The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-04 00:00:00

GREAT SHIP COMPANY.

The adjourned general meeting of the proprietors
in this company was held yesterday at the London
Tavern—Mr. Gooch in the chair.

Mr. Goom explained that the reason he occupied
the chair was because Mr. Barber had sold out his
shares in the Great Ship Company, not liking the
blame that had been thrown on him and the board,
after all their exertions. The speaker detailed the
difficulties which the board had had to contend
• gainst, reviewed the position of the company-, and
concluded by calling on Mr. Hawes to read the
report of the committee appointed at the former
meeting.
Mr. IlAwes condemned the policy of having put
the Great Eastern on the New York line, and
charged the directors with mismanagement. He
had attended meetings of shareholders at Manches-
ter and Liverpool, and they had agreed that they
should find money to send the ship ethat again. It
would be his duty to propose a resolution reducing
the qualification of the directors. At present the
qualification of a director was 1,000 shares, of which
there were not above 30 shareholders holding that
number in the company. He would propose to
reduce it to 500 shares, which would even then leave
them a limited choice, there being only 350 such
holdings out of 3,400 shareholders. The current
debts were £35,000 ; there was interest coming due
and they would have to provide their outfit for an;
Australian or Indian voyage, and also for repairs.
The whole money they would have to provide
would be—Xl2,ooo for repairs; debts he had put
down at £47,000; interest, £5,000 ; and outfits,
£8,000; making £60,000. Nov the passage money
and freight would be received before the vessel left,
and would meet much of their required capital.
The creditors had agreed to take half their debts
down, and the other half in six months. Ho then
went into a long calculation, and said the receipts
for one voyage outward and homeward would yield
£127,000, while the expenses would come to only
£BO,OOO, so that the one voyage out and home
would pay their debts and leave them a margin for
the shareholders. He then rear' the report, which
showed the following to be the present financial
condition of the company :

1. A share capital of _ £303 000

2, A preference share capital of lOO,OOO
3, A mortgage debt redeemable in 1865 105,350
4. Creditors on current account, about 35,000
5. Repairs required before she can take an
Indian or Australian voyage
6. Outfit for the voyage
The report, which was of great length, proposed to
provide the £60,000 necessary for sending the ship
on her next voyageby an immediate subscription to
any amount by each shareholder; or by shareholders
or others signing guarantee deeds to enable the di•
rectors to raise £3s,ooo—it being confidently calcu-
lated that £30,000 would be received before the de-
parture of the vessel in payment of passage-money,
freight, &c. In either case the money advanced to be
repaid with a bonus of 10 per cent, as soon as possible.
The report concluded as follows :—" If these esti-
mates, most carefully made, be correct, there will
be a surplus of receipts on the first sea voyage be-
yond expenditure, of about £40,000, which will be
much increased on the second ; and the shareholders
will, we think, be content if, instead of losing from
£4,000 to £6,000 on each short American voyage,
or £161,000 in 31 years, they find by one long
voyage their debts paid, and the ship free and
popular, instead of being a by-word for loss and
disaster.

Mr. HAwEs then moved the reduction of the direc-
tors' qualification from 1,000 to 500 shares.
Captain FORD seconded the motion.
The SOLICITOR reminded the company that a
special resolution could not be acted upon until an-
other meeting, held in a month afterwards, had
confirmed it.

Hereupon a long and somewhat animated discus-
sion took place, numbers of suggestions being made
to get over the legal difficulty, but all being pro-
nounced ineffective by the solicitor. Amongst other
propositions was one, that the present board should
fill up the vacancies in the board of directors ac•
aording to the recommendation of the shareholders.
The CHAIRMAN said there were only two direc-
tors left on the board, and it wanted three to form a
quorum.

The SOLICITOR said, if a board were not ap-
pointed before next month, the ship might be sold
for the want of some responsible persons to instruct
the solicitor. There was also a winding-up peti-
tion to be resisted, and the action against them in
the Arches Court in the case of the Jane, which he
believed would ba gained by them if properly
defended.
After a negativing amendment had been moved
and lost, the motion respecting the reduction of the
qualification of directors was put and carried.
Mr. Hawes's motion that Mr. Prowse be elected
a shareholder was pronounced illegal by the solici-
tor, and another long discussion took place.
Mr. SCOTT RUSSELL at length proposed that one
qualified shareholder should be elected, to complete
the quorum, and then that four others be elected as
directors until it could be ascertained whether the
election were legal or not. if the opinion of the
Attorney-General were in favour of the legality of
the election, they would then be directors ; but if he
said the election were illegal, they would call an-
other meeting to elect them.
Ultimately Mr. Shoebridge was elected a director.
The CIIAIRMAN then proposed, to meet the wishes
of the meeting, that Mr. Prowse, Mr. Hawes, and
Colonel Brownrigge be elected a committee, and that
the latter three gentlemen should pass all resolu-
tions and send them to the three directors, who
would sign and act upon them, and would do nothing
without their consent.
This having been agreed to, power was voted to
the directors to raise the £60,000. The report of
the committee was adopted and ordered to be
printed, and the meeting terminated with the usual
vote of thanks.