The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-20 00:00:00

COURT OF JUSTICE COMPENSATION.

(lkfore H. Scott Turner, High Bailiff of Westminster, and
a Jury.)
REEVI:4 'AND rrasEr. r. THE NATAL COMSHEIStoNERS.—
‘I F. OF PROPERTY IN THE STRANP.—THE NEW LAW

Thisw.ts a compensation claim by Messrs. Reeves and
Tiriv.r, the booksellers in the Strand, adjoining Temple-
} 1. or their leasehold premises, and loss consequent on
the it removal. The claim exceeded 6,00 W.
Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Kenealy appeared for the claimants ;
Mr. Hawking, Q.C., and Mr. M`Mahon were for the royal
comet i ssion era.

The case was commenced on the Ifith nit. and re-
n.“l to•dsty. It was represented as one of great hard-
"hip. as Messrs. Reeves and Turner had established
a prnfitable business, which had been increasing
for rears. The position was described as ad-
- We for a second-band bookseller, and "casual"
eastonie a from the legal profession were very great.

As to the land compensation, some remarkable
evidence was given. Land and houses in the
Strand Mid greatly increased in value, and the present
rental was worth 420 f. a year. Mr. Archer, a tobacconist,
had t.tken some premixes at the corner of Surrey-stet, and
property had so much risen iu value that he had given a
pi valiant at a rental of 310/., which, with 8,0001. to be
expended in rebuilding, would make the rental about 7501.
a The claimants could get no premises in the Strand
to .Itit them, and a removal from Temple-bar, which was
" trade mark." would do them serious damage.
Th- evidence was concluded, and the royal commissioners
no witnesses.

;The ase was proceedin; when our report wa4 de.
sp ‘tche,tl

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-(THIS DAY.)

Th *4Pi-. tIiER took the chair shortly after 12 o'clock.
Tin Denbigh, Ruthin. and Conran and Mold and Den-
bigh Junction Railway Companies Amalgamation Bill was
read a second time.

The Central Cornwall Railway (So 1) till and the
Dl,Oll :lad Cornwall Railway Bill were also read a accent!
time.

ANNI'ITY TAX ABOLITION (EDINBURGH,
PARISH OF CANONGATE) BILL.
Mr. MLA HEN, after presenting • petition from the
Lord Provo.t and corporation of Edinburgh in favour of
the bill, moved that it be read a second time. He-
fei-rine'' to previous legislation. he said he admitted
that the act of 1860 effected in some respects •
bemficial settlement. But there were certain objection-
:Oilc features, including the exemption of the law bodies,
:lied the imposition of a tax of a penny in the pound on
parishes which were before exempt. It was to remove such
grievances that the present hill was brought forward. The
bill had three objects. The first was to abolish the
tax in the parish of Canongate, the inhabitants of which
a.c1.0 very poor, and where the tax had only produced, on
an average, in the last live years, 2201. a year for each
minister. It was now proposed to give the ministers
2:OY. a year for their lives, and their successors 3501.
a year. The second object was to abolish the tax
of Id. in the parishes of Caucingate and St. Cuthbert, the
abolition being postponed for five years, when other
sources of income would arise. A majority of the cor-
pia:alma, 21 to 1:i, hail declared in favour of this arrange-
ment. The third and most important object was the
abolition of the tax of 3d. in the pound in
the city parishes, and it was believed that
free-will offerings would be a sufficient substitute.
With an annuity of 2,00 W. a year which was surrendered
by the corporation some time since there would be alto-
gether 6,000/. a year, and that endowment would ade-
quately provide for the 10 clergymen whom it was pro-
posed to continue, it being contemplated that three out
of the 13 now acting should cease to act. There were 53
churches in Edinburgh in addition to the 21 established,
and they were by far the best attended, and raised the
largest amount of money for various purposes. It might
he objected that a compact was made in 1860, but he
asserted that there was none to which the corporation or
the inhabitinta of Edinburgh were parties.
Sir J. FERGUMMON said the opposition to the tax was
confined to a small portion of the citizens of Edinburgh.
There WWI no wide-spread agitation, and no real caused com-
plaint The matter wasdiscussed in the house for many years
prior to 1860, and the parliament of that period, on the
motion of the Lord Advocate, jlassed without a division a
hill which he believed WM &taw Nettlement of the question.
The number of clergy was then reduced to 13, and the income
of each fixed at 601 W. while the area of taxation was
extended by the consent of the parties concerned, and the
tax thus reduced from tit. to 3d. in the pound. The
reduction of the ministers was assented to on the under-
standing that peace would thus be established; and yet
it was now proposed further to diminish the number
of the clergy from thirteen to ten, and at thee.
mine time to reduce the security for the stipends.
If the majority of the inhabitants had been
coerced into paying this tax he should confess that it was
a bad tax; but, considering that the number of persons who
refused to pay was so small, be thought there was no real
hardship or injustice. To the honour of the free church
it had never joined in the attacks on eccle-
siastical endowments. He deprecated the pre-
posed application of money collected at the doors of
the churches to the purpose of providing for the ministers,
money given in that way being designed for charitable
purposes. The hon. member concluded by moving that
the bill be read a second time that day six months.
Mr. BAXTER, without blaming the authors of the
act of 1860, denied that it was stamper( with the character
of finality • nor could he agree with the hon. member
who had just sat down that it had worked satisfactorily.
The evils which existed before 1860 had rather increased
than diminished. _ _

[Left sitting.]

