The Express.
London, England, 1868-03-27 00:00:00

MEXICAN BONDS.

A public meeting of the holders of these secttri-
fice was held at 1 o'clock, at the London Tavern, Mr. H.
i'iIERIDA-X, ILE, in the chair, " To receive the report
she provisional oommittee, to appoint a permanent tom.
..tee coil to adopt measures to further and secure the
intends of the bondholders."
The report of the provisional committee, which had
hen previously published, having been taken as read,
The CILURVAN moved its adoption. In doing so he A-
wned that he was urgently requested by several persons
krgely interested in the bonds to accept the office of
chairman of the provisional committee. The first
thing which must have struck all of them in reading the
retort was the resignation of the Messrs. Baring. They
hid probably all felt that those gentlemen must some
time ago have made up their minds to pursue that course.
Whether or not the part taken by them in negotiating
the Imperial loan or some other cause had led them to
rain, there could be no doubt that they were actuated by
honourable motives. During the last four years the bond-
holders had had little communication with each
ether, and no dividends. Disputes had arisen with re-
gard to the funds in hand, and be believed there
me to be a suit to settle that question. The securities
hypothecated were no longer at their disposal, and nothing
could be more unsatisfactory than their position. It
seemed to him that the best thing that could be done
under such ceirmimatanoss was to appoint a permanent
committee. (Hear, hear.) An office was required which
would be absolutely devoted to the interests of the bond-
holders. An aggregate debt of 13,000,0001., with annually
accruing dividen amounting t 0450,000/., required constant
watching ; and a committee might be the guardians of all
the interests concerned. He had no doubt whatever that
if they approached President Juarez the result would
be most satisfactory. The Mexican debthad been pronounced
hr one of the first English statesmen, Earl Russell, one of
international obligation and to suppose that the present
market value repregenied anything like the real value
would be an absurdity. Of mune it would be necessary
to obtain the aid of some financial house in the City, and a
gentleman of the highest eminence in that department had
toll him that his firm were prepared to send out a coin-
mieion on the understanding that their payment was to
&pond on the result. Commerce and enterprise were
iii ring up their heads. He was informed too, on good autho-
rity, that the President had been totally misunderstood,
that he was a man of the highest and noblest character,
and that his sole aim was to promote the prosperity of the
rocutry. A Spanish general would, if the offer of the
firm in question were accepted, send out with a member of
the committee an attaché who was a friend of his own,
and intimately acquainted with the President. That morn-
ing he asked Lord Stanley in the lobby of the Hone* of
Commons on what day he would receive a deputation at
the Home-office, and his lordship replied that be would
he • Indy to retire them on any day. (Cheers.)
Mr. C. CAPPER, M.P., seconded the motion.
. .

The motion wai then put and carried unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN then moved the following resolution:
"That a permanent committee be appointed, with power
to superintend and manage the interests of the bond.
holden; in this country and In Merino, such power to in.
elude authority to negotiate terms of settlement of out.
'tending claims, subject to the approval of the bond-
holders, as well as authority to appoint or remove agents,
and to fix the remuneration of seine.

Yr GrEPALLA, in seconding the resolution, remarked
that there were two years arrears or six per cent, of
interest accumulated on the Three per Cent. Bonds. At
th. present moment, in spite of all that was read in the
American papers, it appeared from his own letters on the
llth of February that the Republic was in a state of pro-
found peace. Mexico was one of the finest countries in
the world, having a population of 8,000,000, and the
mel.test mineral and other resources. There were three
rn four firms which had speculated in the bonds
now negotiating with the Melissa government on
Voir own account, and that was an additional
ground for what was now proposed. The protection of
British interests was now confined to the American consul.
The finance minister of Mexico, M. Romero, acknowledged
the ,leht of 51,000,000 dole,to be a good debt, while he »-
blued in any way to recognise the French debt. Whatever
dispute there might be about dividends, the capital seemed
from that acknowledgment to be intact. There could
be no doubt that Mexico was in want of financial assist.
once, and this could not be obtained without justice being
done to the bondholders. (Hear, hear.) A debt of
1'..000,0001. sterling was one which such a country as
Merle° might muily_desd with.
Mr. t'. CAPPER, M.P., in seconding the resolution, ob.
ol.served that there was no Mlle on record in which deal-
in.;. with a foreign government in mitten of that kind
h... 1 been carried on without a permanent committee,
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. traces thought the sole question was whether,
ring regard to the occurrences of the last two or three
yeas, the President was in a humour to receive any over
Supposing he were in the right humour the number
:..d composition of the committee required careful COOlll.
&rat ion. He entirely approved of the position occupied by
I.lr. Sheridan, who would no doubt do his utmost to pro-
mote the interests of the bondholders. The payment of
tine committee should, he thought, come out of the first
,utidend received as that would spur them on. (Hear,
1"r.)
. . .

