The Sun. — London, England, 1842-02-25 00:00:00

GREAT_ WESTERN RAILWAY. The 13th Half-yearly Meeting of the Directors and Proprie tors of this Company took place yesterday, at the Company's Offices, Prince's-street, , Rank, for the purpose of receiving the Report of the Directors for the last half year, to elect Directors in the room of those who go out by rotation, and for other business connected with the Company. The Chair was taken at one o'clock, by Cita Rees RUSSELL, Esq.,lll.P. for Reading. 'She isotice convening the meeting having been read, and the Corporate Seal having been fixed to the registry of Pro prietors,- The Cuareatare said that the Directors had great pleasure in laying before the Proprietors their Report for the first six months, during which their entire line had been ope ned, Lnd they fel t confident that the result of that period would prov e highly satisfactory to the Proprietors.—( Cheers if they i ) cok the average tra ffi c of about 13,G00/. a week , the whole line, had taken place, and about 11,4001. ir Railway took only that portion which belonged to the Great Wester npesanguine y Company. That, he thought, would sati'"the most i„ith cxctations, and would be a most favoura bl e eoraparisor This period embraced an examp le any other railway in the kingdom ( beer;. ) not only of t heir summer traffic, but the winter one, and demonstrated that there was not, as it had beea sometimes called, merely a summer traffic, buta busi ness traffiee ; a standing w inter traf fi c quite proportionate to that of their summer traffic, and equal to that of the mcst pros perous of their neighbours. H e had no a pp rehensi on of their traffic not increasing, as the traffic cof all other lines had increased subsequent to their opening. The Bristol and Exeter Rail way had proceeded towards Exeter and Cornwall, and he hyped that me ans world be devised to enable the Cheltenham Comp an y also to proceed toward Cheltenham and Cornwa'l, and the South of \trees - . Their traffic in merchandise was sub • stantially greatly on the increase, and it was Very probable that a new traffic both in coal and stone would be este . leished.—(Chee-s. ) He entertained gnat hope that the recommend don of the Commission, appointed by the Govern ment, to determine ths harbour for the reception of the West India Mails would be adopted, and that Dartmouth would be come that harbour. An arrangement was in progress to estab lish a communication between Bristol and the South of Ireland. '1 hese various sources of increase, and the fa cilities and growing up of travelling, he t'iooght justified them in forming the most sanguine expectations that their traffiis was likely to become great in the extreme. if such was the actual state of the flattering prospects on the credit side of their ac count, he hoped they would think that the debit side exhibited an equally favourable aspect. In the course of the last six months they bad reduced their expenditure f-om about 45 per cent, to 37 and one-third per cent.—(Cheers.) He was glad to perceive that the Proprietors considered that a considerable reduction. The Directors looked to a still further reduction, to a proportionate reduction as their re ceipts should increase, and to a positive reduction when their means for providing coke was completed. They would then be enabled to devise other means for the more economic mar.agement of the concerns of the Company. He could assure them that the Directors had devoted their attention to the means of reducing the expenditure. —(Cheers. ) At the meeting in August last the Directors hid be fore the meeting the estimates of the sums then re quired for the completion of the line. A Committee had been recently employed, for the purpose of comparing their acteal expenditure to the 31st of December, with those esti mates, and it would be gratifying to learn, that the investiga tion entirely sustained the accuracy of those estimates.— ( Cheers.) He was satisfied that that must be peculiarly satisfac tory, especially when they recollected the extraordin iry season through which they had passed, and the great expenses entailed on railways, particularly those of recent construction. The Direetcrs were desirous, if practicable, to close their general capital account to the 31st of Dec. ; hut the incomplete state of the works at Swindon, and other minor works, had rendered it impossible; added to this, it was thought that it would not be wise to hurry 111 r. 13rurel in his final adjustment with the contractors.—(Loud cheers.) With most of them arrangements had been made, and they had been paid up closely, and the Directors were anxious at the earliest period to close their capital account.—(Cheers.) The result of all these favourable circumstances was to enable the Directors to propose a dividend of six per cent. per annum for the last six months, which they thought was a large dividend for the first six months of the first working of the line.— ( Hear, hear, and cheers.) At the same time it was a fair and honest dividend.—(Cheers.) They had not made it till they had paid every shilling of interest on every debt.— (Cheers.) He did not believe that a single item had been ca rried to the general capital account, which was fairly chargeable to the account of maintenance or manage ment.—(Cheers. ) He would now request the Secretary to read the Report, which he trusted would prove as aatistactory to the Proprietors as it was to the Directors. He thought that Report would justify them in looking forward as ith the greatest reliance to the future prosperity of the enter prise. The SECRETARY then read the following REPORT:— The Directors have on this occasion, for the first time, the pleas. in duty to present to the Proprietors the detailed accounts and re. .r tilt of six months' business on the entire line of the Great Western Railway, together with that on a portion of the Bristol and Exeter Itailway between Bristol and Bridgewater, and of the Cheltenham Rail Way between Swindon and Cirencester, both held under lease. The gross receipts of that period up to the 31st December, IS4I, were 337,3321. 4s. 2d., of which sum 295,010/. 18s. was earned exclusiyely on the Great Western Railway. A further amount will have to appear in some subsequent account, as the re. eii/t for extra service in conveying mail., no credit having yet been taken for working two mail trains over the Bristol and Exe ter line, nor for the day mail service between Bristol and London, 411 consequence of the Postmaster General's notice to refer the sub ject to ar bitration. The daily rate agreed for anterior to the per. tbrrnance of that additional duty is the only sum credited for mails (luting the half.year, and pending such reference. The number of passengers conveyed on the line between the Ist July. and 31st December, 1841, was 882,119, travelling an aggre. gate number of 27,538,764 miles. Theexperisee on the traffic are furnished in detail, and com prehending every office charge, of the Company, they amount to 125,9101. as. belnff•in the Teti& of 37,323 per Cent. on the receipts. ThenDieeetxxs,erninot.disubt.that this result will prove highly ea. Ilsfacteey tO all *be havir embarked. property this undertaking, and may be coaddered , a pleege•of the future aid progressive pros. verity of the Company. The expenditure has been watched by your Directors with the most anxious attention to economy on the one hand, and to the requisite efficiency of their establishment, and se. curio , of travelling on the other. _ The locomotive expenditure for the half-year has been 40,110/. 195., of which '22,1444 3s. (as may be seen by the printed analysis) was paid for coke.. One half of the whole quantity of coke con. sinned during last half.year was, of necessity, procured in London, and of course still, at a comparatively high price. , The arrangements arc now so far advanced as to admit of the Company obtaining at Bristol, for the present half year, all the mice required, over and above the produce of the coke ovens be. longing to the Company at Hillingdon (which are just adequate to supply the locomotive engines in the Paddington station), and some reduction may consequently be anticipated in that branch of Iccomotive expenditure. The repairs of engines, however, in the present ha'f.year, appear likely to be rather heavier in proportion, and may . perhaps absorb such contemplated saving in the price ofccke. The number of miles run by the engines during the half.year to 3 lsti December, was 673,398, of which 613,616 miles were travelled by regular engines, with trains of passengers and goods, sad '29,654 miles by the assistant engine upon the Box incline. The period has not yet arrived when any comparative returns of revenue or traffic can be usefully offered to your notice, inasmuch as the recent opening of portions of the line prevents statements being deduced of the same traffic from any former corresponding period. The ratio of expense to receipt is the only exception, and that comparison is therefore stated in the accounts. With reference to the Government duty, it is proper here to mention that the payment of 15,9404 14e. I Id. comprises a portion of that for the month of June last ((luring which there had been partial open. logs of new lines), as well as the whole SLIM fir the latter six months of the year, and the ratio to receipt will, from that circum. &lance, appear to have been increased. The Proprietors wilt not tdil, of course, to perceive that the total expenditure of 1 25,9101. 6s. tut the ha'f.year is not for the 118 miles of Great Western Railway alone, but for working 169 miles of railway, including 34 public stations, used for the convenience and accommodation of traffic upon the three several lines. The first charges upon the profit of the half-year's business con sist of the interest on the Company's debt, and the rents payable under lease to the Bristol and Exeter Railway and to the Chelten ham and Great Western Union Railway Companies. The sums respectively paid are as follows : Balance of inlerest on all monies lent to the Company, after de. ducting interest , received... £73,881 18 5 Bristol and Exeter Railway, one.half year 10,987 12 6 Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway, one-half year £93,259 10 11 These deductions irom 212,4464 16s (of which 1,004/. 17s. 10d. was the residue on 30th June last, and 211,441/. 