The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-10 00:00:00

Eht Ziberpool &tanbarb.

---
TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH 10, 1840.

By the New York transient ship Rochester, Captain
Woodhouse, which arrived here on Sunday, we have
received news from that city to the Gth ultimo, which
is two days later than the previous arrival. The news
is comparatively unimportant.
Letters from the interior of Alabama say that the
cotton picking was still going on with full success, and
that the prospect was good for a very abundant crop.
Some speculated upon as much as two millions of bales.
Cotton maintained steady prices at New York. The
arrivals at New Orleans were very considerable. The
stock amounted on the 22d of January to 106,137
bales. The prices maintained were, for ordinary Wid
to 6id, middling 7-1 d to 7,34-d, fair 9d to 91d, good and
fine 10Id. The cotton market of Augusta was lower,
on the 28th of January, than it had been during the
season. This was not owing to any unfavourable
news, but to the low state of the river, which rendered
it impracticable to send the cotton off. It was esti-
mated that there were from 8,000 to 10,000 bales lying
on the river bank, waiting for a rise in the liver to he
carried off. The quotations were from 6 to 81 cents
for the extremes of the markets. The chief falling off
had been in the middling qualities. The market at
Mobile had become somewhat lively. Fair cotton was
quoted at 9 to 91 cents.
The English adviceS by the Patrick Henry do not
seem to have affected the flour market at Baltimore.
Higher rates of freights for Liverpool were demanded
by the ship-owners—the rate being on the 2d ult., ss.
sterling per barrel.
The rate of exchange at New York was quoted at
8 to 81 per cent premium, with very little doing.
The annual report of the Bank Commissioners for
the State of New York says that, since October 1839,
the loans of all the banks of the State had been con-
tracted to the amount of 20,000,000 of dollars, and
of the banks of the city of New York alone, 9,000,000
of dollars.

The subject of the Maine boundary had not been
resumed in Congress. The legislature of Ohio had
Passed a resolution declaring slavery to be an institu-
tion of the State, and another denouncing the anti-
slavery agitators.
From Canada, there is no news of importance, if
at'nay except the resolutions which had been passed
tb a great anti-union meeting held at Quebec, against
e Proposed legislative union of the two provinces.

t
hoWn have been favoured, by a respectable commercial
use, With a file of Sydney papers from the 16th of
souse,
to the 14th of October, both inclusive. The
ineuWB contained in these papers is exceedingly interest-
' and important. We learn that the Governor had
received a despatch from the Secretary of State for the
Colonies, in which it was intimated that convicts trans-
ported to New South Wales, henceforward, were to be
1"e-embarked for Norfolk Island, as fast as the conve-
niencies for their reception there might permit ; and
that, in the mean time, they were to be employed in
Sydney on the public works, and not to be assigned to
settlers. The Sydney Monitor complains of this
arrangement, which, it is said, will deprive the Colony
of the advantage of cheap labour, and the consequent
profits to an army of assignees. This profit, estimated
at £lO a man on 15,000 convicts, has been £150,000
a year. In this amount of profit has lain the secret
of the pecuniary prosperity of New South Wales.
" With this source of prosperity," says the Monitor,
" we have been able to bear up against, not only de-
structive droughts, but also the enormous expense of
the crimes of the convicts. But by the new system of
transportation we shall have all the crimes and all the
expense, while the profits are to be dissipated at Nor-
folk Island."

The accounts of the harvest, from all parts of our
Australian possessions, are extremely encouraging.
Several genial showers of rain had been experienced,
and the crops were, consequently, looking remarkably
well. The country from Sydney upwards is said to
look beautiful, and there was every prospect of abun-
dance. The market prices of grain, as well as of every
other description of agricultural produce, had expe-
rienced a considerable fall. This was the case in Van
Neman's Land as well as in New South Wales. The
reduction in the Sydney market amounted to as much
as £lO per ton on flour in one week.
The Sydney Herald remarks that " every day shows
more forcibly the want of steamers in the Colony and
the advantages which would accrue to it, if a number
(4 steamers, say ten in the year 1840, and ten more in
the year following, were to be sent out from England."
The Sydney Monitor states that large quantities of
have been discovered in the neighbourhood of
l'axanaatta and Windsor, as well as at Port Philip
1,7-ear Windsor they are said to be lying on the surface.
the Whale, the news by this arrival from Austra-
lia is of an extremely favourable character. All our
Colonies on that splendid continent were in a very

•
AL,

flourishing condition. All that seems to be corn.
plaincd of is, the want of a more extended system o
immigration, and under better regulations, a complains
which is common to most of our Colonies.

