Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-07-25 00:00:00

THE DEMERARA RAILWAY COMPANY

was held on Saturday last, in .the rooms of the Nxest,
Association, Brunswick-street, for, the purpose of considering
and discussing an ordinance recently passed by the legislature
of British Guiana, intituled, "_Au orclinance to repeal an
4 An ord ifianne

ordinance, No. 14, of the year 1858, intituiea,
to empower the-Demerara Railway Company to raise a sum
of £175,000, and to guarantee payment of interest thereon for
a period of forty-five years, and to make and alter other
provisions."' 'Mr. John Crosthwaite occupied the chair.
There were also present—Messrs. Holland, J. -A. Tinne,
Sandbach, Bennett Martin, Steele, Goore, H. Turner ;
and P. F. Garnett, secretary.
The CHAIRMAN said the directors had called this meeting
in order that an expression of opinion might be elicited from
the shareholders in reference to the new ordinance, which
had been made and sent home by the last mail from
British Guiana, and a copy of which had been
furnished ,to the proprietary. The ordinance was
for
accom-
paniedld orcouncil .
andeheanr e ihno
by A letter from Governor Woodhouse. The ordi-
naace was not, to be submitted to o
thef
the(l
sit was so much at variance with the articles of last
year, and
Iso to the ordinance which embodied these articles, that the

contirmation without the

directors felt that they would be justified. in taking no steps
towards it without first obtaining the opinion of the
shareholders. .

lARNETT reac

Mr. SANDurien then moved the following resolution :-rhat in the opinion of this meeting the provisions of
dinance No. 40, 1859, differ altogether from the articles

wuiuu wvic yiupuseu W, me company, Dy the legislature
or British Guinea, and which were accepted on the faith
of an express understanding, that legal effect would there-
upon be given to them ; and that the ordinance which was,

submitted does not afford any reasonable prospect of benefit
to the shareholders, by whom upwards of £135,000 capital
has been expended, without any return whatever up to the
.•

,solution was second by Mr. Steele, and carried

Mr. HOLLAND said, he was not surprised at the meeting

have been couched in stronger terms. When they looked' at
what the colonial .legislatures had done with reference to
railways, he thought that the Demerara government had
acted in the most extraordinary mariner with regard to
the railway there. In India, the English government had
_

govegnm,

three millions sterling on the Gran Trunk Railway y In
Trinidad, the government had given a guarantee of 6 per
cent., in order to obtain a railway in that country.. The
government of Jamaica gave 6 per cent., as did also Ceylon.
With all these cases of guaranteesuf colonial legislatures, in
order to obtain these advantages of the machinery of rail-
ways,'here they had a solitary instance in Demerara of not

.f •
actually; he was sorry to say, indirectly confiscating the
whole amount which the shareholders had advanced in order
to complete the undertaking for, the benefit.of the colony.

interest

subsequently, withthe impression that no colonial legisla-
ture could be so unwise and so unjust as 'to commit such an
act of confiscation, and, as was the case with other gentlemen,
by inducements which were held out, and promises that

very different from that represented. If those promises and
pledges had been fairly carried out, the railway would not
only have been a good, but a very profitable undertaking.

sent home was in direct violation of the, principles which
were embodied in the former ordinance. It must strike
gentlemen, in reading the new ordinance, that it took away