The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-01 00:00:00

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41-f•WN
Yesterday an extraordinary general KivietinCtiPpi
prietors in the above company was heldtt the-Cridti
House Hotel, for the purpose of consider* the pro-
priety of permitting the directors to add 250,0001. to the
capital of the company. The meeting was very fully at-
tended. The chair .was taken by ,Mr.; Laing, M.P.,
chairman of the company. The report having been
taken as read,

The CHAIRMAN, referring to the proposal to increase
their Capital, said that the directors felt that the fullest
details in every item were due to the' sha.reholders, and
accordingly had instructed Sir j., Paxton to prepare a,
report in which every cause of expenditure was fully ex-
plained. Those who read that report would say not.
that an increase of capital was satisfactory, but at least
that the necessity for :that increase _had arisen from
causes over which the directors had no control, except
at the expense 'of •carfailinesome of the ,great features
in the production of which they mainly rested their
hopes of success' for the undertaking. The first had
been most injurious to them, and they had been further
impeded by the lamentable
,ancident, with-which the
public were familiar. He.believed that he could not
estimate those two causes at less' than a
.loss of three
• months' labour, and that;too, at a tithe when expedition
was one of the most important elements of economy
in their , work. , It must ,be remembered that' they
had collected skilled artists from every part of Europe,
and it would not had been possible to disband
them as if they had been more bricklayers', labourers.
(Hear, hear.) Another 'great evil arising' fror the
delay had been an ' apprehension that the, IMUdine
corlild not be Oppned during the ensuing summer, a result
which would have been almost fatal to their success, and
in order to avoidit they have 'been obliged to put addi.
tional hands into every department, se that the opening
-should take Place to a certainty on the day appointed.
Thevost of iron and timber had nearly., doubled since the
original estimate was submitted, and in addition much
expense.had been created by what he might call the gra
dual development of the scheme. Iluiy had now a far
larger number of applications than could be complied
with in the space at the directors' disposal, and they
comprised quite as large a range of manufactures"
had been exhibited in Hyde-park. (Hear, bear.) The
most experienced tradern were beginning to • see
that the Crystal Palace at Sydenham was a place ' which
every Englishman and every foreigner must visit, and
therefore, they were rapidly taking means to secure so
important a medium for the exhibition and advertisement
of their goods. He attached the greatest importance to
this, the commercial aspect of the undertaking. If the
place were a mere resort for purposes of recreation—
although he did not undervalue those purposes—he
might have had some misgivings as to its success, and
though that, after a year or two,, the, public interest
would die away; but, when he saw it resting on a, solid
commercial basis—when he saw it appeal successfully to
all philanthropic minds, and supported by the• whole
press of England, he felt that it was sure of an enduring
success and would become impressed with an enduring
value. (Loud cheers.) He had now
,pointed out the
leading features of increased expenditure, and had only
to add that the whole had been rigidly tested, and the
directors' were thoroughly satisfied as to the mode
in which the money had been spent. He might be
asked what guarantee had he to offer that the extension
of the capital to a million would be sufficient. TO this
the best answer he could give was that the period of
opening was so close at hand, that they could see their
way clearly to the amount of money likely to be spent.
They had called on Sir Joseph Paxton for a report, -had
warned him to be on the safe side with his estimate, and
be bad pledged his reputation to the completion of the
works within his estimate. He did not think that Sir
Joseph Paxton was likely to deceive them. (Cheers.)
There was another reason for reliance in his estimate
to be found in the fact that the actual expenditure up
to the present date had been but 680,0001. Looking
at that amount and comparing it with the enormous
quantity of work which it had produced, he unhesi-
tatingly said that even if they tried they could not
spend much more between then and the opening of the
building in May. (Hear, hear.) They might have asked
for less than a quarter of a million, they might have
been contented with 100,0001., trusting to the receipts
after the opening to carry them on. But they had
thought it better to ask for the whole sum, and to take
upon themelves all the liability and responsibility of
opening it to the public with all its great features com-
pleted. Hotels might be projected in connexion with
the Crystal Palace, and be adopted among its share-
holders with profit, as there was no doubt that there would
be opening for much greater concerns in that way than
anythingthat had as yet ever been seen in this country ;
and the directors had taken an important step in 'facili-
tation of such a project by securing the lease of the whole
of Dulwich Wood, at the rental of 3,000/. a-year. They
might have had it lower, had they proposed earlier, but
had been fearful, while their prospects were uncertain,
to incur increased liability ; but now they had secured
it, and were told by Mr. Fuller—whose authority as a
valuer of land few would venture to dispute—that when
the Palace was completed, it would bear something like
100,0001. extra value. (Hear.) In connection with the
exhibition of manufactures, to which he had before re-
ferred, he should like to make one or two obseriations
with reference to what had been done in the industrial
_ ..„ .
—Finding the demands for space from mithu-
facturers far to exceed their expectations, the directors
had determined to provide courts of a more enduring
character—works of art in short—and which could be
erected without any very considerable expense. They had
r2iwu.
accordingly applied to gentlemen of great eminence in
art, and at the present moment Messrs. Tite, Thomas,
Lemper, Barry, Stokes, Cram, and Charpentier, were
employed in constructing ornamental courts for the vari-
ous branches of manufacture. In particular, an attempt
had been made to find an appropriate design for the Bir-
mingham court in a sort of iron architecture ; and much
pains had also been taken in the construction of a hand-
some court for the music, which, it would be recol-
lected, was very much out of the way in Hyde-park.
At Sydenham the musical instruments would have a
handsome court in the nave. As regarded the mode to
be adopted of raising the necessary capital, the reason
which had induced the directors to issue it in shares was,
that in an undertaking like theirs they had a firmer basis
when all were in the same boat, and had not borrowed
capital. (Hear, hear.) The shares would be distri-
buted amongst all the present shareholders, and at the
present price there would be no difficulty in taking them
up. (Cheers.) They had got the authority of the
Board of Trade for their proposal, and only wanted a
resolution from the meeting to confirm it. He could
not attempt to prognosticate respecting anything which
was so very novel in its character. He believed firmly,
however, that they would have success, and that mainly
because ho felt that they had deserved success.' The
chairman concluded by putting a resolution authorising
the raising,2so,ooo/. new capital in shares., ,
Mr. GRAM, M.P., seconded the resolution.
Mr. ETCHES (Derby), 'who announced himself as 'the
holder of 1,500 paid-up sliares, warmly supported the
resolution.

