The Express.
London, England, 1851-12-18 00:00:00

LYONS AND AVIGNON RAILWAY.

The French government having announced its in-
tention forthwith to concede this important line by public
competition to a company for • term of 99 years, on the
conditions of a law passed by the late Assembly, a special
meeting took place yesterday, to consider and determine
on the immediate steps to be taken under such urgent cir-
cumstances. The meeting was convened by the committee
appointed by the persons having claims on the French go-
vernment in respect to the caution moneys deposited fur the
railways from Lyons to Avignon, and from Bordeaux to
Cette, now in abeyance. Of this committee Mr. Sato.
muss was chairman, and that gentleman presided on the
present occasion, observing, in opening the proceedings,
that they had felt it right to call this meeting for the pur-
pose of seeking the advice and opinion of the share-
holders in the old Lyons and Avignon Railway Company,
under the circumstances in which they were now
placed. The meeting would recollect that in the IL
year 1846 there was a combined company of English
and French shareholders for the purpose of making a rails It
way from Lyons to Avignon. The whole of the capital was
subscribed, and the concession of the line completed; but MI
there were reasons to apprehend at that time that the el
various details on which tile assumed capital and revenue
were based were erroneous, and the dearth—or rather est
famine, he might call it—which then took place in the rail-
way market, and threatened not only this county, but 54
almost all Europe, greatly strengthened these apprehen- IS
shins. The French government were then applied to upon
the subject of the concession made to this company, and 50
they agreed with the directors of the whimsy that there
was reason to believe that the estimates were fallacious, and t.
that it was desirable that the conditions of the con- U
cession should be improved, in order to ensure the
success of the undertaking. The French govern- as
meat, convinced of the necessity of some modifications, lb
brought into the Chamber of Deputies • prole! de 30'
,oi, embodying certain ameliorations of the conditions of
the concession. The democratic portion of the legislature at.
thought that the proposed ameliorations were so far advise M.
able that they agreed to them, and the bill passed the Chem- Its
her of Deputies. It was afterwards carried into the then 14
Chamber of Peers, where opinions were expressed in the It;
course of the debates upon the subject that—looking at the Sax
position of Europe, and the probable scarcity of money that et.'
would follow, and also the financial difficulties which had IC ;
already been eaperienced in England by the failures in 1817 1,151'
—it would be snore favourable to French national inte-
rests that the company should be extinguished rather tu
than the proposed ameliorations of the conditions re
of the concession should be encouraged. The cons SO
sequence was, that the bill was thrown out by the Ilii
Chamber of Peers, and the Lyons and Avignon 1:
company hail no alternative but to dissolve themselves I;
and to returns the money to the shareholders—the caution g
money being left in the hands of the French government, 10
subject to future arrangements. From that day to this see- et.
gottations had been going on (or the purpose of securing 6d'
the return of the caution money. The claims of the Lyons 341
and Avignon Railway in this respect were of the first class, a,
because it was admitted by the French government, as well el!
as by the Chamber of Deputies, that the data upon widen M.
the company undertook to construct the line was iusuni- :11.1
cient. Consequently, the principles of equity, houesty, and 1;
honour,would all combine to induce the nation to give such g
Unproved conditions to the company as would enable them
to construct the line, or to return the caution money. They 60 I
were all aware of the great changes that had taken place in et.
the government of France within the last few days. With r.
those changes they had nothing to do. They met there as
claimants, nut only on the government, but also upon le
the honour and integrity of the French nation, and they is
felt connlent that their claims could not be invalidated or le

