The Express.
London, England, 1849-04-09 00:00:00

MR. HUDSON AND THE YORK, NEWCASTLE,
AND BERWICK RAILWAY.
A report of the committee of investigation together
with a record of the evidence of the witnesses
examined before the committee appointed :o investi-
gate the Great North of England purchase acceunt,
was published on Saturday. We subjoin the report
entire, tether with a portion of the evidence:
TLe agreement for the purchase of the Gnat North
of England Railway was entered into provisionally in
the month of June, 1845, and the act of parliament
for carrying out that agreement passed on tLe 27th
of July, 1846. At the time when such agreement
was entered into, and such act passed, Mr. Hudson, the
chairman of the York, Newcastle, and Berwick Ran.
way had notany share or interest in the Great North 4
England Railway ,nor were any shares ever allotted to
him. The terms on which the several dames cf shares in
the Great North of England Railway were agreed to
be purchased by the Yolk, Newcastle, and Berwick
Railway Company, were as follows, the principal of
the purchase-money of each class being payable on
the let July, 1850 :—The 1001. 'hares at 230!. each,
with interest at 10 per cent. per annum on 1001. in
the meantime ; the 401. shares at 601. premium per
share, with interest at 10 per cent. on 401., deducting
4 per cent. on amount uncalled ; the 30/. shares et
451. premium per share, with 5 per cent interest co
calls until July, 1847, and 10 per cent. atter...Ards
on 301. until paid off; the 151. sha es, on which
11.10 s. only had been paid, at 22/. 10s. premium per
share, with interest at 5 per cent. on calls to the let
July, 1849, and afterwards interest at 10 per cent. oa
.151. until paid off.
On the 26th October, 1846, a special general meet-
ing of the shareholders in the Ycrk, Newcastle, and
Berwick Railway was held at York, when a stock was
created on which 6 per cent per annum was guaran-
teed till Ist July, 1830, in order to provide for "the
purchase of the Great North of England Railway and
Works." Tee object of this measure is stated to have
been to: spread the payment for the shares of the
Great Ncrth of England Railway Company, amount-
ing in the whole to 31 millions sterling, over a space of
three years and a half, instead of making that pay-
ment on one day, viz., Ist July, 1650.
After the conclusion of the business of the special
general meeting of proprietors on the 28th October,
1846, a meeting of the directors was held, at which it
was resolved that the shares in the Great North of
England Railway Company should be bought by the
York, Newcutle, and Berwick Railway Company,
and that Mr. Hudson alone should have the manage-
ment of the purobases. The directors are agreed that
such a resolution or understanding was come to at
this meeting. But no record of it is to be found on
the minutes of the proceedings of the directors. The
absence of such record is ascribed by some of the
directors to their wish to keep as secret as possible
the fact of the company being purchasers of shares—a
knowledge of which fact might, in their judgment,
have had the effect of enhancing the price of the shares
in the market. We cannot, however, admit this as
any reason for the omission, particularly as Mr. Hud-
son has himself stated in his evidence (as the feet
was) that it was well known at that time that the
company were purchasers of the shares. At this
meeting Mr. Flews, one of the directors, supposed
from his connexion with the Great North of England
Railway to be best qualified for the task, was re-
quested to make a calculation of the value to this com-
pany of the different claimer of Great North of
England Railway shares. On his return to his place
of residence at Darlington, it appears that Mr. Flews
prepared a statement of the comparative value of the
several classes of Greet North of England Railway
shares, showing the separate value (assuming the
market prica of the day as his standard) of each class
of share to a party investing money at 5 rer cent.
This statement ho believes he transmitted either on
the 27th or on the 28th October, 18.16, to Mr. Clcse,
the Secretary of the company at York. As this cal-
culation of Mr.Plews'has been much referred to in the
evidence taken before us, we subjoin a fan-simile of it.
[This memorandum is lithographed, and teands—ai
well as we can decipher it, for it is far from legible--
thus] :
£lOO shares—to be paid lit July 1850:
From lit January 1847 31 per cent. to 5 per cent. 43 15
The dividend

260 shuts
8 15 batons:

240 £241 5 value the Ist Jan. 47.

Preseut.premium 236 10 0
deduct 2 10 0

234 0 0
Profit on prices .... 7 6 0

£241 5 0

£4O shares:—

Dividend 2 12 0
Interest 5 per cent 3 2 0

3i per cent.

leaves £63 6 the value.

Present premium:-
61 0
Deduct.. 0 13

60 7
Profit .. 2 18

63 5

£3O —in July, 1847, deduct 3 0
Payable £76 3 16 15s.
Interest to deduct from let July 1887, to
Ist July 1850, 3 per cent.
Or value .... 72 15

Present premium M market 54 0
£l5 topaz

69 0
3 16

£72 16

On £l5 to 21 0 6 3
~ £lOO to 236 10, 7 6 0
~£4O t 61 2 18 0
~ L3O too 64
41 £3O for £lOO chars :
the profit on bill .... 18 17 6
4 40 ll 12 0
£l5 3 3 6
The sums expended by the directors of the York,
Newcastle, and Berwick Railway Company in buying
Great North of England Railway shares up to the
25th January last, amount in the aggregate to
749,5241. 14s. 7d.
The first male to the company was by Mr. Hudson
himself to the extent of 131,8871. 9s. 3d., to which
sale Mr. Hudson has assigned the date of 27th
October, 1848. •
It appears in evidence that Mr. Hudson had earl
in the month of October, 1846, begun to purchase
various classes of Great North of England Rail-
way shares on his own account, and that on the 27th
October, 1846, being the day after the special meeting,
he effected the sale of has Groat North of England
shares to the company. The prices were fixed by
Mr. Hudson himself, assisted by Mr. Close, and the
principle alleged to have been adopted was based on
Mr. Plews's calculation ; but this part of the trine-
action appears to be involved in some obscurity as to
dates, for, if the sale took place on the 27th OCtobel,
Mr. Plewe's calculation of the value of the shares
could scarcely have been at York on that day.
We find in the journal of the company, entitled
"The Great North of England Purchase Jour/art]," the
following entry without date :
" Sundries, Dr.
" To 080. HeDSON & ors.
"One hundred pound Sherri, 151 Shares .... £36,240 0 0
" Forty pound Shares, 342 Shares 21,631 II 0
" Thirty pound Shares, 91 Shires 6,187 0 0
" Fifteen pound Shares, 2,874 Shares
" Broker's Commission 990 18 9
" Transfer Stamps 279 0 4

£131,867 9 8

This entry represents the whole amount of Great
North of England railway shares sold by Mr. Hudson
to the company, and the amount appears to have beeit
paid to him by two cheques on the York Union Bank-
►ag Company. The one for 81,1001., dated 27th
October, 1846, sod the other for 50,7671. 9e. 3d.,
dated 27th November, 1846, both of which cheques
are signed. by two directors of the company, Messrs.
James Richardson and Robert Davies. The cheques
have been produced to us, and the payments are en-
tered in the banker's book, and stand in the ledger of
the company under their respective dates.
The prime paid to Mr. Hudson for these shares,
compared with the market primes of the assigned date,
of the sale, present the following results, via.