The Express.
London, England, 1850-03-12 00:00:00

RAILWAY AUDIT

Earl GRANVILLE moved the order of the dig for
the snood readttg of the Railway Audit Bill. As
be went folly into detail the other day, and their
lordships had had an opportunity since of read.
ling the bid, be would not go over the ground twain.
The nobl- lord having alluded to what had been doge in the
cameo, briefly recapitulated the provisions of the bill, moll
°occluded by moving that it be read • second time.
Lard STANLEY did not object to the seemed reading of
the bill, and indeed he ought almost to apologise to their
lordships for addressing them on the subject. He should
have taken no put in toe measure, having no practical
knowledge of railways, sad never having held • abate in
one, had he not that morning received a deputation
from some of the principal railway companies, representing
a paid-up capital of 119,000,0001., on the subject. If they
had come to bin with a proposition to resist an effective
audit, be would not have listened to them ; for he was con-
fident that an effective audit was necessary for the advan-
:ego of all pinks ; and he had now to state that a large ma.
Jolley ot nilwsy repreuntatives ha i come to an agreement
with reference to a bill which provided for an effective but
not **independent audit. The deputation which be bad
seen that morning stated several objections to the bill of the
government; and he was sure that his noble friend opposite
would admir, that if he could effect the object be had in
view, with the eoneurrenes of a large portion of railway
shareholders, it would be desirable to do so. (Hear, hear.)
To the present bell the railway shareholders tier. ughout tht
country bad great objections. He had in his band the
printed draft of • bill, which he would lay on the table, and
which would be reedy for presentation to-morrow. The
deputation which had waited on biro was not • delegation
from directors, but shareholders in tallow ; and they ob-
jected to the bill in principle and detail. They objected to
the principle of centralisation—that any threo persons,
be they who they might, should have In them-
selves such a deems of authority and control over
soh vast Interests. It was toe the g *unmeant bad
taken ears that the auditote "hold be elected by delegates
to be chosen by the shareholders; but it appeared that when
the auditors were appointed the government had the power
of continuing them in office, notwithstanding the objection
of the delegate'. The government had also the power of
fixing the salaries of the auditors, and of all the different
persons to be appointed under them, forming • larger and
more extensive staff than perhaps the noble lord tailwind.
The rum to be raised at first was to be obtained from the
different companies. The auditors had to suggest, and
the government to sanction, the principle upon which that
sum was to be levied upon the different railway companies.
If a complication of scoonta were taken, their lordships
eight deal with great injustice. If they took the question
of dividends, they ought impose a very serious burden on
railway companies. He only amid dine as difficulies in
priseiple, wraith, so far es he wad make oat, were not raw
stowned by the present bill. Now, the object of the audit woe
to protect shareholders is the first instance, by giving thus
due knowledge of the state of their affair,, and pro-
veatiag, as it was called, the "cooking' cf the mu
counts. floe amounts were dosed en the 31st of December,
and the meetings of the several companies took place &boat
the 15th of February. Between the 31st of December and
the 15th of February, therefore, the auditors must go
through the accounts, and certify and satiety the share-
holders; but how it wog possible for any three gentlemen—
and this was • point ea which they could not trust to their
clerks—in such a short span of time, to go through the &c-
-counts of 183 railways, surpassed his comprehenaioo, and
would, he believed, surpass the power of the gentlemen
themselves. (Hear, bear.) What was to be done, in such
• ease. with to the half-yearly dividends? It was
clearly im for the accounts of all the companies to be
audited between the 31st of December and the 15th of
February ; in fact, it would require half • year for
the throe 'elitism*a to go through the details
of 183oaommen4pasues. Now, the railway companies were
not op to substantial,to bond jf&P audit, but they
believ that the present measure had been post-
poned to a period when its sling would be much less
than it would have boa U poised three or four years ago.
The great abuse of railway accounts had consisted of un-
duly mixing up the capital sad revenue acimants. The ca-
pital accounts would in ashore time disappear, and with its
disappearance one of the fruitful sources of cooking" the
accounts would be removed. This measure, then, would be
found more useful than it would be under existing circum-
stances, had it been brought in at the time of the high fever
in the railway world. (Hear, hear.) He begged to state
the principal merinos of the bill the railway companies
were willing to have introduced. In the first place, it pro-
vided that the shareholders should annually appoint a com-
mittee of audit, that that committee should be composed of
portal.' who were not directors or office-holders, or in any
degree under the control or influence of the directors; and
that no director, either by himself or by proxy, should have
a vote with regard to the appointment of the auditors.
They would thus secure an audit committee independent of
the directors. It was then proposed that the audit committee
an appointed should recommend two or more auditory, and
should certify the names of the persons they recommended.
They then provided that the accounts should be kept in a I
regular form, to be ort-t.lied in the schedule attainia to we
act, that the auditors should have full powers to examine
all books and documents, that they should certify to the
directors if they found aaything objectionable, and that, if
the directors should take no no of the objectionable
matter, the auditors should then report to the shareholders
the abuses ttiey.dilicovered. They further proposed, as an
weeatial'.oaditon, that the auditors should employ a public
act3u"..cant, that public 'constant being wholly unto-
sylioad with the company, to go through the accounts—that
a half-yearly report of the auditors should be sent to every
shareholder seven days before the meeting, and that a mi-
nority of not less than 20 proprietors, holding not lees than
one-twentieth part of the company's capital, should have the
power of ordering another at their own expense, unless •
subuquent meeting should desire that the cost of that ad-
ditional audit should be borne by the company. There
were tedious other propositions in the bill, which were not
ten=ected with the audit, but which were, nevertheless, of
importance. They prepaid, fur example, that of the re-
tiring directors only one should be re-eligible at the teriod
of their vacating their office. This, indeed, was the pries.
leapt* at present in operation with reference to the direc-
tors of the Bait of England. Subeequent provisions prat'.
Lied the directors from holding end using pro:J. 1, except
on special occasions, at general meetings, and for particular
and defined purpose. The bill also proposed that
a register cf shareholders should be made up
ineuthly that a list of all retiring officers
be should published periodically ; and it was intended to be
proposed that upon the demand of any of the shareholders
the Dolmas to be tray reeled at the half yearly meetings
should be specified In the notice counties such. meetings.
Lod MONTSAGLE said he rejoiced sincerely that his
noble (nem* (Earl Granville) had, on the part of the govern-
ment, undertaken to bring In the pr.sent bill. The speech
jot delivered by the noble lord °pont' (Lord Stanley)
proved beyond all question the necessity welch existed for
the passing of some mob measure. It was admitted by the
iallway proprietors themselves, and also by those who took
• somewhat different, but not en adverse, view of their
Latinists, that the state of railway accounts and finances
ought not to be left in their present condition. The noble
lord (Lord Stanley) bad expressed his tear that this bi 1
came too late, end he assigned as a reason for entertaining
that apprehension that there was • 'Kaput of the capital
account of the railway companies being closed, and the
other accounts than resolving themselves into income and
expenditure. He (Lord Monteagle) would admit that the
nee salty of auditing the aosotats world be very much di-
ngo-shed when the capital wont was closed, bat he bad
very grave doubts whether the closing of the capital account
was hkeiv to take place so speedily tit bad b.en represented.
He tared That the proposition of the noble lord would not
secure as accai*,tie test of fidelity in the accounts, because
they could not deed with the evanescent and transitory
shareholders is a riu7may, and rely upon them to impose the
shock, in the same manner as they could deal with the
Owner. of other oweriptiosi or property which were lot to
rapidly and repeatedly eisaglag fuods. It might be

