Northern Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-08-29 00:00:00

THE BIRKENHEAD RAILWAY COMPANY The half-yearly general meeting of this company was held in the board-room, Cathcart-street, Birkenhead, on Satarday, Mr. E. G. Salisbury in the chair. There was a large attendance of shareholders. • The notice calling the meeting having been read, Mr. J. B. Lloyd, the solicitor, read the following REPORT CAPITAL.—The total Capital Stock entitled to dividend, and In the hands of the proprietors, stood in the books of the com pany, on the 30th of June, 1859, at the sum of £1,941,505 10s. LOANS, DEBENTURE, AND MORTGAGE DEBTS.—The Loan and Mortgage Account owing by the company on the 31st Decem ber last, stood at the sum of £511,362 15s. The directors have paid off, during the past half-year, the sum of £38490, leaving a balance on that account, on the 30th of June, 1859, cf £493,072 15s. The amount received on account of four per cent. debenture stock, issued to 31st December last, was £1,325; a further sum has been received during the past half year, amounting to £4,845 ; making a total of loans, debenture, ana mortaage debts due by the coma a ty on the 30th of June, 1359, of £499,242 15s. EXPENDITURE ON CAPITAL ACCOUNT.—The sum expended during the half-year ending 30th June, 1859, on capital account, amounted to £5,503 25., the details of which will be found on reference to the accounts. REvENun.—The revenue account of the past half-year shows 'an increase, as compared with the corresponding half-year of 'MK, under each head, viz.: Passengers, parcels, Sze, £1,913 7s. 4d. ; goods, £2,831; live stock, £1711(4, lid. ; tolls, £1,022 Is. Bd. ; rents and fees, £lBl 9s.—total, £6,119 14s. 11d. ; less mileage and demurrage, £B4 135.; nett increase, £1,035 ls. Ild. The working expenses are decreased by the sum of £1,311 10s. 7d. as compared with the corresponding period of the year 1858, and of £3,764 is. 2d. as compared with those of the last half-year of 1858. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS.—The Mersey Dock Board . haviag promoted a bill in the first session of this year to raise further capital for the extension of dock s on the Li verpool side, your directors arranged with the Great Western Railway forr L - Panv and the Birkenhead Comm issioners to o p pose the bill in Vie 'Commons. The committee introduced into the bill a Sinking Fund " clause, which met the principal objection of your board to the bill as it originally stood, and no further opposition was given by them to the measure. The Warrington and Stockport Railway Co m p an y pr omoted a bill in the same session to transfer the whole of their property to the London and North-Western Company. Your directors felt that unless the Birkeal.lead Company secured to themselves statutory powers to run over that line through to Manchester the trans fer of the line to the North-Western Company would prove most injurious to the interests of this company. Parliament having concurred in the same view, inserted a clause in the bill, securini? ' company power over the _liouth Jun measure h, to th itailwa inning Manct Into the royal since received .result of the application made to Parliament by this com pany for a bill authorizing, among other things, arrangements between the Birkenhead, the North-western, and Great Wes lern Companies is most gratifying to your directors. A pro visional agreement, under the powers of the Birkenhead Railway Act, 1859," has been concluded between the chairmen of the three companies for the transfer, management, and future working of your undertaking. A summary ( f the pro posed arrangement is attached hereto, and the proprietors will be asked, at the special general meeting, to confirm the same. Under section 27 of the same Act, the name of the company is changed from "The Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire Junctio Railway ..Company," to that of " The Birkenhead Railway Company." MISCELLANEOUS.—The directors retiring by rotation from the board are Messrs. William Titherington, James Bancroft, and John Rogers. The retiring auditor, Mr. H. C. Beloe, offers himself for re-election. The balance to the credit of revenxe is £40,706 35., of which sum £10,850 3s. sd. is required for interest, leaving the sum of £29,855 19s. 7d. as applicable to dividend. Your directors recommend the payment of a dividend after the rate of 2 per cent. per annum, leaving a balance of £5,587 4s. 4d. to 1e carried to next account. E. G. SApSUURY, Chairman. The Chairman said he had very little to say upon the report, for, short as it was, it spoke itself. What he ought first, perhaps, to call their attention to was the expenditure of the capital account of £5,503 2s. under the powers of the old acts of parliament, and not under the powers of the new act, which they intended to carry this•session. There was £2,881 ss. Id. standing against the Hooton and Helsby branch ; an expenditure, of course, authorised under a recent act of parliament, for the purchase of land and other matters which they re quired to carry out the Hooton and H " ' They had reduced their debenture deb Bast half year, but they 'had still got £18,290 in the during e current factory state of things as compared witl half year. The nett b increase, as th amounted to £6,035 ls. 11d in g fact that this increase was ia — the account. They would recoiled bad been called at the last half-yearly demands that were constantly being ni by the public, and by the contractors creased accommodation. It was his be lieved it was the feeling of theproprietors, yearly meeting, that they were giving accommodation for the money received ; the contractors had an accommodat excess of the sum received from them considered this matter, and (came tc `to reduce the trains ; and by this arr that of the last report showed, was a gratify- n every item attention meeting to the lade upon them specially, for in- and he be ;, at the last half- rather too much ; and, certainly, ion very far in L. The - directors 3 the: resolution ingement much a congratulated. ~ • half-i7earafter