The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-06 00:00:00

RAILWAY DEBENTURES.

The judgment by Lords Justices Cairns and Turner, in
the case of the London, Chatham, and Dover debentures
is described by the Tinos as destroying the popular im-
pression on the subject. The current belief was that a
man lending money upon • debenture lent it upon a
mortgage not of the income but the property of a railway
company, and though many obstacles were practically in
the way of anything like foreclosure, few people doubted
that this proceeding entered, at least theoretically, into
the mortgagee's rights. But, according to the decision
the debenture-holder can hardly be regarded as a mort-
gagee at all, while as to foreclosure the proceeding is
simply out of the question. The debenture conveys a hold
not on the property of the company, but only on the tolls
and earnings of the line, so that a debenture-holder is
really little more than a shareholder with a first prefer-
ence. It is just as if • man who imagined that he bad
advanced money upon mortgage of an orchard were to find
that his security was only the apple crop, and not the land.
No doubt, as Lord Justice Turner remarked, with an
obvious desire to allay an alarm which he could not
but foresee, anyl railway company " carrying on business
at a profit" must be good security enough for its deben-
tures, inasmuch as the holders have the first charge on
the profits earned. All this may be true, but it cannot be
denied that something is at least apparently detracted
from the solidity of • certain popular security at • time
when securities of all kinds are sufficiently depreciated by
general doubt and mistrust.

Mr. Mill's inaugural address at St. Andrew's,
which we discussed on Saturday last, has been published
by ➢lessrs. Longman in an octavo volume.

Mr. T. R. Bartlett, the American bibliographer,
has published a catalogue of six thousand and seventy-three
books and pamphlets relating to the great civil war.
THE NOTTINGHAM LAM BS.—A most extraor-
dinary scene of turbulence and violence took place at the
Exchange Hall, Nottingham, on the occasion of Mr. B.
Osborne addressing his constituents on Monday evening.
The chief seats in the hail had been taken possession of
by the hon. gentleman's opponents some time previous to
the commencement of the meeting. many of the Notting-
ham 'lambs" being present. When the hon. member
entered the room he was greeted with cheers and
booting. A Mr. Rental, a prominent member of the
Nottingham branch of the Reform League, attempted to
get on to the platform for the purpose of addressing the
meeting ; be was, however, greeted with tremendous
yelling. Mr. Osborne vainly endesvonnsd to secure a
hearing for this reformer. The audience because more
irritable, and Mr. Hemm was hurled to the back of the
platform with some violence. The chairman's seat was
broken, as was also the table of the reporters, and a scene
of indescribable confusion followed. At one time it was
thought that the hon. member would leave the hall, bathe
good-humouredly remarked that if be bad not known that
it was the commencement of February he should have
thought the lambing season bad commenced. There were
various exclamations peculiar to the town of Nottingham
used, and the hon. member could not get a proper hearing
until he commenced with the subject of reform. Upon the
announcement that be was in favour of household suffrage
the applause was immense, as was also the case when he
declared that he was in favour of the ballot.