The Sun. — London, England, 1850-02-27 00:00:00

fourtb SUN OFFICE, Seven o'Clock. EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY. (THIS DAY.) The twenty-seventh half-yearly general meeting of tfii shareholders of this company was held at the London Tavern, Bishopsgatc-street, this day, at one o'clock, for the purpose of receiving a report from the directors of the progress of the undertaking, and for the transaction of other business. Long before the ,hour of meeting the large room and the gallery at the foot were crowded with shareholders. At one o'clock, Mr. Edward Ladd Betts was called to the chair. The SECRETARY proceed to read the report of the directors as follows: " Upon meeting the shareholders at the end of the first half-year that this board of directors have been in office, they must recal to the remembrance of the proprie tors the state of disorder in the affairs of the company at the time when they were elected in July last. That dis order had, as a first measure, to be rectified—the company's credit to be restored—and new arrangements to be method ized; to enable the directors to judge how traffic could be best developed and expenses reduced. The board have by incessant labour done their utmost within so short a period to place matters in train for future and further amelioration ; and encouraged by the confidence of the proprietors, they yet hope that their exertions, and those of all persons connected with the company, will lead to an improving re venue and decreased expenditure. The present board can• not be held responsible for the past, and they have deter mined to'represent the undertaking in the accounts now exhibited to the meeting and in all future accounts in its true condition without the slightest attempt to overstate its merits cr its powers. This course of proceeding will be best calculated to place the property of the company on a solid basis. "Fee the purpose of overcoming the large arrear of busi ness, left for the board to arrange, and in order to superin tend, closely and effectively, the daily work to be done in every department of the company, the directors formed themselves into four working committees for the separate direction of traffic, account', stores, and engineering, includ ing the locomotive department. A joint committee for the transaction of business peculiar to the Norfolk Railway was also formed, in accordance with the agreement between the two companies, 'consisting ofeefour Eastern Counties and three Norfolk directors, and is acting at present without re muneration to the Eastern Counties section of the com mittee. " The results of the past six months' working of the lines, in receipts and expenditure, paid or incurred, are fully set forth in the accounts which have been published and distri buted amongst the proprietors. These exhibit that the receir ts, when compared with the corresponding half-year of 1848, have slightly increased.. The expenses have been kept down as much as hitherto practicable. To compare them with the charges for the like period of 1848, would be erro neous, as, in the opinion of the Committee of Investigation, the latter were not stated correctly. Besides which, the revenue accounts of the board for the past halt-year, ex hibit and debit all the expenditure incurred during that period, whether actually . paid or not, a system of accuracy which was not adopted in the former balance-sheets of the company. " None of the capital has been treated as unproductive, and the whole of the interest upon guaranteed stocks and debentures, is, therefore, for the first time, charged against revenue. " The directors have debited the revenue of the past half year with every expense to which it can justly be considered liable, and it will be observed that the charge upon it for the renewal of locomotive engines, carriages, and waggons, hav ing accrued due, but not actually paid, is taken into account. Toe amount charged against the revenue of the half-year for the renewal of engines and carriages worn cut is 11,950/- The sum of 16,0001. has been set apart for the renewal of the permanent way• and works, and carried to the credit of that fund, according to the resolution of the proprietors. "It is proper, likewise, to draw attention to the fact, that the interest payable to the Northern and Eastern Company, on their quarter shares, has been diminished to the amount of 1,2671. par annum, from an amount of capital hitherto temporarily entitled to six per cent., being under the agree ment of amalgamation reduced to carrying foie per cent. "The entire revenue of the half-year has been 424,578/. 15s. Id., of which 69,2941.45. 9d. have been earned upon the Norfolk Railway. It was the wish of the proprietors at the last meeting to have the receipts of each company kept se parate, and this has been done. The charges for mainte nance of way have also been kept separately, but it is im practicable to preserve any separation in the locomotive ex penses and in the great bulk of the carrying and general charges. '" The working expenses, disbursements and charges against the half-year amount to 372,6201 Bs. I Id., leaving net 51,9581. 6s. 2d. to which the surplus of 976/. Os. Id. after paying the last dividend must be added, making a ba lance of 52,934 t. tis. 3d. • " The directors have therefore to recommend a dividend of three shillings per share upon the Consolidated Stock of the Eastern Counties Company ; and the payment to the Nor folk Company, in terms of te agreement between the two companies, of such a sum as shall be sufficient to pay an equi valent dividend upon the Consolidated Stock of the latter company. "The professional accountants have not yet completed their examination of the account of the capital expended, and in consequence the board have been unable to fulfil the pro mise• made in their last report that a full statement of the company's expenditure on capital wculd be furnished previous to the present half-yearly meeting. The proprietors are referred to the report of Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., on e this subject ; by which also they will find that a sum of 2,5131. has been recovered for the company. At the same time, the directors being able to estimate the outstanding liabilities, and knowing that no new works have to be con structed, except the completion of the junction line between Sheltorth and Shepreth, more particularly alluded to hereafter 4tid the extension of the accommodation at the London sta tions, are enabled positively to say that the capital ac count shall be closed within the amount stated in the published accounts appended to this report.—(Cheers.) The utmost further sum requiring to be now raised is 160,000/., in which sum :is included 90,0004 for the construction of the Shelfurd and Shepreth line. Probably a less suns than 160,0001. will be sufficient. But the aggre gate of capital mentioned in those accounts will be the ex treme upon which interest and dividends hill be payable. That the directors might better acquire a full knowledge of the liabilities of the company, and arrive at the desirable conclusion within what sum the capital account could be closed, they caused advertisements to be inserted in the public papers, requiring all claims against the company to be sent in for examination. Many were received; their amount was not greater than. had been anticipated ; most of them are in course of settlement and liquidation, and means will be taken to bring all matters in dispute to a final determination. It is intended to take early measures for realising the surplus lands and other available property. " Considerable sums have, in former years, been impro perly taken from capital, and applied to payments on aceount of reeeinue. Although these were reduced by the proprietors consenting to forego the payment of a dividend for the last half-year of 1848, the amount now ascertained by the ac countants to be still remaining in suspense is 169,325/. 13s. 9d. This amount must be regarded as a loss to capital, and be so treated in the company's books, unless the proprietors shall otherwise determine. _ "The unsatisfactory state of the company's preference stock, in consequence of a large amount remaining unregis tered, caused much labour and responsibility to the dicers. The directors have called in the whole for registration, and nearly all the No. 1 and No. 2 Five per Ceat. Stock, and the New Six per Cent. Preferential Shares have been registered. The last created Five per Cent. Stock Converted York Ex tensions still remains in the form of a debt, bearing interest in perpetuity at five per cent. The whole amount of this stock is 43,9201. only. It cannot be registered under the existing Acts of Parliament, and the directors intend to can cel it, either by paying it off, or by the substitution of ter minable debentures. "The financial position of the company is so improved that the directors have not hesitated to publish in the ac counts the actual state of the debenture debt of the com pany in detail.—(Hear, hear.) Its small amount, compared with the magnitude of the share capital, and of the property in security, is a matter for great congratulation. There can be no it übt that the company will not experience the least difficul in keeping outstanding this amount of debt, until the proprietors determine upon discharging it; and that the renewals of bonds falling due will be effected at a reduced rate of interest.