The Express.
London, England, 1857-11-09 00:00:00

This Ina aa arrest hom a decree of Veer Chancellor
Wood. Th. plena& are the holders of various amounts of
W he dewriptetina of preference stock tamed by
the Gnat Northern ReHuy, and the diem:karts wen
the emapney Het generally the interests of the =-
di shank° . The object of the eat wee to obtain
a dec that the plaintiffr and the other
shareholders are entitled to be full dividends igtirea"3oth
hum, 1366, before any dividends shall be paid to the
ordinary shareholders, and to entrain the company by in-
justices from decking ar ?Ryles dividend. to the ordinary
abareholden, without regard to meth right of the plaintiffs
sod the other bradin rf prehrence stock.
Mr. Dade!, Mr. thine, Mr. Speed, and Mr. Turner ap-
pond kith. platatille; the Atteren-GeneraL Mr. Denison,
AC., and Kr. Rechket Clerks ',peered for the company.
Mr. Dodd mead abet the was as appeal by tho plaintiff"
Lalwithe whale dear; and having orated the nature of
l
iemtler in ireation,proeseded to say that the preform-
Bel steak of the Cheat Northern Company wee divided as
Gallows —The that stock was a five per cent
stack, anted is ISO, oder aa act of parliament-3-z
gas which sabred the csampaay to guarantee a d
des( on the stock not eareeding 7 per cent. per auto.
The phdatilik said that that stock wee duly lamed
the deihnikate dosed that it had beesduly created
with gammon, the tale_ by which the stock was held
was dee sad theyounamiled that Were was • difference be-
tween prehreace sod tee. Tho mooed stock was one
of Ire per 'tit prrBay.a redeemable stock, which was
created in 1661 utter an act of perlianient of that year,
which act y empowered the company to gin • gm-
num. The deemed that mock ea duly issued.
The third wee a four-end-a-balf per cant. =dream
redeemable stock, which was gusted by as act of
ISIS, which authorised the reining of such stock,
and thet when it wen raised It should beer dividends at the
role of 44 pa rent. Thu fourth stock was created In ISM,
wee called the wood Finerp
Stakes This an gave power to the
commemy to raise the stock, sad when it wee raked the
whole was 'raided to find dividends in preference to
the ordthary aharsholders' othamsest redemption.
The theintiei wouldsot attempt to distinguish
between " =deuce stocks wish guaranteed dividends'
sad Zelonace stock with tiled dividends," bat would
that they all meant the moos thing, and that the
dividends lOW% payable la priority to all other there.. The
OTOK Northers Company bed bon so us that until
30th Jane, 11344 ell the di • had been duly
paid . they bed mouth to pay the prekreatiel
divideada, end rat hod • ccuiderable surplus applicable to
ether "harm The made la which the ordinary capital of
the moue, waste with wee a follows By as act of
lid the espied thoreed to be nbd ir Idol in the fol.
borne meaner The capital counted of 241. tharee, the
calla co whkh had beau rapidly pod, with a view to the
tandettou of the works of the Imo end in orderha ems the Utley of ordinary dame the act
perbeiment in ISO authorterd that r‘ cry holder
of a MIL there who led paid 111. 10. , should
be alined to elide hie 26/. thane into two, sad that
they Amid be celled A 12f. 10a. shares eml
shares. Tle A share. wire to be ocendered pled up, awl
B shores were those an which further calls were to be pad ;
wed the A Ames guaranteed to the B shareholders 6 per
mat. per ammo. For the purpcore of the cam the
A alereholder. wore 6
th a shoreholders, sod
the B sharsholders the marrow/ alionitsiders.