that • speekel Inneeter, empowered to make a
mold allied waft to the shareholders.
nailissaleraibiesd (Lord Stemlop), is lir bill,
to treader to ale sew asdliese the perm Matt
recent enters es ne obli manes Est what was the peas
seat system of audit t TM ma" ea the law saw
Mod, were empowered to imam into the Male,
the tomernt, expenditure, end the basses-sheet ; but the
anew a• whin the dividend was made lip sad deelared
was elesgether exaladed from their inquiry. (iieer. bear.)
Now the bill nemen by the railway areatere, to which hie
settle Mimi (Len !Maley) had referred, provided tor that
asemely, beeught the whole a the mounts, iecluding
the ededatises ea whin the dividend wee based, under the
seliblisee aMe auditors. So far that bill was infinitely
=kW *id a ties goverment (Hear, hoer.) The
mt year mesided aim that the whole of the legal
sad pertiemeneep expenses ef every railway company should
be tined M thepeoper sielbeaties, end that until each tinier
sot more OM IS per iNOL d aloe charges should he paid.
He had Inked is eels he any mini's, provision
in the pretest bat MI be regretted this the more
whoa be reeillaili libbl *Met tea Minim bed bees ex-
pended es thesellesse, tbat this brooch of railway es-
penalises bad bees mils the mesas in saeems of
maim math abase. Now. he would sawn that
sewn ban ale two bills Wore them together, and
that belb iambi be relined to a committee up stairs, ems-
posed a more ins woad give their attention to the sub-
ject, sad mambo both fairly, with the view to frame out of
thin ear win msesere. (Hear, hear.) By each a
ewes be beihrend • meek better bill would be seat down to
the Oseemsms the. by sap eau mesas, and me man likely
to seemed there. Meer, beer.)
Lord STANLEY, after Medea that he proposed to lay
some details on the subjs.& es the table to-morrow, 'un-
mated that one provision N the bill would be that any
director who had not paid up his sans amid be, ipso fade,
disqualified, and ems to be a director, without any resolu-
tion of the company, and that If a director iniminducted
himself be any way, he might be enured by a resolution
pima at a meeting of shareholders.
Lied COLCHESTER hoped that the auditors would be
empowered to inquire and report as to how far the capital
any company wee empowered by parliament to raise was
appropriated no accordance with those powers
Earl GRANVILLE made some observations in explana-
tion, but from the low tone in which he spoke he was
nearly inaudible in the gallery. He concurred with the
noble lord who had just spoken, that it was only fair to the
public that the coadidoes under which then railway empti-
ness obtained their powers should be kept. With regard to
the negation of his noble Mead (Lord hionteagle), ne pro-
mos' to take the second reading of his bill that evening,
upon the mderstandiag that he would not press it through
the remaining stages ascii time bad ern given to
consider the other (lord Stanley's) bi I. The advantage
which his (Earl Grenville's) plan had over that of the noble
lord, as it appeared to him, wee, that it secured to the audit
the weight and authority of accumulative experience.
Lord STANLEY feared the process under the noble earl's
bill would be dilatory.
Earl GRANVILLE believed there would be no difficulty
in auditing the accounts by the central and continuous
board as rapidly as they were audited by the present
auditors.