weakened. lie (the chairman) might observe, without in SO I
any way conunitti g himself to the position of the French
government, that he had had the honour of meeting Louis 7
Napoleon several times on the subject of returning the eau- 131
Lion money, and he had received from him nut only as- 9.1
suranees of his sympathy, but a promise that he would do all le
in his pewee to place the shareholders' English as well as s:
French, in the best possible position. On the bat l) comber
the late Chamber of France—almost its last act—gave their 29
approbation to the framework of a concession for making a to
railway from Avignon to Lyons. lie had looked into the tO
terms and conditions of the lease, and he was bound to say 3"
that they appeared to him to be moat ample and most favour- s'•
able. lie was afterwards surprised to find that, without the
notice usually given in such ea.ses, the present hue was to be is
conceded ou the 19th inst., Friday next, to some company. ..
As far as he knew there was only one company is treaty 30
for the line, consequently, if no second company applied, 39,,,
this railway would be given to the company wham had been
for a considerable time in negotiation with the French go- 25
vernment fur the concession of the hue. lle was sot ;5
aware that any English persons bad represented the in- it.
terests of the shareholders in this competition, sud they wore
therefore called together to determine what steps they ought eel
to take, end whether they ought not to say that they would
enter their protest against the line being given to any other
company until they had hail time to see whether it waste their 44
interest to tender for toe line. There had been changes to
in the French ni* 's try since this nutter was brought before
the government of Frauce, and he (the chairman) had ad-
dressed every successive administration in favour of the share- ae
holders, stating that if they were willing to carry the
caution money to the company's account, they would fulfil ut
their engagement by subseribiug the necessary sum for the Se
completion of the line. to his opinion they ought not to
be alarmed at anything that was going en in France. as
Whatever might be tier position of the government, they
might depend upon the integrity of tile people, who—as 10
was evidenced by the alterations which had recently taken so
place in prices—were ke.nly alive to the value and pre- 15
serration of property. The tine, it appeared, was presumed jay
to cost 120 millions of franc., of which sum it, millions t
were to be furnished by the French government, and with 14
a view to ease the operatiou of finding the capital, there was „,
to be a power to raise it on bonds at five per ceut., for
which the government would give their guarantee. lie
(the chairman) had little hope that they should succeed in so
their present endeavour, as lie believed that the whole affair
had been arranged in the minister's office, and that three so
or four English capitalists, or contractors, were the chief "
parties to the concession. The lion. gentleman concluded iszi
by proposing that the following memorial be presented to ao
the President of the French Republic, by the committee
appointed to represent the claimants :
"'That in the year 1816 the sum of ten millions of francs ~
was deposited by a combined body of English and French N
capitalists as the caution money for the construction of a
line of railway from Lyons to Avignon. flb
" That the progress of the undertaking was delayed by
the discovery that the official estimates of the cost of con- st•
struction, expected annual returns, &e., were based on very
erroneous and imperfect data; and also by the impending
dearth throughout Europe and the financial crisis curse- sl.
quent thereon ; and that on representations being made to u
the executive government, the conditions of the original con- el
cession were agreed to be materially modified and ameliorated.
" That measures for that purpose were adopted by the ,s 1
executive government and Chamber of Deputies, but were
rejected by the Chamber of Peers' not from any objection sl
to or doubt of their justice, but solely from motives of pub- too
lie interest. SO
"That these acts of the legislature, while unequivocally 3
recognisiug the right of the company to an amelioration of ss
the terms of its original contract, were at tiro same time a 221
virtual admission of its equitable claim, in case such arnelio-
ration should net be conceded, to a restitution of the caution Se
money. Bta,l
That this equitable right hiss been in many ways vir-
tually recognised by successive administrations, andithat in et.,
the similar edit of the Bourdeaux and Cette Railway Com- its
pang, also iu abeyance, you, sir, were pleased to express
your sympathy with the suffering English and French in- I lis
terest, and to evince every disposition to comply with their
request.
That, under the circumstances thus detailed, nothing alt,
can or ought to prejudice the just and equitable claims of I tea
your memorialists on the government of France its respect I he
of their caution money ; and that if the government be I
averse to the unconditional return of the same, the utmost
it can reasonably require of your memorialists is that they t '
should undertake to complete the line of railway for the
construction of which that Caution money was deposited.
"'That your memorialists have reason to believe that the 19
conditions of the concession now proposed to be made of „
the Lyons and Avignon line are amply sufficient for the due ;
execution of the works, providing for the return of the ;
caution money of the original company.
" That your memorialists are ready and willing to renew
their engagement with the government of France upon
the condition of the orginal caution money being brought
into account ; wad, if the opportunity he offered them, they 14;s
will be prepared to tender fur a concession of the railway ao
from lions to Avignon, in pursuance of the terms of the law 20
of the late National Assembly authorising such concession.
" And your memorialists resist Wally submit that, in case S..
such concession shall not be made to them, justice and le
equity require that measures be taker: for the return to
them of their caution money, consistently with the honour rsi
and liberality always manifested by the government of to
France, even at the most disturbed periods of its political 10
10
history."
Mr. B. OTtirritta seconded the motion, which was mauls 2:0
mously agreed to. fM
MT. BAGARAW, proposed, and Mr. J. GARRARD is
seconded the next resolution, requesting the committee to se
declare the readiness of their constituents to tender for the
concession of the railway from Lyons to Avignon as with&
rised be the law of the late National Assembly, or to adept,
each (Alter measures as may be found expedient for secur-
ing the recovery of the caution money of the company now
in abeyance.
The resolution was carried, and was followed by * motion
which expressed a hope that no English capitalists would,
by engaging in negotiations for a concession of the Lyons
and Avignon line, interfere to weaken or prejudice the in-
disputable claims of the former company.—Carried.
Other resolutions in furtherance of the object were passed.

MARIA ANTONIA Reawsr.—Trafac for the week
ending Doe. 4, 1861, 2141.; 1860, 14W.