The Sun. — London, England, 1848-08-23 00:00:00

before the Committee of that House should lay facts before ' the House upon which they might arrive at a conclusion on this subject, and he certainly thought that when the proper time should come for taking such decision, evidence of a valuable nature would be found to have been given. Ile had been glad, he must say, to hear some of the opinions which had been delivered by the Right Ilon. Gentleman. He was not quite-prepared, at.the.sa.rag time, to accede to the accuracy of the Right Hon. Gentleman's account of all the evidence which he had brought under their notice that even ing, and particularly of that which had been given before the Committee by the Governor of the Bank of Ireland, for that gentleman had said he conceived that the Act of 1844 had given greater stability to the Bank and greater confidence to the public.—(Hear, hear.) He should rather, then, have said that his evidence was favourable, and not unfavourable, to the Act of 1844. The Right Hon. Gentleman also stated that which certainly was not stated at the earlier periods of these discussions, viz., that the commercial distress of 1847 was in no degree traceable to the Act of 1844. But that was not the language that was held in the autumn of 1847, when the commercial distress was attributed to that Act. With respect to the report of the Committee of the House Of Lords, it was certainly not in favour of the views which he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) entertained of the Act of 1844. It said, however, and particularly in the evidence from Glasgow, that speculation —railway speculation—was very rite in Scotland, where failure overtook the commercial houses there, and that those which did fail in that part of the country were in re or less engaged in that speculation. Mr. Gurney, too, stated most distinctly that, in his opinion, the Act of'lBl4 had nothing to do with causing the com mercial distress in question—and that certainly it bad nothing to do with scarcely any of those great failures Which took place before the month of S e p tember. It was some satisfaction to him, he must say. to find this confirma tion of the views he had himself expressed on former occa sions, and that, further than this, there had been evidence given which bore out the observations he remembered he bad himself made, as to the injurious tendency of the want of precautionary measures on the part of the Bank of England at an earlier period of the year, than that at which they were ultimately adopted . With respect to the time at which the Government's letter to the Bank of England was issued, it could not be doubted that the result of the week in which it was issued showed that they were right in sending forth that letter. Mr. Gurney, too, spoke favourably of the principle of the Bank Charter Act, and anything he had said against it was only in conse quence of the pressure that took place under it. As re garded the operation of the Act of 1844 in a drain of gold, all the witnesses before the Committee of the House of Lords were agreed, and said that it was precisely that which, even if that Act were not law, ought to take place. As to the_ cas e o f i ts c h ec ki ng an issue arising from a speculat i v e demand, if an issue of paper tended to produce spec ulation, then a restriction of the issue must be beneficial. The A ct of 1844 was admitted to be useful in limiting the issues of Country banks ; and if an issue of pap er b y countr y bankers ' w ould have the mischievous effect of aggravating prevalent soils, similar issues, not based on gold, by the Bank of n .gland, would have produced the same effect. The given before the Lords' Committee showed the nature of the crisis which took place in October last did not arise from the want of circulation of bank notes, for there were in the hands of the public 4,000,0001. more than wants of the country required . The evidence of Mr. Grey.„sli was a lm o st conclusive on that point. Mr. Horsle y ralmer stated in his evidence that from the best opinion lie could firm there were nearly 3,000,0001. in notes issued merely for the maintenance of credit. and not for the pur rises of circulation. He thought the Hon. Member for Mon 'rose had correctly represented that period, not as a Currency crisis, but as a commercial crisis.—(Hear, hear.) The question was not what was the amount of paper which Ought to be substituted for gold, but the question was, what Measures were necessary for supporting public credit, and Preventing the recurrence of an extreme state ot panic and al arm. Mr. Tooke was of opinion that nothing could be more Mischievous than the issue of paper for the mere purpose of supporting credit, and that the Bank never could do any thing more injurious than to issue merely for the support of e °mmercial credit. The fact was that no fixed or certain rule could be laid down for dealing with such crises or emer gencies, which were exceptions to all rules and all laws, ~,a n d must be dealt with acc ordin g l y .—(Hear, bear.) zl e could not see bow any fixed principle could be laid down for dealing w,th such contingencies —extraordinary cases de- Manded extraordinary remedies. Let them consider what Would have been necessary to support credit in 1847. But, in the first place, let them reflect on the sort of credit which th ey would have been then called upon to support. He would just read to the House a portion of the evidence of Mr. James -Andrews Anderson. Mr. Anderson was asked— , " What were the other causes to which y ou attribute the %Vacuity ?—The great cause was the investment of a large a znount of capital in railways, and the speculation concomi . taut with that investment. 1 mean the purchase and sale — the gambling, in fact, in shares of railways. " Was that speculation very rife in your part of Scotland? --It was, among all classes. Were those houses which have suspended payment during • 1847 and 1848 generally engaged in railway speculations?— Tes, almost in every case, more or less. " Their accounts have, I suppose. a good deal come under Your notice ?—Yes ; when I say railway speculations, I should perhaps say speculations in shares generally; be cause there were speculations in other shares as well as railway shares; but the railways were the great source of speculation. " Did you find that parties drawing bills took unusual tams of obtaining money for the purpose of carrying on railway speculation ?—Yes ; a considerable part of the loss sustained by the bank with which I am connected arose from that cause, from parties ostensibly drawing bills for their business transactions, which turned out upon their failure to have been drawn against railway speculations ; they were represented to be business bills, but in reality they were drawn in order to support speculations in railway shares. " Will you explain how that was done ?—A cotton manu facturer connected himself with a cotton twist dealer, and the one drew bills upon the other, which we supposed were out for the purchase of twist for his manufactory ; and it turned to be nothing of the kind, but merely connected with specu lations in shares." • Now this was.the description of credit which was prevalent in 1846 and 1847—a fictitious credit. A drew upon 13 and B drew upon A. for no rea l transaction of any sort, kind, or description.—(Hear, hear.) A system of credit was thus built up of the most mischievous description, The moment the slightest check interposed in the facilities for obtain tug money, the whole fabric tumbled to the ground — the bubble burst, and this was one specimen of a system of credit not based upon gold. Neither the Right Hon. Gen tleman the Member for Stamford nor the Hon. Gentleman the Member for North Warwickshire had stated what amount of paper issue they would have based upon credit. If they had done so he would know how to deal with them ; but when they were told that the Act of 1844 had obstructed a fair support to the commercial credit of the country, lie liked to call the attention of the House to the sort of credit which was prevalent at the period adverted to, and which was manifested by the evidence of Mr. Anderson. He objected to this proposal as vague and indefinite—he objected to it because it pointed to the relaxa• tion of the Bill of 1844, as the only possible remedy for any commercial distress or discredit which might exist in this country. If commercial distress and discredit took place coincident with adverse foreign exchanges, he thought the remedy of both Honourable Gentlemen (Mr. Herries and Mr. Newdegate) inapplicable, according to their own admis sions, for a contraction of paper issue would be the necessary consequence of adverse foreign exchanges. Again, adverting to the opinions of Mr. Tooke, he might state that Mr. Tooke was of opinion that a paper currency ought to be a mere sub stitute and representative of geld—not the representative of any national debt or tax. If the paper currency was to have any reference to bullion, and that it surely ought to have, he would like to know under what circumstances it would take place if gold was unattainable? If paper was to be the substitute of gold, why should paper be obtainable when gold was not to be had? An Hox. Mr.ainEn But there were fourteen millions locked up in the Bank. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was pre pared to defend the propriety of obliging the Bank of Eng land to limit its issue within a certain amount. But the question after all came to this. Both Honourable Gentlemen admitted that the paper issue ought to bear some relation to the amount of gold in the coffers of the Bank. Then what relation were they prepared to substitute for the present one?—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman opposite had al luded to the case of Hamburgh, in which he said paper was issued as a substitute for gold. In Hamburgh it was true they had a paper circulation, but all the paper - that was out was represented by silver in the coffers of the •bank. The bank gave a receipt for the silver, which was equivalent to holding so much money. Now suppose a • state of commercial discredit to occur in Hamburgh, and that it was proposed that the bank should issue a receipt for silver which it had not received, would not that be consi dered a very rotten system? But it was nearly the same thing to issue Bank of England paper in this country - which issue would not be based upon gold. With respect to the recommendation of the Committee of the House of Lords, to which the Right Honourable Gentleman had ad• verted, it was true it recommended the removal of the re strictive clauses of the Act of 1844, and the restoring to the Bank the powers of issue, and which would not tie it down to the amount of gold actually in its coffers. Mr. Gurney bad upon this point truly stated that the removal of such a restriction would be a perfect abrogation of the Act of 1844, and if that question was to be discussed, it was better that the repeal of the Act of 1844 should be proposed to the House. But before that was dose, they oug ht to bear in mind what had occurred in 1840 and 1841. A Committee sat upon that subject in those years, and all parties were then agreed that the amount of issue ought not to b e left to the unfettered discretion of the Bank of England. (Hear, hear.) Having had the honour of being the chairman of the Committee then appointed, he must now say that it would be most monstrous and inconsistent to do that now which all rational men who had considered the subject then objected to. The Honourable Mem ber for the West Riding (Mr. Cobden) had then stated the sound and just opinion upon the subject—that beyond the maximum amount issued upon securities, the remaining issue ought alone to take place upon gold. He could see no advantage in giving Government the power of relaxation, and .Mr. Fullerton was of the same opinion. It was con trary to what had been recommended by the Committee of 1841 to leave the full discretion in the Bank of England—it was totally adverse to the Act of 1844, which, however, left the recommendation of the Committee of 1841 untouched in its provisions—namely, that in extraordinary cases, as in 1825 and 1847, there should be some department possessed .of power to act according to the circumstances of the emer gency. Such, too, was the opinion entertained by Mr. Hus kisson. If ;those crises should