half-year, on the progress of these docks, he believed now they would be finished at the time mentioned in the evidence of Mr. Hartley, given in the House of Commons, and the Dock Board was as honestly anxious to get these works finished as they were. He then referred to the Warrington and Stockport Bill, the supporters of which had been in great terror in conser quence of the clause which that company wanted intro iZuced. When that bill came before the House of Com mons he felt, and his colleagues agreed with him, that it was a bill of great importance, and affecting their interests in a very peculiar way, and they considered they ought not to let it pass without obtaining a clause to enable the Birkenhead Railway Company to run into Manchester by the south junction. They obtained that clause ; and he believed that had a great deal to do the accounts the amount for the usual renewal fund, £2,500,. which was set down every half year. for the purpose of maintaining the line in a good state of repair. That, he would explain, was on account of an arrange ment entered into with the Great Western and London and North Western Railway Companies. The arrange ment was this, that they were to deliver to . them, onthe Ist January, 1860, the line in the same state of repair as it was ou the 3rd June last, and they had calculated the sum now standing in the renewal fund would be sufficient to maintain the line in that state of repair until that time. This item was omitted with the full knowledge and consent of the companies. The most satifactory saving of all had been that effected at the Chester station. It was questioned whether .they had really saved £1,706 during the past . It was, however, he contended, a figures, and was absolutely a saving to this amount Iu the last half-year of 1858 there was an expenditu re a ' that station of £ 5,986, and in the half-year of 1859 th 4 expenditure was only £4;280 : It had been stated also that there was some extraordinary expenditure entered into the last half-year of 1858; but what he wanted to impress upon. the proprietors was, as he had stated to them in February last, and he spok e now w ith great respect for Mr. Williams, who was connected with that place, that to his mind that station had been managed altogether . upon erroneous prin c ipl es . Th e accounts were signed, and the orders were g i ven b y one indi yrdual, and the accounts were paid b y the same indi vidual by his own cheq ue ; an d the Chester St Committee knew nothing wh a t ever o f th e expent_____ going on until it had been incurred. He stated then, and he stated now, with all respect for Mr. Jones as a gentleman worthy the respect and entire confidence of the directors, that the directors themselves required something like auditors for a check upon them ; and he therefore thought that it was but right :auditors should be placed over the accounts at Chester station. They had appointed a Finance Committee to examine the accounts before they were passed for payment, and carried a resolution to the effect that every cheque shall be signed by a director of the station and if any order for upwards of £5 be required, it shall first of all be obtained from the committee, and that the work be tendered for. He was quite sure this was the right principle upon which the station ought governed He thanked his colleague matter of I'ownshend, for the great pains he had taken in the matter; and he was sure the principle would work well, in the end, for the company, as they would now have a control which had never been exercised before at that place, and it would bring down the enormous cost of that station to something like a reasonable amount. His impression was, that the whole of the work could be done at that station by a private contractor for _ _ £16,000 or £17,000 ; and he thought a committee might do it very well for £20,000. That , would reduce the price of that station very much, and they must not forget that that station had made a very great hole in the funds of the company ; for they must always recollect that, in addition to the ordinary expendi ture for management, they had to pay four and a half per cent. in perpetuity upon £70,000 or £BO,OOO, the cost of the station. With regard to their parliamentary proceedings, he would call their attention briefly to the three matters named. At their last half-yearly meeting, it was their intention to oppose ' , luso to the Mersey Docks and Barbour Bill, then before pail meat. What they required in the bill was a cl compel the board to invest their surplus revenue for tht purpose, not of reducing their bonded debt and construct ing works ou the Liverpool side of the water without the authority of parliament, but to complete the works on the Birkenhead side of the water. It was the interest of the company to stand on good terms with pool Dock Board, and they had no wish to take any don to the bill; and they withdrew all £6OO. When he (Mr. Titherington) was in the chair, two years ago, he would much rather Lave seen the money divided among the shareholders ; but he was in duty bound to say that he could not have given that time, as a man of business, which the office required. He might say that their chairman was not a man of business, but a professional man, and to him time was money, and they could not take that time without giving him sufficient compensati on . H e th oug ht i t would beb ungrateful if they allowed that resolution to fall to the ground without their support. The Chairman observed that he could not get through the world if he felt ashamed to say what he felt, and he had no hesitation in saying that his colleagues were good enough to tell him that tl his taking the chair un le was properly paid for his trouble. - The question of £4OO was neither here- nor there ; but he wished to inform the proprietors that he would not take that chair, and discharge the duti63 of trouble, tut not think proper to pay him for his Ile was strongly inclined to follow his pro fession, and give up railway matters altogether. A salary of £4OO would never land