The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-06-25 00:00:00

DUTCH RHENISH RAILWAY COMPANY. I through traffic as to enable us to commence the goo,
with vigour.

ROBBERY BY A BARMAN. —Henry Woodhouse Tom
linson, who was dressed as a navvy, was placed in the
dock charged with having, on the 2nd of May, 1855,
absconded, carrying with him £2O, the property of his
master, Mr. Sharpe, publican, Dutton-street. Mr.
Clough stated, th.it immediately after the robbery the
police had received information of it, but that they had
been unable to trace him until last week, when they got
word that he was working at Worksworth, in Stafford-
shire. An officer was then despatched there and arrested
him. Mrs. Sharpe, on being sworn, stated that on the
2nd of May, 1855, she gave the prisoner, who was at the
time barman in her employ, fifteen sovereigns in gold
and a £5 note to get changed for silver, and that she
had not seen him since until this day. The prisoner
admitted having taken the money, and declared that it
was bad company which bad led him to the commission
of the offence. He was sent before Mr. Mansfield, who,
under the provisions of the new ace, sentenced him to
three months' imprisonment, with hard labour. .
THE ROBBERY ON BOARD THE ADMIRAL.—John Kemp
Lucy, charged with having committed the robbery on
board the British ship Admiral, on her last voyage from
New Orleans to Liverpool, the particulars of which
were reported in our impression of yesterday, was
brought up on remand. It appeared that the captain
would run great danger of losing his ship if he were
compelled to remain to prosecute at the sessions, and
the magistrate was therefore compelled to dispose of the
ease summarily. He sentenced the prisoner to two
months' imprisonment, and in the course of his remarks,
paid a merited compliment to Inspector Carlyle, through
whose discreet conduct and intelligence the stolen
property had been recovered.
ROBBERY ON BOARD•SHIP. Thomas Halley and
Thomas Collins were charged by the captain of the ship
Pacific, now in the river, with robbing some of their
fellow seamen, and also with violent conduct. It appeared
that the captain shipped them for a voyage, and gave
them advance notes. When they got on board they broke
open the boxes belonging to the other members of the
crew, taking the clothes contained in them. They also
threatened to stab one of the men, and refused altogether
to proceed to sea. Halley being the most violent, was
sentenced to two months' and Collins to one month's
imprisonment.

BEFORE MR. MANSFIELD,

CRUEL CONDUCT OF A FATH ER. —A man named Thomas
Eitchnough, residing in Russell-street, Edge Hill, was
charged with having violently kicked and ill-treated his
little child. It appeared from the statement of officer
476 that on Monday evening the prisoner returned to
his home drunk, and on entering the house comitenced
to beat his wife. She succeeded in rescuing herself
from his grasp and fled from the house, and then the
prisoner, foiled in his purpose, turned his rage upon his
little chill, who was at the time undressed, and about
getting into bed. He was fined £5, or in default,
ordered to be committed for two months.

STABBING BY A WOMAN.—A middle aged woman,
named Eliza Jackson, was charged with stabbing a man
named William Power, under the following circum-
stances : —lt appeared that the prosecutor was standing
in Circus-street on Monday night, and that hearing a
great noise in the prisoner's house he entered. He
found the prisoner and her son-in-law fighting, the
latter's weapon being an iron rake, and when he
attempted to separate them the prisoner flew at him and
stabbed him twice with a knife on the head. She was
committed for trial.

THE Loss OF THE ALMA YACHT.—Lieutenant hold, the
commander of the Diamond, Belgian mail packet, has made
an affidavit relative to the running down of Lord Alfred
Paget's yacht, the Alma, in which he declares that the Alma
had no light on b ard, whereas he had three lights out,
which the crew of the yacht ought to have seen. He further
states that he ported his helm, and backed his engines, in
order to avoid the collision
THE LATE GALLANT MAJOR THOMPSJN.—We have ful
authority to state that, within 24 hours of the death of this
heroic soldier, his affec ionate and bereaved mother received
a letter on the part of her Most Gracious Majesty and
Sovereign, so kind, so sympathising, and so nobly and
generously expressed, that, if anything could alleviate the
bitterness of the loss she has sustained, the condolence of
that noble minded lady would go far to render the blow less
a 3 icting.

