The Sun. — London, England, 1867-04-19 00:00:00

Railway and other Companies. GRAND TRUNK OF CANADA. The half-yearly general meeting of this company was held yesterday at the London Tavern ; Mr. E. W. Watkin, M.P., in the chair. Mr. J. M. GRANT, the secretary, having read the notice convening the meeting, the report, an abstract of which has appeared in The Sun, was taken as read. The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, said that since the autumn meeting they had gone through a period of difficulty and trial ; he believed that the lessons experienced in the last 12 months would not be lost upon them, and he hoped that a sounder and more satisfactory state of things would take place in Canada. They had two distinct invasions from the United States, so that various Place- in Canada looked more like a great camp than places of trade and industry. This state of things bad affected the trade and commerce of the country, and certain classes of receipts on the rail way had fallen off. The expenses of management and working were also increased. Statements had been quoted from a Canadian paper, in a leading journal, reflecting on the condition of the perma nent way on the Grand Trunk in reference to an accident that had occurred on the line near Quebec. The statement in the Montreal paper was to a great extent a pure fabrication, and the paper had to apologise for that statement. The cause of the ac cident was a broken rail, which occurred in conse quence of a very severe frost. Steeled rails had been laid down at that place as au experiment; un fortunately the steel laminated, which caused the engine to go off the line, and the fireman was killed. But it was entirely untrue that a verdict of manslaughter had been given against the general manager. With regard to the traffic receipts, in cluding those of the Buffalo and Champlain lines, they amounted to £719,370, against £714,780 for the corresponding half of 1865, showing an in crease of £4,590. Deducting the ordinary ex penses of £413,608, against £395,674, on which there was an increase of £17,934, there was a balance of £305,762, against a balance of £319,106 in the corresponding half of the preceding year, showing a decrease in the balance of £13,344. The proportion of renewals of the permanent way and works debited to revenue was £72,393, against £89,689 in the corresponding half of 1865, leaving a net available balance of £233,370, against 1229,417. In the general receipts they would find that £16,334 had been received for live stock in the past half-year, against £36,012 in the corre sponding half of 1865, showing a falling off of nearly 120,000. This arose from the termination of the Reciprocity Treaty between Canada and the United States. One great cause of the increase in the working expenses was the exceedingly high price of materials and labour. It was computed by Mr. Hickson that the increase in the price of materials in the United States had been 90 per cent., and in labour 60 per cent. They found that the working of the Eastern Railway of Massachusetts, which ran through part of the same locality as the Grand Trunk, had risen from 51} per cent. in 1863 to 681 per cent. in 1866 ; and that on the Erie Railway, which was well known, the working ex penses for 1866 amounted to 70 per cent. Ile thought, however, that there would soon be a re duction in the price of materials, for be found that on some of the English railways with which he was connected there had recently been a consider able reduction in the price of materials required for the working of railways. The price of iron rails twelve months ago was £8 15s. per ton, they could now be had for £6 ss. per ton, steel rails that were £l7 a ton were now £l4 a ton, plates that were now 13s. 6d. were now 10s. 6d., copper materials that were twelve months ago 1255. 6d. could now be had for 90s. 6d. Oil that was 4s. 9d. a gallon could now be had for 3s. 9d. a gallon, and so on for other articles of consumption. He thought they might, therefore, hope for some reduc tion of expenses. They had lost £61,800 on American currency, gold having ranged from 154 k to 131 during the past half year, and the total loss to the company under that head np to December last was £290,384, and it %vas obvious that they were perfectly helpless in that matter. Mr. Brydges, in his report to the board, had explained how it was that the company could not raise the rates on the through traffic so as to cover the loss on the currency, as had been suggested by some of the proprietors. He had also shown that on the Pennsylvania Rail way the working expenses had increased from 73 per cent. in 1865 to a higher rate in 1866, on the New York Central from 63} per cent. in 1861 to 751 in 1866. On the Michigan Central the work ing expenses since 1861 had nearly doubled ; on the Eastern Massachusetts Railway from 51} in 1863 to 68}- per cent. in 1866. Under all the circum stances, he thought, in fairness to their officials in Canada, that they could not have expected a better result from the working of the railways, and it was satisfactory to know that they had not suffered so much loss in working as their neighbours. They had renewed during the half-year 771 miles of rail way, and since 1862 they had expended £620,893 in the renewal of 698 miles of railway. They were advised by Mr. Brydges to renew 135 miles of line for £125,000 in the current year. They had also to attend to the requisite renewals, not merely ou the Grand Trunk proper, but also for the Champlain and Buffalo and the American section to Portland. They bad made a great many experiments in Canada with steel-headed rails, steel rails, and iron rails of various kinds, and they had come to the conclusion that steel rai's were the very best for the climate of Canada ; and with those they would have very little breakage. It was estimated by Mr. Brydges that with those rails laid down they would save £150,000 in maintenance and renewals. Ile was sorry to say that a great deal of the rails from England had not been so good as they ought to be. He feared there had been a great deal of specula tion in the last four or five years, which had inter fered with the steady progress of trade. He then adverted to the deplorable state their property was in when be joined the Board, and the progress that had been made, increasing the net revenue from £192,000 in the year 1861 to something like £351,000 in 1866. They now arrived at the point when it was necessary to increase the rolling-stock by an outlay of about £200,000. If they were to pay interest on all the classes of preference bonds they must put their shoulders to the wheel, and give Mr. Brydges the means of earning the maximum amount of profits which the country would afford. He hoped they would by mutual efforts obtain such an addition to their capital as would provide additional engines, carriages and waggons, and improved works and stations, to devclope the available resources of the company. He proposed that they should consult three or four of the largest holders of the different kinds of securities inter which the capital of the com pany was divided, and see if some plan could be devised for raising the requisite capital. The com pany had expended since 1862 on new rolling stock £203,969 on new sidings, and other works £178,412, and a further sum on wheels and duplicate parts of engines, making together £413,000, leaving a bal ance of £47,000 still in hand out of the sum raised on the equipment mortgage bonds which were issued at 92. He then referred to the repeal of the Reci procity Treaty, and, he was happy to say that the Unite! States' Commissioner had found that it operate! unfavourably in the United States, and under those circumstances he thought that in some form or other the commercial relations between the confederated provinces and the United States might be restored. Ile also truated and hoped that friendly relationa would man be establiAed between the Great Western of Canada and Grand Trunk Rail way Companies on a permanent basis, mutually ad vantageous to both companies. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BARING, M p., seconded the motion far the adoption of the report. Mr. M'KINLEY was opposed fo any partof the cost of renewals being charged against capital. It was plain that the extensive renewals should come to an etid before they cou'd pay interest on the preference stocks ; and according to the report of Mr. Brydges the fails would have to be renewed in nine years, and at the rate proposed it would take 113- years to renew the whole of the rails. The 614 miles already renewed had cost at the rate of £l,OOO a mile. U they were to renew 172 miles per annum, the renewals would cost £172,000 a year, instead of £125,000 a year, during the three next years, as proposed by Mr. Brydges. They had no right to debit anything to capital for renewals. They were authorised under the arrangement Act to renew the rails and rolling stock out of revenue, and he hoped the directors would not be so foolish as to pay away this half year £55,000 for interest on the first preference stock, as it would be very easy for him to get an injunction to prevent them. Capt. TYLER, R.E., said he had a very large stake in the concern, and felt greatly disappointed that promises made at former meetings of the company had not been realised. Ile estimated from the ac counts that the working expenses, including re newals, were in fact between 82 and 83 per cent. of the receipts, while the profits were between 47 and 18 per cent. They were told on a former occasion that those extraordinary renewals would cease by this time, and that the net earnings would be avail able for dividends on the first and second preference stocks ; and as the profits increased the interest would be paid on the 3d and 4th preference stocks, but now it appeared that they were to go on paying for renewals £125,000 a year. lie was sorry to perceive that steel rails were recommended for the renewal of a line having so small a traffic per mile as the Grand Trunk. In addition to £125,000 for renewals it was proposed they should expend £200,000 in the next two years for additional roll ing stock, making a charge of £225,000 a year for those two items; with a view to provide for the ad ditional traffic of the International Railway, which had net yet been commenced. (Laughter.) They had excellent men on the board, and he had no doubt that Mr. Brydges was doing the best he could for the company, but it appeared to him that the through traffic did not pay, especially when they deducted the loss on the greenbacks. He moved, as an amendment, that the meeting be adjourned to that day four or six weeks ; and that in the mean time they be informed as to the exact position of the whole line, and as to the rates and fares charged on it. Mr. E. J. lIERAPATII seconded the amendment. He would like to know how they made out that the new rails would only last eight or nine years, as it was known that good iron rails had lasted on some of the English lines for 20 years. He perfectly agreed with Capt. Tyler that steel rails were not required for traffic on the Grand Trunk line. He wouldlike to know how it was that the Grand Trunk Company had lost £61,500 by greenbacks, against £58,000 in corresponding half last year, while the Great Western of Canada Company only lost £48,000 against £73,000 in the same half of the preced ing year. He was not pleased with the management of their affairs in Canada, and he hoped that a much better system of management would soon be adopted. Mr. CREAK considered that the present report was the most unfavourable he had seen for a long time. He objected to paying one class of preference holders before another ; they should all be treated alike. They had paid £320,000 in dividends since 1862, and now it appeared they wanted £375,000 for renewals during the next three years. He de cidedly objected to paying any dividends until the whole of the renewals were completed. They could now purchase iron 25 per cent. cheaper than it was 12 months ago, and it was evident they could not make a better investment than in the materials for the renewal of the remainder of their lines. They were told three years ago that £70,000 a year would be ample for renewing their line, but they had ex pended during that time £340,000, instead of the £210,000 then estimated, so that they could not place much reliance on such estimates. They had renewed 690 miles of way, and there now remained 687 miles to renew. He wished to have more detailed accounts, and he hoped they would have proper information as to the whole of those questions at the adjourned meeting. Mr. MERCER said the directors were perfectly jus tified in charging /25,000 of the renewals for heavier rails to capital out of a total outlay of £97,000 for renewals in the past half-year. L re laying the line with 801 b. rails to the yard instead of 601 b. rails, they had a right to charge the additional cost of the 201 b. material to capital. Mr. ADAMS estimated that if they were to cut off the whole of the through traffic and confine them selves to the local traffic, they would avoicl the loss by greenbacks, and be just as well off as they were now. He was glad to boar testimony to the admir able manner in which the Great Western of Canada was managed. He could see no alvantage in the steel rails except to give some a large contract to supply them. Mr. STOKES thought they should all pull together, place the line in first-rate order, provide the requi site rolling stock, and help Mr. Budges to develope all traffic that would pay them. They could now purchase iron aL a low rate, and he believed it was possible to roll out rails with steel on the top and bottom welded on a good iron body, at a cost of £2 per ton more than iron rails. That would answer admirably, last a long time, and not be liable to break in that severe climate. Mr. BRIDGES stated, in reply to questions, that the articles against their company which appeared in some of the Toronto papers were contrary to the facts. He had known the Grand Trunk Railway for at least five years, and he could assure them that the condition of the railway was vastly superior now to what it was some years ago. As to the renewal of the line, the whole length of the railway was 1,377 miles, of which 877 miles were main line and 500 miles in branches. The original U rail was a very defective one ; 698 miles of the line ha I been relaid. On the main line they had 614 miles of good T iron rails laid, leaving 262 miles to be re laid with new rails. As to the renewals of the re mainder, they would be continued on the main line till completed, and then they would deal with the other lines. Nothing was more fallacious than com parisons of the percentage of working expenses or of the cost per train mile. They could not raise the fares for the through traffic, as it would drive it away from them to the American lines. It was not likely that the loss on the currency would continue so high as at present ; when the country resumed cash payments the loss on the currency would gra dually decrease until it dis tppmre I. With regard to the loss on the currency being more on the Grand Trunk than