The Sun. — London, England, 1858-08-19 00:00:00

LUAATIC ASYLUMS. (From the Times.) The pisition of a lunatic appears to be .one of the moss terrible in which a human being can be placed. There is, however, a still worse condition, which is that of a person of sane mind who is treated by his fellow-creatures as though he were mad—of one who, being himself of sane mind, is incarcerated in an asylum intended only for the insane — who is, therefore, subjected to bodily restraint, and, still worse, to the moral and intellectual indignities consequent upon a supposed deprivation of reason. To be insane is bad enough—to be considered insane when a patient is not so in reality must, as far as present suffering is concerned, be in credibly worse. Now, the attention of the public has been recently and very painfully called to the subject of our Lunatic Asylums by the disclosures made during the inves tigation of the Acomb-honse case. In the course of the trial it appeared that a lady who in the opinion t f a jury was held to be in a sane mind,—at least, when she was brought under their notice,—had been confined in a Private Lunatic Asy lum; that she had been there treated with great and unne cessary ; that she had been subjected to frightfu , indignities ; that when upon two eccasions she had succeeded in making her escape she was forcibly brought bac:: with but little regard to the decencies due to her sex and to her unfortunate position, if she had been really deprived of her reason. As a formal investigation into all the circutn stances of this sad story is now in progress, we will say no more about it juet now. Another case of the kind has, how ever, recently been brought to light. It amounts, in brief, to thie :—A clergyman named Leech was entitled under the will of his father to an absolute reversion in the sum of 830,000. He was living in a retired manner at Bayswater, and it is admitted that he entertained strong views upon re ligious subjects, and that he wore a beard. His relatives were tolerant of these enormities, but when be announced that it was his intention to marry his servant, one result of which step might well have been that they would have been cut off from the inheritance, they suddenly jumped to the coeclusion that he was insane.. His brother-in-law and his rt , eistant signed the necessary certificate, and upon the strength of this very loose proceeding keepers were directed to seize the patient in his house at Bayswater and convey him to a lunatic asylum. They did so. His furniture and other property were disposed of, and there the matter might have rested, and the unfortunate gentleman might have remained is confinement for the remainder of his life, but for the interference of certain tradesmen at Bayswater with whom be bad been in the habit of dealing for yea sw rs. They could not understand that their old customer, who had lived among them so long, and in all respects comported himself as a rational and respectable man, could be a lunatic. They succeeded in discovering the place of his confinement, and suab steps were taken that Mr. Leech's sanity was con clusively established to the satisfaction of a jury, and he regained his liberty. Here are two cases; we have before us the particulars of a third, hut we are not, unfortunately, in a condition to publish the names. Suffice it to say that an unfortunate gentleman who had been suffering from bodily disorder which finally affected his brain, but who was not mad, was incarcerated in one of those horrid dens which are called Private Lunatic Asylums, and there con fined for months. By his own account he was treated with the greatest cruelty, strapped down to a bed with broad bands of webbing, and kept there till it was supposed be was dying. The result we will state in the sufferer's own words:—"My back, from lying in one constrained posture, was a mass of ulcerated and sloughing sores; my right hand was swollen enormously, and useless; and two fingers of the left band were 'Permanently contracted, and the joints destroyed. I also lost several front teeth." This poor man at last obtained his liberty, and applied to the Commissioners for redress. The letter of their Secretary in reply is now before us. The Commissioners merely say that, although they do not in tiny degree impugn the integrity of the complainant's statements, they are not of opinion that inquiry would answer any good purpose. They add, however, that "in order to mark their opinion on the subject, they have granted Mr.-- a licence provisionally for the limited period of four months cnly, and that the renewal will depend upon the condition and management of his esta blishment being entirely satisfactory in the meantime." Poor consolation.this for all the misery the wretched sufferer bad undergone! Here, then, are three cases following one upon the other in rapid succession. How many remain behind of which we know nothing ? The fact would appear to be that under existing arrangements any English man or woman may without much difficulty be incarcerated in a private lunatic asylum when not deprived of reason. If actually deprived of reason when first confined, patients may be retained in duress when their• cure is perfected, and they ought to be released. That our actual system may be fully understood we publish to-day a well digested statement, prepared by a physician who has especially directed his attention to such sub jects. He tells us that there are three kiuds of public lunatic asylums—the first being public asylums for the pauper pa tients of counties and borough:, maintained out of the rates; —the second " lunatic hospitals" for patients not paupers, including persons from all ranks and classes in society. The asylums which fall under one or other of these two categories the writer considers, on the whole, to be well managed, although they are susceptible of great improvement. Then there is a third or hybrid class of public asylums, which are partly county asylums, and partly lunatic asylums for pri vate patients. There are not many of them now, and they are gradually merging into one or other of the two first named divisions. The objections to an arrangement so ano malous are so very obvious that we need not dwell upon them here; but, as these mixed institutions are fast disap pearing, it is unnecessary to dwell further upon this part of the subject. It is not suggested that any such cases as the three which we have mentioned above have occurred, or could occur, at any of the public asylums. The 1 opproprium of our system is the " private lunatic asylum, or licensed house." Many of these esta blishments are, of course, perfectly well conducted, but there are others in which it is much to be feared that a per son not being a lunatic might be confined for a lengthened period, if not for life, with but little chance of redress. They are mere commercial speculations fur the benefit of the pro prietors. All that is required to set up in this line of busi ness is in the metropolitan districts a licence, which is granted by the Commissioners in Lunacy, and in the pro vinces by the magistrates in Quarter Sessions. The only check over the proceedings of toe proprietors Is that in the metropolitan districts each asylum is visited by the Commis sioners in Lunacy four times a-year. In the provinces the magistrates inspect each establishment in a similar manner. The Commissioner in Lunacy, moreover, visit the provin cial establishments twice a-year. It is stated, however— and we can well believe it to be the truth—that in one way or another the proprietors of such establishments always ob tain intelligence of an impending visit, and all things are made snug for the inspection of the visitors. Even so we have not done with our enumeration of places in which any of our fellow-subjects may be confined under the pretext that he is not in his right reason. Any person can take charge of a single patient without a licence, and, although the same certifi cates and formal Pies are required as in the case of private asylums, these requirements are constantly evaded. "Not a few of the persons," writes our informant, " who daily advertise for these single patients are discharged or super annuated attendants of asylums, brought up, perhaps, and prejudiced in favour of the worst forms of mechanical restraint, and all the horrors of the old system of treating the insane. A practice prevails of farming out one patient to this private lodging, and another to that, to avoid the necessity of a licence, or the inconvenience of an inspec tion." These being the places in which lunatics, or per sons alleged to be lunatics, can be confined, it remains that we should add a few words upon the ceremonies which mast be fulfilled before any of the Queen's subjects can be remitted to one or other of these places of confinement. More we cannot hope, from considerations of space, to ac complish to-day. In the first place, there must be an order for the reception of a patient. What the nature in of thi s ord e r s may be does not perticalarly appear ment whick we now lay before our readers, but at any rate an order there must be. Then there must be a statement of certain particulars, signed by some friend or relative—pro bably the buugry expectant of the inheritance. Next, there must-be two cert:ficates, to be signed by two medical mew wholly unconnected with each other, and who, without pre vious meeting or consultation, state that the patient ought to be put under restraint. So far it would appear that any unprincipled person whose interest lay that way might bribe a couple of doctors of no consideration in the profession, and the patient is trapped. It is stated, moreover, that the practice as to the filling up of these certificates is lax in the extreme. When the patient is once admitted the superin tendent of the asylum must, within seven days, give notice to the Commissioners in Lunacy and to the Clerk of the Visiting J ustices of the fresh admission. Ile must add to this document a certificate stating his own opinion of the case, and this must be done two days after the admission of the patient—not before, that his observations may be ma tured. After this the only security lies in the visits of the Commissioners and of the Visiting Justices; but it may well happen that these are not made until the superintendent has ample time to convert a dubious or partial case of insa nity itro a confirmed one by injud:cious treatment. When a Commissioner sees him for the first time—the man is mad ! CHARTISM AT A DISCOUNT.—The attempt of a few of the old Chartist ringleaders in Bradford (says the Leeds Mercury) to get up a fresh agitation has not been attendee. with success. The adjourned meetintz on Bradford Moor on Sunday of ernoon was utterly a failure. Some 50 people assembled, and a few pence were raised. CRYSTAL PALACE.—ONE SUILLEs:G PAY,—Yes terday the admi3i=ions on payment were 5,285; do. by season tickets. 