—(Hear, hear.) " The directors also hope to reduce by a considerable amount the rates charged upon the railway, by the parishes through which it passes. The preliminary step to this re duction, is being taken by so keeping the accounts of the com pany with reference to rating, as to show exactly, what por tion only of the company's property is rateable under the Acts of Parliament, as distinguished from earnings by the use and employment of stock in trade not rateable. The Courts of Quarter Sessions will then be enabled to do the cmipany that justice, by lowering the rates, which hitherto it has not received. "The directors have been desirous to obtain the opinion of the proprietors respecting the measures that may be brought before Parliament, relative to the audit of railway accounts, and although the Bill prepared by a committee of delegates from the boards of the principal railways has been aban doned, they think it right to give the following abstract of the answers received from their constituents s— " Circulars were issued to all the shareholders, of whom caly 2,219 returned answers. Of these, 1,429 approved of the Bill ; 115 dieapproved of it ; 620 were in favour era Go vernment audit ; and 5,228 returned no answer. " It will be remembered that the principal provisions of the Bill consisted in the appointment of two auditors, to be named by the shareholders, and of a public accountant, to be named by the auditors, and that the audit O. the accounts should be continuous. "This mode. of audit had already been adopted by the Eistern Counties Railway Company, under the present di rection. Mr. James Reeve and llr. William Ma l yhew have audited the accounts, and examined them with the vouchers laid,before them by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., public accountants, who have had constant access to and continu ously examined and audited all the compa . ny's books and accounts, and who have made out the financial statement for the past half-year. The board found only one auditor in office, Mr. Reeve, who had been appointed by the shareholders, and they considered that as the proprietors had chosen Mr. Mayhew as one of the com• mittee of investigation, he was the fittest person to be t he second auditor. The proprietors will be enabled at the pre sent meeting to confirm and continue the appointment of Mr. Reeve and Mr. Mayhew, or to appoint other auditors, as they may think fit. It is the anxious wish of the board that the audit of all the company's accounts should be continuous, scrutinising, and complete ; and they recommend that a committee be appointed by the proprietors at this meeting, to consist of three or more shareholders, to confer with the delegates of other companies, and determine upon the proper measures to be adopted for additional legislation on this subj,ict. •• The directors of the East ern C ount i es R ai l way Company, i not considering t necessary to proceed to Parliament this year, in reftrence to the amalgamation with the Norfolk c =patty,' and the board of that company concurring in this proc eeding, the Norfolk line has been worked under the agreement between the two companies, set forth in the last half-yearly report. " The accounts between the two companies have also been BO arranged under the same agreement that the Eastern Counties C om pany are not under any advance to th e N or f o lk Company, nor will they be required to advance any amount on ,loan to that company, but merely to pay up the re mainder of the purchase money, which shall be due by the Eastern Counties Company for the Norfolk Company's rolling atock, stores, &c. The amount already paid towards that purchase money is stated in the capital account. By the agreement referred to, the Norfolk Company ib bound, in case of no amalgamation taking place, t o repurchase its rolling stock at the same amornat of valuation as•now paid by the Eastern Counties Company, under the award of Mr. Robert Stephenson, and the Norfork Railway directors have, at th e request of e Eastern Counties board, since consented that the Eastern Counties Company may hold 25 per cent. of that purchase money in hand, better to secure such repurchase if it should have to take place. " Since the 12th of December last, the Eastern Union Railway has been opened to Norwich, and a portion of the traffic between that city and London, has passed over the Colchester line of the Eastern Counties. An amicable ar rangement has been made with the Eastern Union Com pany, which will enable each railway to take and develope its own proper proportion of the traffic, and the public to benefit by the increased facilities of travelling. It is diffi cult to state with certainty what will be the ultimate result of a junction so recently formed, but as it establishes a communication between the towns of Chelmsford, Col chester, Ipswich, and Bury, and the county of Norfolk, and opens a ready way for transport ing the agricultural produce of Essex and Suffolk to the manufacturing districts of the Midland Coun ties, by way of Peterborough, it will probably bring upon the company's lines more traffic going to the north and west than it will decrease the receipts from the trade coming southward; and as the trade taken to the metropolis, in ad dition to the new traffic to be thus developed, must pass over the Eastern Counties Railway, from Colchester to London, it is obvious that a good understanding ought always to exist between two companies whose interests have become to so great an extent mutual. " Negotiations have been for some time pending between this company and the Great Northern for a friendly inter change of traffic and co-operation in their transactions, where their respective lines and branches meet; and although definitive arrangements have not yet been made, it is pro bable that some course will be adopted by which the two companies shall be enabled to act in concert, and abstain from injurious competition. " The Eastern Counties Company obtained powers to make a branch railway from Shelford, near Cambridge, to Shep retb, a distance of about six miles, there joining the termi nus of the Royston, Hitchin, and Shepreth Railway, leased in perpetuity to the Great Northern Company. The Eastern Counties Company, being bound by an engagement, entered into before a Committee of the House of Commons to make this junction, and it being indispensably necessary for its in terests that it should be constructed, the lands for the pur pose are being purchased and the works will be let by public contract. _ _ _ " Some parties are attempting to apply for a Bill in the present session to construct a direct line from Cambridge to Shepreth. This unnecessary measure, and injurious to the Eastern Counties Company, will be vigorously opposed. " The directors having made two sincere efforts with mem bers of the Newmarket Company's board for permanent amicable arrangements, succeeded in arranging terms with them; but their colleagues at that board refused to adopt the results to which they had agreed. " The Blackwell hallway Company are applying for a Bill to obtain running powers over the Eastern Counties line. A similar measure was before promoted by that company and withdrawn. The directors feel confident that Parliament will never sanction anything so unjust and so dangerous to the public. " The late extraordinary high tides overflowed part of the Yarmouth and Lowestoft branches, but, the damage was trifling, and has been repaired. The improved drainaga and embankment of the low lands about to be made in these districts by the landowners, and the elevation of the rails already effected, will prevent the recurrence of a similar injury. "The Lowestoft Harbour will be finished during the en suing half-year, considerably below the estimated cost. The completion of the works is in the hands of the Norfolk Rail way Company. The trade of the port continues steadily to increase. " The extension of the branch line from Dereham to Fakenham was opened for traffic a short time previous to the last general meeting, and the traffic upon it is as yet only partially developed; but as this branch opens the way into a rich and highly cultivated district, it must soon become a useful auxiliary to the parent line. "Disputes which had arisen with the Northumberland and Durham Coal Company, as to the supply of coke, have been adjusted as regards past transactions, and an arrangement which, under theCcircumstances of the engagements entered into by the former board is equitable, has been made for future supply of that important article. "The board had the satisfaction of an interview with Mr. Waddington regarding the sum of 1,000/. received by him in connexion with the Wisbeach and St. Ives Company, at which interview it appeared that Mr. Waddington had re ceived that sum under the full impression that he was en titled to it, but preferably to raising any further dispute on the subject he' agreed to pay the amount, which he has done.—(lronical cries of "Hear, hear.') " The directors feel bound to acknowledge that owing to Mr. Waddington's exertions, and to the time and labour he bestowed on the company's business in bringing traffic upon the Eastern Counties Railway, the amount of revenue obtained is in a great degree to be attributed, and they de sire to record their acknowledgment of the assistance and information Mr. Waddington has at all times been ready to afford them, without reservation,,—(Cheers. ) "A claim for the payment of a like sum of 1,000/. re ceived at the same time, by Mr. Hudson—(Hisses}Lhas been made on him ; he has disputed the claim, and it has been referred to arbitration.—(Hisses.) "Remonstrances having been made to the directors against the system which has hitherto been pursued of granting free passes to shareholders residing on or near the company's lines, to attend the half-yearly and special meet ings, as being unfair, and as giving pecuniary benefits to some proprietors, to the exclusion of others, the board think it proper to bring the subject before the general meeting, and to request that a resolution may be passed, either sanctioning the continuance of the system, or ordering it to be suppressed. The matter is one which should be decided upon by dm ge neral body . of proprietors. "Under the provisions of the Company's Act of Parlia ment, the directors proceeded to ballot among themselves the rotation in which two directors should annually go cent of office. The ballot fixed the rotation as follows :—Mr. Samuel Ellis,and Mr. George Reed, to retire in 1850; Mr. John A lex ander Thompson Smyth, and Mr. Thomas Jones Margrave to retire in 1851 ; Mr. Edward Ladd Betts and Mr. Joseph Glynn, to retire in 1852 ; Mr. Thomas Broadbent and Mr. James Packe, to retire in 1853. "In accordance with this resolution Mr. Ellis and. Mr. Reed retire at the present meeting, but are re-eligible„ and offer themselves for re-election as directors of the comp any. " E. L. Borrs, Chairma 11.'1 The CHAIR3IAN asked if it was the wish of the meeting that the accounts should be read.—(" No, no.") Hts said the directors had been desirous, as fully as possibbe, to lay before the shareholders a true statement of the;ir af fairs. He congratulated them that the Bill for the ,i4hel ford and Sbepreth line had been thrown out in the ELouse of Commons last night.—(Cheers.) To the exertions of Mr. Waddington, and to his speech in the House, were the shareholders mainly indebted for that result. — (Cheers.) The working expenses of the company were high—(" Too high")—but the directors would for the future endeavour to lessen them as much as possible. This year they commenced with a clean book—(Cheers) —and they hoped to be done with the old accounts for ever.—(Cheers.) During the past year the greatest exer tions had been made to keep the rolling stock of the company in the best possible order, and at the least pos sible expense. The Chairman concluded by moving the adoption of the report.