The Express.
London, England, 1849-08-13 00:00:00

received in • few days. With regard to that perlion
of the line between Astern to York, Mr. Ortve appeared
to know more of the locality and the tr:dde likely to arise
from it than the gentlemen nos the north who had spoken
se the subject. Bat they looked upon it as • pert of the
tfooWi line Wind of confining their consideration
whia kik kale might predate. The
Wm bed, howrier, delayed that part of thed line,
Warssr mime of an additional 11 miles is the
bad Gorki cribs' upon the sherholders for
the mosey ter envying on the portion of the works. At
the err dr they hod the 'WA, leader agreements they
had made, to man over the It ae by Askern to York, and
though those illuteruwito wheel not perhaps so favourable es
they might kayo bosh U ;aide under different circumstances,
he was aot disposed to say that at preset the existing ar-
IrgeoSeat .as not better for the eompany than to make
toe Use at own between Astern and York. That line, which
wadi porker cost 16,9001 oe 17,0001.1 mile, would Orac-
trolly deema second as eswirtieg line between Don-
outer end York, where the real trails was of very
small wake; and were it not that it would eventually
firm • portion of the main trunk to make it
would be to throw away mosey. (Hear, hear.) With re-
gard to the latter put of the amendment, lo hoped it would
not be leafleted upon ; if, however, a proposition woe pressed
upon them which he conscientiously believed would be pre-
judicial to the ultimate interests of the shareholders, he
should hesitate sod doubt whether he would content to be
their organ for carrying it into effect. Next, as to the
statement of the logs sustained by the agreement with the
Witham Navigation. The gentleman who had made that ob-
jecting' wee not aware that, by that warden', the Witham
and Fos Dyke proprietors were bound to find all the land
neentary for the construction of the line at their own cost
—(itter, hear),—which land would cost something like
100.0001. (Hear.) And the interest of that sum, which
but Mr that agreement the Great Northern shareholders
would have bad topsy, would amount to more per annum,
is round numbers, tom they had lost by the navieation.
And, besides this, they (the Great Northern) received, as
standing in the shoes of the Witham Navigation proprie-
tors, a land-tax of 2,8001. • year. This, therefore,
though he did not mean to say it was a very good
bargain, was by no means such a losing affair as the hon.
proprietor seemed to imagine. With regard to the paella-
mastery expenses charged by Mr. Buxton, they were in
the *moats all lumped together, which accounted for the
largeness of that item. He had obtained an analysis
'bowies that the amount of vendors' end mortgagees' cos%
were 18,8001; surveyors' and agents' charges, 6,0001.; ark-
trade's and expenses of award., 6,0001. ; duty on convey-
eec,., 5,7001. ; charges of Buxton, Roe, and Hideo, 7,4001.,
end these, he was told, where the only transactions out of
the
which solisiseins obtained any profit. These were the
*bargee for three years.
Mr. HUGHES—But those are the 'bargee for convey-
melee ally; there an actions and many others not included
to that sum.
The CHAIRMAN, in future must ask that • larger and
taller analysis of all such matters be male in the so :aunts,
is seder that he might be spared the diffizult duty of giving
tGins, yrs them. (Hear.)
asill*HUGH ES recollected that a specific direction had,
hem given at the lmt meeting, that such an analysis should
be and*.
The CHAIRMAN—It was so ; but, for the future, he
MEM take care that it should be done. In the meantime
the shareholders might see all the details at the
elks. In conclusion, he begged to say that he consented to
se much of the amendment as be had intimated, the more so
that it wee brought forward by gentlemen from the north,
who represented • very large number of shares in the com-
pany, and who, he knew, expressed the views of many other
shareholders in their own part of the country, via., that 1
the direct line should be at once proceeded with ; end, for
this Teems, he should the more readily bo disposed to adopt
steps to carry out the line, even though he did not adopt the
whole of the proposed addition.
Mr. CHAPMAN recommended Mr. Hutchison to with-
draw his proposed additional resolution, or to di mend that
only so much of it should be put as had been suggested by
the chairmsn.
Sever. 1 other shareholders advised Mr. Hutchison to
divide the amendment, and omit the portion of tt which
referred to the raising of 'nether espital ; but theit gentle-
man refuted; and the amendment having been put and lost
by a hurt majority (there being net more than a doz-n hands
halt up in its favour), the original motion for the adoption
and printing of the report was declared carried.
Several other resolutions wen then proposed by Mr.
WATIMS, upon a variety of topics arising out of the present
syrAsi of management of the line—advocating the app riot-
ment of a law clerk at a fixed salary—the reduction of the
number of trains and stations on the loop line—the abandon-
ment of certain portions of the line, and the propriety of pro-
ceeding vigorously with other.—a'king for a !acre detailed
statement of the purchase and sale of railway securities by
the company—that no director of a competint hoe should be
• director on the Great Northern, &c. &c. On the question
being mooted that a law clerk with a salary be appointed in
place of the present solicitor of the company,
Mr. BAXTER claimed permission to say a few words, and
proceeded to show that his bills were taxed in the same man.
ner as all other bills of professional men by the taxing-officer
of the Court of Exchequer, and also that of the 47,0001. set
down for law expenses, there was no more than
7,0001. from which he derived 'any profit. He also vindi-
cated the conduct of the directors in proceeding with the
East Lineoloshire line, and cautioned the shareholders
sgainst being induced to form an unfavourable opinion of
the undertaking before sufficient time bad elapsed for
thoroughly testing its imperial'''.
All the revolutions above enumerated were either with-
drawn by their proposen, or negatived.
Mr. HUTCHISON moved a vote of thanks to the chair-
man and tweed of direction, for the care sod attentien with
which they had conducted the business of the cempsey,
which was carried by acclamation, and the proceedings
`erminated.