596; 0 1 41, 5,881. [ADVERTISEMENT]. —The Earl of Aldborough and Holloway's ren atkable cure by this powet ful me dicine, atrer every other means had failed. See extract term Isis Lordship's letter, dated Villa Messina, Leghorn, Feb. 21, iB4s:—"To Professor Holloway.—Sir, I be to acquaint you that your pills have effected a cure of a disorder in my liver and stomach, which all the most eminent of the faculty, at home and all over the Continent, had not been able to effect—nay, not even the waters of arlabad or Marienbad. (Signed) ALDBOROUGII." It is not necessary to append any comment whatever to such a statement a , Vie above. It must carry conviction to the most sceptical mind. A fact is more impressive than any argument. ---- - - [ADVERTISEMENT.] —The i T n h e e rea c s r e e s at th injury inflicted on interest the public Food, many invalids by dru g s flatulency, con- ,! take in Du Barry's Revalent ( a dy A s r p a e b p l i c e j a a) fi l p ot aints. cough, without medicine indigestion which cures out of stipation, nervous, bilious, and liver complaints. —Cure walling, consumption, and debility. Ny e many thousand cases of cures by this delicious e f f a o o o n f d e :: . N o . 180 —,' Twenty-five years' rervousness, :patio°, indigestion, and debility, from which I have suffered great misery', and which no medicine could rmlove or refi - liave been effectually cured by Du Barry's facql in a v eve, short time. W. B. Reeves, 181, F_lret-street, Londo e n )l, Cure 4,208—" Eight years. dyspepsia, net vow:Tess, debility, with cramp', spasms, and nausea, for which my servant had consulted the advice of many, have been effectually cured any Du Barry's health -restoring food. 01311 be happy t;. smswer inquiries. Rev. John IV. Flavell, Riclliugton Rec tory, Norfolk." From the Venerable Archdeacon Ross. — No. 32,836—" Three years' excessive nervousnes;, with pa'.hs in my neck and left arm, and general debility, rwhi chaic rendered my life very miserable, has been ally removed by Do Barry's health -restoring food.; Alex. Stuart, Archdeacon of Ross, Skihte-een." Supported by hj . r testimonials from the celebrated Professors of Chemist 'Dr. Cavll ; Andrew r Ure, Dr. Shorland, Dr. Harvey, L'7'l Stuart de DeCieGs attiker, Dr. Wutzer. Dr. It,gratn, ntbtr respectable pers.:lw , M aj. a. Gen. Tomas King, and many , whose health bas been restored b y it, alto. all other means of cure had railed. Suitably packed, with fall instructibas. The mi ) sters, 11b, 2s 9(1; 21b, 4s 6d; Post-office ord e e a r n . ist ß er a s rr. 51b, 11s. ; 12;b, 24z. Barra y r e n sent carriageßarry, free, on receipt of rn 77 Re,•ent-street, London and through all chemists ~0 •.1 P ~ ." 9 ; Purloin Impoitant Caution al 'd grocers in town and country.. imi . ations:—The icst Om fearful dangers of s 2 ea. Vice-v. Sir William Pa ce Wood i finet i mi o n the 10th March, 1854 iv e v ig, for intilitting "Du Barry's Rev a 1 .red Hooper Food" , a en.a Arabica , against Alfred an In_ RAILWAY ANTELLIGENCE. GREAT NORTHERN. Mr. Mowatt, the late secretary of this company, has just pation of the sued a letter to the shareholders antici alf-yearly meeting of Friday next. Having stated that Le was dismissed through the hostile feelings of Mr. Deni- son, " and that it was not justified by any reasonable ground, has been amply shown after a long and painful investigation by the verdict of an impartial jury," Mr. Mowatt states that he originally fell into dis favour with the chairman by opposing his views and up- folding the interests of the shareholders. He 'did his best, be states, to stem reckless expenditure and prevent extra- vagina guarantees, but without success. He states that so long ago as 1848, when the law costs had amounted to £284,000 in a period of four years, he supported a plan for having a resident solicitor on the company's premises, delis, stationery, moneys out of packet, Scc., to be charged direct against the company, but was overruled by the chairman, who proposed that the secretary's salary should not exceed £6OO a-year, and that the then secretary be requested to resign. The motion fell to the ground for want of a seconder, when Mr. Denison resigned the chair; but subsequently allowed him self to be re-elected, when "his power was mere absolute than ever." He then states that as early as April, 1855, he had reason to believe there was something wrong in Red path's accounts, and wrote for explanations, which he did not receive until the 29th January following, when he called Mr. Denison's attention to them; but it was not until October of that year, after two half-yearly meetings, at which Mr. Denison had declared his conviction in the accuracy of the accounts, that a statement was obtained which showed a discrepancy of £137,000 in the proper amount of stock, and on the following 27th January the board passed a resolution thanking Mr. Mowatt and Mr. C. Oakley, the assistant-secretary, for their persevering con duct in bringing to light the frauds of Redpath. Mr. Mowatt then alludes to the charge of not checking the warrants prior to placing his signature to them, which he states would have bean a physical impossibility with the time allowed for their issue, and then concludes : " The charges which I have already referred to had been brought against me by parties whose information was super ficial, and whose animosity was strong. They bad never been alleged against me by any member of the board. During the whole period of my secretaryship, whether be fore or since the Redpath frauds, no hint had ever been dropped to me by any director that it was my province to have checked the warrants, or that I had been guilty of a breach of duty in not doing so. Upon this point Mr. Baron Bramwell, in charging the jury, remarked as follows: " 'Now, gentlemen, the evidence, if one looks at it, is this—in the first place, you have Mr. Mowatt's oath on the matter. " For 12 years I have been doing this thing in this way known to the directors, who have continually seen me doing it, and they did not tell me it was wrong." That is entirely uncontradicted. Mr. Bovill says that be is con tent that you should take Mr. Mowatt's statement of fact, and form your own judgment upon that.' " The first intimation of the kind I ever received from the board was by the resolution which I am about to set forth on the 22d December, 1857, and which it will be con venient to call the Redpath resolution. At that time I was certainly entitled to conclude, and I did conclude, that I had beard the last of the charge in question from any quar ter; to suppose that it would be then brought against me for the first tine by the directors never for a moment en tered into my mind. At the stormy meeting-of the Ist of December, 1857, Mr. Greening's motion for a vote of cen sure upon the directors in respect of the Redpath frauds bad been rejected, and Mr. Scott's amendment imputing blame to me had been withdrawn—the reasonable conclu sion was, that these criminations and recriminations were at an end for ever. My relations with the chairman were apparently never so friendly. I bad some time before been entrusted with about a quarter of a million of money, to replace the forged stock, and this responsible operation I had just brought to a successful close. " Such was the state of things on the 22d of December, 1857. At the board meeting of that day a personal question arose respecting the recent altercation that had taken place between myself and Mr. Waters. I was requested to retire, and on my return, after disposing of the personal matter, Mr. Denison proceeded to state that the board bad also been discussing the conduct of the officers who were responsible or blameable in respect of the Redpath frauds, and had requested him to read to me the following resolution : " THE REDPATH RESOLUTION.—BOARD, DEC. 22,1857. " The investigation of the Redpath frauds being now completed, and no further light being likely to be thrown on the subject, the board feels bound to record their opinion that although Mr. W. H. Clark, the registrar of the com pany, during the six years of the continuance of Redpath's frauds, was most culpably negligent of his duty, and but for such negligence the frauds must at once have been de tected, if they had ever began ; and although the board are also of opinion that Mr. Reynolds, the late accountant, ought to have noticed and reported to the directors much sooner than he did the discrepancies between his own accounts and the statements given by the registrar; never theless the board is clearly of opinion that the frauds must have been discovered long before if the secretary had not signed the dividend warrants sent to him by the registrar from time to time, without taking any measures whatever to check or record the amount for which he signed, and that he therein failed in the performance of a most important duty.' " I do not know that I was ever more surprised and hurt than when I heard this resolution read. I remonstrated against it at the moment; I remonstrated against it with Mr. Denison privately in the strongest terms. He advised me to make light of it. I felt that I could not do so con sistently with what was due to myself. If that resolution was allowed to be entered uncontradicted on the minutes of the company, not only was my official character for com petency and vigilance ruined, but the foundation was laid for dismissing me at any time. I resolved temperately but firmly to submit to the board a written statement of my own case, and I did so on the sth January, 1858, the next board day, in the following letter : "THE SECRETARY'S LETTER OF PROTEST OF JANUARY 5, 1858. " Gentlemen,—The board on the 22d ultimo having passed a resolution recording the opinion that Redpath's frauds must have been discovered long before they were bad I not failed in the performance of my duty, in having signed the dividend warrants as sent to me by the registrar for signature, without taking measures to check them, or record the amount I signed for, and feeling myself wronged by that opinion, I beg leave respectfully to submit this my protest against it, with the following observations:— "' Never was I more taken by surprise than when the chairman read to me the resolution on my being recalled to the board-room, after an absence of nearly two hours, hav ing been requested to withdraw oa the board proceeding to discuss quite a different subject. "' No intimation had been given to me, and I was not aware that the board had intended to call in question any part of my conduct, after all that had transpired and taken place with respect to Redpath and his frauds, in the inter val from the discovery of them in November, 1856, and I am persuaded, if all the facts and attendant circumstances were known to the several members of the board they would be of a different opinion to that of the 22e1 December. " r I do not admit it to have been any part of my duty, as secretary, to examine, or check, or record the amount of dividend warrants when brought to