—(Cheers.) Dr. RYLEY, of Ware, seconded the motion that the report be adopted, but in doing so stated that he was much ditappointed with so small a dividend as three shillings per share.—(Hear, hear.) He complained, too, of the enormous amounts of the salaries of the officers, and the high working expenses of the line. Mr. NATHAN complained that 30,0001 worth of un appropriated stock bad not been accounted for, The CHAIR3IAN said it was not issued, nor was any interest paid upon it.—(Cheers.) Mr. NATHAN . felt satisfied at that declaration from the chair. He complained, however, of 4,2591. having been expended for Parliamentary expenses during the last half-year. The CHAIRMAN said those expenses were incurred long before the present directors came into office. Mr. NATHAN replied, if that were so they could not help themselves. Mr. FOSTER should like to know what salary Mr. Moseley was receiving per annum. The CHAIRMAN-8661. What was Mr. Samuel receiving a year? The CHAIRMAN-7001. What was Mr. Ashcroft's? The CHAIRMAN-750L What was Mr. Chadwick's? The CHAIRMAN-200/. What was Mr. Roney's? The CHAIRMAN-650L, and 1001. a year from the Nor folk committee.—(Shame.) Mr. FOSTER would then move that Mr. Roney's salary be 6001—(Hissing, cheers, and cries of " No, no," and " Yes, yes")—and that Mr. Moseley's salary be 7001. instead of 8001. Mr. WEBB, secretary of the Northern Counties Union Railway Company, congratulated the meeting upon the clear statement i f the affairs of the company which had been laid before the meeting by the directors.—(Cheers and hisses.) fie felt well assured that the meeting might bave the greatest confidence in the directors, and that they would exercise the utmost economy in working the line. Ile was proceeding to speak on the question of a Government audit, when he was assailed with cries of Question," in the midst of which he resumed his seat. Mr. WARD complained of the enormous sum the com pany was paying fur coke to Messrs. Peto and Co. Ile knew that the directors could be supplied with coke fur 183. a ton. Mr. BAGSHAVT, M.P., said all the contracts entered into by the company for either coke or coal came before a committee of the eoespaily, of which he was a member, on tenders, and such an offer as lals. a ton for coke had never yet been made to that committee. Neither Mr. Peto nor the chairman had ever had one tittle to do in the supply of coke to the company. Mr. MARGRAVE, a director, said the facts were so entirely different from those stated by Mr. Ward, that he would set the mee ti ng ri g ht upon the point. He was chairman of the co mmi tt ee o f stores, and he could say thatwith respe c t to t h e sout h ern p or ti on o f th e li ne only one tender for coke had been made to them c b e y pte N d ich 4 l as their\V uo d'preadneduessCoors.,, and d d it th b a o t un w d as ac them a for a period of 20 years.—(oh, oh.) The present direc tion had nothing to do with the making of that ag ree meut; they found it when th ey came into office, and from the advice of their solicitor they learnt that they co uld nr4 set it aside. The coke wa s d e li vere d to t h em at Peterborough for 240. per ton, by Messrs. Wood and Co. For the other portion of their line the directors manufactured their own coke at Lowestoft, and they produced it cheaper than they could buy . it Mr. Peto had nothing on earth to do with the supply of coke to the company. Mr. ELus, a director, explained that the agreement with Messrs. Wcod and Co. for coke was made six weeks before the present directors came into the office, when it had seventeen years to run. They had sue ceeeed in modifying that contract from the first price of 255. 61 to 244. per ton, and that arrangement was to last for three yt ari, and on the expiration cf that time, the Messrs. Wood I,ere to supply the coke to the com pany at the market price throughout the country. Mr. PETO said he thQught it due to himself to state most unequivocally and most distinctly that he never had anything to d,. with coke in his life—(Cheers)—and he thought it exceedingly unfair that any gentleman, for a sps eific purpose, should drag his name before the meet ing in the way he had t lone.—(Renewed cheers.) Mr. IPLABEN complained of some of the accounts having been withheld, and especially the working ex p,oiscs and the capital. account. He charged the direc tors with leaving the shareholders in the dark as to the amount of their capital.—(" No, no," from a director.) Re was aware at the same time of the great difficulties with which the directors had had to contend. He moved as a substantive resolution, that for the future the earn ings of the Norfolk Railway should be kept separate and distinct.—(Heir, hear.) Mr. QUILTER stated that his time had been almost exclusively occupied in auditing the accounts of the company for the last half-year, and the result had been that he bad extricated from the accounts of the Norfolk Company a sum of 164,0001., which the Eastern Counties Company had paid, and a great portion of which had been charged to the capital account of this company.— (Cheers.) Mr. Ii'LAREN rose to explain, but the meeting re fuscd hear him. Mr. PRICE said, if the accounts of the Norfolk line were properly kept, the shareholders would be receiving a dividend of ss. 6d. a share instead of 3s. He charged upon the directors that these accounts were illegally and improperly kept. The Norfolk line, it was well known, did not pay its working expenses, and therefore the money expended upon it was so much taken from the profits divisible among the share holders of the Eastern Counties line. He contended that the Norfolk and the Eastern Counties line should be managed separately.—(Hear, hear.) That that was not so, be could only (explain by the circumstance of one of the leading directors of the Norfolk line being a relative of the Chairman of the Eastern Counties line. He concluded by moving as an amendmen', that the ac counts of the Norfolk line be kept separately. Mr. ORR, of Glasgow, seconded the amendment. Mr. GLYNN said the Committee of the Investigation reported in favour of the amalgamation with the Norfolk Company. The directors of the Eastern Counties line were brought into office on that understanding.—(" No, nu.") It was his opinion that it was in the highest de gree desirable that the two lines should be worked to gether.—(" No, no," and uproar, in the midst of which Mr. Glyn resumed his seat.) Mr. BROADBENT, of Manchester, spoke in favour of the two lines being worked together. The directors could not proceed unless they had the confidence of the share holders; and if they were not working with the confi dence of the shareholders the sooner they went out of office the better. _ _ Mr. HELPS could not give his vote in favour of the adoption of the report unless he had an assurance that it did not include the auditors' report, which was false in many respects. He then advocated a Government audit in much the same terms as he used yesterday at the South-Western meeting. Mr. MARGRAVE said, when the present directors came into office they heard on all hands that no dividend was to be made, but they were determined to make one if possible; and their first object was to hold both their hands, and therefore they incurred no other expenses but what were absolutely necessary.—(Hear.) Mr. MARTIN congratulated the directors and the meeting upon there being now something approximat ing to a remunerating dividend paid to the proprietors. This time twelve months, they received a dividend of 25., and it was satisfactory to find that within the last half year a very considerable improvement had taken place, so much so that a dividend of 3c. was now declared. Still more was he delighted to see that there was a much better prospect of a gradual increase. They could not hope to spring into prosperity in a moment.—(Hear hear.) Theylcould not hope that the directors, who had been but six months in office, could in that limited pe riod bring the affairs of the company into a perfect state, but they were making progress. It was, therefore, the interest of the shareholders to place confidence in the directors to a certain extent. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) If they saw anything unfair, anything un conscientious, anything exhibiting a want of integrity or honour in the directors, no man would come forward sooner than he (Mr. Martin) would to condemn them.— (Cries of " Hear, hear.") But they were not to attack those gentlemen on the vague suspicions and crude insinuations that had been put for ward.—(Cheers.) The meeting had heard a long state merit' about coke, but it all turned out to be unfounded. —(Laughter.) The Honourable Gentleman in the chair was the first man to call attention to the ruinous state of the affairs of the company, and to sug gest an investigation into them, and that investigaton had be en exceedingly satisfactory and advantageous to the company. The meeting were told that the Chair man was connueel with an honourable gentleman who had property at Lowestoft; and simply ou that ground, forsooth, a most unwarrantable charge was brought forward against the Honourable Chairman, for the mere purpose of creating a prejudice against him in the minds of shareholders.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) Now, he (Mr. Martin) would respectfully say, if they hoped for prosperity, and to have their affairs managed in a sound and healthy:manner, they ought not to listen to such charges.—(Cheers.) Let the man who brought these charges see beforehand that they were well founded, and let him not put forward insinuations which on in vestigation turned out to have no foundation whatever. He (Mr. Martin) was satisfied with the board of directors, judging merely from the accounts and the re'- ports they had produced this day, but he thought there would be no harm arising from an expression of opinion on this subject. He had examined their accounts; he had also looked over the accounts of almost every rail way company in the kingdom, and he could honestly and conscientiously say ho did not remember seeing a set of accounts so perfectly satisfactory, especially that portion of them which carried conviction to the mind of every unprejudiced person that the sum of 424,000/ had been faithfully earned, and that every shilling that could be fairly charged against revenue has been fairly and properly brought into that account. Teey now knew the worst of their affairs. They had been a lung time in the dark, but a gleam of light had been let in upon them, and he would say that the exertions of the Chairman and the directors, and of the excellent accountant em ployed by the company (Mr. Quilter), were entitled to the approbation of the me eting. There was not one single item of expenditure which had not been brought into a decimal form, showing how a hundredth Fart of a farthing had been expended in each department. -(Cheers.) Fur these reasons, great must have been the intelligence and enormous the labour on the part of the gentlemen by whom that satisfactory state of things had been achieved. They had been told that none of the capital had been charged as unproductive, and that the whole of the interest of the guaranteed stock and debentures was for the first time charged against revenue. But they had at least this satisfactory result, that through the exertions of Mr. Quilter and the directors, 2,5331. had been added to the capital account that must have been wholly lost if the account had been unduly closed.