The Perthshire Election has terminated, just as we
anticipated, in the triumphant return of Mr. Drummond,
the Conservative candidate. When we take into con-
sideration the means resorted to by the Ministerial
faction—the open bribery practised—the intimidating
threats held out—and the low acts of cajolery by
which the Whigs sought to dupe the electors—we
must look upon Mr. Drummond's return as one of
the greatest and most decisive victories yet achieved
over the enemies of the Constitution. We heartily

congratulate the electors of Perthshire on their triumph.
The cause of Whiggery is evidently on the decline in the
Scottish counties. The non-intrusion question does
not appear to have had any effect upon Mr. Drumrnond's
majority. This is creditable to the good sense of the
Conservatives of Perthshire. They have done well by
avoiding the snare which was cast before them by the
Ministerial candidate.

Popery is still in the ascendant Popish colleges
are, at length, openly patronised by a Government
calling itself Protestant. Our young and unsuspecting
Queen has been induced to affix her sign manual to
documents which cannot but be considered insulting
and degrading to the Protestant Universities of the
United Kingdom. Before we proceed to lay before
our readers the particulars of these last outrages upon
the feelings of Protestants, it may be necessary to
premise that, in the year 1837, a charter was granted
to the University of London, enabling the Chancellor,
Vice-Chancellor, and Fellows, to grant degrees (pre-
viously only to be had in England at the Universities
of Cambridge, Oxford, and Durham) to candidates on
presenting a certificate of having completed the re-
quisite course of instruction, either at the University
College, King's College, or such other institution or
college as should receive the royal authority to issue
certificates of examination. On the 18th ultimo, the
Popish College of St. Cuthbert's, at Ushaw, near
Durham, received a charter, authorising the President
and other officers of the college to grant such certificates.
The following is a copy of the royal document to which
we have alluded :

" VICTORIA REGlNA.—Victoria, by the grace of God, of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen,
Defender of the Faith, B^c., to her trusty and well-beloved
the President, Vice-President, and Professors of Saint Cuth-
bert's at Ushaw, in our county of Durham—Greeting.
Whereas, we did by our Letters Patent, under the Great
Seal of our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
bearing date at Westminster, the Fifth and Twenty-sixth
days of December, in the First year of our Reign, will, grant,
declare, and constitute the persons therein named, to be our
body corporate and politic, by the name of the University of
London. And whereas, we did therein, amongst other
things, will and ordain, that all Persons should be admitted
as Candidates for the respective Degrees of Bachelor of Arts,
Master of Arts, Bachelor of Laws, or Doctor of Laws, to be
conferred by the said University, on presenting to the Chan-
cellor, Vice-Chancellor, and Fellows thereof, a Certificate
of their having completed the requisite course of Instruction,
from the College called University College, or from the Col-
lege called King's College, or from such other Institution,
corporate or incorporate, as now or hereafter shall be esta-
blished for the purposes of Education, within the Metropolis
or elsewhere, within our said United Kingdom, as we, our
Heirs and Successors, under our or their sign manual, shall

hereafter authorize to issue such certificates. Now, know ye,
that we reposing great confidence in your learning, ability,
and discretion, do hereby authorise you to issue to such per-
sons, as may be desirous of becoming Candidates for the re-
spective Degrees of Bachelors of Arts, Masters of Arts, Ba-
chelor of Laws, or Doctor of Laws, to be conferred by the
said University of London, Certificates, to the effect, that
such Candidates have completed the course of instruction.
which the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and Fellows of the
said University of London, by regulation, in that behalf,
shall have determined.

