and Holyhead
North Staffordshire
Leeds Northern • • 806
South Devon.. 1,575 .. 1,584
The total receipts on the above lines being £185,843
against £170,867 in the corresponding week of last year,
the increase is shown to be £14,976. The number of
miles open on the above lines was, in 1852, 4,149, and
in 1851, 4,0421, showing an increase of 1061 miles.
LIVERPOOL, CROSBY, AND SOUTHPORT RAILWAY.—
The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on
Thursday last, at the Clarendon-rooms, in this town. Mr.
W. Earle was in the chair, and there was a full attendance
of shareholders. An abstract of the report has already
appeared in the Standard. The net balance to the credit
of revenue applicable to dividend, after-deducting interest
on loans and bonds, was £5,231 15s. 6d., out of which
the directors recommend a dividend at the rate of 4 per
cent., being 7s. per share on £l7 10s. paid, leaving a ba-
lance of £1,311 15s. 6d. as a reserved fund. The chair-
man stated that the sum of £4,212, charged by the East
Lancashire for toll, embraced every claim that could be
brought against the company by the East Lancashire or
LancasLire and Yorkshire lines. Mr. Harrison said, as
the line was earning 61 per cent. be thought the share-
holders should have a larger dividend than 4 per cent. ;
and as he did not see the necessity of carrying over so
large a reserve fund as £1,311, he proposed that the divi-
dend for the half-year should be at the rate of 5 per cent.
Mr. Aiken, a director, agreed with Mr. Harrison, that the
line had earned 61 per cent. during the past half-year.
The affairs of the accounts were in so favourable a posi-
tion that, if the proprietors were so desirous, they might
increase the rate of dividend. The object of the directors
was that the half-yearly dividends should be equalised,
with a sufficient sum being left in hand, in order that the
dividend of one half-year might not be less than a prece-
ding half-year. He thought, however. that 5 per rent.
was rather too much. Mr. Harrison subsequently reduced
his motion to 41 per cent.,which was carried unanimously.
The engineer's report was then read ; it referred to the
present srate of the line as being efficient, and recom-
mended that a double line be laid down as soon as possi-
ble. The Chairman stated that the double line would
involve an expenditure of £15,600. The retiring directors,
Mr. H. C. Chapman, Mr. Hargreaves. and Mr. Hornby,
were re-elected. At the suggestion of Mr. Hall, it was
agreed that the directors should take into consideration
the question of continuing the contracts at the former
rates. The proceedings terminated with the usual com-
pliment to the chairman.

EXPLOSION IN BIRMINGHAM.—An explosion of deto-
nating powder took place in a court in Cheapside, Bir-
mingham, on Saturday evening. One man only was
killed, but such was the violence of the shock, that his
limbs were severed from his body, and hurled in various
directions a long distance apart ; a leg being picked up in
Bradford-street, at least 150 yards from the scene of the
disaster. The building was shattered to pieces ; most of
the houses were much shaken, and the doors and windows
forced open. The cause of the accident has not been
ascertained. The powder is said to have been undergoing
the last stage of preparation—the drying process—and it
is supposed had become over-heated. The person thus
fearfully killed was Mr. Mead, the proprietor of the pre-
mises. He has left four children to deplore his loss.
SCREW MAILS TO THE CAPE.—The government have
given to the General Screw Steam Company a contract
for a monthly Indian postal service, in extension of the
line to the Cape, calling at Mauritius, Ceylon, and Cal-
cutta. It will commence on the 15th of May, with the
new iron screw steamer the Queen of the South, 1,750
tons, to be followed by the Lady Jocelyn, Indiana, and
Calcutta, 1,800 tone each. This opening of a regular and
direct steam communication with our colonies and posses-
sions in the east is necessarily a subject of great and im-
mediate interest to the merchants enraged in that trade:
but when viewed as the first step taken towards the in.
troduction of a system by which steam, as an auxiliary
power, will become the medium for the extension of our
commerce and intercourse in those seas, it assumes an
importance which cannot be over estimated either as a
commercial or national question.,