The Express.
London, England, 1867-12-18 00:00:00

THE MIDLAND RAILWAY OOMPANY.

As we dated yesterday, the Midland Railway
Company have issued a circular, announcing an
addition of no loss than 5,000,0001. to their capital.
The sudden announoement of so hugo a demand
for money by this company has given another
severe shock to railway property, and while
causing a general fall in prices has thrown down
Midland stock to the extent of par cent., which,
on the 11,316,3371. forming this company's ordinary
or teed capital, represents a depreciation
of no than 678,0001. The proprietors were quite
unprepared fora call of such magnitude ; for though
the chairman at the last half-yearly meeting on the
20th of August referred to the necessity of apply-
ing to parliament " for permission to raise new
capital to provide for the excess of expenditure
over the estimates in the construction of the Bed-
ford and London extension line," the cost of which,
he said, " would far outstrip the estimates made
four or five years ago," he at the same time ex-
pressed a hope that "a period of rest was in store
at no distant day for the Midland Company." This
hope sounds rather strangely now, considered in
connection with the present announcement. The
plea under which the money is called for—that the
cost of the works undertaken by the company has
largely exceeded the estimates, and that, in
particular, " the cost of carrying the works
of a railway into London is such as to
defy all previous calculation"—simply places the
directors upon the horns of a dilemma, for either
they and their chief officers are flagrantly ignorant
of matters which, if fit for their posts, they ought
to understand, or there has been a deliberate con-
cealment of the facts from the proprietors. Extreme
dissatisfaction is likewise expressed at the intima-
tion that the bill is to include an expenditure of
no less than 1,500,0001. on additional plant and
rolling stock, and that this embraces 960,0001.
which has already been weal without the company
having the necessary parliamentary powers to raise
it. Such a system treats the legislature with con-
tempt, and, if tolerated, must render utterly
nugatory all parliamentary checks upon board-
room expenditure. It will be interesting
to ascertain to whom this sum of nearly a
million of money, unauthorised by parliament yet
already spent, is owing. Who has supplied it 1
And what is to be thought of a system of finance
under-Which such lane sums can be thus played
with The directors state, with regard to this
same sum of 960,0001., that it "has been expended
out of the sums voted by the proprietors at various
half-yearly meetings ;" but surely they do not
mean to imply that the shareholders were aware of
its having been borrowed and spent upon new
plant ; certainly the fact seems to be quite new to
I most of them. The inference is that this money
has been applied to plant and rolling stock out of
I sums voted, in the usual careless fashion, for
other purposes. In the stereotyped phraseology
of board-rooms, the directors refer to the
growth of traffic, and cito figures to prove
it, but they omit altogether to stste the amount of
the ootemporaneous increase of capital and of de-
benture and preferential charges. The immediate
question for the proprietors is, at what price will
the enormous sum required be raised ? Even if
the transaction be spread over a period, it can
scarcely be hoped that so largo an amount of share
capital can be put out at par. To that numerous
section of the shareholders to whom the market
price of their property is the first and chief consi-
deration, this point is, perhaps, the most anxious
of all, for it is impossible to put out of sight the
recent experience in connexion with the placing of
the new capital of the Brighton Railway Company.
When the difficulties of that company were first
made known, this journal urged that the only way
of providing the necessary funds was by an issue of
ordinary stock, and we mentioned 45 per cent. as a
reasonable and likely price. The suggestion, both
as regards the description of stock and the price,
was pronounced by some to be simply ridiculous ;
yet the event proved exactly as we hadanticipated.
Of course it is not pretended to draw a comparison
between the financial capacity of the Brighton and
that of the Midland Company, but, making every
allowance for the wealth 'of the latter company's pro-
prietary, yesterday's announcement opens a prospect
sufficiently serious to give strong corroboration to
the warnings ceaselessly put forth in these columns,
that the whole body of railway shareholders must
rouse themselves anew to action if they wish to pre-
vent their property from sinking.

FOREIGN-OFFICE, DEC. 16.—The Queen has been
graciously pleased to appoint Sir Charles Lennox Wyke,
K.C.8., to be her Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary to the King of Denmark. —Gednetre.
THE ARCHBISHOP OP CsirraßßßßY'R COCRT OF
Arrgan.—Yesterday morning the Archbishop of Canter.
bury, assisted by Sir Travers Twiss, the vicar-general of
the province acting as araessor, held a court at Lambeth
Palace for the purpose of hearing an appeal ou the part of
• clergyman who had been dismissed from the bead mas-
tership of • training college by the managing committee.
The case wan that of the Rev. J. S. Boucher r. the Bishops
of St. Asaph and Bangor, Sir Stephen Wynne; Bart., Mr.
Mainwaring, ALP., end others. Mr. Dunning, his
grace's secretary, was also present. The case raises the
whole question of visitorial power, whether on the part of
the archbishop or any other pinion, in reference to new
foundations and those numerous institutions which have
sprung up during the last few years in connection with the
national universities. The Rev. John Sydney Boucher,
M.A., of St. John's College. Cambridge, formerly curate of
St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, was appointed to a
principalship or bead mastership of the North Wales Train-
ing College, and last year was dismissed by the managing
committee on the all..ged ground that he bad taught unsound
doctrine. Against this disiiiissal Mr. 'toucher sppeiled to the
archbishop as visitor. Mr. Prideoux. QC., appeared on be-
half of Mr. Boucher ; Mr. A. J. Stephens, Q.e., for the
managing committee. The Archbishop of Canterbury
said that before the merits of the case were entered upon,
he should like to know on what ground be was coked to
interfere—whether, indeed. he had the requisite powers
as visitor to bear and decide the case. Mr. Prideaux.
Q.C., said his grace was the regularly-appointed visitor of
the institution, and one of his most important duties was
to decide upon the dibmissal of its officers. He quoted in
support of this view from " Tudor on Charitable Trustv."
If such a case as this was not within his grace's cogni-
sance, he did not understand what his powers as visitor
were—at all events they must be extremely limited. Mr.
Stephens, Q.C., said that one of the principal objects of
this appeal was to convert an office held during pleasure
into a freehold office. The case was discussed at seine
length, and his grace said it was one in which it was iiii-
poesible to prouounce judgment at once. Re and his
assessor must take time to consider the matter.

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