The Express. — London, England, 1851-02-28 00:00:00

f Thorwlay night might not have been an unwelcome° ' fee anion. (Hear, hear.) After the interview with her Majesty ate had addecwc•d to her a letter, for the oaks of placing on record the principles no which be was pre pared to undertake the government. some portions of which, by her Majesty'.• permissi o n, b e would read. After referring to the two divisions on Mr.l Disraeli's and Mr. L. King's motions, the latter of which was tarried by • majority or 100 to 64, there being in the minority 17 protectionists, 27 ministerial members, and only 10 independent members—(hear, hear) —he went on to say that he had stated this to her Majesty ; also his impression that the number of his friends opposing the motion would have been greater, hut for a suspicion that the government was not acting honestly on the question. After adverting to the eircunutances of the dissolbtion of the late government, he had stated that after the opinions he had eapre•sed, and the vanction he had given to the motion of Mr. IJiVmell, declaring it the duty of the goetinnunt to take effective measures for the relief of agricultural distress, it was len povvilde for him to taae office without a determination fully to it al with that diArtvv, and apply such remedies as he thought proper. (Hear, hear.) Were he to take office on any other ground, be felt that he should be dis honoured. (Ucar, hear.) (Left speaking.) MOUSE OF COMMONS. TIIE MINISTERIAL CRISIS. The house was, if pew.ible, more crowded than on Mon day evening laxt, in expectation of the minixterial explana tion. re - native to the tinuamciions of the pet week. On the ord. r of t:ke day for the rweond reading of the Er( kriamiral Title, Bill. linst J. ItUSSEI. nr:e,'and in the first instance addressed himself to what be term , ,l the peremptory and discourteous contradiction he had received from the hon. member for Ducks on Monthly evening last. The noble lord read a letter from 11.1t.11. rehire Albert, summoning him to the palace in etmacquence of Lord Stanley declining to act, and subsequently a letter from Lord Stanley substantially con firming his (Lord J. Russel) statement. (This portion of the noble lonia observations was res.eived milli loud chars by the hoer. The nubile lord then proceeded to nar rate the I mccedings of the past week. Lewd Stanley bating been sent for, red leaving declined to act, I.oed John Ittesell had been again summoned lo the paL•re, and in pienmance of dime:ions f ont her 31ajes,y h a t communicated with Lord Aberdem and Sir Janes Graham, but both hod declined the respmrtiltili.y of the rafril •ia..:cal Titles Bill, deeming any legislation on the 'whim t unnee--sary. Under the unusual difficulties of the situation, her Majesty had sent for an old and tried friend of the crown, not has eminent fur his sagacity in civil mat.ers than his imperi.h. wide r e nown in the unlit of lottle. (Loud cheers.) ifs meant "'course the Duke of Wellington, who was then salvising her Majesty, and so the matter rested at pr.seent. Ile (Lord J. ltessell) had only therefore to request the further indulgence of tne house until some ar rangenio nt had been come tp. Menu. hile he wished to repudiate the at...us:nit& of having resigned from any fear of meetin4 the difficulties of the present crisis. Ilad he rt•- sign,tl when the commercial world was in a state of contu sion, Iredantl we. in a state of famine, or when all Europe in a blare of revolution, such an accusation With. 11.. v. Is en it mettle, but now, with a full was . ..nu:v., and the country in a stale of prosperity, such un accusation ma- ridiculous. There were three great pints which had b. n lately much under diww , sion, to which he v.isheol to istitlnvo a few obaervati.ms. The first was the ceelesimikal Im e s hill. IM that sulieet he wished to say Vont lee had neat altered his opinion as to the necessity of vinelica.ing the supreme:, of the crown and people of Englund, as itgaMst the se.uniption of any foreigh power, but at the • .n. time twine /lamed that although the bill had been most carefully teamed, there were elauseswhich would in- t. rf. re with onlination, collation, and bequests. be was most willing to have those eLlusas altered. (Derisive cheers from the Irish members.) To the extent to which 110 v would re. interfere. Ile WM the more con firm al in the. count, f.stm ascertaining that Meh l...imp Murray, a prelate of well-known modem ton, 1ar,.1 costsconener. such as he had indicated from the lan. With respect to free trade, he cli•irevil no merit for it• adoption. 'sir IL Peel gave the mecit to the hon. menthe, for Ili. W- .t Itidiag, and eertainly to that hon. tutiaber in conjunction wills Sir IL. Peel the merit war due. Ile hail only to , ay %list he (Lord J. Ito-.ell) had tarried out that policy w att. rel. rent, to bk. sugar shuns and the navigation lams. and he was tirmly convinctil that the whole of the changes in our comm. rcial polity, milv , equent to 1315, hail mu. rr. 11 I. nt on the people or Ett4l,nl which they would (not willingly r linquish. (Loud cheer..) With n.sptet t.. un *tension of the cketorul franehire, the subj. et ball 16 fully diseu•sid in the e: Line*, and it had Ins is unanimon.ly determined that, under all the cirrus'''. 'twos's, a postp.inement until nest session would be the twist addable course. .peaking. ] FROM THIS NIP: irs GAZETTE. ST. JAIlLes-PAL FElt. 25. The Qin= hos plea•cd..m tlu- Ikolllllo.ltioll of hortl Voter, to appoint the undergo:l36ms. d geroleaten to her Majosiy'a lion. l'orm of thuds-men at -- Attollatinq Lieurne Finch t'satoss. Lane, retired; Chub:. James Cos, E.q. sitr FAilart. Emu. avian d. Sr. s hatEse,s-t. \LACE., Feb. 26.—The Q ueen was stAy p1r.5..11 so confer the lossi , sue of lin; ;:s.botal upon i•ho day. Brig ;., Auverioost 4l, ' 4 ' o " l9 ; WIITTEIIALL. Feb. 27.—The Queen has been 4 so pteaent the Kea. Norman MeLemi .0 the ehary:s baro n y w ish of plasytow, in Coe pre:tytery of OLor t ow, tool toothy of Lanark. TOM by the dead& of Dr. Wittig= tt.o k,L•te Minia:er thereof. t'towx-orricu, Feb. 214.-llember returned to this present pediment for the County of Olatitorpomi Ar thlttge 1-, kr. of Cottrel, in the coun,y of Glastornit. it, the nsuo of F.de in Rivkin! Wyndham Quin. corainonly 6.111.41 Viscount .Warr, now Eitel of Duararen, who has AC • I • Pl. d the of Steward of her 3liktepty's Chil,ern Unwired". IVAIL . OVVICL. * eth At/6 et Lt. Dtaea.:-Awhae..lle4.7 B. IL NAM; IL D.. Item riat V .lelvilwit...ierf.. *se Po* dn. 'or Urea , IL d. 01 Ft. 04...-0.4.-erg. J. AMMO/ to be var. It tuaator, vice It Franco. who nil. h Iht V.—T. J..11.,N sow. fret., to be seatomeri., eke 113•Ifiy, app. to ath Lt. Mae& . . . _ 1411.11.—lberir.beiren es to be to.ljm, by pm., 'ter Revere, obi, rem ; lame. J. A. Dant to be mot.. by par„ roe ssebod, roar rem; Lam. R. H. WFVLANI. to be c4eA., by tom, .:c. oklogeith ; LA , . L. la to Ile Mut. by put LW. , km. J. E. (Luc .o to be beet., by mfr., % :re Wryl.ett. 6 : 11 . 1 E.—Ros. C. A. ALcas to be li. ut, by pur., rice Blelbeelt, who bob Y.—Ebert. E. U. Root to b eapt., by par., vie .1. F. Ames. Irbil Pets. • Me. Line. C. W. Amm. to be first lout., by par, nor Rose; U. el. C. R. C. tub, from Plot F.. to 'wore. beet., viol Earle. flot Y.-31 lor W. 11. Wale to be beob-col by per, VW' Camp. bell.olbo rms.; Capt. T. I. Dot row to be major, by Dar., vice lams. Ir. J. Herm to be ea: t., by lot, tier IMP e; F. I. Des% from the Orylos Regt to be hest., rice Umbrot. _ _ .a r, .ean.-7u W Captsee, whOeut pur.—Licet. E. S. CoLe, 4ou tin 9.at V. BANK ILCPTS. JoIIN WIIITZREAD, JOHN Wu !Trim to, Jun., and GEolit•F WT trr, Princes-street, Lam,* th. nether.. M %RP ASTER (Will Owl. Jmrin 'luny A%TII, ORURO. Arms, and CHAREEs A,TLE, Coltman-street, City. bonhhiah•n. THOMAS Stvrioun Not tnauar and ROBERT COOPER DIcILIT/lON, lir.ham-•trot, City. ROTVIIOU% DANIEL ODELL. Cluphill, Bedfordshire, eruct r. WILLIAM BROWN, Brunswick -street, btainfonl-strect, n rll7llM SMITH, VUITAH Iron-works, W(lt Bromwich, fwagardshive, iron-foundor. WILLIAM Ums, Bidumptork, Wort est.ashirc, baker. Timms Caarai, Station!, coal dealer. SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS. KLY, St. Andrew's, ettbin,tataker. GATIII Boar, GlaegOW, accountant. 