The annual meeting of the English shareholders of
the Dutch Rhenish railway company, was held in the
Clarendon Rooms, at two o'clock yesterday, for the
purpose of receiving a statement of the present position
and prospects of the line. The meeting was numerously
attended. Mr. Charles Holland occupied the chair.
The Chairman said—Gentlemen, this is our usual annual
meeting, preliminary to the general meeting in Holland on
the 30th inst. ; and, although not invested with any official
character, it is, as you are aware, virtually (so long as the
great bulk of the shareholders are in this country and
cannot be present in Holland )the occasion for obtaining
your sentiments in respect to the management of your
property, and affording you every information in the power
of your commissioners here. The general features of our
report on this occasion are, I am happy to say, of the most
satisfactory kind. The remaining portion of the line from
Rotterdam to Utrecht was opened on the 30th of July,
1855, and that from Arnheim to Emmerich on the 12th of
February last, and thus completing the whole length of
the line, say near 103 miles. The cost,':.including a new
and excellent plant, may be called in round numbers
£2,100,000, or about £21,000 per mile—a most moderate
cost considering the populous country through which
great part of it is made, and the heavy character of some
of the works. The financial position of the company is
equally satisfactory : our credit ranks highly in the mar-
ket, and is becoming still more firmly consolidated with
the daily increasing revetese. The outstanding liabilities,
now that the line is thoroughly opened, wiil be fully
covered by another call of 41 per share in the course of
this autumn. All calls have been paid up, and all contracts
for delivery of stock in England are completed, and
paid for, excepting six engines. The re-issue of the
forfeited shares placed a considerable sum at the disposal
of the company after the calls and interest due upon them
had been deducted, and about £20,000 remains still at the
credit of this account until its future application is deter-
mined upon. The next subject, and the most interesting
one to shareholders, is the traffic, present and prospective.
The revenue account for the past financial year, say to Ist
May last, is here for the inspection of shareholders ; the
balance from revenue account, with the addition of about
£5,000 from the balance of contribution from the govern-
ment. will enable the company to declare a dividend of
two florins, or about 3s. 4d. per share, making, with the
4s. already received, 7s. 4d. per share for the year.
Although this last year's traffic contrasts very favourably
with previous years, yet we must recollect that it is no
criterion of future traffic, inasmuch as the Rotterdam line
was only completed last July, and that portion to Emme-
rich so lately as last February; hardly any receipts can
therefore appear from that source in last year's accounts.
In fact, your line, bear in mind, is quite a fraction of a
line until this forty mile gap to the Prussian one is filled
up, and no one can say how much increase you will derive
from that. We are assured this junction will be completed
in September next, when we shall touch the real future
source of our large revenue. Meantime, however, I wish
to call your attention to the estimates made by Mr.
Hesleden in 1852, and to compare them with the present
results. That gentleman assumed that when joined to the
Prussian line our weekly traffic in passengers would be
42,500 per week, or 4125,000 gross per annum ; and
in goods through traffic 41,200 per week, or 160,000
gross per annum ; say gross total 43,600 per week,
or 4185,000 per annum. Deducting working expenses 40
per cent, and 4fr per cent interest on our loan capital of
4900,000, this gave about 14s per share on 412 paid. How
stand the facts at present? That, as you find by the late
returns, our weekly traffic now reaches 43,000 per week, or
within 4600 of Mr. Hesleden's estimate ; yet this, recol-
lect, is without any, or very little, of the through traffic—
almost exclusively our own local traffic, of which only a
small proportion is for goods. What, then, I should like
to know, must it be when you have that through traffic?
Every one must make his own calculation ; but I think
that we may safely assume that our present passenger
traffic cannot be less than the 43,600 assumed as total of
goods and passengers by Mr. Hesleden, and that the
41,200 per week of goods traffic will be an item in addition
to and in excess of the same, in which case it would raise
the dividend to about 20s per share, 412 paid. In short,
as that gentleman maintained, I believe his estimates are
very much under probable results. I find, indeed, on
reference, that of the 200,000 tons that now go up the
Rhine to Prussia, and the 300,000 that come down, Mr.
Hesleden has only assumed that we shall receive 80,000
in the one case, and 50,000 in the other ; whereas
there is every reason to suppose the bulk of these
goods will eventually come upon us. There is
another comparison that we are enabled to make, which
perhaps may be some guide; that is, the Prussian line
that we join, costing nearly the same per mile as ours.
In 1851, when Mr. Hesleden made his estimates, the gross
revenue of this line was at the rate of £2,000 per mile per
annum, of which about £BOO was passengers, and £1,200
was goods. By the first quarter's receipt of this year of
1856, it appears their traffic has increased 50 per cent. on
that of 1851, and is now about £3,000 per mile per annum,