—(Cheers, and " Time, time," from Mr. Nathan.) The Hon. Gentle man who was taunting him about time got up and made a long speech about 30,0001 of preference stock which the Chairman assured the Hon. Gentleman was never intended to be issued.—(Laughter.) He (Mr. Martin) would say one word upon the rates and taxes charged on railways. By the accounts he found that the net earnings of the company had been 51,000 some hundred of pounds, and the parochial taxes were 13,221/. odd. In other words, there was in this way rather more than 25 per cent. taken from the sum fairly earned and divisible among the share holders, to be expended in poor-rates. He also found that there was a sum of 9,6471. 17s. put down for Government duty on the passenger traffic. Between those two items there was 45 per cent. taken from the profits divisible among the shareholders. He thought the hands of the directors would be strengthened by an expression of the opinion of the shareholders that the directors be requested to continue their exertions for the purpose of bringing down those enormous expenses.—(Cheers.) As to the Norfolk amalgamation, the question was, were they to enter into a series of expensive litigation, in. which they must be defeated, for the purpose of gratifying the ca price of some few gentlemen who proposed and sup ported the amendment?—(Cheers and great uproar among the Nathan clique.) The CHAIRMAN rose to order. If the Hon. Pro prietor (Mr. Martin) wished to be heard, he (the Chair man) hoped the meeting would allow him to speak out. Mr. MARTIN—If others are permitted to speak, I think I have a right to be heard. I will merely say that we are bound as men of honour to carry out that undertaking. We have had the opinion of t wo eminent Parliamentary counsel, Messrs. Hope and Talbot, that we could not abandon it. The amalgamation was subsequently confirmed by a majority of the shareholders ; and I do not see that we are called upon to abandon it, more particularly when the Bill was not before Parliament at present, and when the directors have allowed a year to elapse in order to obtain the fullest information upon this question. Under these circumstances, I do not see why this question of the Norfolk amalgamation should have been lugged so strongly into this discussion.—(Loud cheers.) The CHAIRMAN then put the amendment, which was almost unanimously negatived amidst loud cheers and shouts of derisive laughter. . . The CHAIRMAN next put the original resolution, ap proving of the report, which was carried with acclama tion, only about six persons holding up their hands against it. The meeting then passed to the question of audit. Mr. Sergeant GASELEE took occasion to eulogise the conduct of the present board of directors for the way in which they had succeeded in extricating the affairs of the company from the almost hope less confusion and complexity into which their predecessors had plunged them. The Learned Sergeant concluded by moving that a committee of three of the shareholders be appointed to confer with the delegates from other railway compa nies, with the view to prepare and carry through Parlia ment a Bill in favour of a stringent Government audit of railway accounts. That motion having been duly seconded, was put to the vet-, and carried by an immense majority. The meeting were discussing who were to be the three members of the audit committee when our report lett. GALWAY AND i‘ E i t a i s r t i e i r s G in u.y h D nn J e, U .r N y C . T B lO it tl in i t. t. w kl a L s W p A. the pro c( C( eding t.) little the list of contributories liable to pay off the debts of this undertaking, when it wag found that the subscription•cleed was without a stamp, whereupon it was ordered to be taken to the htamp-office and made valid. In a similar case, that of the Worce::,ter, Tenbury, and Ludlow, the Master, Sergeant Rose, held that the proceedings were void al, initio and disch a rged the order to wind-up. POST• OFFICE PACKET ESTIMATE.—The estimate of the sums required for the Pust-office packet service has been published. T he total charge is 764,2361, made up of 629,290/. for the contract packet service, and 134,9461. for Queen ' s vessels employed in the service of the Post office. Two Russian line-of-battle ships, one of 120 and the other of 84 guns, as well as several smaller vessels, h.3,7e barn lately 114.9tr..hed 4t Ntkoalteu. IMPERIAL PAHLIAM ENT (THIS DAY.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. MARRIAGES BILL. Sir F. TBESIGER (in continuation from our After. noon Edition) said—But this did not satisfy there.—(Hear.) They then had recourse to the opinions of the most eminent men at the bar; and ulti mately they employed professionally no less than nine individuals, who were sent into various districts to collect materials to enable the parties to ob tain the object they so long sought, and the whole of the evidence collected by them was that which formed the staple of the report presented to the House by the Com missioners. The House had to guide them in thee- legis lation the evidence of about 41 witnesses; 10 of these were prof-ssional men employed, fifteen interested parties, some German lawyers, and thirteen clergymen of various denominations, all of whom expressed different opinions upon the subject. In this state of the matter he (Sir F. Thesiger) had been anxious to ascertain the views of the country as to the public feeling on the sub ject, and he found that tee majority of the clergy in this country and in Ireland disapproved of the pro pel( d connexion. In Scotland tee opinion of the clergy was also against it ; and the laity generally of the United Kingdom were also unfavourable to it.—(Hear, hear.) With but very few exceptions, be believed the public opinion to be that legislation was nut ro gue ed upon the subject, and that it would be unwise to a lopt it.—(Hear, hear.) He thought that any one looking at the report would be of opinion that the Commissioners would go to the utmost limits, and almost to any extent to viol-te the rules of morality. Under these circumstances the House was called upon by his Right Honourable Friend to legislate upon this matter, and alter the law of marriage by allowing persons to marry the sister of their deceased wife. In his opi nion upon this subject a serious and most awful ques tion arose, namely, were these marriages against the Di vine dispensation, and prohibited by the Divine law? It was his firm conviction that they were—that he felt the painfulness of the discussion of such a question before an assembly like the present; but he believed that the arguments of the Hon. and Learned Member for Plymouth, and those of the Honourable Mem ber for the University of Oxford during the last session, had exhausted the subject. The mystical union which was inculcated satisfied him that any mere marriage with a wife's relation was much more strongly condemned in the Christian scheme than in the looser ideas of the Jewish dispensation. He was not disheartened that he did not find such a marriage particularly condemned in the Levitical law, because he thought that the table there was not intended to be a complete one, but only contained certain instances. He looked about for aid in the construction to which he had arrived, and he did not think that his Right Honourable Friend had dealt fairly with the councils which had condemned these marriages. He bad said that no council had pro hibited these marriages before the fourth century, but had his Right Honourable and Learned Friend met with any council to sanction these marriages? He (Sir F. Thesiger) for his part, considered that these councils de clared the opinion of the whole Church from the time of our Saviour downwards, and that this was the first occa sion on which there was any necessity to proclaim it. What would be the first effect of the legislation which his Right Honourable Friend sought ? Why, to legalise marriages which had been contracted in known violation of the law.—(Hear, hear.) The Right Honourable Gentleman had laid much stress upon the Bill ef 1835, and upon the fact that the bishops had sanctioned this Bill. It was not for him (Sir F. Thesiger) to inquire into the motives which had induced those Reverend Prelates to come to this com promise; but this was certain, that from 1835 marriages of this sort were declared null and void. And let the House just remember the solemn warning which formed part of the marriage service of the Established Church, that each should declare if there were any lawful objection to their union. His Right Hon. Fri( nd had put tore and the plea of compassion for those who, under this Act, remained illegitimate. Would it nut have been well that persons, who had notoriously violated the law, should before they had done so, have had some consideration to the consequences of it themselves. His Right Honourable Friend also claimed their sympathies for the Bill, inasmuch as it affected the poorer classes--but had those wealthy gentlemen who had first started this agitation had much regard to the care of the poor. Nothing had then been said about this part of the question, but now it formed a very useful adjunct. But he (Sir F. Thesiger) did not think that these marriages were so very numerous among the poor. He did not be lieve that the question affected them so nearly. Looking at the materials which the House had before them to le gislate upon, he did not find this to be the case. Out of 1,503 of these marriages, only 40 were contracted by 40 labourers and mechanics.