again unfortunately occur they must be dealt with according to their peculiar cir cumstances; and he believed in the words of the Committee of the House of Commons, that it was far better it should be left to the discretion of the Government to interfere when it might think fit than to attempt by law to legislate for a state of circumstances which neither were known nor anticipated. Mr. Gurney, when asked what were the circumstances which would justify the Government in inter fering, replied that it was impossible to state them before hand, and in that he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) quite agreed. Mr. Gurney was clearly of opinion that this power exists where it might and must be of a discretionary character. The remedy which under one state of circum stances might be useful and availing, might, under another position of affairs, be useless and unavailing. He had been led away further than he ought to have been with this dis cussion, but as those topics had been broached, and as the Right Hon. Gentleman urged the Government to give some opinion upon them, he bad thus far trespassed on the at tention of the House. He had only to say, in conclusion, that whenever this subject was brought forward with the view of inquiring and coming to a practical conclusion, he 'would be ready and willing to exptain his views; but he thought the present discussion would not lead to any prac tical conclusion, and therefore, as he remained unchanged in his former views, he must move the previous question. The amendment was then put. Three or four Hon. Members rose simultaneously to ad dress the House. The Speaker, having given precedence to Mr. Spooner, l e f t t h e H ouse for a few minutes, but Mr. Spooner having been so absorbed with the arrangement of his voluminous documents, advanced to the table, and amidst a roar of laughter address_ d the vacant chair thus :—" Mr. Speaker, I rise for the purpose." The laughter of the House called the attention of the Hon. Gentleman to the ans.— the Right Hon. Gentleman, and he s at down. theenSpeaker resumed his seat, Mr. SPOONER said he was of opinion, notwithstanding what the Chancellor of the Exchequer had stated, that t round he Right lion. Member for Sta mford bad laid a strong g for the adoption of his motion. The Chancellor of tha Exchequer said that the Government would interfere to suspend the operation of the Act of 1844 when a state of things similar to that which existed in 1847 should again arise; but why should the country be ex posed to an amount of suffering such Was ps i the then Right endured before a remedy cou ld be applied?Ho nourable Gentleman aware that the depreciation of pro perty between 1846 and 1847 extended as far as 250,000,00 0 /. ? The Hon. Gentleman then read several extracts from the evidence of Mr. J. Loyd, to show that that gentleman thought that in some circumstances a relaxation of the Bill which lie himself had framed should take place. He objected to any system which the Government could deal with as they thought fit. This f.rreat commercial country ought to regulate its own monetary system, so that it should regulate itself, and not produce such fluctuations as had taken place under the law of 1844. But he would refer to the history of the ques tion further back than the period at Which the Right Hon. and he would G en tleman comteenced. Tole was an anxious auditor of thsay e d e bates on this subject in 1810 and 18 1 1 ; that in all the great principles laid down by Mr. Horner he concurred. The Hon. Gentleman then reviewed the history of this subject, and deprecated the resumption of cash pay ments on the ancient standard. Previously to 1816 they had a double standard of silver and gold, P revi o us ly the debter might pay in the cheaper metal ; but, by the alterations in the law, a more stringent system was adopted, the effect of which had been shown in the subsequent commercial distress of the country. After some observations on the effect of the Act of 1819, in necessarily causing fluctuation, the Hon. Member said, that his Hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth might ask him, as he had befo re, " What is a pound ?"—(' Hear, and a laugh,) He ( Mr. Spooner) knew that a pound was a piece of gold of a certain value arid fineness, stamped in a certain way ; but the question was, what ought to be a pound ? —(Hear, hear.) Io 1819 the inquiry ought to have been, what was a pound in relation to the debt of the country, i i- n relation to mortgages , an d to the position of debtor and cred tear; and it would not do now, after the countryma had been ruined, to turn round an d, in a cold phlegmatic nner, ask " What is a pound?" It was in vain to attempt any al leviation of the distress so long as they re lied upon any fluc tuating basis, any demand for foreign corn upon anything that should call upon the Bank of England to find gold for its notes that were in eirculation. Jt. was then com menced their onward course toward bringing the theyl of 1819 into operation ; and seeing the exciaatages against them, they put out their paper merely to go the LB4lO round again of prosperity and adversity. If they were regutateel by the exchanges, what were they to do next year? OW Any man anticipate anything less than an immense impost of corn? How was it to be paid for? Borne said by our ma nufactures ; but bad not the bullion gone out before, and would it not go out again? To be brought back, it was said ; but at what a sacrifice. He pointed out the effect that the drain of gold would have upon the iabotarers in England, and in preventing this country rendering ,a,seist ance to Ireland. Unless the currency was extended, is , heavy responsibility would rest upon the Government. He was asked, would he hav e an unlimited issue of paper, and unllmited speculation ? His idea of convertibility was Ift hat a note was convertible into what a man wanted. i were a legal tender, if it would pay all taxes and all debts, and purchase what any man required, that was conver tibility, not into gold , but into all the practical neces sities and purposes of life. He implored the Noble Lord not to be led away by the vaain philosophy of tr am the me day s, , but, like Mr. Pitt in 1797, to rise above the l and adapt his proceedings to the circum s tance@ of the times. Let the gold go abroad to bring in food, hut, at the same time, let there be a circulating medium representing all the property of the country, and then our labourers would find that we were not only able to feed them, but to dispense a large and liberal measure of re lief to Ireland, and turn that discontented population into a peaceful and loyal people, and meanwhile a stock of manu factures would be accumulating, which would enable us to get back our gold again. He trusted that Parliament would not separate while Members had nothing to tell their mea con- stituents but that when famine pressed, proposals for sures of relief were met with the previous question—that the Ministers were hesitating and doubting—that they had no opinions—and that at the approach of the storm they dared not pledge themselves to any course of conduct that might avert •it. If that went forth among the people despondency would be the consequence, and there was 140 knowir g what might be the result. There was a remedy; let them apply it. Let them call forth the energy of the people and set the credit of the nation free.—( Hear, hear.) Sir R. PEEL—Sir, I was quite prepared to hear my Hon. Friend claim credit for entire consistency on the subject of the currency, and I, for one, am prepared to concede his claims. But I confess that I was not prepared to bear from him that he was a disciple of Mr. Horner. My Hon. Friend says that he disagreed with Mr. Horner in the practical con clusion he came to that cash payments should be resumed in the year 18:9, but that in the reasons and arguments which he used he entirely concurred. Why, Sir, if there be any communication between those who are living and those who are departed, Mr. Horner must now be shuddering in his grave at being represented by the Hon. Gentleman — (Laughter)—by an Hon. Gentleman who proposes d that but the circulating medium shall be re hter ) presented so that if yo, not by gu have now 01, by the a ebtof the country —(Lau g an annual expenditure of 50,000,0001. —and if you increase that expenditure to 60,000,000/., although you may thinyou k your resources do not justify tat i, yet are to issue paper money, not convertible into gold, on no other foundation than your own necessities ; and thus you are to have a constant interest in incurring debt, from which of the ready means of re lief is to be, an issue, in proportion, paper, which is to be always received into the Exchequer in liquidation of debts due to the State.—(Hear, hear.) So that you are to have a direct interest in indefinitely increasing the debt, and yourcurrency is to be in proportion to your debt.— ( Hear, hear.) But when my Hon. Friend goes further and proposes to convert the whole property of the country into circulating medium, and yet says he is the representative of Mr. Horner, I own that he does excite my surprise. Mr. SPOONER explained that his proposition was limited to the amount of Governirent expenditure, for which the whole property of the country was liable. Sir R. PEEL—My Hon. Friend by no means mitigates my alarm by his explanation—(A laugh)—for I think I remem ber to have heard him say something about property afford ing a fair and just foundation for the currency, and I own that does not diminish or alter my opinion as to the effect which the establishment of his system would have upon the currency in its relation with foreign countries.—( Hear.) But when my Hon. Friend speaks of representing the opinions of Mr. Horner, I think he has forgotten what really passed in 1810. The seventh resolution, moved by Mr. Horner, pro vided that no contract undertaken for the payment of money in pounds sterling can be legally discharged,' except in gold was eln heresu m s a i n n y p r o e u f n e r d e s nee sterling. t o coin of a certain specified weight; and that the promissory t notes of the Bank of England were a stipulation to pay cer• ar t y does t i n m o i t it =tr a t u h g a h t t : l l l ;L e or the navy estimates, or the miscellaneous esti ma tes, or the amounts that might be voted for the ordinary expenditure of the country.— (A laugh.) On the contrary, all is referred to the pound sterling.—(Hear.) And the resolutions of Mr. Homer went on to state that, when Parliament suspended cash payments there was no intention to alter the value of those promissory notes of the Bank of England—that they borrowed money from the public creditor, telling him that on the return of peace he should be paid in gold. Indeed, nothing otherwise was ever intended, and all those who lent money at that time were entitled to be paid in gold on the faith of that promise. Now, does the lion. Gen tleman, who says he agrees in the argument of Mr. The re- Homer —does he agree to that ?—(Cheers and laughter. ) solutions of Mr. Horner went on to say that the state of the foreign exchanges must he taken into account in regulating the currency. Yet my Hon. Friend blamed the report of the Committee of the House of Lords because it referred to the state of the exchanges in connexion with the question of the currency. Now, why did not my Hon. Friend in 1810, w arn the country of the dangers upon which he has spoken to-night ?—( Cheers.) He says that he concurred in the principles of Mr. Horner's resolution—then why was he silent on the clangers which he says were to be apprehended from them ? Mr. S POONER,--I was not in the House in 1810. Sir R. PEEL —My Hon. Friend says he was not in the House in 1810, but then he argues that it was possible in 1819 to have estimated the depression of the funds. I fully admit that that would have been pos,ible—(Hea)—and we should then have paid some ss. or 7s. in the pound less. I am not saying that it would have been just, but that it was possible for Parliament to have done this. Parliament might have said, we have made a promise, it is true, but we cannot fulfil it. That, however, would have been veryho adheres, . (Hear, hear.) But I will tell my Hon. Friend, w he says, to the principles of Mr. Horner, that :although a man who owes a pound and pays only 15s. will gain something, yet all that will not alter the currency as regarded all future transactions. Alter the paper as you will, practically the same state of things will arise—whether the note be worth 12s. or a pound, there will be the same obligation to keep your promise ; and the effect will be the same as to the pres sure upon commerce at particular times and the difficulty of obtaining money.