or a probable gross revenue for the year of £510,000 over
190 miles. Mr. Hesleden, you will observe, only assumes
£l,BOO per mile per annum when our line is through, or
£185,000 gross ; but I confess I see no reason why our
traffic per mile should not equal theirs, for our passenger
traffic is already much in excess of theirs per mile. It
is their goods that give them fully three-fourths of this
large revenue. Looking at our command of the great
ports, we ought, I think, to have quite as great a glob
traffic per mile; but assuming that we had only half
as much from goods as from passengers, our results
would exceed theirs. Their shares are iat 80 per cent.
premium, and they pay a corresponding dividend. I have
the returns of the; Prussian line for i 855, if any gentleman
would like to see them. lam happy to add that the weekly
revenue up to yesterday, received this day per telegraph,
is 43,500; although this has been helped by some festivi-
ties, I have much pleasure in saying that I am informed,
on good authority, that it will not be under 43,000 between
now and the junction with the Prussian line. There are
several projected extensions in various quarters, all
converging to and centring in yosir line, which, if made
by other parties, must bring a very considerable addi-
tional traffic to yours. Some of these are deeply inter.
esting to you, and it has been suggested that you might
choose to adopt them ; but I think you may safely leave
the matter in the hands of your representatives, and that
you may rely on extreme caution in any extensions until
you have got a handsome dividend. I may now, I trust,
congratulate you on the realisation of a return to com-
pensate you for that very prolonged patience, and the
large money sacrifices that you have made for this con-
cern. The official „management of this important under-
taking deserves your next consideration. Agreeably to
the resolutions of your last meeting, we had deliberated
upon this subject, and had agreed upon a plan which we
laid before the parties in Holland, in December last.
We had every reason to believe that our views were
adopted, and would be carried out ; but I am very
sorry to say we learned subsequently that, owing to
the objections of the president, the rest of the board
were prevented from acting upon them. We had
hoped that calm reflection and the personal in-
fluence of two of our body who proceeded to the
late meeting in Holland would have resulted in securing
harmony, and restoring that unanimity at the
board without which there cannot be efficiency. But we
were doomed to disappointment; all efforts were fruitless,
and the president persisted in opposing the resolutions of
the board, accompanied with the intimation that if carried
he had no alternative but to retire. The consequence was
that at the first meeting of the board of commissaries in
Holland the resolutions were not agreed to, on the ground
of their not being according to statutes ; but on recon-
sideration the next day our friends (Nlessrs. Bench and
Tinne) gave such explanations, and so satisfied the
commissaries of the justice of our views, that the latter
gentlemen recommended to the directors to adopt a plan
for future management in accordance with that which we
had suggested. It now remains for you, gentlemen, to
carry out at the ensuing meeting the necessary mea-
sures for securing unanimity of action at the board
of directors, by selecting proper parties to fill up the
vacancies. lam not aware that the president has sent in
any formal resignation, but I infer from what ho has said
that he will not offer himself for re-election. Personally, I
may be allowed to say that 1 extremely regret, on many
accounts, to see our connection with Mr. Donker Curtuis
thus terminating. I have always had great esteem for
him, and have received many acts of kindness from him.
His abilities and high standing aro too well known, and I
must bear testimony to his p •st services to the company,
and I regret exceedingly the views he has taken ; but as
trustees of the shareholders our first duty is to secure
efficiency of management ; and entertaining the opinions
he does (I have no doubt conscientiously), I think he does
quite right to desire to withdraw from the executive. It
would be very satisfactory to your commissaries here if,
previous to your representatives going to Holland, you
would nominate a few of your body here to consult with
them on the questions that will come before that meeting,
among which are the filling up the vacancies in
the board of directors and commissaries. Another
question calls for decision. It was ala ays understood
with Mr. Hesleden that his services would be properly
remunerated when the line was completed, and his
salary be made £l,OOO per annum, commencing last May
twelve months-'-say last year. Considering that the
whole of his time is devoted to the service of the company,
and the ability and zeal he has displayed, he is, your
commissaries consider, amply entitled to the remunera-
tion ; and it will, we doubt not, be matter for your future
consideration to give this gentleman some practical proof
of your sense of the essential past services he has ren-
dered while in the receipt of a comparatively small salary.
Our friend Mr. Tinne, who has just returned from
Amsterdam, where he and Mr. Bouch have had a most
arduous time of it looking after your interests, will, I am
sure, be ready to give you every information as to the
feeling in favour of your concern in Holland. (Hear,
hear.)
Mr. Beloe then read the following

