The Express.
London, England, 1850-01-17 00:00:00

AUDIT OF RAILWAY ACCOUNTS.

Aa adjourned earetiog of the delegates of the
beside of move& of the loads" Mirky was held
yeterday, a. Weft stood is that dq , at the
Elaa's Arne Hotel, Briiirmoood, Woolebolor. Tit. &dr
wee takes at eaut o'clock by the Wel Bee. abs Earl of

ashl ha wadi ammo by repainting
them et what bail imieseriss psalm ow Ingo. At tie,
sod of the lee aloha pediment the prevailing opisien
appeared to be geseray madmen aaaalmemely egotist go- I
vertament iata4s.ase is the onditing of gailvay .anoints.
As the beet substitute for ends inter/ernes a large meeting
of directors pledged itself to Streams. a bel in the next
session, gad ease to serials reesistiewe ea a ground-
work. They were be Meet again, and la the 'mean.
time to take th• opinion of the shareholders of
Um Menem ampaaisa Up to December very few returns
wars omnived, mad on that account he himself, as chairmen,
is geolasedes with ether pollens's, thought it expedient
to defer the eseetiog natil that day. He was sorry to say
that the returns hod sot very much isereased since that
time ; and, looking at the position in which they wire
placed, he thought they would not be justified is introdue.
lag the bill into parliament without having the support of a
large and overpowering selority of the sksreholden. (liter.)
They had not got mums to lay the ground work ; and in
his opinion they bad no business to intrados, a bill with the
sanction of the limited number of persons who bed declared
themselves in favour of it. On them grounds he should
move a series of reemistions which would, he Stared, be
tantamount to their withdrawal as directors from inter.
femme in this matter. _ _

The Bewitledy having laid on the table the draft of a bill
ptepsitd by him, in mordants with Isis view of the resolu-
dews adopted at the last meeting :
Mmtelved,—That althsugh there still appears to b. the
We
ws» feelieg amongst railway proprietors generally
spiinst the principle of any government audit, yet as there
has net been fouod to be the needful unanimity of opinion
even amongst the boards of directors as to the provisions of
this bill or the propriety of the resolutions formerly adored,
ii ie not expedient to introduce the bill into parliament.
That ft no longer appears to be the duty of, or to be
beeosaing in, directors to take any prominent part upon the
vitiation of audit, sines it would seem to be now viewed,
dteugh most erroneously, by a portion of the shareholders in
some of the companies, rather as a quation between the
board and their anatitatints than between the body of share-
holders and the government.
That it therefore be left to the shareholders themselves
to Mks hertafter such course with regard to the quintion as
they think fit, each board counnuoleatiog to its constituents
this resolution, prior to the ensuing general muting, in such
way as may be deemed right.
The CHAIRMAN, after moving the adoption of the
above resolutions, said he had received a letter from Mr.
Harding, written in the name of Mr. Chaplin and the other
diteettes of the South Western Company, stating that se the
asnantli of that company were then under investigation, the
toad did not think it would be judicious or right to take
▪ k that meeting. It was added, that when the report
ad bus mode they would of course all be at liberty to act
Y atestionse with their judgment.
Mr. O. C. OLIN, 111. ~ raid that, although be did not
see the retaliations until after he entered the nom, so en-
tirely did they accord with the views which he had previ- '
=Pressed, and which he still entertained, that he had
n* imitation in seconding them. (Hear, hear.) It would
bo in the recollection of hon. gentlemen present that the
antsbations submitted to the meeting in November were, in
pit of lact, understood at the time as resolutions which I
were prepared for the consideration of the proprietor. at
large, and not es anything upon which the directors had the
slightest idea or intention of acting without their sanction
and comment. (Hear, hear) The result of the inquiries
which he bad made in the interval had certainly brought him
to the conclusion that those resolutions did not meet with
such sanction on the pan of the main body of
proprietors as would warrant those who had had the mat.
ter in hand since the close of last session in proceeding, sent
en the represuratives of the proprietary bodies to carry
them into effect. (Mean, hear.) But he was enabled to
mate that the returns made to the London and North Wes-
tern Board from their proprietor—nturna, in reference to
which he would remark, by the way, that the receiving
no ammo r was not to be understood as s-sent, bat positive
answer, of " yes " or" no " were to be given to the gum-
does proposed—those returns showed en almost undimi-
nished adherence to the opinion previously t totem» by
that large proprh tar, against the interference of government
Sn the question of audit.
Mr. B. DENISON, M.P., said that not having been pre-
test at the last meeting, though he was reported to have
been so, he was glad to have that oppertanity of making one
or two observations. It was now universally admitted that

