The Express.
London, England, 1867-12-13 00:00:00

EAST INDIA IRRIGATION AND CANAL

CuMPANY.-i TMLS DAY.)

A preliminary meeting of shareholders was held
this afternoon at the Laudon Tavern, to take into con-
sideration the proposal of the Secretary of State for India
to purchase the Orissa works for a sum in cash equivalent
to its paid-up capital, and to concert measure, for protect-
ing the lights and interests of the company. preparatory
to the general meeting to be held on the 18th inst.
Mr. dons Dieoessort, who, considering the terms
.threes inadequate, bad been mainly instrumental in
calling the meeting, was voted to the chair, and ex -
omitted the purposes of the meetings' detailed in the circular,
be add they had recently (yesterday afternoon) received in
the report, of the directors much additional information,
that he thought it well to confine himself to that. There
were many widows, retired officers, and °theta who had
made great sacrifices to pay up their calls in the hope that
when the works were completed very large profits would
result which would amply compensate them for the priva-
tions they had so incurred. In 188.1 a parliamentary
piper was issued which he imagined contained the basis of
the calculation, showing that irrigation works in India paid
;al, and often much more per cent. ; and in the
case of the Corberry works an investigation which bad
been made proved that they paid 119 per cent. to
the government net. Two years ago Colonel Rundell
pointed out that the ryot made a profit of
2/. an acre on his land when irrigated ; but Colonel Han-
dell had understated the matter, inasmuch as he had
taken the produce of rice too low, and had omitted to
take into account the fact that inOriosa there were changes
in a cycle of years, periods of entire failure when the
land unimgated ; and upon information he had received
he .was
believed the net profit to the ryot upon irrigation was
•21. while the company's charge for irrigation was only fie.
per acre. It was unreasonable that they should be asked
to give up the prospect of such ample profits as must
ensue if they were left =interfered with. At the same
time be was not indispose.' to such a change in the con-
stitution of the company as should authorise a division of
profits between the company and the government beyond
ten per cent. He could not estimate the profits of the
undertaking at less than 30 per cent., if the whole
scheme were carried out. As regarded navigation, he
should make the calculation two or three times as high as
Colonel Rundell made it. When the company first went
to India it was welcomed by Lord Canning ; and the
government, having mince induced them to under-
take works which they did not desire to con-
struct, now called upon them to complete, and refused
to advance the requisite funds. He denied that the
official hostility of the government was shared by
the Indian public, and he thought it would
be absurd for them to part with the concern
merely for the paid-up capital. He strongly advised the
shareholders not to accept the offer of the Secretary of
state for India—(cheers)—and to resolve to defend their
rights as well as they could.

SHAREHOLDER ;aid theme 000ld be no doubt that the
offer of the government was in itself a ridiculous one, but
the question was, whether it was to be regarded as a
threat._ _ _ _

The CHAIRMAN believed that the company had incurred
no penalty which would justify the government in taking
possession of the works.
The SHAREHOLDER wished to know what authority
there was for that statement.

The enAlau.or could not give any authority.
Mr. Timor recommended the shareholders not to refuse
hard cash in the hope of realising fairy visions. He
preferred the nimble ninepence to the deferred shilling.
The natives would not buy the water though it
was at their doors ; they would steal it, but that was
sll. Water had been hired for 9,000 acres, and it had
ken stolen for 13,000. (Hear.) The report of the directors
did not overstate the facts. The company could only
raise 1•20,0001. more by calls, and be believed that if this
good otter were refused it would not be easy to Ilnd
money. If they broke their contract the government would
ky every rule of equity have a right to enter. (Oh, oh.)
In order to proceed they mast raise 1,300,0001., and who
would advance such an amount? (Hear, hear )
?The meeting was proceeding when our report left.]

In order to show the revival of church festivals
in France, the Lyons papers give an account of a manifes-
tation of clerical, and women in honour of the fete of the
Immaculate Conception. The authorities of that city,
taking their cue probably from the late debate in the
Chambers, promoted and encouraged illuminations. It
is reported that some " miraculous " manifestions have
taken place in various parts of France in honour of the
protection which the Emperor Napoleon has thrown over
the Papacy.