me for signature, and before signing them ; to have done that would have been inconsistent and incompatible with the mu! iferions duties properly belonging to my office; as well might it be required of me to examine and record the general accounts of the company, for the payment of which I have to sign some, and to countersign others of the drafts on the company's bankers daily, and numbering many thousands a-year. The divi dend warrants prepared by some, and examined by en her clerks in the Registration Office, were finally checked by the registrar personally before that officer brought them to me for signature; and half-year by half-year, and con stantly during the performance and issue of them, I La pressed upon the registrar the necessity for the greatest care on his part, and that officer as invariably and repeatedly, when bringing to me the warrants for signature, assured me of their accuracy, and of the pains taken by his clerks and by himself to ensure it ; and in the printed evidence of Mr. W. 11. Clark, the late registrar, before the Giesler Corn mitteeof Inquiry,Pages 4 and s,he stated that he brought tbern to me believing them to be accurate, and leading me to believe they were. It must be understood, too, that lam not alone in the position of being obliged to adopt, and ac cept as correct, documents brought to me for signature ; for instance, the accountant necessarily depends upon the store keeper to certify that the goods for which bills are presented for payment have bee n dul y received, and also the engineer for works done ; indeed , the s y stem is the same throughout the service, and necessarily so, otherwise responsible heads of departments would be fallacies, and all responsibility would centre in the secretary, merely because he is the authorised officer to sign the order on the banker to pay, as the final act in the transaction. "' It is right, further, to add, that a full and correct re cord was made of each warrant before it was issued, and that such records still exist, of which I was always aware, and often in the course of business referred to. " In the natural order of things, the check upon the Registration Department was that f the accountant, and there alas every reason to believe that this test was in con s ant operation, because it is within my knowledge that the accountant and the registrar constantly communicated with each other with the view to adjust their resin ctive Recounts. "' It must be further observed, that the check in force by nine principal railway companies lately visited by Mr. Gr nling, the acting registrar, by order of the direct( re, therefore:vas precisely fair ti c, e suppose, same as in this company, and was, it is tors and officers of those considered efficient by the companies,direc and surely then it ought net to be alleged that I was wanting in foresight or attention in permitting the system to continue when such evidence is adduced that it was the practice generally, if not universally followed. ," In every one of those nine companies, the secretary -igned the warrants without any further examination by himself or by any staff under his control, and so far as simi larity of practice is any jus'ification, I am certainly entitled to exoneration from blame or censure. " In the desire to avoid being tedious, I alk,tain as much as possible from going into pariculare, to show the inutility of any cheek that under the circumstances I could have established, but, perhaps, it may be as well to mention that aatrtra:its it would issued,onlodf not R e n e d , I should h ave b een ent i re ly dependent upon the acco un t an t fur the fi gures to compare w ith t h e amoun t of th e di v id en d as that officer's books had, by the re presentationaavteh ,b been n e natlitle there d tloatstueirt end tho of seoflB3thie that any have v:hboeweend itself detected. in "'ln the daolnruignompanies afford• l o c ota a uta t i i ndn d tdta u hnN s et e o f or u nt l hl after f . o lo r ,v detection and the account.rnt's books; it is therefore obvious that the : . ;1 3 1 s' y em add a , d( t ) h p a te t d in w t a i s ie e ny e e st th rn at payment C t was and will o a n tio n n s s b l y iti t ic h i e en ac t siperrer ex amin ation Neither can I admit that I am deserving of blame lycause the system in vogue in this and other principal ^ a y companies turns out to be insecure. "ig It was universally supposed to be efficient, and its ra dical failure in this com p any ought not to be wholl y ascr ibed to its unsoun dness, but because it was nut faith_ ful,y carried out in its integrity by the registrar and the accountant. Committee, but not pub lishedsler pamp.hletP, the one "C" was given in evidence by myself report, the other marked "D ' and or noticed in the addressed by Mr. Grinling, the " 'Annexed are to othe Giesler " E," COD tai ning dated 27th November to acting registrar, Denison, the chairman, and " of his, Mr. doling's examina myself, recording the result 11V ‘ p " a p d e a r t s e d E 2 3 ,, d November last to Mr. THE SUN, tion of the systems of registration of the nine other railway cowponies he was instructed to visit and :port upon. These pamphlets confirm my statements in all parti culars. " Although by the foregoing explanation I may not be so fortunate as to succeed in convincing the board that I do not deserve the imputation cast upon me by the resolution of the 22d December, my conscience acquits me of the blame imputed, and tells me that during nearly 14 years I have held my office, my arduous, varied, and incessant duties have been performed to the best of my ability, fearlessly and faithfully with a view to the company's interests only, and oftentimes under circumstances of difficulty and discourage ment few holding a similar post can have had to contend with, and that, therefore, were my services appreciated I should have been spared the pain of having thus to write in my own vindication.—l am, gentlemen, your faithful hum- ble servant, (Signed) "J. R. MOWATT, Secretary." " Such was my letter of protest : it was meant as nothing more than a firm but respectful statement of my own case : whether it deserved censure I leave you to form your own opinion. The following passage from Mr. Baron Bramwell'. summing-up at the trial, will sufficiently show you in what light it was viewed by that acute, able, and impartial judge : " He (Muwatt) wrote a letter, which you recollect Mr. Chambers real in his opening; it was read as 3oe of the documents, arid we stopped Mr. Bovill horn t lading it a third time, and which I feel myself precluded f am reading again to you, but I have no doubt it is fresh fa your recol lection. Now, a more reasonable letter than that fora man to write I cannot conceive. He says, you have brought a complaint against me; you say that I ought to have done something, con have given me no opportunity of being heard before you passed that condemnatory resolution, let me now protest and give you my reasons with all civility, regretting that he should have occasion to do so, and really writing in the most civil way in which a man can possibly write who is minded not to plead guilty, which silence would be, to a charge which he believes to be unfounded. What upon earth could any fair and reasonably-minded man see to find fault with in that letter; I really cannot understand it. It is to my mind one of the strangest things in the world. One would let a dog, if I may say so, make an apology far himself if you brought a charge against him. He would be beard in his defence at all events, and if not, it is worse than Rhadamanthus. If you do not hear him before you punish him, at all events hear him after you have castigated him. But they say no, you shall not be heard before your sentence or after it. I must say that to my mind is as unreasonable a thing as can be.' " Such was the view taken by Mr. Baron Bramwell ; such was not the view taken by Mr. Denison. At the next board meeting, 19th January, 1858, he called the attention cf the board to the letter, and moved a resolution, which, after commenting on various points of the letter, discussing the question of the Redpath frauds, and the duties of the several officers in connection therewith, and remarking 'that the directors are quite ready to acknowledge the honesty, zeal, and fidelity, with which they have every reason to believe he (Mowatt) has always served the com pany, concludes thus : ', ' The secretary's letter, however, raises two questions of much more consequence than that, being, in fact, no thing less thin these : " ' Ist. Whethei the duties of the officers of this company are to be defined by themselves or by the board. " ' 2dly. Whether the directors are to be at liberty to censure any officer fur what they may consider neglect of duty or misconduct, without being immediately rebuked by him for their interference or expression of their opinion, and for disregard of his feelings; such an issue can be deter mined only in one way by any board who mean to remain directors instead of being the servants of their own officers ; and the directors therefore feel that they have no indepen dent or respectable alternative but to decide that Mr. Mowatt cannot be allowed to retain the office of secretary of this company—at the same time Mr. Mowatt is informed that, although his services cannot be retained for the reasons now stated, be is net to be considered as dismissed for any mis conduct, and that he is at liberty to resign and to retire within a reasonable time according to his own conve nience.' " On this resolution of the 19th January, 1858, Mr. Baron Bramwell thus expresses his opinion to the jury : " ' Although I hold that in point of law, if the resolution (i.e.,,, the Redpath resolution of 22d December, 1857) was bona fide, it was reasonable, I cannot help thinking that you will not consider that the resolution which was passed condemning him for having written that letter was a rea sonable one. For my own part I think it was an excessively unreasonable one. I think they ought to have heard him, and not made any complaint against him for having done so. That was the exception which I told you I thought existed to the resolutions.' "Unreasonable, however, as Mr. Denison's motion was, and reasonable as was the letter which occasioned it, Mr. Faber, his son-in-law, moved as an amendme nt that ' the secretary be asked to withdraw his letter,' which he, upon a remonstrance by Mr. Denison, altered to ' that upon the letter'secret . ar y Aasking offencepermission, hfee:sbeed professedly t allowed aken t , o nn w d i th l d h ra n w d his in tended none, I was prevailed upon by my friends to with draw the letter, upon the clear understanding that the matter would be allowed to drop. Permission to withdraw it was given. Mr. Denison consented not to press his mo tion for my resignation, seeing that the feeling of the board was decidedly against him, notwithstanding he had previously canvassed the motion over (as he himself