METROPOLITAN AND ST. JOHIVS-WOOD RAIL-

WAY COMPANY.-(THIS DAY.)

The half-yearly meeting of the shareholders was
hel.l at 11 o'clock, at the offices, 3, Old Mr. W.
AI.:4TIN in the chair. _ _ _

The following report of the directors was presented :
" The directors hage to report that considerable pro-
gress hiss been made in the execution of the works since
the last half.yearly meeting. In consequence, however, of
the limited extent to which the preference shares were
taken up by the proprietors, it was deemed prudent to
slacken the pross of the works during the winter
months. The directors thought it advisable in the
somewhat difficult circumstances in which they were
placed, to make application to the board of the Metro-
politan Railway for assistance, and they are happy to
be able to state that their application was entertained in
the most cordial and handsome manner. The Metropolitan
,board expressed themselves fully sensible of the great
advantages which must result to the Metropolitan Rail-
way from the opening of the St. John's-wood line, and it
havg been found after a careful investigation that the
sumo of 150,0001. in addition to the balance of the amount
the company are authorised to borrow on debenture,
would be sufficient to complete and open the line
and stations as far as the Swiss Cottage, they resolved to
recommend their shareholders, on obtaining parliamentary
powers, to subscribe for 100,000/. of the preference shares
of St. John's-wood Company, provided that arrangements
could be made for raising the remaining 50,000/. These
arrangements having been made and the shareholders
of the Metropolitan Railway Company having
at their recent general meeting approved the
policy of their board in relation to the subscription
of 100,0001. of the preference shares, the directors hope to
be in a position very speedily to enable the contractors to
urge on the works with renewed vigour and to complete
and open the line early in the ensuing autumn. A consi-
derable amount of the U. per cent. preference shares will
still remain at the disposal of the board, and in the allot-
ment thereof a preference will be given to any of the
shareholders who may make an early application to the
secretary."
The following is the report of the engineer to theßoard of
Directors :—" The progress of the works during the last
chaff-year has been less than was contemplated at the meeting
in July, in consequence of your instructions and with
the concurrence of the contractors. Four-fifths of the
railway in length is now completed, and the arrangements
for the completion of the remainder of the railway works
and stations, and for the working of the traffic, are satin.
factorily concluded, and I hope in the early autumn of
this year the line will be open and through trains to the
City regularly running."
The CHAIRMAN in moving the adoption of the report,
said latterly the company had suffered in its progress
from those causes which had ruined so many companies
during the past year. In spite of all obstacles, however,
considerable advance bad been made in the works during
the last six months. The disappointment which had arisen
from the nonpayment of the debentures of various
companies bad thrown a certain discredit upon securities
which in ordinary times were considered unquestionable,
and that had affected their own position. This was the
reason why they bad not proceeded faster. The 5 per
cent. preference shared had not been taken up by the
public as rapidly as was expected. Under these circum-
stances the board applied to the Metropolitan Railway
Company, who had come forward with assistance,
as stated in the report, and with this assistance
they would be enabled to complete the line.
He might congratulate the proprietors that they had such
R powerful parent as the Metropolitan Railway Company
to aid them. Moreover, the fact of their doing so was
the best indication of the real value of the line, as the
Metropolitan Company well knew what amount of traffic
was likely to arise from this extension. The line was now
in a very forward condition. The tunnel was finished for
four-fifths of the distance ; some of the stations were com-
pleted, and others were in an advanced state. Land had
been acquired for the doubling of the line throughout, and
there would be a large quantity of surplus land to
be disposed of, which would relieve the company
financially. The 100,0001. to be received from
the Metropolitan Company would enable the board
to complete the line by next autumn. As regarded their
prospects, he believed the business would be of unexampled
extent, even in metropolitan traffic. The traffic of the
Metropolitan Railway was more than double that of any
other existing line, and the traffic of this extension could
not hut be of extraordinary amount.
The report having been adopted, a vote of thanks was
given to the directors, and the meeting separated.

A very curious statue of the god Vishnoo has
just arrived at Bordeaux, brought from India by Captain
Tailbades, of the Guipure...eon°. The image is a monolith
in granite of a very fine grain, and measures more than
St feet in length. It is in perfect preservation and of a
remarkable finish in the smallest details. The Indian god
is represented erect, with all his appropriate insignia, viz.,
the tiara, the cordon of Brahma, and the four arms, two
of which bear a lotus-Hower. The Hindoo Trinity is com-
posed of three gods : Brahma, the creator ; Vishnoo, the
preserver ; and Siva, the destroyer. The second perionage
is represented under more than twenty different firms ;
but the most common is that of a Mindanao youth with
four hands.