143111 Or 11110 LAX rot 1h week en.llne Feb. 22.1814. Ilcw _ Oovernt. i11.01k104 (Aber tireuritia• 2.9/4.94/ , ' 11,1,1 Cow %Mae 11,74.418 aillvw Seam 2 4441 1 27.761.885 P- , wissiew omit. tsittl a. 4 H,lapto. con 1:.% °ail Deln.mad Amin) 7,1117.414 OW" Dvoceas4 temp,* arlother USIMI ***** tr. Gott! mann Avearithms cebt Annuli), . . £14.113.64 ottLar dionactuo. Not. ........ , 040 t.la (hid awl t:eLs .613;462 Fob SLIM. 'M. M AlOll ALT. Ch hettete le3 ; lll EA:GAIL—The average price of Sugar, the produce of the breath pethieskse Is Averetee, competed Irma the returns made la the week dollar the 13th Fcb , 1131, Y 20.. eld per eirt. Seger, the predset (lithe Mouttier, so Mare. item the prAtiee of the Uhl ladles 31•• GO- The avenge pries of the two kernel,* de. extetier, piety, 4194 101‘. THE IRISH WASTE LAND IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY were to meet yesterday, but there not being a sufficient Dumber of members present to form a meeting no businees ins traasseted. FINANCES. RAILWAY MEETINGS. Claim t►e /may Noes.) EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY. A return of some significance on Indian finance has just been printed by order of the House of Commons. It purports to be a" General Abstract View of the Revenues and Charges of India, as estimated and according to the annual accounts, for the year 1848-9, and as estimated for the year 1819-341; and its apparent result is to show that, whilst in the former year there was an actual deficiency of 1 473 115 i in the latter there is, "errors excepted," an estimated surplus of 77,662/., even though the es timated expenditure of 1819-30 is set down at nearly 660,0001. more than the figures which the actual ex penditure of 1848-9 reached. This change from enormous deficit to insignificant surplus in the finances of India is so unexpected thut it is worth while to examine a little into the items that have achieved so wondrous a transformation. But first a Yesterday the ordinary half-yearly general meeting of this company was held at the London Tavern, Bishop gate—trevt, Mr. J. °IAN, the deputy chairman, r.residing. The meeting was 1...4 numerously attended than usual. notwithstanding the announcement that there was to I , e no word as to the mode and time at which the change is announced. By the 3 & 4 Will. IV., c. 83, e. 116, the East India Company is bound to present to parliament its accounts of territorial revenues and disbursements for the three preceding years fourteen days after the Ist of May in each year. Punctuality in obeying this statutable obligation, has, however, never characterised the company; for these accounts have rarely been laid before the house until the end of June, not unfrequently until the middle of July ; and in consequence of this delay, parliament has never been fully informed on the last year's finances of India until the session was expiring and all opportu nity of discussing them was gone. This year, how ever, parliament had not sat two days before one of the eeretaries of the Board of Control moved for this abstract of the full accounts due in May ; it was sent from the India House on the 11th instant, ordered to be printed on the 14th, was delivered on the Ittth, and is now, by means of a little para graph in the papers, informing all the world that British India, with a gross revenue of twenty-five millions sterling, has at last an estimated surplus of 77,6624 Whether this haste in 18.51 has been caused by the grrdually approaching expiration of the Charter Act, or by the pride at having, in esti mates, at least , turned the corner of deficit, it is not worth stopping to inquire, when the larger and more interesting question is before us—whether in all this there has not been more haste than good speed. In this abstract the net revenues of India in 1848-9 arc put down at 18,123,004/., the actual expenditure at 19,596,12 V., leaving in that year, us we have said, an actual deficit of 1,173,1151. In 114t9-50 the net receipts of India are •timated at 20,495412/., or 2,375,440. more than those of the preceding year; whilst tho expenditure is estimated at 20,420,7:101., or 821,627/. in exec:, of that of Ibt?4-9; leaving an estimated surplus of 77,6621. Now to render this large estimated amount of in crease in the receipts of 1109-30 of any real, per manent, enduring value, in considering the finances of India, it must be found to have arisen from ordi nary, as distinguished from extraordinary or acciden tal sources of income; coutraregulations of surplus produced from irregular and undependable supplies are illusory and umubstantial. Let us see, then, as far es the return will enable us, of what this increase of 2,375,404/. in the estimated income of 1819-50 is composed. In tho first place, it is to be noted that in the Presidencies of Bombay and Madras, and in the north-western provinces, no increase of revenue is expected; hut, on the contrary, there is in all a slight decrease . nticipated. In Bengal, however, an augnuntation of revenue to nearly 900,000/. is esti mated. The questions of how caused, from whence derived, are not to be answered in this abstract; for their euthentie -olotion we must wait until the full tuvounts required by the act of parliament arc pre sented to the legisla‘ttre, and that will not, it is to be hoped, be, this session, July or August. In the absenee of detailed information a conjecture may perhaps be hazarded. It is, that for the greater part of this estimated increase in Bengal, the Indian government will be found to he indebted to its opium monopoly in 184940. This suggestion is not indeed our own; for we observe in a Bengal journal, connected with the supreme government, a calcula tion, that opium in that rear will bring at least a million sterling extra to tfic treasury. Now, if this be so, the estimated increase to the Bengal receipts of 900,0001. in 1849-50, arising from an accidental occurrence, is not an item that a government can safely depend on; and any permanent expenditure hosed on it would be very unsafe. The opium mono poly of next year may be as unproductive IN the opium monopoly of 1519-40 has been productive; fol. it is a gambling trade, and nut taxation. As part, then, of the permonetit income of India we must reject the 900,0001., thus irregularly and fortuitously derived. The other item of additional estimated revenue to the Indian government is one that now, for the first time, appe : trs in Indian accounts, viz., receipts from the " Punjault and 'I,: is-Indus territeries," estimated to amount to the large an of 1,84,142,000 company's rupees; figures not fur from what ROULET Ststal himself was supposed to derive from those portions of his kiterdom. Now, though this sum is debited on the other side wider the head of charges, with , 102 28,000 rupees for the estimated expenses of the I Panjanb, atilt the balance of 843,44,188/ rupees, or 1 about 044,400/. sterling, woald be a surprisingly large yearly surplus to receive from Lahore. But a lade appended to the item destroys that expectation, and scatters to the winds the estimated receipts of ' 1419-50. This item of " I,BB,B2,ooorupees from the ' Punjaub and Tmus-Indus territories," says the note, includes e.rfraorolinary credits for estimated value of property in the late government Toshakhana, sale if confiscated eleph..nts, grain, &c., and compen sation in lieu of sowers, rupees. 