informed me) and obtained the concurrence to it of his party in the direc torate, not one of whom seconded it, it being left to Mr. F. Parker to do so, to Mr. Denison's subsequently expressed anno3ance. In point of fact, as Mr. Astell observed, he did not dare to pat either Mr. Faber's amendment er his own motion ; but he expressed himself satisfied, and an entry to that effect was made in the minutes. My friends congratu lated me on the result. They declared, and I was credulous enough to conclude, that ' all disagreeables,' to use Mr. Faber's expression, ' were now over ;' and, as if to assure me that this was the case, Mr. Denison and Mr. Packe came to my room the morning following the board to consult me upon important financial operations, arranging for me to accompany Mr. Packe to see the Governor of the Bank of England, and they were unusually cordial and polite. I ought to have known Mr. Denison better. The general meeting of February 19, 1838, passed off, as many of you will recollect, with remarkable tranquillity. Mr. Packe (in Mr. Denison's absence) lock the chair, and in reference to the Redpath frauds (the only allusion to them that was made), expressed his trust ' that the very name of Redpath was forgotten and buried for ever.' " I bad no reason therefore to suppose that I should hear anything more on the subject of resignation. I was soon undeceived. I had intimation of a hostile movement being intended against me at the board of the 11th March. Nothing, however, transpired at the board; but after it, Mr. Packe and Mr. Alderman Meek asked to speak to me in my own room, and told me it was the expectation of the board that I would resign; but they concealed from me the fact that Mr. Denison had addressed a letter to Mr. Packe, which had been shown to other directors in the board-room that day, from which the directors could only understand that, as he was not supported in his movement against the secretary, he would resign the chair, and retire from the board—in point of fact, it was 1848 over again. As lof course declined thus to pass judgment against myself, with the Redpath resolution still on the minutes of the board, Mr. Packe by letter,on the 23d of March, requested that I would circulate the following notice for the board meeting of the 30th : " ' Mr. Packe will move—That after the late discussion at the board, and no resignation having been received from the secretary, that the appointment of J. R. Mowatt, as secretary to this company, be cancelled.' " In the meantime I was advised by Mr. Pym, Col. Dun combe, and other friends, not to think of resigning, although one of the considerate suggestions brought to me as a message from Mr. Packe was, that I might resign on the plea of ill-heath, and Mr. Denison sent me word that he would be satisfied if I promised to go by the 30th June. thehep March erasedeoasarercnd a co n u d ld h e only w a s g n e t . t ft s o u m re h t if its t e h rh that the how t huaoetgu brought would s e oub s I saw Mr. Deniscn, and in answer to any remonstrances n t e e i d o p . tt t h r o w e e s rn m e e n t w h t b . n i e t i3o li n H g t a M w r a . r l 3. ac l k l e )a 'e ss tn ra o p t i i d on ly only the following ten of the sixteen on, there Packe in the chair; Major Amsinck, Mr. Burkill, Mr. Chaplin, Mr. F. Parker, Mr. Walker, the Hon. Col. Duncombe, M.P., Mr. Astell, Mr. Pym, Mr. Paull. After a warm discussion, in which the four last named gentlemen did me the justice to speak in my favour in a manner for which I must ever be most grateful, the motion was carried by five votes to four, viz. :—For—Major Amsinck, Mr. Burkill, Mr. Chaplin, Mr. F. Parker, and Mr. Walker; against—the Hon. Col. Duncombe, M.P., Mr. Astell, Mr. Pym, and Mr. Paull. Mr. Packe did not vote. " Thus by a section of only six out of 10 directors, and by a majority of one vote, I was dismissed. " On Mr. Packe declaring the motion to have been car • ried, I immediately rose from my seat at the board table, and said, 'The motion being carried, I am dismissed frotn my office, my functions cease, and I shall withdraw.' I threw down my pen, deliberately walked out of the board room, and after making a few necessary arrangements in my own room, left for Kingston, where I had to give evi dence at the assizes in a case affecting the interests of the company. I next evening received a letter from Mr. Sey mour Clarke, the general manager, telling me that the board did not desire that I should leave until the 30th of June. The wretched quibble was pleaded in defence, that ' cancelling' my appointment was not ' dismissal.' This was, of course, overruled by the jury. What the judge's opinion on the proceeding was is obvious from the following passage from his summing up:— " ' This case has excited a good deal of feeling on tine part of the plaintiff and the learned counsel who appear on both sides ; arid I do not wonder at it, because one cannot e ability, that t he I i integrity, ti t way honesty to get rida amid d o f him industry, is i by toe at help sayit g that, after fourteen years' service, where a man has conducted himself, as it is admitted f, oin beginning t. does end, seem with zeal, different mode from that which was adopted in thi s case. I cannot help saying so.' " Such was the termination of 14 years' faithful service. Such was the tu intnpli of Mr. Denison over the man o f b w e h fo o r m e , th n e n G iesler th e 2 9 Co t hAminamyi't 1857, he had spoken as f o ll ows tee : "3,793, p. 6'3.—'.—' I (Denis on ) most sa y with regard to the secretary, that I never knew a better officer in my life.' " ' I must say for Mr. Mowatt that I don't believe a more ilonest, intelligent, bard -working man exists. I think I should do him injustice if I did not say so much for him.' "3,794, p. 63. Mr. Walker, the director , present, as a member of the.Giesler Commi ttee, here said, As far as my observation goes, I think y ou (Denison) do him (Mowatt) no more than justice in saying that.' "3,797, p. 65.—' I (Denison) am bound to say that I can not speak too highly of Mr. Mowatt. I think he is es honourable a man as ever walked.' " ' I must sac I (Denison) do not see how the business can be more regularly or cautiously conducted than it is (at the board), for that is always under the control of the secretary, and it is on that account I cannot speak too highly of his services.' " (Some of this evidence was not published by the com mittee.) " I will not detain you with the circumetances n conected wi.h the action at law. I felt, and my friends felt, tlit I had no alternative left than ei•lier to sit down.silent, ruined by the stigma of having been dismissed c s justifiabl.! grounds, or to establish, before Vie sole t. auntie! open to me, that my dismissal was wholly unjustified, and my character for official competency unimpaired. 't The writ was issued on the 15th of April ; the cause wa , report.,:ece i e l a s Am t l a; tried before a special pity at Chelmsford on the 221 and -23.1 of July. Every effort bed been used by the defendants to prevent the trial coming en. They had put pleas on the record, which extended over upwards of 350 folios; and so tate as the Friday preceding the trial they harassed me by varying and adding to their pleas, putting in amongst Whets the absurd ellegation that I caused a loss to the company of 'upwards of £lOO,OOO. Ingenious demurrers on pilots of law were also resorted to by the company with the view of r et e oh e ga r el i lt t ei s ii , el preventing, if pt ssible, my submitting the case, on its challenged, to e d t ,I withtem jury. rse r a IN Denisonlor fn . ..Denison, crs nf t he Mr. GreatPacke, Northern NI r . Meek, nnd other railway companies , the pleas were , esta blished, their case being rested had been clearly pointed out in Mr. Grinling w 's did net dare to go into the box o p n resent at the trial, but though himself or call a single witness . ' case, conducted with consunimat t e rearg abilityt arguments t yi s s r e v . r h e m o se fallacy Ws, was fully and fairly laid before the jury ; as fully, at LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST .. 19, lB5B . least, as the want of opportunity to cross-examine Mr. Denison and his witnesses permitted. The Hon. Col. Octa vius Duncombe, M.P., Mr. Astell, and Mr. Paull did me the favour to attend as witnesses on my behalf. Col. Dun- combe was examined, and distinctly Corroborated my evi dence, 'confn ming my statement of the treatment I had been subjected to, and he was complimented by the judge in his summing up on the gentlemanly view 'he had taken and expressed, as recorded in notes of the proceedings of the board which I had been allowed to read in evidence. The evidence of Col. Duncombe rendered it unnecessary to trouble Mr. Astell or Mr. Paull. Mr. Pvm and others would also have attended ou my behalf but for illness. The judge especially directed attention to the questions whether it was in any way my duty as secretary to the Great Northern Railway to have checked or recorded the amounts for which I signed the warrants, or in any way to have acted as secre tary otherwise than I did. Baron Bramwell stated— " I was reminding you of the practice of the other com panies, and I was reminding you of what his own duties were. He says the duty of the secretary was not to check accounts. One's own notion of a secretary's office is, that it is not his businees. Then you are to bear in mind that this fraud could not have been committed without the care lessness or connivance of Redpath's clerk, and the careless ness or connivance of the accountant, Mr. Reynolds.' Then you have Mr. Denison's statement that Mr. Mowatt was not to blame in this matter, and be took his part ; you have Mr. Grinling's statement to the same effect; and, as I said before, you have no witness called on the part of the defen dais ts, to show you that either it was the natural duty of the secretary, if one may say so, or, that he was even specially or particularly enjoined to perform it. You have his oath that it was not his natural duty, and that nobody ever told him to perform it; and you have his oath that after Mr. Denison, a most competent person to form an opinion on the matter, knew sufficient of it to express an opinion of it, he did not express an opinion that Mr. Mowatt had been wron g.' "The jury, without hesitatyn and with entire unanimity, after a most close and unremitting attention to all the cir cumstances of the case, gave their verdict in my favour, expressing their clear opinion 'that there was a dismissal; that there was no cause for .the dismissal; that it was un reasonable, and without Justification.' The jury were directed upon this, that the only damages they could by law give were confined to the amount of the mere quarter's salary, which became due at the end of June. I was aware d th a a m t a t g h e is s w b o u u t ld te be p s r o es . er l ve character;brougbtmy action, not to recover and I only advert to the point here