The Express.
London, England, 1849-12-24 00:00:00

RAILWAY MEETINGS.

LONDON AND 11017T11 WIEITEB.N.
As rammer is Ilageeday's Ernes, a epeeist gale-
ral meeting of the proprietors was held ea Battu,
day (having_ bees .severedby the directors) at the
Nine Elms Statics, Vauxhall, chiefly to treble the shave
holders to at a oessisittas to investigate the charges
brought against then at the erring of the 28th of Novena-
ver, is retereses to the saltiest of loess.
The chair was takes at 12 o'clock by Mr. Curtin,
chairman of the board, who, on taking his mat, was meted
wit,
wit, a burst of sheers, partly of as applauding character,
sad partly ironical.
After the observances of the customary formality of readingl
the notice the secretary (Ur. WINDM&Y BAILDIKO) read
the following report of the director
Tee directors regret to have been obliged to trouble the
proprietors by calling them again together so soon after the
resent special meeting of the 28th ult., but the changes
which were then entered against them (though rower&
at the time apparently to the general satisfaction of the
meeting) have bees Since made the subject of so much posh.
the miseteearet, and silo much misrepresentation, public
and private, that their own feelings of seltrespect, set km
than a due regard to the interests of the South Warm
Coneray, require that these questions should be sat at test
a: the earliest poseible period. The seessatioa was to the
elect that the airmen bad, during the peale. when the
rats of bitterest wee from 8 to 12 per oat., granted leans to
themselves, at a less rate of interest, out of we /Mb of the
company to pay their own cells, in gross 'Weir of their
duty as trustees for the shareholders ; and ells, shespue
' mere or less connected with this question have len solar
wady added. The special object of this meeting b is
rare the shareholder to appoint a committee to hared-
gate the matter • bat the director cannot consent, in the
meantime, to rest silent under imputations directly affect.
tag their character as honourahl• n, and they proceed,
tlearfere, at once to give such explanations ma the limit
of a report will allow.
At the special meeting of the 28th ultimo, the statements
made by 11100* of the director in reply to questions put,
wither sides, were, in the absence of all means of reta-
liate WI deenneents or books, neensarily issomplete. Di-
vesting the subject, however, as far r possible, of aiey coo.
hires which may thus have been endued, it is thought that
nothing will be omitted if the explanation be arranged under
the kneeing heads, vie :
1. Transude:es as to the taking up, by rime of the di-
gester and others, of 16,000 new share is Deesaber, 1848.
2 Loans made out of the con re funds.
3. The arrears of alb dee by dtrosters'
First. In reseed to therm thane of 18467, it is lISCONIT,
to all attends& to the report of the director at the special
=I meeting of 17th November, 1846. This report em-
resommendatioas to apply to perliasser, in the next
muds, foe the error projects which were the subject of
fourteen evolutions, all of which were passed rearrest,
by the meeting, the reception of the report having been pre-
timely moved by the chairman, and seconded, with expres.
sire of apportion, by Mr. Serjeaat Ours*. (Chews.)
Serjeant Orates—That is not true, aad it was very
unfair to put it la the report.l Theme various priers, if all
sanctioned by parliameut, would have occasioned an expen
diture of nearly 7i millions. This report also gave a general
indication of the terms on which it was proposed by the
directors to raise the necessary capital, amounting to
6,028,0001., and the meeting unanimously approved of the
terms, and referred it to the directors to carry the details
into effect.
Immediately after the meeting, the directors, accordingly,
rat a copy of sash detailed plan to each of the proprietors,
ealliag upon them to declare their option of taking their re-
*retro proportioss of the new shares prior to the 30th
November. The twelfth clause wu in the following terms,
via. :—" That all the shares to be boned in pursuance of the
above resolutions which shall not be taken acoording to the
osciaroens offered to the shareholders and all each of the said
as shell berme forfeited, ;hall be disposed of by the
board of directors for the benefit of the company." On the
llth Dec., 1846, the diners met, and it 'reimported toilers
that the following Banshee of shares had been, up to that time
applied for, via. f—shar s of 501., 76,014, three of 404, 8,928 ;
whilst the number, which it will appear by the first clause it
bad been deemed expedient " forthwith' to allot. were as
tollowe shares of 601., 92,662 ; shares of 401., 12,000 ; and
the deposits actually received were only to the extent of
63,850 shares, or upon about 20,000 shun less than those
applied for as above.
On observing this result, it wee evident to the director, on
whom rested the responsibility of having the subscription
completed and the deeds signed and deposited by the 31st of
December, that an immediate and further allotment of shares
was seterary.
The eseditiose ea which these shafts were originally is-
sued offend no great immediate or prospective advantages,
being that 6 per oat. should be paid out of capital, epos tte
amounts called up for six years, after which time they were
to rank with the general stock of the company. These con-
ditions were subsequently altered by parliament disallowing
the pretest of the interest out of capital, sad the shares
(cut down from 601. etch to 16L 13s. 4d.) were atterwards
registered as thirds, not entitled to either dividend or interest
till after the Ist July, 1848, and then only to the ordinary