51,00,000 ; the reali sation of which, hotreme, tlariny 1349-30 is very dotibtful"(!) This note is very suggestive of a little cookery in this " General Abstract View." and creates a mis trust lest the lit:le leaven it displays may have lea vened the whole mass. For then we have it first stated that nearly one-third of the estimated receipts from the l'unjaub are not revenue in the proper sense of the word, but spoils of war. and thou what is almost dishonest is announced, that though credit is taken for the full value of their estimated amount in the year 1144944, their realisation during that year "is very doubtful." Why, then, take the credit in 1849-50 ? Why found a surplus of 77,6621. on the estimated value of pro petty belonging to the conquered governmentof Lahore " confiscated elephants, gram, &c." put down, in round numbers, at nearly 5481,0001., when it is confessed that the actual receipt of any such sum is most improbable? Surely this very admission at once converts the surplus of 77,64121. into something very like a probable deficit of 4(10,0001.: " and the general abstract view," thus on its very face, wears 01 aspect of having "been made pleasant " either at the India /louse or the Board of ControL It is probable, then. that of the estimated increase in Bengal 900,0001. will be derived from an acci dental cause; and it is certain that nearly 50.0001.' of the estimated receipts front the Punjaub are even more temporary in character; for, whenever it is once realized that sum can never again come from the government To shakhana, " elephants' grain and sowars," pe dantically enumerated in the significant note above quoted. * lf such be the case, this very "general view; intended to propagate &belief in an estimated surplus. is suggestive of un estimated deficiency of at least one million and a half sterling in the finances of India in the year 18-19-60, if from the estimated receipts of that year are deducted the accidental and i fortuitous items which no real statesman would place any reliance on, however great a godsend they may be to secretaries of the Board of Control. EARLY CLOSING AmmaaMos.—A meeting was held on Wednesday evening in Ebenezer Chapel, Shadwell, to ,rtunote the objects of this association, the Rev. 11. liar. risen in the chair. The Rev. Chas. Stovel proposed a reso lution deprecating the late hour system of business, which 11111 n conded by Mr. Owen. He bore his testimony to the advantare to be derived from closing early. When in busi ness he obw•d at 7, and although others in the same locality kept open till nine and even ten, they did him no injury ; in fact customers come to him because he did close early. His Young men, he was proud to say, made good use of their leisure. Dr. Allison, as a medical man of extensive cape nee, asserted that disease in various forms was more com mon amongst drapers and grocers than almost any other class, which arose from their protracted labours. A suc cession of able speeches followed, and the meeting separated with a Tote of *Maks to the chairmen. THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 28, 1851. A SHAREHOLDER said he was anti aware of the exist ailet of any claim. The CHAIRMAN Laid the claim arose ont of certain par liamentary.expenst, incurred by the East Anglian board in 1847 in trying to obtain an act of parliament. This claim, which amounted to, 22,0001., hail been placed in the bands of Hewn. Crowder and 3dayna7d. It should not be allowed to stand in the way of an amicable agreement between the two companies; it might he settled by law or otherwise, and had nothing to do with the main question. The line being worked through from London to Lynn, and from Lynn to London, each company booking, of course, received the fares. But the East Anglian Company being in diffi culties, a receiver was appointed to take the fares on the East Anglian Um., and on coming to a settlement, the board found that the money had been applied to other pur poses, and was not forthcoming. The distance from Lon don to Ely was 72 miles; from Ely to Lynn, 27; therefore the proportion was Bto 3. An arrangement was made by which a depcdt was left iu the hands of the Eastern Coun ties board sufficient to cover the deficiency, and from that time matters bad gone on smoothly. Now these differences were anything but hostile, and on neither side was there any power or control which could prevent them arising. (Cheers.) That company had lately published a notice in the Gazelle of their intention to apply to parliament for a bill to lease the line to another company on • working agreement; but as soon as the bill w;1.1 brought before par liament, the most important clauses were withdrawn. Now, with respect to the Newmarket line. The shareholders would already have seen a large station built at Cambridge, to receive the passengers by the Newmarket Branch from Bury, when made. The directors had on all occasions to come to • good understanding with the Newmarket Company, and they would continue to do so. It was the more necessary to do so now, inasmuch as the distance from Newmarket to Bury was only thirteen and a half mike, and though the powers to take land by compulsion under the act had expired, still that company possessed the power to make the line, if they could obtain the land by consent. There could be no doubt that it would be moat detrimentul to this cumpany, if the line by Newmarket to Bury should be made. (h ear.) The rolling stock which had been held in pledge for the debt due from the Newmarket Company, had been taken at valuation and by amicable agreement. He now came to the bills before parliament, by which the interest of this company would be affected more or leas. The first of these was the bill for the improvement of the town of Harwich. lie hoped they would be able to come to eonte arrangement by which the mistake of the Eastern Union in applying the money to a wrong purpose might be rectified, and the line to Harwich made. Anythingtending to the improvement of the town of Harwich must neces sarily increase the traffic on the Eastern lines. The govern ment had made a splendid breakwater for the protection of shipping in the harbour, and the harbour itself was one of the finest, if not the finest on the whole cast coast of Eng land, and when railway communication should bo opened directly up to the port, there could he no doubt that con-a derahle benefit wouldlaesult. The next bill was for the Royeton and Ilitchen Branch, on the Great Northern Extension, from Shipreth to Cambridge. This bill, as they were aware, had been lost on the second reading, a result which would place the Eastern Counties Company in a better position to treat and make terms with the Great Northern than before. The 3rd hill was that for the line from Halesworth, by Bee cles, to Bungay, and to join the Lowestoft line at Reitiliain. This was a line promoted by the landowners of the distriet, and would be carried out by an independent company. It was i I milts in length, and would provide fur a district now destitute of railway accommodation. Re next came to the East Anglian bill. From that a very Wportant clause had been withdrawn, and what they now naked was an exten sion uf .titue to make the line from Ely to Huntingdon. They would be aware that the line hail been partly con striteteel between Huntingdon and St Ives, and should it he carried through to Norwich it would then form another competing line to Norwich—a line by the Great Northern from King's Crass : therefore it was necessary that this bill should be actively and carefully watched. The 4th bill, the Thames Haven and Dock Railway bill, was merely for en extension of time to make the line from a place near Itomford to Shcllpoiut. The next bill, the North Gravesend, had been abandoned. The ith, the London and Blackwell bill, which was for making a railway to Tilbury Fort, had been read a second time, and was tad! before parliament. He might mention that before that company went to par liament with their bill they made a proposal for carrying their Bow junction line into the Eastern Counties line at Stratford, running on the Eastern Counties between Strate ford and Ilford, and then diverging to Tilbury. They offered them (the Eastern Counties) an equal share per mileage after deducting WI. percent. for working expenses. Now it appeared that the result of such an arrangement would be that when a passenger paid Is. for his fare, the Eastern Counties Company would only receive :di. of it for their sluice. (Laughter.) Besides, a junction of that na ture would bring an influx of passengers to a point on the Eastern Counties line where such influx would be extremely dangerous; to the public safety, and it was on that ground that their bill of last session was thrown out by parlia ment. (Hear.) Nevertheless, though they could not open negotiations based on the acme principle again, they were, as they had always been, shalom. to come to an amicable understanding with the Blackwell Company, for they be lieved if a fair "give and