—(Hear; hear.) The Learned Gentleman then read the testimony of many Hon. Gen tlemen layout able to the measure, none of whom could state of their own knowledge that such marriages were frequent among the lower classes. But would the House be content to legislate upon the belief of these gentle meu, which was supported by no known facts? The case of the poor then entirely failed. The only argument for such er post facto proceeding, namely, an urgent necessity, was by no means proved as far as they had yet gone. Now ho could not help thinking that it would have been infinitely better if some of these letters, which had been inserted in the appendix for the purpose of showing the hardship of the law, had not been placed there. lie could not help advertieg to one letter, No. 36—it was that of Mr. Brougher. He said that he had, through the providence of God, removed from him a wife with whom he had passed a happy married life of thirty-six years, and having a family ot six daughters, three of whom were married, and he could not think of placing so young a person as his eldest unmarried daughter at the head of his establishment. There was is sister of his late wile who had passed upwards of twenty years with them, and with the consent of all his family he was de sirous of being united to her without any reproach from the world. They were now both about sixty.—(Hear, heir.) Now be did think that the parties who advo catee this change must have been very hard pressed, in deed efor a case to adduce such an instance as this. —(Hear.) In legislating for this change they should recollect that they were omitting altogether that class to whom such a piece of legislation would be both ob noxious and injurious. If the parties liable to contract such a marriage were old, what doubt was there but that the sister-in-law might take the charge of a young family without the slightest chance of censure from the world?—(Hear, hear.) If the parties were young, and a marriage took place, there would in all probability family, and then what could pos danger of the hardship whi c h s o frequently re sbieb stilted from the jurisdiction of a s tep-mother? Again, another takeplace but th a t t h ere wou ld b e all the as things now stood the sister-in-law quietly took her place in the family under one of the dearest relations of affectionate intercourse, but alter the law, and her posi tion would be altogether altered.--(Hear, hear.) She could only be received and be considered as a stranger. —(Bear, hear.) In the case of a husband who was likely to be bereaved, to whom should he look for com fort and assistance in such a trying hour but to the sister of his wife? As the law now stood this was natural and easily attainable, but alter it, and directly a sus picion was thrown over her, and she itn mediatly appeared as an aspirant for that place which was likely so soon to be so solemnly vacated—(Hear, hear)—and thus, instead of conferring a been on the children of a motherless family by this alteration, they would, i n f act, be doing a great and serious injury to them.—(Hear, hear.) He had hitherto confined himself solely to the case which had been brought before the House by the Bill and the speech of his Right Hon. and Learned Friend, but it should not be forgotten that when this measure was last before the House ho had taken occasion to show that if it were passed a way would be opened to still further abuses, and he had brought under their notice the case which would most probably occur if the marriage of a widower with his deceased wife's niece took place—(Hear, hear.) It was clear that his Right Hon. Friend in his proposition was breaking doe n marriages in close affinity, and allowing them in a more extended degree. The Bill was in fact, allowing marriages in all de grees of affinity, and they could not stop short any where, but must repeal all marriages, if it was passed. The Legislature had powers to interfere or riot ; if it had not, it was by Divine prohibition, if there was no such prohibition the Legislature was paramount, and yet by the clauses in the Bill misgivings were clearly shown on the subject. But the Bill did worse than this it, was calculated to set one party in the Church against the other. He was afraid the breach was wide enough already, and it did not require this measure to increase it. It was quite clear that there were a great number of clergymen who would not solemnize marriages of that description. What was the poor man, then, to do ? Why, it was said he must go into another parish : that would never do, and what was the consequence? Why that person was either driven to the ranks of the Dis senters, or to live in open adultery. But then it was said they might go to the registrar. Now many had great objections to the adoption of that course. Under all these circumstances, hefelt it to be his bounden duty to resist the introduction of such a law, and he should therefore move that it be read a second time that day six months.—(Hear.) Colonel THOMPSON supported the second reading of the Bill, and thought that upon looking at the mar riage ritual, the whole of the objections of the Hon. and Learned Member were entirely answered ; for in that ritual, after the question was asked whether the parties knew of any objection why they might not lawfully be joined together in holy matrimony, there was the fol lowing admonition:—" For be ye well assured that as many as are coupled together otherwise than as God's Holy Word will allow are not joined together by God, neither is their marriage legal." He submitted that the question with respect to marriage with a de ceased wite's niece had nothing to do with the conside ration of the present measure. Mr. HEADLAM supported the Bill, and contended that us the Scriptures did not prohibit these marriages they were committing an absolute wrong in not afford ing relief t o th e un f or tunate persons who were suffering from the injustice of the existing law. If laws were enacted to pr o hibit marriages within certain degrees of affinity without the Divine sanction, they would be generally resisted by the people as meddling and oppres sive, and rendered altogether inoperative. Mr. P. WOOD said he had arrived at the conclusion that, in Divine revelation, there was a direct prohibition of marriages of this descriptioa;:but, although he en tertained this opinion he was not rendered incom petent to enter into and to admire the arguments of Paley, in his ‘. Natural Theology," or the still more striking theories of Dr. Butler, in his" Divine and Na tural Religion." For, independent of the question of , Divine prohibition, there were other consideratiocs which ought to weigh vt ith tie House. Among the heathens in ancient times the same prohibitions existed, and although they had no revealed will of God, end in proportion us the different nations were distingniahed in morality, those prohibiting laws brease more stringent. It wee related by Tacitus that the Emperor Claudius was desirous of marrying his own niece—a permission which was accorded by the Roman Catholic Church, which it was said the Church of England ought to imitate.—(Hear, hear.) The Emperor, it appeared, hesitated for a long time in asking permission, being afraid of the public morals and the public feeling, but certain parasites about him, who paved the way for a change, told him that the old Roman morals might be cast aside, and he went down to the senate and there adduced exactly the same arguments as those which had been brought forward by the Honourable Gen tleman who had introduced the present Bill. The Hon. Gentleman then gave a quotation from Tacitus, showing that although marriage with the daughter of a brother was not permitted by their laws, it was a custom solemnized among other nations, and that the time was come when it should not only be permitted among themselves, but that it ought to become universal. Such was bite example cited in effect by the Hon. Gentleman, and he had never heard of a question of more deep interest. They had question of pecuniary and political interest, but the Hun. Gentleman now proposed to alter the moral condition of every home in Engleud. Tnis was, then, a ' grave question.—(Hear, hear.) They should remember teat he was only arguing on the law of marriage. He had only been speaking of the social and moral position of the homes of England.—(Hear, hear.) He had said nothing of the religious question. If parties cleciose to enter into a marriage, they themselves took the respon sibility.—(Hear, hear.) He was net one of those who was disposed to find fault with our neighbours, and to forget our own—(llear, hear)—but in the countries which he had visited he must confess that he found a far superior social condition in our own homes.—(Hear, hear.) It should be remembered that previous to mar riage the young persons among us were permitted a freedom of intercourse which was wholly unknown on the continent, and this led them when they settled in married life to adapt themselves to their new circum• stances.—(Hear, hear.) The reverse of this took place on the continent. The consequence was, that a man had a much freer intercourse with the sister of his wife than with any other unmarried female.—(Hear, hear.) But only let them break down this barrier, and they would inevitably break down the greatest barrier to an immoral commu nion. —(Hear, hear.) He did not like to use any per sonal allusion, but they must all recollect that a gentle man high in station had entered into an improper inter course with his wife's sister. He, in common with many others, deeply regretted that such a man had been placed in such a position, and the deep moral degradation to which the knowledge of that case had led.-- (Hear, hear.) Then he was surprised to hear that this case was rested on the condition of the poor. Now he had known a district for twenty years in which there was much district visiting, and he had never heard cf a single instance of such an inter course or union as that which this Bill proposed to pro mote. In all the statistics which had been brought for ward, it was stated, that out of 1,300 instances of marriages between a man and his deceased wife's sister, there had only been forty-nine among the poor. He believed if this case was to be supported by the wishes of the poor it must be entirely given up ; for in all inquiries he had made upon the subject the poor were averse to it, and in the parish in which they then were one man who had married his wife's sister was detested in the neighbourhood.—(Hear, hear.) The large body of the women of England were most singularly interested in this subject; they had got up a memorial to her Majesty on the subject, and no counter one had been got up.