on the Great Western, it arose from a falling off in the through traffic on the Great Wes tern of £55,000 in the past half-year, and from the fact that the through traffic only passed over 230 miles of the Great Western, while it passed over 800 or 900 miles of the Grand Trunk Railway, so that the latter received a larger amount from that traffic, and, consequently, lost more by the discount on the currency. He hoped he might ask the shareholders for their confidence in the execu tive, as they had been subjected to Fenian raids, the attacks of Canadian newspapers, and had other disagreeable matters to contend with, and if they were not well supported by the shareholders it would have an injurious effect on the company in Canada. As to the life of the rails, he thought it might be extended from 8 to 9 years on the main line to perhaps 111 years over the whole of the 1,377 miles. The CHAIRMAN having replied to the various ob servations, the amendment was negatived by a large majority, and the report was adopted, there being four dissentients. The meeting was then made special, and the retiring directors were unanimously re-elected. On the motion of the CHAIRMAN, a resolution was adopted to the effect that the directors be requested to consider whether any and what arraugements could he made with advantage to the company in regard to the general capital account, and the posi tion of the postal and military bonds, reporting to an adjourned meeting to be held at that place on the 30th May next, and that the board be requested to confer on those important subjects with some of the largest holders of each class of bonds and stocks. The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the Chairman and directors, and also their gene ral manager in Canada. FORTH AND CLYDE NAVIGATION. A meeting of the proprietors of this undertaking was held in Gllszow ou Wedncsday—Mr, Neil Robson presiding—to consider ta, bill now before Parliament for amalgamating the caual with the Caledonian Railway. The Chairman, in moving the approval of the bill, remarked that the amalga mation would prove beneficial to both companies, while it would be for the advantage of the public. The motion was agreed to. By the terms of amal gamation it is provided that the canal company shall receive in perpetuity a dividend of 61 per cent. this being secured by a lien over their own under taking. GERMANY AF CE R, THE WAR, OF 1866, (From the Westnzinster Gazette.) The men of the present day who take part in po• litics are mostly so material that they have no eye whatever for the corruption threatening the German mind ; they do not know the German people. The Middle Ages knew well where the genius of the German people had built the strongholds of its greatness and power, where, above all, was to be found the purity and kindli ness of German manners—the fulness of German spirit and poesy—the strength of German truth and German valour. They knew well the limits made by the Elb. Indeed, in any assembly of the German people the ancient Frank of the Lower Rhine (the Ripuarian) must not be wanting, nor the stanch Saxon of the old time and the sober Frisian either. But the land of the vigorous Swabians, with the rest of Allemania as far as the lofty Alps, and the lands of the true, stout-hearted Bavarians, with their next of kin in Austria, to gether with bright Franconia, from the source to the mouth of the Main ; these South German regi ons, naturally connected, it is true, with the Lower Rhine, constitute the more beautiful and the nobler portion of the German Fatherland. In the Tyrol alone more of the old German character still sub sists than in all the lands to the east of the Elb. For the Tyrol we would exchange, without hesi tation, the eastern half of the Prussian mon archy. Who can think of the Tyrol as Prussian, as enslaved by Prussianism ? But the Bavarians also, and the Swabians—how could they endure Prussian supremacy ? If the Italian game was to be played in South- ern Germany, what should we have to expect there but a state of things similar to that in Naples ? Let her thank God that the deluge was stayed on the Lower Main. Let her build as many dams as she is able. It is possible, indeed, that she builds in vain ; but the doing nothing, or rather the pulling down of existing dams, will certainly, least of all, yield help. The ancients tell us that there were certain nations who fought with the elements, that is to say, who went out armed to fight against the thunder or the flood. It was a folly, yet a manly and romantic folly. But if the Southern Germans, to stop the threat ening spring -tide, throw down the dams—if with bowed heads, slave-like, they invite the floods to enter—where can future generations find fit com parisons to describe conduct like this of beings in the form of men ? Even if such a calamity were unavoidable, which, thank God, appears far from being the case, they should call to mind in Southern Germany how once the old senators of Rome received the Gauls. But they are threat ened with a greater trial than that of an irruption of the Gauls. The French cannot inflict injury so deep as the Prussians. Taken on the whole, they may conquer and oppress, but by no means corrupt them in an equal degree. The Frenchman has too little similarity with the German mate rially to influence him. The German nature wins new strength in the conflict with the stranger that is obtruded on it. By the oppression of Na poleon 1., although single individuals were cor rupted, long-forgotten national enthusiasm was awakened throughout Germany. On the contrary, a Prussianized Germany is no longer Germany. If Prussian supremacy should endure for long, we fear there would remain in Germany no greater traces of its ancient splendid genius than re mained in Greece of the old spirit of the Greeks after the military, well-trained Macedonians, men of kindred race and language, but barbarians, had enslaved the Hellenic genius. This genius they made good use of in the execution of their world-perplexing plans ; but, at the same time, it was bruised and broken, falsified and corrupted by them for ever. We have detailed at some length the chief dan gers to be anticipated from a union of Southern Germany with Prussia; that our readers might be enabled to judge for themselves of the import ance of the contending opinions that now agi tate men's minds there. Every discerning reader would now expect that in Bishop Ketteler's work, which recommends this union with Prussia (al though under notable modifications, especiallY in favour of Austria), weighty reasons would be adduced for this alliance of the weaker States with their very dangerous neighbour. But this is not the case. In a warning allusion to France we cannot acknowledge a weighty reason. For whatever precaution might be desirable with re gard to France could be taken without having re course to this suicidal policy. On the contrary, such a self-surrender to Prussia would only irri tGaetermaFnryantchea, tanwdoueldallhefnoertfiht aFrraenaccetioanlonine.oNuotSlri does Bishop Ketteler's reflection at all edify us that " the most disastrous events bring some good in their train." It might pass as a joke if a man, whose legs were shot off, were to be consoled with the remark, that no one in future could tread on his corns ; but the situation of Austria is very serious, aendh;entchefeorretfloirew, will l the no consolationlonirer be offered, that sh disturbed from w ith out, sounds to our° ears rather Napoleonic. Again, it is, indeed, true that " originally th e sovereignty of these princes of the German Empire was not perfectly legiti mate ;" but here we are unwillingly reminded of it, just at the moment when Prussia, who has sinned as hath no other State against the em pire and the unity of the nation, is crushing underfoot sovereignties, at least, equally well en titled as its own, not sparing a shred of their ancient territorial supremacy. We are far, in deed, from approving the party politics of the South German States, but the same political degradation has been long since observable in Prussia, and now what, forsooth, does Prussia offer to view ? Compared with the Prussian doctrinaires, armed to the teeth and dripping with blood, the South German doctrinaires appear almost like good-natured fools ! A connection with Prussia were, indeed, some what seductive to good Catholics, if it freed them from the burden of that omnipotent State author ity which weighs them down in Southern Ger many ; but on that account to give a prince of Southern Germany advice which tended to his ruin w ould be truly very unCatholic. Over and above this it would be illusory to hope anything for Catholic interests from Prussia. It is true that in the new Prussian Constitution, which sprung up under the influence of the Parliament at Frank fort, liberal principles are to be found with regard to the interests of the Catholic Church. (W e should, however, by the bye, much prefer the state of the Catholic Church in England to that in Prus sia.) But how long will these Prussian para graphs endure ? Throughout her history Prussia has shown herself anti-Catholic ; it is her here ditary maxim to make use of the religious division for her specific political aims. The fact, that in all the Prussian universities not a single professor in ordinary of medicine professing the Catholic religion is to be found, is sufficient to convince our readers of the enduring intolerance of Prus sia. This, too, at a time when, in the Catholic States of Germany, Protestants are rather fa voured than discouraged ; when also, at least with reference to Germany, religious differences have no longer any political significance, and the religions struggle has long passed into a con test between faith and unbelief. The dominant Prussianism of the day is intimately bound up with a hatred of Catholicism—that is, with a hatred of Christianity, of which our distinguished author gives a multitude of examples. It was. the triumph of this Prussianism in the past year that gave the signal to a more general and enduring persecution of Catholics than we had as yet experienced. As early as the month of May Count Bismarck allowed the 11'or•d-deutsche Zeitung to excite a THE SUN, LONDON, FBIDAY EVENING, APRIL 19, 1867 rancour of rage and sectarian hatred against " the House of Hapsburg as the mortal enemy of the Protestant Church." All the chief jour nals were then let loose, which were soon followed by the mob of lesser journals. The most shame less falsehoods were circulated, among others that Catholic priests had from the pulpit preached a crusade against Lutheran heresies, which was never and nowhere the case, while, on the con trary, the rector of a Protestant university, Dr. Becker, in Greifswalde, on the 15th May, in a solemn official oration, incited to a war of reli gion and to " a Gustavus Adolphus -like onslaught on a Catholic country." The rumours industri ously propagated of immense sums of money being sent to Austria by the bishops and clergy were especially calculated to madden the fanatical populace. In Breslau twelve million of thalers were said to be collected for the enemy ; in Berlin, forty to fifty million. Then the Prince Bishop of Breslau had " been captured with tons of gold on the frontiers, and brought home by an escort of twenty men !" Everywhere threat ening letters were sent to. Catholics declaring them to have forfeited all right to life and property ; placards were set up at the corners of the streets exciting to the murder of Catholic priests ; the Prince Bishop of Breslau himself was subjected to personal ill-treatment. This lasted until the final triumph of Prussia, when the Government deigned to protect its Catholic subjects against these falsehoods and malicious instigations, which, until then, they had been left to protect them selves against, just as if there were no police in the land. The experience derived from these memorable facts is not to be f orgotten b y the Catholics of Prussia, and, indeed, we marvel much that no notice is taken in the work we are reviewing of this " Gustavus Adolphus " fanaticism. Even before the war, indeed, the Prussian Government had taken up a position hostile to the Catholic Church ; for example, it had followed in the same track as Russia in filling up the episcopal chairs. Let us hear Bishop Ketteler on this subject :—" The manner," he says, "in which the Prussian Government has made use of its influence in naming to bishoprics, the interpretation that in official papers and journals it put on the rights of the Government in this matter, the support given to these im moderate demands, even by certain servile mem bers of the clergy, show what dangers threaten the m - Church of Prussia in this respect. We cannot draw attention to this too urgently ; for, if the Government succeeded in carrying out in the no mination of bishops the principles laid down . in the last election of a bishop, it would be a deadly wound for the Catholic Church in North Ger many. It is then clear what the will of the Prussian Government is ; what it sought before the war it desires still more now; for no one can believe that since the war it has acquired A more favour able disposition towards the Church, and what it wills it can now carry out . with much more ease than formerly. Thus we see in this important re spect the situation of the Catholics in Prussia is unenviable indeed. Must we remind our readers again of the potent Masonic Lodges—anti-Chris tian from the beginning—that have just been helping Prussianism to its triumph. No political party of influence comes to the rescue of the poor Prussian Catholics ! A simple constitutional manoeuvre will suffice to extinguish these cele brated constitutional paragraphs —just as at this moment the Diet at Berlin tramples a whole mass of similar paragraphs under foot. Our distinguished author considers, indeed, that "to lay hand on these constitutional paragraphs would be the triumph of the ' b lack colour' in Prussia." In our opinion it would be but the na tural consequence of the victory achieve d by the " black colour" last summer. We also beli eve that the victory of the "black colour" would then be fully appreciated by the Catholics in Prussia, and that frOm that moment a struggle most dangerous for Prussia would begin. abandonment would ben nothing i o n fg theels e principlea t the present o f rda toleration,ra i y s t l. v h i a t n ri t t i u ! i e e, s destruction of the harmony existing between the different religions in Germany ; it would be the signs, we are proclamation of a Russian Cmsaro-Papacy, of a State placing itself above God. Our dis tinguished author tells us, before he e in prooTees ttohlavta,radesesotridchinag "manydevelopment." IO pllle n t . " a , This would be a crisis like that described in a well-known fable told in low German, which on the whole, bears a s in g ular affinity to the hisory of the Prussian S tate. "Dune fru de Ilsebil," borne up by typhonic, power, ever higher and higher, and at length seated on the Imperial throne, "desires t o be made P ope, and at last t o But then, all at once, the whole b e come God." r y passes miserably away a n d perishes. infernal glo NEW BLACKFRIARS-BRIDGE. long patienee of the public with regard to 3s steam appear engines, in veryes , this noble oble struc ture is likely to be re war d ed in, say, about two years tim e. To those who go over the aincessantly works, where 2 ds of 600 men hew the great cranes, blocks and puffing or roar icnhga,o where a up \N granite from dawn till dusk, a n d where whole compa nies of divers work in relays at oas : of "travellers" avellers" are alway s the bottom of the river b y ni g h t and day, the ch ance labour btohurba e remote. completion still could have b een effe cted, but for peculi ar Inb ee,e reality,ao 'ready dh however, y accomplished, an d much e work might the gre a t mass of the the • engineering difficulties in sinking piers, owing to unforeseen alterations in the bed of the river. As it is, both the abutments have been completed. These are made of a thickness of no less than 56ft. of solid brickwork; and, in fact, the abutments may be said to consist of the counties of Middlesex and Surrey, for, unless the counties slip the abutments cer tainly can never stir. Every vestige of the old bridge to the lowest stone in its foundation, has been re moved, except in the case of one pier, which, being most conveniently situated as a landing stage for materials, is still retained. Of the five piers of the new bridge, three are perfectly finished up to where the spring of the wrought-iron arches will com mence. Three out of the five wrought-iron arches, too, have already been delivered in London, and the first ribs of the first arch on the Surrey side have been actually fixed. The granite columns which will surmount each pier are on the spot, though not yet placed. More perfect specimens of workmanship than these colossal plinths it would be difficult to conceive. There are ten of them in all, six weighing 30 tons each, and four no less than 40, all of the finest red gr anite from the Isle of Mull, an d each was turned and polished in a single piece. Of course, these immense blocks are but the segments of columns, hollowed a little from behind to make them lighter. Had they been solid and perfectly circular they would have weighed nearly 100 tons apiece. They are nearly 7ft. in diameter, and about 12ft. high. Such a proportion of breadth to height might by the mention of the dimensions appear ungainly, but these great plinths of granite in picturesque effect will really form only part of each column, for all are to stand on massive and richly carved pediments of white I'ortland stone, while very lofty capitals of the same mate rial, but still more elaborately carved, will form their summits. On the upper or western side of the river the ornaments will consist entirely of river plants ; on the lower or eastern side they will be composed of sea-birds and sea-weeds only. All parts of these columns are formed of blocks of such weight that a special " traveller" of immense strength has been constructed to fix them in their places. The style of. the whole structure is to be what is termed Venetian Gothic, and we think that when completed the verdict of the public will be that the bridge is the finest of its kind in Europe, not even excepting that at Westminster. Just now the works are being rather retarded by an unusual difficulty in getting down to proper foundations for No. 4 pier. Since the old bridge was built the bed of the Thames seems to have altered considerably. Places where the Londcn clay was hidden many feet below the surface have been almost denuded of their superstratum, while ia other parts where it lay near the surface it has been silted over deeply. It is on one of these spots last referred to that No. 4 pier is now being sunk. The method of sinking a pier is exceedingly simple. Wrought iron caissons are sunk between guiding piles over the exact site of the intended foundation. As these sink by their own specific gravity into the mud, other rings or bands of iron are bolted to them from above, and with the increasing weight of these the tube—for such, in fact, a caisson merely is—keeps sinking deeper and deeper till even weighting it with masses of iron ballast will get it no further down. The divers then descend and dredge all rub bish in the interior, and this source of friction on its downward passage being removed from the in side, the tube is again weighted more heavily than before and forced to sink lower day by day till it sinks well into the compact, brownish-looking sort of cement, which is called the London clay. Once this is reached the bottom of the tube, of course, becomes perfectly sealed and watertight, and there remains nothing but to pump out the water from the tube itself and send the men down to build the foundations at the bottom. Just now, it is said, in the case of No. 4 pier, the work has been delayed from the excessive depth under the shingly gravel at which the blue clay on that spot lies. Large parties of divers are employed in relays, so that the task of dredging out the mud and shingle never stops either night or day. Still, in spite of every effort, working under water and with divers only is as slow as it is expensive, and some weeks may elapse before the tube can be forced into the clay and the task of pumping the water out and building the foundations within it begin. Incredible as it may appear, some of the divers here employed actu ally remain down their whole tide of five hours without once coming to the surface, and this often in the coldest weather. In fact, it is quite voluntary with the men whether they take the rest or not, since it makes no difference in their pay, which is at the rate of 7s. 6d. a tide, and nearly all work two tides a day. They have, however, to live far more expensively than ordinary workmen, for the ex hausting nature of what seems their dangerous call ing requires a diet of the most generous kind to enable them to stand their work. Yet we believe we are right in saying that, though during each year there are hundreds of divers almost constantly em ployed, there has been only one instance of a fatal accident among them, and that arose from disease of the heart, and happened to one who was only just beginning to learn his duties under water. No. 3 pier, counting from the Surrey side, is much more advanced than No. 4, for the caisson is very well down and into the London clay. Here, therefore, the work of building in the pier will very soon commence. It need scarcely be said that all parts in all its various stages go on simultaneously. Thus, while No. 4 pier is being sunk, No. 2 is being built up to the springing of the arches, and, as No. 2 advances, the bed-plates and iron-ribbed girders of the arches are being affixed to No. 1. When, therefore, the first and second arches are complete in all their ironwork, the third andfourth piers will be ready to receive theirs. The arches between the piers will be entirely of wrought iron. There will be nine ribs or main girders in etch arch, and these will be connected together by powerful cross bracings. Over these ribs again are to be laid the " buckle-plates," which have been used with such success in Westminster bridge. On this upper iron roadway will be laid a deep coating of cement, and, over all, the ordinary stone paving, such as is used on all the great main bridges. Each rib-girder is formed in five pieces, and varies in depth from the springing of the arch, where it is about 6ft., to the centre, where it tapers off to about 4ft. Of course every rib has been tested, and the whole bridge is to be built on an estimated strength of something like ten times the weight that can