The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-22 00:00:00

JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES.

The following is a copy of the convention between
her Majesty and the Emperor of the French, rela-
tive to joint-stock companies, signed at Paris April
30, 1862. Ratifications exchanged at Paris May
15, 1862 :

" Her Majesty the Queen of the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, and his Majesty
the Emperor of the French, having judged it expe-
dient to come to an understanding in order to define,
within their respective dominions and possessions,
the position of commercial, industrial, and financial
companies and associations constituted and autho-
rised in conformity with the laws in force in either
of the two countries, have resolved to conclude a
convention for that purpose, and have named as
their plenipotentiarieb, that is to say :
" Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Hon. Henry
Richard Charles Earl Cowie)", her Majesty's Am-
bassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the
Emperor of the French ;
"And his Majesty the Emperor of the French,
M. Edouard Antoine Thouvenol, Senator, his
Minister and Secretary of State for the Department
for Foreign Affairs ;
« who, after having communicated toteaechothiie other
their .
their rergpteyv rii in ennrl and due
form, have agreed upon and concluded
h
follow-
ing Articles :
Art. I.—The high contracting parties declare
that they mutually grant to all companies and
other associations, commercial, industrial, or finan-
cial, constituted and authorised in conformity with
the laws in force in either of the two countries, the
power of exercising all their rights, and of appear-
ing before the tribunals, whether for the purpose
of bringing an action or defending the same,
throughout the dominions and possessions of the
other Power, subject to the sole condition of con-
forming to the laws of such dominions and pos-
sessions.

"Art. IL—lt is agreed that tho stipulations of
the preceding article shall apply as well to com-
panies and associations, constituted and authorised
previously to the signature of the present conven-
tion, as to those which may subsequently be so
constituted and authorised.

"Art 11I.—The present convention is concluded
without limit as to duration. Either of the high
Powers shall, however, be at liberty to terminate
it by giving to the other a year's previous notice.
The two high Powers, moreover, reserve to them-
selves the Power to introduce into the convention,
by common consent, any modifications which ex-
perience may show to be desirable.
" Art. IV.—The present convention shall be rati-
fied, and the ratifications shall be C changed at
Paris in 15 days, or sooner if possible.
In witness whereof the respectivepiolli affixed
-
tiaries have signed the same, and have
thereto the seals of their arms.
Done in duplicate at Paris, the 30th of Apri
1862.

“ COWLEY.
” THOUVENEL."

_ - -e-e-c

PROFESSOR 0 TVBNc S LEC7 URES 0 r

BIRDS.

