The Express.
London, England, 1849-07-20 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY

AND FINANCIAL REFORM.

MEETING AT GREENWICH.
Ytetereay eveairg, a public electing of the inha-
bitants of Greenwich was held at the Lecture-hall, in that
borough, fur the purrse of promoting the principles pro-
oounded by the Metropolitan Parliamentary and Financial
Reform Asaciation. The meeting was very num. roacly
attended. Tbs. chair was occupied by JOHN WADE, Eeq.
The CHAIRMAN, is %ening the proceedings of the
evening, raid that the great nhjec:s to be accomplished were
only to be ebtalued by unanimity and persevi rsr He he-
: I:eyed that so surely as the rditie al unions end the Anti-care
law association relomplished their objects, so surely would
the M:trispnlitan and :Financial Reform Ass-elation saceeed.
Mr. GRAHAM propped the first resolution, as follows:
l• That the absence of a really representative Monte of
Commone, the preponderance of class legislation, the ttne-
qual pressure of taxation, the general extravagance of the
public expenditure, and the consequences of these evils en-
geneleri: g discontent, and threatening disorders fatal to the
peitieal end to the social prosperity of this empire, render
she combination of the middle and the working classes for
the attainment of parliamentary reform a matter of mo-
mentous itanortanee to the state."
Mr. HA RRILD seconded the resolution.

Mr. ALEXANDER MACKAY suppoited it in a speech
of cousi.. erable length ~nd great ability.
Mr CLARKE also supported the rcanlutirn. He believed
that the pr.rent government was the most corrupt which
hed ever existed, and that all clams were represented, but
those who were the most important clams, namely, the in-
dustrious clap es _ _ _

Sir FRANCIS KNOWLES next addrea•ed the meeting.
He paid the great otj ct of the Metropolitan Parliamentary
and Financial Reform Association was to make that a laet
which was now a fiction, fur the Reform Act was a gr •at
delusion, and nomination and bribery were as rife as ever.
(Cheers )
Mr. E. MASTERS moved the second resolution as
follows;

"That tho Metropolitan P. rliamentary and Financial
Reform A"aciation affords the opporunity for such a con-
bination, and that this meeting therefore pledges itself indi-
♦idually a.. 1 collectively to aid and co-operate with that
asslciation."_

The Re.. Mr. SQUEERS wended this resolution.

Mr. Z ATKINAM supported it; and after tie usual
vote of thanks to the eiminnan, the meeting separated.

RAILWAY MEETING.

YORK, NEWCASTLE, AND BERWICK'

RAILWAY.

[SPECIAL MEETING.]