ever come upon it from the ordi nary exigencies of crowded metropolitan traffic. The whole length of the structure from end to end is 922 ft., and its available width for traffic inside the parapets will be within au iuch or so the same as that of Westminster-bridge. The two shore arches at either end are to have a span of 155 ft. each, the two next these are of 175 ft., while the centre arch of mill makes a magnificent stride of no less than 185 ft., or upwards of GO yards. The incline, or we may more clearly term it the hill, which the whole bridge will form will be at as low a gradient as one foot in 40, or little more than half tbat of the old stone ruin it supersedes. The cost of the entire work is to be about £300,000, a small. sum when the nature of the labour and the great cost of its materials are considered. When completed it will have required 6,000,000 bricks, of which 3,500,000 have been al ready laid in cement; 6,600 tons of wrought and cast iron; and 2,000,000 cubic feet, or about 14,000 tons, of white Portland stone and red and grey gra nite. Mr. Cubitt and Mr. Carr are, we believe, entirely satisfied with the progress the great work has made, and they have every reason to be satisfied with the efficient and most workmanlike manner in which Messrs. Thorn, the contractors, have carried out all their instructions. SHAREHOLDERS IN WRECKED COM PANIES. A sense of wrong and desire of its punishment lare elements of our moral nature which are lost only by a long career of vice ; and though more likely to be carried to excess than the converse feeling of gratitude for favours, yet those mo tives of conduct deserve every encouragement in all matters of public concern, since without such personal feelings, injuries to the common weal would often remain unavened and unredressed. Before seeking a redress for wrong, however, before the tribunals of one's country, two inquiries, each differing in its nature from the other, require to be carefully made. A plaintiff has always to examine both his facts and his legal rights ; a de fect in either species of ammunition being as fatal to his chances of success as if both facts and law were against him. No hardship, or injustice, or the characteristic of the cage will in the least avail him if the law is silent or adverse. If such is the state of the law with respect to his case, it is likely that his zeal in the pursuit of legal re dress will soon be damped by the hopelessness of the enterprise, if, indeed, it be not cut short at the outset by a refusal on the part of the judge to hear a case which he has not power to decide. De murrers or legal objections to the demand of a complainant, accordingly, are often formed to operate, like the golden apples of Atlanta, in checking a furious litigant in the middle of his career, and compelling him to relinquish the gratification of his vindictive passion or public spirit, as the case may be, for the priceless trea sure of peace. It is not, indeed, without a wise design that the law thus leaves many public and private wrongs without a remedy. Prevention is better than cure ; and when a speculator knows that no legal tribunal will aid him where he has been himself unduly negligent, he will be sure to use a degree of preventive vigilance which no legal Argus could ever exhibit in the detection or punishment of private frauds. The machine of society is thus made to work smoothly ; and every one is obliged to take much care of himself. Although, doubtless, the appointment of a public prosecution is a necessary element in every com plete legal system, yet we cannot feel very sorry that the present state of our criminal code falls far short of what the investing and speculative portion of the public appear to deserve. Ledving much to private vigilance in every department of in dustrial action appears to be a necessary corol lary from the more general doctrine of Laissy faire: nor would any strictness of our criminal law prevent waste or :mismanagement by agents where the principals are almost studiously indif ferent. The present outcry of shareholders in the numerous companies undergoing liquidation against the frauds and malpractices of directors would appear to indicate that a public prosecutor is needed by us to check rather than promote cri minal litigation. It is very doubtful whether the directors of Overend, Gurney, and Co., or of Bar ned's Banking Company committed any fraud whatever in turning a famous private firm into a limited company, in exchanging, as it has been termed, their old lamp for a new one. They did not, indeed, hide their old light under a bushel ; but, on the contrary, advertises it in the most flattering terms, the nature of an auc tion admitted. They alleged that the sole defect of their respective concerns was want of capi tal, and that the command of the sinews of war which would be acquired by the conversion of the firm into a limited company, would redoundto the aggrandisement both of the owners of the old lamp and the shareholders in the new one. The course of events is not always as predicted (as the Meteorological Board knows to its sorrow) ; and the auspicious inauguration of many a joint-stock company in 1865 was succeeded by a wind ing-up in Chancery in 1866. Proportionate chagrin and disappointment have followed in the wake of undue expectation ; and directors, whose financial capacity was proverbial, now find themselves threatened with an introduction to the Attorney-General. The monetary panic of last year disabled the shareholders in many com panies from finding purchasers of their shares even at a ruinous discount, and so, even when they transferred their corporate liability to men of straw, the advent of the official liquidator within a year from the date of transfer overhauled the assignment, and forced back the transferers to their previous positions. It is not surprising, then, that persons who took shares at a premium should now be out of temper with their directors when the shares are not only a discount, but altogether incapable of transferring a liability for calls. Shareholders, however, are an enterprising race ; and as a transfer is now out of the question, they view their position a parti ante, as it were, and claim exoneration from the debts of the company on the ground that their directors were guilty of false and fraudulent representations, whereby they were themselves enticed into taking the worthless shares. Upon establishing a • case of fraud against their directors, the shareholders think that they will then stand in the category of creditors and not in that of debtors of the com pany. For this purpose no amount of vitupera tion and indignant hostility against the directors is likely to be wanting. Sufficient evidences of this disposition on the part of shareholders are to be found in the letters from members of their body that have appeared in the Time; and in the statement of facts recently published by Mr. Joel Emmanuel, the solicitor for the shareholders in Barned's Banking Company,:not to refer to the volu minous narrative of the Attorney-General and his legal brethren before Vice-Chancellor MalMs in the Overend, Gurney, and Co. case. But what appears to have been but slightly considered by these shareholders is the fact that, even if their accusations against their directorates respectively are proved by the clearest evidence, yet that this is not likely' to entitle any one of their body to have his name removed from the list of contribu tories. The error of the shareholders in Overend, Gur ney, and Co., who now dispute their liability to the creditors of the company, on the ground of fraud in their directorate, exemplifies the logical fal lacy of arguing from particular to general propo sitions. A certain shareholder in the Scottish Uni versal Finance Company obtained a judge's order to have his name removed from the register of that company's members ; therefore, every other shareholder in every other company, whether afloat or wrecked, can effect a similar escape if either its prospectus or articles of association deviated in the slightest degree from strict truth. Amid the general joint-stock turmoil of the present day, it seems an appropriate time to consider under what circumstances a shareholder can effect his emancipation from a fraudulent company. The rules of law relating to this matter are but the rules of common-sense and Common honesty ap plied, indeed, under somewhat complicated condi tions, yet, we believe, free from all doubt and un certainty. A:joint-stock company that is tainted with fraud must either have been at first established by means of false representations, or else it was at first launched only by fair means, and became the subject of directors' fraud only in a subsequent stage of its career. ,In the case of a company be longing to our first class, it is clear that either all the shareholders or none are liable to the com pany's creditors. Let us assume that the 'prospec tus is false, and that the directors were aware of its falseness, but that the shareholders were wholly ignorant of the actual facts. They can conse quently obtain damages from the directors in an action for the deceit. As a verdict against fraud ulent directors is seldom worth much, it is fortu nate that they can have them punished crimi nally, if their representations were designedly made. But no degree of deceit on the part of directors can be a defence to shareholders when sued themselves by the creditors of the com pany. Suppose that A, a managing director, in duces B, C, and D to put their names on a bill, under the expectation that the proceeds, when invested in establishing a bank, will produce 40 per cent. profit, and that A, instead of establish ing the bank, absconded with the proceeds of the bill, would A's fraud on B, C, and D be any answer to an action by the holder of the bill'? The rela tions of shareholders to their company's creditors are precisely of the same nature as those rof the endorsees, in the case put, to the holder of the bill. But, let us now suppose that the com pany was established under a fair and just pros pectus, but that some years afterwards the direc tors issued a false report, and together with it fresh shares with the concurrence of the com pany. The allottees of this last class of shares could doubtless claim indemnity, not only from the directors but also from the previous shareholders, just as the endorser on a bill can recover against the acceptor any money he has paid the holder. It is fortunate that while the law allows the utmost freedom of contract, whether for unlimited or limited liability, original shareholders are subjected to the duty of inquiring into the real position of their company. If, instead of doing so, they trust to the promoter's representations, without further scrutiny, they can, indeed, recover a verdict for any losses occasioned by their misrepresentations ; but, they cannot plead their own neglect in an action by the company's creditors. Now, the companies most notorious for real or alleged frauds, and misrepresentations by their directors are concerns that never from their first commencement, enjoyed any stability, or were entitled to any confidence. The recognition of the principle of limited liability by the Legislature in 1856 and 1862, removed the time-honoured but bureaucratic and indefensible barrier which had from time immemorial obstructed the freedom of contract and speculation. Upon so complete an emancipation of joint-stock associations, it was only natural that many needy and unprincipled persons would be found to abuse their newly acquired liberty, and to entice the public into subscribing for the most chimerical schemes. The investing public were almost as delighted at the change in the law as promoters were, and readily" subscribed for joint-stock banks, building companies, land companies, hotelcompanies, and, in short, for every conceivable description of en terprise, both wholesale and retail, irrespectively of the consideration whether joint-stock associa tions could compete in the contemplated line with private enterprise. The subscribers were re solved to take their holiday, knowing that their liability was limited to the amount unpaid on their shares, and that when a crash became im - minent, they could transfer them to a man of straw, and so escape all liability to the company's creditors, provided that an actual winding-up did not ensue within a year from the date of transfer. Finally, if the original foundations of the company were sunk mainly in the imaginations of the promoters, the subscribers hoped to escape from the list of contributories on the ground of fraud and misrepresentations by the directors. With all these bye-paths for escape, it is not strange that a pros- pect of 20 or 30 per cent. dividends was hailed with delight ; while little attention was bestowed upon the qualities or management of the concern whence the expected treasures were to be extracted. It has been only since the dies cry of liquidation arrived that shareholders for a moment suspected that they could themselves have been guilty of any oversight in taking sham in a concern without examining into its real value . . Now that the rashness an d i n d epen d ence of thelr speculation is apparent in so m an y cases, their best plan would be t o en d eavour t o mee t their liabilities fairly rather than seek to transfer their losses to creditors who had no right to interfere in the management of the joint-stock concern. Any attempt of this kind appears to be as in firm in law as it is in point of morality and common sense. The only defence that appears to be open to the shareholders is, that p ersons w h o were credi tors of any concern purchased by the company , are not ipso facto creditors of the company. B ut the company appropriated the creditors' asse ts ' if not under a contract, then by wrong. Besides/ in all cases where a discount or banking establish ment was connected with a company, the articles of association expressly provided for the paymen t of the creditors of the existing firm. Various transactions, too, have, doubtless, taken Pla ce between the great majority, if not all, of those creditors and the new company. As regards anY creditor who has had any transactions with th e new company on the footing of his account with the old firm, it is clear that his rights are just the same as if the last transaction was an inde pendent substantive dealing. The old partner° were not the agents of their creditors, nor depute d by them to commit a fraud ; neither, indeed, wer e they the agents of the shareholders for that purpose. They were agents, however, for both creditors and shareholders, and therefore, as the fraud, if any, is legally, if not morally, at tributable to both, it may be eliminated from bot h sides of the legal equation, and the case con sidered, as between the creditors and shareholders/ just as if no fraud whatever had been in question• At all events the books of the firm, were open to the shareholders, while the creditors had no right to call for their production. Even then, as to those creditors who had no transaction whatever with the new company, it seems exceedingll probable that the