The Express.
London, England, 1849-07-14 00:00:00

leavieg these steeples shares to the disposal of the di-
rect,rs, utivie it their du.y to dispose of then for the benefit
the compary, sad not to take icy of then foe their
writ.

As TO Tee ALLOTMENT Or Tun BRANDLING JUNCTION
Sn eults.—Tae lirouchieg Juiection Railway was purchased
hy Mr. Hudson on the 13 la August, 1844. Oa the 16th of
the Fame month, at a meeting of the Waterton of the New
eerie and D.ltlingtoet Company, at which were present Mr.
-
rilh:dlunpurCblisser. tDoavtieChe jliNie.wilicesstlnatedi
r. solved that' in ceneid.retion of Mr. Hudson transe.releg
a:d, sad
imai Mr.g .to Onzle Junction
, it was
It eilaey Company, on the same terms on which he pur-
ceased the ssil reilwry, the dat:eters of this company agree
:o rive hie; 500 stares of the Lew there, rrop .sed to be
issued by this company, to pay, the amount of parcbase."
At a m, etieg of tne Nevecaseee end Darlington Company,
heist 4th February, 1815, the purchase wes coefird, aud
22,000 stares in that company were creased at the meeting,
en. payment of the Breedling Junction It (Away. These
22,000 shares were appropriated amen; the proprietors of the
Neweaetle aid Ds-en 'tun Cempeny, in the proportion of
one new share to cacti holder of Net cacle sod D 4ar metes
rock —aed this disoesed of 20,000 of the t 2,000 B ran dl' lag
Juretion shoe s. 1' wes then resolved "that the serplos be
!faced at the d,eporal of the &recurs."
At •he came meeting two proprietors spoke in highly
iuloaistie terms of the services which had biers rendered to
the cempory by Mr. Hudson, aol @agitated that the surplus
shares be t reeental to him. Although roactualresolution NM
:hen pa-rid or propel, d fur eiriteg such surplus thereat° Mr.
Ho t ',l for his own percent! us., the it wi,taper report, of
tee me -eine iieliciecre that the suggestions was received by
th . w.ee•ing with tuu, h favour; and roue committee are
intermed tea' a genera imprr, sloop. veiled at the time that
the meeting wis. c.l Mr. Hudson to receive the surplus
there.. No hitimasion, hue/ Ter, was made to the share-
holiiers at such m. eting of the arrangement for 500 shams
contain( din tic ho •rd minute of the 10 te /tug., 1844, and it
a i bvieus that the r •cuaths mede respecting the York and
Newcastle Extensions No, I will apply, in a great
me .sure, to this transaction also. The terms of the resolu-
tion parsed by the mewing, male it the duty of the e 'rectors
t., dispose of these surplus shares for the benefit of the whole
preprimary; end even if a el renal evolution in favour of
giving these ehares to Mr. Hudson bed been petard at the
meeting, emit a reschrion could not have bound the much
larger teacher of shareholOgre who were shen. This con-
sideration acquires additional force when It is remembered
'list to torsions notion of any intention to move such a rem-
! lethal h ci h• en given to Cue sharehohlere.
On the du: March following the hoed of abettors' at ei
mee,ing at which were present Mr. nucleon, Mr. Daviee,
Mr. Riehardan, and Mr. l'iews, placed the 2,000 shares at
tio, retie', dial)°, lot the chairmen.
The 2,0e0 beares thus tie' a to Mr. Hudson were worth
21/. pr. mium at the time of the epproprietien be him, being
.ouirelent toe hero. of 42 0001. ; but it is stated to your
commitee by Mr. Close, that Mr. Hudson gave shares oat
is" the 2,000 to the Milos ing parties : Mr. Device (director),
100; Mr. James Richardson (director), 100 ; Mr. Close
Cseenttary), 50 ; Mr. Harrigan (eneinee. I, 25; Mr. uuburt
Stephseson (engineer), 25 ; Mr. Wood (director), 20.
'lice euramitue hare tette brought sailer the nutice of the
sherchold, re the leading tuts attending this transaction.
As TO TIIR ALLOTMENT OP OaaAT NORTH OF ENG-
LAND l'unCKAbe NOAKES. —As to the allotment of
Or.sit North of Euglend purchase slimes, your com-
mittee refer to the evidence which tea been taken
upon this allotment, from which it will appear that
0,060 of these shares were not /soul d. As your com-
e:thee purpose., in th.ir final report, to ant r at large into
• t e moister of the Greet North of England purcheae, they
defer, for the pretest, any opinion on this subject.