- -
ETON CoT.LEOE. —ETON, FRIDAY.—To-day the
school closed for the Christmas vacation, which will last
till the berth January. The Great Western and South.
Western Railway Companies ran special trains from the
Windsor termini for the convenience of the scholars re-
turning to their homes.
DESTRUCTION OF • PARIS THEATRE BY FIRE.
The suburban theatre of Belleville was burnt to the ground
early yesterday (Wednesday) morning. The flames were
discovered and the alarm given at 3 o'clock, and the fire-
men from the neighbouring barracks, and also the soldiers
from the barracks of Prince Eugene, were soon after on the
spot. Six engines were set to work, and the inhabitants'
of the vicinity lent willing assistance. The colonel of
the firemen and the municipal authorities directed
the operations with zeal and intelligence ; but by 5 o'clock
the building was totally destroyed. The contents of the
cub safe were got out ; but we regret to state that Lieut.
Fournier, of the firemen's corps, received such severe inju-
ries from a mass of falling timber that he died shortly
after being taken to the nearest hospital. Five other fire-
men were badly burnt, and one is missing. It is feared,
also, that two persons employed about the theatre bare
perished in the dames. Nothing is known concerning the
origm of the disaster.—Galignani.
Co-OPERATIVE PROVISION STORE.—At a meeting
held last evening in Wilcocke's Assembly-rooms, West-
minster-road, it was resolved to start a co-operative pro- 1
vision store for the sale of pure goods, at a moderate profit,
to the inhabitants of Lambeth. It was proposed that the
capital should imnaiet of U. shares, payable by easy instal-
ment of 611. per week, that 5 per cent interest should be
paid on the deposits, and that any profit beyond this should
be divided in the usual way.
THE STRIKE IN THE IRON TRADE —Yesterday,
both the new works of Mr. Barningliam, at Darlington,
and the fikerne works were in operation. At the latter
a full agreement has been made to go on at the proposed
reduction of 10 percent. At Messrs. Barningham's largge
works the finishing departments only remained to be
settled with, but these are expected to be arranged by next
week. The men bare been induced to go in by the example
set at Siiddlesbro', and no doubt now that the disagree-
ment may be considered at an end. In Wales, however, a
reduction of 10 per cent, is being made by the masters.
This may still further dislocate matters in the north, as the
reduction just made in the latter district was to enable
masters to compete with those of Wales. It is feared, there-
fore, that the present basis of arrangement may not be
considered finaL—Lucie Aferrare.
FIRM IN THE NORTH.—Two fires, causing the
destruction of a large amount of property, have occurred
in the north during the last day or two. On Wednesday
morning, the extensive woollen factory of the well-known
firm of Dickson. and Minim, at Hawick, was the scene of j
a destructive fire—which completely gutted a large I
spinning mill of four storeys in height. Fortunately by
great exertions the flames were prevented from obtaining
any serious hold upon the many and valuable subsidiary
buildings, but the damage done is estimated to amount to
10,0110 f. Yesterday a fire broke out at the jute factory of I
Messrs. Slathers and Chalmers, Dundee, by which damage
to the amount of 15,0001. was caused.—Leeds Mercury.
Justt:B AND FRANCIS.—Lord Macaulay tacitlyad-
wits the inferiority of the acknowledged compositions of
Francis, by laying so much stress on the argument that
"every writer must produce his best work, and the in-
terval between his best work and his second best work
may he very wide indeed." True, but here a long series
aE wfitins is to be compared with a long series, and the
similarity is denied. If such an argument may weaken
ieguive evidence, it cannot supply affirmative ; and con-
clusive affirmative evidence would have been produced
long ago if the Franciscan theory were sound. Francis'
brat wife died in 1806. He married his second, the
clas;liter of a clergyman, towards the end of 1514, soon
after the publication of Junius Identified ; and (without
expressly committing himself) he did his best to persuade
her that be w,s Junins. "Some circumstances," she says
in a letter to Lord Campbell, "he always regretted ; one
was losing the fame of being known. His first gift after
marriage was an edition of Junius, which be bid me take
to my room, and not let it be seen, or speak upon the
selt;ret : and his posthumous present, which his son found
la his bureau, was Junius Identified, sealed up and
directed to me." It would have been more to the purpose
if he had siren her the " mitt " bound in vellum, or one
Of the eons in blue paper, which he received from Wood-
fall. Or the production of Woodfall's private letters
would have platsol the coveted title to the authorship be-
yond dispute. We must be excused, after this, from
attiching the smallest importance to the contents of his
library, or the condition of his books and manuscripts.
Trifles light as air are to the theorist, what they are to the
leakma, "confirmation strong as proofs of Holy Writ."
Witness the provincial antipathy which Lord Mapulay
has ,ligrested to fix on Francis, for lighter reasons than
bad led Prior to torten it on Barks ; or the burning of the
Jesuit books story, told by Mr. Merivale in his Historical
Stsdos, which has suddenly collapsed. Francis could not
have been in Paris in 1761: there is no proof that Junius
wrote the letter signed Rifrons, in which the incident is
mentioned ; whilst the best proof that Francis wrote it
seems to be that it contains an allusion to MoliUre, and that
the Paris 1718 edition of Moliere was in his library! This
is bow nine-tenths of the coincidences, flung in se make-
Weights, We got up. These things., however, are at best
but the failing props of the fabric, which must depend
*Dora the solidity of it foundation ; and the foundation
will he rudely shaken, if not fatally undermined, by this
freshly es:committed evidence of the utter disagreemnt
and Majority between Junius and Francis, in character,
Position, age, habits, modes of thought, opinions, in-
tared,. connections, tone, taste, language, genius, and
"Pmitg.—Fruacr's Magazine for December.