--------
Lord BEAUMONT °Merced that the noble earl bad
net yet explained what coarse be meant to take
with regard to the two bile—whether he intended
to adopt the suggestion of the noble lord (Mew.
eagle), and delay his measure until they should
have an opportunity of coosidering that of the noble
lord opposite. end to refer both to a select committ. e. On
that andentanding he should not o`ject to the bill being
read a second time now. (Hear, hear.)
Lad GRANVILLE would not harry the bill through
until full time had been given to their lordship'
to confider the other measure. With regard to
the proposal for Waving both to a select coransi.tee,
he admitted the advantages of that mode of dealing
with the details of the messare, but should like to have •
day or two to consider the matter. Remembering the time
occupied by the select :muslin,e of last yeti', on the same
subject, he feared that to follow the saws comes in the
present instance would occasion too much delay.
The bill was then reed a second time.
CONVICT PRISONS BILL.

Earl GREY deferred the mend reading of this bill WI
Thursday nest.
RAILWAY ABANDONMENT BILL.
The house having resolved itse:f into committee on
this bill,
Lord RBDESDALE suggested that power should be
given to obtain powers of ahandonment without any rewric-
floe, and that the same notices of abandonine a railway
should be gives as were required for making a railway.
Lord BEAUMONT intimated that it was his intention
to introduce certain words into the thirteenth clause on the

third reeding.
The bill then went through committee, and was ordered
to be reported.
Tke Marquis of LANSDOWNE laid on the table, by
command, certain papers connected with the poor law
unions in Ireland.
Their lordships adjourned at a quarter put 7 o'clock.

SOUSE OF COMMONS.-MONDAT, MARCH 11.
The Setafiza took the c'aeir at five minutes to four
o'clock.

PUBLIC BUSINESS.
PETITIONS PRESENTED.

TAXIS ON KNOWLIDOI —By Sir T. BIRCH, from
Liverpool; Mr. MOWATT, from Logic and Rhetoric Clan
Mooting' at the British Coffee-house, ilidowerc-road ; Mr.
M. GIBSON (2), from Birmingham, and from letter press
printers of the of Freedom newspaper office, for
the repeal of the advertisement, newspaper stamp, and
paper &Vies.
'Tan torte on Taa.—By Mr. COBDEN (3), from Glos.
sop, Newton Mom, sad Manley, praying for a reduction of
the duty on tea.
Posvorrics.—By Mr. L. HODGES, from Idea; Mr. B.
DENISON, from two plasm in Iforkshi-e ; Admiral GOR-
DON (several), from Aberdeenshire; Mr. CAYLEY, fr• m
a plate in the Ncrtli Birawof Yorkshire; Mr. SOTHERON,
from Wiltshire; b Lad GROSVENOR, from the con-
gregation of St. Mary's, Middlesex ; easiest the delivery of
letters or other labour on Sundays in the Post-cigar.
Aoructrtvraat. Durranse.—By Mr. CAYLEY, from a
place in the North Riding of Yoriishir.-; Mr. MOODY,
from Somersetshire, complaining of agricul•nrel distress.
Cars or GOOD Hors.—By Mr. ADDERLBY, from
the Cepa of Good Hops, against that colony being made a
penal settlement.