As to the purchase of iron rails for the Newcastle sod Bee-
wlck Railway, your committee refer the shareholders to the
...rids., end cII resprin once upon VAR ett,iiet, from which
ft appears that on the 11th January, 1845, and immediately
. '. t. re toe b II for making the Newcastle and Berwick Rail-
', way, was submitted to prrlisment, Mr. Hutson cos:eluded
a enc tree. which bed been petal: mace in the previous
wieuth of Getober, with Messrs. Thompson, Forman, and
Co. iron nasnefeeturen, et London, For the purchase of
10,400 toes ul bon TA. at 61. 101. per ton. Thu nest meet-
ing etc which any recuid appeals of the provisional come/lutes
of the Neweastle and Berwick It eilway was on the 30:h
hoe try, 1645, at which were present Mr. Madmen, Mr.
Dm its, an. Mr. James Richareson, when it wee resolved to
ether tee for tenter. for the supply of 20,000 tons of iron
r. ia, and 'en advertisement accordingly appeared in the
Railway Times of the Ist February, 1815, signed by Mr.
fled...in. as chairmen, requiring tend re to he sent in.
On tt.e sth March the same parties, with the addition of
Mr. Flews, sew nit led, and teetiers were received from
verieue ',preens. Messrs. Thompsan and Furman then tent
in a send r, which was accepted for 14,000 tone, to he eup-
plied at 121. per ton. Veer other parties were permitted to
eye, e 1,009 WWI each. It appeal that by arrangement
we.h Thompson and Farman, Mr. Hudson was inter mil in
• hi. eontract to the Olt' IA M 7,000 'MIN that qttenti_ty hexing
been supplied out of the 10,000 tons purchased by Mr. nud-
ism at 1:1. 10s per tun. The prt.fit en the supply of these
7,00 d tons would annunt to 38,5001., and Mr. Hudson must
have known that he tens r.cting illegally in being interested
in soy such contract with a company of which he was chair-
men.
PATNRISTS POE LAND, AND To CONTRACTORS ON THE
Nl.Wek, •LB AND BEIM ICK RAILWAY.—Your committee,
beget g referred so fully t i the No inside and Berwick abate
1 allutu.ents, would now direct attention to the mode in which
the yen, eel heel. of that company wete dealt with at the
concurrent period.
Tee neat erenunt preseeted to the shareholders of the
Nen castle and 13e/wick Company, was for the half year
ending 314 Deceo.ber, 1814. 'that a, s omit, which will lee
four,: in the evidence, e ,ntrined the following item among
the Ist of payments:
" Land-37,350V
sad is signed es
"Audited and allowed January, 184 G.
.. TWO!' Sc-• I:SUSTOW, Auditors -
" HENRY IL11:11 A RIMIN, ) ' ••
Your committee find that the actual payments for land at
the period referred to amounted to 6,3r.0.11. only, sed that
31,001. of the abovementioned 37,3501. was not in fact paid,
but had been lidera by Mr. Hudson out of the company's
funds, and applied by him to his own purport. The
rand, in which this was done shows the very loire
manner in which the guile-ire tested the accounts, inasmuch
cc, if they had called ter proper vouchers, none sueh
c odd have been produced. It appears that, on the 30th De-
cember, 1945, Mr. Hudson took two of the c. nipany's cheques
to the amount of 14,0001., signed by himself and Mr. Dories,
one of which ch. wars wet m ,de peyahle to the Duke of
Northumberland for 10,07101., and the other to the Earl
of Tankerville for 4,0001. • and it further appears
that on the following day Mr. Hudson took four other of the
csmp my's cheques, signed by himself and Mr. James Rich-
ardson, and which were ?wide psychic to the following par-
. j.... e's.; —Earl (trey, 5,0001. ; Ltd y Mat y Sta..lev, 2,0001.;
Sir M. W. Ridley, 3,0001.; Earl of C arlisle, 7,oool.—Total,
17,0001.
None of these cheques were handed by Mr. Hudson to
the parties in whore favour they are purports d to be drawn.