WentIPIU.
At the date in question the shares bore noun' than a no-
minal premium (10s. or 15s. per share), and left no probability
that any considerable amount could be disposed of on the Stock
Exchange within the very limited time then exorable without
injuries time proprietors who had accepted their allotments,
and showily emus appeared to be, that the &rectors, with suck
parties an they eon& immediately induces should tans up
a further portion of the shares. Atter mt reluctance to
incur so large an additional liability, this come was
adopted ; but as the directors had already been subjected
to the deposits en their own propostion of the new scrip,
and as the additional sums required wen in some eases
large and as the parties were sot to have possession of visit,
scrip, a deferred payment (with interest), to each as found
the immediate payment of the deposit inconveeient, became
• necessary part of the arrangement. The conditions on
which the new scrip was allotted by the board were as fol-
lows : The deed to be signed by eaeh party for the shares
taken Twenty five per cent. of the amount of the deposit
to be paid immediately, and security for the balance to
W be
en; the company to retain the scares till payment of sub
Wanes ; sock payments to be niade—cm-helf, in 3 months;
one•quarter, in 4 mouths; and oat-quarter in 5 months,
from Doembee 11, 1846. No party to have his scrip (even
if paid for) delivered up in leis than 3 month', in order that
these allotments might by no usability emu into moved.
lion with those of the general sharekoleer for that period.
Us these terms 15,000 shares were accepted. Four of the
parties paid their entire deposits imardiately, and, as re-
spects the whole, the agreement was rigidly adhered to,
except as to the ceideri dates of the payment of the stipu-
lated instalments, the completion of which was in some
cases allowed to be deferred. The whole, however, has long
since been paid up, with interest. It may be necessary to
state here that the Bank of England rate of discount on the
12th December, 1846, was 3 per cent., and remained at that
rate till 14th Jaaaary when it became 34, and was not
Mod t.‘:. 5 pm mot. till the mouth or April, at which rete
it remained till September, and that the Forties were charged
interest es their seteaiptione, at the rate of 4 per cent.,
until 17th May, 1847, and at the rate of 5 per cent. frost that
date.
In the carrying out of this amusement, the cheques of
the sempany were issued, whm required, in favour of the
impielive parties :—ln some &steams, merely to suable the
sesemery transfer to be seeds in the iv many's boas, sash
&gem never having passed out of the possession. of the
, in others the cheques were handed to the
Fern,Y paid by them to their own bankers, and cheque
onthe latter and paid to the company for the fall
&goat. In all these eases the traumata& in the ONE=
books has been &marinated a loan, even where the
sever had the cheques is their possession, and the whole
have thee been returned as lotus in answer to an order
made by the Roues of Lords in the last session of par-,
limiest, though. let the ordinary sense of the term " loan,'
it unim Imam wholly iumpliestile to the &messiness of
am deferred payment After the above explanation, it
may appear aseacesemy to state, that these transactions
haw ao eimankm whatever with the preference (7 per
mat. deposit)) SIMON which were meat& a yes
ear after-
wards the name of " Thirds" haviag bees
amigned to these shares an well m to the hens of 1846,
have roefounded the two description of shams,
therefore right to repeat that all the above matinee
had to the unprivileged shares of 1866-7, and not
teeildnesse Slimes of 1647-8.
Musson believe that this ben statement of the fish
diapama of the laudation, se far as this mita is
of *sir having borrowed the money of the esm
peay to pay Sok coils aeries the peak, chanting themselves
with she& 4111114111 i the entreat Me of interest ; bat the
=Mai still remains, were the shares thus allotted really
of with the view to the Inuit et the anspeay or
he the gelmie advantage of these who accepted them ?, It
atzroesb,d, that though ;b• pragridon at Imp hays or
4 boss besaited by die aiditiosal aapital