Mr. T. G. TAYLOR said the committee should be in-
struck-A not to mix themselves up in any way with any
debt incurred by the Emperor Maximilian. He, for one,
was entirely opposed to the interference in Mexioo, and he
hoped no power would be given to the committee to re-
vre-,ut anything but the Mexican debt pure and simple.
lie was satisfied that if that evil were avoided they would
t %bat was due to them.

Mr. WRIGHT could testify from personal knowledge that
uaters in Mexico were mending.
After some remarks from the CHAIRMAN in reply, the
twolution was adopted with only one dissentient.
The following gentlemen were afterwards appointed to
t as,. permanent committee : —H. B. Sheridan, M.P.
rbinuan, It. B. Barrow, H. Brounoker, C. Capper, H.
.....dalla, J. C. Irving, and Admiral La Provo Wallis.
A resolution was passed inviting Mr. M'Garel and Mr.
Gerstenherg to join the committee, and else resolutions
insvkling for the payment of the committee's expenses.

THE BUILDERS' STRIKE me Gierara.—We learn
flow the Geneva journal* of the 25th that the threatened
httike to which we referred in yesterday's Express has
talon place. " Calculating," says the Journal de
, • , "at only 1,500 the number of work-
•u on strike, and at 2401. per day the amount
of wages received by them, 6,0101. are withdrawn from
caculation and therefore from the general wealth every
moth. For those who live from day to day without
•••••% tags to fall back upon, this means misery and hunger ;
hr others it is the ruin of their dearest hopes ;
tot it is the diminution of prosperity combined with
and the dangers of idleness. The workmen on
strike must not interfere with the liberty of others. It is
upon the observance of this condition alone that their
proceedings may not have consequences as serious politi-
cally as they will inevitably have economically.:

ADMINISTRATIVE Raroina.—The inland revenue,
to the officers of which department has been delegated the
duty of collecting the new dog-tax, have received payment
on no lees than 400,000 dogs more than the old parochial
collectors. This success is a lint step in the direction of
committing the general collection of taxation to the
officers of the crown instead of the nominees of the parish.
—Post. _ _

Akostomilwr To FARADAY.—OD Tuesday a
meeting was held in the library of the Royal Society with
a view of memorialising government to erect a statue to
the late Professor Faraday in Westminster Abbey at the
national expanse.
LONDON COFFEE AND EATING-HOUSE KEEPERS'
BENEVOLENT ARSOCIATION.—Mr. William Smalley boa
kindly consented to predate at the thirty-Brat anniversary
dinner of the above association, on Thursday, May 7, at
the London Taves, itishopegateetreeta
FATAL OCCURRENCE AT EMl.—The body of
Mr. Edmund Rignell, coal merchant, High-street, Erith,
was found last evening by the railway crossing near Erith
Church with his neck dimted. The deceased was last
,en alive in a vehicle at the crossing, and when the body
found, the horse and vehicle were proceeding un-
attended in the direction of Lessnees-heath. Nothing
certain can at present be positively stated es to how he
came by his death.
ATTEMPTED MURDER AT Dxviztta.—A shocking
attempt by a labouring man, about 40 years of age, nem
William Bailey, to murder his wife by cutting her threat,
oacerred at Roundway, near this town, between 12 and 1
o'clock on Monday night. For many years pas* the poor
!omen appears tohaveleda life of absolute misery, owingto
toe cruelty and ill usage which were practised upon her by
her husband. Some time after their marriage (about 18 years
ago) he enlisted as a soldier, and for three she was
left to sunule as beet she could for a livelihood for her-
aelf and childrm. Sinop his return, his conduct has been
more brutal than ever. He seamed to have taken an utter
aversion to her—for no reason whatever, so far as we can
learn ; for a better disposed, or a more respectably rem-
inded woman, it is maid, could not be. They had more-
oter seven children, six of whom (the eldest only 14) lived
with them in the oottsge which they occupied on the
Roundway-road ; and so far as his home was concerned, it
appears to have been everything which a labouring man
could desire. His wife's peat anxiety now is about her
hoshand, whom she says she hearsily forgives, and only
prays that be may not be for the rash and cruel
act he has committed. Tka natural and most merciful
construction which can be put upon his conduct is that the
man is insane, and some of his antecedents would seem to
point to this coualusiew. lie else Ise have been
point to this oovoinsio. lie spume, else to have been
tlttUed with a sort of morbid raltgbae seatineeatelityl and
his chief occupation on Sundays was preaohing and the
thktribution of traete.—Derims Gszette.