him on the .woolsack, which every lawyer expected ; and if they did not like to pay him, they must get somebody else to fill that chair. The truth was, he would rather not have it. For the last seventeen weeks the whole of his time had been taken 'up with the duties of chairman, except when he fought his election against his friend MI. Williams, who succeeded in beating him. Unless his. colleagues had pledged themselves that he was to be paid, he would Mr. Mill said Mr. Taunton had compared them to much richer companies, and to compare them with thos' cited by Mr. Taunton was preposterous. He hail objection to the £4OO increase ; and he would what he had before said, that all railways should have a paid manager—that the board of directors are merely ornamental. He maintained that business men should be paid, and not the drones. The resolution was put to the meeting and carried: The Chairman stated his obligations on behalf of him self and his colleagues who had done their duty well. lie agreed with M. Mill that the smaller the board was the better the management. He went on to say that there wts one question more that he wished to mention, Mr. Mill said as there were many gentlemen present who wished to get away, he thought it would be better to allow it to stand over till after they had ended the special meeting. Mr. Johnstone, the secretary, read the notice Ca' the special meeting. The Chairman said there was a summary in th put 1, WiLll 11,6.0 LV urie proposeu agreement, wawa ne would read. He then read the summary - , and stated that he ought to tellthem that a gentleman was appointed to look at the plant, and the other companies were to take it on the Ist of January,lB6o, as it was now. He then proposed the following resolution : That this "meeting, du4 Co '.vend for such purpose by spe cial notice, both hereby ...,„rove and confirm the proposed agreement, of which a summary has been circulated among the.proprietors, for the transfer of the Birkenhead Railway Company to the London and North-Western, Railway Company and the Great Western Railway Company jointly, and for other purposes ; and that this meeting doth hereby authorise the directors to carry the same into effect by any deed or deeds t 3 be settled by counsel, to which the seal of this company may be affixed in ratification of the whole or any portion of such agreement as the directors may think fit. - - Mr. H. C. Beloe seconded the motion. Mr. Challoner proposed an amendment, w 1 not seconded Mr. Dickson said he had made some enquiries, and 11( found that they would receive too small a dividend or the property that they were to give away. (Hear, hear. In the first place the earnings were three per cent., anc now thf railways had taken the start theirs had began to move too. He thought when they were making three per cent. now, when the docks were made the coal trade NORTHERN. DAILY TIMES. be so mu There was no knowing what advan. tage might accrue to the other companies by the amal• gamation, as it would give them an opening to Man. chester. He thought it very hard to give up theii property without being paid for it. (Hear, hear.) H( thought it likely that in time their line would pay ter per cent. He thought it was very desirable to know, Stockport line. from competent judges, what was the prospective vab of their line. They could follow the example of tl North-western company, by adjourning their meetir for a month or six weeks, to ascertain what was real value of their property. lie moved that the me ing be adjourned for a month. - ' 1 the mot; lin 4 ..tson secondec _ ,cion ; an ioing expressed a hope that the motion would receive thoi support. That line had not been developed. dovelimmnnt of the rinolcß_ rind tha had tried, and - they-had failed. - What was to be done but to turn their attention to the development of the traffic ? He hinted to a gentleman, at a special meeting, that unless an arrangement was come to between the two companies, jointly with themselves, before the Ist of November next, he should ask to be authorised to go for an extension of the line to another district. He was perfectly satisfied in his own mind that this transfer of the property was as fair for the first, with regard to the 2 per cent., as for the next two years. He had a table showing the dividend received between 1850 and 1859, rt per annum to 21 ; but the earnings upon the Birkenhe: 265. per cent £2ls. The age w were quite enougl was constricted by jc ut wl: )bber, he pre ,en they found this ;, and contint ,nt day—(lau nerved laugh Lgthter) lat distinction between the not land to sell. ' son why the nor:nous cost line was the rc ceived amount of divii The coal trafi lend, their e he had no d 1 the Great was ena would be very thii company, f it was was it likely thc would I P at Cl. Would they not. Birkenheai al enormc With regard to ,1 traffic, tit( cl would the And what we f thcir tm from opposition Had they not bi a profitable r ,11 for carrying for next t nothing haw mr per c ertain than tc 1' cent., and ti ;ors had looke( Only two and a great deal me was tar more v is the in ful n working expi said th ment was made b© their outlay stated that the answer was, that of the past traffi He fielieved,perl line wluld c the 21 it down would at or .st, 1865, line pay 5 pc a the couraze heath made t( A that lar,Ter minus. great; It was n found ; an :1 prod .cepted Lat this c Lord Shc had been that they they did 1 ie belies they were for 1860 hey would bat sort was a wa: minus at 'Q rom these ver h - ed it would except that y keenly Heir (liv 'St in ar Dngand p. unders might bE Likely to nd 1861 for 011 E orkhill, might rgain, am AUGUST 29, 1859. deal of unnecessary trouble and annoyance to the people. A large requisition, numerously signed, had been sent to the board, asking them to discontinue cheap trains, and he went one Sunday morning and looked for him self. He went on the ronde, and saw no one chunk. If the people came in large numbers by the trains, they went to see their friends or to places of worship. It might be said that it was a question of profit ; but he did not care what the profit. might be ; they should not dishonour God for the sake of profits. He was glad to say that four of his colleagues agreed with him ; but five in opposition to that said that they did a great service to God's creatures by taking them from pent-up towns, and by that means did honou: to God. He believed if the management were worked to a loss they would not give those facilities to God's creatur s. (Laughter.) He was one that would not, for the sake of profit, do that Which he believed to be wrong. It was 1 . 