" Given at our Court, at Saint James's, the Eighteenth
day of February, 1840, in the Third year of our Reign.
"By Her Majesty's Commands, NORMANBY."
" Warrant to Saint Cuthbert's College, at Ushaw, in the
County of Durham, to issue Certificates to the Candi-
dates for Degrees in the University of London."

On reading the preceding document we feel tempted
!0 ask whether it is the intention of Ministers to restore

the title of " Defender of the Faith" to its primitive
meaning ? It will be remembered that this title was
originally conferred upon Henry the Eighth, on account
of his refutation of the doctrines of Luther. The
junta-position of this title with the appellations "trusty
and well-beloved," as bestowed upon the Popish
Professors of Ushaw College, is rather ominous.
But the above is not a solitary instance of royal
patronage of Popish Colleges. The celebrated College
of the Jesuits at Stonyhurst has obtained a similar
privilege. One might have imagined that a sense of

decency would have compelled Ministers to hesitate
before proceeding any further. Maynooth, Ushaw,

and Stonyhurst might surely be considered sufficient
as a beginning. But no ! The demands of the Romish
Hierarchy are not so easily satisfied. Hear what the
Cork Reporter says :

GRANT OF A CHARTER TO ST. MARY'S COLLEGE, °SCOTT

NEAR BIRMINGHAM.

" We announce with great satisfaction that her Majesty
has been graciously pleased to grant a charter to this noble
and extensive Catholic establishment, a proof at once of the
liberality of the government, and of the growing enlighten-
ment of the age. The advantages to the students of the
college will be great. They will be entitled to graduate at
Oxford, Cambridge. London, or Dublin, as A.B. A.M. LL.D.
&c., on presenting the certificate of the President and Vice-
Presidents of Oscott on one examination each term, instead
of a tedious, expensive, and inconvenient attendance at
those places for years ; after which they can return to Alma
Mater,' to complete their studies for whatever profession
they may be intended."

Such is the way in which we are silently but se-
curely permitting Popery to obtain the ascendancy in
this highly favoured land.
In reference to these painful proceedings we cannot
do better than quote the following impressive appeal
from our excellent contemporary, the Durham Ad-

vertiser :
" MINISTERIAL REWARD OF POPERY.
" Since our last publication, an insult has been offered to
Protestantism, which even exceeds all former outrages against
Le Constitution; an insult which ought to make the face of
every Churchman glow with indignation—need we say that
we allude to the recognition, by a government calling itself
Protestant, of a Popish seminary in our neighbourhood as an
English college.
" By this infamous transaction, an insult is offered to every
gownsman, to every graduate, to every churchman in Eng-
land ; and for which, satisfaction should be immediately de-
manded from its perpetrators.
" Was it for this the Martyrs suffered the faggot and the
flame? was it for this the fathers of our Church poured out
their life blood on the scaffold ? shall we indeed again suffer
our land to be defiled by the pollutions of idolatry? Are
the men of England become so degenerate, as to bear pa-
tiently such acts of shameless tyranny on the part of a cor-
rupt government ? Is our liberty to be tamely permitted to
be thus trodden under foot? Are there none left among us
who dare stand in the breach, and with a giant's arm, unfurl
the standard of the Church of England?
" Infidelity is marshalling her troops ; popery is bringing
up in close array her well trained phalanx. Let churchmen
too arm themselves for the fight. Their active foe is already
in the field ; the defiance has been sounded ; and their safety,
their existence, depends upon their promptitude and firmness
in the cause.
" Let such an universal expression of feeling echo through
the land ; let such a shout be raised as met the ears of the
last Monarch of the Stuart race ; when too late he found
that there was a limit, beyond which even British loyalty
would not allow him to proceed.
" We are now placed in circumstances closely resembling
those preceding the revolution ; let the pages of history not
be read in vain. No longer is it allowable to permit false
delicacy to hide from the Sovereign's ear the true sense of
the country. Our Queen is no longer an unprotected fe-
male ; she is a wife, and we hope will prove the mother of a
lengthened race of kings. That she may be so, it is neces-
sary that the indignant remonstrances of the only true sup-
porters of the Crown, the Churchmen of England, should
echo through the walls of the Palace, and warn her against
the machinations of the perjured band of traitors, who,
having sworn to protect the Church of England, betray her
to her foes ; and who, from the same self-interested motives
which have induced them to procure this recognition of Po-
pery, %sou • ld not scruple to compel their Royal Mistress to
subscribe her abdication, if they thought such an act might
further their ambitious or mercenary projects."

