The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-07 00:00:00

Board of Directors on the matters referred to, and desire to
express their sense of the courtesy with which they have
been met. As respects the first resolution, your committee
understand that the board consider the principle it enun-
ciates one which they are bound to carry out. A schedule
of engagements entered into by the directors previously to
the last general meeting has been laid before your committee,
and remains with the board as a record for future reference
These engagements are few in number, and donot involve
any considerable pecuniary liabilities. The second resolu-
tion is accomplished by an arrangement made with the East
Glocestershire Company to withdraw the bill now pending
in Parliament; but, inasmuch as it appears that the Great
Western and West Midland Companies were, to some ell.
tent, parties to the promotion of the scheme, and therefore
might be fairly expected to contribute towards the expellees
incurred, the sum of £B,OOO has been arranged to he paid to
the East Glocestershire Company, in full of all demands.
The third resolution is intended to be carried out by a clause
in the Amalgamation Bill, by which the election of the new
board will be vested in the shareholders, and a rezonstrue-
tion of the board has been arranged by an 'Undertaking of
the present board to make vacancies for six directors, and
to fill them up with an equal number to be selected by the
committee and approved by the board. The committee refer
the shareholders to the copy of the minutes of the board,
containing an exact summary of these arrangements, which
they trust will conduce to the permanent prosperity of the
under taking."

• GREAT EASTERN.
The adjourned half-yearly meeting of this com-
pany was held yesterday at the London Tavern to
receive a report from the scrutineers on the result
of the poll on Mr. Sergeant Gaselee's motion against
extensions, and to complete the business of the
meeting—Mr. H. Love in the chair.
Mr. 0 wen, the secretary.read. the report of Messrs.
J. G. Morgan and Mr. C. Whetham, the scrutineers,
on the motion of Mr. Sergeant Gaselee, seconded
by Mr. Levy, from which it appeared 46 persons
were present, representing £79,100 stock and 791
votes, were in favour of the motion ; against the
motion 48 persons present, representing £223,900
stock and 2,239 votes, and also 217 proxies, repre-
senting £1,471,900 stock and £14,119- -votes ; to-
gether, 1,265 persons and proxies, representing
£1,695,800 stock and 16,958 votes were recorded
against the motion, which was negatived.
After some observations from Mr. G. SMITH and
Mr. MICHELL,
Mr. BIDDER remarked that the constitution of the
Great Eastern Company was different from that of
the Eastern Counties. No one could vote at a Great
Eastern meeting unless he held at 1 ast £lOO stock,
and he would have one vote for every £lOO stock
held by him, whatever :he amount. Therefore the
voting would not go by show of hands. He saw at
the last meeting a gentleman put up his hand to
vote who only head £lO stock ; he not only held up
one hand but two hands, although he had no right
to vote at all. One or that gentleman's hands would
it that way count for as much as that of another
proprietor near him who held £72,600 stock in the
company. some gentlemen contended that the di-
rectors ought to be bound by the votes of the per-
sons present at the meeting. but in fact they did not
represent one per cent. of the whole concern. For
his own part he thought That was not sufficient to
induce the directors to give up the prosecutioa of
those necessary extensions. They could not have a
legal meeting of the company without £1,000,000
of stock being represented to forth a quorum. If
the proxies sent to the directors meant anything,
they meant they were to be used to vote. He said
the directors would meet any number of gentlemen
having a stake in the concern, and go into the whole
matter respecting the proposed extensions. He be-
lieved that these extensions were necestary to secure
their traffic and develop the resources of the line.
He should have failed in his duty if he had not ad-
vocated them. lithe real voting of the proprietors
had been in favour of the motion thedirectors would
have adopted it.
Mr. BEAITIs said he held £7,000 stock:in the com-
pany. He thought it would show that the poll
taken was no criterion of the feelings of shareholders
on the question of extensions, because he did not
vote. It was well known that a number of con-
tractors, engineers, and lawyers were interested in
the company spending money in extensions, and he
thought the directors ought to have exceeded the
question on a show of hands.
Mr. J. C. COBBOLD, M.P., proposed that Mr. G.
Josselyn, of Ipswich, be elected a director in the
room of Mr. S. Bignold, resigned.
Lord BURY, the other candidate for the vacancy
at the Board, withdrew, and, in doing so, said he
would avail himself of the next occasion.
Mr. Serjeant GASELBE proposed as an amend-
ment that the election of a director be postponed
for the present. He read letters from shareholders
with a view to show that they had merely sent their
proxies to the directors in answer to an application
for enabling them to hold a legal meeting, and that
they would have voted in favour of his motion and
against any further extension.
Mr. Joseelyn was elected a director as a repre-
sentative of Eastern Union interests.
On the motion of Mr. IMACLAURIN the allowance
to the auditors was increased from £lOO to £l5O
each per annum.
The CHAIRMAN then announced that Captain
Galton had made his award in respect of the East
Suffolk Company; it was to the effect that they
were to give the holders of original stock in the
East Suffolk £181,360 ordinary stock of the Great
Eastern Company. Each party was to pay his own
expenses. In consequence of this award they would
send out the dividend, warrants immediately. The
only point now remaining was the award of Captain
Galton in respect of the A stock.
Mr. COBBOLD contended that they need not wait
for the award to declare a dividend on the A stock,
ht cause if it were more than the award, the differ-
ence could be deducted, and if less, it could be added
to the next dividend warrants.
Mr. MAYNARD, the solicitor to the company, said
that if the A stock should be entitled to less money
than the proposed dividend, the Great Eastern
Company would have no means of getting it back,
30 that the only course was to wait until Captain
Galton had made his award.
On the motion of Mr. MORGAN, the allowance to
the dlivetors was fixed at £4,000 a year from the
date of the amalgamation.
The meeting was made special, and the directors
were authorised to guarantee the interest on a sum
not exceeding £40,000 for the Bishops Stortford
and Braintree Railway, and interest on £20,000 for
the Ware, Hadham, and Buntingford Railway.
The Great Eastern would work both lines when
completed.
On the motion of Mr. MACIAURIN the best
thanks of the meeting were voted to the chairman
for his conduct in the chair that day, and the pro-
ceedings terminated.
'6B

RAILWAY BILLS.
Yesterday the committee on the bill of the Lon-
don, Brighton,and South Coast Company's proposed
extensions and alterations settled the clauses of the
bill, the principal ones comprising the power to
make a line between Camberwell, Horsieydown,
and their enlarged London-bridge station ; also
between Camberwell and Deptford ; Lambeth and
the West-end section of the London, Chatham, and
Dover Railway ; Battersea and the West-end of
London and Crystal Palace, at an estimated expense
of £300,000. The preamble of the Midland Com-
pany's extension into London was passed in Mr.
Hassard's committee, leaving the clauses for con-
sideration on Wednesday. Mr. Langton, M.P.,
and others were examined as to the merits of the
Bristol and North Somerset Railway ; and the case
for the Festiniog Railway was taken in the Aber-
ystwith and Welsh Coast Committee.