5 r them to say were they to continue Sunday travelling, which miat make sonic. nrofit Mr. Caine bad said they might have a" spill" which would cost them a great deal of money, and that " spill" at Mollington cost them a gre true that was not ou ;stuntay, but they might have another on Sunday. lle thought they ought not to encourage unnecessary traffic on the Lord's day. It was for them, however, to say would they continue it Mr. 110 l ern thought it their duty to continue the is they monopolised the road. They were bound of parliament to run Sunday trains, and he L the poor man had a right t) enjoy the "resh a►r as well as the rich. That was the only day in tha whole week on which he was enabled to enjoy it. He was sare that they took no more drunkenness into Chester than they brought out of it. Yates Lee said, Tu Scotland there were no Sun and statistics showed there was more drunk- lay train .n!iss in Glasgow than any place else, which he thought ;vas to be attributed to the want of trains to take the ?eople out of town le question was, whether they should ittach extra carriages on Sundays, at reduced fares, to induce people to travel. Mr. linicroft, in reply to Mr. Holdern, said they did not monopolise the way, but afforded additional facilities. .er:y fu'lly, and after insideration they dgreed that they should not impose additional labour on their servants for the purpose of making additional profit. He could not see that there could be any objection to putting on third-class carriages to any train, to enable any one to travel for third-class fare. He thought they very grave shiiuld go to that extent, and no further. Mr. Evans thought a single extra train, to allow the people of Warrington who were engaged in the mills to get into the country, would be better for their health, as well as for their mental and moral enjoyment. Mr. Titherington said he regretted to differ from Mr. Evans, but to talk of bringing people from W arr i ng t on was absolutely nonsense. They could go into the country in ten minutes. He weuld ask them to look at the schools in Manchester, which were a credit to Eng land, mad there they would find the people enjoying themselves in doing their duty to God and to man. After some further observations, The Chairman proposed that the fares on Sunday be nothing lower than first, second, and third-class fares. Mr. Darbyshire moved, as an amendment, that it be left in the hands of the board. The original motion was carried. Thanks were voted to the chairman, and the proceed ngs terminated. SOUTH LANCASHIRE . ASSIZES CROWN COURT CIVIL CAUSES [Before Mr. Baron MARTIN.] SATURDAY. tE OF CARS. - MARSTON V. DAY. intiti was John Marston, a coach er in Birmingham, and the de- am Day, cloth manufacturer, at Hud dersfield. The action was brought to recover the sum of £164 6s. 10d., for the hire of cabs, the carriage to Birmingham when the cabs were returned, and the ex penses of . repair beyond ordinary wear a n d t ear . Th e defendant had paid £2O into court. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff for £74 16s. 10d. feudal: NELL AND ANOTHER DENISON In this case Mr. Bret appeared for the plaintiffs, who re brCwers at Kendal; and Mr. Bliss, Q.C., and Mr. "ones for the defendant, who is a contractor near Leeds. In 1858 the defendant was a contractor for the Broughton Lnd Furness Railway, and two men, of the names of Childs Lnd Pickles, were sub-contractors for the same work. A werhOuse was opened in the vicinity by Childs and Vickers. Cheseparties wrote to the plaintiffs for a supply of beer ; Mr. Monk, Q.C., Mr. Hindmarsh, and Mr. Ovens, appeared for the plaintiff; and Mr. Wilde, Q.C., Mr- Manisty, and Mr. Jones, for the defendant. The plaintiff is a manufacturer at Glasgow ; the de fendant is a manufacturer at Manchester. A fabric be longing to the class of . goods called zebras has for many years been used in this country for dressing gowns, shawls, &c. ; but the country in which it was most appreciated is the East Indies ' mainly owing to the soft and spongy f ee li ng o f the article. This article was formerly woven from dyed warp and died weft, and, for the purpose of giving it a figured pattern, the Jacquard loom was employed. This process was both tedious and , expensive. In 18.52 the plaintiff invented a means of dispensing with the Jacquard loom, and of producing it better and cheaper class of goods, of brighter and more varied colours than the original manufacture, and yet possessing the same soft and spongy feel. Mr. M'See took out a patent far his invention, which was described to be the application of printing on a fabric belonging to the class of goods called zebras, that had one side "" backlashed," or " flushed," the surface feeling soft and spongy, and the other side either plain or figured. In other words, Mr. M'Nee produced a printed instead of a woven zebra ; and his invention consisted in combining printing with " backlashing," the latter process giving the soft, spongy feeling. It was alleged that the de' fendant had infrin,?;ed this patent, the only difference . between the fabrics manufactured by the respective parties being, that in the defendant's goods there was a small diamond or . star on the obverse or printed side of the cloths, which, being scarcely discernible, was, it was contended, a mere colourable evasion of the plaintiff's rights. This patent has already been the subject of litigation at previous assizes, and in the Court of Chancery. After the examination of several witnesses, the fa ther hearing of the case was adjourned until this morn ing (Monday.) NISI PRIUS COURT.