—(Hear, hear.) Sir, my Hon. Friend says he is in a small minority in this House in his views on this question. But I very much doubt whether, of those out of doors who are anxious for an alteration in the Act of 1844, the great majority are not with my Honourable Friend. I think that those persons care very little about those minor questions involved in the opposition to that Act, and that their main hope is of an unlimited paper opinions with currency. I think they look upon those who wish for a restricted o currency as public enemies, and those who are funlimited paper as public benefactors. There was one witness examined, Mr. Salt, a chosen champion of the • of Birmingham, and gentleman who expressed ° ll opi nions ing that man the Chane a boldness and a confidence in their accuracy Honourable Friend of ascribed ided our attention—a boldness even exceed to him by the Right Honourable Gentle ( laugh)—butthe - Exchequer. It is true that my he seems almost ashamed of his witness a m mong the rest I aske47llf examined at some length, and " Will you state whetla n e ' r — l correctly understood you as saying that that nationparliepea per should be issued ad libitum till the period when prices were remunerative, and every industrious found f u ll e mployment?— Certainly, had been achi eved you would fix your When able-bodied object man that prices were s t a ndard at that point ? — Yes. n o n f d pap er paper?—Yes; ?—Yes ; " Till you had achieved that object,till remu nerative, and all able-bodied industrious men had employ. .the present that we went, we should hav e an unlimited issue the sy s t o e n m l w r e e a s h o a n v e t h s a o t f l a r s a d y e - p t a h r a t e t d from what is, that, is t basis; we have had such extraordinary fluctuations,ht in the therefore, l can not now tell where we are. It is necessar y , take observations ; but the great principle is, that the labourer to s h ou ld have his wages , the manufacturer his profit, and that i the creditor should have his due; that the labourer should have his value for his labour, as well as the wealthy man, the creditor the value for his m one y . " Do I correctly state your views, when I state that you would propose that national paper should bme e ta i sued without limit, or without any re ference to any li ad of value, until that period should have arrived when the prices generally should give to every able-bodied industrious man full employment?—You correctly understand me." I then afterwards asked the witness : " Is there not an association in Birmingham on the subject of the currency?—Yes. "Are the views which you have expressed the views of that association ? —Yes. " Are you a member of it ?—Yes. "Though some individuals may differ from the views which you have expressed, are they not the general views of the association ? —They are. "Did you ever hear any one dissent from them think not; at any rate, those who have dissented have ceased to dissent. " But did you ever find anybody successfully contend against those views?—No; I never heard anybody attempt it." —(Laughter.) I wonder much if my Hon. Friend thinks that Mr. Salt is a disciple of Mr. Horner.—(Laughter.) My Hon. Friend says that he is in a smen minority in this Ilouse; but among all the great writers and talkers about the currency, depend upon it ithat he is sympathised with in rspect to the motion now befbre its, . _ ( Mr. Herries) invites the House to enter into a pledge with respect to what its proceedings will be next Parliament; but, although the promoters of disaffection and of disloyalty to the present system throughout the country derive little sa ti-faction from his former motion, they will not feel better satisfied with the present. He does not ask the House to alter the law ; he merely asks it to take the subject into its serious consideration next session, and serious, no doubt, it will be ; hut what advantage can be derived from adopting such a pledge. Now, I address myself to those who disap prove of my views upon the subject of the currency. 1 think the credit of the House does not stand high as regards the adoption of great practical reforms. We have shown rather a taste fordiscussion—(Laughter)—than for practical legislation. We are now arrived at the 22d of August, not having made much progress with practical measures, not, in fact, having fulfilled our indispensable engagements, and yet we are asked to draw a bill at six months on the next session. And under what circumstances was the House asked to give the pledge? 1 was one of those that my Right Honourable Friend referred to as having retired from active service. 1 attended, however, last Tuesday, in order to be present at the discussion. My Right Honourable Friend said that there was an intense anxiety throughout the country on the subject of that motion. Why last Tues day I found thin v-five Members present at the time my Right Hon. Friend should have brought on his motion. To night I returned, and there were only forty-two Members present, when an Hon. Member moved that the House be counted. Is it likely that any recommendation of a House that shows so little of that intense anxiety which my Right lion. Friend referred to, will have much weight with the cou ntry? My Right H on. Friend, indeed, indulges in figu wounded rative language, an d says, that the House, " snake, drags its slow length along " At all events, let us not give ourselves the air of the boa constrictor, and end the pa. rallel by enacting the needless Alexandrine. The Right Hon. Baronet proceeded to say that he was unwilling to in cur the charge of whiffling discussion. When the proper time came he should maintain to the utmost of his power the policy of preserving the restrictive clauses of the Act of 1844. He believed that these clauses prevented the country from having in April last superadded to commercial distress the danger of political convulsion. Without these clauses he believed the Bank would have persevered from April to June, as they had done from January to April, in extending their securities at the time the gold was leaving their coffers. At the proper moment he would take up the Lords' report and put aside the Commons' report, with the which he agreed. He wou ld be p repared to impeach Lords' re port, and do all he could to show that the most impolitic v t a h r r e a ng Bank em e: f t, E t 1 11 1 g a i t a could h p h o s a s i d b i l s y o r b e e t i o made nar t p o od w u l er boef relaxing the restrictive clause of the Bank Charter under the con ditions proposed. Ile would endeavour to show that it would be infinitely safer for the countr to reserve the edxiaecfreizeetiodnaerypepnowtehreitrn r t e h s e p o h n a s n i b d i s l i t o y f the to Government, priainent. t o T be e e Right Honourable Gentleman then proceeded to specify the conditions under which paper money could be circulated in the three kingdoms without any deposit being required of gold. 33,000,0001. in notes c old be issuedthe etary ege.gencies of the country more was required, and the ar troansgeecinnura h n t t e w ir as c til on a v t ernotitbeislimtyigihtt w st as ill r b e e qu is i s r u e e d d, th b a u t t a i n n order to am ount in gold should h e de p osited. A paper currency of 48,t 00,000 was available on a deposit of 15,000,000 of gold. It had been said that the 15,94000 was a dead weight, and that it was lying idle. It was no Atleh thing ; it formed the guarantee for the convertibility ot the o,ooo as w,OOO ellof paper money. The necessity of precaution w shown by the facts which came out in connexion with risk the grea t failure of 18,47. These facts showed the great which existed of c r e dit being *hosed, and he thought it cou ld be easily shown that it vees noting to the restrictive eiauges in the Bank Charter, which antiled the directors to mitigate theft stress by acting with the libore*y which they had done. was impossible to overrate the ii 41 of preserving thecenesertibilitydthebank note. The experieoao of all countries had shown that the nearer they approached the English practice, the its Vas the vAriation in the rate of interest, and of discount, and the ieeti OA amount of annual discredit, He thought the greeteit P.4ailwitty that could befal the Wintry would be to entertain the 4(404 Oar, in times of pressure, the tit te way to mitigate the calamity was to issue more paper money, Depend upon it that such a course would prove a mere *poet9onement of the evil. Then with respect to the Lords' report, excOoned the Right Hon. Gentleman, I rejoice that it has been eslfreeted to, because it gives me the opportunity. of warning the people Against being misled by the doctrine which it promulgates. Jdo not deny the ability with which it was drawn up. Ido not know who wrote it; but whoever is tromihe writer, it is everyevi dent that be is anxio us to briog pnently forward defect ha the Act of 1844. It is not friendly to that Act. I do not tatty it is unfairly hostile or advessei but there are grea t omissions made. It is said that the Acts of ).!;44 and 1845 contained many provisions that were judiciousiy ealese, lated to secure the coursertibility of the bank-note. Objec tions are indicated, but they era pot specified. An alteration indeed is euggested in the ratio th at ought to exist between the issue and the deposit of silver ; but I thinks that very little would be gained by an alteration. The chief recoin mendation is the one which goes to confer a discretionary power on the Bank to relax, under certain contingencies, the restrictive clauses. I assert that to grant such a powe e r will be in the face of all experiene,e, Yo only passed ter Bill of 1844 passed as the Right Hon. Gentleman truly re marked, with such. general concurrence, because you were line pressed with this conviction, that the directors had possessed a discretionary power, and had not wisely exercised It in time of pressure ; and in 1825, 1837, and 1839 the Bank, hav ing a complete discretionary power, the result of three years' inquiry was that the discretionary power so possessed could not be safely left where it was, and you imposed the restraint embodied in towe r resent law. The report proposes that the discretionary should be conferred under the condition that it shall only be exercised when the exchanges are fa• vourable to this country. If the discretionary power be right and proper to be given, the restriction as to the exchanges is a very unwise one. By agreeing to the recommendation you make it next to impassible for the Government to act again as it did in October last, because the answer to Parliament would be, that the Bank directors were the parties entrusted with the exercise of the discretion. In fact, the adoption of such a change would practically be to augment the restric tion which already exists. The exercise of the power which the Government put forth in October is no impedi ment whatever of the Act of 1844. `That Aoethc that governed satc i iut s nosogmtffiejnuecsiettrti feyso dido f by principles, and so long as they exist the rule is obeyed; but when a state of things arises which defies principles, ordinary . rules cannot apply. Mr. Huskisson stated that it was impossible to frame laws to meet every case; and when I introduced the Bill of 1844 I made the same admission. The same thing happens in the operations of nature. You take precautions against all ordinary dan gers, but dangers will arise which could not have been foreseen, and against which prudence could take no precau tion. An officer on a railway, in charge of Smith O'Brien, found a train which he desired to proceed to Dublin. The man in charge of it told him he could not comply, as he produced u ehe n oie d usd e so r ear o wdp r eo d i reu e st r ied s l , tilanoilmednaagadeewspnomtrpsyayttnrhno,coircamfvLe threatened etsa i s.t m utooehintf e se r etmt i doo c ihffime k eteaepc ; teaeotee u crshs p ei o fea n ti nnhddi which indemnity nia mfi thy t e h ws e daai otdsiSs satisfied o c th e b s ee s ) a n' ry. But although I say this, Ido mean to pass under edn l aedwre casemssimilar