take" agreeneept were entered' into, they might have the advantage of the kenchurch-street station. (Hear.) The bill promoted by the Eastern Union Company hail been read a second time, and if they went to a committer with it, the Eastern Counties Company would probably have to fight there gentlemen, who might here after be their allies, and perhaps at great expense and trouble. Ile sincerely hoped this might be avoided. (Hear, I hear.) The last bill on the list was the Cambridge and Shepreth Junction, which was simply a renewal of the bill which came before parliament loot session. Lust year they were put to great expense in examining the plans of the promoters of that bill, and in sending down engineers to ascertain their object.', and similar expenses he was sorry to say had had to be incurred this year. lie stew came to apart of the report which was highly important— that was the ques tion of the dividend. The lialance to the credit of revenue was very small indeed, and he had explained the reasons why it was so ; but the sum, small as it was, had been fairly and honestly earned. (Cheers.) Revenue had been debited, as he had said, with the expense of police during the strike, anti other extraordinary charges which he had mentioned. Everything had been charged to revenue that could fairly conic against it. (Hear, hear.) Su long as he sat there they should have neither fictitious dividends nor coeked accounts. The directors bad power to &clam a dividend ; hut, under the circumstances, looking at the capital account placed before Mr. Quilter, and at the state of the revenue, the directors thought it right strongly to recommend the proprietors nut to divide anything that half year. (Cries of " iLet us have a dividend.") It was simply a recommendation; the directors would not refuse to nuke a dividend if the proprietors wished to have one. The suns standing to the credit of the half year's revenue was 21,0001., and a dividend of Is. would take abort 17,4001.. leaving a surplus of about 7,00 0 1. A SHAREHOLDER--If there is only a penny we will have it. (Cheers.) The CHAIRMAN continued—The superintendent re ported that the permanent way was in an excel lent condition, and during the poet year the directors had directed their attention to effecting improvements. The very low price of lion at the present time enabled them to pot in iron sleepers at no greatee cost than wood sleepers, and the whole of the branch tram Shepreth to She fund would be thus constructed. Though their !tunny and re ceipts had been considerably diminished, owing to the cir cumstances he had detailed, he was, however, happy to say that the aggregate amount of traffic had not su ff ered at all, and that there hail been little or no reduction in the num ber of passengers or the quantity of Foods conveyed. *the desire of the directors was to art uprightly, honestly, and with the stricteet integrity, and not ta conceal an thing whatever from the proprietors. The chairman concluded by moving the adoption of the report and the accounts ap pended. . . Mr. ELLTS, a director, seecmded the motion. Mr. NATHAN, after expressing a hope that the meet ing would divide whatever W4lll at their disposal, and advert- Mg to the proposed amalgamation with the Eastern Union Company, said he wished to aek the chairman whether that company wu not deeply in debt to the Eastern Counties Company ? The CHA It MAN —Yes. Mr. NATHAN inquired how much? The CHAIRMAN—Between eleven and twelve thou sand pounds. They had obtained judgment for the amount. Capt. KELLY, the chairman of the committee bn the amalgamation scheme, said that on receiving the report of the directors he examined it scrutinisingly, and, having had some years' experience as a director of a metropolitan rail way, he conceived that he was in a position to form an opinion upon it. Now, he must say that the working ex penses were beyond anything that he bad ever witnessed. From the report sent to him as a proprietor of the Brighton line, he learnt that the Brighton Company worked its trains fur goods and passenger traffic at au expense of 20 lbs. weight of coke per mile. On looking at the report of this company, he found that the coke, instead of 20 lbs., amounted to a fraction beyond Z:4 lbs. per mile, If the directors had brought down the cost of coke to the rate on the Brigham line, they would have saved rather more than 20,01101. a year. Comparing the entire working expenses of the two companies, he found that the Brighton expenses were 361 per cent., while their own were 1,61. The difference represented the sum of 84,0001. per annum. Again he found that the Norfolk Company took out of their revenue upwards of 28,0001. per annum; and these sums combined would give 113,0001. per annum for dividend. (Hear, hear.) He would now ask the chairman a question which he considered very important in reference to their interests ; it woo, whether be and his colleagues meant to use proxies at the adjourned special meeting ? If they did, the investigation ut the committee would be fruitless. The CHAIIMAN said he must rise to order. lie hail told them that he would abstain himself, and he had re quested the in, eting to abstain, from anything that might touch the next special meeting. He could answer no question of that kind. He would act then, if he were there, as he thought best for the interests of the company, and how he should act he should then determine. Mr. NATHAN—We are sold if those proxies arc used. Ca t. KELLY said the inference which he drew from the chairman's declaration was, that the hoard did mean to use proxies. Now, he could tell them this-- The CHAIRMAN nee to order. (Cries of " Question," and " Go on.") Capt. KELLY continued—lf the committee should report that the agreement entered into ought to be carried out, the proxies would nut be necessary ; on the other hand, if they should report that it would be injurious to the interest& of the company to carry out the agreement, then the proxies would be brought forward, the meeting swamped, and the interests of the company annihilated. Mr. HOWES said all the arguments used by the chair man that day had strengthened his opinion that, having earned a sum of money, however small it might be, they ought to divide it. He would move an amendment, a■ an addition to the report, to the t Met that a shilling dividend be declared. Ile thought it foolish not to declare a divi dend when they had the money in hand. lie did not think there was any reason for despondency if the concern were properly and economically managed. Ilis proposition would still Imre a balance in hand of 6,0001. . . I agreed to accept the proposed terms; and we have ever reason to hope that trustees and others under legal tiis abilit will accept a minced rate of interest, and noels their lbonds for seven years. Notwithstanding a memorial, signed by the mayor, corporation, and utmost every respectable inhabitant of Lynn, was presented to their board, requesting that passengers might be "booked through" to London and to the principal stations on their lines, and we offered to deposit the probable amount of such traffic in advance, the Eastern Counties board re fused this very reasonable request, thus compelling the pas sengers front the East Aughan l ine', to hurry over to the opposite side of the station, in order to obtain tickets, at the risk of being late, and leaving their luggage and par cels without protection. They have always refused to allow your carriages to proceed to London on the usual terms: an short, we are prepared to prove that the whole conduct of the Eastern Counties company towards this company, from the very first opening of your lines, has been that of oppression and annoyance, arising, as we conceive, from a desire to cripple y our revenue, and reduce the value of your property, and th us obtain it on such terms as they might be pleased to offer. The "strike" amongst the sailors and porters at Lynn has for several weeks caused agreat dimi nution in the traffic." Mr. BOX would second that proposition, and believed that had the working expenses been properly looked after there would have been a 3e. dividend. Mr. CON expressed his surprise to find so large a balance as 111,0001. in the hands of the