The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-05 00:00:00

THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY.

A BRILLIANT field-day of shareholders was held on
Saturday last at the London Tavern, Mr. E. Deni-
son, M.P., in the chair. The following supplemen-
tary report, signed by Mr. Denison, and presented
by the directors, will explain the nature of the pro-
ceedings :

Since the directors' report was issued on Friday last, the
21st of August, the Vice-Chancellor Sir Page Wood has
given a decision in the suit therein referred to as pending,
to the effect that dividends cannot be declared at the next
meeting except on the footing of paying the preference
shareholders a full dividend for a whole year, from the
30th of June, 1836. This decision would throw the whole
loss on the ordinary, including the A and B stockholders,
annihilating their dividend for the half-year ended 30th
June, 1857, and depriving the A stockholders of all pro-
spect of dividend till March, 1858 ; contrary to the inten-
tion of the meeting of this company held on the Bth of
July last, when the bill then before Parliament was ap-
proved by a great majority, in the full belief that, if it
passed, all classes of shareholders would become contri-
butors to the loss ; and it is also contrary to the inten-
tion of the committee of both Houses of Parliament.
The Attorney General has subsequently stated that he
is clear in his conviction, and is so fully assured of the
erroneous view of the Vice-Chancellor that he has advised
the directors not to declare a dividend, as they cannot
obey the injunction of the Vice-Chancellor without vio-
lating the Act of Parliament ; and he further advises that
the meeting ought to be adjourned, so as to allow of the
Vice• Chancellor's opinion being submitted to the decision
of the full Court of Appeal. Under these circumstances,
the only course which the directors can safely take is to
abstain from presenting any scheme for a dividend to the
meeting next Saturday, and to ask the meeting to adjourn.
To this a rejoinder had been issued on the part
of the preference shareholders, putting it to the
meeting, as no notice or application of appeal
against the decision of the Vice-Chancellor had been
given by the directors, whether the preference
shareholders should be deprived of two and a half

years' dividends until it suited the directors to pre-
sent an appeal.
Before the proceedings were formally opened by
the chairman, Mr. Sainsbury made a bitter attack
upon Mr. Denison, whom he accused of gross dere-
liction of duty.
The CHAIRMAN then proceeded to address the
meeting amid a number of interruptions, which, for
their personal character and intensity of feeling,
were probably without a parallel in the history of
railway meetings, not excepting the stormy scenes
of an Eastern Counties bear-garden. In a speech
of great length, he justified the conduct of the
directors, quoted the opinion of Sir R. Bethel! against
the Vice Chancellor, and concluded by moving a
resolution adjourning the meeting.
Upon this, a tremendous uproar ensued. A dozen
infuriated shareholders arose. Questions were put
amid cheers, and groans, and general uproar, and
the most offensive personalities were freely bandied
about, when at length the chairman put the question
of the adjournment of the meeting :

Mr. HEATH : Are we to understand that the decision
of the Lord Chancellor will he final, and that there is no
intention of going to the House of Lords ?
The CHAIRMAN: I am surprised at Mr. Heath, who is
a lawyer, asking such a question. Why, it would be in
the power of any shareholder —Mr. Thornton,for instance,
if he dissented from the judgment, might force us to carry
the appeal to the House of Lords.

Mi.HEATH : But if the decision had been the other
way, what would you have done?
Mr. DENISON, Q.C.: You can't answer such a question
as that.

The CHAIRMAN : I am not such a d—d fool as to
answer a question put upon a suppositious case.

Hereupon a row ensued which eclipsed all that had
gone before. Yells of " Shame !" groans, hisses,
and indignant addresses from every part of the
room, and one voice more stentorian than others
exclaimed in pious horror, "For you, a magistrate
and a religious man, to make use of such language,
and say in public that you'd be d—d ! I am
ashamed of you." To this was heard the reply, " I did
not say that I'd be d—d." Another angry share-
holder said, " Give him rope enough, he'll hang
himself." After some time, quiet was restored, a poll
demanded, and, after a seven hours' sitting, the
motion was declared carried.

MR. CHARLES DICKENS AND MR. ARTHUR SMITH,
as chairman and secretary of the Jerrold Fund, re-
port the results of the movement. Referring to the
"untrue and preposterous statements that have
obtained circulation as to property asserted to have
been left by Mr. Jerrold," the committee state, "that
unless they had thoroughly known, and beyond all
doubt assured themselves, that their exertions were
needed by the dearest objects of Mr. Jerrold's love,
those exertions would never have been beard of.
The audited accounts show that the various perform-
ances, readings, and lectures have realised, after the
payment of all expenses, a clear profit of 2,00431.
This sum is to he expended in the purchase (through
trustees) of a Government annuity for Mrs. Jerrold
and her unmarried daughter, with remainder to the
survivor." _ .

—SEVERAL FIRES have happened in the City during
the week. The most serious was that at Messrs.
Smiths, corn-chandlers, London-wall, where a vast
amount of property was destroyed.
LOCUSTS alive have been caught in several parts of
London during the week. They have also appeared
in Ireland. _

.—.-.-.
THE- STATUE OF DP. JENNER is to he placed in
Trafalgar-square upon a pedestal flanking the statue
of Sir Charles Napier.
AN ACCIDENT of a serious nature occurred about
half past nine o'clock on Wednesday morning to
Lieutenant Firmer, of the Royal Horse Guards. A
detachment of that. regiment were going off guard
from the Horse Guards and proceeding through the
park, when Lieutenant Firmer's horse took fright,
ran a short distance down Constitution-hill, came in
contact with the Green-park rails, throwing the rider,
who was impaled on the spikes. He was at least
three minutes in that painful position before he
could be extricated. He was then taken away in a
cab to the barracks.
ALDERMAN LAWRENCE AND MR. W. F. ALLEN, the
Indian publisher, of Leadenhall-street, will enter
upon their duties as sheriffs of London and Middle-
sex, in succession to Messrs. Mechi and Keats, on
Tuesday, the 29th inst.
AN ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH has been erected to
connect the establishments of Messrs. Waterlow and
Sons is Birchin-lane and London. wall. This is the
first instance of the electric telegraph being carried
over the houses of very large towns in England, and
also the first instance of a private firm having called
to its aid, for mere office purposes, this important
and useful invention. The distance between the two
establishments in a direct line is only about, one•third
of a mile, and the whole distance is traversed by
single wire suspended from poles at a great elevation
above the roofs of the houses ; in fact, so much so

as to be barely perceptible to the eye. The firm
have been prompted to erect this telegraph not only
with a view to fac►l►tate their business transactions,
but from a desire to give a practical illustration to a
scheme which Mr. Waterlow submitted some time
since to the police authorities for uniting the police-
courts, the police-stations, and the fire-brigade
stations throughout the metropolis by an economical
system of these overhead telegraphs—devoting one
wire to detective police purposes and one to the fire
brigade.
Ma. E. GURNEY, of Nutfield, gave a magnificent
entertainment to some 2SO teachers of Ragged
Schools on Tuesday last. Mr. Gurney invited the
teachers to spend a day at his seat at Nuttiehl, took
them down in a special train, entertained them in
the most liberal manner, and sent them back to town,
defraying the entire expenses himself. The teachers
wore highly gratified with the day's excursion and
with the hospitality of their noble-hearted host and
hostess.
IHE REGISTRAR- GENERAL'S REPORT exhibits an
increase of mortality in London, the deaths having
risen from 1,091 to 1,177. This, however, is much
below the average, which would now reach to 1,480.
The births for last week amounted to 1,056.