n itolhaf er authorising maeciartec;: Circumstan cese i a b r sy l impossible ct be w 0 rdeemedlworld. It is explosions impossible opfParliament :it ; 1 laomterhneet p a sI explosionsln can be entirely prevented, and when they do , the nlon e e t v a i r l y . the strong hand must be taken to rectify and mitigate and d anics m commercialay pre vent them ; and as they are not governed by principle, it is much better not to foresee them or to attempt to provide for them,spo nre sponsible b l b e u t parties,to lea leave h the o : e d matter t in s t t o h the hand a convince thatotheir interference was necessary. The report is di England. r highly eotors n n mwhplloim thinkwe n e t r a e r complimentary ehxe t ya o mdi t en h se e edr directorsdeserve efiotr. e the of thi t n h k e Bankaa the wide d iscretion, oya n oyo.lnumber ub merb we r o andof pleased. d that h c 3 te ht e b onu e tgfhorw entrusted ethe might Committee o m w mi have with vt both Houses gave evidence which showed that the e e e a c t a o l l ' they had entitled themselves to the utmost credit. It was mightcfoo four, r, p tors they pleased, but they only called five. We called but The Lords have declared that they place the greatest possible confidence in the discretion and prudence of those gentle me n ; but when I look at their evidence—when I refer to the testimony given by Mr. Morris, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Cotton. and M r.Norman, I find them all declaring and advising that the Bank Act of 1844 should not be relaxed. It •is true that Mr. Horsley Palmer dissented, and that he expressed him self in favour of a relaxing power ; but when asked whether that power should be entrusted to those for whom restrictions were intended, he said, that to give the power to the Bank of England would be a violation of the law, as it would be absurd to restrict with one hand and to relax with the other. The Bank says that it is a commercial community, and that, as it is subject to pressure, it is necessary for it to have the autho rity of the law to enable it to resist that pressure. I hope you will continue the restrictions they ask you for— that you will not confound the issue of paper money with the capital of the country, and that B you will not believe that it is in the power of theßank of England to diminish or raise the rate of interest to the extent tatad some people suppos e. I hope you will bear in mind that is carried on with capital, and not with paper money, except so far as paper is the representative of gold, and that the carry ing on trade with credit means only that you trade, not with other persons' credit, but on their capital.—(Hear. ' ) I trust you will recollect that the greatest advantages which a coun try can have is a fixity in the value of its money, and a se th cu at - rity for its convert ibilit y ; and that, unless you have fixity, you will not have a security for that convertibility. Remember, also, that if you have not those advantages, there is not any class in this great community which will not suffer. ' All concerned in commerce and manufactures must suffer, but those chiefly will suffer who depend for daily subsistence upon the wages of labour.—(Hear, hear.)Depend upon it, if the currency is to be reduced on in in val the value ue, there will not be at first any corresponding reducti of the articles to be purchased, but the two shillings and three shillings a day of the labourer will become gradually upon it, of less value than heretofore.--(Hear, hear.)Depend there is not one class in the whole community who has a more fixed and permanent interest in the arrangements which give to paper money as much as possible the character cf a metallic currency than the labouring portion of the population.—(Hear, hear.) I hope that when you approach the consideration of this important subject, you will bear in mind those great principles, and that you will hot think p r essure in time of panic is necessarily an evil. That p res sure, early and salutary—that pressure compelled by law may be complained o f b y some, but it is the only remedy against increased disasters , and the only guarantee for securing the convertibility of yo ur paper currency.— (Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") Mr. MUNTZ was strongly of opinion that the Right Hon. Gentleman who had just sat down would, before long, rescind his declarations of that night, and confess, as in the case of the corn-laws, that his former principles were not sound and ought not Ri ht Hon. to be adhered to.—(Laughter . ) The g Gentleman had alluded to the opinions of Mr. Homer ; but surely the country was not new to be bound by the very imprope r transactions contemplated when the of that day. It was never first Bank Act was framed that restrictions were to last for ever ; but since that period the circumstances of the country had and the working and industrious undergone l a great change, taxation and a doubled national tLtasea, who had increased to the money interests. Mr. Home t r t (7l pay, were sacrificed ap peared to have taken a very wise viewefor his death said, "In no case attempt to set questionsof things, for he right without taking into account and ful of currency the new circumstances which have ariyse appreciating n,. and the vast and new obligations contracted payments were abolished in 1817, will 819ce cash inflict great misery on the people." He did not quarrel the Right with Hon. Baronet as to the measure of 1844 , for he approved of it at the tim e as a necessar y p art of the of And here he mi g ht be excused for reminding the HouseB. that he had propose d the princi p le of that Bill four b e f or e the Right Hon. baronet proposed it. ( yearsear hear.) In the year 1840 he was examined before a Select Committee of the House, and on being asked what descrip tion of measure he would propose, he replied that there a no difficulty in the matter, ae the easy remedy would my nignt of 1844 do btii that tipon the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether such a measure would cause pressure in the London and country markets, and he replied in the affirmative, as he believed the effect of it would be t o p lace the country in a position of restriction. With regard to the Bill of 1819, he remained of the same opinion, that it would inflict great injustice until prices were reduced to the continental level. The principle of the Bill of 1819 was not half carried out. The price of land was scarcely touched, but the time was coming when he would have continued prices and continen tal importations, and when the landed interests would be placed in the same position as they were in fifty years ago. Let them stick to the Bills of 1819 and 1844, if they wished--let them be carried out to the letter of the law— but depend upon it they would blow themselves up, as everything of unsound principle did.—(llear, hear.) If it a just and proper alteration were made in the currency would confer great benefit upon the industry of the country, as it would give an advantage in the foreign markets with respect to nominal prices. The fact was, that taxes would be taken off industry and placed on property. Conveiti bility was the great point by which a paper circulation was regulated, and convertibility was nothing more than the be lief that we could do a thing which we could not do. It was said that the Bill of 1844 had not aggravated the distress of the last few years, but if it had not aggravated the distress, how did it happen that its Provisions were relaxed ? It must have surely had some connexion with the distress, for as soon as it was relaxed relief was afforded, and the distress was comparatively banished.—( Hear, hear.) His opinion was that the Bill of 1844 greatly exaggerated the distress, because it made the Bank withhold accommodation, and it induced persons who had money to retain it in the hope of getting a higher price for it. The fact was the money had got into the wrong hands, and it would have remained there, to the great detriment of public trade and commerce, if the Act had not been relaxed and the money rele ased.—( It was distressing to have a law which required touching every now and then to make it act properly, and it was dis graceful to the country and the Government. The country, however, entertained the opinion that the Government had acted very indiscreetly in interfering with a law of which Idly evidently knew so very little. That interference had caused him considerable regret, as he was sure it would en tail much misery on the country.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. HUME confessed that the explanation of the Right Hon. Baronet was exceedingly unintelligible. The motion of the Right Hon. Gentleman the Member for Stamford did not require any allusion to the Act of 1819. The statement of his Right Hon. Friend was quite clear, and the question the House had to consider was, whether the Committee had arrived at a correct conclusion. Twenty witnesses had given evidence against the Acts of 1819 and 1844, and ten of the number were for modifying those Acts. He maintained that the Select Committee of the House of Com mons had arrived at a verdict altogether irreconcilable with the evidence.—(Hear. hear.) The report of the Lords' Committee, on the contrary, he believed to be a fair and honest one, and his only objection to it was, that its recommenda tions were not sufficiently intelligible. The principle of the Right Honourable Gentleman's Bill of 1844 bad not worked well, neither could it be expected to do so, when the whole commercial affairs of this kingdom were to be left to the discretion of a single man. Why, the Chancellor of the Exchequer might be a fool—("Hear, hear," and laugh ter)---and the First Lord of the Treasury might be a fool—(" Hear, hear," and laughter)—and was it to be endured that the property of millions of persons was to be jeopardised by the ignorance or prejudice of one or two men.—(Hear, hear.) He was of opinion that great credit was due to the Right Honourable Gentleman the Member for Stamford, who had brought forward this measure, and he hoped the fact would go forth to the country. He considered this a question of the greatest importance. Let them look at its effects in Scotland. Never was there such a piece of unnecessary legislation as this with regard to their country. There had been no loss during the last fifty or sixty years ; the people were content ; there was not one pe tition for change, No man could read the evidence taken with respect to Scotland without seeing the evils produced by this law..—(Hear.) A great deal of the evil arose from the erroneous opinion held by th e Ri g ht Hon. Baronet ( Sir Robert Peel) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the lat. ter of whom had been talking to-night of unlimited circula tion, limited currency, and all sorts of exploded ideas), OAP country bankers could issue as much as they liked, and deluge the country with paper. That notion was utterly untrue, He denied that there had been any material pressure in the agricultural districts, or in g given by them to the Scotland and Ireland i but it Was Cluite obvious that the Bill any ou l d as no si t st s a a n y ce th b a e t in ßill laid cad the distress, o rl fi , t l r 8 0 4 1) 4 0 I p i r s . e v e H n t e e d w but it infinitely augmented it, the people being afraid to part with their money lest they should not get more. He agreed with the motion of the Rigbt Hon, Gentleman (Mr, Her. ries) that it was right that the attention of the House should be called to it as early as possible next session, He did not what might take place in the course of six months, but the Bill o f 1444 must be reconsidered, and he believed that the however, wish to bind the House, as nobody could know Right Hon. Baronet would eventually be of that opinion. Mr. HERRIES was willing to withdraw his motion, after what had been stated in this debate, and particularly by the Right Hon. Baronet ( Si r R. Peel), from which it was dear the House could not allow this subject to remain long with out making an attempt to come to the merits of the subect. That be thoug ht wa s the opinion of a majority of the H j use, and he was aware that the 22d of August was not the time to propose to go into the whole merits of the question. The Right Hon. Baronet had said that in the next session he should be prepared to maintain the Act of 1844 in all its in tegrity; and he (Mr. Herries) also would pledge himself to attempt to obtain an alteration in an Act which has brought all the evils from which we have been suffering on the coun try, and fulfilled the worst expectations of unfortunate re sults which its opponents entertained.