The " tyrant majority" in the House of Commons
have contrived to sink one step lower still in the slough
of degradation. The debate on Lord John Russell's
" Privilege" Bill was brought to a conclusion on
Friday evening. This Bill—after all the vapouring of
the " tyrant majority"—amounts to little more than a
virtual abandonment of the self-assumed privileges of
the House - of Commons. It involves a distinct
acknowledgement that the mode adopted by that

House for vindicating its privileges has been illegal
and unconstitutional. Lord John Russell has, at
length, found it necessary to obtain the sanction of a
legislative enactment, as a guide for the future decisions
of the House in all matters relating to the publication
of its proceedings. Such is the humiliating sequel to
the swaggering career which the House has thought
fit to adopt during the last eight weeks !
On Friday evening the debate on this subject was
enlivened by a singularly original speech from Mr.
O'Connell, in which he ventured to advise the House
of Commons to assert its privileges at all hazards.
He strongly deprecated the idea of introducing any
law for defining those privileges. He even went so
far as to advise that counsel should be attached for
contempt, as well as attorneys. Nay, he had the
audacity to suggest that the judges themselves should
be seized, and dragged before the Star-Camber
tribunal of the House, rather than abandon the privilege
of trampling upon the laws of the land. He arraigned
Lord John Russell for bringing in the Bill " without
having the resolution, he would say the political courage
to go further. Why should counsel or judges be
suffered to violate the privileges of the House any
more than sheriffs ?" This language is quite in
keeping with the native effrontery of the man. He
delights in doing all be can to insult and degrade the
judges of England.

Mr.. O'Connell's eloquence, however, did not pre-
vent Lord John Russell from deserting the " proud
position" which Messrs. Bright and Rathbone im-
agined him to occupy. He has been forced to
solicit the aid of the House of Lords to extricate him
from his difficulties.

Our sage contemporary of the Mercury is just now
engaged in the congenial occupation of raking amongst
the impurities of socialism, selecting with all the relish
of an epicure the choicest morsels, and serving them
up in a kind of hash, duly seasoned to the palate of his
tap-room admirers. The task is one in which we
should be glad to see him employed if we could be as-
sured of his sincerity; and his labours, if honestly di-
rected, would be more than usually beneficial. They
might at least serve to point out to that portion of the
public, for whom our contemporary enacts the part of
" Sir Oracle," how disgustingly loathsome are the
opinions of the hoary wretch whose presence was al-
lowed to pollute the court of England's maiden Queen ;
and how inconceivably contemptible must be the prin-
ciples of a public journalist who, pandering to party at
the expense of morality and decency, could stoop to
become the apologist of the infidel intruder and justify
the minister by whom his intrusion was permitted.
That journalist we need scarcely say was the Editor
of the Mercury himself ; and we do hope that, having
become convinced of the disgusting tendency of that
system, of which the protege of Lord Melbourne and
the visitor of our Queen is the founder and apostle, he
will at once step forward and] join us in denouncing
earnestly the system itself and the dangerous error
which procured for its author the countenance Of
royalty. Lord Melbourne has admitted, and regretted
publicly, his part of the offence; and the Mercury, if he
wishes to retrieve himself in the opinion of the re-
spectable portion of his supporters, will follow so lauda-
ble an example. 'We fear, however, that the leaven of
party is too strong in the composition of our contem-
porary to allow him to do anything so manly and so
honest. We know him too well to expect that he will
allow either public:morality or decency to weigh for one
moment in the scale against party subserviency. The
minister, with the blood of a gentleman in his veins,
and standing up amongst the assembled nobility of
England, might afford to express, even at the hazard
of a little mob popularity, his consciousness of the foul
insult which he had offered to the purity of the throne
and the character of the maidens of England ; but the
Editor of the Mercury, the mere literary hack of faction,
possesses no such sensitive feelings. Impurity the
most nauseous, so long as it is clothed in the jargon of
philosophy, is to him legitimate food ; and doctrines
which, in their naked deformity, would excite the un-
mitigated disgust of nine-tenths of the lowest classes
of our population, are dribbled through his pages in