16s. 2d. the profit of the last half.year),weuld !caeca balanceofll9,lB7/. ss. Id, available to the Company. There are two points, however, which have engaged the atten tion of the Board, in reference to this balance, and they are desirous of taking the opinion of the Proprietors upon both of thiarn It will beobserved, that in the account for expenditure, which • embraces every charge for keeping and maintaining the plant of the COMpany in an effective state, no separate provision has been nitrite for a fund to meet the probable depreciation of stock which must accrue with time. While it can be scarcely disputed, that prudence and foresight should dictate a certain provision to meet such an anticipated reduction of value, the Directors do not think any benefit k derived from pretending to ascertain periodically the tpinions of parties, however competent, as to the then supposed value of such property. On the contrary, they t► ink injustice may ownefimes result from the adoption cf any such arbitrary system, mid alms devoting their best consideration to the subject, they would much prefer that a tilted state of amount should be deter mined to be set apait for a period of years, such as may be reason ably. es':mated to meet the entire depreciation for the time, so that intim interval this accumulating sum may gradually and equally fall over etch period, and therefore equitably upon al who may, from time to tune, be the holders of the Company's Stock. If this view shall be acquiesced in, the Directors would recom. mend that '20,000/. should be annually ;:ppropriated for a period of ten years, to redeem the depreciated value in the first cost of the locomotive engines, carriages, and other moveable stock of the Company, the whole being in the meantime kept up, renewed, and maintained in an eff.ctive state, and paid for in the ordinary dis. btrrsements on traffic. The other subject to be submitted for the consideration of ll'e Proprietors relates to the rent which is payable under the lease to the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company. It will probably be re. membered, that on , of the covenants of that deed rendered this Company liable only to a moiety of the fixed rent of 30,000/. per annum, for s portion of the first year, if the line between Bristol and Bridgewater should not be completed and opened for trallic, on or before the Ist June, 1841. Notwithstanding every exertion on the part of the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company, the contingency so prOvided for did actually occur, and it was not until the 14th day of that month that the line to Bridgewater was ready for use. This circumstance accounts for the diminished paytncnt of rent 'er the half year, Moiety of the fixed rent, say 15,000/. per annum ;€7,500 0 0 Ascertained tollage on passengers and goods 10,877 12 6 Under the terms of the lease, the same reduced scale of rent would continue payable until the 31st o f M arc h , a f ter which the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company will be entitled to receive rent at the full rate of 30,0CP/ per •annum, besides the agreed tollage on passengers, merehandize, and coal. The circumstances under which this heavy infliction of a penalty was sustained by that CoMpany, became the subject of discussion between the two Boards, during which it was apparent that your Directors could not, upon undertake in any way to re l ease t h em from their own responsibi lit y , any portion of the loss which had been so indis p uta bly incurred. Your Directors, in the course of several conferences, were how ever led to entertain the belief that it might be ai r ange d for the mutual interest of both Companies conditionally to concede the pay ment of the greater portion of that difference of rent, provided they could thereby secure fixed and advantageous periods for the future opening of the remainder of dint railway, to which the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company had not bound themselves by any co. valiant in the original lease. When it is considered that the main I enetits contemplated in working that line, were to bring an d secure the Devonshire and Cornish traffic, more directly to the aveat Western Railway, it must be apparent that' the acceleration of the progress and completion of line beyond Bridgewater, must far outweigh any consideration of ' suth - 111ving•as could - be obtained% scamthe reduced rent, during only a few months of the first year. r _.• s wenry , plish this purpose, a negotiation ensued between the two ` m n". 1, ...., and it has been reciprocally agreed by them to submit tot theiv 1 . the Proprietors an ar rangemen t Of which the fop. or 'Jour , which your Directors stroigly recommund • -- - The payment of the full rent at the rate of 30,0001. per annum (after deducting 5001. for the estimated loss incurred by this Com pany), to be made at the times and subject to the conditions herein. after mentioned. The line from Bridgewater to Taunton to be ready for opening in the manner prescribed by the terms of the lease, on or before the. 7th July next, two further portions of line on or before the lst July, 1843, and let July, 1844, and the entire line thro-gbout on or before the let July, 1845. The rent for the current half-year, at 30,0001. per annum (deducting the 5001. above mentioned), to be paid them when due, upon a certificate from the Engineer that the Railway will be ready for opening to Taunton on the day spe cified. The sum of 7,500/. for the first half-year's rent to be reserved and paid over to that Company, on the opening to Taunton, pro. vided it takes place on or before the 7th July, and not otherwise. In the contingency of failure to open any of the three several portions of line successively, on or before the Ist of July in each year, one-third of the 7,300/. with interest at five per cent. per annum, to be reimbursed by the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company, in respect of any such failure, or to be retained from rent payable to them by the Great Western Railway. If the line from Bridgewater to Taunton shall not open by the 7th July (which period has been fixed with reference to the British Agricultural Meeting, to be held this year at Bristol), one moiety of the extra sum, which may have been previously paid over to the Bristol and Exeter Railway, to be re-imbursed by them to this Company, or in like manner to be retained from rent payable by the Great Western Railway. The arrangement only to be binding in the event of being sanc tioned by General Meetings of Proprietors of both Companies, and not to affect any other terms or covenants contained in the existing lease. If these two propositions shall receive the consent of the Proprie tors at this Meeting, the profit of the half-year will be subjected to the further deductions as follows : Moiety of Rent tt hich may become payable to the Bristol anti Exeter Railway £7,500 Depreciation Fund on the Company's Stock for the last six months £17,000 leaving the sum of 101,667/. ss. Id. at the disposal of the Company. The Directors recommend that a dividend at the rate of 6/. per Cent, per annum on the amount called up, should be DOW declared for the half-year ending on the 31st of December last, payable to the Proprietors who were registered at the closing of the books, upon their respective shares. A dividend of 11. 19s. on the original share ; 11. 108. on the half share ; and 2s. 41d. on the fifth share for the half year to the 31st of December, declared payable on the 24th of March, amounting to 90,7501. will leave an undivided balance of 10,9371. 55. Id. to be carried to the credit of the current half-year, which, it may be pro. per here to remind the Proprietors, is always the least productive in railway traffic. The Directors look with undiminished confidence to that gradual and certain augmentation of income from passengers which has been found to accrue on every railway after its completion. In merchandise and cattle, the increase, although in some cases more slow in its operations, may be regarded as equally certain of attain ment on the lines worked by this Company. Already small quart. tities of coal and stone are brought for conveyance by the Great Western Railway, and as soon as the requisite accommodation is procured, these two articles alone will add considerably to the revenue of the Company. Negotiations are now pending with parties for carrying on a trade Loth in coal and in stone upon the line, which it may be rea sonably i iferred will become beneficial to the Company as well as to themseiv.is. The bniefit arising directly and indirectly to the great Western Railway Company from the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Line, though considerable, is of course greatly limited by that Railway not yet running into the great line of traffic through Glou cester and Cheltenham. The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Company has now a Bill before Parliammt enabling them to treat with other parties, and your Directors will steadily keep in view arrangements which may be mutually beneficial to the two Companies. The Engineer's Report is appended to this, in order to afford full information to the Proprietors on the state and condition of the works, the winding-up of accounts, and the general review of his last estimates, as far as the progress of settlement with contractors enables him to communicate any decided result. The Directors have given full effect to the resolutions of the last half-yearly meeting of the Company, for altering the constitution of the Board rf Management, by a reduction of numbers, with the changes i■ the periodical retirement of Directors consequent thereon. The numbers were reduced to eighteen by the lamented death of Peter Horrocks, Esq., and by the resignation of the un dermentioned Directors, viz.—Ralph Fenwick, Esq., Charles Bowles Fripp, Esq., Riversda!e William Grenfell, Thomas Pycroft, Esq., and Robert Scott, Esq. Under the new arrangement which was ordered to be adopted for the determination of the four Directors to retire at this meeting, the period of service of Robert Frederick Gower, Esq., Thomas Richard Guppy, Esq., William Singer Jacques, Esq., and George Jones, Esq., has expired, but being re-eligible, they severally de clare themselves candidates for reelection. ENGINEER'S REPORT. 18, Duke.strott, Westminster, Fi.h. 22, 184. GENTLEMEN,—The whole line having-been opened a short time previous to tl c last Half-yearly Meeting, my Report upon the h tate of the works and proceedings of the last six months, might be, I ani happy to say, limited to the satisfactory statement that these works, although many of them are very new, and exposed so imme diately after their construction to the severest trials, have sp fdr withstood these trials as to allow of the uninterrupted working of the Railway. But the extraordinary winter which we have just passed through, and the consequent injury which all new works have sustained during this winter from the long-continued and ex_ cessi vit rains, and the subsequent violent alternations of frost and thaw must naturally have excited anxiety as to the effocts produced upon those parts of our line, and those works which were barely completed before this weather commenced, and these circumstances requ' rc that I should give some account of the difficulties we have had to con. tend with, and of the degree of success attending the means taken to meet those difficulties. Upon the part of the line thus recently opened occurred all the heaviest works (excepting those between Bristol and Bath), and es. pecially those works which from the character of the soil were the most likely to suffer from the weather. From Wootton Bassett to the Bristol side of Chippenliam, and from the Box Tunnel to Bath, a total distance cf upwards of twenty miles, the natural soil is everywhere clay, and at several points, clay of the worst description. It is almost unnecessary to add, that in cuttings and embankments newly formed, and of such ma. terials, the bursting out of water in the slopes of the former ' at points where no previous indication of water existed, and the complete washing down and dissolving of the surface of the latter, were the frequent and unavoidable consequences of all the natural drains of the surrounding country being overcharged, and of the almost incessant fall of rain. Slips of various de. greet of magnitude occurred in the slopes of the cuttings— one of considerable extent in the Wootton Bassett cutting : in this case, as indeed almost always in slips or cuttings, there was no alternative, the only remedy being the entire removal of the dis- turbed ground, and the carrying back the slope at that part. About 2.5,000 cube yards of earth have been removed at this slip. In the Ashley cutting, between Box and Bristol, where the sloping ground beyond the cutting has always given much trouble, the ex tensive precautions taken, by shafts and headings connecting them to effect a perfect under-tlrainage of the hill, proved very efficacious, and has no doubt saved us :rom very serious slips; the increased quantity of excavation required here, in consequence of slipping, has been small, and the temporary roads which had been left for re moving the materials from the slopes clear of the main line, have now been removed. In the clay embankments the greatest difficulty has been felt in the repairing of the slopes where the material has been actually washed down in a state of mud ; at many of these points no dry materials could be obtained, and consequently there were no means of reforming the slopes; faggots have at these places been used extensively, both for protecting and draining the surface, and even when necessary, for making up the embankment; in such cases the safety, and other advantages of the continuous support