—(Hear, hear.) The relaxation of the Government was a condemnation of the Bill itself, as a means of relieving the pressure of panic. But what created the panic ?—that was the question. Why, the apprehension' created by the Bill.—(Hear, hear.) The evidence was full of it. Mr. Gurn e y h ad stated that in his opinion if the Bill of 1844 had not paaaed—if there had been no division of the departments of the Bank, the alarm of 1847 would not have occurred, and the pressure would have passed over without difficulty. The Bill, then, not only aggravated the distress when it came, but it caused the panic. —(Cheers.) He condemned the report as an insiduous ore, the concluding paragraph suggesting the idea that it was founded on the evidence. But he could show that it was not so founded—that it was contrary to the evidence—and that was his motive for bringing forward the question. The Go vernment had met it by moving the previous question—they did not venture to deny that the subject must be recon sidered early next session. That being the case his views in proposing the motion were fully answered; and if no one more competent took up the subjt ct, lie intended at an early period next session to draw the attention of the House to a matter of such vital importance.—(Cheers.) The motion was then negatived without a division. CHARITABLE LEGACIES. The Legacies to Charitable Institutions Bill, which stood for a second reading, was postponed until next session by Mr. Raphael, who had introduced the measure. CONTAGION AMONG SHEEP. The Sheep, &c., Contagious Disorders Prevention Bill was read a third time and passed. IRISH COURT OF CHANCERY. Sir W. SOMERVILLE moved the second reading of the Taxing Masters Court of Chancery (Ireland) Bill. There were at the present time 1,764 bills of costs to be taxed in arrears, and the object of the Bill was, to increase the effi ciency of that department. There was at present one Master with a salary of 1,0001., and one assistant with a salary of 400/. a year. It was proposed in the Bill to have three Masters, one at 1,0001., and two others at 800/., involving an increased expenditure of 1,2001. a year, which would be money well spent in increasing the efficiency of that Court. Mr. GOUL BURN opposed the Bill and called ateention to the disposition there was in Ireland to increase legal offices. If " arrears" were to constitute a sufficient reason for increased of f ices , rea sons wou ld be as plentiful a s black berries. He denied, however, that there ought to be any ar rears. There were formerly two Taxing Masters,: and it was found that they never worked more than three hours a day, and one of the Masters, Mr. Clancy, had said more than that would kill any body with hard work. Upon that one officer had been abolished, and the work was not really too much. Mr. NAPIER supported the Bill. If there was no change in the present system it would be practically a denial of ? U that cccaslwi 7.0 justi. An HoN. GINTLEMAN here moved that the House be counted, and Only thirty Members being present the House adjourned at Five Minutes to Two o'Clock. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. SOUTH-EASTERN. [The following reports have been omitted for want of room.] The balf-yearly meeting of this companY hursda Bridge House Hotel , London-bridge , on T , y M. Pritchard, the deputy chairman, pr esiding. was held Mr. T. at the The CHAIRMAN said that, owing to th e absence of Mr. M•Gregor, occasioned by severe illness , p rinci p ally brought on by his exertions in the serviee of the company, the share• holders would join with him in wishing that gentleman a speeedy recovery, that he might again fill the chair which he (Mr. Pritchard) then occupied.—(Cheers) The honourable gentleman then called upon Mr. HIRBERT (the Secretary) . to read the notice con vening the meeting, and the following report: — The accounts of the South Eastern Railway, for the half year ending the 31st of July, 1848, show that the receipts of the company have amounted, during that period, to 219,3651. ss. 6d. ; and that the working expenses have been 67,102/. I Is. sd. ; the rent of the Greenwich Railway, and of proprietors the Whitstable Railway, 21,5724 10s.; the rates and Govern - ment duty, 17,9701. 6s. ; making the expenditure on revenue account, 106,6451. 7s. sd. The balance carried to account of profit and loss is 112,719/. 18s. Id.; and that account shows an amount at the disposal of the proprietors of 108,8361. 14s. 10d. On reference to the statement of receipts and expendi ture—, has been will oonbscearpviettalthaacctotuhnet sum m rin o g f t 7 h l e 3, h l4 a 6 lfiye l a 3 r s ,. the ,d received on account of calls; and during the same period the sum of 457,1411. ss. Id. has been expended on construe omne ac lyasure, construc tion account, and 176,7501 • for mortga g e bond s and loan Nseont notes paid off. It will be in the rec ollection of the p ro p ri etors , t t h oo atthe sen sible directors, in their last r e p ort, stated their u nwillingness to ei oirtn of being the company's Kent line. eo urge uTnht oefffoortrwh the directorsahred theseverity ,ei ayon w i no of rt r ekh calls;es ioeowfp! this i great n n g ing th os e pfet ne will,d, b state affairs, considering that to pay interest on so large a sum of unproductive capital as the No. 3 and No. 4 shares represent is prejudicial to the interests of the company,have resolved on finishing the works with as much rapidity as is consistent with economy and durability. The directors have to announce to the proprietors that they have ample means for completing the whole of the works of the South-Eastern Railway C ompany. The agreement made with the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company, alluded to in the last report, has been sealed by both companies, and the tolls usually Intro duced into the accounts are now excluded. In consequence of the near completion of the Nortb Kent Railway, the directors have considered it necessary to -pre pare for a large accession of traffic, and have in consequence given notice to the London, Brightoa, and South Coast - I f the division of the Lond • Railway or on-bridge station. The necessary alterations required on the part of this company w ill cost a sum not exceeding 40 ,000/. The directors feel confident that no objection will be offered to the carrying out of this arrangement on the part of the directors of the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway; but, on the contrary. expect from them the same co-operation as they have shown in the recent negotiation ; and your directors will on all occasions meet them in the same spirit to carry out any measures of economy they e.. may contemplate. Th e directors have received an intimation from the en gineer-in-chief of the Great Northern R . l fF ai way o ranee, that the 26th inst. would probably be fixed for the opening of that line, and, in consequence of this intimation, your directors lost no time in completing an arrangement with the South-Eastern and Continental Steam Packet Company, to place steam-ships on the station between Dover and Calais. From the opening of the Great Northern Railway of France great advantages are exected ; as from an understanding your directors came to at raris with the directors of that lin% Rd' ti Alt i br . of be be et lea bit o f t o ulo 'esP7o l 8 ; of , ie ge enlP - . ° be taid \ Londou:' The two years, 18 46 and I 847;. present a remarkable di minution upon nearly all kinds of commercial traffic of the year preceding. This diminution was probably caused by the commercial crisis which existed in England, and which sensibly affected all other countries. In conclusion, your directors have the pleasure of per ceiving that, notwithstanding the disastrous effects which the French revolution has brought about, the traffic of the South-Eastern Railway has maintained a comparison of mileage with the same period of last year that must be sa tisfactory to the proprietors. The engineer's report states of the NORTH KENT LINIS.—The construction of this portion of the company's lines has not progressed so much as it other wise would have have done, arising from the unavoidable delay in obtaining the land for the deviations already men tioned. The whole of the land between Plumstead and Graves end is with little exception, in the hands of the contractors. and also the principal portion between London and Charlton. In the district of fifteen miles between Woolwich and Gravesend the works are far advanced, the tunnel and the principal cuttings being so near completion that this portion of the line may be opened for traffic by Christmas with ordinary exertion, at a further expenditure not ex cescing 50,00 01 . in works. In the upper portion, between London and Charlton, the two principal works are the Greenwich viaduct, or widening, and the Blackheath tunnel of 1,700 yards; the former of which is fast approaching to completion, seven-eighths of the brickwork being finished, and the latter having this arching turned on above one half of its entire length, and is pro ceeding very satisfactorily. The other intermediate works, which are comparativelS• light, are at the same time progressing rapidly, and the whole will be finished in six months, with fair exertion on the part of the contractor. The line may then be opened, with the exception of two miles t'crough Woolwich, the traffic on which may be temporarily carried on by omnibuses, with so little loss of time that the greater portion of this traffic will be secured. BRICKLAYERS ARMS JUXCTION LlNE.—This branch forms a connecting link between the North Kentiand Greenwich line and the Bricklayers' Arms station, not merely for the purpose of the goods traffic, but will yield also a conside*le revenue from passengers. It commences at the erozsing uf the Surrey Canal under the Greenwich Railway, and descends by a gradient of one in 1114 to pass under the Croy don Railway, and again ascends by a gradient of one in 140, forming a junction with the existing Bricklayer's Arms branch at Corbett's-lane. The principal work on this branch is the brick viaduct from the Surrey Canal to the Croydon Itailwa, which is complete; there only remains to he executed the bridge under the Croydon Railway, which is in hand, and the small embankment on the west side, the earthwork of which is obtained from the excavations of the North Kent line. ASHFORD AND HASTINGS LlNE.—This line, which corn pletes the south coast railway communication, commenceA at Ashford on the main line, and terminates by a junction with the Tunbridge Wells and Hastings at Whatlington the last seven miles of which latter railway is common to the direct and coast communication. By this advantageous arrangement, the expensive portion of the original Ashford and Hastings line through the forest ridge is avoided, and the coast line will be rendered complete without a titpel, and practically with a diminution of distance from the sUpes riority of gradients. The Ashford anti Hastings line, as now under execution, is a very favourable line as to works, and the twenty-five miles between Ashford and Whatling• ton will be completed for 10,0001. for a double line, or 8,000/. fur a single line and double works. On the :drat 16 miles of the line between Ashford and Rye (where the only works deserving of notice occur), so much progress has been made, that the line may be opened in six weeks or two months to Rye, on the eastern side of the river Rother, w here a swivel bridge is required to be constructed, which has caused some delay, but which is now approved of by the Admiralty, and is In the course of construction. TUNBRIDGE WILLIS AND HASTINGS 144,NP1---The works under contract extend from Tunbridge Wells to Roberts bridge, 15i miles, or two-thirds of the entire line, and include the heavy work of this branch, to which the efforts of the contractors have been principally directed, and ill which the most satisfactory progress has been made, Th e grove tunnel is entirely complete ; and a waggon road heading has been formed through the summit tunnel at Wadhurst, which proves of the most favourable material; and the brickwork is proceedingly rapidly, and at a cost fiat exweding 351. per lineal yard. There is also executed, 320,080 yards of earthwork, and 7,000 yards et igick wu k l with a proportionate amount of other work ; READING, GEILDFOUD, hii:4oll4 1-4Pist.