Dutch Rhenish Railway, Utrecht, June 21,1856.
Dear Sir,—As business prevents my attending the meeting
of shareholders at Liverpool on the 24th instant, I feel it my
duty to write a few lines respecting the general position and
prospects of the company.
The balance sheet which has been deposited for the inspec-
tion of the proprietors, has again undergone some modifications,
which, I trust, are improvements, whilst it also exhibits the
great facts that all our calls and loans up till now have been
fully paid at par, so that no arrears whatever remain.
All our main lines are now fully open and in working, the
works are well and substantially executed, and our present
contracts for works are, with but few exceptions, completed
and piid for,
„.

The construction of our rolling stack is progressing;
we are
in possession of a sufficiency
of
passenger carriages and goods
waggons for our present traffic, and the construction of the
lattet• will be so far advanced at the opening of the Prussian

The engines delivered up till now work very satisfactorily,
and further deliveries will take place in the course of this
summer, so that we shall be fully prepared for the Prussian

opening.
As regards the intervening portion of the railway on
Prussian territory, betseen Emmerich and Oberhausen (say
about forty-three miles), you will be glad to hear that the
first twenty miles from Oberhausen to Wesel are fit for
traffic, of which the greater portion will, I expect, be opined
at the beginning of next month. The remainder of the
line is also rapidly approaching completion, and every exertion
is being made to open the entire through communication in
the month of September, which may be regarded as easy of
accomplishment.
Various lines of railway joining our line at the extremities
are under serious consideration of independent parties, which,
when made, will prove important feeders to our traffic; for one
of them, namely, the railway from the Nieuwe Diep to Amster-
dam, a concession has already been granted.
When the important event of the completion of the Prus-
sian junc'ion, so long and anxiously looked for, shall really
have taken place—when the kingdom of the Netherlands, with
its rich East Indian possessions, is brought into close commu-
nication with the railway system of Europe—then I feel satisfied
that the extension of traffic and corresponding profits, which
have so long been the subject of inquiry and speculation, will
he realised to the most sceptical, and that ample remuneation
‘vil be made for the unparalleled patience and endurance with
which an English proprietary has supported this undertaking.
—I remain, dear sir, very faithfully yours,