to the rails, were strikingly manifested ; the longitudinal timbers kept their form, and maintained the line sufficier:tly straight over weak places, when separatesleepers or blocks would !MC completely dropped out of place, and whe❑ the security of the line appeared likely to be increased by it on account of the one side of an embankment set. tling or washing down more than the other, the whole line of rails could be, and frequently has been, shifted bodily tit veral feet side. ways, or even lowered considerably, aud set again with good curves and regular easy gradients, without difficulty or tl c slightest risk between the passing of the trains ; and the line has thus been kept in good working order, and perfectly safe, at times and in cases in which, without this facility, great delays must have occurred from the crossing or stopping of trains. By constant attention, I am happy to say, we have succeeded in passing through this winter without any extensive injury to the new work•, involving either stoppage of the line or any other seri ous consequences. The late accident at Sunning, disistrous - a's it may have been in its results, was a very painful instance of serious consequences arising from a very alight and totally unexpected cause, The Sonning cutting had been compteted for two years— the slopes had from the first been carefully formed and well drained, and the cutting was considered one of the best on the line; the sur face of the slopes had at some points slid down—a common and com paratively unimportant occurrence with new slopes; these places had b:en drained and left till more fav , urable weather er complete drainage aftinded a good opportunity for repairing them ; but unexpectedly _ . a part of. the solid slope itself was thrown forward from near the top cf the slope, and although net very extensive, formed a slip sufficient to cover a short piece of one line of railway; with the earth were bronght down several large pieces of a thin bed of sandstone, which were sufficient to throw the engine and tender violently off' the rails, and thus cause the light waggons behind to be broken, whereas, without the presence of the stoncs, the result would most likely have beers comparatively trilling —a combination of un foreseen circumstances thus rendered serious a most 'unexpected, and in itself, an unimportant slip. It has since been found by cutting into the slope, and endeavouring to trace the cause, that a large 1 basin of gravel exists within the clay just at this point, approach. ing very near to the cutting, and which overcharged with water, the usual drainage being for the first time insufficient, had pushed the tour of the slope into the cutting. Against such contingencies, whether on a railway, or in any other work, it is impossible altogether to provide, but as far as unremitting attention, vigi. lant and constant inspection of the works by mysQlf and. my assistants, and the prompt and vigorous application of the most complete remedies that could be applied, I can unhesi tatingly declare that your interests have been taken care of by the maintenance of your works, and the public safety and con venience have been preserved to an extent which the difficulties of the season at one lime Lordly allowed me to hope could be effected. The weather has, of course, almost completely cut a stop to or materially delayed those works which were in the course of con struction, and involving any building—the Swindon engine -house stations, goods' sh: ds, and all other minor works. These cir cumstances having unavoidably delayed the finishing offof many of the works, and winding.upof the contractors'accounts, from this cause more particularly, although in some degree, also, from the occupation of my time consequent upon the frequent and sudden calls to various parts of the line, I have not been able to complete the general Re. ports which I had intended to have laid before you at this meet. leg, when I had expected that all the works would have been com pleted, and the accounts squared, and in referring to either of which I could consequently have spoken of any of the details or of the causes of expense freely, and without danger rif embar, rassing any question of unsettled accounts which I cannot now do; and I could have roterred to the completion of distinct works, completed for specific sums, which I could have named, as to esta blished facts, this neither can Ido at the present moment, I must therefore look to a future opportunity fur making this Report. The various occurrences which I have referred to as requiring and receiving such constant and serious attention, have nccessa rily been attended with some considerable expense, but I am happy t fi ma n y f t f hat although it is not in my power yet to arrive at a suf. h m e a o te m of fef tbis cost , f which is so much mixed up with contracYtsgaofre estimate orks f ~ not e a e s n s s t of o anr j sg u e s; ciafaysn might h n t arn ha in v i t t wound venture any sum, I do not think it will ha ve w been expected, and although for the same rea sons to give any positive opinion, yet I can say, that having several contracts, and having gone very far towards a settlement of other accounts, I have no reason to fear that any ground of coin plaint will exist as to the correctness of my last estimates. I am, Gentlemen, your obedient servant, I. K. BIIUNEL. The Report of the Directors, and the Engineers' Report having been read, The CHAIRMAN said that perhaps the Proprietors would dispense with the reading of the accounts,. as the results had .been stated in the R e p o rt, and as a copy of the account was annexed to the :Report. —This proposal having been unani mously assented to, • . . _ The CHAIRMAN said that if any. Hon; Preprieter was &sr rous of making, any observations, op the.subjects alluded to in the.Report - n• , w was the.time for doing so , .before he pet the • ~.ti . resoluon'lLit the Beport: be addpred: " • 2 0. - Cuovrti - vr A rr E wtslied 'to know whether li6 was to understand that the - Directors - considered their present funds were sufficient for every thing. The CHAIR34•AiN-Ye s , Mr, CROSSIIIYAM Wag desirous of knowing how mach of the locomotive expenditure was charged to the capital account. Was the amount of 120,6041. expended for locomotive car llages, &c , within the last half year, for articles entirely new ? 'the CH AIRM AN—Nothing has been charged to the capital account except for what is entirely new. Mr. CROSTIIIYAITK—What is our present stock of engines? The CIIA IRMA N—One hundred and seven. Mr. CROSTHWAITE—Are hey all paid for? The CHAIRMAN—NearIy so. There may be some small sums outstanding, but their amount is very trifling. Mr. CROSTHWA ITE —How many more have been ordered? The CHA IRMA N— Twenty-ono, which will make one hun. dred and twenty-eight in all. Mr. CROSTIIWAITE—Do you think that will be all that will be required. The CII A I KM A N —I think that number will be perfectlyade qua's, but Mr. Brunel can perhaps furnish the Hon. Proprietor with more accurate information than I can. Mr. CROSTII WA ITE —I am anxious to know how far see have met the expense we arc likely to incur for locomotives and care Ages. Mr. Ban NEL—I think 130 engines will do all the work of the rood. Mr. CROSTH WA era—Then with regard to the suits at law. The CHAIRMAN—We have had one recently decided against us in the Court of Exchequer. Mr. CROSTIIWAITE—Is that the same cause that was tried at Liverpool? The Crtareatax—lt arises out of that cause. Mr. CaosritwArra-:--When will the Cheltenham line be completed ? The CHAIRMAN said that the Directors bad always at tached the greatest importance to the finishing of that line, but they had nut thought themselves empowered by the Proprie'orl to enter into any consideration of the ques tion of endeavouring to complete the line on their own account. Such aid as they had been able to give. to that Company the Di rectors had always given ; but if the Proprietors should deem it desirable for the Directors , to enter into negotiations for the completion of the road upon an equitable basis between the two Companies, it would be the duty of the Directors, so soon as the Proprietors should empower them so to do, to enter into negotiations with the Cheltenham Com pany to carry out that intention. if the Hon. Proprietor thought such a course ought to be adopted, he had better move a resolution to that effect. Mr. CROSTHWAITE was well aware of the value of such an adjunct to their line. He believed that that railway must be completed in seven years, or that at the expiration of that time it would fall into other hands. Without making any motion on the subject he thought it de sirable that some equitable proposition should come from the Cheltenham Company to the Proprietors of the Great Western Company. The CHAIRMAN—Then you do not propose that the Direc tors should take it up ? Mr. CROSTII WAITE—Not unless we knew what the relative value of the line is. Many Proprietors of the line may be dis posed to take shares for the completion of that line, but others may dissent from the Company, as a company, tak ing up the subject. Mr. lIETWORTH supposed that the expense for permanent way was for the expenses of the whole line. Mr. BRUNEL—. Yes. Mr. HEY WIRTH. —What causes the other expense of 168,t , 90/. for the half year. Mr. BRUNEL—It is a portion of the cost for the continua tion of the permanent way open through the half•year. In answer to other questions, Mr. BRUNEI, stated that some small portion only of that expense was owing to the slips and other accidents which had occurred ; not 10,000/. in all. The SECRETARY, in reply to Mr. Heyworth, stated that the real capital of the Company was supposed to be 6,3e),0001. and the Chairman stated. that it was his firm impression that that capital would be sufficient. Mr. IIEYWORTH said he had never been at a meeting of the Great Western Railway Company where he had heard a Report so satisfactory to himself as that which had been pre sented by the Directors on this occasion. —(Cheers.) He trusted that other gentlemen would entertain the same feeling as himself with reference to that Report; at all events he could not do otherwise than give it his entire and unqualified approba tion. With regard to the Report of the Engineer, he was sorry to say that he could not give that document such unhesitating approval. He found in that Report these words :—" The weather has, of course, almost completely put a stop to, or materially delayed those works which were in the course of construction, and involving any building—the Swindon-en gine -house, stations, goods', shede,-and all other minor works. 'these circumstanees having unavoidably delayed the finishing off of many of the works, and winding up the contractor's se counts." He was sorry to find such an unsatisfactory state ment. The CHAIRMAN said the Hon. Proprietor must see that the hasty closing of the contractor's account would be injurious to the Company. Mr. BEI-worm' said the Report of the Engireer went on to state that the various occurrences to which he had referred in connexion with the works, rendered it impossible for him to name any sum as the probable cost. There was something extremely indefinite in such a state ment. "I do not think," said he, " that the - cost will be EO large as might have been expected, and although I cannot venture to give any positive opinion, yet I can say, that having wound up several contracts, and having gone very far towards a settlement of their accounts, I have no reason to fear that any ground of complaint will exist as to the correctness of my last estimates." 'I he CHAIRMAN said it would be impossible to be very definite with respect to accounts which had not been rendered, and with respect to which it remained to be determined what portion should be borne by the Company, and what by the Con tractors.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. HE Y WORTH said the result would show whether the ac counts were satisfactory. The remarks of the Chairman were in some measure a guarantee that no great mistake had been made in the calculation. 4.