These therines formed the only dnennients which were pre-
s• need, as vouchers, to the seekers, and it will be at once
obeerve el that such a mode of audit presents en security
wheteeer to the ehercholdere. In the case of this its mof
" land," the accounts have, by this system, continued over-
charged in each half ye• r, down to that which is now
current; fee the evides:CP Aloes that, until the appoint-
ment of this e enraltee, Mr Hudson ha I retained by far
the greeter portion of this corn of 31,0001. in hie own hands,
but on the day after your committee were appointed, he re-
stored to the company the !several sumo of 3,0001 , 2,0001.,
and 4,0001., which he had previously taken as on account of
Sir Matthew White Ridley, Lady Mary S aeley, and
Lord Tinkered's. The evidence further ows th on th
12th May, Mr. Heide= restored to the company at
7,0001.. e
which he bad tokes as on account of the Earl of Carlisle;
and that on the 14th May be further restored 10,0001 which
: he but taken a' on account of the Duke of Ncrthuntherland.
The whole of there SUM( were to refunded Ly Mr. Hudson,
with interest fee ahnve thr • years, during which he had im-
properly hill the money, hut the shareholders will observe,
that such Vise been the inattention to the real stale of the
company's account., on the part of both directors and audi-
tors, that the solicitors have been sulesequtnily allowed, in
some of the inetaaces referred to, to draw cheques for pay-
ment of the game land, and to the same parties for whom Mr.
Rudest bad so obtained cheques in December, 1845, end the
monies so drawn by the solicitors must have formed the sub-
ject of audit by the same two gentlemen who had passed the
account containing the previous. payments.
In the construction account of the Newcastle end Berwick
Railway. your committee also find that me the 31st December,
1847, Mr. II udson drew out of the funds of the company the
sum of 40,0001. under circumstances which are fully de-
tailed in the evidence, and which establish that the accounts
of the half-year ending on that day were °Teethe], ed by that
amount, under the head' of " Workg," inasmuch as the
cheques which ennetituted this amount, viz , to Messrs. Rush
and Lawton, 30,0001. ; to Meter,. II ittereley and Nowel,
3,0001.; and to Meters. Wits, and CO., 60001.
RPM all taken by Mr. Iludsen on the
day they were drawn
and paid to his own private credit at his bankers. ha this.
instance, too, the viAlance of the auditors appears to have
been evaded by the mere production of the else game, without
any evidence of the sums devisor reached the Perlin to
whom they purported to be papilla, while, if that vigihosco
had been rightly exercised, the a. d.tors mast have discovered
the error , inasuatten as your committee have it in *videos,.
f,Olll 't.e clink who kept the leoeks, that the ..rdinery courage
ot hur•siness was departed from, and that no entries were made.
of th SS sums, to the debit of the individuals in whose favour
the cheques were drawn, but that by epccal Mot ruceioni from
the secretary the clerk petted such payments to a distinct aeg
eaunt, entitled " Works."
committee was appointed, this sum of 40,0001.
'Jai. your co
w as etiendisit as • payment to the debit of this company. and
'the construction see. unt was to that extent ow rehired. Mr.
Hodson, on the 15th Msy last, restored the whole amount...
wilt 2,479/. 13e. 7d. for interest thereon.
Your committee hying these matters ur der the attention by
the shareholth-re, ae in,tsoees of the imperfect mode in
which the comany hi accounts have been kr pt, and of the f ands
and hook. of the company having been so entirely and rr the
conwed of its chairmen, as to enable him to aptly thus e funds
to his own or the company's purposes, as hi. einem) fence re-
qQred. All the secun'y to shareholders, which the. appoint.
ment of a ecely of direct/eve and auditors, and the rendering
' of a poriodical statement of see:matte are expected to afford,
have, in this instance, become altogether nugah el.
Your committee haver eh ,d ttyou Mr. lit .son to offer his
own explanation of these matters. Ter', explaneti in is
stated at length in the evidence. Your c ,mmittee will only
observe upon it, that it besfailed to veneietee thereof any rielit
I in Me. Hudson to have so &Mt with this company's Rinds,
I end to have falsified its a...counts in the winner which the
I evidence proves his to hove done, and they have it to the
i shareholders to draw their own non elusions upon the fasts
1 when the evidence has eutabliehert..
TI" billaaass Oa the foorarnikl 'oeiug to a great extent an-

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