The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-24 00:00:00

NOTIFICATION.

No. I.—Notice is hereby given, that the Five per Cent. Transfer
Loan, comprising the book debt of December 31st, 1834; the book debt
of the 10th August, 1835 ; the book debt of the 15th January, 1836 ;
and the promissory notes of the loan dated the 31st December, 1834;
will be discharged on the 22d day of Aprll, 1854, when payment will
be made at the option of the creditors, either in cash ix India, or by
bills on the Honourable the Court of Directors, at twelve months'
date. and two shillings and one penny per sices rupee, with power to
the Gout: to postpone payment of those bills for one, two, or three
years, upon allowing interest at five per cent. per annum for the
period of postponement.
No. 2.—ln accordance with the advertisement of the Government
of India in the financial department of the 17th June, 1835, this
notice of payment shall be considered as equivalent to a tender of
payment on the said 22d day of April, 1854, and all interest will
cease from that day.
No. 3.—Proprietors of the stock and promissory notes in the Five
per Cent. Transfer Loan will be permitted, on or before the 22d day
of July, 1813, to subscribe the amount of such stock or promissory
notes irate a new loan, to be held in the form of stock, and to bear an
interest at the rate of four per cent. per annum from the said 22nd
day of April, 1854. Such interest to be paid to proprietors resident
in India at the place of registry, and, if resident in Europe, at their
option either in cash in India or by bills on the court, at twelve
months' date, and two shillings and one penny the sicca rupee.
No. 4.—Proprietors who may subscribe their Five per Cent. Trans-
fer Loan Stock or promissory notes of that loan into the Four per
Cent. Transfer Loan, shall not bo subjected, on this operation, to the
fees prescribed in the rules for the government agency.
No. s.—The stock of the new loan will be tranferable only in books
to be kept in Bengal, at Madras, at Bombay, and in London, and not
by endorsement of stock receipts ; and the stock accounts may, at
the option cf the proprietors, be transferred from the books in India
to the books in London, and vice versa, as in the case of stock of
the Five per Cent. Transfer Loan.
No. 6 —After the transposition of stock accounts to the London
books, the interest payable on such stock will be issued at the East
India House, at the rate of two shillings and one penny per sicca
rupee, by dividend warrants, payable at the Bank of England, at the
same time as when the bills would have become due had the remit-
tance of interest previously been received by bills of exchange drawn
upon the Court, under the option allowed in the 3rd article of the pre-
sent notice. _

No. 7. Proprietors of Stock in the Five per Cent. Transfer Loan,
whose accounts may be open in the London books on the 22d day of
April, 1854, who shall not, on or before the 22d day of July, 1853,
express their assent in writing, at the East India House in London,
to the conversion of their Five per Cent. Transfer Loan Stock Into
Stock of the Four per Cent, Transfer Loan, will receive payment of
their principal, together with the interest due thereon, up to the 22d
day of April, 1854, by a cash payment in London, on the 25th day of
April, 1855, the date at which the bills would become due if the
remittance of principal and interest were made fr, m India by means
of bills of exchange drawn upon the Court of Directors ; the Court,
however, reserving to themselves, in accordance with the stipula-
tion in the first article of this notice, the power to postpone payment
of such principal for one, two, or three years, upon allowing interest
at Ave per cent. per annum for the period of postponement.
No. 8. No part of the Four per Cent. Transfer Loan Ehall be paid
off before the 22d day of April, 1874 ; and whenever it shall be
redeemed, a previous notice of fifteen months shall be given by
public advertisement, which notice may be issued at any time
after the 21st of January, 1873 ; payment shall then' be made at the
option of the creditors, either in cash in India, or by bills upon
the Court of Directors, at twelve months' date, and two
shillings and one penny the sicca rupee, with power to the
Court to postpone payment of thosq bills for one, two, or
three years, upon allowing interest of four per cent. per annum for
the period of postponement. The notice of payment, duly adver-
tised as above, and published in the Government Gazette of Cal-
cutta, shall be considered as equivalent to a tender of payment on
the date advertised for discharge; and all interest will cease from
that day.
No. 9. Proprietors of Stock in the Fear per Cent. Transfer Loan,
whose stock accounts may be open on the London books on the 22d
day of April, 1874, will be paid the amount of principal, together
with the interest due thereon up to that date, by a cash payment in
London,:on the 25th day of ♦pril, 1875, at the rate of two shillings
and one penny the sicca rupee ; such payment of principal to be
subject to the power of postponement upon the conditions mentioned
in the preceding article.
By order of the Most Noble the Governor
General of India in Council,
J. A. DOWN, Secretary to the Government of India.
The Court of Directors also give notice, that Proprietors, to
whom it may be inconvenient to attend at the East India House
to signify their assent to the Conversion of their Stock of the
Flye per Cent. Transfer Loan into Four per Cent. Stock, under
Article 7 of the above notification, may obtain a proper form for
signature by making a written application, addressed to the Secre-
tary, at the East India House.
JAMES C. MELTILL, Secretary.

EAST INDIA HOUSE.

A Quarterly General Court of this company was held
yesterday at their house in Leadenhall-street ; Sir J. W.
Hogg, Bart, M.P.,.in the chair. . _

The minutes of 'the last General Court were read and
confirmed.

ELECTION OF THE DIRECTORS.

The CHAIRMAN said, the first notice of motion was
that given by Mr. Lewin, and he called upon that gen-
tleman to procea
Mr. LEwiN said, the motion of which he had given
notice was— c
" That it is expedient at the annual election of the di-
-4„ TENtors Cou o • ters witbloleir support
(by a-aVeßisernen rom e difectors IrATrIVIOE-gon#-Mit
by rotation, that system being calculated to degrade the
office, by keeping in the direction men whose age and in-
firmities, suggest retirement." .
His first- objection - to the system,of advertising candi-
dates for the direction was, that it too much resembled
the practice of tradesmen, and in his endeavour to trace
the origin of the system he found it coeval with that of
Moses and Son. (A laugh.) But there were other
reasons why the system should be discontinued. The
constituency often knowingly elected men to the direc-
tion who were unfit for the office, simply because they
possessed sufficient physical power to undergo the
drudgery of a canvass, which men of eminence would
not condescend to go through. A board elected by such
a constituency could have no weight with any Govern-
ment ; but if men were properly elected to that board
the Court of Directors would be able to maintain an im-
posing front against any Ministry. What was the fact ?
Why, so little did the Government regard the Court of
Directors, that the Minister for the time being actually
sent out orders to India without even the knowledge of
that Court. (Hear. No, no !) This should be known
to the constituency. He understood that the consti-
tuency was to be abolished. They richly deserved it.
A more un-independent body of men never existed. He
believed they would adopt any proposition that might
be made to them by the chairman. (No, no !) He
spoke from experience. Some 40 or 50 years ago there
were eminent men who came to the Court of Pro-
prietors—men who had a voice not only in that Court,
but out of doors ; but since then the Court had sunk
into utter insignificance. It exercised no power either
with the public or with the Court of Directors. It
could not be denied that the Court of Directors was
sealed against many men who were eminently fitted
for office—men long connected with India, and who
had brought great knowledge thence. The com-
mercial character of the company had ceased, and the
men now required in the direction were those not con-
nected with commerce, but endowed with qualities for
Government. He should be sorry indeed to see the
Court of Directors without some men possessed of com-
mercial knowledge,—such as bankers and merchants,—
but he was anxious, above all, to see others possessing
the capacity of statesmen. So long, however, as the
present system of election was maintained there existed
no chance of any such men constituting a part of that
Court. While the house list, as it was termed, con-
tinued to be the practice, what chance was there for
such men as Mr. Reid, Mr. Millett, or Colonel Symms
being on the direction—(hear, hear)—all men of great
experience, of vast general knowledge, and of the high-
est honour ? It would be absurd to say that there were
not three men in the present Court of Directors much
inferior to them—men totally unfit for the duty for
which they had been elected. He would make one
more observation. It was perfectly well known that
many of the directors gained their election by promises
of patronage. They could never therefore be free
agents. The constituency was of course to blame for
electing such men. But the whole system was unre-
fleeting and indiscriminate. He would name one or
two eminent men who had aspired to be members of the
Court of Directors, but who had not succeeded because
they would not go through the mire of a canvass ; Mr.
Holt Mackenzie and Mr. Sullivan both had sought the
appointment, but neither had been elected, and yet no
would contend that there was their superior in that
Court. (Hear, hear.) He had not asked any gentle-
man to second his motion, but left it to rest on its me-
rits. The hon. proprietor then moved the resolution.
Mr. Sergeant GARBLER seconded the motion.
Mr. WEEDING differed entirely from the intepretation
which the hon. gentleman had put upon the recommen-
dation of the Court of Directors. He considered. it to