lest in any quarter it may erroneously be supposed that £2OO formed an adequate measure of the sense entertained by the jury, either of the conduct of Mr. Denison and his party among the directors, or of the injury which by reason of that conduct I was likely to sustain. " Ladies and gentlemen,—l have now laid the facts before von, and I have done so in the discharge of what I feel to be a public duty. I was, and always considered myself to be, emphatically the officer of the shareholders. My views of the functions of the secretary are that he is in an especial manner charged with the guardianship of your interests. It is you alone who are empowered by Act of Parliament to fix his salary. Mr. Denison himself has recorded his opinion, on oath before the Lords' Committee, that It is desirable the secretary should act as a check on the proceedings of the directors. It is for you to say whether you approve or dis prove of such treatment of an officer who for 14 years has in this capacity served you well and faithfully; who, within a few months of his dismissal, had been entrusted by the board with the uncontrolled possession of nearly a quarter of a million for the purpose of buying up the stock fraudu lently over-issued, which operation he had brought to a successful close and reported to the board the very day ' (January 19, 1858) on which Mr. Denison proposed his condemnatory resolution ; to whom Mr. Denison himself had proposed and carried a vote of thanks, and of whom, speaking with a full knowledge of all the facts, he declared not a year and a-half ago, " I never knew a better officer in my life," and regarding whom, at the moment of my most active exertions in the Redpath matter, he had actually inquired whether I was disposed to go on to the direction. If his testimony as to my value as an officer was true at the end of May, 1857, was it less true at the end of March, 1858; if true at both periods, why was I dismissed? Con trast the treatment I have received with the principle of action mowed by Mr. Denision when he declared at the general meeting of March 12, 1857 " ' I want you to forgive and forget every omission ex cepting the commission of forgeries by Redpath. Do not look back, but look forward. Do not accuse any man of being negligent, sinless you find he has been fraudulent, and then hang him if you can.'—(G. N. R. Report, p. 2g.) " This letter, though many facts of great importance are necessarily omitted, has extended to a length not contem plated. I have been compelled in the course of it to intro duce the names of several individuals; but I have done so only where it has been essential for the purpose of elucidating my real position as your late officer, disclaiming all other intention or object. " I know that you cannot undo what has been done, but, at all events, you can record your protest against it; that protest, which to me would be more valuable even than the verdict of the jury, is the only justice I ask at your hands, the only retribution you can make or I can receive for 14 years hard service, suddenly put an end to by an abrupt and groundless dismissal." Mr. Mowatt states that since the discovery of the forgeries it has been ascertained that before Redpath enteredlthe service of the Brighton Company, where he bad been satis factorily engaged for a short time, and from whence he received a character for capacity, be had "misapplied the funds of a firm by wham he had previously been employed. He had become a bankrupt under highly discreditable cir cumstances a few weeks after his marriage, paying 2s. Gd. in the pound, and he subsequently gained a living as a hawker of rabbits and poultry about the streets of Folkestone." MIDLAND. The half-yearly meeting was held yesterday at Derby— Mr. Beale, M.P., in the chair. The advertisement convening the meeting having been read, and the seal of the company attached to the register of shareholders, the report and statement of accounts werr taken as read. The CHAIRMAN then addressed the meeting, and ob served that they were now at the end of a somewhat eventful period of six months in the history of railways. They had had bad times to contend with, and bad trade; and, like many of their neighbours, could not show as satisfactory a statement as at previous meetings. But notwithstanding these drawbacks, the result of the working of the Midland system was that they bad a larger amount of receipts to show in the half-year just terminated than in the corresponding period of 18;7. The quarrels which had taken place between two companies was not without a damaging effect upon neighbouring lines, and so serious had it become that several companies had considered whether it was not incumbent upon them to take measures for thei own defense. The Midland Company, had, however, in common with some of their neighbours, considered that on the whole it was better to suffer a little than to allow the quarrel to extend further than was absolutely necessary. (Hear, hear.) They had, therefore, endeavoured to allay the troubles about them, and to bring about harmony as far as possible. Those efforts, he regretted to say, had been only partially successful; but they would continue them in the hope that in the end they would be crowned with success. (Hear, hear.) It was quite clear that since the Midland Company had a certain amount of competitidn to contend with, they were bawd to make it up by extra activity in every depart ment, and by giving greater facilities to the public, to in crease their traffic rather than to reduce their charges below a fair and reasonable remuneration for their capital. By these means they hoped to keep the property in a healthy and progressive state. They believed that the first great mischief, from the effects of which they were now suffering, was to be traced to the sanction by Par liament to unnecessary and competing lines. (Hear, hear.) The Midland Company had suffered from it, foe although they had 200 more miles of railway open non than 10 years ago, they did not receive by £l,OOO per week the - same amount of money which they received 10 years aga. (Hear, hear.) This was owing to bad legis lation, and a waste of the capital of the country. They were now, however, bound to do the utmost in their power to meet the present state of things, and the direc tors were of opinion that the best policy for them to adopt would be to develop their local traffic, to live in harmony with other companies, and to promote mutual welfare, in stead of fighting for impracticable objects. (Hear, hear.) And here he was bound to say that he did not consider their property in a satisfactory condition until it paid five per cent., as he wag of opinion that as railways were signal success as far as the public were concerned, the shareholders were entitled to participate to some extent in that success. (Hear, hear.) The accounts of the com pany were made out carefully and honestly, and the direc tors ead not attempt to make the undertaking appear in a better light than the facts would warrant. It had be:' usual at former meetings to mention in the report the works which it was intended to execute within the next, teal• year, and to take a vote for the amount. He was, however, happy to say that the directors had no vote to propose that day. (Hear, hear.) Then, with regard to the increase in the capital account the only additional works on the old line would require an outlay of £28,000, and a further sum of 5;45,000 would be required to finish the Leicester and Hitchin line, and to increase the rolling stock. Wide regard to the Leicester and Hitchin line the directors had redeemed the promise which they gave three years ago, for the million they had asked for had not been exceeded by two millions, as some great authority had said; but by £OO,OOO, and even that sum would not have been required if they had not discarded wooden bridges and erected permanent works of iron and stone. A slight excess had also occurred in the teener of the price given for land purchase d, hut this the directors could not control. Then, again , with regard to ealaraing stations, the directors had paid t he whole cost out of revenue, and had not appealed to capital at all. In former years the charges for law and Parliamentary ex penses were partly charged to capital and part to revenue. They were now wholly charged to revenue. The arbitra tion with reference to the carriage of mails had led to an increase in the legal charges; but be was happy to say that the increased allowance which the Government gave the Post-office under the award enabled them Hot only to pay the whole cf their law charges, but to carry a sum of expenses was the upward' of £2,000 t o revenue . (Hear, hear.) Another subject which had g i ven r i se to l eg al opprsition of the co m p any to the. union of the East Lanca shire and Lancaste r an d Y or k s hi re li n es, which heath been frustrated in consequence. The proprietors were no doubt aware that the Loadsn and North-Western Company had given them notice of their intention to terminate the Gladstone award, so that, for the future, the Midland Company would have to depend upon what it could get for itself, and the directors hoped that, under all the cir cumstances, they would be enabled to obtain as large a share of traffic as that which they received under the Glad stone award. (Hear, hear.) The board wished to keep out of the row with the other great companies. Whey believed the Midland could be a powerful friend to both, and they hoped, under all contingencies, to maintain amicable rela tions with those around them. With regard to the future, the board believed that they saw indicat'ons of returning prosperity to the trade of the country. They had reason to know that in Leads and the manufacturing districts, traffic was decidedly improving, and they had the first evidence of it in connection with their own line, in the fact that last week there had been an increase in the number of passengers carried equal to £2,000, which was a very encouraging circumstance. (Hear, hear.) The chairman concluded by stating that since the last meeting it had been his pleasing duty to present Mr. Ellis with the portrait which then hung in the room (a fine picture by Mr. Lucas), and also with the testimonial of plate which had been voted to him for his long and valuable services. It had afforded him great gratification to be the representative of the company upon so interesting an occasion. Mr. lIADLEY observed that the Midland, like other com panies, would have to look in future for success to economy of management, and that he could not see auy marked change in that respect. The price of materials, for instance, had fallen very much during the last six months, as com pared with the corresponding period of 1857, and yet the expenditure for materials and stores showed an increase on the half-year of £1,200. At the last meeting of the Brighton Company the chairman called attention to the fact that a saving of /8,000 had been effected in the working expenses of the last half-year, and at this calculation the Midland Company ought to hava saved £24,000. There were also several other items of increase, including wages, "clearing house," secretary's office, &c., which he considered were wholly unnecessary. He believed that there were too many trains run in certain districts, and that the mileage receipts did not pay for the cost of working. The company was, he understood, en gaged in litigation with the Great Western Company on the subject of rents, and this was a point which called for explanation. The capital account was also steadly increas ing, and £lOO,OOO had been lately added to it. The deduc- tion from the net profits of the company for the payment of interest on this sum was a heavy pull on the receipts. It also struck him that the debts due to the company, atnounting as they did to £217,000, were immode rately large. The company had sustained considerable injury by the competition with the Great Northern Com pany, and be would like to know what that deficit was estimated at. He understood the Lancashire and York shire bad lost £50,000 by the competition. The company took great credit for having made an arrangement to run trains from Hitchin to King's-cross, but it struck him that every train so run would entail a loss upon the company, as the mileage receipts were only equivalent to 33. 