The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-02 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN AND GENERAL FREEHOLD

LAND SOCIETY.

Last evening a numerously-attended meeting of the
members and directors of the Metropolitan and General
Freehold Land Society was held at the London Tavern,
Bishopsgate-street. The business of the evening was
chiefly to allot sixty shares, thirty by rotation and thirty
by ballot, in the estates of this prosperous society. The
chair was taken, shortly after eight o'clock, by G. J.
Philps, Esq.
The usual preliminaries having been gone through,

The CHAIRMAN, in rising to address the assembly,
said he felt great pleasure in meeting the shareholders
that evening. The chief business of the evening was to
ballot for sixty shares, instead of forty, as heretofore.
With respect to the estate at Wimbledon, the negotia-
tions between the secretary of the society and the secre-
tary of the South Western had nearly arrived at a
successful termination. The shares on this estate were
going off very quickly, and those gentlemen who felt de-
sirous of obtaining any had better embrace the earliest
opportunity, as in a short time very few would be left.
Everything was going on prosperously. With respect
to the estate at Barnes, and the assertion of other socie-
ties about ducks and geese availing themselves of the
facilities afforded for their recreation, he need only say
that it was merely the invention of a rival. The estate

was in the hands of the engineer, Mr. Buckle, and Mr.
Woocithorp surveyor. The drainage would be of the
most effective and best description. He (the chairman)
had great pleasure in informing the meeting that another
estate had been purchased by the society at Reading.
It was situated in the best and most business part of
thelocality—it was near the biscuit factory of Messrs.
Huntley and Palmer. It was not a large estate ;it
would cut up into about one hundred allotments ; and
so great was the desire to possess allotments on the
estate, that 201. premium had already been offered.
The chairman contemplated that the society would
be enabled to allot the estate at a price far below that of
any other freehold land society, viz,, under 201. Every-
thing, he rejoiced to say, was going on favourably ; and
although freehold land societies were springing up every
day, the Metropolitan and General Freehold Land Society
maintained its standing amongst the most prosperous of
those societies. The chairman, in resuming his seat,
called upon the secretary to state to the meeting the
result of the negotiations with the authorities of the
South-Western Railway.
The SECRETARY (Mr. D. R. White) stated that he
had entered into a correspondence with the secretary of
the before-mentioned railway, with respect to the pass or
ticket in conjunction with the Church of England and
another society. The correspondence would be laid
before the railway directors at their next meetings and
he had not the slightest doubt that free tickets, or tickets
at a greatly reduced price, would be issued to builders
of houses upon the society's estates in the vicinity of the
railway. With respect to a statement lately published
about the instability of the title, after a large estate had
been cut up into small allotments, the steps taken by
the society were of the most solid and safe description.
In confirmation of this, Mr. Miller, the society's solici-
tor, would state to the meeting his view of the question.
Mr. MILLER said that, in the purchasing of a large
estate, every precaution was taken, and the deed and
covenants were most rigidly scrutinised, and every title
held by the members of this society was of the most
perfect description.
Scrutineers having been appointed, and the seals on
the ballot-box having been examined and removed, the
drawing commenced. At its conclusion,
The CHAIRMAN rose and said, it gave him great satis-
faction to state to the meeting the punctuality with
which the members of the society kept their payments,
only one of the 43 numbers drawn being in arrear.
Since the last ballot 127 new shares had been taken up.
With respect to the number of withdrawals that had
been taken from the wheel this evening, it might be
accounted for in a variety of ways ; but the circum-
stance to which he • attributed it was, the frequent
removals which the occupation of that class of persons
most likely to become members of Freehold Land
Societies necessitated. The number of cases of with-
drawal in their society was but few, but the fact of there
being any required explanation.
The Secretary then read the following list of success-
ful numbers :

655, 2,873, 691, 748, 1,688, 652, 747, 2,026, 768,
2,645, 740, 1,673, 339, 751, 738, 653, 2,047, 2,588, 766,
2,344, 2,941, 2,259, 654, 2,592, 746, 656, 739, 2,776,
2,361, 2,221, 1,973, 2,878, 794, 793, 2,133, 2,640,
2,845, 749, 767, 742, 2,496, 2,653, 769, 657, 2,623,
3,004, 2,052, 692, 1,937, 2,280, 750, 745, 2,739, 2,005,
2,395, 2,034, 741, 737, 792, 752.
A vote of thanks was then given to the chairman,
who very briefly and neatly returned thanks, which
terminated the proceedings.

ACCIDENT AT SEA. —The Chester and Holyhead
steamer which left Kingstown at 9 a.m. on Monday
morning had a rough passage, and when approaching
Holyhead a heavy sea struck the vessel, carrying away
the starboard bulwarks and the corresponding side of
the saloon on deck, which was then occupied by several
passengers. Several people were injured by the catas-
trophe ; one lady, a Mrs. Nugent, from Leamington,
received a simple fracture of the right leg. Two ser-
vants of Major Hart, 49th Regiment, were also badly
injured, one receiving a spinal injury and fractures of
both bones of the left forearm ; the second, a nurse, re-
ceived a compound fracture of the right leg, attended by
severe laceration, probably dangerous to life, and likely
to terminate in amputation. Mr. D. J. Dinjam and
Mr. J. W. Wilson, assistant-surgeons Royal Navy, who
were fortunately both passengers at the time, relin-
quished their journey to London until night in order to
afford medical aid to the sufferers.
THE GUERNSEY MURDER.—Tapner, the man appre-
hended last week at Guernsey, on account of the death
of a widow lady, has been fully committed for murder,
robbery, and incendiarism. Immense excitement exists
in Guernsey, in consequence of the atrocious deed which
has just been committed there.