terms of the most gentle reprobation, and their advo-
cates chidden " gently as any sucking dove."
Yes—these hellish doctrines, which hitherto have
been almost entirely unknown to the great mass of our
population, will now be laid upon the tables of every
beer-shop and tavern, in which the lucubrations of our
contemporary are weekly imbibed—they will be placed
in the hands of the daughters and wives of our respecta-
ble tradesmen—in the hands of the young and inex-
perienced of all classes to which the circulation of the

Mercury extends. It will be remembered, too, that
their profane author has been thought fit for presenta-
tion at court, and that such presentation was justified
by this " best possible public instructor" and his party:
and we fear that the Mercury's present faint condemna-
tion of the social principles will scarcely be sufficient
to neutralize the effect of that fatal step, unless accom-
panied by an honest acknowledgment of error, such as
we are well aware no ordinary power will wring from
him.

Were a stranger to visit Liverpool—the port of ship-
ment for the great manufacturing districts of Lanca-
shire and Cheshire—the first object of his curiosity
would probably be to inquire, what are the political
principles which actuate the members of this hive of
industry and enterprise ? For a reply to this question
he would at once proceed to examine the character of
our local press; and the evidence which he would de-
rive, from its circulation and advertisements, would
undoubtedly incline him to the conclusion that the ma-
jority both of population and of property belonged to
that party which delights to call itself liberal. This
conclusion formed, his next endeavour would be to as-
certain our rank in the scale of talent and of taste;
and, to arrive at this knowledge, he must again wade
through the vapid pages of our Mercury and Albion,
our Chronicle, Journal, and Times. Perhaps he might
afterwards step into our Council Chamber, and listen
to the frothy declamation and admire the gentlemanly
demeanour of the elect of our municipal constituency ;
and, as a whole, we fear that the impressions which he
would form from such an examination would be any-
thing but flattering.
It may be said, however, that such is not the mode
in which men of judgment and discrimination endea-
vour to ascertain the character of a people. We con-
tend, however, that on something like this principle
first impressions are formed and superficial judgments
maintained. The character of a community is readily
identified with that of its press. The power of diffe-
rent parties in that community is judged of by the
profitable circulation of their press; and that power,
when directed to bad objects, is correlative with such
circulation. We must, therefore, be content to be
judged by this prind facie evidence, or submit to the
imputation of misusing our powers and placing the
means of working evil in the hands of our opponents.
If, as a community, we are not the puny drivellers
which an identification with the press which we support
would make us ; if we are neither doating upon a cha-
rade, enamoured of ribaldry, or pandering to unholy
and filthy libels ; we are upon the horns of a dilemma
equally as disreputable. We feed the trifler, the ribald,
and the libeller. We dung the roots of the unwholesome
plant from whose leaves the noxious poisons of infidelity
and socialism are exhaled amongst our population.
We give wings to falsehood—golden wings ; and we
place the imprinted scoff and the senseless raving of
the sophist and republican in the hands of our fellow-
men, stamped with the impress of our approbation.
Let us then ask the conservative body—the mer-
chants and tradesmen of Liverpool—to examine calmly
and dispassionately the effect which a judgment of
their principles, their character, and their intellect,
formed upon the comparative prosperity of their local
press, must have upon the community at a crisis like
the present. That an unfavourable judgment is formed
we think few will deny. Nay, is it not a fact that the
encouragement given to the whig•radical press of Li-
verpool is appealed to as an undeniable evidence of the
su

perior influence and power of that party amongst
us ? Is it not a fact that the encouragement given to
the Whig-radical press of Liverpool has tended almost'
to neutralise in the public mind the effect of the great-
est blow ever inflicted upon that party—the return, by
the noble efforts of our townsmen, of two conservative
members to the House of Commons? These things
cannot be denied; and, at a crisis like the present,
when the demands of commerce and of agriculture, of
religion and of morality, are, by a degraded adminis-
tration and a venal House of Commons, alike openly

set at nought,—when the cry of a suffering people is
treated with contempt, and the consideration of its
afflictions compelled to give way to some paltry object
of party intrigue,—when the favour of the British
Parliament is deemed of less value to a government
than the favours of Ladies of the Bedchamber,—at
such a crisis, we ask, ought the real opinions, the cha-
racter, and the intelligence of this great mercantile
community to be mistaken for an hour ?

We appeal then to the conservative body of Liver-
pool. Will they allow their own efforts—will they allow
our efforts to be neutralized by the want of that moral
strength which it is in their power.to bestow uPon the
conservative press ? We ask for no sacrifice on their
part; we ask for no exclusive—no individual advan-
tage. But we do say, take away this reproach from
your own party ! Let us not be deemed weak when
we are conscious of our strength. Give us that coun-
tenance and support which will enable us to direct our
proper strength to the advantage of your interests and
the well-being of the community !
That this is an object; not difficult of accomplish-
ment must be pretty evident to any one who will take
the trouble to examine the sources from whence the
circulation of our opponents is derived, and the extent
of their advantage over us. Let the conservative mer-
chants and tradesmen of Liverpool bestow upon the
conservative press a portion of that advertising support
which now crowds the pages of our Whig-radical con-
temporaries, and they give us at once a portion of their
circulation. Let a combined effort be made and firmly
adhered to, and the power of that press which weekly
derides and scoffs at their misused strength is broken
for ever.

We understand that a motion was carried, on Thurs-
day last, for the admission of reporters into the Dock
Committee. Whoever the individual may be that pro-
posed the matter, he deserves the thanks of the com-
munity; for it is not consistent that the public should
be ignorant of the sayings and doings of the Dock
Committee, when their deliberations have such an im-
portant effect on the commerce of the port, and whilst
the Council proceedings are regularly published. Both
are public trusts, and both ought, consequently, to de-
liberate with open doors, as far as the press is con-
cerned. We trust the motion was carried unani-
mously, and that the members of all parties cordially
coincided in it. We cannot see, indeed, how the libe-
ral members could do otherwise, knowing that it has
always been their complaint that the old corporation
excluded reporters, and that the public would have
been completely in the dark but for the amateur re-
porting of Mr. Currie. We therefore hail with joy the
adoption of such a really open and liberal measure—a
measure which the public have loudly demanded, and
which they had a right to expect ; and, although there
may he no brilliant flashes of wit to amuse, nor splendid
oratory to amaze or instruct, there are many import-
ant questions discussed at that board, bearing on the
commerce and welfare of the port, which, when made
known, will enable the public voice to be freely ex-
pressed, and which will render the Dock Committee
more amenable than they are at present to public
opinion.

It is quite possible, for instance, that the Dock
Committee have discussed the absolute necessity of
providing suitable accommodations for the prodigious
steamers now employed in Transatlantic navigation, the
number of which will, no doubt, be greatly increased
before seven years elapse. If this matter has been
under the consideration of the Dock Committee, we
are in utter ignorance of the fact. If they have not
deliberated on such an important matter, they are
highly culpable, and the public voice will soon force
the question upon their notice. We were much struck,
when witnessing the launch of the splendid steamer,
the United States, on Saturday last, by the remark of
a naval officer, who observed, " that it was most dis-
graceful to this port that there was not a single (lock
in which a large steamer could be hauled, without the
serious expense and trouble of unshipping her paddle-
wheels ; and that, unless ample provision for the ac-
commodation of these vessels was made, Liverpool
would lose them altogether." When we consider the
advantages which our innkeepers, ropemakers, ship-
builders, engineers, smiths, and others, will gain by
this new branch, we think the Dock Committee will
deem it to be incumbent upon them to provide every
convenience which this class of steamers may require,
and get the start of Southampton and other ports in
this respect. This is such an important subject that
we must return to it.