—(Hear, hear.) He thought that they ought to continue that protection to females which had been given to them for centuries.—(flear, hear.) He thought that there had been a most unfair view taken upon this question in a religious point cf view. It was said that to uphold the system of marriage as it now, existed was a Popish doctrine ; he looked upon it as a strictly Protestant interpretation of the Divine law. He was not disposed to interpret Scripture by the Tal 'nudists, but by the Sermon on the Mount, which taught them to extend and not to narrow their senti ments. Such marriages as those were never known in the Christian Church until the time of the Romish Church; and the first time that such a case did occur it was denounced. But some Hon. Gentlemen said that councils would denounce anything. But was that any argument? Could the Hon. Gentleman show any instance of such marriages being allowed before that time? The first instance was when that monster Alex ander VI. granted a dispensation for such marriages. The Gallican Church had always been opposed to these marriages, and the Church of Scotland, which could not be accused of Puseyism, had invariably condemned them. He begged that the House would consider before it con sented to place their daughters and sisters in this con dition, that whatever marriages they contracted should only be dubious. Mr. STUART WORTLEY then said, as ho under stood that the Speaker's duties called him elsewhere, and as there was no chance of the House coming to a divi sion to-night, he should agree that the House do adjourn. the House then adjourned. MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS. NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES REGISTERED IN TILE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, FEB. 23, 1850. Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases ... *169 Diseases of Uncertain Seat 57 Tubercular Diseases ... 138 Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses,.. ... 111 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels ... 50 Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organs of Respiration ... 167 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs of Digestion... ... 49 Diseases of the Kidneys, &c. •• Childbirth, Diseases of the Uterus, & ... 8 Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles ... 6 Diseases of the Skin, &c. 1 Malformations... ... 3 Premature Birth ... ... .. ... ... 22 Atropny ... ... ... ... ... ... 18 Old Age ... ... ... ... ... 45 Sudden ... ... ... ... ... ... 22 . Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance ... 28 Causes no specified ... ... ... ... ... 3 DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES Population Deaths in corre- Deaths Enumerated, spontling week in the 1841. of 1849. Week. West Districts... 301,189 . . 159 ... 143 North D..,tricts.. 376,568 .. 206 ... 193 Central Districts 374,199 ... 185 ... 151 East Districts ... 393,067 ... 311 ... 182 south Districts .. 503,346 ... 330 ... 242 Totals... ..... 1,948,369 ... 1,191 ... 911 Males ... ... ... ... ... 467 Females ... ... ... ... ... 444 BIRTHS IN THE WEEK. Males ... 781 Females ... ... ... ... ... 755 Total ... ... 1,536 *ln this number are included 11 by Scarlatina, 32 by Typhus Fever, and 21 by Diarrhoea. STATE OF TRADE. (From the Manchester Guardian of this day.) MANCHESTER, TUESDAY.—The business of the day has been on a limited scale, and, for the most part, confined to a few articles. Since the date of our last report, however, indications of a somewhat more favourable cha racter than were then observable have shown them selves. Although the makers of 7-8 printing cloths have conceded a little from the reduced prices of last week, yet they have thus succeeded in somewhat in creasing their sales. In 40-inch skirtings, also, there is rather more doing, in consequence of the decline which has taken place in prices. A similar effect has scarcely, however, as yet, followed a further giving way in long cloths and T cloths; nor is there any improvement in domestics. During the last three days the India merchants have operated freely in 40's, 50's, and 60's mule twist; giving rise to a better feeling in this department of produc tion. Manfaeturers have been able to purchase medium yarns on rather lower terms than those of last weak, which has led to rather more inquiry on their part. But the letters received this morning from Germany and Italy show a remarkable paucity of orders. Those markets have been injuriously affected by intelligence of the prevailing inactivity in Manchester ; and we, again, are feeling the reaction of that intelli gence, so far as water twist is concerned. Although, how ever, extremely little,is doing in this article, its value cannot be said to be further depreciated, but is, indeed, well sus tained by the lightness of stocks both here and in Ger many. On the whole, a somewhat more cheerful tone has prevailed on Change to day, arising out of the evident approach of sellers and buyers, in some branches of our trade, towards such rates as would lead to a renewal of business. The working of short time appears to be ex tended from this town to other neighbourhoods among the manufacturers of stout goods, and also among the spinners of coarse numbers of water twist. We under stand that, at Rochdale, seventeen mills have resorted to this meosure. Some spinners have stopped their ma chinery altogether. ROCHDALE, MONDAY.—We have had something like an average market to-day, and the manufacturers are askidg a small advance in prices. There is little change in the wool market as to amount of business transacted. , English wools continue very firm, and colonial wool may be quoted a shade higher. MACCLESFIELD, TIIESDAY.—The silk throwing trade of this town still continues as brisk as reported for some time past. The manufacturing department is also very active, particularly in figured fabrics; and some in fluential buyers have already made large purchases this week. The trade generally is anxiously awaiting the result of the ensuing public sales of raw silk, which commence on the 27th instant, and, in consequence, are pustehasing spari-cgly, In the raw silk market, prices are very firm, with a general opinion that they will ad vance shortly, which is strengthened by the overlann news fully confirming all previous reports as to short crop and scarcity of supply, with prices advancing in China. HALIFAX, SATURDAY.—Our Piece Hall has been but moderately attended to-day; and the stillness which we spoke in our last, still continues througheut the worsted trade. The only description of goods for which there has been any particular inquiry is lastings, which are scarce from causes mentioned in a re cent report. We have no decided change to notice in the yarn market. The shipping houses are not purchas ing, and the spinners are busy on old orderE. There is not much doing in wool. The spinners are employed amnf , what large Stee!C. , , bill ore, eons. quently, not; if - , ;he market. The quotations show the turn to be in fa vour of the buyer. LEEDS, TUESDAY.--'There is no change to notice in the woollen market sit;co last week. The market t nde,)- has bteu fiat; but lust Saturday a brisk business was doing, and there is still a good deal doing by direct d, - liveries to the merchants. Prices are a shade higher, lud stocks are low. There is also a good business doing in the warehouses. " SERMONS IN STONES."—A Scottish geologist' while i❑ the country, having his pocket hammer with `aim, took it out and was chipping the rock by the way side for examination. His promeiings did not escape the quick eye at.d ready tongue of an old Scotchwoman. What are you doing- there mun ?" 6' Don't you see, I'm breaking a stone." '‘ Ye'ro doing mair than that; ye're breaking th e Sabbath." TAW VALE RAILWAY.—The committee appointed to report on the propriety of eAner prosecuting or abandoning this undo taking, recommend going on with out delay. It is rt.commended to lay down u single like on the broad gauge. Contracts to complete the line on lavourabh2 terms have been ot - L.rel to the directors. IMPEitiAL I'A.tudA;vlENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, Feb. 26. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool sack at Five o'clock. RAILWAY BILLS, Lord MON FEAGLE then rose, according to notice, to move that the House do resolve `• That ten days at least lot fore the secoad r eading of any private Bill fur making, improving, abandoning, or in any other way affecting or varying any rain al, or fur erecting, incor porating, or alfccting the powers vested in any railway company, or for the ama:gaination of any railway corn peny, or in any other way touching the same, there shall be delivered at tne office of the Clerk ot the Par liament for the use of this House copies of the balance sheets of every such company, for the years 1848 and 1849, as required to be kept by the Bth and 9th Vic., cap. 16, or by any Act incorporating such company, together with copies of schemes for dividends, in which dividends shall have been declared during the years 1848 and 1849, under sections 120 and 121. of the said Act of the Bth and 9th Vic., cap. 16, or under any other Act incorporating the company, and a statement of the amount of dividends declared in pursuance of such schemes, and the date at which such schemes were agreed to, and the dividends declared." . importance a an inquiry conducted on rigid prin ciples was amply shown by the returns of the seven principal railways in the kingdom, amongst which were the Great Western, the North- Western, the South- Western, the illatichest‘r and Leeds, the Midland, and the York and North Midland. In the month of Auguit 1845, 1004 of the average nominal stock of these rail ways was worth 2161. 15a. and on the Ist of January, 1850, it was only worth 63/. 65., being a falling off of 1531. 