—( Hear, hear.) At all events he felt great pleasure in moving the adoption of the Report which had been made to the meeting. A PROPRIETOR wished to ask the engineer, more for his own information, than that of the meeting, whether the con veyance of such a heavy article as stone was not likely to be more prejudicial than profitable to the Company ? • Mr. Han NEL raid as far ashe was aware there was nothing in the article of stone which rendered it peculiarly dificult to car; y ; of course the weight would be proportioned to the power of steam. A PROPRIETOR wished to know what ground there was for believing that Dartmouth would be appointed as the station for the mail packets. The CHAIRMA N said there had been a commission appointed by Government to consider the subject, and the opinion of that Committee was decidedly expressed in favour of Dartmouth. Subsequently the question was rendered doubtful in the House of Commons. A Committee was appointed, and a great deal of evidence was taken. Their report, though it leaned towards it, was not derided in recommending Dartmouth. In answer to a question with respeet to the establishment of a mail to the south of Ireland, The CHAIRMAN said, communications had been entered into with the Government for remeving the mail from Milford to Bristol; but though he hoped the object would be attained, the matter was at present, quite undecided. A Pitorairroa n ished to knew whether a larger sum did not accrue for interest in the last six months, than in the former six months, and what was the extent of the increase. The TREA SURER said there was an increase of 8,0001. The Honourable Member should be aware that the interest upon the loan notes had accrued the last half year.—( Hear, hear.) A PROPRIETOR inquired wh t was the amount of toll upon tho Bristol and Exeter branch a The TREASURER replied that it was one farthing for every paasenger, and a penny for every ton of goods. Mr. ALSTON said, that before the question was put to the meeting, he felt it setts due to his own consistency, and he might say to Isis own character, to say a few words to the meeting. When the last meeting of the Great Western Railway took place, he was attending a meeting of the North Midland Railway Company. At that meeting he made a proposition that two auditors should be elected from the body of the Proprietors, who should inves tiga'e into the accuracy of the accounts of the Directors, pre inns to their being laid before the meetings of the Company. It was extremely gratifying to him on that occasion to hear the Chairman state that he telt. very great pleasure in seconding the motion. When he came to London on Tuesday he called on Mr.. Russell, who received him, as he was accustomed to receive every body .who had intercourse p ith him, with great courtesy and kindness.—( Hear, hear.) He recommended to him the benefit of appointing two individuals who would look after the accounts and audit them. What could be more absurd in prac• tice than that individuals, meeting twice a year. and for a few hours should be able to look into all the accounts, and determine their accuracy.—( Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentle man gave him no answer at the time he cal!cd, but at a subse quent lime, he stated to turn, that the Di. ectors had determined it would be inexped;ent that such auditors should be appointed. Ile did not wish to do anything in opposition to the Directors, but he considered that a proposition so sound and just as that which he referred to should emanate from the body of the proprietors themselves, and having received a refusal host the Directors, he begged to bring the subject before the meeting.—(Hear, hear, hear.) The Chairman in the short conversation he had with him expressed that such a proposal would seem to cast some doubt on the integrity of the Directors, but no person could believe, that he entertained any such doubt; but he did consider that the Di- rectors were very extravagant, looking retrospectively, and that it would be useful to have a check placed upon them pros pectively.—( Hear, hear.) He had no wish to disturb the meeting, and he had great pleasure in alluding to the great re duction that had taken place in the cost of maintaining the line, because that was a point which he looked on with sus pieion. The charge was redu ce d f vom per cent to and he could not but record his approbation of that reduction, be cause it showed' that the laying of the road was on good and sound principles.—( Hear, hear.) He was desirous of asking what was the price of eok.. 'I he CHAIRMAN said it was 365. per ton in London and 255. in Bristol, but they hoped to make a still further reduc tion in its price.—( Hear. ) Mr. ALSTON said that another question was the appoinmcnt of the Directors, which he thought to be erroneous. On the Grand Junction Iti:way the largest Proprietors were the Directors, but on their line that was not the case ; and Pro prietors who had SOO, and 1,000 shares, were not brought into the d'reetion. He would say no more at present, but would wait few his reply. accounts. stateto t I e Proprietorshe, ewere ,g,oenDeriarlelcytortiheinm The CHA IRNIAN said, that in the first place he would the in ro ol e n d n r a a u n d d i t t n ‘ g v o Bristol, who devoted several days ix each month to the duty of auditing the accounts. That mode he believed to be extremely efficient, and one through which they had a complete know ledge of the accuracy of the a ecounts.—(Elear, hear.) Ile would ask the Hon. Proprietor if the new Proprietors who might be appointed would devote more of their time to audit the accounts than the present?—(Bear, hear.) H e believed the mode proposed by the Honourable Proprietor would be inefficient for the purpose of auditing the accounts or ensuring accuracy in them, but it would be very efficient for the purposes of litigation and dispute.—(Hear. ) If that mode were adopted their half -yearly meetings would he entirely occupied by trivial disputes. He also entertained con siderable doubt as to the legality of appointing seven auditors. The. Act of Parliament under which the Company was formed, very accurately defined the executive officers to be of auditors. The Chairman then there was no mention ma de . i then referred to the Act of Parliament, which enjoined the appointment of five Proprietors, if it became necessary, to t r y g. the accuracy of the accounts. He could not h e lp t hi n ki ng would imply a also that the appointment cf such auditors want of confidence to the Directors, _who he hoped had a l ways, and always would continue to d:reb arg e their duty to the Proprietors the Directors Proprietors. It was for these reasons _ e _esiia, ! b _ e t o comply had unanimously resolved that it would not l? with the sugge s tio n o f the Hon. Proprietor.—( Hear, hear.) that and They th oug ht th e sys t em wou ld b e u tterly inefficient, it would l ea d t o en dle ss li t i gat i on an d dispute.—(Hear, hear.) And th e y b e li eve d i t would i mply a want o f confidence in the Direction, without which it would be impossible for them to discharge their duty satisfactorily to themselves and beneficially to the Proprietors.—( hear, hear. ) Mr. Vonsticy congratulated the meeting; and the Direc tion on the unanimity that had prevailed among them. He rejoieed th a t the gentleman who had proposed tht' adoption of the • Report was the gentleman who on many occasions had taken a very lively int( rest in the affairs of the Great Western Railroad. He was very glad that -he now gave the Direci tors the whole weight of his ekperience and application because they knew that, on some former occasions, he had felt it his duty, and n o d ou b t justly so, to differ from , them. He hoped that the ti me ' was not far , I distant, probably , the next half-y try westing, Aw l th e engine e r wenld meet t 'THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 2.5, 1842. with his approbation, as well as the Directors had done • on this occasion. —(Hear, hear.) He mixed with a por t tion of society, where h e h a d , f requent oppar t un iti es l of hearing the opinions of gentlemen with regard to the con struction and advantages of different railroads, and the univer - ' sal opinion was that that the Great Western Railroad stood second to none. On so great an undertaking, it must be im posaiLle for any person, however talented, to tell .ex actly the cost of construction of such large works, and if there was anything at all to complain of with regard to the estimates of the expenses on the road, still it was certain . they bad a most solid and excellent property for their outlay.— ( Hear, hear.) He would net further trespass on their time but to say how much he was gratified to find that from the exer tions of the Directors, combined with those of the engineer, they could now boast of having a property which was equal to any of the same description. The worthy Proprietor on his right, had not made any proposition, but he had thrown out a suggestion, and they had heard the Chairman's observations ilk repty to it. They certainly took their shares with the knowledge of the Act of Parliament, which regulated them; though it was in the power of the meeting, perhaps, with the cansent of the Directors to such a proposition, to make an a'teration in the regulation, yet he thought it unnecessary with the satisfactory Report. they Lad heard read, and which Mr. Heyworth recommended for adops tion. He should be sorry, under the circumstances that had brought them to such a prosperous situation, if his pro• position should be carried into effect. Ile felt him self that it was not necessary to appoint auditors Ard if any thing could strengthen the confidence he felt in the Directors, it. would be their having adopted the suggestion of the last half-yearly meeting, and reduced their numbers, and also diminished their expenditure as much as they could do, consistent wdh the safety of their property. Beyond that they could not wish them to adopt any suggestions. Ile again ex pressed himself per'ectly satisfied with the Report, and he hoped the next half-yearly meeting would find them in a still more prosperous condition. A PROPRIETOR said that, while he felt the most unbounded confidence in the Directors, yet he was not disposed to place implicit confidence in their wisdom more than in that of any other men. He dissented from the proposition of Mr. Alston, for appointing auditors, believing that it would not accomplish his intent'on ; auditors were merely checks on an account of expenditure, but if they were permanently appointed, they would soon become directors of the road, and the Directors would become their servants, under the direction of these individuals. The time might come when the railroads having used up their capital, they would be subject to a mere question of management, and auditors might be appointed; but that time had not arrived with railroads in general, and the introduction of a bad prece dent in one might injuriously effect others ; the appointment of auditors he thought. wouli tend to produce litigation. He trusted that Mr. Alston would allow the meeting to dole with the unanimity with which it had commenced. He did not quarrel with any single remark of the Report ; it was very creditable to the Directors, and was an honest, open-minded, and fair Report, from which they knew the state of their circumstances. The extent of their expenditure was comprised within 6,300,000/., and whatever might be the variation on this item or that, they were prepared to meet them as they arose. The Engineer stated it was impossible to say exactly what the ex pense of certain works would bo. He thought the time had arrived when indefinite expressions should be dropped, but at the same time he congratulated him on having given them a good, and firm, and stable property. He was merely going to ask one question—that was, whether they had got all the money on loan which they'required, or whether they were taking more ? The CHAIRMAN stated that they had not taken up all they required In answer to a second question from the same LION. PRO-. reiF.TOR, as