hankers, especially after the recommendation of Messrs. Reeves and Mayhew, the ac countants, that a better system of employing the surplus capital should be adopted. He was the more surprised that such a surplus should be maintained at their hankers', seeing that they were paying interest on 80,0001. for which those bankers held the company's bond. Mr. ELLIS (a director), as having been an active mem ber of the finance committee, at the suggestion of the chair man answered the question. Ile said, when the incoming board took office they found the finances of the company in no very flourishing condition, and it was necessary- to have recourse to the bankers for a loan. The bankers met them on that occasion with great liberality and had advanced the money on a bond which would fall due on the Ist April next. It was true that large balances had occasionally been left in the bankers' hands, and it was necessary it should he so. It had been the anxiety of the directors as a first principle to support the credit of the company. (Hear) To be always ready to meet their debentures as they fell due, and to avoid, above all things, anything like commercial dishonour therefore, though at some cost truly, they had maintained sufficient for such purposes. But it should be remembered that the balance had not always been so large. The auditors had taken their average by the month, while the finance committee calculated theirs week by week, which mode the balance in the auditors' report appeal , ~• unduly large. It would often happen that the balance was allowed to accu mulate to meet liabilities coming due• as interest on gua ranteed stock and interest and debentures. In the torment month many such payments had to be made, which ac counted for the large balance spoken of in the report. Mr. WILSON would support the proposition of the directors, that there should be no dividend. Mr. GE.ICII said the Eastern Counties Railway Company was in a very unfortunate position ha two respects; it was unfortunata, inasmuch as t h e shareholders obtained no Tatum fur their iuvestment. and unfortunate, inasmuch as the ma nagement hail failed to create confidence. He agreed with the chairman as to the dillicultiesconnected with competition and expense, and thousth he thought a great deal might be saved in working expenses, he could not admit the justice of Capt. Kelly's comparison. (Hear.) If a large company like that was to prosper, the directors must enjoy the eon- I lidencc of the shareholders.? The development of traffic required as much knowledge, skill, and experience as the ilevelopment of the business of an ordinary trailing concern; ::ad they must turn their attention to that subject in par ticular. Ile hail come to the conclusion that there were defects in the present management of the line. Mr. Ken• nard had told them that differences of opinion at the board rendered it painful to sit there. There were three vacancies to he filled up. Let the meeting elect three new members, who would form such an infusion of new blood as would tend :to the development of the resources of the line. (Cheers.) Captain KELLY deprecated the Board of Directors dele gatiog their powers to a manager. Mr. WADDINGTON rose amidst cheers and hisses, the former preponderating, and both being continued for a con siderable time. The chairman having stated, in reply to Captain Kelly, that he should use his discretion as to proxies, he deprecated the use of them at the forthcoming meeting, as they might have been received in consequence of impressions founded on incorrect data. He said the ow of proxies would prove a most damning instance of railway management. Ile never did use n proxy, and without tlic sanction of the meeting he never would. (Cheers.) In reference to the report, he felt it has duty to call the attention of the directors to the real Lets of the ease. The chairman said the directors suffered frost odium which did not properly belong to them. Why, they had lived upon that odium for the last year and a half (laughter) ; the reports had been full of it ; and the dividends had notwithstanding been getting o small by degrees and beautifully less." Let them adopt the principle of making some one party responsible for the management of the line, and they need not go away un der the impression that they would receive no dividend in future. Ile would recommend them not to divide the shil ling, but to save it with the feeling that they would be able to divide a good half-crown for the future. The CIIAIRNIAN then put the report with the addition pro by Mr. Howes. arlOftltlS objected that if the motion was put in that form and assentea to, the proprietors would be pledged to the whole report, to many parts of which there were strong objections. Ile suggested that the question of the dividend should be put as a substantive motion. After sonic convermion, Mr. NORRIS said he had an amendment, the effect of which would le to adjourn the consideration of the other points in the report to the 18th of Marti', when they would have before them the whole questions of the Norfolk and Eastern Union agreements. Ile mould submit his amend ment so soon as tiny should have decided us to whether or not there should he a dividend. (Hear, hear.) Mr. HOWES then moved his motion us au amendment instead of as an addition ; and it was so put, and lost on a show of hands. The original resolution, adopting the report and accounts, was next put, on which Mr. NORRIS moved his amendment. Two or three proprietors having spoken in favour of the adjournment, The CHAIRMAN said before putting the question he must observe that he considered it a very important one, and so much did it, in his opinion, affect the executive posi tion of the company that he must declare, not in anger or in pique, not offensively to the mecsiaa, or with the least intention of uttering u threat ; but lookiag at the situa tion in which the company would he placed if she restitu tion were carried, lie must say that if she adjournment were carried he must, in as short a space as lee possiltly could, resign his paejiion at the bond. lle said this wiiliout the least spark of hostile fc ling. The company would, probably, be able to find a litter person to fill the vacancy, but, ' speaking comm.:lei:llly, he could not stand there to incur responsibility 'cahoot possessing any power, and that wnald he his pas him if the adjournment were carried. Mr. WADDINGTON would suaatat to the mover of the amendment that the following should be substituted arc what he had pmposed Th-t the commistee of consul tation appointed on .ho 13els ins:. be requested in consider the policy of including in any working agreement that may be mode the Newmarket end Chester fiord and the East Anglian lines of reilw-y, era: if so considered by them as advisable in moron theivion on the Milo of Murea, and that this meeting be atl•ouiossl to that date." It had appeared 'to him shat they could nos have She whoa, case belbre tl'em unless these tompanie- ware included in the investigasitin. (Hear, hear.) As it had been remetensed that the com pany might be Ore ed in an awkwaid position, he would he glad to know wheolier if she meeting adoourned Mr. Mar grave and Mr. Smyth would not continue in the board Mr. MA.YNARD (she company's solicitor) said it was mete clear 'hat sho a: two go:oilmen would remain in that board anial directors were appointed in their stead. Mr. NORRIS here intjonait d his willingness to adopt thy resolution suggesaal by Mr. Waddiaatou as a subootituta fur his own. . . The receipt 4 ot the half year were to the extent of 18,2751,94,10 d., which, alter expenditure, left a balance of ire'• & 1Od: The CHAIRMAN begged to say, that the directors had been supported to a certain extent by the com mittee of creditors, who had laid before them the heads of the agreement come to amongst themselves. Ho hoped they would unanimously agree to confirm the agreement with the Great Northern Company, as it was the only way of giving confidence to their creditors, and of diipo'.iag them to accept of stuck at five per cent., instead of this company having to raise the money at seven per cent. (11,ar, hear) The Great Northern Company now guaninteed them 10,000/. a year. To