—SATURDAY. [Before Mr. JUSTICE HILL• and a Special Sury.l FERNIE AND ANOTHER V. HIND, The hearing of this case was resumed at the sitting of the court this morning. Captain Ritchie, the master of the vessel in question, was examined at great length in reference mainly to the amount of damage sustained by the ship when she touched the ground at Point de Ga lle. He admitted that he addressed a letter to the plaintiffs in February, before he sailed from Melbourne, telling them that part of the metal on the bottom of the ship appeared to be giving way. Several other witnesses were examined, and various depositions put in. Mr. Wilde, on the part of the defendants, contended that it was known by the plaintiffs that the vessel, when at Melbourne, had a part of its copper off; that in that condition she went to Rangoon, and that there she was rendered unseaworthy in consequence of destructive worms in the harbour of Rangoon, which penetrated her timbers. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant. BAKER AND ANOTHER V. ROGERS AND ANoTHEH, Mr. James, Q.C., and Mr. Deight on a pp eare d f or the plaintiffs, and Mr. Wilde, Q.C., Mr. Baylis, and 'kir; Lushington for the defendands. Mr. :fames stated the case on behalf of the plaintiffs,• who are shipbrokers, carrying on business in this town ., In Match last, the plaintiffs received from their corres pondents abroad some samples of cotton, and they placed them in the hands of the defendants to put a value upon the articles. On the 18th of March, the defendants gave in their valuation as 64d. to 7d. per lb. In the course of the month of May the vessel arrived with 100 bales of cotton, which was consigned to the plaintiffs. Messrs. Lizardi and Co., it appeared, held the bills of lading, in order to secure the pay ment of an acceptance to the amount of £944 75. fict, of which they were the holders, and which would fall due on the 21st of May. The bills of lading, being thus in the hands of Messrs. Lizardi, an arrangement was made with them by the plaintiffs and defendants, to the effect that, in consideration of the bills of lading being handed over to them, they would hold them in trust for Messrs. Lizardi ; and in case all part of the acceptances were not paid at maturity, they agreed to realise immediately so much of the property as might be required to liquidate the amount due. Under these circumstances, although the plaintiffs were the owners of the cotton, Messrs. Lizardi held a kind of lien upon it. On the 18th of May, the defendants, act- ing under the instructions of the plaintiff, made another valuation, setting down the market value of the cotton at from 51d. to 5Nd. The defendants not being in a position to meet the acceptances themselves, applied to plaintiffs to assist them ; and the plaintiffs advanced them £l5O, in order to enable them (the defendants) to fulfil their terms with Lizardi and Co. No directions were given to the defendants to sell the cotton, nor was it and the result showed that the policy 1: one. The passenger traffic was increase year £1,913 7s. 4d., while they had, at !lad been a wise the same time) goods train an increase of - 52,831, the arising chiefly from coals. DuriN . they carried 35,000 tons more coa pouding half-year of 1858. When spea of coal traffic, he might state that the t with the Great Western Railway Co . should not allow them to pass that portic without stating the award which had the arbitrators, between the Great W Company and themselves ; and the Grea past half-year 11 - in the corres- iffie was mostly many, and he been made by estern Railway ,t Western Rail- way Company had demanded a new although they had a large amount to sh the traffic with this company, it was jt they might not have such an increase in had claims, however, and he hoped by meat the traffic would be still more la thitration, and )W, arising from t possible that 'ely increasc attention to t pesinfiture in th mint was £6,66, revenue account. The merchandise accO 45.. lie did not see his way to hold out o the proprietors that the expenditu end could be reduced, but would Mere was also another increase, wl TJeTmanent charge—that was an ii 'TICS and guards and r any expeetaticn be permanent. rich would be ncrease in the wages of the )pinion of th.e board, de of this matter, that their servants had been under 1, and they increased the wages accordingly ; £1,160 tld, for this purpose, become of a permanent charac- There was also an additional expenditure of £250 n the repair of waggons, which would also be of a nanent character ; because, when their rolling stock .me older, it required more repairs. Thei:e was her item of increase of £903 10s. 4d., which they ld find in the accounts, and he ought to tell the alders that that was Mainly made Tip of the sum [eat which co C 702 had been paid for that accident. lie would teir attention to the large balance still left on the side of the account, after paying a dividend of cent. They would see that they were able to over a balance of £5,587 4s. 4d., and they should been glad to carry over a larger dividend, but he ht it right to tell them at once that there was no ility of doing that. There were also £5OO that have to be paid for the unfortunate fireatMan- Manchester. He thought the money spent taining this clause was very profitably spent. own bill he thought would prove a very sat niPasitro_ nith Ail crll thn T nnivni n factor) , clever, had succeeded in preventing closing up Canning-street, as they had prop. without the sanction of the Board of Trade. -(1 t gs he con nad not much confidence in boards of trade, a. _ sidered them simply as political engines, and they a get on that board men of their own shade of nolit if they expected to recei v e th e i r sanction to any measure. He concluded by moving that the report and statement of the half-year ending the 30th of June last be adopted. The motion was seconded by Mr. Derbyshire. In reply to a question by Mr. Dickson, The Chairman said he ✓ would be very