—The works of this railway, which thane a part of the South-Eastern cotnrefer with satisfaction taw's lines under lease, are proce e d in g ver y ra p idl y ; and 1 to my report on the details, as well as to the statement made by the chairman, Mr. Alder man Salomons, at the general meeting, as to the experience enabling him to state that the ultimate cost of this work proves less than had been previously estimated, and that W. per share, or three-fourths of the share capital, will be sufficient for the completion of the work. Attached to the report is a statement of accounts, which shows on the Capital Account. —A receipt of 7,668,6491. 18s. 10d., and an expenditure of 7,389,322/. 9s. 3d., leaving a balance in hand of 279,327/. 9s. 7d. Revenue Account.—Receipts, 219,3651. ss. 6d. ; expen diture, 106,645/. 7s. sd. ; leaving a balance in hand of 112,7191. 18s. Id. The CHAIRMAN then said—Gentlemen,in the present state of distrust in railway property, I consider it my duty to lay before you the financial position of the company ; and I would also desire to call your attention to the prospect we have of a return for the capital expenditure. I will, in the first place, call your attention to the statement of our capital ac counts, which you have in your hands ; you will there fiud the following items : Balance on hand &c., in course of payment Call due yesterday on No. 4, about .... 338,000 Total £1,002,000 I hold in my hand a statement, carefully drawn up by Mr. Barlow, showing that the amount required to complete the whole of our works is 825000/. You will observe the 825,0001. is deducted from the sums called up and sums due, and that it leaves a balance of 175,000/. iu hand. Gentle men, the directors would rather have postponed the last call on No. 4 shares, but the fact is, that on the expiration of our Parliamentary powers for purchasing land on the Ashford and Hastings, we are obliged to complete all our engagements on that line, and, in order to push forward the North Kent, we have been obliged to ray large sums of money for the valuable property through which we pass Within the last fortnight no less a sum than 132,00 1. has been paid, and within the next month we shall have completed the purchases of the greater part of land required for the whole of our scheme. The calls which are noted t,n the face of the accounts as being in course of payment at the first blush appear large; but, gentlemen, they are coming in in the most satisfactory manner, and when we consider the pressure that has been of necessity put upon the proprie— tors, you will agree with me that the calls have been rapidly and well paid up. Our capital, when the whole of our works are finished, and the bonds paid off, will amount to 8,191,000/., or thereabouts. I speak without book, but I believe lam correct. Gentlemen, if from the sum of 8,191,000/. you de duct 4,546,0002., there will reman a sum of unproductive ca pital, amounting to 3,645,0001.; and now, gentlemen, comes the most important question. Will the lines which repre sent this large amount of capital produce an adequate return to the proprietors? I have given a statement of our produc tive capital, or that which pays dividend, for the enemies of the South-Eastern Railway, by insinuation and inuendos, have through some portion of the press attempted to cast re flections on the directors, that we have pad and continue to pay dividend out of capital. Gentlemen, before you hear this read, I will make it perfectly plain and clear that we do no such thing. I recollect what was said some time ago by parties who were no great friends to this undertaking They said, ‘• Wait until a loan comes, and then see where your re venue will be." We have had, we have, a French revolu tion equal to a war, yet our traffic has stood its ground, and can compare with that of the best railway in the kingdom. —(Cheers.) here, gentlemen, is a sta•ement of our present productive capital and capital stock, 140,0001. I will now give you a statement of what our present productive capital amounts to, viz.:— Ist capital £1,400,000 2d capital 7OO 000 3d capital (No. 2's) 672,000 4th capital (No. 3's) . Bonds, about 850,000 Making a total of £4,546,000 Now you often hear people say we cannot make out from your accounts what amount You pay upon. It is as clear in the official accounts as it possibly can be, to any person who understands figures. We pay dividend on the original shares, that is tol era bl y c l ear to a ll w h o rece ive it; we pay dividend on the No. 1 shares, that is equally clear; and that we pay on No. 2 shares is also clear. We have to pay interest on 850,000. borrowed money, applicable to the main line, showi n g 4,516,000/. productive capital, which, deducted from 8,191,0001., I find leaves us 3,615,0001., for which we have to find traffic to meet the dividend. Now we come to the most important question; will the lines re ferred to yield an adequate return for the outlay ? The first and most important of our lines is the North Kent Railway, and I will claim your attention for a short time while I go through the prospects of the traffic in the district. You are aware, gentlemen, that it is a continuation of the Green wich Railway ; the first place we come to is Lewisham. From this wealthy and populous district we expect a large acces sion of traffic, and when opened to this point it will bring into use the Bricklayers' Arms junction for the west-end traffic, which is at present used as a goods station only, and which has cost the company upwards of 300,0001. This is a large sum for unproductive capital, but it is included, as you will see, in our statement of productive capital. and forms a large addition to that capital. From Blackheath the line pro ceeds to Woolwich, where we intend to have quarter-of-an hour trains, the same as on the Greenwich Railway, and no one can deny that the traffic to Woolwich is not likely to be very productive. From Woolwich the line proceeds through Plumstead, where we get the traffic from the populous dis tricts of Welling, Bexley, and Wickham, and from thence to Erith, Craford, and Bexley Heath, Dartford, Green hithe, and Northfleet, and front thence proceed to Gravesend. The present traffic from London to Gravesend is greater than the traffic was from Lon don to Greenwich before the opening of the Green wich Railway, the number of passengers that passed within the last two years, over the two piers at Gravesend, amounting to four millions, two millions annually. This is a traffic disconnected with the local traffic of the popular places I have just named ; and now, gentlemen, I would ask whether it is unreasonable to calculate on a return equal to the mileage of the Greenwich branches, though, for my own part, I think it will exceed it ; but we will take it at the present mileage of the Greenwich Railway. It must, how ever, be recollected that you go through wealthy districts along the whole line, containing a population of 189,000 persons, and that when we are at Gravesend , we g et the large a dditionall traffic I have named. Now as to the prospects of the Gravesend traffic. It may be said that we have water competition—to that I answer, we have the Greenwich boats against us, but the traffic by these boats is greater than before a railway to Greenwich was made ; and yet the Greenwich Railway carries three millions of passengers annually.—( Hear, hear.) Therefore, I think this fact fairly yields this conclusion, that the North Kent line will realise the same mileage as the London and Greenwich line. For my own part I say unhesitatingly, that it will far exceed it.—(Cheers. ) I give my individual opinion on this point; you can form your (m it judgment ; you can look at all the facts, and draw conclusions for yourselves. For the exercise of your judg ment I have allowed a wide range. Take off from this as sumed traffic a large deduction, and you yet leave the South- Eastern Railway one of the first lines for traffic in the kingdom. No doubt we have the water to compete with; so we have to Greenwich ; but if we put down,the mileage of that line at, say 15,0001. per mile, it will yield a revenu!! of 494,0001. for passengers, and for goods about 50,000/. only give you the facts. I state the premises, and yen may o draw your own conclusions. We have no wish to conceal r exaggerate anything; we only desire to lay all th d facts fairly before you, that you may form your to j on them. Well, the next in importance the b=ath- Eastern line is the Tunbridge-welle Hag/DS Dau LUC LIeIILISU LraIIIC (WWII to Hastings, and also the traffic over the Reading, Guilford, and Reigate line, which will be an important feeder to this branch, as well as to the main line, for we shall get the Irish and Scotch traffic, the passenger traffic, or those who wish to go to the Continent without bowing first to London. When we have opened to Hastings, and the traffic has been partially developed, we will meet our neighbours the Brighton, and agree with them as to a division of the traffic, and in the same spirit we shall continue to conduct the affairs of this company towards our neighbours, and render no injury to railway property.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I p ut d own t h e rece i pts from this railway, from our Parliamentary estimates, which will amount to 24,0001. per annum. The next railway is the Ashford and Hastings, which will complete a coast communication, and unite the watering places on the south eastern coast from this branch. We expect a large traffic in cattle, fish, &c., to this railway. I should ob serve, that you it ill see the Grave sen d an d R oc h ester line is not taken , into our calc u l a ti ons , b ut I w ill g i ve you our reason for not taking it into consideration. The Gravesend and Rochester line is not open for the benefit of the company just now; it is open on public grounds. At present omnibuses compete successfully with us, for our rail way does not go far enough into the town, so we have no traffic worthy of comment, compared t o w h at w i ll b e the case in a short time. But you will, n o d ou b t, say that we shall have a powerful rival and competitor in the water. Why, we have the same sort of rivalry in the case of the Gree.nwiCh line, and if we have competed successfully in A case of 3i miles, how much greater is our chance of seccess f u l com petition when we have a line to (iraWst)nd and Rochest er , 32 miles in length. I BIM; the facts I have stated carry a complete answer to this question. It via be seen we have introduced a paragraph announcing that we havo QOlllO to an understanding tej,th, the Great Northern of France Railway. WQ endeavoured to come to an arrangement with the directors of the Boulogne and Anakena Railway, but we failed to do so, and you will therefore not receive those advantages font the opening of that railway which we had been led to expect. The Boulogne and Isenlens Company send all the traffic they can, goods espe cially, by water to London; we have, therefore, been obliged to Make friends with the cireat Northern Company, who will do all in their power to, bring tratge on the Qouth-Eastern line.—(Hear, hear') But, gentlemen, the Boulogne and Amiens line eannet qekst without us; it is naturally a con tinuatien of Our line, hut If they will not meet us fairky, then in defence of your Interest we must look elsewhere.— Cheers,) The next question is as to the amount of dividend to go to the proprietors, There is a balance of 108,000/. for this purpose. This Will enable us to pay 21s. on the old shares, 15s. M. en the No. 1, and 1 ls. Bd. on the No. 2 shares.—(j ee4 applause.) If, however. you should think fit tp reetkie only a dividend of 10s.—(No, no)—we are in your bands. But we have the fullest confidence in the hue, and we 'recommend you to divide the guinea.— ( Applause.) We have no want of confidence in the resources of the South-Eastern line. Wktle some, we all know that the South-Eastern line has heela an object of pity, on the ground of want of extension i hut we have pursv,ed a different sys tem, and ii 141tevie we shall rise becaus,e we have avoided that R.YsWil of amalgamation under wWeela so many lines are des• fined to fall.