10s. The object of the resolution which he should now move, there fore was, that before they came to the second reading of Railway Bills in the course of the present year, they should have before them their finan cial condition, with a view of seeing, that if that finan cial condition show. d malversationon the part of any of those companies, their Lordships should, as trustees for the public, refuse to confer on them new and increased powers. The Noble Lord concluded by moving the re solution of which be had given notice, and it was agreed to. The Earl of CARLISLE presented petitions from the West Riding of Yorkshire, directing the attention of the House to the evasion, by Brazil and Cuba, of treaties made for the prevention of the slave-trade, end praying the House t take steps to enforce them. EMIGRATION MEDICAL OFFICERS. The Earl of MOUNTCASHEL, in moving that there be laid bt fire the Rouse copies of the testimonials, with the names of the parties subsctibed to them, produced by Thoeas Hammond, upon the faith of which he was last summer appointed surgeon to the emigrant ship Una, together with the minutes made by the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners on those testimo nials, called the attention of the Houie to the result of the inquiries which he had made into the circumstances, which had led to the appointment of this individual to the medical charge of the Una, and into his previous course of life. In his opinion he did not think him a person at all qualified and fitted for the discharge of so important a trust, though he did not mean to say that that was a matter upon which he intended to found any charge against the Colonial-office. This gentleman for merly lived at Eton, and from following an irregular course of life became at length deranged, and was for some time confined in a lunatic asylum, at or near Norwich. How he got out of it he did not know, but he did get out, and was appointed medical surgeon on board this emigrant vessel, which ailed for Sydney from one of our ports in the middle ut July last. There were 313 souls on board this vessel, and he would admit that in the course of his in quiries he received testimonials of the highest character relating to this person, and he admitted it freely, he caue his object really was to point the matter out to the Noble Earl opposite at the head of the Colonial depart ment as a caution for the future. Having referred to several matters which took place iu the course of the voyage, which were very much to be reprobated, he concluded by mentioning a number of instances of inca pacity on the part of emigrant medical officers, the sum mary of which was that ten out of twenty of them had been declared incompetent by the colonial authorities upon their arrival in the colonies. Earl GREY said that as to the general statement of the Noble Earl, of general misconduct on the part of colonial medical officers, he could safely refer the house to the papers before them for information on the subject. That information would show them, that although In so large a service, 32,000 emigrants having gone out last year, some cases of misconduct might Nell be expe3ted to occur, yet, taking the system as a whole, it was successfully and well conducted. With regard to the charge of general inefficiency which the Noble Earl had made against these officers, he would state a fact derived by calculation from the papers before the House, and that was, that notwithstanding the drawbacks usually incidental to a long sea voyage, the mortality on board emigrant vessels was less than the average mortality occurring among the same class of persons, and of the same age, living in this country. Without going thrcugh all the cases mentioned by the Noble Earl, he need only say that it was impossible for the Emigration Commissioners to know exactly what kind of man they were employing, until they had actu ally tried him. The emigration which it was most de sirable to carry out was the emi g ration of large families, and that was the only one which, to a great extent, could go on with success. Under other circumstances it was always more difficult to provide against such occurrences as the Noble Earl had adverted to. He held in his band the testimonials which had been presented by Mr. Hammond on his appointment, which were of such a description that he could not Leliove that the information which the Noble Earl had received was correct, and that it must le fer to some other person. When he applied in June last he wai seen by the official erson whose duty it was to inves tigate the qualifications of the applicants, and was told that his certificates were of too remote a date to be perfectly satisfactory, and others of a more recent date were required; and accordingly, on the 2d of July, he produced others, as well as the necessary diplomas from Apothecaries' Hall and the College of Surgeons, where he had teen admitted a member on the 23d cf July, 1820. The certificates of competency and character which he produced were from Mr. Guthrie, of Berkeley - street, in which he was described as tato of Windsor. Another was from Mr. Andrews, another from Doctor Merryman, who testified to his moral character; also a testimonial from Mr. John Rowley, assistant-surgeon of the Scots Fusilier Guards, and finally, a certificate from Dr. Cox, who described him as a married man and the father of a family, and a person in whom every confidence might be placed. It was impossible that any gentleman could have higher testimonials. At the same time, he agreed with the Noble Earl those who signed such testimonials did so under great respon sibility, and in that view he would not object to the production of these testimonals, that those who signed might be made responsible. When the ship's arrival would be reported, a report of the conduct of the sur geon would be transmitted to this country from the co lonial authorities, when further information would he afforded with regard to these transactions. The Earl of MOUNTCASHEL said he did not be lieve he was at all mistaken in the information he had received; and the fact that he was described in the t-35- timonial of Mr. Guthrie as late of Windsor went to con firm it, where he had resided thirty years, and where his character must have been well known, He could re fer in corroboration of what he had stated to the Rev Stirling Marshal of Eton College. The motion was then agreed to. Earl NELSON then brought in a Bill to regulate the appointment of chaplains at the Foreign Consulates. He said it was the same as that which had been intro duced last session. He should move that it now be rearl a first time, and ordered to be printed—Agreed to. Their Lordships adjourned at a Quarter-past Seven o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. 26. SECULAR EDUCATION. Mr. W. J. FOX said that in rising to move for leave to bring in a Bill to promote secular education in Eng land and Wales, he was deeply sensible of the difficul ties of the question. There were those who thought that it was not the duty of Government to educate the people, and there were those who thought such a duty peculiarly belonged to them. Between these extremes there was a large number of persons who held that though Government should educate the people, it might yet see that the people educated themselves. It was upon this view that he had constructed the measure which he hoped to be allowed to submit ti the House. He thought the difficulties on the subject of educating the people arose now not from indifference, as formerly, but from the machinery to be employed. The efforts made for the promotion of education were honourable to all. Of late ye ars the Church hal made magnificent efforte, and co also had the Dissenters t) spread educa tion among the poorer classes. He believed also that the Committee cf Privy Council had sincerely eedeavoured to combine the agencies they found existing, and to pro mote the education of the people. And yet this result was that these great bodies were in collision one with another; that the minutes of Council were received almost always with :aegry discussion; that large num bers ,1 of the National Society repudiated the grants, arid that large numbers of Dissenters connected with the British and Foreign School Society also repudiated the grants, The Committee of the Privy Council had tried to bring into harmony the jarring elemet.ts, but in vain, and the result was that the progress of education had been stayed, and in some respects the movement had been retrograde. Such a state of things was earnestly to be deplored. A few years ago the Congregational Dissenters had declared their intention of raising ------____---- ---.- _ nit ‘2"'"(1. f.'" ed• rational purposes, but had faded . o le. se t'ian 8,000/. having found its way into the h _ o t: of their coeimitte e. In consequence of announced that their grants to their Brasil rTdinari li'a ort e' schools were suspended. From a report ef the Il e $ Society. it apseared they found the annual 5uy,,,..0, some of their schools a matter of greater tlif t : ; . f* then the building of them. In one of the rePe l tate d the inspector of the southern district, it wa s e s .d as sl, that not only was the building of schools wr . I_ t it but that the attendance of scholars was such tn7 te . this they D o : could not Le contemplated without regt. Are but modation was provided for 130,000 scholars,issued not more than 14,000 attended. From a Per e : n veare d by the National Society this year. it apes that their finances were so inadequate that they ." tr i c . petaled the building of schools, and had placed r„, tions on St. Mark's, Chelsea, and Battersea TrarißeLl: schools. There were other grounds than these fo,:.!c", ing the attention of the House to the question. °" , isthe last discussion on the subject, three Year s - aotis large body of evidence had been collected from vi ols . sources as to the quality of the education in t i n i e s ene_ , tsh i e ty r try, and showing that there existed a strong for a careful consideration of the question. venou s reason was the movements that had arisen in The parts of the country on the subject of educato.or f tld; people of Lancashire had formed an association listo, education of the population of that county. et,rr her which had ale ays maintained a proud position claim 0( educational system, now came forward wit that OW' more extensive secular education, in order fe t he ous education might not 'fail of its efficiency. ' we me tropolis the working people had taken a 'l ec k e by rest in the question, and had manifested this 1 01 st sa bo te( l of establishing a number of self-supporting which hundreds of their children were eduen girls' the rate of 6d. per week for boys, and 4d. f rt. ,: etb There were still stronger reasons for making so me to ts vance in this matter. No person could consider te sou s of ec:ucation in this and in foreign countries rrbigb feeling that this nation was not supporting b e es ob. character and ancient prerogative. From re grr o por tamed ion by the Government, it appeared that the reaper t" to the population of persons educated wa s lipsr aailid I in 6, in Bavaria 1 in 7 at day schools, and iive of Sunday n schools 1 in 4, in Holland 1 in 8 elelisses' e ti b ose privately educatel, in Belgium 1 in 9 si n ass t esti" usetts 1 in 6i, while in this country the of only Bi, including all kinds f schools mate, that of Mr. Baine, gave the proportion of oe'e of 1 in 13 would be nearer the ma;ka.lteugh be believ ed be smallness of the proportion, but the irNreogtsll°onrilVelloii is o lamented. It was not the same in two ooool".fc'ossses differentof the parishes in the same town, or in differ ii i, is the working people. In Liverpool it wee x l i i S I MO' . Salford 1 in 36, in Chester 1 in 2, in Sh e ' s , - dent in Manchester 1 in 14. In Middlesex, Silent; si s l ehil e ."