noise the Companies Clauses Conaolidation Acta the filmdom
Win WNW to make out • half-yearly account. It
that the tier renew applicathe to disliked for the 1:27:r1
ending the 31st of Decoculer, 1&26 was 213,9234 Se. &i.,
bat shortly before the sad of that half-year it was discovered
that dueled the reeeding eight yore large qualities of
each sort of deck, particularly of the original, had been
forged by Leopold Mthoth, which, with the dividends that
hod hem paid theream, esnottated to nearly that sae.. The
vabd work not beteg early chwinguishable from the forged,
no dividends could safely be paid, and ac the holders of the
fond stork appeared to have pucka.= it base Ode, mod
for "aloe, the company were sdrteed to apply to parliament
for an act to make valid the eporioto stock, sad to authoria
the payment of dividends thereon. la their report to the
company of the 4th of March, Ma i% the directors MOM'
mended the adoption cf this comas, and added that
they could not take upon themselves to propose
ozsaport any bin which shouldthrow epee the preference say portion of the bon The director. also
introduced Into parliament • bill mooning is valid the
spurious stork, and out horidng the purchase of an opal
amount of stork out of capital which the existing seta of
the company will sothoreed them to raise. Upon this bill
being lad before Lad Roads* the Chairmen of Com-
mittees in the Roue of L do, ho objected to the creation of
fresh capital, and masted that the he should be p .3 out
of weenie and within a hinted thee. At the meet-
tog of the company held suniqueolly, en the 12th March,
after considerable diaconal' it was resolved "that so divi-
dend b. declared, bat that this mewing considers it de-
'kohe that the balance rf 243,9231. Ss ed. mentioned la
the dins tore' report, should be applied to meet the lees=
nosed by Leopoil Rale.* releired to in the directio'
report, sad that the directors be and are hereby requested
and sothorked uto apply the said la
id and la
ouch manner as they tory couider most beselicial to the
oupsay." anawded bill was Queues introduced
into parlmeeeirt, whict, deer (like the dui =thing valid
the 'mina stock, requiredu the director. to apply
the above mentioned balance of revenue and
any moneys to be received by the company from
Redpath's one in paying the exposer occasioned by
hie buds, I. pun/egad from time to tame stock to
the amount of that (Aged, sad forthwith cancelling
the same, and as to nay simplus that might remain, to
apply the' sane, as to se it would extend, in payments in
to the =Sweat claims of the preference sharehoiden
for the &dub to which they would have been entitled
If the said est menu had been apportioned as &Maud
at the general misting of the 12th of March. By the
I2Sth resalog ad= st the House of Commons "so
nelvey oempway thsl le anthorimed to alter the terms of
any plehtere cc 'priority of interest or dividend whisk
shall have been punW by inch company, in peruses of,
or which may have been waellemod by say furter eel of
parlamentet, or which woe otherwise be lawfully rabekilbey,
sakes the committee ea the bill report that sue slieratloa
ought to be allowed, with the nets on which their
begether with the number of
whoa burs seseded to or &mated =els:
alteration" The bill we. introduced Into parliameet,
without mimeo le Ude Wading order, as a bill
which did ad by lb province sleet to deal with
soy right of pellinose ehereholdere. There king
same death, however, whether the MU might not indirectly
be held le ban that elect, the pekeeste shareholder. ap-
pend before the ado= committee While House of Common
and esidenroared, although without arcen, to have a doom
hitroduced *wooly recogriefog their rights. Urn the bill
going to the 1t.... of Lode, idiom no loch Wending
order exists, the directors, apparently thinking that some-
thong to autheries the onitirtaitioe of the right. of the pre-
ference shareholders ought to mut on the face of the bill
proposed, after the latter had age= failed to procure th 9
ineertson of on vapor dotes Im their favour, to add to
clause 3, which directs, as Weedy earthed, tie spike**
of any enable/ eureka, the words, " sod thump= the mid
sum of 243,9231. de. Sd. shall be considered to ban been
duly divided among all duce of shareholder. to the ens-
pay." The adulate was opposed on the third radios but
earned on • dirk.= •by the majority of 63 to T. 0.
the amoselmeat coming don to them the otmemereld
spirit of the home rose up it arse moths. such en Yew
duction, and Mr. Denison .Meg the hrtiag dthe
Hoeft No anangly against him withdrew it without golag le
• divines. The home returned the till to the Uri, with
the following "maw for disegraing te the aneedmenl
":
Ba use the mid amendmint, if adopted, mold decide •
emotion of law in dispute between the preference wed ask-
nary &Unbeaten of the Great Northern Railway Congas%
wheel ought to he left to the daisies a • USA a law.
The Lords thereapos did nal upon their amendment,
sad the bill passed so it mew steads.
(The owe wee pmeediag whim we wane to peen.]