CHAS. WIA. HESLEDEN

Mr..T. A Tinne stated that he had returned expressly
from Holland, in order to answer any questions which
might be asked of him. The business in Holland
divided itself into two parts—one, the audit of accounts,
and the other, the question to which the Chairman had
alluded, a question of a very serious and very painful
character, which had occupied a great deal of the most
anxious attention. On ordinary occasions, the duty of
auditing, as they would readily suppose, was a matter of
a merely formal and technical character. But, upon
the recent occasion, they had not long commenced their
labours, when they became aware of the spirit to
which the Chairman had, in some respect, referred.
Of course, with their comparative ignorance of the
language, and inability to follow every thing which was
said, they took every precaution in their power to guard
themselves against being token advantage of. They
combated as successfully as they could during the pro.
gress of the business any thing which occurred to them,
and at the conclusion of their labours, they were pro-
mised that they shoula have full opportunity to consider
a translation of the report, which should be drawn up
by their fellow-commissaries. Having had that oppor-
tunity, they found many points in that report to which
they took very serious exception. They found that
reflections were cast upon the majority of the direction,
for not supporting the chairman. In such comments,
they could not concur. They considered that, however
differing in opinion the president might be from his
brethren in the direction, it was his duty as president to
comply with the wishes of the majority. (Hear, hear.)
Such, however, was itot the feeling of the president, and
he (Mr. Tinne) was sorry to say, that it was quite evi-
dent to them, that preparations had been made
for some time in Holland, to maintain the
views which the president took up. When their
report was presented to the general meeting of commis-
saries, the chairman of the commissaries, very unfairly,
in his (Mr. Tinne's) opinion, proposed, and it was car-
ried by a very large majority, the whole of the commis-
saries present, against himself and Mr. Bouch, agreeing
to the previous consideration of a resolution which
involved the question under consideration—he meant
the question of the general management of the line.
It turned out afterwards, that many of the gentlemen
who attended there had been told previous to their com-
ing to the meeting that they would hear things there
that would make their hair stand on end—that British
influence was too predominant in the management of
the line and of the whole concern. They, therefore,
thought it their duty, as representatives of the English
directors, to find out in what respect the direction of
the line had caused that opinion to arise. Mr. Bouch
and himself went through every department—they
examined the books most minutely—they exam-
ined the stores at Utrecht—they went over the
line—they went from Rotterdam to the extreme end
of the line beyond Arnheim—they went from Amsterdam
to Utrecht—making enquiries from individuals along
the line, and endeavouring in every way to find out
where the fault arose. They could find nothing at all
but a feeling of jealousy, he was sorry to say, on the
part of the president with regard to what he considered
a want of spirit on the part of the direction in not
sufficiently supporting him. They therefore objected as
strongly as they could to the expression of such an
opinion as being an opinion in which they coincided:
After considerable difficulty, they succeeded in obtaining
a majority of the board on the side of their views. The
meeting had, he supposed, on the table a repot which
would convey to them a very fair and a very full
opinion of the state of things which they
found upon the face of the accounts. With
regard to the resignation of M. Drinker Curtius, be
(Mr. Tinne) perhaps, as being compared with the older
members of the commissioners, but of recent introduction,
could not altogether go along with them in the full ex-
pression of the feeling to which the chairman had referred.
He merely looked at matters as they now came before him,
bat still receiving what they said, that they were under a
deep debt of gratitude to M. Donker Curtius, he would not
gainsay what had been so expressed. At the same time,
he did think that when they found that, of 100,000 shares,
only 3,000 were held in Holland, they, the English share-
holders, had a right, and they claimed it as a right, so long
as they maintained that position, to exerci ea a control over
their affairs—(hear, hear),—and therefore it was the duty
of the president, as it would he his duty in this country,
on all occasions, to bow to the will of the majority. (Rear,
hear). He presumed that the statement, in a public meet-
ing of the commissaries, o f M. Donker Curtius, that it was
his intention to resign, would be carried out—(hear, hear)
—and, if he did so, it 'could be the duty of their representa-
tives, at their approaching meeting in Amsterdam, to seek
for another director ; but he presumed, under all the cir-
cumstances of the case, that it would be quite impossible
that their affairs could be managed with anything like
efficiency, so long as such controlling and such domineering
opinions, for he could call them nothing else—(hear,
hear),—prevailed in the direction. The proposed committee
of management was none other than what they were
accustomed to see in this country, and therefore they could
see no reason whatever to object to it. The directors seemed
perlec'ly capable of carrying out anything that might de-
volve on them ; and there was no intention to deviate, in
e.ny respect, from the established practice of submitting
all that took place in the traffic department ti the general
consideration of the board of direction. Mr. Tinne then
proceeded to dwell on the prospects of the company, and
stated th it when the station at Rotterdam would be made,
they would be able to receive any amount of produce that
would be offered to them. He expressed it as his opinion
that they would obtain a large portion of the traffic of the
line, as well as a considerable coal traffic from Prussia, and
declared that the line was one of the most promising
character, so far as he could judge, and one of the most
magnificent undertakings, perhaps, that existed in Europe.
And he hoped that the time was come when they were ap-
proaching the termination of their labours and anxieties,
and when they were about to reap the advantage of their
investment. (Hear, hear.) Tbey had a line without any
competition whatever; they had the command of one. of
the main arteries of Holland, and it rested entirely 'eats
good management to develope it. (Hear, bear.)
On the motion of Mr. Jones, a committee was appointed
to advise with the English commissioners, to the re-consti-
tution of the direction, and to consider in what manner thq
shareholders could best testify their sense of their services.
It was also resolved that Mr. Beloe should hold the proxies
at the ensuing meeting in Holland.
Mr. Beloe mentioned, in illustration of the progress of
the company, that while, in 1850, their shares were at 75
per cent. discount, they now stood at 17 per cent. premium.
(Rear, hear.)

Thanks were then voted to the chairman, after which the
meeting adjourned.

MR. LOWE AS A REVIEWER

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES,

Sir,—ln all controversies with the Trinitarians, the
Unitarians have always denied the Scrinturalness of the
doctrine of the three persons of the Trinity. Mr. J.
Hamilton Thom, in his 7th lecture, page 7, of the Unitarian
Series of Sermons, published in 1839 by Willtner and Smith,
o f Church-street, actually proves that the doctrine, far from
being Scriptural, is of Gentile origin. This he proves by
quotations from Bishop Berkeley and Cudworth. And now
we have the Rev. J. B. Lowe, the incumbent of St. Jude's►
reviewing Jlfacnaught on Inspiration, putting down the
passage, John xiv. 17,, rendered literally from the Greek
" the Spirit of the truth," as a denial, by the author, of the
personality of the Holy Ghost. So that when orthodox
clergymen are off their guard, and read the original rendered
in plain English, and in the plain English character, they
actually don't see the idea of the personality in it, and
actually charge it as a heresy.
I hope, Mr. Editor, that you will, in common justice to
us proscribed Christians, give this crude scribble a place in
your journal, to see if it will elicit a reply, in the way of
explanation, from any of the orthodox clergy. Seeing that
,' Verax," in your journals of Saturday and Monday, has
completely brought Mr. Lowe, though unwillingly I admit,
to this admission, I remain, your obedient servant,
June 24th, 1855

A UNITARIAN,