to the probable amount that would be required, The CHAIRMAN stated, that without reference to the ac counts, it would not be very easy to tell the amount. The same HONOURABLE PROPRIETOR. proceeded to say, that he wished to make a few observations on the subject of the allowance for depreciation of stock. He concurred in the principle laid down, that the fair and honest mode of proceed ing was, that a provision should be make for depre ciation so that Proprietors might at any time trans mit the stock in the state in which it had been when they held their shares. It was needless to say that there was a decay of stuck going on of necessity in railways from day to day. Their stock was now new, and it was of course sub ject to less wear an :I tear than it would be subject to hereafter. It was the opinion of the Directors that 20,000/. would keep the stock in perfect repair for the next ten years. Now he wished that valuators might be appointed who would fix as nearly as possible the sum required for re pairs, and that as little doubt as, and could be. expected, might exist upon the subject. The stock, in his judgment, should be valued, and all risk of a deterioration of the property should be removed as much as possible. There was no reason why future Proprietors should be called upon to meet unexpected demands. In offering those remarks he did not wish to throw any ob struction in the way of the adoption of the Report, of which he h ghly approved. He thought. that Report was creditable to the Directors, and must be satisfactory to the Shareholders. Mr. GEORGE CARR GLYNN said that he entirely concurred in the observations of the Ilonourable Proprietor who had preceded him. He was sure the Directors were right in adopting the principle of setting aside a sum which they con sidered amply sufficient to meet the annual expense of depreci ation. But lie should alto say, as ha I been said by his Hon. Friend, that lie did not think any system of per centage would carry conviction to the minds of Proprietors, unless accompanied by a periodical valuation of stuck. He thought that a valua tion of the kind might be made with considerable accuracy; and so great was the progress that had been made of late in scientific inquiry, that a very close approximation might be , made to a definite result. At the same time, he thought that it would be extremely unfair to act upon any valuation from half-year to half-year, and that such a valuation would in that case be very false. There would necessarily be particular pe riods at which greater expenses would be incurred than at others, and the only sound principle was, therefore, that a suns should be set aside, to be applied during a number of years. He had not, however, merely risen fur the purpose of making these observations ; and his principal wish was to allude to a transaction in which he was concerned as Chairman of the Grand Junction Railway Company. It was true that he had himself seconded a motion for the appointment of auditors to overlook the accounts of that Company ; but he had found. it necessary to do so in consequence of certain aspersions thrown out against him at the meeting in question ; and under any other circumstances he should not certainy have recommended such a proceeding. Could there, he would ask, be anything more inconclusive or unsatisfactory than to allow parties to investigate the accounts, those parties being the Directors that went out by rotation ? For his own part, he would much sooner leave it to the gentle men at present behind the table than to such a tribunal. Why not, he would ask; appoint a committee of five, and let them take the whole responsibility. In prin ciple, therefore, he begged to dissent from the proposition made by his Hon. Friend. lie had laboriously executed the duties imposed upon him by the North Midland Railway, but he must allow him to dissent from the proposition that had been made. A PROPRIETOR said that he had travelled more than 100 miles to attend the present meeting, and he was anxious to ask Mr. Brunel a few questions—First, he wished to know whether the account that had been put in for extraordinary expenses was the preface to a demand at the next meeting for an increase of capital, or whether Mr. Brunel remained of the same opinion be bad expressed at Bristol, that the capital of 6,300,b001. would not be exceeded by more than 50,000!. 1.31t0 NEL stated that lie still entertained the opinion he had e xpressed at the last meeting.—( Cheers. ) A PROPRIETOR also wished to know how much had been borrowed upon the resolution which had been come to at the I at meeting. Mr. SANDERS said that under that resolution they were empowered to raise 300,000/., but the whole of that sum hed not been required, because, before it was all borrowed, ()Our styes would conic back again to the Company. A PROPRIETOR said, that in the report the Directors ex pressed their regret that the Cheltenham branch had not suc ceed, das well as it had been hoped for. Now he wished to know from the,Seeretary, whether he was aware of the high charge made by the coach proprietors for the carriage of pass, ngers. Mr. SANDERS was quite aware of what the Lion• Proprietor had alluded to. It was felt desirable by the Directors to induce the coach proprietors to lower their fares, and he had been sent down to them for that purpose. In September last lie got them to reduce their fares from ss. to 35., and at the end of three months they produced their accounts to him, from the in.pectien of which, he was perfectly satisfied in Isis own mind that they could not afford to carry on their coaching business in a mann, r beneficial to the rai.way, unless they were pertrated to charge 45., and that was the price they were now charging. For his own part he thought, under the circum stances, that the present arrangement was the best that could be adopted. A Pitornirrort, observed that the Secretary stated at the last meeting that it would be necessary to run more trains. He wished to know whether it would be necessary to continue them. Mr. SAUNDERS entertained the same opinion he did in February laA. He formerly believed that the diminution of the number of trains would be detrimental to the Company. It was necessary to maintain the number of trains they had new fur the summer. He thought they would have to add to them. A PROPRIETOR said, he was of a different opinion. He had travelled a good deal on the railrcad, and he often saw many of the carriagesftnply. .. . . •, • . Another: NomaTon wished to know why the payment of the dividend should be delayed till the Nth of March. He thought, as the London and Birmingham Railway had set them the example, the dividend should be paid at an earlier period. The CHAIR ma N vaid that the preparation of the dividend warrants occupied a fortnight or three weeks. In another year, perhaps the better course would be to have the meeting earlier. HEt WORTH, in allusion to the 20,000/. - per annum, about which so much had been said, wished to know whether it was intended to let that accumulate to have 200,000/. in haul at the end of ten years ? . . iatgthhole.iis conduct. The CHAIRMAN—Such is our intention. Mr. llevwortrii wished to know what was the object of it. .What were they to do with that 200,0001• if all their engiues were kept up so that after the expiration of 10 years they should be in the same stale that they were at present ? That 200,0001. would be of as little use then as it was now. He wanted to know of what use that 200,000/. would be? The SECRETARY would, at the desire of the Directors, ex us Tt improvementsihiea they D.icruercetdaraa plain to the meeting their views on the subject. Although it was their intention to keep up their locomotive plant during the ten years, it' should be recollected that many circum stances might occur to depreciate the first cost. There might, for instance, be introduicef,( in locomotive engines, so that the Directors would not be justified in retaining on their capital account, the whole ex pense oft heir locomotive plant. fund of MX'S., that which bad originally cost the Company 550,000/, would, at. the expiration of ten years, have ac tually cost them only 300,000/. — engines would be a proper step a Icor might be set agreed that the valuation of the to take, not every half year, but that if after the lapse of three Secretary a y -year Ni•nalsuuaffiticoinensthottilliedn b2es,ooorequi:site, then it would be proper to make it, and if it should then be found that 20,0001. apart. Whatever sum was set apart should be set apart so as to ride over a 1 rge space of timeh,eanmdasdoe as all t e o x p p r ia e n v a e t n i t ons th r e e i .. r ' dividends from suffering an arbitrary depreciation. The adop tion of that princirle was sanctionedexbpyenlgshiniui,tileionrtittyo—tte authority of the Grand Junction Railway Company. That Company qfotir Ai it.ehdieoie, roxhrphilamai explicit m d oi o aal l e i n t sn e a d a eli sdro a hif s een i m l ftlev i plh l a ct i : el : p h : : a : : by h o al b f l i a g ey satisfiede atirov f N o V r it t h he re n s e p x e t ct te t n o ytheaers2ooo,ooomele.tpraonpyosed to be retained as a fund o C r o t m li p s a c n h y ief , in the repair of engine?, and the amount not compreh en d it. 'I here might be other reasons fur a sur plus fund, but he could not understand those alleged. After a few words in explanation from the CAAinstarr, Mr. TYRRELL said that there was no item for tht. liabilities of the Company. He was surprised at such being the case, a lie was aware, from hearing the solicitor of Mr. APlntosh, ne s contractors with the Company , that that Gentle man had' a claim of 250 2 000/. on the Company, of e claims of other contractors added to the former would, ft _. bid reason to know, make the entire amount of Jabilities of the Company to contractors above 500 000/ He made that assertion that they might knowwhat ' ' * were upon claims them, particularly as he had already mentioned there was no item of that mature given in. the Report. . The SECRETARY begged to interrupt the :Hen. Pro • The Companyprietor. were perfectly aware of all claims up it, and on were perfectly competent to test the validity of their He trusted the Mon. Proprietor wottkd not press the discus: i introduced therefore, eva ra r.i sion of this question, as it was now pending in a Court of Lass Several Proprietors here expressed themseves as by no means alarmed at the statement of Mr. Tyrrell, but felt consiierably surprised at his conduct on the present occasion. The CHAIRMAN( said he was the more surprised at what had fallen from Mr. Tyrrell, as that gentleman happened to be the proprietor of only one share.—( Hisses and cries of Oh, oh.") Mr. ALSTON wished to make a few observations respecting what had fallen from him during the early part of the present proceedings. The Chairman had told them that the plan of appointing auditors, which he (Mr. A.) had recommended, would lead to dispute aed litigation. He ( Air. A.) need scarcely tell them that he differed from that opinion. He regretted that his friend (Mr. Glynn). in alluding to the subject, had said that the Grand Junction was not so strict as the North Alidland Railway.—( Hear, hear, and cries of " Question !") A PROPRIETOR wished to call the attent ion of the Proprietors, and particularly the Chairman, to a clause in a Bill introduced to abeLegislature for the Regulation of Railways. The clause referred to the building of bridges and viaducts over public and private rokds. He thought the ex p e n s es, intended by t h e c l ause t o b e borne in that respect by Railroad Companies, could he put on a more t quitable footing, and he therefore trusted that the Chair man would use his influence with the Legislature in obtaining what was jest in that regard.