The Express.
London, England, 1852-01-23 00:00:00

OP BIIARRHOLDRRB.

NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY. - MEETING

On Wednesday List, a very numerous and in-
essential meeting of the shareholders of the North-Western
Railway Company was held at the Royal Hotel, Leeds.
The meeting waseonvened by advertisement and circular
bearing the ',lgnatius of Arthur M Price, one of the share-
holders, for the purpose of considering an agreement pro-
posed to be entered into by the directors of the company,
to band over the working of the railway for a term of
twenty-one years to the Midland Railway Company, and to
appoint a committee to watch over the interest of share-
hulden.

ARTHUR )[.PRICK, Esq., barrister, London, was Una-
ninionsly called to the their. After having reed the circular
calling the meeting, that gentleman proceeded at great length
to give an account of the present state of the company, and
how it stood in relation to other lines. It appeared to be
necessary to appint a committee at that time to see what
the prospects of their own line were, as the Great
Northern was rapidly approaching completion, and would
have a great influence upon their interests. A committee
had been appointed not only to consider their present state,
and see if it could be improved, but also to treat with the
directors of the other line., when to their surprise it was
announced that the directors hail made arrangements,
hastily entered into, to hand over their line to the Midland
for a period of twenty-one years. As this was opposed to
the wishes of the great body of shareholders, it was 'weft-
, wiry that stein should be taken to prevent its being carried
into effect. If any precedent was required for their adopt-
, ing this course, there were several to he found both in con-
nexion with English and Scottish lines. He might assume,
therefore, that the shareholders had a right to meet and
appoint • committee for the proposed purlieu. Ile would
ask what advantages would arise to them from their line
being handed over to the Midland. He would like to find
what good there was in it. He was ready to receive favours
from any quarter, and if the Midland held forward any to him
he would not object to accept them. What, then, did they
offer ? hey proposed to pay 60 per cent. on the gross re-
ceipts of the line. lie found that for the two last half.
years the working expenses bad been respectively 75 per
rent and 72 percent. He did not know the reason why
the working expenses of their line exceeded so much those
of others, nor would he attempt to explain it ; that would
be matter for after consideration. Besides the 50 per cent.,
the Midland also proposed to give more when the receipts
exceeded 52,0001., a position which he would be very happy
to see them attain, and which he thought they might yet
see accomplished. Their lino hail within itself all the
elements of a good line, and their testae was steadily on
the increase. In the proposed agreement, the traffic
allowed by the Midland Company to belong to the North-
Western was not very clearly defined. Indeed it was a
romarkahle fact that the agreement entirely corresponded
with the letter of a lady, for although they rend it from be-
ginning to end there was comparatively nothing in it until
they came to the postecriptand there they found the only allu-
sion which WAS made to their traffic, and which was so very
vague that he did not properly understand it. If his view of
its meaning, however, was correct, it recognised a principle
which he would be very sorry to see adopted. It appeared
to him that by it what would be considered their traffic
would be completely at the option of the MidlandCumpany.
There was another serious consideration. It was proposed
to hand them over to another company at the present time
for a period of 21 years. What would be their position then?
The present was a meet important crisis. In the course of
three or four years they would be able to know what their
future prospects would probably be, and he would ask if it
would be advisable to bind themselves down to any other
body for a period of 21 years without first ascertaining the
value of their own property? He had heard the Midland
Company called them natural allies, and lie was glad to hear
it. He would always bo most happy to reciprocate favours
with them. lie thought it their duty to conter with
them to see if they could approve of their terms, and at all
events they would then know the worst. Ile would propose
that they should take the line on lease at, let them say by
way of illustration, two and a half per cent. as the very
lowest terms. That was a course which he would not vs fuse
to follow. (Hear, hear.) At present their proposal was so
vague, leaving their prospects so uncertain, that he was not
disposed to surer to it. Mr. Price then proceeded to state
that the Great Northern by proceeding from London to
Leeds and then to Skipton, and by the Lancashire and
Carlisle line entering Scotland, opened to them the whole
of the testae of Glasgow and the west of Scotland. At
pr sent the receipts on their line only amount to
101. or 11/. per Tillie, but were it to be brought to act as a
link in the great chain between the southern and northern
divisions of the kingdom, it would bo increased fourfold.
Mr. Price then alluded to arrangements which ho had
heard of having been made between railway companies by
which traffic WAS diverted from its natural chanced. It was
impoitible that such a course of procedure could long con-
tinue, as parliament would interfere to protect the interests
of the public, and disperse all such agreements as stubble
before the wind. Ho would not trouble them with any
further remarks beyond stating that the object of their com-
mittee would be to get the best terms from any one of the
companies with whom they treated. They were open to all
andinfluenced by none. Nothing, he was sure, would
give the committee greater pleasure than to have it in
their power to lay before the shareholders a proposal
which would be advantageous to them. Having read
the agreement proposed to be entered into with the
Midland, Mr. Price concluded by saying that it was easy
for that company to speak of their generosity, when by the
posteript they retained a right to put their hands into the
treasury of the North-Western and repay themselves for
any deficiency that might occur. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. PERKINS, Leeds, proposed a series of resolutions
which were to the effect, that the agreement proposed be-
tween the Midland and North-Western Companies being
unsatisfactory to the shareholders, it was the opinion of the
meeting that they should not be adopted; that a committee
should bo formed to take such steps as to carry out and protect
the interests of the shareholder.; and, that the committee
should have power to negotiate with other companies for
their traffic, or with • view to being leased, and to report
any proposal that might appear advantageous to the share-
holders, in order to Its being carried into effect.
Mr. W. SIMPSON, Leeds, alter shortly drawing the
attention of the meeting to how they stood with the Lon-
don and North-Western and other lines, stated that he
entirely dissented from the agreement proposed to be en-
tered into by their directors. It was ono that was most
unwise, and one he could never enter into, as it left a loop-
hole to the Midland to put their traffic wh they
liked, and wee such as never could be adopted at • meeting
of wise shareholder,.