shareholders will be held bound by the articles of association ; while, as to th e creditors who have had money dealings with the company, we cannot imagine any ground 11P° 11 which the shareholders can expect exoneration• All the questions we have here discussed indeed, in a few days receive a judicial solution. We believe, however, if anything cal be predicted with certainty where the " glorion. uncertainty of the law " is involved, that th e shareholders will find themselves regarded hi the court in a very different position from th at of creditors. COUNTRY MARKETS. MANO HES TER--THunsDAY. At our market this morning ti heat met a moderate de' mand at is to 2s p er qr . over th e currenc y o f this all se'nnight on b o th E ng li s h an d f ore i gn. Fl our 6d t o is sack dearer. Oats were ld to 2d per 451 b., and ov,tme3 l ." to is per l oa d hi g h er. B eans is per qr. advance. Indh— .. corn 6d per qr. dearer. BIRMINGIIAkf—THuRsDAY. At this day's market there was a fair supply of whe, st " which realised an a d vance of 2s per qr. on both E ng l'h ~- at.d foreign. Ba r l e y an d oats 6d to is per qr. high er ' Beans firm. Peas neglected. BURY ST. EDMUNDS WEDNESDAY. The quantity of wheat offering at our market to-day 011% moderate, and an advance of is to 2s per qr. took plac e *, Grinding barley quite as doar. Oats is p or qr . dearer'' Beans and peas firm. EDINBURGH-WEDNESDAY. Wheat on the top, Os 6d up average, is 2d UP Barley on the top, Os 6d down average, Os ld up Oats on the top, is Od down average, Os 2d dol Beans on the top, Os 9d up average, 2s Od UP. Total supply and sales. Wheat 666 qrs sold 541 Barley 677 qrs sold 563 , Oats 1791 qrs sold 1043 Beans 65 qrs sold 52 Average prices. Wheat, 60s 6d I Oats, 31s 4d Barley, 39s 4d 1 Beans 46s 6d Town-made flour sells as follows :—White, 50s Od ; eX superfine, 54s Od; superfine, 52s 03; fine, 48s Od. GLASGOW—WEDNESDAY. To-day's market was well attended. Wheat and fl° 6 g t i r 6d to is d earer per b oll and sack. Barley scarce, and a higher per 3201 b. O ats, feed i ng beans, and peas imprc"..',, 6d per boll. THE -.RIBBLE FISHERY DISTRICT.---The B o ara o f COnservators of the Ribble Fishery District haa;a just is sued their first report, which clearly shows'hat rnegn s taken to increase the breed of salmon in the river Rib ble and its tributaries have been attended with great succes s ` The report, which is dated Clitheroe, and signed ".'", Whitaker, acting chairman," says that a committee tl" gentlemen, of whom Colonel Townley was the chairinc i ni. met at Whalley in th e y ear 1854, f orme d th e Ribbl e , der, and Calder Fisheries Association, preserved the ricl"; for years, increas e d the b ree d o f fi s h, an d on l y surre nder?' their functions last year, when the association was voic e ; tarily dissolved that it might be resuscitated in the prose° Board of Conservators, which is a public body, created hit and elected pursuant to, the provisions of the Sale. ~°° Fisheries Amendm e nt Act of 1865, and armed by the . 1) : gislature with enlarged p owers f or th e p ro t ec ti on of Ml' The necessary steps for organising the new board We ll taken early in the spring of 1866, and although the brio: ing into action the m ac hi nery o f a now A ct o f Parlittinc e. ' is a work requiring considerable trouble and attention, still it is hoped that the results which have attended these efforts during the season will prove satisfactory to all Wjj° feel an interest in the preservation of fish. It is a forte nate circumstance that from the correct return of fi t killed by nets at Preston f o r severa l ;rears, during which time the late association rent e d the fi s h er i es there, the board are enabled to state that they find that, while there were only 95 salmon and grilse killed during the l e t t 1859, during the season of 1866 the number of fish kil ls " at the same fisheries was upwards of 9,000 ; and this 14 6 not all, for the average weight of each fish caught in 1 86 was several pounds more than of those in 1859. Fr et° authentic information received by the board it has boon as' certained that upwards of 16,000 salmon were killed in th e Ribble and its tributaries during the season of 1866. BY the concurrent testimonyof the fishers the rod sportduring h past year was never equalled in these rivers. One gentlerasli in his own streams landed ten salmon in one day, weighing from 181 b. downwards. Indeed, during the last year hard any sportsman returned dissatisfied with the river, an 'many streams yielded abundance of sport for a long 80 03 ; With regard to the state of the rivers since the rod fishing of 1866 expired, we have to state that there have been "° to one more spawning fi s h seen i n th e r i vers th a n in e T39 former year since the old association was formed ; the s ue' cession of spawning fish has been more continuous We was ever known. As one set of fish move off others CO s: tinually succeed. The river bailiffs hold the opinion ths'e the salmon and grilse, as well as morts and sprods, b b more numerous next year than the last. Most of the fi e : having spawned, have retired to the deeper waters; t'; late floods hav e carried many down to the sea, and the lets frost was not so destructive to the fish as was feared. V ill a the state of the rivers for the present season is consider° satisfactory. After referring to the prosecution and O n ; viction of poachers, and some other matters, the consor t tors conclude their interesting report by saying that th e i r believe that the resources of the Ribble, Hodder, and Ca, are almost inexhaustible, and th a t if th e y are liberiP supported they shall not only be able to assure an increase amount of fish for the supply of the ma r k e t s o f the distr l ' t by net, and thus lower the general price to the public, h il s; they shall be able to show s u c h sp or t to the salmon re',., and to gentlemen near their own homes, as is not to be excelled by the great northern rivers, the Tweed, the l ie f' the Spey, or the Laxfiord. ALIMONY.—One of the last Acts of Parliarae at passed was to amend the law as to alimony ordere d b to ecclesiastical courts in Ireland. Substituted service le be taken for personal service, and the decrees enforce. Births. isc Anc:i!Ft 7 pn . the 17th inst., at Croydon, Surrey, tho of Mr. David Archer, of ii son. BAREFOOT —On the 17th inst., at Eaton Lodge, Peek" ° ' the wife of Mr. John Barefoot, of a daughter. - r1 VP" PRINGLE —On the 17th inst., at 27, Rutland-square, f Arm burgh, the wife of Dr. Pringle, late Madras , ° daughter. Marriages. 11 ' 4l HARWAR—HILLIER- On the 18th inst., at St. - 311 Covent-garden, William Henry, son of the late 3 11. '0, llarwar, of Serle's-place, Lincoln's-inn, to Vivw e eldest daughter of Mr. J. Hillier, of Watford, Herts. lc , ROTHSCHILD—ROTHSCHILD—On the 17th inst. at k 'tit foo fort-on-the-Maine, N. M. de Rothschild, M.P, Odes' " o f of Baron Lionel de Rothschild, to Emma, dung Baron Charles de Rothschild, Member of the a °l- Parliament. Deaths. col. EvAws—On the 16th inst., at 8, Stoke Orchard Villas, loway, Thomas Evans, Esq., aged 76. p. HORNS—On the 18th inst., at Woburn-place, Abrahams - . Horne, Esq., aged 71. . PIGGOTT— On the 16th inst., at Lorrimore-terrace, Wt4l - P. W. Piggott, Esq., aged 82. „or, TOKE —On the 16th inst., at 12, Waterloo-crescent, .1-'' Sarah, widow of the late Rev. Wm. Toke, aged 9 8 . —..! e•ce' v London: Printed and Published by WILLIAM AN.DS-119 of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office, r 4°. of Strand, iu the Precinct of the Savoy, hi the Cour" kiidcllesez.—Friclay, April 19, 1867.