MR. HUDSON ANI) TIIE AFFAIRS OF THE
COMPAN Y.
A special meeting of this company, postponed by
repeated adjournments since ihlsv Ices, was held in the
Festival Coinert-roe m York, on Wednesday, to receive the
report of the committee which was appointed at the meet-
iag in May I. investigate the affairs of the company, and
which was published iu the Express of Saturday lest.
Soon after twelve o'clo. k Mr. Davies, the deputy•chair-
Mr. Flews. and Mr. Wood, of the directors ; the Right Hon.
tMja a :7 James
Meekofeeifr tTha neR tu,"(l:ll:ll..tirirPdstjanni(ll4l,:.:Penißrteregsrleel'iim:Yi ePatodhhrike.hi it'
would
room.iSiuMr:.driLe. Shield,
f.l:. DirhaXert4vie Richardson,e
see:ye3tl::: took
the
remarks in bringing before the meeting the second report of
the committee which they hod appointed to ihvestigtde the
affairs of the York, Newcastle, and Berwick R iilwiey. That
report was now 10. fore thin, and be apprehended that the
m..pwity, if not the greeter part of the meeting, had read it,
and were ready to give their opinion up in it. It cousistod
of certain distinct departments, and one of there hAI
reference to the appropriation of the funds of the company
to the Sunderland Dock Company. At a former meeting
aeme gentlemen thought that he (the Lord Mayor) was not
sufficiently open and drank in reference to the names
of 'the gentlemen who had agreed to the transfer of the
2,315 sbuos, but he believed these gentlemen would
now he 'lethal• d that at the proper time they had been suf-
ficiently explicit. (Hear.) With those 2,345 shares the pro-
prieture had nothing to do. If they though, proper to inereom
their interest iu the Sutherland Dicks to that extant they
might do s : ; but he would not reeomrutiud them to do so,
for, speaking es sn inoisidual, Le would not do so himself..
(Appleuse ) The next matt. r hail ref niece to tine allotment
of shares. He would not dwell upon ail further than to make
a remark or two upon the conduct of the board of directors,
for he must speak of them, however reluctantly, in the ap-
propriation of shares. The committee deprecate 1 both the
principle and the practice of directors taking the shares belong-
ing to public companies and appropriating them to themselves.
(Applause.) Bat, however they might& precate the practice,
they could not but draw a marked line of eistinction be-
tween the other directors and Mr. Hudson, for they all knew
that in 1843 the morel standard of correct action was lower
than i• ought to be in refer. nee to gentlemen taking shares
belonging to public companies. He would not for a moment
attempt to do away with the principles of integrity ant moral
feelings on the put of tlin.e individuals who ware invested
with a public trust; but as the report showed that there
were only a hundred shares each, he did net think there
would be any disposition on the part of the shareholders
to institute legal proceedings to recite. r what the direc-
tors might have realised by the sale of these shortie. (" Yes,
we will.") Well, he lied given his opinion, at d he left
the question with themselves. At recanted the parchme
of land, he thought it r.ght to sta:c that Mr. Hudson had
paid back the purchase money for the land will interest.
( Hear.) Ile would only say, therefore, that whatever might
have been Mr. Hudson's 'gulden and design in taking their
money, certainly it had the egtet of giving the share-
holder. in the statistical report a very improper view of their
finances, showing a larger amount of debit than was really
the fact. His lordship concluded by Meting that the ri port
be received.
Mr. LEECHMORE seconded the motion, which was car-
ried nnenimously.
Mr. PRANCE then came forward. He said, painful as
was the position of taking part in these proceedings, still he
thought he ought not to flinch from it when he recollected
the past Ise hod ookoet in tho prorooalop of the foe Mel' COM.
mitee. He felt sure that every one preen at must have read
attentively this report, with the valuable mess of evidence
which uccompented it ; and he had risen front the perusal of
it with the impression that the company—that society at
large—owed a debt of gratitude to the members of the com-
mittee for the way in which they had discharged the trust
reposed in them. (Applause.) It was impossible to speak
in too high terms of eulogy of this report. The committee
had modestly called this report an i piteme of the evidence.
But this was, to his mind, its highest priire, for it wee an as-
surance that the report was in all its part, borne cut by the
evidence. Ile thought, therefore, there could be no hesita-
tion in adopting the resolution he had now to propeae—
" That the second report of the committee of investigation
be adopted by this meeting."
The Hon. Mr. HONDAS, M.P. for Richmond, seconded
the motion. At the same time be thought it would be better
if they discussed the different parts of the report seriatim,
as there was one suggestion in the report which he thought
might be postponed. He referred to the recommendation
to hold their board meetings for the future at Newcastle in-
stead of York.
Mr. WYLIE thought this report was characterised by
great ability, and what was still better, it was characterised
by an honest purpose to tell the whole truth. The report
was also what it prohased to be—a report from the commit-
tee, merely stating the facto, and leaving it to the share-
holders themselves to give the verdict. Ile did not wish to
excite any angry feelings, tut he thought it would be incon-
sistent with the duty they owed to themselvee and to the
public if they were now to hesitate in declaring their true
and honest opinions. (Applause.) He would not shrink
from dad. g so; but he would say to the directors, face to
face—he was glad they were present, as he would not have
spoken so freely of them in their absence—and he would_
adopt the language of the report, and toll those gentlemen.
that they had been guilty of great culpabiliiy—that their
conduct had been characterised by a degree of subservienesi
which was disgraceful to them as gentlemen. (Applause.
If the directors, by no fault of their own, or by accident
, circumstances, bad bees placed in their present painful pa-
-1 than, he would not have saidthie—he would have commis*. .
rated their position—at present he despised it. Ha con .
, isesed, when he looked to their subserviency to that me n
richasmxitnous
ttaoblpei-ch...heuipoove
;eat
crumbs Hudson—when
which
fehrowmththemat
upon their conduct as disgraceful to themselr es, and die
graceful to the whole country. (A •Voics : " I'.. is diaper isful
is every way.") He came now to consider w eat ought '6O be
the rational result of these investigatiossf and he th ought
that one great advantage of having orie,treated they a was.
that they had brought things to light which they would
sever otherwise have ant to the bot'.om of; and so big,a,
did he esteem the labours of o'...is oansmittee, that he
whooped—be ewihoetiOdicaver might be
of the;a re futa directors—Cn he
uid
inquiry. He had into tiled
to say something cf the eioed'.'‘et of Mr. Hudson ; but, really.
I though he dreaded the apt cersnee of the report, he d.id not
expect the tenth part ofst.ae enormity, of the villainy, it die-
d-bed. (lieu, hear.) But, as the report accused the di...
rectors of culpable m Aligenee, he asked if it was fair that,
them gentlemen she' old remain at the head of their affairs.
(Rear, bear.) He knew the many evils that might arise
Irons suddenly d. Juisciog a whole board ; bat, on the other .
hand, there wve tie moral evil of allowing men with blights d
c"'"""' "' .`o remain at the head of their affairs. Ho kat w
they had 7
..0 power to compel the directors to resign,' out
they he - the power to give sub an expression to • their
feeling',h,, ~ that these gentlemen would no longer retain
`T,'''' .places as directors. lie knew that what 1. ,e was
''' Ait to propose would add to the behOtrtl of the
' mints; yet he thought they had no other r efg ,aene, and,
he would propene to call on the clizectotriollztsoe
brhee:Bl,.agiree,de
ltheirfu,,drhaseerta,t7oe
say, iusi nneoe
tftr
ea,hrthtehon r
yoa
correspondenceu.tr
however,
brdt hi,
se:
ol committeeall
censuremipsaanub
ootolf) inquiry.norliatitisih lie.eaedit,td
iais a
tent.
theirth(teP Prtlettepo'UOMSertrfl.);heellrelc yie,;, was
fore
ae
letter written to Mr. Heekeen by a gentleman who was a
director of the Bank of England, an alderman of ti.e City
of London, and a member of pplitamppk; and h e would
engaffe to say that that alderman pectin "ate a a more
fawning letter front his oeastitaents that thi tter, which
was written to Mr. Hullos by Mg. Aldef Thompson.
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. TROMPSOIi of.( Moat Hall) • bile agreed with
the recommendation of tie • ale Sunderland
~_17.,...;-(- .
• ~.
, etrv.4. v 3 7
••,1:• I
_. V:: 4: