The Sun.
London, England, 1853-12-21 00:00:00

the hospital. She then put up with his brutal conduct
without complaining.
Police-con Stable 134 L;-said: he was on-duty on the
previous evening, when he heard cries of murder proceed
from Windmill-street. He went towards the spot, and
on entering N0..6, he saw the prisoner dragging his
wife across the room by the hair of her head. He then
seized up a poker and threatened to smash his brains
out, as Well as his wife's, if he interfered, He, however,
wrenched the poker from him, and conveyed him to the
station-house.
Mr. Combe told the prisoner that he was a brutal
fellow, and deserved to be severely punished. There
was no pretence for such ill-treatment, therefore he
should give him the full penalty of the law by sentencing
him to six months' hard labour in Wandsworth House
of Correction.

Mr. Combe received 101. for the poor-box from
" C. V.," which the donor requested the reporter to
acknowledge.

WESTMINSTER.—Mr. Charles P. Eigginsl Wag
charged upon a peace warrant with having threatened
his wife, Mrs. Amelia Vertue Higgins, the daughter of
Sir Richard Joddrell.
The warrant had been granted upon an application
made by the lady on the previous day to Mr. Arnold.
She stated that her husband, who was constantly in
difficulties, and who had only supported her by getting
into debt for two years, was in the habit of treating her
cruelly and threatening her. He was discharged from a
debtors' prison in July last year, and was in the habit
of coming to the house where she was being maintained
by her lather, and forcing his way at all hours of the
night, while in a state of intoxication, into her bed,
where he pinched her, and forced the bolster and pillows
over her face. She had taken all sorts of precautions
for her safety, but he had repeatedly threatened her.
He had been for the last nine months in the Queen's
Bench prison, during which she was in no peril ; but as
his last words at parting with her before he went, were,
that he would do for her, she now felt, upon his being
again at large, serious apprehensions for her safety.
Defendant urged that the threat complained of had
been made nine months ago and had not been since re-
peated.

Mr. Broderip expressed himself in some difficulty in
that respect. He could not say whether during that
lengthened period defendant might not have reformed,
and inquired whether, under the circumstances, Mrs.
Higgins's solicitor would be content with defendant's
entering into his own recognizances to keep the peace.
The solicitor said he would, if the warrant were sus-
pended, so that it might be again executed if necessity
required.
Mr. Broderip could not doubt that, but intimated
that another warrant could be immediately obtained, if
needed. Having again pointed out the difficulty which
arose in the case,
The solicitor reluctantly consented to defendant's dis-
charge upon his own•recognizances.

MARYLEBONE.—BURGLARY AND EXTENSIVE ROB-
BERY or JEWELLERY, &c.—Yesterday three determined-
looking fellows, named Frederick Green, Alexander
Green, and Thomas .Burdett, were brought up hand.
cuffed, and placed at the bar before Mr. Broughton,
charged with having burglariously entered the pre-
mises of Mr. Georg'e Thomson, a pawnbroker, jeweller,
&c., in Harmood-street, Hampstead-road, and stolen
property to the amount of several hundred pounds.
The table in front of the bench was almost covered
with gold and silver watches, jewellery, &c., forming
only a small portion of the plunder.
The watches, jewellery, &c., were produced, and iden-
tified by Mr. Thomson, who said that had it not been
for the vigilance of 71 S he might have been plundered
to the extent of 2,0001. Mr. Thomson said he was of
opinion that the property taken away by the prisoners,
and picked up in the road and gardens, and which he
now valued at 1001., was not more than a third of the
property which he had lost. He could not as yet say
to what extent he had been robbed, as he had not had
time for examination.

On being asked what they had to say, the first pri-
soner said, in the most impudent manner, " I'm sorry
I did not get away with the swag." The second said,
" I wish you would give me a clean shirt, old fellow, as
I dirtied mine in getting over the wall ;" and the third
said, " I'm blest if I was in it at all."

They were remanded till Tuesday next.
•

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

NORFOLK RAILWAY COMPANY.

A meeting of shareholders in the above company was
held on Monday at Guildhall-buildings for the purpose of
considering, and, if approved of, of ratifying an agree-
ment or amalgamation with the Eastern Counties Rail-
way Company.
The chair was taken by S. M. PETO, Esq., M.P.,
who, in opening the proceedings, said—Before reading
the resolution which it would be his duty to propose it
would be necessary that he should make a few remarks
upon the business which had called them together. The
last time .he had had the pleasure of meeting them in
that room he had. not the slightest idea, nor had he seen
any prospect, of again meeting them, at least on the
present subject, on so early a day ; but the fact of
the Eastern Union Company having entered into a nego-
tiation with the Eastern Counties, and the receipt of a
communication on the subject from Mr. Waddington
himself, made it appear to his (Mr. Peto's) colleagues
and himself that it was all-important to the interests of
the three companies that all should be parties to the
agreements about to be entered into. That was the
view taken by Mr. Waddington also, because all parties
foresaw that it was only by a combination of all the ih-
terests in the district that the wisest results could be
obtained for the public and the best dividends for the
respective shareholders. He had stated to them on the
last occasion they had met together that he never would
be a party to the , acceptance from the Eastern Counties
Company of a his dividend'than had been paid up to the
present time, and he thought he could now put before
the meeting a few figures and facts which would sho w them
that they could never have a worse dividend than they
received at the present. moment ; besides which, there
was the great fact that, by the combination of all the
interests in the district, the greatest possible amount of
development would be given to the traffic, the greatest
prospect of augmentation in the receipts, and the bst
hope of a minimum of working expenses being obtained.
(Hear.) The arrangement which had been acquiesced
in by the Eastern Union and the Eastern Counties
boards, and their own, was that the gross receipts of
the lines should be divided into sevenths, of which five-
sevenths were to go to the Eastern Counties, one-seventh
to the Eastern Union, and one-seventh to. the Norfolk.
Hefound their" laid receipts from all sources up to June
1, 1853, to be 137,817/. - He found the increase of
receipts from the Ist July up to the present period,
and from thence up to the Ist of June, 1854, calcu-
lating the . rate of increase at that of the similar
period this,. year, to be 15,7981., being a total of
153,615/. This, deducting 46 per cent, for working
expenses, left 82,9531. Now, taking the receipts of
the three companies collectively to be 1,100,0001.,
then deducting 46 per cent. for working expenses, and
one-seventh of the loss arising from the East Anglian,
Northern, and Newmarket arrangement, he found the
residue applicable to Norfolk dividend would be 81,9571.,
being within a trifle of the amount they had received
under the old arrangement. (Hear.) In an agreement
of this kind he need hardly say that it was very import-
ant that all parties should see that their interests were
mutually served, so that when once ratified it might be
carried out with mutual good faith and good feeling.
(Hear.) His belief was that a more equitable agreement
than that now submitted by himself and colleagues had
never been entered into by any company. Because, in
the first place, they got results equal to their whole pre-
sent receipts, and under what he did not hesitate to say
were the most advantageous circumstances for work-
Besides this, he felt that he should not have
of
acting faithfully in his capacity of chairman
their company had he permitted any separate
agreement to have been made with the Eastern Union
while they (the Norfolk) had another agreement with
the Eastern Counties, as in that case there would have
been a risk of having them worked one against the other.
They had, therefore, entered into the present negotia-
tion, and in securing a dividend at least equal to what
the shareholders enjoyed at present, he felt that they
got no more than they had a right to expect, and that
leas would not have been worthy their acceptance. The
loss sustained by the agreements with the Great North-
ern could be easily explained, as it was simply a matter of
account. The proportion of that loss which fell on the
Norfolk Company was about 401. a week: He did not
hesitate to tell them that in consequence of the
agreement entered into by Mr. Waddington with
the Great Northern, there would- be an increase
of five times the receipts on the whole line. (Hear,
hear.) It was not proper to go into details at present,
but any proprietor calling at the office should have full
information. Another point to which he must allude
was their dividend. Last year it had been 2/ per cent.
He took it at that, and working out the result as given
by the gross receipts and deducting the Hitchin loss,
would leave them a return for dividend of 27,1781., or
21 on their capital. He did not think that that total
would represent their earnings when they came to work
conjointly, as he did not hesitate to say that the recent
increase in their traffic had arisen solely from the good
understanding with the Eastern' Counties Company. A
similar understanding with the Eastern Union would,
he had no doubt, produce similar results. (Hear.) If
they made any concession to the Eastern Union Com-
pany in this agreement it wasp'iore than counterbalanced
by the effects which would arise from the good under-
standing between the three companies. (Hear, hear.)
Theresoltution was then- put ratifying the agreement,
upon whiCh a few questions were asked, and on being
answered to the satisfaction of the meeting, the resolu--
tioii was carried unanimously. The proceeding,s termi-
nated with a vote of thanks to the chairman.