frail]; them. Some gentlemen thought they were right it pressing for the clause to enable them to run througi _ _ their own traffic over that line, and all traffic that m ght come by it. He did not believe that it save the Great Western Company power to run over it, unless that power came by the Birkenhead Company. The resolution was then put and carried. The Chairman then proposed that a dividend be paid, on the 9th September, after the rate of 22 per cent. per that the directors' borrowing powers be further in creased ; and explained that it was necessary they should have that power in order to carry out the agreement. The motion was seconded by Mr. Evans, and carried unanimously. • The next business was the election of directors, in reference to which The Chairman said the paragraph in the report on this subject was not couched in the usua - - The reason was that he had not seen his col have a North-Western director remaining on their board. lie meant Mr. Bancroft, though he should be sorry to give him up. He thought it might be as well to reduce the 1 1 P AT AL Western and a Great Western director, and he should be glad to have Mr. Bancroft. He should not be a man if he did not say that Mr. Bancroft had been a most proper man as a director for the Birkenhead Company. Since he had been chairman, Mr. Bancroft had given him most valuable assistance. If Mr. Bancroft were re-elected, he would retire from the board at once, in case the agreement should not be concluded. He should therefore ask them to re-elect Mr. Titherington and Mr. Bancroft as directors. Mr. Rogers did not wish to be re-elected. The motion for the election of Mr. Titherington and airman thought it better not to make them Mr. Bancroft was put formally, to which some members )me were in dispute. He had called thcir at- took exception ; but it was filially agreed to. o the several items of increased x n diture • Mr. Taunton then proposed Mr. Joseph Harger as e had stated, with the except i on of e tlie e aecidents directo . r, in the room of Mr. Rogers. to, they would be all of a permanent character. The motion was carried. to the locomotive departm en t, h e found tat The Chairman proposed the re-election of Mr. H. C. zany had saved upon almost every item in that Beloe, as auditor. He said he had himself gone over ant. And this saving, he was pleased to think, the whole of the accounts of the company, and he iso be of a permanent character ; while at th e believed that Mr. Beloe would tell them that the corn- [e the staff was rendered more efficient and co- accountsw ereinab etter state than they had ever been. A . saving in the locomotive department, he In f ac t, he thought the accounts were in such a state was indicative of good, management, and he that, when the agreement was made with the Great I still greater saving could be effected in this Western Company, there would be no trouble. nt by still greater attention to its requirements. The motion for the re-election of Mr. Beloe, as a saving of £2,140, and £1,074 of that was in auditor, was then agreed to. )fluel. He thought the shareholders would be Mr. Taunton said the amount of money, £6OO per to hear that they had been able to s4ve so annum, was totally un fit f or the payment of the the cost of fuel, while at the same time they had ten gentlemen who formed the board of directors. more miles during the half-year. He was The sacrifice was great which they had tomake, and the a therefore, if they were able to save that large allowance some few y e a rs ago was £ 1 , 20 0 per annum. he cost of fuel in the last half-year, while they That was afterwards reduced to £9OO, and, at a very he same time doing a larger amount of busi- gloomy period, to £6OO. He had that morning refer -7 could still go on doing something more in red to the reports, and he found that all oth er compa - Y'. He thought it would be wrong to nies paid their directors better than that company. li e LS Without saying that the Locomotive knew the companies to which. he referred were about arnitt ee and the engineer displayed a great the largest in Groat Britain ; but he would now al:int:Tien to this matter. Their permanent way propose that an additional £4OO be paid to the mv, from good state, and he was pleased to directors. Tunes, that there could be made a Mr. Titherington said—Two years ago they had a 11 1)011 this ;ard to the u ra i nterrtn department hereafter. Wi'h dividend of 24 per cent., and at that time the income of it attention to the thought, l he ought to call the directors was £1,200. Mr. Bancroft reduced it to that they-had ey had not provided in I £9OO, and it was again voluntarily •reduced by him to • he wt is afraid there would be very little left £5,587 for the proprietors after they had dis -1 all claims made upon them for injuries sustained accident at Alollington, and from the fire at Man- older asked what the partic .s of the claims ion I 11 t board They had exercise He ha an influence at that hoaid one way or another twenty years, and he had opposed the re'Cominendation which he was glad to say had been repudiated. II( hoped, however, they . would be treated with respect, any allow them the privilege of considering that proposition. They had sent out proxies in the name of the chairman, and he considered that a very unfair proceeding. It NV:V., an ex park proceeding. He believed it was a very ha s ty conclusion, and trusted they would support the motion. Mr. Hawkins asked the date of the proposed agree ment. ).2nd Jun( rile Chairman answered that it was the .4.. obtained the ro-va: Mr. Mill asked on the as to b; 1. of August. said about the suspen account, in case of the agreement being concluded. -, as it wa,s to be taken as a suspens Mr. Huggins, after some observations with refer lat they hail an agreement to corn . mence at a certain time, and then they were to be handed over to two great companies, and the terms was merely sta' which he did nc taken into account ; and he would say, in carrying that matter out, the agreement should be one of perpetuity. There was no such provision in this