The Express.
London, England, 1853-03-11 00:00:00

WEST LONDON RAILWAY,

The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held yesterday, at the London Tavern, Mr. STEPIIIIN
BIRD in the chair. Very few shareholders were present.
The report presented, which wr.s very short, relates
almost entirely to the legal contest in progress between the
company and the Loudon and North Wistern company:
" The directors. in making their previous half-yearly report,
led the proprietors to expect that judgment would be given
by the Exchequer Chamber in the long-pending proceed-
ings against the London and North Western Railway Com-
pany before the now coming meeting. and they are heppy
to inform the proprietors that judgment was pronounced in
anuary last, and that the judges in the Exchequer Cham-
ber unanimously overruled the decisions of the Common
Pleas, and granted a new trial, on the grounds mentioned
in a copy of the judgment, as delivered by Mr. Baron
Parke, which accompanies this report, and which the
directors think will be highly satisfactory to the proprietors.
Availing themselves of the suggestion of the court, that the
claim of this company ought now to be settled by arbAra-
tion, on the principles laid down in the judgment, the di-
rectors have already intimated to the London and North
Western Company that they are prepared to abide by the
suggestion of an arbitration ; but at prctent they have not
received any reply from that company. Probably, how-
ever, they may asciatuiu the views of the London and
North Westtra Company More the comio7 meeting. Should
an arbitration be refused, the directors will proceed at
once to bring the case to a new trial in July next.
when they confidently expect to recover heavy damages."
With regard to the canal, "the directors have to report an
increase in the total traffic as compared with the previous
half-year, as well as in the traffic to and from the railway.
The total traffic shows an increase of 4,121 tons, the traffic
to the railway of 29 tons, and from the rai:way of 6,558
tons. The increase arises prineip fl`y in the article of coals."
The report was adopted, tke uulerstandirg being that the
directors would again ..pperil to th- North Western board.
The Chairman and Mr. Alderman Cubist, retiring direc-
tors, were re-elected.
This closed the business.

THE SIIOEBLACKCtitTY.—A correspondent nave :
—" Yesterday the boys of the polishing brigade,' elmx in
their well-ko..wn red unit Ara, together with 27 girls from
the Fern2le Refuge in Dorche+ter place, pail a visit to the
Plasma= of Ilindostan, in Baker-street. The museum in
connexion with the exhibition was also opened to the little
visitors, who were much delighted with this collection of
curiosities from our eastern empire. It is gratifying to find
that the mode of employing boys in the streets has been
successfully introducsti into Dublin (where these arc 26
slioeblacks' and' broomers'), Brighton, Liverpool, York,
and even Alexandria, when these useful public servants
appear on the pavements as symptoms of the assimilation
between Egypt and Europe. The ricecss of the Shoeblaek
Society as a reformatory institution may be learned from
the evidence concerninz its op rati,ms contained in the
blue book lately issued by the select committee on juvenile
delinquency. At the end of its wend year of existence the
total receipts of the society are broad to be about 1,5004"

Rain intertiecnce.

HOUSE OF LORDS—YESTERDAY.
—Baruas •VIZ Lamp CR...NCI/IDX. Loan .ST.Lxos.aps,
LORD 'Watt:HAM. AND LORD WROMMILAY.
MILLAIA V. SMALL.

This was an appeal trim the Court of Session in Sentient'.
The facts were shortly them. The trustees of the Dundee
and Union Whale Fishery Company leased certain premises
at Daudee to James Small, the present raspondent, at a
ground annual or ground rent of 2732. Small assigned Us
interest to one Adamson. Soon after that the Fishery Com-
pany sold their property to George Millar, toe present ap-
pellant, Ana became entitled to the ground neat. That rent
was paid by Adamson to the Fishery Company, and after-
wards to Millar for some years, and until his bank-
ruptcy, when he ceased to do so, and Millar then
sought to recover the ground rent from Small. Pro-
ceedings were taken in the Scottish courts by Small by
process of suspension to restrain Millar from snaking sny
such claim. The question was, whether in point of law
the contract entered into by Small when he leased the
premisze, Wag or was not a personal obligation, not-
withstanding the assignments to Adamson. The court
below held that it was not a personal obligation, and the
present appeal wee brought.
The case was p irt hard on a former occas:^r, and tl.e
argument+ were resumed to-lay and concluded, h tying
; °templed the whole day.
The Solicitor-General and Mr. Anderson appeared for
the appellants ; Mr. Rolt and Mr. Hamilton Pyger (of the
Scu•tish b.a). for the ?twaddle'.
The Lord Chute...nor sail that as it was a case of much
importance, and there were others pending before their
lordships' house iavoiving the same point, the judgment
would be postponed.