The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-10-29 00:00:00

TO THE SHAREHOLDERS

OF THE
EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW RAILWAY.

GENTLEMEN —Your chairman has obligingly, but in a
manner personal to myself, furnished you each with a rea
port of the proceedings at the recent special general meet-
ing of the company, which was attended by twenty-five
persons, including reporters and clerks, and held for the
purpose of votiny away £lOO,OOO (which must be bor-
rowed) to the Kilm. rnock, Dumfries, and Carlisle scheme.
He has also kindly repeated what I had previous'y men-
tioned, namely, that I am (by inclination, not from ne-
cessity) the holder of only one share of the company's
s ock ; and he might have distinctly voted that I am (in
place of insidiously saying that " I was") vice-chairman
of the committee of management of the Caledonian Rea-
-1 way Company.
Ile might have further informed you of the fact, that I
purchased that Gne shore of your stock, for the purpose
of bringing on a late occasion to the aid of your board or
management, on a vital question, a considerable amount
of support; and he might have added that, at a late gene-
ral meeting of the company, the bolder of that one share
was solicited by the secretary, and had the honour of de-
clining, to propose a vote of thanks to the chairman.
So far, gentlemen, for the information, personal to my-
self, furnished by your chairman in his recent letter,—
such a course, perhaps, not being likely to promote a
friendly cot& rence with the promoters of the Caledonian
line, as promised to Mr. BLACKADDER by your chairman.
But—
He has not acquainted you, either in his recent address,
speech, or letter, with the amount of your stock held by
the gentleman who spoke at the late meetinz against your
granting £lOO,OOO, and who concluded by adhering to the
protest.
He has not informed you how highly successful were
the committee of the Kilmarnock, Dumfries, and Carlisle
scheme, when they "sat in London for the purpose cf as-
signing such shares, in limited numbers, to such parties
of respectability as should apply personally, or by letter
accompanied by reference!"
He has not told you what number of shares of this Kil-
marnock, Dumiiies, and Carlisle project, have been ap-
piled for or alktted, nor what amount of deposit has been
paid thereon. _

He has failed to acquaint you with the amount of monied
interest taken in this scheme by the districts around Dum-
fries, Kilmarnock, and Annan, through which the pet line
is proposed to pass ; nor has he said that the noblemen
and gentlemen, proprietors of the soil, have egreed to the
line being taken by the best and most direct route.
He has not told you how deeply interested himself and
' some of his colleagues, and the generality of the officers of
your company, are in the success of the Edinburgh and
Berwick Railway, the Glasgow and Ayr Railway, and the
proposed Kilmarnock, Dumfries, and Carlisle Railway.
He has not shown you that, as chairman of the Berwick
Railway, it is his duty to draw to that line all traffic pass-
ing to and from the north of your railway—to the great
loss and detriment of the railways lying to the south-wes.t
of the island. .
He has not alluded to the powerful interest and high
recommendations that the proposed Caledonian line, as a
direct line and national benefit, is likely to command.
He has failed to remind you, that the committee of
management of the Caledonian company are the trustees.,
of a large sum of money, raised for the purpose of obtain-
ing an act of parliament for the formation of the line.—
And, finally,
He has not said that there is to be any limit to the ex-_
pendilure of your company's funds in opposing the Cale-
donian railway bill.

GENTLEMEN,-Your chairman having altogether omit-
ted to avert to these particulars, I take the liberty of
bringing them under your notice.—And am, your obedi-
ent humble servant,

WILLIAM GRAHAM.

THE FAN PROPELLER.—A beautiful little steam-boat-
of 50 tons, called the Mystery, has just been launched at
Greenwich. propelled by another newly invented means
of propulsion from the stern, without the unsightly dis-
figurement of paddle boxes, and which bids fair to eclipse
every other kind of sternal propulsion which has yet been
patented. This propeller is similar to the fans or sails Of
a windmill, but with this difference to all other propellers
fixed at TWA angles with the stern, that she has a hori-
zontal movement at the will of the steersman, and thus
becomes both propeller and rudder; it will turn horizon-
tally, without affecting its vertical motion to the extent of
half a circle—and so beautiful is its action on the vessel,
that she instantaneously answers the slightest movement,
and can be turned round and round with great rapidity in
the water, as if fixed on a pivot. The fan on this princi-
ple can be applied to sailing vessels of any size, even to
line of battle ships—and its action, being entirely beneath
the water, is perfectly free from any accident or damage.
—Mining Journal.
IMPORTANT APPLICATION OF THE STEAM-WHISTLE.
—lt is well known that one of the most common causes
of the explosion of steam-toilers h-s been the want of a
a ancient qua-fifty of water in the boiler at the time that
the heat teiderneath was vet y great. In many instances.
the deficiency of water has resulted from thenegligence of
tic attendant engineer, combined with the fact that no
alarm was given, previous to the moment of explosion, of
the exact state of the water in the boiler. Happily, an
efficient and simple exponent of the depth of water in the
boles at the time of working, and which will act as a
powerful alarurn in case of danger, has just been applied
to the steam-t•olers at one of the largest manufacturing
establishments in the neighbourhood of Leeds. By af-
fixing a small pipe in communication with the interior of
the boiler at that point below which it is well known to be
unsafe to allow the water to he consumed in the genera-
tion of steam, and at the top of such tube putting one of
tl:e common whistles that are attached to the railway lo-
comotive-engines, a very efficient alarum, as we have al-
ready said, is forme ; for as soon as the water within the
boiler has been consumed below the point where the pipe
enters the boiler, the steam will rush up the pipe, and
thence into the whistle, giving a timely warning of the
deficiency of water in the boiler.
DANGEROUS FEAT.—On Saturday evening week a
' large crowd of persons were collected in Sacville street,
Dublin, in consequence of seeing two young men stand-
ing on the top of Nelson's Pillar. One of them, a fine
voung fellow, a bout sixteen or seventeen years of age,
began to ascend the pillar, and, after " tugging away" for
some time, lie succeeded in getting on the capstan, which
is placed behind the colossal statue of the great naval
hero. From this position it was not very hard to ascend
the figure itself, which the lad accomplished, aed, hav-
ing looked around him for a moment, he seated himself.
with the greatest apparent complacency, on the head of
the figure', where lie continued several minutes, waving
his cap. He then raised himself, and stood on the head
of the figure, first on both, and then on one foot, in which
perilous situation he remained for several minutes, while
the most painful anxiety existed among the observers for
his safety. Having descended, his companion, who ap-
peared somewhat his senior in years, and who was dressed
in a frock coat, went through a similar evolution, and
then both ascended the figure together, and, taking hold
of each other's hand, they stood, with one leg each, for
a considerable time, on the granite head of the immortal
Nelson. It was blowing a strong breeze, and it was pain-
ful to witness the dangerous position of the youths at this
moment; but they descended without any accident, and,
on coming into the street were loudly cheered. They re-
fused to give their names, nor would they say if the feat
was done for a wager, which is supposed to be the case,
EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE.—On Thursday
morning, about seven o'clock, as a man and woman were
passing alongside the Irvine river, beneath the Milton-
bridge, about three miles from Kilmarnoek, they observed
a hat and veil tied on a parasol stuck in the ground a
short distance from the water's edge ; and, on looking into
I?)oewbodies r
.of
anda gaebnotutetni
tenan
feetan d
lady,the river,
in they
comparatively perceived
from the bank. These bodies were found to be attached
sa
by two handkerchiefs, (red and white,) knotted together
and tied round the arm of each. Both were well dressed,
and had the appearance of persons moving in a respectable
rank of life. Inside of the gentleman's hat was an ad-
dress written thus :—" H. J. Atkinson, Fsq., King--
street, Cheapside, London," close to the maker's name,
G. Taylor, Birmingham. No papers were found on the
person of either to afford any further clue. The gentle-
man vses dressed in a black coat, black vest, with under
satin vest, trousers of dark blue doe-skin, with boots.
He was of a ruddy complexion, and nearly sixty years of
age. The lady was about the same age, attired in a black
silk gown, a Donstahle bonnet, a boa round her neck,
black silk gloves, with a plain gold ring on her finger. In
her pocket were a fruit knife, tooth pick, gold pin, satin
pin-cushion, a watch seal, with the word " Kate" en-
graved thereon, and one or two other trifling articles..
On the gentleman were found a plain and rather old-fash-
ioned watch, three gold seals attached by a black silk rib-
bon, with the letter " B " engraven, a silver pencil case,
a gold ring on his finger, one shilling and sixpence in
silver, and turoeence halfpenny in copper in his pocket ;-
also, a gold tcoth-pick, in an ivory case, &e. The part
of the river where the bodies were found is not above
three feet deep, but beneath is a deep pool. There was
not the slightest mark of violence perceived on either of
their bodies. On making irquiry in town, we understand
that a lady and gentleman answering to the above descrip-
tion, came on Tuesday to reside at the Commercial Inn,
Kilmarnock, having arrived by railway from Glasgow.
They brought two trunks, but gave no address. They
seemed to have no acquaintances in then ; but took
frequent walks in company along the streets, and ap-
peared to live most agreeably together. On Wednesday,
after taking dinner, they left the inn, about five o'clock,
p-m., intimating to Mrs. Wyllie that they would probably
be late, as they were going to take a moonlight walk.
They paid their bill that day, and no person, so far as is
known, has any claim on them in this neighbourhood.
They lived as man and wife, and, wherever they have
come from, hare kept their names a strict secret. From
the small sum of money found on their tersons, they ap-
peared to have exhausted their means so far, but the
va'uahles they possessed could have sift)! ded them the
means of liselilioed for some time longer. The keys
found on their persons answer the trunks ; but the requi-
site authority l,as not yet been obtained for opening these
receptacles.-- Krltyzarnock Journal,
UTILITY OF CONSTANT STUDY.—In my youth I wra
very much devoted to reeding ; anti even now, old as I
uni, I employ iti it sll the moments of leisure left me ley
State affairs. The things of this world are too nu,'
runs for a man who lives in the ninth story of his
to be able to know them. If he reads hooks e. • ee.
rms himself of the actions arid proceedings.tsls..7rri;
cients, he will find the means not to make anee.ieelteee;
takes in his administration. For more thalttlt....-Aselr.';
that I have reigned, I have committed but fe • r tar, :!11(1 ste
owel this advantage to reading.—Table Talk":
.;',r
peror Kang ho. i
HALLOW Eva.—lt will be seep by a proelaplptitssisofess.,
novel character, in snother column, that grub
V tions are making for the celebration of this dag.
0