agreement. Who were the parties to carry out that agreement? They did not know anything about it, though he had the greatest confidence in the directors themselves. They had to give these two companies their property, and they were to work it, and then, per haps, give it them back again when the stock was worth nothing. He was sure the chairman would explain the whole matter. The coal trade of that country was a very great one, and would give them great adva'ntages. The Chairman said he would not say what Mr. Huggins had said, for he (Mr. Huggins) was altogether There was no mistake about that rprnark of thn 'lnst crontiorrinn_ in With regard "to the O,IIIMI ever the companies earned in excess of the 21 per cent. for 1860, should come to them. But he could, say to the honourable gentleman that they had tried very hard raised by as great force by some of ills eo.deagues in this negoeiation, and was answered with equal ability by those who negotiated with them. He ought t o. tell them, in the very outset, in reply to a statement made, that he had no doubt whatever in'his own mind that —.don and North-western and the Great Western Railway Companies would make more out of that link than they would pay them; but they would not make it. He was asked if there were any negoei a ti ons go i ng on in the previous half-year. His answer was no. 'When he took the chair, he stated to the directorA fhot vUcl.4 he did not come there to sell that line to any of the companies, but to endeavour if possibl e to develope its resources; but to do that, he found he wou ld have to come forward to them to ask for an incre ase o f capital, as the expenditure had reduced the capit a l account. It was then thought an arrangement might be come to for the working of the line. He did not ask them that the property should be transferred. li e went to Lord Chandos, and asked him to see if he could endeavour to have the line worked for them either from the Great Western or from the London and North-western district, makini, this provision, that they should guarantee to them a cer tain amount of traffic for each district, and that the working expenses should not exceed a certain amount. He was told by Mr. Ponsonby that they could not guaran tee anything, as they were not able to pay their own proprietors a dividend. Lord Chandos said he had no particular objection' to a guarantee, but he did not quite see his way to an arrangement. He had no doubt some of the companies would have made an arrangement with them with regard to working their trade ;. but what was the use of making an arrangement with either of the com p an i es w h en they had no law to do it. when the act of parliament would not sanction it? they as was spent a ct wa they wouli Teemen . At they found in these two the pleasux xt, to tell tl zanies 1 it not been for ti d never have confirmed with his ;sibly have what they had. .n not confirming appeal to the seconder of his sin . entleman who had power to wi • refused to withdraw it. threw out a ST I taougat Lae suggesuon a would speak to Lord Chandos wa nes, I the coir their owr )perty, to n would be ery securit Or if they in March .tpOn the Ind that Company persever could - not pc in a mor did not want the London former 9, into with that c Mr. Dickson gentleman who would have to as he was the g The seconder Mr. Taunton bility of dividir one, and said h, Shelburne on the point. The amendment was then put, and only th. for it. It was consequently lost, and the orig intim was confirmed with an overwhelming m SUNDAY TRAINS The Chairman said, before they separated, 1 to know if they were to continue Sund of the directors thought they should not with them—make a difference between Suni and other days. Complaints hac: came to Chester, and were drunken and rioto streets---(no, no, and hear, hear) .en made tl ,e to ad, and they ie wishi Ls. Fa lay far .tently the 'er for the beer, but the bills of ale out in the names of the sub-eontrac- supposed that any sale would be effected unless the ac ceptances were not met at maturity. But on t'.•ie 19th of May, before the bill held by Lizardi & Co. had ar rived at maturity, the defendants sold the cotton at s'd- The plaintiffs immediately communicated with the de fendants, instructing them to annul the contract of sale, as they (the defendants) had no authority to dispose of the cotton, and as they had accepted less than the market price of the day for it. The defendants declined to annul the contract, as it was contrary to the custom of the trade ; and they further alleged that they under stood they had authority to sell if they thought fit. and Pickles, who afterwards became bank- The plaintiffs proved on their estate, but this, A, was at the request of the defendant, and on ;rstanding that this proceeding should not pre heir claim. The present action was brought to the value of the ale supplied to the sub-contrac a. whom, it was alleged. the defendant was fence was that the beer was ordered by Childs [es, that the defendant never ordered the beer, he was not applied to for payment until after uptcy of Childs and Pickles. Verdict for the -damages, £26. Witnesses were being examined on the part of tha plaintiffs, when the court adjourned, at five o'clock, until ten o'clock this morning. COUNTY MAGISTRATES.—SATURDAY. [Before W. IL LAIRD and THOS. BROCKLEBANK, Esgrs.l CHARGE OF OBTAINING MONEY UNDER . FALSE PRETENCES —Mary Dunnigan complained that Mar gaiet Grimes had gone before the West Derby board of guardians and obtained 2s. worth ofprovisions, and on two several occasions 3s. of weekly allowance, on the represen tation that she had been sent by the complainant, retain ing the money for her own use. In the second instance the prisoner, on being challenged with the offence, said sha gave up the 3s. The prisoner, who had obtained com plainant's authority to receive the money, was discharged KILSHAW V. HILL. ppeared for the plaintiff, who is a timber id has a sawmill at Bootle, and Mr. the defendint, who is a brickmaker, at )rought to recover the amount of a for £54 15s. 6d. It appeared that in ion was 1858, the defendant was indebted to the Ln the sum of £142 1.55. Gd. for timber and against which payments had been made at iraes to the extent of £BB is., leaving a balance t of £54 14s. 6d., for which the defendant with an admonition EMPTYING AN Asurrr, AND DEPOSITING THE DOS' TENTS ON THE HIGHWAY.