insure that amount some extraordinary expenses must be incurred to increase the traffic of this line, so that they were justified in grant ing to the Great Northern Company higher working ex penses to a certain extent, which was, that till the traffic increased to 1,0001. a week they should charge them 60 per cent. as the working expenses, but beyond that the working expenses to be subject to an annual revision. These expenses were never to exceed 60 per cent., nor to be less than 40 per cent. The other parts of the agreement were in the same spirit, with this exception, that in ease the Great Northern Company he subjected to a loss in the first year by the payment of 15,0001., they might deduct a small amount annually to repay them selves. He would conclude by observing that two of the dissentient contractors had been arranged with, leavinkr only one, who had now subjected himself to arbitration. There was now only the dispute between themselves and the Eastern Counties Company. Mr. VALPV asked if that dispute with the Eastern Counties Company was likely to relate to hundreds or thousands. The CIiAIRMAN said it related to unsettled accounts in respect to the Ely station on one side, and the use of the Ely and Huntingdon line on the other. A PROPRIE LOLL asked if the management would be in their hands. The CIIAI ItMAN said the Great Northern Company would take the management, paying them the 16,0110/. a year. Some discie..ion tool' place, in which Mr. ROW, Mr. Chadwick, Mr. Leclinteke, Mr. Bates, Mr. Oake", Mr. Flint, and other., took part. The report W 44 edopted unanimously. Mr. WILLIAMS, the solicitor, read the loads of the agreement with the Gnat Northern Company, fur leasing the line for 21 years at the net sum of 14,000/. per annum, which mftecnient, after sonic discussion, •as approved of unanimously. After a vote of thanks to the chairman and directors, the meeting adjourned. YORK AND NORTH MIDLAND RAILWAY. The half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of this company was held on Thursday at the lie Grey !looms, in tie City of York; PAIIN. Esq., in the chair. The two retiring directors, Mr. Willianeum and Mr. Jowett, were unanimously re-cleeted on the motion of Mr. 13u11. — The eIIAIRMAN said that by adiourning the meeting would p'uee the company permanently in a moat disastrous position. (Dissent.) He spoke from his knowledge of the subject, while other gentlemen spoke in ignoranee. No peram keowing what he knew would remain with his respon:ihility hanging over him if the meeting adjourned. He warned the meeting not to take a step by which they would paralyse the board. The question was then put, and a show of hands having been taken, the eha'rmun declared the amendment lost. The CHAIRMAN vaid though not prosperous, he was happy to state that the eimipany sae in an improved con dition. Some arrangements had been effected, and he hoped 1x...0rc long that amicable airreements 'slat ing to traffic would be made with every rival company. The chn-rman next proceeded to enter upon .he details of the accounts, which showed au increase of rreipts of 13,4191., and of payments the increase was 6,41191. lle *anted that the whole of their accounts were being placed on nn improved system, He next showed that but for the high rates payable on leased lines, .his company was able to pay 4/. Ire, 4d. per cent. on the windy of its capital, and the prevent inerfua lity--one p..rt of :he stock reeeiving 10 per cent., aml another only 2—was row muent on arrangements which they were not respomible for. Ile eselaMA the reasons why the directors had nut publ'sheil the salaries of their officers, observing that they were web served at a very low rule, and that he was satisfied the publication would he invidious, and mob: effect nu practical good. Ile con cluded hy moving :he adoption of the report. Mr. SRI MOI It (Vice-ch t: 'rman) seconded the motion. Mr. Serjeant GAZELEE then, vociferating above the united voices of some 20 proprietors, all speaking together, and col by the utmost exertion of lungs endeavouring to make himself heard above the din, moved that the meeting adjourn till the 18th of March, which, on being put to a show of hands. was declared to he carried. Mr. GEACII then, amid the moil noisy opposition, de manded a poll, which was ultimately fixed to take place on the same afternoon, front a quarter past five to six, and on the following (this) day, commencing at ten, and closing finally at 4. The result of the poU, as declared at 4 o'clock this day, was as follows Proprietors. Stork. Voters. For the adjournment.... 173 .. 432;590 .. 6,078 Aguinit do. .... 83 .. 201,•230 .. 2,062 Majority 9O 231,390 3,278 EAST ANGLIAN RAILWAY. Mr. KENN EDI, of London, ruse to move an amend ment. He represeuied 23 shareholders having a large stoke in the undertaking, and his object nos to more that the :and for the renewal of permanent way—amounting to 18,0001. per annum—he nut continued. The amendment by Mr. Kennedy was than put, and only two hands held up fur it. The:e were a large number against it. Mr. RAMSEY inquired if anything bad been received from Mr. Hudam. The CHAIRMAN said—Yes, a sum of 10,7001. had been received from that gentleman, being a balance of a much larwr account. This: item had arisen from some debentures tal.ett up by Mr. Hudson on behalf of the company. Tho money had been ,paid to his private account, and repaid from it Mr the purposas of the railway as retinived. Ho was no Liend or defender of Mr. Hudson, but he honestly bei;eved that this matt .r was purtly one of mis.ake, and on its detection Mr. Hudson paid the tarn, 9,000.1 with 5 per cant. interest, amounther altogether to 10,7001.. In reply to other inottilriesit was said liar Chancery suits against Mr. Hurl on were provessitio: at (liancery lace; and that the arbitration laotween the company and Mr. Crawshay, the contractor, WitS still pending. The report was then received and adopted unanimously. The C HAIRMAN th-n utorel that at dividend of It. per cent. be declar.ll, payable on the 14th of March next. This was carries' unaniumwoly, atter some complaints by Mr. Hawkey as to the th.olay. Mr. Cottarn, of Manchester, was re-appointed the auditor of the company's accounts. The resolution passed at the last half-yearly fleeting for publishiirt the salaries or the officers wa,, rescinded. A resolution was proposed, instructing the directors to take immediate proce“lings against the Lancashire and Yorkshire Coo,,pany, to enforce that company to take a joint lease of .he Itull and Selby Railway, according to the original agreement. After some discussion on the subject, in which a great relucianee to resort to hostile proceedings WAS evinced, so long as the host hope of an amicable ar rangement remained, it was finally agreed to authorise the director to take legal proceedings. A viee of thanks to t-te chairman and directors terminated the meeting. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yesterday at the London Tavern, Di.hopsgate-street. HENRY BIII:4 R, Esq., took the chair. The Seem:ratty read the report, which having alluded to the diminution in the traffic, observes that a considerable reduction in the working expenses has been effected without in any way impairing the efficiency of d co .n ntrar i y n , g tl s i t e oc lin k, e are s andinsta,,xticols,nast con dition,wel.la s the thecw capa city of 21 tons to that of 5 tuns, the cost of which and of other improvements has been included in "repairs.' The ill an rn :l m t ;° w to e in le cth e ane trucks Lase been altered from the cost of locomotive repairs would have been considerably reduced if the financial position of the company had enabled us to supply the lathes and other machinery requisite fur the repair of wheels, the want of which has obliged us to send them, at considerable expense, to manufactimers for that purpose. The contract for maintaining per manent way having expired on the 3rd inst. a new r contract has been entered into, which we have wer fur extend from month to month" on mine terms e{ babe. In our last report we referred to proceedings width were pending in Chancery between the bondholders and simple contract creditor.. The case was fully argued in December before the Lord Chancellor, whose 'decision having been unfavourable to the bondholders they have a pp ea l e d against it to the House of Lords. Tim committee, notwith standing their great exertions and all the assistance we could give them, have encountered extreme difficulty in obtaining the assent of the creditors ; and there seemed to be nu prospect of their being able to put a stop to ruinous litiration, until we were enabled to azure the creditors of the punctual payment of dividends ou the new shares, by entering into a contract with the Great Northern Company for w.wking your railways, whereby we have beet gear/A- I teed a minimum net revenue of 15,0001. per annum. tinder the influence of this guarantee, and the prospect of a much greater amount of revenue, to be obtained by means which that powerful company will be able to employ for develop ing our traffic, a very great proportion of the creditors have YOI.7NG 'MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASsOClATlON.—Yester day evening the sixth annual meeting of this society was held at Exeter Hull, the 'tight lion. Fox Motile in the eim , r. The Cimino= expressed great 'satisfaction to find himself presiding over a meeting of this description. It was gratifying to think that in these days, when error was stalking (inroad under every known form, there should be such a determination cxio)ut amongst the young men of the metropolis, not only to seek the mugs fur themselves, hut to endeavour, wicsi al , their minds and with all their ' might, to dissemina‘e it amongst others. (Hear.) AVMs he taw such a pursuit of truth his heart took courage, and be felt that wi.hin the walls, if he might so say, there was a garrison ready to spring forth against all inroads and all aggretsiors which error might at tempt to make upon the bulwarks of their faith. (Cheers.) He did most earnestly hope t:u,t the time would come when the young men of Lonclon would be distinguished, not for their :as.e fur the chea,re, not for their fondness fur casinos nut for diving intu cellars and hiding themselves in the wreaauof smoke that :hey !night tild there, but for giving up all such things as „hose . an the search fur tha t which alone could yield :bore rational entertainow nt while they were here, awl whims would g:VC them entAta:nment in another place :or ever. lie hoped that these institutions might prosper, and that the young men who supporter' them would go on gaining strength from day to day in their good work.—The secretary (Mr. Tarlton) mad the report, which was very lengthy, and detailed the various channels of success in which its operations hail been directed. They had remired. in various ways the sum of 2,0001. 17s. 10E1. (including 301. 16s. 10d., which had been left in the hands of the treasurer last )car) ; and of that amount they had expended all but 561. 13s. rid., which wan the balance now remaiuing.—Dr. Archer mov ed a resolu tion which, while adopting the report, congratulated the meeting on the s uccess that had attended the exertions of the society. The Rev. Dr. Beaumont seconded the resolution. The Rev. Mr. Harrison also addressed _ the meeting. Ile entreated all who heard him to reflect that there was nothing they could do, whether in business or in private society, that did not exercise a great, though perhaps an unnoticed, influence on those arowoll them. He cordially supported the resolution, which was carried. PROCLAMATION OF OUTLAWRY.—Xt tho Sherd's Court yesterday the following were called upon to sur render to the custody of the sheriff under penalty of out lawry. William Routh, at the suit of David Owen ; Domi nique Andrew Morel, at the suit of John Grosanith; Henry Hunt, at the suit of Edmund Robins; William Henry Langley, at the suit of Thomas Edwards (adminis trator) ; Alexander Gordon ; John Bishop, at the suit of Benjamin Spilsbury, and anoth.r ; Mark Kerr, at the suit of John Mathews ; 11. W. Beauclerk, at the suit of Martin Stout' ; Brownlow Thomas Montague Cecil, commonly ealled,Eord Brownlow Cecil, et the suit of Martin Stutely; Benjamin Munn, at the seit of Thos. Cartwright ; D. A. Burnett, at the suit of Thomos Pltillipi Rober Allcard ; Robert Anstruihers, at the suit !! , ,leird Kirkman Lane; Chas. Webster Wedderburn, at .nit of George Samuel Ford ; O . willies Dyson, at the 5...;.t of George Nicholson ; Thomas Kay, at the suit of W. t• sorter ; George Brew, at the suit of Joshua Mayhew; 0. Hanley Drummond, at the suit of Catherine Eliza Polk vin (executrix) ; Jacob Barrow, at the suit of Geoer Drayton; Benjamin Munn, at the suit of Charles Smith Momus,and opother ; El phege Van Zuvlen, at the suit of \Vilna* Richards road Idoerezd Jones Phillips, at the suit, ut tsaikosy T liodatios, r rgi ) •~ , l'. t.._,.t;z -.:-,,-,:'. a •.. ai:~aeiid: The CHAIRMAN moved that the common seal be affixed to the list of proprietors. Mr. HELPS rose to object to that motion. lie believed thst any objection to the constitution of the board of direc tete should be made previous to that motion being passed. (Hear, hear.) The charge he had to make was that of a breach of good faith on the part of the board. in 1848 the clearest understanding wa. come to between the share holders and the directors that no future vacancy in the di rection should be tilled up except by the shareholders at large. (Hear, hear.) When the proposal was made to re duce the number of directors, he (Mr. Helps) attended • meeting of shareholders, presided over by a very influential proprietor, Mr. Meek, who, if present, would, without doubt bear him out—(a voice : " be is not now • share. holder)--and on that occasion he (Mr. II.) suggested that the proposal then rnade to reduce the number of directors to eight, and limiting their period of office to three instead of four years, might give rise to serious legal difficulties, and that on consideration of increasing the term of office! from three to four years, and considering also that there would be four Northern and Eastern directors on the i board, under the most favourable circumstances there would not be one-third of the members of the hoard who would not have the interest of the Eastern Counties pro prietors at heart. lie consequently then pmpowil that in the Act of Incorporation power should be taken to transfer to the shareholders the power of electing to future vacan cies. That propudtion was received with acclamation, not a dissentient soice being raised against it. It was trite the bill into which it was proposed to introduce that clause did not pass, but nevertheless there was an un derstanding that that arrangement should be adher...l to. (Hear, hear.) Now, he saw at the board that day a gentle man who ww not a Northern and Eastern director, and who had nut been elected by the proprietors—he meant Mr. Anderson. He wished to know by what authority that gentleman sat as a director? He had no personal objection' to Mr. Anderson ; hat, wnatever hi. qualifications might be, if beset at the board in consequence oleo improper exercise of power on the part of the direttors—or at least, the esereh.e of a power opposed to the feelings of the great bode of the proprietors and the spirit of an understanding which ex isted, some capitulation was due. (Hear, hear.) . - - - - - - The CliAtitMAN could caplain the reason why the clauses referred to by the hon. gentleman had not been nerd upon. It was, that the bill was loot into which they wer, to have been introduced. Mr. HELPS did not complain that the clause was not in the act of parliament, but that the director., in themselves electing a new member of their board, a vaeany having oc curred, without consulting the shareholders, had acted in violation of the spirit of a bargain which had been catered into. (Loud cheering.) Mr. Serjeant GAZE LEE thought the course the direc tors had taken in this respect was most extraordinary, and demanded to know why a gentleman whose qualifications he would not deny might be as good as the average qualifi cations of railway directors (....hcar, and • laugh) had been selected by the board in direlL uic eposition to the understand ing that the appointment to it:* in the hoard should rest with the shareholders ? Mr. ANDERSON (the director alluded to) hoped to he allowed to