there ought to be an audit of railway uncut:its, of • perfectly
honest and independent character. Itverybody was of that
I opinion. Such en audit was necessary, both for the sake of
the proprietors and of the directors ; and speaking for
he said advisedly that he would not remain a director of
a railway, unless some mans were adopted of investigsting
accounts, which would at once settle the question as to who.
ther accounts with which he had had anything to do were
correct or not. (Hear, hear.) Railway (Brenton were un-
fortunately rather • suspected than • respected else
—(hmar, hear)—and it was necessary that a system should be
adopted by which proprietors would be enabled to protect
themselves. There maid be no doubt that under the pre-
sent system suspicions were frequently created between
director; and shareholders which ought not to exist, hot
which would continue until a perfectly independent system
of audit nrd been adopted What that system ought to be
he did not pretend to saw, but he quite agreed with the
chairman and with Mr. Glyn that the appointment of sudi-
' tors ought not to be placed in the hands oldie government,
and be was in a position to state that the members of the
government did not wish to have the onus of such an ap-
pointment thrown upon them—(hear, hear)—what tlx y
said was, " It is a commercial affair, manage it among your-
selves; but al the matter is one of great public concern, let
the management be for the benefit of the public and of the
proprietors." He did not speak without the book; he knew
that to be the feeling of the government—(bear, hear)—
they did not want to have anything to do with the appoint.
mint. But he now came beck to the question of an inde-
pendent system of audit, tor the protection both of the
shareholders and the directors. The great question was,
who was to have the appointment of the auditor,. Oa the
one head, if the auditors were appointed by the directors,
they would be suspected by the shareholders ; on the other
hand, i/ they were appointed by the sheitholders from
'ime to time, they might be disposed to go further
than would be fair in order to exalt themselves in
the opinion of the proprietors and to appear to have done
even mere than !their duly. (Hear.) The question was,
whether any third party eoald be selected to make the ap-
potntenent. On that point he would venture to throw out •
suggestion. Suppose the names of ten or twelve talus's:lel
men is the City had been selected. Three name. might
be laid before such a man as the Governor
of the Back of England, who might be asked
whether he would object to the appointment of either of
them as an auditor of • railway company ? When the names
had been approved they might be put into •lut, and the same
gentleman might draw one name for the London and North
Western Company and one for each of the other companies
concerned. (Hear, hear.) There must be a preliminary
arrangement as to what the auditor's inquiries should em-
brace ; otherwise, he might go to sea, as it were, with •
roving commission; bat what he (Mr. Denison) wished to
establish was, first, that there should tie an independent
audit ; and, secondly, that the auditor alsoultt be so selected
as to entitle him to the confidence of all parties. He had
stated at the last half yearly meeting of his company, that
for the masa obtaining an independent system of audit he
would prefer even the government bill to none at all; but
he wee against government interference, provided it could
be dispensed with.
Mr. LAING (the menager of the Brighton Company),
said he was anxious to set himself right with his constituents
as to the grounds for withdrawing the bill. The returns
showed a want of unanimity; but, independently of that,
be should have felt it his duty to oppose the Introduction of
the bill into parliament. He agreed with Mr. (On,
that the resolutions originally proposed were looked
uppn by all of them merely as preliminary steps,
by which they hoped to ascertain the opinions of
the shareholders, for which reasons objections to its provi
Mona were reserved. He had felt confident, however, that
when the provision with regard to the finality of reports was
understood by the shareholders, it would be objected to. He
entirely approved of the pro to leave the matter to the
taabieemad ' of the holders.

Mr. ELLIS said Me course proposed wm, in his judg-
ment, the only sound and proper one.
Mr. C. RUSSELL said he wm always exceedingly sorry
to express dissent from any views which were expressed
on trial question. He thought it most important that
there should be concurrence between railway directors and
railway proprietors, sad it was for want of such mammies
that they bed failed hitherto. It would, he feared, be mid
that they were departing from the pledge which they gave
at the does of the last session of parliament. In his opinion,
the shareholders ware the fitting persona to select the auditors,
but it was generally thought la-% year, and he considered it
a very sensible notion, that the auditors should be aided
by professional accountants. Re was gaits prepared to say
that professional accountant, of the highest character should
be associated with the auditors for the purpose of carrying
the audit into effect. Mr. Denison's proposition with regard
to the selection of auditors appeared to him (Mr. Russell)
sensible and practicable ; and, aim/daily enough, he had
expressed a similar opinion to Mr. Swift beton Be heard it.
He mast repeat that he regretted that the directors were
not prepared with a measure of their own, because he feared
that it would be considered that they had been guilty of a
dereliction of duty in relation to what they had premised in
the previous year, and that they had abdicated their proper
functions.

Mr. OLYN acid be gaits agreed with Mr. Denison es to
the propriety of an independent audit, and if the governor
of the B,ak of Ragland would sot undertake to act, he felt
sure that soma third pasty night be hit upon. In respect to
what had fallen from Mr. ituaseU, he must observe that he
hod beton sated, that if he did not feel positive that the share-
holders wire disposed to take some steps themselves in order
to secure an independent audit, he, for one, would net con-
sent t, withdraw. He would now inform hie hon. friend
that the proprietors of the London and North Western Rail-
way were taking active ineasuresAbey had formed a commit-
tee, and they wereprepering a bill which would, Owns hoped,
be acceptable to other bodies of snateholdere. They felt that
the matter wee no looser one far the directors; that there
bad been erroneous and unfounded imputations, and that
the time sal come for them to settle the question with
government and parbatnent. (Hoar, hear.)
The motion was then put and carried unanimously.
Oa the motion of Mr. GLYN, a vote of thanks we/ given
to the noble lord in the chair, by whom it was briefly
acknowledged.