Alderman WILSON asked—lf this additional capital
were raised, would the borrowing power of the directors
remain ; and, if so, for how much ?

CHAIRMAN—One-third of the paid-up capital, or about
330,0001. (Hear, hear.)

Alderman WILSON continued to complain that the
original estimate had been so much exceeded, but the
sense of the meeting was so generally against him that
we had difficulty in catching his observations. He re•
grettei the additional expense arising from the erection
of the toweys.. Engineers had told them at first they
would notanswer, and now they were to be taken down.
(Hear, hear.) The speaker concluded amid much inter-
ruption by complaining of the backward state of the
great basin and other parts of the works.
A SHAREHOLDER asked whether this catalogue of ad-
verse circumstances *had induced the worthy alderman
to sell his shares. (Loud laughter.)
ANOTHER asked how many shares he held. (Loud
cries of "Answer," and uproar, and "Six.") .
The CHAIRBIAN implored the Crystal Palace proprie-
tors not to descend to the uproar of a common railway
meeting. - (Loud laughter.)
In answer to a succession of questions from various
shareholders, _ _

The CHAIRMAN said that they held Dulwich Wood
under building provisions ; and that the let of apace in
the building up to the preeent time amounted to
3,0001. a year. As to the stability of the building,
it was most extraordinary, having withstood all the
late gales without important injury. He was asked
as to the :probable amount 'of percentage by which
anyorspspace
Fie did not like to commit himself to the dividend ,would benefit by the rents f
estimates especially as the contracts were only coin-
in en cin, A. specific
~proprietor modestly talkedof 25,000&
year. He (Mr. Laing) had . • a
no hesitation in promising
at" 'least ". that' rental •as a certainty: (Cheers.)
Withrespect to the organ it certainly was a great
temp-
tation, and had the directors bad a surplus they
would
certainly have entertained the project, but under present
circnmstances were determined to wait. (Hear, hear.)
He
.quite concurred as to the propriety of not exceeding
mil
a lion-in `expense and liabilities: A question had
been asked as to the contract with Fox and Henderson.
That contract had only been exceeded by the trifling sum
of-6,500/. for a new staircase. As to the water towers,
the, directors had acted under high scientific authorities
in constructing them, and believed that the tanks must
be elevated to get a strong jet. They were told that
the towers would have been quite secure but for the
treacherous nature of the foundations. An anxiety for the
safety of the public had induced the directors to call
in Mr. Brunel, and that gentleman's judgment was that
they-were not safe. Accordingly the towers had been
taken down and were in course of re-erection at an ex-
pense of 20,0001. The glass was so strong as to have
very successfully resisted the violent hail storms of last
winter. In answer to Alderman Wilson, who had com-
plained of the excess of estimate, the chairman pointed
out the various attractive features which had been added
to the original scheme, and advised the worthy alder-
man, if dissatisfied, to go to the Stock Exchange, where
he would have no difficulty in selling his shares at a
premium.
A. :SHAREHOLDER wished to know whether there was
any truth in the report that her Majesty would open
the Crystal Palace in person. (Hear, hear.)
The CHAIRMAN said that until the prospect of open-
ing was neirer, to approach her Majesty op the subject
would not have been respectful. He was not, therefore,
prepared to make any announcement of the royal inten-
tion': Looking, however, at the interest which' tier
Majesty had always taken in everything that tenag to
the happiness and progress of ber people, it would. not
perhaps be Presumptuous to expect some condeicending
mark of royal approval for so great an educational un-
dertaking.
The resolution was then put and carried almost unani-
mously, only one hand being hell up in the negative, to
the great amusement of the meeting,