say a few words after . what had fallen from Mr. Helps. (Hear.) In the first place, he assured the meeting that he knew nothing of any Push agreement u had b..eu referred to, with the "new ;' boar}, (" Oh," laughter, and cheers.) They would permit hint to remind them, of what he himself could never forget, that at a period of great ex citement in the company'. affairs, when the committee of investigation was divided in Butt, he was al lowed to take the chair at three or four of their meetings and was received with the greatest courtesy and kinelnees by the proprietor, and what was far more dear to his heart without consultation they peered a unanimous vote in his favour, expreasise of their confidence in the integrity of his conduct in everythin,: connected with their affairs. The board nua&mously appointed him, and he joined them. voice—" Thee had no right to appoint you.") Ile bail joined the I nutria the hope of doing some good to the con cern, and with that view only, hut if there wag the slightest objection to him, he would tender to them at once his re siguation. (Chores, and cries of " No.") lie tendered to them his resignation at unee, and he begged they would accept it and deal with it as they pleased. (Cheers and sum,' confusion.) The CILtIIt3IAN again put the question for aeixing the seal to the list of proprietors. A I'ltOI'llIETOR wished to be informed whether it hail not been attempted within the last few days to till up another vacancy at the board—the vacancy one 'lone.' by the resignation of Mr. Betts ? The CH.1110 , 1 AN said the ,Groton possessed the right (Loud tries of " No, uo.") He n plated, that the directors had a right to fill up the remaining vacancy. Mr. BOX begged to ask the wereetry whether it was true, as hag been stated by Mr. Hilo, that an underttand ing was come to at a general meeting that the shareholders should MI up erety recency which might occur in the direttion. The SECRETARY (Mr. Roney) said, the truth was—he did not recollect. (Hisses.) The Secretary then pro ceeded to read the report, which has already appeared in the Exerts*. Some of the passages, especially that in which it was recommended that there should be no divi dend—the passage in which the present direeton declare that they cannot he held responsible for the condition of the company, and that in which they intimated that they had tilled up the vacancy in the board, were received with loud expressions of disapprobation. The statement of ewcount:, of which an abstract hex also appeared in this lupe, was taken as read. 'rho CIIAIItNIAN then said the Great Northern Company, on opening their line to Peterborough, took away nearly the whole of the Eastern COUtities passenger traffic between London and l'eterbonaugh. The distance between Loudon and Peterborough was mane 25 or 26 miles shorter by the Gr e at Northern than bit the Eastern Counties, while the tariff of the fitrtuar was iruch lower than that of the batter. 110 did not wislato complain of the Great Northern Rail way or its directors in any was. lie had no occasion to du so, fur he believed they charged quite as much as their par liamentary powersalluwed them. That was, they took all they could get. (Rear, hear.) When the line opened from Ilitehin to Royston there was a rival line opened from Lark. don to Cambridge, and another to St. lees by way of llatiV tingdon. Again, se hell the Eastern Union opened their line to Norwich, the ro was another obstruction from the Eastern Counties treelike. The Eastern Union line by Col ! Chester was about 13 miles nearer as between London and Norwich than that of the Eastern Counties by Ely, in oda : thin to which the Eastern Union also had a lower tariff. The question which arose with the directors was, should they compete with the Eastern Union for this traffic—should they carry un a contest injurious to both companies or should they endeavour to come to an amicable understand ing with the rival company ? They determined on the latter course—(hear, hear)—and the result was that an agreement was entered into with the Eastern Cabe,. directors, based on the reepective mileage to Norwich of the two companies respeetie ely. This gave the Eastern Union one-fourth of t he through fares front London to Norwich, the Eastern Counties taking three-fourths, no matter which carried the paesengers. There was, how seer, a c'ause in th-t agreement by which local fares were reserved to each company re' pectively, and excluding from the arram i ement the cattle traffic, the mineral trade, and some other Odom necessary to the fair working of the agreemen• Under that agreement, which was now about to terrain .he Eastern Counties found themselves sub ject to a gnat many rebates on goods. The conse quence: of the openiog of the Great Northern line to Peterborough was this, that although the Great Northern Company charged the highest rate they could, yet their fares from Londou to Peterborough were 13e. 71. fur a first class passenger, while the Eastern Counties fare was 1911. ; their tare fur a second class passenger was 10s. while the Eastern Counties fare was 144. Ga.; and their fare for a third class passenger was tie. 4d. against tio. 441. Under these circumstances the board had to reduce the fans from London to Peterborough. The London and North Western board took that course first, and the Eastern Counties board wereohliged to follow their esample ; so that the three com legough. t a u n t h ju w .C..o re ine n, q o u w en c eeefl i ir nut m eta l .; Il t a o rin P ir et ret 'r lueed the fares to Peterborough they could not continue to charge the old fares for shorter distances. They were obliged to re duce the rates at twelve other stations. The effect of the reduction was that they lost nearly 14 per cent. in passenger trattie. The exact Ins, us aseertamed by their accountant. was 131. her. 9d. When the Royston turd lliteltin line was opened, the E estern Counties' farts were 13s. for the first eLeo, 10s. for the second class, sad 6s. 6d. for the third class. The; fares they had bent coinpelled to reduce respectively to th., 95., and f.. ; sad the loss sustained through the reduction, taking into account the bridge and the other sta tions, was as nearly as possible 9 per cent., while the work ing espouses remained uniliininished ; for they were obliged to run the same number of trains, and to do the same quantity of work am before. With respect to the agreement wit's the Eastern Union Couipaur, he had stated that the loyal fares were reserved. The . Eastern Union Company were placed in difficult and trying circumstances ; they were very poor, and their officers soot discovered that if they split the fares into two darts, and allowed the l 'enacts to rebook, they would gain a consid:rable suns. The inducement was quite sufficient. The directors were obliged to turn the warehouses at Stratford into a police barrack for the prot,:ction of the line, to tit up dormitories, and to purchase bedding for a large division of the metropolitan po lice force. and to convert ail the plate lavers of the line into coast/Fibs. Thee had also to send a pollee force to Peter borough and to Norwich to protect the line at those place:s. The espouse of these precautions had been very properly chargedagainst revenue. Notwithstanding all the precau tions taken the bridges which crossed the hue in the neigh bourlics.l of London were occupied by men, and it was neces sary to char them ; stones were thrown upon the line, obstrue . thins were placid on the rails, and the pumps which supplied the boilers were choked with wood, hemp, and so on, and the greatest pains were taken to throw the whole concern into confusion. Consequently, the vigilanee which it was necessary to exercise was costly in the extreme ; while the apprehension on the part of the public diminished the tra velling at a time when the expenses had increased fearfully. A word or two with regard to the East Anglian Company. Since he Came int., the threetiutt, he had made several at tempts to come to an oath rstanding with that company; but the board hail always been met with the questioa, o Will you pay us the 45,9001. that you owe us l" Now, the board were advised that they did not own anything to that company.