Professor Owen, in his third lecture at the
Museum in Jermyn-street yesterday, noticed the
formation of the feathers of birds, the formation
and hatching of eggs, the building of nests, and the
principles of classification. He described the coni-
cal, highly vascular germs of the down, the moulds
from whieb the feathers spring, and the third stage
in which the quill-feathers and the colour of the
plumage are completed. The clothing of birds and
the supply of quill-feathers for the purposes of
flight is repeated more than once or :twice in the
course of the year, which is a very exhausting pro-
cess, but it is provided for by their active circula-
tion, and by the quantity of food they eat, for no
class of animals eat so much as birds, nor arc mcee
active in it 3 pursuit. When the plumage of the
male and female differ, the feathers of young birds
resemble those of the females, and in those species
in which the plumage of the male and female is
alike, that of the young is different from either,
After mentioning the process of change of colour in
the feathers, Profo:,sor Owen stated that the young
birds of the white and of the black swan can
scarcely be distinguished, end it is not until they
grow of a large size that the grey colour changes
that in the one to white and in the other to black. In
a peculiar species of
and a white body the cygnets are perfectly white.
In explaining the phenomenaswan hea
reproduction 5'
black
of of h
birds, Professor Owen stated that the yolk of the
neck
egg is first formed, and that the white consists of two
layers, which at the broad end of the egg enclose a
small quantity of sir to supply the chick before it
bursts the shell. The small speck of the yolk from
which the chick is first developed, and the yolk itself,
arelighter than the other parts of the egg, the yellow
colour being caused by the presence of an oily
matter, which gives it buoyancy, and in any posi-
tion of the egg brings it near the upper part of the
shell to receive heat from the body of the hen dur-
ing incubation. The yolk is afterwards included in
the body of the chick, and affords it nourishment
until it is hatched. An Australian bird, of which
there are specimens in the Zoological Gardens, lays
its eggs in dung and in decaying vegetable matter,
and leaves them there to be hatched; and Professor
Owen said it was interesting to observe the bird
adhering to the same habit in this country. The
eggs were laid with one end upwards, and the chicks
when hatched were feathered, and could fly and
pick their food, and clean their feathers as well as
other young birds at least a month old. Another
Australian bird, which he called the bower-birdi
adopts a very remarkable method to gain the affec-
tions of the female. It builds a large bower, the
entrance to which it decorates with the gayest fea-
thers collected in the woods, and then endeavours to
allure the female to the bower by fascinating atti•
tudes and by various adjustments of its plumage.
After the birds are mated, the bower is neglected,
and is made no use of in the formation of the nest.
A similar love of display is seen in the jackdaw and
magpie in this country, and Professor Owen sug-
gested that they might have been bower-builders
when England was in a thinly populated condition.
He concluded the lecture by pointing out the dis-
tinguishing characters of the feet and claws of birds,
and the corresponding peculiarities in the formation
of their beaks, on which their classification by
naturalists principally depends.

RESTORATION OF THE CHAPTER-
HO USE, WESTXINST EB.

The Dean of Westminster has called a meeting
of noblemen and gentlemen for Saturday next, to be
held in the Chapter-house, to take into considera-
tion the steps which are desirable in order to call
public attention to the ruinous condition of that
beautiful building, with a view to its restoration.
This most elegant structure, which is justly regarded
as one of the finest examples of early English archi-
tecture, was built by King Henry 111., about the
year 1250. It is thus earlier than the Chapter-house
of Salisbury, but it has suffered from more than
five centuries of neglect and barbarous adaptation to
every-day uses, and has been reduced to a mere
wreck. The main features have, however, been dili-
gently traced by Mr. G. G. Scott. The Chapter-house
was made over by the Convent of Westminster for
the use of the House of Commons early in the
reign of Edward 111., with the express condition
that the Crown should keep it in repair. In the
time of Edward VI., the Commons having removed
to St. Stephen's Chapel, the Chapter-house carne
into the hands of the Government. It has been ever
since employed as a record-office, and it is in adapt-
ing it to this purpose that it has been reduced to its
present unsightly state. It is an octagon of 18 feet
diameter, and had a vaulted roof which was sup-
ported by an elegant clustered shaft of Purbeck
marble. The windows were of great beauty, and the
walls beneath were occupied by arcaded stalls, the
backs of which were filled with paintings. Groups
of statuary adorned the doorways, and the flooring
was of encaustic tiles of the most rich and varied
designs. The building suffered only from neglect
until the beginning of the 18th century, but it was
then wantonly reduced to its present state in order
to fit it for a record repository. The vaulted roof,
being considered dangerous, was destroyed and
cheaply replaced by a flat ceiling. The walls, rich
in most tasteful statuary and paintings, were con-
cealed by presses and a gallery;
the pavement was
ut in fact,
boarded over, and thus fortunately preserved. The
windows were blocked up, partly with brick and
pwaarst llye f
twith
visibletheir f own
its
originaltracery.be
Nothing,ay except the
central shaft, and even that was partially concealed
restoration
by a rough bulkhead round its base. In consequence
of the erection of the new general repository for
records the public documents have now been re-
moved
wanted
but
fundsth to
the Chapterl-house,
and
tenothing
eoflt
to
og be
The proposed meeting
accomplished. thisiss
important object will be held at half-past 2 o'clock
on Saturday.