—(hear.) Another point on which he wished to observe was, the convenience of third-clais passengers. The people who travelled in that Class of carriages on railways had only two trains appropriated to their use ;, namely, one at four o'clock in the morning, and another at nine at night ; and these were goods' trains too. Such a state of things ought in his mind, to be . amended, particularly when railways were first established it was thought that no persons in the community would be benefited so much by that mode of conveyance as those who, from their circumstances, would beobliged to t avel in third class carriages. He was quite confident that the third class traffic had notbeen placed upon so good a footing as it might have been. He believe! that it might be made much more profitable to the Company ; and he also thought that that traffic should be improved for the sake of that class of the community, who would be most likely to avail them • selves of it. The CHAIRMAN slid, that when he made the observations which had been referred to in the House of Commons, be had only heard a summary statement of the Bill. He had since as certained that it contained some unobjectionable clauses. 'One of these was the unlimited control which it gave to the Govern; meet, and the other that which referred to the licensing of en gine men. The Bill, ,however, was under the considera tion of the general Committee on Itailways, and he had no doubt, that the bill would undergo such alteration as would make it satisfactory. Wth respect to another observation which had falllen from thellon. Proprietor, he thought there were various ob jections to extending the traffic of the third-class carriages. One objection was the inconvenience and suffering which it must entail upon those who travelled in open carriages, at the rate of forty miles an hour. It would be necessary to send them by slower trains, and, in order to do that, they must lay down fresh slidings, or the fast trains would not be able to run upon the line. A PROPRIETOR said that on the North and York Midland Railway, as appeared by the last Report, the proportion of third-class passengers was as 102,546 to 720,400 of the second class, and 33,000 of the third-class—a pretty gold proof that, in the north of England they did not fear the heaviness of the wind in travelling.—(A laugh.) The CHAIRMAN said the distance there was short. A PROPRIETOR—Eight or ten miles. . A PROPRIETOR said, he thought it was not sufficiently made known to the public, that whilst by the London and Birming ham Grand Ju nc ti on R a il way D u bli n parce l s were charged -at the rate of 12s. 6d. per hundred weight, by the Great Western Railway the charge was not more than half that suns. He thought that fact should be put prominently forward by the Company. . The TREASURER said that he should be sorry to depreciate their Railway ; he was afraid that the communication afforded for carriage to Dublin by the Great Western Railway, was at present inferior to that by way of Liverpool. The motion for the adoption of the Report was then adopted unanimously. Mr. HEPWORTH then moved—" That the arrangement be tween the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company, upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Directors Report, be and it is hereby sanctioned by this resolution." Mr. VOUSLEY seconded the resolution, which was passed una nimously. Mr. ALSTON moved that a dividend of 3 per cent. be de clared far the half year to the 31st of December,lB4l, payable to the Proprietors of all the shares of this Company, registered at the close ofthe books, in proportion to the sum called upon on each share respectively. That the said dividend be paid at the bankers of the Company, on and after the 24th of March. Mr. Vonney having seconded the Motion, it was put t th meeting and carried. The CHAIRMAN said they calculated what they though would repay the price they had expended. It was proposed that the following gentlemen abeal be re appointed Directors, Robert Frederick Gower, Thomas R Guppy, William Singer Jacques, and George Low, Esqrs. and they were accordingly unanimously reappointed. An Hots. PROPRIETOR said he did not think it would b right to separate without the meeting giving expression t their approbation of the general con luct of the Chairman, an the explicit manner in which he answered all the questions. The CHAIRMAN returned thanks for the manner in which the proposition was received by the meeting. Mr. CLEASSY rose to propose a vote of thanks to Mr. Bru nel, as a testimony to the high professional skill rendered by Mr. Brunel to the Company since its formation. Mr. RUIKELL seconded the resolution. Mr. Heyworisrn suggested that it would better to wait till the next half-yearly meeting. The CHAIRMAN said that it was the intention of the Di rectors to propose a vote of thanks to Mr. Brnnel, but they 'considered it would be more gratifying to his feelings if it pro ceeded from the body of the Proprietors. They (the Direc tors) bad always an opportunity .cf witnessing the high scien tific attainments and earnest and unremitted attention with which he applied the energies of his mind to the busi ness of the Proprietors.—( Hear, hear, hear.) They wit ne,:sed the untiring devotion and unalterable attachment to what he bel eyed to he the interest of the Company. They knew his straightforward manliness on all occasions, and the great integrity of his personal conduct.—( Hear, hear.) If the vote came from the Directors, it would proceed, not in the formal way of business, but as a testimony of the result of their own observation, and their experience of their honest conviction of their attachment to him. He should be expressing the opinion of all his colleagues in cordially concurring with the resolution which he now pro posed; and on an occasion like this, when they were, for the first time, viewing the great and prosperous results of that stu pendous ente. prise which his exertions had brought to a successful close ; and he did hope that there would not have been one person in this assembly bu` would have cordially responded to the appeal that had been made to them.—( Cheers.) He was sure that the general opi nion of the Proprietors would be in concurrence with the resolution. Mr. YOUSLEV, amid loud cries of " Question," and with reference to the wish expressed by Mr. Heyworth, that Mr. Brunel should defer the resolution till the next half-yearly meeting, the whole line of road was now open from London to Bristol, and he thought the time had arrived, when Mr. Brunel should receive the thanks of the Proprietors. No man had laboured under greater disadvantages than Mr. Brunel, or bad been more cried down by the public papers. In alluding to his plan of the wide guage, Mr. V. observed, that every railroad in the kingdom now wished that they had adopted it. The CHAIRMAN said it was clue to Mr. Brunel to state that he was utterly ignorant of its being the intention of any of the Proprietors to move this resolution. The resolution was then put from the Chair, and carried unanimously. Mr. 1. h. BRUNEL said if he was really unable to express at all, still less to express properly, his present feelings, he would not make the ordinary excuse that he had been taken by surprise, after the fact which had been stated by the Chairman, that he bad no idea that such an honour had been intended him. He would not refer to his friend Mr. Heyworth, though he had certainly, to some de gree, damped the pleasure he should otherwise have felt on the present occasion. Perhaps it was only because he did not feel it to be such an honour as he (Mr. Brunel) did, for he did not suppose that he intended to refuse the compliment. though it would have been more complete had it had his assent, as well as that of the others. He begged them to accept his sincere thanks ' • his services might really have b eets o f va l ue to them, and he could assure them that they had been ren dered with a perfect and entire yielding of his whole energies, and his whole mind to them. Ile h a d devoted his whole mind and body to them for the whole eight years the undertaking had been in progress; and though there might be an opinion that some expenses might have been avoided, yet, whenever increased expenditure had been necessary, it had been drawn from him with the greatest reluctance. Mr. HEY wowni begged to assure Mr. Brunel that he did not mean to throw a damp over his feelings of just congratula tion upon that occasion. There might have been expenses in curred by Mr. Brunel, of which he (Mr. Heyworth) did not sec the necessity, but be still thou g ht th at t h at gentleman had executed the great work in a manner which could not but 're dound to his own glory. The CHAIRMAN then informed the meeting that. it was the intention of the friends of Mr. Brunel to present him with-a piece of plate, in acknowledgment of their sense of his services to the Company. The subscriptions for the purpose, should not exceed ten guin eas , an d h e wou ld lay a paper on the table, in which subscribers might insert their names. Ihe paper was accordingly laid upon the table, and several gentlemen entered their names as subscribers to the fund. A vote of thanks teas then passed to the Directors generally which the Chairman acknowledged, end the meeting separated, IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, FEB. 24. The Set Alum took his seat shortly before Four o'clock. Sheriffs Magna and Rogers appeared at the Bar, and presented two petitions from the Lord Mayor, Alder men,- and Common Council of the City of London, in reference to the great annoyance experienced in the City by the smoke from manufactories, which they were or dered to present to the House. SEVERN NAVIGATION BILL. Mr. PAKINGTON begged to move the second read. ing of the &Vern Navigation Bill, which was agreed to, and the Bill was ordered to be committed. Mr. GASKELL presented a petition from Stafford-- 4hire against the Severn Navigation Bill. METROPOLITAN BUIDGES. An HON. MEMBER presented a petition from the Ward of Castle . Baynard, in the City of London, praying f o r the abolition of the toll s on Southwark, Waterloo, and Vauxhall Bridges. PRESRYTERIAN MIXED MARIIIAGES. Sir T. BATESON presented petitions from places in Londonderry and Down, praying for the legalising of these marriages in Ireland, and that a law be passed for the general registration of births, deaths, arid marriages. IRELAND MUNICIPAL CORPORATION BILL. Mr. DIVETT presented a petition from the burgesses of Exeter, against the Municipal Corporation Bill. fie then moved that the Bill should be read at length by the Clerk at the - table, which was done. CORN-LAWS. Mr. BROTHERTON presented a petition froth Sal ford, signed by 7,383 individuals, praying for a total re peal of the Corn-laws ; also another petition, agreed to at a public meaino., praying for no property qualifica tion, Vote by Ballot, Annual Elections, Universal Suf frage, and that the petitioners might no longer he com pelled to obey the law of the land.—(A laugh.) • Mr. BURFIELD presented a petition from the As sociation of Wesleyan Methodists, at Bradford, against the Corn and Provision-laws. Mr. COLLIER presented a petition praying that some measure should be introduced for legalising Pres byterian mixed marriages.. . Colonel RAWDON presented a petition from a place in .Armagh, signed by 600 inhabitants to the same - effect. • Mr. •GEORGE DUNCAN presentgd a petition against the plan of her Majesty's 3.linistersmith_ropect to. the Corn-laws. Dr. BOWRING presented six petitions from Strat ford, iu FAlsex, and from various parts of the metropolis ; also a petition flora Darlington, the whole sign e d by 205,000 persons, and all praying for a total repeal of the Corn-laws. Sir R. H. INGLIS presented a petition from the Pre sident and other members of the Protestant Emigration Society of Glasgow, praying that a recommendation should be made to the Local Government of Ca-mda, with respect to free lands of the provinces, part of which might be granted to the Society for the purposes of emi gration. The petitioners stated that great distress had been experienced in their neighbourhood for years, and that the prosperity of the place would be promoted by a system of emigration.—(Cries of " Order, order.') The petitioners prayed that the Government would allow the emigrants to be conveyed in Government transports. Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from James Hawkins, a respectable member of the Society of Friends, praying that no revenue should be raised on intoxicating drinks, as being unchristian. Also a peti tion from Belfast, signed by 13,700 inhabitants. Also a great number of petitions from places in Cork, WestmAth, and other parts of Jreland : all praying for a total repeal of the Corn-laws. Mr. OSWALD presented a petition signed by 15,000 of the inhabitants of Glasgow, praying for a total repeal of the Corn• laws. Mr. WALLACE presented petitions from Ayr and other places in Scotland, against the plan proposed by her Majesty's Ministers with respect to the Corn-laws. METROPOLITAN BRIDGES, Mr. BECKETT presented a petition from inhabitants of Westminster, for the abolition of tolls upon the me tropolitan Bridges. kr. THORHILL presented a petition - from South wark, praying that the tolls on the different metropolitan bridges might be taken off. Mr. 13ORTHIVICK presented a similar petition from 315 merchants, householders; and other inhabitants of Pimlico. Lord CLAUDE HAMILTON presented a petition from Tyrone, for an amendment of the law relating to Presbyterian Marriages. Mr. B. WOOD presented a petition from the congrega tion of Jewin-street Chapel, London-wall, for the repeal of all duties on provisions. RIOTS IN JAMAICA. Mr. O'CONNELL, seeing the Noble Lord the Se cretary for the Colonies in his place, begged leave to re peat a question he addressed to him the other evening, respecting the late occurrences at Jamaica, which unfor tunately wero attended with loss of life. The riots to which he alluded took place at Christmas ove or ,in the night of Christmas-day. Now he wanted to know from the Noble Lord, whether he had received infor mation containing the particulars of those deplorable events ; and if so, whether he had any objection to lay them on the table of the House ? • Lord STANLEY said he would just state the nature of the information respecting this affair which had been received by her Majesty's Government. It was quite true, as stated by the Honourable and Learned Gentleman, -that disturbances did take place in Kingston during the celebration of the Christ mas holidays, and that unfortunately those occurrences were attended with loss of life. In the days of slavery a sort of Saturnalia was allowed by the planters to the slaves in all the great towns, and their proceedings were regarded rather with satisfaction by the masters, though the conduct of the blacks was very noisy and even trou blesome to the district, for the proprietors thought that the fact of the slaves thus heartily giving themselves up to amusement, was a proof that their minds were occu pied with nothing worse. But since slavery had ceased, there had been a general desire amongst the most re spectable inhabitants, -including several of the blacks themselves, to put a stop to those noisy and troublesome demonstrations. In the course of last year, therefore, the Mayor of Kingston who was independent and uncontrolled in his authority by the Governor of Jamaica, proceeded, without the consent of the rest of the Corporation, and contrary to the advice of the Go vernment—(Hear, hear)—to adopt strong measures to repress those rather riotous celebrations. He did suc ceed last year, though with some difficulty, in repressing the negroes for a time; but soon after they broke out again, and having overpowered the Mayor and the authorities, the whole town of Kingston was a scene of disturbance during three weeks. In the pre sent yo: a 7, the Mayor, acing against the advice of the Government again, and being uncontrolled in his authority, resorted to the same mode of proceedings, availing himself of a clause in an Act, respecting the sanction of which he (Lord S.) had some doubt, but which certainly seemed to justify some extraordinary as sumption on the part of that officer, and accordingly he directed the police to put n stop to the tunlaltuous re joicings of the negroes. The police were molested in their attempt to execute orders which they were bound to obey. A serious riot consequently ensued. The Mayor was struck in the face with a stone and knocked down, 'anti treated with such vio lence by the rioters that there was very great diffi culty in rescuing him. Encouraged by this success the negroes continued their disturbances un checked. The other Magistrates endeavoured in vain to put a stop to them, and the rioters became at last so violent that the police being,placed in imminent danger of their lives fired on the mob. He was sorry to say the result of this act was that two lives were lost on the spot, two had since died, and several others were badly wounded. A considerable posse of troops were then called int., the town, and for some days very great excitement prevailed. Ho was happy, however, to say that nothing could have been more moderate then the conduct and demeanour of the troops on this trying occasion. The troops in the first instance employed were blacks ; yet no men could have shown more steadiness and forbearance than did these black soldiers while acting against these black inhabi tants.—(Hear, hear.) The militia, also, were in readi ness, and behaved themselves creditably. Not a single shot was fired, no life was lost after the volley fired lay the police. That morning he (Lord Stanley) had a conversation with Sir 'William Gomm, late Commandant at Jamaica, who had just returned from that colony. That.officer told him, as indeed he had before heard, that in.order to allay the public mind, Sir Charles Met calfe, the Governor, had ordered an investigation into all the circumstances of the case, before the Chairman of the Quarter Sessions, and some other authorities, and that the inquiry was going on when Sir William left ; he added that tranquillity had in the mean time been entirely restored to the town. He (Lord Stanley) hoped that the next packet would bring the result of the inquiry ; and until then, he trusted the House would agree with him, that it would be better not to produce the papers he already had ; but when all the documents connected with the case were received, he should willingly lay them before the House.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. O'CONNELL begged leave to ask whether he was right in understanding the Nob!e Lord to say that again this year the opinion of the Government was against the proceedings of the Mayor of Kingston, and that the Government bad appointed a Commission to inquire into the ease ? Lord STANLEY said the Government had given its opinion against the prudence and discretion of the con duct of the Mayor, who :was, however, entirely inde pendent of the Governor ; but that the case had. been brought under the consideration of the Legislature and the Government. EGYPT. Dr. BOWRING gave notice of his intention to move for copies of all the correspondence which had taken place upon the subject of the right of navigation of the interior rivers of Egypt. ' TIM CORN-LAWS. An /lON. MEMBER on the Ministerial side of the House, gave notice of his determination to propose an alteration in the proposed scale of duty upon foreign corn. LAND TENURES IN INDIA. Mr. O'CONNELL gave notice that he would call the attention of the House, on the first opportunity, to the state of the Land Tenures in India. LAW OF COPYRIGHT. Lord MAHON gave notice of his intention to bring in a Bill similar to that introduced on a former occa sion, to amend the law of Copyright. IRELAND. Lord ELIOT said he would postpone till this day week the introduction of his Bill to amend the Act 1 and 2 Wm. IV., which empowered landed proprietors in Ireland to sink, embank, and remove obstructions in rivers. EXCHEQUER BILLS. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved for a seres of returns relating to the Exchequer bills. He said that similar returns - had been ordered in the other House of Parliament, and as these included one which would supply all the information required by his Honourable Friend the Member for Lincoln, he hoped that his Honourable Friend would be satisfied with it, and not press the tuotion of which he had given notice, for a separate rrturn. Dr. BOWRING asked the Chancellor of the Exche quer if he had any objection to lay the letter of Lord Monteagle to the Right Hon. the First Lord of .the Treasury, on the subject of the Exchequer bills, on the table ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he had no objection to do so. ColonerSlßTHOßPsaid, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer had alluded to his motion, he would 'state that, as the Act of Parliament provided certain places in which the Exchequer bills should be signed, and as certain Exchequer bills had been signed in other places, they had a right to inquire were those places were, and for what purpose those bills were so signed. They ought to have a fair a clear statement, in order that they might know who were right and who were wrong —where charges ought to be brought, and to ascertain whether those who were suspected to be guilty were so or not ; and on whom condemnation should The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that in laying the papers on the table of the House, he believed they would contain all the information the Hon. and 6lallaat Colonel wished. He believed that those papers would contain everything essentittl to the consi deration of the subject. He had not the least wish to withhold anything from the House in this matter, and if the Hon. and Gallant Member's motion had come on.and he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had thought it his duty to resist it, he should have been acting in direct opposition to the wish of the Comptroller -General him self. He hoped the . Hon. and Gallant Co!onel would first look at the papers, when laid on the table, and, when he had seen them, if he' did not feel satis fied, he could give notice of a motion fur a future day. After a few words from Lord JOHN RussELL and from Col. SIBTIIORP in explanation, 1)r. BOWIHNG moved that the letter of Lord Mont eagle to the Right Hon. the First Lord of the Treasury should be laid on the table, with the other papers. - - Ordered. DEMERARA. Mr. GRANTLEY BERKELEY wished to ask the Noble Lord the Secretary for the Colonies if any in formation, or any documents had been received from Demerara, relative to. . the strike. amongst the negro population ; and also . he. Wished t• - i ask the Noble Lord if any memorial had been received -relative to the distress at present existing in the C°l°.- nies ; and if so, would he state to the House the net of the prayer, and also whether it included Demeraral. Lord STANLEYsaid, in answer to the Hon. G entle' man, he begged to state that the Government had". ceived no information relative to the lion. Ge7,i. tleman's first question. They had not r eceiv7. accounts . from Demerara later than ' the 15w, 'of January, which was received on the 16th of th e Fr .e sent month. In answer to the second quei tion, iT e Government bad received the memorial to which ta Hon. Gentleman had referred, and whiCh included' the colony of D eme r ara ; b u t h e (L or d St a nley) had not Li sa an Opportunity of looking over the memorial, but iu.tll€ course of a day or two he would give the Hon. Gen . o € , man the information he required. CORN AVERAGES. Mr. S. O'BRIEN begged to ask the Hon. Baronet 4, R. Peel) whether, in the event of passing the laws Amendment Bill, the averages would - be taken the six weeks previous to the pivsing of the g" the six weeks following ? Sir R. PEEL requested the Hon. Gentleman t9-** l 7e him to postpone for the present ^ - iving a decided to that question.