—WiIIiam Miller, a night man, was charged, at the instance of Mr. Monkhouse, the surveyor to the Toxteth Board 'of Health, with hav ing deposited the contents of two ashpits on the high way, at Church-lane, St. Michael's Hamlet. The in formation was laid under the Highway Act, and the penalty sought to be recovered was 40s. Miller was ordered to pay a fine of Is., and 3s. 6d. costs. GARDEN ROBBERY.—Three well dressed young boys, named William Boyle, William Taylor, and George Taylor, were charged with stealing fruit from a garden. at Green-bank on Sunday afternoon. They were ordered to be fined in the sum of ls. each for tthe trespass, and s s . 6d. cos t s eac h . T he money was paid, and they were dismissed with a caution. STEALING FROM A JOINER'S SHOP.—Peter Kelly, an elderly man, was charged with stealing a joiner's shifting plough-plane, belonging to John Beattie, at Knotty-ash, ou Monday last. The prisoner was traced to have stolen the plane, and pledged it at the pawn shop of Smith and Hammond, Soho-street, on the same afternoon. The prisoner, who denied the theft, 10 5 clearly identified as the party who pledged the article for 6s. He was likewise recog,nised as one who had been convicted in March, 1858, of the theft of au umbrella. lie was committed for trial at the sessions. s atter date. purchased a second lot of timber, 3d. This timber was sawn as required and, though it was not actually put aside in the plaintiff's yard as pro to the defendant. On the 26th of plaintiff received a letter from the de effect that he would probably not be able 11 for £54 14s. 6d. The plaintiff then make himself safe in this business, and rranged that the defendant should hand him a horse in part payment of the debt, the price agreed upon being £4O. When the bill became due, the defendant tendered £l4 14s. 6d. in settlement of his acceptance, but the plaintiff declined to receive that amount as the balance owing for the bill of Rfendant over to exchange, alleging that the value of the had been piaced to the credit of the account for the second lot of ber, au •ainst the bill of exchange. plaintiff for £54 14s. 6d. WILLIAMSON V. BLANCHARD. IT is a wheelwright at St. Helens, and the artowner at Liverpool. The action, which done and money paid, was undefended. not ag The plainti CLAIM FOR )SS FROM THE RE-SALE OF SHARES. THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH FISHERMEN.- portant question relating to the rights of the fishermen of the two countries has bean brought before the magistrates at Colchester by the customs officers, at the instance of the French authorities. The information was against John Scarlett, the master of the Isabella, of that port, for having been found on the high seas, between Great Britain and France, with a dredge for catching oysters on board his vessel, contrary to the acts of parliament and the convention founded on them between the two countries. The facts of the case were that, on the 24th of June, the Isabella was dredging for oysters off Dunkirk, when she was captured by 3 3anli -,- company, .. French war steamer, and carried into that port. llere eto • After some I the vessel was detained som e time, till the master bin: made the following admission, which was now put i ll or th evidence against him :-7-" On Friday, the 24th of June, Befe I was catching oysters in the British Channel, when 11 lie sh French steam-vessel of war came and took possession of clef( my boat, and brought me into Dunkirk." The deposi lie h Cons taken by the French authorities were put in thus , Amongst them was the affidavit of the captain of the that French steamer, who stated that he found five English ) beta vessels fishing for oysters within about six miles of Dun e day kirk, and th a t th e d e f endant ' s vessel had been se i ze d a nd ied w, , detained. Th e d e f ence set up was that there was n o proof that this s p o t, w ithi n s i x miles of Dunkirk, where was re: the vessel was taken, was within the limits prescribed by If that the convention; and that if the line was to be drawn t° plaint ....ion brought to recover damages for offence Dunkirk, and not to the utmost boundary of the French SENT ( ma V. 1 tie infringement of a patept. I s nl t ge , eh t t h h e adt y h w eirw o ec u n l w d eas b o nam e Ns n ' o i i t tt h t : sad Ut twis th ifta e hein i t i o m ry i t ts hee . vi T dlie h mn e ict m es, a d is ad t t r as a t t .h .e .e s mined the charge. Mr. Tempi( CHAPMAN V DAILEY. was for the plaintiff, and Mr. Evans for the defendarit, An 'ln- was brought to recover the sum of £l2O for the difference between the prices of sold by the plaintiff to the defendant, in ast, 1857, an 4. prices realised I,)y the re shares, the defendant having refused to certain snares Jnly and Aug insurance agent, residing in the the defendant was an insurance residing in Manchester. The plaintiff was General Life owner of 400 shares in the United insurance Company, and six shares in the ..„tt Joint-stock which were ffered by him for correspoidencE ale to the defendant.• After some plaintiff's offer was accepted, the a for the life shares, aad £3O each ;. Before the transfer was signed, 1 . the shares in both companies had - declined to com prices being 4s. for the bail s: --- ',wires were re-sold, and it the loss thus sustained was £l2O. _ appeared that Isis Lordshi would be the d ip said that the amount to be . claimed iifference between the contract price and .ce on the day the contract was broken. `,o be tried was, whether a contract had The question been -made The correspondence was read, and it proved so strongly I the case for the plaintiff that no defence was off ere d. A verdict for £55 for the plaintiff was agreed to. NFRINGEMENT OF A PATENT M'NEE V. NIMMO , This was an