—(Cheers.) Ives, gentlemen, we have always had a great aversion to 4 1 *,*alAatiCARA, on the principle that it was ruinous to ralleev property. We have steadily car ried out our NteVS% and we have avoided ruinous amalgama tions, And, gentlemen, if the House of Commons had re steeeei an old order, and had called on railway companies a year or twu ago to prove their traf4c, not one-fourth of the Bille which have been sanctioned would have become the law of the land. When the Legislature were at a loss for means to stop the gent of railway speculation, had they put this law in force, they would have been enabled to throw eqt seven-eighths of the Bills which they passed, and thus WPM prevented a great portion of the disaster which has fallen on railway property, Gentlemen, I now beg to con clude by moving that the report be received, adopted, and circulated among the shareholders. Mr , Aldertnatt SALOMONS begged to second the motion, and to congratulate the shareholders and the directors on the satisfactory state in which their property then was. He, however, did not altogether agree with the chairman that, had the standing ordera of Parliament been put in force, any great number et Dille would have been prevented passing, there having been a strong desire to force capital into such sPecniatione as should afford employment to the people. That desire was strengthened by theories in favour of the direct lines, to which Sir Robert Peel lent the sanction of his name anti assistance, and which, if it had not been for the prudence of the engineers of the various companies, amosgat whom the much lamented George Stephenson stood foremost, the country would have brought those lines to a stand, as a monument of the folly of the Legislature and the shareholders. He was happy to see by the address of the chairman that a good understanding existed with the Brighton Company, though be could have wished that it had been sooner brought about, as a great deal of useless ex penditure would have been saved. He was happy to say that the directors were conducting the line with economy, though he was no advocat e f or cu t t i ng d own the wages of their servants to the minimum point, as he held that every man was entitled to a fair day's wages for a fair day's labour. When they were in prosperity, they were told that, "it was all very well during a time of peace, but let them wait till there was a war, and then they would see what their traffic would be." Well, they had had a French revolution, which to them was worse than a war, and yet their traffic was going on prosperously, and, he had no doubt, with eco uomical management, would continue so.—(Cheers.) Mr. LEVY, having known the whole of the North Kent district for the last half century, could bear his testimouy to its value, and when the traffic was properly developed he had no hesitation in saying that, in his opinion, the South-Eastern would be the first line in the kingdom. Some further conversation ensued, in the course of which the CHAIRMAN stated that every precaution would be taken to prevent pressing upon shareholders by calls, but they must be made whenever the exigencies of the company re quired them. Their debentures would not all expire until 1852, so that they had to that time before the whole of the capitalwould be required to be called up ; but the directors were doing everything they could towards closing the capital account, and he trusted theirs would be the first company to do so.— (Cheers.) The report was then adopted—the divided recommended by ;the directors declared—some by-laws relative to Folk stone Harbour confirmed—and a resolution carried, autho rising the directors to give the shareholders the option of paying up the (No. 2) stock created on the 10th of Novem ber, 1843, in anticipation of calls, and such shares so paid up, to participate in dividends with the other paid up stock of the company. Mr. Josiass WILSON said he felt deeply the debt of gratitude they were under to the directors for the way in which they had managed the affairs of the company. It was exceedingly easy for the shareholders to do as they had hitherto done, give them a vote of thanks for those services; but he thought that the time had arrived when they should consider the propriety of giving them some more substantial acknowledgement. The directors on that line had for a considerable time past been acting without remuneration, and when they considered that instead of paying 1,0001. or 1,2001. a year, for a super intendent of the line, and only meeting once or twice a week themselves, the directors tock the whole of the duty upon themselves, they would see how much they were entitled to the consideration of the proprietors. He knew that the chairman (and he was sure they had all heard it with regret) was now laid up by illness brought on by his exertions in the service of the company ; and the deputy chairman, Mr. Pritchard, was to be found at the office of the company morning, noon, and night ; and he had heard that during the time of the French revolution, when it was necessary somebody should be in the way to superintend the telegraph and prevent the receipt of false information, those gentlemen had their beds sent to the station, that they might be called at any moment. lie therefore begged to move that a Committee, consisting of seven of the largest proprietors, should be appointed to consider the amount of remuneraition tobe given to the directors. Mr. Alderman SALOMONS seconded the resolution, which was carried by acclamation. Messrs. Jones, Levy, Cooke, Wright, Wilson, Salomons, and J. Dean were then appointed a committee. The CHAIRMAN returned thanks; and it having been re solved that a letter of condolence on his illness should be for warded to Mr. 11PGregor, the meeting separated, after giving hree cheers for that gentleman. LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST. The half-yearly meeting of this company was held on Friday, at the bridge-house Hotel, London-bridge. The chair was taken by Mr. J. M. Parsons, deputy-chairman of the board. The SECRETARY (Mr. Buckton) read the report of the directors. The CHAIRMAN then rose and said—Gentlemen, it now deceives upon me to address a few words to you before pro ceeding to move the adoption of the report. Before speaking of the general affairs of the company, I must advert to cer tain resolutions which have appeared in the newspapers, and which were passed by a section of the proprietors who assem bled at the Hall of Commerce. Those resolutions reflect upon our late chairman, Mr. Grenfell (who is now abroad), on account of the statements which he made in the House of Commons. He was, in our view, justified in what he there stated. The steam-boat question, to which the resolutions have reference, had been repeatedly mentioned in reports of the directors ; and not only was allusion made to them in four different reports, but on one occasion 100,000!. were granted towards the object. In justice, therefore, to Mr. Grenfell, who is absent from this meeting , I m a y say that we think he was quite justified in everything that he stated. With regard to the statement in which lam impli cated, in connexion with my examination before the House of Lords, I beg to say that I was under examination five or six hours, and that, although during that time four counsel endeavoured to perplex me, I think they did not succeed. — (Hear, hear.) No answer which I gave bears out the state ment referred to in the resolution, that I had represented to the proprietors that the steam-boat money had been stated in the accounts. I was asked—" Was it known to the body of the shareholders that there had been this advance until the Committee of investigation had been appointed?" The answer which I gave was, " I am sure it is impossible for me to tell whether the proprietors at large knew it. The fact of the injunction having been obtained was very public and well known, as all these cases were reported in the papers, and railway companies' affairs are never kept particularly secret. The only other questions put to me which bear upon this matter—that is, so far as I can discover from reading the evidence hastily, not having had much leisure—are those which I will read. " Did you enter in those ac counts anything relating to the advance of this 100,0001. ?" My answer is—" It was in the general assets of the company ; it constituted a debes t; it was was not stated in so many words." Another qution the following ;—" Was there any hint given by w hich the share holders could discover it ?" I replied. "Certainly not." To the question, " Did anything take p lace in the precedin half-year?" My reply was, " We have never altered it since the injunction, when , of course, the thing had become Per fectly well known. It appe ars as a debt; it is a db eb t, point a fact, due to the prop rietors of tthi&cmopmapbavn,y, which we, proprietors of the Steam-boa fi t have ir been all along individu all y liable." I need not tell tors of this company t hat the debt is very we priell isheceuirireod-. dwhich the sub the business of the m eetin g in the or der in e first point is that which rela tes to the South- proceed to take —(H ea r, hear.) I sha ll now, Gentlemen, E jects stand on t he face of the reaspotertr.n lagreement.h I wish general me eting of this ccm were not authorised b y we state that de la y was unavoidable. We t o explain why of A 1 That was the time panyto v enter in t t b o e n l e B g tion prtaobtiawii.th the. South- Eastern Comp any when the report which embraced this subject was brought before the proprietors; the agreement being finally con cluded on the 12th of July. lam sure I need not tell the meeting that, considering the complicated nature of the details involved, the time thus occupied was by ne means thrown away. We had repeated interviews with the directors ; s we f of the South-Eastern Com p an y ; and, at various tim certa i n ly were under the expectation that , after all, it would co me to nothing. That was the opi n ion not only of myself, but also of my colleague who sits on my left (Mr. Crowley). about tee the of The negotiation terminated , however , eventually in the establishment of a permanent bond of friendship between the two companies ; and it will always be a satisfaction to me that I had a hand in bringing namely, the proposal to distribute among you the toll receivable from the South-Eastern Company. If the agreement had not been made, we should have received the former amount of toll, and have had it to distribute among you; we should have had no right to exclude it, if this proposal of an agreement had gone oft. Now, we have at present participated in none of the benefits of that agreement. I have before me a statement, drawn up by the superinten dent of our goods department at New-cross, from which it appears that the saving in respect of the charges of the last half-year would have been 2,2001., besides a large increase in the goods' traffic consequent on the facilities afforded for carrying such traffic to the Bricklayers' Arnie, instead of leaving it at such a distance as New-cross. Our superin tendent is of opinion that our goods traffic, in consequence of this arrangement, will be benefited to the extent of at least ten per cent. I have chosen to take a smaller figure. If the increase be ten per cent, so much the better for all of us; if it be not, the proprietors will not have been led to indulge in too sanguine expectations. 1 have, therefore, taken seven-and-a-half per cent.; and at that rate the result would be to give us this halt-year an addition of 3,7501. Another reason which has induced the directors to recent - mend, as they do most strongly, that this toll should lie placed to the debit of the capital account is this, to present the first example of a railway company diminishing the out lay of capital by paying for capital out of revenue. We have commuted this toll by the sacrifice of the present proprietary for the sake of those who shall succeed them. If we had not made this agreement, irrespective of a large outlay at Lon don-bridge—irrespective of the carrying contrivance by means of a lift—we should have had to pay for the land at the ll u stepa yourd of to distribute placingetar . Bi t u at t h e aetr t eoo3l cdaeeeenoin‘eil t ' nu e edhc r ritott tue , a ndege auilalfatltertrowbigei large Brick layers' Arms, or else we should have to go into an expensive e Chancery suit to litigate the question, and, in all probability-, we should have had to pay a large amount, as well as the numberh accounte have recommended costs of the suit. By the present commutation of tolls, the oo fftyhe ea presentrsyears, i proprietors are saved from that evil. Undoubtedly, we might s n Tm i le ht alilue: t e:c h eehhnh. e a:bl w xflle-n a tt3t y t, r umee future,ar'ar trust, to ncdut, th under Go un a nr l tdl Gordian knotubm s r circumstances, e ah s l half-yearly • matter receipts every whichp p ts ro w p h r jecthora shallrwe presented allllfuedeel tish eo one e greatestyt no you.