2d. per mile, which was not sufficient to pay toll to the Great Northern in addition to working expenses. He suggested, therefore, that the company should hook on their carriages to the Great Northern trains at Hitchin, and not run their own trains to King's-cross. Mr. BATEMAN wished to know whether there was any separate account kept of unpaid dividends? Mr. WILDE asked whether there was not a specific ac count of the rolling stock ? A PROPRIETOR called attention to the recent meeting of the representatives of railway companies in London, and expressed a hope that the directors would act upon their recommendations. A PROPRIETOR inquired whether the claims for law and Parliamentary expenses were paid before they were laves- riga' ed ? The CHAIRMAN said there was a law commiitee, and that no account was passed without rigid investiga tion. With regard to unpaid dividends, there was a separate account, amounting to £12,000 or £13,000 from the commencement of the company, and persons were constantly applying for them, and of course they were paid on application. It was quite true that £217,000 was due to the company, but every shilling of the amount could be realised in a few days, if necessary. It was impossible to carry on a large carrying trade without having a good deal of money outstanding. Mr. Hadley appeared to think that the working expenses were too large, and that toe many persons were employed; but he could assure him that the directors had visited every station on the line within the last month, and had personally inquired into the working expenses. When proprietors spoke of want of economy and saving in materials and stores, and contrasted the Midland with the Brighton Company, it was necessary to remember that 60 miles of additional line were now open, and -that there had been a con siderable saving in coke and materials as compared with the corresponding period of 1857. Mr. Hadley had altogether miscalculated the mileage earnings of the company, which were 4s. 10d. a mile, instead of 3s. 21d. per mile, and so far from running too many trains, the complaints were that they did not run sufficient. He was quite aware that judicious economy was necessary, but be assured the proprietors that they must look rather to the development of legitimate traffic than to retrench ments, the expediency of which were extremely doubtful. With regard to the prospects of the line, he believed they were never better, and that when the large mineral district of 70 miles by 10, of which they hr.d the command, was de veloped as it would infallibly be, the Midland line would be one of the best properties in the whole country. It was now paying about as good a dividend as any other line In the kingdom, and they might depend upon it there was no reason to believe that its fortunes would decline. (Hear, bear.) The hon. gentleman concluded by moving that the report and accounts be received and adopted. The motion was carried unanimously. A dividend at the rate of 31 per cent., payable the Ist of September, was also declared. The usual audit committee of 25 shareholders was then reappointed. Mr. BARROW, M.P., observed that, in his opinion, it would be far better if all railways could be conducted upon the principle of acting kindly and harmoniously together than upon that of the extreme competition which had been carried on between certain railway companies during the last six months. He regarded the system of aggression and annexation lately carried out as fraught with the reatest evils to railway property, and he believed that if such a policy were adopted it would lead to , imilar embarrassments and difficulties which had occurred in distant parts of the world. Holding hese opinions, he begged to move " That this meeting approves the resolutions passed at the meeting of directors held in London, on the 10th of August, and urges upon the directors of this company the necessity of raking every means in their power to secure the general assent of the railway interest to the principle there laid down." _ _ _ The Rev. Mr. MYERS seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously, amid loud applause. The meeting was then made special, when a resolution mas proposed to authorise the company to subscribe i 35,000 to the Worcester and Hereford line. The CHAIRMAN explained that the company by this arrangement would get a second market for their coke, and at the same time bring a hundred miles of the narrow gauge system on to the Midland line. The resolution was carried with one dissentient, and after a vote of thanks to the chairman, the proceedings terminated. SALISBURY AND YEOVIL. The haft-yearly meeting of this company was held at the offices, 2, Leadenhall-street, yesterday—Mr. John Chap man presiding. The report, which has been already published, was Liken as read. In reply to questions it was stated that the chairman and other directors haz4 inspected the wolks on Friday and Saturday last, and they were making very satisfactory-pro 4ress. The line from Salisbury to Gillingham might be opened by October next, unless a delay should occur in con quence of their neighbour, the South-Western, not having ,!olnpleted their junction at Salisbury. Some misunder -tanding had occurred between the Great Western and the +uxtb-Western, which had caused a little delay. It was necessary to c)mplete the market branch that a bridge should pass under the embankment of the South-We-tern inn, and the works had been stayed :0 allow the bridge to he put in. They were, however, info: meal by the engineers !hat the works would be completed in October, when the line to Gillingham might be opened. The report wz:e adopted, and a vote of thanks given to the chairman. ANDOVER AND REDFIRIDGE. The first meeting of the shareholders of the above com pany was held at the Town Hall, Southampton, on Tuesday —➢ir. Ralph Etwall presided. The CHAIrtmAN said that before moving the adoption of he report, he would allude to some of the circumstances e.,nnected with the line which occurred antecedent to the :iassingof the bill. The project was set on foot by some in tirential gentlemen in connection with the Andover Canal Company. It was thought by some a rash undertaking ft.r a small company to go to Parliament for an independent line of railway; but in 1847 leave had been obtained by the South-Western Railway Company for a similar line, and .he result of the late application to Parliament showed ►hey were not utong in their anticipations. The line had received the powerful support of Southampton, An dover, and the country through which it passed, being opposed only by the South-Western Company, who not having made the line themselves, were averse to °diet s opening to the Valley of the Test the advantages of railway communication. They, however, made determined efforts to obtain the sanction of the Legislature, and no body of men were ever more deceived than were the South- Western Company at the result of the application to Par liament. Knowing something of Parliamentary commit tees, and of railway matters, he must say he never knew anything carried more triumphantly. The preamble of the bill was passed wahout their counsel being called on to re ply, and this being done, the South-Western Company were determined, if possible, to dictate what gauge of line they should have, but the committee did not limit them to any gauge, and they were in as independent a position as when they first made application—the bill passed was in truth the one for which they had applied, and that it had thus passed in its integrity he congratulated the share holders. Since the Act had passed the South-Western Company's report had appeared, and their meeting 'toad been held, an , ' he could not help remarking on the antago nism that pervaded the report and the chairman's speech. In the former the company were kind enough to pity and commiserate them, describing the line as one that " could do little misc'eief except to those who might subscribe the capital." They needed not their pity nor commiseration, and having confidence in the success of the project, were able to take care of themselves. The chairman pursued another line, and, in a philippic against Parliamentary com mittees, said they were not guided by fixed principles or precedent. But their very act was a contradiction to such an assertion; for did not the committee of 1858 grant that which had been accorded by a committee in 1847 ? The South-Western Company had sought to clog them in every way, but had been unsuccessful in their efforts. But it was singular to observe that, while that company com miserated and pitied them, they at the same time considered them powerful neighbours enough to be well watched. how could they reconcile these views ? It must certainly be the outpourings of disappointment and vexation. A prospectus of a line from Andover to Devizes had been issued, and the chairman at some length referred to the time when the Andover and Redbridge Railway should be a trunk line in connection with the great network of railways which covered the kingdom, and to the advan tages which would necessarily accrue to Southampton. That such would ultimately be the result required no great stretch of imagination to foresee ; and to maintain the line in its independence, he called upon the landowners on the Test and the influential inhabitants of Southampton to come forward and lend this line their interest and support. He concluded by moving the adoption of the report. Mr. A. PEGLER seconded the proposition, and did so with pleasure, as it represented the line as