import
i the- opinion of the Court that the gentlemen
whom they recommended for re-election had in their
former career of service discharged their duty with cie-
dit to themselves and with advantage to the company,
but which services could only be known to the Court of
Directors. Many eminent men had voluntarily retired
from the direction on account of their age and infirmi-
ties. He considered that the motion, if carried, would
tend to degrade the Court of Proprietors, and he hoped,
therefore, it would be negatived.
Mr. COOK said it was a late time to practise economy
when one was at the bottom of his purse ; and there was
another common adage, to the effect that it was too late
to shut the stable door when the horse was stolen. He
thought the motion was brought forward at a very ill
time, just when the Minister was about to deal with
a question of a most important character with regard
both to the constituency and tollthe Court of Directors
itself. He had never beard of any gross departure
from a fair distribution of the patronage which the
directors ,enjoyed. If any such charge could be
Maintained against them they were amenable to the
law ; and if any case of corrupt dispensation of pa-
tronage could be brought home to them, so as to show
injury done to India, then upon the principles of law the
consequences might be made to fall on their own pri-
vate fortunes.

The CHAIRMAN said, that as far as regarded the
motion, it rested with the Court of Proprietors to de-
termine whether it should be adopted or not ; but
he must say that some very unjustifiable attacks
had been made by the hon. proprietor, not only
upon the independence, but upon the integrity of
the Court of Proprietors, of which he (the chairman)
was one. He did not believe the imputations of
the hon. proprietor were well-founded. He felt that
that Court, like all other public bodies, always had
shown, and he hoped always would show, a disposi-
tion to support the governing body if they believed
that that executive body were honestly endeavouring
to do their duty. (Hear, hear.) To that extent the
Court of Directors had been honoured by the support
of the proprietors, but he denied that that support
had been given further than what the proprietors
believed could be honestly given to men whom they
considered to have faithfully discharged their duty.
(Hear, hear.) Allusion had been made to certain
practices stated to exist during the canvassing for the
direction. He could only say that he hoped such
practices did. not exist. If any gentleman when can-
vassing for a seat in the direction made promises to
any proprietor of future patronage, or if any pro-
prietor gave his vote founded upon any such promises,
he would say that it was a transaction alike disgraceful
to the director and to the proprietor. (Cheers.) It was
a practice which could not be sufficiently reprobated
or too strongly stigmatised, and if any gentleman
could really bung forward such a case, he (the chair-
man) hoped that in the discharge of his duty to the
company he would do so. (Hear, hear.) With re-
ference,to the Court of Directors and its constitution, he
did not think that was the fit occasion to enter into the
subject. The hon. proprietor had mentioned the names
of two or three gentlemen of great eminence, and dis-
tinguished for great talent. He had named Mr. Holt
Mackenzie and Mr. Sullivan. Now, he (the chairman)
could state for himself and for his colleagues that they
would be delighted to have men of such distinguished
abilities introduced into the direction, and it was matter
of complaint that such men were not in the direction.
(Hear, hear.) But did the hon. gentleman want the
proprietors of the East India Company to elect those
who were not candidates I Mr. Holt Mackenzie had
not been a candidate ; Mr. Sullivan had never been a
candidate. (" 0, •yes he has.") He had been one, but
for a very •short time. He (the chairman) begged to say
that whenever Mr. Holt Mackenzie or Mr. Sullivan
should intimate his desire to be elected a director, not at
year would elapse before his election
wtooykdidPlactheey.
(Cheers.) Again, it was said out of doors,
h
not elect such men as Metcalfe and Elphinstone
those people talked of Metcalfes and E ? Why,
Iphinstones as if
they could pluck them off blackberry bushes, whereas
there were not such men to be found
either in that court
or out of that court, in this country or out of this coun-
try, but once in an age ; but if
or Sir Charles Metcalfe, before either Mr. Elphinstone
they left India, had inti-
mated a desire to become a
member of the Court of Di-
rectors, every candidate would have instantly withdrawn,
g that both those eminent men might be elected. (Hear,
hear.) Mr. Elphinstone did not seek public life ; if he
had, the very first appointment in India was at his com-
mand. He believed it was known to the public that he
might have been Governor-General. There was no doubt
that Sir Robert Peel, without any solicition on his part,
offered it to him, but Mr. Elphinstone declined, from a
high feeling that did him honour, not from any conscious-