Giving publicity to the proceedings of the Dock
Committee will also afford to our merchants and other
practical men an opportunity of expressing their opi-
nions upon the deliberations of the Committee : and
if it should result in taking the management of Dock
affairs out of the hands of Council nominees, who are
principally Aldermen, made such after being rejected
by the constituency, and men totally unacquainted—
we speak of them generally—with nautical affairs, and
placing it in the hands of those who should be elected
by Dock rate payers only, so much the better will it
be for the interests of the town, for it is notorious that
of all those who are nominated by the Council, and
who form a " tyrant majority" in the Dock Com-
mittee, scarcely one is, bona fide, a ship-owner ! This
will not much longer be endured. Before, however,
the proposition can become law, it must have the
sanction of the Town Council. Whether the liberals
of that assembly will entertain such a reasonable
proposition remains to be seen. We trust it will re-
ceive the sanction of every Conservative member.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

ALF-YEARLY MEETING OF THE NORTH MID-

LAND RAILWAY COMPANY.
The half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of this com-
pany was held on Monday, the 2d inst., at the London Ta-
vern, Bishopsgate-street ; Geo. Carr Glynn, Esq., in the
chair. The attendance was very numerous.
The report of the directors, which was read by the secre-
tary, annpunced that a large portion of the line, viz., from
Derby to Sheffield, a distance of 44 miles, would be opened
at the latter end of April; and That, from the satisfactory
progress which the contractors are now making throughout
the entire line, the directors confidently expect that the en-
tire distance to Leeds will be opened in June or July next.
It was stated also that by that period the remainder of the
York and North Midland and the Midland Counties Rail-
ways will be completed, so that within the short period of
six months a continuous line of railway from London to
Leeds and York will be opened to the public.
During the proceedings, a motion was made that no trains
should be allowed to run upon the line on Sundays, except
those employed in carrying the despatches of the post-office,
which was negatived by a majority, of persons 62, and of
votes 1706.

HALF-YEARLY MEETING OF THE LONDON AND
SOUTH WESTERN (LATE SOUTHAMPTON)
RAILWAY COMPANY.

The half-yearly meeting of the above company was held on
Saturday, the 29th February, at the company's offices,
Vauxhall ; John Easthope, Esq., M.p., in the chair.
By the report of the directors, read to the meeting, it ap-
pears, that the revenue arising from the portion of the line
now in operation has amounted during the past six months
to £76,768 lls. 3d., or £2952 10s. per week. This revenue,
there can be no doubt, will be very much increased when the
line shall have been opened to Southampton, not merely in
proportion to the mileage, but in a much greater ratio. This
is proved by the fact, that when the first 38 miles were
opened the receipts were £1067 per week, and were raised
by the opening of only an additional eight. miles to £1958
per week.

The opening of the entire line to Southampton is confi-
dently expected to take place in May next.
In the course of the proceedings a letter was read from
Mr. Charles Lafitte, announcing the approaching formation
of a company for the purpose of constructing a railway from
Rouen to Paris,—an undertaking the importance of which,
as an adjunct to the London and Southampton, we need not
attempt to estimate. But we must express our surprise at
the statements entered into at the meeting as to the probable
revenue of such a line. Mr. Locke, the engineer, states that
the expense of making a line from Paris to Rouen will not
exceed £2,000,000 sterling, and that upon the line of road
between the two places there is a present traffic sufficient to
produce one million sterling per annum statement which
Mr. Locke truly says " must almost frighten any one to
make." It is, however, corroborated by two gentlemen,
Messrs. Chaplin and Reed, (the latter the secretary of the
who have been deputed to Paris to
Southampton CompapY,)
examine and report upon the traffic. Mr. Chaplin stated
the amount of goods alone travelling between the two places
at 558,029 tons annually. -