an independent one—a fact that would recommend it to the consideration of all connected with the town and port of Southampton. He had carefully read the report of the South-Western Company, and had noticed the inconsistencies alluded to by their chairman. While commiserating their condi tion, and representing it as a line that could do little harm, except to those who found the capital, the report went on to say that, if once sanctioned, it might afford a pretence for a more direct aggression on the South-Western Com pany's interests. He did not like the word aggression, but thought a fair competition would be of great advantage to the town. The report he had alluded to further said that it would be the imperative duty of the company, by readily ac cording every accommodation which the public could rea- Fonably demand, and by watching their new neighbours, to anticipate and prevent the success of any such attempted aggression. It was something new to Southampton to hear the South-Western Company talk of according every accom modation. That was one of the results of the passing of the bill. He spoke strongly in favour of maintaining the line as an independent one, without which it would be valueless to Southampton, and observed that immediately he saw a dis position to compromise or amalgamate with the South- Western Company, he should cease to take an interest in the line. After some further remarks, he observed that, being the first to sign the deed of settlement, he had peculiar pleasure in seconding the adoption of the report. The resolution was then put and carried. The directors were then elected, and The CHAIRMAN said he perfectly agreed with the opin ions expressed that there was every prospect of the line being a remunerative one, and he was fortified in this con clusion by the opinions of persons well acquainted with railway matters. Nothing would so much tend to maintain the independence of the line as by having it in the hands of those who possessed an interest in the locality; and for this purpose he trusted the energies of the influential residents of Southampton and the landowners of the district would be enlisted in its support, that the project might be brought to a successful issue. On the motion of Mr. PEGLER, the thanks of the share holders were voted to the chairman and provisional direc tors for their efforts in carrying the bill through Parliament. LYMINGTON. On Thursday the half-yearly meeting of this company was held at Lymington. The chair having been taken by Mr. A. Mew, the Secretary (Mr. E. H. Moore) read the follow ing report : " The directors beg to present the half-yearly report and statement of accounts. At the general annual meeting, held on the 22d day of January last, your directors had to express their disappointment, contrary to their expecta tions, at being unable to report the opening of the line. II appily, in this respect, their present position is far different, for it is now their pleasing duty, not only to have to con gratulate the shareholders ou the line having been opened during the past month both for passengers and goods t-affic, but that it is now in work under very gratifying circumstances. In looking to the statement of accounts the shareholders will perceive that there is a balance due to the bankers on the half-year of £384 7s. 4d., which has arisen in consequence of a portion of the calls not having been paid up. Some of these, how ever, have since been realised, and your directors hope very shortly to obtain the payment of the remainder. It will be in the remembrance of the shareholders that the capital of the company was originally £21,000, with power to raise £7,000 on the debentures of the company, and, in the event of purchasing the Lymington-bridge, to raise £5,000 in new shares. This event having happened, your directors will have to propose to the shareholders at their half-yearly general meeting, to be held on the 12th instant, that the sum of £5,000 shall be raised by the creation of new shares, to be apportioned according to the order of the meeting, and to be considered as part of the general capital of the com pany, and your directors would beg to impress upon the shareholders the desirableness of these shares being taken up rateably amongst themselves, which would add about one-fourth to the shares already held by them respec tively. Your directors venture to recommend this course as the means of obtaining, at au early period, the amount required, and as affording the shareholders every prospect of a fair return for it. With this additional sum, and by the sale of the land not required for the purposes of the railroad, your directors confidently hope to be able not only to com plete the bridge now in progress, but also the undertaking generally. In conclusion, the directors cannot but con gratulate the shareholders on the present aspect of the affairs of the company, affording, as it does, the fairest prospect of the consummation of all that was desired and expected from the undertaking." The CHAInarAN then rose, and after expressing his regret at the disappointment, felt equally by the directors and the public, at the delay which had taken place in the opening of the railway, went on to say that, like the checkered scenes of life, brighter prospects were now opening before them. The railroad had at length been opened, and, as far as he could learn, it had opened under more cheerful auspices and had met with more success than had been antici pated even by its most sanguine friends. Adverting to the sums paid for improving the approaches to the railway —namely, £l,OOO for Miss Beckwith's field, which would afford most eligible sites for building on, and £5,000 for the Bridge property, the worthy chairman said he entertained no doubt that they would ultimately amply repay the cost. The tolls at present received at the bridge amounted to no less than £230 a-year ; and when, by the new bridge to be erected, heavy vehicles and goods could avail them selves of that mode of passage, there could be no doubt that the annual receipts would amount to £3OO per annum. Again, if the new bridge, with flood-gates, were to cost £l,OOO, 70 acres of fine meadow land would be thus re covered to cultivation, and afford an ample recompense for the money to be expended. After a few further remarks on the expenses yet to be incurred in the erection of a fitting station, accommodation fur goods traffic, lec., the chair man concluded by moving that the report be received and adopted. Mr. G. F. ST. BARBE, after congratulating the meeting on the very favourable circumstances attendant on the epeniug of their new railway, seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. _ The CHAIRMAN then called the attention of the meeting to a graver eubject—tie necessity of procuring money to carry fir ward the works necessary to complete the railway wer'es spoken of in the report. The whole money expended, including the ,E 5,000 still required to be raised, would amount to £32,000, the interest on which, at 5 per cent., midst not exceed £1,600 a-yeari; and, judging from pre sent appearances, the traffic on the first week of opening having been &aided its four weeks, he entertained no doubt that the undertaking would eventually pay 4 if not 5 per vent., with the prospect cf an increase upon that amount. The new railway WRi very popular in the Isle of Wight, and would become more .q) as it proved itself more and more a cause of prosperity to our neighbours on the other side of lie Solent ; and even in Lymington its influence was not unfelt, sieee our lodgings were much fuller than they had been. lie begged, in conclusion, to propose that the meet ing would consent to the creation of ,E5OO new shares of each. 11r. G. F. ST. BARDE Ftateti that they had been favoured wilts a visit from the chairman, directors, and the whop, stair of the South-Western Co:npany, who bad expressed an opinion • that the extent of traf fi c had bee n occas i oned by an ebullition of feeling consequent upon the opening of the railway; but he had cJl.vinced them, upon the testimony of Mr. Hodder, that excursionists had nothing to do with it, but that the traffic was legitimate. Judging from the present receipts, the passenger traffic alone amounted to £B4O a-year ; adding to this one-half, as the amount of the goods traffic, the whole would be £1,260 a-year. Then the bridge would bring in £3OO annually, and thus altogether the property would, he thought, pay 5 por cent. on capital. The CHAIRMAN having stated the money to be indisprn sable to make the thing c" , mplete, the proposition for the creation of 500 new £lO shares WAS agreed to unanimously. A good deal of discussion then took place as to the nrde of disposing of the new shares, when, on the motion of the Rev. A. J. BRINE, seconded by Mr. FREEMAN, it was resolved that if the whole of them were not taken by the shareholders, they should be disposed of by the directors, subject to the approval of a general meeting. A great number of shares were at once disposed of in the room. Thanks having been voted to the chairman, directors, and other officers for their exertions, the meeting separated, THE MOORS. WEST OF SCOTLAND.—The grouse on the moors in this neighbourhood continue wild, and quick and sure shooting and constant exertion are necessary to make a good bag. Although the birds have not sat well in consequence of no settled weather, pretty good spsrt has been obtained, espe cially on Friday and Saturday. On the Greenock moor Mr. D. F. Dempster and Mr. Turner bagged on the 12th 16 h"ece, and on the 13th 30 brace and 1 hare. On Monday Mr. Dempster bagged 231 brace in five hours. Mr. J. Reid, of Port-Glasgow, bagged on the 12th on the Dowries and Garvock moors 20 brace ; on the 13th 41 brace and 4 hares; and on the 14th, after twelve o'clock, 241 brace. On Newark moor Mr. M. Brown bagged on the 12th 121 brace; on the 13th 15 brace, and on the 14th 201 brace. On Skehnorlie three gags bagged 41 brace on the 12th. The unfavourable state of the ground, caused by the heavy rain of Wednesday night, prevented any sportsmen going out next day on the Cowal moors, rear Dunoon and Holy Loch, On Saturday the lona had on board a small number of boxes from Argyle shire. The disease has appeared among the grouse this sea son, and is very prevalent in some localities. In this neigh bourhood it has made little progress.—Greenock Advertiser. CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND.—FuII reports of the doings on the 12th have not yet come to hand, but from all we hear, sportsmen seem to have no reason to complain either cf the quantity or the quality of the game. Several excellent bags were made up in the course of the opening day. On the moors at Cairn Syke (about nine miles from Gilsland) Mr. Marshall, jun., we are informed, brought down 33 brace. On an adjacent preserve we heard of a still larger number being barged, and instances of 20 and 25 brace being brought down are mentioned among the achieve ments on other of our East Cumberland moors. The day was very fine early in the morning, but towards the after part of the day some pretty heavy thunder-showers fell, which no doubt interfered to some extent with the sport. Grouse are reported to be healthy, and young birr's very strong on the wing. Perhaps they have scarcely yet recovered tne deci mating effects of the disease which has been so prevalent for the last few years, and the numbers are even conside-ed inferior to last year ; but there is every appearance of a change for the better having taken place, and sportsmen rejoice at the fact that at all events the game is in a healthy condition. The accounts received from the moors in the East Ward of Westmoreland are on the whole very good. The birds are said to be plentiful, strong, and plump —just in that condition, in fact, the sportsman likes to find them in. On Dufton Fall, Sir Richard Tufton's manor, Admiral Eliott, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Tod, and Captain Mus grave, without much exertion, bagged nearly 100 brace on the first two days. Mr. John Pearson, of Coupland Beek, shot 12 brace in Harbour Flat Grounds; and other gentle men had in general satisfactory bags.—Carlisle Journal. INVERNESS-SHIRE.—The accounts received from the moors before the 12th August threw open to the grouse ,hooter his healthful and exciting sport were as con tradictory as any which ever heralded an "event" upon the turf, and the reports which have been received here of doings on the 12th do not fully solve the question whether the present is to be a good season or not. The reports re ceived are few in number—not a very favourable sign—and, a worse sign still, the game-salesmen in town have received very few birds, not nearly the number usually consigned to them by this date. Oa the other hand, most of those gentle men who have been pleased to tell their luck have made good bags. The general statements made by men who have Wen " out" also vary; some despairing and complaining, somewhat unreasonably, of being taken in, while others have had the good fortune to meet with abundance of birds. On all hands it is agreed that the grouse are strong and healthy, and the grouse disease does not seem to have affected their numbers. In all probability it will turn out that the sport this season will be somewhat, but not very materially, better than it was last year. On the 12th, J. B. Baillie, Esq., shot 10 brace at Gask ; F. Palmer, Esq., shot 14 brace at Lochletter ; at Moybeg, W. Norris, Esq., and N. Norris, E=q., together, shot 46 brace ' • -- Campbell, Esq., at Dunern, shot 321 brace ; F. L. Bodenbam, Esq., at Nuide, shot 37 brace ; General Cracklow, at Culduthel, shot 13 brace, with 4 snipes ; at Errogie, W. 11. Martin, Esq., and -- Mills, Esq., shot 151 brace; Sir Francis Sykes, at Strathmashie, shot 15 brace ; Colonel Fraser, at Coutray, killed 8 brace ; E. Barnard, Esq., M.P., and L. Whitbread, Esq., M.P. shot 25 brace at Largs. On the 13th Colonel Fraser shot 8 brace at Cantray ; and on the same day W. Norris, Esq., and N. Norris, Esq., at Moybeg, killed 521 brace.—lnverness Advertiser. COUNTRY MARKETS. LEEDS CORN—Auc. 17. Old wheat was a slow sale, at late rates; new, 4ls to 48s for reds. The follawing is a later report :—The weather was wet, but trade was not much altered. A slow sale for old wheat, without change in value. Less new wal offering than last week, and it sold at late quotations. Beans and oats were held for full prices. Other articles were unaltered. Arrivals of wheat, 2,275. HULL CORN-AuG. 17. A small supply of both old and new wheat : old sold readily st last week's prices ; new Is to 2s per qr. lower. Other descriptions of corn were unaltered in value, with a fair business. NEWCASTLE CORN-AuG. 17. Old wheat sold better at full prices. New wheat was is per qr. lower. No change in other descriptions of grain. Flour sold freely and was rather dearer than on Saturday. EDINBTJRGII MEAL-ATG.I7. There were in the market to-day eleven sacks new oatmeal, each weighing 2Solb. imperial, which sold thus :-5 at 42s and 6 at 415. Average of the whole, £2 is 5d 5-I2ths, EDINBURGH HAY AND STRAW—And. 17. Supplies of all kinds these last six days small. Oat straw, Ils to 14s I Wheat do., les to 13s I barley do., Ils to 12s• Hay, old, is to is Id; new, 8d to Ild. DALKEITII MEAL—Ave. 16. There were in the market to-day live bags of oatmeal, and Weil were dull. Oatmeal, highest price, per sack of 380Ib DUBLIN CORN—Auo. 17. Our market to-day was poorly supplied with both old and new grain, which met a slow sale, at about the currencies of Friday last. Holders of prime old wheat were, however, less anxious to sell. Nothing doing in Indian corn, and our quetatiOns are scarcely more than nominal. Wheat, white 26s 6d to 28s 6d Ditto, red 9 ls Od to 26s Od Barley 13s Od to 17s Od Oats lss Od to 16s Od Ditto new 14s Od to 15e 6d Bere 13s 6d to 14s 6d Rapeseed 30s Od to 32s 6d Oatmeal 14s Gd to 16s Gd Bakers' flour lis 6d to 19s Od Indian corn 31s Od to 33s Od BRISTOL SUGAR-Au°. 18. There Is very little demand, and prices for nearly all descriptions of sugars have a downward tendency. Little doing in rum, and prices unaltered. BIRTHS. ABR. LnAms.—On the IGth inst., at Twickenham, the wife of Mr. L Abrahams, of a daughter. A I.EXANDER.—On the 15th inst., at Boulogne•sur-Mer, Lady Louisa Alexander, of a son. BENNETT.—On the 14th inst., at Ramsgate, the wife of T. IL Ben nett, Esq., of Stoke Newington-green, of a son and daughter. Biuus.—On the 17th inst., at 15, Montpelier Villas, Brighton, the wife of Arthur Bigge, Esq., of a son, which only survived its birth one hour. BoosEY.—On the 18th inst., at Hadley-green, Mrs. Charles Boosey, of a daughter. Bnouo lIAM.—On the 17th inst., at Dingle Bank, Liverpool, Mrs. J. R. Brougham, of a son. CASTLE.—On the 17th inst., at St. John's-hill, Battersea-rise, the wife of H. W. Castle, Esq., of a son. HARTOPP.-011 the 17th inst., at Dean House, Oxfordshire, the wife of J. W. C. Hartopp, Esq., of a son. 1103IFRAY.—On the 17th inst., at Acton Beauchamp Rectory, Wor cestershie, the wife of the Rev. W. Homfray, of a son. HOTISLEY.—On the 17th inst., at Willesley-green, Sisinghurst, near Staplehulst, Mrs. J. C. Horsley, of a daughter. JA.cous.—On the 13th inst., at 41, Norland-square, Notting-hill, the wife of William Jacobs, Esq., of a son. NEWINGTON.—On the 11th inst., at Dated, Surrey, the wife of the Rev. Philip Newington, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. Ar;sxmcnEn—KNOTT.— On the 17th inst., at St. Peter's, Islington, by the Rev. Joseph Hose'grave, M.A., Incumbent, Edwin Powley. youngeA son of the late William Alexander, M.D., of Preston, Lancashire, to Marianne, only daughter of George Alexander Knott, of Upper Barnsbury-street, Barnsbury-park. BLACK—TAYLOR.—OR the 10th inst., at St. Giles' Church, Camber well, by the Rev. P. P. Hutchison, 8.A., Incumbent of Christ Church, Camberwell, Mr. W. P. Black, 11. C. Marine, to Margaret, second daughter of the late Mr. A. Taylor, of Great Dover-street, Borough. BLACKET—MiLis.—On the 17th inst., at St. Giles', Camberwell, by the Rev. R. N. Blake, vicar of Itleld, Sussex, and cousin of the bride, the Rev. IL It. Blacket, of Brampton, to Adelaide, youngest daughter of Richard Mills, Esq., of the Grove, Camberwell. DE FARECK—CORINILLON • On the 13th inst., at St. Benet's Church London, by the Bev. J. 11. Coward, A.M., Frederick William Alex ander De Fabeck, 11.E.1.C. Military Medical Service, to Margaret Ne,ves Cornillon, only daughter of the late Hypolite Cornillon, Esq., Edinburgh. Eworr—GirAtEaT.—On Tuesday, the 17th inst., in the Cathedral at Chichester, by the Bishop of the diocese, Major the Hon. Gil. bert Elliott, youngest son of the Earl of Minto, to Katherine Ann, sixth daughter of the Bishop of Chichester and Mrs. Gilbert. FIIIEBRA.CE—BLACK.—On the 4th May, at St. Kildare, Melbourne, Vic , oris, by the Rev. J. S. Gregory, Robert Tarver Firebrace, Esq., of Vectis River, Wiinmerri, to Isabella, youngest daughter of Thos. Black, Esq., M.D., of Ciutra, St. Kildare. GRANT—BlatiaNsoN.—On the 17th inst., at St. Mary's Church, Os \vestry, by the tier. L!eweryn Jones, John Grant, Esq., of Merri datc-road, Wolverhampton, to Jana Eliza, elder daughter of Cap tain Burlinson, of Belle Vies, Oswestry, Salop. GUERTUER—JOYNSON.—On the 11th inst., at the Temple, St. Mary Cray, Kent, by tin, Rev. Joshua Clarkson llanison, of London, Mr. Ilenry John Guerrier, of Chaleot Villas and Crutchedfriars, to Emma, third daughter of William Joynson, Esq., of the Rookery, St. Mary Cray. DEATHS. BAIMR.— On the IGth John .13$21•ber, Esq,, late of 17, King street, Cheapsidc. Enaximunsr.—On the - 17111 inst., at 7, Buckingham -place, Brighton, Emily Frances, wife of Thomas Mitchell Broadhurst, Esq., aged thirty-five. 111:r.carrELD.—On the IGth inst., at Burchfield Villa, Poplar, Samuel BurchtlAd, Esq., aged seventy-eight. Citirm.--On the 25th Juno, at Ca'cutta, suddenly, Harry Child, Esq., on the Geological Staff of 11.E.1.C., second son of E. E. Child, of Wanstcad, Essex, aged twenty. DAVIS.—On the 14th inst., at Hastings, William Davis, Esq., aged sixty. ENGELIfICII.—On the 1 l - th inst., of Olarrhcea, Florence Margaret. daughter of Alfred 11. lingelbach, Esq., of Manor Cottagd, Lark hall-lane, aged nine mouths. Fox.--on the I ith inst., at 3, Prospect-place, Bath, Thomas Fox„ aged sixty-six. Goonwtx.—On the 9th inst., at Wigwell Grange, Caroline, wile. of P. G. Goodwin, aged sixty-six. Gr,t —On the 4th May, at sea, on his passage home from Cal cutta, after much suffering from fever and dysentery, contracted while serving as second officer of a Naval Brigade in Upper Assam, Alexander Greet, third surviving son of T. Ingleton, Esq., late of 1131. o...tinance, tig.!d twenty. HA.ruirroN.—On the 15th inst., at Ita,msgate, Susanna, wife of IL Houghton, Eeq. Int.r..—On the llth inst., Annie, N;; re of Mr. T. J. Hill, architect, of Old-street. LLOYD.—On the 11th int-t., at Purbeck-terrace, Southses, Jane t aaugliter oi' the late J. D. Lloyd, Esq., 11.E.1.C.5. MILNE.—On the 12th Inst., at e, Little Ryder-street, St. JarWsv., Margaret Isabella, tho d'tughter of Georga Milne, Esq., late of Paris, aged three and a half. Rosr.—On the 20th June, st Cwalior, while heading a detachment of Lis re'giment in a successful attack on the fort, Lieut. Welling ton Rose, 25th Bomb.iy N. 1., sixth son ; and on the 9th of the same month, at Kalra, of sunstroke, Lieut. Arthur Rose, youngest son of the late Col. Hugh Roo, of K Iravock Castle, Nairnshire, N B. Bounifrox.—On the 15th inst., William Thomas, second son of the late Mr. L. Rol%liton, aged twenty-five. Rum LEY.—On the 16th inst., at Broxliourne, Mr. John Burnley, aged tiff -eight. SCALLON —On the 17 inst.,at Sydney-terrace, Blackheath, Rebecca, widow of 11 mei% Scallop, Esq., Commander R.N., of Prittleweil, Essex. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlesex, Thursday, August 19,1858. lk.