The resolutions were then agreed to, and the following
gentlemen appointed as a committee : Messrs. Wilkinson,
Hull ; Newbold and Wilma, Sheffield ; Milligan, Brad-
ford ; Briswell, Barr, L. H. Dopler'. Gill, and Sangster,
Leeds ; Henry Watson, York ; and Arthur M. Price, Lon-
, don, chairman.
The meeting then separated.

ANCIENT CoINB.—A large number of coins of tho
reign of Queen Elizabeth have been recently found in •
field belonging to a farmer of the name of M'Carraher, of
Cabra, near Killiles, county Armagh.
AN ORIGINAL MISSIVE FROM COLO/3MM TO
FIRDINAND AND illADlL.—Captain D'Auberville, of the
bargee Chieftain, of Boston, writes to the editor of the
Lownills Varieties, that he put into Gibraltar on the
27th of August last to repair some damages his vessel had
sustained, and, while waiting, himself and two of his pas-
sengers crossed the straits to Mount Abylus, on the African
coast, to shoot, and pick up geological specinsent. Before
returning the bream had freshened so much as to render it
necessary to put more ballast in the boat, and one of the
crew lifted what he supposed to be a piece of rock, but from
its extreme lightness and singular shape was induced to
call the attention of the captain to it, who at first took it for
a piece of pumicestone but so completely covered with
barnacles and other marine animalcule as to deny that sup-
position. On further examination be found it to be a
cedar keg. On opening it he found • cocoanut, enveloped
in • kind of gum or resinous substance ; this he also opened,
and found a parchment covered with Gothic characters,
near! illegible, and which neither he nor say one on board
was able to decipher. Re, however, found on shore an
Armenian book merchant, who was said to be the meet
learned man in Spain, to whom he took it, who, after learn-
ing the circumstances of its discovery, offered 300 dollars
fork, which efferCaptain D'Auberville declined. He then,
says the letter, read word for word, and translated it into
French as be seal seek sistenvie; it was a short but concise
account of the dbeenery el Cathay, or further Indio, ad-
dressed to Ferdinand sal Labelle, of Castillo sad Anion,
saying the ships could cal prodbly survive the tempest an-
other day ; that they the were between the Western Isles
and Spun; that two lille narratives were written and
thrown into the sea, in 41/11 the caravel should go to the
bottom, that some amine would pick up one or the other
of them. The strange doeueaset was signed by Christopher
Columbus, in • belt emi ambits hand. It also bore the
date of 1493, and masergeesstly Wbeen floating over the
an Atltic 358 years. The letter-elms with a menreace from
the writer that he would gnarl' lb tremors safe until his
return to the United leetes. width would be in April or
May nut.—Satioene(U.S.)Paper. !The following
from Mr. Winhington IreWs well known life of the greet
;Mei
navigator, relating to the valuable document, alleged
to have been thus renewed, will be read with interest In
connection with the . The esmunittal of the barrel
to the waves is stated es taken pleas on the 14th Feb.,
1493, and after deserildiag " the Juanita sorrow and
trouble" of Columbus a 4 the threatened defeat of his enter-
priseon the point of its sempletion, Mr. Irving goes on thus :
In the midst of these glean sgsprehemthems an expedient
suggested itself, by widely glieugh he end his ships should
perish, the glory of his asidimenemit m kt survive to his
name, and its advantages be assured le kb sovereigns. lie
wrote on parchment • betel ese mat of lb vela •e and dis-
tiovery, and of his having taken psemedea of the newly-
found lands in the name of their entbelle stabstios. This
he sealed and directed to the king and gums; superscribing
• promise of • thousand ducats to whomsoever should de-
liver the packet unopened. Ile than wrapped it in • waxed
cloth, which he olaced In the centre of soaks of was, and
inclosing the whole in a large barrel, threw it Into the se%
giving his men to suppose he was performing some religious
vow. Lest his memorial should never reach the land, he
inclosed a copy in a similar manner, and placed it upon the
poop, so that, should the caravel bo swallowed up by the
wives, the barrel might Boat off and survive.")
SPANISH NAMES.—A Spanish journal gives the
as singular names those of two empkris in the
Finance department at Madrid :—Don Hpihnio Miruteur-
urdundua y Zengutita, and Don Juan Nerimuceno de Burl-
onagonatotoreeseogesscoecha. The journal, in quoting the
name of the latter of these honourable gentlemen would
have done well to have given some directions as to the
pronuneiatiou.

S