- B berland, the proportion was above the esverabs, . t. virar• edf ird and sever al other counties it was bac )° , i , l cor diOir wick and Chester were above the average. `.-- aeste r (2 1 1 1 p P e C r Ce: lt. to recent returns from 407 cotton mills 10 and the surrounding districts, no less than -- - : s aapsre,‘ of the factory operatives could read. T b ,' s g s a l ob i : extended to the sexes. In the National , --,,, r e: er' . London and its neighbourhood three her w a - forel s ag li rated to two girls; while in the British ell' e decs , ' - o t S o ch t o n ol o s t b f oy th s. e m A e b tr o o tb p e o r lis g o r n o l n y nd on f e nr gi i r n i q Vy Asia J 5 to the gtehffibantcri those reinecrys against who iohneswteederruefcma disposedti n i education . given, knew w in crimi nal ity.—(Neer' e 9 , o iefi , of the argument he meant to use on t t o( h Eal i l s aka P er e siol3.lte c ig i birt:4l6 ; )erl a .ied p ,t ttua p luc e rers a ui i r fsit a r,i c one c nm e ta fsimll:lBnea3polts7rwaeebtvia(l preventing ni t :at : Bl ieci4nno3gii 18.13, and foundt c a aer g rnie a dmd i r n seeti s sh t naldts education wbba idn ne 0 ! , li t h e po e _ t ree, : et iti. ; b e ~$:::: oats, e o tr u oi Hl i h d ar e e ei a is a i d al lB9 B l h i -5 ° B 9il o ll W il ci • d : t ov v i , h.e a bt : s- id W eri- Pirti r i b l i n ' l o : ‘ ' f: able to read or write; 2. Those able to read and W.! n . imperfectly; 3. Those able to read and vgg st an ched and , 4. Those whose education had been of , 5 C rime • During those years the gross amount e i ti e ; of,,, c f:; undergone great fluctuation; but the proP ri sitit ail :rini,eeei;Or.aceleaei:Cet:d:tg:(l,ti f t, i ), o f f d e pi:ie s inr i above enesnistaug s te h m o bo w lte. e d no such dive r- r ae P wed a superior education had also decrestae;eloo----f per-centage of criminals of the interrned inge ; ta% s those who could read and write well—in othe r ' °of Iles those who had received the usual instructioni afoil's poorer classes, had increased.—(clear, hear.) ' l , l 6 loii ir appear from the reports of Mr. Fletcher the st erier' For la 043 , results had taken place in other res cts in the whole number of commitments ' for 18 '1' eh ti n e t and 1844, the decrease had been 13 per ee l T e 'eorn" - the decrease in the number of the ash° ll lath er h e. f criminals had been 15 6.10 per cent. Thor: .. t h -- 5 0 ''. v - ° ore been an advance of the criminality 0' those ": enjoyed the instruction of schools under the Pool o h - 1 tem. Although he felt that religious ifi egi t ed k i ll s most important to children, yet be was conv;s,,c seen' e l that instruction would only produce its gen r e - 0 0 . g ; when given with a due admixture of secular anstoebt —(Hear.) It was to the want of that sectrier;osilief,' that he ascribed the failure of the efforts B O 44 " - f ef g made to benefit the rising generation by mew ed °°t o°o7 cation. Without this teaching the child learne"..., ( 110" but words el* which he did not feel the mea ning; di d aid 11 ;s °1 hear.) The child might repeat them, but th e . , 0 10 ' i "' sink into his mind, and an atmosphere O f .sereetlectrlp: etructien was necessary, as a stimulus to %1 r e ' ll In faculties.—ilea Ile would refer to th e grbY cbk o; testt i, : iozr.,d , Lord's h e g: hr r ae i generally y e a pc l , l P r l it i ly e d; - ;00 1 03 : ivi 1 1 ,bi l roo st o: could i t. a e i s:p• Be4ctBots, repeat aa e s di; d e t:l a : j i n n : l Li t re state in which the com: teet parents had taught them were notegre.nerallY tlGaildrast found in gaols—(Hear.) It was the 'abarieene-r c ad : of reprobate parents who were u nable Lo s. -8111 n-5;1 symbol of devotion so dear to all Chris ( i nn g opt' '',a surm o, therefore, though there might be t he ' , fa d e cases, that if a child was found able to reP eß ", - r 0 ; " b e Pra3er, that child must have been at one or s r i b s e vie el s 'i b schools tor educating the poor. Bearing thes, - seawis would apply the test. Out of 631 prisoners ' r aw iP1 . ,„,1 gaol there were only 204 who could not TePea i t ". n° H e re Prayer, leaving 427 who had received 0 04 ' 1 0 Ig. „ - ii education. 01 229 in Cambridge prison en n .',,,sll °l O f unable to repeat the prayer. In that of C clr i 61 4 . 01 o f 39 out of 684. In Dorset gaol only 57 o ° V , ( i glihy Lancaster Sussex prison 115 out of 603; and i° that a r eal sinus Sundau • a s us es . e r s e t oxfryetaea( facts ol education out orm ,i r tio o o emov m f oaao i dtugshea2oe valuable prisoners, u . leersp ncio H htonor e wsol3,laois might ehaitsesst f i o lai r aesi v l r tabl necessary s tri, iihsert s so ! cianet: e i r: vtrei t ha t ecoi to:ot. c m o n m d b e i n ne p d on w f i b th e knowledge, th se i c n u d l s ar ofalmost un w s i e w e bad e.tto e n n ,ie a t r , the subject. The chaplain of Pentonville Prieeedeo„o. last vlo report, stated that the proportion of edn r- s bo 1:' 00 , ts to the uneducated was fully as high opal s p . al h l - eff,, portion_ between those classes in the gen era ;,:t% t- t t 0 The same, in a report before the House, eve e e sor- fear 500 prisoners he found 178 had attended some ae a school upwards of four years, and 1 93 le s i g s s 0 ' l° a ' ti years. Similar teitimony was borne by ~,,13 ` ",,° e r se cs ? tors. In the fourteen th report on the "r- 11- e aea l 'ila gaol, it was stated that of 120 prisoners -43 fe te' 21 could not repeat the Lord's PreYr'she e i:eill , repeat it, 51 could repeat parts e,I . i ia Ot t e' c um, 5 the whole, giving 99 110 011 , 13 0 r ',./eea t l s 11l and 21 altogether untrained. In the 1e,,.",1 5 e0 port on Bodmin gaol, it was stated thatiaeariayeatti-0 out of 684 could not repeat the Lorsl'4p ,f °' l , il could repeat it and had a general knole",4 68 4 " e a s e parts of Scripture, showing that 545 out - 0 to "ease gone through training. schools. In an 913 Pf t n bei 3riti at of the reports, Mr. Fletcher, an inspector 0 , ,„ ea tie ll , C lo and Foreign Schools, stated that the school ( l e " dig slept the poor was still in infancy, and that in r e l aile se d o o. i w t was little more than nominal. The Be V. , i f Otte i rl , 4 'o° whose reports merited a great degreethee ey eele v - d i ge stated that his experience led him tg res kne el :ere ° in n hat there was a greater amount of religio us seriP;l o o those schools where the reading of tb e a 3 strn r. , - so' was A blended with a just proportion of secular ' to me• io . u n i other inspector, the Rev. T. Cooke, e f s bgi ss e gg LecY p Ilan district, stated in his report tha t o '„ e/n - afr: struction was advanced in proportion to n ,t l ; jae , . I ' o oo of the children in other studies. ":,• s trier , or * Blandford, an inspector for the eastern ° I , ible ( je' his opinion to the effect that it was ini6 odors 0 o 0 teacher, however intelligent, to raise the eg n ; bee h i liaten, structien without an adequate supPli:7B6 o' - a ireal secular subjects, and that out of '' w ith LSO' examined, 2,891 read the Scripttlfe! fofor°;tioll ease, on account of their g enera' 0 PI 0 0 efforts l f he C o o f m r m e religious ofsocthieetiePsrtihveyreCivosusncaii.iae, rbrensgaappl of Bibles and other religious books in t be ,. vl O If 3 P I o boe , . t hose intelligent tc a lth : olo b lil e gs en visited by their ins ectors , tb ej O be r e s. reati l ! en a t American tr o a i veller P other . . do le d seo. do , e , of careful observation, that in BEF,7 ligl oi- t h ren iti „ the pupils in those schools in Yrble' te rwit e ni -e rat' traveller in America, were . taught, were much less acquei, l3- e s the °I- 1 g li°ll portions of the in the United State. The •- an L lg " - tate' 1- an d Then, again , „ bad 5 o re ~,0 0 spa than s,.c t . h e l L a p e y i cil il e e P , 3l3l : ‘ _ t : e [it t e i ci l r l l i iig g ns : n_ tt P ;:l c ::: i se : 11 :: been carried farthest, recent work that the clergy were Den o f the 7, gef% more convinced that where the e duslati w e ' r - e most l e o lol'. - had the people. ' e s nost ze ; 11 1 , rail in their attendance at Divine worshiPta-rostke, ens defence of their theological opinions, of • toter vee f t heir P • v fer, s contributing funds for the support 0 Foss) ligiOtil for the building of churches. His (g r. , seat I . ' t ot 1. from those different testimonies was, o°'' cf but a ten se eer , education should be checked or restriete ' whie e ied would well become them to take the best F 3 '_ co onir Oa could that that education should always 0 0 4 0 sere o : o ad themsuch training as would give it it s the be°, a e% g nd, and elicit its hest are ia, ie 0 010 0 01 characters of children .—( Hear , hear.) of of ' llc o fth e endeavour briefly to explain which he should move for leave to lay on T eet to 9 "; 1 11 House, and in which he had ,endeavoureo aa t fo sil t y , l'''' d OP sede any existing education of children .... 00 .0 o f the Pro" ~,, t ahle " on er the deficiencies of that education. He Pr d r e v o slon I t i n e:i deficiencies in the means of oldsupPlYi ne be as eer tO e ; parish or combination of parishee, W e dea vour i l le g ' timate those deficiencies he veould havt . lf erv ,...et _ oti 0 by her Majesty's inspectors; account every item of educational ma n 'lln, fioo lte t !' ci ocy florid schools, the British and Foreig d o f the --elsieeri public or private schools. The areou.natv,g, b e et: l , o oe. in the means of affording educatiort h so ' n :fa be „J ot . hs' tamed, he proposed that the locality l'd a „ J ot. 'to supply it, and that the inhabitants.l.,_sai ecnaolo' and in e e .. ..ca to he° foli purpose be summoned to elect an educ. sl ed to ra te 7 o r' which committee would be eroPow',' jean-reale`, habitants for the expenses necessarily _. thc y s c e t4 ,lo rying out their views. He propos foreseentnr Pbiali Me ti l ° ' ri" at the same time, have a continued regard already in existence. There were taro _ 9l , or al s „ 0 5 they could meet the wants of their Pe" ecfn eall e " o f a the first was, assuming that secula,vastion_ i,tio% their peculiar province, the pre 3L oye ay e x ec aor n remuneration to the teacher in the insP school for so many pupils as THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 27, lilso