The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1815-09-29 00:00:00

TO THR PROPRIRTORv OF RANK STOCK.

1 congratulate you lima what happened at the General
Court of Propeortoi a, on theist turf.. " The See is tissihea:7
For the first time, I believe, inure our Charter has been iu
operation, you have exercised your undoubted right of dic-
es _ling from a propos:if matte by your Directors, out the
q•urctiuu of oltvidesol, by otferin: an amendment, which was
put to the vote, and " curried" by a majority of the Court;
and althoulli this solemn vole was evaded by a conduct nit
Vie past the Utah-matt, the must entenordinary, and for
which, 1 h.lieve, no precedent rail be futind in the practice
of ib,,, dchlwrative assembly,' he procceditigeof thuis day have,
••'r, thet, ,“4, laid a foundation for measures which, I trust,
and eo.ifi.lelttly expect, will at no later period than our General
Court in Alareli next, compel the Diswettera to give us that
participatiou in our profits, which, as I stated in the letter
I addressed to you ou the 20th hest " our charter, the Musa
the land, justice to the Prupriclorvfo► Ms time being, and
common sense," entitle us to dertuutd.

A sudden holisposition rendered it impossible for me to
attend the General Court on Thursday last. But the report
made to rate of what passed there, by a Proprietor present,
upon whose accuracy I can rely, is as follows:
The Chairman, according to usage, and witlinht any in-
formation as to the state of our it Wain. which 'night ramble
us to perform tie dilly for which we were assembled, name-
ly, " consider of a disidend," proposed that live p,
cent. should be divided as the profits of the prereding half
year, and was going to put his proposal to the vote, when
the lima Mr. Bouverie rose, and after a referenee to the pa-
pers, Colin which he argued, that tlw !profits bade had bei:n
more than ilunble the sr. ttttt nt of the pruposei dividend,
moved that fin instead offer per cent. should he the divi-
dend for the half year. No Proprietor seemailed this motion,
hot Mr, Terry, after some observations, Moved fors diva.
demi of six ma cent. which motion was seconded by Mr.
Homer: le, put to the vote, and upon a sliesi of hands,'" car-
ried tg a great mujorii.y," anal so declared by the Cbairmao.
The hitivtiou then was her. by formally and legally decided,
when the !4:ecretary of the Directors stated, that sit existin
Act of Parliatornt required that nu increase of dividend
could take place, except by ballot, to be held within three
days from the pet iu h when it 'Mould have hem] ',mill by the
(kiterar Court. The only point, then, remaining to be
settled, appeared to lae the Jay of ballot. But, strange to
say, after a variety of observations on 11w part of the Direr.
tors, and of the Mover and Seconder of the adopted amend-
tweed, during which coniersation several Proprietors mime
in, who had sot been present when the vote passed, the Chair-
man, without assigning any reason to justify so novel and
extraordinary a proceeding, " again" put to the vote the
our,tion that had been already solemnly decided, and upon
• thew of hands for and against Mr. Terri% amendment,
slate.l the nombers Ull each side to he equal; mid, as Chair-.
wan, ;slim; his casting V1)1c against" the amendment, de-
clared that it was negatived, and that his own original pro-
p ...0 lain for a dividend of five per ant. oas ;Outdid. This
was followed by a motion of adjUarritmetst, Bud thus ended
the curious o'o.as-dings of this day '." !
I will not inside your understandings by making ;any com-
ment on these transactions, though, I confess, tam at a loss
to rweijettort hew the Proprietors peseta could suffer titian
to pass without tiotico or resistance. Nor do I regret the
loss of the hieing increase of one per tent. to the dividend,
convinced, as I am, from the facts stated iu the three Let-
ters which I have before' had the howour of adalnessiug to
yam, that instead of " *LT," oar pasties would retitle na to
" time, per mat." I will now onlyeurese the satisfaction
1 &el, in the prospect of what I think must tab@ place at
nor General Court is more, next, *flesh I have reason to
know, that a number of Proplietors, acting ire concert, and
ni a plan previoetily arranged, willpettposEamtpait to the
vote such w rate of dividend ors mayappitar from public ilis-
einuestis stow before WS to bear Some far proportion to our
profits.
Mr. Terry's motion, though far skeet of what I think it
ought to have been, and:though over-ruled in the way above
deveribed, has done great good, by Establishing a precedent
which will, Ilium* no doubt, be ofgreat value fu us hereaftei.
Yon liave:m•de a staistl—penal.*, twd you must ultimately
be successful.
AN OLD PROPRIETOR.
September 15,1113.