—(Bear.) . references(altii s e t a , a r tc . o ) . tion—l refer to the amount charged in our account for unpro ductive capital. You have here only 3,0601. charged under that head. I have no hesitation, therefore, in saying that you see your position in its most depressed light.—(Ap lease. ) You have come to that point to which other rail way companies assuredly must come.— (Hear.) This com pany has been the first to set the example.—(Hear, hear.) This has told heavily on you ; and I am sure I need not say how much it has told on us. We have carried on to the debit side of the revenue account the charge for every line from the first moment that it has been opened; and I need not tell you that when that is done, even in good times, a dead charge is often times brought to bear for a time against the returns of a railway. Who is there that, on carrying his mind back for the last ten years, is not reminded of illus trations of this? We all know how—at least my experience has taught me, not only here but in other companies in which 1 am concerned, being greatly interested in railway property—that this evil has been largely increased by the system of competition which originated, I will not say with existing railway companies, but by that system of concocting schemes in all directions which prevailed in 1845 ; and let me say this, if this had been met by the Government in the manner that it ought to have been, many of us would have been saved from our present responsible positions, and from a vast extent of anxiety to which the loss of mere money cannot be said to be equal. One line, however was projected after another; and, on looking back , I cannot but feel some satisfaction that, while it has always been said by the opponents of the Brighton line that it is one of the lines most open to competition, by means of a parallel line, we are free from that competition, although many of the main lines of the country have had it imposed on them. Therefore, I say, that although the outlay of capital now placed to the debit of the revenue account presses at the present time, yet this renders the future position of the company secure and solid; and we have not to anticipate the cost of two lines run ning parallel to each other. In this report lam sure all the proprietors now present must feel deeply interested. The con traction of the capital account on all lines is really and truly the thing on which must rest the chance of emancipation from present difficulties.—(Hear, hear.) This company has only eight miles and a quarter of new line in progress; and short as that distance is, they were stopped in September last, because otherwise the difficulties of the directors and the proprietors would have been considerably augmented. It is the last feather that breaks the horse's back; and those who are conversant with the money trans actions of last autumn cannot but have a vivid re collection of what then occurred. We have brought to the debit of the revenue the whole of the capital, with the exception of 120,0001. It is impossible to avoid a certain outlay at London-bridge station. Having gone into the matter carefully after the Committee of Investigation had sat, we see that our estimate for the station is a good deal lower than they state; but, knowing what contingencies are to be provided for, we think it best to give a range which is not likely to be exceeded. That is, we conceive, much better than leading you to indulge in expectations which may not be realised. If the outlay be less than the amount stated, you will have the benefit of the reduc tion. With regard to general expenditure, we see no reason to alter the figures which have been given ; although there may, in the result, be some trifling differences, we believe that the aggregate will be found correct. There may be some trifling variations under certain heads, but, as far as we can judge, the sums stated will be sufficient for the execution of the various works comprehended under the head of outlay.—(Hear, hear.) In our last report we said we believed we could make very large reductions under the head of expenditure. You have now before you the results of what we have done ; the figures will speak for themselves, and are much more important than any observations of mine. The improvement in our locomotive department has arisen mainly from the vast im provement in our engines, which has been such that one engine will now do the work formerly accomplished by two. Formerly, too, we were paying a much higher price for coke than we are at present. It is a necessary result that when the engines are in better order the consumption of coke should be less. In the cost of coke, in the consumption of coke, and in the general efficiency of the engines, there has been an alteration for the better. This is the reason why you perceive a great diminution in the locomotive ex - penses. Moreever there is charged to the debit of the revenue account a vast improvement in the loco motive department itself ; and our general stock of engines is in such a state of efficiency, that our engineer has de clared his belief that he might shut up the workshops for two or three months without any injury to the interests of the company.—(Hear, hear.) In reference to our lines of railway, Gentlemen, now in progress-8i miles in length— let me say that there is one portion in particular to which I wish to direct attention, otherwise it might be said that I had avoided dealing with it—l refer to the Thames Junction Railway. That came to us with the Croydon amalgamation —(Hear, hear) —and there is a gentleman in the room who will be able to speak better than I am respecting the details of it, if he shall consider it necessary for him to do so. With the purchase of the dock, the directors of this company have every reason to feel exceedingly well satisfied. It is on the Thames; it has 400 feet of river frontage; there is a wharf of 500 feet in length ; 15 or 16 vessels can be discharged there; and the whole will bring a considerable augmentation of our coal traffic. The railway adjoins the Government arsenal at Deptford ; it runs side by side with it to the length of 500 or 600 feet; and thus, by means of our railway, which they have a right to use, the Government will have direct communication between the arsenal of Deptford and Ports mouth. We shall also obtain a large coal traffic on the line; and, as appears from evidence given before the House of Lords, by parties who are in no way connected with our company— Messrs. Coles, Child, and Co.—we effect a saving of 2s. on every ton of coke conveyed over the railway. The London and North-Western Company have gone to a great expense to obtain similar advantages, by means of the East and West India Dock Company. The estimate of the chairman of that company, in his recent speech, was 700,0001. I think that, when you consider all I have stated, you must come to the conclusion that we shall derive from this source a con siderable augmentation of our traffic. I have merely men tioned coal, but, of course, groceries and other things will also come upon the line. We have now 161 miles open, all points of which will be supplied from the Thames; and as freight is much cheaper to the Thames than to the south coast, we shall 'have upon our line, as far as Hayward's Heath, the whole of the coal traffic to the district. The next subject which I shall enter upon is one which has been the subject of angry discussion among the pro prietors—namely, the Steam-boat Bill. We state in our report that the Bill is lost. We regret this very much, because the Newhaven branch was made, if not solely, and we have now to debit the revenue with fits which yet mainly, with reference to communication wthithtFhreanocoest; of that line, without reaping any of the benefits here state were expected from it.—(Hear, heara.) t asl known ibis company, ever since the year as speedily as pos sible,generally, with regard to myself, tb en deavoured in every way to bring about, yolo,wthilel Bill t l 18 1110 4 n 3 g , I " have paceen - now dwell upon the matter. d A The Newhaven branch is a is lost—the beats will be sol. we do not consider ourselves communication with the s o th p e po r s e i p te or c t left reminds me My colleague on my o t as ell t s . in any way responsible. ofthe Steam written a letter to the directors me that we Navigation Company, urging upon them the supe riority Steam loss to the proprietary for which commu nication with the opposite coast. At present we have of Newhaven to Shoreham in reference to re ceived no answer from them, the letter having been sent a fortnight ago. The secretary and some of the directors are, I believe, abroad. The opposition which we have received from that company will not in the least degree militate against any arrangements which may be made to promote the traffic with the opposite shore by means of the boats of the General Steam Navigation Company or any other company. We . shall became connected with this company. The next , question continue to promote it, as we always have done ever since I loss of it as a serious dis hes been lost, and we regard the Hear hear.) The view touched upon in the report is the Portsmouth Bill. .1 his Bill couragement to this company. state our views with reference the Committee. We could not There are matters to that more fully •to the proprietors. taken of the matter by the board Of directors was stated to person—you confided this matter to the Committee of we had no voice; and yet the Investigation.some In the appoint i:tl°ecommittee being, as you are wmleinicthefyotuhamt committeeust com mittee cordially concurred confide in the policy which had been pursue 1 . --(ll h ear, hear.) I leave you, therefore, gen consider ow far it was the intention of this board to devote a large amount of capital to the Portsmouth line. very desirous that the capital of the d in referenc t e le t m o en th , all aware, company s hould be limited as far as possible , they would not have made the recommendation they did, had they not felt the strongest conviction that what they recommended was essential to the well-being of this company. If any evil shall eventually arise from what has been done, it will not be our fault. I strongly recommend the proprietors not to press the matter, because what suits here may not suit else where.—( Hear, hear.) We have opponents in the railway world; we have had conflicts in Parliament; and those gentlemen who are conversantiwith such subjects:will appre ciate what I say when I recommend the proprietors to ex ercise caution on a matter of this kind. I can assure the proprietors that no more money will be spent, and nothing further will be done in the matter in any way whatever, without the proprietors being tint convened. With that assurance I hope the proprietors will be satisfied. There is one other subject to which I will refer; and I really do not bring it forward ad captandum, but because of my real con victions in reference to it. There is one other subject, I say, to which I will advert before I sit down—l mean the ge neral condition of our traffic. Exclusive of the toll to be deducted, the proprietors may wish to know what is the amount of increase on the receipts irrespec tive of the toll. From June 30, the date up to which the accounts extend, there has been an increase, ex clusive of the toll, of 4,124/. When you consider that the present Brighton season is, as I am assured on the authority of those who know Brighton well (and I doubt not that many gentlemen in the room can confirm the statement), the worst that has been known for many years, and when you a remember, too, that this line has alway s been considered pleasure line, and that without pleasur e traffic it cannot emsn