—(Hear, and a laugh.) - CHINESE RANSOM. vc f lit • Mr. BLEWITT, understanding that the ( 1 Honourable the Chancellor of the Exchequer' 113i44 no objection to ti.e return for which he pror - ii , to move, respecting the silver paid by the Chiee:,esi,) ransom for Canton, begged to aSti (as we underst(.l whether the decision of the Government, as exp ite , ter . in Lord Aberdeen's letter, was final or not ? ~The stated that'after the distribution of so much of the s , m ej as her Majesty should be pleased to allow as prizet to the troops coneertred in the capture, that 1 11 - do minder should go to the Consolidated Fund. Il e 111 this inquiry because he did not think that the 111°11 was a droit of the Crown. sa id The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQTTI% the distribution mentioned in theletter of the Se c . n d tart' for Foreign Atlairs was a provision of the la"' not an arbitrary arrangement of the Government. t o Mr. BLEWITT repeated that, in his opinion, ty. silver was not a droit of the Crown, nor subject T it t o distribution intended ; and when the papers were l a ' r i l e the table, he would call the attention of the House to subject. PRESBYTERIAN MARRIGES. Lord ELIOT moved for leave to bring in a Bill o 'o firm certain marriages in Ireland, the legality ofwhic h come into doubt. He was sure it was not fleet: l3s l $ House any argument to induce the ouse to acced e 0 1 measure which would relieve a large nutob, el. ' $ persons who had entered into marriage ' l O form which they believed to have the p r sanction of the law. It had been the custou l i d more than two centuries, for Presbyterians and inerovriej of the Established Church of Ireland to be according to the form of the Presbyterian Perhaps a very short statement of the c ‘i stances under which the measure Was b r° forward, might not be unacceptable to the I lot► uf At the last Summer Assizes for the coul it Y Armagh it appeared that a person named 51 ,„ 1/1 01 had been married by a Presbyterian clerg)'rc , in the year le3o, and that lie was subsequent 44 married according to the rites of the Establi',,,eo Church in the year 1839. For this he had 1.00 prosecuted for bigamy, and the Counsel emidqe.i4 lil his behalf contended that the first marriage was i"" a o The point of law so raised at the trial was overruled , ,i o n conviction took place, but it was reserved for the deV :erl it of the Judges, and on the first day of last Haar)" $ it was very elaborately argued. The result ryas t ' o ar majority of 8 to 2 of the Judges decided that 11 10 be , viction was bad, and the marriage invalid. 11° 00 ir lieved that many learned persons in this is c oti rit try took a different view of the quo ation, t"ers there were many others who agreed that tl.e Judges ot ter right. It would be absurd for him to oil any opinion on the subject, but he would say that a pi the opinion of the Judges was overruled, they Nverev aU d u to consider the opinion of the Judges as the lo w :. ,yet therefore it was that a measure like the prese%viit rendered necessary. There was no doubt la ll , r ess that the marriages celebrated by PreSbyterian clergy e re were sometimes rendered very uncertain, becans t e et i o ite was no notice given, nor' was there any u time or place, and he believed that tbe r , e , e tcd no limitation to the persons who eelcu' s i n ts marriages for persons of the Presbyterian pas t-13 0 0f and who were not recognised by the Synod, had fro'l li , tha r/ performed marriages. It was, therefore, ne ec :e 3t,i' that the whole subject should un dergo in p re' gation, and the course the Government l ea' posed to pursue, was to bring in a •,0 sure to give relief to persons married P l A,, , ,itt Presbyterian clergyman, and to take the r pe9 subject into their consideration during the preset' od sion of Parliament, with a view to a full and fi, nll l,o ll satisfactory settlement of the question. The Nolo ° the concluded by moving for leave to bring in a Bill ° il subject. The SPEA tun having put the question, , ° f b a d Mr. LITTON said that he would take that oppertain t l e y ba elaining the feelings of the Presbyterians of Irelatid, f ' oun ce' been communicated to him on the subject. Since the aryl 0 0 4 " ment of the Government to bring forward the proen: to the sure, they were anxious to express their gratitude, both don ° Government and the House, for their pr o mpt eon;idel a id 00 that, to them, all important measure. The Bill to be (rO O3 the table would relieve many individuals and faraifistir great anxiety and much care. Th e members of. the J oun ce" terian persuasion also felt esp ec i a ll y grate f u l f ur the n nn tary f ut. ' ment made the other n ight b y th e N o bl e L or d t h e Set log the the Colonies, of a prosp ec ti ve measure on the ,subject o lee ,' ' tisf /c ; earliest consideration o f th e Government. - A more , tory measure than that which he (Mr. L.) understTi l i i Noble Lord, the Secretary for the Colonies, to say 4. °, 1.1 I WO with the early consideration of the Government, CO'o" ~disk conceived. He was enabled to state that the clergy 00d , ec ei'' s men of the Presbyterian body were perfectly ready 10 ,1 s ,jeti with gratitude the measure proposed. He thought it ' ion4 b o to let the House know the purport of the corarnunicat had M received from Ireland on the matter. t r. O'CONNELL said there could be no doubt th iai o class of persons sought to be relieved had the stronges t on the country and Government for such relief. l be i r j s'ettl tied with a full conviction that the m a rr i ag es so etin i el a ge were legal. So far from their suspecting that those al a lt ectli were illegal;even he ( Mr. O'Connell) hi mse lf, who we-4 pc t ho e familiar with the law of marriage in I re l an d, would f ° hesitated; before the late decision of the Judges was g ir i, t 1 16 have given his opinion that those m arr i ag es were val"' y only mentioned that to show that those parties were t'ewrnuid, from having any intention to violate the law. * 4 ttli f t therefore, request the N o bl e L or d (L or d Eliot) to Pa 5 ;411 Bill as speedily as possible. At p resen t, individua l s ~1 1 ,311 1, e marry a second ti me w ith ou t comm i tt i ng any crime by law, though morally guilty of bigamy. He would a d i } leave to call the N o bl e L or d' s attent i on to t h e cat- 16 1 0 5° s which the marriage law ought to 'be app.oached. Th e ir eis t , l marriage were mo s t essent i a ll y str i ct i n E ng l an d. In tcle. they were partly s t r i c t, an d par tl y a d m i tte d o f grea t latit t rr ie Scotland the grea t est l at it u d e was a d m i tte d i n t h e l a w of re' delf t In Scotland, marriage might be contracted between trV isk efT by the mere passing of a few words before witnesses. 0 0 4 tioned this to show that restrictions in the law of marl not be essentially necessary. He hoped the Noble Len an y treat the subject with great caution before be introdn e , t 'oly general measure ; but let him by all manner of Inca us , i t the legality of these marriages as quickly as possible. , t Colonel RAWDON stated t o th e H ouse a fact ti ta t . occurred in Armagh, as long a g o a s th e 26th of Jaw-t ar t ° 11 13 r A poor woman applied for ad m i ss i on t o th e workhouse , ,ftC o town, in consequence of her husband h av i n g deserted ll e , r ecri . , having been married fourteen years. Ha had abancloncood 11; consequence of the state of the law on this subject , t o ts' . j children were now for the same reasons d escr ibed as a rre on the books of the workhouse. NoW this fact having ° d aT so long ago as the 26th of January, he could not feel that e° ; of gratitude to her Majesty's Government that had b a t ti e pressed by the Hon. Member. He could not but feel t , co ot ie Government had been exceedingly tartly in adopting 11 % 1 , 1 , 0 which common sense and common humanity dictate' 1 " s. thought it was the duty of her Majesty's Governme nt l o s id very tirst opportunity after Parliament met, to hav e • ,s the table of the House a Bill for . the purpose of refire 'Ve o ' grievance. The Presbyterians of the north of It &fin i t e 0 0 ' 0 not agree with the expressions of gratitude used by t c 5 Member ; they considered the measure now iiitrode°l-escrii; meagre one ; they naturally considered it to be of that t , tion, when the sacred right which their ministers ha d , c c 's maintained and exercised of uniting the members of g 1) 36 , regations, was not asserted. These were not days fetr r cler6 in legislation ; he had the authority of a fresbytel 'a ri s e l',/ man, whose name he could give, if r.ccessary, for 51 ):, - ct the Presbyterian ministers were determined not to ac t i - ca n measure at the bands of the Government which did n ° on them what bad hitherto been their right. loe' siL iti Sergeant 'J,ACKSON said it w as no t so very► Perlialuent met ; the Goverement could not tO hlca r o 3,, attention to a subject of more importance. ,s' e cte 9 , o 4, Great excitement bid prevailed in 'lreland on the importance. the Presbyterian body in that country, and tther.spestois„ bodies, were most anxious that some measures of ap i 5 , 1 1 e nature should be introduced. Those bodies had 1 05 0 ,01, the Government the necessity of settling the law a ~1 10 1 in Ireland. That was a matter requiring the most..igv sideration. It was most injurious to meddle has wa'r,sxt law on that subject ; but still the Government felt ft e s t portant at once to introduce a measure to legalise ` in s na lj already been done. With regard any prospeeli ve •of t ; 1 he had applied himself most anxiously to to the consideratiloerei, sukiect, with a vi ew o f bringing forward sol n h e a d measure on the subj ec t. Th e case which the alluded to by the Gallant Officer proved , s , r e cessity that existed- f or anxious consideration b" i f prospective mea sure s h ou ld b e i n t ro d uce d, because be o l e- to marriages were legalised the party might be subjec t 0• 0 1 ,5 . dieted for bigamy. At the same time he felt no fu i ' onr siat io , be lost in the introducing a measure to legalise thos e the TO which had taken plac e , a nd th e meas u re proposed by ne j Lord was one for that purpose. d Lea r ea ti- , Mr. FOX MAULE thought that the Hort• an the re €, Gentleman who had just sat down had proved that t in delis been some remisness on the part of the Govermile t , t esed s s ing the bringing forward of this measure. He B " 9.l o „ E itle! e - 0 , any measure of a prospective nature would require.o_,e 13 1; e tion, but the fact stated by the Gallant Officer te .s t d : nv fi e v o l go place proved that if the Government had done w e' g: v be Member of it would on the first day of the se i s r 3 t a ° l ; v:; , l3 , t notice of some measure f.a. legalising these 511 1 ' could say how many instances of a similar nature l_ rrod tioned by the Hon. and Gallant Member, had occ, n _ a ricv,„ the 15 days whieh had elapsed?—( Hear, hear. ) „ u es , „,. ! terian, he felt glad the Government had taken up tn„ re s',7 and he. hoped the Noble Lord would hose no time forward Isis Bill.—L eave was th e n given to bring.' the ADMISSION OF STRANGERts• nae rat he ti c''+ MUNTZ said that, in rising to submit to t no ec tion of the House the motion of which he bad giv, tn s , wee„,,s . was not his intention to trouble the Hoes 3 with aIW7,„ nor in his opinion did the motion require one• it ca l ad‘7 o, struck him that as all the votes were published no r tage was derived from the exclusion of strangers 00_,.ilectael.,,t,, whilst lie thought that the strangers wl:o might be would o'ol the gallery, when the order was given, that they W v e: sfrs o , o 7,, , draw, through the rush which was inlet, to the 10bb.,`,; tided the que.tion upon which the House divided..anic,looll the lower waititig-room when-the bell rang fur the Ite t „ to w -l o se and was shut out in consequence of the inconvetlie n , f 40 he referred. He thought that the Members 0 4 , should have .an opportunity of coming to , the ,0 1 :::_ vet . ca: i statesmen, and not like schoolboys who were rerun.," o w c o T: other.—:( A laugh.) Another consideration wtn oug ht I:0 Linz' to propose this motion was that they; _ at, hea ,, unnecessarily to annoy the public ? ( 11 , e .t. •in With respect to the gentlemen who _ z =t hat L ii „s. , Reperters' gallery,- it appeared to him (Mr. Muf o ) inge e _ l ;7, present arrangement was especially objectionable. s .1 1 ,„ se , be more important, both to the publie-and to th .y l ir y i t i l 1W that the reports of their proceedings r b liould be gl °I "" ~. grva , the had . aud, that.